Abstract:
To provide flooring for a building, more specifically, flooring washable at its installation place in a building. In the flooring for a building which has a plurality of floor panels laid in parallel to constitute a whole floor, an opening is formed on a floor surface between one floor panel and its adjacent floor panel. The flooring for a building according to the present invention is provided with a gutter portion that is arranged below the opening to receive a liquid dripping from the opening. The gutter portion is formed as an integral part of the one floor panel, and communicates with a drain pipe for draining the liquid in the gutter portion to the outside. The present invention thus provides washable flooring for a building which is easy to construct.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to flooring for a building, and more specifically to flooring washable at its installation place in a building. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Flooring for a building which requires water washing is formed, in most cases, through a series of steps: applying leveling mortar to a concrete floor slab, coating it with asphalt, forming a presser mortar layer, forming a cinder concrete layer, applying mortar as tile bedding, and finishing with tiles. The flooring formed through such steps is excellent in its water-proofness. On the other hand, it requires a quite long time in forming, which gives a major factor in prolonging construction period. Moreover, an enormous cost is required to repair the flooring even if it is partial damage. 
     Then, the inventors of the present invention have proposed a flooring structure capable of solving the problem described above. 
     The invention concerned is, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2539709, a flooring structure in which floor panels are arranged above a floor slab surface to effectively drain the water sprinkled on the floor panels. 
     To be specific, a joint member is placed between every adjacent floor panels out of a plurality of floor panels set on a plane, and joist members are arranged to support the right and left edges of the respective floor panels. Sleeper members for supporting the joist members are further arranged perpendicular to the joist members, and water communication holes are provided to communicate the joist members and the sleeper members. 
     One water communication hole consists of a hole formed in one joist member and a hole formed in the associated sleeper member which coincide with each other. Each joist member has a flange to prevent waste water from leaking outside. 
     A drain pipe for draining water flown therein from between the floor panel and the joint member is provided on an end of each sleeper member. 
     Strut members for supporting the sleeper member are arranged on the bottom surfaces of both ends of each sleeper member, and are grounded on the floor slab surface of the building so that the entire members are held. 
     A cylindrical ventilation body is connected to each sleeper member so that no smell stays in a space above the flooring as well as the interior of the sleeper member and the joist member is dried. 
     The structure described above makes it possible to assemble, with a simple construction, flooring capable of effectively drain washing water on the floor, where the water used to wash the flooring flows through the joist member to the sleeper member and is drained from the drain pipe to the outside. 
     As a result of extensive investigation, the inventors of the present invention have found that the flooring described above still has room to improve, i.e., that the thickness of the flooring should be thinned further as a whole and that the workability should be improved even more. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is therefore to provide washable flooring for a building which can readily be constructed with a simple work. 
     The gist of the present invention is as follows. 
     According to the present invention, in flooring for a building which has a plurality of floor panels laid in parallel to constitute a whole floor, an opening is formed on a floor surface between one floor panel and its adjacent floor panel. The flooring for a building according to the present invention is provided with a gutter portion that is arranged below the opening to receive a liquid dripping from the opening. The gutter portion is formed as an integral part of the one floor panel, and communicates with a drain pipe for draining the liquid in the gutter portion to the outside. 
     Each of the floor panels has the gutter portion on one side and, on the other side, a connecting portion for connecting the gutter portion of another floor panel. The floor panels having the same shape are arranged such that the gutter portion of one floor panel is connected to the connecting portion of another floor panel, whereby the plural floor panels paralleled in the lateral direction may constitute the whole floor. 
     Alternatively, each of the floor panels may be formed into a rectangular shape in plane, and a plurality of sleeper members each having a flow path open to above and supporting the floor panel may be provided beneath the whole floor. 
     Each of the sleeper members is substantially perpendicular to the gutter portion at a vertical position below the gutter portion, and the gutter portion communicates with the flow path of the sleeper member to flow the liquid in the gutter portion into flow path. 
     A second opening may be formed on a floor surface between one floor panel and its longitudinally-adjacent floor panel, and one sleeper member may be arranged under this second opening, so that the flow path in the sleeper member directly receives a liquid dripping from the second opening. Note that longitudinally-adjacent floor panels means floor panels adjacent to each other in the direction coaxial with the gutter portion. 
     Also may be provided between every adjacent floor panels is a catch basin portion that is on the same plane as the surface of the floor panels. 
     The catch basin portion can take any structure as long as it is capable of bearing the weight of people who step on it and of passing a liquid such as washing water from the surface to the underneath. For example, it may be a catch basin portion having a lot of slits perforated to communicate spaces above and under the floor, or may be a mesh-like catch basin portion. Alternatively, the catch basin portion may be formed of a water-penetrative material. 
