Patent Publication Number: US-11643824-B2

Title: Floor frame

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a floor frame and, more particularly, to a floor frame structure for placements of floor tiles in a building. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     It is usual for a decoration project of a building to lay floor panels, for example, ceramic tiles or marble tiles, which promote aesthetics and durability of a floor. In particular, ceramic tiles or marble tiles laid on a building&#39;s roof and bathroom floor are known for their material characteristics of preventing water in the use environment from penetrating into the floor and causing water leakage in the lower living environment. Furthermore, floor tiles may squeeze, crack or pop up when troublesome events occur, for example, constructional deficiency, low-grade cements, inadequate clearances between tiles, or excessive changes of floor tiles relative to concretes in an extremely hot or cold weather. For the construction of repairing defective floor tiles, a large area of tiles including cracked, protuberant and adjoining ones should be smashed, removed and replaced by new tiles rearranged and laid on the floor. The repair work is very complicated and inconvenient. Further, on the laying of floor tiles on the roof of the building and the bathroom, the implementation environment must prevent rain and water from leaking downward at junctures of floor tiles. In the solution of the prior art to prevent water permeation, the waterproof paints preceding placements of floor tiles are spread on the floor in advance. However, the waterproof paints for long-term use probably cracks and exacerbates water permeation and particular degenerates in high-temperature environment, e.g., roof, being sustained exposure to sunlight. 
     “Panel connecting system for floors, especially for outdoor and humid spaces” disclosed in EP 0710750A2 describes a composite panel system including panels  2  which lie on side rails  10  and cross rails  12 . Each of the side and cross rails  10 ,  12  is provided with resilient supports  16  on which the panels  2  rest. Elastic sealing strips  32  are respectively provided at the middle sections of the top ends of the side and cross rails  10 ,  12  to provide sealing between two adjacent panels  2 . Furthermore, the cross rail  12  is provided with drainage channels  28  at both sides of the elastic sealing strip  32  to collect the leaked liquid. The elastic sealing strip  32  has a substantially double T-shaped cross-section. The lower portion of the elastic sealing strip  32  is fixed on the side rail  10  or the cross rail  12 , and the upper portion of the elastic sealing strip  32  is pressed against one end of the panel  2 . However, the upper portion of the elastic sealing strip  32  will deform under long-term pressure on the elastic sealing strip  32  against which the panel  2  is pressed. Since the top end of the cross rail  12  is designed with drainage channels  28  corresponding to the junction of two adjacent panels  2  to form an open hollow form, once elastic sealing strip  32  is aging or the amount of deformation is too large, a liquid-permeable gap will be formed between the panel  2  and the elastic sealing strip  32 , which will cause serious leakage between two adjacent panels  2 . In the case of heavy rain, the leakage rate will be quite fast, and the accumulated water will overflow from the drainage channels, causing serious water leakage. 
     A more convenient construction structure should be provided to placements of traditional floor tiles for easy installations, removals or reparations of floor tiles. Moreover, a good-quality design should consider a measure of preventing water permeation in addition to a convenient construction. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Thus, an objective of the present invention is to provide a floor frame with which floor tiles are laid, dismantled or repaired conveniently during construction and water permeation into a floor is prevented. Furthermore, the floor frame has the advantages of less chance of floor tiles squeezing, cracking or popping up due to inadequate clearances between adjoining tiles laid on the floor. 
     To achieve this and other objectives, a floor frame of the present invention comprises at least two spaced longitudinal support strips and at least one lateral support strip. Each longitudinal support strip has an elongate strip body extending in a longitudinal direction of the floor frame. Each longitudinal support strip includes longitudinal upper and lower portions spaced in a vertical direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and a pair of longitudinal side walls spaced in a lateral direction perpendicular to the longitudinal and vertical directions. A shoulder is designed on at least one of the pair of longitudinal side walls and located between the longitudinal upper and lower portions. Two shoulders of two adjacent longitudinal support strips are opposite to each other. The lateral support strip has an elongate strip body extending in the lateral direction and includes two ends spaced in the lateral direction. The lateral support strip further includes lateral upper and lower portions spaced in the vertical direction and a pair of lateral side walls spaced in the longitudinal direction. The two ends of the lateral support strip are placed on the two opposite shoulders of the two adjacent longitudinal support strips, respectively. 
