US1891530A - Strip for terrazzo and similar floors - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 20, 1932. (;ALA$$| 1,891,530

STRIP FOR TERRAZZO AND SIMILAR FLOORS Filed Feb. 8; 1950 v INVENTOR 44' asyue/e 612/143 1 J ig ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 20, 1932 ED :sirA

PASQUALEGALASSI,

JSTBIBFOBLTEBRAZZYO Application med February a into place andwhi'ch may preferably be made of material imparting to the fioor anti-slip 1 properties.

"Terrazzo, granolithic and Similar 'floors --usually comprise a foundation "bed, or' layer of concrete, cement,- mortar or other suitable material, and a superposed layer usually composed of small pieces'ofmarble; mixed-with a suitable bondingagent, suchascement.

After the foundation layer has beenallowed t6 hardento asufiicientdegree of con- -,sistency, it becomes possible to place in'position the upper layer which is generally divided into geometrical or ornamental units :in the fornr of panelsor blocks which" are obtained by outlinin the" desired'design by means of strips'placec i on orinserted throu'gh 5 the under bed;or attached thereto. 7

The dividing strips which are left pernia- -nently imposition and-constitutealr integral part of thefinished floor, adding. to "its attractiveness by producing .novel designs,- at

"the same time localizing cracks :which may :occur in thefloor. panels; aregenerally made of :thin fiatbars of relatively soft metal such as brass, set on edge within .thefloor composition, the upper edgeof's'aid bars being *flu sh-with the surface of said floor.

In a patent entitled-.Methodsof and means -for producing 'anti-slip'terrazzo floorings,

issued to me January 7, 1930, .#1-,742,855, I. have described floor stripsv comprising a =hollow headportion forming a longitudinal chamber within which is retained a suitable filler. and a thin rib portion depending from said head portion, said rib portion being preferablyv provided: with anchoring; and. positioning means adapted to determine .the

placement and 'ret entionofthe strip in it re s, zwxrl-mr OFFICE or, NEW-YORK, N. Y.

AND'SIMILAR FLOORS s, isso. seriaruaf izeisss. I I propiar position with respect to theiflooremaella I In another patent entitled F-looring-strip -1SSl16d t0 meJanuary 14, 1930,:#1",743",814,

l have describedanother type of-stripain "which ahead made entirelyof. antiesl-ipimaterial such as lead or cement COIIIPOSltl'OIll-iS provided with a thin metal rib :portioni depending therefrom.

' Themainobj ect of the inventionsdescribed by saidtwopatents is to provideterrazzo'and similar floors having anti-slip properties,=.the strips: :used in said floors-beingof-i'the ipre-. formed variety. 7 i

I havefound th preferable to use strips whicharemOrezsuit able for thepouringof theanti-sl'ipor other" composition or material after thezstriprhas been placed in position. I have alsorfound at in practice itisat times that it is possible to simplify to a: certain extent the constructionofstrips of the. type describedin my patent.#1,742',8-1&,1so asato reduce theircost of production and. also their weight, by making it-' possible .ito pourithe anti-slip material or compos strip' has been laid in place. At. thezls'ame time the'type of strip formingt-thet-subject of the; present invention maylalsoube com "sidere d' as being an improvement over the ition afteriithe strips "described and claimed my copen'dingapplication entitled Dividing; stri-psySer. No. 247,620, said application referring to preformed fioor' strips made of cementitious unaterial; inasmuch as the-present strip comprises a filler which may be preformed:and reinforced by an. external metallic :she'll, or P else' may bepoured within the-shell and allowed to' harden so-as to form a unitary strip with said shell before it is used.

The primary object of this invenitioni is toprovide a new and improved 'typeyof dividing strip for terrazzo and li'kefloors, adapted to form new and attractive designs and also adapted when desired to impart anti-slip properties to thefloor.

Another object is to provide-a floor dividing strip which can'be produced at relatively ".low- 'cost, although -it is suitable" for use in ifloors where relatively wide dividing istrips *betweelr adjoining panels should be-used.

; v10f) v A further object is to provide a novel type of anti-slip dividing strip for terrazzo and similar floors adapted to be made in unitary form or to be completed after being laid in place according to conditions governing each particular case.

Other objects andadvantages of the pres ent invention will more fully appear as the description proceeds and will be set forth and claimed in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated by way of enample in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view in perspective of the shell portion of a strip embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional elevation thereof through line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view in perspective of the shell portion of a strip of a somewhat different design, also embodying my invention;

3 Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view in perspective of a terrazzo floor showing the sh'ellof astrip embodying my invention in 1positi0n previous to the pouring of the filler therein;

I Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional elevatlon of the same floor after cement or cement composition has been poured Within the shell in order to complete the strip;

A Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional elevat on of a terrazzo floor comprising dividing strips Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of a terrazzo floor illustrating a shell some what similar to that shown in Fig. 3 posii-tion previous to the pouring of the filling material F ig 8 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of a terrazzo floor comprising strips somewhat similar to that lllustrated inFig. 7

1 Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of a terrazzo floor comprismg strips of anperspective of a terrazzo floor illustrating.

theshell of a strip of still different design, in positionv previous to the pouring of the filler therein Fig. 12 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of a terrazzo floor illustrating another design of strip also embodying by invention and Fig. 13 is afragmentary view in perspectfve of a strip embodying my invention in unitary form, said strip being made complete with filler and shell before being used.

I My improved strip comprises essentially an, open top shell made of suitable material '65 such as brass for instance filled with a plastic ment orconcrete or cement composition, or

asphalt or else it may preferably consist of an anti-slip aggregate adapted to impart to .the'fioor anti-slip properties. It. is, of course, also within the scope of this invention to use as-a filler soft metalsuch as lead for instance,

which may be poured in position after the shell has been laid. Among the soft metals,

.lead is particularly suitable also on account of its anti-slip properties. r

The shell illustrated inFigs. .1 and 2 is formed outof a relatively longand narrow fiat strip of light gauge metal bent along its longitudinal central line to form a U-shaped structure having two parallel sides 20, 21 and a preferably pointed lower end 22. A pointed lower end facilitates the insertion of theshell through the plasticmaterial out of which the lower layer of the fioor is made and also results in less material being needed for the filler. somewhat similar to that illustratedin Figs. 7 at and 5;

Itis customary in dividing strips to provide anchoring means adapted to retain said strips. in, position, sa d anchoring means be ing preferably so placed that they may be used also as positiomng means determining the depth. at which the strip isto be placed. The shell just described may accordingly be provided with anchoring or positioning means or both of any suitable description; for instance, be struck off its sides at spaced intervals and .bent outwardly therefrom. If said ears or lugs are bent at right angle to the vertical plane of the strip, and are spaced from the upper edges of the shell afdistance equivalent to the thickness of the upper layer of the fi0or,.the y.may serve as positioning means and will also determine the correct vertical alignment of the strip. or shell when it is placed in position.

If desired. some of the ears or lugs may be bentinwardly instead of outwardly as shown at25 so as to provide anchoring means for the filling materialwithin the siell; and in this case it is also preferable to make said lugs 25 aswideas the chamber 26 provided for the filler between sides 20, 21, so as to i maintain the proper distance between the sides and enable said sides to resist the lateral pressure due to the floor material adjoining them. Instead of making the shell with parallel sides the sides may bemade up ears or lugs such as 23, 24 may wardlyconverging: as shownzin Fig. 3 where the shell is composed of two upwardlyicon vergingsides 27 28' and pointed. bottom 29,

said sides being provided with anchoring and positioning means 30, 31 if desired. 7 r

In Figs.-4 and 5-1 illustrate a terrazzo floor comprising afoundation bed 32, a lower floor bed 33 and an upper'or finishinglayer v34:. After the lower bed 33 has been laid in position and is still in a plastic condition, the strip shell 35 which is of the type illustrated in Figs. 1 and2 with or without-the inner ears or lugs 25 is inserted within said lower bed previous'to the laying of the upper'layer.

When this is done it'is preferable to cover the open top of the shell, with a longitudinal plug as shown at 36. This has the double advantage of preventing the-floor composition from entering theshell and holding the edges of the shell at the proper dist-ance,-so as to enable the sides to resist the lateral pressure-of the floor material, even'if no internal lugs or ears such as 25 are provided.

After the floor material has hardened, the

plug 36'is removed and the filling material 37 is poured within the'shell as shownin Fig. 5=and allowed in its turn to harden before thefloor is finally scraped, finished and polishedto completions a In Figs. 4 and 5 the shell is shown deep enough to reach thelevel of the foundation bed of the floor. Inpractice, this is not strictly necessary because when positioning means of a suitable type are provided, it is sufficient toinsert the .shell or strip through the lower bedof the floor only toadepthsuch as determined by the positioning means. For instance, in Fig. 6 where 38 is the foundation bed, 39 is the lower layer of the floor and 40 is the upper:layer, I illustrate a strip, the shell of which 41 only reaches about midway ofthe depth ofthelower bed,its depth of insertion within said lowerbed being deten" mined by the anchoring and positioning lugs such as 42 which are spaced fromtheupper surface of the stripga distance :equivalent to the depth of the-upper layer 40.

In all thesecases as stated, the filling material may be poured 'afterthe shell' has been inserted in position orelse thestrip may be completed first in unitary form including both the shell and the filler and may thenbe placed in positionin this form.

In Fig. 7 I illustrate a floor comprisinga foundation bed 43. a' lower fioor'bed 1'4 and an upper layer 45, said fioori'comprising strips, the shell of which hasa'pointed bottom 46 and two. upwardly converging sides 47. 48. Like in the case illustrated in Fig. 4, said shell may be laid in position equipped with a longitudinal plug 49 maintaining the proper distance between the upper edges of the shell. This type of strip does not require anchoring means such as shown in the preceding figure because the converging sidesare suificientto prevent its comingiofi' the' floor after the .floor material becomes hard.

Positioning. means of any? suitable type however may be providedif desired; forkinstance in the formlof ears or'lugs such previously described,.or else Linathe formwof longitudinal beads or impressions such as-5O spaced from the upper edgesiof theshellua distance equivalent to the I thickness of'the upper layerof the floor.

Positioningameans of a the type projecting.

from the sides of the shell arepreferablewhenthe depth at which the shell isto be insertedthrough the lower'bed of the'floor is to be determined"entirely. by said positioning means. Thisis the case for-instance in the. strip illustrated in Fig. 8-where the lowerend 51 of the shell does notreach the level of the floor foundation 52, its depthof insertion beingdetermined by the laterally extending lugs or ears-53 reaching the upper surface 54 of the lower'layer or'bed of'the" floor 55.

The prope'r positioning of the strip or I shell may also be determined .sby .the ishells own outline,-if desired. For instance,- in Fig; 9, the'sides of'the shell are shown formed withupper upwardly converging portions 56, 57 and lower portions 58, 59' inwardly raised therefrom toiform' shoulders- 60, 61, V

which are spaced from the upper edgesrof'the shell 21 'distanceequivalent to the thickness of thexupper layer 62 of the'fioor: A*simi-- lar' result may be obtained by using the strip. illustrated in Fig. 10 where the sides of the shell comprise two upper parallel bars 63, 64 and two lower parallelbars 65,. .66

joined by a pointed lower end-67-,said lower 7 portions beingv outward'l'yjoifset from the upper portions to form shouldersi 67, 68J-at a distance from the upper edges: of the shell" corresponding tothe'depth ofthe upper floor layer 69. Y The shell 70 illustrated inIFigrll.issomewhat similar to that illustrated in Fig.4 ex ce-pt that 'the upper ends :71, .72 of' the sides a of the shell converge inwardly,'thusprevent-' ing the filler from coming. :loose.

Another strip'in whichvthe'lshell outline may be used to determine the-depthof insertion of the strip'is illustrated inFig1.12.' In the same-the shell iscomposed of a vertical side 7 3 and another side having a lower por tion-7 t and an upper portion 75, outwardly inclined to meet at a point 7 Gspaced fromthe upper end of the strip a distancecorresponcb ing to the depth of the upper layer? 7 of the floor. In this type ofstrip the apex 76 at one side acts as positioning means and the anchoring function is provided by: the inward inclination of the upper portion 7 5 ofsaid side.

In order toillustrate the differenttypesof materials whichrma'y'beused to produce; a filler in Fig; 5 Ishow cement as'being used,

while in Fig. 6 the filleris'made of asphalt, in

5 makin the stri com lete in unitar form a P P y shell,

including the shell and the filler before'use,

the strip shown comprising a shell 78 of.

the type illustrated in Fig. 3 and a filler 79 which may be of anyv suitable material as listed above, the material specifically illustrated being acement composition. or antislip aggregate.

. It will be observed that in every case, the strip provides a two color efiect which affords a convenient means of increasing its decorative possibilities; therefore the filling material used may be selected purely from the standpoint of ornamental lOI' else from the standpoint of its anti-slip properties, or both.

From the foregoing it will be seen that my inventive idea may be applied in a number of ways. The drawing will therefore be understood as being intended for illustrative purposes only and not in a limiting sense. Accordingly, 'I reserve the right to carry my invention into practice in all those ways and manners which may enter, fairly, into. the scope of. the appended claims. a

1. A dividing strip for terrazzo and like floors comprising in unitary form an open top metal shell adapted for insertion within plastic material, said shell extending for the entire depth of the strip, a filler filling the space within the shell and means for anchoring'said filler within said shell.

2. A dividing strip for terrazzo. and like floors comprising in unitaryqform an open top metal shell adapted for insertion within plastic material, said shell extending for the entire depth of the strip, and being narrower.

at the mouth than intermediate its top and bottom edges, and a non-yielding fillerfilling-the space within the shell flush with the top thereof.

3. A dividing strip for terrazzo and like floors comprising in unitary form an open top metal shell adapted for insertion within plastic material, said shell extending for the entire depth of the strip, anchoring and positioning means projecting laterally of said shell, a filler filling the space within the shell and anchoring means for said filler integral with and projecting inwardly of said shell intermediate the top and bottom thereof.

4. A dividing strip foriterrazzoand like floors comprising in unitary form anopen top metal shell adapted for insertion within plastic material, said shell extending for the entire depthof the strip, anchoring and positioning means projecting laterally of said a filler filling the'space within the shell and spacing means integral with and extendingv between the sides of'said shell intermediate thetop and bottom thereof, said spacing means also acting-as anchoring means for said filler. a 5. A dividing strip for't-errazzo and like floorsconsisting of alower layer made of plastic material and an upper layer made of a plastic material having a different composition, comprising an open top metal shell extending for the entire depth of the strip adapted for insertion within said lower floor layer while in its plastic form, said shell being provided with laterally projecting positioning means spaced from the upper edge of said shell a distance equivalent to the thickness ofthe upper layer of the floor, said positioning. means determining the depth at which the shell isto be inserted within the lower layer. 7

6. A dividing strip for terrazzo and like floors consisting of'a lower layer made of plastic material and an upper layer madeof a plastic material having a different composition, comprising an open top metalshell extending for the entire depth of the strip adapted for insertion within said lower floor layer while in its plastic form, said shell being provided with laterally projecting positioning means'spaced from the upper edge of said shell a distance equivalent to the thickness of the upper layer of the floor, said positioning means determining the depth at which the shell is to be inserted within the lower layer, and a non-yielding filler of antislip material in'said shell flush with the top surface of said floor.

7. A dividing strip for terrazzo and like floors, consisting of a lower layer made of plastic material andan upper layer made of a plastic material having a dliferent composition, comprising an open top metal shell extending for, the entire depth of the strip adapted for insertion'within said'lower floor layer while inits' plastic form, said shell being provided with laterally projecting positioning means spaced from the upper edge of saidshell a distance equivalent to the thickness of the upper layer of the floor, said positioning means determining the depth at which the. shell is to be inserted within the lower layer, a non-yielding filler in said shell, and means fol-anchoring said filler'in' said shell. I

8. A dividing strip for terrazzo and like floors consisting of a lower layer made of plastic material and an upper layer made of a plastic material having a different composition, comprising an open top metal shell adapted to contain anti-slip material, said shell extending forthe entire depth of the strip adapted for insertion within said lower floor layer while in its plastic form, said shell being provided with laterally projecting positioning means spaced from the upper edge of said shell a distance equivalent to the thickness of the "upper'lay-er of the floor, said positioning means determining the depth at which the shell is to be inserted within the lower layer, and means integral with said shells extending between the sides thereof to maintain the sides of the shell in spaced relation against the plastic material.

9. A dividing strip for terrazzo and like floors comprising in unitary form an open top metal shell adapted for insertion within plastic material, said shell extending for the entire depth of the strip, and a core of antislip material within said shell flush with the top thereof.

10. A dividing strip for terrazzo and like floors consisting of a lower layer made of plastic material and an upper layer made of a plastic material having a different composition, comprising an open top metal shell extending for the entire depth of the strip adapted for insertion within said lower floor layer while in its plastic form, said shell being provided with laterally projecting positioning means spaced from the upper edge of said shell a distance equivalent to the thickness of the upper layer of the floor, said positioning means determining the depth at which the shell is to be inserted within the lower layer, a core of anti-slip material within said shell flush with the top thereof, and means for anchoring said core within said shell.

PASQUALE GALASSI.

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