GB2559324A

GB2559324A - Tile Gauge

Info

Publication number: GB2559324A
Application number: GB1701234.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Lormor Joseph
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2017-01-25
Filing date: 2017-01-25
Publication date: 2018-08-08
Anticipated expiration: 2037-01-25
Also published as: GB2559324B; GB201701234D0

Abstract

A tile gauging device 10 for providing a cutting guide for a tile has a first part 20, for alignment with a first edge 64 of an area 66 to be tiled, and a second part 40 for alignment with a second edge 68 of the area 66. The second part 40 is adjustably mountable to the first part 20 by a plurality of resilient deformable fingers (46,47, fig 3a) which receive a portion of the first part 20 therebetween, for example in an interleaving manner. The second part 40 may slide and rotate relative to the first part 20 and the resilient deformable fingers (46,47, fig 3a) may be defined by slits (45, fig 3a) in the second member 40. A spacer element (50, fig 3a) may project from the second part 40 and abut the second edge 68 to provide a grouting gap.

Description

I, EPODOC, INTERNET (74) Agent and/or Address for Service:

Urquhart-Dykes & Lord LLP Cale Cross House, 156 Pilgrim Street, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, NE1 6SU, United Kingdom (54) Title ofthe Invention: Tile Gauge

Abstract Title: Tile profile gauge and cutting guide (57) A tile gauging device 10 for providing a cutting guide for a tile has a first part 20, for alignment with a first edge 64 of an area 66 to be tiled, and a second part 40 for alignment with a second edge 68 ofthe area 66. The second part 40 is adjustably mountable to the first part 20 by a plurality of resilient deformable fingers (46,47, fig 3a) which receive a portion of the first part 20 therebetween, for example in an interleaving manner. The second part 40 may slide and rotate relative to the first part 20 and the resilient deformable fingers (46,47, fig 3a) may be defined by slits (45, fig 3a) in the second member 40. A spacer element (50, fig 3a) may project from the second part 40 and abut the second edge 68 to provide a grouting gap.

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TILE GAUGE «field of the invention

The present invention relates to a gauging device, in particular but not exclusively to a tile gauging device for gauging/measuring and/or marking tiles or other floor coverings for cutting to size prior to their fixture to a surface .

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When covering a surface such as a wall with tiles, it is usual to cover as much of the surface as possible with complete tiles, for example by starting at the centre and working towards the edges. At the edges of the surface, it is often necessary to cut tiles to fit the area remaining between the last complete tile and the edge of the surface to be covered. The area to be covered by a cut tile must therefore be measured and its dimensions transferred to the tile for cutting. This can be difficult and time-consuming, particularly if the surface to be covered by tiles is bounded by an adjoining wall or ceiling, or if there are obstacles such as pipes around which tiles must be fitted. Various devices have been proposed for facilitating this task.

Embodiments of the present invention seek to overcome one or more disadvantages associated with the prior art.

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Summary of the invention

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a tile gauging device for providing a cutting guide for a tile, comprising:

a first part for alignment with a first edge of an area to be covered by the tile, and a second part, adjustably mountable to said first part for alignment, with a second edge of the area, wherein said second part comprises a plurality of resilient members for adjustably mounting said second part to said first part, wherein said resilient members are deformable to receive a portion of the first part therebetween.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a device which is simple to assemble and adjust. Use of the device helps to minimise tile usage and therefore cost. By providing a plurality of resilient members for adjustably mounting the second part to the: first part, it is not necessary to provide any fixing bolts or screws for fixing and adjusting the two parts. This in turn reduces the cost of manufacture of the device and improves ease of use.

Preferably, said resilient members are arranged to allow said second part to slide and rotate relative to said first part when mounted to said first part by said resilient members.

This enables the device to be adjusted for gauging or measuring areas between two non-parallel edges.

Preferably, at least two said resilient members are deformable to engage respective opposing surfaces of said first part.

-3In some embodiments, said second part is substantially planar.

This allows for the second part to be manufactured easily, and to be stored and transported compactly.

At least one said resilient member may comprise an elongate member attached at one end to a main body of the second part.

The resilient members may be substantially planar.

In some embodiments, when said second part is not mounted 15 to said first part, at least two adjacent resilient members are substantially aligned with one plane.

Preferably, said at least two adjacent resilient members are deformable out of said plane in opposite directions to receive said portion of said first part therebetween.

