Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Tensioned or flexed sheet facing
Patent
1988-08-03
1990-02-20
Ridgill, Jr., James L.
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Tensioned or flexed sheet facing
52798, E04B 548
Patent
active
049014870
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a flooring system to facilitate the installation of cables for the supply of power, for data transmission and telecommunications and for other purposes, as may be required by a building designer.
Office buildings were once constructed with supply ducts in the framework or mounted as conduits on the surface of walls ceilings and in the floors. With the advent of office equipment requiring large numbers of cables for the supply of power and the transmission of information the conduit system was unable to cope with number of cables required and there was no system whereby the large number of cables could be unobtrusively connected to a multiplicity of locations in modern open-planned offices. In an effort to overcome this problem false ceilings were installed with the cables located thereabove and floor to ceiling posts with cable ducts inside were provided to deliver the cables to the equipment. This was not very satisfactory.
The subsequent development was to provide a false flooring system for a building wherein there were ducts to house cables and the connection of machines was then simple. The false flooring systems could be incorporated as part of a new building or could be fitted to a building which was of older type and which could by means of the false flooring be brought up to a standard required by the modern electronic offices of today.
Many false flooring systems have been developed and the objective has always been to facilitate the connection of equipment to the cables therein and at the same time to provide cable ducts that were isolated from each other so that there was no possibility, for example, of data transmission cables being in the same duct as power supply cable, or telecommunications cables being in the same duct as data or power cables. This latter requirement has presented problems in distribution of the cables for the various purposes.
This invention provides a module which can be assembled with other like modules to form a false floor through which there is a ducting network allowing cables for a mulitplicity of services to be threaded to selected outlet positions with the service cables completely isolated from cables of unlike type. The assembled modules also provide a walk-on facility and if desired a decorative, soundproof or other covering may be placed thereover. In its elemental form the false floor can be used for walking traffic without a covering.
In its presently preferred form the module is made from roll formed sheet metal and the upper surface has surface roughnesses to facilitate grip for walking traffic or for a covering placed thereover. The surface roughnesses may also provide structural rigidity to the modules allowing them to be made from a material of thinner section than would otherwise be possible.
As will be understood, with the flooring system of the present invention and unlike other known cable access floors, there is no need to raise the decking modules to give access to the distribution system of cables. The present invention ensures the integrity of the individual cable types and ensures segregation. The modular system of flooring panels with dedicated cable channels ensures that every location on a flooring lies only a small predetermined distance from a duct for each cable type. By means of the present invention flooring of versatility previously unknown is now available to building designers.
Broadly the invention can be said to comprise a rectangular flooring module including an upper face with an array of parallel specific purpose passageways therebelow which overlie a lower array of parallel passageways having like specific purposes with the axes of the upper passageways at an angle to the axes of the lower passageways, and discrete access means in said upper face respectively overlying communication openings between upper and lower passageways for the same specific purpose.
A presently preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspect
REFERENCES:
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patent: 2050074 (1936-08-01), Trytten
patent: 3886702 (1975-06-01), Fork
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patent: 4499332 (1985-02-01), Shea et al.
patent: 4523416 (1985-06-01), Payne et al.
patent: 4554771 (1985-11-01), Marwah et al.
patent: 4726159 (1988-02-01), Stohs
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