JP7783771B2 - Building wall structures and reinforcement - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to wall structures and reinforcement for buildings such as warehouses, and in particular to wall structures and reinforcement for buildings that use light steel frames.

The column materials (studs) used in the walls of buildings that use lightweight steel frames are square steel, which has a closed cross section, or C-shaped steel (channel steel), which has an open cross section with an opening on one side.

For example, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-82026 (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 7-29111 (Patent Document 2), approximately groove-shaped studs are used as pillars for parting walls separating dwelling units. In these documents, deformation of the stud is suppressed by fitting multiple spacers into the stud at regular intervals in the vertical direction.

For example, square steel beams are commonly used as columns for walls that require a relatively high level of strength, such as the exterior walls and partition walls of warehouses. However, wall structures have also been proposed in which both ends of C-shaped studs are reinforced with reinforcing elements to withstand high out-of-plane loads (Patent No. 6430588 (Patent Document 3)).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-82026 Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open Publication No. 7-29111 Patent No. 6430588

As mentioned above, square steel beams are generally used as columns for walls that require relatively high strength, but square steel beams are more expensive than C-section steel beams. Therefore, in order to reduce wall manufacturing costs, it is thought to be effective to change the column material for walls from square steel beams to C-section steel beams.

However, because these C-shaped studs are weaker than square studs, when a high out-of-plane load is applied to a C-shaped stud, the stud may twist and rotate within the upper and lower runners, causing it to fall off the runners. Therefore, it is difficult to use C-shaped studs as they are (single studs) as wall columns, which require strength.

Furthermore, as shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2, studs fitted with multiple spacers are sometimes used as pillar materials for houses and the like, but simply fitting conventional spacers into C-shaped steel beams does not sufficiently improve the strength of the wall.

In contrast, if both ends of a C-shaped stud are reinforced with a reinforcing device such as that shown in Patent Document 3, it is possible to reduce the cost of the wall and improve its strength. However, because the reinforcing device in Patent Document 3 is configured to be fitted (hammered) into the stud from both end edges along the length of the stud, the reinforcing device must be attached to the stud before the stud is erected between a pair of runners. As a result, if it is discovered during wall construction that a reinforcing device has been forgotten to be attached, there is the inconvenience of having to dismantle not only the affected stud, but also the surrounding studs and boards.

The present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a reinforcing device that can be attached to the end of a stud during wall construction.

A reinforcing device according to one aspect of the present invention is attached to the end of a C-shaped stud held by a pair of runners. It includes a spacer that is positioned between the edges of the stud when attached and has opposing portions on both sides that intersect the edges and extend vertically, and a clamping portion that is formed integrally with the spacer and clamps each edge of the stud in the front-to-back direction. The opposing portions on both sides of the spacer include a pair of parallel regions that extend parallel to each other and contact the end faces of the edges when attached, and at least a pair of retreating regions that are located diagonally across the spacer and extend back from the parallel regions.

Preferably, the pair of parallel regions overlap (at least partially) with each other in the vertical direction.

More preferably, the opposing portions of the space maintaining section include two pairs of withdrawal regions connected to the upper and lower ends of each parallel region.

To allow for the retrofitting of reinforcement, the vertical length of the space-maintaining portion is smaller than the distance between the edges of the studs.

A building wall structure according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a C-shaped stud with the above-described reinforcement attached to its upper and lower ends, and a pair of runners into which the upper and lower ends of the studs are fitted, respectively.

The present invention allows for retrofitting to the ends of studs during wall construction.

1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a general configuration of a wall structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a main part of a wall structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a reinforcing element is attached to the upper end of a stud in an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the mounting structure of the reinforcement tool taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a reinforcing member according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the reinforcing member taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 5. 1A to 1C are diagrams schematically illustrating a method for attaching a reinforcing member according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing a stopper of the reinforcing member according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a stopper of a reinforcing tool according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a plan view schematically showing a reinforcing member according to a first modified example of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a perspective view schematically showing a state in which a reinforcing element according to a second modified example of an embodiment of the present invention is attached to the upper end of a stud.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that identical or corresponding parts in the drawings will be designated by the same reference numerals, and their description will not be repeated.

