Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BRACKETS AND COVERS FOR ELECTRICAL WIRE ROUTING AT INTERIOR
CORNERS OF A BUILDING
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to routing of electrical wire
during construction of a building, and more particularly to solutions for
providing
structural support and transitional wire passages in buildings employing
prefabricated panels with interior-side grooves.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Applicant's issued U.S. Patent No. 8,033,065 and corresponding
Canadian patent application 2,648,822, currently pending, disclose techniques
and
products for constructing buildings through the assembly of prefabricated
structural
panels featuring foam insulation sandwiched between steel skins. An inner one
of
the two metal skins, and the inner face of the foam therebeneath, have a
corrugated
pattern or shape to create a series of parallel grooves running the lengthwise
direction of the panel at the inner face thereof. The same panels are used to
construct the floor structure, wall structures and roof structure of the
building. The
grooves in the floor structure are used to route in-floor heating wires or
fluid conduits
beneath floor covering materials installed atop the floor panels, and the
grooves in
one or more of the floor, wall and ceiling panels are used to route electrical
wiring,
and possibly plumbing, to various locations throughout the building.
Applicant has now made further developments to aid in the routing of
electrical wiring during the construction of a building employing such
prefabricated
panels.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided an
electrical wiring routing apparatus for a building comprising a wall structure
and an
additional wall or ceiling structure cooperating with the wall structure to
define a
corner of an interior space of the building between said wall structure and
said
additional structure, wherein at least one of said structures comprises
prefabricated
panels having grooves in sides thereof facing into the interior space of the
building
and the apparatus comprises:
an elongate bracket member having a longitudinal bracket axis and, in
planes normal to said longitudinal bracket axis, a cross-sectional bracket
shape
defining first and second bracket legs diverging from one another each for
respective
placement against and fastening to the wall structure and the additional
structure
with the longitudinal bracket axis running along the corner between the wall
structure
and the additional structure, at least one of the legs comprising openings
therein at
spaced apart locations along the longitudinal axis for placement of at least
one of
said openings over a respective one of the grooves in the inner faces of the
prefabricated panels;
whereby fastening of the bracket legs of the elongate bracket member
to the wall structure and the additional structure acts to form at least part
of a
connection between said structures, and enables use of each opening to
transition
electrical wire from a path within the respective one of the grooves to
another path
running along the corner defined between the wall structure and the additional
structure.
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Preferably the bracket member is metal.
Preferably the bracket member is steel.
The bracket legs of the bracket member may diverge at an obtuse
angle for supporting a sloped roof structure at an oblique angle sloping
upward from
the wall structure over the interior space of the building.
Preferably there is provided an elongate cover member having a
longitudinal cover axis and, in planes normal to said longitudinal bracket
axis, a
cross-sectional cover shape comprising a channel portion shaped to create a
closed
channel between the bracket member and the channel portion of the cover member
under placement of said cover member over the bracket member for running of
the
electrical wiring through said closed channel along the corner defined between
the
wall structure and the additional structure.
Preferably the cross-sectional cover shape comprises first and second
end legs defined on opposite sides of said channel shaped portion for
placement of
said legs against the bracket member at an inner side thereof opposite the
structures.
Preferably an angle between the end legs of the cover member equals
an angle between the bracket legs of the bracket member to enable respective
placement and fastening of the first and second end legs of the cover member
to the
first and second bracket legs.
Preferably first and second sides of the channel portion of the cross-
sectional shape of the cover member are respectively perpendicular to the
first and
second end legs of the cover member.
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Preferably the bracket member is fastened to the structures, the cover
member is fastened to the bracket member, and sheets of finishing material are
fastened to the structures in positions placing edges of sheets along the
first and
second sides of the channel portion of the cover member.
The bracket member may be employed between the wall structure and
a roof structure disposed above the wall structure to cover the interior space
of the
building.
According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided an
electrical wiring routing apparatus for running electrical wiring along an
interior
corner defined between a wall structure of a building and an additional wall
or ceiling
structure of said building, the apparatus comprising an elongate cover member
having a longitudinal cover axis and, in planes normal to said longitudinal
bracket
axis, a cross-sectional cover shape having first and second end legs for
respective
placement against surfaces located at interior sides of the wall structure and
the
additional structure, and a channel portion defined between the end legs to
create a
closed channel between the surfaces and the channel portion of the cover
member
for running of the electrical wiring through said closed channel along the
interior
corner defined between said structures.
