This invention relates to improvements with respect to a raised floor system, including improvements relative to floor tiles and the supports therefor, and improvements relative to the manufacturing process for the floor tiles.
A significant variety of raised floor systems have been developed for use in commercial buildings. Such systems typically employ a plurality of height-adjustable pedestals supported on a main floor in a grid-like arrangement, and a plurality of removable floor tiles supported on the upper ends of the pedestals. The floor tiles are formed using numerous construction techniques, with one common technique employing a formed sheet metal pan defining an upwardly opening compartment which is filled with concrete. The space below the raised floor is utilized for accommodating cabling such as power, data and communication cabling, and in addition accommodates or defines ducts for heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC).
In known floor systems employing composite steel and concrete floor tiles, which tiles in plan view are typically relatively large squares having side dimensions of about 24 inches, the tiles due to their construction and size are necessarily both bulky and heavy so that transport of such tiles over long distances is undesirably costly. Also, since the tiles are normally formed utilizing at least partially automated machinery capable of filling, leveling, curing and finishing the concrete, this normally mandates that the tiles be produced in rather large quantities at a centralized manufacturing location. Further, filling the metal pans with wet concrete and achieving a proper structural interconnection of the hardened concrete to the metal pan so as to provide the finished floor tile, when in use, with the necessary strength and durability, has presented an ongoing problem.
In a continuing development effort to improve the strength and durability of the floor tiles and specifically the structural connection of the concrete to the metal pan, the metal pan is typically provided with protrusions or barbs, particularly associated with the horizontal bottom wall of the pan, which protrude upwardly into the concrete poured into the pan in an effort to increase structural strength and structural interconnection of the concrete to the pan. While these techniques have proven to improve the strength characteristics, these techniques also increase the complexities associated both with the manufacture of the pan and the forming of the concrete therein.
In addition to the above, floor tiles of the type utilizing a wet concrete mix poured into a metal pan also typically utilize gypsum cement to create the wet concrete mix. This, however, creates additional disadvantages due not only to the expense of gypsum cement, but also due to its characteristics. Specifically, concrete mix formed using gypsum cement experiences dimensional instability in that the concrete dimensionally changes, specifically grows, during drying or curing. This hence creates significant dimensional instability with respect to the finished floor tile, and requires significant grinding or surface finishing of the exposed upper surface of the concrete in order to achieve the desired finished dimension of the floor tile. In addition, since wet concrete mix formed using gypsum cement requires utilization of a significant quantity of water, this reduces the strength properties of the concrete. Nevertheless, gypsum cement is typically utilized since curing of the concrete can be accomplished over a shorter number of days, typically three to four days, in contrast to the longer curing time of Portland cement, typically about seven days. Even so, this technique of forming floor tiles by depositing wet concrete mix into preformed metal pans is undesirable with respect to the time and space requirements demanded for production of such floor tiles, and hence this technique is limited to situations where these restrictions and the limitations imposed on the volume of production can be tolerated.
As an alternative to the manufacturing technique wherein wet concrete is poured into and cured within a metal pan, and the disadvantages associated with such technique, other floor tiles have been manufactured wherein a preformed block, frequently of wood, is positioned within a metal pan and secured therein, and is typically wholly enclosed within the pan by means of a separate covering or top walls. Such constructions, however, typically lack the strength and durability achieved utilizing floor tiles formed dominantly of concrete.
While attempts have been made to design and develop floor tiles employing a concrete block positioned within a metal pan by preforming the concrete and then forming the pan therearound, such as by shaping or bending the pan around a preformed block, such technique is also undesirable in terms of its processing limitations and the difficulty in achieving desired dimensional tolerances.
Examples of known constructions of raised floor arrangements, and specifically the floor tiles and pedestals associated therewith, are illustrated by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,085,557, 4,621,468, 4,719,727, 4,914,881, 4,944,130, 5,057,355, 5,088,251, 5,333,423, 5,904,009, 6,418,697, 6,918,217 and 2003/0097808 A1.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved raised floor system and more specifically an improved floor tile for such system, which floor tile specifically involves a composite construction wherein a concrete core or block is confined within a formed metal pan, with the construction of the floor tile providing structural fixation of the concrete to the metal pan so as to provide significantly improved structural characteristics and integrity, while at the same time permitting the forming and utilization of a metal pan which is free of protrusions or the like which complicate the construction and configuration of the pan.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an improved manufacturing process for the floor tile, specifically with respect to the manner in which the concrete and metal pan are formed and secured together.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved floor tile for a raised floor system whereby the tile, employing a preformed concrete block positioned in and adhered to a preformed metal pan, provides improvements with respect to strength of the resultant floor tile and at the same time permits the floor tile to be manufactured with less process time, while at the same time avoiding the undesired material variations, environmental variations and process control issues typically encountered when forming floor tiles using a wet concrete mix poured into the pan.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide an improved floor tile, as aforesaid, which avoids the manufacturing cycle limitations, namely time limitations, associated with conventional manufacturing processes which involve pouring wet concrete mix into preformed metal pans.
