The present invention concerns the sector of building construction and in particular it concerns prefabricated elements for the construction of ventilated and/or insulated cavities.
Non-retrievable prefabricated elements or formworks are known, which are used for the construction of ventilated cavities for raised floors.
These elements are generally available in the shape of a dome with four legs and are positioned side by side and connected in such a way as to form a continuous grid structure. The rod irons for reinforced concrete (resistance-welded netting or ribbed floor) are laid on this structure and then the concrete is cast. In this way a monolithic floor is obtained, which is ventilated in the lower part and whose ventilated cavity can be reached for laying pipes, ducts and cables.
The drawback of a floor constructed with these elements is represented by the fact that it is rather thick, fragile and does not resist to elevated pressures.
Modular elements as set forth in the preamble of the claim are known from EP-B 803 618. These modular elements are provided with specific connection means requesting a considerable space and being equipped with holes to attach each element to the ground by means of screws, nails or the like. This means that each element must first be fixed to the ground before it would be possible to attach a second one.
On the other hand, each one of the elements has a convex upper surface, which, according to claim 1, includes at least one supporting and reinforcing pillar element in an underlying position which may be central or excentric.
US-A 4 993 202 relates to a cavity floor that includes a profiled sheet material having a plurality of support feet which are formed by deep - drawing of the sheet. No modular elements are provided which would be adapted to be combined with each other.
The object of the present invention is new prefabricated modular element with reduced thickness, comprising a series of small domes and provided with a plurality of supports at the bottom.
The new modular element, thanks to its reduced thickness and to its structure comprising a plurality of domes, may be conveniently used in all the situations in which it is necessary to obtain a ventilated and/or insulated layer, when the total thickness of the floor must be reduced and/or the floow must bear high loads.
The upper surface of the new prefabricated elements is substantially plane and comprises a series of domes whose concave part is directed downwards.
Each common area among four domes, as far as the central part of the new element is concerned, or between two domes, as far as the sides of the new element are concerned, is arched until the point where it reaches the lower surface of the new modular element, in such a way as to form a series of intermediate feet or supports distributed on the entire surface of the new modular element. Notwithstanding the reduced thickness, the structure formed by the various small domes allows the new element to resist to the great stresses that are exerted perpendicularly to it.
The various feet or supports present among the various domes of the new modular element allows all the weights applied to the upper side of the element to be discharged onto the support surface constituted by the feet or supports.
The edges of the various domes, along the sides of the new modular element, are bent to form a U, so that it is possible to match more modular elements by simply inserting the U-shaped edge of the side of a new modular element in the U-shaped edge of the side of the modular element that has already been laid.
The upper part of each dome of the new modular element is provided with parallel and/or radial projections.
The concrete reinforcement of the floor or upper wall can be comfortably laid on the various new modular elements, even between said projections. In fact, the upper part of the domes is partially plane, so that it is possible to make a smooth casting where the projections reach a constant, suitable height for a smooth casting.
Notwithstanding the reduced thickness, the new modular element makes it possible to ventilate properly the space created between the two floors or walls, thus avoiding the formation of condensate and humidity, and to obtain heat and sound insulation.
The upper part is flat, in such a way as to facilitate any smooth casting and the introduction of iron rods for reinforced concrete, aimed to obtain a linear cope with constant and definite thickness.
The following is a practical application among many of the invention in question, illustrated in the enclosed drawings, wherein:
Along the sides of the new modular element the edges (1.4) of the various domes (1) are bent in the shape of a U, so that it is possible to match more modular elements by simply introducing the U-shaped edge (1.4) of the side of a new modular element in the U-shaped edge (1.4) of the side of the modular element that has already been laid.