CONNECTION SYSTEM FOR PORTABLE FLOORING

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an improved connection system for portable flooring. Portable flooring is used in many situations. Some include creating a dance floor on top of existing flooring, installing a basketball court over an ice hockey rink, and covering a stone patio with a portable flooring system for a party, reception or other event. Portable flooring is also often installed over grass or artificial turf.

Portable flooring is typically made up of a large number of large sections which must be coupled together to create an integrated unified floor system. For this purpose, coupling structure is employed to releasably interconnect different floor sections for easy installation and removal.

Portable flooring systems often are located in environments in which damage can occur to the floor sections. Thus, at a party or reception, drinks and other liquids can be spilled on the floor sections. Where a flooring system is installed over an ice hockey rink, the temperature fluctuations can result in warping. Where a portable flooring system is employed outdoors, fluctuating weather conditions including temperature, humidity, and precipitation can change the characteristics of floor sections to the detriment of an integrated portable flooring system. It is with these problems in mind that the present invention was developed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an improved connection system for portable flooring. The present invention includes the following interrelated objects, aspects and features:

(1) In portable flooring systems to which the present invention is directed, adjacent floor sections have facing edges that are straight and flat. This permits adjacent floor sections to be abutted against one another to facilitate coupling them together.

(2) At each straight edge of a flooring section which is to be coupled to an adjacent floor section, one half of a coupling structure is provided and the other half of the coupling structure is provided to the other floor section which is to be coupled thereto.

(3) In a prior design, held by applicant as a trade secret, as shown in FIG. 1, the coupling structure includes a first half 10 and a second half 20. A recess 11 in the first coupling half 10 is sized to receive the edge of a floor section or flooring section described hereinafter as a plywood section. Similarly, the recess 21 in the coupling half 20 is sized to receive the edge of another plywood section.

(4) As further seen in FIG. 1, the coupling half 10 includes a recess 13 that is sized to receive a tongue 23 from the other coupling half 20. A threaded set screw 25 is advanced through a threaded opening 15 in the coupling half 10 and engages the tongue 23 to hold the coupling halves 10 and 20 together.

(5) Typically, along the length of each coupling half 10, 20, several set screws 25 must be employed to hold the coupling halves 10 and 20 together. The reason why as shown in FIG. 2 is that due to the vertical dimension of the recess 13 as compared to the height of the tongue 23, the tongue 23 can drift upward within the recess 13 to misalign the top surfaces of adjacent plywood sections. With reference back to FIG. 1, above the coupling halves 10 and 20 are laminates 31 and 33 which as seen in FIG. 1 lie in a common plane at the area where the set screw 25 is located. However, due to the size difference between the recess 13 and the tongue 23, as shown in FIG. 2, the laminates 31 and 33 can be misaligned in areas where there is no set screw. This causes the shoulder 35 of the laminate 33 to be displaced upward from the laminate 31. As a result, the entire portable flooring system does not lie in a common plane but, rather, includes portions where edges are displaced upwardly which can cause users of the flooring system to trip and fall and become injured.

(6) The present invention is intended to overcome this problem and provide a system which only requires a single set screw to hold the elongated coupling halves together while absolutely preventing warpage or displacement of plywood sections with respect to one another. Thus, instead of the recess 13, as will be described in greater detail hereinafter, a ramp structure is incorporated into the recess which results in the vertical dimension of the tongue substantially matching the vertical dimension of the recess when the coupling halves are coupled together. The ramp structure best facilitates sliding the coupling halves into connection and a single set screw can be advanced to hold the coupling halves together with assurance that no differential vertical movement between panels will take place.

(7) In another embodiment of the present invention, it is contemplated to modify the tongue receiving recess 13 of applicant's earlier trade secret design coupling half 10 by adding a shim to the coupling half 10 which creates the ramp structure and vertical dimension at the end of the recess that matches the vertical dimension of the tongue. Such a shim can be installed in any suitable manner such as with adhesive, within the recess 13, to modify the coupling half 10, so that it resolves the issue which the present invention is intended to address.

