IES20000990A2 - A timber decking kit - Google Patents

Abstract

A timber decking kit for forming a timber decking assembly (1) comprising a number of prefabricated timber elements which can be assembled to form a ground engaging decking support frame (2) together with a number of associated decking tiles (3) which engage and sit on the decking support frame (2). The decking support frame (2) comprises a rectangular outer support frame (5) within which is mounted a cruciform inner support frame (6) defining four sockets (30) for location of the decking tiles (3). The outer support frame (5) has four outer support frame members (8) joined end to end and the inner support frame (6) has two mutually perpendicular interlocking cross beams (20,21). Outer ends of each cross beam (20,21) are secured to the outer frame members (8) by screw fasteners. <Figure 5>

Description

“A timber decking kit“ Introduction This invention relates to a timber decking kit.

Statements of Invention OPEN TO PUBLIC INSPECTION UNDER SECTION 28 AND RULE 23 JNL No. -OF s Λ •4 V) <0 15 «j CJ c id According to the invention, there is provided a timber decking kit comprising:four outer frame members and a plurality of associated fasteners for assembly of the outer frame members together end to end to form a rectangular groundengaging outer support frame, a complementary pair of inner cross beams each for mounting between opposed outer frame members and associated fasteners for securing outer ends of each cross beam to the outer frame members, said cross beams each having an open-ended central engagement slot extending inwardly from one edge to allow interlocking engagement of the cross beams at said slots to form a cruciform inner support frame, the inner support frame together with the outer support frame, upon assembly, forming a composite ground-engaging decking support frame, and at least one decking tile for seating engagement with a top of the decking support frame to cover the frame forming an elevated pedestrian support deck.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, each outer frame member has a first pair 30 of vertically spaced-apart fastener receiving through holes adjacent one end of the outer frame member, said holes being spaced inwardly from an end of the frame member by a distance equal to one half of the width of the outer frame member, the outer frame member having a second pair of vertically spaced-apart fastener receiving through holes, said holes being spaced along the outer frame member from the first - 2 IE000990 pair of fastener receiving through holes by a distance equal to one half of the length of the outer frame member.

Preferably, each decking tile includes a number of juxtaposed timber pieces 5 interconnected on their undersides by means of one or more cross pieces extending across and secured to said timber pieces and terminating inboard of outer frame engaging edges of the decking tile.

Conveniently, an outer end of each fastener receiving through hole is countersunk. ί In another aspect, the invention provides a timber decking assembly comprising:a ground-engaging decking support frame and at least one decking tile for seating engagement with a top of the decking support frame to cover the decking support frame forming an elevated pedestrian support deck, the decking support frame including a rectangular outer support frame within which is mounted a cruciform inner support frame, the outer support frame being formed by four outer frame members joined end to end, each outer frame member having an open end and a closed end, said open end overlapping an end face of the closed end of an adjacent outer frame member, each outer frame member having a first pair of vertically spaced-apart fastener receiving through holes adjacent the open end and spaced inwardly from an end face of said open end by a distance equal to one half of the width of the 0 outer frame members, screw fasteners engaging through said holes with an adjacent outer frame member to damp the adjacent outer frame members together, - 3 IE000990 each outer frame member having a second pair of vertically spaced-apart fastener receiving through holes, said second pair of through holes being spaced along the outer frame member from the first pair of fastener receiving through holes by a distance equal to one half of the length of the outer frame member, screw fasteners engaging through said second pair of through holes with the inner support frame to secure the inner support frame to the outer support frame, the inner support frame including a complementary pairof cross beams, each cross beam having an open ended central engagement slot extending inwardly from one edge of the cross beam, the cross beams being interlocked at said slots to form a cruciform inner support frame, and said cross beams being mutually perpendicular with outer ends of the cross beams abutting inner faces of the outer frame members and being secured to the outer frame members by the fasteners which engage in the second pair of through holes located intermediate the ends of each outer frame member.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, an outer end of each fastener receiving through hole is countersunk to receive a head of a screw fastener such that said head of the screw fastener does not extend outwardly of an outer face of the outer frame member.

