US1946646A - Floor - Google Patents

Description

R. W. STORM v Feb. 13, 1934.

FLOOR Filed June 3, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 fiaymand/IU/orm F=b.13, 1934. R. w. STORM 1,946,646

- FLOOR v Filed June 3, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 13, 1934 FLOOR Raymond W. Storm, Pelham Manor, N. Y.

Application June 3, 1932. Serial No. 615,229

18 Claims.

F The invention relates to floors and has as an .object the provision of a wooden floor in which expansion is controlled.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a wooden floor which constitutes a continuous matted surface.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a wooden fioor madeof short lengths of material laid in courses, the elements in each course and adjacent courses being secured together by metal splines interlocking with the material of the elements.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a wooden fioor'that may be laid in mastic wherein buckling and yielding of the elements laterally of the floor will be prevented.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a floor which may be laid cheaply and which will have its tendency to expand controlled irrespecgc tive of any means provided to hold the floor down upon'the base.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings showing illustrative embodiments of the invention and wherein: t Fig. 1 is a plan view of the flo'or of the inven- Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a section of subfloor, the ends of certain of the elements of a course and the means used to interlock the elements and courses together; i Fig. 3 is a transverse section of certain of the elements illustrating a modification; Fig. 4 is a perspective section of one of the elements showing a still further modification;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view showing a modi fied form of spline;

Figs. 6 and '7 are side views of still further modified forms of spline; and

Fig 8 is a plan view of a modified form of fioor. 7 i

Due to cheapness oi laying and reduction in thickness and weight, in recent years floors have been commonly laid in mastic, A mastic floor saves substantially two and one-half inches of thickness over a construction of the-old type comprising sleepers, cinders filled therebetween, and underflooring. This results in the saving of substantially one story in a fifty story building and in addition the floor is prevented from rotting and consequent settling, and no space is left for vermin to intrude. Floor loads are likewise consequently decreased and fire hazard is lessened. A disadvantage of mastic laid flooring is that there is no control over the expansion of the floor surface and as the result. mastic laid floors are subject to buckling and the units particularly at the outside of the room have been found to shift,

as a result of which defects of mastic floors the moisture content has had to be very closely controlled; I 7

It is well understood that floors nailed to sleepers where the nailing is done conscientiously are not deleteriously afiected by expansion, the expanding being controlled by the multitude of nails. By the present invention a floor may be laid in mastic with all of the consequent advantages and still may have its expansion controlled so as to have all of the advantages of a nailed floor.

As shown the floor comprises a series of courses 10 of elements desirably in the form of tongued and grooved pieces of flooring, each grooved at each end and assembled with the side tongues and grooves in engagement. At an edge of the floorthere is shown a strip 11 which may bear a tongue to engage the grooves upon the ends of adjacent courses of elements or which may preferably be provided with a metallic spline to be described. Such a strip 11, not shown, is desirably applied at the finishing edge of the floor and the strips 11 are preferably screwed or nailed to the subfloor.

After one of the courses 10 has been completed and assembled with the strip 11, a. metallic spline -12 provided .with upstanding ridges 13 is driven into the assembled groove in the end of the course 10 already laid and so driven into the groove that the ridges 13 enter the material of the elements. The body of the spline 12 is desirably substantially the same thickness as the height of the groove in the end of the elements.

After the spline has been inserted into the assembled course, the next course of elements is laid with vtheir ends in position to be driven upon the spline, the entire course being assembled with the 05 tongues and grooves in engagement and being drawn together so as to make tight joints after which each of the elements in the second thus assembled course is driven endwise so as to abut the ends of the first laid course, the driving resulting in the forcing of the ridges 13 in the material at one or both sides of the grooves in the elements.

It will be seen that after the elements are assembled they may be driven upon the spline either singly or in groups, being free to slide at\ their tongue and groove engagements during such driving. Subsequent courses are laid in the same mannen,

As shown in Fig. 2 the spline 12 has ridges upon one surface only but it may be formed as shown no in Fig. 3 with ridges upon both surfaces. When used upon one surface only the spline may be turned to bring the ridges either upon the upper or lower side of the spline.