It is another object of the invention to provide an improved floor tile having a simplified mechanical design which results in simplification of the manufacturing process, which provides an improved installed uncovered appearance, and which permits the use of industry-standard concrete finishing, sealing and polishing techniques.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved floor tile for a raised floor, and the process of making the floor tile, wherein the concrete mix which is utilized for defining the block is effectively a dry mix, that is, a mix of concrete and aggregate which utilizes minimal water so as to permit forming and curing of the concrete block as a preform in a minimal period of time, with the preform thereafter being positioned in and adhesively adhered to the preformed metal pan.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a floor tile and forming process, as aforesaid, which utilizes Portland cement for the dry concrete mix to achieve reduced material cost and material stability during drying or curing, with the overall curing time being significantly reduced by forming of the preformed concrete blocks from the dry concrete mix.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved raised floor system having improvements associated with the pedestal construction which supports the floor tiles in raised relationship relative to a main floor, which improved pedestal construction simplifies the connection of the floor tiles to the pedestals while providing a desirable finished appearance with respect to the visible upper surface of the raised floor.
Other objects and purposes of the invention will be apparent upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.
In accordance with a preferred construction and manufacturing process for a floor tile according to the present invention, the floor tile is primarily of a two-piece construction defined by a shallow upwardly-opening metal pan defining a shallow compartment therein in which a main preformed one-piece concrete block is stationarily secured. The metal pan has upwardly protruding side walls formed with top hems or flanges which protrude downwardly over the exterior surfaces thereof. The corners of the pan are provided with slits which protrude downwardly from upper edges of the side walls, whereby the side walls can be resiliently angularly deflected outwardly upon application of a force thereto. The main preformed concrete block is preferably formed from a plurality (preferably three) of one-piece preformed concrete sub-blocks which are preferably identical, with a predetermined number of sub-blocks being positioned in sideward abutting relationship to define a plan profile corresponding to the main concrete block. One or both opposed side edges of the sub-blocks are coated with an adhesive, such as a hot melt, and are then pressed and held in abutting contact so as to fixedly and rigidly join the sub-blocks together to create the main one-piece concrete block. The main concrete block is then adhesively secured within the compartment of the metal pan, with the latter preferably being accomplished by coating the bottom surface of the main concrete block with adhesive, and by coating the inner surfaces of the pan side walls with adhesive. The pan side walls are deflected outwardly to permit proper disposition of the main concrete block within the compartment of the pan and allow the pan and concrete block to be pressed together to create a secure fixed bonded relationship between the main concrete block and the bottom wall of the pan. The side walls of the pan are also deflected inwardly so as to press against and adhesively and fixedly secure to the side or edge faces of the main concrete block. The resulting floor tile can then have the exposed upper surface of the concrete block treated as appropriate, such as by grinding the upper surface to provide a desired smoothness and appearance, with the floor tile then being suitable for use as part of a raised floor system.
As an alternative construction and forming process for the floor tile, the metal floor pan can have the shallow upwardly-opening compartment thereof filled with wet concrete. Prior to pouring of the wet concrete into the pan, however, the interior surfaces of the bottom and side walls of the pan are coated with a suitable adhesive, such as a hot melt. The adhesive coating as applied to at least the bottom wall of the pan is also then provided with a layer of fine-grained sand sprinkled thereover, which sand is effectively wetted and embedded into the adhesive layer. A wet concrete mix, which also has an adhesive mixed therein, is then poured into the pan so as to fill the compartment. The adhesive in the concrete readily cooperates with the sand layer and adhesive pre-applied to the pan to create a highly effective and strong securement of the concrete to the pan as the concrete hardens and cures within the pan. As an alternative to the above, rather than including adhesive within the wet concrete mix, a second layer of adhesive can be sprayed into the pan after the sand layer has been applied, following which the wet concrete can be poured into the pan and allowed to cure and harden while the adhesive arrangement creates a secure and strong fixed securement of the hardened concrete core to the metal pan.
