WO2019216843A1

WO2019216843A1 - Innovation which provides modular changeable dry mortarless flooring applications of natural stone ceramic and similar floor coverings

Info

Publication number: WO2019216843A1
Application number: PCT/TR2018/050339
Authority: WO
Inventors: Murat Yurdakul; Ersin KADAYIFCI; Alp DİLEK
Original assignee: Aya Madencilik Sanayi Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi
Priority date: 2018-05-11
Filing date: 2018-07-02
Publication date: 2019-11-14
Also published as: TR201806698A2

Abstract

The invention relates to a mounting system (1) having a modular structure which allows natural stone / ceramic (10) and similar flooring products to be laid on the floor easily while enabling easy attaching / detaching without the need of any special expertise, which easily tolerates the defects of the floor or the flooring material (ceramic, marble, etc.) measurement errors originating from production, which can lead the static electricity resulting from the use in the system to the floor, which removes the need of the mortar / joint process which requires a separate post-laying process, which allows the cables and similar systems to be easily moved under during and / or after the laying, which allows the desired parts to be changed without having to remove the entire upholstery when requested or damaged, and which creates economical value by means of recyclability and reusability thanks to its detachable feature.

Description

INNOVATION WHICH PROVIDES MODULAR CHANGEABLE DRY MORTARLESS FLOORING APPLICATIONS OF NATURAL STONE CERAMIC AND SIMILAR FLOOR

COVERINGS

Technical Field

The invention particularly relates to a system which allows flooring using natural stone ceramic and similar flooring materials to be installed in modular, replaceable, mortarless and minimum workmanship without joint filling.

More particularly, the invention is related to a system which enables natural stones, ceramics and similar flooring products to be applied easily in modular form with the ability to be replaced at any time after application, without requiring the use of mortars and similar adhesives, without requiring joints or similar filling operations and without the need of any expertise.

Background Of The Invention

In the present technique, natural stone / ceramic and similar flooring materials are widely used as floor covering.

Natural and aesthetic appearance, durability, healthy structures, easiness of cleaning are the most important factors in their preference.

The installation of natural stone / ceramics and similar flooring materials are generally applied permanently to the floors with specific properties using mortar or an adhesive material.

For their installation, floors with various technical specifications, special workmanship, special skills and knowledge are required.

After the completion of the assembly and the drying process, the joint filling process is required.

When any change is requested after the flooring related process, the ground floor is dismantled with high-cost crushing process and becomes waste irreversibly.

After clearing an existing floor by means of a crusher and cleaning the dried adhesive from the floor, it can be changed and all mortar-glue included assembly process starts again.

This process is a combination of time-consuming, polluting, waste-generating and irreversible processes at home or at work, as well as all the challenge. Besides, the installation of the transmission cables such as electricity, antenna, data cable under the flooring cannot be done or can be done constrictedly with the existing systems.

In the prior art, the coating material is carried by the hard floor. The flooring is applied on the levelled hard floor, by laying the standard plates side by side.

Basically, a base adhesive compound is used to fix the plates to the floor and a mortar / joint application is made to fill the gaps between the plates at the same time in order to strengthen the adhesion after side-by-side alignment. By applying the mortar / joint between the plates, it is tried to prevent the passage of foreign substances such as moisture, water and dust at the same time as to remove the appearance of the gaps.

This phase is the stage which requires the mastery and shows the success of the whole application. At the same time, it can clearly reveal the mistakes, negatively affecting the whole application in the case of mistakes, faults or visual impairments.

All this application reveals the intensive and expertly required work, which has costs that does not to be underestimated.

Although techniques have been developed to provide ease of application by existing manufacturers, they are usually developed for the assembly of laminate products and these methods are not suitable for flooring such as natural stone / ceramics.

