METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING OF AN INCLINED FLOOR ELEMENT

Abstract: A method and apparatus to manufacture a sloped floor element (5) for sanitary boxes, the surface of which is a tiling (2) and which element in its finished stage comprises a rigid body (6, 7) and a possible floor drain installed in a sloping area (12). Tiling (2) matching element (5) is made on a plane base (3) either with the tiles upside down upon it or the tiling is turned upside down onto the level (planelike) base (3). On the back of the tiles a layer of reinforced plastic (13) is laminated and the layer of body material (6) is laminated or glued, whereafter a wanted sloping is forced into the floor element on elevating the tiling (2) from underneath into the required sloping form. Necessary layers of reinforced plastic (7) are laminated onto the surface of the sloped element body (6), while the element remains a rigid construction when the lamination has dried or after other such reactions.

Description: Method and apparatus for manufactur.liig of an inclined floor element This invention relates to a method according to the intro¬ ductory section of pate t claim 1 and to an apparatus according to the introductory section of patent claim 7 in order to produce a sanitary box floor element. In sanitary boxes with a floor drain the floor is declined to slope towards the drain. In connection with concreting the surface of poured concrete is made to slope towards the drain. If the floor is made on a bolster the beams are adjusted to slope towards the drain. In element-built sanitary boxes a floor element of concrete is known from the Finnish application 814211, which is casted in using a flexible mould plate so that before the concrete is cured gets dry it is pressed into cup form in order to produce sloping. Firstly, such an element floor becomes rather heavy, one has to wait before the element can be removed from the shutter¬ ing and possible tiling has to be made on a sloping surface, which is quite an exacting job. Further, controllable flexi¬ bility of the casting mould requires a floor drain location at the mould centre or a little sidewards from it. By means of the new process of producing a floor element as per this invention, a light weight tiled floor construction with sloping can be made. The invention is characterized in what is presented in the patent claims. The object of this invention is to produce a sanitary box element quickly with little labour force in serial product¬ ion, the manufacture and construction of which floor element would not differ much from the wall construction. This aim was reached firstly in deciding to make the tiling on a base fitted with tile quides and using reinforced plastic on the back side of the tiling for bonding the tiles. As element body, for instance, a polyurethane board is used, whereby a light and rigid construction is achieved. The floor sloping is made simply lifting the supporting mould, because tiling bonded with reinforced plastic take an evenly hollow form only on lifting it from a few lifting points. Laminating an outer covering on the element surface, the element is stiffened to its final form and can be removed from the base when the adhesives have reacted. In the invention mechanical tile setting can be used in making it on a plane surface, from where it can be shifted, bonded and bended into a sloping shape. In the following the invention is disclosed with reference to the enclosed drawing, where Fig. 1 is tiling on the base and shifting equipment. Fig. 2 is a shifting and turning base. Fig. 3 is the element on the base. Fig. 4 is the element lifted into sloping position. Fig. 5 is a partial view of the base, the element edge support and shifting equipment. Fig. 6 is the floor element with two sloping centres on the base. Figure 1 shows a tiling base 1 onto which a tiling 2 corres¬ ponding to the floor element has been made by mechanical setting. The tiles are with the side up. Base 3 suspended by elevator 4 and fitted with gripping means, e.g.suction pads, iε let down on tiling 2 and the entire tiling is lifted from base 1 and base 3 half turned half way round at the same time, whereby the tiling is inside out on base, as shown by figure 2. Tiling 2 upside down on the plane base 3 is bonded by a reinforced plastic layer on the back of the tiles. On this layer a 2-5 cm core material board, e.g. a polyurethane board, is glued or pressed into wet resin to produce the element body. Figure 3 shows the core material board fixed onto tiling 2 and the element still level. Fig re 4 shows the element elevated from underneath so that is has taken a hollow shape and the floor drain to be placed approximately in the middle of the element is shown as a sloping centre 12. Already with the tiling 12 partly cured, its underside turns hollow by controlled lifting, even though each tile is not lifted individually. Element 5 is kept in lifted position on base 3 till the outmost layer of lamination is accomplished and cured, the element thus made rigid and the tiles have formed a hollow surface. Figure 5 shows partial longitudinal and transvers views of base 3. Base 3 is made of adjacent square tubes 8 used also as vacuum channels for suction pads 14. Between tubes 8 combinations 9,10 of screws and nuts are fitted as lifting means, by means of which the lifting distance in each point can be adjusted to a height wanted. Screw 9 lifts the tile direct above it. Before lifting vacuum pressure must be removed from suction pads 14. There are on the base a great number of lifting means for placing the floor drain anywhere in the tiling but for lifting the tiling not very many pads are required at a time. Generally, the floor drain is put in place on the base already after the tiles have been bonded. Figure 5 shows the tiling 2, the reinforced plastic layer 13 bonding the tiles 2, the core material board 6 and the re¬ inforced plastic layer 7 laminated upon it after lifting. Figure 5 also shows an arrangement supporting the element edge, where by means of clamping screw 9 a piece 11 iε fixed to prevent the element edge from rising. Piece 11 is a little bit off the tile allowing the tile to swing a little during lifting. In figure 6 an arrangement is illustrated where two slopings are made for two floor drains. Element 5 is in lifted stage in figure 6, whereby two upward bulging sections 5' and 5" are formed. Between these sections there is a supporting girder ensuring the intermediate section to remain level during lifting. Instead of screws hydraulic, pneumatic, electric or similar tiling-elevating devices can be used as lifting means. Set¬ ting of tiles on the base can also be done manually. Joint¬ ing of tiles is done in a finished sloped element which is cured rigid. In one embodiment the initial stage is carried out so that the core material layer (board) is put on a plane base and into the wet lamination spread on its surface the tiling is brought and lowered with the right side up for adherence in the lamination. When the tiling has dried the blank is then turned up side down and the procedure is continued in lift¬ ing the blank to make it slope as shown in figure 5 a.s.o. The invention is not restricted to the presented embodiments but several modifications are possible within the inventiσn- al concept determined in the patent claims.

