GB2036847A

GB2036847A - Raised Floor

Info

Publication number: GB2036847A
Application number: GB7847451A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: SYSTEM FLOORS Ltd
Current assignee: SYSTEM FLOORS Ltd
Priority date: 1978-12-06
Filing date: 1978-12-06
Publication date: 1980-07-02
Also published as: GB2036847B

Abstract

In a raised or elevated floor, e.g. of the modular or panel type the floor members or panels (1) are longitudinally grooved (11) at their vertical edge faces (10) and engaged by the heads (21) of support jacks (2). Each jack head (21) is of flat or plate- like form for the purpose and is mounted on a height adjustable column (20) from a base (26). The column (2) carries a bearing member or plate (22) which bears against the underside of adjacent panels (1) and is supported on the column (20) by a nut (23). The panels (1) are locally recessed at (12) to accommodate the jack column (20). The base (26) is offset from the column (20) to facilitate securing of the base (26) to a sub-floor (27). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Raised Floor Construction and Support Jack Therefor This invention relates to raised or elevated floors, e.g. of the modular or panel type in which the floor is supported from a sub-floor or similar basic support by jacks in providing underfloor access space, e.g. for cables or the like to equipment supported on the raised floor and/or the space may serve for air conditioning or similar purposes.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved construction of jack supported raised floor and also support jacks for use therewith.

According to this invention a raised or elevated floor is characterised by floor members or panels of the floor having at least some of their vertical edge faces longitudinally grooved, which grooves in use are engaged by heads of support jacks.

Further in accordance with this invention a support jack for the floor is characterised by the jack consisting of a base having an upstanding pedestal or column carrying at its upper end a head of flat or plate like form adapted to engage the longitudinal grooves in the vertical edge faces of the floor members or panels.

Referring to the drawings the construction and arrangement of the raised floor and a support jack for use therewith may be as follows, in which: Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of the floor construction at the point of support by a jack, Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view similar to Figure 1 but on a reduced scale and showing loose tongue location of adjacent panels, Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view similar to Figure 2 but at the location of a removable panel, and Figure 4 is an underside plan view showing a typical arrangement of adjacent panels.

Referring to Figure 1, the adjacent edge faces 10 of two panels 1 are longitudinally grooved at 11 and are engaged by the head 21 of the jack 2, which head 21 is of flat plate form and may be of square or other suitable shape in plan.

The head 21 is carried by column structure 20 of the jack 2 which receives a nut 23 and a bearing or under plate 22 on which the underside of the panels 1,1 rests, tightening of the nut 23 bringing the jack head 21, plate 22 and panels 1,1 into firm engagement.

In the example shown and for height adjustment purposes, the head 21 is welded or otherwise secured to a tubular member 24 of the column 20, which tube 24 is externally threaded to receive the nut 23 and is also internally threaded for engagement about a threaded stem 25 upstanding from a base plate 26. Thus relative rotation of the tube 24 and stem 25 effects height adjustment of the jack.

The floor construction further includes loose longitudinal tongue members 3 (Figure 2) which engage the grooves 11 at the adjacent edge faces 10 of the panels 1,1 and extend lengthwise between points of support by the jacks 2. The tongues 3 thus strengthen the floor construction and in particular prevent or minimise relative movement of panel edges at locations between the points of jack support.

The floor construction is applicable to modular or panel floors having rectangular and/or square panels (Figure 4) and where jack support is required the underside of the panels 1 are provided with recesses 12, e.g. of circular form such as by locally routing the undersides of the panels 1 so as to provide clearance for accommodating the jack columns 20, i.e. about the tube 24 as shown in Figure 1.

In fitting a further panel to an already installed and supported panel, heads 21 of two or more jacks 2 are engaged with the groove 11 of the exposed edge face 10 of the installed panel 1 at the required points and with such height adjustment as is necessary whilst the base plate 26 may be secured to the sub-floor 27. For this purpose the stem 25 preferably upstands in an offset manner on the baseplate 26 so that a portion 260 of the latter is accessible for securing purposes before the next planel 1 is placed in position by engagement of its grooved edge face 10 with the jack heads 21 and with tongues 3.

