Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
The invention relates to a concrete floor construction
consisting of interspaced mutually parallel inverted T-beams; of
elements of insulating material, which are supported by the
horizontally extending legs of oppositely situated T-beams, and
which, at least partly, cover the underside of the T-beams and
constitute a permanen-t form between the T-beams; and of a floor
surface obtained by casting concrete over the T-beams and the
form elements.
With such a known concrete floor construction the
part of the insulating elements which constitutes the permanent
forril, is carried ou-t as a part which is slightly vaulted upwards,
with such a width that it can rest on the legs of the T-beams,
whereas it is Drovided ir~ediately adjacent to the T-bea~s with
downwards directed parts for insulating the ~ertical sides of
the leys of the T-baams. From one of the downwards directed
parts a horizontal part ex-tends itself outwards with respect
to the element and this part assures the insulation of the under-
most horizontal surface of the inverted T-Bear~l. After the T-beams
have been put in place, the insulatlng elements are slid obliquely
downwards between the beams, so that the laterally extending le~oL
the insulating element first comes to lie under the T-beaM,
whereafter the insulating element can be tilted into its place.
The laterally extendin~ underrllost le~ of an insulatiny
element MUSt extend itself beyond the other edge of the T-beam
so as to lie against -the underside OL the next insulating element,
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so that no lleat-bridges occur.
The laterally projecting parts of the elements are
vulnerahle durin~J their transportatioll and o~ the manuEacturc
of the elements a complicated mould must be used, as cuttiny
such elements from massive material wil] involve too great a
loss of material.
A drawback of such a construction is further that
the underside of one of the two ~-beams which are situated
near a side-wall, will not be covered automatically by an
insulating element of the above-described type, as a result
of the asymme-trical shape thereof. Therefore the under surface
of the T-beam will not be covered by insulating material,
unless this is done in a separate special way.
The manufacture of such elements in moulds has the
drawback, that the core to core distance between the beams
cannot be varied at wish, as for each distance a different
element will have to be used.
In practice it appears indeed that such a shape
of the elements of insulating material imposes restrictions
on the type of the concrete floor construction and that certain
parts thereof must be provided with a separate insulation.
~ further drawback of the use of the above-described
elements of insulating material resides in that the asseMbly
may cause probler~s when long T-beams,which must be supported
temporarily until the cast concrete floor has cured, are used.
At the location of such a support the laterally projectin~ le~
o~ the insulat1n~ element will have to be cut out ~hen the
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element is put in place. After the casting of the floor and
the curiny thereof, the support will be removed and in prin-
ciple it is desirable that the cut out part of the insulatinq
element is replaced again, so that no heat-bridge occurs.
In connection with the necessary strength of the
elements of insulating material, the thickness thereof mustbe
considerably greater at certain places than is strictly
necessary for the desired insulatin~ effect thereof. This leads
to a use of more material than is strictly necessary. As the
cycle time of a press used for the production of such elements
is proportional to the thickness of the elements to be pressed,
the production costs will be relatively high.
It is the purpose of the invention to provide a
concrete floor construction which does not have the above-
mentioned drawbacks and this is obtained in that the insulatin~
elements consist on the one hand of U-shaped eleMents which grip
around the ends of the legs directed towards one another of
the T-beaMs, and on the other hand of essentially plate-shaped
elements which rest on the upper legs of the U-shaped elements.
As the essentiallv plate-shaped elements are pressed
firmly on the upper legs of the U-shaped elements during the
casting of the concrete floor, there is practically no risk
that the seams between the elements lying on top of each other
remain open. The risk of a seam remaining open occurs only
under the T-beam, where the legs of the U-shaped elements lie
against one another. Precisely this sea~, however, offers the
possibility to temporarily support a T-beam until the concrete
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floor has been cast and has cure~.
In order to assure lhat the legs of the two U-shaped
elements under the T-beam will be pressed fi~rmly ayainst each
other, it may be arranged that the outer surface o_ the upper,
in assembled position, leg of the U-shaped element is carried
out in such a way, that after the U-shaped element has been
slid on the leg of the T-beam and has not yet been loaded, the
outer surEace at the free end of the leg lies lower than at
the other end of the leg. Thus the provided plate-shaped element
will exert a tilting moment on the U-shaped element, so that
the undermost leg of the U-shaped element is pressed further
under the T-beam.