The raised floor system of the invention incorporates a grid of height-adjustable pedestals which individually provide a top support plate to function as a support for engagement with corner portions of four adjacent floor tiles. This top support plate has upwardly-protruding positioning elements which are adapted to project into small gaps defined between sidewardly adjacent floor tiles for ensuring proper positioning of the tiles with respect to one another and with respect to the pedestal. A fastener such as an elongate screw projects vertically downwardly adjacent the corner of the floor tiles for threaded engagement with the pedestal arrangement. The fastener cooperates with a hold-down member, such as an annular washer which in turn cooperates with corners of the floor tiles to effect fixing of the floor tiles relative to the pedestal head when the fastener is tightened.
Certain terminology will be used in the following description for convenience and reference only, and will not be limiting. For example, the words “upwardly”, “downwardly”, “rightwardly” and “leftwardly” will refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The words “upwardly” and “downwardly” will also refer to directions associated with the floor when installed over a subfloor. The words “inwardly” and “outwardly” will refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the arrangement and designated parts thereof. Said terminology will include the words specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof, and words of similar import.
Referring to
Referring now to
The main one-piece concrete block 13 is a preform created from a plurality of one-piece preformed concrete sub-blocks 15. The sub-blocks 15 are preferably of identical configuration, and a predetermined number of sub-blocks 15, three in the illustrated and preferred embodiment, are disposed in a configuration (i.e. a square) to define the outer plan-view profile of the main block 13, and are then fixedly joined together as by adhesively securing the opposed abutting edge faces 17 so that the plurality of sub-blocks 15 define a rigid one-piece construction.
As illustrated by
The one-piece preformed concrete main block 12 is adapted to be positioned within the box-shaped metal pan 14 which, as illustrated by
Each pan side wall 22, as illustrated by
The pan 14, at each of the upright corners 31 thereof, is provided with a slit or slot 32 which opens downwardly from the upper edge of the side walls 22. This slit or slot is terminated and defined by the end edges 33 of the adjacent upright side walls 22.
The pan 14 also has positioning projections 38 formed in and protruding downwardly from the bottom wall 21, with one such positioning projection 38 being positioned in close proximity to and slightly inwardly spaced from each of the pan corners 34. The positioning projection 38 is in the illustrated embodiment formed generally as a downwardly displaced cylindrical or conical projection, and is preferably deformed downwardly from the bottom wall of the pan in such manner as to prevent formation of any openings or cracks in the bottom wall. The positioning projections 38 are exposed, shaped and sized to cooperate with positioning recesses associated with the support pedestals, as explained hereinafter.
The bottom wall 21 of pan 14 may also be provided with one or more stiffening projections 39 formed therein, which are also preferably downwardly deformed from the bottom wall 21 so as to be free of any openings through the bottom wall, while at the same time providing the bottom wall with increased stiffness.
The metal pan 14 is preferably formed from thin metal, typically steel sheet, and can be suitably shaped utilizing conventional forming techniques such as stamping, roll forming or the like. The shaping of the pan 14 is such, however, that the side walls 22 are normally slightly angularly inclined as they project upwardly, as depicted by the angle a in
Referring now to
Simultaneous with or prior to the above block forming steps, the shallow metal pan 14 is formed at step 46, and adhesive (i.e. hot melt) is applied to inside surfaces of the pan side walls as indicated at step 47. The pan, as indicated at step 48, is preferably oriented in an upside down relationship, i.e., oriented so that the compartment thereof opens downwardly, and the side walls 22 of the pan are engaged, such as by gripping the hems on the pan, and deflected outwardly as indicated at step 49. With the pan and adhesive-coated block oriented vertically one above the other, specifically with the pan oriented above the block, the pan is moved downwardly to telescope over the block 13, which downward movement continues until the adhesively coated upwardly-facing bottom surface 19 of the block contacts the bottom wall of the pan, following which the pan and block are pressed together to allow the adhesive to set up and create a fixed securement of the block to the bottom wall of the pan.
After the block has been telescopically fitted into the pan as indicated at step 52, the side walls of the pan are released or deflected inwardly so that they return back towards their original position so as to grippingly engage the edge faces of the block. Since the inner surfaces of the pan side walls 22 have adhesive applied thereto, the adhesive is pressed into contact with the edge faces of the block 13 and creates a rigid securement between the pan edge walls 22 and the edge faces of the block. After the block has been appropriately adhesively fixed within the pan throughout both the bottom and side walls thereof, the composite floor tile construction can then be moved to a finishing station, such as indicated at step 55, to permit grinding of the exposed top surface 16 of the concrete block 13 to create the desired smoothness and appearance.
