EP0950778A2

EP0950778A2 - A tile applicator

Info

Publication number: EP0950778A2
Application number: EP99650035A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Brian Nicholls
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-04-14
Filing date: 1999-04-14
Publication date: 1999-10-20
Also published as: EP0950778A3

Abstract

A tile applicator (1) is a hand tool provided for the tiling of walls, ceilings or floors which is a support having end walls (2, 3) and side walls (4, 5) forming comers (7) in turn supporting a spacer means (10) formed from a spacer plates (11, 12) which effectively act as a jig to engage between tiles already in situ to orient a tile (30) correctly with respect to them. In the applicator (1) illustrated the spacer plates (11, 12) also act as means for releasably securing the tile (30) within the applicator (1). The spacer means (10) may be made such that it is movable to and from a position adjacent the comer (7) to accommodate different sizes of tile (30). In use the tile applicator (1) is offered up to a tile (30) picks it up is then positioned to engage existing tiles with the spacer means and removed leaving the tile (30) in position.

Description

The present invention relates to tiling of walls, floors, and other surfaces, and in particular to the provision of a tool for the application of such tiles.
Tiles generally comprise a piece of fired clay, stone, concrete, or other material having a flat base and a flat or curved upper surface which are used on walls and floors with that upper surface specially finished or treated such as to enhance appearance, ease of cleaning or resistance to weathering. The vast majority of these tiles are polygonal being square or rectangular.
Generally such polygonal tiles are mounted on a flat surface by first placing an adhesive on the flat surface and then placing the tiles in spaced apart relationship thereon.
Ideally the tiles are spaced apart a predetermined spacing for grout which is subsequently placed between adjacent tiles. To provide an aesthetically pleasing surface arrangement of tiles which is almost certainly always necessary, it is essential to ensure that the spacing between contiguous tiles is always the same so that the resultant grout always has the identical thickness. This is achieved generally in two ways, either by providing tile spacers which are placed against the edges of adjacent tiles to provide the correct spacing. This is a slow and time consuming task and also requires that before grouting these spacers are removed. The applicator of the present invention uses this principle in a novel and inventive way.
Another solution that has been proposed has been provide tiles, a portion of the edges of which protrude to contact adjacent tiles. This unfortunately is not particularly aesthetically pleasing and further is more expensive to produce.
Also, when putting tiles on a wall, particularly a vertical wall by hand, even where nonslip adhesive is used, it can be very difficult to align the tiles correctly and ensure that the final tiled wall is visually pleasing. It is also a time consuming task and requires considerable skill.
The present invention is directed towards overcoming these problems and providing an efficient tile applicator.

