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Claims  |
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That which is claimed is:
1. An array of gravity-held-in-place-horizontal-modular-accessible-tiles,
comprising, in combination, a horizontal-base-surface, a
cushioning-granular-substrate disposed over said horizontal-base-surface,
and a plurality of said modular-accessible-tiles loose laid over said
cushioning-granular-substrate, said modular-accessible-tiles joined one to
another into said array of modular-accessible-tiles by means of a
dynamic-interactive-fluidtight-flexible-joint comprising an elastomeric
sealant.
2. The array of modular-accessible-tiles of claim 1 in which said
cushioning-granular-substrate comprises a material selected from the group
consisting of gravel, loam, sand, soil, compost, perlite, vermiculite,
haydite, and cinders.
3. The array of modular-accessible-tiles of claim 1 in which said
horizontal-base-surface comprises a material selected from the group
consisting of at-grade and below-grade granular subgrade soils, granular
subgrade subsoils, and granular substrates.
4. The array of modular-accessible-tiles of claim 1 in which said
cushioning-granular-substrate accommodates one or more items selected from
the group consisting of metal and plastic conduits carrying electrical and
electronic conductors, metal and plastic piping distributing gases,
fluids, chilled fluid return and supply and hot fluid return and supply,
metal and plastic pipe coils carrying working fluids and transferring heat
from said pipe coils to said cushioning-granular-substrate and from said
cushioning-granular-substrate to said pipe coils, voids for passage of
gases, and open drainage piping.
5. The array of modular-accessible-tiles of claim 1 in which one or more of
said modular-accessible-tiles is removed to provide accessiblity to said
cushioning-granular-substrate by means of double cutting said
dynamic-interactive-fluidtight-flexible-joint with cuts selected from the
group of spaced-apart parallel vertical cuts forming a spaced-apart
opening void, spaced-apart parallel sloping cuts forming a spaced-apart
opening void, and spaced-apart parallel converging sloping cuts to form a
vee open on the top side and closed on the bottom, said cuts forming a
void into which an elastomeric sealant may be placed to reseal said joint
after replacement of said removed modular-accessible tile.
6. The array of modular-accessible-tiles of claim 1 in which said array is
located in an enclosed interior environmental occupied space.
7. The array of modular-accesible-tiles of claim 1 in which said array is
located in an exterior environment.
8. The array of modular-accessible-tiles of claim 1 in which said array is
load bearing.
9. The array of modular-accessible-tiles of claim 1 in which said array
non-load bearing.
10. An array of
gravity-held-in-place-load-bearing-horizontal-modular-accessible-tiles,
comprising, in combination, a horizontal-base-surface, a
three-dimensional-passage-and-support-matrix disposed over said
horizontal-base-surface, and a plurality of modular-accessible-tiles loose
laid over said three-dimensional-passage-and support-matrix, each said
modular-accessible-tile comprising a cementitious tile, said
modular-accessible-tiles joined one to another into said array of
modular-accessible-tiles by means of a
dynamic-interactive-fluidtight-flexible-joint comprising an elastomeric
sealant.
11. The array of modular-accessible-tiles of claim 10 in which said
three-dimensional-passage-and support-matrix comprises a network of
plinths accommodating one or more conductors disposed on one or more
coplanar axes, in one or more layers, and in one or more
intercommunicating layers and selected from the group consisting of
electrically insulated electrical and electronic conductors, metal and
plastic conduits carrying electrical and electronic conductors, metal and
plastic piping for distribution of fluids, chilled fluid return and supply
and hot fluid return and supply, and metal and plastic pipe coils with
working fluids.
12. The array of modular-accessible-tiles of claim 10 in which said
three-dimensional-passage-and-support-matrix comprises a plurality of
load-bearing outlet-junction-boxes modularly disposed at diagonally
opposite corners of said modular-accessible-tiles and forming accessible
indexing connectivity nodes, said outlet-junction-boxes having visible
access covers flush with the top surface of said modular-accessible-tiles,
an impact sound isolation horizontal-disassociation-cush-joining-layer
placed below each said outlet-junction-box.
