WO2002055808A1

WO2002055808A1 - A device and method for joining floor elements

Info

Publication number: WO2002055808A1
Application number: PCT/SE2002/000052
Authority: WO
Inventors: John Bjelkendal
Original assignee: John Bjelkendal
Priority date: 2001-01-15
Filing date: 2002-01-14
Publication date: 2002-07-18
Also published as: SE0100113D0; AU2002219758A1; SE518413C2; SE0100113L

Abstract

The present invention relates to a fixation element and method for obtaining a durable and accurate fixation when joining two adjacent floor elements (20, 22), in particular when exchanging a floor element in a previously mounted floor. This is achieved by applying the fixation element underneath the two floor elements. The fixation element comprises a substantially flat plate (10) having a flat part (10a) and a part (10b) being provided with at least one fixing portion (12) protruding from the plate surface. The protruding fixing portion penetrates the material of one of the floor elements (22) from underneath. A glued joint can also be used between the side surfaces. The flat part (10a) of the plate (10) is preferably provided with an adhesive material (26).

Description

A device and method for joining floor elements

Technical field

The present invention concerns a device and a method for joining at least one floor element to an adjacent floor element, in particular for exchange of individual floor elements which have been damaged in a previously mounted floor.

Background of the invention

A floor, intended for houses or the like, often consists of a plurality of floor elements, such as boards or panels, which are mounted in fixed positions, their sides adjoining. In order to inhibit movement when stressed by e.g. human weight, these elements are fixed to each other along their side edges. Such joining can be designed in different ways. One commonly used practise is to design the side edges with some kind of profile such that the sides of the floor elements have mutually complementary shapes. Two adjacently mounted sides will thereby fit into each other mutually interlocking. One example of shaping such mutually complementary profiles is the tongue and groove in matched boards . Such shaped interlocking is typically supplemented with a glued joint between the mutually fitted sides for further fixation. The glued joint is intended, among other things, to inhibit very small relative displacements which may give rise to irritating noise, such as squeaky floors .

It is quite common that individual floor elements are damaged and must be replaced long before it is time to renew the entire floor, for example in a room of a house. This is quite common during construction work in new buildings when such damages may easily be caused by building trade workers. Using the above-described technique, it is difficult to replace individual floor elements with maintained strength in the joint as before. The reason is that the mutually complementary side shapes or profiles must be at least partly sawn or demolished in order to remove the damaged element and lay down a new element. Thus, when a new element is mounted adjacent to the earlier mounted elements, the necessary mutual fixation upwards and downwards cannot be accomplished by means of shape locking, but must be produced by means of a glued joint. In order to attain sufficient strength in the glued joint, it must get dry in an unloaded state, but having the side surfaces abutting each other in a fixed position, and with the top surfaces of the elements coinciding in one and the same plane. This is difficult to attain by using existing technique. One common method is to subject the new floor element to pressure load from above during the time of drying the glue. However, this often results in its top surface not coinciding with the surface of the remaining floor, and that inner tensions remain in the element material afterwards, which may entail the formation of cracks. These problems arise particularly if the foundation is rough. Therefore, damage to one floor element often entails that the entire floor must be renewed in order to obtain a desired strength and quality.

Hence, there is a problem when replacing a damaged floor element, and maintaining strength and quality without needing to renew the entire floor.

Summary of the invention

It is an object of the present invention to obtain a durable and accurate fixation when joining two adjacent floor elements, in particular when exchanging a floor element in a previously mounted floor .

This object and others are achieved by applying a fixation element underneath the two floor elements. The fixation element comprises a plate having a substantially flat part and a part being provided with at least one fixing portion protruding from the plate surface, preferably having at least one barb. The protruding fixing portion penetrates the material of one of the floor elements from underneath, such that the two floor elements are fixed in a substantially stress-free state, having their top surfaces in the same plane and their side surfaces adjoining next to each other. The substantially flat part of the plate may be provided with an adhesive material.

Brief description of the drawings

The present invention is described below using a preferred embodiment example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a fixation element according to the invention, and

Fig. 2 illustrates a side view of a joint of two adjacent fixed floor elements according to the invention.

Description of a preferred embodiment

In Fig. 1, a fixation element is shown which comprises a substantially flat plate 10 having a first part 10a, preferably half the plate, which is substantially flat, and a second part 10b including at least one fixing portion 12 protruding from the top surface of the plate, intended to penetrate the material of one of the floor elements from underneath. In the shown embodiment, the plate 10 constitutes a sheet, e.g. of a metallic material, and the protruding fixing portion 12 is stamped out from the sheet and is bent upwards such that a corresponding recess 14 is formed in the sheet. The protruding fixing portion 12 is further preferably provided with means in the shape of a barb 16 for inhibiting creeping out of the floor element material.