As shown the ridges upon the spline are preferably formed by striking the material of the spline upwardly, which method of manufacture results in forming-a depression 14 upon one side of the ridge at the base thereof entering into the normal surface of the spline. When so formed an attempt of an element into which'the spline is entered to move laterally as the result of the .force of expansion results in the forcing of the material of the element downwardly into said depression, thus providing an additional interlocking between the material of the element and the spline.

As shown in Fig. 4 a brass angle piece 14 may be inserted into the groove upon the top of the spline, the edge of the brass strip coming to the surface of the floor to provide an armoring of the joint and to enhance the appearance of the floor. When this angle piece is'inserted upon a spline 12' having its ridges upon the upper surface, the ridges 13' may be formed to a short distance only from the edge of the spline, the longitudinal center of the spline being left plain to provide for the reception of the brass angle.

As shown in Fig. 5 the'spline is formed of a T cross section having the ridges 15 upon the lower surface of the web and the extending portion of the T section projecting downwardly between the meeting ends of the floor elements, the portions of said elements below the grooves being cut back to permit of such, assembly. It will be understood that'the T of this figure may be inverted and that the extending portion of the T section may come to the surface between the floor elements to serve as armoring. This form of spline hasan advantage in that the stiffness of the spline additionally serves to prevent any warping of the floor.

In Fig. -6 the ridges 16 are shown standing vertically from the surface of the spline terminating at their crests in sharp edges and the depressions 17 at their bases being formed by the striking up of the material of the ridges.

InFig. '7 the ridges 18 on one side of the spline slope in one direction and the ridges 19 on the opposite surface slope in the opposite direction whereby to resist expansion of the flooring by the same manner of. coaction as the ridges 13 of Fig. 2.

In Fig. 8 is shown a plan of a modified design of floor wherein certain elements are turned at right angles to certain other elementsin each course, producing a block design. The splines between adjacent courses are substantially continuous throughout the extent of the floor and short splines 20 of the same character are placed at theend of each block. In' this form of the invention the ends of the courses as recited in theclaims appended hereto are partially formed of the sides of elements and partially of ends of elements consecutive courses being joined together by the splines 12.

It will be understood that the angle piece of Fig. 4 may be a T section or it may be a simple vertically extending brass strip nailed to the ends of the elements of one of the courses during assembly.

Due to the interlocking of the flooring elements the tongues and grooves between the elements may be omitted if desired to provide a cheap and eflective form of floor.

- angle joint armor may then be placed upon its plain upper surface without interruption of the ridges.

In Fig. 2 is also shown a sectional portion 21 of a concrete subfloor upon which the ifoor may be laid in mastic 22 in accordance with the usual practice in floor laying.

It is preferred that the splines in at least one dimension of the floor shall be actually continuous and integral from one side to the other for the reason that if they extend through only three or four elements, the edges of the elements at the ends of the splines, will be free to expand and the combined expansion'at a plurality of such breaks in the continuity of the splines will defeat the major object of the invention. However in floors of greater extent than the lengths it is convenient to secure in splines, it is necessary to use more than one piece of spline per joint. Also to avoid throwing away useful lengths of spline, it may be necessary to utilize some lengths of less than the extent of the floor. Therefore in the claims the words substantially continuous are to be read, with these requirements in mind,

' to mean as nearly actually continuous as practicable. A

A floor constructed as described is ornamental in appearance, may be laid very cheaply, and being connected by metal at short intervals throughout its extent and extending continuously throughout the body of the floor intermediate of its thickness, the elements will be positively held from movement caused by expansion or by any shifting where the elements are laid in mastic.

The floor may be given an added ornamental appearance by choice of various colors of the elements arranged as desired. 115.

The floor may be laid upon cold mastic troweled upon the surface of the base or each of the elements may have its lower surface dipped in hot mastic as it is laid or the floor may be successfully laid without any means of holding the same to the base. Since the floor comprises a continuous mat with its elements interlocked, it will remain in place by the action of gravity.

Minor changes may be made in the physical embodiments of the invention within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit thereof.

