Year: 1897

page_text: I, ADOLPH LOEWI, of No. 79, Motz Strasse, Berlin, in the Empire of Germany,
Counsellor of Commerce, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to an improvement in flooring.
The improved flooring is composed of small boards or planks connected at their
adjoining longitudinal edges by means of interposed feathers or strips of wood or
in any other suitable and well known manner. A number of adjoining rows of
the said small boards or planks connected with each other as above indicated, are
so laid on the flooring joists that the ends of the boards or planks of each two
adjacent or adjoining rows will rest thereon and will abut against the opposite
sides of a metal list or fillet interposed between the said adjoining rows.
The two lateral edges of the said list or fillet are preferably formed in the shape
of feathers so as to enter, and engage with, correspondingly shaped grooves or laps
provided on the ends of the small boards or planks. The ends of the adjoining
rows of boards or planks do not fully cover the interposed list or fillet, but are
kept a suitable distance apart by the latter. In the intermediate open space thus
formed the said list or fillet is provided with a number of screw holes and with a
number of pointed prongs standing erect in the said intermediate open space. Into
these holes are inserted suitable screws, and the said lists or fillets are by these
means screwed to the flooring joists supporting the same. Upon the said lists or
fillets having been thus secured to the joists, narrow strips of wood are inserted
into the intermediate open spaces between the adjoining rows and are driven home
therein and down upon the erect pointed prongs provided on the upper surface of
said lists or fillets, so that the said open spaces will then be completely filled, the
said prongs serving to retain the said strips therein.
When it is desired to draw the boards or planks more closely up against each
other, upon the same having shrunk, or when it is desired to fasten any part of the
flooring again which may have become warped and thereby loosened from the
supporting joists, this may be readily done upon the said strips having simply been
loosened and temporarily removed from the intermediate spaces between the res-
pective rows for the purpose.
Instead of securing the said lists or fillets, and the boards or planks held by
the same, to the flooring joists, I may, in some cases, secure them directly to the
dead floor in the manner described. It is also obvious that, instead of the boards
cr planks meeting the lists or fillets at a right angle, they may be so laid as to
meet the same at a more or less obtuse angle, that is to say, they may be arranged
obliquely or in "herring-bone" fashion.

page_text: Improvements in Flooring.
I, ADOLPH LOEWI, of No. 79, Motz Strasse, Berlin, in the Empire of Germany,
Counsellor of Commerce, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:
This invention relates to an improvement in flooring.
Floorings as heretofore constructed of relatively small boards or planks con-
nected at their adjoining longitudinal edges by means of grooves and interposed
feathers or strips of wood, or in any other suitable and well known manner, can be
readily adjusted in the event of shrinkage by pushing together said boards or
planks in the direction of their width, whilst it has usually not been possible to
adjust, at the same time and in a convenient manner, said boards or planks in the
direction of their height, or thickness. The object of my invention is to obviate
this difficulty..
In order that my invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into
effect I will proceed to describe the same fully with reference to the accompanying
drawings in which:-
Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved flooring laid in straight parallel rows.
Figure 2 is a vertical transverse section, and
Figure 3 a vertical longitudinal section of the flooring, on an enlarged scale,
whilst
Figure 4 is a perspective view drawn to a still more enlarged scale.
Figure 5 is a vertical transverse section showing a modified form of the fillet
for holding the boards or planks in position, and
Figure 6 is a perspective view of the flooring wherein said modified form of
fillet is employed.
C are the boards or planks composing the flooring and connected with each other
by means of grooves D and feathers H in the well known manner and as above
indicated. A number of adjoining rows of such boards or planks C are so laid on
the flooring joists B that the ends of the boards C of each two adjacent or adjoin-
ing rows will rest thereon and will abut against the opposite sides of a metal list
or fillet A interposed between the said adjoining rows. The two lateral edges of
the said list or fillet A are preferably formed in the shape of feathers so as to enter,
and engage with, correspondingly shaped grooves or laps L provided on the ends
of the boards C. The grooves L are cut so that the ends of the adjoining rows of
the boards C will not fully cover the interposed list or fillet A but will be kept a
suitable distance apart by the latter. In the intermediate open space thus formed
between the adjacent rows of boards C, the list A is provided with a suitable number
of holes E for the reception of screws E and with a suitable number of pivoted
prongs G standing erect in the said intermediate open space between two rows of
boards. By means of the screws E', the list or fillet A is secured to the flooring
joist B supporting the same. Upon the list A 'having been thus secured to the
joist B, a narrow wooden strip F is inserted into the intermediate open space
between the adjacent rows of boards C, and is driven home therein and down upon
the pointed prongs G projecting from the upper surface of the list A.
These prongs
may be formed by cutting them out of the metallic fillet, or be provided on the
same in any other convenient and well known manner, for instance by rivetting
them thereto, or otherwise. By these means, the open spaces left between the
adjacent rows of boards C are completely filled on the upper side of the fillet A,
the prongs G serving to securely hold the strips F'in position.

