EP3805483B1

EP3805483B1 - Double joist support for raised floors

Info

Publication number: EP3805483B1
Application number: EP20200185.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Marco Pasquali
Original assignee: Profilpas SpA
Current assignee: Profilpas SpA
Priority date: 2019-10-07
Filing date: 2020-10-06
Publication date: 2022-11-30
Anticipated expiration: 2040-10-06
Also published as: IT201900018098A1; EP3805483A1; PL3805483T3

Description

The present invention relates to a double joist support for raised floors.
The creation of raised floors formed by distinct flat elements is increasingly widespread since it is fast, involves easy laying, while being adaptable to resting planes which are heterogeneous both in relation to orientation and material.
The quality of the work very much depends on the supports on which the flat elements, which must be flush, side by side to one another, rest, so as to have a substantially continuous raised floor, except for thin slits between adjacent flat elements.
Each support is notoriously formed by at least one base element and by a head for resting different flat elements, preferably four flat elements. The support may have a non-tilting head rotating about a vertical axis, or a different tilting head.
The present applicant is the owner of the Italian patent application No 102019000006528 in which it is described a support for raised floors comprising a base, an intermediate element and a head on which different raised floor flat elements directly rest.
The load-bearing function is therefore performed by the head at the corner areas of the flat elements of the raised floor.
Each flat element is therefore suspended between four heads of four supports for raised floors.
Disadvantageously, away from the corner areas, the flat elements, after being installed, undergo stresses, which tend to bend them downwards and which, over time, affect the quality of the floor.
The use of single aluminum joists, which are rested on the heads of the supports for raised floors, is known: a support is made on a rectilinear part close to the edge of two adjacent flat elements which increases the solidity of the raised floor.
Disadvantageously, however, the joist is visible between two adjacent flat elements, compromising the aesthetics of the finished raised floor.
Furthermore, any liquid and other residues tend to remain in the gap between two flat elements: the result is poor hygiene of the raised floor which is difficult to clean.
To overcome this issue it is possible to provide a second head above the single joist which, however, complicates the support; furthermore, the greater direct resting surface for adjacent flat elements is lacking.
DE-202015105013 describes a support for raised floors comprising a sliding element supported by a longitudinal member which is mounted on a foot.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a support for raised floors which provides a greater surface support under the flat elements forming the raised floor.
It is a further object of the present invention that said support is easy to lay, starting from known supports, without laborious structural adjustments.
It is another further object of the present invention that said support allows to easily keep the raised floor clean and free from dangerous impurities.
According to the invention, said and further objects are achieved with a support for raised floors as described in claim 1.
Advantageously, observing the mounted raised floor, except at the positioning element which has a very limited and negligible length with respect to the length of the joists, nothing is seen between adjacent flat elements, thus improving the aesthetics of the raised floor.
The width of the joists and the distance thereof may be adjusted by adopting a different head: there is therefore considerable installing flexibility.
The positioning element may be positioned as desired along the joists and ensures an optimal centering of the flat elements which are supported from below by the joists between two supports.
Advantageously, the installation is quick and precise.
The use of two parallel joists does not alter the underlying structure formed by standard elements such as the base, the intermediate element and the head. Also the shape of the flat elements is not conditioned by the joists or by the positioning element.
These and other features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of a practical exemplary embodiment thereof, shown by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a support for raised floors according to the present invention;
Figure 2 shows an exploded perspective view of the support;
Figure 3 shows a front view of the support, with an element for positioning flat elements of raised floor;
Figure 4 shows a front view of the support, with the positioning element partially unfastened;
Figure 5 shows a top perspective view of a head of the support;
Figure 6 shows a bottom perspective view of the head;
Figure 7 shows a bottom plan view of the positioning element;
Figure 8 shows a top plan view of the positioning element;
Figure 9 shows a front view of the positioning element;
Figure 10 shows a top perspective view of the positioning element;
Figure 11 shows a bottom perspective view of the positioning element.

