Patent Grant
9803379
This technology relates generally to flooring. Specifically, it relates to an improved damping and impact absorption system for floors.
The dynamic forces caused by sports activities, dance, or other activities may vary significantly, but there are important common features. In many sport activities, the ground contact of the feet is temporarily interrupted, resulting in rhythmical impact forces. Additional forces such as bouncing a ball on the floor also creates a rhythmical impact force. Many dance activities are characterized by the fact that there is continuous ground contact resulting in smaller forces that are comparable with those of brisk walking though some dances may create greater forces more like those of a sporting event. Two problems are caused by these and other impact forces on a flooring surface. First, the repeated impact by the user on a hard floor can cause discomfort or eventual injury. It is desirable to absorb the loads placed on the floor while maintaining the essential characteristics of the flooring surface (e.g., ball-bounce, the ability to jump and otherwise move quickly, etc.). Second, vibrations caused by the rhythmical impact forces negatively affect the performance of the flooring system, can create unwanted acoustical effects, and can also negatively affect the construction of the flooring system itself requiring unnecessary maintenance and/or replacement. It is therefore desirable to have a flooring system that optimizes vibrational damping while also absorbing loads all the while maintaining flooring system performance.
To further clarify the above and other aspects of the present technology, a more particular description of the technology will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only aspects of the technology and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The drawings are not drawn to scale. The technology will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
The following detailed description includes reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof and in which are shown, by way of illustration, exemplary embodiments. It is believed that the combination of pre-compressed resilient members within a flooring system and other impact absorbing designs will improve the performance of the flooring system. However, before the present technology is disclosed and described, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the particular structures, process steps, or materials disclosed herein, but is extended to equivalents thereof as would be recognized by those ordinarily skilled in the relevant arts. It should also be understood that terminology employed herein is used for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. Although the following detailed description contains many specifics for the purpose of illustration, a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that many variations and alterations to the following details can be made and are considered to be included herein. Accordingly, the following aspects of the technology are set forth without any loss of generality to, and without imposing limitations upon, any claims set forth. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.
As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a line” includes a plurality of such lines. In this disclosure, “comprises,” “comprising,” “containing” and “having” and the like can have the meaning ascribed to them in U.S. Patent law and can mean “includes,” “including,” and the like, and are generally interpreted to be open ended terms. The terms “consisting of” or “consists of” are closed terms, and include only the components, structures, steps, or the like specifically listed in conjunction with such terms, as well as that which is in accordance with U.S. Patent law. “Consisting essentially of” or “consists essentially of” have the meaning generally ascribed to them by U.S. Patent law. In particular, such terms are generally closed terms, with the exception of allowing inclusion of additional items, materials, components, steps, or elements, that do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristics or function of the item(s) used in connection therewith. For example, trace elements present in a composition, but not affecting the compositions nature or characteristics would be permissible if present under the “consisting essentially of” language, even though not expressly recited in a list of items following such terminology. When using an open ended term, like “comprising” or “including,” in this specification it is understood that direct support should be afforded also to “consisting essentially of” language as well as “consisting of” language as if stated explicitly and vice versa.
The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that any terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments described herein are, for example, capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Similarly, if a method is described herein as comprising a series of steps, the order of such steps as presented herein is not necessarily the only order in which such steps may be performed, and certain of the stated steps may possibly be omitted and/or certain other steps not described herein may possibly be added to the method.
The terms “left,” “right,” “front,” “back,” “top,” “bottom,” “over,” “under,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing permanent relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments described herein are, for example, capable of operation in other orientations than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. The term “coupled,” as used herein, is defined as directly or indirectly connected in any manner. Objects described herein as being “adjacent to” each other may be in physical contact with each other, in close proximity to each other, or in the same general region or area as each other, as appropriate for the context in which the phrase is used. Occurrences of the phrase “in one embodiment,” or “in one aspect,” herein do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment or aspect.
