Patent Application
20080053019
This patent application claims priority to Australian provisional patent application 2,006,904,889, the specification of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to a modular decking system of the type that may be used for domestic decking or light commercial decking.
Raised outside decks are common in many homes. They are usually built using a timber or metal supporting frame and substructure to which timber boards or plastic boards are secured with fasteners such as nails or screws. Many such decks are subject to severe climatic conditions that can result in warping, splitting, twisting, and cracking of the boards and partial drawing and rusting of the fasteners. Apart from being unsightly, this also represents a safety hazard and requires regular maintenance. Timber can also be difficult to maintain as a non-slip surface.
Many existing decks are also complex and time-consuming to build in-situ, often requiring trade-level skills (such as carpentry) and power tools in their construction, and possibly chemical use where timber requires protection. Substantive material wastage also often occurs when fitting the decks to specific sites.
The use of pre-cast, modular, concrete components allows for a long-life deck that can be installed quickly and easily by a home handyperson. The use of colored concrete and non-slip surfaces provides for an attractive and safe surface that requires little or no maintenance. The combined weight of the components once they are interlocked provides structural integrity without the use of nails or screws. Such decks can be installed directly onto the ground without the need for inground footings in many projects.
Examples of such systems are exemplified in our co-pending U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,084 and our co-pending Australian patent application 2,006,903,432. However, the systems described therein are better suited for larger scale commercial installations, rather than for typically simpler and less complex domestic installations.
It is an aim of the present invention to provide a modular decking system which is reasonably simple to install, such as by a home handyman, and which provides for installation flexibility.
Before turning to a summary of the present invention, it must be appreciated that the above description of the prior art has been provided merely as background to explain the context of the invention. It is not to be taken as an admission that any of the material referred to was published or known, or was a part of any common general knowledge.
The present invention provides a modular decking system that includes:
The grid engagement system of the present invention is preferably provided by the interaction of male and female members. In one form, the male members may be provided by one of the upper surface of a pier or the lower surface of a beam, with the female members then being provided by the other of the upper surface of a pier or the lower surface of a beam. In this respect, while provision of female members will, by definition, require a formation of some sort within the relevant surface, it should be appreciated that this need not be the case for the male members. Indeed, male members may be provided either by being integrally formed within or as a part of a relevant surface, or may alternatively be formed by an arrangement of separate parts that interact with that surface to thereby form the male members.
In one form, the male members can be provided by a network of parallel and perpendicular ribs provided in the upper or lower surface of the pier or beam respectively, and the female members can be provided by one or more correspondingly shaped grooves provided in the other of the lower or upper surfaces respectively. Ideally, the male members will be provided by the upper surface of the pier and the female members will be provided by the lower surface of the beam.
In a preferred form, the upper surface of a pier includes a series of elongate straight ribs, the series including (for most piers) at least two parallel ribs and at least two perpendicular ribs. Such a series of ribs then produce a “grid” of ribs. However, it will of course be appreciated that while many piers in a decking system may ideally be of this type, there will be some piers in any given installation that are not required to include two parallel ribs and two perpendicular ribs, but may only require a single such rib in order to meet its particular requirements (for its particular location and use), such as a pier that might be along the edge of a decking system. Therefore, it should be appreciated that not every pier in a decking system that utilizes the present invention will include such a series of ribs.
Returning to the embodiment where the upper surface of a pier includes at least two parallel ribs and at least two perpendicular ribs, the lower surface of a beam, possibly only at the ends thereof, ideally then includes a single groove therein that extends laterally across the full width of the underside of the beam. It can thus be seen that the end of the beam can then be placed down upon the pier such that the groove of the beam receives and locates upon at least a part of one of the ribs in the upper surface of the pier. While this type of engagement will not prevent the beam from being raised vertically up off the pier, it will prevent substantial lateral movement of the beam (relative to the pier) in at least one lateral direction if it is urged horizontally. In this respect, “lateral movement” means movement in any horizontal direction, normally being a direction that is generally across the upper surface of a pier. Ideally, movement in any of these directions will be restrained, although it is envisaged that some assistance in preventing all lateral movement may be provided by the interlocking between a number of beams located upon a pier by virtue of the grid engagement system. Also, it should be appreciated that it may not be necessary for all piers utilised in a modular decking system in accordance with the present invention, to engage with all beams in this manner.
