GB1588258A - Sealing assembly for shrinkage and expansion joints - Google Patents

Description

(54) A SEALING ASSEMBLY FOR SHRINKAGE AND EXPANSION JOINTS (71) We, MK;UA-MTELDEUTSCHE GUMMI UND ASBESTGESELLSCHAFT HAM MERSCHMIDT & CO., a Kommanditgesellschaft organised under the Laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, of Postfach 167, 5628 Heilligenhaus, Federal Republic of Germany, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to a sealing assembly, for shrinking expansion joints, comprising two oppositely-arranged anchorage rails and which are angular in cross-section, and an elastic sealing strip therebetween.

As is known, large-area building components, such as floor slabs, are provided with shrinkage joints in order to avoid crack formation. Depending on the temperature fluctuatioris to be expected, which can for example become extremely large if floor heating is installed, a solid floor requires appropriate sub-division of the floor area into individual sections. However, even a floor surface formed by ceramic tiles or slabs needs to be subdivided into individual sections if crack formation transversely or across or right through the joints and tiles is to be avoided.

Whereas, sealing assemblies are often installed in order to fill the gaps left to avoid crack formation in floors it is known, for example in swimming bath construction, to leave free, between adjacent ceramic tiles, joints which are subsequently filled with an elastic joint sealing compound.

Sealing assemblies tend to be very costly and therefore uneconomical for pure shrinkage joints. The sealing of shrinkage joints with an elastic sealing compound is out of the question in the interiors of buildings on account of the unevenness which they impart to the floor when, for example, they bulge upwardly due to floor expansion and such compounds can be used exteriorly, for example in the case of swimming baths, only when the joint surfaces are absolutely dry. Since this work has to be carried out in the final stages, in swimming bath construction, the final completion and therewith the putting into operation of the installation is often delayed by damp weather conditions.

For expansion joints, therefore, a prefabricated sealing assembly has already been proposed which on the one hand is relatively cheap and on the other hand does not have the disadvantages which are bound up with the introduction of an elastic sealing compound.

The known jointing strip comprises two flange parts which are arranged, at a spacing apart, in mirror-inverted manner and which, when installed extend along the joint between adjacent solid floor sections and can be connected, by respective angled edge strips, to the respective front edge of the floor sections. This jointing assembly serves more especially as a sound-insulator for solid floors floating on sound-deadening intermediate layers, and in addition is so designed that the flange parts are held together, in a positionally correct manner, by a connecting member which bridges the gap between them and which has good sound and/ or heat insulating capacity, but remain mutually movable within pre-determined limits.

The connecting member consists of a rail having an elastically deformable portion, above which is a pre-stressed strip of elastic material of such stantial heat and sound insulating capacity, in order to keep the varying volume of the joint gap filled.

Although the construction of this known jointing strip is not, comparatively, expensive or complicated, it fulfils only to a limited extent the functions required of it. To begin with, the jointing strip requires three component parts which are different from one another, namely two flange parts, a connecting member and a sealing strip of elastomeric material, of which at least the flange parts and the profile strip have to be available in as many different dimensions there are differing floor section thicknesses.Any inaccuracies in the laying of the floor cannot be compensated and unless additional measures are taken upon installation of the jointing strip it is possible that neither the intended heat insulation nor the desired sound insulation is achieved to an adequate degree, becayse bridges of the material forming the floor are created underneath the jointing strip when the strip has to be raised.

Although the flange parts of the known jointing strips are embossed to improve the connection of the flange parts to the joint surfaces, it is obviouslly additionally necessary to angle the upper edge strips outwardly and downwardly by an extent which exceeds 900 so that a sufficiently stable connection to the confronting edges of the solid floor sections is achieved.

This design precludes the possibility of using the known jointing strip in the case of a floor which is to be covered with tiles, since the angled edge strips obstruct the tiles. Despite the good anchorage of the flange parts in solid floor sections, the known jointing strip makes it possible to achieve joint sealing only to the extent that a residue of the initial strain of the elastic profile strip, however, considerably hinders the installation work.