In an application, an interconnection system has been tried to apply products such as natural stone / ceramics in plates, but the flexibility of the material used and the hardness of the joints used can not be tolerated due to the properties of the materials have brought application difficulties depending on the floor conditions. At the same time, complicated constructions have caused additional mounting difficulties. The necessity of the material on the rigid structures to withstand the weight can not exactly meet the floor tolerances and the gap tolerances.

Existing systems and methods of application are not suitable for passing cables such as data, power cables from under the flooring material.

Especially in places where pedestrian and machine traffic is intensive, the disadvantage of existing systems is that the static electricity generated in the coating material can not be transmitted to the installation floor. With the system of the invention, instead of all these mortar assembly processes, a new installation system has been put out in which a natural stone or ceramic-like covering material is mounted on the floor which can be dismantled, does not require special installation work, have the cabling ability under it and also has the feature to allow the static electricity generated in the system to be transferred to the floor.

With the subject matter of the invention, the flooring products such as natural stone / ceramics can be easily attached and detached without the need for special expertise required during the assembly of the floors, the errors caused by the floor defects at floor or measurement errors caused by the production process of the covering materials can be eliminated with installation easiness, the need of mortar / joint application is eliminated, cables or similar systems can be crossed during the flooring and/or after flooring, static electricity generated from the use of the system can be transmitted to the coating floor, in need or in case of damage allowing the change of any part without having all the upholstery to be removed and at the same time, thanks to its re-installable feature, an economical value with the possibility of recycling and reusability are provided.

With the inventive mounting system, a modular system will be developed which can be easily removed without undue effort on the ground that needs special operations and workmanship. In this way, the installation work will be greatly decreased, after the laying process is finished, the chemical grouting process which requires a separate installation and drying time will not be done. However, with this system, any changes to the floor space will be made possible without any break process. In addition, it has been revealed that all kinds of power and data transmission cables are introduced under the flooring in the design / designs to be prepared with the mentioned mortarless installation system (1 ).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to provide a modular structure which can be easily attached / detached without the need for expertise in the flooring to be laid and the special handling required, especially in the case of flooring products such as natural stone / ceramic (10). Another object of the invention is to make it possible to easily tolerate ground irregularities and measurement errors of flooring materials (ceramic, marble, etc.) caused by production.

Another object of the invention is to enable the transmission of static electricity resulting from use in the system to the coating floor.

Another object of the invention is to remove the mortar / grout operation which requires a separate post-laying operation.

Another object of the invention is to enable the cable and similar systems to be easily inserted under the floor during and / or after the flooring if desired.

Another object of the invention is to enable the desired parts to be changed without the need of removing the entire upholstery, if desired or on damage.

Another object of the invention is to provide economical value by means of recyclability and reusability thanks to its detachable feature.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 : The inventive mounting system is shown in a general perspective view from below.

Figure-2: The present invention is given as an assembly detail representation of the mounting system.

Figure-3: The present invention is provided with a view of the mounting system mounted on the floor.

Figure-4. Mounting system, mounting of ready to use plate representation is given.

Figure-5: Detailed perspective view of the sub-assembly of the mounting system is given.

Figures-6 and 7: The mounting system of the invention is shown in perspective detail from the top and bottom.

Figure-8,9: The mounting system of the invention an intermediate seal detail view is given. REFERENCE NUMBERS

1. Mounting system

2. Ready-to-use plate

10. Natural stone / ceramic

20. Metal plate

30. Lower part

31. Soft part

32. Pin

40. Connector

41. Gasket

42. Housing

43. Wedge

50. Intermediate gasket

51. Mounting body

52. Compression body

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

At present, floor is one of the most important parts of the space, which means both aesthetic and functional. The floor space has many functions, not just visual sense but functional sense.

The traditional floor installation process takes place in three stages. The most important of these is to make the ground suitable for flooring. In this context, the surface must be cleaned of any kind of effect which prevents adhesion and it should be done smoothly.

The second phase; between the material to be laid and the main floor is to prepare and apply a mixture which will adhere to the material.

