FR2750151A1 - METHOD AND SELF-LOCKING MODULAR ELEMENTS OF STONE LOOK, FOR EXECUTING WALL OR FLOOR COVERINGS - Google Patents

Abstract

Self-locking modular element obtained by molding, for the execution of wall or pavement coverings, characterized in that its facing face has a plurality of bosses (2) having the appearance of a plurality of real rubble or stone, separated by grooves (3) having the appearance of facing joints, said modular element having, laterally, projecting parts (1b, 1b ') and notches (1c, 1c') allowing its reciprocal interlocking with similar modular elements juxtaposed . The invention also relates to the method of making wall or pavement coverings, according to which the above modular elements are juxtaposed by interlocking their side parts in relief (1b, 1b ') and recessed (1c, 1c'. ), and assembled using jointing material (4).

Description

- 1 - Self-locking modular process and elements

  stony, for the execution of wall or floor coverings.

  The present invention relates to a self-locking modular method and elements of stony appearance, obtained by molding, for the production of facings or

  pavements imitating wall coverings (facades of buildings, walls, etc.) or pavements executed using rubble or small blocks of real stone or reconstituted stone10, grouted using mortar or cement.

  The execution of such surfaces by current masonry methods is a long and arduous work which

  requires, moreover, the search for moeLlons or small blocks of stone meeting the desired appearance characteristics15 and often a complementary size of the stones to give them the desired conformation.

  An object of the invention is, if not to completely eliminate, at least to significantly minimize, the

  disadvantages resulting from the implementation of traditional masonry methods.

  According to the invention, this objective is achieved by a method and self-locking modular elements, according to which self-locking modular elements obtained by molding and the facing face of which has a plurality of bosses having the appearance of a plurality of stones. or real rubble stones, separated by grooves having the appearance of facing joints (flush or hollow), these modular elements having, laterally, projecting parts and notches allowing their reciprocal interlocking with one or more juxtaposed modular elements assembled by means a jointing material such as mortar or cement. According to another advantageous characteristic arrangement of the invention, the modular elements comprise a main body corresponding to a quadrangular mesh and have, on the one hand, a projecting part on two of their perpendicular sides and, 2 - on the other hand, a indentation in their two other perpendicular sides. Thanks to these self-locking modular elements, it is possible to produce wall coverings (such as building facades, walls, etc.), or pavings, having the appearance of real stone facing or paving, in exceptional conditions speed and ease and, therefore, with less fatigue and

much more economically.

  On the other hand, by the conformation of the molds and / or the addition of pigments or others in the materials of

  basis, it is possible to obtain greater originality.

  According to another characteristic arrangement of the method of the invention, the projecting parts and the notches of the self-locking modular elements are shaped and dimensioned so that a space is provided between at least the upper portion of the lateral surfaces facing said elements, when said elements protruding parts

  are housed in said notches.

  Thanks to this position, the real joints which ensure the joining of the elements have a width and an appearance substantially identical to the false joints delimiting

the bosses of said elements.

  According to another characteristic arrangement, the modular elements comprise a peripheral rim over a lower portion of their thickness, this peripheral rim being dimensioned and shaped so that the projecting parts of the modular elements can fit together without significant play, at the level of said rim, in

  the notches of the juxtaposed elements.

  Thanks to this arrangement, it is possible to joint the assembled modular elements, while retaining the

  self-blocking nature of said elements.

  According to another characteristic arrangement, the ends of the raised parts which delimit the two notches are aligned on two perpendicular lines. - 3 - Thanks to this arrangement, the modular starting elements of the realization of a coating of a vertical wall or the ground, can be aligned on two straight lines forming an angle of 90 degrees and defining the plumb of said elements, which then facilitates the installation of

following items.

  The above purposes, features and benefits, and

  still others will emerge more clearly from the description which

  follows and attached drawings in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a modular element

self-locking according to the invention.

  Figure 2 is a sectional view along line 2-2

of figure 1.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view and on a reduced scale of a portion of surface coated by means of the method

  and self-locking modular elements according to the invention.

  Figure 4 is a sectional view along line 4-4

in Figure 3.

  Figure 5 is a detail view, in section and on a larger scale, illustrating the jointing of two elements

  modular self-locking juxtaposed.

  Figure 6 is a perspective view illustrating a first embodiment of a modular element

self-locking angle.

  FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a second example of configuration of a self-locking modular element more specifically intended for coating the angles of walls

forming a right angle.

  Figure 8 is a sectional view of a third embodiment of a self-locking modular element for coating curved surfaces or surfaces forming

any angles.