13. The array of modular-accessible-tiles of claim 10 in which said
cementitious tile is reinforced by means selected from the group
consisting of metal reinforcement, plastic reinforcement, metallic-fiber
reinforcement, and plastic fiber reinforcement.
14. An array of
gravity-held-in-place-load-bearing-horizontal-composite-modular-accessible
-tiles, comprising, in combination, a horizontal-base-surface, a
horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer loose laid over said
horizontal-base-surface, one or more conductors selected from the group
consisting of flat conductor cables, ribbon conductors, and individual
conductors accommodated in said
horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer, and a plurality of said
composite-modular-accessible-tiles loose laid over said
horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer and overlying said conductors
and joined one to another by means of a
dynamic-interactive-fluidtight-flexible-joint comprising an elastomeric
sealant, each said composite-modular-accessible-tile comprising a metallic
horizontal-composite-assemblage-sheet and a plurality of
horizontal-individual-tiles adhered to the top surface of said
horizontal-composite-assemblage-sheet and joined one to another by means
of a dynamic-interactive-fluidtight-flexible-joint comprising an
elastomeric sealant, said metallic horizontal-composite-assemblage-sheet
providing continuous metallic grounding of said conductors and the
terminals of said conductors by mechanical means without bridging the
impact sound isolation improvements of said
horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer.
15. The array of composite-modular-accessible-tiles of claim 14 in which a
metallic horizontal-composite-assemblage-sheet is placed below said array
of composite-modular-accessible-tiles and outlet-junction-boxes are
mechanically fastened to said metallic
horizontal-composite-assemblage-sheet.
16. An array of
gravity-held-in-place-load-bearing-horizontal-composite-modular-accessible
-tiles, comprising, in combination a horizontal-base-surface, a
three-dimensional-passage-and support-matrix disposed over said
horizontal-base-surface, and a plurality of
composite-modular-accessible-tiles loose laid over said
three-dimensional-passage-and-support-matrix, each said
composite-modular-accessible-tile comprising a cementitious tile adhered
to the top surface of a horizontal-composite-assemblage-sheet, said
composite-modular-accessible-tiles joined one to another into said array
of composite-modular-accessible-tiles by means of a
dynamic-interactive-fluidtight-joint comprising an elastomeric sealant.
17. The array of composite-modular-accessible-tiles of claim 16 in which
said horizontal-composite-assemblage-sheet is selected from the group
consisting of metal and plastic.
18. An array of
gravity-held-in-place-load-bearing-horizontal-resilient-composite-modular-
accessible-tiles, comprising, in combination, a horizontal-base-surface, a
three-dimensional-passage-and-support-matrix disposed over said
horizontal-base-surface, and a plurality of
resilient-composite-modular-accessible-tiles loose laid over said
three-dimensional-passage-and-support-matrix, each said
resilient-composite-modular-accessible-tile comprising a cementitious tile
adhered to the top surface of a
horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer, said
horizontal-disassociation-cushioning layer adhered to the top surface of a
horizontal-composite-assemblage-sheet, said
resilient-composite-modular-accessible-tiles joined one to another into
said array of resilent-composite-modular-accessible-tiles by means of a
dynamic-interactive-fluidtight-flexible-joint comprising an elastomeric
sealant.
19. An array of
gravity-held-in-place-load-bearing-horizontal-composite-modular-accessible
-tiles, comprising, in combination, a horizontal-base-surface, a
cushioning-granular-substrate disposed over siad horizontal-base-surface,
and a plurality of said composite-modular-accessible-tiles loose laid over
said cushioning-granular-substrate, each said
composite-modular-accessible-tile comprising a cementitious tile adhered
to the top surface of a horizontal-composite-assemblage-sheet, said
composite-modular-accessible-tiles joined one to another into said array
of composite-modular-accessible-tiles by means of a
dynamic-interactive-fluidtight-flexible-joint comprising an elastomeric
sealant.
