TW201433680A - An improved tile spacer and a method of laying tiles using said tile spacer - Google Patents

Abstract

A tile spacer having a base plate positional on a bonding agent under the bottom of adjacent laid tiles with a central detachable shaft stemming from the base plate with lower and upper portions. The lower portion having a substantially flat and/or linear configuration of thickness of a required grout line to be established between the adjacently laid tiles. The upper portion having a threaded length. A tile spacer head that includes a threaded central bore so that the tile spacer head is rotatable up and down the threaded length of the upper portion of the central detachable shaft such that when the tile spacer is used the lower portion of the central detachable shaft establishes a consistent level grout line between adjacent laid tiles and the tile spacer head can be rotated down the threaded shaft to provide levelling of the elevation between the adjacent tiles so as to reduce lippage.

Description

Improved tile spacer and method for laying tiles using the same

The present invention relates to a tile spacer which facilitates the separation of tiles when the tiles are laid horizontally on the floor or vertically on the wall. The invention also relates to the use of a tile spacer which requires only a little skill or inconvenience and which also helps to level the tiles to provide a structure that does not substantially cover the tiles. The cover brick is the result of the adjacent tile edges being laid at different heights.

It is generally accepted in the industry that tiles must be separated when they are laid, so most of the tiles are pressed or laid down on a substrate by a fastener or adhesive such as an adhesive or plaster. The spacer is applied between two adjacent laying tiles.

Since it is understood by those skilled in the art that it is important to obtain a uniform line between the rows of tiles, it is necessary to add a thin glue to fill the adjacent tiles once the tiles are placed within the range of the substrate. The gap between these spaces or lines.

Traditionally, the tile spacers cause the tiles to be laterally offset during the drying of the adhesive or the stucco. Only the bricklayer has the ability to test Position the tile upright (vertical on the floor, horizontal on the wall).

Salt can understand that if the tiles move between adjacent tile edges after laying, relative motion will occur, which will hinder the consistency and uniformity of the line.

So this is more troublesome when the tiler faces laying the tiles on the wall, because the general effect of gravity as expected tends to force the tile down and the relative movement of the tiles about adjacent tiles will Once again, the homogeneity and consistency of the previously established mortar line that the tiler has been able to achieve is in chaos.

Several prior art tile spacers are described in the recently-licensed U.S. Application Serial No. 7,818,923, the majority of the prior art tile spacers which are generally described by the extruded rubber or plastic frame. Device. As described in some non-extrudable tile spacers, but still capable of maintaining manual removal capabilities, such tile spacers cannot be placed in a thin paste that is laid deep enough to maintain a uniform width of the line.

The tile spacer having an irregular dodecagonal structure causes one of the projecting arms to be placed on one corner of the tile. At the time interval between tiling and screed, these rubber tile spacers can be squeezed by the weight of the tile, and the extruded tile spacers will twist the line and may be more difficult to remove for pulping. Bricklaying.

As described, hundreds or even thousands of tile spacers can be used for a single event, and thus the ability to easily position and remove the tile spacer is an important consideration, not only regarding the laid tiles. The quality of the finished product, as well as the time and skill required to lay the individual tiles.

As stated in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 7818923, most prior art tile spacers require a separate hand tool, meaning that two hands are required during the placement process, which may make it particularly difficult for the tiler because The placement or application of the tile during placement of the tile spacer also requires hand stability.

Mounting tools for the tile spacer are often necessary because the spacing between the adjacent tiles to create a uniform and uniform line of pulp between adjacent tiles is also the main head of the tile spacer. a support member comprising a protruding forearm that is forked and protrudes beyond the face of the tile, such as the ability of the tile spacer head arm described above, thereby also helping to establish a tile relative to adjacent magnetic A certain degree of leveling of the bricks.

Therefore, as described above, in the sense that the tile spacer can not only function to establish a uniform and uniform line, but also help to gradually squeeze or maintain a certain height between adjacent tiles. Level the line and thus avoid any bricking.

However, because the design of the spacer must be narrow or linear, this then limits the ability of the person to fasten the head of the tile spacer to the shaft, which acts as a spacer between adjacent tiles. .

