GB2362154A - A dispenser for dispensing spacing elements from the bottom of a stack - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus 10 for dispensing spacer elements 22 comprises a cartridge 20 for holding a stack of spacer elements 22 and means for controllably dispensing out of a dispensing mouth 32 one or more of the spacer elements 22 from the bottom end of the stack. The dispensing mouth 32 is preferably releasably attached to the cartridge 20. The cartridge 20 may have a magazine which can be removed to facilitate reloading with more spacer elements 22. The cartridge 20 may be adapted to hold two or more stacks of spacing elements 22 of different thicknesses. The means for controllably dispensing the spacer elements 22 may comprise a drive means 40 which applies a force to the top of the stack. The cartridge 20 may be used when constructing a flooring structure above a sub-floor. Spacer means 22 are dispensed from the cartridge onto a base surface (80, fig.4) such as uneven concrete, until they provide a level platform to which the floor may be attached. The cartridge 20 may have position determining means 60 thereon which can detect an optical beam (88, fig.4), which may be transmitted by an optical levelling transmitter (86, fig.4).

Description

2362154 SiDacinq Element Dispenser The present invention relates to an

apparatus for dispensing spacing elements and a method using such an apparatus. In particular, but not exclusively, the invention relates to such an apparatus and method for providing a plurality of raised surfaces, for example for supporting a flooring structure above an uneven subfloor.

A flooring surface may be provided above a solid subfloor by first positioning a plurality of support pedestals across the subfloor. The pedestals are used to support a grid of wooden battens to which flooring panels are fixed. The pedestals may be adapted to provide secure engagement of the battens, for example by means of channels in the upper surface of each pedestal configured to accept the battens. The pedestals may he made from rubber, wood, metal or any other suitable material.

In one alternative construction method no battens are used. Instead, flooring panels are laid and fixed directly onto the supporting pedestals.

To provide a flat and level raised flooring surface above an uneven subfloor it is desirable to be able to adjust the height of that surface of each pedestal which provides support for the battens or flooring panels. This may be achieved by providing pedestals of various heights, by using stacking elements underneath each pedestal, or by incorporating into each pedestal a threaded adjustable pillar.

Alternatively or additionally, and in particular for fine height adjustments, one or more spacing elements may be placed on the appropriate support surface or surfaces of each pedestal. In this way, the height of subsequently fitted battens and/or flooring panels above the subfloor may be adjusted by the required amount.

2 Determining the number and/or thickness of the spacing elements required to raise the support surface of a particular pedestal to ensure a level and flat raised flooring surface is a labourious and time consuming process. Much physical work is required in positioning the large number of spacing elements that may be required for a whole floor. Furthermore, careful selection and positioning of individual spacing elements and repeated rechecking of the height of each support surface with respect to a reference height are required.

The present invention addresses these and other problems and disadvantages of the prior art.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an apparatus for dispensing one or more spacing elements, comprising: cartridge means for holding a stack of said spacing elements, said stack having opposing bottom and top ends; and release means for controllably dispensing out of a dispensing mouth one or more of said spacing elements from the bottom end of said stack.

The expressions "top" and "bottom" are not intended to restrict the apparatus to operating only in a particular orientation, but are used merely as convenient reference labels to indicate ends of the stack. These and similar expressions will be used to refer to other surfaces and parts of the apparatus and the related surfaces. While the embodiments are described principally with reference to providing flooring support surfaces, the apparatus and methods described could be easily adapted for use on non horizontal surfaces by the skilled hut uninventive person, and reference to terms such as top, bottom, up, down, upper and lower should be construed accordingly.

The spacing elements may typically be in the form of flat plates, and may conveniently be made of a plastics material. However, other spacing element forms may equally be used, and may include means to assist in the positive location of the spacing elements with each other and with the body adjacent to which they are to be located.

Preferably, the dispensing mouth is releasably attached to said apparatus. In this way, a dispensing mouth damaged, for example by frequent impact with a concrete subfloor, may easily be replaced.