In some embodiments, at least one edge of said second part comprises slots, and said resilient members are provided by regions of the second part between said slots.

The first part may be substantially planar.

In some embodiments:

said first part comprises a frame having first and second 30 longitudinally-extending members, spaced apart in a transverse direction; and said plurality of resilient members comprises a plurality of first resilient members for slidably engaging “4“ said first, longitudinally-extending member and a plurality of second resilient members for slidably engaging said second longitudinally--extending member.

One of said first and second parts may comprise a first abutment face for abutting an edge of a second tile defining said first/second edge of said area to be covered by the first, tile, for aligning said one of said first and second parts with said first/second edge.

This feature enables the first/second part to be easily aligned with an edge of a tile fixed to the surface to be tiled«

Said one of said first and second parts may comprise a second abutment face, parallel to and spaced apart from said first abutment face, for abutting an edge of the first tile, such that the other of said first and second parts provides a cutting guide for marking and/or cutting said first tile to a size required for covering said area including a clearance corresponding to the spacing between the first and second abutment faces .

This feature enables the first/second part to be easily aligned with the edge of the tile to be cut, ana provides means for defining a clearance between tiles, for example for grouting ,

One of said first and second parts may comprise one or more openings for use in marking said tile for cutting to size.

This feature provides further means for defining a clearance between tiles, for example for receiving a trim.

-5Said openings may be triangular.

This feature enables each opening to define three 5 different positions for marking, corresponding to three different clearances.

One of said first and second parts may comprise an opening for engaging with an obstacle in the area to be covered by the tile, for marking a position of the obstacle on the tile .

This feature enables the device to be used to gauge the position of obstacles such as pipes, for marking on the tile to be cut.

The first and/or second part may be made of polyvinyl chloride.

Brief description of the drawings

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a plan view of a tile gauging device according to an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 shows a plan view of a first part of the tile 30 gauging device of Figure 1;

-6Figures 3A and 3B show a plan view and a side view respectively of a second part of the tile gauging device of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a schematic illustration of the tile gauging device of Figure 1 in use for gauging an area to be covered by a tile;

Figure 5 is a schematic illustration of the tile gauging 10 device of Figure 1 in use for marking the tile to be cut to fit the area to be covered by the tile; and

Figure 6 is a schematic illustration of the tile gauging device of Figure 1 in use for gauging the position of an obstruction in an area to be covered by a tile.

Detailed description of the embodiments

The tile gauging device 10 shown in Figure 1 includes a 20 first part 20 and a second part 40. The second part 40 is adjustably mounted to the first part 2 0 so that it can be rotated and translated relative to the first part 20.

When covering a surface (e.g. a wall) with tiles, the 25 device 10 can be used to facilitate marking tiles for cutting to a size required for covering a specific area, in particular the area remaining between a tile already fixed to the surface and an edge of the surface to be covered. The area to be covered by a cut tile may be bounded by two spaced faces, provided by a wall or ceiling adjoining the surface to be tiled and a facing edge of a tile already fixed to that surface. These spaced faces may be parallel, but in many cases are not parallel, The relative position and orientation of the first

-Ίpart 20 and second part 40 of the device 10 can be adjusted such that an edge 22a or 23a of the first part 20 and an edge 42 or 43 of the second part are simultaneously aligned with opposite edges of the area to be covered by a cut tile. Once adjusted, the relative position of the first and second parts 20, 40 is retained by the frictional forces between the first and second parts 20, 40. The device 10 can then be used as a template for cutting a further tile to the size required to cover the region. One of the edges 22, 23, 42, 43 is aligned with an edge of the tile to be cut, and the other of the edges 22, 23, 42, 43 is used as a cutting guide for marking and/or cutting the tile.

The first part 20, shown in Figure 2, comprises a substantially planar frame 24 including two longitudinally extending strips 26, 27 spaced apart in a transverse direction by two transverse connecting portions 28, 29,

One or both of the longitudinally-separated ends 22, 23 of first part 20 comprise abutment edges 22a, 23a arranged for alignment with a first edge of an area to be covered by a cut tile, in particular, by abutting a wall or ceiling adjoining the surface to be tiled. Such an adjoining wall or ceiling may not be completely flat. A central portion 22b, 23b of the respective end 22, 23 is therefore cut away so that each of the abutment edges 22a, 23a comprises two spaced apart portions which, when abutted against a non-planar surface, provide a better approximation for fitting a straight-edged tile to the non-linear edge of the tiling area.

