Raised access floor system

• US 6,918,217 B2
• Filed: 02/24/2003
• Issued: 07/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Haworth Limited (Haworth Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Haworth Limited (Haworth Incorporated)
• Inventors: Marshall, Dale, Spavor, Paul, Shivak, Vincent, Clintberg, Jay, Long, Darren, Jakob-Bamberg, Rupert
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuomo, Peter M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MCPARTLIN, SARAH BURNHAM
• Application Number:
  US10/373,585
• Publication Number:
  US 20030177723A1
• Time in Patent Office: 876 Days
• Field of Search: 522/63, 522/205, 522/201
• US Class Current: 52/263
• CPC Class Codes: E04B 5/48 Special adaptations of floors for incorporating ducts, e.g. for heating or ventilating in block-shaped elements E04C1/39; in slab- or sheet-shaped elements E04C2/52
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 15/024 Sectional false floors, e.g. computer floors height-adjustable supports for terrace roof coverings E04D11/00; underfloor heating using water F24D3/142, using air F24D5/10; installation of cables, lines or protective tubing in floors H02G3/28
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 15/02429 the core material hardening after application
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 15/02452 Details of junctions between the supporting structures and the panels or a panel-supporting framework
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 3/285 in modular floors, e.g. access floors

Abstract

A floor panel for a raised access floor system, including a shallow metal pan with a bottom wall and a shallow upwardly-opening compartment. The bottom wall has a plurality of first hollow projections projecting upwardly therefrom, which projections adjacent upper ends thereof having sidewardly projecting rib structure. The bottom wall also has a plurality of microfeatures which project upwardly through a lesser extent. The number of microfeatures is substantially greater than the number of projections. The pan side walls and bottom wall are free of openings therethrough. A mass of solidified concrete fills the compartment. The floor panel is supported on a pedestal having a base which has clamping and mounting features integrated thereon for engaging grounding wires and cable management members.

Claims

1. In a raised floor system having a plurality of pedestals supported on a building floor in sidewardly spaced relationship and projecting upwardly therefrom, and a plurality of floor panels supported on the pedestals adjacent upper ends thereof, whereby the floor panels define a raised floor which is disposed upwardly from the building floor so as to define a space therebetween, the improvement comprising:

said pedestal having a fastening part fixedly associated therewith;

an elongate one-piece cable management member positioned in said space below said floor panels and extending generally sidewardly between only one pair of adjacent said pedestals, said cable management member including a pair of elongate cantilevered legs defining thereon sidewardly spaced mounting parts which are relatively moveable so as to be respectively engaged with said adjacent pedestals to couple said cable management member therebetween;

said cable management member having an elongate center part which joins between said mounting parts and extends generally sidewardly between said pair of adjacent pedestals for positionally controlling cabling in said space; and

said one-piece cable management member being at least in part resiliently deflectable so that the mounting parts can be relatively moved into an inserting position due to resilient deflection of said cable management member, and then resiliently urged into engagement with the respective fastening parts.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the pedestal includes an upright which at a lower end is fixedly secured to a horizontally large base adapted for supportive engagement on the building floor, said fastening part being permanently fixed to and projecting upwardly from said large base for direct engagement with the end part of said cantilevered leg.

3. A system according to claim 2, wherein the cantilevered leg is defined by an elongate cantilevered rod portion, and wherein the fastening part on the base defines therein an opening in which the end of the cantilevered rod portion is received.

4. A system according to claim 3, wherein the opening defined in said fastening part opens horizontally generally toward the adjacent sidewardly-spaced pedestal of said pair, and wherein the cantilevered rod portion and its relationship with the cable management member provides at least limited resilient deflection so as to enable the end of the cantilevered rod portion to be horizontally inserted into the opening of the respective fastening part.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein the elongate center part of the cable management member includes at least a pair of upwardly cantilevered projections which are sidewardly spaced apart and define an upwardly opening channel therebetween for sideward confinement of cabling therebetween.

6. A system according to claim 1, wherein the elongate center part of said cable management member includes a plurality of upwardly cantilevered cable guiding elements disposed in sidewardly spaced relationship and defining a plurality of sidewardly adjacent but upwardly opening channels for sidewardly confining cabling therein.

7. A system according to claim 6, wherein the elongate center part includes first and second cantilevered floor engaging elements which project horizontally in opposite directions relative to a vertical plane defined by the cable guiding elements.