As used herein, the term “substantially” refers to the complete or nearly complete extent or degree of an action, characteristic, property, state, structure, item, or result. For example, an object that is “substantially” enclosed would mean that the object is either completely enclosed or nearly completely enclosed. The exact allowable degree of deviation from absolute completeness may in some cases depend on the specific context. However, generally speaking the nearness of completion will be so as to have the same overall result as if absolute and total completion were obtained. The use of “substantially” is equally applicable when used in a negative connotation to refer to the complete or near complete lack of an action, characteristic, property, state, structure, item, or result. For example, a composition that is “substantially free of” particles would either completely lack particles, or so nearly completely lack particles that the effect would be the same as if it completely lacked particles. In other words, a composition that is “substantially free of” an ingredient or element may still actually contain such item as long as there is no measurable effect thereof.
As used herein, the term “about” is used to provide flexibility to a numerical range endpoint by providing that a given value may be “a little above” or “a little below” the endpoint. Unless otherwise stated, use of the term “about” in accordance with a specific number or numerical range should also be understood to provide support for such numerical terms or range without the term “about”. For example, for the sake of convenience and brevity, a numerical range of “about 50 angstroms to about 80 angstroms” should also be understood to provide support for the range of “50 angstroms to 80 angstroms.”
As used herein, a plurality of items, structural elements, compositional elements, and/or materials may be presented in a common list for convenience. However, these lists should be construed as though each member of the list is individually identified as a separate and unique member. Thus, no individual member of such list should be construed as a de facto equivalent of any other member of the same list solely based on their presentation in a common group without indications to the contrary.
Concentrations, amounts, and other numerical data may be expressed or presented herein in a range format. It is to be understood that such a range format is used merely for convenience and brevity and thus should be interpreted flexibly to include not only the numerical values explicitly recited as the limits of the range, but also to include all the individual numerical values or sub-ranges encompassed within that range as if each numerical value and sub-range is explicitly recited. As an illustration, a numerical range of “about 1 to about 5” should be interpreted to include not only the explicitly recited values of about 1 to about 5, but also include individual values and sub-ranges within the indicated range. Thus, included in this numerical range are individual values such as 2, 3, and 4 and sub-ranges such as from 1-3, from 2-4, and from 3-5, etc., as well as 1, 1.5, 2, 2.8, 3, 3.1, 4, 4.6, and 5, individually. This same principle applies to ranges reciting only one numerical value as a minimum or a maximum. Furthermore, such an interpretation should apply regardless of the breadth of the range or the characteristics being described.
As used herein, “enhanced,” “improved,” “performance-enhanced,” “upgraded,” “improvement,” and the like, when used in connection with the description of a device, component, or process, refers to a characteristic of the device, component or process that provides measurably better form, function, or outcome as compared to previously known devices or processes. This applies both to the form and function of individual components in a device or process, as well as to such devices or processes as a whole. Reference throughout this specification to “an example” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the example is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrase “in an example” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
It should be understood that the aspects of the technology discussed herein are contemplated for use with any type of flooring system. For purposes of illustrating the various aspects of the methods and systems claimed herein, the discussion below will be primarily directed to describing exemplary embodiments directed to sports floors. It should be noted, however, that the elements and principles discussed herein are applicable to other applications. It is also noted that discussion of methods and systems herein can be interchangeable with respect to specific aspects. In other words, specific discussion of one method or system (or components thereof) herein is equally applicable to other aspects as they relate to the system or method, and vice versa.
An initial overview of technology embodiments is provided below and specific technology embodiments are then described in further detail. This initial summary is intended to aid readers in understanding the technology more quickly, but is not intended to identify key or essential technological features, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. The present technology in its various embodiments, some of which are depicted in the figures herein, can be broadly described as a vibration damping and shock absorption flooring system. The system comprises a lower resilient pad material resting between the underside of dimensioned sections (also referred to as force transfer members) and a surface of a supporting substrate such as concrete, for example. The dimensioned sections may vary in width and height as suits a particular application and as suits a particular design of the lower resilient pad. That is, various combinations of different geometries of the dimensioned sections may be employed depending on the height, density, and/or resilience of the lower resilient pad and the desired response to a load disposed on the contact surface as explained in more detail herein. The lower resilient pad and dimensioned sections are disposed in a space between a lower subfloor. An upper subfloor is disposed above the dimensioned sections and is spaced to permit the placement of an upper resilient pad between upper subfloor sections. A contact flooring surface is disposed atop the upper subfloor.
