GB2477210A

GB2477210A - An access flooring system with acoustic attenuating support pedestals

Info

Publication number: GB2477210A
Application number: GB201101035A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Sampson
Original assignee: Kingspan Holdings IRL Ltd
Current assignee: Kingspan Holdings IRL Ltd
Priority date: 2010-01-21
Filing date: 2011-01-21
Publication date: 2011-07-27
Also published as: GB201101035D0; WO2011089586A1

Abstract

The flooring system comprises a floor panel 1 and support pedestals 2, wherein the support pedestal comprises an acoustic damper member 20 on base 10 and an upright member. The damper member comprises a gasket which in use is located between the base 10 and an underlying building part, such as a floor slab. The gasket also comprises a number of upwardly projecting support ribs which may be circular corner support ribs and two centre ribs which are generally concentric circles around the centre of the gasket. The support ribs may act as supports as static load increases. The system may also comprise a clipping means integral to the gasket and featuring inwardly facing projections for clipping the base to the gasket. The damping means may be a resilient flexible material such as thermoplastic rubber. The gasket and base may comprise holes for allowing an adhesive to pass through.

Description

"AN ACCESS FLOOR SYSTEM"

Introduction

The invention relates to a floor system.

Current acoustic floors generally comprise a tongue and groove chipboard in 18 or 22m thickness affixed to battens with a compliant layer interposed between the batten and the sub-floor. In general, airborne sound attenuation is achieved with a concrete sub floor since this has a density and mass far in excess of the wooden floor. However, the wooden floor with compliant layer offers significant attenuation to impact sound.

The invention is directed towards providing an improved floor system.

Statements of Invention

According to the invention there is provided an access flooring system comprising a floor panel, support pedestals for supporting the panel, and acoustic damper means, the support pedestal comprising a base and an upright extending from the base and the acoustic damper means comprising a gasket which is engagable between the underside of the support pedestal base and an underlying building part, and wherein the gasket comprises upwardly projecting support ribs for the pedestal base.

In one embodiment the support ribs comprise at least one first support rib and at least one second support rib.

In one case the second support rib extends above the first support rib. The second support rib may be more flexible than the first support rib. The second rib may have a counter groove in the underside thereof.

In one embodiment the first support ribs comprise corner support ribs which are located at corners of the gasket.

In one embodiment the second support ribs comprise at least two arcuate support ribs which are located inboard of corners of the gasket. The second support ribs may comprise at least two generally circular support ribs which are radially spaced-apart from a common centre.

In one embodiment the access flooring system comprises clipping means for clipping the pedestal base to the gasket. The clipping means may be integral with the gasket.

In one embodiment the gasket comprises a generally rectilinear base having upstanding peripheral walls and wherein the support ribs project upwardly from the gasket base. The gasket may comprise integral clipping features which project inwardly from the peripheral walls of the gasket to engage the pedestal base.

In one case the gasket comprises a flexible material. The gasket may comprise a thermoplastic rubber.

In one embodiment the gasket comprises through holes for passage of adhesive. The pedestal base may comprise through holes for passage of adhesive.

In another aspect the invention provides a support pedestal for an access flooring system comprising a pedestal base, an upright extending from the base, and an acoustic attenuating gasket for the pedestal base, the support pedestal comprising a base and an upright extending from the base and the acoustic damper means comprising a gasket which is engagable between the underside of the support pedestal base and an underlying building part, and wherein the gasket comprises upwardly projecting support ribs for the pedestal base.

The support ribs may comprise at least one first support rib and at least one second support rib.

The second support rib may extend above the first support rib. The second support rib may be more flexible than the first support rib. The second rib may have a counter groove therein.

In one case the first support ribs comprise corner support ribs which are located at corners of the gasket.

In one embodiment the gasket comprises a generally rectilinear base having upstanding peripheral walls and the support ribs project upwardly from the gasket base.

