Floor securing device

Oct 30, 1934.

J. A. MacLEAN

1,978,642

FLOOR SECURING DEVICE

Filed Feb. 9, 1931

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Patented Oct. 30, 1934

1,978,642

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

1,978,642

FLOOR SECURING DEVICE

John A. MacLean, Chicago, Ill., assignor to MacLean-Fogg Lock Nut Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois

Application February 9,1931, Serial No. 514,477

Claims. (CI. 189—35)

My invention relates to floor-securing means and more particularly to means for securing the floor boards to a supporting sill and the like.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of an improved construction of floorsecuring clip in the form of strips which are adapted to be applied to the floor with less labor, and adapted to be manufactured with greater economy of material than the devices of the prior art.

Another object of my invention is to provide a clip of the above type which is simple in construction and easily manufactured.

Another object of my invention is the provision of an improved method of fabricating the clips of the above type from a strip of metal.

Another object of my invention is the provision of an improved method of fabricating two clips from a single strip of metal by a simple shearing and forming operation without waste except for the holes punched.

Another object of my invention is the provision of an improved floor-securing strip having a body portion for engaging the supporting sill and laterally extending fastening flanges or clips, the spacing of which may -be determined by the width of the flooring.

The above objects as well as others not particularly pointed out will appear in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing.

For a more complete understanding of my invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment of my invention in which like reference characters in the several views denote like parts and in which;

Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-section through a portion of a floor construction to which my invention may be applied,

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of Fig. 1 partially in section,

Fig. 3 illustrates a method of fabricating the floor securing device of my invention from a strip of metal, and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view along the line 4—4 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows indicated thereon.

Referring now to the drawing and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the reference character 2 indicates a sill for supporting floor boards 3. The sill 2 is representative of a sill of a railway car which runs longitudinally thereof and usually comprises an I-beam or a U or channel beam having a horizontal flange 4 on which are sup ported the floor -boards 3. Formed in the floor boards 3 adjacent the edge of the sill flange 4 are bolt holes 5 spaced for the reception of the bolts 6 which extend through these bolt holes 5 and apertures in the fastening strip indicated 60 generally by the reference character 7 to secure the boards 3 to the sill 2 as clearly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

The fastening strip 7 shown in securing position in Figs. 1 and 2 is one of two such strips 7 65 which may be fabricated from a single strip of metal of predetermined width and length and indicated generally by the reference character 8 in Fig. 3. The metal strip 8 is sheared along the zigzag line 9 between the respective edges 10 and 70 11 of the blank to form two similar securing strips. By means of a simultaneous forming operation the portions 12 and 13 adjacent the respective edges 10 and 11 are bent down out of the plane of the tooth-shaped formations or attaching 75 flanges 16 at the proper angle to engage beneath the sill flange 4 when placed in securing position as described hereinafter.

The shearing of the strip 8 along the zigzag line thus provides each of the fastening strips 7 with 80 a plurality of spaced clips or attaching flanges 16 joined together by the angularly disposed portions 12 and 13 extending longitudinally of the strip. The attaching flanges 16 are also provided with apertures or bolt holes 17 which may be punched 85 simultaneously with the shearing and forming . operations to provide apertures for the passage of the bolts 6 when a strip is placed in fastening position as clearly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. While I have described and illustrated a par- 90 ticular method of forming, two metal fastening strips as 7 by means of a combined shearing and forming operation, it is apparent that the two fastening strips 7 may be first sheared, and subsequently, by means of a separate forming oper- 95 ation, each strip may be formed to provide the angular disposed portions without departing from the invention.

To secure the floor boards or planks to the sill 2 the fastening strip 7 is placed in position with 'θθ its offset or angularly disposed portion 12 engaging beneath the sill flange 4 and the horizontal attaching clips or flanges 16 in contactual engagement with the underside of the floor boards ₁₀₃3 and in the plane of the upper face of the sill flange 4. The bolt holes 5 in the floor boards 3, adapted to receive the bolts 6, are spaced to place them in axial alignment with the bolt holes 17 in the attaching flanges 16 through which the ₁₁₀

1,978,642 threaded ends of the bolts extend for the reception of the nuts 20.

The bolt 6 preferably includes a head 21 having a convexly curved top surface and a bottom surδ face 22 which tapers in thickness from the shank 23 out toward the edge of the head 21. The bottom surface 22 of the head is provided with an integral annular ridge or bead 24 of V-shaped cross-section and an annular groove 25 next to 10 the shank 23. As the nut 20 is threaded home by means of a wrench or other suitable tool, the bolt-head 21 is drawn into the bolt-hole 5 and embeds itself into the surface of the lumber about the bolt-hole 5 and also causes the wood adja15 cent the inner surface of the ridge 24 to be forced against the shank 23 of the bolt 6 and into the groove 25 to form a substantially water-tight seal between the bolt-head 21 and the floor board 3. The nut 20, as provided, is of the self-locking 20 type which, when threaded home, causes the threads of the nut to be forced into clamping engagement with the complementary threads of the bolt 6.

For a more complete understanding of the bolt 2δ construction just described, reference may be had to a copending application Serial No. 423,011, filed January 24,1&amp;20.

The strip just described and its application to a floor structure shown in Fig. 1, may be made of 30 any desired length and the stamping of two such strips from a single strip of metal eliminates any waste of material. The offset angular portion of the strip, which extends longitudinally thereof, provides a substantial contacting surface between ίδ it and the under face of the sill flange 4 while the horizontally disposed fastening flanges 16 engage the under side of the floor boards to provide as many bolt openings as are desired. Thus the provision of a plurality of bolts which pass through 40 the fastening flanges of the strip prevents displacement or rotation of the strip when in securing position. The strip also permits easy assembly when attaching the same to the sill and the floor boards, and, by reason of the fact that a ⁴⁵ number of clips are carried by a single strip, the structure of the clip can be made more simple and a multiplicity of clips can thus be applied at the same time.

While I have illustrated and described a preδθ ferred embodiment of my invention and illustrated and described the same associated with a particular floor-supporting structure, I wish it understood that the clip of my invention is applicable to other uses, and that changes and modifications will suggest themselves, I therefore aim to cover all such changes and modifications as come within the spirit and scope of the 80 appended claims.