20. An array of
gravity-held-in-place-load-bearing-horizontal-resilient-composite-modular-
accessible-tiles, comprising, in combination, a horizontal-base-surface, a
cushioning-granular-substrate disposed over said horizontal-base-surface,
and a plurality of said resilient-composite-modular-accessible-tiles loose
laid over said cushioning-granular-substrate, each said
resilient-composite-modular-accessible-tile comprising a cementitious tile
adhered to the top surface of a
horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer, said
horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer adhered to the top surface of a
horizontal-composite-assemblage-sheet, said
resilient-composite-modular-accessible-tiles joined one to another into
said array of resilient-composite-modular-accessible-tiles by means of a
dynamic-interactive-fluidtight-flexible-joint comprising an elastomeric
sealant. |
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Claims |
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Description |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Tile floors are desirable for many purposes, since they are easily
maintained in clean condition and in high level of appearance, and are
less subject to wear than carpeted floors, where the appearance level is
reduced rapidly to a generally lower level than when originally installed.
Accordingly, tile floors are highly desirable for use in multi-story
public and government buildings; public assembly buildings; community
buildings; educational buildings; religious buildings; medical buildings
and hospitals; commercial and mercantile buildings, such as, banks, eating
and drinking establishments, stores; office buildings; and residential
buildings, such as, apartments and condominiums, housing for the elderly,
nursing homes, and private residences; particularly in arid and semi-arid
areas with sand and other areas where blowing sand is a continuing
problem. Likewise, tile floors are highly preferably from a maintenance
and durability point of view for rental apartments and condominiums,
public housing, nursing homes, and the like.
The present evolution of a highly industrialized throwaway technological
society, which is very intensive in utilization of energy and resources,
has brought into focus the realization that we need to invent such as some
of the following:
We need new ways to conserve or eliminate use of finite energy reserves, to
mention a few:
To produce products that are of long-term endurance with low energy use in
production, transportation, and installation
To transport products to factories
To transport to project point of use
To install finished products by means using minimum energy during
installation
To make products to last substantially longer
We need to re-use durable products directly, without expensive recycling
We need to find ways for products to give more essential benefits, that is,
synthesized products which perform a plurality of benefits in creative
living and working environments
Current identified problems of the present energy and resource intensive,
throwaway, industrialized society are the seed bed for inventing new
products or inventing new ways of assembling existing durable products to
fully utilize their inherent durability and/or re-use or recycling our
finite, non-renewable resources and energy or industrially-manufactured
products with optimum minimization of energy and resource costs or
environmental quality costs in the various stages of gathering resources
and energy, transporting resources to factories or construction sites,
manufacturing finished products from gathered resources and energy,
transporting, distributing and assembling into finished beneficial
products at points of use to provide optimum beneficial quality of living,
with due consideration to future costs in benefically preserving,
re-using, recycling and converting to future uses.
Ceramic, quarry, selected natural stone, and hardwood flooring, and the
like, have proven capability to last centuries when properly installed,
while currently these tiles installed with rigid joints more often than
not have cracking of joints or penetration of the tile joints by liquids
and chemcials which cause loosening of the rigid bonding of the tile to
the supporting substrate, causing breaking of the tile and further
loosening of adjacent tile, or acids in liquids deteriorate structural
elements, such as steel reinforcement in concrete substrate, or allow
unsanitary liquids to drain down on occupied spaces below.