The fixation element is intended to fix two adjacent floor elements, their sides being originally shaped with profiles for joining each other by interlocking shapes, as described above. In Fig. 2, 20 and 22 denote the two floor elements, which may be wooden boards or panels, where the element 22 is a new element to be mounted next to an existing element 20. In order to enable removal of a damaged floor element and insertion of the new element 22, the profiles have been sawn off completely in the shown example, such that the two side surfaces 20a and 22a have been flattened. It is also possible to only partly remove the profiles, since insertion of the new element 22 is made in a direction from above. Thus, when the new element 22 is mounted next to the existing element 20, the necessary mutual upward and downward fixation cannot be obtained by form locking but must be accomplished otherwise. This is accomplished by means of the fixation element according to the present invention, preferably in combination with a glued joint 24 between the two side edges 20a and 22a. In order to accomplish a good strength and quality of the joint between the two elements 20 and 22 when using a glued joint 24, the glue should dry in a stress-free state, the side surfaces 20a and 22a adjoining next to each other in a fixed position and the top surfaces 20b and 22b of the elements being in one and the same plane. The fixation element is mounted by pushing the plate 10 with its flat first part 10a partly underneath the existing element 20, such that the protruding fixing portion 12 is exposed. The flat part 10a may preferably be provided with an adhesive material 26, such as a layer of glue, a friction layer or the like, for adhering to the underside of the existing element 20. A layer of glue may further be applied in advance on the side surface 20a, 22a of at least one of the elements 20, 22. Thereafter, the new element 22 is laid down towards the second part 10b of the plate with the side surface 22a closely against the side surface 20a of the element 20, such that the protruding fixing portion 12 penetrates the material of the floor element 22 from underneath. This may require a certain pressure from above upon the element 22. In this way, the two floor elements are fixed in a substantially stress-free state, their top surfaces being in the same plane and their side surfaces 20a, 22a abutting each other. This results in a strong and stress- free joint between the two floor elements 20 and 22.

As mentioned earlier, the protruding fixing portion 12 may be provided with at least one barb 16 or the like for inhibiting the fixing portion 12 from creeping out of the material of the floor element 22, in particular during the time of drying the glue, which would potentially run the risk of displacing the mutual positions of the elements. Furthermore, the plate may be provided with a plurality of such protruding fixing portions 12 for an even more secure fixation.

Claims

1. A method of replacing a floor element being removed from a mounted floor, by joining a first floor element (20) existent in the floor and a second floor element (22) which is new, characterised in that a fixation element, comprising a plate (10) having a substantially flat first part (10a) and a second part (10b) being provided with at least one fixing portion (12) protruding from the top surface of the plate, is applied with the first part (10a) substantially underneath the first floor element (20) , after which the second floor element (22) is lowered from above next to the first floor element (20) towards the second part (10b) of the plate, such that the protruding fixing portion (12) penetrates the underside of the second ' floor element (22) for fixing the positions of the two floor elements (20, 22) in a substantially stress-free state, their top surfaces being in one and the same plane and the side surfaces (20a, 22a) of the floor elements (20, 22) adjoining each other.

2. A method according to claim 1, characterised in that a layer of glue is applied on at least one of the side surfaces (20a, 22a) before the second floor element (22) is lowered from above next to the first floor element (20) .

3. A method according to any of claims 1 and 2 , characterised in that the fixation element is adhered to the underside of the first element (20) .

4. A fixation element for performing the method of any of claims 1 - 3 when joining a first floor element (20) existent in the floor and a second floor element (22) which is new, characterised in that the fixation element can be applied under the two floor elements (20, 22) and comprises a plate (10) having a substantially flat first part (10a) intended to be positioned under the first floor element (20) and a second part (10b) intended to be positioned under the second floor element (22) , wherein the second part (10b) is provided with at least one fixing portion (12) protruding from the top surface of the plate and penetrating the material of the second floor element (22) from underneath, for fixing the second floor element (22) next to the first floor element (20) in a substantially stress-free state, the top surfaces (20b, 22b) of the two floor elements being in one and the same plane and the side surfaces (20a, 22a) of the floor elements adjoining each other.

5. A fixation element according to claim 4, characterised in that the protruding fixing portion (12) is provided with means (16) for inhibiting creeping out of the material of the second floor element (22) .

6. A fixation element according to claim 5, characterised in that said means (16) constitutes at least one barb.

7. A fixation element according to any of claims 4 - 6, characterised in that the plate (10) constitutes a sheet, and that the protruding fixing portion (12) is stamped out from the sheet and is bent upwards.

8. A fixation element according to any of claims 4 - 7, characterised in that the top surface of the first part

(10a) of the plate is provided with an adhesive material (26) .