Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SEPARABLE WOOD SHIM ASSEMBLY AND
METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to shims, and more particularly to separable double-
width shims and to a method for making the same.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Typically, shims are wedge-shaped strips of wood with a thick edge and an
opposite tapered edge. Shims are commonly used in the construction industry
during installation of fixtures, for example, for levering windows or doors.
It is known in the art to make bundles of shims that are connected together
side by side such as in US patent no. 4,336;879 (CARR). CARR discloses that
during manufacture of the shims, a small strip of wood can be left between
adjacent shims in order to keep the shims together during transport. This
small
strip of wood is easily breakable by a user when shims are needed.
It is also known to make bundles of stacked shims connected together by a
strip of wood extending along opposite upper and lower faces of two shims.
Such
stacked shims are disclosed in US patent nos: 5,163,255 and 4,909,294, both to
GAMBA. GAMBA's bundles of shims are stacked in alternate opposite directions
so that each neighbouring shim is complementary to its neighbour. Accordingly,
the thick edge of a shim is oriented towards the tapered edge of another shim
so
that the two connected shims together form a rectangular shape.
A drawback with the bundles of shims disclosed in the above-mentioned
patents is that in practice, the user must first separate; then stack, and
finally align
properly together two shims to obtain a double-width shim for use to tighten,
secure andlor lever a fixture. There is therefore a need for wood shims having
a
selectable thickness to alleviate this drawback.
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OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide separable wood shims
which may be easily used in single or double-width.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bundle of such separable
shims.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a method for making said
separable shims.
In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a
separable wood shim assembly including fiirst and second wedge-shaped wood
shims. Each of these wood shims has a bottom face and a top face extending
between thick and tapered opposite ends. The first wood shim is superposed to
the second wood shim so that they are tapering along a same direction. The
assembly also includes a breakable connector connecting the bottom face of the
first wood shim to the top face of the second wood shim.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
bundle of wood shims, including at least one row of separable wood shim
assemblies. Each assembly has first and second wedge-shaped wood shims,
each having a bottom face and a top face extending between thick and tapered
opposite ends, the first wood shim being superposed to the second wood shim
tapering along a same direction. Each assembly further includes a breakable
connector connecting the bottom face of the first wood shim to the top face of
the
second wood shim. The row of wood shim assemblies is arranged with the wood
shims of neighbouring assemblies tapering in opposite directions.
According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a method far
making separable wood shim assemblies, including the steps of:
a) providing a rectangular piece of wood;
b) making a set of two substantially parallel partial cuts obliquely across a
length of
the rectangular piece of wood, each cut extending partially through opposite
sides
of the rectangular piece of wood and leaving a thin strip of wood therein; and
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c) making a full cut obliquely across the Length of the rectangular piece of
wood
between the finro partial cuts, thereby separating the rectangular piece of
wood in
two separable wood shim assemblies.
Finally, in accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, there is
provided another method for making separable wood shim assemblies, comprising
the steps of:
a) providing a rectangular piece of wood;
b) making a set of two substantially parallel partial cuts obliquely across a
length of
the rectangular piece of wood, each cut extending partially through opposite
sides
of the rectangular piece of wood and leaving a thin ship of wood therein; and
c) making an additional partial cut obliquely across the length of the
rectangular
piece of wood between said partial cuts, said additional partial cut extending
partially through opposite sides of the rectangular piece of wood and leaving
an
additional thin strip of wood therein, said separable wood shim assemblies
extending on either side of said additional thin strip of wood.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent
upon reading the following non-restrictive description of preferred
embodiments,
made with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective side elevational view showing a rectangular piece of
wood from which two pairs of shims according to the present invention are to
be
made.
FIG. 2 is a perspective side elevational view showing cuts made in the
piece of wood of FIG. 1 to obtain shims according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective side elevational view showing two sets of
superposed separable shims pointing in opposite directions.
FIG. 4 is a perspective side eievational view showing one of the two pairs of
superposed separable shims of FIG. 3 with one of the shims being separated.
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FIGs. 5 and 6 are perspective side elevational and rear elevationai views
showing the cuts made in the piece of wood of FIG. 1 to obtain shims according
to
the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a perspective side elevational view showing a small bundle of
shims comprising eight sets of stacked shims as shown in FIG. 3.
FIG. 8 is a perspective side elevational view showing a package comprising
twelve small bundles of shims as shown in FiG. 7.
Figure 9 is a perspective side elevational view showing a bag for packaging
shims.
Figure 10 is a perspective side elevational view showing the bag of Fig. 9 in
use.
The same reference numerals have been used in all the figures to denote
the same or similar components,
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBOD11VIENT OF THE INVENTION
As aforesaid, the present invention relates to separable shims, to a method
of making the same and to a bundle of separable shims..