Common causes of tile popping off include (1) the use of soaps or cleaning
solutions containing salts or acids, which penetrate through the commonly
used sand-and-cement tile joints (which have a porosity of 9 to 10%) to
the setting bed, the salts growing in size over a period of 10 years or
so, causing the tiles to come up; (2) the use of an acid solution to clean
the tile regularly, even the strongly acid tile cleaner commonly used to
clean the tile during construction, followed by improper or insufficient
rinsing, with subsequent wetting of the tile re-activating the acids, with
consequent deterioration of the joint; (3) deflection of the slab due to a
structural problem, causing tiles to heave upward and shear off clean as
through there were no bond, the bond being the weakest part of the
conventional construction assembly. Therefore, utilizing
dynamic-interactive-fluidtight-elastomeric-adhesive-sealant-joints of this
teaching to assemble tile into a more fluidtight assembly with flexible,
more impervious, fluidtight joints gives the dynamic, interactive matrix
of the tiles the capacity to overcome many of these common problems, along
with achieving the following:
Durability of the installation by using gravity and friction and
accumulated-interactive-assemblage
Improved sound isolation
Re-use of the tile covering
Conventional grouts, thin-set mortars, and mortar setting beds, as well as
improved conventional grouts and thin-set mortars with a variety of new
type additives, are all rigid in nature, requiring a rigid substrate,
wherein this rigid support depends on rigid bond and support, and such
tiles are all subject to gradual penetration of liquids in varying degrees
working their way through grout joints, thin-set mortars or mortar setting
beds adhering the tiles, causing gradual swelling, bacterial growth, bond
disintegration, which lead to gradual coming loose of tile in most
installations from their horizontal-base-surface, and deflection of the
horizontal-base-surface quite often causes conventional, rigidly set and
rigidly grouted tiles to come loose, which uncushioned tiles easily break
against their rigid substrate and adjacent tiles, causing additional
disintegration of tile, whereas this invention exploits the gravity weight
of the tile, friction, and accumulated-interactive-assemblage combined
with the flexible joints between adjacent tiles, forming a dynamic,
interactive, floating assembly with fluidtight-flexible-joints between
adjacent tile free of penetration of fluids to the horizontal-base-surface
below, beyond the porosity of the tile itself, which tile, if it is made
of good quality clays fired at high temperature, is of very low porosity,
wherein the tile is held in place by a more dependable force of gravity
with a proven superior duration when compared with conventional rigid
bonding means for attaching tile to a horizontal-base-surface, and wherein
floating tiles are cushioned against breakage by
horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer which concurrently provides the
improved impact sound isolation disassociation within a very thin
combination.
There are three different types of sound control required in floor/ceiling
assemblies between occupied spaces in contemporary habitable environments:
Sound Transmission Class (STC)-the Federal government has determined that
in most situations a wall or floor/ceiling system shall have Sound
Transmsision Loss Class greater than STC 52 when evaluated in relationship
to acceptable ambient background level
Impact Isolation Class (IC)-the Federal government has determined that in
most situations a wall or floor/ceiling system shall have a Sound
Isolation Class greater than IIC 52 to provide sufficient impact sound
isolation in a floor/ceiling assembly between individual habitable living
units in multiple-level housing
Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC)-measures or indicates the ability of a
material to absorb sound-the Federal government has no standards on this,
and its value standard is determined by the Architect and/or Acoustical
Engineer
NOTE:
Allowable sound levels mentioned above are discussed in A GUIDE TO
AIRBORNE, IMPACT AND STRUCTURAL BORNE NOISE CONTROL IN MULTIFAMILY
DWELLINGS published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development as levels for Grade II Multiple Dwelling Residential Urban and
Suburban Areas which, by definition, are areas of average noise levels. No
federal standards exist yet, although they are needed, for commercial and
industrial buildings, except as are required by local codes, regulations
or personal standards of individual owners, architects, engineers, etc.
As to this invention, all three of the above different types of sound
control values are affected to varying degrees by this invention.
Unquestionably, the Impact Isolation Class (IIC) is of the greatest
importance and benefit from this invention, and the Sound Transmission
Class (STC) is of next greatest importance and benefit from this
invention.
However, as a disadvantage to the currently available tile floors in
multi-story structures, those above the first floor of a building are
highly transmissive to impact sound generated, for example, by the shoe
heels of a person walking across the tile floor (women with spike heels
and men with metal clips), or other forms of impact on the floor. The
sound is transmitted to the floor below, and in the event of a heavy
traffic area, such as, a restaurant, a dance floor, apartments,
condominiums, nursing homes, hospitals, or the like, impact sound
transmission through the floor below to occupied spaces below can be a
very serious problem, requiring the installation of carpeting even when,
for other reasons, carpet is undesirable or not the best answer. As a
result of this, it becomes very difficult to place a dance floor, or a
high-traffic restaurant, hospital, nursing home or apartment on an upper
floor of a multi-story building since there are strong reasons or personal
perferences to leave such establishments uncarpeted but, rather with hard
surface, enduring floors. The occupants of the floor below may be
seriously disturbed by the continuous transmission of the impact of
footsteps on the tile.