8. A raised floor system for disposition above a subfloor, comprising:

a plurality of support pedestals positioned on the subfloor in spaced relationship and projecting upwardly therefrom;

a raised floor supported on said pedestals adjacent upper ends thereof, whereby the raised floor is positioned vertically upwardly from the subfloor to define a clearance space therebetween;

a fastening part fixed to each said pedestal at a location spaced downwardly from the raised floor; and

a cable manager positioned within said space to positionally control cables which extend therethrough;

said cable manager including a main elongate center portion which extends transversely between a pair of adjacent said pedestals and which adjacent opposite ends thereof has mounting parts positioned for releasable but fixed engagement with the fastening parts on the pair of adjacent pedestals;

each said mounting part of said cable manager terminating in a foot part which is stationarily and directly engageable with the fastening part of a respective said pedestal; and

said cable manager being formed generally as a one-piece member so that said foot parts are stationarily coupled directly to the fastening parts associated with the pedestals without requiring separate parts or fasteners, and the one-piece cable manager being resiliently deflectable to enable the foot parts to be moved relative to the elongate center portion to permit proper engagement of the foot parts with the fastening parts.

9. A system according to claim 8, wherein the fastening part associated with the pedestal defines a tunnel-like opening, and wherein the foot part is defined by a generally cantilevered rod part which is slidably inserted into and engaged within said opening.

10. A system according to claim 9, wherein the foot parts on the cable manager project outwardly in generally opposite direction, and wherein the cable manager is sufficiently resiliently deflectable to enable the foot parts to be relatively moved inwardly toward one another so that they can be positioned for alignment with and then resiliently urged outwardly into engagement with the respective openings.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the cable manager is of a monolithic one-piece construction formed from an elongate metal rod.

12. A system according to claim 8, wherein the pedestal includes an upright which at its lower end is fixedly secured to a horizontally large base plate adapted for disposition on the subfloor, said fastening part being fixedly and integrally defined on said base plate.

13. A system according to claim 8, wherein the pedestal includes a horizontally large platelike base adapted to be disposed on the floor, and a vertically elongate upright fixed to and projecting upwardly from the base and having a head part at the upper end for engagement with one or more floor panels which define the raised floor, said base having said fastener part thereon for stationarily receiving a respective said foot part;

and

said cable manager is an elongate one-piece rod member defining said center portion and said mounting parts, said center portion being formed to define a plurality of generally horizontally aligned but spaced apart rod segments joined together by inverted U-shaped arms which are cantilevered upwardly to define a plurality of upwardly-opening but sidewardly spaced cable confining channels, and said foot part being defined at a free end of said rod member and being engaged with a said fastener part associated with the pedestal base.

14. A system according to claim 8, wherein the center portion of the cable manager defines a horizontally large support tray positioned in substantially spaced relationship above the building floor for supporting cable thereon in raised relationship with respect to the building floor, said cable manager including a plurality of said mounting parts which are fixed to the tray adjacent the edges thereof and are cantilevered downwardly therefrom, each said mounting part having a said foot part at a lower end thereof which is stationarily engaged with a respective one of said pedestals.

15. In a raised floor system having a plurality of pedestals supported on a building floor in sidewardly spaced relationship and projecting upwardly therefrom, the pedestals having horizontally large base plates associated with lower ends thereof for engagement with the building floor, and a plurality of floor panels supported on the pedestals adjacent upper ends thereof, whereby the floor panels define a raised floor which is disposed upwardly from the building floor so as to define a space therebetween, the improvement comprising:

a cable manager positioned in said space below said floor panels and extending generally sidewardly between a pair of adjacent said pedestals, said cable manager including a pair of sidewardly spaced mounting parts which are individually resiliently moveable to respectively directly engage said pedestals to couple said cable manager therebetween;

said cable manager having an elongate center part which joins between said mounting parts and extends generally sidewardly between said pair of adjacent pedestals for positionally controlling cabling in said space;

said cable management member being of one-piece construction and includes a horizontally large gridlike tray disposed in upwardly spaced relationship from the floor and defining said elongate center part, said cable manager having a resiliently flexible leg structure cantilevered downwardly from adjacent each corner of said tray and defining a said mounting part, said downwardly cantilevered leg structure adjacent a lower end thereof having a transversely protruding foot part which is releasably fixed to a fastening structure fixedly provided on said horizontally large base plate associated with the lower end of a respective said pedestal.

