Preassembled roof and floor deck panel system
An improved roof and floor deck system uses conventional steel shapes and sizes to form a preassembled panel that can be installed and fastened in place without the need for welding or other fastening from above. The roof and floor panel assembly has a frame of generally C-shaped structural members, including a pair of side members and a pair of end members. Each member has a substantially planar outer perimeter surface for coupling with an adjacent panel frame member. A deck is secured to enclose the top side of the frame. The panels are prefabricated, hoisted into place on existing supporting girders, connected together and secured to the girders by workers positioned below the panel assembly.
The present invention is broadly concerned with an improved commercial roof and deck system. More particularly, it is concerned with a modular deck system having prefabricated panels that can be fastened to primary support members from below without the need for field-welding.
A portion of a structure erected using conventional commercial building construction practice is depicted in
A supporting structure is set by installing horizontal steel beams or girders (A) on columns (B) or bearing walls. A series of open web steel joists (C) are rigged, hoisted and set between the beams. Bar joists, each having a top chord joist (D) and a bottom chord joist (E) with an intermediate open web (F) are depicted in
In order to reduce the incidence of such accidents, the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration has established steel erection standards for the construction industry. These standards require those engaged in structural steel assembly to adopt specific work practices. Notably, they require that workers be protected with fall arrest or restraint equipment when working at heights greater than fifteen feet or two stories. They also specify that hoisting cables may not be released until structural members have been secured in place. While these steel erection standards serve to enhance the safety of workers involved in commercial structural steel assembly, the additional labor and compliance activities required by these standards also serve to increase the cost of commercial construction.
Conventional bar joist construction methods are also costly because they incorporate wasted space which is attributable to the height of the open web that extends between the top and bottom chord joists. This so-called “above ceiling” interference requires augmentation of floor-to-ceiling dimensions in order to accommodate-mechanical, electrical and plumbing rough-in items such as ductwork and piping, and also makes the installation of such items more difficult. The depth of the bar joists may also cause problems in correspondence of the dimensions where the construction involves addition of new space to an existing older structure having limited floor-to-ceiling clearances and a requirement for matching existing multi-floor elevations.
Conventional construction methods also require custom installation of roof penetrations and their associated structural reinforcement members, and on-site installation of hatches and other roof accessories.
Previous attempts to fabricate roof and floor deck assemblies in the shop have utilized open web bar joists with steel decking as the top chord of the joist. Such systems do not address most of the problems previously described, in that they still require the erection crew to field-weld above the decking and do not reduce the depth of the exterior perimeter wall height attributable to the depth of the bar joists or the required interior floor-to-ceiling clearances. Accordingly, there is a need for a prefabricated roof and floor panel system that is economical, adaptable and provides a reduced-depth panel that can be installed quickly and safely, without the need for field-welding from a position above the support structure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is directed to an improved roof and floor deck system using conventional steel shapes and sizes to form a preassembled panel that can be installed and fastened in place without the need for performing welding or other fastening operations from a position above the deck. The roof and floor panel assembly has a rectangular frame of structural members, including a pair of side members and a pair of end members. Each member has a substantially planar outer perimeter surface for fastening to an adjacent panel frame member, as by sets of bolts and nuts, rivets, or the like. A deck is secured to enclose the top side of the frame. The panels are prefabricated, hoisted into place on existing supporting girders; joined together and connected to the girders by workers positioned below the panel assembly.
The preassembled deck panels are formed of a length equal approximately to the span between the girders which will support them. Generally, when supported by exterior girders, a panel is sized so that the end extends flush with the edge of the upper flange of the supporting girder. For an interior girder, the end of the panel extends halfway across the upper flange of the girder so that the girder can also support another panel butted against the first. The end members of abutting panels supported by a common girder are connected by fasteners, similar to the side members of the panels.
Objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention; which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure.