Similarly, in multi-story apartments and condominiums where it is desired
to keep maintenance costs to a minimum, the impact sound of footsteps and
the like from the apartment overhead can generate excessive disturbing
noise and a continuous series of tenant complaints, forcing the
installation of carpeting, with its added expense, periodic cleaning,
replacement costs, and the like.
While previous attempts have been made to produce tile coverings having
high loss of impact sound from transmission to other occupied areas,
particularly areas below source of impact sound, they have not been very
successful. For example, wood tiles have been placed on 1/2 inch plywood
which, in turn, rests upon 1/4 inch cork sheet lying on a wood or a
concrete structural subfloor. With this configuration, the sound damping
has not been exceptionally high, and the problem of warping of the plywood
requires the use of screws to hold the plywood in place which, in turn,
helps to transmit the impact sound to the structural subfloor. Also the
system is not waterproof and comes up if water is allowed to stand on its
surface overnight. This invention, using waterproof materials, overcomes
this disadvantage.
In accordance with this invention, a horizontal-tile-array is provided
having greatly reduced impact sound transmission through its
horizontal-base-surface. If desired, this can be combined with improved
thermal insulation or the floor supported on foam insulation, with or
without a horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer, for impact sound
isolation, and may be accomplished with a unique, dynamic systen in which
the tiles are resiliently carried upon the
horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer. In accordance with this
invention, tile breakage, due to the receipt of an excessive load from a
spike heel or a heavy woman or the like, can be essentially controlled or
dampened for good tile floor life, coupled with a greatly improved impact
sound isolation.
Current review and understanding of the existing state of the art for
setting materials for cermaic tile is well presented and documented in the
HANDBOOK FOR CERAMIC TILE INSTALLATION prepared by the Tile Council of
America, Inc., wherein under the following headings are presented
materials for setting ceramic tile:
Portland cement mortar
Dry-set mortar
Latex-portland cement mortar
Epoxy mortar
Modified epoxy emulsion mortars
Furan mortar
This same HANDBOOK FOR CERAMIC TILE INSTALLATION also clearly discusses the
special products for setting ceramic tile under the following headings:
Epoxy adhesive
Organic adhesive
Special tile-setting mortars
Mounted tile
Pre-grouted ceramic tile sheets
Special fiber mesh-reinforced concrete backer board
Thresholds
Also this same HANDBOOK FOR CERAMIC TILE INSTALLATION discusses in detail
materials for grouting ceramic tile under the following headings:
Commercial portland cement grout
Sand portland cement grout
Dry-set grout
Latex-portland cement grout
Mastic grout
Furan resin grout for quarry tile, packing house tile, and paver tile
Epoxy grout for quarry tile, packing house tile, ceramic mosaic tile and
paver tile
Silicone rubber grout
The following other methods of installing floor tile are of interest:
`Redi-Set Systems 200` by American-Olean Tile Company, whereby 1 inch by 1
inch ceramic mosaic tiles were made up in 24 inch by 24 inch sheets in the
factory with pregrouted urethane sealant joints. This product was
withdrawn from the market several years ago. It was designed for only
interior, non-load-bearing use and was adhered to a
horizontal-base-surface.
`Acousti-Floor Sound Control Underlayment` by Laticrete International, a
system by which a 1/2 inch thickness of cementitious material is troweled
onto a concrete slab and the tile covering is installed in a conventional
manner, adhered to the horizontal-base-surface.
`Hartco Wood Foam Tile` by Tibbals Floor Company, whereby hardwood floor
tiles are backed with 1/16 or 1/8 inch thick layer of polyethylene foam,
with the foam adhered to the back of the hardwood tiles, the floor tiles
being permanently adhered to a horizontal-base-surface with an adhesive.
`E-A-R Composites` and `E-A-R Barrier` by E-A-R Corporation as a
combination noise barrier, asborber and damper made of vinyl, generally
used to isolate sound from machinery, ducts, pipes, doors, walls, floors,
marine engine compartments, and hatches. The composite are not designed to
serve as substrates for a finished floor tile system.
