EP1505224A2

EP1505224A2 - Tile made of stone or agglomerate or the like including means suitable for insertion on slippery surfaces

Info

Publication number: EP1505224A2
Application number: EP04018333A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Alberto Furia
Original assignee: FURIA MARMI E GRANITI Srl
Current assignee: FURIA MARMI E GRANITI Srl
Priority date: 2003-08-08
Filing date: 2004-08-03
Publication date: 2005-02-09
Also published as: US20050028269A1; ITVR20030100A1; EP1505224A3

Abstract

It consists of a tile that is made according to criteria that permit it to be installed inside shower stalls or bath tubs or the like and in particular to be set on the base tray according to criteria that permit the tile to remain anchored in this position, offering advantages both from esthetic and practical standpoints.

Basically tile (1) is made with at least one surface, and in particular the upper walking surface, which has been subject to a satin-finish or honing treatment that gives it anti-slip characteristics.

In addition special fastening and shock-absorbing elements, indicated by number (2), are applied at the very least onto the lower support surface of tile (1 ), designed to adapt to the shower tray or other similar surface to permit the tile to be fastened and leaving a hollow space below for outflow of water.

Description

This industrial invention patent proposes a tile made of stone or agglomerate with the main characteristic of being made with means that permit it to be inserted on shower trays or the like.
It consists of a tile that is made according to criteria that permit it to be installed inside shower stalls or bath tubs or the like and, in particular, to be set on the base tray, according to criteria that permit the tile to remain anchored in this position, offering advantages both from esthetic and practical standpoints.
As is known the bathroom accessories sector has the need to find procedures and products to be applied to various surfaces, and in particular to the slipperiest surfaces, to prevent the hazard of slipping while being walked on or when standing in an erect position to take a shower or, more in general, to rinse oneself.
This requirement arises from the fact that glossy surfaces such as those of bathroom fixtures or accessories, such as bath tubs and shower trays, become extremely slippery when they are wet and highly dangerous during use.
Known techniques for solving this problem are aware of several solutions, some of which call for making the shower tray or walking surface with corrugations, undulations or reliefs. Other cases call for use of additional elements such as anti-slip plastic or rubber or even wooden mats, sometimes equipped with suckers or other means for fastening them to the surface.
These solutions all, however, have evident functional limits which, both when speaking of undulations or reliefs on the shower tray or even when speaking of additional mats, refer to the fact that the slipperiness problem has not been totally solved and in fact in some cases is even increased as is the case with rubber mats with suckers where the possibility of detachment of the suckers creates even more dangerous hazards.
These solutions are also relatively little acceptable from the esthetic point of view and, in the case of wooden platforms, also characterized by fast deterioration of the material in contact with water.
The purpose of the invention is to have conceived and created a tile made of stone or agglomerate which includes means that permit it to be inserted on shower trays or the like and which has, as its main characteristic, that of solving the above-mentioned problems, bringing substantial practical and esthetic advantages to the platform on which it is applied.
A first advantage achieved with the solution according to the invention is that whereby it creates anti-slip elements made of either natural or agglomerate or composite stone materials which offer the necessary guarantees from the point of view of safety, preventing any possible detachment from the surface being fastened to.
Another advantage achieved with the tile according to the invention regards esthetics, which is pleasing because the accessory that is used is stone with high quality finishes, made in any of the colors offered by natural or artificial stone and meeting personal tastes and market requirements.
The above-mentioned purposes and advantages are all achieved, according to the invention, by a tile made of stone or agglomerate including means that permit it to be inserted on shower trays or the like, characterized mainly by the fact that it is made with at least one surface, and in particular the upper walking surface, which has been subject to a satin-finish or honing treatment that gives it anti-slip characteristics, and by the fact that special fastening and shock-absorbing elements, designed to adapt to the shower tray or other surface, are applied to the support surface to permit the tile to be fastened and leave a hollow space below for outflow of water.
Further characteristics and details of the invention can be better understood by the description that follows, given by way of non-limiting example and which refers to the attached drawings where:
fig. 1 shows a schematic and perspective view of a first type of tile according to the invention made according to a basically quadrilateral shape;
fig. 2 shows a schematic and perspective view of a tile made according to a basically arched shape;
fig. 3 is a schematic cross-section of a shower stall where the tile according to the invention has been applied to the bottom tray.
With reference to the attached figures number 1 indicates a complete tile according to the invention and made according to the above-mentioned criteria, using means that permit it to be inserted on shower trays, on surfaces inside bath tubs, bathroom fixtures or the like in general.
Basically tile 1 is made with at least one surface, and in particular the upper walking surface, which has been subject to a satin-finish or honing treatment that gives it anti-slip characteristics.
This type of treatment of the upper face of the tile, in addition to giving it anti-slip characteristics, also offers other effects such as relaxing and massaging effects coming from the satin-finished and honed surface. This same upper surface also has stain-proof characteristics given it by special treatments that prevent the tile from being stained by deposits or humidity.
In addition special fastening and shock-absorbing elements, indicated by number 2, are applied at the very least onto the lower support surface of tile 1, designed to adapt to the shower tray or other similar surface to permit the tile to be fastened, leaving a hollow space below for outflow of water.
These fastening elements can, for example, be composed of plugs made of elastic or flexible material having a certain amount of elasticity that gives them shock-absorbing capacity. Fastening elements 2 can also be provided with adhesive surfaces so as to ensure maximum adhesion between shower tray and tile.
In addition these special shock-absorbers, which can be made of plastic with self-leveling, anti-slip and anti-algae characteristics, adapt to the surface of the shower tray giving greater safety and balance during use and prevent a series of well-known unpleasant accidents caused by the ease with which one may slip in showers.
Another advantage is the creation of rounded edges and corners on all models of tiles in order to prevent the possibility of bruises or cuts.
Figure 2 shows a tile 3 made in a basically arched shape designed for installation in shower trays with matching shapes as are common, for example, in corner or chamfered models of shower stalls.
Other further future shapes of the tile can be imagined that conform to the base or the shower tray or the bath tub where the tiles are to be installed either individually or in multiple modes, achieving solutions that are to be held to be included within the scope of protection of the invention the special characteristics of which are further defined by the following claims.