Advantageously, the cartridge means may include a magazine that is removable from the apparatus, to facilitate more rapid and/or more convenient reloading of the apparatus with further spacing elements.

Advantageously, the cartridge means may comprise means for holding two or more stacks of spacing elements, the release means being adapted to dispense one or more spacing elements from a selected one of said two or more stacks. Each stack may comprise spacing elements of a different thickness, thus providing courser and finer adjustment.

Preferably, the release means includes incremental drive means for applying a driving force to a top end of the stack. The driving force may then be transmitted through the stack to drive spacing elements out of the dispensing mouth. The dispensing mouth may be a simple constriction provided at one end of the cartridge means, or may be of a more sophisticated construction.

Preferably, the drive means comprises a handle acting on a catch plate, said catch plate being arranged to drive a rod extending into the cartridge means, said rod being arranged to communicate the action of the handle to the top end of said stack to provide said driving force.

Although preferably the incremental drive means is operated manually, for example by operation of the above-mentioned handle, the incremental drive means - 4 may also be operated electrically or pneumatically, and activated by means of an appropriate switch or valve. An electrically driven incremental drive means could, for example, operate by means of a screw thread driven by a motor, or a solenoid acting on a catch plate device.

Preferably, the apparatus further comprises position determining means, in particular to provide some indication of the precise location of the apparatus with respect to some reference point. In particular, the position determining means may be arranged to provide an indication as to whether the dispensing mouth is in a desired position. If the dispensing mouth is held against the raised surface provided by the most recent spacing element dispensed from the apparatus, the position determining means may then provide an indication as to whether the raised surface is lies in the desired plane or at the desired height.

Preferably, the position determining means comprises optical receiver means mounted in fixed spatial relation to the dispensing mouth, the optical receiver means being sensitive to the position of an externally provided optical beam. An optical beam may be provided, for example, by an optical or laser levelling transmitter providing an optical beam scanning in a reference plane.

Various other possibilities for providing position determining means will be familiar to the person skilled in the art. For example, ultrasound triangulation could be used, or a reflecting surface could be provided on the apparatus to reflect an optical beam to a remote sensor.

Advantageously, control means may be provided linking the position determining means and the release means, the control means being arranged to automatically dispense spacer elements until the dispensing mouth is in the desired position.

Advantageously, the apparatus may further comprising attitude sensing means. Such means may be used by an operator to ensure that the apparatus is oriented at the same attitude, and in particular in a vertical attitude, every time a spacing element is dispensed, so that the position determining means may function correctly.

Advantageously, further control means may be provided linking the attitude sensing means and the release means so as to prevent the release means from operating if the apparatus is not oriented in the desired attitude.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of providing a raised surface above a base surface, the method comprising the steps of: providing as described above, the cartridge being loaded with a stack of spacing elements; positioning the dispensing mouth of said apparatus against the base surface; and operating the release means to dispense one or more of said spacing elements, the raised surface being provided by the upper surface of the most recently dispensed spacing element.

Typically, the base surface may be provided by a flooring pedestal.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a method of providing a raised surface above a base surface, said raised surface lying in a desired plane, the method comprising the steps of: providing an apparatus as described above, the cartridge being loaded with a stack of spacing elements; positioning the dispensing mouth of said apparatus against the base surface; and operating the release means to dispense one or more of said spacing elements, said raised surface being provided by the upper surface of the most recently dispensed spacing - 6 element, until the position determining means detects that the raised surface lies in said desired plane.

The apparatus may be used in the construction of a flooring structure above a subfloor, in particular by carrying a method as described above to provide a plurality of said raised surfaces lying in said desired plane; and supporting the flooring structure on said plurality of raised surfaces. An optical levelling transmitter is preferably provided and arranged to provide an optical beam scanning in a plane parallel to said desired plane, said position determining means being adapted to detect said optical beam.