The final step is to perform the joint filling process which ensures the complete contact between the parts after the flooring is made.

As is known, grouting is carried out by reacting a specially prepared mixture with water. Between all three stages and after the entire assembly is finished, there is a waiting period to pass through the use. In this system, which is known as the traditional application, the flooring is fixed to the floor and no change can be made after completing the entire mortar-grouting drying process without special expertise required breaking operation.

In addition, in the conventional practice, any transmission line (power, data, signal, etc.) can not be transmitted under the floor.

The inventive mounting system (1 ) provides a floor that can be easily installed and removed without the need for special handling required for the flooring, while at the same time maintaining the natural characteristics of the flooring products such as natural stone / ceramic (10) with the ability to tolerate ground disorders and manufacturing defects of flooring materials (ceramic, marble etc.), enables transfer of the static electricity originating from the usage which will be formed in the system to the covering floor, removes the mortar / jointing process which requires a separate process after laying, gives the ability to lay cables and similar systems underneath during and/or after flooring and if desired or in case of damage gives the ability to change the desired parts without having to remove the whole of the upholstery. In addition, thanks to its removable and installable features, it has economic value with recyclability and reusability properties and it is fully modular, replaceable, mortarless and does not require joint filling instead of traditional mortar application.

The mounting system (1 ) basically consists of five main parts.

1 - Coating layer consist of natural stone / ceramic (10), etc.,

2 - Metal plate (20)

3 - Lower part (30)

4 - Connector (40),

5 - Intermediate gasket (50).

The metal plate (20) is connected to the lower portion of the natural stone / ceramic (10), increasing the strength of the plate, and at the same time forming a suitable mating surface with the lower part (30). The lower part (30), which is shown in Figure 4, can be used as an intermediate layer during the joining of the natural stone / ceramic (10). Lower part (30) is the main carrier and connecting part of the mounting system (1 ). At the same time, the mechanism that transmits static electricity to the ground is in this part. The lower part (30), which is shown in detail in Figure 5, has a soft part (31 ) made of a flexible material located in the middle part of the hard material contacting the main body layer.

The soft part (31 ) provides ground contact and since it is produced from an elastic material, it ensures that the natural stone / ceramic (10) plate stays upright by tolerating the ground disorders and the measurement errors resulting from the coating material production factors.

As shown in Figures 1 and 4, desired number of lower parts (30), on the condition that a gap therebetween, can be connected to the lower part of the natural stone / ceramic (10). The lower part (30) can be adapted to the natural stone / ceramic (10) measurements produced in different lengths by varying the distance between them. There is no need to produce different lower parts (30) for different natural stone / ceramic (10) measurements.

During positioning, the spaces between the lower parts (30) allow the cables of various sizes to be passed through.

The pins (32) formed at regular intervals on the lower part (30) enable the side-by- side connection of each individual plate comprising a layer of natural stone / ceramic (10) etc. incorporated in each mounting system(1 ).

The connector (40), which is shown in Figures 6 and 7, is made from a rigid material and is designed in a rectangular form with a length corresponding to the edge dimensions of each lower part (30). The connector (40) is used for the side-by-side connection of each individual plate comprising a natural stone / ceramic (10) layer incorporated in the mounting system (1 ). On the connector (40) there are gaskets (41 ) made of flexible material corresponding to the pins (32) positioned on the lower part (30). Sealing and fixing are provided with the connection of the pins (32) produced from hard material formed on the lower part (30) to the gaskets (41 ).

Since the gaskets (41 ) shown in Figures 6 and 7 are made from flexible material, ease of mounting is provided while the cutting errors in the layer of natural stone / ceramic 10 and / or the slippage caused by the fixing of the lower part (30) are compensated. In addition, errors in the measurement due to ground induced defects and the production related defects of the covering material can be tolerated by means of gaskets (41 ) which are made of flexible material. On the surfaces corresponding to the floor under the connector (40), the wedges (43) are positioned, which are produced from the same flexible material the soft part (31 ) located in the lower part (30). The wedges (43) produced from this soft and flexible material are the surfaces of the connector (40) contacting the floor. It absorbs the defects in the surface of the floor, helping the natural stone / ceramic (10) layer to form a smooth floor.

