Abstract:
A tile installation method and associated device comprised of a tile and any of several types of pins assemblies and spacer assemblies. The tile has a peripheral edge with any of bores, grooves and/or slots that are adapted to mate with the pin assemblies and spacer assemblies. A portion of the pin assemblies or spacer assemblies are inserted into each adjacent tile peripheral edge connecting adjacent tiles and ensuring that the top surfaces remain level. A spacer may be provided on both the spacer assembly and pin assembly ensuring a uniform gap between adjacent tiles. The spacers assemblies and pin assemblies are permanently embedded and concealed with the grout.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to architectural and construction tiling, and more particularly, to a method and device to ensure level tile installation with uniform grout lines and improved strength characteristics over traditional tile laying. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Several designs for tile installation devices and methods have been designed in the past. None of them, however, includes a structure and method to attach tiles edge to edge and/or corner to corner that simultaneously accurately levels the surface of adjoining tiles and provides consistent grout lines and may speed the installation process. 
         [0005]    Applicant believes that the closest reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 8,671,628 issued to Sighinolfi. However, it differs from the present invention because Sighinolfi may aid in leveling tiles but files to provide for maintaining accurate and consistent spacing of adjacent tiles in combination with holding tiles together. 
         [0006]    The connecting of adjacent tiles as is done in the present design and method has important advantages including improving the bond strength because adjacent tiles lend strength to each other rather than relying only on the adhesive or mortar directly behind or under that tile. The same benefits also allow an installer to immediately grout between the tiles because the tiles are fixed in place upon installation thereby reducing labor costs and time needed to install. 
         [0007]    Other patents describing the closest subject matter provide for a number of more or less complicated features that fail to solve the problem in an efficient and economical way. None of these patents suggest the novel features of the present invention. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    It is one of the main objects of the present invention to provide a system and device for more efficient and precise laying of tile. 
         [0009]    It is another object of this invention to provide a tile laying method and device that is suited to improve both experienced and novice tile setters. 
         [0010]    It is still another object of the present invention to provide a way to aid installers of tile to achieve a perfectly flat surface with consistent grout lines. 
         [0011]    It is another object of the invention to secure tiles to a surface more securely than has been done in the past. 
         [0012]    It is yet another object of this invention to provide such a device and method that is inexpensive to manufacture, use and maintain while retaining its effectiveness. 
         [0013]    Further objects of the invention will be brought out in the following part of the specification, wherein detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing the invention without placing limitations thereon. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]    With the above and other related objects in view, the invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0015]      FIG. 1  represents a perspective view of a tile assembly with an optional spacer assembly and several optional pin assemblies. 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of a version of a spacer assembly. 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  illustrates a perspective view of a variant of a spacer assembly. 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  is a representation of a perspective view of a variation of a pin assembly. 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a type of pin assembly. 
           [0020]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of a tile assembly. 
           [0021]      FIG. 7  is a plan view of two partial adjacent tiles. 
           [0022]      FIG. 8  is a plan view of an example of several tiles installed together. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0023]    Traditional tile laying has for many years consisted of preparing a smooth substrate then applying mortar or another adhesive and laying the tiles out over the substrate in particular fashion. A problem has been noted by many that tiles are not easy to space, arrange or level without specific aids. In the past, spacers have been used that keep adjacent tiles spaced during curing of the mortar. Typically the spacers are then removed prior to application of a grout or other filler to fill the resulting gaps between the tiles. 
         [0024]    Some tiles have protrusions around the edge of the tile to aid in managing the spacing between tiles with limited success. Problems of this system include that it sets a minimum gap but not a maximum gap. The gap is not held in place. Also, adjacent tiles are not connected so they cannot share the benefit of each other&#39;s adhesion to the substrate below the tiles. 
         [0025]    This can become important, for example, if the substrate or mortar under one tile fails. Using traditional installation means and methods that tile is at risk of failing and becoming detached from the substrate. Conversely, even if one tile using the present system becomes at risk of detachment from the substrate directly below the tile will not fail because it is also held in place by attachment to the other tiles that share an edge with that tile. 
         [0026]    Referring now to the drawings, where the present invention is generally referred to with numeral  10 , it can be observed that it basically includes a tile assembly  12  and a spacer assembly  14 . Selected sub-components of the several variations of the elements include, among other features, a surface  16 , a pin  18 , bores  20 , slots  22 , an edge  24 , an edge  26 , a spacer  28 , a surface  30 , an edge  32 , a spacer assembly  34 , a spacer  36 , a surface  38 , an edge  40 , a pin  42 , a pin  44 , a spacer  46 , a tile assembly  48 , a surface  50 , bores  52 , a groove  54 , an edge  56  and grout gaps  58 . 