Claims

Tile (1) made of stone or agglomerate including means that permit it to be inserted on shower trays or the like characterized mainly by the fact of being made with at least one surface, and in particular the upper walking surface, which has been subject to a satin-finish or honing treatment that gives it anti-slip characteristics, and by the fact that special fastening and shock-absorbing elements (2) are applied at least on the support surface, designed to adapt to the shower tray or other similar surface to permit the tile to be fastened and leaving a hollow space below for outflow of water.
Tile (1) made of stone or agglomerate for shower trays or the like, characterized by the fact that said fastening elements (2) can be composed of plugs made of elastic or flexible material having a certain amount of elasticity that gives them shock-absorbing capacity.
Tile (2) made of stone or agglomerate for shower trays or the like, characterized by the fact that said fastening elements (2) can also be provided with adhesive surfaces so as to ensure maximum adhesion between shower tray and tile.
Tile (1) made of stone or agglomerate for shower trays or the like, characterized by the fact that said fastening elements (2), which can be made of plastic with self-leveling, anti-slip and anti-algae characteristics, adapt to the surface of the shower tray giving greater safety and balance during use and prevent a whole series of well-known unpleasant accidents caused by the ease with which one may slip in showers.
Tile (1) made of stone or agglomerate for shower trays or the like, characterized by the fact that all models of tiles have rounded comers and edges in order to prevent any possibility of bruises or cuts.
Tile (1) made of stone or agglomerate for shower trays or the like, characterized by the fact that it can be produced in any shape of tile to conform to the base or the shower tray or the bath tub where they are to be applied either individually or in multiple modes.