Defects at the natural stone / ceramic (10) layer and / or slippage that occur during the fixing of the lower part (30) or floor defects is prevented by positioning of the soft part (31 ), the wedge (43) and the gasket (41 ) matching with other components in the mounting system (1 )

As can be seen in detail in Figure 3, the intermediate gasket (50) is positioned between the layers of natural stone / ceramic (10), close and seal of the spaces between the layers. It is produced from flexible material for this purpose. The geometry of the body of the intermediate gasket (50) positioned on the connector (40) is suitable for the dimensions of the housing (42) and is easily mountable. It is connected to the housing (42) on the rigid material made connector (40), by the mounting body (51 ) in a tight fit manner.

In order to provide a modular feature to the intermediate gasket (50), it is formed in separate geometries as the mounting body (51 ) and the compression body (52).

The mounting body (51 ) can be attached to the housing (42) by pressure, which can be removed with a certain force if desired. There is also no need to remove the entire system for disassembly. If required, the intermediate gasket (50) on the surface can be removed by pulling it off the surface and applied to the surface in the same way.

In other words, it fulfills the function of mortar / joint fill in the existing technique.

The intermediate gasket (50) is fixed to the housing (42) formed on the connector (40). After this fixing operation, the intermediate gasket (50) can be replaced by a simple operation without any removal of the system in the case of wear or contamination due to environmental factors.

Thanks to the fact that the intermediate gasket (50) is a detachable part which is included in the mounting system (1 ), it can be easily replaced with new one. The properties and cost of the material used are low and the economic value is demonstrated by showing that the natural stone / ceramics (10) can be used in long term, which makes it easy to be able to change without any difficulties in cases such as damage or color change without any special workmanship.

All parts of the mounting system (1 ) are in separate parts that are in connection and can be disassembled.

These parts are in contact with each other in order to form a structure which is easy to dismantle and which can tolerate the problems due to durability and floor properties.

The soft surfaces formed in the parts that come into contact with the floor remove the resulting curvatures from the ground imbalances and the desired smooth surface is obtained.

By means of a single kind of lower part (30) design, it is possible to easily adapt to different marble sizes, and the advantage of mass production is revealed.

During the fixing of the lower parts (30) to the bottoms of the natural stone / ceramic (10) plates, due to the large spaces formed between them, the desired cable and similar devices can be laid easily and hidden between the ground. At the lower side of each plate, the gaps between the positioned lower parts (30) are provided opposingly so that a channel is formed under the floor cover.

The obtained channels allow the cables, such as power and data, to be installed in a tolerant manner.

If the installation is done earlier, the necessary passages in one section can be easily removed by removing the plates. After the cable laying is completed, the removed plates can be reattached to their places.

Likewise, when a part is requested to be totally replaced, it can be easily changed without breaking. Plates can be reused as a result of the change depending on demand.

In one embodiment of these disclosures, the mounting system (1 ) is the desired natural stone / ceramic (10) plaque is adhered to the metal plate (20).

At the same time, it is also possible to directly adhere the lower part (30) to the natural stone / ceramic (10) layer without using the metal plate (20). This process is carried out in the production stage and to the end-user, lower part (30) and the natural stone / ceramic (10) layer can be presented in contact with each other. After this point, the lower part (30) connected to the natural stone / ceramic (10) layer will be referred to as the plate ready-to-use plate (2).

The ready-to-use plate (2) can be produced with or without using the metal plate (20).

With the layer of natural stone / ceramic (10), the ready-to-use plate (2), which is connected to the number of lower parts (30) determined according to said layer sizes, is applied to the floor where side-by-side laying is desired.

