US1991558A - Tile construction - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 19,, 1935.

TILE CONSTRUCTION Filed March 28, 1935" 2 Sheets-Sheet l 1.1.; .IT "1? .J i: 1H1 m? I Ji' g W. i 4 m 1 umWWWWW If, 38 5 I INVENTOR. 7

ATTORNEY.

H. P. c. KEULS I 1,991,558 a Patented Feb. 19, 1935 1 1,991,558

TILE CONSTRUCTION Henry P. C. Keuls, New York, N. Y., assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Sealed Joint Products Company, Inc., a corporation of Delaware Application March 28, 1933, Serial No, 663,140

7 Claims. (Cl. 72-19) This invention relates to tile construction, and howin the f e ing and sealing strips in dotted more particularly to a construction wherein the 1 tiles are secured to a backing member by metallic 2 is a Vi w, n elevation, i a P t o t e fastening strips. 7 wall illustrated in Fig. 1, showing the manner in In carrying t'th invention, tiles of a pecial which the tiles and fastening strips are assembled 5 form are laid against a backing member and are in Position; provided in their peripheral edges with V-shaped 3 is a View showing a plurality of assembled grooves which, i adjacent, tiles are opposed t tiles broken away at the corners to show the arone another, th opposedgmoves receiving m rangement of the fastening strips;

0 tening strips extending transversely acr t Fig. 4 is a partial section on line 44 of Fig. 1; joints between the adjacent tiles. The fasten- 5 is a perspective V w O a t t e er ing strips are nailed or otherwise secured to the h form of fajstehihg h used therewlth: backing member, thus holding the tiles against Flg 6 s an nd vi w of a til displacem t, Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing a different The fastening members are preferably cut fr form of fastening strip used with the tiles; and 15 flat sheet; teel d are form d t a pair of Fig.8isaperspective view showing still another loss extending at right angles to each other. form of fastening strip used with F tiles- These legs' te for approximately half their Referring to the drawings, the tiles A are pref width, mm th grooves provided in t ihtersect erably rectangular in shape' and are provided at ing edges of a tile, the other half portion of the their Peripheral edges with n grooves 11 legs extending i t th grooves in the edges f to receive fastening strips B which serve to secure the tiles adjacent id intersecting edges the tiles to a backing member W, as for instance, With this construction, each tile is in effect, a wall or frame- The fastemng SHIPS as mounted in a st l frame consisting in part of tioned before, are preferably cut from flat sheet the two legs 6f one fastening member, engaging metal, the one shown in Fig. consistingof a pair in the grooves of two intersecting edges of the of legs b2 arranged a l angles to each tile, nd i part of one of each of the f t other, and an offset bracket port on 12 formed at ing members associated with the tiles adjacent the comer of the where the legs the other intersecting edges, and which likewise meet- The bracket by bendmg? L engage in the grooves thereof. portion b of the strip at right angles thereto and The m an for nailing the fa t i Strips to rebending the end b of this portion into a plane the backing member may include aportion bent f wlth thfalegs The rebeht Porhoh back from the strip and rebent into a plane parh Fquipped wlth hole 175 through Yvhmh a hall allel with the plane of the legs, the rebent por- 1S h the to the backmg member tion being equipped with a hole through which as W111 h F h h a nail i d i t the'backing member, if The invention is best illustrated by describ ng desired apseparate clip may be used to hold the the method of laying the tile. As shown in Figs. fastening member in position 1 and 2, the tiles are laid in courses, and, for the 4 The relation between the width of the fastensake clanty, let i be i number 40 in t i and the depth f the grooves may he of tiles have been laid. Thus, a tile 1S fastened m de; such t t no opening or space is l ft in position by a fastening strip B with the lower tween adjacent edges of the tiles, or, if desired, h of the horizontal leg ifhereof PmJePtmg th tiles may be formed to provide a Space into the top groove a ofthe tile, and the inner UNITED STAT-ES PATENT OFFICE tweenthe edges which may be pointed up with half of the vertical leg b thereof extending into the vertical groove a at the left of the tile A g fit g 3:: ig ggf g gfig s f 2222 22 1?" The fastening strip B is held in position by a are longer than the edges of the tiles so as to mm C pas-sing through the hole bn in the rebent I portion of the bracket element and into the backextend beyond and overlap the fastening strip ing member which may be a wall or other suitassociated with the adjacent tile, thus insuring a able framework 50 stronger structure and a substantially moisture-s The next the is then placed in position with p f joint at the corn of the tilesthe groove in the lower edge thereof receiving Referring to the drawings: the upper edge of the horizontal leg of a fasten- Fig. liis a view, in elevation, of a portion ofi g strip B associated with the tile in the course l a wall tiled in accordance with the invention, next below it, and with the groove in the right 5 adjacent on the right. The tile A is now secured in position by means of a fastening member B As will be observed, the fastening member B as well as the others, are provided with legs, considerably longer than the edges of the tile with which it is used, and is placed in position by sliding the lower end of the vertical leg 17 into the grooves formed between the two adjacent tiles A and A of thecourse next below. The fastening strip B is then pushed downwardly until the bottom edge of the horizontal leg 1) comes in contact with the base of the groove in the upper edgeof its associated tile A and nailed in place.

The tile A, completely mounted, is shown in Fig. 3. Herein, it will be noted, the steel fastening strips completely frame the tile A the groove in the right edge thereof receiving the projecting portion of the vertical leg b of the strip B of the tileadjacent on the right, the groove in the lower edgethereof receiving the upper projecting portion of the fastening strip B of the tile adjacent below, and the grooves in the left and upper edges thereof receiving the inner edges of the vertical leg and horizontal leg of its own fastening strip B respectively.