The Ceramic Tile Institute Los Angeles Chapter's sound-rated interior floor
systems for both thin-set and mortar method of setting ceramic tile floors
in a manner to reduce impact sound transmission. A big drawback to these
methods is that they require a thickness of 11/2 to 4 inches plus the
thickness of the tile. Also the tile is adhered in a conventional manner
over the rigid substrate.
NOTE: American-Olean Tile Company and some other manufacturers furnish
glazed wall tile sheets with pre-grouted joints filled with silicone
sealant. These can only be used, however, for adhering to interior walls
and are not related to this invention of installing
gravity-held-in-place-load-bearing-horizontal-tile-arrays or
gravity-held-in-place-load-bearing-horizontal-modular-accessible-tiles
with dynamic-interactive fluidtight-flexible-joints.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Detailed review of the state of the art in the above references materially
helps in differentiating how the teachings of this invention differ from
the current state of the art, in particular as to the following
references:
In existing state of the art, the tile is held in place by the materials
for setting ceramic tile or held in place by special products for setting
ceramic tile as described in the references stated, whereas in this
invention the tile is held in place by gravity, friction, and
accumulated-interactive-assemblage
In existing state of the art, the tile is installed on a rigid substrate
and is fastened mechanically or by adhesives of some type, or by both,
whereas in this invention the tile floats loose laid on a
horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer, such as, the following
resilient materials, by means of the above-state gravity, friction, and
accumulated-interactive-assemblage:
Horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer
Disassociation elastic foam pads of the type used as carpeting pads
Thin disassociation elastic foam layer
Rigid-foam-insulation
Resilient substrate
Non-woven compression-resistant three-dimensional nylon matting
Non-woven vinyl random filament construction
Cushioning-granular-substrate
Granular base substrate
In existing state of the art, the joints between the tile are filled with
rigid grout, except for pre-grouted ceramic tile sheets of various sizes
for interior and wall installations. According to the Ceramic Tile
Institute, such sheets, which also may be components of an installation
system, are generally grouted with an elastomeric material, such as
silicone, urethane, or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) rubber, each of which is
engineered for its intended use. The perimeter of these factory
pre-grouted sheets may include the entire, or part of the, grout between
sheets, or none at all. Field applied perimeter grouting may be of the
same elastomeric material as used in the factory pre-grouted sheets or as
recommended by the manufacturer. Factory pre-grouted ceramic tile sheets
offer flexibility, good tile alignment, overall dimensional uniformity and
grouts that resist stains, mildew, shrinkage and cracking. Factory
pre-grouted sheets tend to reduce total installation time where the
requirement of returning a room to service or the allotted time for
ceramic tile installation (as on an assembly lie) is critical. These tiles
are installed on a rigid substrate and are fastened mechanically or by
adhesives of some type, or by both, whereas in this invention the tiles
are not grouted, but are filled with
dynamic-interactive-fluidtight-elastomeric-adhesive-sealant and held in
place by gravity, friction, and accumulated-interactive-assemblage for
floating loose laid on a horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer for
impact sound isolation by disassociation of impact sound source on tile
from the horizontal-base-surface.
In the realities of today's marketplace costs, it is very expensive to
remove adhesive- and cement-adhered hard-surface floor coverings. The
established heights of fixed elements, such as floor drains, fixtures,
equipment, door frames and doors, all make it difficult, expensive and
even impossible due to the limitation of physical dimensions or structural
weight or previous product failure to not require costly removal of
existing floor coverings, whereas this invention makes possible easy
removal and reinstallation and valuable salvage while providing other
benefits stated herein.
The desirability and importance of the fluidtightness of this invention can
be seen when it is realized that OSHA Regulation 1901.141 Sanitation
Requirement states that all toilet rooms, floors and sidewalls, to a
height of at least 6 inches, shall be of watertight construction. This
invention makes unnecessary the waterproof membrane which prior art
dictates for installation below the floor tile coverings.