Statements of Invention

According to the invention there is provided a polygonal tile applicator of the type in which a spacing device is placed between a tile being affixed and one or more adjoining tiles to maintain a predetermined spacing therebetween for subsequent grouting characterised in that the applicator comprises:
a support frame for a tile, the support frame having means for releasably securing the tile to the support frame; and
spacer means on the support frame to contact at least two out-of- line straight edges of adjoining tiles.
The advantage of this is that all that is required is to simply place the tile in the applicator, push the tile up against the wall or floor, place the next tile in position in the same way with the spacer means against the previously fixed tile.
Ideally the support frame comprises an open-mouthed box having four upstanding side walls forming comers and a spacer means adjacent each comer formed from two intersecting spacer plates projecting beyond and below each comer to form right angled tile comer embracing sockets. By using the tile applicator it grips the comers of adjacent tiles and ensures the correct spacing.
Further the spacer means comprises:
a pair of spacer plates, each having a top edge, a bottom edge and two vertical side edges, one plate having an open-mouthed plate receiving slot extending from its top edge towards its bottom edge, the other plate having an open-mouthed plate receiving slot extending from its bottom edge towards its top edge for interconnection of the plates.
This is a very convenient way of connecting the plates together, though it is not by any means the only way they may be connected, but it does allow for flexibility between the plates.
Further the means for releasably securing the tile is provided by the spacer means comprising mounting means for each plate on a side wall to allow limited pivotal movement of the plate away from the side walls under load such as to grip a tile therebetween. This together with the interconnection of the plates by means of slots gives increased resilience, but since the mounting means can be so-arranged as to allow flexibility this is one of the easiest ways of picking up and releasing the tiles.
Ideally the spacer means is formed from a resilient material and is configured so as to grip a tile on insertion therein. By making the spacer means of any suitable resilient material obviously it assists in the picking up and release of tiles.
Ideally each spacer means is movable outwardly from a position lying close to the comer to a position remote from the corner to accommodate different sizes of tile.
One particularly suitable way of doing this is to provide a spacer means comprising:
a connector plate between the spacer plates within one of the comers formed intermediate the top and bottom edges of the spacer plates;
a receiver in the upstanding side walls for the spacer means formed by a slot extending rearwardly in each side wall from the corner formed therebetween for reception of the connector plate; and
a support plate for the connector plate adjacent the slot and releasable securement means for joining the connector plate and support plate together.
The advantage of having an adjustable spacer means is that different sizes of tile may be accommodated, particularly in countries that use both imperial and metric measurements.
In one embodiment of the invention the support frame comprises an open-mouthed box having four upstanding side walls forming corners and in which the spacer means is formed by an extension of two opposite walls beyond two adjacent comers to form a tile embracing channel between the extensions and one of the other two side walls therebetween. This is a particularly easy construction to provide and it is the simplest of all constructions which will carry out the invention.
Ideally with this latter embodiment there is provided an additional spacer comprising an upstanding wall extending outwardly at right angles substantially midway along the last side wall. The advantage of this is that one can now lay tiles in a staggered fashion somewhat like brickwork.
However, instead of providing this additional spacer it may be provided by an additional removable spacer comprising a plate having a pair of open-mouthed slots for engagement over the other two opposite walls to project beyond the opposite walls one of the plates projecting further downwards than the other to engage between adjacent tiles. Again this is just a very simple way of carrying out the present invention, but it does allow flexibility for the user.
In another embodiment of the invention the support frame comprises an open-mouthed box having four upstanding side walls forming comers and in which the spacer means is formed by an extension of each wall beyond the comers to form four right angled tile comer embracing sockets. This again is a very simple way of making the applicator according to the present invention since it can be easily moulded from a plastics material and doesn't require any further forming and indeed the means for releasably securing the tile is then provided by the upstanding side walls, because they are resilient and obviously will be so-configured as to grip and retain a tile on insertion therein.
Finally it is advantageous to provide an adjustable spacing gauge arm comprising:
a mounting means on the interior of each wall;
a bar slidably engaging the mounting means; and
locking means for releasably securing the bar within the mounting means.
This can be particularly useful when mounting tiles adjacent a comer of a wall so that the spacing can be maintained and in-fill tiles cut to the correct dimensions.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of some embodiments thereof given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a polygonal tile applicator according to the invention;
Fig. 2 is a side view of the tile applicator;
Fig. 3 is a plan view of the tile applicator;
Fig. 4 is a end view of the tile applicator;
Fig. 5 is an exploded view of a spacer means according to the invention forming part of the applicator;
Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing how the applicator is used;
Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view showing another use of the applicator;
Fig. 8 is a plan view of portion of another applicator according to the invention;
Fig. 9 is a perspective view of portion of the applicator of Fig. 8 with part of it removed;
Fig. 10 is a plan view of the portion of the applicator illustrated in Fig. 9;
Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a still further applicator according to the invention;
Fig. 12 is a diagrammatic view showing use of the applicator of Fig. 11;
Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a still further applicator according to the present invention;
Fig. 14 is a diagramniatic view showing the use of the applicator of Fig. 13;
Fig. 15 is a plan view of an alternative construction of applicator;
Fig. 16 is a part exploded perspective view of another applicator according to the invention;
Fig. 17 is a perspective view of a tile storage device;
Fig. 18 is a perspective view of the tile storage device and the applicator of Figs. 1 - 5 in the position of use; and
Fig. 19 is a plan view of a box for the storage of tiles.
Referring to the drawings and initially to Fig's. 1 - 5 thereof there is a provided a polygonal tile applicator specifically for substantially square tiles, indicated generally by the reference numeral 1. The tile applicator 1 comprises four upstanding side walls namely a pair of end walls 2 and 3 and side walls 4 and 5 forming an outer support frame in the form of a body member or open-mouthed box. The end walls 2 and 3 and the side walls 4 and 5 have lower tile contacting edges 6. Each of the end walls 2 and 3 and sidewalls 4 and 5, together form corners 7. Spacer means provided in this embodiment by separate spacer means, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, are mounted adjacent each corner 7 and each spacer means 10 is formed from a pair of intersecting spacer plates 11 and 12. Referring now specifically to Fig. 5 each of the spacer plates 11 and 12 has a top edge 13, bottom edge 14 and two vertical side edges 15 and 16. The spacer plate 11 has an open-mouthed plate receiving slot 17 extending from its bottom edge 13 towards it top edge 14. Similarly, the spacer plate 12 has a plate-receiving slot 18 extending between its top edge 13 and its bottom edge 14. It will be appreciated that the two spacer plates 11 and 12 will slot together to form the spacer means 10 and form right angled tile comer embracing sockets. Each spacer plate 11 or 12 is connected to its respective end wall 2 or 3 and sidewalls 4 or 5 by suitable mounting rivets 19.
An interior comer tile contacting insert 25 is mounted in each corner 7 and lie flush with the bottom edge of each end wall 2 and 3 and side wall 4 and 5. A handle 26 is provided formed by a bar between the end walls 2 and 3.
Means for releasably securing a tile in the tile applicator is provided. In this embodiment, it is provided by the spacer means 10 in that the rivets 19 will allow limited pivotal movements of the plates 11 and 12 away from each other and from the upstanding end walls 2 and 3 and the side walls 4 and 5 under load such as to grip a tile therebetween against the edges of each of the end walls 2 and 3 and the side walls 4 and 5 as well as each tile contacting insert 25.
A tile being applied by the applicator is only illustrated in Fig. 1 and is identified in this and other drawings by the reference numeral 30.
In practice the material from which the plates 11 and 12 are made is a plastics material which has a certain amount of in-built resilience. Thus, a tile will be gripped tightly therebetween.
It will be appreciated that the internal surface of the plates 11 and 12 could be ribbed, or could be provided with any suitable surface finish such as to assist in contacting a tile.
In operation and referring specifically to Fig 6 there is illustrated generally by the reference numeral 28 a wall on which are already placed a number of tiles identified by the reference numerals 31 to 38 inclusive on which wall 28 it is proposed to mount a further tile 30. The tile applicator 1 is placed in position so that the spacer means 10 engage the tiles 31 to 35 inclusive. Thus, the applicator 1 is firmly aligned with these tiles 31 to 35 and is spaced apart therefrom by the correct amount. When the tile 30 in the tile applicator 1 is offered up against the wall 28 the tile applicator 1 is pressed against the wall 28. It will be appreciated that the edges of the end walls 2 and 3 and side walls 4 and 5, together with the tile contacting inserts 25 will ensure planarity and also that any adhesive beneath the tile 30 will be adequately distributed. The tile applicator 1 is then removed and a further tile is placed in position and the operation repeated.
Referring now to Fig. 7 there is illustrated another portion of the wall 28 again having tiles 31 to 39 as well as border tiles identified by the reference numerals 41, 42 and 43. There is illustrated the placement of another border tile 40 together with the tile 30 on the wall. The tile 30 is affixed in the normal way as described already, while the border tile 40 is placed between the spacer means 10 on the exterior of the applicator 1 as shown clearly in Fig. 7. The border tile 40 must thus be correctly aligned with the tile 30 as they can be placed together, or if not then they will still be aligned.
Referring now to Figs. 8 to 10 inclusive, there is illustrated portion of an altemative construction of applicator indicated generally by the reference numeral 50, in which parts similar to those described with reference to the previous drawings are identified by the same reference numerals. There are provided spacer means indicated generally by the reference numeral 60 which are movable from a position lying close to the comer 7 to a position remote from the corner 7 to accommodate different types of tiles. Mounted between the spacer plates 11 and 12 within one of the corners formed intermediate the top and bottom edges of the spacer plates 11 and 12 is a connector plate 51 carrying an elongated slot 52. A receiver in the upstanding side walls, namely the end wall 3 and the side wall 4 is provided by a slot 63 extending rearwardly from the comer 7 for reception of the connector plate 51 and beneath which is mounted a support plate 61 carrying an upstanding bolt 62 for engagement within the slot 52 on the connector plate 51. It will be appreciated that the spacer means 50 is movable in and out in the direction of the arrow A to accommodate different sizes of tile and the bolt can be used to secure it in position.