The second part 40, shown in Figures 3A and 3B, comprises a substantially planar rectangular body 41. The body 41 is made from a sheet of plastic {e.g. extruded PVC) 'which is

-8resiliently flexible. Parallel slots 44, 45 extend inwardly from two opposing sides of the body 41 to form a plurality of resilient members or fingers 46, 47 for mounting the second part 40 to the first part. 20. The resilient members 46, 47 are deformable out of the plane of the body 41 to grip around portions of the first part 20 as shown in Figure 1, In particular, the resilient members 46 on one side of the second part 40 are deformable to grip one longitudinally-extending strip 26 of the first part 20, while the resilient members 47 on the other side of the second part 40 are deformable to grip the other longitudinally-extending strip 27 of the first part 20 .

Any two of the resilient members 46, 47 adjacent to each other can be deformed out of the plane of the body 42 in opposite directions to receive a portion of the first part 20 therebetween. The resilience of the members 46, 47 causes them to exert a gripping force on the first part 20. For example, adjacent resilient members 46a, 46b may be deformed to engage opposing faces of the first longitudinally-extending strip 26, as shown: in Figure 1. Frictional forces between the resilient members 46, 47 and the first part 20 hold the first and second parts 20, 40 together with a fixed relative position and orientation until a user applies a force to slide one of the first and second parts 20, 40 relative to the other.

The second part 40 can be translated by sliding relative to the first part 20, in particular in the longitudinal direction. The second part 40 can also be rotated by sliding relative to the first part 20, in the plane of the first and second parts 20, 40. The resilient members 46, 47 are sufficiently long that they are able to engage the first part 20 when rotated through a range of angles. It is particularly

-9advantageous that no additional fixing means such as bolts are required to hold the first and second parts in position relative to each other. This makes the device 10 easy to use and adjust.

Either one of the other two sides 42, 43 of the second part 40 (not provided with slots 44, 45) can be aligned with a second edge of an area to be covered by a cut tile, in particular for alignment with a tile already fixed to the surface to be tiled. In addition, a spacer element 50 is provided on the second part 4 0 for this purpose. Spacer element 50 projects out of the plane of the body 41 and has two parallel spaced apart abutment faces 51, 52, orthogonal to the plane of the body 41. The first abutment face 51 is for abutment with a tile already fixed to the surface to be tiled and bounding the area to be covered by a cut tile. The second abutment face 52 is for abutment with an edge of the tile to be cut. The spacing between the two abutment, faces 51, 52 provides for a grouting gap between the tile already fixed to the wall and the cut tile.

Figures 4 and 5 illustrate the tile gauging device 10 in use. Figure 4 shows a surface 60 to be covered with tiles, to which some complete tiles 62a~c have already been fixed. The surface 60 is bounded by an adjoining wall 64, substantially perpendicular to the surface 60, Next, a tile must be cut to fit the area 66 remaining between the adjoining wall 64 and the opposing face 68 of the last complete tile 62b.

Figure 4 shows the tile gauging device 10 adjusted and positioned for measuring the area 66 to be covered by a cut tile. The abutment edge 22a of the first part 20 is abutted against and thereby aligned with the first edge 64 of the area

-loss, namely the adjoining wall 64. The abutment face 51 of the spacer 5G of the second part 40 abuts and is thus aligned with the second edge 68 of the area 66, namely the opposing face 68 of the last complete tile 62b. The correct alignment is obtained by sliding the second part 40 relative to the first part 20 to adjust the relative position and orientation of the first and second parts 20, 40. In the example shown in Figures 4 and 5, this is carried out with the right-hand edge of the second part 40 aligned with the right-hand edge of the last complete tile 62b.

The tile gauging device 10 is then removed from the tiling surface 60 and transferred to a tile to be cut as shown in Figure 5. The relative position and orientation of the first and second parts 20, 40 are retained by frictional forces between the first and second parts 20, 40, The device 10 is placed over a tile 70 such that the abutment edge 52 of spacer element 50 abuts an edge 72 of the tile 70. The right-hand edge of the second part 40 is aligned with the right-hand edge of tile 70 to be cut. The edge 22a of the first part 20 is then used as a guide for marking and/or cutting the tile along a line 74. After cutting, portion 76 of the tile is discarded, and the remaining portion of the cut tile 70 is the correct size for covering the area 66, The spacing between the abutment faces 51, 52 of the spacer' 50 results in the cut tile 70 being slightly smaller than the area 66 to allow a clearance for grouting between adjacent tiles.