Due to the fact that the legs of the fastening strips extend beyond the edges of the tile and into the grooves of the adjacent tiles, each tile is in effect pinned at its four comers, although but a single nail is used for each tile. This results from the fact that the free ends of each fastening strip are held against forward displacement by the grooves of the tiles into which they extend; thus, as shown in Fig. 3, the free end of the horizontal leg of the strip B is retained in position by the groove in the upper edge of the tile A which tile in turn is held by its strip B nailed at C. With this construction, each tile is retained along its entire peripheral edge.

Another form of fastening strip is shown in Fig. 7. In this embodiment the bracket portion b for connecting the strip 3 to the wall, is

formed at the end of one of the leg members b 4 This bracket portion is formed by bending the end of one leg at right angles thereto, and rebending a portion b thereof into a plane parallel with the right angularly connected legs b b. The same result is obtained as in the previous embodiment for the same form of tile isused, and the leg b, devoid of the fastening bracket, extends into the groove of the adjacent tile and likewise overlaps, a portion of the fastening member B associated therewith. The nail C passing through the rebent portions in effect connects each comer of the tile to the wall as in the case previously described. I

Fig. 8 shows still another embodiment of the invention, wherein the angular fastening strips B are formed without the integral rebent fastening portions. With this construction, the fastening members are joined to the wall by means of clips B which include a downwardly extending lip 17 engaging the outer face of the fastenin strip, a horizontal rearwardly extending portion b and a vertical rebent portion b equipped with a hole D adapted to receive a nail for securing the clip to the wall.

T e invention, as previously described, is not nece: 'arily limited to tiles laid in vertical as well terminates at the base of the groove in the upper edge of a tile in the next adjacent lower course.

The-tiles (see Fig. 6) have their rear faces recessed', as at a in the region adjacent the peripheral edges, the purpose of this being to permit the tiles toclear the rebent portions of the bracket elements and clips while still permitting the major portions of the .tile to rest firmly against the. backing member.

If it is, desired to give the effect of a tile wall laid with mortar, the widths of the legs of the fastening strips and the tile grooves may be proportioned so as to leave a small space D between the front edges of adjacent tiles, and these spaces may be pointed up with mortar to give the effect of usual tile construction.

The invention thus provides a tile construction which may be assembled by unskilled labor, avoids the necessity of using mortar as a means of retaining the tiles in position, and eliminates any possibility of the tiles becoming loose and falling out of place. The fastening strips extending to the base of the grooves in adjacent blocks, as they do, further provide a seal against moisture, and. consequently furnishes a construction suitable for use in swimming pools, shower stalls, and similar places.

The invention has been described in connection with the tiling of a wall, or other vertical backing member, but it will be understood that the position of the'backing member .is not a limitation upon the invention, as the backing member may be horizontal or inclined as desired. Throughout the specification, the word tile has been used to indicate the wall facing elements, but the invention is equally applicable to brick and other similar building materials, and in the claims the word tile is .to be interpreted as covering such material. Also, in the instance of the fastening strips, any suitablev material, other than susceptible of many modifications within its spirit and is to be limited, therefore, only by the prior art and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is: I

1. In combination, rectangular tile elements adapted to be laid edge to edge upon a backing member, grooves provided in the opposed edges of adjacent tiles, fastening strips each having a pair of legs, one leg engaging in the groove of one edge of a tile and the other leg engaging in the groove of an intersecting edge thereof, each of said legs engaging also in a groove presented in the edge of an adjacent tile, and means for securing the fastening strips to the backing member.

2. In combination, tile elements adapted to be laid edge to edge upon a backing member, and presenting grooves in their peripheral edges, and a fastening strip associated with each tile element and extending into a groove thereof, said fastening strip comprising a pair of legs formed at right angles to each other, one of said legs being greater in length than the edge of its associated tile element, and having its end extending beyond the edge of the tile in service, said end projecting into the'groove of an adjacent tile, whereby it is held against displacement in a direction perpendicular to the tile face, and means for securing the fastening strip to the backing member. J 3. A metallic fastening strip for securing tiles to a wall comprising, a pair of legs arranged at right angles to each other, and having a portion thereof bent at right angles to the plane of the 40 steel, may likewise be used. The invention is legs and the end of said portion rebent into a plane parallel to the plane of the legs said portion providing means for securing the fastening strips in position.

4. In tile construction; the combination of tile units arranged edge to edge in courses, and each provided with a continuous groove extending around the periphery thereof, the grooves in adjacent tile units being in alinement, a backing structure, and means for securing the tile units thereto, said means including angular fastening strips engaging in the grooves in two intersecting edges of a tile and in the grooves of two adjacent tiles, the strips in service being substantially hidden from View.

5. In tile construction, the combination of tile units arranged edge to edge in courses and each,

provided with a continuous groove extending around the periphery thereof, the grooves in adjacent tile units being in alinement, a backing structure, and means for securing the tile units thereto, said means including members having flat portions extending into the grooves around the entire edge of a tile and .into opposed grooves in adjacent tiles, said members in service being substantially hidden from view.

6. In tile construction, the combination of tile units arranged edge to edge in courses and each provided with a continuous groove extending around the periphery thereof, the grooves in adjacent tile units being in alinement, a backing structure, and means-for securing the tile units thereto, said means including angular strips each having a pair of flat legs engaging in the groove of one tile unit and into the groovesof two adjacent tile units, the angular strips in service being substantially hidden from'view.

7. In tile construction, the combination of tile units arranged edge to edge in courses, and each provided with a continuous substantially V- shaped groove extending around the periphery thereof, the grooves in adjacent tile units being in alinement, a backing structure, and means for securing the tile units thereto, including members having thin metal strip portions engaging in the grooves of adjacent tiles, whereby the tiles are centered and held in position, and the metal strip portions in service being substantially hidden from view.

HENRY P. C. KEULS.

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