Referring to Figs. 11 and 12 there is illustrated a still further construction of polygonal tile applicator indicated generally by the reference numeral 70 in which parts similar to those described with reference to the previous drawings are identified by the same reference numerals. In this embodiment there is provided an adjustable spacing gauge arm indicated generally by the reference numeral 71 on the end walls 2 and 3. Each spacing gauge 71 comprises a bar 72 slidably engaging a mounting means 73 incorporating a locking bolt 74. A graduated scale is preferably provided on the bar 72. As can be seen from Fig. 11 the bar 72 can be stored against the end wall, or can project from it.
Referring now to Fig. 12, there is illustrated a wall, again identified by the reference numeral 28 having a corner 29. It will be appreciated that most corners of rooms are not vertical and therefore to obtain adequate tiling, it is necessary to either lay the first row of tiles by hand vertically using, for example, a plumb line or spirit level. The tiles can be laid against a line scribed on the wall manually, or the applicator according to the present invention can be used by aligning one of the end walls of the applicator along a line scribed on the wall and then simply using the applicator to lay the first vertical row of tiles. However, it is still necessary to measure the wall for the in-fill tiles that have to placed on the wall in the position identified by the reference numeral 75. The spacing gauge arms can be used to measure the gap that is left between the tile and the comer 29 as can be seen from Fig. 12.
Referring now to Figs. 13 and 14 there is illustrated a still further construction of tile applicator indicated generally by the reference numeral 80 in this case manufactured for application of a rectangular tile. Parts similar to those described with reference to the previous drawings are identified by the same reference numerals. In this embodiment the upstanding side walls, namely the end walls 2 and 3 and the side walls 4 and 5 are made from a resilient material such as to provide the means for releasably securing a tile. Essentially the support frame comprises an open-mouthed box having these four upstanding side walls and the spacer means is formed by extension walls 82 and 83 of the end walls 2 and 3 respectively. A further spacer 86 comprising an upstanding wall extending outwardly at right angles substantially midway along the side wall 5 is also provided.
Referring now to Fig. 14 it will be seen that the tile applicator 80 can be used to lay tiles in a stacked offset fashion and this is illustrated by portion of a wall, again indicated by the reference numeral 29, on which are mounted tiles 31 to 38 inclusive with a tile 30 in the process of being laid.
Fig. 15 illustrates a further construction of tile applicator indicated generally by the reference numeral 87 of somewhat similar construction to the applicator 80. In this embodiment the end walls 2, 3 and the side walls 4, 5 extend beyond the comers to provide the spacer means in the form of four right angled corner embracing sockets 88. Again the tile applicator 87 is manufacture from a resilient material such as a plastics material.
Referring now to Fig. 16 there is illustrated a tile applicator indicated generally by the reference numeral 90 which is substantially identical to the tile applicator 80 as illustrated in Figs. 12 and 13. In this embodiment, a removable spacer is provided by a plate 91 having a pair of open- mouthed slots 92 and 93 for engagement over the other two opposite walls 4 and 5 to project beyond the opposite walls. One of the plates projects at 94 further than the other to engage between adjacent tiles. Further, it will be noted in this embodiment that the end walls 2 and 3 and the side walls 4 and 5 having lower cut-out slots 95 and 96 respectively. The reason for this is to reduce the bearing area against the tiles and ensure quick release of the tile.
It will be appreciated as it is relatively easy to apply a large number of tiles very quickly to a wall without the need for difficult placing and manipulation of the tiles or the use of spacers.
Referring now to Figs. 17 and 18 there is shown a construction of tile support indicated generally by the reference numeral 100 comprising a support member 101 having an inclined base 102 and mounting upwardly projecting spikes 103.
In use, as can be seen from Fig. 18, a plurality of tiles 30 may be placed between the spikes 103 and one tile 30 after another removed by the tile applicator 1.
Referring to Fig. 19 there is illustrated a box 110 having four side walls 111 and inwardly projecting vertically arranged supports 112. Tiles may be placed in the box 110 between the supports 111. There is sufficient spacing between the side walls 111 and the tiles 30 to allow the applicator according to the invention to remove tiles sequentially.
It is envisaged instead of having. or in addition to the internal support means, that some form of tile support such as a suction device may be provided in the applicator.
It is also envisaged that the applicator may carry more than one tile, only one tile being released each time.
It is further envisaged that the applicator could be provided as a single piece moulded unit.
In the specification the terms "comprise, comprises, comprised and comprising" or any variation thereof and the terms "include, includes, included and including" or any variation thereof are considered to be totally interchangeable and they should all be afforded the widest possible interpretation and vice versa.
The invention is not limited to the embodiment hereinbefore described, but may be varied in both construction and detail within the scope of the claims.

