TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a building stud for forming a framework for mounting building panels, e.g. wall or ceiling panels. The present disclosure also relates to framework structure comprising such a building stud.

BACKGROUND ART

When building walls, a framework with studs is built. Horizontally, a top plate is mounted on the ceiling and on the floor a bottom plate. Vertical studs are then placed between these, usually with a mutual spacing of 450-600 mm. When the framework is mounted, wall panels are nailed or screwed to the framework. Thus, the distance between the studs is determined by the width of the wall panels to be fixed to the studs. Common materials in wall panels are gypsum, MDF (Medium Density Fibre), OSB (Orientated Strand Board), shavings and wood chips. Magnesium oxide, calcium silicate, fibre cement and fibre gypsum boards as well as various types of composite boards also exist.

When constructing walls in general and interior walls in particular, studs made from steel or wood are mainly used today. Wooden studs are usually homogeneous and square and work great for screwing or nailing wall panels. However, wooden studs are relatively heavy and tend to buckle during storage.

Steel studs are usually used in wall structures that are built using so-called lightweight framing construction technique. Typically, such a wall structure comprises a framework of metal profile studs forming a support or frame, which is then covered with sheet-shaped building boards. The framework includes horizontal studs that form top plates and bottom plates, which studs usually have a U-shaped cross section. Standing studs are mounted in the top and bottom plates with a predetermined mutual distance, on which plates and studs the building boards are then mounted.

Steel studs are usually made from steel sheets, which are cut and bent to obtain a desired profile. Typically, a steel stud comprises two parallel flange members, which are joined by a transverse web member extending substantially perpendicular to the flange members. The steel stud can thus obtain a substantially C-shaped cross-section. Steel studs are often made from steel sheets having a relatively small thickness. For example, it is common for steel studs to be made of steel sheets having a thickness within the range of 0.4-0.6 mm. The thin material thickness is important from a cost perspective, but also has great significance for the sound transmission in the wall. Thin steel provides better reduction of sound propagating through the wall, as a thin web portion provides less sound transmission between the flange portions than a thick web portion. Another advantage related to steel studs is that they can be "boxed" during transport and storage, i.e. placed in each other. In this way, the volume that the steel studs take up can be reduced, which is important from a storage perspective and considering costly and environmentally harmful transports. It is also of great importance in workplaces, where there is often a lack of storage space.

When mounting wall panels in a framework, a common mounting distance between nails or screws is, at the edge portions of the wall panels, about 200 mm cc distance and, in the middle of the panels, about 300 mm cc distance. The predominant mounting method for wood framing is screwing, although this is more time-consuming and entails greater load on the installer than nailing. One reason for this is that when nailing in wooden rails, there is a risk that the nails are "worked out" by the shape change that occurs in wood when the humidity in the air changes. Nails that creep out in this way can then result in visible defects on the surfaces of the finished walls and can also be seen through paint or wallpaper.

In a framework consisting of steel studs, nailing is not possible as the steel is too thin for nails to attach in an intended way. When thin-plated studs are used, it can also be problematic to attach hard wall panels to the framework by screwing. In the case of hard plasterboard, plywood and OSB, for example, the resistance that arises when the screw's skull is to be mechanically recessed in the wall panel may become so large that the interaction between the screw and the steel stud deforms the steel stud rather than pushing the screw into the stud. The screw thread then loses its traction in the steel stud.

Document US8171696 B2 discloses a metal stud comprising first and second elongated flat metal panels each having a longitudinal axis and are positioned in parallel spaced apart relationship with the opposed flat surfaces facing each other. An angular metal wirecoupling element is positioned between the facing opposed flat surfaces of the first and second spaced apart metal panels. The angular metal wire-coupling element is fixed to the first and second spaced apart metal panels.

Document US3344571 A discloses a collapsible panel assembly comprising a plurality of trusses having lower chords, upper chords, and a plurality of diagonals formed from a metal rod. The metal rod terminating in relatively short parallel portions adapted to be pivotably in eyelets and secured to the lower and upper chords, respectively. The panel can be collapsed into a compact shipping package.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION As mentioned, known metal studs made from steel sheets can be placed in each other during transport to reduce the total volume required. However, even though the so-called boxing of studs have many advantages, such as reducing volume during transport, an improved construction of metal studs is required to simplify storage and even further reduce transport volume, and thereby achieve more cost-effective and environmentally friendly transports.

A problem with the known metal studs made from steel sheets is that the sustainability is reduced.

There is thus a need for an improved building stud, which reduces the storage and transporting volume in order to achieve cost effectively and environmentally friendly transports. Further, there is a need for an improved framework structure, which eliminates deficiencies and disadvantages with prior art framework structures.

It is an object of the present disclosure to mitigate, alleviate or eliminate one or more of the above-identified deficiencies and disadvantages in the prior art and solve at least the above- mentioned problems.