In one aspect of the technology, the system operates to transfer force from the contact flooring surface (e.g., an athlete jumping on the floor and/or vibrations from bouncing a ball) to the lower resilient pad by way of the dimensioned section. Depending on the density/resilience of the bottom pad, a thinner dimensioned section would be “absorbed” more by the upper portion of the bottom resilient pad resulting in less overall compression of the entire bottom pad. In this manner the degree to which the entire bottom pad is compressed (resulting in contact between the bottom subfloor section and the ground) is regulated. In contrast, a wider dimensioned section engages a greater surface area of the upper portion of the lower pad and is more likely to increase compression of the entire bottom pad as the upper subfloor pushes down on the dimensioned section. This results in less force being “absorbed” by the upper portion of the lower pad and more of the overall pad being compressed in response to forces acting on the upper subfloor. Advantageously, lighter weight and/or vibrational forces disposed on the playing surface is absorbed by the upper portion of the lower pad without compression of the entire pad. The “absorption” or compression of the lower pad has at least two effects. First the absorption of the top portion of the lower pad helps absorb shock (e.g., non-harmonic motion) from a user jumping or otherwise creating a force, such as a vertical force, on the top of the upper contact surface. The compression of the lower pad about the force transfer member assists in isolating vibration (e.g., harmonic motion) acting on the floor as a result of bouncing a ball or other vibration inducing activities.
In some cases, a significant amount of weight may be placed on the upper playing surface (e.g., heavy machinery). Because the gap between the lower subfloor and the ground is significantly less than the total thickness of the lower pad, the lower subfloor will come into contact with the ground surface before the lower pad suffers from over compression which can result in ultimate failure of the pad. This preserves the pads ability to absorb lighter loads and dampen vibrations during regular use of the floor while preserving the overall usefulness of the flooring during a heavy load event.
The upper pad is sized to fit tightly in the space between the upper subfloor and has a profile height that is larger than the profile height of the upper subfloor. When the playing surface (e.g., a hardwood basketball floor, etc.) is disposed on top of the upper subfloor, the upper pad is compressed both on the top by the playing surface and on the sides as the pad's propensity to “bulge” in a lateral direction in response to a top load is limited by the side walls of the upper subfloor. In this manner, the pad is under a constant state of compression which results in a damping of vibration resulting from impact on the playing surface and/or the transfer of force between the playing surface to the upper and lower subfloors. In like manner, in one aspect of the technology, the force transfer members may be arranged such that in an unbiased state they compress a portion of the upper portion of the lower pad. In this state of partial compression, vibrations that are induced in the flooring system are dampened. In this instance, the term “unbiased state” refers to the state of the floor without a top load being placed on the floor itself. The partial compression of the upper portion of the lower pad may be the result of the weight of the upper subfloor and upper contact surface itself acting on the force transfer members. Alternatively, during assembly of the floor, the relative height of the force transfer member with respect to the height of the lower pad and the height of the void result in partial compression of the pad. In other words, the height of the force transfer member is greater than any space between the top of the lower pad and the bottom of the upper subfloor.