A commercial roof and floor deck system in accordance with the present invention is generally designated by the reference numeral 10 and is illustrated in
As shown in
Advantageously, the prefabricated panels 24 may be employed to form both roof and floor deck structures. When the prefabricated panels are used as roof deck panels 24, a roof 46 is installed in covering relationship over the decking 44 (
When the prefabricated panels are used as floor deck panels 24, a layer of concrete 49 is poured over the deck 44 to form a floor structure 50 as shown in
As shown in
In use, the system 10 can be quickly designed in accordance with structural requirements of the job and the panels 24 quickly fabricated in a shop using standard steel stock. Because their generally planar or flat profile permits stacking, the prefabricated panels 24 can be cost-effectively transported to a job site in quantity by rail or by truck. Once delivered to a job site, the preassembled panels 24 are rigged and hoisted into place on a support structure 12 using a crane or the like.
As shown in
As shown in
Alternatively, as shown in
A first alternate embodiment of a roof or floor deck system 100 is depicted in
A second alternate embodiment of a roof or floor deck system 200 is depicted in
It is to be understood that while certain forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangement of parts described and shown.
Claims
1. A modular roof and floor panel assembly for connection with and spanning a pair of horizontally extending girders and comprising:
- (a) a plurality of structural members including a pair of elongated frame side members and a pair of elongated frame end members, each of said members having a planar side surface;
- (b) said side members and said end members being joined at their ends to form a rectangular panel frame having substantially planar outer perimeter surfaces formed by said planar side surfaces of said members, said panel frame having a top side and a bottom side; and;
- (c) a deck member secured to said top side and enclosing said frame.
2. The modular roof and panel assembly as set forth in claim 1, and including:
- (a) fasteners enabling attachment of said frame end members to said girders.
3. The modular roof and panel assembly as set forth in claim 1, and including:
- (a) a bracket member connecting an end member of said panel frame to one of said girders.
4. The modular roof and panel assembly as set forth in claim 1 and including:
- (a) a T-shaped bracket formed by a bracket web having a first end and a second end and a pair of bracket flanges extend from said first end of said bracket web;
- (b) said bracket having said second end of said bracket web joined to one of said girders; and
- (c) said bracket flanges being fastened to one of said end members of said panel frame to thereby join said end member to one of said girders.
5. The modular roof and floor panel assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein:
- (a) said frame end members are adapted to enable connection with said girders; and
- (b) said frame side members are adapted to enable connection with frame side members of additional panel assemblies.
6. The modular roof and floor panel assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein:
- (a) said frame end members are adapted to enable connection with said girders; and
- (b) said frame end members are further adapted to enable connection with frame end members of additional panel assemblies.
7. The modular roof and floor panel assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein:
- (a) said frame structural members have a generally C-shaped cross section, including an upper flange and a lower flange joined by a closed web; and
- (b) each of said structural members is oriented and positioned on said frame to enable said web to form a portion of said substantially planar outer perimeter surface of said frame.
8. The modular roof and floor; panel assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein:
- (a) at least one of said frame structural members of a panel assembly has a tubular, rectangular cross section, including an upper wall and a lower wall jointed by a pair of spaced apart side walls.
9. The modular roof and floor panel assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein:
- (a) a plurality of said panels are joined together in side-by-side relation.
10. The modular roof and floor panel assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein:
- (a) a plurality of said panels are joined together in end-to-end relation.
11. The modular roof and floor panel assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein:
- (a) a plurality of said panels are joined together in side-to-side and end-to-end relation.
12. The modular roof and floor panel assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein:
- (a) a generally rectangular framework is connected with a plurality of said side members in spanning relationship for supporting a roof top unit.
13. Modular roof and floor panel assemblies for connection with and spanning a pair of parallel, horizontally extending girders, each assembly comprising:
- (a) a plurality of structural members including a pair of elongated frame side members and a pair of elongated frame end members, each of said members having a planar side surface;
- (b) said panel frame side members and said end members being joined at their ends tor form a rectangular panel frame having substantially planar outer perimeter surfaces formed by said planar side surfaces of said members, said panel frames each having a top side and a bottom side; and
- (c) a deck member secured to each of said top sides and enclosing each of said frames.
14. The assemblies as set forth in claim 13, wherein:
- (a) said panel assemblies are connected together in side-by-side and end-to-end relationship.
15. The assemblies as set forth in claim 13, wherein:
- (a) said frame end members further include structure enabling attachment to said girders.