(Overview of wall structure)
A schematic configuration of a wall structure 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. The wall structure 1 is a partition wall (compartment wall) W structure that separates two adjacent spaces within a building. Note that an imaginary plane 90 shown in Figures 1 and 2 is a partition surface that separates the two adjacent spaces. In Figures 1 and 2, the vertical direction (up-down direction) of this partition surface 90 is indicated by arrow A1, and the horizontal direction (left-right direction) of the partition surface 90 is indicated by arrow A2. Furthermore, in Figure 2, the direction perpendicular to the partition surface 90 is indicated by arrow A3. The direction of arrow A3 corresponds to the out-of-plane direction of the partition wall W.

The wall structure 1 comprises a pair of runners 2, 3 spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction, and a plurality of studs 4 held by the pair of runners 2, 3 and spaced apart from each other.

Runner 2 is located at the lower end of partition wall W, and runner 3 is located at the upper end of partition wall W. Each runner 2, 3 has a substantially U-shaped cross section. That is, runner 2 has a pair of flanges 22 at both ends in the width direction. Similarly, runner 3 has a pair of flanges 32 at both ends in the width direction. The width direction of runners 2, 3 coincides with a direction perpendicular to partition surface 90.

The lower end of each flange 22 is connected to a bottom surface 21 that is in surface contact with the upper surface of a body portion 91, such as a beam. The upper end of each flange 32 is connected to a top surface 31 that is in surface contact with the lower surface of a body portion 92, such as a beam.

The upper and lower ends of each stud 4 are fitted into a pair of runners 3, 2, respectively. The stud 4 is a C-beam with a roughly rectangular (rectangular) outer shape, and an opening 40 extending in the vertical direction is formed in one of a pair of long sides. In other words, the stud 4 includes a long side 41 with no opening, a pair of short sides 42 perpendicular to the long side 41, and a pair of edge portions 43 located on both sides of the opening 40 in the width direction. The pair of edge portions 43 have end faces that face each other.

The stud 4 is positioned with its strong axis aligned so that its long side 41 is perpendicular to the partition surface 90 (out-of-plane direction). In this case, a face material 80 (Figure 1) is fixed to the short side 42 of the stud 4. The face material 80 is, for example, gypsum board. In the following description, the state in which the upper and lower ends of the stud 4 are fitted into the runners 3 and 2, respectively, is referred to as the installed state of the stud 4.

A commonly available C-beam is used for the stud 4, and its specified outer width (the specified width of the long side 41) is, for example, 100 mm. In this case, the distance between the flanges 22, 32 of the runners 2, 3 is also, for example, 100 mm. The specified width of the opening 40 of the stud 4 is, for example, 60 mm, and the specified width of each edge 43 is, for example, 20 mm. The plate thickness of the stud 4 (dimension D1 shown in Figure 4) is preferably 1.2 mm or more, and more preferably 1.6 mm or more.

Such studs 4 are cheaper than, for example, 1.2 mm thick square steel bars, and therefore can reduce the cost of the partition wall W compared to using square steel bars as pillar materials.

However, the out-of-plane load-bearing capacity of such C-shaped studs 4 is lower than that of square steel. For this reason, in this embodiment, one reinforcing element 5 is attached to the bottom and top ends of each stud 4. The reinforcing element 5 prevents the stud 4 from shrinking and deforming in a direction that reduces the distance between the pair of edges 43 of the stud 4. In other words, the reinforcing element 5 prevents the distance between the end faces of the pair of edges 43 from becoming less than the specified opening width dimension.

The reinforcing element 5 attached to the upper end of the stud 4 only needs to have at least a portion (upper portion) located above the height of the lower end of the flange 32 of the runner 3. Similarly, the reinforcing element 5 attached to the lower end of the stud 4 only needs to have at least a portion (lower portion) located below the height of the upper end of the flange 22 of the runner 2.

(Regarding the mounting structure of the reinforcement)
The mounting structure of the reinforcement 5 when the stud 4 is installed will be described with reference to Figures 3 to 6. Figure 3 is an enlarged view of region III shown in Figure 2, and is a perspective view showing the state in which the reinforcement 5 is mounted on the upper end of the stud 4. Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the mounting structure of the reinforcement 5 taken along line IV-IV in Figure 3. Figure 5 is a plan view of the reinforcement 5. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the reinforcement 5 taken along line VI-VI in Figure 5.

As shown in Figures 3 and 5, the outer shape of the reinforcing element 5 in plan view is approximately rectangular, and it is positioned across a pair of edges 43 of the stud 4. The horizontal dimension L11 of the reinforcing element 5 is smaller than the specified outer width dimension L1 of the stud 4 (e.g., 100 mm) and larger than the specified opening width dimension L2 of the stud 4 (e.g., 60 mm). The vertical dimension L13 of the reinforcing element 5 is typically equal to or smaller than the length dimension of the flange portion 32 of the runner 3.