The gasket may comprise integral clipping features which project inwardly from the peripheral walls of the gasket to engage the pedestal base. The gasket may comprise a flexible material.

The gasket may comprise a thermoplastic rubber.

In one case the gasket comprises through holes for passage of adhesive. The pedestal base may comprise through holes for passage of adhesive.

The invention further provides an access flooring system comprising a plurality of floor panels and a plurality of support pedestals of the invention.

According to the invention there is provided an access flooring system comprising a floor panel and support pedestals for supporting the panel characterised in that acoustic damper means is provided between the underside of the support pedestal and an underlying building part.

In one embodiment the support pedestal comprises a base and an upright extending from the base and the damper means is provided between the base and an underlying building part.

The pedestal base may be engagable with the damper means. There may be clipping means for clipping the pedestal base to the damper means. In one case the clipping means is integral with the pedestal base and/or the damper means.

In one embodiment the damper means comprises a gasket.

In one embodiment the damper means comprises support ribs for the pedestal. The support ribs may comprise first support ribs and second support ribs.

The first support ribs may comprise corner support ribs which are located at corners of the gasket.

The second support ribs may comprise at least two arcuate support ribs which are located inboard of corners of the gasket. The second support ribs may comprise at least two generally circular support ribs which are radially spaced-apart from a common centre.

In one embodiment the second support ribs extend above the first support ribs.

The second support ribs may be more flexible than the first support ribs. The second ribs may have counter grooves therein.

The gasket may comprise a flexible material such as a thermoplastic rubber.

In one embodiment the gasket comprises through holes for passage of adhesive. The pedestal base may also comprise through holes for passage of adhesive.

The invention also provides a support pedestal for an access flooring system comprising a pedestal base, an upright extending from the base and an acoustic attenuating gasket for the pedestal base.

In one embodiment the gasket comprises support ribs for the pedestal. The support ribs may comprise first support ribs and second support ribs.

The second support ribs may comprise at least two arcuate support ribs which are located inboard of corners of the gasket.

In one embodiment the second support ribs comprise at least two generally circular support ribs which are radially spaced-apart from a common centre.

In one case the second support ribs extend above the first support ribs.

The gasket may comprise a flexible material such as a thermoplastic rubber.

The gasket may comprise through holes for passage of adhesive. The pedestal base may also comprise through holes for passage of adhesive.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of an embodiment thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is an isometric view of part of a support pedestal system of an access flooring system according to the invention; Fig. 2 is an isometric view of a damper gasket of the pedestal system; Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view illustrating the engagement of the damper gasket and a base of the support pedestal; Fig. 4 is an isometric view of part of one floor panel of the system; Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view of the floor panel part of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a perspective cut-away view of a damper according to another embodiment of the invention; Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view of the damper of Fig. 6, in one configuration of use; and Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view of the damper of Fig. 6 in another configuration of use.

Detailed Description

The invention provides an acoustic impact damper pad for the underside of an access floor panel support pedestal.

Referring to the drawings there is illustrated an access flooring system comprising a plurality of floor panels 1 and support pedestals 2 for supporting the panels 1 above a building element such as a floor slab 25.

The support pedestal 2 comprises a height adjustable upright having a lower threaded section 5 and an upper threaded sleeve section 6 with a lock nut 7 for fixing the height of the upright. The upright 2 extends upwardly from a generally rectilinear base 10 to which it is mounted. The system comprises an acoustic damper pad 20 which is interposed between the underside of the pedestal base 10 and an underlying building slab 25. The damper pad 20 is of a suitable semi-flexible material such as a thermoplastic rubber which facilitates ease of fitting to the pedestal base and provides damping of impact to minimise impact noise.

The access flooring system of the invention comprises a plurality of floor panels 1 and a plurality of support pedestals 2 for supporting the floor panels 1. The pedestals 2 are distributed over a subfloor 25, such as a floor of a multi-storey building, and the pedestals 2 are arranged to support the floor panels 1 such that floor panels 1 may be individually removed to gain access to the chamber below the floor panels 1. The floor panels 1 provide a relatively flat and strong floor to support office personnel, furniture and the like.

