Buckling and shearing opposing reinforcement bracket for wooden I-joist

Abstract

A reinforcement bracket is provided for buckling and shearing opposing support of a wooden I-joist. The reinforcement bracket may have two substantially parallel bridging structures combined by a spacing structure while providing a central contour recess. In the case where a hole is cut into a wooden I-joist in size and/or at a location exceeding the I-joist's safety standards, the reinforcement bracket may be laterally attached to the I-joist such that both bridging structures flank the cut hole while the cut hole remains accessible due to the central contour recess. The central recess contour provides thereby for a simple attachment at a construction site irrespective an eventual pipe or the like protruding through the cut hole. The reinforcement bracket is preferably monolithically fabricated from sheet metal and scaled in conjunction with dimensional standards of commercially available wooden I-joists.

1 . A reinforcement bracket for reinforcing a wooden I-joist against shear failure, said reinforcement bracket comprising a bridging structure angularly combined with a spacing structure via a stiffening interface of said spacing structure, wherein: 
 a. said bridging structure features a bridging height, a bridging width, and an attachment face with attachment holes, said bridging structure having a buckling opposing configuration in direction along said bridging height;    b. said spacing structure has a spacing height and a spacing width, said spacing height being a fraction of said bridging height and said spacing width being a multiple of said bridging width; and    c. wherein said stiffening interface includes a transition radius between a first width contour of said spacing structure and an adjacent height contour of said bridging structure, said transition radius being at least about half of said bridging height.    
   
   
       2 . The reinforcement bracket of  claim 1 , wherein said stiffening interface includes a curved rib island in an approximately concentric offset to said transition radius.  
   
   
       3 . The reinforcement bracket of  claim 1 , wherein two of said bridging structure being said angularly combined oppositely said spacing structure such that said spacing structure extends with its spacing width between said adjacent height contours of said two bridging structures and such that a contour recess is defined between two of said adjacent height contours, said first spacing width contour and two of said transition radius.  
   
   
       4 . The reinforcement bracket of  claim 3 , wherein: 
 a. said bridging height is about 6.4 inches;    b. an overall width is about 15.1 inches, said overall width including twice said bridging width of about 3.6 inches and including said spacing width of about 7.9 inches;    c. said transition radius is about 3.3 inches;    d. a clearance distance of said contour recess equals said spacing width and a contour recess height is about 4.7 inches; and    e. said reinforcement bracket is attached to a wooden I-joist with fasteners via said attachment holes, said wooden I-joist having an I-joist height of down to about 9.5 inches    
   
   
       5 . The reinforcement bracket of  claim 4 , wherein said wooden I-joist has a web hole with a modified boundary circle of up to about 6 inches in a bearing distance of down to about 1 foot 6 inches, and wherein said reinforcement bracket is attached to said I-joist with said two bridging structures flanking said web hole.  
   
   
       6 . The reinforcement bracket of  claim 2 , wherein: 
 a. said bridging height is about 8.8 inches;    b. an overall width is about 17.6 inches, said overall width including twice said bridging width of about 3.6 inches and including said spacing width of about 10.4 inches;    c. said transition radius is about 4.5 inches;    d. a clearance distance of said contour recess equals said spacing width and a contour recess height is about 6.6 inches; and    e. said reinforcement bracket is attached to a wooden I-joist with fasteners via said attachment holes such that said buckling load communication and said shear load communication includes at least a web of said I-joist, said wooden I-joist having an I-joist height of down to about 11.5 inches.    
   
   
       7 . The reinforcement bracket of  claim 6 , wherein said wooden I-joist has a web hole with a modified boundary circle of up to about 8.4 inches in a bearing distance of down to about 1 foot 6 inches, and wherein said reinforcement bracket is attached to said I-joist with said two bridging structures flanking said web hole.  
   
   
       8 . The reinforcement bracket of  claim 2 , wherein: 
 a. said bridging height is up to about 10.9 inches;    b. an overall width is up to about 19.6 inches, said overall width including twice said bridging width of up to about 3.6 inches and including said spacing width of up to about 12.4 inches;    c. said transition radius is about 5.5 inches;    d. a clearance distance of said contour recess equals said spacing width and a contour recess height is up to about 9.2 inches; and    e. said reinforcement bracket is attached to a wooden I-joist with fasteners via said attachment holes such that said buckling load communication and said shear load communication includes at least a web of said I-joist, said wooden I-joist having an I-joist height of down to about 14 inches.    
   