The present invention also extends to wire routing methods using one
or more of the above bracket and cover members.
According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided an
electrical wire routing method comprising fastening a bracket member in place
between a wall structure of a building and an additional structure forming a
corner
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with said wall structure on an interior side of said corner, and routing
wiring through
the hole of the bracket during pre-wiring for, or installation of, electrical
components
on the wall structure.
Preferably the fastening of the bracket in place is performed during
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mounting of the additional structure atop the wall structure to form a roof
structure,
whereby the bracket forms at least part of a structural support carrying the
roof
structure atop the wall structure.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided an
electrical wire routing method comprising fastening a cover member in place
between a wall structure of a building and additional structure defining a
corner with
said wall structure on an interior side of said corner to define a channel
running
along said corner, routing wiring through the channel, and fastening finishing
materials to the wall and additional structure in positions placing edges of
said
finishing materials against or closely adjacent opposite sides of the channel.
Preferably the method further comprises creating a corner seam
joining inner surfaces of the finishing materials together over the channel.
Preferably the method comprises application of drywall compound in
creation of said corner seam.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate exemplary
embodiments of the present invention:
Figure 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a building featuring floor,
wall and ceiling structures all constructed with a same type of grooved
prefabricated
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panel, wherein the present invention adds a hole-equipped, electrical-routing
and
roof-supporting corner bracket and corresponding cover member running along
the
corner defined between the wall and ceiling.
Figure 2 is a perspective view from the interior space of a building
showing a corner bracket of the type of Figure 1 prior to the installation of
the cover
member and subsequent application of finishing materials to the wall and
ceiling.
Figure 3 is a partial perspective view of the corner bracket of Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a partial perspective view of the cover member of Figure 1.
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken in the same plane as Figure 1,
but showing a second embodiment bracket and cover combination for use at a
right
angle corner rather than the obtuse angle corner between the wall and sloped
roof of
Figure 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Figure 1 shows a cross-section of a single story building in which a
horizontal floor structure 10, vertical exterior wall structures (of which one
is shown
at 12) projecting upward from atop the floor structure around the perimeter
thereof,
and a pitched roof structure 14 mounted atop the wall structures to cover the
interior
space of the building are all constructed from multiple prefabricated
structural panels
of a same type. The floor panels 20x, wall panels 20y and ceiling panels 20z
each
have a middle layer of foam insulation 22x, 22y, 22z sandwiched between
thinner
inner and outer steel skins 24x, 24y, 24z, 26x, 26y, 26z. Each panel has a
corrugated shape at the interior face thereof to form a plurality of parallel,
linear
grooves (one of which is visible in each illustrated floor, wall and ceiling
panel at 28x,
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28y, 28z) running the lengthwise dimension of the panel, from one end thereof
to
another. In each structure, panels fastened together along their lengthwise
sides to
lie parallel one another in adjacent pairs. In the illustrated embodiment, the
vertical
groove 28y in the wall panel 20y aligns with both the horizontal groove 28x in
the
floor panel 20x and the inclined groove' 28z in the ceiling panel 20z, and
opens to to
these ceiling and floor grooves at the top and bottom ends of the wall
structure.
The structures of the preceding paragraph differ from those of
Applicant's aforementioned patent in that the ceiling panels define a peaked
roof of
the structure. The illustrated ceiling panel thus slopes upwardly from atop
the wall
panel over the interior space of the building toward a peak or the roof, and
it will be
appreciated that the ceiling panels at the opposing exterior wall of the
building
likewise slope upward to the peak from their respective side of the building.
To
accomplish this peaked roof structure, or other sloped roof configuration,
where the
interior ceiling and exterior roof are both defined by the same panels, the
top end of
each panel of the wall structure from which the corresponding ceiling panels
slope is
cut an oblique angle to be longer at the inner face of the wall panel than at
the outer
face thereof, whereby the inner side of the ceiling panel lies atop this
angled top end
of the wall structure.
