EP0239041B1 - Flooring composed of ceramic tiles - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a floor covering made of ceramic tiles on an adhesion-promoting layer which compensates for the unevenness of the substructure.

The layer mentioned is traditionally the mortar bed of the tiles.

On terraces and roofs, floor coverings are also known, in which the tiles are laid on piles of mortar.
Instead of stilts, flat concrete feet are also formed on the concrete slabs, e.g. from GB-A-457 593, which, for the purpose of thermal insulation, also suggests the use of cork particles as an additive in the concrete slabs and unauthorized laying with drainage through between the concrete feet provides remaining cavities.

The floor covering according to DE-A-3 405 755 is externally similar, but functionally different. Flooring elements made of a ceramic tile on a carrier layer made of closed-cell rigid foam are laid at the corners on foot plates made of closed-cell rigid foam for the tiles that collide here and glued to them. This creates a coherent covering over its entire surface. As a whole, this lies loosely on a sliding layer so that it is not exposed to thermal stresses.
Furthermore, it is known to lay rubber mats of lower elasticity under gluing on a roof skin of a terrace and to glue ceramic tiles thereon and to joint them elastically.
Rubber mats are also known to be loosely placed with drainage channels formed on the underside as an intermediate layer under a gravel or loose concrete slab covering.

The invention has for its object to easily and quickly to create laying flooring from ceramic tiles.

According to the invention, this purpose is met by a floor covering of the type described in the introduction, in which the said adhesion-promoting layer, which compensates for the unevenness of the substructure, is formed by rubber pads fixed to the individual tiles in the factory, which lie loosely or only slightly glued to the substructure , and in which the covering elements each formed from a tile and its base are laid with vertical movement of the tiles against each other at the joints.

Thanks to their vulcanized or glued, comparatively soft underlays, the tiles are held immovably on the substructure even without gluing. The floor covering is therefore sure-footed. (The tile surface itself can be designed to be sure-footed.) It also has sufficient grip against wind attack, especially since the tiles together with their base are heavier and more compact than alone. The unevenness of the base is compensated for by the elasticity of the base. Unlike the mortar bed, this compensation is less permanent and more time-related under load, which is the decisive factor. Even under point loading, e.g. by a table leg, a chair leg, a heel or the like. don't break the tiles. An essential part of this concept is the vertical mobility of the tiles against each other. It concentrates the support of the tile on the underlay, ie it prevents the introduction of supporting forces from the edge and thus keeps the bending moment in the tiles limited.
The tiles can also be relatively large in size, as is the aim for easy and quick installation. The laying is essentially done by simply laying on the covering elements, if necessary with cutting. It can also be done by unskilled people. No water is brought into the building.
Further advantages are thermal insulation and impact sound insulation. The latter makes the flooring particularly advantageous for large corridors. As a result of the resilient flexibility, the floor covering is pleasant to close commit.
Another major advantage, especially for old building renovation, is the low height of the covering element. It can be, for example, 3 to 4 cm compared to at least 10 cm, for example in the case of (washed) concrete slabs.
Finally, the covering elements also make it easy and quick to set up a walkway on a flat roof, for example. To do this, they can only be installed at step intervals.

If you want to grout the floor indoors, the grouting must be flexible. From this point of view, it is also possible to press soft hollow profiles into the joints and glue them to the tile edges. For indoor use, the underlays can also be made from a somewhat harder material and possibly without cavities, so that the stressed tiles sink less far. This is because the subsoil will usually be more even in the interior or more easily leveled out than in the exterior and will therefore require less adaptability of the covering elements.

Otherwise, the choice of materials for the interior and exterior will be different. In order to rule out odor nuisance, you have to do without documents made of waste products indoors, which are portable outdoors and make the product cheaper.

However, the floor covering according to the invention is particularly suitable for outdoor use, in that the joints are to remain open in any case and thus firstly the jointing is saved and secondly there is absolutely free, unrestricted vertical mobility of the tiles relative to one another. The water should run through the joints and drain into or under the covering elements.
The underlay of the covering elements for the outside area are therefore draining.

Cavities are preferably formed on the underside of the documents, in which the water can flow. Further in detail, the underside of the documents is preferably nubbed, so that the covering elements rest only with the knobs and wide cavities in between extend in all directions.
The documents can also consist of an open-pore material, preferably granular rubber.
Depending on the application and the degree of porosity, this may be sufficient for drainage. In addition, the elasticity of the material can be adjusted via the porosity.

The pore and other cavities discussed above from the point of view of water drainage also serve for rear ventilation. From this point of view, they are also suitable for indoor use.

