Prestressed wood floor system
AssigneeHorsel PLC
InventorRuben Ayrapetyan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A prestress floor system for wood floor framing structures places the structure's joists under a laterally directed compressive force while the joists are maintained in their relative positions by blocking elements. The compressive force is provided by a cable anchored at one end to an outermost joist and anchored at the other to a spring that is, in turn, anchored to an outermost joist. The resulting structure has increased vertical stiffness and reduces the amount of deflection, vibration, and noise experienced during loading.
Claims19
A load carrying structure, for supporting vertical loads, comprising:
- a plurality of substantially parallel spaced-apart joists positioned between a first joist and a last joist that support sheets comprising a ceiling or floor;
- spacing means for maintaining the lateral spacing of the joists while they are under laterally directed forces;
- and
- pressing means for pressing the joists laterally toward each other under a predetermined force transmitted through the spacing means and for reducing vertical deflection while the joists are under load.
A load carrying structure for supporting vertical loads, comprising:
- a plurality of spaced-apart longitudinally extending joists including a first joist, a last joist, and at least one joist positioned therebetween, adapted to support planar elements defining a ceiling or floor;
- a continuous cable acting under tension for generating a compressing force directed substantially only laterally across the joists from said first joist to said last joist;
- and
- blocking means acting under compression for opposing the compressing force and keeping the joists spaced apart in static equilibrium.
A prestressed floor structure comprising:
- a plurality of substantially parallel, longitudinally extending joist members defining a generally rectangular flooring area, a first outside joist member comprising one side of the area and a last outside joist member comprising an opposite second side of the area, with a plurality of said joist members positioned in between the first and last joists;
- a coil spring anchored to the first joist member;
- a cable that is passed through each joist member except for the first and last outside members and that is anchored at one end to the last outside joist member and anchored at its other end to the coil spring, the cable having a length such that the spring is stretched;
- and
- a plurality of blocking elements placed between adjacent joist members, extending substantially parallel to the cable.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.