The present invention employs an elongated bracket 40 formed of
sheet metal or metal plate to have a uniform cross-section in planes normal to
its
longitudinal axis Li . The bracket is bent to define a single corner running
in the
longitudinal direction of the bracket to define first and second diverging
legs 42, 44 in
the cross-sectional planes of the bracket. The bracket legs 42, 44 diverge
from the
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corner at an obtuse angle equal to the obtuse angle between the wall structure
12
and the ceiling structure 14 to enable flush seating of the first and second
bracket
legs 42, 44 against the inner skins 24y, 24z of the wall and ceiling at the
plateaued
ridges 30y, 30z defined between the grooves 28y, 28z at these inner faces of
the
wall and ceiling, where the legs of the brackets can be fastened to these
panels
using suitable screws. While this placement and fastening of the bracket is
similar to
that described in Applicant's aforementioned patent, where a right-angle
bracket is
similarly placed and fastened between a vertical wall and horizontal ceiling,
the
bracket of the present invention differs in the presence of multiple holes or
openings
46 passing through the first leg at spaced apart positions along the length of
the
bracket. The spacing apart of these holes along the bracket corresponds to the
uniform spacing between the grooves 28x in the wall structure 12, so that when
the
bracket 40 is placed against the wall and ceiling panels at the corner defined
therebetween at a position aligning one of the holes 46 over a respective one
of the
grooves 28x in the wall 12, each other hole 46 is likewise aligned with
another
respective one of the grooves.
Figure 2 shows two brackets 30 abutted end-to-end with their first and
second legs respectively placed against the wall and ceiling to extend the
longitudinal axes of the brackets along the horizontal corner defined
therebetween,
each hole 46 in each bracket 40 aligning with a respective one of the grooves
28x in
the wall 12 at a short distance below the junction between the wall and
ceiling.
Screw fasteners 48 driven through each leg of each bracket attach the bracket
to the
wall and ceiling panels 20y, 20z at the ridges 30y, 30z between adjacent
grooves
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28y, 28z of the panels. Fastened between the wall and ceiling panels at the
corner
therebetween, the bracket 40 thus serves to form at least part of a structural
connection supporting and securing the roof structure in place atop the wall
structure. However, the presence of the holes 46 adds a second level of
function to
the bracket of the present invention.
Referring again to Figure 1, an electrical outlet box 50 is fastened to
the wall panel 12y at a height above the floor with the width of the box 50
accommodated within the illustrated groove 28y of the wall panel 20y, and the
hole
46 in the bracket 40 provides a passage near the top end of the groove 28y for
the
electrical wiring 52 to transition into and out of the wall groove in the
wiring's
connection to the electrical outlet 50. Accordingly, the electrical wiring 52
can be
routed to various locations along the side of the building defined by the wall
structure
by running the wiring along the corner between the wall and ceiling, and then
transitioning into a wall groove at which an outlet or other electrical
component (e.g.
wall-mounted light fixture, light switch, other control switch, thermostat,
alarm
console, etc.) is desired by passing the wiring through the respective hole 46
in the
bracket.
To protect and conceal the portion of the wiring running along the
corner between the wall and ceiling, a cover member 60 configured for
cooperation
with the bracket 40 is provided. Like the bracket 40, the cover is an
elongated piece
of sheet metal or metal plate having a bent, uniform cross-section in planes
normal
to its longitudinal axis L2. However, the cover has a more complex cross-
sectional
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shape, featuring a number of bends or corners therein, each lying parallel to
the
longitudinal axis L2.
Opposite ends of the cross-sectional cover shape are defined by first
and second linear legs 62, 64 oriented at the same relative angles to one
another as
5 the first and second legs 42, 44 of the bracket 40. Accordingly, flat
faces defined by
these two.end legs 42, 44 of the bracket are positioned and oriented relative
to one
another for placement against the flat faces of the first and second legs 42,
44 of the
bracket 30 from the inner side thereof (i.e. against the side of the bracket
facing into
the interior space of the building and away from the wall and ceiling
structures). A
10 central channel portion 66 of the cover 60 features first and second
sides 68, 70 that
respectively project perpendicularly from the first and second end legs 62, 64
of the
cover 60 to the sides of these legs opposite the faces thereof that are to be
placed
against the bracket 40. The channel portion 66 of the first embodiment cover
is
completed by a central span 72 connecting the first and second sides 68 at the
ends
thereof opposite the send legs 62, 64 of the cover member.
As shown in Figure 1, when the cover member 60 is placed against the
inner side of the bracket 40 with the end legs 62, 64 of the cover member 60
flush
against the bracket legs 40, 42, the sides and central span of the channel
portion 66
cooperate with the bracket 40 to formed an enclosed channel 80 running
horizontally
along the corner defined between the wall and ceiling structure. The
electrical wiring
52 thus transitions between this enclosed channel 80 and the groove 28y of the
wall
panel through the hole 46 in the bracket. The cover 60 conceals and protects
the
electrical wiring where it runs along the joint between the wall and ceiling.
