AU8948698A

AU8948698A - Flooring system

Info

Publication number: AU8948698A
Application number: AU89486/98A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Andrew Killen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1997-10-23
Filing date: 1998-10-23
Publication date: 1999-05-13
Anticipated expiration: 2018-10-23
Also published as: AU719828B2

Description

o/ii> AUSTRALIA Regulation1 3.2] Patents Act 1990 Original Complete Specification Patent.

Invention Title The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing known to me:- 4. FLOORING SYSTEM Technical Field The present invention relates to floors and, in particular, to a board which is particularly useful for a flooring system.

Background of the Invention It is common in many businesses and homes to have a number of electricity, telephone and/or computer wires running along the floor. These wires are obtrusive and can be dangerous. However, it is often difficult to hide these wires as access to an underfloor area may be limited or nonexistent. Further, if such wires are housed under 10 a floor, it is necessary to drill holes in the floor to provide access for the wires to the appliance to which connection is required. This makes it difficult to move the appliances to which the wires are connected.

Further, access or ducted flooring systems which are built to provide space for wires, cables etc are often high, which reduces the ceiling height in the room above, and requires a step into the room having the flooring system. Further, these floors are often permanent, heavy and/or difficult to move.

Object of the Invention l It is the object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate i at least one of the above disadvantages and/or more generally to provide an improved board, an improved method of making a-flooring system and an improved flooring system.

Summary of the Invention I The present invention in one broad form provides a board comprising: a substantially planar upper surface; and lower surface having at least one groove formed therein, at least one said groove extending from an edge of said lower surface to another edge of said lower surface, said groove or grooves being sized to receive at least one wire or cable. i; .Preferably, said board is substantially rectangular or square in shape.

Preferably, each said groove is straight and extends from an edge of said lower 33 surface to an opposite edge of said lower surface.

i Preferably, said board comprises a plurability of said grooves which are arranged in a grid. The grid may or may not be uniform- depending on the application required.

4' Preferal

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bly, each said groove is substantially arched or may be arcuate in

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t s: i cr~Rt'

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Rfl' 41 ~1 I B .jl r~ -1 r a; I:f profile. each side there Preferably, each said board comprises at least one recess on each sde thereof each said recess being adapted to receive a dowel.

Preferably, markings are applied to the upper surfce of sai ard to indicate the location of said grooves and/or the junctions between intersecting grooves.

Preferably, said board is made from particle board, plyw6o aderise plastics materialThe present invention, in another broad form, provides a method of making a 0 flooring system, said method comprising the steps of: laying a plurality of said boards on an existing floor or structure; and aligning at least one said recess with another said recess of an adjacent board to enable insertion of said dowel in both recesses.

Preferably, said method further comprises the step of running at least one wire, cable or the like through at least one said groove.

The present invention, in anoth&?-hroad form, provides a flooring system comprising: up a plurality of boards, each sad board having a substantially planar upper surface and a lower surface having at least one groove formed therein, at least one said groove extending from an edge of said board to another edge of said board, said groove or grooves being sized to receive at least one wire or cable, said boards placed such that at least one said groove is aligned with a groove of another said board.

Preferably, each said board comprises at least one recess on each side thereof, each said recess being adapted to receive a dowel, said dowel being received in a recess of an adjacent board to prevent movement of said boards relative to each other.

Brief Description of the Drawings Preferred forms ot the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure I is an isometric view of the underside of a board; 30 Figure 2 is an isometric view of the board of Fig 1 from above; Figure 3 is aplan view of the underside of the board of Fig 1; Figure 4 is a plan view of the board of Fig 1 from above; Figure 5 is a side view of the board of Fig 1 from direction V shown in Fig 4; Figure 6 is a side view of the board of Fig I from direction W shown in Fig 4; 35 Figure 7 is a cross section of the board of Fig I through line X-X; Figure 8 is a cross section of the board of Fig 1 through line Y-Y; and '.7

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eetric ew of part of an assembled flooring system as seen Figure 9 is an isometric view op from above.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments Referring to figure 1, a board 6 is shown in isomeic view from underneath The board 6 comprises a lower surface 2 in which arcuate grooves ae formed In the preferred embodiment shown, the grooves 3 are arranged in a grid, having points of intersection 5 (this arrangement effectively breaks the lower surface into a purali o lower surfaces which are clearly seen in figure Each groove 3 etends from one edge of the board to the opposite edge of the board in a straight line. However, it de possibe in accordance with the invention to arrange the grooves 3 in other 1o would be possible in accordance wid, a diagonal grid or even to provide patterns such as forexample, anuneven grid, a diagonal grid or even to provide curved grooves (not shown). The arched tops of the grooves 3 transfer any load to the lower flat surfaces 2 of the board which support the uppe surface 1 of theboard. In some applicatns a flat top of the groove 3 may also be suitable.

eferring to figures 2 and 4, the board 6 comprises a substantially flat upper surface The cross shaped markings 4 (or other markings such symbols or Sudiagrams) are applied in ink or transfer motifs to indicate the grooves or the junction of ves 3, for when access to the grooves which are underneath the board 6. These marks are to assist the user to located the wires or cables which are housed below in the grooves 3, for when access to 0 said wire or cable is required. The spacewithin the grooves 3 can be accessed for us or maintenance by drilling an acess hole through any part of the upper surface or platform directly above the grooves. The X-shaped Referring to figure 3, the lower surface of a board is shown. The

X

markings indicate the junctions where each groove intersects another groove.