Since the head of the tile spacer is supported on the linear flat shaft, the only way to control the tightening of the tightening is through a ratchet mechanism in which the ratchet layer can be waited for the ratchet layer or the old type. The basic tile spacer structure manual measures can be used to hard push the ratchet layer down the head, but this still requires some degree of skill, because any sudden addition to the squeezing of the tiles placed on the adhesive Pressure may be relatively unreachable The movement caused by the offset of the line or the change of the height of one tile relative to the adjacent tile causes the tile to be affected by the brick phenomenon.

It may be beneficial to lower the mounting head of the tile spacer without the use of a dedicated tool gun and to avoid the use of ratchet-type equipment that requires the placement of tools or, at the very least, the use of both hands.

It may be particularly beneficial to enable the head of the tile spacer to be easily pivoted downwardly from the side so as to conform to the highest level of the tile, but this is not possible with the modern design described above, as this The shaft that can be rotated downwards of the head may thus no longer be linear and the ability to have the proper spacing between adjacent paving tiles to establish the desired uniform pulping line is then not achieved.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a tile spacer that can be tensioned to a desired level of tile and establish the desired spacing between adjacent tiles, thereby maintaining a consistent and uniform line of sand while assisting Level the height of adjacent tiles to avoid any bricking. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the Detailed Description.

In a form of the present invention, a spacer is provided, the spacer comprising: a substrate adapted to be placed on an adhesive under the bottom of the adjacent tile; a central detachable shaft derived from The substrate; the central detachable shaft has a lower portion and an upper portion; The lower portion has a substantially flat and/or linear structure defined by the thickness of the necessary line between the adjacent tiles; the upper portion of the central detachable shaft includes a substantially cylindrical threaded section; a tile spacing a head portion including a threaded central aperture for adapting the tile spacer head to rotate up and down along a threaded portion of the central detachable shaft; such that the central detachable shaft is used when the tile spacer is used The lower portion is located between the adjacent laying tiles to establish a highly uniform slurry line and the tile spacer head can be rotated downward along the threaded axis of the central detachable shaft to enable the tile spacer head to Supporting on at least two adjacent laying tiles to provide height leveling between the aforementioned adjacent tiles to eliminate or reduce the bricking phenomenon.

The advantage of this arrangement is that for the first time, only a few tiling technicians can easily use the tile spacers and can place them between adjacent tiles without using a placement tool to establish the necessary uniform and uniform line. At the same time, one tile is placed against the other to make the edges flattened to avoid any bricks.

Since the tile spacer head can be rotated along the "threaded axis", there is no cumbersome or difficult to handle operation of the ratchet mechanism, which may inadvertently cause too much force or stress to be applied to the head. By removing or squeezing a tile relative to the other, creating an unacceptable degree of height difference between the tiles is created to cause a bricking phenomenon.

Preferably, the tile spacer head includes a lower portion and an upper portion, wherein the lower portion is a hollow cylinder structure and the upper portion includes the threaded portion Central pupil.

Preferably, the upper portion includes opposing flange sides extending from the threaded central bore.

Preferably, the threaded central bore has a cut-out portion along the circumference of the outer circumference to allow the tiling worker to observe the degree of rotation of the tile spacer head along a cylindrical threaded section of the central detachable shaft. .

Advantageously, the barrel portion of the tile spacer head provides a cylindrical interior space that accommodates the spacer but also provides proper contact between adjacent tiles when tensioned to position Level a tile with the adjacent tile.

As one can imagine, if the head of the tile spacer is purely a rotatable washer without a hollow cylinder or chamber therein, when the washer is turned down along the threaded section of the central detachable shaft, once it hits the actual The linear spacer can no longer rotate, so that some of the adjustability of the tile spacer is used, which will also help to level the respective heights of adjacent tile edges.

Since the tile spacer head of the present invention has a hollow cylinder or compartment, the fact that the central threaded bore of the "upper portion" of the tile spacer is threaded over the threaded section of the central detachable shaft confirms that this is provided A hollow tube or compartment is a very unique capability that allows the tiler to simply turn the tile spacer head down on the top of the adjacent tiles without the use of any necessary mounting tools.

