457,551. Floors ; roofs. GODSON, R. G., 28, Summerhill Gardens, Toronto, Canada. Feb. 21, 1935, Nos. 4309 and 4310. Convention dates, Feb. 21, 1934 and June 20, 1934. [Class 20 (iv)] A floor construction comprises a panel bounded by beams and composed of a plurality of load-carrying elements supported solely upon the beams and arranged to transmit loads thereto which increase in intensity from a minimum intermediate the length of the beam to a maximum near the end of the beam. The load-carrying elements may be separate members, or they may constitute together a solid reinforced concrete slab, in which case the elements are defined by the disposition of the reinforcement. The floor panel shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is bounded by beams 15 and is cast of reinforced concrete, the reinforcement being disposed to give the effect either of a plurality of ring-shaped elements 1 ... 6 as shown in Fig. 1 or of a plurality of triangular elements 7 ... 10 as shown in Fig. 2. The floor shown in Fig. 3 is built up of separate elements 1 ... 8 which are connected together to form a triangular framing. In these cases, assuming uniform loading of the floor, the load on each ring or other shaped element is proportional to its length, and since the elements are all supported on the beams, the load on the latter increases from a minimum at the centre to a maximum near the ends. The joists 11 .. 13 shown in Fig. 4 are of the full depth of the floor for the portions shown in full lines, but are of narrower depth along the dotted portions so that they do not extend to the floor and ceiling surfaces. Corresponding joists are connected by transverse members 14 so as to form, in effect, a number of U-shaped loadcarrying members flush with the floor surface. The transverse members 14 pass through, but do not engage, the joists which lie between the joists they connect. The joists 18 .. 21 shown in Fig. 6 increase in length from the centre of the panel until the boundary beams 22 are reached, each joist transmitting its load near the ends of the joists directly supporting it until the final accumulated reactions are placed on the boundary beams near the supports. With uniform loading of the panel, the joist 18 transmits one larger and one smaller reaction to the two joists to which it is connected at its ends, and the same applies to the joists 19, 20, 21. The load-carrying elements shown in Fig. 7 are in the form of splayed beams 23 which are supported on the boundary beams 26 near the supports. In the case of a reinforced-concrete floor, the panel may be provided with reinforcement in the form of rings 53, 54 near the bottom of the slab as shown in Fig. 10, such reinforcement being formed of complete rings, together, if desired, with partial rings extending only between the radial lines 48 and entirely within the panel; additional reinforcement may be provided as shown at 55, 56, 57 in the lower portion of the slab so as to extend across the boundary beams and between the radial lines 48. The reinforcement rings of adjacent groups of a panel may be arranged to overlap or interlock. Specification 424,585 is referred to. The Specification as open to inspection under Sect. 91 describes also (1) A floor structure in which each boundary beam supports a plurality of independent U-frame members ; (2) The arrangement of a plurality of separate and concentric rings 32, 38, 39, 40, 41 of varying size and spacing on each boundary beam as shown in Figs. 11 and 12 (Cancelled), and hollow filler members 72, are provided below the inner and shallower rings to form a level ceiling. The central portion 33 of the panel is carried by a ring 37 supported by the four outer and tangential rings 32 ; (3) The particular arrangement of the reinforcement of a solid floor slab over the columns and in the centre of the panel; and (4) The application of the invention to the construction of roofs of barrel or other type. This subject-matter does not appear in the Specification as accepted.
