Patent Application
20220098878
The present invention relates to raised floor panels, and particularly to raised floor panels that have improved visual mechanisms for indicating excess load or pressure on a raised floor system.
A raised floor is a floor elevated above a solid base, such that it creates a hidden void that allows electrical cables and other infrastructure equipment to be accommodated underneath the raised floor. They are widely used in office buildings and data centers, as they allow the passage of data and other essential cables, water supply pipes and air conditioning systems to be routed in a space efficient manner.
A conventional raised floor system is comprised of floor panels, which create the flat surface and a plurality of pedestals that support the floor panels above the solid base. The plurality of pedestals are joined together using stringer bars, which creates a framework of floor panels and provides lateral integrity to the raised floor system. Conventional floor panels are 600 mm×600 mm and are formed of steel-encased particleboard. The specification of the floor panel is chosen depending on the function of the raised floor. Some floor panels are perforated to control the airflow in a room, and some floor panels are covered with a variety of flooring finished to suit the application, such as carpet, marble and antistatic finishes.
Raised floors are tested and rated for their pressure capacity. The pressure capacity rating indicates the maximum pressure a floor panel can take before it starts to get damaged. Equipment and floor damage can occur if the load on the raised floor exceeds the pressure capacity. This problem can arise if the installation of the floor was flawed or the specifications of the floor panels were not chosen correctly.
The following presents a summary to provide a basic understanding of one or more embodiments of the invention. This summary is not intended to identify key or critical elements or delineate any scope of the particular embodiments or any scope of the claims. Its sole purpose is to present concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
Conventional floor panels do not give any indication of a potential or an existing load issue until damage begins to occur. The current method to mitigate the failure of a raised floor is to have regular, manual inspections for the structural integrity of the raised floor system. This is costly and time-consuming.
The present invention describes a pressure sensitive load bearing raised flooring system panel to allow a visual indication of the load that is placed on a raised floor system. The pressure sensitive load bearing raised flooring system panel comprises a first surface, a pressure sensitive layer and may have additional layers disposed underneath the layer for further functions. The first surface may be comprised of a material to protect the rest of the flooring panel, and it may have portions of the pressure sensitive layer embedded in it.
The pressure sensitive layer comprises a pressure sensitive material which may intrinsically change its visual characteristics upon excess load pressure, or it may comprise a pressure sensitive material which is capable of producing an electric signal that is sent to a visual component, which is operable for visually indicating the excess load pressure. The generation of a visual overloading warning will allow users to visually identify issues with the raised floor system.
Viewed from a first aspect, the present invention provides a load bearing raised flooring system panel, comprising a pressure sensitive layer adapted to generate a visual indication at a first surface of the load bearing raised flooring system panel in response to a loading of the load bearing raised flooring system panel exceeding a preset pressure capacity threshold of the pressure sensitive layer.
Viewed from another aspect, the present invention provides a method for a load bearing raised flooring system, the method comprising: generating, by a pressure sensitive layer of a load bearing raised flooring system panel, a visual indication at a first surface of the load bearing raised flooring system panel in response to a loading of the load bearing raised flooring system panel exceeding a preset pressure capacity threshold of the pressure sensitive layer.
Viewed from another aspect, the present invention provides a load bearing flooring system including a plurality of load bearing raised flooring system panels.
Embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to accompanying drawings, in which:
The first load 110 exerts pressure onto the load bearing raised flooring system panels which sit beneath it, and therefore exerts pressure onto the pressure sensitive layer 106. The pressure sensitive material disposed in the pressure sensitive layer responds to the pressure and changes its visual characteristics, which can be seen via a first surface 114. The plurality of load bearing raised floor system panels generate a visual overloading warning when the load exceeds a preset pressure capacity threshold. The load bearing raised flooring system panels which are not supporting loads and load bearing raised flooring system panels that are under the second load do not change their visual characteristics 116.
A first surface 104 protects the other layers of the load bearing raised flooring system panel. A first surface needs to be able to show the visual members of the pressure sensitive layer 106. In one example, the parts of a first surface that are disposed above the pressure sensitive elements of the load bearing raised flooring system panels, such as the pressure sensitive materials and the visual components, may comprise of a clear material such as glass, acrylic plastic or polyvinyl chloride plastic. In another example, all of a first surface can be made of a clear material. In another example, a first surface may house elements of the pressure sensitive layer.
