U.S. patent application number 10/270978 was filed with the patent office on 2003-04-17 for support for raised floors with adjustable height and a swing system.
This patent application is currently assigned to ETERNO IVICA S.p.a.. Invention is credited to Favero, Gabriele.
Application Number | 20030070372 10/270978 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 11452474 |
Filed Date | 2003-04-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030070372 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Favero, Gabriele |
April 17, 2003 |
Support for raised floors with adjustable height and a swing
system
Abstract
The invention is a new support for raised floors with adjustable
height, comprising a cylindrical base element, threaded on the
inside, for resting on the laying surface, an intermediate element
or extension, threaded at top and bottom, and a top element with a
concave top housing a swinging cap with diaphragms, on which the
flat elements of the raised floor rest. This new support makes it
possible to construct perfectly flat and continuous raised floors
even in presence of considerable differences in level or slopes of
the laying surface.
Inventors: |
Favero, Gabriele; (Padova,
IT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
John S. Egbert
Harrison & Egbert
7th Floor
412 Main Street
Houston
TX
77002
US
|
Assignee: |
ETERNO IVICA S.p.a.
Prima Strada 20 Z.I.
Padova
IT
35129
|
Family ID: |
11452474 |
Appl. No.: |
10/270978 |
Filed: |
October 15, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/220.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04F 15/02482 20130101;
E04D 11/007 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
52/220.1 |
International
Class: |
E04C 002/52 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 17, 2001 |
IT |
PD2001A000246 |
Claims
I claim:
1. Support for raised floors with adjustable height, comprising a
threaded cylindrical base element (B) for laying on the floor
bottom and a threaded cylindrical top element (S), characterised in
that said top element (S) has concave top end (Sc) housing a cap
(C) on which the flat elements (E) of the raised floor are laid,
said cap (C) having a corresponding curved bottom surface (CO so as
to be housed, rotate and swing exactly on said concave end (Sc) of
the top element (S).
2. Support for raised floors with adjustable height according to
claim 1, characterised in that the top surface (Ca) of the cap (C)
is flat.
3. Support for raised floors with adjustable height according to
claims 1, 2, characterised in that the top surface (Ca) of the cap
(C) presents several vertical diaphragms (Cs) at right angles to
one another.
4. Support for raised floors with adjustable height according to
claims 1, 2, 3, characterised in that it comprises a threaded
spacing element (S) suitable for being inserted between said base
element (B) and said top element (S).
5. Support for raised floors with adjustable height according to
claims 1, 2, 3, characterised in that the internal or external
surface of the spacing element (S) is threaded at the bottom (Dfi)
so that it can be screwed into said base element (B), and wherein
the internal or external surface is threaded at the top so that it
can be screwed into said top element (S).
6. Support for raised floors with adjustable height according to
claims 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, characterised in that the top element (S)
has, in the centre of its concave top end (Sc), a linear slot (Sci)
such as to contain the end of a tool and to allow the screwing and
unscrewing of said top element (S).
7. Support for raised floors with adjustable height according to
claim 1, 2, 3, 4 5, or 6, characterised in that the cap (C)
presents in the centre a corresponding vertical hole (Cf) such as
to allow a tool to pass through until reaching said slot in the top
element.
Description
RELATED U.S. APPLICATIONS
[0001] Not applicable.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not applicable.
REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX
[0003] Not applicable.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The present patent concerns raised floors and their
supports, and in particular it concerns a new support, with
adjustable height, for raised floors, equipped with a swing system
for the flat flooring elements.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0005] To make raised floors, supports are currently placed on the
laying surface and the flat elements that make up the raised floor
are placed on them.
[0006] These known supports are composed of at least one base
element and a top element on which the panels are laid.
[0007] The base elements (pedestal) are generally cylindrical in
shape, threaded on the inside. They have a broad base for standing
on at the bottom and are placed on the laying surface in positions
corresponding to the corners of the flat flooring elements laid
next to one another.
[0008] The top element on which the panels are laid is composed of
a generically cylindrical part, threaded on the outside, with at
the top end a flat surface orthogonal to the cylindrical part and
suitable for supporting the elements of the raised floor.
[0009] To compensate for the difference in slope between the laying
surface, which must be tilted to allow the drainage of meteoric
water, and the raised floor, which must obviously be horizontal, on
the flat surface of the top supporting element of some supports,
there are four concave seats housing four caps whose spherical
surface faces downwards and whose upper surface is flat. Each
corner of the flat elements of the raised floor rests on said
horizontal flat surfaces, which are at different heights with
respect to one another.
