Connector

Abstract

A connector in the form of a modified top hat section for securely attaching a building panel to a support member is provided with a guide to assist in accurately locating the fasteners used to attach the connector to the support member with respect to the support member and to guide movement of the fastener as the fastener is rotatingly driven through the connector into the support member to maintain the correct orientation of the fastener to securely attach the connector to the support member. The guide can have a multitude of different forms such as holes, perforations, slots, notches, grooves, lines of weakness and be continuous or in spaced apart relationship to each other. The advantage of the guide is to reduce installation time and effort as well as allowing the top hat section to be securely attached to the support by the fastener having clearance between the strengtheners of the connector and the tapering side wall.

1 - 23 . (canceled) 
     
     
         24 . An elongate connector for use in attaching a first building item to a second building item comprising a centrally located top section, a first elongate side portion on a first side of the central top section, and a second elongate side portion on a second side of the central top section,
 the first side portion extending along the first side of the connector, and   the second side portion extending along the second side of the connector,   the first side portion including a first wall section and a first flange section, the first wall section being located intermediate the central top section and the first flange section, the second side portion including a second wall section and a second flange section, the second wall section being located intermediate the central top section and the second flange section, the connector further comprising a strengthener, wherein at least one of the two elongate flange sections is provided with a guide for use in locating the position of, and/or for guiding movement of a fastener for attaching the connector to the second building item.   
     
     
         25 . A connector according to  claim 24  in which the first building item is an aerated autoclaved concrete panel or block, typically a lightweight autoclaved aerated concrete panel or block, including a reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete panel or block. 
     
     
         26 . A connector according to  claim 24  in which the second building item is a support or structural member or element including a frame member, a post, a stud, a channel section, or a pole. 
     
     
         27 . A connector according to  claim 24  in the form of a top hat section in which the central top section is located symmetrically between the two side sections or is located off-set to one side between the two side sections so as to be closer to one side section than the other side section and the wall section on either side of the connector is substantially at right angles to the top section to extend therefrom substantially perpendicularly on either side or is tapered to extend at an outwardly inclined angle therefrom. 
     
     
         28 . A connector according to  claim 24  in which the guide is one or more perforations or apertures or holes or bores, or surface discontinuities or surface interruptions to the surface in which the guide is located. 
     
     
         29 . A connector according to  claim 24  in which the guide is a groove, slot, channel, indentation, line, line of weakness, line of reduced thickness, segmented array of discrete slots, grooves, channels, indentations, perforations, apertures or bores on one or both flanges. 
     
     
         30 . A connector according to  claim 29  in which the guide in the form of perforations, apertures, holes or bores are located in aligned spaced apart relationship to one another to extend along the length of at least one of the first flange section or the second flange section or the first and second flange sections. 
     
     
         31 . A connector according to  claim 29  wherein there are two lines of aligned spaced apart apertures, perforations, holes or bores, one line being provided to extend along one flange and the other line being provided to extend along the other flange, wherein the apertures, perforations, holes or bores are located in spaced apart pairs in which one of the pair is located on one flange and the other of the pair is located in the other flange, the pairs being located along the length of the connector from one end to the other end. 
     
     
         32 . A connector according to  claim 24  in which the fastener has an operative end and a head located remote from the operative end in which the guide is for guiding the location of the operative end of the fastener for securely attaching the connector to the second building item in addition to guiding movement of the fastener during entry into the body of the second building item so that the head of the fastener is clear of the wall section of the side section of the connector in which the fastener is located. 
     
     
         33 . A connector according to  claim 32  in which the strengthener is located on the connector so that the head of the fastener when received through the aperture of the flange of the side section is clear of the strengthener of the connector. 
     
     
         34 . A connector according to  claim 24  in which the spacing apart of the individual guides varies from about 3 mm apart to about 50 mm apart, preferably from about 5 mm apart to about 20 mm apart, more preferably about 10 mm apart. 
     
     
         35 . A connector according to  claim 24  in which the guide has a size in the range from about 0.5 mm to about 5 mm, typically about 1 mm. 
     
     
         36 . A connector according to  claim 24  in which the strengthener is in the form of a folded over, or turned over end or strip superposed over one or other of the flange sections of the connector. 
     
     
         37 . A connector according to  claim 24  in which the strengthener is a rib located at the edge of at least the first flange section in which the rib has a width of from 2 mm to 10 mm, preferably from 2 mm to 6 mm, more preferably 2 mm to 4 mm inclusive. 
     
     
         38 . A connector according to  claim 24  in which the strengthener is in the form of a rib located at the edge of the first flange section or at the edges of the first and second flange sections or the strengthener is in the form of a gusset. 
     
     
         39 . A connector according to  claim 24  in which the connector further comprises one or more integral fasteners pre-located with respect to the guide, preferably located within selected apertures forming the guide. 
     
     
         40 . A method of securely attaching an elongate connector to a building item, in which said elongate connector has a centrally located top section extending lengthwise along the longitudinal axis of the connector, a first elongate side portion on a first side of the central top section and a second side portion on a second side of the central top section, the first side portion including a first wall section and a first flange section, the first wall section being located intermediate the central top section and the first flange section, the second side portion including a second wall section and a second flange section, the second wall section being located intermediate the central top section and the second flange section, at least one of the first or second flange sections or both the first and second flange sections being provided with a guide for locating and/or for guiding movement of a fastener for attaching the elongate connector to the building item and a strengthener the method comprising the steps of locating the elongate connector with respect to the building item, locating the fastener with respect to the guide and attaching the fastener to the building item using the guide to position the fastener initially with respect to the building item and/or subsequently to guide movement of the fastener to securely attach the connector to the building item. 
     
     
         41 . A method of constructing a building using elongate connectors to connect a plurality of first building items to a plurality of second building items in which the elongate connectors comprise a centrally located top section, a first elongate side portion on a first side of the central top section, and a second elongate side portion on a second side of the central top section,
 the first side portion extending along the first side of the connector, and   the second side portion extending along the second side of the connector,   the first side including a first wall section and a first flange section, the first wall section being located intermediate the central top section and the first flange section, the second side section including a second wall section and a second flange section, the second wall section being located intermediate the central top section and the second flange section, wherein at least one of the two elongate flange sections is provided with a guide for use in locating the position of, and/or for guiding movement of a fastener for attaching the connector to the second building item.   
     
     
         42 . A connector according to  claim 24  in which the guide is in the form of an aperture having a round, circular, square, rectangular, elliptical, oval, triangular or other polygonal shape for receiving the fastener therethrough. 
     
     
         43 . A connector according to  claim 24  in which the plane of the top section is substantially parallel and spaced apart from the plane of the first flange and from the plane of the second flange in a first direction and the plane of the first flange and the plane of the second flange are substantially in the same plane and spaced apart from each other in a second direction.