The reinforcing element 5 includes a main body 51 located between a pair of edge portions 43 of the stud 4, two pairs of front plate portions (first plate portion and third plate portion) 52, 53 connected to both widthwise ends of the main body 51 and arranged along the surface of the edge portions 43, and a pair of rear plate portions (second plate portions) 54 connected to both widthwise ends of the main body 51 and arranged along the back surface of the edge portions 43. The edge portions 43 of the stud 4 are sandwiched between the front plate portions 52, 53 and the rear plate portion 54 of the reinforcing element 5.

The reinforcing element 5 is formed symmetrically. Therefore, each pair of plate-like portions 52-54 has approximately the same vertical length and is located at approximately the same vertical position.

The reinforcing element 5 is formed, for example, by pressing a single thin metal plate (steel plate). Therefore, in this embodiment, the front plate portions 52, 53 and the back plate portion 54 are arranged so that they do not overlap in the vertical direction. In other words, the front plate portions 52, 53 and the back plate portion 54 do not face each other in the front-to-back direction. As shown in FIG. 3 , one pair of front plate portions 52 is located above the other pair of back plate portions 54, and the other pair of front plate portions 53 is located below the other pair of back plate portions 54. The thickness dimension D2 ( FIG. 6 ) of the reinforcing element 5 is preferably larger than the thickness dimension D1 of the stud 4, e.g., 2 mm or more. The thickness dimension D2 of the reinforcing element 5 is preferably larger than the thickness dimension D1 of the stud 4 by 0.5 mm or more.

The main body portion 51 is a plate-like portion located on the front side of the edge portion 43 of the stud 4. Therefore, the main body portion 51 and the front plate-like portions 52, 53 are flush with each other. In contrast, at the boundary between the main body portion 51 and each rear plate-like portion 54, there is a facing portion 55 that intersects with them and extends in the front-to-rear direction. The pair of facing portions 55 also have approximately the same vertical length and are located at approximately the same vertical position.

The intersection angle between each facing portion 55 and the main body portion 51 is approximately a right angle. An approximately right angle is between 80° and 100°. However, the intersection angle between each facing portion 55 and the main body portion 51 may also be an obtuse angle exceeding 100°. Furthermore, each facing portion 55 is not limited to a flat shape, and may be slightly curved.

The distance (maximum distance in the width direction) L12 between the outer surfaces of the two facing portions 55 is set to approximately match the specified opening width dimension (L2) of the stud 4. Therefore, when the stud 4 is installed, the outer surface of the facing portion 55 comes into contact (surface contact or line contact) with the end face of the edge portion 43. Note that, depending on the processing accuracy of the stud 4, a slight gap may exist between the outer surface of the facing portion 55 and the end face of the edge portion 43 when the stud 4 is installed. In other words, as long as the facing portion 55 is positioned facing the end face of the edge portion 43 of the stud 4 when the stud 4 is installed, the outer surface of the facing portion 55 may be close to the end face of the edge portion 43 without coming into contact with it.

In this embodiment, the pair of facing portions 55 and the main body portion 51 therebetween function as a "space maintaining portion 61" disposed between the edge portions 43 of the stud 4. More specifically, the main body portion 51 in this embodiment is composed of a central portion 51a, with the pair of facing portions 55 at both ends, an upper portion 51b extending upward from the central portion 51a, and a lower portion 51c extending downward from the central portion 51a. Therefore, the central portion 51a of the main body portion 51 constitutes the space maintaining portion 61. The front plate portion 52 is provided in a flange-like shape on both sides of the upper portion 51b of the main body portion 51, and the front plate portion 53 is provided in a flange-like shape on both sides of the lower portion 51c of the main body portion 51. In this embodiment, the two pairs of front plate portions 52, 53 and the pair of back plate portions 54 constitute a "clamping portion 62" that clamps each edge portion 43 of the stud 4 in the front-to-back direction.

The vertical (up-down) lengths of each part will be explained with reference to Figure 5. The length dimension L15 of the upper front plate portion 52 and the length dimension L16 of the lower front plate portion 53 are approximately equal. The length dimensions L15, L16 of the front plate portions 52, 53 are, for example, 50 to 15 mm. The length dimension L14 of the back plate portion 54 is larger than the length dimensions L15, L16 of the front plate portions 52, 53, and is, for example, 20 to 40 mm. When viewed from the front, the back plate portion 54 and the front plate portions 52, 53 may be spaced apart in the vertical direction.

