GB2164073A

GB2164073A - Flooring system

Info

Publication number: GB2164073A
Application number: GB08521470A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Joseph George Woolley
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1984-08-29
Filing date: 1985-08-29
Publication date: 1986-03-12
Also published as: GB8421809D0; GB8521470D0

Abstract

A totally supported flooring system comprises floor panels (2) supported upon a grid formed by a number of ties (3 Fig. 5) which are interconnected at the intersections of the grid and respective screw- adjustable legs 4 supporting each grid intersection from a foundation surface 1, each leg 4 being adjustable from above the floor to enable the height of the supported grid intersection to be adjusted. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Flooring system This invention relates to flooring systems.

The traditional method of supporting flooring boards employs timber joists which are supported from a foundation or from the walls of a structure. Where a foundation or solid floor from which flooring is to be supported is uneven or not level, it has been proposed to employ screw-adjustable supports for the flooring which are spaced apart at intervals, and adjustable in height, so that the height of floor boards carried by the supports can be adjusted so as to present a flat and level floor surface.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved flooring system employing modular components, that is, components of a standard size, including supports which are easily and individually adjustable in height.

According to the present invention in one aspect, there is provided a flooring system including a floor panel support grid formed by a number of ties which are interconnected at the intersections of the grid, and respective screw-adjustable legs supporting each grid intersection from a foundation surface, each leg being adjustable from above to enable the height of the supported intersection to be adjusted.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the ties interconnected at each grid intersection are perpendicular to each other, one of the said ties having a downwardly facing socket in which the supporting adjustable leg is engaged, this tie also having an upstanding boss on which respective eyes formed at the ends of the adjacent ties at the side intersection are seated upon installation of the flooring system.

Preferably, each tie comprises a rigid Lshaped member each arm of which is equal in length to the distance between adjacent grid intersections, the upstanding boss being coax ial with the said socket and located at the junction between the two arms of the tie, and the eyes being provided at the ends of said arms.

The support grid may carry floor boards or panels. Preferably, modular floor panels are employed which are fabricated from a suitable rigid material such as, for example, chipboard.

Where the ties of the support grid intersect perpendicularly to each other to define a number of identical adjoining square zones, modular panels are preferably employed which fit accurately on to these square zones. In a preferred construction each the defining the square zones of the support grid has a central upstanding longitudinally extending ridge bounded on opposite sides by longitudinally extending ledges on which support neighbouring panels are supported with their edges in abutment with and located by the ridge.

The individual screw-adjustable legs preferably rest at their lower ends upon feet which may rest directly upon a foundation surface, or, alternatively, may be embedded in concrete or other supports. Each foot preferably has a ball and socket swivel connection to the associated leg.

In an alternative construction, each leg engages in a screw-threaded socket carried by the foot, the upper end of the leg having a ball and socket swivel connection to a support plate upon which the floor panels are supported.

For some flooring systems it may be possible to dispense with the support grid of interconnected ties, by supporting modular floor panels directly from screw-adjustable supports. For this purpose interlocking modular floor panels may be employed, and according to another aspect of the invention there is accordingly provided a modular floor panel of substantially square or rectangular shape having edge flanges along two adjacent edges projecting from an upper surface of the panel and edge flanges along the other two adjacent edges projecting from the lower surface of the panel, so that, when a number of such panels are laid and interlocked to form a floor, each panel supports two adjacent panels and is supported by two other adjacent panels.

The invention also comprehends,in this second aspect, a flooring system consisting of the aforesaid interlocking modular floor panels, and screw-adjustable legs which support the lower edge flanges of each panel where it supports adjoining panels.

The invention will be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of part of a support grid for a flooring system according to one embodiment of the invention; Figures 2, 3 and 4 are cross sectional views, on an enlarged scale, taken respectively on section line Il-Il, Ill-Ill, and lV-lV in Figure 1; Figure 5 is a plan view of an individual tie forming part of the support grid illustrated in Figure 1; Figures 6A and 6B are diagrammatic partial plan views of a flooring system including mo dular floor panels according to another aspect of the invention, showing two alternative ways of arranging the panels;; Figure 7 is a plan view of an individual modular floor panel according to an embodiment of the invention, employed in the flooring systems shown in Figure 6; Figure 8 is a diagrammatic cross-section in a vertical plane on line Vííl-Víil in Figure 7; Figure 9 is a vertical sectional view of a screw-adjustable support leg used in conjunction with the modular floor panels in the floor ing system shown in Figures 6 to 8, and Figures 10 and 11 are respective vertical sectional views showing two alternative screw-adjustable support legs to that shown in Figure 9.

Referring first to Figures 1 to 5, a flooring system is illustrated in which a floor made up of a number of identical modular panels is supported above the ground or a foundation surface, indicated 1 in Figures 2 to 4. The panels, indicated 2, are in this case of identical square shape and are supported upon a support grid comprising a square lattice formed by interconnected L-shaped ties 3, each arm of which has a length equal to the distance between adjacent grid intersections.

The size of each square of the support grid corresponds to the size of each panel 2.

