GB2188955A - Base plates for pedestals of access type raised floor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses a platform support system for example for raised flooring, using a plurality of base plates 10, each having at least one locating point 18 for receiving and locating a support pedestal (40, Fig. 4) and connection guides 26 for alignment of the plate with respect to a number of other plates, the structure of the plates and the connection guides giving accurate alignment of the plates and hence the support pedestals. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Platform support system This invention relates to a platform support system, more particularly but not exclusively directed to the provision of raised flooring.

Most modern commercial buildings and a substantial number of residential buildings are built today with solid floors of reinforced concrete or the like material. Provision can be made within such floors for passage of cabling, conduits etc., but the location of these cables, conduits or whatever may at some stage require to be changed to accommodate the change of usage of that particular floor or room, movement of equipment from one part of it to another, or as often happens now to accommodate movement or re-arrangement of the dividing walls to restructure the accommodation. Re-routing of cables, conduits etc., through concrete flooring is time consuming, expensive and, more often than not, impracticable. These difficulties can be overcome by the use of raised flooring.These involve placement upon the concrete or other structural floor of support members such as bricks, pillars, pedestals or whatever, the support members carrying the raised floor. The support members will usually be disposed in a substantially regular pattern across the structural floor with a substantially regular pattern of raised flooring units such as tiles or planks bridging the various support members. The raised flooring units are preferably substantially free of interlocking or connection one to another so that one or more such units can be removed for access to the cavity between the raised floor and the structural floor without disturbing the rest of the raised floor.

In order to produce a satisfactory raised floor from substantially uniform raised flooring units the support members must be accurately constructed and accurately located. This need for accuracy has made the installation of raised floors, particularly of relatively large span, a specialist and time consuming matter.

Indeed in some applications it has proven necessary to use laser alignment techniques.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a platform for example flooring support system and the various integers required for such a system which will enable installation of the system to be made more easily, cheaply and reliably than has heretofore been the case. In particular it is an object of the invention to provide means for alignment of the support member of such a system in a reliable accurate and reproduceable manner without the use of particularly specialised or skilled labour.

According to one aspect of the present invention a base plate for a raised platform system has at least one locating point for receiving and locating a support pedestal and connection guides for alignment of the plate with respect to a plurality of like plates, such that alignment of the plate with a plurality of like plates using the said connection guides disposes the locating points in a substantially regular pattern. The substantially regular pattern is that required for disposition of a plurality of support pedestals with a required degree of accuracy for raised platform units to be received, located and supported by the pedestals to produce a substantially true platform surface.

The base plate of the present invention is preferably provided with at least two of the said location points which have substantially the same geometrical relationship one to another on a plate as has one point on one plate to an adjacent point on an adjacent plate, the adjacent plates being aligned using the said connection guides. In a particularly preferred form of the invention the base plate is square and is provided with four locating points, one in each quarter. Each locating point is preferably located on a diagonal with its centre equidistant from the intersection of the two diagonals. In this form each of the four points occupies a corner of an imaginary square within the base plate, that square being of half the linear dimension of the base plate itself.When a plurality of these base plates are aligned using the required connection guides, any four adjacent points, whether formed from one base plate or from a plurality of adjacent base plates will be in the same disposition as that imaginary square. Moreover that arrangement will be scaled up on a linear basis over the entire area covered by the plurality of base plates.

The connection guides may be in any suitable form, for example alignment markings or complimentary edge discontinuities. However in the preferred form of the invention the connection guides comprise surface discontinuities spaced from the edges of the plate which can be connected across the edges of the plate by a permanent or temporary complimentary connecting member. For example the connection guides may be protrusions or studs standing proud of the plate surface. Each plate will have identical protrusions or studs. The connecting member will be a connecting bar having recesses or holes into which the said studs form an interference fit. In application of the base plates to a support surface two such plates will be placed with the edges abutting.

The connecting member or bar will have its holes for receiving the studs of the adjacent plates located such that it can only be fitted over the studs of adjacent plates with the locating points in the required disposition.

Hence accuracy of alignment between adjacent plates will be assured.

Of course the studs may equally be replaced by holes or recesses in the base plate, the connecting bar having complimentary studs rather than holes or recesses. A combination of holes and recesses on the plates and/or connecting members or bars may be used.