In the preferred manufacturing process for the floor tile 12 as described above relative to
While the coating of the bottom surface 19 of the block with adhesive is believed all that is necessary in order to achieve a proper adhesive securement with the bottom wall of the pan, it will be appreciated that, if felt necessary or desired, the upper surface of the pan bottom wall 21 could also have an adhesive coating applied thereto, such as sprayed thereon.
As to the adhesive coating which is applied between the block edge faces 17 and the pan side walls 22, this adhesive coating is preferably provided on the inside surfaces of the pan side walls 22 prior to fitting of the block 13 within the pan compartment 20, and the block edge faces in this preferred process are not adhesively coated. By avoiding direct application of adhesive to the edge faces of the block, this minimizes the possibility of excess adhesive being accidentally squeezed outwardly so as to project upwardly beyond the upper edge of the block, particularly since the upper edge of the block is spaced upwardly a small distance above the top edge of the pan side walls 22. Excess or extra cleanup of the floor pan due to excess or undesired adhesive being extruded out or passing beyond the upper edges of the block is hence avoided or at least greatly minimized.
In addition, by applying the adhesive to the inside surfaces of the pan side walls 22, but not to the edge faces of the block, and by outwardly angularly deflecting the pan side walls 22 prior to insertion of the block 13 into the pan compartment 20, this minimizes the possibility of adhesive being scraped upwardly beyond the upper edges of the block during assembly of the block into the pan.
More specifically when the inverted pan 14 is moved downwardly so as to be telescoped over the inverted block 13, as described above, the manner of cooperation between the edge faces of the block and the deflected side walls 22 of the pan is such as to prevent or minimize any tendency for the adhesive on the side walls to be scraped off during the positioning of the pan and block in engagement with one another. If any such contact occurs between the pan and block as the pan telescopes downwardly over the block, such contact will likely occur between the side walls and the bottom edge of the block, which hence would tend to displace any adhesive toward the bottom of the pan (and specifically away from the exposed top face of the block) so as to trap any such adhesive in the lower corners or edges of the pan.
Further, when the pan side walls 22 are released and moved into gripping engagement with the block, the inclined configuration of the pan side walls, namely their slight inward incline, tends to squeeze any excess adhesive downwardly toward the bottom of the pan, rather than outwardly toward the upper surface of the block, thereby minimizing escape of adhesive from the upper edge of the pan.
The process as described above is hence believed to optimize the fixation strength of the adhesive attachment between the block and the pan, particularly with respect to the rigid securement of the bottom surface of the block to the pan bottom wall so as to provide significant reinforcement for the bottom of the block to hence withstand the otherwise damaging tension forces which are created adjacent the bottom surfaces due to the vertical downward loading imposed on the block. At the same time, this process minimizes the escape of adhesive and hence minimizes any necessary or required subsequent cleanup due to escape of adhesive.
In the present invention, the adhesive for creating a fixed securement between the metal pan and the concrete block is preferably a conventional thermosetting hot melt, such as a urethane adhesive, which hot melt is typically and preferably applied to the respective surfaces by spraying.
The floor pan construction and manufacturing process in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, particularly as illustrated and described above with respect to
To create the preformed sub-blocks as described above, the concrete mix preferably utilizes Portland cement both due to its lower cost and its dimensional stability, and the concrete mix, i.e., Portland cement, aggregate, water and other conventional fillers, when poured into the mold is preferably in a condition conventionally referred to as “dry mix” in that a minimum quantity of water (typically a maximum of 10 percent by weight) is utilized and this improves the strength of the finished sub-block and greatly minimizes the drying or curing time, such as by reducing the curing time from several days to about one day or less. The “dry mix” also permits the formed but non-cured blocks to be rapidly removed from the mold so as to maximize the production rate of the mold, with the formed but non-cured blocks when removed from the mold being supported in an upright condition while they undergo their remaining curing phase, resulting in a faster production rate while minimizing storage or floor space for support of the blocks during the curing phase. The overall production rate is thus significantly increased so as to be suitable for high volume production.
With the improved floor tile and manufacturing process of this invention as described above, the preformed concrete block in a conventional construction will typically have a thickness of about 1⅛ inch. In situations where greater floor loads are anticipated and higher strengths are required, however, the block thickness can be increased, such as up to about 1½ inches, by modifying the width of the mold cavities within the mold machine. The thicker preformed blocks, however, may fit within the same or thicker pan and can be adhesively fixedly secured within the pan in the same manner described above. This manufacturing process, and mechanical design of the floor tile, hence readily permits selective variation, at least within a permissible range, in the thickness of the concrete block and in the resulting thickness of the floor tile so as to optimize floor tile strength relative to anticipated external loads.