Preferably, the adhesive is an adhesive or plaster.

Preferably, the central detachable shaft is at the distal end of the central detachable shaft portion in contact with the tile spacer base and the tile spacer base Separate a small thickness.

Preferably, the distal end of the central detachable shaft lower portion includes a slit or slit across its transverse width to reduce the thickness of the lower portion of the central detachable shaft relative to the remaining lower portion of the central detachable shaft.

Preferably, the tile spacer is tapped using a hammer or a wooden hammer when the tile spacer is removed, such that the tear line or slit separates the lower portion based on the force applied by the hammer or the hammer. A central detachable shaft of the portion and the upper portion and the base.

Preferably, the arrangement further includes a gasket adapted to be placed between the end of the hollow cylinder and the tiles.

An advantage of such an arrangement is that the barrel is pressed down on the washer because the washer is rotated downwards so that it does not scratch the operating surface of the tile, particularly stone and ceramic tiles.

Preferably, the tile spacer is made of resilient plastic.

In order to describe the present invention in more detail, a series of preferred embodiments are presented by means of a series of drawings and text.

10‧‧‧Wall spacer

12‧‧‧Substrate

14‧‧‧Central detachable shaft

16‧‧‧ lower part

18‧‧‧ upper part

20‧‧‧Dream line

28‧‧‧Clock spacer head

30‧‧‧ hollow tube

32‧‧‧Upper part

34‧‧‧ interval

36‧‧‧The periphery of the lower part

38‧‧‧ opposed flange

39‧‧‧ opposed flange

40‧‧‧Central hole

42‧‧‧ internal thread

44‧‧‧Incision site

45‧‧‧Incision site

50‧‧‧Laying tiles

52‧‧‧Laying tiles

54‧‧‧Laying tiles

56‧‧·

Figures 1a and 1b show perspective views of a tile spacer in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 shows a perspective view of a central detachable shaft on a tile spacer substrate in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figures 3a, 3b and 3c show a preferred embodiment of the invention. A perspective view of the head of the tile.

Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of the use of the tile spacers when laying adjacent tiles to create a uniform and consistent leveling line and the leveling effect between the individual tiles to avoid unnecessary bricking.

Referring now in more detail to these figures and in particular to Figures 1 through 3, wherein the tile spacer substantially as shown in Figure 10 includes a substrate 12 from which a central detachable shaft substantially as shown at 14 originates. .

The central detachable shaft 14 is divided into two sections, namely a "lower portion" 16 having a substantially linear or flat configuration, and an "upper portion" 18 having a substantially cylindrical length rod with a threaded periphery. .

As will be explained in more detail with respect to Figure 3, the tear line 20 allows the detachable central shaft 14 to be removed from the substrate 12 once the adhesive has dried and the laying tile is moderately secured.

The tile spacer head, as best seen in Figures 3a, 3b and 3c, is generally indicated at 28 and includes a "lower portion" comprised of the hollow cylinder 30 having a space 34 therein. The size is sufficient to allow the linear or flat portion 16 of the shaft 14 to be easily accommodated once the barrel or hollow portion 30 of the tile spacer head 28 is rotated downwardly along the threaded section 18 of the central detachable shaft 14. Within and by means of the hollow compartment and space 34, the linear "lower portion" 16 of the central shaft 14 is rotated, and then the periphery or edge 36 of the "lower portion" 30 is placed on the laying tile. Plane to adjust for any height difference between adjacent tiles.

The "upper portion" 32 of the tile spacer head 28 includes the central aperture 40 from which the opposing flanges 38 and 39 extend, and wherein the central aperture 40 includes the central detachable shaft 18 Thread-compatible internal threads 42 to enable the tile spacer head 28 to be rotated up and down along the axis as needed to obtain approximately the hollow compartment portion 30 of the spacer head 28 that is tensioned by the laying tile during application. Round circumference 36.

There are also incision locations 44 and 45 that give the tiler a degree of visibility to identify how many turns have been turned down through the detachable shaft.

4 shows the application of the tile spacer 10 in which a series of adjacent tiles 50, 52, and 54 must establish a uniform line 56 that includes the primary detachable shaft 14 by the tile spacer 10. The fact that the linear or flat portion 16 is achieved.