(8) In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plywood sections that are installed within recesses such as the recesses 11 and 21 of the coupling halves 10, 20 may be made of plywood or if desired medium density overlay also known as “MDO” which consists of all-purpose specialty plywood that includes layers of C grade and B grade wood with thin wood veneers layered perpendicular to each other to provide strength and stability. In between each veneer, preferably, a layer of waterproof resin is applied and then the entire sandwich is fused together with heat and pressure. The overlay coatings are made from a waterproof resin-impregnated fiber making MDO 100% waterproof. This adds strength and prevents warpage. MDO plywood is advantageous particularly for outdoor use and for uses where fluctuating temperatures can cause damage to weaker materials such as just plain plywood. MDO is much stronger than plywood and MDO has a higher capacity to hold heavy objects due to the layers of waterproof resin. A laminate preferably covers the plywood or MDO to provide the floor surface. The plywood sections are retained within the recesses with a strong adhesive such as glue or epoxy adhesive among others.

As such, it is a first object of the present invention to provide an improved connection system for portable flooring.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a connection system in which, due to its structure, adjacent plywood sections are maintained in a common plane to prevent injury to people using the flooring system.

It is a yet further object of the present invention to provide such an improved connection system which is effective to hold adjacent plywood sections in a common plane regardless of conditions of temperature, humidity, surface unevenness or softness/sponginess, and with only a single set screw necessary in so doing.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide such a connection system in which a shim can be provided and added to an earlier trade secret design to render it system structurally equivalent to the present invention.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide such a connection system in which the plywood sections are made of a strong material facilitating repeated use.

These and other objects, aspects and features of the present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments when read in conjunction with the appended drawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a coupling structure held by applicant as a trade secret.

FIG. 2 shows a further side view of the coupling structure of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a top view of two plywood sections adjacent one another but not yet coupled together.

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 shows a side view of the coupling halves of the present invention coupled together in a location where a set screw is not installed.

FIG. 6 shows a view similar to that of FIG. 5 but showing the set screw locking the coupling halves together.

FIG. 7 shows a top view similar to that of FIG. 3 but with the plywood sections coupled together.

FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view along the line 8-8 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 shows an enlarged side view of the female half of the coupling halves.

FIG. 10 shows a cross-sectional view of the coupling half of FIG. 9 with a plywood panel structure substrate installed in its recess and installed threaded insert for a set screw.

FIG. 11 shows a side view of a further embodiment in which a female coupling half is modified through the addition of a shim to render it equivalent to the main embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 shows a side view similar to that of FIG. 11 in which the male half is shown with its tongue inserted in the recess which has been modified through addition of the shim.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference is first made to FIGS. 3-6 in which plywood sections 40 and 50 are shown. As seen in FIG. 3, the edge 41 of the plywood section 40 has installed therein the male half 43 of a coupling structure while the edge 51 of the plywood section 50 has the female half 53 of the coupling structure mounted thereon. The halves 43 and 53 extend substantially the entire length of the edges 41 and 51, respectively, by the floor sections 40 and 50.

As seen in FIG. 4, the plywood section 40 has an undercut portion 42 which enables the edge 44 thereof to be inserted within the recess 70 of the coupling half 43 while the plywood panel structure substrate 50 is also undercut at 54 to allow insertion into the recess 60 of the coupling half 53. If desired, the plywood sections 40 and 50 may be ⅝″ thick or ½″ thick. Other thicknesses can be employed.

As clearly seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, the recesses 60 and 70 have serrated edges 62, 64 for the recess 60, and 72 and 74 for the recess 70. The teeth in the serrations are pointed inward toward the back wall of each recess so that when the edge of a floor section is inserted therein, they will not back out. A suitable adhesive such as glue, epoxy or others is employed to permanently maintain the interconnection which is shown in FIG. 4. The serrations provide an enhanced mechanical interconnection to the plywood section.

With reference to FIG. 7, the floor sections 40 and 50 are seen coupled together and FIG. 8 shows a set screw 48 advanced through a threaded opening 49 in the coupling half 53 and which engages the tongue 46 of the coupling half 43 to lock the coupling halves 43 and 53 together in the orientation shown in FIGS. 6 and 8. The position of the set screw 48 is seen in FIG. 7 and is centrally located along the length of the coupling halves 43 and 53. As seen in FIG. 8, the coupling half 43 has a lower portion 1 with a ramp surface 2. Similarly, the coupling half 53 has a lower portion 3 with a ramp surface 4. These ramp surfaces or slopes create a smooth transition between the plywood sections 40, 50 and the coupling halves 43, 53, respectively, which precludes the coupling halves from catching on the frames of other plywood sections during handling.

