NZ549599A

NZ549599A - Loosely laid natural stone panel floor

Info

Publication number: NZ549599A
Application number: NZ549599A
Authority: NZ
Inventors: Heiner Rinsche
Original assignee: Natursteinwerk Rinsche Gmbh
Priority date: 2004-02-26
Filing date: 2004-08-11
Publication date: 2008-07-31
Also published as: MXPA06009720A; EP1718817A1; ZA200606926B; JP2007525610A; WO2005085550A1; AU2004316873A1; KR20060135807A; CA2557385A1; US20080209831A1; IL177520A0; DE202004002966U1; BRPI0418581A; CN1922370A

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a natural stone panel floor, whereby the floor panels thereof (1) are laid at a distance from each other on an essentially flat base. The base panels (1) comprise, respectively, a groove (11) which is arranged on the lateral surface thereof (10) and respectively a plastic spacer (2) which is arranged between adjacent floor panels (1), said spacer supports a clamping crosspiece (20, 21) on both sides thereof, which is maintained in a clamped manner in the groove (11).

Description

<div class="application article clearfix" id="description"> 1 Loosely laid natural stone panel floor The invention relates to a natural stone panel floor, comprising floor panels and joint spacers, wherein the floor panels are made completely out of natural stone and are laid at a distance from each other on an essentially flat base. 5 It is well-known to loosely lay natural stone floor coverings on an essentially flat base for meetings, shift fairs etc, for later further use. As a compensation for variations, narrow gaps are formed between the panels, employing for example cross-shaped plastic spacers, which are commonly used for laying fixed panels. In this case however, the result is not an immovable composite structure of the panels, and any height differences of the ground 10 cause the panels to tilt and/or form steps at the joints, which makes the floor more difficult to walk on and possibly brings about a risk of falling. Also the free edges of the panels can be damaged, which in particular impairs their re-use. A panel floor is known from the patent application WO 02/077389 Al. In this application the panels are composite panels with only a thin natural floor on top. The panels are hold is together by joint spacers, which clip into a groove with an undercut in a soft layer. Therefore the panels are not very strongly locked and can easily drift vertical. The spacers do not extend fully to the top of the panel and a separate cover strip is inserted into the joint. Furthermore from the patent application US 4,599,841 a spacer for panels fitted with 20 grooves is known, which is T-shaped and holds lateral clamping webs with coarse retention teeth upwards and downwards. Therefore they only take a coarse height position. The vertical part of the spacer does not fill the chamfers of the panel. From the European patent application EP 1 146 182 A2 joint spacers with clamping webs on both sides are known which support coarse retention Iamellas. By this, the spacer has 25 an imprecise height position and the floor gets unevenness. The spacers do not extend fully to the top of the panel and a separate cover strip is inserted into the joint. It is the object of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate one or more of the disadvantages of the prior art, or at least to provide a useful alternative. IPONZ 27 MAY 20(18 ... , 1222592 1:TCW 1a It is an object of the invention, at least in its preferred form(s), to create a loosely laid natural stone panel floor which has a flat, joint-free surface and which is easy to lay and to take up again. The present invention provides a natural stone panel floor, comprising floor panels and joint spacers, wherein the floor panels are made completely out of natural stone and are laid at a distance from each other on an essentially flat base, and the floor panels have a groove which is arranged on the lateral surfaces thereof and respectively a joint spacer made of plastic is arranged between adjacent floor panels, said spacer supporting a clamping crosspiece on both sides thereof, which is maintained in a clamped manner in the groove. Embodiments of the floor panel and the joint spacer are described in the depending claims. The clamping crosspieces preferably exhibit a horizontal boundary surface and clamping lamellas in opposite orientation, which are held in the groove in a clamping fit. The boundary surface gives an exact reference to the adjacent groove surface. Favourably, the spacer extends upward from the clamping crosspieces in the joint up to the level of the stone panel, distancing the plates, so that a smooth, well-closed surface is formed above the joint. Furthermore, it proves to be favourable, to use a relatively firm plastic such as PP, PE or ABS for the clamping crosspieces and the intermediate region and to use a softer component for the upper joint region which is moulded on by injection. IPONZ 27 MAY 2008 1222592 I :TCW WO 2005/085550 2 PCT/EP2004/008967 Preferably the upper edges of the soft region extend laterally above the joints, far enough to fill the respective chamfer of the stone, which is bevelled of approximately 1 mm. 5 This way no dirty or washing water etc can penetrate. Also small variations of the joint remain invisible, which by can occur due to the cutting of the stone and/or misalignments during use. 10 Fig.l shows favourable embodiments. Fig.l shows a cross section of a joint region with a stone panel attached. 15 The side surfaces of the stone panels 1 are provided with a groove 11, which is preferably situated in the middle at half the height of the plate. A joint spacer 2 extends between the stone panels 1, 20 extending respective clamping crosspieces 2 0, 21 into the corresponding grooves 11 on both sides. Preferably the clamping crosspiece 20, 21 exhibits an essentially smooth reference surface 22 at the top, defining the height at which it is situated in relation to the upper surface of 25 the groove. The soft plastic knobs (24B) attached by means of injection-moulding, increase the clamping effect and ensure a sealing against moisture. Retaining lamellas 23 of conical and/or knob shape extend 30 downward from the continuous clamping crosspiece region in a flexible manner providing a clamping fit in the groove 11. A joint region 24 of the spacer 2 extends upward from the reference surface 22 in the joint, where the upper joint region 24A is made from a substantially more flexible 35 material. The flexible joint region 24A projects from the vertical joint with diverging edge regions 25 into the respective chamfer 12 bevelled on the stones 10 and fills it in a sealing manner. 40 The grooves are for example 3.0 mm wide and 7 mm deep. Accordingly, before the installation, the lateral crosspieces of the connecting element are about 3.2 mm high 45 and 6.8 mm wide. The joint region 24 of the connecting element is for example 7 mm high, which corresponds to the interval between the reference level 22 and the surface of the stone. The chamfer 12 on the stone 10 is about 1 mm wide; the projecting region 25 of the joint connector and WO 2005/085550 3 PCT/EP2004/008967 spacer 2 is shaped accordingly. The stone panels and the joint connectors/spacers are also a separate commodity. WO 2005/085550 4 PCT/EP2004/008967 Reference symbols 1 stone panel 11 grooves 12 chamfers 2 plastic spacers 20, 21 clamping crosspieces 22 reference surface 23 lamellas 24 joint region 24A upper, soft joint region 24B sealing and clamping knobs (soft) 25 covering edge regions </div>