A number of embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings of which:

Figure 1 illustrates a spacing element dispenser embodying the present invention; Figure 2 illustrates the incremental drive assembly of the spacing dispenser dispenser of figure 1; Figure 3 illustrates the dispenser mouth of the spacing element dispenser of figure 1; and Figure 4 illustrates the spacing element dispenser of figure 1 in use to provide a flooring support surface at a desired height above a solid subfloor.

Turning now to figure 1, there is illustrated a spacing element dispenser 10 embodying the present invention. The spacing element dispenser may be used to build up a surface to a desired extent, for example to facilitate the construction of a level raised flooring surface. This may be achieved by using the apparatus to dispense one or more spacing elements 22.

The dispenser 10 comprises a spacing element cartridge 20, an incremental drive assembly 40, and an optical levelling receiver 60.

The spacing element cartridge 20 is adapted to hold a plurality of spacing elements 22, and comprises an elongated spacing element cartridge body 24 to which a door 26 is mounted using hinges 28 and clips 30. The spacing elements 22 are stacked inside the spacing element cartridge 20 in such a way that the incremental drive assembly 40, which is mounted at one end of the spacing element cartridge 20, may be used to drive spacing elements 22 out of a dispenser mouth 32 in a controlled manner, the dispenser mouth 32 being located at an opposite end of the spacing element cartridge 20.

The incremental drive assembly 40 is adapted to incrementally drive a dispenser rod 42 along a central axis inside the spacing element cartridge body 24. A dispenser rod end plate 44 mounted to one end of the dispenser rod 42 is provided to press on the element of the stack of spacing elements 22 that is furthest from the dispenser mouth 32.

The optical levelling receiver unit 60 is slidably mounted on a receiver rail 62. The position of the optical levelling receiver 60 with respect to the receiver rail 62 may be fixed by means of a knurled bolt or similar device. The receiver rail 62 is mounted to the'spacer cartridge body 24 by means of two receiver rail brackets 64 such that the axis of the receiver rail 62 is substantially parallel to the elongate axis of the spacer element cartridge 20 and to the dispenser rod 42.

The optical levelling receiver 60 may be used to determine the position of the intersection with the spacing element dispenser 10 of an externally provided optical beam. A typical optical levelling receiver may comprise an extended window 66 aligned substantially parallel to the receiver rail 62. If the externally provided optical beam impinges on a central portion of the receiver window 66, this is 8 indicated by a characteristic audible tone or other alarm. When the optical beam impinges on a different portion of the receiver window 66 the position of the beam may be indicated by the changing character of the alarm, to assist the user in positioning the receiver accurately.

Figure 2 illustrates the incremental drive assembly 40 of the spacing element dispenser of figure 1, separate from the rest of the dispenser. The structure and operation of the incremental drive assembly are similar to those of typical sealant guns that are used in the building trade for the purpose of driving silicone sealants and similar materials from commercially available nozzled tubes.

is The components of the incremental drive assembly will be described with respect to a drive assembly frame 50 that is fastened to one end of the spacing element cartridge body 24. The dispenser rod 42 passes through apertures in the drive assembly frame 50 and through an aperture in a rectangular metal catch plate 46. The aperture in the catch plate 46 is slightly larger than the diameter of the dispenser rod 42. To prevent rotation of the catch plate 46 about the dispenser rod 42, a slot in one side of the catch plate slidably engages a rail forming part of the drive assembly frame.

When the catch plate 46 is driven towards the dispenser mouth 32 by means of a drive handle 48 that is pivotally mounted on the drive assembly frame 50, the catch plate 46 adopts an off-perpendicular attitude to the dispenser rod 42, gripping it and driving it towards the dispenser mouth 32. When the drive handle 48 is released, return of the catch plate 46 to its previous position is ensured by a catch plate spring 52 threaded by the dispenser rod 42. The catch plate spring 52 acts in a compressional mode between the catch plate 46 and the drive assembly 9 frame 50.

The dispenser rod 42 is driven a controlled distance along the elongate axis of the spacing element cartridge 20 by squeezing together the drive handle 48 and a frame handle 54 which is integrally formed with the drive assembly frame 50.

