Patent Publication Number: US-11377801-B2

Title: Resilient deck structure

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 120 as a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/516,306 filed Jul. 19, 2019, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/703,981 filed Jul. 27, 2018, the complete disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     This disclosure relates to new and useful improvements in deck structures and particularly the construction of platform tennis courts having a resilient deck structure. 
     Platform tennis or paddle tennis, as it is commonly referred to, is played on a raised platform having screened sidewalls and endwalls. The game is played in much the same way as conventional tennis, except that in the game of paddle tennis, the ball may be played off the screened endwalls and sidewalls. The playing surface or deck of the paddle tennis court must provide a flat surface and, at the same time, permit easy maintenance and repair. 
     Paddle tennis has developed over the years as a popular out-of-doors, all-season sport. Due to variable weather conditions, particularly in winter, the raised platform of the paddle tennis court is constructed to allow for water drainage and to permit the easy removal of snow and ice. Originally, platform tennis courts were made with painted wood. Commonly, thick, 2×6 lumber was used for the decking with walnut chips cast in the paint on the playing surface to provide better footing. In the early 1970&#39;s, aluminum decks were developed to counter the durability problems and warpage problems of wood. The aluminum extrusions used for the playing surface soon copied the basic shape of the original wooden decks using evenly spaced reinforcing ribs on the bottom for rigidity. This basic extrusion shape is still the standard of platform tennis court manufacturers to this day. 
     A 30-foot long extrusion is too long to support much load on its own. Consequently, on today&#39;s platform tennis courts, I-beams are used to span the width of the court to support the extruded decking. Six or seven I-beams may be used, supported by three or more concrete piers per I-beam. Typically, groups of deck extrusions are welded together to an underneath metal structure in both directions for more strength. This type of boxed reinforcement requires careful alignment and extensive welding. Hence, this fabrication is normally done at a remote facility, not at the court site. Normally, several modules approximately 5-feet wide and 30-feet long are formed from extrusions welded to such boxed channel structure underneath. Each module may weigh upwards of 400 lbs., which is as much mass/bulk as can be comfortably handled by an assembly crew on site. While the resulting deck of a platform tennis court today usually weighs less than a wooden deck, the welding is extensive, requiring what one industry source quoted as over 14,000 welds. 
     While aluminum has solved nearly all of the limitations of wood, there are complaints from many players based on the court being too rigid and unforgiving on knees and other joints due to the hardness of the aluminum. Additionally, the grit-based coating used to allow proper footing in wet or snowy conditions in which the sport can be played tends to lock the players&#39; feet in place more than desired, causing additional injury. 
     SUMMARY 
     Various embodiments herein suspend the aluminum platform deck on a resilient base, lessening impacts on the body from the typical movement on the court and reducing the chance for injuries related to impact transferred through the feet. Springs or other resilient members can be used to establish and adjust the firmness of the playing surface. 
     In addition, some embodiments use a modular approach to construction of the resilient deck. Taller (deeper) and wider deck panel extrusions can be used to virtually eliminate the need for welded reinforcement. The deck panel extrusions described herein can be mechanically fastened together, using cross-tie assemblies with geometry matched to the feet of the extrusions. Individual deck extrusions are dropped in place over the cross-tie channels with the tapered feet of the extrusions aligning in the V-shaped shoe of the cross-tie assemblies. Aligned holes in the extrusion feet and cross-tie channel assemblies ensure a goof-proof bolted connection with minimal effort. The net result is that most welding is eliminated, such that the deck panel extrusions can be sent directly from the extruder to the job site and handled individually, creating substantial overall savings. 
     According to a structure herein, a playing deck includes a plurality of horizontally disposed deck panels. A support assembly is connected to the horizontally disposed deck panels. Resilient mounts connect the horizontally disposed deck panels to the support assembly. The resilient mounts are flexible and allow relative motion between the horizontally disposed deck panels and the support assembly. The resilient mounts include a first spring capture assembly attached to the support assembly, a second spring capture assembly attached to the playing deck, and a plurality of springs disposed between the first spring capture assembly and the second spring capture assembly. 
