Snap interlock deck structure - Patent Review 3999346

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to metal deck, platform, or surface structures of the general type in which joists support and are fastened to transverse decking members or planks. The present invention particularly relates to an aluminum deck structure adapted for recreational purposes, such as the formation of a playing surface for a platform tennis court.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Metal deck structures typically assemble decking members and joists with conventional fasteners such as bolts or welds. These assembly techniques, which necessarily occur in the field, require a great deal of time and labor, sometimes require advance preparation and dangerous equipment, and ultimately are very expensive. Moreover, where long decking members susceptible to thermal elongation must be used, as in the construction of a platform tennis court, these fastening techniques are placed under great stress and the fasteners sometimes break or cause distortion of the deck structure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved deck structure, of the type using joists and decking members, which may be assembled without the use of expensive labor for either welding or bolting the decking in place. It is a further object of the invention to provide a deck structure capable of allowing substantial thermal elongation and contraction of decking members.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention to be described hereinbelow in detail, the deck structure is characterized by decking members extruded for example from aluminum and formed with a floor plate and two depending vertical legs with horizontally opposed latching members at their lower ends. The transverse floor joists, also extruded for example from aluminum, are formed with a vertical rib along the top supporting surface. The rib is provided with openings or notches adapted to receive the vertical legs of a decking member. The notches form opposed latching surfaces which meet and then snap into interlocking engagement with the latching members on the vertical legs as the legs are urged into the notches. Assembly of decking to floor joists may be accomplished by positioning the decking and then applying a downward force, as by stepping on it, to cause the legs to flex inwardly and then snap outwardly to bring the latching members into engagement with the mating latching surfaces on the ribs.

In another aspect of the invention, the latching members and the vertical legs extend uniformly along the decking members, and the openings or notches in the ribs act as transverse guideways to the vertical legs and latching members to allow lengthwise movement of the decking members and thus accommodate thermal elongation and contraction.

Other objects, aspects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in, or apparent from, the detailed description hereinbelow, considered together with the following drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, with portions broken away and in section, of a deck structure according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the playing surface of a platform tennis court constructed with the deck structure of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a section on line 3--3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a detailed section similar to FIG. 3 but drawn with enlarged scale; and

FIG. 5 is a section on line 5--5 of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 illustrates a deck structure 10 constructed in accordance with the present invention and arranged to form one of 10 surface sections 12 making up the playing surface S of a platform tennis court (FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 1, the deck structure 10 includes parallel floor joists 20 supported, for example, at their ends by channels 22. The floor joists 20 are typically of extruded aluminum I-beam construction having top and bottom flanges 24 and 26 joined by a central web 28.

Extending upwardly from top flange 24, in alignment with web 28, each floor joist 20 has a vertical rib 30 containing pairs of openings or notches 32L and 32R formed as described below. Preferably, rib 30 is extruded along with the remainder of joist 20, and notches 32L and 32R are formed in rib 30 with a press brake. In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, rib 30 has a thickness of 1/8 inch and a height of 1/2 inch.

The floor joists 20 connect to and support an array of transverse decking members 40 which together form the deck surface S. Each decking member 40, typically made of extruded aluminum, carries a floor plate 42 with vertical depending strengthening flanges 44 at its edges. The floor plate 42, if desired, may contain non-skid ribs 46 on the upper surface for traction.

Two vertical legs 48L and 48R depend from floor plate 42 and terminate in inwardly extending supporting flanges 50L and 50R which rest in rib notches 32L and 32R upon top flange 24 of floor joist 20 to provide vertical support for the decking members 40.

As indicated above, the existing welding or bolting techniques for assembling decking members to floor joists are time consuming and expensive. In accordance with the present invention, however, assembly is rapid and economical because the decking members 40 interlock with floor joists 20 by means of horizontally opposed latching members 60L and 60R located at the lower ends of vertical legs 48L and 48R and arranged to snap into engagement with corresponding horizontally opposed latching members 70L and 70R formed in notches 32L and 32R of the floor joists 20. (See FIGS. 3 and 4.)