The base plate is preferably constructed of polyethylene or like plastics material of substantially inextensible properties. The connecting bars may be of like or different material.

Both shouid be substantially dimensionally stable in the temperature ranges anticipated in the working environment.

The locating points may be provided on the base plate in the form of one or more recess or projection or by a combination of one or more recesses and projections, the overall configuration of the location points being complimentary to the overall configuration of the base of the pedestal. In a preferred form each locating point is provided by a lug or lugs standing proud of the surface of the base plate, the internal space defined by the lug or lugs corresponding to the external dimensions of the pedestal base. In a particularly preferred form a substantially annular protrusion or lug is provided, the internal diameter of which conforms to the external diameter of the base pedestal.

As mentioned above the base plate is preferably of polyethylene or other mouldable plastics material with the protrusions or recesses forming the locating point or points and the connecting guides being formed integrally with the base plate. Further protrusions or recesses may also be provided as guides for services such as cabling conduit or plenum ducts. These service guides are preferably in the form of linear walls or protrusions forming in effect a cruciform across the preferred four locating point plate. Further protrusions or walls of similar dimensions may be provided on the plate for reinforcement or demarcation of the various services and functions of the plate. They may also be provided to enhance the rigidity and strength of the plate.

In a further preferred form of the invention, particularly where the plate is constructed of non-conductive plastics material such as polyethylene, one or more conductive element may be provided within the base plate with connectors to ensure electrical conductivity across a plurality of such plates. In this form the connecting bars referred to above may provide the electrical contact across the edges of plates. The provision of an electrically conductive element for example an earth strap across a plurality of plates may be particularly advantageous should it be required to isolate a particular section of the floor electrically whilst leaving the remainder of the floor alive and conductive for maintenance purposes.

The locating points may be provided ina way to accept pedestals of a variety of different sizes. For example where a pattern of spaced lugs are used to define the locating points, the lugs may be disposed at increasing intervals from the locating point centre so that lugs appropriate for a smaller pedestal may be removed for example with a chisel.

The support pedestals may in a preferred form of the invention comprise a truncated substantially conical member having sufficient strength and rigidity to provide the necessary support for the platform above. When used in this form the cone is preferably located with its larger diameter down that is to say its larger diameter received and located within the locating point of a base plate. The platform unit may be located directly on to the top of the truncated cone or in a preferred form may be located upon a support plate which may at its lowest position itself rest upon the top of the truncated cone but may be adjusted upwards and held in any given position above the cone in a manner to bear the full load of the platform. A variety of mechanisms may be provided for this purpose.In a preferred form the support plate is connected to a load bearing stud which may be received wholly within a substantially axially extending hole in the truncated cone support. The plate may be raised or lowered by sliding of the stud within the axial hole. It may be in its simplest form maintained in a raised position by provision of packing washers between the plate and the top of the cone. In a more sophisticated form capable of finer adjustment a part of the axial hole and/or the stud may be threaded so that the plate may be raised and lowered by rotation of the stud in relation to the cone with locking means provided to prevent further rotation and thereby slippage of the support plate from its fixed position.

In a particularly preferred form of the invention the axial hole in the cone is lined with a metallic cylindrical sleeve member having a substantially radially extending flange extending outwardly of the sleeve member substantially coplanar with the top surface of the cone. That flange provides a bearing surface for a locking nut threated onto the support stud. The locking nut is provided with a radially extending threaded hole for location of a grub screw, tightening of the grub screw preventing further rotation of the locking nut with relation to the stud and thereby locking the support plate in a fixed raised position above the support cone.

In a particularly preferred form of the invention the support cone is of concrete or the like material. It may be formed in a plastics or other mould of the required external dimensions. The external mould may be in the nature of or equivalent to a plastic domestic flower pot, the conventional central drain hole in the base of the flower pot providing access to the hole for the support stud. The use of the plastics exterior mould for the conical support member which can be retained in place once the concrete has set provides benefits in the cutting down of dust and the like so a clean environment may be maintained, a fact of particular importance to computer rooms.

The raised platform or flooring units may be of any appropriate material. Proprietory units are currently available made of chipboard with a metallic strengthening layer on the underside. These may be placed directly on the support plate. In a preferred form of the invention though an intermediate locator sheet is provided. This may preferably be of polyethylene or the like material to provide insulation between the supporter plate and the metallic under surface of the raised platform units. Means in the form of protrusions or recesses above and below the surface of the locator sheet may be provided to mate with complimentary means on the support plate and on the platform units.

