Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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WOOD FASTENER
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] 'Ibis application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Application Serial
No.
13/409,645, filed March 1, 2012, currently pending, which is a continuation-in-
part of
U.S. Application Serial No. 13/036,465, filed on February 28, 2011, abandoned,
which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No.
61/309,665, filed
March 2, 2010, which has expired.
FIELD OF ITIE INVENTION
[0002] The present technology relates to fasteners and methods of installing
fasteners,
and particularly fasteners that can be used to secure metal panels to wood
building
structures.
BACKGROUND
[0003] In the construction industry, post frame metal building materials are
attached
to the wooden frame structure with various types of wood fasteners. However,
cuiTent wood fastener thread designs have a tendency to back-out over time,
thus
weakening the connection and the building's structural integrity.
Additionally, known
fasteners can have a tendency to break during installation due to high drive
torques in
certain high density materials, as well as having a tendency to strip-out in
certain low
density materials.
[0004]
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] Specific examples have been chosen for purposes of illustration and
description, and are shown in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the
specification.
[0006] Figure 1 is a side elevational view of one example of a fastener of the
present
technology.
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[0007] Figure 1A is a detail view of the area A of Figure 1.
[0008] Figure 2 is a perspective view of a second example of a fastener of the
present
technology, having a sealing washer assembled therewith.
[0009] Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the fastener of Figure 2, having
a sealing
washer assembled therewith.
[0010] Figure 4 is a side elevational view of a third example of a fastener of
the
present technology.
[0011] Figure 5 a side elevational view of a fourth example of a fastener of
the
present technology.
[0012] Figure 5A is a detail view of the area A of Figure 5.
[0013] FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating one example of a method of using a
fastener
of the present technology.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] Fasteners of the present technology can be used in any suitable
application,
but are most particularly suited to construction applications in which metal
building
materials are secured to wood frame structures. Some embodiments of the
fasteners
of the present technology can also be used for metal-to-metal "stitching"
applications.
[0015] Figures 1-5A illustrate examples of fasteners of the present
technology. The
same reference numbers have been used for aspects that are the same in each of
the
illustrated examples. Fasteners of the present technology can be made of any
suitable
material, including for example carbon steel. Additionally, the fasteners of
the
present technology can have a coating, such as a coating to improve the
weather
resistance properties of the fastener. A fastener of the present technology
can have
any suitable length, including but not limited to 1 inch, 1.5 inches, 2
inches, 2.5
inches, or 3 inches.
[0016] As illustrated in Figures 1-5, the fastener 100 has a body 102 that
includes a
tip end 104 and a head end 106. The fastener 100 has a point 108 at the tip
end 104 of
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the body, and a head 110 at the head end 106 of the body. The fastener 100
also has a
first body portion 112 that is adjacent to the tip end 104 and includes first
threads 114,
and a second body portion 116 that is adjacent to the head end 106 and
includes
second threads 118. The head of the fastener 100 can be any suitable style.
The tip
end 104 of the fastener 100 can include one or more partially formed threads
126.
The point 108 of the fastener 100 can include a sharp, self-tapping point. In
the
illustrated example, the fastener 100 has a type-17 point, which can allow for
desired
penetration in lapped metal conditions. As illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, a
sealing
washer 132 can he included with, or assembled to a fastener 100. The sealing
washer
132 can be any suitable material, such as rubber, and may be placed on the
fastener
100 adjacent to and abutting the head 106.
[0017] The first body portion of the fastener 100 is adjacent to the tip end
104 of the
fastener 100 and extends a first distance DI along the length of the fastener
100
towards the head end 106. The first body portion 112 includes first threads
114,
which as illustrated can be right-hand threads. The first threads 114 can be
single or
multi-lead threads, such as double or triple lead threads. The first threads
114 have a
first diameter, which can be any suitable diameter, and number of threads per
inch of
length along the body of the fastener. For example, the first threads 114 of
the
embodiment illustrated in Figure 1 are #10-14 double lead threads 140, having
a #10
diameter, which is a major diameter of about 0.19 inches plus or minus normal
ANSI
tolerances, and about 14 threads per inch. As another example, the first
threads of the
embedment illustrated in Figure 5 are #10-15 buttress triple lead threads 142,
having a
#10 diameter, which is a major diameter of about 0.19 inches plus or minus
normal
ANSI tolerances, and about 15 threads per inch.
[0018] In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 5, the #10-15 triple lead
threads 142
can be formed by three #10-5 threads intertwined with each other, and there
can be an
offset of 0,066 inches between each. When such a structure is used, the
resultant
forward travel per revolution is about 0.2 inches during installation of the
fastener.