Advantageously, the tile spacer head 28 can be rotated down the central detachable shaft 14 by the fact that there are two separate locations, and when it is rotated along the threaded section 18 of the central detachable shaft 14, The "lower portion" of the flat structure that establishes the spacing between adjacent tiles can then be received within the hollow compartment or barrel 30 of the tile spacer head 28.

Once the tiles 50, 52 and 54 are laid and positioned and spaced apart by the linear spacers 16 of the central detachable shaft 14, the user can then simply rotate the tile spacer head 28 downwards. The perimeter 36 can be subsequently supported on the respective edges of adjacent tiles to establish proper height leveling to avoid any bricking.

Once the adhesive has solidified to dryness and the tiles then become permanently fixed, the user can simply hold the tile spacer head The detachable shaft is pulled up from the base platform 12 by means of the tear line 20. In order to speed up the removal of the tile spacers, the tile spacers may be tapped using a hammer or a wooden hammer (not shown) once the tiles have solidified such that the tear line or slit 20 is based on the iron The central detachable shaft 14 is separated from the base 12 of the tile spacer 10 by the application of a hammer or a wooden hammer.

10‧‧‧Wall spacer

12‧‧‧Substrate

16‧‧‧ lower part

18‧‧‧ upper part

28‧‧‧Clock spacer head

30‧‧‧ hollow tube

36‧‧‧The periphery of the lower part

38‧‧‧ opposed flange

39‧‧‧ opposed flange

40‧‧‧Central hole

45‧‧‧Incision site

Claims (11)

A tile spacer comprising: a substrate adapted to be placed on an adhesive under the bottom of an adjacent tile; a central detachable shaft derived from the substrate; the central detachable shaft having a lower portion and An upper portion; the lower portion has a substantially flat and/or linear structure established from a thickness of a grout line between adjacent tiles; the upper portion of the central detachable shaft includes a substantially cylindrical thread Section; a tile spacer head comprising a threaded central aperture for adapting the tile spacer head to rotate up and down along a threaded section of the central detachable shaft; such that when the tile spacing is used The lower portion of the central detachable shaft is located between the adjacent laying tiles to establish a highly uniform slurry line and the tile spacer head can be rotated downward along the threaded shaft of the central detachable shaft portion. The tile spacer head can be supported on at least two adjacent laying tiles to provide height leveling between the aforementioned adjacent tiles to eliminate or reduce lippage. The tile spacer of claim 1, wherein the tile spacer head comprises a lower portion and an upper portion, wherein the lower portion is a hollow cylinder and the upper portion includes the threaded central bore. The tile spacer of claim 2, wherein the upper portion of the tile spacer head includes opposing projections extending from the threaded central bore Edge side. A tile spacer according to claim 3, wherein the opposite flange side extending from the threaded central bore at the upper portion of the tile spacer head is gripped by a user during use so as to The tile spacer head rotates downwardly against the adjacent tile. A tile spacer according to claim 4, wherein the threaded central bore of the upper portion of the tile spacer has a slit portion along the circumference of the outer circumference to allow the tiler to follow along when used. The cylindrical threaded section of the central detachable shaft portion views the degree of rotation of the tile spacer head. A tile spacer according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the central detachable shaft is engageable with the magnetic at a distal end of a central detachable shaft portion in contact with the tile spacer base The brick spacer base is separated by a small thickness. The tile spacer of claim 6, wherein the distal end of the central detachable shaft portion includes a slit or slit across the width thereof to reduce the distal end of the central detachable shaft portion relative to the The thickness of the remaining lower part of the central detachable shaft. A tile spacer according to claim 7, wherein the tile spacer is tapped using a hammer or a wooden hammer when the tile spacer is removed from the laying tile, such that the tear line or slit Separating the center based on the force of the hammer or wooden hammer A detachable shaft and the tile spacer base. A tile spacer as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a gasket adapted to be placed between the end of the hollow cylinder and the tiles. A tile spacer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the tile spacer is made of elastic plastic. A tile spacer according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the binder is an adhesive or plaster.