Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
  • E04F15/00—Flooring
  • E04F15/02—Flooring or floor layers composed of a number of similar elements
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
  • E04F15/00—Flooring
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
  • E04F15/00—Flooring
  • E04F15/02—Flooring or floor layers composed of a number of similar elements
  • E04F15/024—Sectional false floors, e.g. computer floors
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
  • E04F2201/00—Joining sheets or plates or panels
  • E04F2201/01—Joining sheets, plates or panels with edges in abutting relationship
  • E04F2201/0107—Joining sheets, plates or panels with edges in abutting relationship by moving the sheets, plates or panels substantially in their own plane, perpendicular to the abutting edges
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
  • E04F2201/00—Joining sheets or plates or panels
  • E04F2201/05—Separate connectors or inserts, e.g. pegs, pins, keys or strips
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16B—DEVICES FOR FASTENING OR SECURING CONSTRUCTIONAL ELEMENTS OR MACHINE PARTS TOGETHER, e.g. NAILS, BOLTS, CIRCLIPS, CLAMPS, CLIPS OR WEDGES; JOINTS OR JOINTING
  • F16B2200/00—Constructional details of connections not covered for in other groups of this subclass
  • F16B2200/20—Connections with hook-like parts gripping behind a blind side of an element to be connected

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a portable floor system and in particular to an improved locking assembly and mounting system for the locking assembly.
• Portable floors generally have a number of interlocking, rectangular sections or panels and are used for providing an extended hard surface that may be set up over carpeting or other surfaces on a temporary basis, by joining the floor sections together in an edge-to-edge relationship. Locks or other connectors are provided along the edges of the panels to secure the adjacent panels together to form the extended floor surface.
• Portable floors are used for a variety of purposes and are particularly useful in the hospitality and entertainment industry. It is often desired to provide a temporary smooth hard surface for dancing or other activities that can be removed so the space may be used for other activities.
• Floors are usually connected together in an edge-to-edge fashion with releasable locks along their edges.
• a portable floor of this general type is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 3,310,919, which discloses floor panels with each floor panel having an extruded tongue section along certain edges and a complementary extended groove section along certain other edges. The adjoining sections can be fitted together in an edge-to-edge relationship by a tongue and groove arrangement and held in place by threaded locking screws mounted above the grooves to engage notches in the tongue members.
• Such systems are difficult to replace when failure occurs.
• a portion of the core is removed and a wood block is inserted for mounting by joint connector nuts and bolts or mounting using standard wood screws.
• Such a system requires a precise alignment for a joint connector bolt inserting into a complementary joint connector nut having a complementary orifice.
• Great precision is required for aligning the nuts and bolts.
• such systems using either wood screws or joint connector require drilling of a pilot hole. Improper positioning of such pilot holes may ruin the panel during the manufacturing process.
• rotary locks are generally held by at least two screws or joint connector bolts, they typically have four mounting holes.
• the adjacent hole is typically too close to the position of the failure to allow for repair and mounting of a separate joint connector nut and bolt.
• a further problem is the precise alignment that is required and the special manufacturing methods needed to align all of the various elements.
• the anchoring block and the rotary lock member are also spaced apart with light weight core material or alternate fill material between the elements when mounted so that when force is applied, the material between the wood block and the lock member can collapse, which can lead to failure and/or misalignment.
• a new portable floor system using new and improved portable floor panels is needed that overcomes the problems related to locking assemblies and their mounting.
• Such a system should provide for simple and easy insertion and manufacture of the floor panel and the locking devices.
• Such a system should also eliminate soft core material between the locking member and the anchoring element.
• Such a system should also improve alignment and provide a light weight anchor that is easily replaced should failure occur.
• the present invention addresses these, as well as other problems associated with portable floor systems.
• the present invention is directed to a portable floor system and in particular to a floor system wherein the individual floor panels have an improved mounting assembly for mounting the arrangement for the locking assemblies.
• the portable floor system of the present invention provides a temporary floor surface that is suitable for dancing or other activities while providing multi-use capability for the space where the floor is removed.
• the present invention provides a portable floor having substantially rectangular floor panels connecting and locking along their edges to form a continuous extended floor surface. Along the edges of the floor are edge trim panels that provide a transition from the portable floor surface to the underlying surface.
• Each of the floor panels includes a planar floor portion with an extruded edge section. These edges form complementary tongues and grooves for aligning the panels together.
• the panels are locked together by a cam-type rotary lock having complementary male and female members on the edges of adjacent panels. As the cam locks engage, the camming action tends to slide the panels relative to one another along the edges, thereby locking the panels together and ensuring a proper fit with no gaps between the panels.
• the present invention provides for a lightweight and easy to manufacture mounting arrangement for the locking assemblies.
• the lock members attach directly to an anchor element mounted into a slot formed in the floor panel.
• the anchor element is a light weight plastic element having holes receiving mounting screws that attach through the locking member directly to the anchor element.
• the direct mounting eliminates the need for making precise pilot holes as was needed with the prior art lock mounting systems, hi addition, the direct abutment of the locking devices to the anchor element provides a stronger rigid mount that eliminates the sagging and compression that may occur if the soft core material between the lock and the mounting blocks of the prior art has pressure applied.
• the mounting system of the present invention is also easy to manufacture.
• a first slot for the anchor element is formed in the bottom of the panel and a second slot for receiving the lock is formed in the edge of the panel to intersect the first slot and form a continuous opening.
• the pattern on the upper surface may be continuous panel to panel and the lock and anchoring elements are aligned off a particular indexing feature of the surface panels so that the various panels are precisely aligned and therefore, can form a continuous wood grain pattern from panel to panel over the entire floor.