     According to a resilient platform assembly, a playing deck includes a plurality of horizontally disposed deck panels. Each deck panel of the plurality of horizontally disposed deck panels has a pair of foot flanges that mate with the receiving shoes of transverse members. The transverse members are perpendicular to the plurality of horizontally disposed deck panels. Each transverse member includes a plurality of notches. Each notch of the plurality of notches is in a spacing pattern along the span of the transverse member. The receiving shoes are in the notches. Resilient mounts are connected to the transverse member. A support assembly is connected to the resilient mounts. The resilient mounts include a first spring capture assembly attached to the support assembly, a second spring capture assembly attached to the transverse members, and a plurality of springs disposed between the first spring capture assembly and the second spring capture assembly. 
     A platform assembly herein comprises a supporting substructure including a plurality of piers configured to be anchored in the ground, and a plurality of I-beams on the piers. Each of the I-beams has a top surface at a predefined distance above the ground. Transverse members are arranged in a spaced apart layout parallel to the I-beams. The transverse members have a bottom surface above the top surface of the I-beams relative to the ground. Each transverse member has a plurality of notches in a spacing pattern along the span of its length aligned with the feet of extruded deck panels. A mounting assembly is resiliently connected between the supporting substructure and the transverse members. The mounting assembly includes a first spring capture assembly attached to the supporting substructure, a second spring capture assembly attached to the transverse members, and a plurality of springs disposed between the first spring capture assembly and the second spring capture assembly. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The structures and methods herein will be better understood from the following detailed description with reference to the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a plan view of an exemplary paddle tennis court showing dimensions; 
         FIG. 2A  is an exemplary illustration of a deck structure having support structures for deck panels according to structures and methods herein; 
         FIG. 2B  is a cross-section view of an exemplary I-beam; 
         FIG. 3A  is an end view of an exemplary deck panel according to structures and methods herein; 
         FIG. 3B  is an end view of another exemplary deck panel according to structures and methods herein; 
         FIG. 4A  shows an exemplary perspective view of a partially assembled deck structure according to structures and methods herein; 
         FIG. 4B  is a cross-section view of an exemplary U-channel; 
         FIG. 5  shows an exemplary mounting assembly according to structures and methods herein; and 
         FIG. 6  is a side view of an exemplary deck connection assembly according to structures and methods herein. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The exemplary deck assembly structure disclosed herein increases the rigidity of the deck extrusions by increasing the depth of the deck extrusions, which allows the elimination of welded box reinforcement channel underneath the deck extrusions. By using channel shapes which can be, in one example, approximately 4-inches deep and having a thicker construction, such as the surface being approximately 0.16-inch thick, the resulting 30-foot extrusion can be orders of magnitude stronger than the extrusions currently used for a platform tennis deck. Additionally, by bolting the legs of adjacent deck extrusions together with a spacer (in one example, nominal 1″ thick as drawn) the entire structure will become even more rigid. In fact, it would be possible to reduce the wall thickness of the deck extrusions while maintaining sufficient rigidity of the structure by increasing the number of connection points of the legs of adjacent deck extrusions. 
     The entire deck assembly is floating on springs (or appropriate flexible/resilient devices) mounted on an assembly that straddles supporting I-beams with a height-adjustable hanger mount for each spring on each side of the I-beam. Spring pairs are used to support the deck extrusions with a connection to a common top plate through a notched cross-tie channel. This assembly may be bolted or otherwise attached to the top flange of the I-beam. As illustrated in the drawings, a pinch mount using long bolts allow channels to clamp the spring assemblies to the I-beam, enabling easy repositioning of the assembly, as needed. Other resilient mounts can be used, such as rubber sheets or bushings, air cushions, gas pistons, arched elements, and the like, as would be known by one skilled in the art. 
     The springs may be retained by bolt-on plastic or polyurethane spring spools that capture the inside of the spring or other types of retainers, such as cups that capture the outside of the springs or clips that thread into the spring. Spring spools and springs are common on industrial vibratory mills, screeners, feeders, and packing tables. 
     The firmness of the playing deck may be controlled by the quantity of springs and the compression rating of the springs. This firmness can be altered by substituting springs with different compression ratings as well as by altering the number of springs used. 
