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Title:
SYSTEM CONSISTING OF MODULAR ELEMENTS FOR MAKING RAISED AND/OR AERATED RIBBED FLOORS
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2022/229688
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
The invention is a system consisting of modular elements for making reinforced concrete floors, comprising a plurality of base elements (100) designed to be laid at modular and pre-established distances on a surface to be floored, a plurality of upper elements (300), a plurality of column-shaped elements (200) suited to be positioned vertically on said base elements (100), each column-shaped element (200) being suited to support at least one of said upper elements (300), and wherein at least one closing element or surface (330) is positioned so as to close said column (200), in such a way as to prevent the introduction of concrete inside the column-shaped element (200) itself.

Inventors:
PEGORARO MIRCO (IT)
Application Number:
PCT/IB2021/056067
Publication Date:
November 03, 2022
Filing Date:
July 07, 2021
Export Citation:
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Assignee:
GEOPLAST SPA (IT)
International Classes:
E04B5/36; E04B5/48; E04F15/12
Domestic Patent References:
WO2020201881A12020-10-08
Foreign References:
US6370831B12002-04-16
US4542612A1985-09-24
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
ROCCHETTO, Elena (IT)
Download PDF:
Claims:
CLAIMS

1. System consisting of modular elements for making reinforced concrete floors, comprising a plurality of base elements (100) intended to be laid at modular and pre-established distances on a surface to be floored, a plurality of upper elements (300) intended to be positioned side by side to form a surface on which the concrete can be cast, a plurality of column shaped elements (200) suited to be positioned vertically on said base elements (100), each column-shaped element (200) being suited to support at least one of said upper elements (300), characterized in that at the level of or in proximity to the top end of said column-shaped element (200) there is at least one closing surface or element (330) which is such as to prevent the introduction of concrete inside the column-shaped element (200) itself.

2. System according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one of said upper elements (300) comprises: a substantially plane or curved upper surface (310) defining the formwork bottom surface of the slab that will be cast; lowered side edges (320) shaped in such a way that they are joined to corresponding side edges of other adjacent upper elements; angular portions (330) positioned at each comer of said upper element (300) and intended to be rested on the top end of one of said column-shaped elements (200), and wherein at least one of said angular portions (330) is configured in such a way as to form, together with other identical angular portions (330) of the same number of upper elements (300) resting on the same column-shaped element (200), a closed surface which completely closes said top end of said column-shaped element (200).

3. System according to claim 2, characterized in that said angular portion (330) comprises a part in the shape of a straight angle.

4. System according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that said angular portion (330) comprises means for removable connection with the angular portions (330) of other upper elements (300) resting on the same column shaped element (200).

5. System according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises one or more auxiliary upper elements (400), each having a substantially plane surface (420) provided with at least one hole (410) suited to be directly or indirectly connected to a tubular column-shaped element.

6. System according to claim 5, characterized in that said auxiliary upper element (400) comprises a plurality of seats (411) distributed on at least one circumference (412, 413) which is concentric with said hole (410), said seats (411) being configured for the insertion of the edge of the top end of a tubular column-shaped element.

7. System according to claim 6, characterized in that said seats (411) are distributed on at least two of said circumferences (412, 413) which are concentric with said hole (410) and have a different diameter.

8. System according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the diameter of said tubular column-shaped element connected to said hole (410) or opening of said upper element (400) is larger than the diameter of the other column-shaped elements (200).

9. System according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said base element (100) comprises: a plane lower surface (101) suited to be rested on a surface on which a floor will be laid; two or more projections (110) extending upwards from said lower surface (101), each of said projections (110) comprising at least one step (120) facing towards the centre of the base element (100), said step (120) being suited to support a part of the bottom end (201) of a column-shaped element (200); and wherein said projections (110) and said steps (120) are configured in such a way that all together they define an ideal circumference (X) on which said bottom end (201) of a column-shaped element (200) can be rested, wherein said circumference (X) lies on an ideal plane which is substantially parallel to said plane lower surface (101).

10. System according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said projections (110) are connected to said plane lower surface (101) through flexible arms (140).

11. System according to claim 9, characterized in that each one of said projections (110) comprises a body, for example in the shape of a truncated pyramid, with at least one wall (111) facing towards the centre of the base element (100) and said at least one step (120) on which it is possible to rest a part of the bottom end (201) of a column-shaped element (200), and wherein said projections (110) and said steps (120) define a seat (130) suited to house said bottom end (201) of a column-shaped element (200), said bottom end (201) being held laterally by the walls (111) of said projections (110) and at the bottom by said steps (120). 12. System according to claim 1, characterized in that each of said base elements (100) comprises openings (160) configured in such a way as to allow the insertion from below of the projections (110) of an underlying identical base element (100). 13. System according to claim 12, characterized in that between each pair of projections (110) there is at least one of said openings (160), in such a way that two identical base elements (100) can be placed on top of each other and staggered with respect to each other, wherein the projections (110) of the underlying base element are inserted in said openings (160) of the base element (100) lying thereon.