While a manufacturing process utilizing a preformed concrete core block in accordance with the aforementioned disclosure is believed highly preferable and desirable in many use environments, it is recognized that in some situations it may be considered more desirable to resort to a process wherein the concrete is poured in a wet form into the pan so as to mold the block directly within the pan. An improved process utilizing this general technique is diagrammatically illustrated by
More specifically, in this improved process the shallow box-shape metal pan is again formed as indicated at step 61. In this process, however, the pan need not be formed with slits at the corners thereof since the process does not require deflection of the pan side walls. The interior of the pan is coated with a suitable adhesive, such as a hot melt, as by spraying the inner surfaces of the bottom and side walls of the pan. A thin layer of fine grain sand (step 63) or other suitable fine granular aggregate material is then sprinkled over the adhesive coating on at least the bottom wall of the pan. In accordance with one technique, a second layer of adhesive is then applied to the inner wall of the pan directly over the sand layer so as to ensure intimate coating of the sand layer with adhesive. The wet concrete mix is prepared (step 64) and is then deposited in the pan (step 66) so as to fill the compartment, with the concrete mix in the pan being leveled in a conventional manner. The concrete in the pan is then allowed to harden, and during this hardening the adhesive layer and the intermingled sand granules set up and create a strong and intimate fixing of the hardened concrete core to the metal pan. After appropriate hardening, the top surface of the concrete core as formed within the pan is then finished to provide the desired smoothness and visual appearance.
As a variation to the aforementioned process, as also indicated in
Referring now to
The support pedestal 71 as illustrated by
The base assembly 72 includes a generally horizontally-extending base plate 74, typically of steel, having a vertically elongate support column 75 fixed thereto and cantilevered upwardly therefrom. The support column 75 in the illustrated embodiment is defined by an elongate hollow square tube.
The head assembly 73 includes a support or shelf 76 which is defined generally by a horizontally extending plate, typically a steel plate which is attached to the upper end of a downwardly projecting support post 77. The post 77 is threaded and has a nut 78 engaged thereon, the latter being adapted to bear against the upper end of the support column 75 when the post 77 is inserted into the interior of the column.
The horizontal support shelf 76 in the illustrated arrangement has a generally octagonal exterior shape defined by two pairs of parallel side edges 81 and 82, which pairs 81, 82 extend in perpendicular relationship to one another, with additional side edges 83 extending in angled relationship between ends of the adjacent side edges 81 and 82. The support shelf 76 has a set of positioning projections 84 fixed to and projecting upwardly adjacent the periphery thereof in angularly spaced relationship therearound. More specifically, there are four such positioning projections 84, one associated with each of the angled or corner edges 83, with these positioning projections 84 being disposed so that two of them lie along one axis 85 adjacent opposite sides of the support shelf, and the other pair of projections 84 lie along the other axis 86 on opposite sides of the support shelf. The axes 85 and 86 extending generally in perpendicular relationship to one another so as to define the support shelf 76 into four substantially identical quadrants or sectors 87, each being adapted to supportingly engage one corner of a floor tile 12.
The horizontal shelf 76, at the center or midpoint thereof, as defined by the intersection of the axes 85 and 86, has a threaded opening 88 extending vertically therethrough. This opening is concentric to the central vertical axis 89 of the support post 77. The threaded bore 88 communicates with a conical counterbore 91 which opens upwardly for communication with the upper surface of the shelf 76.
Each quadrant or sector 87 of the shelf 76 has a positioning recess 92 formed therein and extending vertically through the support shelf. This recess 92 is disposed generally on a radial line which bisects the respective sector and is angularly midway between the two adjacent positioning projections 84. The four positioning recesses 92 are hence disposed in an annular array spaced at angles of 90 degrees apart, and the positioning projections 84 are similarly disposed in an annular array spaced at angles of 90 degrees apart, with the array of positioning openings 92 being angularly offset 45 degrees relative to the angular positions of the positioning projections 84.