A support 1 for raised floors comprises a base 2, an intermediate element 3 and a head 4 (Figures 1 and 2).
The base 2 is able to rest on a underlying fixed surface and comprises a cylindrical cavity 5 having an internal thread 51 able to engage with an external thread 6 of the intermediate element 3.
The intermediate element 3 has a cylindrical shape with said external thread 6, and a concave upper surface 7 which is centrally provided with teeth 8 and on the edge a circular groove 9.
Each tooth 8 is formed by a portion which protrudes upwards and a portion which protrudes outwards leaving a space below said portion which protrudes outwards.
The head 4 (Figures 5-6) comprises an upper portion 15 with an outer upper surface 10 which is substantially flat and with teeth 11 protruding upwards, and a central compartment 40 having a central surface 16 with a central through hole 17.
The head 4 further comprises a lower portion 12 with ribs 13 having a convex edge (namely a curved surface) which converges towards a convex central surface 14 which ends at said central through hole 17.
The convex central surface 14, and possibly a further flat surface, act as a connection between the convex edge and the central through hole 17.
Said convex edge continues in the convex central surface 14 forming a single convex surface which facilitates the sliding of the head 4 on the concave upper surface 7 of the intermediate element 3, as will be more apparent below.
It is essential that at least one convex portion of the lower portion 12 is there, which is able to slide on at least one concave portion of the intermediate element 3 below. It is not necessary for said convex portion to partially or completely have the shape of a rib edge which, however, advantageously stiffens the lower portion 12.
The central surface 16 belongs to a perforated body which, seen from a bottom plan view, shows the convex central surface 14.
The central through hole 17 is provided with curved edges 171 interrupted by loops 172 which protrude outwards substantially up to a lower edge of the central compartment 40.
The lower portion 12 of the head 4 is provided with an outer lower surface 121 which is substantially flat and below said upper lower surface 10 of the upper portion 15.
The support 1 further provides a ring 100 comprising an upper edge 101 able to interact with the lower portion 12 of the head 4, and a lower edge 102 separably associable with the groove 9 of the intermediate element 3: advantageously the same head 4 and the same intermediate element 3 are used, adding the ring 100 in case the tilting function is to be prohibited.
In the presence of the ring 100, the head 4 may only rotate about an axis orthogonal to the plane on which the base 2 rests.
The outer upper surface 10 is reversibly associated with an anti-shock rubber 21.
The support 1 further comprises two joists 200, preferably with a square or rectangular section, able to rest on the anti-shock rubber 21.
Each joist 200 comprises two lower fins 201 and two upper fins 202 (Figures 3, 4).
The lower fins 201 are able to couple with the teeth 11 of the head 4 so as to reversibly associate the joists 200 with the head 4.
The joists 200 are mounted parallel on the head 4 at a predefined distance, based on the position of the teeth 11 of the head 4.
Said fins 201, 202, after mounting the joists 200 on the head 4, are able to protrude outwards, parallel to the upper outer surface 10 of the head 4.
Each joist 200 therefore provides a lower fin 201 and an upper fin 202 which protrude towards the other joist 200 after mounting.
The upper fins 202 which protrude towards the adjacent joist 200 are able to provide a coupling for a positioning element 300 of different flat elements 400 of a raised floor, three of which are partially shown in Figures 1 and 2.
The upper fins 202 which protrude in the direction opposite to the adjacent joist 200 are not necessary.
The positioning element 300 provides a plane 301 from which thicknesses 302 protrude perpendicularly (Figures 9 to 11).
The plane 301 and the thicknesses 302 are able to provide a support for corner areas 401 of four different flat elements 400 to precisely position the flat elements 400, as it may be easily understood by observing Figure 1.
Each thickness 302 is provided with two surfaces 303 able to abut side surfaces 402 of two flat elements 400 adjacent to each other.
Said surfaces 303 are perpendicular to the plane 301 and face opposite directions.
As clearly visible in Figure 11, the positioning element 300 is provided with four thicknesses 302 arranged two by two along the same direction to allow the resting of flat elements 400 adjacent to each other, in a determined position.
The positioning element 300 has teeth 304 therebelow, able to allow the coupling with the upper fins 202 of the joists 200 which protrude towards one another (Figures 3, 4).
The assembly of the support 1 described above is very simple.
The intermediate element 3 is screwed into the cavity 5 of the base 2 so as to obtain a desired height.
The head 4 is associated with the intermediate element 3 by passing the teeth 8 through the central through hole 17 using the loops 172, and then rotating it so that the lower surfaces of the portions which protrude towards the outside of the teeth 8 come into sliding contact with the central surface 16.
Without the ring 100 the head 4 may tilt with respect to the intermediate element 3: the curved edge of the ribs 13 and the concave central surface 14 slide on the concave upper surface 7 of the intermediate element 3, while the teeth 8 slide on the central surface 16 of the head 4 until an optimal orientation of the outer upper surface 10 is found.
Alternatively, if the plane on which the base 2 rests is such so as not to require the tilting function, a ring 100 is used: advantageously, the ring 100 engages in the groove 9 thus allowing only the rotation of the head 4 with respect to the intermediate element 3 about an axis orthogonal to the support plane of the base 3; the tilting movement is not allowed.
The movement of the head 4 is rigidly followed by the joists 200 which are mounted on the outer upper surface 10 of the head 4, engaging the lower fins 201 with the teeth 11 of the head 4.
Finally, between the two joists 200, the positioning element 300 is mounted thereabove by means of the teeth 304 which engage with the upper fins 202 of the joists 200 which protrude towards one another.
The support 1 is therefore ready to support the flat elements 400 as shown in Figure 1, in which the corner areas 401 may be noticed very close at the positioning element 300 to define a correct laying of the flat elements 400. The side surfaces 402 of the flat elements 400 are spaced apart by a stretch defined by the distance between two surfaces 303 of the same thickness 302.
A thin gap is therefore obtained between two flat elements 400 which allows the drainage of the water and of other residues which therefore do not stagnate, since under the gap there is a drainage space, namely the space between the two joists 200.
The positioning element 300 has a width substantially equal to the distance between the two joists 200, and a much shorter length to allow having said drainage space for the entire length of the joists 200, except for the area occupied by the positioning element 300.
The positioning element 300 is mounted between the two joists 200 so that the corner areas 401 of the flat elements 400 rest on the plane 301 of the positioning element 300, and, at the same time, the joists 200 provide a support for lower surface portions of the flat elements 400 along the edges between two supports 1.
The plane 301 is coplanar to the planes 210 of the joists 200 on which said lower surface portions of the flat elements 400 rest (Figure 3).
Advantageously, observing the mounted raised floor, except at the positioning element 300 which, as mentioned, has a very limited and negligible length with respect to the length of the joists 200, nothing is seen between adjacent flat elements 400, thus improving the aesthetics of the raised floor.
The width of the joists 200 and the distance thereof may be adjusted by adopting a head 4 with teeth 11 positioned differently: there is therefore considerable installing flexibility.
The length of the joists 200 is also variable according to the needs. A single joist 200 may be connected to a consecutive joist 200 by means of known connection means. A joist 200 may therefore be formed by two or more consecutive connected joists.
The positioning element 300 may be positioned as desired along the joists 200 and ensures an optimal centering of the flat elements 400 which are supported from below by the joists 200 between two supports 1.
The installation is very stable and does not require the anti-shock rubber 21.
The joists 200 are preferably made of aluminum or plastic material.
Advantageously, the installation is quick and precise.
The use of two parallel joists 200 does not alter the underlying structure formed by standard elements such as the base 2, the intermediate element 3 and the head 4. Also the shape of the flat elements 400 is not conditioned by the joists 200 or by the positioning element 300.
The embodiment described herein consists of a support of the universal type, namely which, by virtue of the ring 100 and the groove 9, may alternatively be of the tilting or non-tilting type.
The technical advantages described above, using the joists 200 and the positioning element 300, also appear in the case where the support is exclusively of the tilting type or exclusively of the non-tilting type.
The positioning element 300 may have a different shape, although it is essential that it is provided with elements equivalent to the thicknesses 302, namely useful for optimally positioning adjacent flat elements 400 forming the raised floor.

