STRUCTUAL JOINT

The invention relates to a structural joint adapted to be engaged with slabs made of a moldable material comprising at least two profile elements, each adapted to be integral with one of the edges of two adjacent slabs, each profile having a substantial vertical stem adapted for extending at least partly along the edges up to a sharp edge of an upper surface of the slab.

Such a structural joint is known from the Belgian patent specification 1015453.

In this known structural joint the neighbouring side walls of two adjacent slabs are each provided with a structural joint provided with horizontal guiding means, which guarantiee that the horizontal level of the two adjacent slabs is always maintained at the same height.

For that purpose the structural joint is provided with recesses and/or protrusions which allow a horizontal movement of two adjaoent slabs, but which keep the slab in the same horizontal place.

In use a floor is composed of a number of slabs having a circumference which is provided with such known structural joints. In this way a perfect egalised floor is obtained in horizontal direction, whereas the structural joints as described above allow a horizontal movement between adjacent slabs, thereby providing compensation for movement of the individual slabs as a result of temperature variations or other stresses in horizontal directions.

In practice it has been found that the separation between two adjacent slabs always provides a grove-like gap. In case fork lift trucks or other transport means are used on such a floor each time a wheel is passing over the groove like separation this will cause undesirable shocks in the vehicle which can lead to some damage to the load carried by the vehicle and give additional usury or damage the upper circumferential edges of the slabs or to the wheels. This is especially due to the fact that the joint is made of steel and therefore much harder than the commonly soft outer circumference surface of the wheels.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a structural joint as described in the preamble in which this problem is avoided.

This object is achieved in that the top edge of each vertical stem of the prof i Ie elements of two adjacent slabs as seen along the line between the two adjacent slabs is composed of non-linear elements.

Due to the fact that the groove-like separation between two adjacent slabs is not a straight line, the wheel of a fork lift truck or any other transport means having wheels has no tendency to lower into the groove upon passing over it, but will be always supported by the surface of any of the adjacent slabs.

In this way shocks are divided and usury reduced.

Other advantages and characteristics of the invention wil I become clear from the following description reference being made to the annexed drawings. Herein is :

Fig. 1 a schematic top view of two structural joints according to the invention in juxtaposed position in top view.

Fig. 2 a side view of a structural joint.

The structural joint as shown in figures 1 and 2 may be of the type described in more detail in the Belgian patent specification 1015453 and the content of that specification is incorporated by reference into this description.

The structural described in this Belgian patent specification is of the type in which one of the joint part has a vertical flange provided with a horizontal groove for accommodating a horizontal flange connected to the vertical flange of the cooperating joint part. According to the invention known other types can be used as well.

In one such an embodiment both vertical flanges are provided with horizontal grooves and intermediate flange part is positioned between the opposing grooves.

In another embodiment one of the two opposing horizontal flanges is provided with a horizontal groove obtained by deformation of the vertical flange, whereas the opposed vertical flange is shaped in such a way so as to provide a horizontal protrusion cooperating with the horizontal grooves.

According to the invention the top of edge of each vertical stem of the prof i Ie has a non- linear shape as seen along the main direction of the joint between two neighbouring slabs. In the embodiment shown in the drawings the border line 10 between two adjacent slabs provided with structural joints according to the invention have an undulating shape. In this way it is obtained that the lower part of a wheel of a fork lift truck or any other vehicle or carriage is always in contact with some part of the upper surface of the floor formed by the slabs. In this way shocks and exaggerated usury can be avoided.

The undulating lines can be a sinus-shaped line, the frequency of which being defined in function of the dimensions of the wheels to be used on the floor.

However it is possible to use less regular shapes such as line composed of a number of linear and non-linear positions. Preferably the linear positions must have a length which is less than the width of the wheels to be used on the floor so as to avoid the problems cited before.