     Referring now to the drawings,  FIG. 1  shows one example of a paddle tennis platform deck, indicated generally as  100 , with the dimensions of a paddle tennis court  103 , according to the American Platform Tennis Association, illustrated thereon. The court  103  is a rectangle, and can be, for example, 44-feet long and 20-feet wide, laid out on the deck  100  with a playing area of 60-feet by 30-feet that is enclosed by a screen  106 . The screen  106  can be 12-feet high and be held taut by a superstructure around the perimeter of the deck  100 . The court  103  can be divided across the middle by a net  109 . Lines can be provided to indicate the playing area on the court  103 . There is an end space  112  of 8-feet between each baseline and the back of the screen  106  and a side space  115  of 5-feet between each sideline and the side of the screen  106 . On either side of the court  103 , or on both sides, an access door  118  can be cut into the superstructure. The door  118  can be located near the center of the screen  106  on the side. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2A , the deck  100  may include a plurality of deck panels  201  forming a platform assembly  204  mounted on a supporting substructure  207 . Each deck panel  201 , which is described in more detail below with reference to  FIG. 3 , may be parallel to an adjacent deck panel  201  and spaced apart a predetermined distance in the horizontal direction to form the platform assembly  204 . The platform assembly  204  may be constructed of a plurality of deck panels  201  that are resiliently attached to transverse members, which are described in more detail below with reference to  FIGS. 5 and 6 . The supporting substructure  207  may include I-beams  210 , which I-beams  210  may in turn be supported by piers  213 , as shown in  FIG. 2A . As would be known by one of ordinary skill in the art, an I-beam  210  is an elongate support structure used in construction, typically made of metal, with an I or H-shaped cross-section, as shown in  FIG. 2B . The vertical element is known as the “web”  216 , while the horizontal elements that expand outwardly from the web  216  are known as flanges. For convenience, the flanges are indicated as the top flange  219   a  and the bottom flange  219   b . The web  216  resists shear forces, while the flanges  219   a  and  219   b  resist most of the bending moment experienced by the I-beam  210 . In general, the I-shaped section is a very efficient form for carrying both bending and shear loads in the plane of the web  216 . Several piers  213  may be arranged in a substantially rectangular arrangement having multiple I-beams  210  mounted in parallel over a number of piers  213 . In this way, the platform assembly  204  may be supported above the ground to allow for water drainage and to permit the easy removal of snow and ice. 
       FIG. 3A  shows an end view of an exemplary deck panel  201  according to structures and methods herein. Each deck panel  201  is typically made of a durable material, such as a metal, alloy, plastic, etc., and can be, in one example, extruded aluminum. Each deck panel  201  is substantially rectangular, 30-feet long. The deck panel  201  has a top plate  303  disposed laterally and integrally formed legs  306  disposed vertically. The legs  306  may be substantially (e.g., within 15%) perpendicular to the top plate  303 . The top plate  303  may have a width W of, for example, approximately 11.6-inches and a thickness t 1  of, for example, approximately 0.16-inches. In some embodiments, the top plate  303  may have a crowning peak such that the center  309  is approximately 0.125-inches higher than the edges  312 . To achieve the crowning peak, a constant radius could be used. Each leg  306  may have a depth D of, for example, approximately 4.75-inches and a thickness t 2  of, for example, approximately 0.20-inches. The legs  306  should be vertical and may be disposed inwardly, for example, approximately 0.5-inches from the edges  312  of the top plate  303 . In some cases, such as shown in  FIG. 3B , the legs  306  may start from the edges  312  of the top plate  303  and include a short vertical top section  321  that transitions into a long vertical bottom section  324  through a bend, such as  327 . The legs  306  provide the deck panel  201  with resistance to bending in the vertical direction. The bottom of the legs  306  includes a foot flange  315  geometrically shaped to provide rigidity for resistance to bending in the horizontal direction. The foot flange  315  includes a bottom face  318  where the deck panel  201  is connected to the supporting assembly as described below. Each foot flange  315  extends away from its leg  306  toward the foot flange  315  on the opposite leg  306  of the deck panel  201 . In other words, each foot flange  315  of a deck panel  201  extends inwardly, toward the center  309  of the deck panel  201  and away from the edges  312 . 