As shown for example in FIG. 4, the decking latching members 60L and 60R are in the form of outwardly extending barbs with a lower inclined surface 62 ending in an upper latching surface 64. The joist latching members 70L and 70R are in the form of inwardly extending barbs with an upper inclined surface 72 and a lower latching surface 74.

Assembly of decking members 40 and floor joists 20 is done simply by positioning decking members 40 with vertical legs 48L and 48R at the tops of notches 32L and 32R. In this position, the inclined surfaces 62 and 72 are in engagement. A downward force is applied to decking member 40, as by stepping on it, and the inclined surfaces 62 and 72 act as cams forcing the vertical legs 48L and 48R to flex inwardly until the inclined surfaces 62 and 72 pass one another. Further downward movement of decking member 40 brings latching surfaces 64 and 74 into alignment, allowing vertical legs 48L and 48R to snap outwardly to bring the latching surfaces 64 and 74 into engagement to interlock the decking member 40 and floor joist 20 together with supporting flanges 50L and 50R resting on joist top flange 24.

Assembly of decking members 40 and floor joists 20 in the manner described takes place quickly and reliably. If desired, a decking member 40 can be removed by flexing legs 48L and 48R together until latching surfaces 64 and 74 disengage, and then by raising the disengaged decking member free from the floor joist.

Decking members 40 preferably are extruded and thus have a uniform cross-section throughout their lengths. Rib notches 32L and 32R thus can engage a deck member 40 anywhere throughout its length, and joist spacing may be arranged arbitrarily.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, it frequently is necessary to utilize long decking members 40. For a platform tennis court, for example, the decking members in each deck section 12 are half the length of the court, or 30 1/2 feet long. In the example shown, eleven floor joists 20 are used to support this length of decking member. The floor joists are attached to other structural members and are essentially fixed in place. Metal, and particularly aluminum, has a high thermal coefficient of expansion and long decking members 40 thus are susceptible to significant thermal elongation and contraction.

In accordance with the present invention, such thermal elongation and contraction is readily accommodated because the latching members 60L, 70L and 60R, 70R interlock so as to prevent vertical and sidewise movement of decking members 40, but permit longitudinal movement of the decking members in response to thermal effects.

As illustrated for example in FIG. 4, the notches 32L and 32R act as guideways to the decking members 40, which are of uniform cross-section throughout their lengths and thus maintain vertical support through flanges 50L and 50R and interlocking engagement through latching members 60L and 60R even if moved longitudinally. Thus whereas thermal elongation can cause breakage and distortion where bolts or welds are used, the present invention offers trouble free and distortion free operation.

In the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated, the decking members 40 are symmetrical about a vertical center line and are dimensioned, approximately, to provide floor plates 42 with a width of 8 inches; strengthening flanges 44 with a width of 1/4 inch; vertical legs 48L and 48R which are 4 1/2 inches apart and two inches long; supporting flanges 50L and 50R with a width of 1/2 inch; and latching members 60L and 60R with a latching surface 64 with a width of about 1/10 inch and an inclined surface 62 of slightly more than 2/10 inches in width. Wall thickness is 0.078 inches. Notches 32L and 32R have a latching surface 74 with a width of 1/8 inches and an inclined surface 72 with a vertical height of about 1/10 inches and lying at an angle of 36 1/2 degrees to the vertical.

While deck structure 10 has been described with reference to use as a playing surface, it will be apparent that the construction described is applicable to other arrangements wherein joists support transverse decking or planking members.

Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been disclosed herein in detail, it is to be understood that this is for the purpose of illustrating the invention, and should not be construed as necessarily limiting the scope of the invention, since it is apparent that many changes can be made to the disclosed structures by those skilled in the art to suit particular applications.

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