FIELD
The present invention generally relates to concrete floors, and more specifically, to an anchor connecting a concrete floor to a sub-floor.
BACKGROUND
The use of concrete floors in the building of structures is commonplace. One such concrete floor is a corrugated steel concrete floor, where concrete is poured over a corrugated steel deck supported by the building. The corrugated steel deck must be thick enough in order to support the poured concrete, which adds significant weight to the floor that must be supported by the structure of the building.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a top view of a plurality of anchors according to one embodiment of the present disclosure attached to a wooden sub-floor with a concrete form positioned over the wooden sub-floor;
FIG. 1A is a fragmentary perspective showing the anchor attached to the wooden sub-floor.
FIG. 2 is a perspective of a floor including a concrete layer poured into the concrete form of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a perspective of the anchor;
FIG. 4 is a left side view of the anchor attached to a wooden member (shown in cross section) of the wooden sub-floor;
FIG. 5 is a top view of the anchor;
FIG. 6 is a left side view thereof; and
FIG. 7 is a front view thereof.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIGS. 1-3, one embodiment of an anchor for use in a floor, generally indicated at 10, of a building is generally indicated at 100. The floor 10 includes a concrete layer or floor, generally indicated at 12, and a wooden layer or sub-floor (broadly, a cellulosic layer), generally indicated at 14, supporting the concrete layer. The wooden sub-floor 14 is composed of a plurality of members (e.g., wooden members) 16 joined together in a side-by-side arrangement. Generally, the members 16 are made of a material capable of receiving and holding nails, nailing teeth, dowels and/or screws that are pressed or driven into the members. For example, and without limitation, cellulosic material such as wood and bamboo may be used to form the members 16. In one embodiment, the members 16 are made of Douglas fir. The wooden members 16 may be joined in any suitable manner such as, but not limited to, by the use of screws, nails, dowels, and/or glue. The wooden members 16 have a generally uniform thickness. In one embodiment, the wooden members 16 have a thickness of approximately 2 inches (5 cm). As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of anchors 100 are attached to and between the wooden members 16 and extend upward into the concrete layer, as explained in more detail below. The anchors 100 connect the concrete floor 12 to the wooden sub-floor 14 so that the concrete floor and subfloor work cooperatively in load resistance. The anchors 100 may also be used to hold and position rebar 18 within the concrete floor 12. Other configurations of the floor are within the scope of the present disclosure.
Referring to FIGS. 3-7, the anchor 100 is configured to connect the concrete floor 12 to the wooden sub-floor 14 is shown. The anchor 100 includes a first portion 102 and a second portion 104. A transition 105 may extend between the first portion 102 and second portion 104. In the illustrated embodiment, the transition 105 comprises a rounded bend. The first and second portions 102, 104 are generally planar. However, it will be understood that the transition 105 may be considered part of the first and second portions 102, 104 or separate from one or both of the first and second portions. In the illustrated embodiment, the anchor 100 has a generally L-shape which is inverted into an upside down ‘L’ when the anchor is attached to the wooden sub-floor 14. In the illustrated embodiment, the anchor 100 is formed as a unitary one-piece structure. In one embodiment, the anchor 100 is formed from a metal blank or template cut from a single piece of material and bent (e.g., stamped) into shape. The anchor 100 can be formed from a piece of sheet metal or other suitable material. In one embodiment, the anchor 100 is stamped from 18-gauge steel, although other thicknesses (e.g., 10-20 gauge) and other suitable materials are within the scope of the present disclosure. Also, other configurations are within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, in one embodiment the portions of the anchor can be formed separately and attached together. As set forth below, in general the anchor 100 is configured to attach to the wooden sub-floor 14 and embed into the concrete floor 12 to connect the concrete floor and wooden sub-floor together. For convenience of description, the orientation of the anchor 100 in FIG. 3 provides the point of reference for the terms defining relative locations and positions of structures and components of the hanger, including but not limited to the terms “upper,” “lower,” “left,” “right,” “top,” “bottom,” “front,” and back,” as used throughout the present disclosure.