  Reference is made to said drawings to describe interesting examples of implementation of the method and embodiment

  self-locking modular elements according to the invention.

  According to the method of the invention, self-locking modular elements 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, ..., 1N, obtained by molding and the facing face of which has a plurality of bosses 2 having the appearance of a plurality of real stones or rubble stones, separated by grooves 3 having the appearance of facing joints (flush or recessed), are juxtaposed on the receiving surface (walls such as building facade, wall, floor, etc.) by interlocking of their lateral parts in relief lb, lb ', and in hollow lc, lc' and assembled by means of a jointing material, for example constituted by mortar or cement, or by a synthetic resin, depending on the material in which said elements are made

self-locking modular units.

  The self-locking modular elements 1 are prefabricated by molding a material such as plaster, cement, terracotta, synthetic resin or other, with or without the addition of fillers of various kinds (glass or expanded plastic beads), debris and fossil shells,

pigments, etc.).

  Their facing face has a plurality of

  bosses 2 separated by grooves 3.

  The bosses 2 have the appearance of rubble or blocks of real stone and their number and dimensions can vary, in particular depending on the dimensions of the self-locking elements. Their conformation can also vary, depending on the desired aesthetic appearance; they can, for example, have a quadrangular outline imitating a

  rubble stone, or a curved outline imitating a pebble, etc ...

  Their appearance of real stone can be improved by the use of a coloring product or fillers of the aforementioned kind, placed in the bottom of the molds, or

  incorporated into the base material.

  The visible surface of the grooves 3 may have a different coloring, obtained during molding, these grooves having, for example, a width of the order of 4 to 10 mm and a depth of the order of 1 to 5 mm, depending on whether 'they

  mimic flush or recessed joints.

  The modular elements have projecting parts and notches or recesses allowing their

  juxtaposition by interlocking of said parts.

  -5- Advantageously, the modular elements comprise a main body delimited by a quadrangular mesh M, square or rectangular (FIG. 1), this main body extending, on two of its perpendicular sides, by projecting parts or protuberances lb , lb '. On the other hand, the main body has it, in each of its two other perpendicular sides, a notch lc, lc 'Each protruding part lb, lb' of each element is intended to fit into a notch lc or lc 'd 'a similar element juxtaposed; in other words, each notch lc, lc 'is intended to receive a part

  projecting lb or lb 'of a similar element juxtaposed.

  According to another characteristic arrangement of the invention, the ends ld ', le', le ", lf 'of the raised parts 1d, le, 1f, respectively, which delimit the two notches lc, lc', are aligned on two straight lines perpendicular x, y. As shown in Figure 1, the ends ld ', le' of the raised parts ld, le which delimit the notch lc, are aligned on a straight line y, while the ends le ", 1f 'des parts in relief le, 1f which delimit the notch lc ', are aligned on a

  straight x forming an angle of 90 degrees with the previous one.

  When performing a facade or floor covering, the ends ld 'and the' or the "and lf 'of the starting element (traced in strong line in Figure 3) are placed on a horizontal line and / or vertical. The direction of installation of this starting element, defining the direction of installation of

following items.

  The self-locking modular elements according to the invention are placed on the ground to produce pavings, or on walls or facades for the execution of facing, by the implementation of installation methods appropriate to the nature of the supports and materials. For the execution of pavements, the modular elements can be simply placed on a form and assembled by interlocking and jointing. For the execution of facings, the modular elements are assembled by interlocking and fixed on the facades or other surfaces, using suitable adhesive materials or glues such as adhesive mortar or adhesive cement, etc. The self-locking modular elements 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1N can all be identical or not. It is for example possible to produce, by molding, a certain number of modular elements having an identical general conformation, but having bosses of different conformation, so as to avoid too great uniformity resulting from the exclusive use of modular elements

strictly identical.

  According to another characteristic arrangement of the invention, the projecting parts 1b, 1b 'and the notches lc, lc' of the self-locking elements 1 are shaped and dimensioned so that a space E is automatically provided between at least the upper portion of the surfaces side facing lg, lg 'of said elements, when said projecting parts are housed in

said notches.

  The bottom of this space E is then filled with a jointing material 4 chosen according to the nature of the

  material in which the modular elements are made.

  In this way, the visible surfaces of this real joint have an appearance similar to that of the false joints 3 delimiting

  the bosses 2 of each modular element.

  After grouting, the contours of each modular element can no longer be distinguished in the facing or paving surface produced, which thus has the appearance of a

  facade or paving made in the traditional way.

