Head for joists for raised floors

Abstract

A head (1) for the coupling of a joist (2), and self-supporting plates (3), which can be used in combination with a support for raised floors. The head (1) is provided with four fins (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d), arranged in pairs on the same axis and at 90° to each other, each having, at the vertical sides (14) that are mutually opposite in pairs and starting from the upper surface (10) of said head (1), a recess (15). The recess is adapted to engage part of a tab (9) that protrudes from the joist (2).

Description

[0001] HEAD FOR JOISTS FOR RAISED FLOORS

[0002] The present invention relates to a head for the coupling of a joist, and also for self-supporting plates, which can be used in combination with a support for raised floors.

[0003] Currently it is known to provide raised floors which lie on top of supports that can be placed directly on any kind of surface, without necessarily being fixed to the ground, appropriately spaced from each other to ensure the correct positioning of the flooring and provide the right structural contribution to it, runoff being ensured by the gap between the tiles and the slope of the underlying surface.

[0004] The flooring chosen can be made of wood, stone, porcelain stoneware or any other material that is self-supporting with the thickness chosen, and it can be of various formats that are different and mutually juxtaposed as desired.

[0005] When porcelain stoneware and stone are used, the plates are placed directly on the supports or on an appropriately created structure, letting their weight hold them firmly on their seat.

[0006] The supports can be formed by a base, an extendable body, and a head that can have various shapes depending on the flooring chosen, capable of accommodating either a beam or a joist or plates that compose the floor.

[0007] The base usually has a circular shape with a diameter that is generally 200 mm, so as to ensure weight distribution over a large area if it is placed directly on sheathing.

[0008] Depending on the type of support, the base may have an internally threaded ring which is incorporated or separate and in which a screw is accommodated which ensures height adjustment of the support.

[0009] These two elements form the body of the support.

[0010] Depending on the placement requirements, the height can be increased by placing extensions under the base, between said base and the body of the support, or between said body and the head.

[0011] The upper part of the screw has different types of seats for the head, depending on whether the head can oscillate or remain fixed.

[0012] This is because the surface on which the supports rest may have slopes capable of ensuring optimal water drainage while the finished floor must be horizontally planar.

[0013] The different slope is therefore corrected up to a 5% grade by the oscillation of the head if the head is tiltable or otherwise by leveling elements placed under the base if the grade is greater or if the head is fixed.

[0014] The supports are adjustable in height precisely to cover with a single product the height variations given by the grade, by a possible presence of hollows or any other irregularity of the underlying surface.

[0015] In recent years, supports made of metallic material have also been provided with the exact same purpose but with different technical characteristics.

[0016] This type of placement brings numerous advantages over traditional placement; in fact, it is lighter and more economical, allows the passage of cables and systems under the flooring, can be inspected, does not damage the waterproofing of the underlying surface, creates a layer of air that acts as a thermal insulator, can be installed faster without having technical holds, is easily adaptable to any geometry or particular situation, can be used in environments with high temperature ranges, and eliminates the grades of the installation surface, ensuring the final planarity.

[0017] However, this background art has drawbacks.

[0018] In order to install different types of materials it is necessary to use adapted and specific heads, each with its own different characteristics and functionalities.

[0019] For example, there are different types of heads dedicated to placing plates that compose the flooring, heads dedicated to placing substructures, heads dedicated to wood, and heads dedicated to particular plate formats. In particular, it is known to use aluminum joists to create a substructure which has multiple functions: it not only serves to give greater stability when rising in height with the supports, but also serves to allow to install plates of different formats together or also to install porcelain stoneware or stone slabs as if they were wooden slats, thus creating multiple placement variations that would be difficult and more expensive to achieve without the substructure.

[0020] Various types of joists are currently commercially available, starting from those with a simple rectangular cross-section to more articulated crosssections to allow for various joints; conventional types of joists are usually constituted by a body having a rectangular cross-section from the longitudinal sides of which tabs protrude.

[0021] In this configuration, the joist is interlocked on an appropriately provided head, which has a rectangular or cross-like shape and from which four pairs of fins protrude, in each of which the fins are arranged parallel to each other, the four pairs of fins being arranged at 90° to each other and arranged in pairs on the same axis: a seat is thus formed between two pairs of mutually facing fins, and a joist is placed at said seat (along one of two mutually perpendicular planes).

[0022] This type of head is not adapted for the positioning of plates since, for example, it is necessary to create plates or joists with cross-sections having a particular geometry so that there are recesses where the fins of the heads can be inserted and interlocked.

[0023] Heads are in fact known on which joists are associated (see https: / / www.progressprofiles.com / it / prorail-profile-l) which have, on a surface that rests on the head, a seat for an additional fin that protrudes from the head.

[0024] This prior art therefore has an aluminum joist that interlocks over the fins of the heads used for the placement of plates; the joist is created appropriately for each type of head according to the head's characteristics; therefore, it is necessary to provide and use joists having a particular crosssection, obtaining cross-sections that are all different from each other indeed because they are provided according to the head used by each company.

[0025] In the prior art, therefore, various types of heads are known, each of which has a particular shape created specifically in order to accommodate a chosen joist or beam and which have no other function.