It is, however, also possible to carry out the lower
surface of said plate-shaped element, at least near that part
of it which comes to ly above -the leg of said U-shaped element,
such that the plate shaped element as long as it is not loaded
will only engage a small part of the leg of said U-shaped element,
to wit, that part of the leg adjacent the rib of said U-shaped
element, by which again the plate-shaped element will exert
a tilting moment on the U--shaped element, so that the undermost
le~ of the U-shaped element is pressed further under the T-~beam.
Because of the resilient properties of the insulating
material the legs of the two U-elements will come to lie against
each other when a narrow supporting element placed therebetween
for the respective T-beam, is removed later.
In order to enable a fast assembly of the elements
of insu1ating material and to avoi~ that the U-shaped elcments
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are slid incorrectly on the legs of the T-beams, the procedure t
may be such that tlle plate and the U-shaped elements, before
their assembly on the T-beams, are connected to each othcr at
least locally by means of a flexible material, in such a way
that the U-shaped elements provided along both edges of a
plate-shaped element can pivot with respect to one another. This
pivoting may take place around a pitch line, which is the most
remote from the free end of the leg of the U-shaped elements,-
but the pivoting may also take place in another way by partly
not securing the flexible material to the insulating material.
The assembly of the flexible material can take place
in the factory before the elements are transported to the
building site and at the building site the U-shaped elements can
be placed on the T-beams by slightly tilting the ~-shaped elements
with respect to the plate to which they are pivot-mounted.
The width of the plate-shaped elements can be adapted
to the core to core distance of the T-beams and also the length
of the legs of the U-shaped elements can be adapted to the desired
value, so that e.g. also two directly adjacent T-beams can be
covered entirely at the underside with insulatlng material.
For obtalning a good protecttion of the insulating
material against attacks thereon, e.g. by mice in the case of
a floor of a ground floor, the flexible material may extend
itself over the entire under surface of the elements in the
assembled position thereof. As flexible material, especially
a fire retarding foil can be thought of.
For obtaining a good adhesion between the cast
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concrete floor and the T-beams, the upper edges o~ the plate-
shaped element of insulating material which come to lle on the
legs of the U-shaped elements, can be profiled in such a way
that additional concrete can be cast along the edges of the
upper surface of the element.
Accordiny to a preferable embodiment, the elements
of insulating material are obtained by cuttiny them from a block
of such material. Because of the simple shape of the elements,
these can be fitted into each other to a high extent, so that
a minimum quantity of waste occurs.
A very good fitting into each other of the elements,
so that practically no waste occurs, can be obtained by cutting
the U-shaped elements from the two longitudinal edges of a plate
with an essentially rectangular cross section, so that the body
of each U-shaped element is Eormed by a side of the plate and
the legs by the upper and underside oE the plate.
During the transportation the U-shaped elements can
be present on the plate, so that a compact unit of the plate
with the two U-shaped elements is maintained. At the building
site the U-shaped elements are removed from the plate and mounted
on the beam, wherea~ter the plate is placed on the U-shaped
elements. The plate then falls with its projecting part, which
has ~een left between the cut out le~s of the two U~shaped
elements, between the U-shaped elements, in such a way that the
plate cannot slide during the casting of the concrete.
At the cutting of a number of plates with the
corresponding U-shaped elements from a block, only a small
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quantity of waste will occur if ~the middle part of a plate,
at a right anqle to its plane, is 91ightly displaccd, so that
a slightly vaulted plate is obtained. This allows to slightly
increase the strength of the plate when this is desirable to
make the plate suitable for supporting a certain weight. In
general the plate in the assembled position must be able to
support the weight of a person who walks over the plate, as may
happen during the assembly of the plates and before the casting
of the concrete. Furthermore the plate may be adapted to the
locally desired thickness of the further part of the floor
construction.