Rather than aligning the right-hand edge of the second part 40 with the right hand edges of tiles 62b and 70, as shown in Figures 4 and 5 respectively, the measuring and marking procedures could instead be carried out with the left-hand edge of the second part 40 aligned with the left-hand edges of the last complete tile 62b and the tile 70 to be cut. For tiles which are relatively long compared with the tile gauge 10, the process could be repeated at both left-hand and righthand edges of the tiles.

The edge 22 of the first part 2 0 may be provided with further recesses for defining further clearances. This is shown in Figure 2, which shows further guide edges 22c which can be used for marking the tile 70 in order to allow a further clearance, for example for receiving a trim or similar, when the tile 70 is fixed to area 66. In addition, small holes 22d may be provided at a predetermined longitudinal distance from the abutment edges 22a of the first part 20, as shown in Figure

2. These two holes 22d may be used for marking the cutting line on tile 70 when gauging around openings such as windows. The offset between the holes 22d and the abutment edges 22a takes into consideration the width of a tile trim to be accommodated between the tiles and the opening. In other embodiments, the holes 22d may be triangular, thereby enabling three different sized trims to be taken into consideration,

The first part 20 of the tile gauging device 10 is also provided with a circular hole 30, located near one end. As illustrated in Figure 6, the hole 30 may be used for gauging where a pipe 68 or other obstacles are situated in the area 66

to be tiled.	The position	of	the pi	pe 68 may	then	be marked
on the tile	70 to be cut.	to	cover	the area	66 .	In other
embodiments,	more than	one	hole	3 0 may	be	provided,

corresponding to various standard pipe sizes.

The frictional force between the first and second parts 20, 40 depends in part on the nature of the surface of the first and second parts 20, 40, which is preferably smooth in

-12· order that the relative position and orientation of the first and second parts 20, 40 is readily adjusted by a user.

The skilled person will appreciate that the frictional 5 force also depends on factors such as the flexibility and resilience of the materials used for the first and second parts 20, 40, the thickness of the parts 20, 40, and the length of the resilient members 46, 47.

The frictional force also depends on the number of resilient members 46, 47 engaging each face of the opposing faces of the first part 20. In the device 10 shown in Figure 1, six resilient members 46, 47 are provided on each side of the second part 40. In Figure 1, these alternately engage the upper and lower faces of the respective longitudinallyextending strip 26, 27 of the first part 20. That is, no two adjacent members 46, 47 engage the same face of the first part 20. However, to reduce the friction force between the first and second parts 20, 40 and to make it easier to adjust the relative position and orientation, a user may choose instead to assemble the first and second parts 20, 40 such that a group of adjacent resilient members engage the same face of the first part 20.

Suitable materials for the first and second parts 20, 40 include plastics and metals. For example, the second part 40 may be made from extruded PVC (polyvinyl chloride). The first part 40 may be made from cast Perspex acrylic or extruded PVC.

A particular advantage of the device 10 is that it can be manufactured easily and at low cost. The first, part 20 and the body 42 of the second part 40 can each be cut as a single piece from a sheet of plastic or metal. The spacer 50 can be

-13fixed to the second part 4 0 by various means, including by glueing. Alternatively, the spacer 50 may be integrally-formed with the body 42 of the second part 40, for example by cutting the second part 40 from a single piece of material.

The device 10 is also simple to disassemble. This makes the device particularly compact for storage and transport.

In one embodiment, the first part 2 0 is approximately

36cm .long, 18cm wide and 3mm thick, with the second part 40 being 10cm long, 20cm wide and 3mm thick. The spacer element 50 protrudes approximately 4mm from the body 41 of the second part 40 and the spacing between the first and second abutment faces 51, 52 of the spacer 50 is approximately 3mm. However, the skilled person will appreciate that the dimensions of the device .10 can be adapted for use with tiles of different sizes and/or to provide different clearances.

Although the invention has been described by way of the above embodiment, the skilled person will appreciate that, in other embodiments, the resilient members may be provided on the first part rather than the second part.