[0026] The aim of the present invention is therefore to solve the described technical problems, eliminating the drawbacks of the cited prior art and thus devising a single head whose format makes it usable for the placement of both standardized aluminum joists used for the creation of a substructure and ordinary self-supporting plates.

[0027] Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a head whose format makes it possible to associate therewith aluminum joists having a simplified shape, so as to find wide use for the various types of support for the provision of raised floors while reducing the number of heads circulating on the market, at the same time optimizing warehouse stock and the costs of transportation and storage at the building site.

[0028] Another object of the invention is to obtain a head that can be used for both plastic supports and metal supports.

[0029] Not least object of the invention is to obtain a head that is structurally simple, has low provision costs, and can be provided by means of the usual known facilities.

[0030] This aim and these objects, as well as others which will become better apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a head for the coupling of a joist, provided with four fins, arranged in pairs on the same axis and at 90° to each other, characterized in that each of said four fins has, at the vertical sides that are mutually opposite in pairs and starting from the upper surface of said head, a recess adapted to engage part of a tab that protrudes from said joist.

[0031] Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the detailed description of a particular but not exclusive embodiment, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0032] Figure 1 is a lateral perspective view of the head according to the present invention;

[0033] Figure 2 is a top view of the head;

[0034] Figure 3 is a lateral perspective view of the head view with a joist applied;

[0035] Figure 4 is a view of the head with a joist applied and associated with a support;

[0036] Figure 5 is a view of a detail referenced in the previous figure;

[0037] Figure 6 is a top view of the head with a joist applied;

[0038] Figure 7 is a view of a detail referenced in the previous figure;

[0039] Figure 8 is a lateral perspective view of the head with self-supporting plates applied.

[0040] In the exemplary embodiments that follow, individual characteristics, given in relation to specific examples, may actually be interchanged with other different characteristics that exist in other exemplary embodiments.

[0041] With reference to the figures, a head for the coupling of a joist 2, and also for self-supporting plates 3, which can be used in combination with a support 4 for raised floors of a known type, is designated by the reference numeral 1.

[0042] The supports 4 can be formed by a base 5 and by an extendable body 6, on both of which the head 1 is associated.

[0043] The joist 2 is usually made of aluminum and has a chosen width, for example sixty millimeters, as well as a chosen shape.

[0044] In the particular embodiment, a parallelepipedal joist 2 with a rectangular cross section, so as to form two horizontal flat surfaces 7a, 7b connected to two vertical flat surfaces 8a, 8b, has been shown. A tab 9 protrudes from each of the latter, giving the joist 2 an H- shaped cross-section.

[0045] Four mutually identical fins 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, arranged in pairs 12a, 12c and 12b, 12d on the same axis and at 90° to each other, protrude proximate to the perimeter edge 11 from the head 1 , which in the particular embodiment has a disc-like shape with an upper surface 10 having a disclike shape.

[0046] Each of the four fins 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d has, in the particular embodiment shown, a parallelepiped shape with a Lorraine cross-like plan shape with protruding arms 13 of equal dimensions.

[0047] At the vertical sides 14, which are mutually opposite in pairs, of the fins 12a, 12c and 12b, 12d and starting from the upper surface 10 of the head 1, a recess 15 is provided which is adapted to engage part of said tab 9 that protrudes from said joist 2.

[0048] The distance between said fins 12a, 12b and 12c, 12d is greater than the width of the joist 2, so that the latter can be arranged along a diagonal line with respect to the axes that mutually connect the fins 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d.

[0049] The distance DI between two recesses 15 which are adjacent and mutually opposite of the fins 12a, 12b and 12c, 12d is substantially equal to the width of the joist 2, including the tab 9.

[0050] The recess 15 forms, on each vertical side 14 of each fin, a tooth 16 that protrudes beyond the recess 15 at a height D2 from the upper surface 10 that is greater than the thickness of the tab 9.

[0051] The joist 2 can therefore be inserted either by slidingly inserting one of its ends at the recesses 15 of the adjacent tabs 12a, 12b or 12c, 12d, or by positioning the joist 2, again along a diagonal line with respect to the axes that mutually connect the fins 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, so that the tabs 9 rest on the tooth 16, which, upon pressure applied to the joist 2, yields elastically, allowing engagement to be achieved. In general, insertion of the joist 2 can occur in the direction of the two bisecting lines B of the four quadrants defined by the fins 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d.

[0052] Use is as follows: starting from a standard head used for placing plates, i.e., a plate having four parallelepiped-like fins arranged at 90° which divide the surface into four quadrants dedicated to accommodating the corners of the plates, such fins are arranged at such a distance that a joist 2 of the desired size, for example, sixty millimeters wide in the direction of the two bisecting lines of the four quadrants, can be accommodated.

[0053] The presence of the recess 15 on the fins starting from the upper surface 10 at the vertical side 14 of said fins directed toward the center of the head 1 allows to interlock the tabs 9 of the joist 2 and allows it to remain firmly attached to the head 1.