16. In a raised floor system having a plurality of pedestals supported on a building floor in sidewardly spaced relationship and projecting upwardly therefrom, the pedestals having horizontally large base plates associated with lower ends thereof for engagement with the building floor, and a plurality of floor panels supported on the pedestals adjacent upper ends thereof, whereby the floor panels define a raised floor which is disposed upwardly from the building floor so as to define a space therebetween, the improvement comprising:

a cable manager positioned in said space below said floor panels and extending generally sidewardly between a pair of adjacent said pedestals, said cable manager including a pair of sidewardly spaced mounting parts which are relatively resiliently moveable so as to be respectively directly engaged with only said pair of adjacent pedestals to couple said cable manager therebetween;

said cable manager having an elongate center part which joins between said mounting parts and extends generally sidewardly between said pair of adjacent pedestals for positionally controlling cabling in said space;

the cable manager being formed as an elongate one-piece member from an elongate rod, the elongate center part of the cable manager including a plurality of sidewardly-spaced uprights joined at lower ends by base parts to define a plurality of sidewardly-spaced upwardly-opening channels for sidewardly confining cables therein;

said mounting parts of said cable manager being joined to opposite ends of said elongate center part and each including a cantilevered leg which at a free end terminates in a foot part which is releasably fixed to a fastening structure fixedly provided on the horizontally large base plate associated with the lower end of a respective said pedestal; and

said cable manager being resiliently deflectable to permit relative movement between the foot parts so as to enable them to be engaged with the fastening structures on the pair of pedestals.

17. A raised floor system comprising:

a plurality of independent, upright support pedestals positionable in horizontally spaced relationship on a building floor in a generally rectangular grid arrangement and projecting upwardly so as to support a raised floor on upper ends thereof, whereby the raised floor is disposed in upwardly spaced relationship relative to the building floor, the pedestal having an upright support which at a lower end is joined to a horizontally large base plate for supportive engagement on the building floor;

a cable management system positioned in the space between the raised floor and the building floor for controlling the running of cables within said space, said cable management system including a plurality of separate cable management members positioned in horizontally spaced relationship to define a cable run between adjacent ones of said pedestals;

at least one of said cable management members comprising a one-piece cable manager positioned in said space, said cable manager including an elongate center part extending horizontally between an adjacent pair of said pedestals and joined at opposite ends to a pair of cantilevered legs each terminating in a foot part adjacent an end thereof, said cable manager having at least limited resilient flexibility to enable the foot parts at opposite ends thereof to be moved toward and away from one another to permit said foot parts to be releasably engaged with a pair of adjacent pedestals;

the pedestals of said adjacent pair each having a fastening part fixedly and permanently joined thereto, said fastening part defining an opening for accommodating therein a said foot part of said cable manager;

whereby said cable manager is at least partially resiliently flexed to enable the foot parts on said cantilevered legs to be aligned with said openings and then inserted into the openings by relieving the resilient flexing of the cable manager.

18. A system according to claim 17, wherein the fastening part associated with the base plate of the pedestal is defined by a tunnel-like structure which is permanently joined to and deformed upwardly from the base plate so as to define a generally horizontally-oriented opening in which the foot part of the cable manager is slidably inserted for snug engagement therein.

19. A system according to claim 18, wherein the tunnel-like structure has a threaded set screw associated therewith for permitting it to be threaded into gripping engagement with the foot part when the latter is engaged within the opening.

20. A system according to claim 17, wherein the cable manager is a monolithic one-piece member formed from an elongate metal rod of generally round cross section and which is suitably bent to define a plurality of upwardly projecting arms which are individually formed as downwardly oriented U-shaped loops disposed in spaced relationship lenghthwise along the center part of the cable manager for defining a plurality of adjacent upwardly-opening cable-accommodating channels, and said one-piece member defining said cantilevered legs which project outwardly in opposite lengthwise directions adjacent opposite ends of the center part and define said foot parts adjacent the free ends thereof, said metal rod also having at least one horizontally bent loop formed in the elongate center part for stabilizing engagement with the building floor.

21. A system according to claim 17, wherein said cable management member includes a center part which extends generally between said adjacent pedestals and which adjacent opposite ends joins to said pair of cantilevered legs which project downwardly and terminate in lower free ends on which are defined transversely cantilevered free end parts which defines said foot parts, said legs being resiliently deflectable relative to the elongated center part for permitting the foot parts on said legs to be horizontally displaced for insertion into the openings associated with the fastening parts on the base plates.

22. A system according to claim 21, wherein the elongate center part of said cable management member is defined by a large and generally horizontally-extending grid, said downwardly-extending legs being joined to said grid adjacent one side thereof and projecting downwardly therefrom for joinder to said pair of adjacent pedestals, said grid having a further pair of cantilevered legs joined to an opposite side thereof and projecting horizontally away from said grid for supportive engagement with an edge of a grid associated with an adjacent said cable manager.