In Figure 2, during the application, in which the mounting parts are shown, a ready- to-use plate (2) is first fitted over the gaskets (41 ) of the connecting part (40) by means of pins (32). Another ready-to-use plate (2) is connected to the other side of the fitting part (40) and the flooring is continued from all sides by this state. The intermediate gasket (50) is attached to the housing (42) formed on the connector (40) when the two ready-to-use plates (2) are applied to the floor by means of the connector (40).

The intermediate gasket (50) has two different geometries, namely the mounting body (51 ) connected to the housing (42) and the compression body (52) corresponding to the layer of natural stone / ceramic (10). At this point the gasket (41 ) is fixed on the connector (40) and the gap between the layers of natural stone / ceramic (10), which are laid side by side by the compression body (52), is closed.

The mounting system (1 ) is applied to the floor where it is required to be laid by applying it on the whole floor with this procedure.

If desired to be removed after application on the floor, the desired ready-to-use plate (2) can be easily removed by lifting up the intermediate gasket (50) from the side portions with the aid of a tool, thereby separating the gasket (41 ) and the pin (32), which are connected to each other. Every ready-to-use plate (2) which is desired to be removed can be easily removed by the same application and the floor which is laid can easily be removed.

Another important issue is the removal of static electricity resulting from contact and separation or friction of two or more different or identical insulated or conductive materials. The object of the invention prevent the damage of the static electricity by providing the passage of the static electricity to the floor surface in the mounting system (1 ) by replacing the soft part (31 ) located on at least one lower part (30), which is located under each ready-to-use plate (2), with the mechanism that is made from a conducting material.

This mechanism comes into contact with the natural stone / ceramic (10) plate, and it is also capable of providing contact with the floor. It is revealed that the current is transferred through this intermediate bridge.

Thanks to these extensions, it is ensured that the static electric current flowing from each ready-to-use plate (2) is transferred to the soil, and the negative effects are eliminated.

As a result, the invention relates to a mounting system (1 ) having a modular structure which allows natural stone / ceramic (10) and similar flooring products to be laid on the floor easily while enabling easy attaching / detaching without the need of any special expertise, which easily tolerates the defects of the floor or the flooring material (ceramic, marble, etc.) measurement errors originating from production, which can lead the static electricity resulting from the use in the system to the floor, which removes the need of the mortar / joint process which requires a separate post laying process, which allows the cables and similar systems to be easily moved under during and / or after the laying, which allows the desired parts to be changed without having to remove the entire upholstery when requested or damaged, and which creates economical value by means of recyclability and reusability thanks to its detachable feature, comprising, a ready-to-use plate (2) which is obtained by joining said lower part (30) with said natural stone / ceramic (10) layer which is cut in the desired dimensions, a lower part (30) which is located under said ready-to-use plate (2), which has a soft part (31 ) that is made of flexible material (30) and which has stabilizing pins (32) formed along its edge, a connector (40) which has gaskets (41 ) made of flexible material that are located opposite the pins (32) and which has a housing (42) that holds an intermediate gasket (50), and an intermediate gasket (50) which comprises of a compression body (52) that closes the remaining spaces between the ready-to-use plates (2) formed by the joining of the layers of said natural stone / ceramic (10) and lower parts (30), and a mounting body (51 ) which enables the assembly with the housing (42). In this way, the inventive mounting system (1 ) has made it possible to produce high value added products, especially with marble flooring system, making the flooring such as ceramics / marble possible to be installed with modular, replaceable, mortarless and almost no workmanship without joint filling.

Passage of cables and similar structures under the natural stone / ceramics (10) during and / or after laying. In this case, the bad appearance of the cable channels has been removed.

Elimination of environmental negatives has been achieved by the ability to be replaced without any construction waste being produced in the flooring.

By removing the use of mortar and filler, it has been revealed that the total burden to the building will be reduced in the flooring operations.

