US1546130A - Portable floor - Google Patents

Description

.r I 1 t PORTABLE FLOOR J. H. HANNAY Filed Dec. 16. 1924 July 14, 1925.

Patented July 14, 1925.

UNITED STATES JAMES HENRY HANNAY, F HYTHE, KENT. ENGLAND.

PORTABLE FLOOR.

Application filed December 16, 1924. Serial No. 756,249.

' of which the following is a specification;

This invention relates to a wooden floor tennis court, which is of such construction that the floor is composed of uniform interchangeable sections which can be manufactured in a factory and-transported to a place where parallel longitudinal girders are arranged equi-distant to receive the sections, which can be readily placed in position and bolted together, and when not required disassembled and the various sections stored until the court is again required for use. I

The tennis court comprises a number of piles fixed in the ground, (which may be uneven), and which are arranged in longitudinal and lateral directions at equal distances apart, having all their upper ends in one horizontal plane. Girders are provided extending and bedding on the upper ends of each parallel line of piles in one direction. A plurality of uniform sections are then constructed to compose the surface of the tennis court, each section being composed of a plurality of joists, to which are attached parallel boards at right angles to the joists, the boards being at a short distance apart. The joists besides being equi-distant from each other are located longitudinally of the boards a distance equal to half the width of a joist nearer to one end of the section than to the other.

' This affords an overlap beyond the outside joist the width of one joist greater at one end of the section than at the other end of the section. The joists are of greater length than the width of the section, so that the ends of the joists all project beyond at both sides.

The result of this formation is that the sections may be laid across the girders, the ends of the joists resting upon the said girders, and the sections can be laid with the projecting ends of the joists alongside each other by alternately laying the sections in reverse directions, namely with the narrow portion of the overlap of one sect-ion towards the end of the court and the next section with the broader part of the overlap to the end of the court. In this way the sections although uniform may be laid square with each other with their ends in line and with the oints overlapping each other at thelocation of the girders where they may be bolted securely together. At the overlapping portions of each section and running transversely of-the longitudinal direction of the court, wider joists are laid to receive the ends of the boards forming the sections. lhese wider joists may be attached to one section permanently, and during assembly the boards of the adjacent section may be secured to them.

Fig. 1 is a plan View showing a section of the platform and portions of adjacent sections, and indicating the girders and the joists by dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line XY of Fig. 1, and shows two of the piles in elevation.

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section. and Fig. 4 is a side elevation, showing the PATENT OFFICE."

connections of the ends of the joists of one section to the ends of the joists of an adjacent section.

Fig. 5 is a. vertical section showing the wider end joist of a section, and-indicating by dotted lines the boards of the adjacent sect-ion overlapping half of the joists, Fig. 6 being a plan view of the ports shown at Fig. 5.

Referring more particularly to Figs. ,1

and 2, piles l, which may conveniently be' i made of wood but might be of other material such as concrete, are fixed at their lower ends in the ground which is indicated at 2, there being no occasion to level the ground prior to erecting the tennis court, and the upper ends of the piles 1 are arranged so that the said upper ends are contained in one horizontal plane. The piles are arranged in lines at distances apart longitudinally, usually as shown, so that the piles are at a distance apart'in alongitudinal direction, corresponding to a slightly greater distance than the length of a single section of the platform, and-the longitudinal lines of piles are parallel to each other, and the distance apart of-the piles transversely of the length of the court, is about equal to the width of a section of the platform.

Girders 3, which may conveniently be metal girders, are mounted parallel to each other so that each upon each row of piles extending longitudinally of" the court, and the'girders may be girder extends and sits ends of the piles; obviously each girder may be built-up of a number of lengths united as by butt-jeint plates or other well known means; there are therefore a plurality of consisting of larch or other wood suitable for exposure out-doors.

It will be observed by referenceto Fig. 1 that the boards IO at one end of the section are not fixed to a joist, while the boards in the same section at the opposite end extend half way across the top of the 'joist'9 which is wider than the other joists.

The ends of the joists .4 to 8 extend beyond the boards 10 and rest upon the girders 3, and the joists are displaced a distance of half the width of a joist with respect to the length of the boards 10 forming a section,

and by this arrangement the ends of the joists of one section, say the upper section in the drawing Fig. 1, overlaps the ends of the joists of the lower section, and the overlapping ends of these joists can then be bolted together as is clearly shown at F igs- 3 and 4, where the parts are marked with corresponding reference numerals.

Figs. 5 and 6 clearly show the connection of the boards 10 to the end joist Q of a section,and the parts are also marked with corresponding reference numerals.

I Obviously where the piles or pillars, such as 1, are built in concrete, in which case box moulds can readily be used, such piles may conveniently have enlarged bases for distributing the weight over a large area of ground.

" It is preferable in the assembly of the various sections, to arrange that one junction of the ends of the sections coincides with the position cf the net, and it is essential that the sections be arranged with the surface boards running longitudinally of the length of the'court.

Courts constructed according to this invention require no raking over, watering, or rolling, andonce the marking of the court has been drawn and painted, the marking becomes permanent, and can be readil renovated each year by paintingover t e last years markings. The surface after hours of play will'be found-to be still in perfect level, and the elasticity of the surfaceconipared to a hard court is-extremely beneficial and saves the players frommuch fatigue. The court is available for pl a few minutes after heavy rain, by the slmple use of a.

squeegee over the court, which ejects the water through the spaces between the boards and prevents free water standing. ()bvieus- 1y. also, there is no dust during play.

When the court is to be in disuse for any considerable time, the sections may be re: moved and stored under cover, and by constructing the girders and stakes or p1les of iron, all distortion by warping canybe completely eliminated.

What I claim as my invention and desire I to secure by Letters Patent is A portable flooring comprising a plurality of similar. sections, each section composed of a plurality ofjoists arranged in substantially parallel spaced relation, flooring secured to the joists, the ends of the joists extending beyond the sides of the flooring, said flooring extending beyond the outer joists, said floor extension at one end being greater by only the width of a joist than the extension at the other end, substantially as specified.

. In witness whereof I have hereunto set .my hand in thepresence of two Witnesses.

JAMES HENRY HANNAY.

Witnesses GRIFFITH BREWER, P. D. Rooms.-

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