16. The assemblies as set forth in claim 13, wherein:
- (a) said frame end members are adapted to enable connection with said girders; and
- (c) said frame side members are adapted to enable connection with frame side members of adjacent panel assemblies.
17. The assemblies as set forth in claim 13, wherein:
- (a) said frame structural members have a generally C-shaped cross section, including ah upper flange and a lower flange joined by a web; and
- (b) said webs are positioned on said frames to form said substantially planar outer perimeter surfaces of said frames.
18. The assemblies as set forth in claim 13, wherein:
- (a) at least one of said frame structural members have a tubular, rectangular cross section, including an upper wall and a lower wall jointed by a pair of spaced apart, side walls.
19. The assemblies as set forth in claim 13, wherein:
- (a) a generally rectangular framework is connected with a plurality of said side members in spanning relationship for supporting a roof top unit.
20. A modular roof and floor panel system for connection with and spanning a pair of parallel, horizontally extending girders and comprising:
- (a) a plurality of rectangular panel frames, each frame including: (1) a plurality of structural members including a pair of elongated frame side members and a pair of elongated frame end members, each of said members having a planar side surface; (2) said side members and said end members being joined at their ends to form a rectangular panel frame having substantially planar outer perimeter surfaces formed by said planar side surfaces of said members, said panel frame having a top side and a bottom side;
- (b) a deck member secured to said top side and enclosing said frame;
- (c) said panels being joined to said girders by connection of end members of each panel respectively to said girders; and
- (d) said panels being joined in side-by-side relation by mutual connection of facing side members of adjacent panels.
21. The assemblies as set forth in claim 20, wherein:
- (a) said frame structural members have a generally C-shaped cross section, including an upper flange and a lower flange joined by a closed web; and
- (b) each of said structural members is oriented and positioned on said frames to enable the webs of said structural members to form said substantially planar outer perimeter surface of each of said frames.
22. A method of assembling a roof and floor deck on a pair of parallel, horizontally extending girders and comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a plurality of prefabricated roof and floor panel assemblies, each assembly including: (1) a plurality of structural members including a pair of elongated frame side members and a pair of elongated frame end members, each of said members having a planar side surface; (2) said side members and said end members being joined at their ends to form a rectangular panel assembly having substantially planar outer perimeter surfaces formed by said planar side surfaces of said members, said assembly having a top side and a bottom side; and (3) a deck member secured to said top side and enclosing said assembly;
- (b) lifting each prefabricated roof and floor deck assembly onto said pair of girder and positioning said assembly in spanning relation between said girders,
- (c) connecting end members of each assembly with a respective one of said girders;
- (d) positioning adjacent assemblies in side-by-side relation; and
- (e) interconnecting facing side members of adjacent assemblies.
23. The method of assembly as set forth in claim 22, wherein:
- (a) said step of coupling said assembly end members is performed from a position below said roof and deck assembly.
24. A method of assembling a roof and floor deck using a plurality of prefabricated roof and floor deck assemblies, comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a plurality of prefabricated roof and floor panel assemblies, each assembly including a rectangular frame of elongated structural members, said frame including a pair of side members and a pair of end members and having a top side and a bottom side; said frame side members and end members each including a substantially planar outer perimeter surface; and a deck member secured to said top side and enclosing said frame;
- (b) lifting and positioning a first prefabricated roof and floor deck assembly on and spanning between a pair of existing girders;
- (c) fastening each of said first assembly end members to a respective one of said pair of girders;
- (d) lifting and positioning a second prefabricated roof and floor deck assembly on and spanning between said pair of existing girders in side-by-side relationship with said first assembly;
- (e) fastening each of said second assembly end members with a respective one of said girders; and
- (f) fastening one of said first assembly side members with an adjacent one of said second assembly frame side members.
25. The method of assembly as set forth in claim 24, wherein:
- (a) said fastening steps of said first and second assembly end members and side members are performed from a position below said roof and deck assembly.
26. The method of assembly as set forth in claim 24, wherein said step of lifting and positioning further includes:
- (a) positioning a second prefabricated roof and floor deck assembly on and spanning between said pair of existing girders in end-to end relationship with said first assembly.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 26, 2003
Publication Date: Mar 31, 2005
Inventor: Timothy Olah (Kansas City, MO)
Application Number: 10/674,097