In relation to this reference to “substantial” lateral movement, it will also be appreciated that it is preferred for there to be some tolerance in the sizing of the respective male and female members and thus, in the form just mentioned, in the sizing of the respective ribs and grooves. For engineering and manufacturing purposes, any requirement for precision in sizing will introduce unnecessary complexity and cost. Also, during installation, it is generally not possible to work within small (or no) tolerances due to the likelihood of surfaces and adjacent buildings not being perfectly smooth, level, upright or square. This is particularly so where it is envisaged that the home handyman will be a major user of the modular decking system of the present invention, in a domestic environment.
In the preferred form where the male members are ribs, the ribs may be integral with the pier, may be secured to the pier, or (as mentioned above) may be formed by separate parts interacting with formations on the pier. For example, the ribs may be integral with the pier and may thus be molded as a part of the upper surface when the pier is itself formed. Alternatively, the ribs may be separate parts such as elongate rods secured to the pier such as by being glued or (plastic) welded thereto, or such as by being secured thereto by an interference fit of some sort, or by alternative fastening members such as being doweled or secured by screws or nails. The ribs could also be provided by forming a groove in the upper surface of a pier and by then seating an elongate rod of the same length as the groove in the groove. Such a rod might be sized so as to fit tightly in the groove, and therefore not be able to move in the groove, or may be sized to have a diameter slightly smaller than the groove so as to be somewhat loose therein.
Where the female members are grooves, it is envisaged that generally semi-circular grooves will usually suffice, although any cross-sectional configuration of a groove (and thus of the corresponding male member) may of course readily be adopted.
In a further preferred form of the present invention, a decking engagement system is provided between the decking and the beams. Ideally, this will also be provided by interaction between male and female members, referred to in this instance as secondary male members and secondary female members. In one form, a secondary male member will be provided by the upper surface of each beam and one or more secondary female members will be provided by the lower surface of each tread, at both ends thereof to intercept the fixed beam locations, to therefore fix the tread locations. The secondary male member will be a single rib of a matched form that extends along the full length of the upper surface of each beam. This rib is preferably sized and shaped so as to engage with a secondary female member of a tread, such as a correspondingly sized and shaped groove that extends across the full lateral width of one end of a tread.
Furthermore, it may also be desirable to provide some type of coupling mechanism between treads to assist in providing the decking with overall stability and an integrated function. Thus, each tread of the present invention may include opposed coupling members in the form of tongue and groove coupling members capable of, in use, coupling with correspondingly shaped groove and tongue coupling members in an adjacent tread.
The tongue and groove coupling members may be located at either end of a tread and may alternate from one side to the other side, such that one side does not include both forms of coupling member. However, the tongue and groove coupling members can be arranged such that, for instance, two tongues are provided on one side of a tread and two grooves are provided on the other side of that tread. It is also possible that one tread will be provided with only tongues arranged on both sides, for engagement with an adjacent tread that may have only grooves arranged on both its sides.
Preferably, each pier, beam and tread will be formed so as to be symmetric, and in the case of the beams and treads, formed so as to be laterally symmetric about their longitudinal axis, such that the piers, beams and treads become multidirectional. In this form, a beam is able to be laid onto a pier (and a tread onto a beam) without concern about whether they are oriented correctly with respect to their opposing edges. This further allows for the minimization of manufacturing costs, as only one shape needs to be formed for each component, and also for ease of installation as the beams and treads do not need to be correctly oriented (other than having their lower surfaces facing downwardly) before being laid on a pier or beam respectively.
With particular reference to the piers, it will be appreciated that these may be formed in a variety of different shapes and thus may often be given a variety of different labels. For example, various types of traditional building elements may be used as piers, and may thus include or incorporate the male or female members mentioned above that form part of the grid engagement system, those building elements being such as precast pavers, precast concrete blocks, precast concrete pipes, in-situ concrete footings, pre-existing footings and foundations, brick columns and pavers, timber rounds/posts, and metal posts (such as with a welded top plate), and the like.