The locator sheet may also be provided with recesses or other guides for receipt of lateral stringers to connect the support members to one another above the level of the base plates.

According to a further aspect of the invention a raised platform system comprises a plurality of base plates each having at least one locating point for receiving and locating a support pedestal and connection guides for locating one plate in relation to another of the plurality, a plurality of support pedestals, and a plurality of raised platform units, placement of the plurality of the guide plates in relation to one another as determined by the connecting guides providing a substantially regular repeating pattern of locating points, location of said support pedestals in the locating points providing a substantially repeating pattern of support pedestals for receipt of the said plurality of raised platform units. The raised platform units when placed on the pedestal units provide a substantially continuous floor surface.

According to a further aspect of the invention the method of alignment of support pedestals for a raised platform surface comprises alignment of a plurality of base plates as defined above, the disposition of the locating points being as required to permit placement of the raised platform units substantially without adjustment to form a substantially continuous platform surface.

The various aspects of the invention have been described in terms of alignment eg. by abutment of substantially identical base units.

In further forms of the invention further base plates may be provided for example as spaces between the base plates of the first mentioned aspect of the present invention or being in effect sub-units of the base plates of the first mentioned invention to accommodate structures of support of floor dimensions.

The present invention also extends to any of the individual features here discussed or any combination thereof, when used either with other features described herein or with features not described herein.

The various aspects of the invention may be embodied in a variety of ways and the flooring system will now be described, by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings exemplifying the various aspects and features of the present invention. In the drawings, Figure 1 shows a base plate according to the present invention in plan view; Figure 2 is an expanded perspective view of the base plate and certain others of the integers of the platform system of the present invention Figure 3 shows in plan view support plate arrangements of the system shown in Fig. 2.

Figures 4 and 5 are sectional views of the pedestal arrangements corresponding to the plan views of the top and bottom respectively of Fig. 3 Figures 6-9 show somewhat simplified views of a plenum system for use with the base plates of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings there is shown at Fig. 1 in plan view a base plate or panel 10 which is an overall accurate square. It is moulded or otherwise formed of a plastics heat stable form retaining material such as polyethylene. A typical dimension will be 1200 mm along each external edge with a thickness of 5 mm. Standing proud of the surface of the plate 10 are a series of ribs in a symmetrical arrangement. The ribs of one quarter only of the plate 10 will be described.

These are as follows. Peripheral ribs 12 are provided, which ribs overall provide an inner stiffening square removed somewhat from the edge of the plate 10. Internal cruciform ribs 14 are also provided. As will be seen, 8 of these ribs over the plate 10 form between them a cross. The space between that cross and the edges of the plate 10 are squares.

Between these cruciform ribs 14 and the peripheral ribs 12 is a cylindrical rib 16 which provides the locating point 18 about which more will follow. Extending radially from the centre of the cylindrical rib 16 are bracing ribs 20 and 22. Finally inner stiffening ribs 24 are provided linking together the cruciforms ribs 14 of one quarter with those of another.

The ribs 12, 14, 16, 20, 22 and 24 are all preferably the same height above the plate 10, for example lOmm, the ribs being for example 3 to 4mm thick.

The plate 10 is also provided with studs 26 located between the peripheral ribs 12 and adjacent edges of the plates 10. These studs provided connection guides for aligning and connecting a plurality of plates 10 one to another. The studs 26 may be of the same height as the ribs 12 etc., and diameter approximately 15mm.

The locating point or chamber 18 provided by the cylindrical ribs 16 is preferably in the region of 1 10mum in diameter.

Turning now to Fig. 2 it will be seen more clearly how the ribs 12 etc., and studs 26 stand proud of the base sheet of the base plate 10 rather in the nature of low bounding walls or parapets. As a preliminary step towards production of a raised platform a num ber of base plates 10 will be placed on the supporting or structural floor of the building concerned. They will be placed in substantial edge to edge alignment as is sketched out on Fig. 2. That will place the studs 26 of adja cent base plates 10 close to one another as shown at 26 (A) on Fig. 2. As a part of the system there is provided a plurality of con necting bars 30 which are provided at each end with holes or recesses 32 which are a substantial snap fit over the studs 26.The holes 32 on a connecting bar 30 are of such a distance apart that their snap fit over adjacent studs as in 26(A) provide exact positionning and alignment of the adjacent base plates 10 for reasons which will become apparent below. When a base plate 10 is connected to four other plates, one aligned with each of its edges, a total of eight connecting bars 30 will be used thereby resulting in a panel comprised of the plurality of base plates which panel can, provided of reasonable numbers, be adjusted for positioning on the support floor. The panel of base plates 10 is gradually built up with further base unit 10 and connecting bars 30 until the required area of the room or structural floor is covered with a multi-base plate unit.

