Structural framing system

Claim 1

Construction means for building low-cost easily assembled structures having joints with structural continuity and stiffness comprising: at least one beam having a stepped profile in side elevation, the middle being a full height section and at least one end portion being of reduced height, a groove extending vertically through the entire height of the end portion and longitudinally from said at least one end to the beginning of said full height section, the middle portion of the full height section being full width, and there being at least one reduced width portion longitudinally extending from said full width middle portion to the reduced height end portion; and at least two connectors also having a stepped profile in side elevation, the middle being a full height section and both end portions being of reduced height, a groove extending vertically through the entire height of the end portions and longitudinally from both ends to the beginning of the full height section, a portion of the full height section being of reduced width and the remainder being full width, a transverse vertical slot extending from the level of the reduced height end portions through said reduced width portion, which slot being in the middle of the connector and having a longitudinal width equal to said full width; said two connectors being fitted transverse to each other with the slot of one fitting into the slot of the other and over the respective full width portions of the two connectors, and said beam fitting onto the end portion of one of said two connectors, the reduced width portion of the beam frictionally fitting into the groove of the one connector and the reduced width portion of the one connector fitting into the groove of the beam so as to form a longitudinal extension of the connector with the beam, thereby forming a two-dimensional joint having structural continuity through the intersection point of two connectors.