The invention provides a modular system based on an access floor principle using for example 22mm and 25 mm panel boards 1 on a 600mm module. The board 1 is supported using a screw lock system 30 in each corner, and shared by the adjacent panels, atop pedestals 2 which range in height from typically around 200mm to 320mm or higher. The panels have corner cut-out grooves 31, 32 to accommodate the screw head 33 and shaft 34 respectively of the height

adjustable upright.

The base 10 of the pedestal 2 is isolated from an underlying concrete slab 25 using a moulded polymer gasket 20 which clips to the pedestal base 10. The polymer used for the gasket 20 is of a shore hardness which allows a degree of compliance whilst being hard enough to be clipped to the base 10 of the pedestal 2. The gasket 20 is typically moulded from a thermoplastic rubber compound (TPR) of hardness 50 Shore but softer or harder compounds may be used, dependent upon the frequency range to be suppressed.

The gasket 20 comprises a generally flat rectilinear base 30 having upwardly projecting peripheral walls 31. The gasket 20 also has upwardly projecting support ribs. The geometry of the system is such that the load is transferred through a small contact area provided by the upwardly projecting support ribs which enhance the impact and noise absorption ability. In this case there are corner support ribs 27 and inner concentric support ribs 28, 29. Additionally, the geometry is such as to permit the pedestal base to act as a diaphragm and assist in attenuation of impact.

The gasket or damper pad 20 has clip features 21 which project inwardly from the peripheral walls 31 to interengage with the pedestal base 10 for clipping of the damper to the pedestal base 10.

The gasket 20 helps provide impact attenuation of the system whilst allowing the pedestal 2 to retain its full range of adjustment providing a unique height adjustable acoustic floor with excellent noise attenuation.

The panel system employed includes mechanical attachment of the panels 1 to the pedestals 2 and there is consequently no requirement to bond the pedestals 2 to the sub floor 25 as is usually the case with access floor support pedestals. However, the gasket 20 is designed such that should a bonding agent be desired it can be applied in the traditional manner of dipping the pedestal in the adhesive. The gasket comprises through holes 26 that permit the adhesive to pass through and bond all three layers (pedestal base 10, gasket 20, and sub floor 25) at the same time. A flexible pedestal adhesive may be used to compliment the compliance of the gasket 20.

Referring to Figs. 6 to 8 there is illustrated another damper 50 according to the invention which is similar to the gasket system described above and like parts are assigned the same reference numerals. The damper 50 comprises first support means provided by first ribs 51 which in this case are of generally toroidal shape and are located at the corners of the damper 50. The damper also comprises second support means which in this case comprises two inner concentric second ribs 52 which have counter grooves 53 which effectively soften the spring of the system.

The ribs 52 are slightly higher (for example by about 0.5mm) than the four corner ribs 51 50 that as static load increases both ribs 51, 52 act as supports as illustrated in Fig. 8. The pedestal base also acts as a diaphragm.

The access floor of the invention provides excellent acoustic performance with the added benefit of adjustment for uneven slabs and ready access to the void space below the floor panels.

Modifications and additions can be made to the embodiments of the invention described herein without deporting from the scope of the invention. For example, while the embodiments described herein refer to particular features, the invention includes embodiments having different combinations of features. The invention also includes embodiments that do not include all of the specific features described.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment hereinbefore described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, which may be varied in construction and detail.