I claim:

l. A floor comprising, in combination: a plurality of abutting courses of elements, each course comprising elements having grooved ends in alignment; splines inserted into the grooves of meeting ends of elements in contiguous courses; said splines of a thickness to substantially fill said grooves and extending substantially continuously across the floor; raised portions carriedby one side of each spline, said portions engaged into the material of the elements at one side of the grooves whereby to prevent separation of the elements of a course and to control expansion of the material of the elements.

2. A floor comprising, in combination: a plurality of abutting courses of elements; the elements of each course having tongue and groove connection and grooved ends in alignment; substantially continuous metal splines extending across the floor, each bearing on one side transverse ridges formed with sharp crests and engaged in the meeting grooves of contiguous courses; said ridges engaging into the material 156 of the elements at one side of each groove whereby to control expansion of theelements and to lock the courses together.

3. A floor comprising, in combination: a plurality of contacting courses of elements; each course assembled with grooved edges in alignmentysubstantially continuous metal splines lythe adjacent ridges; said ridges engaged into the material of the element at one side of the groove therein whereby to control expansion of the elements.

4. A fioor comprising, in combination: a plurality of contacting courses of elements; each course assembled with grooved edges in alignment; substantially continuous metal splines lying in the meeting grooves of contiguous courses; said splines bearing ridges struck out of the material of the spline to provide sharp crests extending transversely of the spline, a side standing at an acute angle to the surface of the spline and a depression in the surface of the spline at the base of the ridge; the acute angle of each ridge facing oppositely to the like angle of adjacent ridges; said ridges engaged into the material of the elements at one side of the grooves;

whereby force of attempted expansion of the ele-- ments forces material thereof against said angled sides and into said depressions to prevent movements due to expansion.

5. A floor comprising, in combination: a plurality of contacting courses of elements; each course assembled with grooved edges in-alignment; substantially continuous metal splines 1ying in the meeting grooves of contiguous courses, aemetal angle joint armor, the base of said angle lying upon the spline and entering the assembled groove in one of a pair of abutting courses and a vertical member of the angle standing in the joint between said abutting courses with its upper edge flush with the surface of the courses.

6. A floor comprising, in combination: a plurality of elements having grooved ends in alignment; a spline formed with transverse ridges terminating in sharp crests and of a thickness to fill said grooves and extending substantially continuously across the floor; said spline engaged to a distance of substantially one-half of its width into said grooves; said crests engaged into the material of the elements at a side of certain of said grooves; the remaining, half of said spline adapted to engage a groove in an abutting element.

7, A fioor comprising, in combination: a plurality of elements having grooved ends in alignment; a spline extending substantially continuously across the fioor engaged for substantially one-half its width in and filling said grooves; said spline bearing transverse V-shaped ridges engaged in the material of-the elements at a side of the groove; each ridge presenting an abrupt face in one direction; the abrupt faces uponcertain of said ridges facing oppositely to the likefaces of other of said'ridges.

8. A floor comprising, in combination: a plurality of elements'h'aving grooved ends in alignment; a spline engaged for substantially onehalf its width in and filling said grooves and extending substantially continuously across the floor; said spline bearing transverse V-shaped formed with transverse ridges terminating in ridges engaged in the material of the elements at a side of the groove; each ridge presenting an abrupt face in one direction; the abrupt faces upon certain of said ridges facing oppositely to the like faces of other of said ridges, the ma terial of each element engaged with at least one of each direction-facing ridges.

9. A fioor comprising, in combination: a plurality of elements having grooved ends in alignment; a spline engaged for substantially onehalf its width in and filling said grooves and extending substantially continuously across the floor; said spline bearing transverse V-shaped ridges engaged in the material of the elements at a side of the groove; each ridge presenting an abrupt face in one direction; the abrupt faces upon certain of said ridges facing oppositely to the like faces of other of .said ridges, the material of each element engaged with a plurality of each direction-facing ridges;

10. A floor unit comprising, in combination: a plurality of assembled elements having grooved ends in alignment; outside elements of the unit having grooves in their exposed edges; splines sharp crests and of a thickness to fill said grooves,

engaged in the grooves in the ends of said elements for substantially one-half the width of the splines and spanning the ends of all of the elements, of the unit; said ridges engaged into the material of the elements at a side of each groove;

f the remaining portions of the splines projecting v to be engaged in a groove in an abutting unit.