Figures 5 and 6 show two edges of a board 6, showing how the grooves 3 i extend to the edge of the board. When the boards are installed along side one another to make a floor, the grooves 3 line up with one another to form a continuous cavity for a service wire or the like. It can be seen that the edges of the board are substantially vertical, so that each board can nearly abut the adjacent board when installed.

Figures 7 and 8 are cross sections through lines X-X and Y-Y respectively, showing the preferred relative depth of the board.

Figure 9 shows a partial view of a flooring system. The flooring system comprises a plurality of boards 6 arranged in a staggered fashion relative to one another. The staggered arrangement of the boards assists in preventing the boards from being displayed relative to one another o as to keep the grooves (not shown in fig 9) under the boards in alignment. To prevent the boards from ipping inthedirection of 4 arrows 12, recesses 7 are put into the sides of each board. Dowels 8 are placed within these recesses 7.

Although shown as a substantially square shape, it is preferred that each board 6 is 900mm x 1800mm. Existing flat flooring can be purchased in lengths of 3600mm x 900mm. To manufacture the board 6, a piece of flat board having these dimensions is cut in half and the grooves bored therein. It is preferred that the entire thickness of the board is 18, 19, 22 or 25mm, which are the thicknesses of commercially available board. For 18mm flooring, the preferred groove depth is 12mm. For 19mm flooring, the preferred groove depth is !3mm. For 22mm flooring the preferred depth is 16mm.

For 25mm flooring, the preferred groove depth is 19mm. This leaves 6mm of board.

thickness above the apex of each groove to provide the requisite strength of the board.

It is also preferred that each groove is approximately 25mm in-width. The preferred grid size is 60, 120 or 390mm between the centres of each adjacent groove. The grid ,may not be uniform, depending- on the application, but may comprise groups of grooves, each group being separated from each other by a predetermined spacing. It is further preferred that each groove 3 has vertical parallel sides and a curved semicircular top to form a substantially arch shaped groove. However, it is foreseen that the boards could be manufactures in different sizes as to cover the required floor area of a building or structure.

The above described flooring system has many advantages. The board can be Squite thin, as described above, to allow for the required service line, wire or cable to iti pass through the grooves, and the remainder of the board. This is advantageous where a step in the floor is not desirable or possible. Further, no legs or edge frames are "i required. It is also advantageous where the floor to the ceiling height in a building is i 25 minimal and a thicker platform would cause problems. Further, because the board is thin it is also lightweight, easy to move and easy to install.

A flooring system using the boards can be installed in both new or old F| buildings, and may even be taken up and reinstalled in another location. It need not be fixed to the existing floor as it is a "floating" or "raft" installation. Services can be installed, taken out and reinstalled any number of times to suite the changing requirements of a building or structure. It also allows for the installation of any floor covering over the assembly of boards without special modifications.

It should be noted that the invention described would also be suitable for ceilings, walls and other like applications.

I 4I I i

Claims

1. A board comprising: a substantially planar upper surface; and a lower surface having at least one groove formed therein, at least one said groove extending from an edge of said lower surface to another edge of said lower surface, said groove or grooves being sized to receive at least one wire or cable.

2. The board of claim 1 being substantially rectangular or square in shape.

3. The board of claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said groove is straight and to extends from an edge of said lower surface to an opposite edg4e of said lower surface.

4. The board of any one of the preceding claims comprising a plurality of said grooves which are arrange in a grid.

The board of any one of the preceding claims wherein each said S'groove is substantially arched or arcuate in profile. 15

6. The board of any of the preceding claims comprising at least one recess on each side thereof, each said recess being adapted to receive a dowel.

7. The board of claim 4 wherein markings are applied to the upper .surface to indicate the location of said grooves and/or the junctions between intersecting grooves.

8. The board of any one of the preceding claims being made from S particle board, ply wood, or a dense plastics material.

9. A method of making a flooring system, said method comprising the steps of: laying of plurality of the boards of claim 6 on an existing floor or structure; and 25 aligning at least one said recess with another said recess of an adjacent board to enable insertion of said dowel in both recesses.

The method of claim 9 further comprising the step of running at least one wire, cable or the like through at least one said groove.

11. A flooring system comprising: a plurality of boards, each said board having a substantially planar upper surface and a lower surface having at least one groove formed therein, at least one said grooveextending from an edge of said board to another edge of said board, said groove or grooves being sized to receive at least one wire or eable, said boards placed such j that at least one said groove is aligned with a groove of another said board.

12. The flooring system of claim 11 wherein each said board comprises at least one recess in each side thereof, each said recess being adapted to receive a dowel and said dowel being received in a recess of an adjacent board to prevent movement of .1. said boards relative to each other. :*7 I I

13. A board substanltia.lly as hereinbefore descri bed with reference to the accompan~ying drawings- fmkn loigssete.to en

14. A method ofmkn afong ytm the methd eing substantially as hereinbefore described With, referec toteacopn ibe dr wi h A flooring system substatial shribf"edsrbdwt reference to the accomfpaylyrg drawings. Dated 21 October, 1998 Andrew Killen -7-