Referring still to FIGS. 3-7, the first portion 102 is generally rectangular and has opposite upper and lower edge margins, opposite left and right edge margins, a front face, and a back face. The lower, left and right edge margins are all free edge margins. The first portion 102 has a height H (FIG. 5) extending between the upper and lower edge margins and a length L extending between the left and right edge margins. In one embodiment, the height H of the first portion 102 is about 2.4 inches (6 cm) and the length of the first portion is about 5.5 inches (14 cm). An intermediate section may be disposed between the upper and lower edge margins separating the height H of the first portion 102 into thirds. The first portion 102 is configured to be attached to one of the wooden members 16 of the wooden sub-floor 14. Specifically, the first portion 102 is configured to be disposed between two adjacent wooden members and to attach to at least one of said two adjacent wooden members. When the first portion 102 is attached to one of the wooden members 16, the first portion 102 projects upward between two adjacent members of the wooden sub-floor 14 into the overlying concrete floor 12.
The first portion 102 includes attachment structure 108 (FIGS. 3 and 5) configured to facilitate connection of the anchor 100 to one of the wooden members 16. In the illustrated embodiment, the attachment structure 108 is a plurality of openings 110 extending through a thickness of the first portion 102. The openings 110 may be punched out of the first portion 102. In the illustrated embodiment, the openings 110 are circular. In the illustrated embodiment, the openings 110 are disposed across a majority of the first portion 102. For instance, the openings 110 may be disposed across over 50% of a length L of the first portion 102, and over 50% of the height H of the first portion. In another embodiment, the openings 110 may be disposed across over 70% of the length L of the first portion 102, and over 60% of the height H of the first portion. In another embodiment, the openings 110 may be disposed across over 80% of the length L of the first portion 102, and over 65% of the height H of the first portion. Thus, the openings 110 extend into the upper and lower edge margins of the first portion 102. Therefore, the openings 110 cover a substantial portion of the first portion 102. This allows for a greater number and coverage of fasteners extending through the openings 110. Therefore, the attachment of the structure 108 to the wooden members 16 is enhanced. Additionally, the attachment structure 108 is configured to be disposed completely between the adjacent wooden members 16. In the illustrated embodiment, the plurality of openings 110 are arranged together in a staggered grid pattern. Specifically, the upper most openings 110 are disposed on the first portion 102 such that the upper most openings are disposed below the upper surface of the wooden sub-floor 14 when the anchor 100 is attached to the wooden sub-floor. In one embodiment, the attachment structure 108 includes eighteen openings 110 spread out over the length L and height H of the first portion 102, although more or fewer openings, arranged in other ways are within the scope of the present disclosure.
The second portion 104 is configured to position the anchor 100 on one of the wooden members 16 of the wooden sub-floor 14. The bottom face of the second portion 104 is configured to engage the top surface of the wooden member 16 in order to position the anchor 100 at the correct height along the side of the wooden member the anchor is attached to. As shown in FIG. 4, when the second portion 104 is disposed slightly above the top surface of the wooden member 16 and the first portion 102 engages a side surface of the wooden member, the anchor 100 is disposed at the correct position (e.g., height) relative to the wooden sub-floor 14. In other words, the second portion 104 facilitates the positioning of the anchor 100 within the floor 10. In one embodiment, the second portion 104 may also be embedded (e.g., disposed) within the concrete floor 12 when the anchor 100 is in the correct position relative to the wooden sub-floor 14.
Still referring to FIGS. 3-7, the second portion or flange 104 extends forward from the upper edge margin of the first portion 102 (i.e., extends transverse to the first portion). In the illustrated embodiment, the second portion 104 is generally rectangular and has opposite left and right edge margins, opposite front and back edge margins, a top face, and a bottom face. The front, left, and right edge margins are all free edge margins. The back edge margin of the second portion 104 is integral or continuous with the upper edge margin of the first portion 102. The first and second portions 102, 104 are generally perpendicular to one another. The second portion 104 has a length L extending between the left and right edge margins and a width W (FIG. 7) extending between the front and back edge margins. Preferably, the length L of the second portion 104 is the same as the length L of the first portion 102. In one embodiment, the width W of the second portion 104 is about 2 inches (5 cm) and the length L of the second portion is about 5.5 inches (14 cm).