Referring to FIGs. 3 and 4, there is shown a separable wood shim assembly
{18) according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The
assembly
includes a first and a second wedge-shaped wood shim (10,12). Each of these
shims (10,12) has a bottom face (16) and a top face (14), which extends
between
thick and tapered opposite ends (17,19). When assembled, as shown in FIG. 3,
the first wood shim (10) is superposed to the second wood shim (12) tapering
along the same direction, that is, that the thick ends (17) of both wood shims
(10,12) are aligned together. Similarly, the tapered ends (19) of the first
and
second wood shims {10,12) are also in alignment. In practice, the two wand
shims
(10,12) of a same assembly are not of equal length and thickness, as a result
of
the imprecision of the manufacturing process. It is understood that the
precise and
relative dimensions of the two wood shims (10,12) are not material to the
present
invention, which simply requires that the two shims are wedge-shaped and taper
in
the same direction.
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The assembly (18) also includes a breakable connector (1'5), preferably
embodied by a thin strip of wood. Although shown here as extending centrally
along the entire length of the wood shims, it is understood it could also be
provided off the central axis or be differently shaped, as long as it
accomplishes
the function of joining both shims together. In this way, a pair of shims can
be used
together to form a double-width shim (18}, or be separated to define two
single-
width shims (10) and (12), as shown in Figure 4.
It is understood that the present invention may easily be extended to wood
shim assemblies having more than two superposed wood shims, to give a larger
choice of thickness obtainable from a single assembly.
Referring to FIGs. 1, 2, 5 and 6 there is illustrated a method to make
separable shim assemblies according to another aspect of the present
invention.
In accordance with this method, a rectangular piece of wood (20} is provided
from
which two separable wood shim assemblies (18) are to be made. Two partial cuts
(22,24), substantially parallel to each other, are made across the length of
the
piece of wood (20). These cuts extend partially through opposite sides of the
rectangular piece of wood, preferably by two superposed saws, so that they
leave
parallel strips (15} of wood extending along the middle of the piece of wood
(20).
Each partial cut (22,24) preferably extends from the mid-point of the width of
he
piece of wood at one end of a corner of the apposite end, as better seen in
FIG. 5.
However, a great precision in the cutting operations is not necessary for the
purposes of the present invention. Afterwards, another oblique cut (26) is
made,
between the two oblique cuts (22,24), from one corner of the piece of wood
(20) to
the opposite oblique corner of the same piece for completely separating the
piece
of wood (20) into two halves. The result is two sets of double shims as
explained
before. Of course, one could choose to not completely separate the piece of
wood
(20) into two halves by making the second cut {26} in such a way that it
extends
only partially through the piece of wood (20} for leaving therein a strip of
wood
(21 ).
Preferably, the pieces of wood (20) which are used for making the shims
are small pieces of wood measuring 11'/ x 1'/4 x 7/8 inches. The remaining
strips
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(15) of wood are preferably 1164 inch thick. Preferably also, the piece of
wood (20)
is made of cedar but other species of wood may also be used such as fir and
spruce
Once made, the double-width shims (18) are stacked upon each other far
packaging, forming a bundle {28) according to another aspect of the present
invention. Preferably, the separable wood shim assemblies are assembled in
rows (34}, each row (34} being arranged with the wood shims of neighbouring
assemblies tapering in opposite directions thereby forming together a bundle
(28)
of a rectangular shape, as shown in Figure 7. Preferably, a row (34) of bundle
(28)
includes eight separable shim assemblies (18), as shown in Figure 7. The shims
assemblies (18) of one row (34) are also preferably held together using an
adhesive tape (30). Even more preferably, the shims (18) are shipped in
packages
of several rows (34) assembled together with a sticking strap (32), as shown
in
Figure 8. Typically, bundles of finrelve rows are for example packaged in this
manner.
Advantageously, the bundles of the present invention may be wrapped in a
plastic bag (50). As better shown in Figures 9 and 10, the bag (50} is
preferably
generally rectangular in shape and has a top portion {52} which remains empty
when the bag is filled with the bundle of wood shim assemblies. Preferably,
the top
portion {52) can be torn so as to be open and then hinge on one of its sides
(56) .
The top portion (52) preferably has a hole (54) made therein, which can be
provided prior to packaging or after opening of the bag (50). The hole (54) is
usable as a hook to hang the bag (50) from a construction belt (60}, as best
shown
in Fig 10. In this manner, the user can easily remove individual shims (10}
from the
bag (50) hanging at his belt (60).
Preferably, the bag (50) is dimensioned for receiving a large bundle (28) of
shims according to the present invention and shown in Fig. 7. Typically, the
"storage" portion of the bag measures 11'/2 x 3 x 2'l2 inches. It is made of
material
that is sufficiently resistant so that the shim does not tear it. Preferably,
the bag is
made of a transparent plastic material such as polyethylene.
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Of course, numerous modifications could be made fio the embodiments
above without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the
appended claims.