The invention has for its object to provide a sealing assembly which can be composed of a low number of different individual components; in which the design of the individual elements is used in shrinkage joints of solid floors or shrinkage joints of floors covered with tiles or slabs; in which the individual elements are usable without varying their dimensions for different floor and tile thicknesses; in which the sealing strip maintains an absolutely tight joint seal even in the case of extreme variations in the shrinkage joint width without involving a corresponding initial tension during installation, and finally, in which the sealing strip is dismountable and remountable for repair and like purposes or, if necessary, depending on the nature of the material of the floor covering, can be welded to said covering.

The invention provides a sealing assembly for shrinkage and expansion joints comprising two oppositely-arranged anchorage rails of angular cross-section, and a generally M-section elastic sealing strip, one limb of each rail engaging a respective groove in the sealing strip in such a way that the sealing strip is positively but releasably connected to the limbs of the anchorage rails.

With the assembly of the invention, a respective limb of the anchorage rails can be disposed at a spacing from and parallel to the respective joint surfaces, and the anchorage rails can be so arranged, irrespective of the thickness of the material of the solid floor, in such a way that the upper surface of the sealing strip lies in the plane of the finished floor surface. Because of the spacing of the limbs, which hold the sealing strip, parallel to the joint surfaces, the limbs also do not obstruct the tiles or slabs of the floor covering. The sealing strip can be comparatively narrow along its visible surface area and can be installed in a particularly advantageous manner between ceramic tiles or slab which are separated by mortar or like joints of about the width which the jointing strip in accordance with the invention also occupies in its normal state.

In accordance with a development or refinement of the invention, the other limbs of the rails can be secured to structure on each side of the joint.

Since the said other limbs can be embedded deeply into the screed of the floor, it is superfluous additionally to anchor the one limb.

For anchoring the other limbs of the anchorage rails can have projections and/or depressions and/or perforations, so as to enable them to be firmly engaged with the screed of the floor. Preferably the cross-section of the grooves in the sealing strip is complementary to the cross-section of the respective one limbs engaging therein. This affords a stable arrangement for the sealing strip which is so mounted positively but releasably on the one limbs.

Since the sealing strip does not have to extend over the full height of the one limbs of the anchorage rails, portions of the one limbs can protrude beneath the sealing strip and clamp between them an elastic separating piece which extends to the bottom of the joint.

The separating piece, produced from an insulating material, for example Styropor (Registered Trade Mark) can have any desired cutouts and in this respect can be so adapted for different height spacings between the surface of the finished floor and the basic floor structure that the upper edge of the sealing strip plane of the finished floor. The elastic separating piece also guarantees a continuous separation of individual floor panels, since it can be so cut to size on the building site that it always reaches as far as a glass-fibre mat or the like placed onto the basic floor structure, so that the individual floor sections remain completely separated from one another, which is of particular importance for good sound and heat insulation.

Preferably the sealing strip is of rubber or of a weldable PVC which is weldable with a top covering of the floor, the separating piece consisting of insulating material, and the anchorage rails preferably consist of a material which cannot be attacked by mortar, plaster or other components included in the floor structure, for example aluminium.

A preferred embodiment of sealing assembly of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein the single figure is a vertical cross-section through a floor which is provided with underfloor heating.

A preferred sealing assembly of the invention includes a sealing strip 1 generally M-shaped in cross-section and consisting of elastomeric material and has, for increasing its ability to expand or contract, on its upper side, a respective V-shaped incision 2 and in its interior a continuous chamber 3.

The sealing strip 1 has two downwardlyopen grooves 4, into which a respective one limb 5 of an anchorage rail 6 is introduced, while the other limb 7, of the anchorage rail 6 is embedded in a screed 8, into which pipes 9 are laid for floor heating.

For the positive but releasable connection of the sealing strip 1 to the limbs 5, the limbs 5 have projections 10 which engage complementary depressions 11 in the side walls of the grooves 4. Perforations 12 in the other limbs 7 of the anchorage rails 6 guarantee a secure anchorage of the entire construction which is either pre-fabricated or is assembled in a simple manner on the building site prior to installation.