• the mounting arrangement also provides for easy replacement as damaged screws may simply be replaced by removing the anchor element and the lock and replacing the damaged pieces. It can also be appreciated that if a mounting screw or hole is stripped, an adjacent hole may be utilized for mounting, thus eliminating the need for replacement of the anchor element. Moreover, the present invention does not require any type of adhesive or special steps for mounting.
• the anchor element is a rigid light weight plastic material such as nylon, with much of the slot into which it inserts remaining empty so that the mounting system achieves weight savings over the prior art systems.
• Figure 1 is a top plan view of a portable floor system according to the principles of the present invention.
• Figure 2 is a bottom exploded perspective view of a floor panel for the portable floor system shown in Figure 1 ;
• Figure 3 is a top view of the floor panel shown in Figure 2 with portions removed to show the locking assembly
• Figure 4 is a bottom perspective view with portions removed of two panels for the floor system shown in Figure 1 joined together;
• Figure 5 is a side sectional view of a portion of the panel shown in Figure 2;
• Figure 6 is top detail view of the floor panel shown in Figure 2 showing the locking assembly
• Figure 7 is a bottom perspective view of two locking assemblies shown in Figure 6 and their mounting to the panels with the locking assemblies connected;
• Figure 8 is a top plan view of a portion of the panel shown in Figure 2 showing slots for installation of the locking assembly;
• Figure 9 is a perspective view of the anchor element for the locking assembly shown in Figure 6;
• Figure 10 is a side elevational view of an anchor element shown in Figure 9.
• the floor system 10 includes a plurality of generally rectangular floor panels 12 joined in an edge-to-edge relationship to form an extended, continuous floor surface.
• Such panels generally include a lightweight planar portion 14 with extruded edge elements including tongues 16 along two 1 edges and grooves 18 along the other two edges. With this arrangement, the tongues 16 insert to the corresponding grooves 18 and provide engagement of the edges of adjacent panels.
• the planar portion 14 typically includes a light weight center core layer 20, a hard bottom exterior layer 22 and a bottom inner support layer 24.
• a top support layer 28 extends over the core layer 20 and a top exterior layer 26 covers the top support layer 28.
• the top exterior layer 26 may have a pattern and in one embodiment, includes a wood grain pattern to give the impression of a hardwood floor. It can be appreciated that fewer or more layers may be utilized, depending upon the use, but should include a lightweight core layer 20.
• the wood grain layer 70 is a continuous repeating pattern and includes a designated indexing feature 72 that it utilized for positioning the necessary cuts and for positioning the edges of the panel and the so that the pattern is continuous from one panel 12 to the next.
• the floor system 10 also includes edge trim pieces 30 and 32.
• the edge trim pieces 30 and 32 form a safe transition from the upper surface of the floor system 10 to the underlying ground or floor.
• the edge trim pieces 30 and 32 have either tongues or grooves (not shown) similar to the tongues and grooves of the extruded edge 16 and 18 and mate in a similar manner.
• the edge trim pieces 30 and 32 have corresponding locking devices that also engage complementary locking devices of the floor system 10.
• the floor panels 12 are shown with the planar portions 14 and the extruded edge members including tongues 16 and grooves 18.
• the tongues 16 are along two adjacent sides while the grooves 18 are along the two adjacent opposite sides.
• the tongues 16 engage the complementary grooves 18 of adjacent panels 12 so that the edges of the floor panels 12 abut and the floor panels 12 form an extended continuous floor surface.
• the floor panels 12 are connected to one another with lock assemblies 40, as shown more clearly in Figure 7.
• the lock assemblies include female locks 42 and complementary male locks 44.
• the complementary rotary locks 42 and 44 provide for pulling the edges together to ensure a tight fit.
• the female rotating cam lock devices 42 have a rotatable circular cam and mount at the center of the two edges having grooves 18.
• the complementary male cam lock members 44 mount at the center of the edges having tongues 16 and receive and retain the rotary cam member when the lock is actuated and the cam member extends into the male lock member 44.
• the female cam members 42 are actuated by rotating the cam with an Allen-type tool inserted into an orifice 64 in the upper surface of the floor panels 12. When actuated, the cam pulls the cam lock devices 42 and 44 and therefore the floor panels 12 together to ensure that no gaps are formed in the floor 10 and a tight edge-to-edge connection is maintained between adjacent panels 12.
• the lock assemblies 40 include the bodies of the female and male lock members 42 and 44 that mount directly into slots 66 formed through the tongues 16 and grooves 18 of the edges and slots 62 formed in the planar panel portion 14.
• the female lock devices 42 and the male lock devices 44 mount directly to an anchoring element 48.
• the slots 62 are formed in the edges of the center core of the planar portion 14.
• the anchoring element fits into a slot 60, shown most clearly in Figures 2 and 8.
• Mounting screws 46 extend through the back of the female and male locks 42 and 44 and into receiving portions 52 of the anchoring element 48, shown most clearly in Figure 9.
• the lock devices 42 and 44 mount directly to the anchoring element 48 and abut the anchoring element, thereby eliminating the less dense and poorly supporting material of the lightweight center layer 20 of the prior art.
• the anchoring element 48 provides added support for the lock members 42 and 44. Moreover, installation is straight forward and requires no special tools or application of adhesive.
• the anchoring element 48 provides further advantages over the prior art wood mounting blocks.
• the anchoring elements 48 are preferably made of a sturdy but light weight plastic material such as nylon 6/6 or other suitable material well known in the art.
• the plastic material includes an upper flange 50 that extends slightly around the slot 60 and over a portion of the bottom of the floor panel 12.
• Horizontal ribs 56 and vertical ribs 54 provide a sturdy support structure for the mounting portions 52.
• As the anchoring element 48 provides much empty space, it provides weight savings over solid wood block mounting systems.
• Forming of the slots 62 and 60 is accomplished quite simply with a router and is positioned to ensure a proper placement from an indexing feature 72 of the surface pattern 70.
• the edges of planar portion 14 are formed at the same time as the slots 60 and 62 so that the slots 60 and 62 are precisely located to ensure proper alignment of the lock devices 42 and 44. This also provides sufficiently precise alignment to ensure that the patterns that are configured for being continuous are consistently aligned and oriented to give an improved overall continuous natural wood grain or other floor appearance.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Architecture (AREA)
• Civil Engineering (AREA)
• Structural Engineering (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Floor Finish (AREA)
• Non-Flushing Toilets (AREA)

