Cover assembly for structural members

1. A cover assembly for a gap between structural members comprising:

at least one base member affixed to at least one of said structural members;

a coverplate comprising:

an elongated resilient cover having a load bearing surface opposite a support surface; and

a plurality of spaced apart rigid plate members engaged with said elongated resilient cover;

wherein one of said plurality of spaced apart rigid plate members comprises a gap bridging rigid plate member which bridges said gap between said structural members;

wherein the remainder of said plurality of spaced apart rigid plate members extend along opposite lateral sides of said gap bridging rigid plate member for allowing elastic deformation of said elongated resilient cover; and

wherein the elongated resilient cover is capable of applying a biasing force in a substantially vertical direction to urge said rigid plate members which extend along opposite lateral sides of said gap bridging rigid plate member cover toward the horizontal structural members while the elongated resilient is resiliently deformed by traffic traversing said load bearing surface; and

a positioning assembly which comprises a rotatable member which is engaged to said coverplate and said at least one base member.

2. The cover assembly of claim 1 , wherein said elongated resilient cover comprises peripheral edges including tapered face surfaces for providing incline planes to bear traffic traversing said elongated resilient cover.

3. The cover assembly of claim 1 , wherein said load bearing surface of said elongated resilient cover includes spaced apart upstanding ribs arranged to extend transversely to the direction of traffic traversing said cover.

4. The cover assembly of claim 1 , further comprising mechanical fasteners for engaging said coverplate to said positioning assembly, and wherein said fasteners are selected from the group consisting of screws, bolts, nails, rivets and combinations thereof.

5. The cover assembly of claim 1 , wherein said elongated resilient cover comprises an elastomeric material.

6. The cover assembly of claim 5 , wherein said elastomeric material is selected from the group consisting of butadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, butyl rubber, ethylene-propylene rubber, ethylene-propylene-diene rubber, polyisoprene rubber, polychloroprene rubber, silicone rubber, nitrile rubber and combinations thereof.

7. The cover assembly of claim 6 , wherein said elastomeric material comprises ethylene-propylene-diene rubber.

8. The cover assembly of claim of claim 7 , wherein said plurality of spaced apart rigid plate members of said coverplate are encapsulated within said ethylene-propylene-diene rubber cover.

9. The cover assembly of claim 1 , wherein said positioning assembly further comprises a resistance element and a retention element.

10. The cover assembly of claim 9 , wherein said resistance element is selected from the group consisting of compression springs, leaf springs, elastomeric springs, elastomeric bushings, gas springs, spring bearings, and combinations thereof.

11. The cover assembly of claim 10 , wherein said resistance element comprises a compression spring.

12. The cover assembly of claim 1 ,

wherein said base members comprise aluminum extrusions;

wherein said elongated resilient cover comprises ethylene-propylene-diene rubber;

wherein said positioning assembly comprises a rotatable coverplate positioning member, a steel compression spring and a retention nut; and

wherein said coverplate is engaged to said positioning assembly by at least one fastener.

13. The cover assembly of claim 12 , wherein said at least one fastener comprises at least one bolt engaged with said coverplate.

14. The cover assembly of claim 13 , wherein said at least one fastener is engaged substantially along the median portion of said coverplate.

15. An expansion joint for a building structure comprising:

two spaced structural members defining a gap therebetween;

at least one base member affixed to at least one of said structural members;

a coverplate comprising:

an elongated resilient cover having a load bearing surface opposite a support surface; and

a plurality of spaced apart rigid plate members engaged with said elongated resilient cover;

wherein one of said plurality of spaced apart rigid plate members comprises a gap bridging rigid plate member which bridges said gap between said structural members;

wherein the remainder of said plurality of spaced apart rigid plate members extend along opposite lateral sides of said gap bridging rigid plate member for allowing elastic deformation of said elongated resilient cover; and

wherein the elongated resilient cover is capable of applying a biasing force in a substantially vertical direction to urge said rigid plate members which extend along opposite lateral sides of said gap bridging rigid plate member toward the horizontal structural members while the elongated resilient cover is resiliently deformed by traffic traversing said load bearing surface; and

a positioning assembly which comprises a rotatable member which is engaged with said coverplate and at least one base member.

16. The expansion joint of claim 15 , wherein said elongated resilient cover comprises peripheral edges including tapered face surfaces for providing incline planes to bear traffic traversing said elongated resilient cover.

17. The expansion joint of claim 15 , wherein said load bearing surface of said elongated resilient cover includes spaced apart upstanding ribs arranged to extend transversely to the direction of traffic traversing said cover.

18. The expansion joint of claim 15 , further comprising mechanical fasteners for engaging said coverplate to said positioning assembly, and wherein said fasteners are selected from the group consisting of screws, bolts, nails, rivets and combinations thereof.

19. The expansion joint of claim 15 , wherein said elongated resilient cover comprises an elastomeric material.

20. The expansion joint of claim 19 , wherein said elastomeric material is selected from the group consisting of butadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, butyl rubber, ethylene-propylene rubber, ethylene-propylene-diene rubber, polyisoprene rubber, polychloroprene rubber, silicone rubber, nitrile rubber and combinations thereof.

21. The expansion joint of claim 20 , wherein said elastomeric material comprises ethylene-propylene-diene rubber.

22. The expansion joint of claim 21 , wherein said plurality of spaced apart rigid plate members of said coverplate are encapsulated by said elongated resilient cover.

23. The expansion joint of claim 15 , wherein said positioning assembly further comprises a resistance element and a retention element.

24. The expansion joint of claim 13 , wherein the resistance element is selected from the group consisting of compression springs, leaf springs, elastomeric springs, elastomeric bushings, gas springs, spring bearings, and combinations thereof.

25. The expansion joint of claim 24 , wherein the resistance element comprises a compression spring.

26. The cover assembly of claim 15 ,

wherein said base members comprise aluminum extrusions;

wherein said elongated resilient cover comprises ethylene-propylene-diene rubber;

wherein said positioning assembly comprises a rotatable coverplate positioning member, a steel compression spring and a retention nut; and

wherein said coverplate is engaged with said positioning assembly by at least one fastener.

27. The expansion joint of claim 26 , wherein said at least one fastener comprises at least one bolt engaged to said coverplate.

28. The expansion joint of claim 27 , wherein said at least one fastener is engaged substantially along the median portion of said coverplate.