Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Tool for Insertion of Duct Corner Clips
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tool especially adapted for use in
fastening
together sections of heating, ventilation and air conditioning ducts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) ducts in
residential, commercial and industrial buildings are assembled from a number
of
separate duct sections which are manufactured in lengths small enough to be
transported to a job site. The duct sections are typically form of galvanized,
cold-rolled
sheet steel of 16 to 30 gauge thickness. The duct sections are manufactured in
the shape
of hollow, rectangular boxes, open at both ends. Some varieties of ducting
also include
having flanges which extend transversely outward a short distance at the open
ends of
the ducting, perpendicular to the sides of the duct sections.
The flanges can then be used in various fashions to connect one section of
ducting to a abutting section of ducting in order to provide a complete duct
system for
transportation of air within the building structure, or the like.
In one known system, commonly available under the trade name of "Ductmate"
from Ductmate Industries Inc, a flange is sometimes available as part of the
ducting as
purchased, or more typically, is established, particularly on sections of cut
ducting,
using rail and corner pieces which are connected together to provide a flange
that can
then be placed on the end of the ducting. As such, flanges are thus provided
on the
abutting ends of two adjacent pieces of ducting, and the flanges can then be
used to
connect the various pieces of ducting.
In the Ductmate system, the corner pieces have a pre-established shape and
size.
The rail sections are cut to length depending on the height and width of the
duct.
In order to "lock" each section together, the flanges created using the corner
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pieces and rail sections, are sometimes bolted together or crimped together to
join the
abutting sections of ducting. More typically however, the two flanges are
joined using a
C-shaped, or triangular shaped "corner clip" which slip over the two adjacent
corner
pieces of the two adjacent flanges. The corner clips are typically 3 cm in
length and 2
cm wide but can vary, and typically the clips have a base section with two leg
sections
of about 0.5 to 1 cm in length, on each side of the base section, and
extending
transversely away from the base section.
The corner clips are made of a resilient metal and thus, when inserted over
the
two abutting corner pieces on the flanges of the ducting, they provide a
locking force
which keeps the abutting pieces of the ducting operatively connected. In a
preferred
arrangement, one end of the base of the corner clip contains a tab which
extends
vertically away from the base. The tab is provided in order to seat into a
corresponding
notch on the corner clip, and thus prevent the corner clip from sliding off
the corner
pieces.
Installation of the corner clip requires that the clip be placed in an aligned
position with respect to the end of the corner piece, and then hammering one
end of the
clip with a hammer or similar tool, to force the corner clip over the two
adjacent corner
pieces. The clip is positioned so that it will slide over both sides of the
flanges, and the
tab provided on the corner clip will slip into the notches on the corner
pieces. This
operation is usually repeated on each side of each corner of the flange in
order to
provide an effective connection between the duct sections. The insertion of
the 8 corner
clips normally required can usually thus be quickly performed, and often is
sufficient
for holding the duct sections together.
Ductmate supply a tool for aligning the flanges in a suitable position for
connection using a locking pair of pliers with pins adapted to fit into holes
in the corner
pieces. When the pins are inserted through corresponding holes in the adjacent
flange
corner pieces, the pliers can be locked in position, and the corner clip
installed.
Commonly, however, the locking pliers are not used in order to reduce
installation time,
and instead, the installer merely visually aligns the duct pieces and holds
them in
position prior to inserting the corner clip.
While holding the ducting in place, it can be difficult to hold the corner
clip in
the correct position for insertion of the clip. This can lead to "off centre"
hits which do
not effectively position the corner clip. Further, hammering the corner clip
can
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accidentally cause injuries to the fingers of the user if due care is not
taken to avoid
striking the users fingers. In a cramped installation, or when the duct work
is being
rapidly installed, striking the fingers is a common occurrence.
Further, in an cold environment, gloves are commonly worn, which can make
proper alignment and installation of the corner clip more difficult.
Accordingly, it would be of benefit to the users of the Ductmate, or similar
systems, to provide a tool which would facilitate the correct insertion of the
corner clips
while avoiding accidental injury to the user.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention provides a HVAC duct corner-clip
installation tool for placing a corner clip over the adjacent flange sections
of two
abutting pieces of HVAC ducting at least one corner of said flange sections,
said tool
comprising:
i. a handle section comprising a first end having a portion adapted to be
struck by
a hammer-like tool;
ii. a corner-clip retention section, which is open at a first end for
receiving a corner
clip, and having an open slot at a top end of the retention section which slot
is
connected to said opening at said first end, and having a second end connected
to a
second end of said handle section, which corner-clip retention section
additionally
comprises an opening adapted to receive and hold a corner-clip to be
installed; and
iii a force transmittal member located at a second end of said corner-clip
retention
section which transfers the force of a blow from a hammer-like tool on said
handle
section to a corner clip located within said corner-clip retention section.