[0019] As illustrated in the detail call-out of Figure 1A, the first threads
114 have a
first pitch A, which is the linear distance between the crest of one thread
and the crest
of the next thread. First threads 114 also have a pitch angle a that is less
than
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standard threads having a 60 pitch angle. In some examples, the first threads
114 of
the fastener 100 can have a pitch angle a that is from 20 to about 50 . As
illustrated
in Figure 5A, the pitch angle a is equal to 45 .
The pitch angle a of the first threads 114 can have a 0 to 10 / 20 to 40
geometric
configuration. In such an example, each thread has a first internal angle 13
on the tip
side 120 of the thread, which faces towards the tip 108 of the fastener 100,
and a
second internal angle 7 on the head side 122 of the thread, which faces the
head end
110 of the fastener 100. For example, the tip side 120 and the head side 122
of each
thread slope towards each other from the base of the thread and meet at a
point 124
that is a certain height from the body 102 of the fastener 100. When a
vertical
reference line B is drawn to the body of the fastener from the point 124, the
tip side
120 of the thread slopes away from the vertical reference line at the first
internal angle
13, which can be from about 20 to about 40 . In such an example, the head
side 122
of the thread slopes away from the vertical reference line at the second
internal angle
7, which can be from about 0 to about 10 . In one example, the thread pitch
angle a
can be about 30', with the first internal angle 13 of the tip side 120 being
about 20 ,
and the second internal angle of the head side 122 being about 10'. In the
example
illustrated in Figures 5 and 5A, the thread pitch angle a can be about 45 ,
with the
first internal angle 13 of the tip side 120 being about 40 , and the second
internal angle
7 of the head side 122 being about 5 . In at least some examples, the
geometric
configuration of the threads can improve the fastener's resistance to backing
out over
time after installation.
[0020] In some examples, one or more of the first fully formed first threads
114 on
the first body portion 112, which are the threads closest to the tip end 104
of the
fastener, can include serrations 128. In at least one example, at least one of
the first
three fully formed first threads 114 on the first body portion 112, which are
the
threads closest to the tip end 104 of the fastener, can include serrations
128. For
example, one, two, or all three of the first fully formed first threads 114
can include
serrations 128. In the examples illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the first two
fully
formed threads include serrations 128. In the example illustrated in Figure 2,
the
serrations 128 can be teeth 130. Such teeth can be rectangular, as illustrated
in Figure
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2, or can have any other suitable shape, such as being triangular. In at least
some
examples, serrations 128 can reduce the drive torque needed to install the
faster 100,
and facilitate installation of the fastener 100 through knots and hardwood.
Additionally, it is common that when a fastener pierces metal siding, a bur of
metal
can he created, which is sometimes called a pig-tail. The inclusion of
serrations 128
can result in the bur being removed then the serrated threads contact the bur
as the
fastener 100 is being installed.
[0021] The second body portion 116 of the fastener 100 is adjacent to the
first body
portion 112 of the fastener 100 and extends a second distance D2 along the
length of
the fastener 100 towards the head end 106. In preferred examples, the length
of the
second body portion can be less than the length of the first body portion. For
example, with reference Figure 1, the second distance D2 of the second body
portion
116 can be less than the first distance D1 of the first body portion. In some
examples,
such as when the total length of the fastener 100 is about 3 inches or less,
the length
of the second body portion, which is equal to the second distance D2 of the
second
body portion, can be less than or equal to about one quarter of an inch (0.6
cm).
[0022] The second body portion 116 includes second threads 118 having a second
pitch B, the second pitch B being different than the first pitch A of the
first threads
114. The second threads 118 of the second body portion can be left-hand
threads or
right-hand threads. The second threads 118 can be single or multi-lead
threads. The
second threads 118 can have any suitable diameter and number of threads per
inch of
length along the body of the fastener. The second body portion 116 of the
fastener
100 can include any number of second threads 118, including, for example, from
about 1 thread to about 5 threads, or preferably from about 2 threads to about
4
threads. The second threads 118 have a second diameter, which can be any
suitable
diameter, including for example having the same diameter as the first threads
114, or
being oversized, meaning that the second threads 118 can have a diameter that
is
greater than the first diameter of the first threads 114.
[0023] As illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the second threads 118 are left-hand
threads
134, and can be #10-12 threads, having a #10 diameter, which is a major
diameter of
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about 0.19 inches plus or minus normal ANSI tolerances, and about 12 threads
per
inch.
[0024] As illustrated in Figure 4, the second threads 118 are right-hand
threads 136,
and the pitch B of the second threads 118 is less than the pitch A of the
first threads
114. In other examples, the pitch B of the second threads 118 could be greater
than
the pitch A of the first threads.
[0025] As illustrated in Figure 5, the second threads 118 are right-hand
threads 138.
