SELF-ADJUSTING METAL WRAP FOR WOODEN POSTS
A wrap for protecting a terminal end of a wooden post. The wrap comprises a plurality of plates that are secured around the wooden posts using a plurality of angled corner pieces. The plates are free floating with respect to the corner pieces such that the wrap self adjusts when the post dimensions decrease in size due to natural shrinkage of the wood. The components of the wrap may be made from metal. The wrap protects the post from damage due to incidental collisions.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/058,082 filed on Mar. 1, 2016, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/128,935 filed on Mar. 5, 2015, which applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety herein.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENTNot Applicable.
BACKGROUND1. The Field of the Present Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to structures, and more particularly, but not necessarily entirely, to timber frame structures.
2. Description of Related Art
Modern timber frame structures provide structural soundness as well an aesthetically pleasing look. Timber framing can be utilized for both interior framing of residential and commercial buildings and for outdoor-frame structures. More recently, there has been a resurgence in the popularity of outdoor timber frame structures constructed from heavy timbers, including pergolas, pavilions and patio covers. In its most basic form, an outdoor timber frame structure comprises one or more vertical support posts. Horizontal support beams may extend between pairs of the vertical support posts. The horizontal support beams may in turn support a desired roof or covering for providing shade and weather protection. Often times, these outdoor timber frame structures are sold as unassembled kits. These kits include pre-manufactured timber components that may be assembled onsite to form the structure. Timber frame kits have the advantage that they may be assembled easily and quickly without the need of professional help or heavy equipment in most cases.
After installation, the timber posts utilized in the structures may be damaged through incidental collisions with objects. For example, a user may accidentally ram the side of a post with a lawn mower causing damage to the finish of the post and perhaps even causing a gouge in the post. It would therefore be an improvement to the prior art to provide an aesthetically pleasing protective barrier for posts utilized in timber frame structures.
The prior art is thus characterized by several disadvantages that are addressed by the present disclosure. The present disclosure minimizes, and in some aspects eliminates, the above-mentioned failures, and other problems, by utilizing the methods and structural features described herein.
The features and advantages of the present disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the present disclosure without undue experimentation. The features and advantages of the present disclosure may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
The features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent from a consideration of the subsequent detailed description presented in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles in accordance with the disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, and any additional applications of the principles of the disclosure as illustrated herein, which would normally occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the disclosure claimed.
In describing and claiming the present disclosure, the following terminology will be used in accordance with the definitions set out below. As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. As used herein, the terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” “containing,” “characterized by,” and grammatical equivalents thereof are inclusive or open-ended terms that do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps. As used herein, the term “post” refers to an elongated piece of wood cut from a tree that is used as a wooden support either in the horizontal or vertical direction. A post may be formed of timber or dimensional lumber.
It is an objective of the present disclosure to provide a protective metal wrap for a timber post according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
It is further an objective of the present disclosure to provide a protective metal wrap for a timber frame post that self-adjusts in response to natural shrinkage of the timber post.
It is further an objective of the present disclosure to provide a protective metal wrap with free-floating plates to allow the wrap to self adjust over the life of the timber post.
It is further an objective of the present disclosure to provide a self-adjusting wrap for a wooden post that adjusts to the natural shrinkage of the wood.
It is further an objective of the present disclosure to provide a self-adjusting wrap for a wooden post that comprises a plurality of plates and corner pieces, wherein the plurality of plates are free floating with respect to the corner pieces in at least one direction so that the wrap is able to adjust to the natural shrinkage of the wood.
Referring now to
In an embodiment, the wrap 100 comprises an outer surface 114 and an inner surface 116. The inner surface 116 is configured and adapted to abuttingly engage the outer side walls of a wooden post as will be described in more detail hereinafter. The outer surface 114 of the wrap 100 is the exposed or visible side of the wrap 100. The wrap 100 further comprises a plurality of bores 118 that extend between the outer surface 114 and the inner surface 116. Each of the bores 118 is configured and adapted to receive a fastener 120. Each of the sides 102-108 may have four bores 118. In an embodiment, the fastener 120 is one of a screw, nail, lag bolt, spike, and pin that is able to secure the wrap 100 onto a wooden post.
Referring now to
The wrap 100 further comprises a plurality of corner pieces 154. In an embodiment, the wrap 100 comprises eight (8) corner pieces, but it will be appreciated that the wrap 100 may include any number of corner pieces or none at all. In an embodiment, each corner piece 154 includes a 90-degree bend between a first portion 156 and a second portion 158. Formed in the first portion 156 of the corner pieces 154 is a bore 160. Formed in the second portion 158 of each of the corner pieces 154 is another bore 160. In an embodiment, the bores are elongated or slotted in a horizontal direction.
In an embodiment, the wrap 100 further comprises a pair of reinforcement strips 162 attached to each of the outer surfaces of each of the plates 150. In an embodiment, the strips 162 are attached by welding. It will be appreciated that the strips 162 may be attached by fasteners or in another manner known to those having ordinary skill in the art.
