Lath device, assembly and method

Description

REFERENCE TO PENDING APPLICATIONS

This application does not claim the benefit of any pending U.S. Patent Application.

REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX

This application is not referenced in any microfiche appendix.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention is generally directed toward a metal lath, and more specifically, toward a metal lath for use with cementitious materials and having tension release devices on the lath.

Background

Cementitious materials, such as stucco, are prone to shrink during the curing period and are brittle and hence weak under tensile loads. The amount of shrinkage may vary depending on mix proportions, water content, and weather conditions.

This shrinkage induces tension within the cementitious material which may result in a myriad of cracks in the cementitious material. In order to prevent this cracking from occurring, the prior art teaches the use of a steel lath, or mesh, that provides high tensile strength to the cementitious material.

However, the stresses are cumulative and build up in the cementitious material as a wall area or wall length increases. The prior art laths, however, were made of high elongation steel wire, were stretchy laths such as woven wire netting, or packaged in sheets and not long rolls. These laths were forgiving and would allow cracking to occur before excessive buildup of the shrinkage stresses occurred.

Thus, there is a need for an improved metal lath used with cementitious material.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention satisfies the needs discussed above. The present invention is generally directed toward a metal lath, and more specifically, toward a metal lath for use with cementitious materials and having tension release devices thereon.

One aspect of the present invention which is directed toward a welded wire lath device includes a plurality of longitudinal wires extending along a plane and in a longitudinal direction. These longitudinal wires may be substantially parallel. A plurality of transverse wires extending along the plane in a transverse direction intersect with the longitudinal wires with each intersection point being welded together. These weld connections may be resistance weld connections.

Disposed on the longitudinal wires are a plurality of tension release devices that are randomly spaced along the plurality of parallel longitudinal wires. These tension release devices are in the form of a tension release device or indent and are intended to elongate when tension is placed on the longitudinal wires. This allows for a portion of cementitious material to be strengthened and in turn maintains the overall strength of the lath without stretching the underlying wire.

Further, by having the tension release devices being randomly spaced on the longitudinal wires, a straight line of weakness within the cementitious material is not created. This results in the reduction of large, long cracks forming in the cementitious material.

In another aspect of the present invention, the welded wire lath device as set out above also includes a plurality of collinear straight portions located along the longitudinal wires. These straight portions run between each tension release device in the plurality of tension release devices that are located on the longitudinal wires. These straight portions add an additional aspect of strength to the lath as they provide resistance to stress between the tension release devices.

In another aspect of the present invention, the longitudinal wires may have a circular cross-section and the tension release devices may be flattened and thus have a rectilinear cross-section. Further, the transverse wires as set out above have a circular cross-section.

In another aspect of the present invention, the welded wire lath device as set out above may also include a plurality of depressions disposed on the plurality of transverse wires. Each of these depressions have a depth and a length and extend in a depression direction perpendicular with respect to the plane.

The one aspect of the present invention which is directed toward a structural assembly for a structure, such as a wall or ceiling, including a structural support member base, a lath device as set out above attached to the structure and cementitious material, such as stucco cement plaster, embedded within the lath device.

Another aspect of the present invention which is directed toward a method of assembling a structural assembly including the steps of providing a lath device as set out above, fastening the lath device to a structure and applying cementitious material, such as a stucco cement plaster, to the lath.

The invention is not limited in its application to the details of the construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in a variety of ways. It is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

Upon reading the above description, various alternative embodiments will become obvious to those skilled in the art. These embodiments are to be considered within the scope and spirit of the subject invention, which is only to be limited by the claims which follow and their equivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an embodiment of a welded wire lath device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of an embodiment of a tension release device of the present invention as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a close up view of the embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a close up view of portion A as shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a back view of the embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a close up view of portion B as shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a close up isometric view of an intersection of the longitudinal and transverse wires of the embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 11 is a side view of an embodiment of the transverse wire of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a side view of an additional embodiment of the longitudinal wire of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a side view of an additional embodiment of the longitudinal wire of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a side view of an additional embodiment of the longitudinal wire of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a side view of an additional embodiment of the longitudinal wire of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a side view of an additional embodiment of the longitudinal wire of the present invention.