With specific reference now to the figures,
In accordance with one aspect of the technology, the upper subfloor members 19 are secured to lower subfloor members 25. They may be secured together by way of a mechanical fastener such as screws, nails, staples, etc. or chemically secured by way of an adhesive, a combination of mechanical or chemical means, or other means. The lower subfloor assembly 18 comprises a plurality of lower subfloor members 25 spaced apart to permit placement of a resilient lower pad 26 within the space between sidewalls 29 of the lower subfloor members 25. At least one force transfer member 28 is disposed above the resilient lower pad 26 between the top of the resilient lower pad 26 and the bottom of the upper subfloor member 19. The force transfer member 28 acts to transfer a top load disposed about the upper contact surface 15 to discrete upper portions 30 of the resilient lower pad 26. In this manner, smaller loads that are placed on the upper contact surface 15 may be absorbed by compression of a discrete area 30 of the resilient lower pad 26 about the force transfer member 28 rather than the entire surface of the resilient lower pad 26. In this aspect, while much of the compression of the resilient lower pad 26 occurs about the discrete area 30, it is understood that some compression may occur in the other portions of the resilient lower pad 26. In one aspect, a primary amount of the compression occurs in the discrete area 30 adjacent the force transfer member 28 and, in one aspect, is sized from approximately 1 to 1.5 times the height of the force transfer member 28. As the top loads increase, however, the entire resilient lower pad 26 may be compressed to absorb the load. In accordance with one aspect, if the top load exceeds a threshold level, the resilient lower pad 26 is compressed to such a degree that a bottom portion of the lower subfloor comes into contact with the ground surface 31 effectively “bottoming out” the floor. Put another way, the floor has a first position where the resilient lower pad 26 is in an uncompressed state and elevates the floor a distance above a ground surface 31 upon which the floor is disposed and in a second position wherein the resilient lower pad 26 is compressed downward and the bottom of the lower subfloor 25 is in contact with the ground surface 31. The floor has a third position (intermediate the first and second positions) where the force transfer elements 28 are pressed downward into a top portion of the resilient lower pad 26 but the bottom of the lower subfloor 25 does not contact the ground 31.
While specific reference is made herein with respect to a compressive force being communicated to the resilient lower pad 26 by way of the force transfer member 28 after a top load has been placed thereon, it is understood that in one aspect of the technology, the floor may be constructed such that the force transfer member 28 compresses an upper portion of the resilient lower pad 26 with no upper load begin placed on top of the floor. In one aspect, the combined weight of the upper contact surface 15 and the upper subfloor 19 “pre-compresses” the force transfer member 28 into the resilient lower pad 26 enhancing the vibrational damping capacity of the resilient lower pad 26. In another aspect, the height of the force transfer member 28 is greater than the opening between the top of the resilient lower pad 26 and the bottom of the upper subfloor 29. As such, even without the weight of the upper subfloor 19 and upper contact surface 15, once constructed, the force transfer member 28 compresses a portion of the resilient lower pad 26.
In one aspect of the technology, the lower subfloor members 25 comprise ½ inch thick plywood cut in eight inch wide by eight foot long planks spaced apart to create a void or opening between planks that is approximately four inches wide and eight feet long. The resilient lower pad 26 is ¾ inch thick, four inches wide, and eight foot long. The force transfer member 28 comprises a 1¼ inch wide by ⅛ inch thick piece of wood that is one foot long. In this example, a ⅜ inch gap 30 is located beneath the lower subfloor member 25 and the ground surface 31. While two force transfer members 28 are shown in
In accordance with one aspect of the technology, the upper and lower resilient pads 20, 26 comprise re-bonded foam, open cell polyurethane, closed-cell polyethylene, or other material as desired. The upper and lower resilient pads 20, 26 may be made of the same material or they may be different. They may have a similar density or they may have different densities. For example, in one aspect of the technology, the upper resilient pad 20 comprises an open-cell polyurethane having a density ranging from seven to nine pounds and the lower resilient pad comprises a closed-cell polyethylene having a density ranging from five to seven pounds. In this example, the lower resilient pad 26 has a greater sensitivity (and hence a greater reaction) to vertical loads placed thereon. The upper resilient pad 20 with the greater has greater sensitivity to and greater vibrational absorption capacity. However, the upper resilient pad 20 may be constructed of a lower density material than that used for the lower resilient pad 26 as suits a particular purpose. As noted herein, the force transfer members 28 may be rigid and may comprise a material such as wood, metal, or a polymer or they may comprise a resilient material such as rubber. Particularly, they may comprise a compliant material having a hardness (e.g., ranging between 20A Shore and 60A Shore) greater than the hardness of the upper and lower resilient pads 20, 26.
