USRE20872E - Floor supporting structure - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 4, 1938. FOCHT FLOOR SUPPORTING STRUCTURE' Original Filed May lO, 1933 lNvr-:NToR y ou/5 Foc/47'.

ENQ/i0 ATTORNEY l UNIT-Eo STATES-PATENT OFFICE( d mofm original No. 2,120,802, dates :une 14, 1938 sei-iai.

,-- v--NIL 670,292, May l0, 1933.

Application for reissue August l0, 1938, Serial No. 224,225

. 'l Claims.

This invention relates vto flooring Vstructures generally,v butf'is more specifically designed to produce a light but strong assembly of standard commercial' channel, angle and/or T-irons, on which any desired character of pavement canbe laid to form a bridge floor or deck.

To this end the invention consist" essentially in an assembly of a plurality of relatively wide,` and relatively shallow, channel members placed side by side to form the main portion of the deck structure, with angle irons or T-irons or at portions of other members of standard cross sections fastened between the adjacent `flanges of such channel members, such deckas'sembly resting upon the usual skeleton supporting construction comprising stringers, and/or sills, etc., and forming an imperforate foundation on which any desired paving may be placed. n The channel irons are arranged withtheir channels underneath so that their webslie in the same upper plane, thus forming a cellular deck structure with a substantially smooth upper survof the usual waterproofcoating with or without face on which paving blocks may belaid directly after the application to said surface, if desired,

an added layer of .cushioning material. y

The best form of apparatusat present known to me embodying my invention, with-.sundry modaA iilcations thereof, are illustrated inthe accom" panylng sheet of drawings, in which 'l Fig. 1 ls a perspective view with parts broken 'I ."away and others shown in section showing a portion of a bridge floor constructed in accordance with my invention. v

r Fig. 2 is a similar sectional view showing a modicatio'n in which angle irons are used, and Fig. 3 is 'a similar diagram of another modifi.-

lcation in which nothing but channel/membersare used in forming the steel structure.,

Throughout the drawing like'reference characters indicate like parts. l

I,I, indicate the bridge strlngers or other portions of thebridge :door supportingY structure on which the deck structure olf my invention is directly supported. 2,2, are channel members or n channel irons or similar channel members of any standard rolled type and cross section arranged with their-flanges adjacent one to another, and all their channels on the under surfaces;A lso that the exterior 'surfaces of their webs are all in substantially one and the same plane formingthe major portion of the upper surface of the structure soA assembled. 3,3, are T-irons the webs of which are inserted between `the adjacent flanges of the channel members 2, 2, and are (criss-s4) f 7 and originallyplastic cushioning material B rnay.---

. ow so as to key the said mass of these materials' to the oor formed by the channel members, though thisv is not always necessary with road surfacings of some types, ,nor when the upper surfaces-of the channel webs are left exposed and themselves form the floorl surface in a warehouse or other building; 23 is .an'angle iron having an elongated web which is substituted for a T-iron atthe edge of the oor and extends far enpnghup to form a Yretaining ange for the Ypavement blocks l, 1, which may -be of any de sired character.

The foregoing described construction is evidently light in weight, being of the cellular type,

but furnishes a secure, even surfaced and rigid v base on which any `desired form of paving may.

be laid..

Inlg. 2, T- irons 3, 3;arereplaced by pairs ofv angle irons I3, I3, lplaced-back to back. This construction is a little heavier than t'hatshown in Fig. 1, but has a corresponding increase of strength. 23 is the same edge forming element as is shown in Figure 1, and is similarlyfastenedto the outermost channel member ange.

If still greater strength in the vertically arranged elements of the construction is desired other channel members v22, 22, may .be substituted for the T-irons, or angle irons, as shown in Eig.

3, the upper flange of each of the vertically arranged channel members resting on the upper surfaces of the webs of the adjacent,` horizontally disposed, channel members, and .serving as keying members acting to prevent the cushioning layer, or other plastic covering; from slipping laterally.

Among' the advantages of the invention may be mentioned the following: A saving of about 50% in weight over most standard types of flooring of the same strength, this permitting a saving of about 17%-in the\tota l cost of a bridge designed to carry a given live load by reason of -the saving of the weight of material in the mainy bridge supporting structure rendered possible by the consequent saving in dead load; or,v conversely, a gain of in strength of flooring of the weight now employed in standard bridge designs; ease and elasticity of fabrication result- .Y ing from the useof only the various commercial,

standard elements of steel construction which may be bought in open market of any desired weight and strength and in ,any quantity from stock, and which can be readily riveted or welded together in the shop or on th job.

The cross sections-of the commercial channel members shown in the drawing also have an advantageous feature in that the flanges of said channels all have cross sections flaring upwardly when the floor is in position for use. Any two vof these flanges having the intervening web of' an inverted T-iron securely fastenedthereto, as by riveting or Welding, together with the immediately adjacent portions of channel webs, form a built-up I-beam. This is'the strongest form of rolled steel shapes for service as a beam carrying a concentrated load between spaced-apart supports, and vthat is the work a bridge floor must do when a heavily loaded truck wheel rolls on it.

