EP0840826B1

EP0840826B1 - Pavement tile

Info

Publication number: EP0840826B1
Application number: EP97903707A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Rolf Trojmar
Original assignee: Trojmar Rolf
Current assignee: TROJMAR, ROLF
Priority date: 1996-02-16
Filing date: 1997-02-14
Publication date: 2004-11-03
Anticipated expiration: 2017-02-14
Also published as: DE69731449T2; SE9600583L; EP0840826A1; WO1997030227A1; ATE281562T1; SE504268C2; DE69731449D1; AU1818197A; SE9600583D0

Abstract

The innovation is meant for use as of example pavement tile, or a tile in general. By the tiles characteristic design where the sides are known by its asymmetrically vertically and horizontally form, by in and outward bent in a parallel function towards each other in both base planes and hereby will grip in to each other by interaction overlapping laying, and in spite of the joints will interlock each other in a three-dimensional way. The tiles will hereby create a "bridge construction", meaning that they are relatively insensitive to the ground, soil underneath, which will reduce construction costs. The tiles are spreading out point loads to neighbour tiles, and the total load capacity will increase extremely. The tiles cannot move horizontally or vertically and are therefor a guarantee to a smooth surface, without risks for stumble and accidents.

Description

The present invention relates to a body, e.g. a pavement tile or a tile in general of the kind defined in the preamble of claim 1.

The object of the invention is primarily to eliminate problems occuring with conventional tiles because of separation in the horizontal and vertical directions and the accompanying risk for stumbling and severe personal damages.

This is achieved with the invention according to the characterizing part of claim 1.

The interlocking effect is achieved by the alternating bewelling of the sides of the tile on all four sides, so that they will grip into each other in all three dimensions.

The bewelling is limited to about 10 degrees, and the horizontal arcuate form does not constitute more than about 5 % of the area of the tile, and thus it will have substantially the same appearance as a conventional tile despite the fact that it interlocks.without any further structural elements or binding agent.

US,A,1,969,729 relates to an element which could be used as a tile. The element has on each of its sides a series of convex and concave edges meeting each other on each of said sides, another set of convex and concave edges meeting each other on each of said sides are arranged on a lower plane than the first mentioned set of convex and concave edges. The respective convex and concave edges on one side of the element being offset with respect to the other respective convex and concave edges on the same side of the element. All faces are vertical and at right angles to the top plane of the element. The convoluted edges are formed by axis of cylinders and square shoulders are formed between each concave portion and corresponding convex portion of the other section.

The tiles according to this reference have never come into the market for several reasons, one being that they can not be made of concrete. The square shoulders would break. Further, it was not recognized that the concave and convex sections must have different radii in order to accomodate the necessary jointwidth, where the radius of the concave section is larger than the convex one, the difference corresponding to a desired jointwidth.

A joint is always a joint and the distance between the tiles can never be zero, and therefor, and also of practical reasons, like sand, dirt, etc., the tile has irregular sides, and this also because otherwise it would not have been possible to lay it in the alternating jointing which is necessary for the interlocking effect, as will be discussed further in the detailed description of the invention. This solution makes it possible to have a jointwidth within relatively wide limits.

The design of the tile simplifies the construction work, since the tile is relatively unsensitive to the ground support, i.e. the tiles can be laid directly on a relatively flat soil without extensive preparations using sand or asphalt.

The invention will be described more in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings showing examples of embodiments within the scope of the claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1: shows a concrete tile with concave and convex sections having an horizontal radius R1 and R2, respectively, together with the cross-sectional view A-A showing the vertical radii r1 and r2, respectively;
Fig. 2: shows the tile according to Fig. 1 in a perspective view, illustrating the differences between the radii R1 and R2, where, in the horizontal plane, R1 is the radius for the concave section, and R2 is the radius for the convex section;
Fig. 3: shows how the irregularity is built up between the two radii R1 and R2;
Fig. 4: shows a shadowed perspective view of the tile according to Figs. 1-3;
Fig. 5: shows a number of tiles from above illustrating the alternating pattern giving the interlocking effect;
Fig. 6: shows the tiles according to Fig. 5 in a perspective view;
Fig. 7: shows a tile A, which is similar to the tile according to Fig. 1, but with the difference that while in the tile according to Fig. 1 in each corner either two concave sections or two convex sections meet, in tile A, counterclockwise, a convex section meets a concave section in each corner of the tile;
Fig. 8: shows a tile B which is a mirror image of tile A in Fig. 7, that is, counterclockwise, a concave section meets a convex section in each corner of the tile; and
Fig. 9: shows tiles according to Fig. 7 and 8 in a complementary laying, with half-stones A in order to obtain an interlocking effect also in a second horizontal direction.

The tile according to Fig. 1, e.g. a pavement tile (tile in general) or wall tile (outdoors or indoors), is geometrically formed in such a way that above and underneath half the thickness, on each side, are convex bends with radius R2 which, at approximately the middle of the side 5, Fig. 3, change over to concave bends with radius R1. In a vertical cross-section the sides have the form of two vertically opposed circular curves r1 and r2, respectively. The vertical curvature r1, r2 is zero in all four corners from where they increase continuously towards their maximum at the maximum of the horizontal bends with radii R1 and R2, which is approximately at one quarter and three quarters, respectively of the side of the tile with "H" as a starting point and from there return to zero at the approximate centre point of the tile, at 6 in Fig. 3, and the corner of the tile, 4 in Fig. 1, respectively. Hereby the chosen distance between tiles, or in other words the jointwidth will be the same throughout the sides, in all three dimensions. Further, as a result of this design, only three points on each side of the tile will be at one and the same level, and these are the corners "H" and "4" together with the absolute crossing point in the absolute centre of the tile side, illustrated with reference number 6 in Fig. 3.