An environmentally friendly, recyclable flooring system was created by using no chemicals in the entire installation process.

Time losses have been minimized in the assembly process, special labor equirements have been lifted, and costs have been minimized since no extra material such as cement, sand gravel is needed.

Claims

CLAIMS What claimed is:

1. The invention relates to a mounting system (1 ) having a modular structure which allows natural stone / ceramic (10) and similar flooring products to be laid on the floor easily while enabling easy attaching / detaching without the need of any special expertise, which easily tolerates the defects of the floor or the flooring material (ceramic, marble, etc.) measurement errors originating from production, which can lead the static electricity resulting from the use in the system to the floor, which removes the need of the mortar / joint process which requires a separate post-laying process, which allows the cables and similar systems to be easily moved under during and / or after the laying, which allows the desired parts to be changed without having to remove the entire upholstery when requested or damaged, and which creates economical value by means of recyclability and reusability thanks to its detachable feature, comprising:

a ready-to-use plate (2) which is obtained by joining said lower part (30) with said natural stone / ceramic (10) layer which is cut in the desired dimensions, a lower part (30) which is located under said ready-to-use plate (2), which has a soft part (31 ) that is made of flexible material (30) and which has stabilizing pins (32) formed along its edge,

a connector (40) which has gaskets (41 ) made of flexible material that are located opposite the pins (32) and which has a housing (42) that holds an intermediate gasket (50),

and an intermediate gasket (50) which comprises of a compression body (52) that closes the remaining spaces between the ready-to-use plates (2) formed by the joining of the layers of said natural stone / ceramic (10) and lower parts (30), and a mounting body (51 ) which enables the assembly with the housing (42).

2. The lower part (30) according to claim 1 , which having the characteristics of being the main carrier and connecting part by the feature of being made from a rigid material and comprising a soft part (31 ), which is made of a flexible material, situated in the middle part touching the ground and making the stone / ceramic (10) plate stays smooth by absorbing defects on the floor.

3. The ready-to-use plate (2) according to claim 1 , characterized in that: at least one of the plurality of fixed lower parts (30) on the lower part of the natural stone / ceramic (10) layer, which are fixed more than one in relation to the dimensions of said ready-to-use plate (2) layer, having the mechanism associated with the ground for transmitting the static electricity to the ground.

4. The ready-to-use plate (2) according to claim 1 , characterized in that: having the lower parts (30), which are placed according to the size of the natural stone / ceramic (10) etc. layer, intermittently fixed on the ready-to-use plate (2) in order to enable the formation of gaps between the lower parts (30), allowing the installation of cables or similar parts.

5. The mounting system (1 ) according to claim 1 , comprising a gasket (41 ), which has enough elasticity to correct the cutting errors of the ready-to-use plate (2) and / or the mounting errors of the lower parts (30) and the measuring errors resulting from the production of the covering material, which is located on said connector (40) and which is fixed to the pin (32) located on the lower part (30).

6. The intermediate gasket (50) according to claim 1 , comprising a compression body(52), which closes the gap between the natural stone / ceramic (10) layers after the laying of the ready-to-use plates (2) by its geometry and correct the measurement errors by its elasticity feature, and a mounting body (51 ), which enables fixation and easy removal from the housing (42) located on the connector (40).

7. The intermediate gasket (50) according to claim 1 , comprising a mounting body (51 ) and a compression body (52) which are uniform and having different geometries that enable partial attachment / detachment by internally cutting off from the mounting system (1 ) the and / or total attachment / detachment and exchangeability .

8. The ready-to-use plate (2) according to claim 1 , comprising a metal plate (20) which is located under the natural stone / ceramic (10) plate increasing its strength and creates a suitable surface for junction with the lower part (30).

9. The connector (40) according to claim 1 , comprising a wedge (43) located on the surfaces of connector facing the ground and located at least as two on the opposite sides, tolerating the floor defects and thus enables the natural stone / ceramic (10) layer to be flat.