Donn Incorporated

Usg Interiors, Inc.

Liskey Aluminum Inc.

Liskey Architectural Mfg. Inc.

Liskey Archectural Mfg. Inc.

George F Ray

Eugene L Swensen

David J Germeroth

An elevated floor panel is disclosed in which a lower sheet metal element is formed with a plurality of projections extending from the lower plane of the panel to the upper planar surface. The projections are formed in sequential die drawing operations. In the first die drawing operation, square truncated pyramids of intermediate height are drawn so that the upper surfaces of the intermediate projections provide substantially unworked material. In the second drawing operation, four symmetrically arranged, semispherical projections are drawn from the unworked material at the tops of the preliminary projections. In one embodiment, the tops of the semispherical projections are flattened. In another embodiment, the semispherical projections formed in the second drawing operation are fully curved. In such embodiment, a third operation is performed to produce a flattened extremity. The flattened extremities are welded to an upper sheet member to provide efficient stress transfer between the two sheet metal portions of the panel. By sequentially performing two drawing operations on material which is substantially unworked prior to each drawing operation, it is possible to reliably produce projections of greater depth. The compound projections resulting from the two drawing operations provide a compound beam system which efficiently transfers stress to provide a rigid, strong panel. The cavity between the two members is, in some cases, filled with a lightweight concrete.

Method of manufacturing elevated floor panels

An elevated floor panel is disclosed in which a lower sheet metal element is formed with a plurality of projections extending from the lower plane of the panel to the upper planar surface. The projections are formed in sequential die drawing operations. In the first die drawing operation, square truncated pyramids of intermediate height are drawn so that the upper surfaces of the intermediate projections provide substantially unworked material. In the second drawing operation, four symmetrically arranged, semispherical projections are drawn from the unworked material at the tops of the preliminary projections. The tops of the semispherical projections are flattened and are welded to an upper sheet member to provide efficient stress transfer between the two sheet metal portions of the panel. By sequentially performing two drawing operations on material which is substantially unworked prior to each drawing operation, it is possible to reliably produce projections of greater depth. The compound projections resulting from the two drawing operations provide a compound beam system which efficiently transfers stress to provide a rigid, strong panel. The cavity between the two members is, in some cases, filled with a lightweight concrete.

Elevated floor panel and method of manufacturing same

A system for interlocking the edges and corners of adjacent panels of a pedestal supported, elevated floor construction. Edge and corner clamp units are put in place after set-up of the panels. The edge clamp units include a lower elongated element which drops through a similarly shaped gap between adjacent panels and is then rotated 90.degree. out of alignment. A screw turned from the space above the floor draws the lower clamp element towards an upper clamp element to grip and interlock intervening edges of the adjacent panels. Adjacent corners of four panels are interlocked to a supporting pedestal by an overlying clamp plate. This corner clamp plate is releasably secured to the pedestal by an individual screw which is also tightened from the space above the floor.

Elevated floor panel system

A false floor assembly of square panels is supported on pedestals above a foundation. The panel corners rest on the pedestals and the adjacent sides of neighboring panels between pedestals are secured together by releasable ties that pass through the sides of each neighboring panel. The area below the panels is accessible by simply removing the ties and lifting one or more panels from the assembly. Loads applied to any one panel in the assembled floor are resisted by neighboring panels and the floor remains substantially flat without uneven deflections.

Elevated floor assembly

A bracket has a base or back that can be attached to a support, and spaced-apart, substantially vertical projections or flanges extend out from the back. The flanges are load-bearing and spaced apart to leave two side-by-side U-shaped recesses of unequal width. The recess of greater width is dimensioned to receive the two flanges that define the recess of lesser width when an identical and second bracket is positioned opposite the first and the flanges of the two brackets interfitted. Thus, a bracket pair is formed with their wide and narrow recesses being interfitted. At the bottom of the narrow recess, a captured nut on an apertured tab is positioned to receive a threaded screw or bolt from above. A strip with holes bridges the upper edges of the flanges of both brackets of the pair and screws can be passed through the holes between the flanges to engage the nuts at the lower ends of the narrow recesses.

Growing community of inventors

Rockville, MD, United States of America

George F Ray