FIGS. 17-37 are side views of embodiments of tension release devices of the present invention.

FIG. 38 is an isometric view of an embodiment of an assembly of the present invention.

FIG. 39 is a close up view of portion A as shown in FIG. 38.

FIG. 40 is an isometric view of an additional embodiment of an assembly of the present invention.

FIG. 41 is a close up view of portion A as shown in FIG. 39.

FIG. 42 is an isometric view of an additional embodiment of a welded wire lath device of the present invention.

FIG. 43 is a close up view of the embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 42.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention satisfies the needs discussed above. The present invention is generally directed toward a metal lath, and more specifically, toward a metal lath for use with cementitious materials and having tension release devices, such as crimps, thereon, a structural assembly with a metal lath embedded within it, and a method of assembling this structural assembly in a structure such as a wall.

FIGS. 1-10 illustrate an embodiment of the present invention with a welded wire lath device 100. Device 100 is used with a cementitious material, such as stucco, in order to provide additional strength to the cementitious material to prevent a destructive amount of cracking of the cementitious material.

In an embodiment, device 100 comprises a plurality of longitudinal wires 102 extending along a plane and in a longitudinal direction and a plurality of transverse wires 106 extending along the plane in a transverse direction. In this embodiment, the longitudinal wires 102 are substantially parallel to each other and the transverse wires 106 are also substantially parallel to each other. Further, the transverse wires 102 and longitudinal wires 106 may have a generally straight or sinusoidal shape. Additionally, at each point where the plurality of longitudinal wires 102 and the plurality of transverse wires 106 intersect, the wires are secured to one another by a weld connection 108. In an embodiment, the weld connections 108 are resistance weld connections.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, each of the plurality of transverse wires 106 has a plurality of depressions 110 disposed thereon. Each depression 110 extends in a depression direction perpendicular with respect to the plane and has a depression depth D_D and depression length D_L (see FIG. 6).

As illustrated in FIG. 10, in an embodiment, each of the plurality of longitudinal wires 102 has a rectilinear cross-section. This cross-section is formed by applying a flattening process to a round wire.

Disposed on at least one of the plurality of longitudinal wires 102 is at least one tension release device of a plurality of tension release devices 104. In this embodiment, the tension release device 104 is a crimp. The use of a crimp, however, is for illustrative purposes. Those skilled in the art will recognize that other tension release devices such an indent is also within the scope of the invention.

In this embodiment, one or more tension release devices 104 are randomly spaced along the plurality of longitudinal wires 102. When more than one tension release device 104 is placed on a single longitudinal wire 102, they are placed continuously and collinearly along the longitudinal wire 102. By placing the tension release devices 104 along each longitudinal wire 102, the device 100 is capable of elongating through the straightening of longitudinal wire 102 instead of stretching the wire. Tension release devices 104 allow device 100 to maintain its strength over time.

FIGS. 12-16 illustrate side views of additional embodiments of the longitudinal wire of the present invention. By placing tension release devices 104 randomly along longitudinal wire 102 (see FIGS. 12-16) a straight line of weakened portions within the cementitious material is not created. In this embodiment, each tension release device 104 may be spaced less than or equal to 96 inches away from each other tension release device 104 on the same longitudinal wire 102. Ideally, the spacing between tension release devices 104 may be between 3 to 4 inches. This will provide adequate weakening in high stress zones to allow minor cracking and ultimately stucco stress relief, while preventing major cracking that will damage the stucco. These lengths are illustrated and not meant to be limiting. Further, in an embodiment each tension release device 104 has a rectilinear cross-section as each tension release device is created into each horizontal wire 102 prior to the flattening process that flattens the horizontal wires 102.