Claims

Support (1) for raised floors, comprising a base (2), an intermediate element (3) and a head (4),
wherein it further comprises

two joists (200) mounted on the head (4), parallel and spaced from each other, able to provide a support for different flat elements (400) of a raised floor, each joist (200) comprises an upper fin (202) protruding toward the adjacent joist (200) after assembly, and

a positioning element (300) of the different flat elements (400),

characterized in that said positioning element (300) is mounted between the two joists (200) so as to couple with said upper fins (202) of each joist (200).
Support (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that each joist (200) comprises two lower fins (201) able to couple with the teeth (11) of the head (4) so as to associate the joists (200) to the head (4),
wherein the positioning element (300) comprises teeth (304) able to couple with the upper fins (202) of the joists (200), and a plane (301) from which thicknesses (302) protrude.
Support (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that each thickness (302) is provided with two surfaces (303) able to abut against side surfaces (402) of two flat elements (400) adjacent to each other, said two surfaces (303) are perpendicular to the plane (301) and face opposite directions.
Support (1) according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the positioning element (300) is provided with four thicknesses (302) arranged two by two along the same direction to allow the resting of four flat elements (400) adjacent to each other.
Support according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the plane (301) is coplanar to planes (210) of the joists (200) on which lower surface portions of the flat elements (400) rest.
Support (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fins (201, 202), after the assembly of the joists (200) on the head (4), are able to protrude outwards parallel to an outer upper surface (10) of the head (4).
Support (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the positioning element (300) is able to support corner areas (401) of different flat elements (400).