Greater understanding of the teachings of this invention is gained by
considering the challenges that must be overcome for teaching this
invention to function and to be commercially viable. Some, but not
necessarily all, of the requirements are as follows:
For example, when installing ceramic or stone tile, it is essential to have
a dynamic-interactive-fluidtight-elastomeric-adhesive-sealant-joint which
remains adhered to all perimeter adjacent sides of tiles at all joints and
which remains highly flexible over the life of the installation due to
constant movement of joint from use by walking
Dynamic-interactive-fluidtight-elastomeric-adhesive-sealant is essential to
provide accumulating size of array in combination with friction and
gravity to hold this invention permanently in place while allowing for
assembly to float in disassociation with the horizontal-base-surface and
joint to flex when walked on
Room-temperature curing of elastomeric-adhesive-sealant without pressure or
heat
Some type of horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer To give impact
sound isolation To keep tiles from clanking against hard-surfaced
horizontal-base-surface or intermediate
horizontal-composite-assemblage-sheets or
three-dimensional-passage-and-support-matrix To take up unevenness and to
cushion between bottom of ceramic, quarry or stone tile and top of
horizontal-base-surface to avoid point source of contact between bottom of
tile and top of horizontal-base-surface since ceramic, quarry and stone
tile are relatively brittle In the case of wood tile, to take up
unevenness
Durability of horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer over life of
installation of at least 20 years through the vicissitudes of water
getting into the space between the bottom of the tile and the top of the
horizontal-base-surface
Control or elimination of friction destruction of
horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer by time and air or constant
flexing
Thinness of the assembly is highly desirable
A horizontal-composite-assemblage-sheet that will not break, rust, warp, or
expand and contract excessively during installation or in-use service
Cost effectiveness
Correct thickness-to-width ratio of ceramic or stone tile in relation to
thickness and density of the horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer
In accordance with this invention, a
gravity-held-in-place-load-bearing-horizontal-tile-array may be provided
over a horizontal-base-surface which is typically a floor. An array of
horizontal-individual-tiles is set on the horizontal-base-surface, with
the horizontal-individual-tiles having sides positioned adjacent to the
sides of adjoining tiles in the array.
In this invention, the array of rigid tiles is separated from the
horizontal-base-surface by at least a 1/16 inch thickness of
horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer. The tiles are also adhesively
joined at their sides to adjacent sides of the adjoining tiles with an
elastomeric-adhesive-sealant, which provides the dynamic system mentioned
above, providing accumulated-interactive-assemblage.
When a heavy load is placed upon a small area of tile, it will tend to
temporarily sink into the horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer,
usually in a non-uniform manner, since the load will rarely be placed in
the exact center of each tile. The elastomeric-adhesive-sealant-joints
between the adjoining tiles will correspondingly stretch or compress to
adjust for the temporary deflection of the tiles, with the tops of said
joints being in compression and the bottoms of said joints being in
tension, or vice versa, to avoid breakage and rupture of the
elastomeric-adhesive-sealant-joints between tiles, to disperse the stress,
and to prevent breaking of the tiles which by the nature of many ceramic
and stone materials are relatively brittle.
As a result of this, impact sound applied to the tiles and passing through
the horizontal-base-surface is substantially diminished, being dampened by
the presence of the horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer, and also
due to the resilient, dynamic system of flexible joints utilized to join
the tiles together.