Any significant return of the dispenser rod 42 in a reverse direction, away from the dispenser mouth 32, is prevented by a rectangular anti-return plate 56.

The anti-return plate 56 operates in a similar manner to the catch plate 46, with the dispenser rod 42 passing through an aperture in the plate.

Translational motion of a first end of the anti-return plate 56 is prevented by a close fit within a suitable notch in the drive assembly frame 50, which, none-the less allows a degree of rotational motion.

An anti-return plate spring 58 acts in a compressional mode between the drive assembly frame and the anti-return plate 56 to incline the anti return plate into an off-perpendicular attitude with respect to the dispenser rod 42, gripping and thus preventing motion of the dispenser rod in a direction away from the dispenser mouth 32, while allowing motion in a direction towards the dispenser mouth.

The dispenser mouth 32 of the spacer cartridge 20 is illustrated in figure 3. The elongate spacer cartridge body 24 is formed from an elongate back plate and two elongate side plates 36. The spacer cartridge door 26 provides an elongate front plate. A window 34 in the spacer cartridge door 26 allows the user of the spacing element dispenser to see how many spacer elements 22 remain within the spacing element cartridge 20.

The dispenser mouth 32 is provided by the open end of the spacing element cartridge 20 distal from the incremental drive assembly 40. The spacing elements 22 are prevented from unintentionally falling - 10 out of the open end of the spacing element cartridge by a slight inward bend of the end of each of the side plates 36, the back plate and the spacing element cartridge door 26 at the dispenser mouth 32.

The edges of the spacing elements 22 which engage with the inwardly bent plates at the dispenser mouth may be bevelled so as to provide a positive release action of each spacing element from the dispenser mouth 32, followed by a positive restraint of the following spacing element 22.

The spacing element dispenser 10 may be provided with an attitude indicator, to enable the user to ensure that the elongate axis of the dispenser is substantially vertical when in use. Such an attitude is indicator may be provided, for example, by means of a two dimensional spirit level provided adjacent to the incremental drive assembly frame 50, or by an electronic device comprising tilt switches and provided with an audible or visual alarm.

A method by which the spacing element dispenser may be used to provide a raised flooring support surface at a desired height is illustrated in figure 4. A similar method could be used to provide a raised surface built up from a base surface for a variety of other purposes, and need not be restricted to essentially horizontal surfaces.

A number of pedestals 80 are distributed across an uneven concrete subfloor 82. It is desirable to add spacing elements 22 to each pedestal 80 to ensure that the surfaces provided for supporting flooring battens 84 are at substantially the same height, with respect to a single reference height, for all pedestals 80. An optical levelling transmitter 86 is used to provide the single reference height, and operates by emitting an optical beam 88 that is horizontal, to a sufficient degree of precision.

Working at each pedestal 80 in turn, the incremental drive assembly 40 of the spacing element dispenser 10, which is held in a substantially vertical attitude, is used to drive the required number of spacing elements 22 from the dispenser mouth 32 onto the appropriate surface of each pedestal 80 in order to raise the height of the optical levelling receiver 60 until the optical beam 88 is incident on the central portion of the receiver window 66. As each spacing element 22 is driven from the dispenser mouth 32 the spacing element dispenser is lifted by an amount equivalent to the thickness of the dispensed element.

Flooring battens 84 may then be laid on top of the dispensed spacing elements, and flooring panels is affixed to the battens.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention a further degree of automation is provided by a powered incremental drive assembly. The assembly could be powered by electrical means such as an electric motor or a solenoid and ratchet mechanism with electrical power provided by an on board battery or by a power cable. An electrically powered drive assembly could be conveniently operated by an electrical switch. Alternatively, the assembly could be powered by pneumatic means with compressed gas provided by an on board cylinder and controlled by a mechanically or electrically operated valve.

A powered incremental drive assembly may be combined with control circuitry linked to the optical levelling receiver 60 so that the required number of spacing elements 22 may be automatically dispensed. Linking an above-mentioned electrical attitude indicator with the control circuitry could provide a further degree of automation by ensuring that the incremental drive assembly only operates when the equipment is positioned in the correct attitude, typically with the elongate axis of the dispenser in a 12 substantially vertical orientation.