Detailed Description of the Invention The invention will be more clearly understood by the following description of some embodiments thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- 4 IE000990 Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a timber decking assembly formed from a timber decking kit of the invention; Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of pieces of the kit for forming a decking support frame; Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the decking support frame pieces of Fig. 2 partially assembled; Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the decking support frame pieces of Fig. 2 fully assembled; and Figs. 5 to 7 are perspective views showing the mounting of decking tiles forming portion of the kit on the decking support frame.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a timber decking assembly according to the invention, indicated generally by the reference numeral 1. The decking assembly 1 is formed from a decking kit according to another aspect of the invention. The decking assembly 1 comprises a ground-engaging decking support frame 2 with, in this case, four decking tiles 3 which sit on and engage with a top of the decking support frame 2 to cover the decking support frame 2 forming an elevated pedestrian support deck.

Referring to Fig. 4, the decking support frame 2 comprises a rectangular outer support frame 5 within which is mounted a cruciform inner support frame 6. A kit of parts for forming the outer support frame 5 and the inner support frame 6 are shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The outer support frame 5 is formed by four outer frame members 8 which are joined end to end as shown in Fig. 4. Each outer frame member 8 has an open end 9 and a closed end 10. As can be seen in Fig. 4, an open end 9 of each outer frame member 8 overlaps an end face 11 of the closed end 10 of an adjacent outer frame member 8.

Each outer frame member 8 has a first pair of vertically spaced-apart fastener receiving through holes 12 adjacent the open end 9 and spaced inwardly from an end face 14 of said open end 9 by a distance equal to one half of the width of the outer - 5 IE000990 frame members 8. Screw fasteners 15 engage through the holes 12 with the closed end 10 of an adjacent outer frame member 8 to secure the frame members 8 together, as shown in Fig. 4.

Each outer frame member 8 also has a second pair of vertically spaced-apart fastener receiving through holes 16. This second pair of through holes 16 is spaced along the outer frame member 8 from the first pair of fastener receiving through holes 12 by a distance equal to one half of the length of the outer frame member 8. Screw fasteners 17 engage through said second pair of through holes 16 with the inner support frame 6 to secure the inner support frame 6 to the outer support frame 5.

The inner support frame 6 has a complementary pair of cross beams 20, 21. Each cross beam 20, 21 has an open ended central engagement slot 22, 23 extending inwardly from a top edge 24 of the cross beam 20 and from a bottom edge 25 of the cross beam 21. Each slot 22,23 extends for about half the depth of the cross beam 20,21. Thus, the cross beams 20,21 can be interlocked at said slots 22,23 to form a cruciform inner support frame 6 as shown in Fig. 3. The fasteners 17 extend through the holes 16 to engage with the inner support frame 6 being screwed into outer end faces 28, 29 at outer ends of each cross beam 20, 21. Thus, as shown in Fig. 4, a rigid decking support frame 2 is formed having four square sockets 30 for reception of the decking tiles 3 as shown in Figs. 5,6 and 7.

Each decking tile 3 has a number of juxtaposed timber pieces 35 interconnected on their undersides by a number of cross pieces which extend across and are secured to an underside of the timber pieces 35, in any suitable fashion, such as by means of staples or other fasteners for example. It will be noted that these cross pieces terminate inboard of outer edges of the decking tile which are thus free to engage the top faces of the frame members 8,20,21. As can be seen particularly in Fig. 1, these decking tiles 3 can be arranged in different orientations to provide a decorative deck surface.

In use, the decking support frame 2 is assembled from the outer frame members 8 and the cross beams 20, 21 and then the decking tiles 3 are mounted in any desired orientation on the decking support frame 2. A number of the timber decking - 6 IE000990 assemblies 1 can be arranged side-by-side to provide a composite decking over any desired area. Ideally, the through holes 12,16 for reception of the screw fasteners to secure the elements of the decking support frame 2 together are countersunk so that the heads of the screw fasteners do not protrude beyond the outer faces of the outer frame members 8. Thus, two or more of the timber decking assemblies 1 can be closely abutted to form the continuous decking over the desired area.