An important aspect of the present invention is the ramp surface 66 within the recess 68 of the female coupling half 53. See FIGS. 4, 5 and 9, in particular. This ramp surface 66 permits the tongue 46 to enter the recess 68 in an easy fashion and as it advances toward the rear wall of the recess 68, the tip 47 of the tongue 46 advances down the ramp 66 to the closed end 67 of the recess 68 (FIG. 9). This position is shown in FIG. 5. In that position, the set screw 48 is advanced to the position shown in FIG. 6 as well as FIG. 8 in which its distal end 52 presses against a top surface of the tongue 46 to lock it in place. The tip 47 is angled upward to preclude the tip from backing out past the set screw 48, as understood from FIG. 6. This upward angling of the tip 47 also reduces the number of turns of the set screw 48 necessary to engage the tongue, thereby speeding installation and removal.

FIGS. 5, 6 and 8 also show a laminate 81 on top of the coupling half 43 and a laminate 83 on top of the coupling half 53. These laminates 81 and 83 create a smooth floor surface and are adhered to the top surfaces of the coupling halves 43, 53, respectively. If necessary, the laminates 81, 83 are also adhered to the plywood sections 40, 50. Looking back at FIG. 2, the laminates 31 and 33 are shown with the laminate 33 corresponding to the laminate 81. However, due to the vertical dimension of the recess 13, the tongue 23 is able to be displaced upwardly in areas along the length of the coupling halves where there is no set screw 25. As explained earlier, such displacements can occur as a result of warping and the present invention is intended to solve this problem. Maintenance of the laminates 81 and 83 in a common plane reduces visibility of seams between panels.

As seen in FIG. 5, a V-shaped recess 85 is formed in the top wall of the coupling half 53. This V-shaped recess extends the length of the coupling half and is shown in FIG. 3. This V-shaped recess 85 helps to facilitate the creation of a threaded hole 86 (FIG. 6) at a single desired location to facilitate insertion of the set screw 48.

In accordance with the teachings of the present invention due to the interaction of the tongue 46 and recess 68, only a single set screw 48 is required to hold the coupling halves 43 and 53 together with their plywood sections attached and to preclude displacements of laminates such as the laminates 31 and 33 as shown in FIG. 2. Use of a single set screw 48 is more aesthetically pleasing than use of multiple set screws and also speeds the installation and removal process.

With reference to FIG. 7, additional locations 91 and 93 for set screws are schematically depicted. Such locations are necessary where the coupling halves such as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are employed. They are absolutely not necessary in accordance with the teachings of the inventive design and only the set screw 48 is required.

FIG. 9 shows the enlarged coupling half 53 with its recess 60, serrated edges 62 and 64, recess 68, ramp 66, and recess end 67. Also shown in FIG. 9 is a cross-section reduction area 95 which reduces the weight of the coupling half 53. The V-shaped vortex recess 85 is also shown as is another cross-section reduction 96.

FIG. 10 shows the coupling half 53 with the plywood sheet 50 inserted therein as well as the cross-section of the V-shaped groove 85 and installed threaded insert 102, the undercut section 95, the recess 68, and the ramp 66. The inventive configuration provides greater depth available for installation of a threaded insert.

With reference now to FIGS. 11 and 12, it is seen that the coupling half 10 also shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes the recess 13 which may be modified by a shim 101 which is inserted as shown in FIG. 11 and attached by any suitable means such as, for example, a strong adhesive. As seen in FIG. 12, the coupling half 20 has a tongue 23 which when inserted into the recess 13 rides down the ramp surface 103 of the shim in a manner analogous to the manner by which the tongue 46 rides down the recess 68 as shown, for example, in FIG. 5. In this way, the shim 101 may be used to modify the coupling half 10 so that it operates in the manner contemplated by the present invention.

As explained earlier, the plywood sections may be made of any suitable material including plywood or MDO. The choice of which material to employ for the plywood sections is determined by cost issues, as well as the environments of contemplated use of a portable flooring system which can widely vary from internal and external uses as well as variations in temperature and humidity. The coupling halves can be made of a suitable strong metal such as aluminum.

As such, the present invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments thereof which fulfill each and every one of the objects of the invention as set forth hereinabove, and provide a new and useful improved connection system for portable flooring of great novelty and utility.

Of course, various changes, modifications, and alterations in the teachings of the present invention may be contemplated by those skilled in the art without departing from the intended spirit and scope thereof.

As such, it is intended that the present invention only be limited by the terms of the appended claims.