Hidden Fastener Assembly for Attaching Grooved Deck Members

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2020340252-A1
Application number	US-202016856140-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 23, 2020
Priority date	Apr 23, 2019
Publication date	Oct 29, 2020
Grant date	—

Abstract

A hidden fastener assembly facilitates the attachment of grooved deck members to a joist. A body has an upper platform and a lower reference surface and is traversed by a central opening. A pair of tongues project from the body and are positioned and configured for reception in the grooves of the deck members. A pair of legs straddle the joist to aid in positioning. A fastener received in the opening and driven into the joist secures the deck members to the joist at a desired spacing. The fastener assemblies may be collated for usage in automatic driving tools.

First claim

1 . A clip for positioning and securing adjacent grooved planks to a joist having a width comprising:
a body having an upper platform and defining a central opening and having generally uniformly laterally spaced sides and a reference underside; a pair of generally parallel transversely extending retainers laterally projecting outwardly relative to said sides and receivable in a plank groove; a pair of spaced legs connecting the body and having portions laterally spaced a distance equal to the width of the joist and equidistantly spaced from said central opening; and two transversely spaced pairs of opposed shoulders, each shoulder extending from a side and having a lower surface coplanar with said reference underside, wherein the clip is mountable to a joist so that the underside rests on the joist and the joist is captured between the legs, and a said retainer is received in a plank groove, and wherein a fastener received in the opening and driven into the joist secures the plank in position.

2 . The clip of claim 1 wherein the opening has an enlarged upper throat and extends to the reference underside.

3 . The clip of claim 1 wherein the body has transversely spaced edges contoured and configured to be easily manually gripped.

4 . The clip of claim 1 wherein each retainer has a tongue-like shape with a contoured terminus.

5 . The clip of claim 1 wherein said clip defines laterally spaced opposed pairs of indexing slots.

6 . The clip of claim 1 wherein each shoulder has an upper tapered surface.

7 . The clip of claim 1 wherein said clip is manufactured from a rugged plastic material.

8 . The clip of claim 1 further comprising a fastener received in said opening.

9 . A plurality of clips of claim 1 wherein adjacent retainers are joined by a connector to form a strip of clips.

10 . The plurality of clips of claim 9 wherein the strip is wound into a spool.

11 . A clip for positioning and securing adjacent grooved planks to a joist comprising:
a body having an upper end and an opposed reference underside and defining a central opening traversing from said upper end to said reference underside and having laterally spaced sides; a pair of parallel transversely extending tongues projecting outwardly relative to said sides and being parallel to said reference underside; and a pair of L-shaped legs connecting the body and having lower portions equidistantly transversely spaced from said central opening.

12 . The clip of claim 11 wherein said body has a pair of laterally extending wings which integrally connect said tongues.

13 . The clip of claim 12 further comprising a pair of teeth projecting downwardly from each said wing.

14 . The clip of claim 11 further comprising at least one tapered shoulder extending from each side and having a lower end portion coplanar with said reference underside.

15 . The clip of claim 14 wherein there are two identical transversely spaced shoulders extending from each side.

16 . The clip of claim 11 wherein said body, said wings and said tongues define four spaced indexing slots.

17 . A deck assembly comprising
a joist; a plank having a groove positioned on said joist perpendicularly thereto; a clip comprising a body having an upper end and an opposed reference end resting on said joist and a pair of legs connecting the body and straddling the joist, and having laterally spaced sides with a transversely extending tongue projecting outwardly relatively to each of said sides and one tongue extending into the groove with a side engaging said plank, and said body defining a central opening receiving a fastener which is driven into the joist to secure the plank to the joist.

18 . The deck assembly of claim 17 further comprising a tapered shoulder extending from a side and engaging an underside edge portion of the plank.

19 . The deck assembly of claim 17 further comprising at least one tooth extending downwardly from said clip and engaging a portion of said plank which defines said groove.

20 . The deck assembly of claim 17 further comprising a second plank with a second groove disposed in adjacent parallel relationship to said plank and a tongue received in said second groove.

Assignees

• Omg Inc

Inventors

• Carlson Logan
• Gillis Timothy F
• Kraucunas Mitchell T
• Barenski Jr Peter
• Enko Frederick A
• Disanto Anthony
• Guthrie Mark J

Classifications

• E04F15/02183 Primary

  for outdoor use, e.g. in decks, patios, terraces, verandas or the like · CPC title

• E04B5/023

  Separate connecting devices for prefabricated floor-slabs · CPC title

• E04F2015/02094

  Engaging side grooves running along the whole length of the flooring elements · CPC title

• E04B5/02

  Load-carrying floor structures formed substantially of prefabricated units (E04B5/43 - E04B5/48 take precedence) · CPC title

• E04F2201/023

  with a continuous tongue or groove · CPC title