NZ228670A - Tile laying spacing device - Google Patents

Description

22867 0 PATENTS FORM NO. 5 Fee No. 4: $200.00 PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION After Provisional No: 228670 Dated: 10th April 1989 SPACER WE, MURRAY JAMES WILLIAM OTWAY and SUSANNE FAYE OTWAY both New Zealand citizens of Trig Road, R D 1, Waihi, New Zealand hereby declare the invention for which I/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: 1 ? 2 P 6 7 0 This invention relates to a spacing device, in particular but not exclusively a spacing device for use in spacing apart tiles and the like.

As every tradesperson and handyman can appreciate, the laying of tiles is fiddly, messy and time consuming work. Generally, tiles are stuck into position by glue spread onto the surface to be tiled, after which grouting is trowelled into the spaces between the tiles.

To be aesthetically pleasing, and to fit, it is important that the tiles are laid so that there is even spacing between each tile. In a long run of tiles, just a fraction of a millimetre difference between the spacing of each of the tiles can be sufficient to give the appearance of a sloping or crooked line of tiles.

In the past, this problem has been addressed by the placing of matchsticks (which used to have a constant cross-section of two millimetres) between the tiles as they were being laid. However, usage of matchsticks has its own problems as often one's fingers are covered with the glue used to lay the tiles. The placing of a small item such as a matchstick into a precise position with sticky fingers is not an efficient exercise. Furthermore, modern day matchsticks are no longer made to a constant cross-section and thus cannot be used in this manner.

Another problem associated with the spacing of tiles is that after being laid, tiles have a tendancy to slip, and again leading to uneven runs of tiles.

An alternative to matchsticks has been devised which is a flat cross which can be placed at the intersection of four tiles. However, this too is fiddly to place into position and can cause problems with the tiles becoming out of alignment if there are fractional differences in the size of tiles themselves. 2 ^ nq? i J /1* ?28670 It is an object of the present invention to provide a spacing device which addresses the above problems.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description which is given by way of example.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a spacing device comprising a main body, at least one spacer integrally attached to said main body, the spacer being readily separated from the main body by breaking the integral attachment therebetween, the arrangement and construction being such that in use the spacer can be placed between the objects to be spaced and separated from the main body when the main body is in a different plane from the plane of the object to be spaced.

According to a further aspect of the present invention the spacer may be attached to the main body by a line of weakening whereby the spacer can be detached from the main body by twisting the main body with respect to the spacer.

It can be seen that use of a body in a different plane from the objects to be spaced, overcomes the problems associated with the placement of small fiddly spacers with sticky fingers, as fingers need not touch the spacers at all.

Reference throughout this specification will be made to the objects being spaced as tiles although it should be appreciated that the present invention can be used in spacing other objects.

In one embodiment of the present invention the body may be made of a flat plastics material of sufficient size for the operator to easily handle with its fingers. The spacer may also be made of plastics material and be of a uniform width. /£00/J A common width that tiles are spaced apart is 2 milllimetres although 5 milllimetre gaps are also used with tiles that are thicker than average.

A spacer may of course be made from materials other than plastics material, however plastics material does offer the advantage in that it can be quickly and cheaply moulded to the desired shape. In one embodiment the spacing device may be injection moulded out of brittle plastics material which enables the spacers to break off readily from the body along a point or line of weakening.

A number of different body types are envisaged. In one embodiment it is envisaged that the body may be substantially rectangular in shape with an apex at one end to which a single spacer is attached. At the other end of the body there may a rounded length substantially parallel to the spacer which serves both as a handle for picking up the spacing device and as a tool to smooth the grouting which is placed between the tiles.

In an alternative embodiment there may be multiple spacers attached to the main body. For instance the body may be substantially diamond shaped with spacers attached to each corner. This construction enables the operator to maintain a good grip on the main body. Furthermore greater economy is achieved by providing four spacers with one spacing device.

In use, it is envisaged that the spacers will be placed vertically flush with the tile sides which are positioned in a horizontal line to each other. To prevent vertical slippage, it is envisaged that the spacers will be placed horizontally at the intersection of four tiles. If, as sometimes happens, the tiles are of different sizes, the spacer may be still used, but as a guideline for the placement of tiles which need not be placed hard against the spacer. It is 4 . ?28670 envisaged of course that spacers of differing widths may be made according to the preference of the tile layers.

Once the spacer is in position, the main body can be twisted with respect to the spacer which is held by the glue that holds the tiles and to some extent by the tiles on either side of it. Twisting the main body breaks the spacer off at the line of weakening by which the spacer was attached to the body.