As I said, simply placing the covering elements on the base usually creates sufficient frictional liability on the substructure. A slight glue does not harm, however. Where, depending on the circumstances, the friction adhesion is insufficient, you can e.g. apply a thin layer of adhesive in places. Here, too, there is a difference between the outside area and the inside area, in that the covering elements are placed outside after certain periods, e.g. after 10 to 15 years, wants to lose weight in order to remove accumulations of dirt, plant growth etc. for the maintenance of the water drainage paths. A bond in the outside area should therefore be tearable after all.

While there is a gap between the entire elements in the outside area, i.e. also at the level of the underlays, in order to allow the water to flow easily and quickly down into the cavities mentioned, inside you can do this if there is no desired rear ventilation bothersome, let the underlayment protrude laterally over the edge of the tile by half the gap and then lay the covering elements while touching the underlayment. This gives you a constant joint spacing when you install it, and you can also secure it in the long term.

Constant gap spacing can also be easily achieved by placing a corresponding strip as a teaching.

The underlays can be punched and glued to the tiles. However, it is advantageous to use vulcanizing molds in which the documents are vulcanized onto the tiles as early as during their manufacture.
To increase the flexural strength, a glass fiber fabric can be placed between the tile and the base.

In addition to the granulate rubber, which, as mentioned, can largely be old material and scrap material for the outside area, solid rubber is also shortlisted as the material of the underlay. Rubber has the advantage of not absorbing water and adhering well to the substructure.

Fig. 1

zeigt einen Terrassenbelag, teils in senkrechtem Schnitt und teils in perspektivischer Darstellung,

Fig. 2

zeigt einen Ausschnitt aus Fig. 1 in größerem Maßstab.

The drawing shows an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 1

shows a terrace covering, partly in a vertical section and partly in a perspective view,

Fig. 2

shows a section of Fig. 1 on a larger scale.

A terrace 1 is set up on the ceiling 2 of a room on the next lower floor. It must therefore also function as a roof, i.e. be tight. For this purpose, a rubber tarpaulin 4 is laid over the entire terrace surface on a leveling compound layer 3 applied to the raw concrete of the ceiling 2 and pulled up a little on the adjacent house wall 5 until under a sealing connection 6 to the plaster 7 of the house wall 8. At 9, an attachment is indicated.

On the rubber tarpaulin 4 covering elements 10 with free joint spacings 11 are loosely laid.

The covering elements 10 each consist of a ceramic tile 12 with a format of 40 × 40 cm and a base 13 made of granular rubber which is glued or vulcanized onto the underside thereof. Cone-shaped or pyramid-shaped knobs 14 are formed on the underside of the base 13. The spaces between the knobs 14 are designated 15.
The thickness of the tiles is, for example, 9 to 12 mm, preferably 10 to 11 mm. The thickness of the underlays between the knobs is, for example, 8 to 20 mm, preferably 8 to 12 mm.

The knobs have, for example, a diameter of 30 to 60 mm, preferably 40 to 50 mm, at the top, and from 20 to 50 mm, preferably 30 to 40 mm, at the bottom. The shortest distance between the knobs, in the side-parallel cross-section of the covering element, is, for example, equal to the upper diameter of the knobs or up to 1/4 larger or smaller.

The rainwater, cleaning water, etc. runs in the joints (gap distance 11) between the covering elements 10 and flows off in the spaces 15 on the rubber tarpaulin 4.

Claims (6)

1. Flooring composed of ceramic tiles and a bond-producing layer which compensates for uneveness in the substructure,
   characterised in that said layer is formed by backings (13) made from rubber which are securely attached by the manufacturer to the individual tiles (12), and which lie loose on the substructure (2-4) or are only lightly stuck thereto, and in that the flooring elements (10), each thus formed by a tile (12) and its backing (13), are laid so that the tiles (12) can move vertically with respect to one another at the joints (11)
2. Flooring according to Claim 1 for outdoor use,
   characterised in that the backings (13) have draining properties and the flooring elements (10) are laid without pointing of the tiles (12).
3. Flooring according to Claim 1 or 2,
   characterized in that the backings (13) are made from open-pored material, preferably granulated rubber.
4. Flooring according to one of Claims 1 to 3,
   characterised in that cavities (15) are formed on the underside of the backings (13), preferably by providing knobs (14).
5. Flooring according to one of Claims 1 to 4,
   characterised in that the backings (13) are vulcanised to the tiles.
6. Flooring according to one of Claims 1 to 5,
   characterised in that the tiles (12) are large-format, square tiles, preferably having the format 30 x 30 to 50 x 50 cm, with a thickness of from 9 to 12 mm, preferably 10 to 11 mm.

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