AU2003204102B2 - Temporary Flooring Support and System - Google Patents

Description

S&F Ref: 633156

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT Name and Address of Applicant: Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: Invention Title: Oldfields Access Pty Ltd 8 Farrow Road Campbelltown New South Wales 2211 Australia John Rogers Spruson Ferguson St Martins Tower Level 31 Market Street Sydney NSW 2000 (CCN 3710000177) Temporary Flooring Support and System The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- 5845c TEMPORARY FLOORING SUPPORT AND SYSTEM Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the building industry and in particular relates to a temporary flooring system for covering voids in buildings and a support strut of such a flooring system.

Background of the Invention When constructing multi-storey buildings, particularly residential buildings, voids are created when constructing the first and subsequent floors to allow for stairs extending between successive floors. Voids might also be created for other purposes, such as to provide an open area above the entry of a building on the ground floor.

Such voids create a hazard to construction workers who might inadvertently fall into the void when working in the immediate vicinity. In an attempt to protect workers from this hazard, temporary hand railings have been placed around voids, however workmen working on roof trusses above the void are not protected by such hand railings and may be subjected to a multi-storey drop of five to six metres through the void if they are to fall. Further, the temporary hand rails are typically removed to pass materials up through the void to the upper floor without being replaced, thereby leaving the void unprotected. The temporary hand railing is also typically easily damaged, reducing its effectiveness.

When construction work is being carried out directly above the void, either full scaffolding or long ladders are required. Use of such scaffolding and ladders is both time consuming and inherently unsafe.

As an alternative to using temporary hand railing, the use of temporary flooring spanning across the void has been attempted, with such flooring being supported by two spaced pieces of tubing located on and secured to the floor adjacent the void. The tubing and flooring is accordingly elevated in relation to the surrounding floor, creating a trip hazard and also preventing the application of plasterboard to any walls bordering the void down to floor level, resulting in the need for substantial repairs to gaps created in walls as a result.

Object of the Invention It is the object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate at least one or more of the above disadvantages.

[R:\LIBLL] 14366.doc:klp Summary of the Invention There is disclosed herein a support strut for supporting a temporary floor in a void of a building, said building having a building floor at least partly surrounding said void, said support strut comprising: a longitudinally extending support member defining a support surface for supporting a temporary floor and having a first end and a second end longitudinally displaceable with respect to said first end; and first and second angle brackets respectively fixed to said first and second support member ends, each said bracket comprising: a support plate for locating on a structure of said building adjacent said void, each said support plate lying generally in a plane substantially parallel to said support surface and offset therefrom in a direction away from said support member by a distance selected such that, in use, said temporary floor is substantially flush with said building floor; an end plate fixed to the respective end of said support member and being arranged generally perpendicular to and adjoining the respective said support plate; and means for securing said bracket to said building structure..

Typically, said support member comprises first and second support member segments with said first support member segment being telescopically received in said second support member segment, said first bracket end plate being fixed to said first support member segment and said second bracket end plate being fixed to said second support member segment.

In one form, said building structure is said building floor.

In one form, said means for securing each said bracket to said building structure comprises one or more apertures provided in said end plate between said support member and said support plate.

Typically, said support plate is offset from said support surface by a distance of to 50 mm.

Preferably, a spacer block is provided on each said bracket adjacent the juncture of said end plate and said support plate on a side of said end plate opposing said support member.

There is further disclosed herein a temporary flooring system covering a void of a building, said building having a building floor at least partly surrounding said void, said system comprising: [I:\DayLib\LIBLL] 14366.doc:klp at least two mutually spaced support struts as defined above spanning said building void with said first and second brackets of each said support strut being located on and secured to a structure of said building adjacent said void; and one or more flooring panels supported on said support surface of said support members and spanning said void so as to cover said void, said flooring panels being substantially flush with said building floor.

There is further disclosed herein a method of covering a void of a building, said building having a building floor at least partially surrounding said void, said method comprising the steps of: locating at least two support struts as defined above so as to span across said void with said support struts being mutually spaced and said first and second brackets of each said support strut being located on a structure of said building adjacent said void; securing each said bracket to said building structure; and laying one or more flooring panels across said void so as to be supported by said supporting surface of said support members and span said building void so as to cover said void with said flooring panels being substantially flush with said building floor.

Brief Description of the Drawings A preferred form of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a side elevation view of a support strut in a retracted configuration.

Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the support strut of Figure 1 in an extended configuration.