11. Means for controlling the expansion of a wooden structure comprising: a metallic spline for engagement into a groove in the structure; said spline formed with V-shaped transverse ridges each extending across a substantial portion of the width thereof to be driven into the material at one side of the groove; said ridges each presenting an abruptface in one direction to resist expansion forces by pressure of the fibres thereagainst;- the abrupt faces of certain of the ridges directed oppositely from like faces of other ridges.

12. Means for controlling the expansion of a wooden structure comprising: a metallic spline for engagement into a groove in the structure; said spline formed upon a side with V-shaped transverse ridges struck up from the material Y of the spline presenting a face standing at an angle of not more than 90 degrees from the. plane of the spline and with a groove at the base of each ridge one side of each groove being a continuation of the said face of the ridge; the

said faces of certain of the ridges facingoppositely from similar faces of other ridges upon the spline.

13. Means for controlling the expansion of a wooden structure comprising: a metallic spline for engagement into a groove in the structure; said spline formed upon opposite faces with V- shaped transverse ridges each extending across ..a substantial portion of the width thereof to be 7 driven into the material at the sides of the groove; said ridges each presenting an abrupt face in one direction to resist expansion forces by pressure of the fibers of the material thereagainst; the said faces of the ridges upon opposite sides of the a spline facing oppositely from the like faces on the p15 remaining side of the spline.

14. A composite wooden structure composed of a plurality of elements placed with the grain of the individual elements rimning in the same direction and with aligned grooves in the end grain of the elements; in combination with a metallic spline lying in said grooves and continuous across the ends of said elements; said spline formed with transverse ridges having sharp crests and each having an abrupt face; said faces on certain of the ridges oppositely directed from like faces of other ridges; said ridges engaged in the material of the elements at a side of the grooves substantially parallel with the grain thereof.

15. A floor comprising, in combination: a subfloor; a layer of adhesive mastic on said subfloor; a layer of flooring elements superposed upon and adhering to said mastic; and means to control expansion of said elements and to prevent separation thereof comprising metallic tension members located in passages formed in the material of the elements between the upperand lower surfaces thereof; said tension members running continuously across the fioorand transversely of the grain of a substantial proportion of the elements,

and engaging the material of certain of the elements.

16. A floor comprising, in combination: a subfloor; a layer of adhesive mastic on said subfioor; a plurality of abutting courses of elements superposed upon and adhering to said mastic;

each course comprising elements having abutting grooved edges in alignment; certain of said elements presenting end grain at said edges; and means to control expansion of the elements and to prevent separation thereof comprising splines located in said grooves and running substantially continuously along said abutting edges; said splines formed with projections from a face at a side of said grooves.

thereof engaging in the materialof the elements 17. A floor unit comprisingyin combination: a plurality of assembled elements having grooved ends in alignment; splines of a thickness to fill said grooves engaged'in said grooves forsubstantially one-half the width of the splines and spanning all of the elements of the unit; raised portions carried by a side of each spline, each extending across a substantial portion 'of the width thereof and engaging the material of the elements at a side of each groove to hold the unit in assembly and to control expansion of the elements; the excess width of the splines projecting to be engaged in a groove in an abutting unit.

18. A floor unit comprising, in combination:

a plurality of assembled elements having grooved ends in-alignment; splines of a thickness to fill said grooves engaged in said grooves for substantially one-half the width of the splines and spanning all of the elements of ,the unit; raised portions carried by a side of each spline, each extending across a substantial portion of the width thereof, presenting face s rising abruptly from the surface of the splines facing alternately in opposite directions, and engaging the material'of the elements at a side of each groove to hold the unit in assembly and to control expansion of the elements; the excess width of the splines projecting to be engaged in a groove, in an abutting unit.

RAYMOND W. STORM.

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