Where two joints cross or meet, sealing assembly portions can be provided which are welded to be T-shaped or cross-shaped and butt-welded on the building side to the ends of elongate sealing assemblies. Fundamentally, the possibility naturally also exists of pre-fabricating a panel network, consisting of the jointing strip in accordance with the invention, which merely has to be clamped on the building site and aligned and subsequently be filled with screed and tiles or slabs and/or plaster.

Underneath the sealing strip 1 there is effected the continuous separation of the panels with separating pieces, cut to size to fit the appropriate dimensions, of insulating material, for example Syropor (Registered Trade Mark), which is clampable between the limbs 5 of the anchorage rails 6 and in this way is given a stable position and in its turn supports the sealing strip during the installation on the substrate.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A sealing assembly for shrinkage and expansion joints comprising two oppositelyarranged anchorage rails of angular crosssection, and a generally M-section elastic sealing strip, one limb of each rail engaging a respective groove in the sealing strip in such a way that the sealing strip is positively but releasably connected to the limbs of the anchorage rails.

2. A sealing assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the other limbs of the anchorage rails have deformations for ensuring a firm anchorage in adjacent screed.

3. A sealing assembly as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the respective other limbs of the anchorage rails have projections and/or depressions and/or perforations.

4. A sealing assembly as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the cross-section of the grooves is complementary to the cross-section of the one limbs.

5. A sealing assembly as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the one limbs of the anchorage rails are longer than the depth of the sealing strip to enable them to protrude below the sealing strip and clamp between them an elastomeric separation strip which extends to a bottom of the joint.

6. A sealing assembly as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the sealing strip is of rubber or of weldable PVC, the separation strip consisting of thermally insulating material and the anchorage rails being of a metal resistant to attack by mortar or plaster, or their constituents, for example aluminium.

7. A sealing assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (7)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. while the other limb 7, of the anchorage rail 6 is embedded in a screed 8, into which pipes 9 are laid for floor heating. For the positive but releasable connection of the sealing strip 1 to the limbs 5, the limbs 5 have projections 10 which engage complementary depressions 11 in the side walls of the grooves 4. Perforations 12 in the other limbs 7 of the anchorage rails 6 guarantee a secure anchorage of the entire construction which is either pre-fabricated or is assembled in a simple manner on the building site prior to installation. Where two joints cross or meet, sealing assembly portions can be provided which are welded to be T-shaped or cross-shaped and butt-welded on the building side to the ends of elongate sealing assemblies. Fundamentally, the possibility naturally also exists of pre-fabricating a panel network, consisting of the jointing strip in accordance with the invention, which merely has to be clamped on the building site and aligned and subsequently be filled with screed and tiles or slabs and/or plaster. Underneath the sealing strip 1 there is effected the continuous separation of the panels with separating pieces, cut to size to fit the appropriate dimensions, of insulating material, for example Syropor (Registered Trade Mark), which is clampable between the limbs 5 of the anchorage rails 6 and in this way is given a stable position and in its turn supports the sealing strip during the installation on the substrate. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A sealing assembly for shrinkage and expansion joints comprising two oppositelyarranged anchorage rails of angular crosssection, and a generally M-section elastic sealing strip, one limb of each rail engaging a respective groove in the sealing strip in such a way that the sealing strip is positively but releasably connected to the limbs of the anchorage rails.

2. A sealing assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the other limbs of the anchorage rails have deformations for ensuring a firm anchorage in adjacent screed.

3. A sealing assembly as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the respective other limbs of the anchorage rails have projections and/or depressions and/or perforations.

4. A sealing assembly as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the cross-section of the grooves is complementary to the cross-section of the one limbs.

5. A sealing assembly as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the one limbs of the anchorage rails are longer than the depth of the sealing strip to enable them to protrude below the sealing strip and clamp between them an elastomeric separation strip which extends to a bottom of the joint.

6. A sealing assembly as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the sealing strip is of rubber or of weldable PVC, the separation strip consisting of thermally insulating material and the anchorage rails being of a metal resistant to attack by mortar or plaster, or their constituents, for example aluminium.

7. A sealing assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.