14. System according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said projections (110) are hollow and stackable, with an opening (113) in their lower base (112) so as to allow the insertion from below of projections (110) of identical base elements (100). 15. System according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that each of said base elements (100) comprises elements (170) for the removable, direct or indirect, connection with near or adjacent base elements (100), wherein the term “adjacent” indicates the base elements (100) on which column-shaped elements that are close thereto rest.

Description:
SYSTEM CONSISTING OF MODULAR ELEMENTS FOR MAKING RAISED AND/OR AERATED RIBBED FLOORS DESCRIPTION

The present patent relates to elements for the construction and in particular it concerns a new system consisting of modular elements for the construction of raised and/or aerated ribbed floors.

Currently, to install raised floors, the modular systems of the prior art normally comprise a plurality of base elements to be placed at modular distances on a support surface and a plurality of domed upper elements, directly or indirectly resting on said base elements, which are placed side by side and connected to each other to form the surface on which the cement conglomerate is then cast.

These upper elements are generally monolithic plastic bodies, generally having a domed shape, which are placed side by side and connected to each other to form a continuous square mesh structure. The reinforcement rods are laid on this structure (such as electro-welded mesh or rebar) and then the cement conglomerate is cast. A monolithic floor is thus obtained, aerated below, the lower ventilation compartment of which can be used for laying pipes, ducts and cables.

For the construction of raised and/or aerated floors at greater heights with respect to the laying surface, generally cylindrical or tubular column-shaped elements are currently used, placed vertically on said base elements and where the comers of said domed upper elements rest on each of said cylindrical elements.

Each comer of these modular elements is suitably shaped for its stable coupling on said tubular column-shaped elements.

The lower ends of the tubular column-shaped elements are in contrast housed in suitable seats located on said base elements, configured in such a way as to keep said lower ends of the tubular column-shaped elements in the proper position and so as to ensure the verticality of the tubular column shaped elements themselves.

Said upper elements are configured with lowered edges so that, when they are placed side by side with other identical upper elements, grooves are formed according to a rectangular mesh network, in which the reinforcement rods will be laid and in which the cementitious conglomerate is cast, thus forming the ribbed structure of the floor.

Said comers of the upper elements are also arched so as to create, together with the corners of the other upper elements placed on the same tubular column-shaped element, circular openings aligned with the column, through which, the cement conglomerate is also cast inside the tubular column shaped elements, filling them and thus forming the pillars.

This solution is effectively and widely applied to create floors with columns with a maximum diameter of about 15 cm.

Each of the base elements of the systems used in the prior art usually comprises: a cylindrical part, inside of which one end of the cylindrical tubular column-shaped elements is housed, various connecting elements and/or lateral portions, suited to mutually constrain several base elements to each other in the proper position and at the proper distance from each other. Situations are known in which it is necessary to create ribbed floors with reinforced concrete load-bearing columns having a diameter greater than 15 cm, for example 25 cm according to the European standard, or 12 inches according to the American standard.

Situations are known in which the support surface is made up of expanding soils which, swelling in the presence of water, tend to apply an upward thrust on the base elements resting on the support surface. This thrust is transmitted from the pillars to the slab above, with the risk of causing cracks and compromising the horizontality of the flooring.

To overcome the aforementioned drawbacks, a new system of modular elements was studied and implemented for the construction of raised and/or aerated ribbed floors, comprising in its main parts: a plurality of base elements, intended to be laid at a modular distance and prearranged on a support surface; a plurality of upper elements, intended to be positioned side by side to form a surface on which to cast concrete; a plurality of tubular column-shaped elements suited to be positioned vertically on said base elements, each tubular column shaped element suited to support at least one of said upper elements, and wherein at or near the upper end of said tubular column-shaped element there is a closing element, such as to prevent the cast cement conglomerate from entering inside the column itself.

In a preferred embodiment, this closure of the tubular column-shaped element is achieved by means of a particular and innovative configuration of the support feet of said upper elements.