These objectives are achieved with the above-mentioned building stud, and framework structure according to the appended claims.

According to one aspect, the present disclosure provides a building stud for forming a framework for mounting building panels, e.g. wall or ceiling panels, comprising a first and a second elongated and substantially rectangular flange member and a web arrangement interconnecting the flange members, which web arrangement comprises at least one metal wire.

By providing the web arrangement as one or a plurality of metal wires, a building stud having a relatively low thermal transmittance (U-value) is obtained, as compared to web arrangements having metal sheets as web arrangements. Also, a building stud having advantageous acoustic properties is obtained, as compared to web arrangements having metal sheets as web arrangements.

The at least one metal wire may be a single strand metal wire, i.e. a solid wire. The at least one metal wire may have a diameter within the range of 2 to 6 mm, e.g. 4 mm. The at least one metal wire may be formed from a drawn and hardened steel wire, e.g. made from galvanized high-tensile steel.

The building stud according to the present disclosure may be used in a wall or ceiling framework. Consequently, said building panels may be wall or ceiling panels. The at least one metal wire may comprise a first set of wire sections adjoining the first flange member, a second set of wire sections adjoining the second flange member, and a third set of wire sections interconnecting the first and second sets of wire sections. The third set of wire sections may be rectilinear or curved, which latter case may be acoustically beneficial. The curved configuration of the wire sections may provide a low sound transmission in the wall and though the wall. Thus, the curved configuration of the wire sections may provide better reduction of sound propagating through the wall than a rectilinear set of the wire section.

The at least one metal wire may be fixedly connected to said flange members. The at least one metal wire may be fixedly attached to the flange members aligning the flange members with the surfaces in two parallel planes. The wire may generally have a zig-zag shape and comprise substantially rectilinear wire sections. The metal wire may be fixedly clamped to the flange members by means of fasteners.

Alternatively, the at least one metal wire may be pivotably connected to said flange members allowing the building stud to be brought from a retracted storage configuration, in which the flange members are arranged side by side in a common plane, to an expanded mounting configuration, in which the flange members are arranged in two parallel planes. Such building stud will take up a small volume in the retracted storage configuration, which results in cost effectively and environmentally friendly transports. The at least one metal wire may be pivotably or rotatably connected to the flange members aligning the flange members with the surfaces in two parallel planes. The metal wire may be pivotably connected to the first flange member by means of a first set of fasteners and, in a similar fashion, the metal wire may be pivotably connected to the second flange member by means of the second set of fasteners. The first and second set of fasteners may be arranged along rectilinear lines, which are parallel to each other. This allows the wire to be pivoted about the fasteners to bring the building stud from the retracted configuration to the expanded configuration. This also allows the wire to be pivoted about the fasteners to bring the building stud from the expanded configuration to the retracted configuration.

The at least one metal wire may be pivotally connected to the first flange member along a first rectilinear line and pivotally connected to the second flange member along a second rectilinear line which is parallel to the first rectilinear line.

The building stud may comprise a locking arrangement configured to be activated when the building stud is brought from the retracted storage configuration to the expanded mounting configuration to lock the building stud in the expanded mounting configuration. The at least one metal wire may comprise a first metal wire and a second metal wire. The first and second wires may provide an inter-locking configuration.

Each flange member may have a substantially rectangular cross section and its cross sectional dimensions may be customized to achieve desired performance. For example, when installing plywood and gypsum building panels, the respective cross-sectional dimensions of the flange members may be 40 mm wide and 15 mm thick. This width provides ample space for joining two panel edges on the same stud, while at the same time providing good conditions for securely screwing or nailing the building panels to the flange members.

The flange members may be made of an environmentally sustainable material. Such material may be discarded as scrap when a wall is dismantled, without having a negative environmental impact. Alternatively, the material may be reused. When mounting wall panels in a framework, panels are mounted by screwing or nailing. When nailing, working out or creeping out of nails may be avoided by penetrating the nails all the way through the flanges.

The flange members may be made of cellulose-based material. Examples of cellulose-based material is homogenous wood or other types of cellulose fibre members, for example medium density fibre (MDF) board or cellulose fibre members made of chipboard or wood fibre laminate, or of paper- or paperboard-based materials.

According to another aspect, the present disclosure provides a framework structure comprising a building stud as described above.

In the following, embodiments of a building stud will be discussed in more detail with reference to the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of a building stud.

Fig. 2 is a detailed view of the building stud according to Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 illustrates an embodiment of attaching a wire to flange members in a building stud.

Fig. 4 shows a further embodiment of a building stud.

Fig. 5 is a detailed view of the building stud according to Fig. 4. Fig. 6 shows an embodiment of a building stud in a retracted, storage configuration.