The vertical dimension L13 of the entire reinforcing element 5 may be greater than the opening width L2 of the stud 4, but the length dimension (vertical dimension) L14 of the rear plate portion 54 is less than the opening width L2 (60 mm) of the stud 4. The length dimension L14 of the rear plate portion 54 corresponds to the vertical dimension of the space maintaining portion 61. As a result, by rotating the reinforcing element 5 by, for example, 90 degrees, it is possible to pass the rear plate portion 54 (which is in the same height range as the space maintaining portion 61) between the edge portions 43 of the stud 4 from the front (front side) of the stud 4.

Here, the space maintaining portion 61 has a generally rectangular shape (approximately rectangular or square) in plan view, with rounded corners. Specifically, the pair of facing portions 55 includes a pair of parallel regions 55a extending parallel to each other along the longitudinal direction of the stud 4, and two pairs of retreat regions 55b, 55c located on a diagonal line passing through the center C of the space maintaining portion 61 and extending back from the parallel region 55a. More specifically, the retreat region 55b connected to the upper end of one parallel region 55a (on the left side of the paper) and the retreat region 55c connected to the lower end of the other parallel region 55a (on the right side of the paper) form a first pair, while the retreat region 55c connected to the lower end of one parallel region 55a (on the left side of the paper) and the retreat region 55b connected to the upper end of the other parallel region 55a (on the right side of the paper) form a second pair.

The shape of the space maintaining section 61 in this embodiment is bilaterally symmetrical and rotationally symmetrical. Therefore, the left and right parallel regions 55a are provided at approximately the same positions in the vertical direction. The two pairs of retreat regions 55b, 55c all have the same shape and size. While it is desirable for the shape of the retreat regions 55b, 55c to be R-shaped (arcuate), this is not limitative and may be, for example, a flat, inclined surface.

The (shortest) distance between the pair of parallel regions 55a corresponds to the spacing L12 between the aforementioned facing portions 55, and defines the width dimension of the space maintaining portion 61. The spacing L12 may be slightly (approximately 0.5 to 1.5 mm) larger than the specified opening width L2 of the stud 4. This allows the space maintaining portion 61 to brace the edge portion 43 of the stud 4 when attached.

The vertical dimension L21 of the parallel region 55a is preferably larger than the vertical dimension L22 of the retracted region 55b, and specifically, is preferably 80 mm or greater. By making the area of the parallel region 55a that contacts the end face of the edge 43 of the stud 4 relatively large, the pair of edge portions 43 of the stud 4 can be effectively braced by the main body portion 51 and the parallel region 55a of the facing portion 55, even when a large force is applied from the outside to the side of the stud 4 (hereinafter also referred to as "under load").

Referring to Figure 6, the distance D12 between the front plate portions 52, 53 and the rear plate portion 54 is smaller than the plate thickness D1 (Figure 4) of the stud 4. As a result, when the reinforcement 5 is attached, the edge 43 of the stud 4 is securely clamped between the front plate portions 52, 53 and the rear plate portion 54.

In this embodiment, the distance D11 between the back surfaces of the front plate portions 52, 53 (i.e., the opposing surfaces of the front plate portions 52, 53 facing the surface of the edge portion 43) and the surface of the back plate portion 54 (i.e., the opposing surface of the back plate portion 54 facing the back surface of the edge portion 43) is slightly larger than the thickness D1 of the stud 4, but as shown in Figure 6, a protrusion 56 is provided on the back surface of the front plate portions 52, 53. The reinforcement 5 is formed so that the distance D12 between the apex of this protrusion 56 and the surface of the back plate portion 54 is smaller than the thickness D1 of the stud 4 (Figure 4).

Specifically, if the plate thickness dimension D1 of the stud 4 is 1.6 mm, then the distance D11 is, for example, 2.0 mm, and the distance D12 is, for example, 1.5 mm. As such, by having the protrusion 56 on each of the front plate-shaped portions 52, 53, frictional resistance is generated between the edge 43 of the stud 4 and the protrusion 56, preventing the reinforcing element 5 from falling under its own weight without the use of fasteners such as screws.