It will be appreciated that the construction of the decking support frame 2 is such as to allow easy alteration of the designs formed by the decking tiles 3. Further, during winter, toe decking tiles 3 can be removed simply and stored under shelter to minimise weathering damage to the tiles 3 and indeed toe decking support frame 2 can also be readily easily disassembled for storage if desired.

It will be appreciated that while in the embodiment illustrated four separate decking tiles 3 are mounted on each decking support frame 2, in some cases, a double tile 3 may be provided for simultaneously engaging two of toe sockets 30.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described which may be varied in both construction and detail within toe scope of toe appended claims.

Claims (5)

1. A timber decking kit, comprising:5 four outer frame members and a plurality of associated fasteners for assembly of the outer frame members together end to end to form a rectangular ground-engaging outer support frame, a complementary pair of inner cross beams each for mounting between 10 opposed outer frame members, ? associated fasteners for securing outer ends of each cross beam to the outer frame members, 15 said cross beams each having an open-ended central engagement slot extending inwardly from one edge to allow interlocking engagement of the cross beams at said slots to form a cruciform inner support frame, the inner support frame together with the outer support frame, upon 20 assembly, forming a composite ground-engaging decking support frame, and at least one decking tile for seating engagement with a top of the decking support frame to cover the frame forming an elevated 2. 5 pedestrian support deck.

2. A timber decking kit as claimed in claim 1, wherein each outer frame member has a first pair of vertically spaced-apart fastener receiving through holes adjacent one end of the outer frame member, said holes being spaced-apart 3. 0 inwardly from an end of the frame member by a distance equal to one half of the width of the outer frame member, the outer frame member having a second pair of vertically spaced-apart fastener receiving through holes, said holes being spaced along the outer frame member from foe first pair of fastener receiving through holes by a distance equal to one half of foe length - 8 IE000990 of the outer frame member, and each decking tile includes a number of juxtaposed timber pieces interconnected on their undersides by means of one or more cross pieces extending across and secured to said timber pieces and terminating inboard of outer frame engaging edges of the decking tile.

3. A timber decking kit substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

4. A timber decking assembly comprising:a ground-engaging decking support frame and at least one decking tile for seating engagement with a top of the decking support frame to cover the decking support frame forming an elevated pedestrian support deck, the decking support frame including a rectangular outer support frame within which is mounted a cruciform inner support frame, the outer support frame being formed by four outer frame members joined end to end, each outer frame member having an open end and a closed end, said open end overlapping an end face of the closed end of an adjacent outer frame member, each outer frame member having a first pair of vertically spaced-apart fastener receiving through holes adjacent the open end and spaced inwardly from an end face of said open end by a distance equal to one half of the width of the outer frame members, screw fasteners engaging through said holes with an adjacent outer frame member to clamp the adjacent outer frame members together, each outer frame member having a second pair of vertically spaced- 9 IE000990 apart fastener receiving through holes, said second pair of through holes being spaced along the outer frame member from the first pair of fastener receiving through holes by a distance equal to one half of toe length of toe outer frame member, screw fasteners engaging through said second pair of through holes with toe inner support frame to secure toe inner support frame to toe outer support frame, the inner support frame including a complementary pair of cross beams, each having an open ended central engagement slot extending inwardly from one edge of toe cross beam, toe cross beams being interlocked at said slots to form a cruciform inner support frame, and said cross beams being mutually perpendicular with outer ends of toe cross beams abutting inner faces of toe outer frame members and being secured to toe outer frame members by toe fasteners which engage in toe second pair of through holes located intermediate toe ends of each outer frame member, and preferably an outer end of each fastener receiving through hole is countersunk to receive a head of a screw fastener such that said head of toe screw fastener does not extend outwardly of an outer face of toe outer frame member.

5. A timber decking assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to toe accompanying drawings.