Patent Description:
Raised outdoor floors are known, often used in the building sector to create a floor with different types of finish and an underlying cavity used for the outflow of rainwater and also for the passage of pipes of various kinds.

These known raised floors are made by arranging a plurality of support devices on the upper surface of a support surface, possibly waterproofed, flat or suitably inclined of a surface to be paved. Tiles or floor plank support profiles can then be laid on these support devices.

The known support devices generally comprise a support base for the surface, on which the raised floor must be formed, an externally threaded tubular sleeve, which can be screwed into a corresponding internally threaded cylindrical cavity provided in the support base, and a head which can be removably connected to the upper end of the threaded sleeve and intended to receive in support or constraint, depending on the type of raised floor to be created, the floor tiles or the sections of a joist substructure supporting the slats of a floor.

Since the typology of devices varies according to the type of floor to be created and therefore the elements to be laid/constrained on the heads of the support devices (by shape and position of the elements for constraining the support profiles of the staves, or by the thickness of the spacers, which define the distance between the tiles and therefore the joints in the floor), it is generally preferable to make the head and the threaded sleeve of each support device in two distinct parts, to be removably coupled together when making the raised floor according to the type of this.

A known support device of this type is described for example in <CIT>.

Since in known support devices the adjustment of the flatness of the floor is obtained by more or less screwing the threaded sleeve into the threaded cavity of the base during the laying of the floor, the current technique first provides for coupling, by means of the threaded sleeve, the head of each device support to the relative base during the formation of the raised floor, and then to rotate the threaded sleeve with respect to the head, which remains fixed as it is linked to the tiles already laid or to the support profiles of the staves, to adjust the distance between the head and the base of the support device and therefore the flatness of the floor being formed.

If the head of the support device is intended to support the tiles at their corners, this rotation can be carried out by introducing a special key through the joints between the tiles, at their vertices, which engages a corresponding cavity, provided at the upper end of the threaded sleeve, and then making the sleeve itself rotate to thus vary the height of the head with respect to the base.

This solution has partly solved the technical problem of adjusting the flatness of a raised floor, but has revealed its limits in particular situations, for example in the case of floors made up of tiles with very narrow joints (less than <NUM>), given that in this case the dimensions of the wrench which should make the threaded sleeve rotate with respect to the base do not allow its introduction into the narrow gap which exists between the tiles and will form the joints in the floor. In this case it is necessary to act on the threaded sleeve and rotate it with respect to the base, but this maneuver is only possible if the threaded sleeve can be physically gripped at its lateral surface and this is possible only if it is long enough to allow it to be gripped by the installer. However, if the threaded sleeve is too short, as often occurs when the height of the raised floor with respect to the underlying support surface is small, it may be difficult or even impossible for the installer to act on the threaded sleeve and rotate it to adjust the height of the head and this should act on the basis of the support; however, this would not give any result, since a rotation of the base would not involve a rotation of the threaded sleeve but a rotation with the threaded sleeve, which is free to rotate with respect to the overlying head.

The same drawbacks also occur in the case of floors with staves, since in this case the support sections of the staves must rest centrally on the head of the support device and cover the cavity, which should be engaged by the adjustment key.

The aim of the invention is to eliminate these drawbacks and to propose a support device for raised floors, which allows to adjust the flatness of the floor, which does not require the use of a key and which therefore does not involve the limitations highlighted by this.

Another object of the invention is to eliminate these drawbacks while keeping the head of the support device separate from the threaded sleeve in order to be able to use the same threaded sleeve and base assembly with different heads interchangeably constrainable to it, and therefore to contain the number of the different support devices to keep in stock for use with different types of raised floors.

Another object of the invention is to create a support device which can also be used to create raised floors in the event of imperfect flatness of the underlying support surface.

Another object of the invention is to propose a support device which allows to obtain all these advantages without substantially increasing the costs for its production.

All these objects and others which will result from the following description are achieved jointly or separately according to the invention with a support device for a raised floor, particularly for outdoors as defined in claim <NUM>.

The present invention is hereinafter further clarified in some of its preferred embodiments shown for purely exemplifying and non-limiting purposes with reference to the attached tables of drawings, in which:.

<FIG> show a support device according to the invention in a first embodiment, which can be defined as having a "fixed" head and which is configured for the constraint of tiles.

It is basically formed by three elements: a base <NUM>, a threaded sleeve <NUM> and a head <NUM>, all preferably made of thermoplastic material, in particular polypropylene.