     Preferably, a vertical distance between the lateral upper portion and the lateral lower portion of the lateral support strip is approximately equal to a vertical distance between the longitudinal upper portion and the shoulder of the longitudinal support strip. 
     In an embodiment, the longitudinal upper portion of the longitudinal support strip is provided with a first rib extending in the longitudinal direction, and the lateral upper portion of the lateral support strip is provided with a first fin extending in the lateral direction. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the longitudinal upper portion of the longitudinal support strip is further provided with at least one second rib extending in the longitudinal direction and spaced from the first rib, and the lateral upper portion of the lateral support strip is further provided with at least one second fin extending in the lateral direction and spaced from the first fin. 
     In an embodiment, at least one buffer strip is provided on both the longitudinal upper portion of each longitudinal support strip and the lateral upper portion of each lateral support strip. 
     In an embodiment, a first buffer strip is embedded between the first rib and the second rib, and a second buffer strip is embedded between the first fin and the second fin. 
     Preferably, the buffer strip has an upper surface provided with embossing. 
     In a preferred embodiment, at least one longitudinal side wall of the longitudinal support strip is provided with a water collection trough extending in the longitudinal direction, and at least one lateral side wall of the lateral support strip is provided with a water drain extending in the lateral direction. 
     Preferably, the longitudinal upper portion of the longitudinal support strip is provided with two second ribs which are respectively arranged on two sides of the first rib. 
     Preferably, the lateral upper portion of the lateral support strip is provided with two second fins which are respectively arranged on two sides of the first fin. 
     In an embodiment, the first rib of the longitudinal support strip extends from the longitudinal side wall opposite to the shoulder of the longitudinal support strip. A water collection trough extends at a lower end of the longitudinal side wall provided with the shoulder. The first fin of the lateral support strip extends from one of the two lateral side portions, and a water drain extends at the lateral side portion opposite to the first fin. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the floor frame further includes at least one reinforcing strip including an elongate strip body extending in the lateral direction. The reinforcing strip includes upper and lower faces spaced in the vertical direction and a pair of side walls spaced in the longitudinal direction. A vertical distance between the upper face and the lower face of the reinforcing strip is approximately equal to the vertical distance between the lateral upper portion and the lateral lower portion of the lateral support strip. Two ends of the reinforcing strip are placed on the two opposite shoulders of the two adjacent longitudinal support strips, respectively. 
     In an embodiment, a longitudinal extension strip extends outward from the longitudinal side wall of the longitudinal support strip, and a side wall opposite to the longitudinal side wall extends upward from an outer end of the longitudinal extension strip to define a water collection trough between the longitudinal side wall and the side wall. A wing portion extends outward from an upper end of the side wall in the lateral direction and has a height in the vertical direction which is approximately equal to a height of the shoulder in the vertical direction. One end of the lateral support strip is placed on both the shoulder portion and the wing portion of the longitudinal support strip. A lateral extension strip extends outward from the lateral side wall of the lateral support strip to define a water drain, and an outer side of the water drain of the lateral support strip is provided with a coupling portion. A fastener extends through the coupling portion of the lateral support strip and the wing portion of the longitudinal support strip to combine the lateral support strip with the longitudinal support strip. 
     The present invention will become clearer in light of the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments of this invention described in connection with the drawings. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The illustrative embodiments may best be described by reference to the accompanying drawings where: 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective view of a floor frame in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, with a floor panel separated from the floor frame. 
         FIG.  2    is an exploded view of the floor frame in  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  3    is a schematic view for one end of a longitudinal support strip in  FIG.  2   , with two buffer strips separated from the longitudinal support strip. 
         FIG.  4    is a schematic view for one end of a lateral support strip in  FIG.  2   , with two buffer strips separated from the lateral support strip. 
         FIG.  5    is a partially schematic view for the longitudinal support strip and the lateral support strip in  FIG.  2   , both of which have joined together. 
         FIG.  6    is a schematic sectional view for the longitudinal support strip in an implementation structure of the present invention. 
         FIG.  7    is a schematic sectional view for the lateral support strip in the implementation structure of the present invention. 
         FIG.  8    is a schematic view similar to  FIG.  6    for illustrating adjustment of a spacing distance between two floor panels. 
         FIG.  9    shows a schematic view of the longitudinal support strip and the lateral support strip in another embodiment. 