     According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain washable flooring for a building which can readily be constructed with a simple work. 
     It is also possible to obtain washable flooring for a building whose thickness can be thinned as a whole. 
     It is also possible to obtain washable flooring for a building which has excellent drain efficiency. 
     It is also possible to obtain washable flooring for a building whose components are easy to mold. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the accompanying drawings: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a single floor panel of flooring for a building according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is, a plan view showing the single floor panel according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 3 is a frontal view showing the single floor panel according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 4 is a side elevational view showing the single floor panel according to the embodiment; 
     FIG. 5 is a sectional view in which the floor panel cut along the line A-A′ in FIG. 1 is connected to its adjacent floor panel; 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the floor panel cut along the line B-B′ in FIG. 1 is placed on a sleeper member; 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing four floor panels combined in accordance with the embodiment; 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the flooring for a building constructed in accordance with the embodiment; 
     FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing another mode of the sleeper member cut along the line D-D′ in FIG. 10; 
     FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing the floor panel cut along the line C-C′ in FIG. 9; and 
     FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the flooring for a building according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Flooring for a building according to the present invention will be detailed further below with reference to FIGS. 1 to  11 . 
     In the flooring for a building of this embodiment, a plurality of floor panels  2  are laid in parallel to form a whole floor. 
     As shown in FIGS. 1 to  4 , each of the floor panels  2  is comprised of: a panel body that is rectangular in plane; a concave gutter portion  30  formed on one of longer sides of the panel body (a first side); and a connecting portion  40  that is formed on the other longer side of the panel body (a second side) and has a shape corresponding to the shape of the external edge of the gutter portion  30 . The gutter portion  30  and the connecting portion  40  are, as shown in FIG. 5, integrated with a main body portion  20  that constitutes a core material of the respective floor panels  2 . 
     The gutter portion  30  is composed of: a first stepped portion  31  extending downward from the edge of one longer side of the main body portion  20 ; an inner side wall  32  hanging from the first stepped portion  31 ; a bottom portion  33  continued from the inner side portion  32 ; and an outer side wall  34  rising from the outer edge of the bottom portion  33 . 
     The connecting portion  40  is composed of a second stepped portion  41  extending downward from the edge of the other longer side of the main body portion  20 , and a connecting side wall  42  hanging from the second stepped portion  41 . 
     On the other hand, both of the shorter sides of the respective floor panels  2  (a third side and a fourth side) have the same configuration. The shorter sides are each composed of: a third stepped portion  21  extending downward from the edge of one shorter side of the respective floor panels  2 ; a first slant portion  23  inclined outward and downward from the third stepped portion  21 , a side wall  22  hanging from the first slant portion  23 ; a second slant portion  24  inclined upward from a lower part of the side wall  22  to the inside of the respective floor panels  2 ; and a hook portion  25  hanging from the edge of the second slant portion  24 . 
     The first stepped portion  31 , the second stepped portion  41 , and the third stepped portions  21 ,  21  are all formed at the same vertical position. 
     FIGS. 5 and 6 are sectional views taken along the line A-A′ and B-B′, respectively, in FIG. 1 in which the plural floor panels  2  are connected and placed on a plurality of sleeper members  60 , while catch basin portions  80  and  90  are set between every adjacent floor panels  2 . That is, shown in FIG. 1 is a single the floor panel out of the plural floor panels  2  whereas FIGS. 5 and 6 each show the plural floor panels  2 , which are supported by the plural sleeper members  60 . 
     A cover member  70  that serves as the floor face and has a rectangular shape is placed over the main body portion  20  of the respective floor panels  2  sandwiching therebetween an elastic member  75  molded from silicon rubber or the like. Four sides of the cover member  70  serve as side walls  71  hanging from the floor surface, and cover the elastic member  75 . 
     A reinforcing portion  27  having a triangular shape in section is provided at the center of the main body portion  20 , in parallel with the side wall  22 . The reinforcing portion  27  is formed by bending the center of the main body portion such that it protrudes downward. 
     In each of the floor panels  2  with this configuration, a member connecting to the main body portion  20 , which excludes the cover member  70 , is integrated with the main body portion  20 . This may be formed by bending one sheet of metal (such as stainless steel plate), or by welding the two members. Alternatively, the main body portion  20  and the member integrated with the portion  20  may be obtained by filling a mold with a resin or the like. 