Fig. 7 shows the building stud according to Fig. 6 in an expanded, mounting configuration.

Fig. 8 shows a further embodiment of a building stud in a retracted, storage configuration.

Fig. 9 shows the building stud according to Fig. 8 in an expanded, mounting configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figs. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of a building stud 10. The building stud 10 comprises first and second elongated flange members 12, 14 and a web arrangement 16 interconnecting the flange members 12, 14. Each flange member 12, 14 comprises a substantially planar surface 18, 20 configured for receiving building panels when the building stud is mounted in a framework structure.

The flange members 12, 14 may typically be congruent and have a rectangular cross section and may be made from an environmentally sustainable material. Such material may be a cellulose-based material, e.g. homogenous wood or other types of cellulose fibre members, for example medium density fibre (MDF) board or cellulose fibre members made of chipboard or wood fibre laminate, or of paper- or paperboard-based materials. According to one embodiment, the flange members 12, 14 may be made from plastic. The plastic may be an environmentally sustainable plastic.

The web arrangement 16 comprises a metal wire 22, which is fixedly attached to the flange members 12, 14 aligning the flange members 12, 14 with the surfaces 18, 20 in two parallel planes. The wire 22 may generally have a zig-zag shape and comprise substantially rectilinear wire sections. The wire 22 may for example comprise a first set of substantially rectilinear wire sections 24, which adjoin an inside surface of the first flange member 12 and are attached to 15 the first flange member 12, a second set of substantially rectilinear wire sections 26, which adjoin an inside surface of the second flange member 14 and are attached to the second flange member 14, and a third set of substantially rectilinear wire sections 28, which interconnect the first and second wire sections 24, 26. The first wire sections 24 may be fixedly clamped to the first flange member 12 by means of fasteners 30. In a similar manner, the second wire sections 26 may be fixedly clamped to the second flange member 14 by means of fasteners 32.

The third set of wire sections 28 may be rectilinear, as in the disclosed embodiment. However, in other embodiments the third set of wire sections may be curved, which is some applications may provide a building stud having low acoustic transmittance (as compared to building studs having a third set of wire sections which are rectilinear).

For the purpose of the present disclosure, the wire 22 should have a structural integrity sufficient to maintain the flange members 12, 14 fixed parallel to each other. The wire 22 may for example be formed from a solid, drawn and hardened steel wire having a diameter within the range of 2-6 mm, e.g. approximately 4 mm, which diameter has been found to be 30 sufficiently rigid and stiff to maintain the flange members 12, 14 fixed and aligned parallel to each other.

Also, the attachment of the wire 22 to the flange members 12, 14 should be sufficient to allow the wire 22 to maintain the flange members 12, 14 parallel to each other. For some applications, the attachment configuration disclosed in Figs, 1 and 2 may be sufficient, i.e. clamping the wire 22 to the flange members 12, 14 along two substantially rectilinear lines. However, for other applications it may be advantageous to increase the structural integrity of the attachment by configuring the above-discussed first and second wire sections 24 and 26 to have a generally S-shape, as is schematically illustrated in Fig. 3. This will allow the wire sections 24' and 26' to be clamped to the flange members 12, 14 by means of fasteners 30 that are distributed along the width of the flange members 12, 14 (i.e. not distributed along a common line, as in Figs. 1 and 2), thus increasing the ability of the attachment configuration to withstand rotation between the wire 22 and the flange members 12 and 14.

The clamped wire sections 26 may be arranged with a mutual distance D within the range ofl0-20 cm. According to one embodiment, the distance D between the clamped second wire sections 26 should preferably not be greater than 30 cm.

Figs. 4 and 5 show a further embodiment of a building stud 110. The building stud 110 is distinguished from the above-discussed building stud 10 in that the web arrangement 16 comprises two metal wires 22a, 22a. As in the above-discussed wire 22, each wire 22a and 22b has a zig-zag shape and comprises a first set of substantially rectilinear wire sections 24, which adjoin an inside surface of the first flange member 12 and are attached to the first flange member 12, a second set of substantially rectilinear wire sections 26, which adjoin an inside surface of the second flange member 14 and are attached to the second flange member 14, and a third set of substantially rectilinear wire sections 28, which interconnect the first and second wire sections 24, 26. Also, for each wire 22a, 22b the first wire sections 24 are fixedly clamped to the first flange member 12 by means of fasteners 30 and the second wire sections 26 are fixedly clamped to the second flange member 14 by means of fasteners 32. However, the wire sections 24 of wire 22a are arranged parallel to the wires section 24 of wire 22b and, likewise, the wire sections 26 of wire 22a are arranged parallel to the wires section 26 of wire 22b. This will provide an inter-locking configuration in which wire 22a prevents wire 22b from rotating about the flange members 12, 14 and vice versa. A method of producing a framework structure using any one of the building studs 10 or 110 may typically comprise the steps of positioning and fixing a plurality of building studs 10, 110 in a framework with their respective first flange member 12 arranged in a common plane and attaching one or a plurality building panels directly or indirectly to the first flange members 12. The method may also comprise attaching one or a plurality of building panels directly or indirectly to the second flange members 14.