Figure 3 is a plan view of an end bracket of the support strut of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a temporary flooring system, incorporating two support struts of Figure 1, located in a building void.

Figure 5 is a side elevation view of an alternate support strut.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments Referring to Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings, a support strut 1 for supporting a temporary floor 20 in a building void 100 comprises a longitudinally extending support member 2 and first and second brackets 3, 4. The longitudinally extending support member 2 defines a support surface 5 on the top thereof for supporting a temporary floor 20, as depicted in Figure 4. The support member 2 is formed as first and [I:\DayLib\LIBLL] I 4366.doc:klp second support member segments 6, 7 with the first support member segment 6 being telescopically received within the second support member segment 7 so as to enable relative longitudinal displacement of the support member first end 2a in relation to the support member second end 2b between a retracted configuration as depicted in Figure 1 and an extended configuration as depicted in Figure 2. Here the support member segments 6, 7 are formed of aluminium tube having a 2 mm wall thickness. The second tube segment 7 has a diameter of 50.8 mm and the portion of the first tube segment 6 telescopically received within the second tube segment 7 has a reduced diameter [I:\DayLib\LIBLL] 14366.doc:klp providing a close fit within the second tube segment 7 whilst still enabling telescopic extension with relative ease. Collars 8, 9 are welded to the first and second tube segments 6, 7 respectively to limit the retraction of the first tube segment 6 into the second tube segment 7.

The first and second brackets 3, 4 each include a support plate 10, 11 which lies generally in a plane substantially parallel to the support surface 5 of the support member 2. The support plates 10, 11 are offset from the support surface 5 in a direction away from the support member 2. That is, the support plates 3, 4 are located above the support surface 5 when the support strut 1 is oriented with the support surface 5 on top as depicted in Figures 1 and 2. This offset provides a recess 12 within which flooring panels 21 of the temporary floor 20 can be received. The offset between the support surface 5 and the support plates 10, 11 should be roughly the same as the thickness of the flooring panels 21 or slightly larger such that the flooring panels 21 will lie entirely within the recess 12.

The offset will typically be in the order of 30 to 50 mm, and here is 41 mm.

The brackets 3, 4 are provided with means for securing the bracket 3, 4 to the building structure 101 adjacent to the void 100. In the strut 1 of Figures 1 to 3, this securing means is in the form of apertures 13 provided in the support plates 10, 11. These apertures 13 are sized to receive fasteners, typically screws, which are driven through the apertures 13 and into the underlying building structure 101 which will typically be a floor surface adjacent the void 100.

The first and second brackets 3, 4 also each include an end plate 14, 15 secured to the support member first and second ends 2a, 2b respectively. The end plates 14, 15 are arranged generally perpendicular to the respective support plates 10, 11 and adjoining the same so as to each define an angle bracket. In a preferred form, a spacer block 16, 17 is provided on each bracket 3, 4 adjacent the juncture of the end plate 14, 15 and support plate 10, 11 on the side of the end plate 14, 15 opposing the support member 2. The spacer block 16, 17 will typically have a length and height in the order of 20 mm.

In use, at least two support struts 1 are located in the building void 100 and the first and second tube segments 6, 7 are extended until the support brackets 1 fully span the void 100 with the support plates 3, 4 being supported on the building structure 101 adjacent the building void 100. The support struts 1 will typically be put in place well before the walls of the building have been completed with plasterboard panels 102, and accordingly the spacer blocks 16, 17 formed on each bracket 3, 4 ensures the end plates 14, 15 are offset from the vertical face of the building structure 101 adjacent the void 100 over all but the location of the spacer blocks 16, 17 themselves, thereby providing a gap for installation of a plasterboard panel 102.

[R:\LIBLL] 14366.doc:klp Two support struts 1, placed toward either end of a typical building void 100 for a stairway, will typically be sufficient. However, further support struts 1 may be located between the end support struts 1 as desired for further support.

The brackets 3, 4 are secured to the building structure 101 adjacent the void 100 by way of screws 22 driven through the support plates 10, 11 and into the underlying building structure 101. One or more flooring panels 21 are then laid into the void 100 so as to be supported on the support surface 5 of the support member 2, spanning cross wise in relation to the support struts 1 and fully covering the void 100 so as to form a floor One or more flooring panels 21 may be provided with a hinged access panel 23 so as to allow for access between floors for movement of workers and materials. A flooring panel 21 with an access panel 23 will typically be provided with reinforcing beams 24 extending along either side of the access panel 23 for continuity of the structure of the panel 21 along its length.