Referring now to
Referring now to
It will be appreciated that due to the elongate or slotted configuration of the bores 152 in the plates 150 as shown in
Referring now to
The wrap 300 may include four plates 320, 322, 324, and 326 and four corner pieces 328, 330, 332, and 334. Referring now to plate 320, with the understanding that plates 322-326 are similarly configured, the plate 320 includes four elongated bores 340 arranged in a rectangular pattern. Referring now to corner piece 328, with the understanding the other corner pieces 330-334 are similarly configured, corner piece 328 may include a first portion 328A and a second portion 328B that intersect at a corner 329 and at an angle. In an embodiment, the angle is about 90 degrees. The first portion 328A may include a top bore 342 and a bottom bore 344. The second portion 328B may also include a top bore 346 and a bottom bore 348. Each of the bores 342 and 344 of the first portion 328A is configured to align with one of the elongated bores 340 on the plate 320. Each of the bores 346 and 348 of the second portion 328B is configured to align with one of the elongated bores 340 on the plate 326. Fasteners may be utilized to secure the corner piece 328 and the plates 320 and 326 to a post 345 as shown in
Referring now to
Each of the locking plates 406 and the base member 402 may include a center bore 410 configured and adapted to receive a post 412 as perhaps best shown in
Referring now to
Referring now to
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of installing a protective wrap onto a wooden post having a plurality of sides, said method comprises (i) positioning a first plate onto a first side of the post; (ii) positioning a second plate onto a second side of the post, wherein the first side and the second side are adjacent to each other on the post; (iii) installing a corner piece onto the post, said corner piece overlapping both the first plate and the second plate; (iv) installing a first fastener through a first bore in the corner piece and a first bore in the first plate; and (v) installing a second fastener through a second bore in the corner piece and a second bore in the second plate; (vi) wherein the first bore in the first plate and the second bore in the second plate are elongated such that the first plate and the second plate are free floating with respect to the corner piece in one direction.
In the foregoing Detailed Description, various features of the present disclosure are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed disclosure requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description of the Disclosure by this reference, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of the present disclosure.
It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the present disclosure. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims are intended to cover such modifications and arrangements. Thus, while the present disclosure has been shown in the drawings and described above with particularity and detail, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications, including, but not limited to, variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use may be made without departing from the principles and concepts set forth herein.
Claims
1. An apparatus for protecting a terminal end of a wooden post, said apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of plates, each of the plates having an inner post engaging surface and an outer surface, each of the plates further having a first bore and a second bore;
- a plurality of corner pieces, each of the corner pieces having a first portion and a second portion defining an angle therebetween; and
- the first and second portions of each of the corner pieces having a bore;
- wherein the bore in the first portion of each corner piece is configured and adapted to come into alignment with the first bore of a plate;
- wherein the bore in the second portion of each corner piece is configured and adapted to come into alignment with the second bore of a plate.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first bore and the second bore in each of the plurality of plates is elongated.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of plates comprises four (4) plates.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of corner pieces comprises at least four (4) corner pieces.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of corner pieces comprises eight (8) corner pieces.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of fasteners for securing the plates and corner pieces to the post.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one reinforcing strip secured to a face of each of the plates.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plates and corner pieces are formed of metal.
9. A wooden structure comprising:
- a post having four sides and four corners;
- a protective wrap installed onto said post, the protective wrap comprising four plates and a plurality of corner pieces;
- wherein each side of the post has one of the plates installed thereon;
- wherein each corner of the post has one of the plurality of corner pieces installed thereon such that the plates are positioned between the post and the corner pieces; and
- a plurality of fasteners for securing the corner pieces to the post;
- wherein each of the plates is free floating with respect to the corner pieces in a first direction.
10. The wooden structure of claim 9, wherein the post is one of a timber post and dimensional lumber.
11. The wooden structure of claim 9, wherein the plates are constrained from moving with respect to the corner pieces in a second direction.
12. The wooden structure of claim 11, wherein the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other.
13. The wooden structure of claim 9, wherein the plates have a plurality of elongated bores formed therein, wherein said fasteners extend through said elongated bores and into the post.
14. The wooden structure of claim 9, wherein at least one of the plates comprises a decorative cutout.
15. The wooden structure of claim 9, wherein at least one of the plates comprises a reinforcing strip.
16. The wooden structure of claim 9, wherein the corner pieces and the plates are discrete components.
17. The wooden structure of claim 9, wherein the protective wrap is formed of metal.
18. A method of installing a protective wrap onto a wooden post having a plurality of sides, said method comprising:
- positioning a first plate onto a first side of the post;
- positioning a second plate onto a second side of the post, wherein the first side and the second side are adjacent to each other on the post;
- installing a corner piece onto the post, said corner piece overlapping both the first plate and the second plate;
- installing a first fastener through a first bore in the corner piece and a first bore in the first plate; and
- installing a second fastener through a second bore in the corner piece and a second bore in the second plate;
- wherein the first bore in the first plate and the second bore in the second plate are elongated such that the first plate and the second plate are free floating with respect to the corner piece in one direction.
19. The method of claim 18, further comprising installing a third and fourth plates onto a third and fourth sides, respectively, of the post.
20. The method of claim 19, further comprising installing additional corner pieces onto the post to secure the third and fourth plates onto the post.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 16, 2016
Publication Date: Nov 3, 2016
Inventors: Bradley Jay Lavery (Eagle Mountain, UT), Joseph Hyrum Thompson (Eagle Mountain, UT)
Application Number: 15/184,967