Patent Application
20120097826
The present invention relates to access flooring and, in particular, to a noise attenuating and vibration dampening pedestal for supporting access floors.
Access flooring is a common feature of many computer, media and communication rooms. Being raised above a sub-floor by pedestals, access flooring provides underlying space to conceal and arrange cabling and other service items used to operate the computers or other interactive equipment located within the room. The interconnecting panels which define the surface of an access floor are designed to be readily taken up and rearranged, upon prior removal of any overlying carpet or other floor coverings, when upgrading of the computers and other interactive equipment is required.
However, a problem with prior art pedestals used in access floor assemblies is that height of the pedestals is not readily adjustable, making installation a time consuming process.
Another problem with prior art pedestals is that they made of metal and the impact shock of footsteps on the access floor are reflected back from the sub-floor to the feet walking on the access floor. These prior art pedestals may also conduct noise to the floors beneath the sub-floor.
Yet another problem with prior art pedestals is that they are relatively expensive because they comprise numerous components which make manufacturing and assembling the pedestals a relatively time consuming process.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to overcome, or at least substantially ameliorate, the problems of prior art pedestals for access floors.
According to the present invention there is provided a pedestal for an access floor assembly, the pedestal comprising:
Preferably, the pedestal further comprises a resilient washer located between resilient member and the metal stem. The resilient member and resilient washer may be made of rubber.
The resilient member may also have a plurality of nodules on its inner surface adapted to prevent the rotation of the resilient member on the metal stem.
The pedestal may include a metal washer located between the resilient washer and the metal stem, to prevent the degradation of the rubber washer on the metal stem.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a height adjustable pedestal for an access floor assembly, the pedestal comprising:
Preferably, the first resilient member is adapted to engage a nut which engages a threaded shaft of the head, and wherein the engagement of the nut by the second resilient member holds the nut in place on the threaded shaft.
The noise attenuation means may also include a second resilient member that is fixed to or is contiguous with the top surface of the head and which separates the head from the panels of the access floor. The first and second resilient members may be made of rubber.
The pedestal 10 shown in
The stand portion comprises a base plate 12 for resting upon a sub-floor, and a stem 14 extending upwardly therefrom. In this embodiment, the base plate 12 is made of metal and is substantially square shaped with rounded corners. The stem 14 is hollow and has a rectangular shape and is preferably also made of metal. The stem 14 is welded centrally to the base plate 12.
The head portion comprises a platform 16 for receiving thereon an edge region of one or more of the access floor panels 34 and a shaft 18 extending downwardly therefrom. Both the platform 16 and the shaft 18 is preferably made of metal. The platform 16 includes a boss 20 which extends upwardly from the platform 16. The boss 18 is a cruciform shape and may be made of metal. A divider panel 22 with raised ribbing 24 thereon is engaged to the uppermost surface of the boss 20. The divider panel 22 is preferably made of plastic or rubber in order to have noise attenuation and vibration dampening properties.
Extending outwardly from each of the four arms of the boss 20 is a slotted seat 26 that defines a slot 28. Each of the slots 28 is adapted to receive the clip 30 of a stringer 32 (see
The shaft 18 of the head portion is threaded and screwably engages the nut 38. The platform 16 of the head portion has a threaded aperture (not shown) at its underside and within which the top of the shaft 18 is screwably engaged and fixed into position during assembly of the pedestal 10. The platform 16 may be made by die casting.
A resilient member 40 and a resilient washer 42 fit longitudinally between overlapping portions of the stem 14 and the shaft 18 so as to isolate the stem 14 from contact with the shaft 18. The resilient member 40 and resilient washer 42 are preferably made of rubber or a plastic polymer or some other substance which has resilient properties, so as to have noise attenuation and vibration dampening properties.
The resilient washer 42 sits on top of a metal washer 44 which in turn sits on top of the stem 14. The metal washer 44 prevents the degradation of the resilient washer 42 on the rectangular shaped stem 14.
The present invention has less working components than prior art pedestals and is therefore quicker to manufacture and assemble and is thereby cheaper to produce than prior art pedestals.
The height of the pedestal 10 is determined by the location of the nut 38 along the shaft 18, as the nut 38 adjusts the extent to which the stem 14 overlaps or extends into the shaft 18.
The resilient member 40 locks the position of the nut 38. A ridge 46 on the resilient member 40 mateably engages with any one of the grooves on the nut 38, as shown in
To adjust the height of the pedestal 10, a user raises the shaft 18 out of the stem 14, adjusts the position of the nut 38, positions the resilient member 40 beneath the nut 38, and then lowers the shaft 18 into the stem 14. The pedestal 10 is therefore quickly and readily adjustable.
Various modifications may be made in details of design and construction without departing from the scope and ambit of the invention.
The present invention has an industrial application in the construction industry for commercial, industrial and office building environments which require access floors for particular applications.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009901637 | Apr 2009 | AU | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/AU2010/000419 | 4/16/2010 | WO | 00 | 12/27/2011 |