   
       9 . The reinforcement bracket of  claim 8 , wherein said wooden I-joist has a web hole with a modified boundary circle of up to about 10.5 inches in a bearing distance of down to about 1 foot 6 inches, and wherein said reinforcement bracket is attached to said I-joist with said two bridging structures flanking said web hole.  
   
   
       10 . The reinforcement bracket of  claim 2 , wherein: 
 a. said bridging height is about 12.9 inches;    b. an overall width is about 21.6 inches, said overall width including twice said bridging width of about 3.6 inches and including said spacing width of about 14.4 inches;    c. said transition radius is about 6.5 inches;    d. a clearance distance of said contour recess equals said spacing width and a contour recess height is about 11.2 inches; and    e. said reinforcement bracket is attached to a wooden I-joist with fasteners via said attachment holes such that said buckling load communication and said shear load communication includes at least a web of said I-joist, said wooden I-joist having an I-joist height of down to about 16 inches.    
   
   
       11 . The reinforcement bracket of  claim 10 , wherein said wooden Ijoist has a web hole with a modified boundary circle of up to about 12.5 inches in a bearing distance of down to about 1 foot 6 inches, and wherein said reinforcement bracket is attached to said wooden I-joist with said two bridging structures flanking said web hole.  
   
   
       12 . The reinforcement bracket of  claim 1  being monolithically fabricated.  
   
   
       13 . The reinforcement bracket of  claim 1 , wherein an outside width contour features an angulated attachment hole.  
   
   
       14 . The reinforcement bracket of  claim 13 , wherein said reinforcement bracket is attached to a wooden I-joist via said angulated hole in a corner line along a boundary between a web and a chord of said wooden I-joist.  
   
   
       15 . The reinforcement bracket of  claim 13 , wherein said angulated attachment hole is positioned along said outside width contour such that a first of said angulated attachment hole of a first of said reinforcement bracket is in a splicing opposing safety offset to a second of said angulated attachment hole of a second of said reinforcement bracket while said reinforcement brackets are positioned with their respective attachment faces facing each other and while edge contours of said reinforcement brackets are substantially collinear in direction perpendicular said attachment faces.  
   
   
       16 . The reinforcement bracket of  claim 1  being fabricated from sheet metal.  
   
   
       17 . The reinforcement bracket of  claim 16 , wherein said bridging structure and said spacing structure feature a fourth stiffening rib protruding along an outside width contour of said reinforcement bracket.  
   
   
       18 . The reinforcement bracket of  claim 17 , wherein said outside width contour features an angulated hole providing an attachment angle being a symmetry angle between a planar body of said reinforcement bracket and said fourth stiffening rib.  
   
   
       19 . The reinforcement bracket of  claim 18 , wherein said reinforcement bracket is attached with fasteners via said angulated hole to a wooden I-joist along a corner line between a web and a chord of said wooden I-joist, and wherein said attachment angle is substantially smaller than a spigot taper angle of a web spigot extending and glued into a groove of said chord, and wherein said fasteners mainly penetrate material of said web spigot.  
   
   
       20 . The reinforcement bracket of  claim 16 , further comprising a fifth stiffening rib protruding along said first width contour, said transition radius and said adjacent height contour.  
   
   
       21 . The reinforcement bracket of  claim 16 , wherein said buckling opposing configuration includes a sixth stiffening rib along an outside height contour of said bridging structure, said outside height contour being oppositely said adjacent height contour.  
   
   
       22 . The reinforcement bracket of  claim 16 , wherein said buckling opposing configuration includes a central bridging rib island in direction along said bridging height.  
   
   
       23 . The reinforcement bracket of  claim 1 , further comprising spacing holes alternately inter arrayed with said attachment holes on said attachment face, such that said attachment holes of a first of said reinforcement bracket face said spacing holes of a second of said reinforcement bracket while said reinforcement brackets are positioned with their respective attachment faces facing each other and while outside contours of said reinforcement brackets are substantially collinear in direction perpendicular to said attachment faces.