A temporary flooring system is thus provided which removes the fall hazard to workmen and is also generally flush with the floor of the building structure 101 around the void 100 so as to eliminate any tripping hazards.

Where a void 100 borders one or more walls in the upper floor, alternate end brackets 4' may be provided on the support strut 1 as depicted in Figure 5. In these brackets 4' the support plate and end plate have effectively been interchanged such that the end plates 14', 15' are elongated, providing an enlarged offset between the support plates 10', 11' and the support member support surface 5, allowing room for apertures 13' to be provided in the end plates 14, 15 between the support plate 4' and the support surface 5. Accordingly, with this alternate configuration, the end plates 14', are screwed to the side wall of the building support structure 101 rather than having the support plates screwed to the floor surface of the support structure 101. This enables a plasterboard wall panel 103 to be secured to the building structure immediately above the support plates 10', 11' leaving only a gap the thickness of the support plates 10', 11' between the bottom of the plasterboard wall panel 103 and the floor of the building structure 101. Fastening the brackets 4' through the end plates 10', 11' also enables subsequent removal of the brackets 4' by removing the screws 22 from the side wall of the building structure 101. After removal of the support struts 1 only a very thin gap beneath the plasterboard wall panel 103 need be filled to complete the wall.

Persons skilled in the art will appreciate other possible modifications to the flooring system and support strut described.

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Claims (11)

1. A support strut for supporting a temporary floor in a void of a building, said building having a building floor at least partly surrounding said void, said support strut comprising: a longitudinally extending support member defining a support surface for supporting a temporary floor and having a first end and a second end longitudinally displaceable with respect to said first end; and first and second angle brackets respectively fixed to said first and second support member ends, each said bracket comprising: a support plate for locating on a structure of said building adjacent said void, each said support plate lying generally in a plane substantially parallel to said support surface and offset therefrom in a direction away from said support member by a distance selected such that, in use, said temporary floor is substantially flush with said building floor; an end plate fixed to the respective end of said support member and being arranged generally perpendicular to and adjoining the respective said support plate; and means for securing said bracket to said building structure.

2. The support strut of claim 1, wherein said support member comprises first and second support member segments with said first support member segment being telescopically received in said second support member segment, said first bracket end plate being fixed to said first support member segment and said second bracket end plate being fixed to said second support member segment.

3. The support strut of either of claims 1 and 2 wherein said building structure is said building floor.

4. The support strut of claim 3, wherein said means for securing each said bracket to said building structure comprises one or more apertures provided in said support plate each for receipt of a fastener for securing said brackets to said building floor.

The support strut of either of claims 3 and 4, wherein said support plate is offset from said support surface by a distance of 30 to 50 mm.

6. The support strut of either of claims 1 and 2, wherein said means for securing each said bracket to said building structure comprises one or more apertures provided in said end plate between said support member and said support plate. [I:\DayLib\LIBLL] 14366.doc:klp

7. The support strut of any one of claims 1 and 6, wherein a spacer block is provided on each said bracket adjacent the juncture of said end plate and said support plate on a side of said end plate opposing said support member.

8. A temporary flooring system covering a void of a building, said building having a building floor at least partly surrounding said void, said system comprising: at least two mutually spaced support struts as defined in any one of claims 1 to 7 spanning said building void with said first and second brackets of each said support strut being located on and secured to a structure of said building adjacent said void; and one or more flooring panels supported on said support surface of said support 0to members and spanning said void so as to cover said void said flooring panels being substantially flush with said building floor.

9. A method of covering a void of a building, said building having a building floor at least partially surrounding said void, said method comprising the steps of: locating at least two support struts as defined in any one of claims 1 to 7 so as to span across said void with said support struts being mutually spaced and said first and second brackets of each said support strut being located on a structure of said building adjacent said void; securing each said bracket to said building structure; and laying one or more flooring panels across said void so as to be supported by said supporting surface of said support members and span said building void so as to cover said void with said flooring panels being substantially flush with said building floor.

A support strut substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 or Figure 5 of the accompanying drawings.

11. A temporary flooring system covering a building void, said system being substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 4 or Figures 4 and of the accompanying drawings. Dated 13 October, 2003 Oldfields Access Pty Ltd Patent Attorneys for the Applicant/Nominated Person SPRUSON FERGUSON [I:\DayLib\LIBLL] 14366.doc:klp