In accordance with one aspect of the technology, the upper and lower subfloor members 19 and 25, respectively, are disposed in a staggered position such that, on average, two inches of a lateral side of an upper subfloor member 19 is placed on top of a lateral side of a lower subfloor member 25. In addition, approximately two inches of top and bottom sides of the upper subfloor member 19 is located on top of the top and bottom sides of the lower subfloor member 25. In this manner, the vibrations that are not dampened by the first resilient pad 20 but are instead communicated through the flooring system to the lower subfloor transfer member 28 are absorbed by the second lower resilient pad 26. Moreover, the widths of the respective voids or openings that house the respective resilient pads may be different in order to accommodate different sized pads as suits a particular purpose. In one aspect of the technology, an anchoring pin 35 is inserted through the lower subfloor member 25 and secured into the ground. An insulating rubber collar is used to prevent contact between the lower subfloor member 25 and the anchoring pin 35. The head of the anchoring pin 35 rests on a top surface of the lower subfloor member 25.
In accordance with one aspect of the technology, with reference generally to
In accordance with one aspect of the technology, with reference to
With reference now to
Aspects of the technology are useable in a method of damping vibrations and absorbing loads in a floor. The method comprises placing a load on a top surface of a floor, said floor comprising an upper contact surface disposed atop an upper subfloor, the upper subfloor comprising a first resilient pad disposed within an opening of the upper subfloor and beneath the upper contact surface, wherein the first resilient pad is in a compressed state, and is in contact with and generating a force against, (a) the upper contact surface, (b) the upper subfloor, and (c) the lower subfloor. The floor also comprises a lower subfloor disposed beneath and in contact with the upper subfloor, the lower subfloor comprising a second resilient pad disposed within an opening of the lower subfloor and beneath the upper subfloor, wherein the second resilient pad elevates the bottom of the lower subfloor a distance above a ground surface on which the floor is located. A force transfer member is disposed above the second resilient pad and is configured to compress an upper portion of the second resilient pad. The method further comprises absorbing vibrational forces acting on the first resilient pad that are communicated to the first pad through the upper contact surface, the upper subfloor, or the lower subfloor and absorbing forces acting on the second resilient pad that are communicated to the second pad through the force transfer member and the lower subfloor. In addition, the method comprises compressing a portion of the second resilient pad thereby absorbing a top load acting on the floor and further compressing the second resilient pad until the bottom of the lower subfloor contacts the ground.
The foregoing detailed description describes the technology with reference to specific exemplary embodiments. However, it will be appreciated that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as set forth in the appended claims. The detailed description and accompanying drawings are to be regarded as merely illustrative, rather than as restrictive, and all such modifications or changes, if any, are intended to fall within the scope of the present disclosure as described and set forth herein.
More specifically, while illustrative exemplary invention embodiments have been described herein, the disclosure is not limited to these embodiments, but includes any and all embodiments having modifications, omissions, combinations (e.g., of aspects across various embodiments), adaptations and/or alterations as would be appreciated by those skilled in the art based on the foregoing detailed description. The limitations in the claims are to be interpreted broadly based on the language employed in the claims and not limited to examples described in the foregoing detailed description or during the prosecution of the application, which examples are to be construed as non-exclusive. For example, in the present disclosure, the term “preferably” is non-exclusive where it is intended to mean “preferably, but not limited to.” Any steps recited in any method or process claims may be executed in any order and are not limited to the order presented in the claims. Means-plus-function or step-plus-function limitations will only be employed where for a specific claim limitation all of the following conditions are present in that limitation: a) “means for” or “step for” is expressly recited; and b) a corresponding function is expressly recited. The structure, material or acts that support the means-plus function are expressly recited in the description herein. Accordingly, the scope of the disclosure should be determined solely by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the descriptions and examples given above.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application 62/156,685 filed on May 4, 2015 entitled “Vibration Dampening Floor System” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
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