The base <NUM> comprises a flat circular plate <NUM>, intended to rest on a support surface of the raised floor to be created, which in this case is formed by quadrangular tiles, for example made of ceramic material.

From the center of the base <NUM> a cylindrical collar <NUM> rises upwards, which is monolithic with the flat circular plate, is stabilized in its position by a plurality of stiffening radial baffles <NUM> and is internally threaded.

The threaded sleeve <NUM> consists of a cylindrical tubular element presenting on its external surface a thread configured to interact with the internal thread of the collar <NUM>.

The threaded sleeve <NUM> is closed at the top by a disc <NUM>, located in a slightly recessed position downwards with respect to the edge of the sleeve itself and presents a cylindrical relief <NUM> centrally positioned.

Equiangular radial appendages <NUM> branch outwards from the lateral surface of this cylindrical relief <NUM>, which in the example illustrated are four (<FIG>), even if their number could be different but preferably not less than three. They have a limited thickness which allows them to have a certain flexibility on the vertical plane.

The head <NUM> of the device according to the invention consists of a disc with a generally annular shape, whose upper surface presents elements interacting with the components of the floor placed above it and constituted, in the embodiment illustrated, by tiles <NUM> (<FIG>). More particularly, these elements consist of small flat vertical appendages <NUM>, arranged radially on two mutually perpendicular vertical planes, and have the function of defining the correct position of four tiles <NUM>, which rest with their corner portion on the head <NUM> and more particularly, with two of their orthogonal edges, they rest on two spacers <NUM>, also disposed to each other on two orthogonal vertical planes.

In this way the spacers <NUM> define with their position the correct reciprocal position of the tiles <NUM> and with their thickness the correct width of the joints, which must be created between the tiles <NUM>.

Since there is generally a need to make floors with different joints between the tiles, several heads are provided, provided with spacers <NUM> of different thicknesses, corresponding to the possible joints to be created between the tiles, and intended to be mounted interchangeably on a single type of threaded sleeve <NUM>.

The illustrated embodiment is intended for the creation of a raised floor formed by rectangular or square tiles. The invention also provides support devices for tiles of other shapes, to which spacers <NUM> obviously correspond in different number and arrangement. For example, if the floor is to be formed with hexagonal tiles, each head will be provided with three spacers arranged at <NUM>° to each other.

An annular flange <NUM> extends inwards from the internal circular edge of the head <NUM> (<FIG>), slightly depressed with respect to the surface of the head itself and presenting four radial openings <NUM>, arranged at <NUM>° to each other and having slightly larger dimensions to the plan dimensions of the appendages <NUM> of the cylindrical relief <NUM>.

Two teeth <NUM> are provided on the sides of each opening <NUM>, which on the side of the opening <NUM> show an inclined side, while on the opposite side they show a vertical side, i.e. perpendicular to the surface of the annular flange <NUM>.

For laying the raised floor, the various support devices can advantageously be prepared beforehand for laying, in the sense that a head <NUM> is applied to each threaded sleeve <NUM> having the spacers <NUM> corresponding to the width of the joints to be created between adjacent tiles <NUM>. The assembly provides that the relief <NUM> of the closing disc <NUM> of a threaded sleeve <NUM> is introduced into the central opening of each head <NUM> so that the appendages <NUM> of the cylindrical relief <NUM> of the sleeve pass through the openings <NUM> of the annular flange <NUM> of the head <NUM>. Subsequently, the head <NUM> is made to rotate in one direction in the other with respect to the threaded sleeve <NUM> to an extent sufficient to allow the appendages <NUM> to be made to slide along the inclined plane of the respective teeth <NUM> and yield elastically to bending to then snap into place between two adjacent teeth, which in this way prevent the rotation of the head <NUM> with respect to the threaded sleeve <NUM>, when this is screwed to the base <NUM>.

The devices thus arranged are then positioned with the base <NUM> in the correct position on the support surface of the raised floor and on the head <NUM> of all these the individual tiles <NUM> are then placed so that each of these rests with the corners on the head <NUM> of four devices and that each head <NUM> rests on the corners of four tiles <NUM>, spaced apart to the extent defined by the spacers <NUM>.

To then adjust the correct vertical position of each head <NUM>, and therefore to ensure the desired flatness of the floor, the installer acts on the base <NUM> and rotates it in one or the other direction, depending on whether the head <NUM>, which is locked in rotation with respect to the threaded sleeve <NUM> and holds it locked in rotation when the base <NUM> rotates, is lowered or raised to the desired amount.