In an additional aspect, the present invention also provides a method for
joining
two adjacent pieces of HVAC ducting comprising:
establishing a flange section on the adjacent, abutting ends of the two pieces
of
ducting, which flange section includes a corner piece adapted to receive a
corner clip;
inserting a corner clip into a corner clip installation tool, as claimed in
Claim 1;
and
hammering one end of said corner clip installation tool so as to force said
corner
clip over at least part of the corner piece of said flange section.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The flanges on the ducting may be pre-existing, such as in the case where the
ducting as purchased, includes a flange on one or both open ends of the duct.
More
typically, in the case of the present invention, the flanges are established
using the rail
sections and corner pieces as described hereinabove.
Typically a hammer would be used to strike the corner-clip installation tool
of
the present invention, but any readily available device would be acceptable
provided it
was able to supply a sufficient blow to the tool.
The handle section can be manufactured from a wide variety of materials
including metals such as steel or the like, wood, plastics or combinations
thereof or
therebetween, and the like. The handle section should be designed, however, to
be able
to withstand the striking force of the hammer-like device, while being
suitable to
holding by the user.
In one embodiment, the handle section can be manufactured by merely bending
a piece of duct material over onto itself in order to provide a handle
section, as will be
described hereinbelow.
The corner-clip retention section is preferably merely an open cavity which is
approximately equal in size and shape to the corner clip. As such, the corner-
clip
retention section is typically C-shaped, or triangular in shape in cross-
section, and is
shaped so that the corner clip can be readily inserted into the corner-clip
retention
section. Preferably, the cavity of the corner-clip retention section has at
least a portion
thereof that provides a snug-fit in order to retain the corner clip within the
corner-clip
retention section. The snug-fit, however, should preferably be not so tight as
to hinder
insertion or removal of the corner clip.
The open slot on the corner-clip retention section is provided so that the
corner
clip can be slid over the corner pieces of the flanges on the ends of the duct
pieces. This
would preferably occur while the corner-clip was still held within the corner-
clip
retention section. After the corner clip was hammered into place, the tool of
the present
invention would be slid off of the corner clip so as to remove the corner clip
from the
corner-clip retention section.
The open slot preferably runs the entire length of the corner-clip retention
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section. As such, the open slot is adapted to receive the two end flange
sections from
the ends of two duct pieces, and will not interfere with the installation of
the corner clip
onto the corner pieces of the duct flanges.
In order to force the corner clip onto the corner piece, a force transmittal
member is provided at one end of the corner-clip retention section. In this
fashion,
when the handle section is struck with a hammer, the force is transmitted to
the corner
clip in order to force it onto the corner pieces of the duct flanges.
The force transmittal member may be a closed, solid section at one end of the
corner-clip retention section, but may also merely be a tab or small
protrusion which
acts to transmit the force from the hammer blow to the corner clip.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Various embodiments of the corner clip installation tool of the present
invention will now be described by reference to the following drawings
wherein:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a corner clip installation tool according to
the
present invention; and an example of a corner clip; .
Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the of the tool shown in Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the tool shown in Fig. 2, shown along
the
line 3-3;
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional end view of the tool shown in Fig. 2, shown along
the
line 4-4;
Fig. 5 is a side view of a corner pieces of use in the present invention;
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a corner piece and rail piece used to produce
a
flange section;
Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a one corner of a ducting section showing the -
details of two duct sections which have been joined together with corner
clips; and
Fig. 8 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the present
invention.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Various features of the present invention, as well as other objects and
advantages attendant thereto, are set forth in the following description and
the
accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals depict like elements.
In Figure 1, a corner-clip installation tool according to the present
invention,
and generally depicted as item 10 is shown in combination with a corner clip,
generally
depicted as item 100.
Corner clip 100 is fashioned from steel, and consists of a base section 102,
and
two side sections 104 and 106. Side sections 104 and 106 are angled towards
each other
to provide a C-shaped clip, with a slight triangular shape. At one end of base
section
102 is tab 108.
Corner-clip installation tool 10 comprises a handle section 12, and a corner-
clip
retention section 14, which has a base section 16, and two side sections 18
and 20. The
cross-sectional shape of corner-clip retention section 14 is roughly
equivalent to the
cross-sectional shape of corner clip 100.
Tool 10 is made of 16 gauge galvanized metal. The handle section is
conveniently manufactured by essentially completely bending over the edges of
a piece
of metal so that they form a two-Iayer section. The upper layer of handle
section 12
therefore comprises two sections 22 and 24, while the lower layer of handle
section 12
comprises a flat section 26. The corner-clip retention section 14 of tool 10
can then be
formed by bending sides 18 and 20 to an angle approximately equal to the
angles of the
sides 104 and 106 of corner clip 100.
As such, the tool 10 of the present invention can be conveniently made from
one
piece of galvanized metal.
Handle section 12 is typically on the order of 10 to 15 cm long, and corner-
clip
retention section 14 is typically on the order of 2 to 4 cm. The tool has a
typically
overall width of about 3 to 5 cm. However, these dimensions can vary depending
on the
size of the corner clips to be installed, and the preferred handle size of the
user.