The invention will now be explained by means of
examples of emhodiments as shown in the drawing, in which:
Figure l shows a section over a T-beam and mounted
thereon U-elements from insulating material, on each of which
rests a plate-shaped element, which is not loaded;
Figure lA shows a part of fig. 1 but from a slightly
modified embodimen-t;
Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the two U~elements,
which are pivot-mounted to a piate shaped element and which with
respect to this element are in a position on two adjacent T-beams
during the assembly of the elements;
Figure 2A shows a part of the elements of figure 2,
where the pivoting connectlon is realized in a sli~htly
different way;
Figures 3-6 show cross sections over different floor
constructions, where use is made of U- and plate-shaped elements
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of insulating material;
Figure 7 shows a cross section over a I'-beam w:Lth
a local and temporary support placed thereunder;
Figure 8 shows a cross section over two T-beams
lying against each other wi-th a local and temporary support
place thereunder;
Figure 9 gives a view of the two U-elements with
a plate-shaped element resting thereon;
Figure 10 shows the elements of Figure 9, but in
the position as they have been cut from a plate with a rectangular
section and in which they are during the transportation of the
elements;
Figure 11 gives a view corresponding to Figure 9,
but of a slightly modified embodiment of the plate-shaped element;
and
Figure 12 shows the way in which a number of elements
according to figure 11 have been cu-t Erom one single block oE
insulating material.
In the manufacture of a floor construction according
to the present invention, use is made of T-beams 1 (see figure 1),
on which are slid U-elements 2 of insulating material, which supporl
the plates 3 of insulating material. As figure 1 shows, the upper
leg 4 of a U-element is bevelled, 50 that a pi.tch line 5 is
obtained between the U-element 2 and the plate 3. When the plate
3 is loaded sufficiently, a t~.lting moment will be exerted on
the U-element, in such a way that the lower legs 6 of the
U-elements 2 are pressed towards each other in the direction
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of the arrows P. Thus the seam between the legs will be kept
resiliently closed.
Figure lA shows the possibility to exert a tilting
moment on the U-element by appl~ingabevelled part 3A at the
lower surface of the plate 3. The upper leg 4 of the U-element
need not to be bevelled then.
As appears particularly from figure 2, a plate 3
together with two U~elements 2 can be combined into one element
by mountiny a flexible material 7, which preferably extends
itself over the entire outer surface of the elements after
completion of the floor.
The flexible material 7 serves both for protecting
the hinging points between the U-elements 2 and the plate 3, and
for covering the insulating material, so that the latter is less
exposed to harmful influences. Of course it is also possible
to separately cover the entire underside of the plate 3 first
and also to cover the ~-element 2, including the upper leg 4,
whereafter the elements can be united by locally providing a
flexible material near the pitch line 5. ~lso the other surfaccs
of the elements can be provided with a flexible material,
especially a fire retarding foil, so that a considerable re~
inforcement of the elements is obtained. The applying of such a
foil provides no difficul-ties because of the simple shape of the
elements.
~ Figure 2A shows another possibility for applying the
flexible material 7, in such a way that during transportation
the U-elements 2 are pivoted so far that a flat lower surface
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of the whole is obtained. J
Figure 3 shows a section of a floor construction,
where use is made of the T-beams l,U~clements 2 and the p].ates 3.
Again, the parts 2 and 3 are made of insulatiny material and
the concrete floor 8 has been cast over the T-beams 1 and the
plates 3.
As will appear, the pressure exerted by the concrete
on the plate 3 will assure that the lower legs 6 of the U-elements
2 are pressed towards each other, so that the seam therebetwe~n
is closed completely.
Figure 4 shows a construction in which the T-beams
are obtained by starting from prefabricated beams 9 with a
rectangular cross section, so that the T-profile is not created
until after the casting of the floor 8. One of the beams is close
to a wall and now use canbe made of a special U-element 10 with
a lower leg 11, which has such a length that it comes to lie
against the wall 12. Thus a complete insulation of also tllis
edge beam is obtained. In this construction, furthermore, all
beams do not lie at the same distance from each other, but this
can be compensated for easily by making the one plate 3 narrower
than the other.
Figure 5 shows a floor construction, in which two
T-beams 1 have been placed close to one another, so that a grcater
load can be exerted locally on the floor. For insulating the
adjacent T-beams, use can now be made of a U-element 13 of which
the lower leg 14 is prolonged, so that it extends itself under
the entire leg of the T-beam.
