Truss and connector plates therefor

Claim 1

A TOOTHED CONNECTOR PLATE FOR FASTENING TOGETHER AND TRANSMITTING LOADS BETWEEN ABUTTING STRUCTURAL WOODEN MEMBERS, SAID PLATE COMPRISING: (A) A FLAT, METAL PLATE MEMBER, (B) A PLURALITY OF INTEGRAL, SPACED APART FASTENING MEANS EXTENDING UNIDIRECTIONALLY FROM AND IN A DIRECTION SUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL TO SAID PLATE MEMBER FOR IMBEDDING INTO SAID ABUTTING MEMBERS, (C) SAID FASTENING MEANS INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF RELATIVELY SHORT TOOTH MEANS HAVING BROAD SIDES AND STRAIGHT EDGES SO AS TO HAVE A HIGH RESISTANCE TO SHEAR IN WOOD AND A LOW RESISTANCE TO WITHDRAWAL THEREFROM, (D) SAID SHORT TOOTH MEANS BEING DISTRIBUTED SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY THROUGHOUT AT LEAST ONE-HALF THE SURFACE AREA OF SAID PLATE MEMBER, (E) OTHERS OF SAID FASTENING MEANS INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF ELONGATE TOOTH MEANS OF CONSIDERABLY GREATER LENGTH THAN SAID SHORT TOOTH MEANS SO AS TO HAVE A HIGHER RESISTANCE TO WITHDRAWAL FROM WOOD, (F) SAID ELONGATE TOOTH MEANS BEING DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT AT LEAST THE OTHER HALF OF SAID SURFACE AREA OF SAID PLATE MEMBER, (G) SAID ELONGATE TOOTH MEANS BEING DISTRIBUTED OVER ONLY ABOUT ONE-HALF THE SURFACE AREA OF SAID PLATE MEMBER, BEGINNING AT ONE END THEREOF, SO THAT SAID ELONGATE TEETH BECOME EMBEDDED IN ONLY ONE OF TWO ABUTTING WOOD MEMBERS JOINED BY SAID PLATE MEMBER, THE OTHER HALF OF SAID PLATE MEMBER HAVING NAIL HOLES PUNCHED THEREIN AT INTERVALS BETWEEN SAID SHORT TOOTH MEANS.