Specifically, one or more of said upper elements, in turn each comprise: a substantially flat or domed upper surface which constitutes the surface of the bottom formwork of the slab to be cast; lowered and shaped side edges so as to be joined to corresponding side edges of other upper elements placed side by side; supporting portions at each of the corners of said upper element, each supporting portion being designed to rest on the upper end of one of said tubular column-shaped elements, and wherein said support portions are configured so that, joined to three other support portions of as many upper elements resting on the same tubular column-shaped element, said support portions form a closed surface which closes said upper end of said tubular column-shaped element, preventing the cement conglomerate from entering it.

Each of said support portions is for example configured at right angles, so as to close a quarter of the upper end of the column, and is also equipped with elements for it to be removably joined with the support portions of adjacent upper elements. For example, said joining elements are male-female coupling devices.

If needed by design, for the installation of flooring equipped with pillars, it is advantageous that one or more of said upper elements of the new system may comprise a hole or opening made on said flat surface, connectable to a tubular column-shaped element, hereinafter called central tubular column shaped element, in turn resting on a base element, and internally hollow so that the cement conglomerate can penetrate inside it to make the pillar.

Said central tubular column-shaped element may have a diameter greater than the diameter of the other closed tubular column-shaped elements, for example 25 cm, that is, about 12 in.

After the assembly of the modular system, the reinforcement rods are laid on the surface of the upper elements and inside the grooves formed between connected upper elements. Further reinforcing rods may also be inserted inside said central tubular element, to obtain reinforced concrete load- bearing pillars.

The structure that will then be built following the assembly of the modular system and the casting of the cement conglomerate will comprise a ribbed reinforced concrete floor and possibly one or more load-bearing pillars, also suitably reinforced.

Said base elements may also be of a known type, or they may be specially configured as described and claimed below.

The base element comprises: a plane lower surface, to be placed on a support surface; two or more protrusions rising from said lower surface, each of said protrusions comprising at least one step facing the center of the base element, said step being designed to support part of the lower end of a tubular column-shaped element; and wherein said protrusions and said steps are configured so as to create, all together, an ideal circumference to support said lower end of a tubular column-shaped element, where said circumference rests on an ideal plane parallel to said plane lower surface. In this way, the lower end of the column is raised with respect to the support surface.

Moreover, said protrusions are preferably connected to said plane lower surface though flexible arms at least partly inclined with respect to the plane lower surface, so that, in the presence of thrusts exerted from below on said plane lower surface, said arms cause the displacement of said protrusions outward with respect to the base element. In this way the protrusions widen, that is, they move away from each other, effectively freeing the lower end of the column-shaped element, which in this way is not affected by the thrust from below.

Said base elements are also specially configured to be stackable one on top of the other so as to minimize the volume needed when multiple base elements are superimposed.

The characteristics of the present invention will be better clarified by the following description with reference to the drawings, attached by way of a non-limiting example.

Figure 1 shows a three-dimensional view of the upper side of a domed upper element (300), while Figure la shows a detail of the angular support portion (330).

Figure 2 shows a three-dimensional view of the lower side of an upper domed element (300), while Figure 2a shows a detail of the angular support portion (330).

Figure 3 shows a three-dimensional view of the upper side of an upper element (400) configured with a central hole (410) for the connection with a tubular column-shaped element not shown in the figures. Figure 3a shows a three-dimensional view of the lower side of the upper element (400) shown in Figure 3.

Figure 4 shows a three-dimensional view of the upper side of a base element (100) while Figure 4a shows a three-dimensional view of the lower side of the base element (100) of Figure 4.

Figures 4b and 4c show two views, an upper and a lower view, of the base element (100) of Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 5 shows a three-dimensional view of a base element (100) on which a column-shaped element (200) rests and which is only shown partly for illustrative purposes.

Figure 6 shows a detail of some stacked base elements (100).

Figure 7 shows a sectional detail of four stacked base elements (100).

The new system made up of modular elements for the construction of raised floors includes in its main parts a plurality of base elements (100), intended to be laid at a modular distance and prefixed on a support surface, a plurality of upper elements (300), intended to be positioned side by side to form a surface on which the concrete is cast, and a plurality of column-shaped elements (200) suited to be positioned vertically on said base elements (100), each column-shaped element (200) being suited to support at least one of said upper elements (300).

With reference to Figures 1 and 2, each upper element (300) comprises a substantially plane upper surface (310) which becomes the lower formwork surface of the slab to be cast, and side edges (320) lowered with respect to said upper surface (310) and shaped so as to be joined to corresponding side edges of other upper elements placed side by side. The angular support portions (330) at each of the corners of said upper element (300) are configured to rest on the upper end of a column-shaped element (200).