         FIG.  10    is a schematic view illustrating the floor frame of the present invention provided with reinforcing strips. 
         FIG.  11    shows a schematic sectional view of the reinforcing strip and the lateral support strips in  FIG.  10   . 
         FIG.  12    is a schematic view similar to  FIG.  5    for illustrating a further embodiment of the lateral support strip. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     A floor frame  10  according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIGS.  1  through  5    of the drawings and includes at least two longitudinal support strips  20  and at least one lateral support strip  40 . The longitudinal support strip  20  has an elongate strip body extending in a longitudinal direction (X) of the floor frame  10 . The longitudinal support strip  20  includes longitudinal upper and lower portions  22  and  24  spaced in a vertical direction (Z) of the floor frame  10  perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (X) and a pair of longitudinal side walls  26  opposed and spaced from each other in a lateral direction (Y) of the floor frame TO perpendicular to the longitudinal and vertical directions (X,Z). A shoulder  28  between the longitudinal upper portion  22  and the longitudinal lower portion  24  is designed on at least one longitudinal side wall  26 . In this embodiment, two shoulders  28  are designed on two longitudinal side walls  26  of the longitudinal support strip  20 , respectively. 
     The lateral support strip  40  has an elongate strip body extending in the lateral direction (Y) and includes two ends  48  spaced in the lateral direction (Y). The lateral support strip  40  further includes lateral upper and lower portions  42  and  44  spaced in the vertical direction (Z) and a pair of lateral side walls  46  opposed and spaced in the longitudinal direction (X). A vertical distance between the lateral upper portion  42  and the lateral lower portion  44  is approximately equal to a vertical distance between the longitudinal upper portion  22  and the shoulder  28  of the longitudinal support strip  20 . 
     With a configuration of the above structure, at least two horizontally arranged longitudinal support strips  20  with their two shoulders  28  being opposite to each other are mounted on a building&#39;s floor, and the at least one lateral support strip  40  being perpendicular to the longitudinal support strips  20  spans between the opposite shoulders  28  of the two longitudinal support strips  20 . In this embodiment, each end  48  of the lateral support strip  40  is placed at the shoulder  28  of a corresponding longitudinal support strip  20  and securely fastened by fasteners  50  such as screws. After an adhesive layer (not shown), for example resin or cement, is coated on both the longitudinal upper portion  22  of each longitudinal support strip  20  and the lateral upper portion  42  of the lateral support strip  40 , a floor panel  60  can be placed and fixed on both the longitudinal upper portion  22  and the lateral upper portion  42 . The floor panel  60  can be a floor tile made of ceramics, marble, wood, metal, etc. The two longitudinal support strips  20  and the lateral support strip  40  striding across the longitudinal support strips  20  will form a basic frame-supporting unit to support the bottom periphery of the floor panel  60 . 
     In this embodiment, a plurality of longitudinal support strips  20  are spaced in the lateral direction (Y), and a plurality of lateral support strips  40  are spaced in the longitudinal direction (X) with the two ends  48  of each lateral support strip  40  spanning between the shoulders  28  of two adjacent longitudinal support strips  20 . The longitudinal support strips  20  and the lateral support strips  40 , all of which are distributed in the longitudinal and lateral directions, constitute a supporting structure based on a grid-type floor frame. A plurality of floor panels  60  which respectively depend on sections enclosed by the longitudinal support strips  20  and the lateral support strips  40  are placed and fixed on the longitudinal upper portions  22  of the longitudinal support strips  20  and the lateral upper portions  42  of the lateral support strips  40 , and the joint gap between two floor panels  60  abutting each other will be filled with concrete or silicone. 
     For a joint embodiment of the longitudinal support strips  20 , the lateral support strips  40  and the floor panels  60 , a buffer strip  62  extending in the longitudinal direction (X) is provided on the longitudinal upper portion  22  of each longitudinal support strip  20 , and another buffer strip  62  extending in the lateral direction (Y) is provided on the lateral upper portion  42  of each lateral support strip  40 . Each buffer strip  62  has a lower surface fixed on the longitudinal upper portion  22  or the lateral upper portion  42  and has an upper surface on which the adhesive layer is coated for bonding the floor panel  60 . The arrangement of the buffer strips  62  can avoid the floor panels  60  from direct contacting with the longitudinal and lateral support strips  20  and  40 , so as to prevent the floor panels  60  from directly pressing down and impacting the longitudinal upper portions  22  of the longitudinal support strips  20  and the lateral upper portions  42  of the lateral support strips  40  when an instant force is applied to the floor panels  60 , causing the risk of cracking of the tile or marble floor panels  60 . In an embodiment, the upper surface of the buffer strip  62  that is in contact with the bottom of the floor panel  60  preferably has concave knurls or embossing  622 . The embossing  622  can not only improve the buffering capacity of the buffer strip  62 , but also facilitate the covering of the adhesive layer. 