The second portion 104 is configured to be embedded in the concrete floor 12. When the anchor 100 is attached to the wooden sub-floor 14, the first portion 102 is configured to position the second portion 104 within the concrete floor 12 so that the concrete in the concrete floor surrounds the second portion. In other words, the first portion 102 has a height H that is less than a height of the floor 10 (e.g., the combined height of the concrete floor 12 and wooden sub-floor 14) and, more particularly, has a height that positions the second portion between upper and lower surfaces of the concrete floor 12 when the anchor 100 is attached to the wooden sub-floor. In one embodiment, the height H of the first portion 102 is about 2.4 inches (6 cm). Preferably, the first portion 102 is configured to position the second portion 104 at or near the bottom of the concrete floor 12. The second portion 104 is configured to engage and support rebar 18 or other members within the concrete floor 12. As shown in FIG. 1, the second portion 104 can support rebar 18 within the concrete form 22 while the concrete is poured to form the concrete floor 12. The second portion 104 may include one or more openings 120 configured to receive a concrete tie (not shown) in order to secure the rebar 18 to the second portion 104. In the illustrated embodiment, the openings 120 are circular openings spaced apart along the length L of the second portion 104 and centered along a common axis. In one embodiment, the openings 120 have a larger diameter than the openings 110 in the first portion 102.
Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, in use, the one or more anchors 100 are used to connect the concrete floor 12 to the wooden sub-floor 14. The plurality of anchors 100 can be placed in to the wooden sub-floor 14 in any type of arrangement such as, but not limited to, a grid pattern as shown in FIG. 1. In one embodiment, the grid pattern is a one-foot by one-foot grid pattern, although other sizes are within the scope of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the plurality of anchors 100 are randomly or otherwise non-uniformly arranged. Once the particular arrangement of the plurality of anchors 100 is determined, each anchor 100 is attached to the side of one of the wooden members 16. Each anchor 100 is arranged so that the attachment structure 108, more particularly the openings 110, overlie the side of the wooden member with the second portion 104 disposed above the wooden member. For example, the second portion 104 may be placed above or on the top surface of the wooden member 16. Once in position, fasteners 111 can be driven into the openings 110 of each anchor 100 to secure the anchor to the side of the wooden member 16.
Once all the anchors 100 are secured to their respective wooden members 16, the wooden members are joined together in a side-by-side arrangement to form the wooden sub-floor 14, with each anchor extending above the wooden sub-floor. The concrete form 22 is then constructed above the wooden sub-floor and any reinforcement, such as rebar 18, is positioned therein (see, FIG. 1). The rebar 18 can be secured to the anchors 100 using ties (not shown) and the openings 120 in the second portions 104 of the anchors. Concrete is then poured over the wooden sub-floor 14 surrounding the portion of the anchors 100 above the wooden sub-floor to form the concrete floor 12. The concrete flows around the upper section of the first portion 102 and the second portion 104 embedding these components in the concrete floor 12. The concrete then cures over the wooden sub-floor and around the anchors 100 to form the concrete floor 12. In this manner, the anchors 100 unify or connect the concrete floor 12 to the wooden sub-floor 14. In one embodiment, the floor 10 is formed at a worksite or construction site, although it is contemplated that the floor can formed at a manufacturing facility and transported to the worksite.
Having described the invention in detail, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims. For example, where specific dimensions are given, it will be understood that they are exemplary only and other dimensions are possible.
When introducing elements of the present invention or the preferred embodiment(s) thereof, the articles “a”, “an”, “the” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising”, “including” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.
In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.
As various changes could be made in the above products without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
Patent Application
20250129596