[0010] The supports composed as described above make it possible to
obtain raised floors that however, if they are placed on an
inclined plane, have the elements of the raised floor at different
heights, and they do not create a continuous surface, but form
steps between each element and the adjacent ones.
[0011] Moreover, in the case of large differences in level between
the laying surface and the raised floor, ridges or shims must be
prepared on which the pedestals of the supports are placed, with
considerable expense of labor and time.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] To overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks, a new type of
support for raised floors has been studied and implemented, with
adjustable height and a swing system.
[0013] The aim of the new support is to allow the construction of
perfectly flat raised floors, without discontinuity, even in
conditions where there is a high slope of the laying surface,
without having to make use of ridges or additional bases for the
supports themselves.
[0014] Another aim of the new support is to allow the construction
of raised floors without interruption of the surface of the panels
of the raised floor.
[0015] Another aim of the new support is to provide a suitable
laying surface for the panels of the raised floor.
[0016] Another aim is to solve all the problems connected to slope
and height with a few standard elements (pedestal, extension, top
element, cap) which tolerate a considerable difference between the
minimum and the maximum laying height.
[0017] Support for raised floors, with adjustable height and a
swing system, comprising a generically cylindrical base element,
one or more threaded cylindrical spacing elements, a threaded
cylindrical top element having a spherical concave top end and
suited to contain in the top a swinging cap with flat top surface
on which the elements of the raised floor are laid.
[0018] The characteristics of the support for raised floors with
adjustable height and a swing system will be better explained by
the following description with reference to the drawings enclosed
as an example without limitation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] FIG. 1 shows an application of the new supports on a laying
surface (1) tilted with an inclination of alpha degrees, where the
cap (C) is horizontal, that is, rotated at an angle of alpha
degrees with respect to the top element (S).
[0020] FIG. 2 shows the four components of the new support,
while
[0021] FIG. 3 shows the same elements assembled in the case of a
laying surface tilted at alpha degrees.
[0022] FIG. 4 shows the top element (S), while
[0023] FIG. 5 shows the swinging element (C).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0024] The base element (B) comprises a cylindrical portion (Be),
having threaded internal surface (Bf), with a bottom plate (Bp) for
resting on the laying surface (I).
[0025] The spacing element (D) is cylindrical in shape with
threaded top internal surface (Dfs) and variously irregular
external surface in order to facilitate grip during the
rotation-adjustment phases.
[0026] The bottom end of said spacing element (D) presents a thread
(Dfi) on the bottom part of the outer wall, so that it can be
screwed into the internal thread (Bf) of the base element (B).
[0027] The top element (S) is cylindrical in shape with a thread
(Sf) on the external surface and it has spherical concave top end
(Sc). The external threaded surface (Sf) of the top element (S) is
such as to allow it to be screwed both into the spacing element (D)
and into the cylindrical portion (Bc) of the base element (B).
[0028] In the center of the concave end (Sc) of the top element (S)
there is a linear slot (Sci) such as to contain the end of a tool,
typically a flat-tip screwdriver, so as to facilitate the rotation
and therefore the screwing and unscrewing of said top element (S)
into the spacing element (D) or into the base element (B).
[0029] The swinging cap (C) is an element having curved bottom
surface (Ci) so as to be housed, rotate and swing exactly in the
concave end (Sc) of the top element (S).
[0030] The top surface (Ca) of said cap (C) is flat to allow the
flat elements (E) of the raised floor to be laid on it and it
presents several vertical diaphragms (Cs) at right angles to one
another and arranged preferably in cross formation in such a way as
to align and separate said flat elements.
[0031] In a central position on the cap (C) there is a vertical
hole (Cf) which allows a suitable tool to be inserted as far as the
slot (Sci) in the top element (S) and to be turned with no need to
remove the cap (C).
[0032] The support composed as described above offers considerable
advantages and solves all the problems described concerning the
known supports.
[0033] If a raised floor has to be made with a considerable slope
and difference in level with respect to the laying surface, it is
possible to use several spacing elements (D).
[0034] The edges of the flat elements (E) of the raised floor do
not present steps or difference in level, since they all rest on
the same flat surface (Ca) of the cap (C), which, with respect to
the bottom part of the support, rotates completely to keep said
elements (E) of the raised floor horizontal without
discontinuity.
[0035] Each corner of each element (E) of the raised floor rests on
a wide surface, equivalent to one fourth of the cap surface (C),
thus distributing the load better than in the systems currently
used.
[0036] Therefore, with reference to the above description and to
the enclosed drawings, the following claims are expressed.
* * * * *