All curvatures, both horizontally and vertically, can be changed by changing the radii r and R, depending on how accentuated F ( Fig. 1) is desired to be, meaning the bewelling between in- and outward bends.

Above the geometry, the curved form, size, etc., have been explained, but the most important and absolutely necessary feature is the irregularity of each of the sides of the tile, meaning the difference between R1 and R2, resulting in different changing points or starting points 5 for convex and concave bends. This is of great importance to the practical use of the tiles, since interlock between the tiles can only be achieved in an alternating overlapping laying according to Figs. 5 and 6, and the joints demand the asymmetry between R1 and R2, and r1 and r2, respectively.

The Y-side is described with reference to Fig. 1 where H is a reference corner. Starting from H the Y-side lower part (underneath a line marking half of the thickness) begins with a convex circle segment 1, the bending of which (R2) has a maximum value at approximately a quarter of the length of the side (A) and from there the radius again returns to zero at the approximate centre point (2) of the side, and then changes into a concave circle segment (3) where the radius equals R2 plus the desired jointwidth. The maximum of the bending of the concavity (R1) occurs at approximately three quarters of the length of the side, counting from H, and return to zero at the corner 4, which is also a straight corner like H. The upper horizontal part of the side, above a line representing half of the thickness, is reversed compared to the lower part, again starting from H this part begins with a concave circle segment 5 with the radius R1 with its maximum at a quarter (A) of the side and returns to zero at approximately the centre point 2 of the side, where the concavity changes to a convex circle segment, where maximum is reached at approximately three quarters of the side, and then again returns to zero at the corner 4.

The side of the tile is made up of two half circle segments standing against each other, r1, r2 (cut section A-A in Fig. 1), where r2, counting from H is zero, and hereby forms the straight corner H. The circle bow r2 has its given vertical maximum in the same point as the lower convex circle segment with radius R2 has its maximum point A ( cut section A-A), and the vertically standing concave circle bow r1 opposite r2, starts in the same way from the coner H, at zero, and has its concave maximum where the upper concave circle segment with radius R1 has its maximum A, and return to zero at approximate the centre point of the tile, and changes over along the line 5-5 in Fig. 3, and accordingly will follow the horizontal circle segment R1 and R2 of the tile and build up the in- and outward segments R1-r1 and R2-r2, respectively at F. The X-side of the body can be described in the same way, starting from H. The other X-side and Y-side starting from h to H can be described in the same way.

Claims

A tile, such as a pavement tile, intended to be laid one tile adjacent to another tile in an overlapping interlocking relationship without any other binder in between, where

the tile presents an upper and a lower horizontal surface and four side surfaces (X, Y) between them, adjoining side surfaces defining vertical straight edges, which on said upper and lower horizontal surfaces define the corners of a square when seen from the top, the edges of the upper and lower horizontal surfaces being limited between the corners, the said edges being furnished with inward and outward bends,

characterised in that

the bends are shaped as circle segments, where the inward bends have a radius R1 and the outward bends have a radius R2, R1 being greater than R2, the difference corresponding to the joint width;

the edges of the upper horizontal surfaces are shaped so that

on an edge of the upper horizontal surface, an inward bend starts from a corner (H, h), changes to an outward bend after it has exceeded the centre of the said edge and ends at the corner (4);

on corresponding underneath edge of the lower horizontal surface, an outward bend starts from a corner (H, h), changes to an inward bend before reaching the centre of the said edge and ends at the corner (4), so that its shape is inverted in relation to that of the edge of the upper horizontal surface;

the side surfaces are shaped as two joined circle segments (r1, r2) faced against each other where

the tangents of the circle segments at their joining point located at half the height (Z) of the side surface are coincident;

the circle segments adjoin to the edges of the upper and lower horizontal surfaces, being the tangents of the circle segments at the edges perpendicular to them;

from a vertical straight edge, considered as the circle segments having infinite radius, the radii of both circle segments decrease gradually to a minimum when the bends reach the maximum horizontal separation, after which they increase again gradually according to the said separation.
A tile according to claim 1, characterized in that along the first edge of the upper surface, said first edge being defined between a first corner (H) and in counterclockwise direction ah adjacent second corner (4), an inward bend starts at the first corner and connects to an outward bend that ends at the second corner, while the corresponding first edge of the lower surface has an outward bend followed by an inward bend; the following second edge of the upper surface between the second (4) and third (h) corner has an outward bend followed by an inward bend; the following third edge corresponds to said first edge; and the following fourth edge corresponds to said second edge.
A tile according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is rectangular, two opposing side surfaces having the same length as the sides of the square defined by said four corners, while the other two side surfaces correspond to the first side surfaces cut in two, with a length equal to half of said length.
A system of tiles according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises tiles of two shapes (A, B), one shape being a mirror image of the other, to be laid in alternating adjacent rows where

in the one shape (A) along the first edge of the upper surface, said first edge defined between a first corner (H) and in counterclockwise direction an adjacent second corner (4), an inward bend starts at the first corner and connects to an outward bend that ends at the second corner, while the corresponding first edge of the lower surface has an outward bend followed by an inward bend; the following second, third and fourth edges of the upper surface have an inward bend followed by an outward bend; and vice versa for said edges of the lower surface; and where

in the mirror imaged shape (B) along the first edge of the upper surface, said first edge defined between a first corner (H) and in counterclockwise direction an adjacent second corner (4), an outward bend starts at the first corner and connects to an inward bend that ends at the second corner, while the corresponding first edge of the lower surface has an inward bend followed by an outward bend; the following second, third and fourth edges of the upper surface have an outward bend followed by an inward bend; and vice versa for said edges of the lower surface.