     In order to lay the floor panels  2 , as shown in FIG. 5, the connecting portion  40  of one of the floor panels  2  is fit into the gutter portion  30  of another one of the floor panels  2  adjacent to the former panel. In other words, the height of the outer side wall  34  of the gutter portion  30  is substantially the same as the height of the connecting side wall  42  of the connecting portion  40 , and the top of the outer side wall  34  abut the back of the second stepped portion  41  of the connecting portion  40 . The height of the connecting side wall  42  may be shorter than that of the outer side wall  34 . In this way, the floor panels  2  are connected one after another in the lateral direction. 
     To lay the floor panels  2  in the longitudinal direction, the floor panels  2  are placed on the plural sleeper members  60  that have previously been installed with given intervals, which correspond to the width in the longitudinal direction of the respective floor panels  2 . That is, as shown in FIG. 6, each of the sleeper members  60  has fixed thereon an end of one of the floor panels  2  and an end of another one of the floor panels  2  adjacent thereto, the ends facing each other. 
     Each of the sleeper members  60  is formed from a hollow steel material having an opening on its center top, and is composed of a bottom  61 , side walls  62 ,  62  standing upright on the bottom  61 , and slant tops  63 ,  63  inclined downward from upper portions of the side walls  62 ,  62 . The slant tops  63 ,  63  have the same inclination as that of the second slant portion  24 . The width on the back side of the second slant portion  24  and the width on the upper side of each slant top  63  are substantially the same. Therefore, the shorter sides of the respective floor panels  2  in FIG. 6 are positioned to the left and to the right of the upper portion of each of the sleeper members  60 , respectively, and are fixed thereon. 
     A bolt  12  pierces through the first slant portion  23  and the second slant portion  24  of the respective floor panels  2 , and the slant top  63  of the respective sleep members  60  to thereby firmly fix the respective floor panels  2  to the respective sleep members  60 . The first slant portion  23 , the second slant portion  24 , and the slant top  63  which are fixed by the same bolt  12  are inclined in the same direction, making it easy to set or remove the bolt  12 . 
     Now, FIG. 7 shows four floor panels  2  combined together. The catch basin portion is arranged between every adjacent floor panels  2 . In other words, the catch basin portion  80  is set in a first opening (previously mentioned as opening)  16  above the gutter portion  30  while the catch basin portion  90  is set in a second opening (previously mentioned as second opening)  14  above and perpendicular to the gutter portion  30 . 
     The catch basin portions  80  and  90  are, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, each provided with a top plate portion  81  and leg portions  82 ,  82  that are formed on both widthwise edges of the top plate portion  81 . The center of the top plate portion  81  has on its back side a conduit tube  84  inside which a channel  85  is formed. The channel  85  communicates with a pair of sprinkling holes  86 ,  86  extending straight from the upper portion of the conduit tube  84  to the surface of the top plate portion  81 . Multiple pairs of sprinkling holes  86 ,  86  are formed axially with respect to the catch basin portions  80  and  90 . Each pair of sprinkling holes  86 ,  86  are formed outward (toward the floor panels  2 ) at an angle of roughly 45° C. with respect to the horizontal direction. The front sides of the catch basin portions  80  and  90  communicate with the first opening  16  and the second opening  14 , which are below the catch basin portions  80  and  90 , respectively, through a large number of communication holes (not shown). 
     Upon construction of the flooring for a building according to this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of sleeper members  60  are arranged in parallel in accordance with the width of the respective floor panels  2 . Each of the sleeper members  60  is supported by a strut member  6  on a floor slab  3 . An adjuster  7  is provided on the bottom of the strut member  6 , making it possible to adjust the height of the strut member. In FIG. 8, sleeper members  60 A and  60 B each illustrate a complete sleep member, and a floor panel  2   b  represents a complete floor panel. However, in order to facilitate understanding of the flooring structure, some of the sleeping members and a part of the flooring panel are cut off in FIG.  8 . 
     One of the floor panels  2  is placed flush against a wall  5 , striding over two adjacent sleeper members  60 , and then the floor panels  2  are laid one after another in a single file in the longitudinal direction. Each of the floor panels  2  is fixed to the sleeper members  60  by the bolt  12 . Continuous laying of the floor panels  2  in the lateral direction (the axial direction of the sleep members  60 ) is achieved by repeating connecting the gutter portion  30  of one of the floor panels  2  to the connecting portion  40  of another one of the floor panels  2  laterally-adjacent thereto (corresponding to the relation between the floor panel  2   b  and a floor panel  2   a ) and then fixing both the floor panels  2  with the bolts  12 ,  12 . Positioning of the floor panels  2  can be accurately made through a simple work where all that is required is to fit the connecting portion  40  of the floor panel to be laid next into the gutter portion  30  of the already installed floor panel. 