The right-hand threads 138 can be #12-14 reverse buttress single lead threads,
having
a #12 diameter, which is a major diameter of about 0.212 inches plus or minus
normal
ANSI tolerances, and about 14 threads per inch. In this example, the second
threads
118 have a larger diameter than the first threads 114, since the fight-hand
threads 138
making up second threads 118 have a #12 diameter, while the triple lead
threads 142
making up the first threads 114 have a #10 diameter.
[0026] In at least some examples when a fastener of the present technology is
being
installed through metal siding, the second threads 118 can result in the bur
being
removed that is commonly created when the fastener pierces the metal siding.
Additionally, the second threads 118 can invert the edge of the metal around
the
insertion hole of the fastener 100, which can create a smooth surface and may
prevent
the metal siding from cutting and damaging the rubber sealing washer 132.
Further,
while first threads 114 tend to back-out over time due to expansion and
contraction of
the building materials and the fastener when subjected to varying weather
conditions,
the second threads 118 can tend to apply force in opposite direction,
resisting back-
out.
[0027] In at least one application, fasteners of the present technology can be
used to
secure metal panels to wood building structures. One method of installing a
fastener
100 of the present technology can include steps of inserting the fastener
through a
metal panel and into a wood structural element. A sealing washer 132 can be
assembled to the fastener 100 prior to inserting the fastener 100 through the
metal
panel and into the wood structural element. As illustrated in Figure 6, when
installing
a fastener 100 of the present technology, the method 600 of installing the
fastener 100
can include, at step 602, the fastener 100 creating a bur, or pigtail, of
metal that is
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attached to the metal panel as the tip 108 of the fastener penetrates the
metal panel, as
also typically occurs with conventional fasteners. At step 604, as also tends
to be
observed with conventional fasteners, the step of inserting the fastener 100
can
include the first threads 114 of the fastener causing an area of the metal
panel
immediately surrounding the fastener 100 to pull away from the wood structural
element, as the first threads 114 of the first body portion 102 of the
fastener 100 pass
through the metal panel. In methods of installing conventional fasteners,
creating a
bur of metal and causing the area of the metal panel immediately surrounding
the
fastener to pull away from the wood structural element can each tend to cause
damage
to the sealing washer.
[0028] However, in methods of installing fasteners of the present technology,
such
damage to the washer may be reduced or prevented. For example, the method 600
of
installing a fastener 100 can also include, at step 606, the fastener 100
removing the
bur of metal as it passes through the metal panel. Removing the bur of metal
can
include contacting the bur of metal with the second threads 118 on the second
body
portion of the fastener, and one or more of the second threads detaching the
bur of
metal as the second threads 118 pass through the metal panel. For example, in
the
embodiment illustrated in Figure 5, as the second threads 118, which are right-
hand
threads 138, pass through the metal panel, they can completely remove the
metal bur
by inverting it to the underside of the metal panel. In some such examples,
the first
threads 114 can be double or triple lead threads, and the second threads 118
can be
single lead threads, which may cause the second threads 118 to be pulled
through the
metal faster and thus detach the bur. Alternatively, where the fastener
includes one or
more first threads 114 having serrations 128, removing the bur of metal can
include
contacting the bur of metal with the serrations 128 on the one or more first
threads
114, and one or more of the serrations 128 detaching the bur of metal as the
one or
more first threads 114 having serrations 128 pass through the metal panel.
[0029] Additionally, in practice, the metal panel can stop pulling away from
the wood
structural element at the junction of the first and second threads. Once the
second
threads 118 make contact with the metal panel, the second threads 118 can push
the
metal panel toward the wood structural element prior to the fastener being
fully
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inserted, at which point the area of the metal panel would be in contact with
the head
110 of the fastener 100, or with the sealing washer 132 that can be adjacent
to and
abutting the head 110 of the fastener 100. Accordingly, step 608 of inserting
a
fastener 100 can include pushing the area of the metal panel, which had been
caused
to pull away from the wood structural element, towards the wood structural
element,
and step 610 can include contacting the wood structural element with the area
of the
metal panel prior to the area of the metal panel being contacted with the head
of the
fastener or the sealing washer adjacent to the head of the fastener. This may
enable
the fastener installer to know that the metal panel has made contact with the
wood
structural element prior to the fastener being completely installed. In such
instances,
the fastener installer can then apply an appropriate final seating torque to
the fastener,
thus properly compressing the sealing washer, and preventing the fastener and
sealing
washer from being over-torqued, which may damage the sealing washer and result
in
leaks.
[0030] From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that although specific
examples
have been described herein for purposes of illustration, various modifications
may be
made without deviating from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. It is
therefore
intended that the foregoing detailed description be regarded as illustrative
rather than
limiting, and that it be understood that it is the following claims, including
all
equivalents, that are intended to particularly point out and distinctly claim
the claimed
subject matter.
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