         [0027]    Looking at  FIG. 1 , an example of a tile assembly  12  is shown. Also demonstrated in this figure are several types of pins  18  &amp;  44  and a version of a spacer assembly  14 . One tile assembly  12  is shown in this example but in a typical installation many tiles could be adhered to a common substrate surface. 
         [0028]    Generally in this tile assembly  12  version a series of bores  20  are located about the periphery of the tile on the edge  24 , edge  26  and the unseen (in this view) edges. The bores  20  each have a predetermined diameter and depth to correspond to the diameter and length of pins  18  or  44  or other style of pin. 
         [0029]    A pin  18  is inserted into a bore  20  prior to installation. During the installation, after the mortar or other adhesive is applied to the substrate, adjacent copies of the tile assembly  12  are aligned by insertion of a pin  18  into the corresponding bore  20  on the adjacent tile assembly  12 . Essentially the pin  18  is inserted about half way into the bore  20  of each tile, less the distance of the grout gap spacing. 
         [0030]    The tile assembly  12 , or other iterations of tile assemblies within the scope of this invention, are fabricated including any of the slots  22  or bores  20 . The tile assemblies  12  may have these features included prior to firing or curing of the tile material itself. For some materials and applications it may also be possible to cut these features into a tile assembly later in the process of manufacture. 
         [0031]    Generally, the slots  22  are only made deep enough to full accept a corresponding spacer assembly such as the spacer assembly  14 . Similarly, the bores  20  only need be sufficiently deep to accept the corresponding pin, such as the pin  18  or pin  44 . 
         [0032]    A spacer assembly  14 , or one of the other variations of spacers, can also be used with or instead of the any of the pin styles. In at least one version of the tile assembly  12  there may be only slots  22  and no bores  20 . In an alternate version there could be bores  20  and no slots  22 . Similarly, the number and positioning of the bores  20  and slots  22  may vary from a style of tile to another. Generally all tiles in a batch of tiles will have the same configuration so that the tiles from that batch are compatible with each other. 
         [0033]      FIG. 2  shows a version of a spacer assembly  14 . In typical use during installation the edge  32  is inserted in the slot  22  on one tile assembly, such as the tile assembly  12  shown in  FIG. 1 . About a quarter of the spacer assembly  14  is inserted into a corner of a tile assembly. Adjacent tile assemblies at an intersection of tiles would receive the other quarters of the spacer assembly  14 . The spacer assembly  14  can be broken into multiple pieces if the connection is between less than four adjacent tiles at one intersection. 
         [0034]    The spacer  28  is raised from the surface  30  so that the spacer  28  cannot enter into the slot  22  on a tile assembly. The spacer  28  would remain between the edges of adjacent tiles and would define the spacing between adjacent tiles. The width of the spacer  28  defines the width of the grout line between adjacent tiles. The width of the spacer  28  can be selected for a particular tile installation. For a typical home tile installation the width of the spacer  28  could be from about an eighth inch to about an inch. These measurements are merely typical guidelines and the width could be any size that the installer wants to make a grout gap between adjacent tiles. In some cases the spacer  28  may not be present at all if the installer does not want the spacer assembly  14  to define the grout lines or for use with no or minimal grout such as might be needed with an edge justified type of tile product. 
         [0035]      FIG. 3  shows a version of a spacer assembly  34  that is used in similar fashion as to the version of spacer assembly shown in  FIG. 2  and described above. This spacer assembly  34  is compatible with the tile assembly  12  shown in  FIG. 1  as well as the tile assembly  48  shown in  FIG. 6 . The width of the spacer  36  is about equal to the width of a grout gap desired. For many tile jobs a consistent grout gap for the whole job is common. An installer of tile would likely select a bag of spacer assemblies  34  each having the same spacer  36  width to make the entire tile installation with equally sized grout gaps for a uniform appearance of the completed job. 
         [0036]    The height of the spacer assembly  14  or spacer assembly  34  is, in at least one embodiment, shallow enough that when installed in a slot  20  or groove  54  the top of the spacer  36  or spacer  28  does not extend above the surface  16  or surface  50  of the respective tile assemblies. When grout is applied between the tiles then the spacer assembly  14  or spacer assembly  34  the spacer assembly used will be permanently buried beneath the grout where they will continue to lend support to the tile work as a whole by connecting adjacent tiles. 
         [0037]      FIGS. 4 and 5  show variations of pin assemblies. The version in  FIG. 4  does not include a spacer on the pin  18  and therefore could be used with other means to set the grout gap or for edge justified tiles where little to no grout gap is desired. The version shown in  FIG. 5  includes a spacer  46  between pin  42  and pin  44 . Pin  42  would be inserted into a bore  20  or  52  on one tile and pin  44  would be inserted into a bore  20  or  52  on an adjacent tile with the spacer  46  between the tiles. The spacer  46  has a width equal to the desired grout gap. A uniform width of spacer  46  would be used throughout an entire field of tile. 