Preferably, the horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer is a sheet of
elastic foam, being preferably about 1/16 to 1/2 inch thick. Any suitable
elastic foam may be used. Examples of preferred resilient elastic foam
which may be used include commercially available carpet foundation foam,
for example, 1/4 inch thick Omalon II (Spec 1, Spec 2, or Spec 3, Spec 2
being preferred) for the horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer. This
material is polyurethane and is sold by the Olin Chemical Company. For
thin horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layers, a preferred material is
polyethylene foam, such as Volara #2A, 2#/CF density, 1/8 inch thickness,
and Volara #4A, 4#/CF density, 1/16 inch thickness, both as manufactured
by Voltek, a Sekisui Company. Another suitable
horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer is Contract Life 310 EPDM
carpet pad, sold by Dayco Corporation. Urethane, polyurethane,
polyethylene, polystyrene, EPDM, isocyanurate, and latex foams are also
suitable. Other types of elastic foam material of a variety of chemical
composition material may also be used and, if desired, solid elastomeric
materials may also be used for the thickness of the
horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer. The thickness of
horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer may be factory-mnufactured
rolled goods, flat or folded sheet, poured-in-place foams from jobsite
pouring systems, or sprayed-in-place foams from jobsite spraying systems,
as is the most convenient means, as long as it is of generally uniform
thickness, durable in nature and/or correct density to functionally
support floor loads. Also elastic carpet pads may be used, such as,
possibly rubberized animal hair, synthetic fiber, and/or India jute pads,
flat sponge rubber, waffled sponge rubber, flat latex rubber, herringbone
design rippled sponge rubber, waffled EPDM polymer sponge, latex foam
rubber, and the like.
Also the horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer may be a porous,
oil-resistant vinyl matting with a non-woven filament construction, with a
backing, or a two-layer composite consisting of a polyester non-woven
filter fabric heat-bonded to a compression-resistant three-dimensional
nylon matting, such as is manufactured by American Enka Company of Enka,
North Carolina.
Also the horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer may be a pourous,
oil-resistant vinyl matting with a non-woven filament construction,
without a backing, such as is manufactured by 3M Company for entrance
matting.
The standard horizontal-individual-tiles used in this invention may be of
any desired size, commonly from 1 inch to 1 foot on a side or larger.
Modular-accessible-tiles, composite-modular-accessible-tiles, and
resilient-composite-modular-accessible-tiles may be manufactured,
transported, and installed for accessibility to conductors, conduits,
raceways, piping, and utilities below in sizes up to 6 feet on one or more
sides, being manufactured, assembled, and composed of a plurality of
standard horizontal-individual-tiles of any of the hard-surface materials
disclosed herein or of similar type hard-surface materials, with a
plurality of flexible joints between the horizontal-individual-tiles for
disposition in various combinations over any of the following:
One or more horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layers
A three-dimensional-passage-and-support-matrix with at least one
horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer within the combination.
Modular-accessible-tiles, composite-modular-accessible-tiles, and
resilient-composite-modular-accessible-tiles may be manufactured,
transported, and installed for accessibility to conductors, conduits,
raceways, piping, and utilities below in sizes up to 6 feet on one or more
sides, being manufactured, assembled, and composed of a plurality of
standard horizontal-individual-tiles of any of the hard-surface materials
disclosed herein or of similar type hard-surface materials, with a
plurality of flexible joints between the horizontal-individual-tiles for
disposition in various combinations over rigid-foam-insulation.
Modular-accessible-tiles, composite-modular-accessible-tiles, and
resilient-composite-modular-accessible-tiles may be manufactured,
transported, and installed for accessibility to conductors, conduits,
raceways, piping, and utilities below in sizes up to 6 feet on one or more
sides, being manufactured, assembled, and composed of a plurality of
standard horizontal-individual-tiles of any of the hard-surface materials
disclosed herein or of similar type hard-surface materials, with a
plurality of flexible joints between the horizontal-individual-tiles
adhered to and assembled on a horizontal-composite-assemblage-sheet for
disposition in various combination over any of the following:
One or more horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layers
A three-dimensional-passage-and-support-matrix with at least one
horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer within the combination
with the above variations of modular-accessible-tiles being the preferred
embodiment of this invention.
In specialized instances, from one foreign source single
horizontal-individual-tiles of ceramic/quarry tile up to 6 feet on one or
more sides have become available for special requirements. Therefore,
theoretically, a single ceramic/quarry tile, selected for its levelness,
may be adhered with a suitably engineered adhesive to a single large
metallic horizontal-composite-assemblage-sheet, forming a structural
tension composite diaphragm, provided the resulting
modular-accessible-tile is installed over one of the following:
A precision, uniform thickness of
horizontal-disassociation-cushioning-layer of elastic foam loose laid o | | |