(About the construction method of partition walls)
Next, a brief description will be given of a method for constructing the partition wall W. In this embodiment, the basic method for constructing the partition wall W includes step P1 of arranging a pair of runners 2, 3, step P2 of preparing reinforcing members 5, step P3 of attaching the reinforcing members 5 to the upper and lower ends of the studs 4, and step P4 of fitting the upper and lower ends of the studs 4 to which the reinforcing members 5 have been attached into the runners 3, 2. Note that the order of construction of step P1 and steps P2 and P3 may be reversed.

In process P3, as shown in Figure 7(A), the reinforcing element 5 is inserted (hammered) into the edge 43 of the stud 4 from the vertical edge of the stud 4 while standing upright. As mentioned above, the distance D11 between the backside of the front plate portions 52, 53 of the reinforcing element 5 and the surface of the back plate portion 54 is slightly larger than the plate thickness D1 of the stud 4. Therefore, when attaching the reinforcing element 5, the reinforcing element 5 can be slid along the length of the stud 4 with the edge portion 43 sandwiched between the lower front plate portion 53 and back plate portion 54.

In addition, the front plate portions 52, 53 of the reinforcing element 5 have a convex portion 56 on the back side, allowing the reinforcing element 5 to be temporarily fixed to the stud 4 at the desired position. The reinforcing element 5 attached to the upper end of the stud 4 may be positioned so that it extends slightly beyond the upper end of the stud 4.

When the reinforcing element 5 is attached to the upper and lower ends of the stud 4, the parallel regions 55a of the opposing portions 55 on both sides of the spacer 61 come into contact with the end faces of the pair of edges 43 of the stud 4. Note that "contact" here does not necessarily mean complete contact, but also allows for a slight gap.

In process P4, the lower end of the stud 4 is fitted into runner 2, and the upper end of the stud 4 is fitted into runner 3. In this way, the stud 4, whose upper and lower ends are reinforced with the reinforcing members 5, is erected, and the face material 80 is fixed to both side surfaces (short sides 42) of the stud 4.

As such, in the basic construction method, the reinforcing element 5 is attached before the studs 4 are installed in the runners 2 and 3. However, in this embodiment, the reinforcing element 5 can be attached even after the studs 4 have been installed in the runners 2 and 3. This will be explained with reference to Figure 7(B).

When retrofitting the reinforcing element 5, first prepare the reinforcing element 5 on the front side of the stud 4 so that it faces the opening 40 of the stud 4. With the reinforcing element 5 tilted, for example, by approximately 90 degrees, the rear plate portion 54 of the reinforcing element 5 is passed through the opening 40 between the edge portions 43. Because the vertical dimension L14 (Figure 5) of the rear plate portion 54 is smaller than the distance between the edge portions 43 of the stud 4 (opening width L2 shown in Figure 3), the rear plate portion 54 can be positioned behind the edge portions 43 from the front of the stud 4. Then, slowly rotate the reinforcing element 5 toward the correct position, sandwiching the edge portion 43 between the front plate portions 52, 53 and the rear plate portion 54. Once the edge portion 43 is sandwiched between the front plate portions 52, 53 and the rear plate portion 54, the facing portion 55 of the spacer 61 will be positioned within the thickness range of the edge portion 43 of the stud 4.

Here, the facing portion 55 has rounded recessed areas 55b, 55c at the top and bottom ends. While the diagonally positioned (pair) of recessed areas 55b, 55c contact (slide) the end faces 43a of both edge portions 43 of the stud 4, the reinforcing element 5 can be rotated until the parallel area 55a makes surface or line contact with the end faces 43a of both edge portions 43. Furthermore, because the distance D12 (Figure 6) between the convex portions 56 on the front plate portions 52, 53 and the back plate portion 54 is smaller than the plate thickness D1 (Figure 4) of the stud 4, the reinforcing element 5 can be rotated while temporarily fixed in place in an inclined position. Therefore, a worker can rotate the reinforcing element 5 by, for example, striking the bottom end face of one of the lower front plate portions 53 (left side of the drawing) from below (see outline arrow), facilitating retrofitting of the reinforcing element 5.

In addition, the reinforcing element 5 of this embodiment has retreat areas 55b, 55c at the four corners of the space maintaining portion 61, so the rotation direction of the reinforcing element 5 is not limited to either clockwise or counterclockwise, making installation easy.