     For an application of the floor panel  60  placed and fixed on the longitudinal and lateral support strips  20  and  40 , a first rib  222  extending in the longitudinal direction (X) and a first fin  422  extending in the lateral direction (Y) are designed on the longitudinal upper portion  22  of the longitudinal support strip  20  and the lateral upper portion  42  of the lateral support strip  40 , respectively. The first rib  222  and the first fin  422  enclose an outer edge of a side end (periphery)  602  of the floor panel  60 , as shown in  FIGS.  6  and  7   . An adhesive layer (not shown) such as resin can be applied between the first rib  222  (the first fin  422 ) and the side end  602  of the floor panel  60  for better lateral fixation on the floor panel  60 . In a preferred embodiment, the first rib  222  equally divides the longitudinal upper portion  22  of the longitudinal support strip  20  and is formed between the two longitudinal side walls  26 . The first fin  422  equally divides the lateral upper portion  42  of the lateral support strip  40  and is formed between the two lateral side portions  46 . 
     As shown in  FIG.  8   , a spacing piece  80  is provided to abut against the first rib  222  (or the first fin  422 ) to facilitate the adjustment of the placement position of the floor panel  60  on the longitudinal and lateral support strips  20  and  40  and to maintain the adequate spacing distance between the floor panels  60 . The spacing piece  80  having a material thickness abuts between the side end  602  of the floor panel  60  and the first rib  222  (or the first fin  422 ), thereby defining a predetermined spacing distance between two floor panels  60 . The spacing piece  80  is removed after adjusting the spacing distance. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the longitudinal support strip  20  further includes at least one second rib  224  formed on the longitudinal upper portion  22  and spaced from the first rib  222  for development of a longitudinal groove  226  between the second rib  224  and the first rib  222 . The lateral support strip  40  further includes at least one second fin  424  formed on the lateral upper portion  42  and spaced from the first fin  422  for development of a lateral groove  426  between the second fin  424  and the first fin  422 . In a feasible embodiment, the grooves  226 ,  426  are prepared for coating of an adhesive layer therein. In this embodiment with the buffer strips  62  provided, the grooves  226 ,  426  provide the buffer strips  62  to be embedded and fixed. 
     In this embodiment, the longitudinal upper portion  22  of the longitudinal support strip  20  is provided with two second ribs  224  which are respectively arranged on two opposite sides of the first rib  222  with a horizontal spacing. The longitudinal groove  226  is formed between each second rib  224  and the first rib  222 , and two buffer strips  62  are respectively embedded into the two longitudinal grooves  226 . The lateral upper portion  42  of the lateral support strip  40  is provided with two second fins  424  which are respectively arranged on two opposite sides of the first fin  422  with a horizontal spacing. The lateral groove  426  is formed between each second fin  424  and the first fin  422 , and two buffer strips  62  are respectively embedded into the two lateral grooves  426 . 
