Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE: SLOTTED TRACK
FIELD OF TAE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a slotted track for
=
metal stud walls which allows for movement of the studs
as they expand and contract owing to environmental
conditions. = In particular, the present invention relates
to a slotted track metal stud wall having a slot of 0.2'
or less, just slightly larger than the diameter of a
shank of a fastening means utilized to attach the studs
to the track to reduce deformation of the slots of the
track under load.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Metal stud walls are commonly used particularly in
commercial, institutional and industrial construction
including in multi-level buildings because of their fire-
resistance and non-warping characteristics, Such stud
walls generally have a bottam and top track attached to
the floor and ceiling, respectively and a plurality of
spaced apart studs extending vertically between the
tracks. In a typical installation, the studs are spaced
= 16 or 24" apart to accommodate the 4' widths of wall
covering materials such as drywall or other sheet
= material. In multi-level buildings such as apartment
buildings or office buildings it is common to install
= fire-resistance rated non-load bearing light weight steel
= 30 framed walls. It is also common to provide the walls
with a joint capable of allowing vertical movement of the
studs which may be caused by thermal, seismic, wind
loading or any other load. One common method of
providing for a joint capable of vertical movement
=
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utilizes a slotted top track for the wall, the web Of the
track being attached to the ceiling and the flanges of
the track being provided with slots typically ;4" wide by
1 '.long spaced every 1" along the length of the track.
The studs are generally cut to a length less than the
full height typically to provide about a 5/8" deflection
gap between the to of the stud and the web of the top =
= track. The stud is attached to the top track by means of
'wafer head framing.screws inserted through the slot and
.10 into the flange of the stud. The screws are typically.
installed at the midpoint height of the slot: This
typically allows for a total vertical movement of the
stud of about 1". .
=
While the prior art installation allow for movement of
the vertical stud, the sizing of, the slot relative to the =
shank diameter and head diameter of the fastening screws
= can allow for deformation at the point of attachment to
the slot and allow for failure of the connection on
extreme loading conditions. It would thus be desired to
provide for a connection between the slotted track and
= stud which increases the contact between the fastener and
the slotted track to. reduce the possibility of failure of
the connection under extreme load conditions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION =
A slotted track for use as a top track in metal stud
framed walls, which allow for movement of the studs as
= they expand and contract .owing to environmental
conditions, the slotted track having a web and flanges
extending perpendicularly along opposite edges of the
web, the flanges being provided with slots at regular
intervals along the length of the flanges to accept
shanks of fastening means to attach the slotted track to
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the studs, the slots haVing a width of 0.2" or less to
increase the area of contact between a head of the
fastening means and the material of the flange either
side of the slot to increase the resistance of the flange
to deformation under extreme load conditions.
A slotted track according to claim 1 wherein the width of
the slots is 0.195 inches.
A slotted track according to claim 2 wherein the flanges
= have a height of 2 le and the slots have a height of 1
,
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS .
Preferred embodiments of the slotted track of the present
invention are illustrated in the attached drawings in
which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the slotted track in
the process of installing a stud in the track;
. . Figure 2 is a perspective view of the .joint between the
slotted track and the stud;
= 25
Figure 3 is an end view in cross-section of the
connection between the slotted track and the stud; and
= .Figure 4 is a top view in cross-section of the connection
between the 'slott'ed track and the stud.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
=
A preferred enibodiment of the slotted track of the
present invention is illustrated in the drawings
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generally indicated by the numeral 10. The slotted track
which is for use as a top track in metal stud walls has a
web 12 and flanges 14'extending downwardly from either
side of the web. Generally the webs are 2 1/2, 35/8, 4,
6 or 8" wide and the flanges are typically 2 ;1". in
= height. The flanges 14 are provided with slots generally
at 1" intervals along the length thereof. The vertical
slots are 0.2' or less in width and generally about.1
long.
= As illustrated in particular in the figures,, the wall is
generally constructed by attaching the top slotted track
10 to the ceiling and a bottom.track (not.shown) to the
floor and .studs 18 are installed at regular intervals
along the tracks typically 16 or 24" on center. Studs 18
are the typical metal stud construction of a U-shape
having a web 20 and opposing flanges 22 extending
perpendicularly along either side of the web. The other
edge of the flange is typically provided with an inwardly
turned edge 24 both for strength and to provide a
finished edge to the stud. Typical studs zre 2 3 5/8,
4, 6 or 8" in width and typically 1 1.5" in depth. The
height of the stud is selected to provide for about a
= 5/8" gap between the top of the stud and the inner web of
= the slotted track to allow tor the vertical movement of =
the stud 18 caused by thermal, seismic, wind or any other
load. The Stud is connected to the slotted track by
means of wafer head self-tapping fastening screws being
installed at about the mid-point of the height of the
slot in the slotted track. As illustrated in particular
.in Figure 4, the provision Of the slots having a width of
0.2" or less increases the surface area of the contact
between the head of the wafer head screw and the flange
of the track at the edges of the slots thereby increasing
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the resistance to deformation under extreme thermal, =
seismic, or wind loading conditions thus reducing the
likelihood of failure of the wall under such conditions.
Although various preferred embodiments of the present
invention have been described herein in detail, it would
= be appreciated by those skilled in the art that
variations may be made thereto without departing from the
spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended
claims.
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