page_text: Whilst I prefer in some cases to employ pointed prongs as hereinbefore described
for retaining said strips F, I wish it to be understood that I may employ in lieu
of said prongs other equivalent means for the purpose of securing the strips in
position without deviating from the nature of my present invention; such other
preferable means being for example that illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 of the
drawings, wherein the metal list or fillet A is bent in shape so as to form a longi-
tudinal groove G₁ into which the said strips F are driven, so that after being driven
home they will be clamped and securely held in position by the two opposite faces
of the groove G', the bottom of the latter being provided with the screw holes E
for the purpose already specified.
When it is desired to draw the boards C more closely up against each other,.
upon the same having shrunk, or when it is desired to fasten any part of the floor-
ing again which may have become warped and thereby loosened from the support-
ing joists B, this may be readily effected upon the strips F having simply been
loosened and temporarily removed from the prongs G or the groove G¹, as the.
case may be, and from the intermediate spaces between the respective rows, for the
purpose, so that access is had to the fastening screws E¹.
Instead of securing the lists or fillets A, and the boards C held by the same, to
the flooring joist B, I may, in some cases, secure them directly to the dead floor
in the manner herein before described.
I will now describe how I proceed in carrying my invention into practice when
laying a floor constructed in accordance therewith.
The first layers of the boards or planks C are joined in the well known manner
to the fascias K extending along the walls of the room, in such manner that the
free ends of the boards will cover about half of the width of the adjacent joist B,
and the longitudinal sides of the boards C, having the grooves D), are fastened
A suit-
together in the usual way by wooden feathers H inserted in said grooves.
able number of such boards C having thus been united closely in their longitudinal
direction, the iron or other metallic list or fillet A, of preferably 1 to 1½ inches
for
1 inches in width, is driven
in height and
about inch of
its width tightly into the grooves L provided in the cross-grain ends
of said
of boards C, so that about 1 inch of the width of
the
said fillet A
As hereinbefore' stated,
will still project therefrom.
metallic fillet A is provided with the screw-holes E and the holding devices G or G
Now, after a row of boards C, for instance the row I indicated in Figure 1, have
been laid and the metallic fillets A inserted in the cross-grain grooves L of the
said boards, the fillets A are fixed detachably to the joist B by means of the screws El
passed through the holes E and being in a free or accessible position in front of
the ends of the row of boards C.
row
Now before laying a second row of boards C, such as row II of Figure 1, in order
to secure the proper and uniform distance between this second row and the first
row of boards C, a metallic bar of suitable dimensions serving as a temporary abut-
ment or gauge is placed upon the fillet A, and against such gauge the boards C
of the second row are placed, the grooves L in their ends being pushed over the
free longitudinal edge of the fillet A.
The second row of boards C having been laid, the said metallic bar, temporarily.
placed as a gauge upon the fillet A, will then be removed from between the two
adjacent rows, and in the free intermediate space thus formed between the said
rows a filling strip F, of walnut or other suitable kind of wood, is inserted and
driven home therein so as to enter the groove G¹, or, as the case may be, be entered
by the pointed prongs G, and retained in a fixed position upon the fillet A.
It will be seen that in laying the subsequent rows of boards, I may proceed in
the same manner as above described, and that by reason of the adjacent ends of
the boards not being in direct contact with each other, sufficient play is obtained
5 to prevent the boards from warping.
Although I have described and shown my invention as applied to a flooring
composed of parallelly arranged boards, it is obvious that I may equally well apply

page_text: the same to other arrangements of flooring, such for instance as a floor arranged
in "herring-bone" fashion that is to say consisting of alternating series of obliquely.
arranged boards.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
-:
1. A flooring consisting of boards united in the direction of their grain and
having grooves in their cross-grain ends for the reception of a metallic fillet pro-
vided with fastening holes and holding devices, substantially as and for the
purpose specified.
2. A flooring composed of rows of boards united in the direction of the grain and
having grooves in their cross-grain ends adapted to be entered by a metallic fillet
provided with screw-holes and retaining devices, and holding the adjacent rows
of boards a distance apart from each other, the intermediate space between the said
adjacent rows being filled up by wooden strips secured by the said retaining devices,
substantially as and for the purpose specified.
3. A flooring composed of rows of boards united in the direction of their grain
and provided with grooves in their ends receiving a metallic fillet which holds
the adjacent rows of boards a distance apart from each other and is fastened
detachably to a support, and which fillet also has pointed prongs adapted to enter
a wooden strip inserted in the intermediate space between two adjacent rows of
boards, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
4. A flooring composed of rows of boards united in the direction of their grain
and provided with grooves in their ends receiving a metallic fillet which holds the
adjacent rows of boards a distance apart from each other and is fastened detachably
to a support, and which fillet has a longitudinal groove adapted to receive a wooden
strip inserted in the intermediate space between two adjacent rows of boards, sub-
stantially as and for the purpose specified.
5. In a flooring composed of rows of boards a metallic fillet having fastening
holes and pointed holding devices, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
6. A flooring consisting of a series of boards C the vertical sides of which extend-
ing in the direction of the grain are provided with the longitudinal grooves I
for the reception of the feathers H uniting each two adjacent boards lengthwise,
and the vertical sides of which extending in the cross-grain direction are provided
with the transverse grooves L for the reception of the metallic fillet A entering
said transverse grooves L on either side to such a distance only as to leave an open
intermediate space between the ends of cach two adjacent boards, the said fillet A.
having screw-holes E and pointed prongs G or a longitudinal clamping groove G¹
in line with said intermediate space, screws E' passing through the holes E and
entering the support B underneath, and the said intermediate space above the
screws E being closed by means of wooden strips F. driven onto the pointed
prongs G or into the longitudinal groove G¹, substantially as and for the purpose
specified.
Dated this 16th day of Anvil 1898
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.