In each of the base plates 10 the locating point 18 is disposed with its centre on the diagonal and one quarter of the diagonal length away from the adjacent corner. With that it will be seen that each of the locating points 18 will be the same distance from its immediate neighbours within its own base plate 10 as it is from its immediate members on adjacent base plates 10. Placement together of a plurality of base plates 10 in this way provides in effect an infinitely extendable base layer connecting locating points 18, each of which connecting points 18 will bear a known and accurate relationship to the other connecting points 18, substantially independent of the distance apart and overall size of the floor being covered.

The locating points 18 are of a diameter to receive and locate a support pedestal 40 (see also Fig. 4) the support pedestal 40 comprises a plastic encased concrete frustocone, the base dimension of the frustocone being such as to fit accurately within the peripheral rib 16. The cone 42 has a substantially axial hole 44 defined by a metallic tube 46 set into the concrete of the cone 42. The metallic tube 46 is provided at its upper end with a radially extending flange 48 substantially coplanar with the upper face 50 of the cone 42.

In the prototype form of this invention the cone 42 is provided by a plastic domestic flower pot filled with an appropriate grade of concrete, the metal sleeve 46 of course being located prior to the introduction of the concrete.

The cones 42 may be glued, bonded or mechanically fixed to the base plate 10 or through the base plate 10 to the floor. The base plates 10 may in fact be glued, bonded or otherwise mechanically fixed to the floor. In a preferred form-the connector bars 30 are provided with a screw or bolt eye 33 for that purpose.

A metallic support plate 54 is affixed to the upper end of a threaded support stud 56, which support stud has an external diameter slightly less than the internal diameter of the sleeve 46. A lock nut 58 is threaded on to the stud 56. Rotation of the lock nut in relation to the stud will cause the plate 54 to move towards or away from the top 50 of the cone so that the position of the support plate and its distance from the base plate 10 may be adjusted. A grub screw 60 is provided to lock the lock nut 58 to the threaded stud 56 so that that distance, between the support plate 54 and the base plate 10 can be maintained.

If required the lock nut 58 may be removed in its entirety so that the base plate may occupy the position shown at 54' in Fig. 4.

Fig. 5 shows an alternative but simpler arrangement. A rather more truncated cone 42' is shown of otherwise identical construction to 42 in Fig. 4. The shorter height of the cone enables that form to be used where a cavity of lesser depth between the raised platform and support floor is required. A support plate 54 is connected to a support stud 56'.

Contrary to the support stud 56, the support 56' is not threaded but it does fit within the sleeve 46' as before. Removable washers 60 are provided to give a degree of adjustment of position of the support plate 54 for example to that shown in chain lines at 54'.

Provision of adjustment of the position of the support plate 54 either by altering of the position of the support plate 54 with respect to the top 50 or 50' of the cones or by use of larger and smaller cones (42 and 42') permits a great deal of flexibility of application of the system to floors which may be of poor or variable initial finish.

In this particular form of the invention the connecting stud 30 is preferably of polyethylene material. However it may be of metallic conductive material. This is particularly apposite when the base plates 12 are provided with conductive inserts for example for earthing of equipment e.g. for dissipation of static build up.

Returning for the moment to Fig. 2, each pedestal 40 is provided with a locater sheet 65 of polyethylene material. This locator sheet is provided with dependent protrusions above and below, those below to locate with corresponding recesses on the support plate 54 and those above to locate with recesses on the raised platform units 80. The protrusions above can be seen on Fig. 2 at 82. These are preferably tapering in section to improve the tolerances of location with the platform units 80.

The locator sheets 65 are preferably also provided with recesses 66 to receive stringers 84 to improve the overall stability and to remove any tendency of pedestals to topple.

