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US 8,522,505 B2Granted
Connector for boardwalk system
AssigneePermatrak North America LLC
InventorsTimothy Jon Beach, Jason Vincent Philbin, Robert Louis Zimmerman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A boardwalk system including a first component having a pre-formed recess and a second component having a pre-formed recess. The system further includes a connector configured to be positioned in the recesses of the first and second components to connect the first and second components such that the connector limits the movement of first component away from the second component.
Claims29
A boardwalk system comprising:
- a tread having a tread pre-formed recess;
- a beam having a beam pre-formed recess;
- and
- a connector configured to be positioned in said pre-formed recesses of said tread and said beam to connect said tread and said beam such that said connector limits the movement of said tread away from said beam, wherein said tread pre-formed recess and said beam pre-formed recess are configured to, when properly aligned such that said tread is generally horizontally aligned and supported by a beam thereunder, together define an entry path through which said connector must be passed to connect said tread and said beam such that said connector limits the movement of said tread away from said beam, and wherein said entry path and said connector are configured such that said connector must be stretched and placed into tension to pass through said entry path to limit the movement of said tread away from said beam.
1 more element
A boardwalk system comprising:
- a plurality of generally horizontally arranged treads, at least one tread having a pre-formed tread recess;
- a plurality of beams, each tread having a weight being at least partially supported by an underlying beam, at least one beam having a pre-formed beam recess, wherein said pre-formed tread recess of said at least one tread and said pre-formed beam recess of said at least one beam are aligned and in communication with each other defining an entry path;
- and
- a connector positioned in said aligned recesses and connecting said associated tread to said associated beam, wherein said connector limits the movement of said associated tread upwardly away from said associated beam with respect to a gravitational frame of reference, and wherein said entry path and said connector are configured such that said connector must be stretched and placed into tension to pass through at least part of said entry path.
1 more element
A method for assembling a boardwalk system comprising:
- accessing a plurality of treads, at least one tread having a pre-formed tread recess;
- accessing a plurality of beams, at least one beam having a pre-formed beam recess;
- positioning said plurality of treads such that each tread is positioned generally horizontally and adjacent to at least one beam supporting said tread thereon;
- and
- positioning a connector in said recesses of said at least one tread and said at least one beam while least temporarily placing said connector in tension, to thereby connect said at least one tread to said at least one beam and limit the movement of said at least one tread away from said at least one beam.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.