     Referring again to  FIG. 2 , a plurality of deck panels  201  may be horizontally disposed in a predetermined rectangular configuration on the supporting substructure  207 . According to structures and methods herein, thirty deck panels  201  may be used to form each of two adjacent sections  222 ,  223 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the supporting substructure  207  includes a plurality of piers  213  anchored in the ground in a spaced-apart, rectangular array with a plurality of I-beams  210  mounted on the piers  213 . The I-beams  210  are supported by the piers  213 . A plurality of I-beams  210  may be rigidly secured to and extending between the piers  213 . Each I-beam  210  may span several piers  213  with adjacent I-beams  210  being in parallel. The deck panels  201  may be arranged perpendicular to the I-beams  210 , spanning multiple adjacent parallel I-beams  210 . Each deck panel  201  can be, for example, approximately 11.6-inches wide and 30-feet long and may be spaced apart with a gap G to make up each section  222 ,  223  of the deck  100 . The gap G may be, for example, approximately 0.20-inches to approximately 0.25-inches wide. Other appropriate sizes for the gap G may be used. Two sections  222 ,  223  may be arranged end-to-end in the long direction of the deck panels, which will create the deck  100 . The deck can be, for example, 30-feet wide and 60-feet long. The deck panels  201  may be connected to the I-beams  210  by a mounting assembly  404  resiliently connecting the deck panels  201  to the supporting substructure  207 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4A , the top flange  219   a  of the I-beam  210  has a top surface  407  at a predefined distance above the ground. A transverse member  410  is arranged in a spaced apart layout parallel to the I-beam  210  and vertically aligned with the I-beam  210 . In some embodiments, the transverse member  410  may be an elongated U-channel. As would be known by one of ordinary skill in the art, a U-channel is typically a structural track with a U-shaped cross-section, such as shown in  FIG. 4B . The U-channel may be extruded metal or flat rolled and brake formed to have a flat bottom  413  and two vertical side flanges  416  sticking out from the same side of the flat bottom  413 . The transverse member  410  has a bottom surface  419  that is positioned above the top surface  407  of the I-beam  210  relative to the ground. The mounting assembly  404  allows relative motion between the transverse member  410  and the I-beam  210 . 
       FIG. 5  shows a mounting assembly  404  according to devices and methods herein. The mounting assembly  404  includes a first spring capture assembly  505  attached to the supporting substructure  207 , a second spring capture assembly  508  attached to the transverse member  410 , and a plurality of springs  511  disposed between the first spring capture assembly  505  and the second spring capture assembly  508 . The first spring capture assembly  505  includes a bottom spring plate  514  attached to the top surface  407  of the I-beam  210 . The bottom spring plate  514  can be mounted to the top flange  219   a  of the I-beam  210  with no drilling and no welding. The first spring capture assembly  505  further includes bottom retention plates  517  attached to the bottom spring plate  514 . Preferably, the bottom retention plates  517  are bolted to the bottom spring plate  514 . Other methods may be used. The bottom retention plates  517  may be made of High Density Poly Ethylene (HDPE) or other appropriate material to hold the outside of each spring of the plurality of springs  511 . In some embodiments, the bottom retention plates  517  may be approximately ½-inch thick. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the bottom retention plates  517  may be made of several pieces, such as a bottom center piece  520  bolted to the bottom spring plate  514  and bottom side pieces  523 ,  524 . The second spring capture assembly  508  includes a top spring plate  527  attached to the bottom surface  419  of the transverse member  410 . The top spring plate  527  can be mounted to the transverse member  410  with no drilling and no welding. The second spring capture assembly  508  further includes top retention plates  530  attached to the top spring plate  527 . Preferably, the top retention plates  530  are bolted to the top spring plate  527 . Other methods may be used. The top retention plates  530  may be made of High Density Poly Ethylene (HDPE) or other appropriate material to hold the outside of each spring of the plurality of springs  511 . In some embodiments, the top retention plates  530  may be approximately ½-inch thick. Although not shown in  FIG. 5 , the top retention plates  530  may also be made of several pieces, similar to the bottom retention plates  517 . In this manner, one or more springs of the plurality of springs  511  can be easily removed or added to the mounting assembly  404  by removing one or both of the side pieces, allowing a spring to slide into and out of the mounting assembly  404 . 
     The mounting assembly  404  includes springs  511  connected on a first end to the first spring capture assembly  505  and connected on a second end to the second spring capture assembly  508 . The springs  511  may be retained by the bottom retention plates  517  and the top retention plates  530  that capture the outside of the springs  511 . According to devices and methods herein, the springs  511  may be mounted in pairs up to 6 springs per mounting assembly  404 . The mounting assembly  404  maintains spacing between the bottom  413  of the transverse member  410  and the top surface  407  of the I-beam  210 , allowing relative motion between the deck  100  and the I-beam  210 . In this way, the deck  100  is floating on resilient mounts on top of several supporting I-beams  210 . The firmness of the playing deck  100  may be controlled by the quantity and the compression rating of the springs  511 . This firmness can be altered by substituting springs with different compression ratings as well as by altering the number of springs used. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , the deck panels  201  may be attached to the transverse member  410  using a deck connection assembly  606 . The deck connection assembly  606  includes receiving shoes  609  that are perpendicular to the transverse member  410 . The receiving shoes  609  have a shape corresponding to the foot flange  315  so that the foot flange  315  naturally aligns in the receiving shoe  609 . As noted above, the transverse member  410  may comprise an elongated U-channel having a top and a bottom, wherein the top spring plate  527  is attached to the bottom of the elongated U-channel and a plurality of notches  612  are cut in the top of the elongated U-channel. Each notch  612  of the plurality of notches is cut in the transverse member  410  in a predetermined spacing pattern to receive the foot flanges  315  of the integrally formed and vertically disposed legs  306  of the deck panels  201  in order to maintain the gap G between adjacent deck panels  201 . Adjacent deck panels  201  may be tied together using a threaded fastener  615  and a spacer block  618  to maintain the gap G and provide rigidity to the deck  100 . 
