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Seismic wall systemSeismic wall system description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060032157, Seismic wall system. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
[0001] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/592,446 filed Jul. 30, 2004. The contents of to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/592,446 are hereby incorporated by reference. BACKGROUND [0002] The weight bearing walls, floors and ceilings of a large building are frequently constructed from steel reinforced concrete. Within each floor of these buildings, walls are installed to partition areas and form separate rooms in the building. The walls are formed from wallboards mounted on steel beam wall frames. The wallboards provide a solid and insulative wall surfaces but are not structural. The steel beam frames provide a strong surface to support the wallboards. [0003] With reference to FIG. 1, the steel beam wall frame 105 is made of a plurality of steel beam components, including: a floor runner 109, studs 111 and a ceiling runner 115. A ceiling runner 115 is a horizontal beam that defines the top edge of the wall and a floor runner 109 is a horizontal beam that defines the bottom edge of the wall. The studs are vertical pieces which are placed between the ceiling runner and floor runner. The studs are evenly spaced parallel to each other and perpendicular to the ceiling and floor runners. At the corners of the room, the ceiling and floor runners may be cut at 45 degree angles and the adjacent ceiling and floor runners are connected to form the 90 degree corners. The cross-section of these steel beams is designed to be structurally rigid while minimizing weight. The C-channel is a common cross section of a steel beam. [0004] Conventional building practices include the initial laying out of markings on the floor showing wall locations in accordance with the floor plan. Thereafter, starting with an outer wall, a ceiling runner in the form of an inverted C-channel is secured to the concrete ceiling around the perimeter of the new wall. The next conventional step is to secure the floor runners, which are upwardly facing C-channels, to the floor along the perimeter walls. Thereafter, the spacing of the studs is determined. This involves laying out such spacing by applying markings to the channels of both of the upper and lower runners. The next step is to measure the distances between the lower runner and the ceiling runner in order to determine the length of the studs. The studs are then cut according to such measured lengths. [0005] The cut studs are then stood in place free-stand within the ceiling and floor runners. The studs are secured to the ceiling runner at their upper ends and the floor runner at their lower ends. Screws or welds may be used to secure the studs to the ceiling and floor runners. Once the steel frame is constructed, the wallboard is attached to the studs with screws or other fasteners. The wallboards is then typically covered with plaster, textured and painted to conceal the screw holes. [0006] Modem buildings are designed to resist damage during seismic activity by swaying with the movement rather than attempting to remain rigid. A problem with steel wall frames used in buildings placed in areas of high seismic activity is that as the building flexes, there is relative movement between the floors and ceilings of the buildings. Because traditional walls are secured to both the floor and ceiling, the wallboards tend to be damaged as the studs deflect with the movement. This bending of the studs frequently causes damage to the wallboard and fasteners. After the seismic activity is complete, the damaged walls must be repaired. [0007] What is needed is a system that prevents steel wall frames from being damaged during an earthquake. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0008] The inventive ceiling runner and wall system prevents damage within a building by providing a wall frame that is flexible both vertically and horizontally. The wall system has the basic configuration of vertical studs mounted between floor runners that are secured to the floors of the building and ceiling runners that are attached to the ceilings. The ceiling runner has channels that hold the tops of the studs in place but also allow the stud to slide vertically within the ceiling runner. There are no fasteners or other components that rigidly secure the stud to the inventive ceiling runner. [0009] The ceiling runner also has mounting slots that are used to secure the ceiling runner to the ceiling but also allow the ceiling runner to move horizontally. Fasteners are placed in the slots of the ceiling runner and secure the ceiling runners vertically to the ceiling. The bodies of the fasteners fit loosely within the slot but the heads of the mounting bolts are wider than the slots so the fastener heads hold the ceiling runners to the ceiling. The fasteners are adjusted to minimize the friction between the ceiling runner and the fastener and ceiling surface. The loose fasteners allow the inventive ceiling runner to slide horizontally along the path of the mounting slots. [0010] When a building that has the inventive interior wall system moves, the ceiling can move vertically and/or horizontally relative to the floor. If the distance between the floor and ceiling expands, the studs slide partially out of the ceiling runner channels. Conversely, if the distance between the floor and ceiling contracts, the studs slide further into the ceiling runner channels. If the movement of the building causes horizontal shearing between the floor and ceiling, the mounting slots allow the wall to move horizontally relative to the ceiling without damaging the wall. If the movement is perpendicular to the slots, the wall will rotate about the floor runner however the wall can rotate in this manner without sustaining any damage. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0011] FIG. 1 is a drawing of a prior art stud and runner wall system; [0012] FIG. 2a is a cross section view of the seismic wall system; [0013] FIG. 2b is a side view of the seismic wall system; [0014] FIGS. 3a is a cross section view of the ceiling runner; [0015] FIG. 3b is a side view of the inventive ceiling runner; [0016] FIG. 3c is a perspective view of the inventive ceiling runner; [0017] FIG. 3d is a bottom view of the inventive ceiling runner; and [0018] FIG. 4 is a view of the fasteners and spacers used with the ceiling runner. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0019] The inventive ceiling runner prevents seismic damage to interior walls of a building with a system that securely supports the wallboard but is not rigidly fasten the wall to the ceiling. The wall using the inventive ceiling runner may initially assembled by attaching the studs to the floor and ceiling runners as shown in FIG. 1. [0020] Interior walls for a building are first laid out in a plan before installing the walls. Measures are taken to determine the dimensions of the existing space as well as the lengths of the new walls. The dimensions are plotted to create a top view of the walls for the project. The spacing of the studs within the walls are determined by the wall height and the stud size. The walls are strengthened by with more studs and larger studs. Shorter walls do not require as much strength and can use smaller studs that are spaced farther apart. Higher walls require closer stud spacing and possibly larger studs. The standard spacing between studs is either 12'', 16'' or 24'' on the centers of the studs. See table 1 below. TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Stud Spacing 12'' 16'' 24'' Stud Size (in.) Allowable Wall Height (ft.-in.) 1-5/8 7-10 7-1 6-2 2-1/2 10-10 9-10 8-6 3-5/8 14-4 13-0 11-5 Continue reading about Seismic wall system... Full patent description for Seismic wall system Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Seismic wall system patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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