Claims

<div class="application article clearfix printTableText" id="claims"> I/we claim:

1. Natural stone panel floor, comprising floor panels and joint spacers, wherein the floor panels are made completely out of natural stone and are laid at a distance from each other on an essentially flat base, and the floor panels have a groove which is arranged on the lateral surfaces thereof and respectively a joint spacer made of plastic is arranged between adjacent floor panels, said spacer supporting a clamping crosspiece on both sides thereof, which is maintained in a clamped manner in the groove.

2. Natural stone panel floor according to claim 1, wherein the grooves are formed in the sides of the stone panel at a symmetrical height.

3. Natural stone panel floor according to claim 2, wherein the grooves are 3 mm high and more than 6 mm deep.

4. Natural stone panel floor according to claim 1, wherein each of the floor panels has chamfers at its upper edges which are filled-in by the joint spacer.

5. Natural stone panel floor according to claim 1, wherein the clamping crosspieces present, towards the top, an essentially flat reference surface with short soft plastic knobs formed by injection and, at the bottom, have retaining lamellas of a conical shape.

6. Natural stone panel floor according to claim 1, wherein the joint spacer extends from the reference surface to a surface of the stone, with which it is aligned.

7. Natural stone panel floor according to claim 1, wherein the top part of the spacer, located in the upper region of the joint, is made of a softer flexible material than the rest of the spacer.

8. A natural stone panel floor substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Natursteinwerk Rinsche GmbH By Attorneys for the Applicant SPRUSON & FERGUSON IPONZ 27 MAY 2008 fckv . 1222592 1:TCW </div>