     The shape of the notches  612  may resemble a parallelogram having an open top in which the angled sides are tapered to create a shaped notch that is sized and configured to hold the receiving shoe  609  having the foot flange  315  therein. Using the deck connection assembly  606 , the deck panels  201  may be attached to the transverse member  410  through a hole in the bottom face  318  of the foot flange  315  and the receiving shoe  609  using an appropriate fastener, such as nuts and bolts  621 . The receiving shoes  609  are arranged perpendicular to the transverse member  410  and configured to receive the foot flanges  315  of the horizontally disposed deck panels  201 . The bottom face  318  of the foot flange  315  rests on the bottom of the receiving shoe  609 . The receiving shoe  609  may be installed in the notches  612  and the deck panels  201  attached to the transverse member  410  through the receiving shoe  609  using the nuts and bolts  621 . In some embodiments, the receiving shoe  609  may be attached to the deck panel  201  around the foot flange  315  using a plurality of self-drilling sheet metal screws in preselected holes of the receiving shoe  609 . For accuracy, the holes may be laser-formed in the receiving shoe  609  and/or the foot flange  315 . In some cases, the deck connection assembly  606  may include a cross-tie plate  624  under the transverse member  410  when attaching the deck panels  201  to the transverse member  410 . 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular structures and methods only and is not intended to be limiting of this disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. 
     In addition, terms such as “right”, “left”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “upper”, “lower”, “under”, “below”, “underlying”, “over”, “overlying”, “parallel”, “perpendicular”, etc., used herein are understood to be relative locations as they are oriented and illustrated in the drawings (unless otherwise indicated). Thus, in one example, “horizontal” is approximately (e.g., within 15%) or somewhat parallel to the surface (e.g., earth surface or ground (ignoring slope), floor, etc.) upon which the structure sits, while “vertical” would be approximately (e.g., within 15%) perpendicular to horizontal. Further, the “bottom” and “top” of structures herein are different locations along the “vertical” direction, with the “bottom” being closer to the surface upon which the structure rests, and the “top” being distal to the surface upon which the structure rests. Also, top and bottom surfaces could lie in horizontal planes and be parallel to one another and be perpendicular to vertical surfaces that run between top and bottom surfaces. Terms such as “contacting”, “touching”, “on”, “in direct contact”, “abutting”, “directly adjacent to”, etc., mean that at least one element physically contacts another element (without other elements separating the described elements). The formation of a first feature “over” or “on” a second feature in the description may include embodiments in which the first and second features are formed in direct contact and may also include embodiments in which additional features may be formed interposing the first and second feature, such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact. 
     While particular values, relationships, materials, and steps have been set forth for purposes of describing concepts of the structures and methods herein, it will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the structures and methods as shown in the disclosure without departing from the spirit or scope of the basic concepts and operating principles of the concepts as broadly described. It should be recognized that, in the light of the above teachings, those skilled in the art could modify those specifics without departing from the concepts taught herein. Having now fully set forth certain structures and methods, and modifications of the concepts underlying them, various other structures and methods, as well as potential variations and modifications of the structures and methods shown and described herein will obviously occur to those skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with such underlying concept. It is intended to include all such modifications and alternatives insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or equivalents thereof. It should be understood, therefore, that the concepts disclosed might be practiced otherwise than as specifically set forth herein. Consequently, the present structures and methods are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. 
     The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The descriptions of the various structures and methods herein have been presented for purposes of illustration but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the structures and methods disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described structures and methods. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the structures and methods, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the structures and methods disclosed herein.