In this phase the radial stiffening baffles <NUM> also advantageously perform the function of gripping elements of the base <NUM> for its rotations.

Since the tiles must be able to have different joints depending on the type of flooring, the invention provides for having different heads <NUM> provided with spacers <NUM> of different thicknesses, so as to be able to choose and use for the particular floor to be made the heads with spacers thickness corresponding to the width of the joints to be obtained.

If otherwise the support is destined to the realization of a lifted floor with an underlying beam structure and a finishing with slats, a different head <NUM>' is applied to the threaded sleeve <NUM> of each device, presenting protrusions <NUM> for engaging a profile <NUM> forming with other sections called joist substructure.

In the embodiment illustrated in <FIG> the head <NUM>' presents four pairs of protrusions <NUM> arranged so as to allow two by two to snap into engagement according to two arrangements rotated <NUM>° to each other a profile <NUM> at two different intermediate points of its two lateral edges, as illustrated in <FIG>, or two aligned sections which rest against it with one of their ends.

In the embodiment illustrated in <FIG> the head <NUM>" is provided with a single protrusion <NUM> which develops linearly and presents holes for the passage of screws <NUM> intended to constrain a profile <NUM>' for engagement at one of its edges, as illustrated in <FIG>.

In all cases seen above, the fundamental difference between the traditional support devices and the support device according to the invention is that while in the former, the adjustment of the flatness of the floor requires the rotation of the threaded sleeve <NUM>, i.e. an operation which is performed with different methods depending on the type of raised floor to be created and in some cases it is not even possible during the laying of the floor, in the second case the adjustment of the flatness of the floor always takes place with the same methods and that is by rotating the base <NUM>, regardless of the type of raised floor to be created, and it is always possible during the laying of the floor.

The embodiment illustrated in <FIG> instead of being definable with a "fixed" head, can be defined as a "self-leveling" head, as it allows the head <NUM> to be able to obtain perfect flatness of the raised floor even in the case of the underlying slab, to which the raised floor rests by means of the support devices according to the invention, which have slopes or irregularities.

In this case it is provided that the lower flat surface of the head <NUM> does not rest rigidly on the upper edge of the threaded sleeve <NUM>, but is provided with an annular relief <NUM> with a concave (or convex) profile shaped like a spherical segment, cooperating with a counter-shaped profile present in an annular relief <NUM> provided on the closing disc <NUM> of the threaded sleeve <NUM>.

In this way the support of the head <NUM> on the threaded sleeve <NUM> takes place in correspondence with the two reliefs <NUM>, <NUM> and allows that the head <NUM> can be freely positioned on site, even slightly angled with respect to the base <NUM>. This freedom of positioning of the head <NUM> with respect to the threaded sleeve <NUM>, to which in any case the head is constrained both axially and rotationally, is allowed thanks to a certain play existing between each radial appendage <NUM> and the two teeth <NUM> between which it is interposed when the head <NUM> and the sleeve <NUM> are mutually engaged.

Claim 1:
Support device for a raised floor, particularly for outdoors, comprising a base (<NUM>) for resting on a support slab of the raised floor, a threaded sleeve (<NUM>), which can be coupled to a threaded collar (<NUM>) of said base ( <NUM>) and a head (<NUM>,<NUM>',<NUM>") removably constrained to said threaded sleeve (<NUM>), in which said threaded sleeve (<NUM>) presents an upper closing disc (<NUM>), presenting least one radial appendage (<NUM>), configured to bayonet-engage in a corresponding radial opening (<NUM>) obtained in an annular flange (<NUM>) provided in said head (<NUM>,<NUM>',<NUM>") when this is coupled with said threaded sleeve (<NUM>), characterized in that two teeth (<NUM>) are provided on the sides of said radial opening (<NUM>), having an inclined side facing said opening (<NUM>) and a side substantially orthogonal to the plane of the flange (<NUM>), facing opposite, and that said radial appendage (<NUM>) is equipped with suitable flexibility to allow its elastic yielding during its sliding along the inclined side of one of said teeth (<NUM>) following the rotation of said threaded sleeve (<NUM>) with respect to said head (<NUM>,<NUM>',<NUM>") rotation which is resisted when said radial appendage (<NUM>) rests against said substantially orthogonal side.