As illustrated by
For the above purpose, the fastener assembly 93 includes an elongate threaded fastener or screw 94 having an enlarged conically-shaped head 95 at the upper end. The fastener cooperates with a hold-down washer 97 having a generally conical bore 96 formed therethrough for accommodating the conically shaped head 95 of the threaded fastener. The washer 97 is of sufficient diameter so as to overlap the upper corners of the adjacent floor tiles 12. In this regard, the upper surface of the concrete block 13 as associated with the floor tile is provided with a shallow arcuate recess 98 formed in the corner thereof. The depth of the recess 98 generally corresponds to the thickness of the washer 97 and corresponds generally to a depth which is flush with the uppermost edge of the bend 26. Hence, when the threaded fastener 93 is inserted through the washer 97 and threaded down into the threaded opening 88, the washer 97 is moved downwardly into snug gripping engagement with the concrete wall defining the bottom of the recess 98, and the washer remains substantially flush with the upper surface of the concrete blocks 13, whereby the floor tiles 12 are pushed downwardly and hence grippingly secured relative to the pedestal shelf 76. When so positioned, as diagrammatically illustrated in
The pedestal assembly can, as a variation to the construction identified above, be provided with a swivel arrangement 101 (
A further variation of the pedestal assembly is illustrated in
More specifically, and referring particularly to
In use, and referring to
It will be observed that the modified shelf 76″, does not possess any upwardly protruding positioning projections 84 so as to permit its use entirely under the floor tiles in the manner illustrated by positions A, B and C.
To utilize the modified shelf 76″ for supporting a floor tile corner in the manner illustrated at position A in
When the modified shelf 76″ is used at a periphery of the floor for supportive engagement at the joint between two tiles 12/1 and 12/2 as illustrated at position C in
As an alternative to the perimeter mounting illustrated at position C in
As illustrated in
More specifically, and as illustrated by
To secure the edge rail 107 in the position illustrated by
While the constructions discussed above relate to a pedestal used in conjunction with a fastener arrangement 93 as illustrated by
Referring initially to
Accordingly, when the fastener 122 is threaded into the shelf so as to push downwardly to hold the floor tiles against the shelf, the hold down washer 123 is pushed downwardly causing the V-shaped arms 127 to be pressed against and firmly engage the rounded upper surfaces defined on the hems 126 to positionally secure the floor tiles against the shelf 76. When so assembled, however, the washer and the head of the fastener screw are effectively disposed at an elevation at or slightly below the upper surfaces of the concrete blocks defining the floor tiles, whereby a smooth floor is created, and at the same time the fastener and specifically the hold down washer create an appearance which is not only minimal, but which also effectively closes off the gap or clearance space defined between the corners of the adjacent floor tiles.
A further modification of the fastener for securing the floor tiles to the pedestal shelf is illustrated in
While the floor tiles can be supportingly engaged directly on the shelf of the pedestals as described by the embodiments discussed above, the floor tiles 12 can also be supported on elongate stringers which extend between adjacent panels as illustrated in
As an alternative to the construction illustrated by
Referring now to
In this variation, as illustrated by
The insert plate 171 associated with the modified head plate 76A also has spacer plates 174 secured thereto and protruding upwardly in a generally cross-shaped arrangement. The spacer plates 174 function to define sectors for accommodating the corners of the four floor tiles 12 which are supported on the pedestal arrangement, with the individual spacer plates 174 being disposed sidewardly between the sidewardly adjacent floor tiles.
The insert plate 171 also has a fastener receiving sleeve 175 fixed thereto and projecting vertically upwardly therefrom in alignment with the central opening. 178 formed in the metal plate 76A. This fastening sleeve 175 includes a deflectable center part 176 defined between upper and lower sleeve parts 177-178. The sleeve 175 permits a threaded fastener 187 to be inserted therethrough for engagement with a lower sleeve part 179 which is snappingly engaged within the metal plate 76 such that, when the fastener 187 is threaded downwardly, the head of the fastener engages the upper end of the sleeve 175 and causes the sleeve to be compressed downwardly, whereby the center part 176 deforms outwardly and overlaps bridge parts 149 formed on the corners of the pans 14 which define the floor tiles to hence permit the floor tiles to be secured against the upper surface of the insert plate substantially as illustrated in
The modified pedestal head of
The upper surface of the protruding part 182 and the contiguous upper surface of the stringer 181 are substantially co-planar with the upper surface of the insert plate 171 so as to permit the floor tiles to be supportingly engaged therewith.
The pedestal 71A illustrated by
Although particular preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed in detail for illustrative purposes, it will be recognized that variations or modifications of the disclosed apparatus, including the rearrangement of parts, lie within the scope of the present invention.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/997 023, filed Sep. 28, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60997023 | Sep 2007 | US |