Furthermore, each such` flange of upwardly and outwardly flaring cross `section forms, with the adjacent portion of the channel web, a cantilever supported from the T-iron web to which it is riveted, and thereby gives additional stiffness under loads to the medial portion of such channel web forming with it a part of the upper portion of the oor structure. f

Thus while channel members having other cross sections varying in details ofoutline from those here shown can be used in various different embodiments of my invention, I believe that floors builtas shown in Fig. 1 develop per unit of weight the greater resistance to flexure underI concentrated loads.

As both channel members and T-irons can bev ,rolled to exact length, up to the width ofthe roadways of the largest bridges, there is no cutting of the material required after delivery to the user, and no wastage thereof occurs. Also, the great strength and stiffness of the floor structure allows the strlngers, or other members of the main bridge-structure supporting it, to be placed farther apart than has heretofore been necessary with floors of the prior art. Consequently, allesser number of such'stringers are needed to a given width of roadway.

All types shown afford ready access to all the exposed metal surfaces for painting and repainting and the possibility of running trucks over the steel floor formed by the metal members alone when delivering and applying the cushioning layer and paving blocks. and that oi' being able Vto put the completed ooring into regular use without any addition of the superposed paving blocksv or other surfacing materials, constitute practical points of advantage. The types shown in all said figures of the drawing also permit the easy removal and replacement of small areas of I the block paving, when'necevssary. without sacriicing the original smoothness of the paving surface which is automatically retainedfbyrthe p ermanently level surface of the underlying metal structure. Furthermore, in case of the wrecking of the bridge the deck can be removed in sections and used elsewhere. i 1

All the types shown also serve for efficient lateral bracing of the deck and thereby supplement the action of the lower, lateral bracing, or

vrender possible the saving of material in such lower bracing structure while preserving the total horizontal bracing effect now given by other exist- `lng, constructions of substantially the same '75 weight.

In addition to highway bridges, this type of floor can also be advantageously used in warehouses, docks, railroad bridges, and other structures subjected to heavy loads. In the case of railroad bridges the paving blocks and` some or all of the surfacing layers shown in the drawing may be dispensed with and the track rails fastened -to the channel members, if desired, or otherwise supported therefrom.

Various changes in details of construction and assembly, other than those specifically illustrated and described herein, can be made without departing from the Iunderlying principle of the invention as above explained and hereinafter defined in the appended claims, and without materially sacrificing the main advantages above enumerated, and others obvious to those skilled in the art.

In all such modifications the prime advantage of having the upper, exterior surfaces of the webs of the channel members lying in substantially one and the same plane should be retained to form a ing a plurality of standard rolled channel members arranged with the exterior surfaces of their flanges closely kadjacent one to another and the exterior surfaces of their webs all in substantially one and the same plane forming the upper sur- `face of the structure so assembled, said channel members being combined with a plurality of straight metal members each one of which is conned between two adjacent flanges of said channel members but projects beyond the free edges of said flanges, together with means for rigidly fasteningtogether said flanges vand intervening strips in. relative positions such that theupper edge of each strip shall be slightly below the plane of the upper surfaces of the webs of said channel members, thereby forming a plurality of slots in the upper surface of the structure into which any f plastic composition applied to such upper surface `may penetrate to form keying means thereto.

2. A structuresuch as defined in claim 1, comblned with a continuous layer of originally plastic material applied to said surfaces and extending into the grooves so left between adjacent members.

3. A combination such as defined in claim 1 in which said intervening members comprise the webs of a plurality of T-irons, the flanges ofv which extend across the free edges of said channel member flanges. v

4. In `a oor structure for bridges and like purposes,A a plurality `of standard rolled channel members arranged with the exterior surfaces of `their flanges closely adjacent oneY to another, and

the vexterior surfaces of their webs all in substantially one and the same .plane forming the upper surface of the structure so assembled, combined with a plurality. of T-irons each one of which has its upwardly projecting web conned between-two adjacent flanges of said channel members and its flanges extendingvbelow the free edges thereof, together with means for fastening together said flanges and T-iron webs; whereby said T-iron flanges serve both as supports for the oor structure so formed and as tension members to assist in resisting any disruptive strains to which the lower edges of said channel member flanges may be subjected as the result oi deflection thereof caused by loads applied between spaced apart supports for said oor structure.

5. A structure such as dened in claim 4 com,-

bined with spaced apart supports extending under said T-irons and substantially at right angles thereto.

6. As a new article of manufacture, a floor structure for bridges and like purposes comprising a plurality .of standard rolled channel members arranged with the exterior surfaces of their ilanges closely adjacent one to another and the exterior surfaces of their webs all in substantially one and the same plane, said members being com-- bined with a plurality ci supporting' members each having a flat section conned between two adjacent flanges of said mst-mentioned channel members and fastened thereto` in positions such that their -upper portions cooperate with the position for use, whereby they then cooperate with the T-irons, on either side oi the webs of which T-irons they are fastened, to form built-up I-beams incorporated in such finished ioor.

LOUIS FOCHT.

, `10 which the anges oiv said channels have cross sections flaring upwardly when the floor is in

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