In one embodiment the spacers may be approximately 5 milllimetres square in cross-section. This embodiment will be used with tiles of a greater than average thickness. The applicants believe that if a square main body is used for 5 millimetre spacers, it would have to be of a greater size than that used for 2 millimetre spacers so as to avoid connecting the sides of the square main body with the tiles when the main body is twisted to break off the spacers. Alternatively, the sides of the main body may be concaved so that when the body is turned, the concave sides of the main body passes freely over the edges of the thicker tiles. Furthermore by having concave sides, less plastic is required to manufacture the tile spacer.

In a preferred embodiment the main body and the spacers will be in substantially the same plane as each other which gives advantages in the manufacture of the spacing device and in the packaging thereof. Furthermore, a flat body offers a large gripping surface to the operator. If the / spacer is rectangular in shape and not cross shaped the spacing device has considerable versatility and spacers can be placed between the sides of tiles and not just at four way intersections.

Aspects of the present invention will now be discussed by way of example only with reference to the following figures in which: •i j > L tfj; .f?) jfy li. $r\ 7 Figure 1: is a diagrammatic plan view of a spacing device incorporating the four spacers, and Fierure 2: is a diagrammatic side view of the spacing device illustrated in Figure 1, and Figure 3: is a diagrammatic plan view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 4: is a diagrammatic plan view of another embodiment of the present invention.

With respect to Figures 1 and 2, there is provided a spacing device generally indicated by arrow 1 comprising a body 2 and spacers 3.

The body 2 and the spacers 3 have been integrally injection moulded out of a brittle plastics material.

The body 2 is a flat substantially diamond shape, approximately 1.5 millimetres in depth. The sides of the main body 2 are 25 milllimetres long.

The spacers 3 are 2 milllimetres square in cross-section. The length of the spacer is 15 milllimetres.

It should be appreciated that while the above dimensions in the present invention have been found to work satisfactorily, the use of other dimensions are of course envisaged.

Referring now particularly to Figure 2 the corners 4 of the main body 2 taper to a point 5 where the spacer 3 joins the main body 2 by a point or line of weakening. This tapering enables the spacer 3 to be readily detached from the 6 body 2 upon a twisting motion of the main body 2. It should be appreciated that the body 2 is not twisted until the spacer has stuck to some extent to the glue which holds the tile 11 into position.

Figure 3 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the present invention. In this case, the spacing device, generally indicated by arrow 6, comprises a substantially rectangular shaped body 7 with an apex 8 to which a single spacer 9 is attached. The apex 8 tapers in a similar manner towards the spacer 9 as does the corner 4 of the spacing device 1 towards the spacer 3.

Spacing device 6 incorporates a further tool to aid in the operation of laying tiles. This is a smoother 10 which is attached to the body 7 substantially parallel to the spacer 9. The smoother 10 is a rounded length of plastics material which can be used to smooth grouting that has been placed between the tiles 11. The smoother 10 can also act as a handle to aid in the picking up of the spacing device 6.

Figure 4 illustrates yet a further embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment the spacing device, generally indicated by arrow 12, has spacers 13 which are approximately 5 milllimetres square in cross-section. It is envisaged that these spacers will be used with thicker tiles than average. To enable the spacing device 12 to twist with respect to the spacers 13, the main body 14 has concave sides 15 so that as the spacing device 12 twists the concave sides 15 pass over the tiles.

Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope thereof as defined in the appended claims.

Claims (6)

WHAT WE CT ATM IS: 728670

1. A spacing device comprising a main body, at least one spacer integrally attached to said main body, the spacer being readily separated from the main body by breaking the integral attachment therebetween, the arrangement and construction being such that in use the spacer can be placed between the objects to be spaced and separated from the main body when the main body is in a different plane from the plane of the object to be spaced.

2. A spacing device as claimed in claim 1 wherein there are a plurality of spacers attached to the main body.

3. A spacing device as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the spacer is attached to the main body by a point or line of weakening.

4. A spacing device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 whereby the spacer is detached from the main body by twisting the main body with respect to the spacer.

5. A spacing device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the main body is a flat sheet of material.

6. A spacing device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the main body is substantially square shaped and the spacers are attached to the corners of the square comprising the main body. 8 A spacing device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the sides of the main body are indented inwardly away from the spacers. A method of introducing a space between objects to be spaced characterised by the steps of a) inserting the spacing device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 so that the spacer attached to the spacing device is between the objects to be spaced and the main body substantially perpendicular to the plane of the objects to be spaced, and b) twisting the main body of the spacing device to remove the spacer therefrom. A spacing device substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings. A method of spacing objects substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings. MURRAY JAMES WILLIAM OTWAY AND SUSANNE FAYE OTWAY by their Attorneys JAMES & WELLS