  In order to improve the self-locking nature of the modular elements, the latter comprise, according to another characteristic arrangement of the invention, a peripheral rim 5 over a lower portion of their thickness and this peripheral rim is dimensioned and shaped so that the projecting parts lb, lb ′ of the modular elements 35 can be embellished, without any appreciable clearance, by means of said rim, in the notches lc, lc ',

juxtaposed elements.

  Preferably, the surfaces 5a, 5b of the rim 5 - 7 - of the modular elements intended to come into contact, during the juxtaposition of said elements, are sloping or

  bevelled in a complementary manner (Figure 5).

  According to another characteristic arrangement of the invention, the self-locking modular elements comprise corner elements which, developed flat, have a conformation identical to that of the flat elements. According to a first exemplary embodiment (FIG. 6), these corner elements comprise two portions 6A, 6B oriented angularly and connecting, in a preferred manner, along a line L passing through the top of a protrusion lb ′ and by the bottom of a notch lc ', this line corresponding, for example, to a groove 3'

  substantially straight joining said top and said bottom.

  When the elements are intended for the execution of corner facings of walls or facades forming a right angle, their portions 6A, 6B oriented orthogonally may have angle bosses 2 'projecting on the two perpendicular faces of said elements and imitating

  the appearance of corner rubble (Figure 7).

  The self-locking modular elements can also be executed so as to allow their folding, as required, for example along a line 3 ′, for the production of wall facing or curved facades or angles of walls or facades meeting by forming any angles. In this case, the modular elements are made of a non-brittle material (for example: resins, mixture of natural aggregates and synthetic resins, etc.) and the flexible connecting portion 6C of their portions 6A, 6B, constituting the bottom. of the groove 3, may have a small thickness, for example of the order of 1 to 4 mm, so as to allow this folding. After placing elements on the walls or facades, the 3 'grooves can be filled with a jointing material to hide the

  possible visible break points.

- 8 -

Claims (10)

R E V E N D I C A T I 0 N S   1. - Method for the execution of wall coverings or pavements, characterized in that self-locking modular elements (1A, lB, 1C, 1D, ..., 1N) obtained by molding and whose facing face has a plurality of bosses (2) having the appearance of a plurality of real stones or rubble stones, separated by grooves (3) having the appearance of facing joints, are juxtaposed by interlocking of their raised lateral parts (lb, lb ') and intaglio (lc, lc'), and assembled using a material jointing (4).   2. - Self-locking modular element obtained by molding, for the execution of wall coverings or pavements, characterized in that its facing face has a plurality of bosses (2) having the appearance of a plurality of rubble stones or stones genuine, separated by grooves (3) having the appearance of facing joints, said modular element having, laterally, projecting parts (lb, lb ') and notches (lc, lc') allowing it to interlock with elements modular similar juxtaposed.   3. - self-locking modular element according to claim 2, characterized in that it comprises a main body corresponding to a quadrangular mesh (M) and has, laterally, on the one hand, a projecting part or   protrusion (lb, lb ') on two of its perpendicular sides   laires and, on the other hand, a notch (lc, lc ') in its   two other perpendicular sides.   4. - Self-locking modular elements according to one of the   claims 2 or 3, characterized in that their parts   protrusions (lb, lb ') and their notches (lc, lc') are shaped so that a space (E) is provided between at least the upper portion of the lateral surfaces opposite said elements, when said protruding parts -9- (lb, lb ') are housed in said notches (lc, lc ').   5. - Self-locking modular element according to any one   claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the   ends (ld ', le', le ", lf ') of the raised parts (ld, le, lf) which delimit the two notches (lc, lc'), are   aligned on two perpendicular lines (x, y).   6. - Self-locking modular elements according to one   any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that   that they have a peripheral rim (5) over a lower portion of their thickness, this peripheral rim (5) being dimensioned and shaped so that the projecting parts (lb, lb ') of said elements can fit together without significant play, at said edge, in   notches (lc, lc ') of the juxtaposed elements.   7. - self-locking modular elements according to claim 6, characterized in that the surfaces (5a, b) of the flange (5) of said elements intended to be in contact, during the juxtaposition of the latter, are   sloping or beveled in a complementary manner.   8. - Self-locking modular elements according to one   any of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that   that they include corner elements with two   angularly oriented portions (6A, 6B).   9. - Self-locking modular element according to any one   claims 2 to 7, characterized in that they   comprise two portions (6A, 6B) connected by a connecting part (6C) of small thickness, along a line (L) passing through the top of a protrusion (lb ') and through the bottom of a notch (lc '), this line corresponding, for example, to a groove (3') substantially   straight joining said top and said bottom. - 10 -   10. - Self-locking modular element according to one   any of claims 2 to 9, characterized in that it   is made of non-brittle material.