Each of said angular portions (330) is specially configured so that, combined with three other angular portions (330) of as many upper elements (300) resting on the same column-shaped elements, said four angular portions (330) of four upper elements (300) form a closed surface which closes said upper end of said column-shaped element (200), preventing cast cement conglomerate from entering inside it.

In particular, each of said angular portions (330), shown in Figures la and 2a, is configured at right angles, so as to close one quarter of the upper end of the column.

In a possible alternative embodiment not shown in the figures, the upper end of the column-shaped element (200) can be closed with a closing element integral or non-integral with said upper elements (300), for example by means of a cap that can be applied directly or indirectly on the column shaped element (200) to close the upper end.

On the two orthogonal sides of the angular portion (330) there is also a male (311) and/or female (312) coupling device to removably join the angular portion (330) to the angular portions of the other neighboring upper elements.

The new system may also include one or more auxiliary upper elements (400), equipped with a substantially plane surface (420), lateral edges (430) which can be hooked onto corresponding edges of other upper elements (300), a hole (410 ), for example circular, made on said plane surface (420), and connected or connectable to a column-shaped element having a section corresponding to that of the hole (410) and which may, for example, have a diameter greater than the diameter of the other closed column-shaped elements.

Said plane surface (420) comprises means for coupling with the upper end of said tubular column-shaped element. Said means comprise for example seats (411), shown in detail in Figure 3b, arranged along a circumference (412, 413) concentric to said hole (410), in which the edge of the upper end of the column-shaped element is inserted.

Said seats (411) may also be distributed on two or more concentric circumferences to said hole (410) having different diameters, such as to enable the coupling of tubular elements with different diameters.

With reference to Figures 4 and 5, a base element (100) comprises: a plane lower surface (101), to be placed on a support surface; two or more protrusions (110) rising from said lower surface (101) and distributed circumferentially.

Each of said protrusions (110) comprising a body, for example in the shape of a truncated pyramid, with at least one wall (111), facing the center of the base element (100) and at least one step (120) intended to support one part of the lower end (201) of a column-shaped element (200), as shown in Figure 5.

Each base element (100) in particular comprises said protrusions (110) and said steps (120) distributed and configured in such a way as to create, all together, an ideal circumference (X) to support said lower end (201) of a column-shaped element (200), where said circumference (X) lies on an ideal plane parallel to said plane lower surface (101).

Said ideal circumference (X) is for example plotted with a dashed line in Figure 4b.

Said protrusions (100) and said steps (120) therefore create a seat (130) for said lower end (201) of a column-shaped element (200), which will be laterally constrained by the walls (111) of said protrusions (110), and below by said steps (120).

Said protrusions (120) are preferably connected to said plane lower surface (101) by means of flexible arms (140) and preferably at least partially (141) inclined with respect to the plane lower surface (101).

In the resting position, that is, in the absence of external stresses, the base (112) of said protrusions (110), that is, their lower surface intended to rest on a support surface, is coplanar with said plane lower surface (101).

In the presence of a thrust exerted from below on said plane lower surface (101), said arms (140) flex and cause the protrusions (110) to widen outwards, freeing the lower end (201) of the column-shaped element (200), which, having previously rested only on said steps (120), was not constrained inwards.

Each of said base elements (100) further comprises openings (160) configured so as to allow the insertion from below of the protrusions (110) of an identical base element (100).

Between each pair of said protrusions (110) there may be at least one opening (160), so that two identical base elements (100) can be placed on top of each other and staggered with respect to each other so that the protrusions (110) of the underlying base element are inserted in an opening (160) of the base element (100) lying thereon. (Figures 6 and 7)

Said protrusions (110) may be internally hollow and with a stackable shape, with an opening (113) on their lower base to enable the insertion from below of the protrusions (110) of identical base elements (100) (Figure 7). As shown in Figures 6 and 7, thanks to these adaptations, said base elements

(100) can be stacked on top of each other minimizing the overall height needed.

Each of said base elements (100) further comprises joining elements (170) for the direct or indirect removable connection with nearby or adjacent base elements (100), where adjacent is understood to mean pertinent to nearby column-shaped elements.

Said joining elements (170) comprise, for example, portions (171) which protrude externally from the circumference identified by said protrusions (110) and on which there are pegs or protrusions (172) which can be used for the attachment of arm-shaped joining elements, not shown in the figures.

On said portions (171) of said joining elements (170) there may also be protrusions (180) or shaped portions for the proper stacking of said base elements (100).

Therefore, with reference to the preceding description and the attached drawings the following claims are made.