For convenience of operation, the spacing element dispenser may be provided with one or more easily replaceable spacing element magazines.

To provide both fine and course height adjustments the spacing element dispenser may be provided with means for holding and dispensing spacing elements of two or more different forms, in particular of two or more different thicknesses.

The dispenser mouth 32 may be particularly prone to damage, for example by repeated impact with concrete subfloors and the like. Consequently, it may be desirable to provide a replaceable dispenser mouth instead of constructing the mouth by shaping is appropriately the open end of the spacing element cartridge itself.

To enable the spacing element dispenser 10 to be used in restricted spaces such as corners, the receiver rail 62 may be rotatably mounted to the dispenser, for example by providing the receiver rail brackets 64 with hinged mountings.

Claims (20)

1. Apparatus for dispensing one or more spacing elements, comprising:

cartridge means for holding a stack of said spacing elements, said stack having opposing bottom and top ends; release means for controllably dispensing out of a dispensing mouth one or more of said spacing elements from the bottom end of said stack.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the dispensing mouth is releasably attached to said apparatus.

is

3. The apparatus of either of claims 1 or 2 wherein the cartridge means includes a magazine that is removable from the apparatus.

4. The apparatus of any preceding claim wherein the cartridge means comprises means for holding two or more stacks of spacing elements, and wherein the release means is adapted to dispense one or more spacing elements from a selected one of said two or more stacks.

5. The apparatus of any preceding claim wherein the release means includes incremental drive means for applying a driving force to a top end of said stack.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the incremental drive means comprises a handle acting on a catch plate, said catch plate being arranged to drive a rod extending into the cartridge means, said rod being arranged to communicate the action of the handle to the top end of said stack to provide said driving force.

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7. The apparatus of any preceding claim wherein the incremental drive means is electrically or pneumatically driven.

8. The apparatus of any preceding claim further comprising position determining means.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said position determining means is arranged to provide an indication as to whether the dispensing mouth is in a desired position.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said position determining means comprises optical receiver means mounted in fixed spatial relation to the dispensing mouth, the optical receiver means being sensitive to an externally provided optical beam.

11. The apparatus of any of claims 8 to 10 wherein control means are provided linking the position determining means and the release means, the control means being arranged to automatically dispense spacer elements until the dispensing mouth is in the desired position.

12. The apparatus of any preceding claim further comprising attitude sensing means.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein further control means are provided linking the attitude sensing means and the release means so as to prevent the release means from operating if the apparatus is not oriented in the desired attitude.

14. An apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

15. A method of providing a raised surface above a base surface, the method comprising the steps of: providing an apparatus according to any preceding claim, the cartridge being loaded with a stack of spacing elements; positioning the dispensing mouth of said apparatus against the base surface; operating the release means to dispense one or more of said spacing elements, the raised surface being provided by the upper surface of the most recently dispensed spacing element.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein said base surface is provided by a flooring pedestal.

17. A method of providing a raised surface above a base surface, said raised surface lying in a desired plane, the method comprising the steps of: providing an apparatus according to any of claims 8 to 13, the cartridge being loaded with a stack of spacing elements; positioning the dispensing mouth of said apparatus against the base surface; operating the release means to dispense one or more of said spacing elements, said raised surface being provided by the upper surface of the most recently dispensed spacing element, until the position determining means detects that the raised surface lies in said desired plane.

18. A method of constructing a flooring structure above a subfloor, comprising the steps of: carrying out the steps of claim 17 to provide a plurality of said raised surfaces lying in said desired plane; and supporting the flooring structure on said plurality of raised surfaces.

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19. The method of either of claims 17 or 18 further comprising the step of providing an optical levelling transmitter arranged to provide an optical beam scanning in a plane parallel to said desired plane, said position determining means being adapted to detect said optical beam.

20. A method substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.