(Function of reinforcement devices under load)
The function of the reinforcing element 5 when an out-of-plane load is applied to the partition wall W as shown in Figure 1 and a large force is applied from the outside to one side of the stud 4 as shown in Figure 4 will be explained. As described above, the reinforcing element 5 is attached only to the upper and lower ends of the stud 4 (i.e., only to the portions fitted into the runners 3 and 2).

Under normal conditions, the facing portion 55 of the reinforcement 5 faces the end face 43a of the edge portion 43 of the stud 4. More specifically, a pair of parallel regions 55a on both sides of the space maintaining portion 61 are in surface or line contact with the end faces 43a of both edge portions 43 of the stud 4. Furthermore, the plate thickness (D2) of the reinforcement 5 is greater than the plate thickness (D1) of the stud 4. Therefore, even if a large force is applied to one side of the stud 4, the distance (opening width) between the pair of edge portions 43 is prevented from becoming smaller than the horizontal dimension (L12) of the space maintaining portion 61. In other words, the distance between the pair of edge portions 43 is prevented from becoming less than the specified opening width dimension (L2).

In addition, because the edge portions 43 of the stud 4 are sandwiched between the back surfaces of the parallel front plate portions 52, 53 and the surface of the back plate portion 54, the pair of edge portions 43 can be tensioned while preventing deformation of the edge portions 43 themselves.

In this way, the reinforcing element 5 restricts deformation of the stud 4 in the direction that reduces the distance between the edge portions 43, preventing the stud 4 from shrinking and deforming so that the outer width L1 becomes less than the specified outer width dimension. Furthermore, because the reinforcing element 5 prevents the stud 4 from shrinking in the width direction when the stud 4 is installed, the engagement between the stud 4 and the runners 2, 3 can be maintained even under load. This prevents the stud 4 from rotating within the runners 2, 3 and becoming detached from them. As a result, the strength of the partition wall W can be improved even when C-shaped steel studs 4 are used as the column material for the partition wall W.

Furthermore, when the reinforcing element 5 is attached, the parallel regions 55a of the pair of facing portions 55 are located at the same height range (the range sandwiched between two dashed lines in Figure 5), allowing the pair of facing portions 55 to brace the pair of edge portions 43 of the stud 4 in a balanced state. This prevents the reinforcing element 5 itself from rotating under load. Therefore, even if the reinforcing element 5 is not completely fixed to the stud 4 with screws or the like, the spacing between the pair of edge portions 43 can be appropriately maintained even under load.

In addition, in this embodiment, the facing portion 55 intersects with the main body portion 51 at approximately a right angle, and the parallel region 55a and the end face 43a of the edge portion 43 are in surface contact. Therefore, even if the end face 43a of the edge portion 43 forcefully presses the outer surface (parallel region 55a) of the facing portion 55 inward, deformation of the edge portion 43 can be prevented or suppressed.

Furthermore, even if a large load is applied to the partition wall W, causing the stud 4 to twist slightly, the reinforcing element 5 will not easily come off the edge 43 because the distance D12 between the front plate portions 52, 53 and the rear plate portion 54 is smaller than the thickness of the edge 43 (the plate thickness dimension D1 of the stud 4). Therefore, even if the reinforcing element 5 shifts slightly due to twisting of the stud 4, the reinforcing element 5 can be held in place. Therefore, this embodiment can prevent or suppress the stud 4 from falling out of the runners 2, 3 or the face material 80 from falling off due to twisting of the stud 4.

For this reason, the structure of the partition wall W can be used as a partition wall in a warehouse that requires high load-bearing capacity. That is, the partition wall W in this embodiment can withstand the strength specified by the Warehousing Business Act, that is, a load of 2500 N/ ^m2 or more.

In addition, in this embodiment, the reinforcing element 5 is formed by processing a single thin plate, which allows for low manufacturing costs for the reinforcing element 5. The reinforcing element may also be formed by welding multiple thin plates stacked in the front-to-back direction. Alternatively, each part of the reinforcing element does not have to be plate-shaped, and may be configured to include, for example, a cylindrical or columnar space maintaining portion extending in the vertical direction. The reinforcing element may include a space maintaining portion 61 that is positioned between the edge portions 43 of the studs 4 in the installed state and has facing portions 55 on both sides that intersect the edge portions 43 and extend in the vertical direction, and a clamping portion 62 that is formed integrally with the space maintaining portion 61 and clamps each edge portion 43 of the studs 4 in the front-to-back direction.