Preferably, each of the components of a modular decking system formed in accordance with the present invention will be made of concrete. Concrete is a material that is not subject to rapid deterioration as a result of rotting, corrosion or erosion, or termite attack. Additionally, and as will be apparent from the following description, the weight of concrete members is often of assistance with the various aligning and engaging requirements utilised in modular decking systems of this type. In particular, it can be seen that by providing the beams in a material such as concrete, the dead weight of the beams assists in ensuring adequate engagement of the beams with the piers, and likewise, when fully constructed as an integrated system, the tread member's weight above is also engaged. Additionally, the treads are engaged laterally by the presence of the preferred tongue and groove coupling members.
Furthermore, it should be noted that concrete provides additional advantages in that the topside of the treads may easily be provided with textures in order to improve the aesthetics of the decking system, or for instance in order to improve the slip resistance of the tread surface. Additionally, concrete readily accepts colouring and thus the treads may be provided in suitable shades. Of course, while stating herein the advantages of concrete, it is to be appreciated that other suitable materials are not to be precluded from use with the present invention.
The use of the grid engagement system of the present invention allows for the provision to the home handyman of a kit for the building of a decking system, the kit including suitable numbers of piers, beams and treads. By providing piers and beams capable of interacting in the manner outlined above, such as by being provided with a suitable series of male members (ribs) on the upper surface of the piers, and a suitable number of female members (grooves) arranged (and possibly spaced along) the lower surface of the ends of each beam, the home handyman is provided with a modular decking system that can be used to build decking to fit a diversity of site forms to suit site alternatives and client needs. If the treads and/or beams are made of a reasonably heavy material, it will not generally be necessary to use fasteners, as the weight of the treads and/or beams (together with the engagement described above) will hold the different elements in place.
Furthermore, the presence of the grid engagement system in the modular decking system of the present invention additionally presents opportunities for interaction with other building elements that might normally be used in decking systems for domestic use. For example, mounting stirrups configured so as to be located upon and secured to the male members of a grid engagement system may be used to receive and mount upright post members to the decking system. Similar mounting stirrups may be configured that are able to receive and mount fascia members thereto. Further examples of such mounting stirrups will be described below in relation to the illustrated embodiments.
Finally, the use of a modular decking system in accordance with the present invention allows for flexibility and adjustment in the building of any such systems. The possibility of adjustment during building, which adjustment may be attended to at virtually any stage of the process, prevents the need for precise dimensions and configurations to be planned before hand. This allows for the decking system to be provided by modular components that are of uniform size and configuration, and allows for the deck to be easily adjusted for future alternative spatial use or extension without destroying connections (as in timber in situ decks)
The present invention will now be described in relation to a single preferred embodiment thereof. In this respect, it is to be appreciated that the following description of the preferred embodiment does not limit in any way the generality of the above description.
In the drawings:
a and 8b are views of additional building elements for use with the first embodiment of
a and 9b are views of additional building elements for use with the first embodiment of
a and 10b are a perspective view from above and a bottom view of a tread suitable for use as the decking in the first embodiment of
To provide the proper context for a description of the piers and beams illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, reference will firstly be made to the overall decking system illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 7. In FIGS. 5 to 7, there is illustrated an embodiment of a modular decking system in accordance with the present invention.
Therefore,
The various beams 18, 18′ are shown in
Turning now to a description of FIGS. 1 to 4, illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 are piers 20 suitable for use with the modular decking system 10 of the present invention. The pier 20 and a beam 18 (the beam 18 in
The grid engagement system of this embodiment is provided by the interaction of male and female members as will now be described. In this embodiment (and referring specifically to
The beam 18 illustrated in
Indeed, turning to a description of
As is also apparent from
With reference now to the additional building elements that might be usefully added to the modular decking system 10,
Advantageously, each of the mounting stirrups 40, 50 are also able to include cutouts 46, 56 that are sized to receive the respective male members 32″, 32″′ that are provided as a part of the respective piers 20″, 20″′. In a preferred form, where the mounting stirrups 40, 50 are provided as metal members, the mounting stirrups 40, 50 may be welded to or may otherwise engage the male members 32″, 32″′.
Finally, and in relation to
Furthermore, and also as illustrated in
In conclusion, it must be appreciated that there may be other variations and modifications to the configurations described herein which are also within the scope of the present invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006904889 | Sep 2006 | AU | national |