Claims

A polygonal tile applicator of the type in which a spacing device is placed between a tile being affixed and one or more adjoining tiles to maintain a predetermined spacing therebetween for subsequent grouting characterised in that the applicator (1) comprises:

a support frame for a tile (30), the support frame having means for releasably securing the tile (30) to the support frame; and

spacer means (10) on the support frame to contact at least two out-ofline straight edges of adjoining tiles.
A tile applicator as claimed in claim 1 in which the support frame comprises an open-mouthed box having four upstanding side walls (2,3,4,5) forming corners (7) and a spacer means (10) adjacent each corner (7) formed from two intersecting spacer plates (11,12) projecting beyond and below each comer (7) to form right angled tile corner embracing sockets.
A tile applicator as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which the spacer means comprises:
a pair of spacer plates (11, 12), each having a top edge (13), a bottom edge (14) and two veitical side edges (15, 16), one plate having an open-mouthed plate ieceiving slot (18) extending from its top edge (13) towards its bottom edge (14), the other plate having an open-mouthed plate receiving slot (17) extending from its bottom edge (14) towards its top edge (13) for interconnection of the plates (11,12).
A tile applicator as claimed in claim 2 or 3 in which the means for releasably securing the tile is provided by the spacer means (10) comprising mounting means (19) for each plate (11, 12) on a side wall to allow limited pivotal movement of the plate (11,12) away from the side walls under load such as to grip a tile (30) therebetween.
A tile applicator as claimed in claim 4 in which the spacer means (10) which is formed from a resilient material and is configured so as to grip a tile (30) on insertion therein.
A tile applicator as claimed in any preceding claim in which each spacer means (10) is movable outwardly from a position lying close to the comer (7) to a position remote from the corner (7) to accommodate different sizes of tile.
A tile applicator as claimed in any of claims 2 to 5 and claim 6 comprising:

a connector plate (51) between the spacer plates (11,12) within one of the corners formed intermediate the top and bottom edges of the spacer plates (11,12);

a receiver in the upstanding side walls for the spacer means formed by a slot (63) extending rearwardly in each side wall (3, 4) from the corner (7) formed therebetween for reception of the connector plate (51); and

a support plate (61) for the connector plate (51) adjacent the slot (63) and releasable securement means (52) for joining the connector plate (51) and support plate (61) together.
A tile applicator as claimed in claim 1 in which the support frame comprises an open-mouthed box having four upstanding side walls (2,3,4,5) forming comers (7) and in which the spacer means (10) is formed by an extension (82, 83) of two opposite walls (2, 3) beyond two adjacent corners (7) to form a tile embracing channel (85) between the extensions (82, 83) and one of the other two side walls (4) therebetween.
A tile applicator as claimed in claim 8 comprising an additional spacer comprising an upstanding wall (86) extending outwardly at right angles substantially midway along the last side wall (5).
A polygonal tile applicator as claimed in claim 8 comprising an additional removable spacer comprising a plate (91) having a pair of open-mouthed slots (92, 93) for engagement over the other two opposite walls (4, 5) to project beyond the opposite walls (4, 5) one of the plates projecting further downwards (94) than the other to engage between adjacent tiles.
A tile applicator as claimed in claim 1 in which the support frame comprises an open-mouthed box having four upstanding side walls (2,3,4,5) forming comers (7) and in which the spacer means (10) is formed by an extension of each wall (2,3,4,5) beyond the corners (7) to form four right angled tile comer embracing sockets (88).
A tile applicator as claimed in claim 8 to 11 in which the means for releasably securing the tile is provided by the upstanding side walls (2,3,4,5) which are resilient and so configured as to grip and retain a tile (30) on insertion therein.
A tile applicator as claimed in any preceding claim in which each of a pair of opposed side walls (2, 3) carry an adjustable spacing gauge arm (71) comprising:

a mounting means (73) on the interior of each wall;

a bar (72) slidably engaging the mounting means; and

locking means (74) for releasably securing the bar (72) within the mounting means (73).
A tile applicator as claimed in any preceding claim in which an interior comer tile contacting insert (25) is mounted in each corner (7).
A tile applicator as claimed in any preceding claim in which a handle (26) is provided by a bar bridging twu opposed side walls (2, 3).