         [0038]    The width of the spacer  46  would typically be the same as the width of spacer  28  if spacer assembly  14  is used with the spacer  46 , or spacer  36  if the spacer assembly  34  is selected by the installer. 
         [0039]    The types of pin assemblies shown generally in  FIGS. 4 and 5  may be used alone or in combination with the spacer assemblies shown in  FIG. 2 or 3 . Conversely the spacer assemblies in  FIG. 2  or three may be used alone without a pin assembly. It is more important that the spacer width of any style of these connectors be the same to provide a uniform grout gap in any give tile installation job. 
         [0040]      FIG. 6  shows a tile assembly  48  that has a series of bores  52  about a peripheral edge  56 . A groove  54  is also present around the peripheral edge  56 . This configuration may be advantaged when used in a tile pattern that does not have four corners of tile meet at one point. The groove  54  will always be aligned with a groove  54  on an adjacent tile regardless of how the tiles are geometrically configured. The bores  52  may be present in conjunction with the groove  54  or instead of the groove  54  or the groove  54  may be present without the bores  52 . 
         [0041]      FIG. 7  is a close-up partial view of how pins and spacers could be used in concert to secure the edges of adjacent tiles assemblies  12  relative to each other. In this case, as would be typical, the tile assemblies  12  are substantially identical copies of each other. The pin  42  is inserted into a bore  20  on the edge of one tile assembly  12  with the spacer  46  outside of the bore defining a grout gap  58  width. The pin  44  is inserted into a corresponding bore  20  on the adjacent tile assembly  12  locking the two tiles at the same height so that the surfaces are coplanar and with uniform spacing defined by the spacer  46 . The spacer  28  has the same width as the spacers  46  so consistent spacing is maintained. The surface  30  of the spacer assembly is inserted into the slot  22  of the tile assembly, further reinforcing the relative positions of the adjacent tiles. 
         [0042]      FIG. 8  is a field of tile assemblies  12  with the grouted grout gaps  58 . The grout gaps  58  are uniform throughout this installation, resulting in an aesthetically pleasing tile job. Since each of the tile assemblies  12  are connected to adjacent tile assemblies  12  by means of the pins and spacers buried in the grout, the overall installation is highly stable and robust. None of the spacers or pins are visible because they are concealed in the edges of the tile assemblies  12  and under the grout filling the grout gaps  58  between the tile assemblies  12 . 
         [0043]    A version of the invention can be fairly described as a tile installation method comprised of a first tile, a second tile and a spacer assembly. The first and second tiles have an upper surface that is a show side, a bottom surface that adheres to a substrate and a peripheral edge around the tile. The peripheral edge includes a groove or a slot between the upper surface and the lower surface. The groove or slot has a predetermined height across the thickness of the edge. The spacer assembly has a spacer and a surface. The spacer assembly surface has a thickness dimensioned to fit into the height of the groove or slot. The spacer assembly spacer is has a thickness dimensioned larger than the height of the groove or slot so that the spacer cannot fit into the groove or slot yet remains between adjacent tiles to fix a specific special distance between the tiles. The spacer assembly spacer has a predetermined width equal to a predetermined grout gap. The spacer assembly remains below the upper surface when inserted into the groove or slot so that it can be covered and hidden by later applied grout. The spacer assembly fits into a slot or groove on the first tile so that the spacer contacts the peripheral edge of the first tile and the spacer fits into a corresponding slot or groove on the second tile so that the spacer contacts the peripheral edge of the second tile and keeps the spacing consistent. The first and second tiles are adhered to a substrate. 
         [0044]    The invention can be fairly described as a tile installation method comprised of a first tile, a second tile and a pin assembly. The first and second tiles have an upper surface, a bottom surface and a peripheral edge around the tile. The peripheral edge includes a bore between the upper surface and the lower surface. The bore has a predetermined diameter. The pin assembly has a spacer and a pin. The pin assembly has a diameter dimensioned to fit into the bore. The pin assembly spacer is has a thickness dimensioned larger than the diameter of the bore so that the spacer cannot fit into the bore. The pin assembly spacer has a predetermined width equal to a predetermined grout gap. The pin assembly remains below the upper surface when inserted into the bore. The pin fits into a bore on the first tile so that the spacer contacts the peripheral edge of the first tile and the pin fits into a corresponding bore on the second tile so that the spacer contacts the peripheral edge of the second tile. The first and second tiles are adhered to a substrate. 
         [0045]    The foregoing description conveys the best understanding of the objectives and advantages of the present invention. Different embodiments may be made of the inventive concept of this invention. It is to be understood that all matter disclosed herein is to be interpreted merely as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.