The stringers 84 may be provided with means 86 by which they may be connected through the support plate 54.

Once a plurality of the base plates 10 and pedestals 40 have been laid on a support or structural floor the raised platform units 80 may be put in place. Prior to that cabling or other services may be disposed over the base plates 10. It is here that the cross area defined by the cruciform ribs 14 comes into play. That provides an area across the plates 10 in both directions which area extends the length and breadth of the area covered by the plurality of the interconnected plates 10. They will therefore be a matrix of service areas laid out and made up of these crosses. They may be used for carrying cables and the like which may be laid before the flooring units 80 are put in position. Alternatively when the platform units 80 are already in position, certain of the may be removed to provide access to a particular run of cabling for alteration removal, servicing or whatever.

In a further form of the invention channel shaped plenum ducting 90 may be provided.

The width of the plenum ducting 90 is compatible with the distance between the cruciform ribs 14. The side arms of the channel 90 may be affixed to the ribs 14 in an appropriate manner e.g. by riveting, adhesion or whatever thereby to provide across any given base plate 10 a plenum or duct for passage of heating or cooling air or whatever.

As will be seen from Figs. 6 to 9 a variety of forms of plenum duct may be produced such as 92 in Fig. 6, 94 in Fig. 7, 96 in Fig.

8 and 98 in Fig. 9. By connection together of the outer edges of these ducts or channels a sealed system can be produced conforming to any desired pattern within the overall area covered by the plurality of base plates 10.

Claims (18)

1. A base plate for a raised platform system having at least one locating point for receiving and locating a support pedestal and connection guides for alignment of the plate with respect to a plurality of like plates, such that alignment of the plate with a plurality of like plates using the said connection guides disposes the locating points in a substantially regular pattern.

2. A base plate as claimed in Claim 1 provided with at least two of the said location points which have substantially the same geometrical relationship one to another on a plate as has one point on one plate to an adjacent point on an adjacent plate, the adjacent plates being aligned using the said connection guides.

3. A base plate as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 which is square and is provided with four locating points, one in each quarter.

4. A base plate as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 3 in which each locating point is located on a diagonal with its centre equidistant from the intersection of the two diagonals.

5. A base plate as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 4 in which the connection guides are alignment markings.

6. A base plate as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4 in which the connection guides are complimentary edge continuities.

7. A base plate as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 4 in which the connection guides comprise surface discontinuities spaced from the edges of the plate which can be connected across the edges of the plate by a permanent or temporary complimentary connecting member.

8. A base plate as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 7 in which each locating point is provided by a lug or lugs standing proud of the surface of the base plate, the internal space defined by the lug or lugs corresponding to the external dimensions of the pedestal base.

9. A base plate as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 8 having further protrusions or recesses as guides for services such as cabling conduit or plenum ducts.

10. A base plate as claimed in Claim 9 in which the said service guides are in the form of linear walls or protrusions forming a cruciform across the preferred four locating point plate.

11. A base plate as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 10 of substantially non-electrically conductive material with one or more conductive element provided within the base plate with connectors to ensure electrical conductivity across a plurality of such plates.

12. A base plate as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 11 in which a pattern of spaced lugs are used to define the locating points, the lugs being disposed at increasing intervals from the locating point centre so that lugs appropriate for a smaller pedestal may be removed.

13. A base plate for a raised platform system substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

14. A raised platform system comprising a plurality of base plates each having at least one locating point for receiving and locating a support pedestal and connection guides for locating one plate in relation to another of the plurality, a plurality of support pedestals, and a plurality of raised platform units, placement of the plurality of the guide plates in relation to one another as determined by the connection guides providing a substantially regular repeating pattern of locating points, location of said support pedestals in the locating points providing a substantially repeating pattern of support pedestals for receipt of the said plurality of raised platform units.

15. A raised platform system as claimed in Claim 14 in which the said pedestals as provided with a support plate which may at its lowest portion itself rest upon the top of the truncated cone but may be adjusted upwards and held in any given position above the cone in a manner to bear the full load of the platform.

16. A raised platform system substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

17. A method of alignment of support pedestals for a raised platform surface comprising alignment of a plurality of base plates as claimed in Claim 1, the disposition of the locating points being as required to permit placement of the raised platform units substantially without adjustment to form a substantially continuous platform surface.

18. A method of alignment of support pedestals for a raised platform substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.