The skilled person will also appreciate that, in addition to gauging tiles, the gauging device described above may be used for gauging other surface coverings, such as laminate flooring panels and the like.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above embodiments have been described by way of example only, and not in any limitative sense, and that various alterations and modifications are possible without departure

-14from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims .

-οι. A tile gauging device for providing a cutting guide for 5 a tile, comprising:

a first part for alignment with a first edge of an area to be covered by the tile, and a second part, adjustably mountable to said first part for alignment with a second edge of the area, wherein said second part comprises a plurality of resilient members for adjustably mounting said second part to said first part, wherein said resilient members are deformable to receive a. portion of the first part therebetween.

2. A tile gauging device according to claim 1, wherein said resilient members are arranged to allow said second part to slide and rotate relative to said first part when mounted to said first part by said resilient members.

3. A tile gauging device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein at least two said resilient members are deformable to engage respective opposing surfaces of said first part.

4. A tile gauging device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said second part is substantially planar

5. A tile gauging device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one said resilient member

Claims

comprises an elongate member attached at one end to a main body of the second part.

the

-166. A tile gauging device according to any one of preceding claims wherein said resilient members are substantially planar,

57. A tile gauging device according to claim 6 wherein, when said second part is not mounted to said first part, at least two adjacent x'esilient members are substantially aligned with one plane.

8. A tile gauging device according to claim 7, wherein said at least two adjacent resilient members are deformable out of said plane in opposite directions to receive said portion of said first part therebetween.

9. A tile gauging device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one edge of said second part comprises slots, and said resilient members are provided by regions of the second part between said slots.

10. A tile gauging device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said first part is substantially planar.

11. A tile gauging device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein:

said first part comprises a frame having first and second longitudinally-extending members, spaced apart in a transverse direction,- and said plurality of resilient members comprises a plurality of first resilient members for slidably engaging said first longitudinally-extending member and a plurality of second resilient members for slidably engaging said second longitudinally-extending member.

1712. A tile gauging device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein one of said first and second parts comprises a first abutment face for abutting an edge of a second tile defining said first/second edge of said area to be covered by the first tile, for aligning said one of said first and second parts with said first/second edge.

A tile gauging device according to claim 12, wherein

10 said one of said first and second parts comprises a second abutment face, parallel to and spac ed apart from said first abutment face, for abutt .ing an edge of the first tile, such that the other of said first and second parts provides a

cutting guide for marking and/or cutting said first tile to a 15 size required for covering said area including a clearance corresponding to the spacing between the first and second abutment faces.

14, A tile gauging device according to any one of the 20 preceding claims, wherein one of said first and second parts comprises one or more openings for use in marking said tile for cutting to size.

15, A tile gauging device according to claim 14, wherein 25 said openings are criangular.

16, A tile gauging device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein one of said first and second parts comprises an opening for engaging with an obstacle in the area to be covered by the tile, for marking a position of the obstacle on the tile.

-1817. A tile gauging device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said first and/or second part is made of polyvinyl chloride.

18. A tile gauging device substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Intellectual

Property

Office

Application No: Claims searched:

GB1701234.5

1-18

Examiner: Date of search:

Mr David Kirwin 14 March 2017

Patents Act 1977: Search Report under Section 17

Documents considered to be relevant:

Category Relevant to claims Identity of document and passage or figure of particular relevance A - US 6553683 BI (KLASS et al.) see whole document. A - US 2003/0033724 Al (BARBOSA) see whole document. A - US 4827625 Al (LE MOAL) see whole document. A - DE 10152786 Al (OLLAND) see figures in particular.

Categories:

X Document indicating lack of novelty or inventive step A Document indicating technological background and/or state of the art. Y Document indicating lack of inventive step if combined with one or more other documents of same category. P Document published on or after the declared priority date but before the filing date of this invention. & Member of the same patent family E Patent document published on or after, but with priority date earlier than, the filing date of this application.

Field of Search:

Search of GB, EP, WO & US patent documents classified in the following areas of the UKC^X :

International Classification:

Subclass Subgroup Valid From E04F 0021/18 01/01/2006 B25H 0007/02 01/01/2006 B28D 0001/22 01/01/2006 E04F 0021/22 01/01/2006

Intellectual Property Office is an operating name of the Patent Office www.gov.uk/ipo