Prior to such engagement, the nut 23 is suitably tightened and may be further tightened after the further panel 1 is in position of use.

Where square panels 1 A (Figures 3 and 4) are employed, these may be removable for access purposes and simply rest at their corners on appropriate jack heads 21 (and underplates 22) and without loose tongue supporting engagement with adjacent panels 1. In such a case the corners of an access panel 1 A are provided with underside clearance recesses 121 of sufficient size to accommodate corresponding portions of jack heads 21 and without groove engagement therewith so that the panel 1A can be simply lifted from the jacks 2 and adjacent panels 1 to leave an access opening. As shown in Figure 3 edge grooving 11 a of the access panel 1 A may be employed to secure edge facing strip 13 by a tongue 131 of the strip engaging the groove 11 a.

As will be appreciated from the foregoing, a strong floor can be provided which can be readily installed whilst the jacks are of simple and inexpensive construction.

Claims

1. A raised or elevated floor, e.g. of the modular or panel type characterised by floor members or panels of the floor having at least some of their vertical edge faces longitudinally grooved, which grooves in use are engaged by heads of support jacks.

2. A raised or elevated floor according to claim 1 wherein tongue and groove engagement is provided at the longitudinal grooving of the floor members or panels, i.e. where such grooving is not engaged by heads of support jacks.

3. A raised or elevated floor according to claim 2 wherein separate or loose tongue members are provided which at opposite edges engage

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Raised Floor Construction and Support Jack Therefor This invention relates to raised or elevated floors, e.g. of the modular or panel type in which the floor is supported from a sub-floor or similar basic support by jacks in providing underfloor access space, e.g. for cables or the like to equipment supported on the raised floor and/or the space may serve for air conditioning or similar purposes. The object of this invention is to provide an improved construction of jack supported raised floor and also support jacks for use therewith. According to this invention a raised or elevated floor is characterised by floor members or panels of the floor having at least some of their vertical edge faces longitudinally grooved, which grooves in use are engaged by heads of support jacks. Further in accordance with this invention a support jack for the floor is characterised by the jack consisting of a base having an upstanding pedestal or column carrying at its upper end a head of flat or plate like form adapted to engage the longitudinal grooves in the vertical edge faces of the floor members or panels. Referring to the drawings the construction and arrangement of the raised floor and a support jack for use therewith may be as follows, in which: Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of the floor construction at the point of support by a jack, Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view similar to Figure 1 but on a reduced scale and showing loose tongue location of adjacent panels, Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view similar to Figure 2 but at the location of a removable panel, and Figure 4 is an underside plan view showing a typical arrangement of adjacent panels. Referring to Figure 1, the adjacent edge faces 10 of two panels 1 are longitudinally grooved at 11 and are engaged by the head 21 of the jack 2, which head 21 is of flat plate form and may be of square or other suitable shape in plan. The head 21 is carried by column structure 20 of the jack 2 which receives a nut 23 and a bearing or under plate 22 on which the underside of the panels 1,1 rests, tightening of the nut 23 bringing the jack head 21, plate 22 and panels 1,1 into firm engagement. In the example shown and for height adjustment purposes, the head 21 is welded or otherwise secured to a tubular member 24 of the column 20, which tube 24 is externally threaded to receive the nut 23 and is also internally threaded for engagement about a threaded stem 25 upstanding from a base plate 26. Thus relative rotation of the tube 24 and stem 25 effects height adjustment of the jack. The floor construction further includes loose longitudinal tongue members 3 (Figure 2) which engage the grooves 11 at the adjacent edge faces 10 of the panels 1,1 and extend lengthwise between points of support by the jacks 2. The tongues 3 thus strengthen the floor construction and in particular prevent or minimise relative movement of panel edges at locations between the points of jack support. The floor construction is applicable to modular or panel floors having rectangular and/or square panels (Figure 4) and where jack support is required the underside of the panels 1 are provided with recesses 12, e.g. of circular form such as by locally routing the undersides of the panels 1 so as to provide clearance for accommodating the jack columns 20, i.e. about the tube 24 as shown in Figure 1. In fitting a further panel to an already installed and supported panel, heads 21 of two or more jacks 2 are engaged with the groove 11 of the exposed edge face 10 of the installed panel 1 at the required points and with such height adjustment as is necessary whilst the base plate 26 may be secured to the sub-floor 27. For this purpose the stem 25 preferably upstands in an offset manner on the baseplate 26 so that a portion 260 of the latter is accessible for securing purposes before the next planel 1 is placed in position by engagement of its grooved edge face 10 with the jack heads 21 and with tongues 3. Prior to such engagement, the nut 23 is suitably tightened and may be further tightened after the further panel 1 is in position of use. Where square panels 1 A (Figures 3 and 4) are employed, these may be removable for access purposes and simply rest at their corners on appropriate jack heads 21 (and underplates 22) and without loose tongue supporting engagement with adjacent panels 1. In such a case the corners of an access panel 1 A are provided with underside clearance recesses 121 of sufficient size to accommodate corresponding portions of jack heads 21 and without groove engagement therewith so that the panel 1A can be simply lifted from the jacks 2 and adjacent panels 1 to leave an access opening. As shown in Figure 3 edge grooving 11 a of the access panel 1 A may be employed to secure edge facing strip 13 by a tongue 131 of the strip engaging the groove 11 a. As will be appreciated from the foregoing, a strong floor can be provided which can be readily installed whilst the jacks are of simple and inexpensive construction. Claims