     For the implementation of preventing leakage, in a feasible embodiment, at least one longitudinal side wall  26  of the longitudinal support strip  20  is provided with a water collection trough  21  extending in the length direction of the longitudinal support strip  20  (extending in the longitudinal direction), and at least one lateral side wall  46  of the lateral support strip  40  is provided with a water drain  41  extending in the length direction of the lateral support strip  40  (extending in the lateral direction). In this embodiment, each of the two longitudinal side walls  26  of the longitudinal support strip  20  is provided with one water collection trough  21 , and the two lateral side walls  46  of the lateral support strip  40  each is provided with one water drain  41 . The water collection trough  21  is defined by a longitudinal extension strip  211  that extends outward from the longitudinal side wall  26 , and the water drain  41  is defined by a lateral extension strip  411  that extends outward from the lateral side wall  46 . In this embodiment, two ends of the water drain  41  are respectively located above the water collection troughs  21  of two adjacent longitudinal support strips  20 . The water collection trough  21  of the longitudinal support strip  20  is located below the shoulder  28  of the longitudinal support strip  20  in the vertical direction (Z). With reference to  FIG.  5   , a side wall  212  opposite to the longitudinal side wall  26  extends upward from the outer end of the longitudinal extension strip  211  to define the water collection trough  21  between the longitudinal side wall  26  and the side wall  212 , and the upper end of the side wall  212  extends outward with a wing portion  213  in the lateral direction. A height of the wing portion  213  in the vertical direction (Z) is approximately equal to that of the shoulder  28 , so that one end  48  of the lateral support strip  40  can be placed on both the shoulder portion  28  and the wing portion  213  of the longitudinal support strip  20  and combined by the fasteners  50  to effectively improve the stability of the lateral support strip  40  placed on the longitudinal support strip  20 . With reference to  FIG.  12   , an outer side of the water drain  41  of the lateral support strip  40  is provided with a coupling portion  412  through which the fastener  50  extends to combine the lateral support strip  40  with the longitudinal support strip  20 , so that the fasteners  50  do not hinder the drainage of the water drain  41 . In addition, a drainage hole  413  communicating with the water collection trough  21  is provided in the water drain  41 . 
     According to the design of the water collection troughs  21  and the water drains  41 , when the floor panels  60  are out of repair for a long time and leakage occurs at the juncture of two adjacent floor panels  60 , leaking water from the joint ends of the floor panels  60  in the length direction of the longitudinal support strip  20  will be collected and guided by the water collection trough  21 , and then is drained from two ends of the longitudinal support strip  20 . Preferably, leaking water is guided to a floor drain provided in the first floor through drainage pathways linking the two ends of the longitudinal support strip  20  for no water permeating the floor and trickling between floors. On the other hand, leaking water from the joint ends of the floor panels  60  in the length direction of the lateral support strip  40  will be collected by the water drain  41  and flow to the two ends of the water drain  41 . Then, the leaking water will be further collected by the water collection trough  21  of the longitudinal support strip  20  under guidance of the water drain  41  and is drained from the two ends of the longitudinal support strip  20  under guidance of the water collection trough  21 . 
     In an embodiment where the floor frame  10  of the present invention is implemented at edges of the floor (for example, abutting a wall  70 ), as shown in  FIG.  9   , the shoulder  28  is designed on the longitudinal side wall  26  of the longitudinal support strip  20  far away from the wall  70 , and the first rib  222  extends from the longitudinal side wall  26  opposite to the shoulder  28 . The water collection trough  21  extends at a lower end  261  of the longitudinal side wall  26  provided with the shoulder  28 . The first fin  422  of the lateral support strip  40  extends from the lateral side portion  46  adjacent to the wall  70 , and the water drain  41  extends at the lateral side portion  46  opposite to the first fin  422 , or it can be called the water drain  41  extends at the lateral side portion  46  away from the wall  70 . 
     Referring to  FIGS.  10  and  11   , for a large-size floor panel  60  mounted on the floor frame  10 , the floor frame  10  may further include at least one reinforcing strip  30  to strengthen the support for the floor panel  60  between two adjacent longitudinal support strips  20  and between two adjacent lateral support strips  40 . The reinforcing strip  30  has an elongate strip body extending in the lateral direction (Y) and includes upper and lower faces  32  and  34  spaced in the vertical direction (Z) and a pair of side walls  36  opposed and spaced in the longitudinal direction (X). A vertical distance between the upper face  32  and the lower face  34  is approximately equal to the vertical distance between the lateral upper portion  42  and the lateral lower portion  44  of the lateral support strip  40 . 
     At least one reinforcing strip  30  is installed between two lateral support strips  40 , and each end  38  of the reinforcing strip  30  is placed at the shoulder  28  of a corresponding longitudinal support strip  20 . The upper face  32  of the reinforcing strip  30  supports the floor panel  60  for a stronger braced force applied on the floor panel  60 . 
     In the embodiment where the longitudinal upper portion  22  of the longitudinal support strip  20  and the lateral upper portion  42  of the lateral support strip  40  have the buffer strips  62 , the buffer strip  62  extending in the lateral direction can be designed on the upper face  32  of the reinforcing strip  30 . 
     The scope of the present disclosure is to be indicated by the appended claims, rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.