The pressure sensitive layer can be entirely comprised of a pressure sensitive material, or it can house a set of pressure sensitive materials and visual components. In the example where the set of pressure sensitive materials and visual components are encased in the pressure sensitive layer, the pressure sensitive layer can comprise of a material that is capable of providing structural integrity to the encased members.
An embodiment of the pressure sensitive layer comprises a pressure sensitive material which is capable of intrinsically changing its visual characteristics upon excess load pressure. The visual characteristics of the pressure sensitive material shows through a first surface of the load bearing raised flooring system panel.
An example of a pressure sensitive material capable of intrinsically changing its visual characteristics is a pressure sensitive film, which changes color in response to pressure being exerted upon it, such as the Fujifilm Prescale® pressure sensitive film. A pressure sensitive film comprises a layer of micro-encapsulated color forming layer which sits on top of a color-developing layer. When a load exerts pressure on to the color forming layer, exceeding a preset pressure capacity threshold, the micro-encapsulated color forming layer breaks and reacts with the color-developing layer. This results in a color change in the film and the hue of the developed color gets darker as more pressure is applied. The pressure sensitive film visually indicates a load exceeding the preset pressure capacity threshold as well as the magnitude of the exerted pressure upon the load bearing raised flooring system panel.
Another example of a pressure sensitive material capable of intrinsically changing its visual characteristics are strain reactive polymers. These polymers undergo a chemical reaction in response to mechanical stress via a process called polymer mechanochemistry. Researchers at Duke University and MIT have shown polymers in films and gels which change color in response to pressure being applied onto them, as well as being capable of reversing the chemical reaction when the pressure is removed.
Another example of a pressure sensitive material capable of intrinsically changing its visual characteristics are pressure-sensing photonic fibers. Engineers at MIT have demonstrated how the pressure-sensing photonic fibers can change their color depending on the amount of pressure applied to the material.
Another embodiment of the pressure sensitive layer comprises a pressure sensitive material capable of sending an electrical signal to a visual component in response to a pressure exceeding a preset pressure capacity threshold. The visual component changes color or another visual characteristic to represent the magnitude of pressure being exerted upon the load bearing raised flooring system panel.
An example of a pressure sensitive material capable of sending an electrical signal in response to pressure is a piezoelectric material. The piezoelectric material is capable of generating an electric charge in response to pressure via the piezoelectric effect, wherein the positive and negative charges within the material shift, which results in an external electrical field being generated.
Another example of a pressure sensitive material capable of sending an electrical signal in response to pressure is a strain gauge. The strain gauge varies its internal resistance depending on the amount of force applied. The change in resistance can be measured and therefore the amount of pressure being applied to the material can be measured.
The electric signal produced by a pressure sensitive material can be sent to a visual component that is operable for visually indicating the pressure status of the load bearing raised flooring system panel. An example technology suitable for the visualization component is an electronic ink (e-ink) display. E-ink displays require very low power and can retain its content without a power supply. When used as a visual component in the pressure sensitive load bearing raised flooring system panel, the e-ink display can change the whole of display's color or can textually represent the excess load applied onto the load bearing raised flooring system panel.
Another example of a technology suitable for the visual component are Light Emitting Diode (LED) displays. LED displays comprise of light-emitting diodes arranged in arrays. When an LED display is used as the visual component in the pressure sensitive load bearing raised flooring system panel, it can visually change the color of the display or can textually represent the excess load applied onto the load bearing raised flooring system panel.
The pressure sensitive load bearing raised flooring system panel can comprise of additional layers disposed underneath a first surface and the pressure sensitive layer. In one example, a first surface and the pressure sensitive layer can be placed on top of a conventional floor panel. In another example, a first surface and the pressure sensitive layer can be placed on top of additional layers which provide structural integrity or further electrical components to enable additional features such as providing back-lighting for the e-ink display visual component.
Some embodiments of the present invention include at least one flooring tile for a raised floor of a data center, the tile comprising a pair of laminations and a load sensitive material disposed between the laminations, the load bearing material generating a visual indication in response the load on the tile exceeding a predetermined value.