Claims

Claims 1. An access flooring system comprising a floor panel, support pedestals for supporting the panel, and acoustic damper means, the support pedestal comprising a base and an upright extending from the base and the acoustic damper means comprising a gasket which is engagable between the underside of the support pedestal base and an underlying building part, and wherein the gasket comprises upwardly projecting support ribs for the pedestal base.
2. An access flooring system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the support ribs comprise at least one first support rib and at least one second support rib.
3. An access flooring system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the second support rib extends above the first support rib.
4. An access flooring system as claimed in claim 3 wherein the second support rib is more flexible than the first support rib.
5. An access flooring system as claimed in claim 4 wherein the second rib has a counter groove in the underside thereof.
6. An access flooring system as claimed in any of claims 2 to 5 wherein the first support ribs comprise corner support ribs which are located at corners of the gasket.
7. An access flooring system as claimed in any of claims 2 to 6 wherein the second support ribs comprise at least two arcuate support ribs which are located inboard of corners of the gasket.
8. An access flooring system as claimed in claim 7 wherein the second support ribs comprise at least two generally circular support ribs which are radially spaced-apart from a common centre.
9. An access flooring system as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8 comprising clipping means for clipping the pedestal base to the gasket.
10. An access flooring system as claimed in claim 9 wherein the clipping means is integral with the gasket.
11. An access flooring system as claimed in any of claims 1 to 10 wherein the gasket comprises a generally rectilinear base having upstanding peripheral walls and wherein the support ribs project upwardly from the gasket base.
12. An access flooring system as claimed in claim 11 wherein the gasket comprises integral clipping features which project inwardly from the peripheral walls of the gasket to engage the pedestal base.
13. An access flooring system as claimed in any of claims 1 to 12 wherein the gasket comprises a flexible material.
14. An access flooring system as claimed in claim 13 wherein the gasket comprises a thermoplastic rubber.
15. An access flooring system as claimed in any of claims 1 to 14 wherein the gasket comprises through holes for passage of adhesive.
16. An access flooring system as claimed in claim 15 wherein the pedestal base comprises through holes for passage of adhesive.
17. A support pedestal for an access flooring system comprising a pedestal base, an upright extending from the base, and an acoustic attenuating gasket for the pedestal base, the support pedestal comprising a base and an upright extending from the base and the acoustic damper means comprising a gasket which is engagable between the underside of the support pedestal base and an underlying building part, and wherein the gasket comprises upwardly projecting support ribs for the pedestal base.
18. A support pedestal as claimed in claim 17 wherein the support ribs comprise at least one first support rib and at least one second support rib.
19. A support pedestal as claimed in claim 18 wherein the second support rib extends above the first support rib.
20. A support pedestal as claimed in claim 19 wherein the second support rib is more flexible than the first support rib.
21. A support pedestal as claimed in claim 19 or 20 wherein the second rib has a counter groove therein.
22. A support pedestal as claimed in any of claims 18 to 21 wherein the first support ribs comprise corner support ribs which are located at corners of the gasket.
23. A support pedestal as claimed in any of claims 18 to 22 wherein the second support ribs comprise at least two arcuate support ribs which are located inboard of corners of the gasket.
24. A support pedestal as claimed in claim 23 wherein the second support ribs comprise at least two generally circular support ribs which are radially spaced-apart from a common centre.
25. A support pedestal as claimed in any of claims 18 to 24 wherein the gasket comprises a generally rectilinear base having upstanding peripheral walls and wherein the support ribs project upwardly from the gasket base.
26. A support pedestal as claimed in claim 25 wherein the gasket comprises integral clipping features which project inwardly from the peripheral walls of the gasket to engage the pedestal base.
27. A support pedestal as claimed in any of claims 18 to 26 wherein the gasket comprises a flexible material.
28. A support pedestal as claimed in any of claims 18 to 27 wherein the gasket comprises a thermoplastic rubber.
29. A support pedestal as claimed in any of claims 18 to 28 wherein the gasket comprises through holes for passage of adhesive.
30. A support pedestal as claimed in claim 29 wherein the pedestal base comprises through holes for passage of adhesive.
31. An access flooring system comprising a plurality of floor panels and a plurality of support pedestals as claimed in any of claims 18 to 30 for supporting the panels.
32. A support pedestal system substantially as hereinbefore described.
33. An access flooring system substantially as hereinbefore described.