Additionally, as illustrated in FIGS. 17-37, each tension release device 104 has a tension release device depth C_D1-4 (see FIGS. 17-20), a tension release device length C_L1-4 (see FIGS. 17-20), and a tension release device angle C_A1-5 (see FIGS. 28-32). In an embodiment, the tension release device depth is at least 0.02 inches, a tension release device length less than or equal to 1 inch, and a tension release device angle less than 90 degrees. Optimally, tension release device depth of approximately 0.060 to 0.070 inch in depth provide the desired performance in achieving some improved elongation characteristics while retaining strength. The use of these measurements is illustrative and is not meant to be limiting. In this embodiment, each tension release device 104 extends in the same direction along the plane. However, this is illustrative and not meant to be limiting. Those skilled in the art can recognize the tension release devices 104 can extend in multiple directions along the plane.

Located along the plurality of longitudinal wires 102 and between the plurality of tension release devices 104 are a plurality of collinear straight portions 112. In an embodiment where the tension release devices 104 are randomly spaced along the longitudinal wires 102, the straight portions 112 are also randomly spaced along the longitudinal wires 102. Straight portions 112 provide additional strength to resist stress between the tension release devices 104.

Illustrated on FIGS. 17-37 are side views of various embodiments of horizontal wire 102 with various tension release device shapes.

FIGS. 38-39 illustrate an embodiment of the present invention with a structural assembly for a structure 200. Structure 200 is used in the construction of walls, ceilings, and the like. Structure 200 comprises a structural support member base 202, a lath device 204 which is attached to structural support member base 202, and cementitious material 206, such as stucco, is embedded within lath device 204.

Lath device 204 comprises a plurality of longitudinal wires 212 extending along a plane and in a longitudinal direction and a plurality of transverse wires 214 extending along the plane in a transverse direction. A plurality of depressions 216 is disposed on each transverse wire 214. At each intersection where the plurality of longitudinal wires 212 and the plurality of transverse wires 214 intersect are secured by a weld connection 218. In this embodiment, the plurality of weld connections 218 comprises resistance weld connections. Disposed on the plurality of longitudinal wires 212 are a plurality of tension release devices 220 randomly spaced along the plurality of longitudinal wires 212.

In this embodiment, the stucco 206 comprises a scratch coat 208, a browned coat 210, and a finished coat 211. This is illustrative and not meant to be limiting. Those skilled in the art recognize other cementitious materials with different coats are within the scope of the present invention. Alternatively, the stucco 206 may comprise a scratch coat 208, a browned coat 210, a finished coat 211, or a combination thereof.

FIGS. 40-41 illustrate another embodiment the present invention wherein a structural assembly for a structure 250 is shown. Structure 250 is similar to structure 200 except structure 250 is utilizing a sheathed frame.

FIG. 42 illustrate another embodiment 300 of the present invention wherein the plurality of tension release devices 320 are randomly spaced along the plurality of longitudinal wires 312 but in a direction that is out of the plane of longitudinal wires 312. FIG. 43 is a close up view of the embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 42.

Another embodiment of the present invention is directed toward a method of assembling a structural assembly in a structure. In this embodiment, the method comprises providing a lath device, fastening the lath device as previously described to the structure; and applying a cementitious material, such as stucco, to the lath device. The application of the stucco may be manually or mechanically applied to the lath.

While the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is manifest that many changes may be made in the details of construction and the arrangement of components without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. It is understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth herein for purposes of exemplification.

LIST OF FEATURES AND REFERENCE NUMERALS

• • 100 device
  • 102 longitudinal wires
  • 106 transverse wires
  • 108 weld connections
  • 110 depression
  • 112 collinear straight portions
  • 200 structure
  • 202 structural support member base
  • 204 lath device
  • 206 cementitious material
  • 212 longitudinal wires
  • 214 transverse wires
  • 218 weld connection
  • 220 tension release devices
  • 208 scratch coat
  • 210 browned coat
  • 211 finished coat
  • 250 structure
  • 300 device
  • 320 tension release devices
  • 312 longitudinal wires