Figs. 6 and 7 show a further embodiment of a building stud 210 according to the present disclosure. Fig. 6 shows the building stud in a retracted, storage position and Fig. 7 shows the 35 building stud in an expanded, mounting position.

The building stud 210 is distinguished from the above-discussed building stud 10 in that the fasteners 30 and 32, instead of fixedly attaching the wire the flange members 12, 14, rotatably attach the wire to the flange members 12, 14. Consequently, in the building stud 210 the first set of wire sections 24 are rotatably attached to the first flange member 12 by means of the first set of fasteners 30 and, in a similar fashion, the second 5 set of wire sections 26 are rotatably attached to the second flange member 14 by means of the second set of fasteners 32.

The first set of fasteners 30 are arranged along a rectilinear line 31 and the second set of fasteners 32 are arranged along a rectilinear line 33, which is parallel to said first line 31. This 10 allows the wire 22 to be pivoted about the fasteners 31, 33 to bring the building stud 210 from the retracted configuration disclosed in Fig. 6 to the expanded configuration disclosed in Fig. 7.

In the retracted configuration (Fig. 6), the flange members 12, 14 are arranged in a common plane and the wire 22 is arranged on top of the flange members 12, 14 in a plane, which is parallel to said common plane. Consequently, in this configuration the space occupied by the building stud 210 is relatively small. This makes it easy to transport and store the building stud 210, since several studs can be stacked one on top of the other in a space-efficient manner.

In the expanded configuration (Fig. 7), the flange members 12, 14 are arranged in two parallel planes with the substantially planar surfaces of the flange members 12, 14 configured for receiving building panels facing away from each other and the wire 22 is arranged in a plane, which is orthogonal to the flange members 12, 14.

The building stud 210 may comprise a locking arrangement 240 arranged to prevent the building stud 210 from returning to the retraced configuration once having been brought to the expanded configuration. In particular, the locking arrangement 240 may be configured for retaining the wire 22 in the orthogonal orientation between the flange members 12, 14. In the present embodiment, the locking arrangement 240 comprises steel plates 260 attached to inside surfaces 42 of the flange members 12, 14, which plates comprises recesses 262 configured to accommodate and retain the wire 22 orthogonal to the flange members 12, 14. It is to be understood, however, that other types of locking arrangements capable of performing the same task may be envisioned.

When an installer is to mount the building stud 210 in a framework structure, he brings the building stud 210 from the retracted storage configuration shown in Fig. 6 to the expanded mounting configuration shown in Fig. 6. This is done by the installer manually rotating the flange members 12, 14 in relation to each other around the lines 31 and 33 so that the flange members 12, 14 become arranged in two parallel planes. Once the expanded configuration is reached, the locking arrangement 240 is activated, locking the building stud 210 in the expanded configuration and, thus, preventing the building stud 210 from returning to the retracted configuration. In the present embodiment this locking action entails the wire 22 being forced into the recesses 262 of the steel plates 260 and being irreversibly locked therein.

When the building stud 210 has been brought to the mounting position, the installer can arrange the building stud 210 in a framework structure for further attachment of building panels.

In some embodiments the building stud may not need locking arrangements, since fastening 10 the building stud in the framework structure may be sufficient to maintain the building stud in the mounting position, i.e. in the expanded configuration.

Figs. 8 and 9 show yet a further embodiment of a building stud 310 according to the present disclosure. Fig. 8 shows the building stud in a retracted, storage position and Fig. 9 shows the building stud in an expanded, mounting position.

The building stud 310 is distinguished from the above-discussed building stud 210 in that the web arrangement 16 comprises two metal wires 22a, 22b, each being rotatably attached to the inside surfaces 42 of the flange members 12, 14 by means of fasteners 30a, 32a and 30b, 32b, respectively, arranged along rectilinear, parallel lines 31a, 33a and 31b, 33b, respectively. Also, the building stud 310 is distinguished from the above-discussed building stud 210 (and also form the above-discussed building stud 110) in that the third wire section 28 of each wire 22a, 22b is curved, thus allowing the wires 22a, 22b to be pivoted about the fasteners 31a, 31b, 33a, 33b to bring the building stud 310 from the retracted configuration disclosed in Fig. 8 to the expanded configuration disclosed in Fig. 9 without the wires 22a, 22b interfering with each other. Similar to the previously discussed building stud 210, building stud 310 may comprise a locking arrangement 240 arranged to prevent the building stud 310 from returning to the retraced configuration once having been brought to the expanded configuration.