     A horizontal drain pipe  8  is provided near one ends of the assembled sleep members  60  such that the pipe is perpendicular to the sleep member. The horizontal drain pipe  8  communicates with the inside (flow path)  64  of the respective sleep members  60  through a vertical drain pipe  9 . A sealing portion  88  is attached to the gutter portion  30  on every edge of the whole floor. A shield  15  is applied to the vicinity of each boundary between the floor and the wall  5  so that the splashed washing water does not soil the wall  5 . 
     Next, the operation in washing the flooring will be described. 
     When a caretaker operates a not-shown control panel, a feed valve connected to the terminal of the conduit tube  84  is opened to feed washing water into the channel  85 . The washing water in the channel  85  is sprinkled from the sprinkling holes  86 ,  86  on the top of the floor panels  2  (the surface of the cover member  70 ) 
     The washing water used to wash the top of the floor panels  2  drips downward through the communication holes formed in the catch basin portions  80  and  90 , or through gaps between the catch basin portions  80  and  90  and the floor panels  2 , respectively. The washing water dripping from the catch basin portion  80  is received by the gutter portion  30 , and runs through the gutter portion  30  and the terminal thereof down to one of the sleep members  60 . The washing water dripping from the catch basin portion  90  is directly received by one of the sleep members  60 . Then, the washing water in the respective sleep members  60  flows into the horizontal drain pipe  8  through the vertical drain pipe  9 , and is drained into a major drain pipe. 
     The description given next deals with a repairing process in case of breakage of the flooring, or on other similar occasions. 
     The damage most often given to the floor panels  2  after the completion of construction is superficial damage. In that case, repair is done by simply replacing the cover member  70 . If the entire removal of the floor panels are need, since each of the floor panels  2  can readily be replaced, repair is easily carried out as follows: the floor panels  2  are removed in order starting from the one situated on the extreme end in the direction of the gutter portion  30 , panels that need repairs are replaced with new floor panels  2 , and then undamaged panels among the removed floor panels  2  are returned one after another. 
     As described above, according to the flooring for a building of this embodiment, the need for a conventional joist member is eliminated and the thickness of the flooring as a whole can be thinned accordingly. 
     The gutter portion  30  and the connecting portion  40  are integrated with the respective floor panels  2 , making it possible to reduce the number of parts as well as to simplify the operation of connecting the floor panels. Moreover, the gutter portion  30  of the respective floor panels  2  can establish communication between its terminal and the opening of the respective sleeper members  60  while simply being suspended over the sleeper members  60 , promoting an easy construction. 
     The structure of and around the sleeper member may be as shown in FIGS. 9 to  11 . To elaborate, the sleeper member may be composed of separate members, one of which is a member for receiving the load of the floor panel and the other of which serves as a drainage path. 
     A pair of support members  162 ,  162  formed from hollow beams (steel) to support a floor panel  102  are integrated with a bottom plate  161  by welding. An upper support member  163  is provided between the floor panel  102  and the supporting member  162 . The upper support member  163  is bent downward at its ends, forming stepped portions  163   a ,  163   a . A cover portion  170  of the floor panel  102  is also bent downward to form, above the stepped portion  163   a , a stepped portion  170   a  that has the same shape as the stepped portion  163   a . 
     The upper support member  163  and the supporting member  162  are fixed to each other with a bolt  113 . The upper support member  163  (the stepped portion  163   a ) is fixed to the cover member  170  (the stepped portion  170   a ) using a bolt  112 . 
     An alcove  169  is formed between the supporting member  162  and the stepped portion  163   a . 
     Above the bottom plate  161 , a semicylindrical drainage path portion  165  made of polyethylene is arranged with a mortar layer  167  therebetween. Upper ends  165   a ,  165   a  of this drainage path portion  165  are swelled out, maintaining their elasticity, and are fitted into the alcoves  169 ,  169 . 
     In the drainage path portion  165 , a flow path  164  directly receives waste water dripping from the catch basin portion  90  between adjacent two floor panels  102 ,  102 . 
     In a sleeper member  160 , the drainage path is formed from a synthetic resin member. The drainage path portion  165  is thus formed separately from members for receiving the load ( 162  and other members), which require a solid structure. This makes unnecessary the use of an expensive material such as stainless steel for the sleeper member  160 , reducing the cost of constructing the flooring on the whole. Moreover, it is easy to replace only the drainage path portion  165 , which has more chances to be soiled than other parts of the sleeper member  160 . 
     The present invention is not limited to the contents of the embodiment described above, but is adaptable to various modifications by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention defined by the scope of patent claims attached hereto.