Priority Applications (10)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=37907331

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (15)

Cited By (1)

Families Citing this family (22)

Citations (4)

Family Cites Families (33)

• 2005
  • 2005-11-10 US US11/271,513 patent/US7621091B2/en active Active
• 2006
  • 2006-11-09 CN CN2006800416966A patent/CN101305141B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2006-11-09 CA CA2627084A patent/CA2627084C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2006-11-09 KR KR1020087011488A patent/KR101338860B1/ko not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2006-11-09 BR BRPI0618313-1A patent/BRPI0618313A2/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2006-11-09 RU RU2008123058/03A patent/RU2008123058A/ru not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2006-11-09 WO PCT/US2006/043604 patent/WO2007058875A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2006-11-09 MY MYPI20081553A patent/MY157818A/en unknown
  • 2006-11-09 JP JP2008540181A patent/JP2009516101A/ja not_active Ceased
  • 2006-11-09 AT AT06844301T patent/ATE439489T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2006-11-09 DE DE602006008497T patent/DE602006008497D1/de active Active
  • 2006-11-09 AU AU2006315739A patent/AU2006315739B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 2006-11-09 ES ES06844301T patent/ES2328410T3/es active Active
  • 2006-11-09 EP EP06844301A patent/EP1951970B1/en not_active Not-in-force
  • 2006-11-09 NZ NZ568321A patent/NZ568321A/en not_active IP Right Cessation

Patent Citations (4)

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