Additional details of construction can be seen in Figures 2, 3 and 4. In
particular, it should be noted that base section 16 is an extension of flat
section 26.
Also, in Figure 4 of the embodiment shown, it should be noted that ends 28 and
30 of
sections 24 and 26, adjacent to corner-clip retention section 14, together
provide a force
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transmittal member. As such, when a hammer, or the like, is used to strike the
end of
handle section 12, the force of the blow is transferred to the corner clip 100
(when held
within corner-clip retention section 14) through ends 28 and 30.
For reference, a corner piece of use in the practice of the present invention
is
shown in Figure 5. Corner piece 40 is shown having section 42 which are
adapted for
friction fit within the rails used to manufacture a flange for the ducting.
Section 42 has
a ridge 43 for limiting the depth to which section 40 can be inserted into the
rail.
Section 44 is shown and comprises the area over which a corner clip would be
inserted.
Notch 46 is shown, and tab 108 of the corner clip would slide into notch 46 to
lock the
corner clip in place. A bolt hole 48 is shown which can optionally be used to
add
additional support for attachment of the duct flanges.
In Figure 6, a slightly modified corner piece 70 is shown with the end
portions
of two rail sections 72A and 72B shown. Corner piece 70 has been inserted into
rail
72A, and is ready for insertion into rail 72B. Similar to corner piece 40
described in
Figure 5, corner piece 70 has a ridge 73 for limiting travel of the corner
piece within an
open section of rail 72A or 72B. An additional ridge 74 is also positioned to
assist in
preventing the corner piece 70 from being inserted too far into rails 72A and
72B. The
corner clip (not shown) would be inserted over ridge 75 and would also extend
over a
similar ridge 75 of an adjacent corner piece.
Rails 72A and 72B each have a slot 77 for receiving the end of a length of
ducting, and contained a mastic material 78 for providing a seal between the
rail and the
ducting.
In Figure 7, a portion of a section of ducting is shown having two duct
sections
80 and 82 which have flanges 84 and 86. Flanges 84 and 86 have been prepared
by
combining rail sections 92 and corner pieces 94 on the end of each duct
section 80 and
82. Corner clips 88 and 89 have been inserted onto the corner pieces of
flanges 84 and
86 using the tool of the present invention as shown in Figure 1. Additional
corner clips
would be present on all of the other corners of the duct work shown in the
figure.
In operation, the installer would insert corner clip 100 in the corner-clip
retention section 14 of tool 10 such that the tab 108 end of the corner clip
was inserted
first into tool 10. Ducts 80 and 82 would be brought into alignment so that
flanges 84
and 86 would be aligned, and more particularly, so that the corner pieces of
flanges 84
and 86, would be aligned. Tool 10 would then be positioned so that the base
102 of
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corner clip 100 would be parallel to the one surface or ridge of flanges 84
and 86, and
so that the side sections 104 and 106 would extend down over the sides of the
corner
pieces of flanges 84 and 86. A hammer would then be used to strike the end of
tool 10,
and thus drive the corner clip over the corner pieces of flanges 84 and 86
until the tab
108 was in position to hold flanges 84 and 86 together. Preferably, corner
pieces with
notches 46 would be used so that tab 108 would fall within notches 46 and hold
the
corner clip in postion. This operation would be repeated on each side of all
four corners
of the duct connection. As a result, the two section of duct, 80 and 82 would
be held
together. Additional support could be provided by additional bolts (not shown)
or cleats
crimped over the flanges (not shown), if required.
In Fig. 8, an alternative design for the corner-clip installation tool of the
present
invention is shown and generally designated as 110. Tool 110 also has a handle
section
112 and a corner-clip retention section 114. In this embodiment, section 114
is made of
steel, but is generally similar in shape to section 14 described hereinabove.
However,
section 114 includes a solid piece 120, which acts as a force transmittal
member.
The outside 115 of handle section 112 could be made of wood, plastic, metal or
some other material, but in a preferred feature, a metal core of steel 116
would be used.
A stiking plate I 18 made of steel is positioned at the end of handle 1 I2, so
that when
striking plate 118 is struck with a hammer, the force is transmitted along
core 116 to
corner-clip-retention section 114, and thus acts upon the corner clip through
solid piece
120.
Thus, it is apparent that there has been provided, in accordance with the
present
invention, a corner-clip installation tool which fully satisfies the means,
objects, and
advantages set forth hereinbefore. Therefore, having described specific
embodiments of
the present invention, it will be understood that alternatives, modifications
and
variations thereof may be suggested to those skilled in the art, and that it
is intended
that the present specification embrace all such alternatives, modifications
and variations
as fall within the scope of the appended claims.
Additionally, for clarity and unless otherwise stated, the word "comprise" and
variations of the word such as "comprising" and "comprises", when used in the
description and claims of the present specification, is not intended to
exclude other
additives, components, integers or steps.