In this embodiment, the reinforcement 5 is attached so that its main body 51 is located on the front side of the edge 43. However, it may also be attached upside down, with the main body 51 located on the back side of the edge 43. In this case, the above-mentioned front plate portions 52 and 53 should be read as the back plate portion, and the back plate portion 54 as the front plate portion. However, in this case, taking into account the possibility of retrofitting the reinforcement, the vertical dimension L13 of the entire reinforcement, including the two pairs of "back" plate portions 52 and 53, should be less than the opening width L2 of the stud 4.

(Regarding return stops)
In this embodiment, since the reinforcing element 5 can be rotated clockwise or counterclockwise to be attached to the edge 43 of the stud 4, it is desirable that the reinforcing element 5 have a detent function (stopper) to prevent rotation of the reinforcing element 5 when an out-of-plane load is applied to the stud 4 in the attached state. This will be described with reference to Figures 8 and 9.

The reinforcing element 5 has stoppers 71, for example, on both sides of the lower portion 51c (Figure 5) of the main body 51, i.e., near the boundary with the front plate portion 53. The stoppers 71 are formed by cutting out a portion of the lower portion 51c and bending the tip 72 into an L-shape.

When attaching the reinforcing element 5 to the stud 4, the stopper 71 is tilted to the front as shown in the left diagram of Figure 9, and the tip 72 of the stopper 71 does not interfere with the edge 43 of the stud 4. After attaching the reinforcing element 5, the stopper 71 is pushed back as shown in the right diagram of Figure 9, so that the side of the tip (bent portion) 72 of the stopper 71 comes into contact with (or is close to) the end face 43a of the edge 43 of the stud 4. Because the two stoppers 71 are positioned at the same height so as to abut against both end faces 43a of the stud 4, the reinforcing element 5 can be prevented from falling off the stud 4 regardless of the direction (clockwise/counterclockwise) of the rotational force applied to the reinforcing element 5.

Note that the location of the stopper 71 is not limited to the location shown in Figure 8, and two or more stoppers 71 may be provided on both sides of the upper portion 51b (Figure 5) of the main body 51.

Furthermore, the anti-return function of the reinforcing element 5 is not limited to being provided on the reinforcing element 5 itself, as with the stopper 71. For example, the stopper of the reinforcing element 5 may be formed by a rod-shaped member (not shown) that penetrates both sides of the lower portion 51c of the main body 51 of the reinforcing element 5, i.e., near the boundary with the front plate-shaped portion 53. In this case, it is desirable that the stopper include a fixing member (e.g., a nut) for fixing the rod-shaped member (e.g., a bolt).

Alternatively, both sides of the reinforcing element 5 (front plate portions 52, 53) may be fixed directly to the stud 4 with screws (not shown). This allows the screws to absorb the rotational force acting on the reinforcing element 5 under load, thereby preventing or minimizing the reinforcing element 5 from falling off the stud 4.

(Variation 1)
The configuration of the space maintaining portion 61 is not limited to the configuration shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 10 is a plan view schematically showing a reinforcing member 5A in a first modified example of the present embodiment. In this modified example, the configuration of the space maintaining portion is different from that in the above embodiment.

Specifically, while the space maintaining section 61 in the above embodiment had retraction areas 55b, 55c on both the top and bottom of the parallel region 55a, the space maintaining section 61 in this modified example has a retraction area only above or below the parallel region 55a. More specifically, the pair of facing sections 55 of the space maintaining section 61A is composed of a pair of parallel regions 55a and a pair of retraction areas 55b, 55c arranged diagonally.

In this case, although the rotation direction of the reinforcing element 5A when retrofitting it is limited to either clockwise or counterclockwise, the reinforcing element 5A can be retrofitted to the stud 4 in the same way as the reinforcing element 5 described above.

Furthermore, because the space maintaining portion 61A is not symmetrical, the vertical positions of the pair of parallel regions 55a do not match completely, but they do overlap by the length L30 shown in Figure 10. In other words, the parallel regions 55a of the pair of facing portions 55 are partially located in the same height range. Therefore, even in this modified example, the pair of facing portions 55 can brace the pair of edge portions 43 of the stud 4 in a balanced state, preventing rotation of the reinforcement device 5 itself when a load is applied to the stud 4 in the out-of-plane direction.