Each grid intersection is supported by a respective screw-adjustable leg 4 which rests upon the foundation surface 1. One such leg 4 is illustrated diagrammatically in section in Figure 2.

Each L-shaped tie 3 has two rigid arms 3A, 3B (Figure 5) which are perpendicular to each other, the junciton between the two arms 3A, 3B being formed with a downwardly-facing screw threaded socket 5 in which a screw threaded shank 6 of one of the screw-adjustable legs 4 is engaged.

At its lower end the shank 6 of each leg 4 is formed with an integral ball 7 which is seated in a hemispherical socket 8 in a foot 9 which rests upon the foundation surface 1. At its upper end the screw threaded shank 6 is formed with a square or hexagonal projection 10 which is accessible from above the floor through a cylindrical access bore 11 coaxial with the socket 5.

The access bore 11 extends through an upstanding cylindrical boss 12 coaxial with the socket 5, the upper end of the boss 12 being coplanar with the upper surfaces of the arms 3A, 3B of the tie 3. The ends of the two arms 3A, 3B of each tie 3 are provided with respective eyes 13A, 13B, one eye 13A being offset axially relative to the other eye 1 3B by an amount equal to the thickness of the arms 3A, 3B so that, when forming a joint between adjacent ties 3 at a grid intersection, the two eyes 13A, 13B of two adjacent ties 3 may be superimposed coaxially upon the cylindrical boss 12, the depth of the latter being equal to twice the thickness of the arms 3A, 3B, as shown in Figure 2.Each grid intersection joint is therefore formed by the two arms 3A, 3B of one tie 3 and the arms 3A and 3B of two adjacent L-shaped ties 3, the eyes 13A, 13B at the ends of these latter arms fitting coaxially upon the boss 12 so that the upper surfaces of the four tie arms at the grid intersection are all coplanar. Screw holes may be provided at diametrically opposed points in the overlapping eyes 13A, 13B to receive fixing screws 14, as shown in Figure 2.

The height of each grid intersection above the foundation surface 1 can easily be adjusted by inserting a suitable torque-applying tool such as a key or socket spanner through the bore 11 to engage the upstanding projection 10 of the leg shank 6. By rotating the shank 6,the height of the supported tie 3 relative to the foundation surface 1 can be adjusted. Once the adjustment has been effected so as to render the coplanar supporting surfaces of the interconnected ties 3 accurately horizontal, the screw-adjustabje leg 4 may be locked by means of a locknut 15 threaded on the shank 6 and engaging the lower face of the socket 5.

Each tie arm 3A, 3B is provided on its upper surface with an upstanding longitudinally extending ridge 16 which subdivides the supporting surface of each arm 3A, 3B symmetrically into two which form respective ledges on which adjacent floor panels 2 are supported, the edges of adjacent panels 2 abutting opposite sides of the upstanding ridges 16, as shown in Figures 2-4.

The L-shaped ties 3 in this example are of cast aluminium but could be of any metal or non-metallic material of sufficient rigidity. As shown in Figures 5, 6 and 7 each arm 3A, 3B has a depending longitudinally extending rib 17 which imparts flexural rigidity to the arm.

The floor panels 2 are, as stated previously, of a modular size such as to fit snugly into the square zones defined by the upstanding ridges 16 of the interconnected ties 3 of the support grid, the four edges of each panel resting on the ledges defined by the flat upper surfaces of the interconnected ties 3.

Each floor panel 2 in this example consists of a high density chipboard with galvanised steel sheet cladding on each face. Edge sealing strips 18 of extruded plastics material are applied to the edge surfaces of each panel 2 and abut each other when the panels are located on the support grid to fill completely the gap between adjacent panels 2. One such sealing strip 18 is shown in Figure 4, and two abutting sealing strips of adjoining pairs of panels 2 are shown in Figures 2 and 3.

The floor panels 2 may be made of other rigid materials, including rigid plastics foam, with or without cladding on one or both faces. Each panel 2 could, for example, comprise a lightweight rigid core laminated with plywood or plastics cladding sheets.

The upper surfaces of the individual floor panels 2 may be provided with floor coverings of any desired type, for example plastics, rubber or carpet material, the floor covering being indicated by a layer 19 in Figures 2, 3 and 4.

It will be seen that each floor covering layer 19 extends to the edge of the respective floor panel 2, and the edges of the floor covering layer 19 are covered by the edge sealing strips 18.

Figure 6 illustrates in plan a flooring system according to another aspect of the invention, in which individual modular square floor panels 2 are supported directly by screw-adjustable supports 4, without an intervening support grid. In the upper half of the Figure, Figure 6A, the square modular panels 2 abut each other edge to edge in a tile-like pattern, while in the lower half, Figure 6B, the square modular panels 2 are staggered relatively to each other in adjacent rows.

Each modular floor panel 2 consists of a rigid element of high density chipboard, plastics or other suitable material formed by two square layers 21, 22 staggered relatively to each other so as to define two downwardly facing edge flanges 23 on two adjacent edges and two upwardly facing edge flanges 24 on the other two adjacent edges. The panel layers 21, 22 may be bonded to each other or may be formed integrally with each other upon fabrication of the panels 2.