[0054] At the same time, the head 1 also can be used for the placement of multiple self-supporting plates 3, as shown in Figure 8, since their lateral walls 17 interact with the protruding arms 13 of two of the tabs 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d that are mutually adjacent and form a quadrant.

[0055] As already known, the four fins 12a, 12b and 12c, 12d are connected to the head by means of pins arranged on their base, such that each of the fins is easily removable by using pliers, but do not break off during the placement of the plates of the flooring.

[0056] Their easy removal is important in order to allow to place on top of the head not only the comers of the plates but also their sides and thus allow to pass from a subdivision of the head from four to three quadrants (removal of one fin) to two quadrants (removal of two opposite fins).

[0057] This characteristic, which is already known in the use of current plate placement heads, is not compromised.

[0058] It has thus been found that the invention has achieved the intended aim and objects, since a head 1 has been obtained in which the distance between the fins 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d and the presence of the recess 15 and of the tooth 16 thereon allows to make use of the presence of the tab 9 that is present on the joist 2 in order to interlock it correctly.

[0059] The particular arrangement of the fins and the presence and shape of the recess make it possible to achieve optimal coupling with the joist, which remains attached to the head while being able to slide with respect to it.

[0060] A single head is thus available whose format makes it usable for placing both aluminum joists of the standardized type used to create a substructure and normal self-supporting plates.

[0061] The head has such a shape that aluminum joists of simplified shape can be associated with it, so as to find broad use for the various types of support for the provision of raised floors, while reducing the number of heads in circulation on the market, at the same time optimizing warehouse stocks and the transportation and building site storage costs.

[0062] The head can of course be used for both plastic and metal supports.

[0063] The materials used, as well as the dimensions constituting the individual components of the invention, may of course be more relevant according to the specific requirements.

[0064] Thus, it is possible to use joists of a chosen shape, cross-section and width according to the specific requirements, possibly changing the center distance and the distance between the fins of the head.

[0065] Likewise, the plan shape of the fins, the placement of the fins and the shape of the recess for coupling to the protrusions of an aluminum joist may be the most pertinent as a function of specific requirements, and the same applies to the actual shape and dimensions of the head and the type of material used.

[0066] The thickness of the fins, as well as their mutual distance, also may vary according to the requirements.

[0067] The characteristics indicated as advantageous, convenient or the like may also be omitted or be replaced with equivalents.

[0068] The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. 102023000006027 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.

[0069] Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A head (1) for the coupling of a joist (2), provided with four fins (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d), arranged in pairs on the same axis and at 90° to each other, characterized in that each of said four fins (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d) has, at the vertical sides (14) that are mutually opposite in pairs and starting from the upper surface (10) of said head (1), a recess (15) adapted to engage part of a tab (9) that protrudes from said joist (2).

2. The head (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said joist (2) is arranged between said four fins (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d) along a diagonal or bisecting line of the four quadrants formed by said four fins (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d).

3. The head (1) according to claim 1 , characterized in that said joist (2) has a parallelepiped shape with a rectangular cross-section so as to form two horizontal flat surfaces (7a, 7b) connected to two vertical flat surfaces (8a, 8b), a tab (9) protruding from each of the latter and giving said joist (2) an H-shaped cross- section.

4. The head (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said four fins (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d), which are mutually identical, are arranged in pairs (12a, 12c) and (12b, 12d) on the same axis and at 90° to each other, protrude proximate to the perimetric edge (11) from said head (1), which has a disk-like shape with an upper surface (10) having a circular plan shape, each of said four fins (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d) having a parallelepiped shape with a Lorraine cross-like plan shape with protruding arms (13) of equal size.

5. The head (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that a recess (15) adapted to engage part of said tab (9) that protrudes from said joist (2) is provided at said vertical sides (14), which are mutually opposite in pairs, of said fins (12a, 12c and 12b, 12d) and starting from said upper surface (10) of said head (1).

6. The head (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims,characterized in that the distance between said fins (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d) is greater than the width of said joist (2), so that said joist can be arranged along a diagonal with respect to the axes that mutually connect said fins (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d).

7. The head (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the distance DI between two adjacent and not mutually opposite said recesses (15) of said fins (12a, 12b) and (12c, 12d) is substantially equal to the width of said joist (2), including the tab (9).

8. The head (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said recess (15) forms, on each of said vertical sides (14) of each one of said fins (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d), a tooth (16) which protrudes beyond said recess (15) at a height (D2) from said upper surface (10) that is greater than the thickness of said tab (9).

9. The head (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said joist (2) can be inserted either by sliding one end thereof at said recesses (15) of said fins (12a, 12b) or (12c, 12d) that are adjacent in the direction of the two bisecting lines of the four quadrants formed by said fins (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d), or by positioning said joist (2), again along a diagonal with respect to the axes that mutually connect said fins (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d), so that said tabs (9) rest on said teeth (16) which, when pressure is applied to said joist (2), are subject to an elastic yielding that allows to achieve coupling.

10. The head (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that multiple self-supporting plates (3) can be positioned thereon and have lateral walls (17) that interact with the protruding arms (13) of two of said fins (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d) that are mutually adjacent and form a quadrant.

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