In cases where the rotation direction during installation is limited, such as in the case of reinforcing element 5A, the above-mentioned stoppers 71 may be provided one on each diagonal. In the example of Figure 10, reinforcing element 5A is installed by rotating it counterclockwise, so two stoppers 71 are provided in positions that prevent clockwise rotation, i.e., positions corresponding to retreat areas 55b and 55c. In cases where the rotation direction is limited in this way, the number of stoppers 71 may be one. In other words, stopper 71 may be provided only in a position corresponding to either retreat area 55b or 55c.

(Variation 2)
11 is a perspective view showing a state in which a reinforcing element 5B according to a second modification of the present embodiment is attached to the upper end of a stud 4. In this modification, the configurations of the space maintaining portion and the clamping portion differ from those of the above embodiment.

The clamping portion 62A of this modified example has a pair of front plate portions 52 and two pairs of back plate portions 54. The front plate portions 52 are provided on both sides of the vertical center of the main body portion 51 (flush with the main body portion 51), and the back plate portions 54 are provided above and below the front plate portions 52. Therefore, the facing portions 55 on both sides of the space maintaining portion 61B are divided in the vertical direction at the position of the parallel regions 55a. In this way, the pair of parallel regions 55a may also be divided in the vertical direction. Even in this case, it is sufficient that at least one pair of evacuation regions 55c is provided on the diagonal of the space maintaining portion 61B, which has a substantially rectangular outer shape.

When a load is applied to the side of the stud 4, this reinforcing element 5B can increase the area of the portion that comes into contact with the end face of the edge portion 43 of the stud 4 (i.e., the facing portion 55) compared to the reinforcing element 5 described above, thereby effectively preventing shrinkage deformation of the stud 4.

In this modified example, each front plate portion 52 also has one protrusion 56 on its back side, but in this modified example, there is only one front plate portion 52 on each side of the main body portion 51. Therefore, it is desirable that each front plate portion 52 have multiple protrusions 56 on its back side. It is desirable that the multiple protrusions 56 be spaced apart in the vertical direction. This prevents the reinforcing element 5B from slipping off.

Alternatively, in this modification, in addition to/instead of the convex portion 56 on the front plate portion 52, the two back plate portions 54 on each side of the main body portion 51 may each have a single convex portion on the front surface. Note that, similarly, in the reinforcing devices of the above-described embodiment and modification 1, the back plate portions 54 may also have a convex portion.

(Other Modifications)
In the above embodiment and each modified example, the reinforcing element is attached to both the upper and lower ends of the stud 4, but it is sufficient if it is attached to at least one of the upper and lower ends of the stud 4.

The wall structures shown in the above embodiments and variant examples have been described as structures suitable for warehouse partition walls W, but this is not limiting. For example, they may be the exterior walls of a warehouse, or the wall structures of buildings other than warehouses.

The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims, not the above description, and is intended to include all modifications that are equivalent in meaning to and within the scope of the claims.

1 Wall structure, 2, 3 Runner, 4 Stud, 5, 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D Reinforcement, 21 Bottom portion, 22, 32 Flange portion, 31 Top portion, 40 Opening, 41 Long side portion, 42 Short side portion, 43 Edge portion, 51, 51A Main body portion, 52, 53, 52A Front plate portion, 54, 54A Back plate portion, 55 Facing portion, 56 Convex portion, 57 Hook, 70 Screw, 80 Face material, 90 Partition surface (imaginary surface), 91, 92 Body portion, C Gap, W Partition wall.

Claims (5)

A reinforcement attached to the end of a C-shaped stud held by a pair of runners,
a space maintaining portion disposed between the edges of the studs in an attached state, the space maintaining portion having opposing portions on both sides that intersect with the edges and extend in the vertical direction;
a clamping portion that is integral with the space maintaining portion and clamps each edge portion of the stud in the front-to-back direction,
A reinforcing tool in which the opposing portions on both sides of the space maintaining portion extend parallel to each other and include a pair of parallel regions that contact the end faces of the edge portions in the attached state, and at least a pair of retreat regions that are located diagonally across the space maintaining portion and extend back from the parallel regions. The reinforcing device according to claim 1, wherein the pair of parallel regions are vertically overlapping. A reinforcing element as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the opposing portions on both sides of the space maintaining portion include two pairs of the withdrawal regions connected to the upper and lower ends of each of the parallel regions. A reinforcement device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the vertical length of the space maintaining portion is smaller than the distance between the edges of the studs. a C-shaped stud having the reinforcing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 attached to its upper and lower ends;
A wall structure of a building comprising a pair of runners into which the upper and lower ends of the studs are fitted, respectively.