The legs
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of the bracket 30 extend past the ends of the cover 60 so that the screws 48
used to
fix the bracket in place can be driven through the legs far enough out so as
not to
later interfere with flush seating of the cover on the bracket. During
installation,
when the cover is in place, additional screws (not shown) are driven through
the end
As also shown in Figure 1, after installation of the bracket, routing of
wiring in the panel grooves through the bracket holes, and installation of the
cover to
enclose the wiring along the bracket during installation of the electrical
components,
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corner between the floor and wall structures to allow an in-floor heating
element or
conduit 92 to transition from one floor groove 28x to another over the
ridge(s)
between these grooves, with a baseboard member 94 then spanning over the gap
from the drywall to the flooring to close off this space and conceal the in-
floor
heating element or conduit.
On the ceiling, the drywall sheets 82z nearest the respective wall
structure have their outer ends (i.e. the edge of the drywall nearest said
wall and
running therealong) situated adjacent the adjacent the second side 70 of the
channel
portion 66 of the cover 60. The distance by which each side of the channel
projects
from its respective end leg of the cover equals, or at least closely matches,
the
thickness of the drywall. Each side of the channel portion thus defines a
ledge that
faces away from the channel 80 for placement of the edge of the respective
drywall
sheet adjacent or against this ledge face with the outer face of the drywall
situated
against the respective leg of the cover's channel portion, which acts to
situate the
inner face of the drywall in a position flush with the corner defined between
the
channel portion's respective side and central span. This way, a smooth seam
can
be created using conventional drywall taping and mudding techniques to
transition
from each drywall sheet to the central span of the cover member. The cover
member thus enables running of electrical wiring along the juncture between
the wall
and ceiling in a concealed and protected manner outside the wall, while still
providing a neat and pleasant finished appearance at this corner of the room.
It will be appreciated that the bracket and cover members may take on
other shapes to suit particular applications. For example, Figure 5 shows an
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alternate embodiment bracket 40' and cover 60' where the legs 42', 44' of the
bracket 40' are oriented at rights angles to one another, as are the and the
end legs
62', 64' of the cover 60', for example for use between a vertical wall and
horizontal
ceiling, whether a lower level ceiling of a multi-story building, or an
interior ceiling
over which a separate roof structure is mounted. This embodiment thus features
only two right angle sides 68', 70' at the cover's channel portion 66', each
of which
equals or closely matches the drywall thickness in order to enable the two
drywall
sheets to nearly meet at the inner corners of their end edges for taping 96 of
the
drywall sheets directly together over the corner interior corner of the
resulting
rectangular channel 80'.
As shown in broken lines in Figure 1, electrical wiring may additionally
be routed into a groove 28z of the ceiling structure, for example to run to a
ceiling-
mounted lighting fixture, fan, or other ceiling or roof-mounted fixture or
equipment
requiring electrical power. Where the ceiling fixture and wall mounted
component
are located at aligned wall and ceiling grooves 28y, 28z, wiring may
transition
between wall and ceiling through an opening where these grooves meet, as shown
in Figure 1. As also shown in broken lines in the same figure, electrical
wiring may
likewise transition between a wall groove and respective floor groove. In
other
situations, electrical wiring may transition from a wall groove into the
corner channel
defined by the bracket and cover, where it runs along the wall/ceiling joint
before
transitioning to a ceiling groove via a respective hole in the second leg of
the
bracket, such a hole 46a being shown in broken lines in Figure 2. Broken lines
46b
in Figure 2 also illustrate how holes may be present at adjacent grooves in a
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structure, or with reference only to the solid-line hole 26, the number of
holes may
be less than the number of grooves spanned by the bracket, thus providing
access
at only particular grooves in the structure.
It will be appreciated that a cover of the present invention may be
employed to similarly mount on surfaces at interior sides of wall and ceiling
structures to likewise define a channel that is closed to the interior space
of the room
in contexts where a bracket of the present invention is not necessarily
employed,
even where one or both of the wall and ceiling are not grooved, or not formed
of
prefabricated panels at all. Although described as metal components, it will
be
appreciated that other materials may be employed for the bracket or cover.
Where
the bracket is being relied upon not only for wire-routing functionality, but
structural
support of the roof or ceiling structure, care should be taken to use material
off
sufficient strength and integrity.
Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein
above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made
within the spirit and scope of the claims without department from such spirit
and
scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying
specification shall
be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.