When the panels 2 are laid edge-to-edge, the respective edge flanges 23, 24 overlap, as illustrated in Figure 11, so that each panel 2 supports two adjacent panels by means of its upwardly facing edge flanges 24 and is supported by two other adjacent panels engaging the downwardly facing edge flanges 23.

Each panel 2 is supported by a respective screw-adjustable support leg at the three corners defined by the upwardly facing edge flanges 24, the locations of the support legs being indicated 4 in Figure 7.

After installation of the floor panels 2,Lshaped metal clamping plates 26, shown in broken outline in Figure 7, are secured to the underside of each panel 2 at the corner where the two downwardly facing flanges 23 meet, to project beyond the lower edge of the said panel and support the adjacent panels by engagement with the upwardly facing flanges 24 thereof, as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 9 illustrates in vertical section one of the screw-adjustable support legs 4 for the floor panels 2 shown in Figures 7 and 8, the same reference numerals being used to identify parts corresponding with those indicated in Figure 2. It will be seen that the screwthreaded shank 6 of each adjustable support leg 4 is engaged in an internally threaded housing 27 which has a square flange 28 at its upper end which supports the adjacent floor panels 2. The housing 27 is provided with a central upstanding cylindrical boss 12 with a coaxial bore 11 through which the threaded shank 8, which in this case has a slotted upper end, is accessible for adjustment, by means of a screwdriver, of the height of the leg 4, before the panels 2 are placed in position on the leg 4.

Figures 10 and 11 illustrate in vertical section two alternative forms of adjustable support leg which may be employed in place of the leg 4 shown in Figure 9. The leg 4 shown in Figure 10 is essentially similar to that of Figure 9, except that the foot 9 on which the leg rests is itself carried by a concrete pedestal 30 in which the foot 9 is embedded, so as to lend increased overall height of the leg 4.

The leg 4 shown in Figure 11 has a screwthreaded shank 6 which at its lower end engages in an internally threaded nut 31 captive in a concrete pedestal 30. At its upper end the shank 6 has an integral ball 32 which engages in a hemispherical socket formed in a housing 27 on which the floor panels 2 are directly supported as described previously. A square or hexagonal key socket 33 is formed at the upper end of the ball 32 and is accessible through a central bore 28 in the housing 27 by means of a torque applying tool such as a key, for the purpose of effecting height adjustment of the leg 4.

Claims

1. A flooring system including a floor panel support grid formed by a number of ties which are interconnected at the intersections of the grid and respective screw adjustable legs supporting each grid intersection from a foundation surface, each leg being adjustable from above to enable the height of the supported intersection to be adjusted.

2. A flooring system according to Claim 1, in which the ties interconnected at each grid intersection are perpendicular to each other, one of the said ties having a downwardlyfacing socket in which the supporting adjustable leg is engaged, this tie also having an upstanding boss on which respective eyes formed at the ends of adjacent ties at the grid intersection are seated upon installation of the flooring system.

3. A flooring system according to Claim 2, in which each tie comprises a rigid L-shaped member each arm of which is equal in length to the distance between adjacent grid intersections, the upstanding boss being coaxial with the said socket and located at the junction between the two arms of the tie, and the eyes being provided at the ends of said arms.

4. A flooring system according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, in which each tie has a central upstanding longitudinally extending ridge bounded on opposite sides by longitudinal ledges on which neighbouring floor panels are supported with their edges in abutment with and located by the ridge.

5. A flooring system according to any one of the preceding claims, in which each screwadjustable leg rests at its lower end upon a foot interposed between the leg and a foundation surface.

6. A flooring system according to Claim 5, in which each foot has a ball and socket swivel connection to the associated leg.

7. A flooring system according to Claim 5, in which each leg engages in a screwthreaded socket carried by the foot, the upper end of the leg having a ball and socket swivel connection to a support plate upon which the floor panels are supported.

8. A flooring system according to any one of the preceding claims, including modular floor panels of rigid material which are supported upon the ties of the support grid.

9. A flooring system according to Claim 2 or Claim 3, in which the upstanding boss of each tie is formed with a bore coaxial with the associated socket, through which a screwthreaded shank of the leg engaged in the socket is accessible, to enable the leg to be adjusted through the bore from above the floor.

10. A modular floor panel of substantially square or rectangular shape having edge flanges along two adjacent edges projecting from an upper surface of the panel and edge flanges along the other two adjacent edges projecting from the lower surface of the panel, so that, when a number of such panels are laid and interlocked to form a floor, each panel supports two adjacent panels and is supported by two other adjacent panels.

11. A flooring system comprising interlocking floor panels according to Claim 10, and screw-adjustable legs which support the lower edge flanges of each panel where it supports adjoining panels.

12. A flooring system according to Claim 11, in which each leg is adjustable in height from the above the floor.

13. A flooring system substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.

14. A flooring system substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figures 6 to 11 of the accompanying drawings.