3. A raised or elevated floor according to claim 2 wherein separate or loose tongue members are provided which at opposite edges engage opposed longitudinal grooving of adjacent vertical edge faces of the floor members or panels.

4. A raised or elevated floor according to claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the undersides of the floor members or panels are locally recessed to accommodate the columns of support jacks.

5. A support jack for a raised or elevated floor according to any of claims 1 to 4 wherein the jack consists of a base having an upstanding pedestal or column carrying at its upper end a head of flat or plate-like form adapted to engage the longitudinal grooves in the vertical edge faces of the floor members or panels.

6. A support jack according to claim 5 wherein a bearing member or plate is mounted for vertical setting on the column of the jack in order to bear against the underside of adjacent floor members or panels engaged by the jack head so as to provide support for the floor members or panels and provide tightening of the floor members or panels between the jack head and bearing member or plate as required.

7. A support jack acccrding to claim 6 wherein the bearing member or plate is supported by a nut vertically adjustable on an externally threaded part of the jack column.

8. A support jack according to claim 5, 6 or 7 wherein the jack head and any bearing member or plate are carried by an upper part of the jack column having a screw threaded engagement with a lower part of the column for height adjustment of the jack.

9. A support jack according to claim 7 and 8 wherein the upper part of the column is tubular and externally threaded to receive the nut and is internally threaded to receive an externally threaded lower part of the column for height adjustment of the jack.

10. A support jack according to any of the claims 5 to 9 wherein the base of the jack is offset relative to the column to facilitate securing of the latter to a sub-floor during assembly of the raised or elevated floor.

11. A raised or elevated floor according to any of claims 1 to 4 wherein edge facing strip is provided which is tongued for engagement with longitudinal edge face grooving of the floor members or panels as required, e.g. in the case of removable access panels.

12. A raised or elevated floor, e.g. of the modular or panel type when substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

13. A floor support jack for a raised or elevated floor according to any of claims 1 to 4 and 11 or 12 wherein the jack is substantially as herein described with reference to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings.