US499743A - Charles rollinson lamb - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

O.R.LAMB. TILE.

No. 499,743. Patented June 20, 1893.

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CHARLES ROLLINSON LAMB, OF NElV YORK, N. Y.

TILE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 499,743, dated June 20, 1893.

Application filed June 13, 1892. Serial No. 436,517. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES ROLLINSON LAMB, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city, county, and State of New York, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Tiles, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to that class of tiles which are used for covering floors, walls, & c., the particular description of work for which they are primarily designed being popularly known as mosaic tiling. In this class of work, designs, letters, words and figures are produced by using tiles of small size and of one or more colors to represent the design, and employing tiles of contrasting color or colors for the background. An ordinary size for these tiles is three fourths of an inch square in superficial area, and three eighths of an inch thick, although they are made both larger and smaller. In their manufacture it has been found to be practically impossible to make their exposed or wearing surfaces of perfectly uniform size, and in consequence of their variation in this respect,in laying them considerable time is wasted by the workman in the necessary sorting and selection of pieces which shall be of the exact size required for the space or spaces to be filled. Furthermore, as the under or bearing surfaces of these tiles are made flat and comparatively smooth, the tiles slip easily on the cement in which they are laid, and great care and skill are required in laying them firmly and evenly. Furthermore, the tiles themselves are expensive, because each piece must be molded and finished separately, and the number required to cover a surface of any considerable size is large.

The object of my invention is to materially reduce both the cost of producing and the cost of laying these tiles, and to this end it consists in a tile of the character described,

5 which shall possess a plurality of finished surfaces, any or either one of which may serve as the wearing or exposed surface of the tile when laid, and of such shape and structure thateach tile may be readily divided into two parts, each of which shall have an uneven or irregular under or bearing surface, and each of which will take the place of a finished tile as heretofore made.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a design formed of mosaic tiling. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a tile constructed in accordance with my invention, and Fig. 3 is a perspective View thereof after being divided ready for laying.

In said drawings (Fig. 1) a letter 1 and the border2 are represented as formed of tiles of one color, and the background 3 of tiles of a contrasting color.

My improved tile (Fig. 2) is preferably of substantially cubical form, and presents six surfaces, any one of which maybe employed as the wearing or exposed surface of the tile when laid. Three only of these surfaces are shown in the drawings. As in the fiat tiles heretofore employed, these surfaces will all vary slightly in size and shape, and the sides will not be absolutely rectangular.

In consequence of the practical impossibility of securing perfect uniformity in shape and size, it frequently happens, when laying tiles as heretofore made, which possess only one finished surface, that the workman is required to examine five or six different pieces and fit them to the space to be filled before one is found which will answer the purpose, and the time so consumed is practically wasted. With my improved tile however, it seldom happens that one of its sides (particularly when the tile is of cubical shape) will not fit the space which it is desired to fill. When it is determined which side of the tile is to form the exposed or wearing surface, it is divided centrally on a line substantially parallel with such surface by ablow with any sharp edged implement, such for instance as a trowel or small cleaver, it being understood that the tiles are to be made of clay or any material usually employed for that purpose, which when baked or fired is frangible, so as to permit such division or separation in the manner described. The portion thereof which has been selected by the workman as suitable for the space to be filled is then laid in place in the usual way, with the smooth side up, and the other half or portion is laid aside for use in some other space in the work. The line of cleavage between the two portions of the tile will of course be somewhat irregular and uneven, as shown in Fig. 8, and the under surface will therefore not be perfectly flat and smooth, as is the case in tiles as here tofore constructed. These under surfaces of the two halves of the tile are those which are are embedded in the cement, and such irregularities greatly facilitate the work of laying, because they prevent, to a large extent, any accidental movement of the tile after it is once adjusted in place.

I consider it unnecessary to describe in detail the general method of laying encaustic or mosaic tiles, since it is well understood by those skilled in the art to which my invention pertains, and to such the advantages of my invention will be obvious. They are:

First. The great saving in the cost of manufacture. One of my improved tiles which, when divided will cover as much space as two tiles in the form heretofore made, costs little, if any, more than one of them, the labor and time employed in their manufacture constituting the chief item of expense.

Second. The still greater savingin the cost of laying, which is due to the fact that so, much less time is consumed in handling and re-handling the tiles in selecting and fitting them to the spaces to be filled. Furthermore, the slightly rough and irregular surface of the divided tile affords a better bearing sur face for it on the cement bed, and obviates the tendencyto slip out of place after having once been adjusted, which exists where the under surface of the tile is perfectly fiat and smooth, and which is the cause of considerable loss of time to the workman.

These ad vantages are best realized by contile may then be divided, on a plane substantially parallel with such surface, into two parts, each part of which shall possess a fin ished'exposed or wearing surface and a roughened under or bearing surface, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

CHAS. ROLLINSON LAMB.

Witnesses:

S. G. METCALF, W. W. SHAW.

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