Subfloor assembly for athletic playing surface

Abstract

A subfloor assembly that supports a floor on a substrate. The assembly includes an upper profile panel, a lower profile panel, and a resilient member positioned therebetween. The upper profile panel has at least one upper protruding rib and an upper groove on each side of the upper protruding rib. The lower profile panel has at least one lower protruding rib and a lower groove on each side of the lower protruding rib. The resilient member is sandwiched therebetween and has a resilient elastic modulus that results in (i) the resilient member being spaced from the upper profile panel and from the lower profile panel when the subfloor assembly is in an unloaded state and (ii) the resilient member deforming and in contact with the upper profile panel and the lower profile panel when the subfloor assembly is in a loaded state.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A subfloor assembly that supports a floor on a substrate, the subfloor assembly comprising:
 a. an upper profile panel, a lower profile panel, and a resilient member positioned between the upper profile panel and the lower profile panel;   b. the upper profile panel having at least one upper protruding rib on an upper inner surface and extending along an upper axis of the upper profile panel, an upper groove on each side of the upper protruding rib on the upper inner surface and extending along the upper axis of the upper profile panel;   c. the lower profile panel having at least one lower protruding rib on a lower inner surface and extending along a lower axis of the lower profile panel, and a lower groove on each side of the lower protruding rib on the lower inner surface and extending along the lower axis of the lower profile panel; and,   d. the resilient member sandwiched between the upper protruding rib and the lower protruding rib and having a resilient elastic modulus that results in (i) the resilient member being spaced from the upper profile panel where the upper groove is located and spaced from the lower profile panel where the lower groove is located when the subfloor assembly is in an unloaded state and (ii) the resilient member deforming and in contact with the upper profile panel where the upper groove is located and in contact with the lower profile panel where the lower groove is located when the subfloor assembly is in a loaded state.   
     
     
         2 . The subfloor assembly of  claim 1 , comprising at least two upper protruding ribs on the upper inner surface and each upper protruding rib extends toward the upper inner surface a same distance and forms a common upper inner surface defined by an endmost edge of each upper protruding rib. 
     
     
         3 . The subfloor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the endmost edge has a width and the width has at least a portion with a linear profile, a curved profile or a polygon profile. 
     
     
         4 . The subfloor assembly of  claim 1 , comprising at least two lower protruding ribs on the lower inner surface and each lower protruding rib extends toward the lower inner surface a same distance and forms a common lower inner surface defined by an endmost edge of each lower protruding rib. 
     
     
         5 . The subfloor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the upper protruding rib has an upper rib width and the upper groove has an upper groove width, and the upper rib width is approximately equal to the upper groove width. 
     
     
         6 . The subfloor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the upper protruding rib has an upper rib width and the upper groove has an upper groove width, and the upper rib width is between 75% and 100% of the upper groove width. 
     
     
         7 . The subfloor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the upper protruding rib is disposed across from and a mirror image of the lower protruding rib. 
     
     
         8 . The subfloor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the upper protruding rib is disposed across from and a different shape than the lower protruding rib. 
     
     
         9 . The subfloor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the upper protruding rib has an upper rib width and the upper rib is disposed across from the lower protruding rib, the lower protruding rib having a lower rib width and the lower rib width is different than the upper rib width. 
     
     
         10 . The subfloor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the resilient member extends between at least two upper protruding ribs and at least two lower protruding ribs and is sandwiched between the respective upper protruding ribs and lower protruding ribs. 
     
     
         11 . The subfloor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the upper protruding rib extends toward the upper inner surface a distance less than an innermost edge of the inner surface. 
     
     
         12 . The subfloor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the lower protruding rib extends toward the lower inner surface a distance less than an innermost edge of the lower inner surface. 
     
     
         13 . The subfloor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the upper protruding rib extends toward the upper inner surface a distance approximately equal to an innermost edge of the inner surface. 
     
     
         14 . A subfloor assembly that supports a floor on a substrate, the subfloor assembly comprising:
 a. an upper profile panel, a lower profile panel, and a resilient member positioned between the upper profile panel and the lower profile panel;   b. the upper profile panel having at least one upper protruding rib on an upper inner surface and extending along an upper axis of the upper profile panel, an upper groove on each side of the upper protruding rib on the upper inner surface and extending along the upper axis of the upper profile panel;   c. the lower profile panel having at least one lower protruding rib on a lower inner surface and extending along a lower axis of the lower profile panel, and a lower groove on each side of the lower protruding rib on the lower inner surface and extending along the lower axis of the lower profile panel;   d. the resilient member sandwiched between the upper protruding rib and the lower protruding rib and the subfloor assembly held together by a limit fastener that results in (i) the upper profile panel being spaced from the lower profile panel a first distance when the subfloor assembly is in an unloaded state and (ii) the upper profile panel being spaced from the lower profile a second distance when the subfloor assembly is in a loaded state with the second distance is less than the first distance, and (iii) the upper profile panel instantly returning to the first distance when the subfloor assembly is in an unloaded state.   
     
     
         15 . The subfloor assembly of  claim 14 , wherein the limit fastener is movably secured to at least one of the upper profile panel and the lower profile panel and the limit fastener extends through the resilient member. 
     
     
         16 . The subfloor assembly of  claim 15 , wherein the limit fastener is immovably secured to at least one of the upper profile panel and the lower profile panel. 
     
     
         17 . The subfloor assembly of  claim 14 , wherein instantly is less than 0.5 second. 
     
     
         18 . The subfloor assembly of  claim 14 , comprising multiple subfloor assemblies secured together and a floor on top of the subfloor assemblies. 
     
     
         19 . A method for constructing a subfloor assembly that supports a floor on a substrate, the method comprising:
 a. forming an upper profile panel having (i) at least one upper protruding rib on an upper inner surface and extending along an upper axis of the upper profile panel and (ii) an upper groove on each side of the upper protruding rib on the upper inner surface and extending along the upper axis of the upper profile panel;   b. forming a lower profile panel having (i) at least one lower protruding rib on a lower inner surface and extending along a lower axis of the lower profile panel and (ii) a lower groove on each side of the lower protruding rib on the lower inner surface and extending along the lower axis of the lower profile panel;   c. sandwiching a resilient member with and between the upper profile panel and the lower profile panel, the resilient member having a resilient elastic modulus and the upper profile panel being spaced from the lower profile panel a first distance in an unloaded state;   d. compressing the resilient member between at least one upper protruding rib opposing at least one lower protruding rib with a pair of substantially equal but opposite forces acting upon the resilient member between opposing ribs when the subfloor assembly is in a loaded state and thereby the upper profile panel and the lower profile panel being spaced from each other by a second distance, the second distance being less than the first distance; and,   e. relaxing the resilient member between opposing ribs when the subfloor assembly returns to the unloaded state and thereby the upper profile panel and the lower profile panel return to the first distance.