Claims: PATENT CLAIMS 1. A method to manufacture a sloped floor element (5) the surface of which is a tiling (2) and which element in its finished stage comprises a rigid body (6,7) and a possible floor drain installed in a sloping area (12), characterized in that - tiling (2) matching element (5) is made on a plane base (3) either with the tiles upside down upon it or the tiling is turned upside down onto the level (planelike) base (3), - on the back of tiles a layer of reinforced plastic (13) is laminated and the core material layer (6) is laminated or glued in order to carry out prebonding of tiles, whereafter - a wanted sloping is forced into the floor element on elevating the tiling (2) from underneath into the wanted sloping form, - necessary layers of reinforced plastic (7) are laminated onto the surface of the sloped element body (6) while the element remains a rigid construction when the lamination has dried or after other such reactions. 2.A method according to patent claim 1 characterized in that tiling (2) is made manually or mechanically on level (1), from where the tiling is shifted over as one piece by means of level (3) and its gripping means, e.g. a group of suctions pads, and at the same time turned upside down in lamination level (3) in order to laminate its backside. 3. A method according to patent claim 1 characterized in that the plane base is a core material board (6) covered with adhesive and the tiling let down right side up onto its surface, the blank is turned and proceeding continued as per claim 1. 4. A method according to any patent claim 1-3 characterized in that the edges of tiling (2) are propped against level(3) when the element is lifted into the wanted sloped form. 5. A method according to any patent claim 1-4 characterized in that in element (5) sloping is produced in lifting the deflection centre (12) and the wanted tiles around it differently depending on their distance from the deflection centre (12) . 6. A method according to any patent claim 1- - * 5 characterized in that the location of the deflecting centre (12) is opitonal and there can be many such centres within the tiled area. 7. An apparatus for the manufacture of a rigid floor element (5) with sloping and tiling characterized in that the apparatus containε a level baεe (3) for setting the plane tiling (2) that matches element (5) upside down onto it, gripping means (9,10,11) in base (3), by means of which the edges of tiling are propped during lifting and a device (9) to elevate the element, after prebonding by lamination, off the base (3) from points wanted and as much as needed in order to produce a sloping into element (5). 8. An apparatus according to patent claim 7 characterized in that base (3) can be shifted and the base has gripping means, e.g. suction pads, for picking the element-matching tiling (2) from the tiling level (1), e.g. a mechanical asεembly level, and that the baεe has a turning function, by means of which the baεe is turned together with the picked tiling (2) so that the tiling is on the base. 9. An apparatus according to patent claims 7 and 8 characterized in that baεe (3) iε formed of adjacent beamε (8) working alεo aε vacuum preεεure channels for the suction pads.

Inventors: JOKINEN RISTO, POHJOLA TAPIO, VALLBACKA ERKKI, JOKINEN, RISTO, POHJOLA, TAPIO, VALLBACKA, ERKKI
Applicants: JOKINEN RISTO, POHJOLA TAPIO, RAUM DU LUXE OY, VALLBACKA ERKKI, JOKINEN, RISTO, POHJOLA, TAPIO, VALLBACKA, ERKKI
Application year: 1996
Main classification: E04C2
IPC codes: E04C2