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Finally, igure 6 shows a construction in which
so-called "open T-beams" 15 or "bar girders" are used. From the
rectangular prefabricated beam 16 projects the reln~orccmerlt 16',
which is incorporated in the concrete when the floor 8 ls cast.
As figure 6 shows, the floor can be carried out more
heavily locally, so that at that location a greater load can be
supported. For this purpose use can be made of a U-element 17,
of which the upper leg 18 is carried out thinner than the lower
leg 19. Because of the smaller core to core distance of the
T-beams, 'also the plates 20 can have a smaller thickness, so
that the thickness of the concrete floor above the plates 20
is greater than there where no greater loads are exerted on the
flbor.
Figure 7 shows the way in which a T-beam 15 can be
supported until after the casting and curing of the concrete
floor. For this purpose, use can be made of a simple spacer 21
betweenthe T-beam 15 and an assembly support 22. The spacer 21
can have a small thickness, so that after its removal the lower
legs of the U-elements will resiliently move towards one another,
as described above. The spacers 21 can be placed at any desired
place of a beam, as long as they are placed centrally under the
beam.
Figure 8 shows in which way a spacer 23 can be
mounted for supporting two adjacent T-beams lS. The spacer 23
may consist e.g. of two round bars at a right angle to one
another, so that for the removal of this spacer it is only
necessary to rotate this spacer on the vertical leg, whereaf~er
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the horizontal ley can be withdrawn from between the U-elements.
Then the legs of the ~-elements again move rcsiliently towards
one another as described above, so that no opening in the seam
remains behind.
So very simple spacers can be used, which in the
first place cause no difficulties in the assembly of the U~elements
of insulating material on the T-beams and which can also be
removed easily after completion of the floor, without leaving
parts of the T-beams without insulation.
As will result from figures 9 and 10, an essentially
plate-shaped element 24 as well as two U-elements 25 can be cut
from a plate of insulating material with a rectangular cross
section, so that practically no waste occurs and that practically
no unused space occurs during the transportation of the elements.
Figure 10 shows the elements fitted into one another
and figure 9 shows the way in which the plate-shaped element 24
is laid on the elements 25, a part oE the plate 24 being lowered
between the U-elements 25. Thus the plate 24 is kept in its place
during the casting of the concrete
Figures 11 and 12 show a somewhat modified version
of figures 9 and 10. Figure 12 shows the way in which a number
of U-elements 25 and plates 26 are cut from a block of insulatiny
material, the plate 26 receiving a somewhat vaulted shape.
Nevertheless, little waste occurs by the cutting, namely~only
the two strips 27 at the one side of the bock and the strip 27'
at the other side. By making the plate 26 somewhat vaulted, the
strength thereof can be increased slightly, but in particular
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it is possible to adapt the construction height of the floor
and the thickness of the concrete above the ~lement 26 to the r
thickness which is desirable Eor obtaining a certain supporting
strength of the floo~ which is obtained.
It will be obvious that only a few embodiments of
the invention have been shown in the drawing and described in
the above, and that numerous modiEications are possible without
leaving the scope of the invention.
Thus it is possible e.g. that the upper leg 4 of
the U-elements 2, as shown in figures 1 and 2, is not bevelled,
but is provided approximately at the place of the pitch line 5
with an upwards projecting part in the shape oE a cam. Thus a
tilting moment will be exerted as well on the U-element by the
plate 3 and the concrete cast thereon.
When "insulating elements" are mentioned in the
above, one will think in the first place of elements of foamed
synthetic material such as polystyrene, which material is used
already Eor the known elements. This material is especially
suitable for the manufacture of floors of ground floors, the
underside of which wants no finishing.
For the manufàcture of floors or ceilings of which
the underside remains visible, the plate- and ~ elements can
also be made of other materials, such as timber, plaster etc.,
in such a way that, possibly after further finishing, a "beam
ceiling"; which nowadays is bec~ing envogue again, is obtained.
Of course the insulating value of such materials will be smaller
than that of elements of foamed synthetic materials.
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