Tile, tile and panel leveling tool
Patent Information
- Application Number
- ES2026030647U
- Authority / Receiving Office
- ES · ES
- Patent Type
- Utility models
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2026-03-26
- Publication Date
- 2026-08-13
- Estimated Expiration
- 2036-03-26
Abstract
Description
Tile, tile and panel leveling tool TECHNICAL SECTOR The present invention relates to a leveling piece of plastic nature, of the type used together with wedges adjustable by means of clamps, when leveling tiles or panels when installing them on floors. The object of the invention is to provide a leveling piece with a structure that allows preventing micro-breakage or chipping of the tiles or panels during the separation and removal of the vertical arm from the base of the leveling piece. The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a leveling piece with a structure that allows reducing the contact surface with the tiles or panels to be separated, including legs or sectors with weakening zones that behave more flexibly than conventional leveling pieces, allowing greater flexion during the breaking process and preventing damage / marking of the tiles with which it is in contact. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the field of application of the invention, when leveling tiles or panels used in a floor or wall covering, leveling pieces are employed. These pieces are placed between the joint of two tiles or panels and consist of an inverted "T" profile body. The vertical arm of this body includes a window through which a wedge is passed. This wedge transmits a vertical force to the leveling piece, causing its base to rise and rest on the ends of the two tiles, thus leveling them and making them perfectly flush. The vertical arm also includes a continuous partition that provides rigidity to the leveling piece. Once the tiles or panels are leveled, these leveling pieces are partially removed due to a weakening in the area where the vertical edge meets its base. They can be easily broken by a blow with a mallet, hammer, or the installer's own foot once the mortar is dry, or even removed with pliers or tongs. However, when the leveling piece is struck laterally to separate its upper region from the base, the breakage of the leveling piece sometimes causes micro-cracks or chipping of the tile panel due to the impact of the part that detaches from the leveling piece, which negatively affects the aesthetics of the whole. EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION The tile, ceramic tile and panel leveling piece that is advocated fully and satisfactorily solves the problem described above, based on a simple but effective solution. To achieve this, starting from the conventional structure of this type of leveling piece, in which the piece has an inverted "T" section, comprising a flattened base on which the ends of tiles or panels rest, and a vertical arm perpendicular to the base, which includes a window one edge of which coincides with the base and through which a leveling wedge and sectors are passed, the thickness of the vertical arm defines the separation between tiles or panels during installation. This vertical arm includes weakening points in the area corresponding to the base, which allow the removal of the portion of the leveling piece that protrudes from the tiles once the mortar or paste in question has been installed and set. The invention focuses on the fact that the sectors located on both sides of the vertical arm's window have a reticular structure of prismatic cells in the area of contact with the tiles or panels being separated. This structure reduces the contact surface area. In this respect, the legs or sectors exhibit more flexible behavior (because they lack a continuous partition that provides greater rigidity to the piece), with a smaller contact surface than those of known leveling pieces. This allows for greater flexing during breakage and prevents damage or marking of the tiles or panels with which they are in contact. It should be noted that the prismatic configuration of the reticular structure can be defined by honeycomb cells, circular, rhomboid, star-shaped, etc., and this shape is not limiting for the invention. It has also been planned that the lattice structure may be present on one or both faces of the vertical branch sectors of the leveling piece. Obviously in the first case, the upper end of the frangible leveling piece must be struck in the direction in which the stress is transmitted to the carrying face of said reticular structure based on prismatic cells. Finally, it only remains to point out that, in one embodiment of the invention, the lattice structure has rounded edges in order to avoid the formation of angular edges that could mark the tiles or panels. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS To complement the description that follows and to aid in a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to a preferred embodiment thereof, a set of drawings is included as an integral part of said description, in which, for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, the following has been represented: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a piece for leveling tiles, ceramic tiles and panels made in accordance with the object of the present invention. Figure 2 shows a front elevation view of the piece in Figure 1. Figure 3 shows a profile view of the part in Figure 1. Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the invention's component in an operational position between two tiles or panels, in conjunction with a leveling wedge. Figure 5 shows a profile view of the assembly in Figure 4. Figure 6 shows, finally, a cross-sectional view of the leveled piece with the sectors and the reticular structure based on prismatic cells. PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION As shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3, the leveling piece of the invention is based on the conventional structure of this type of leveling piece, which includes a plastic component. It has an inverted "T" profile, comprising a flattened base (1) on which the ends of tiles or panels (2) are intended to rest, and a vertical arm (3) perpendicular to the base (1). This vertical arm (3) includes a window (4) and segments. The window (4), one edge of which, the lower edge, coincides with the base (1), is designed to accommodate a leveling wedge (6), as shown in Figures 4 and 5. The segments, located on either side of the window (4) of the vertical arm (3), include weakening points (5) where they meet the base (1). In this way, and as is conventional, the insertion of the leveling wedge (6) into the window (4) will cause an upward pulling of the vertical branch (3) until the ends of both tiles are flush with the base (1). Well, according to the invention, the sectors defined on both sides of the window (4) define, by virtue of their maximum thickness, the planned separation between tiles or panels (2), so that once the paste has set, the leveling piece is partially removed by means of a blow on the vertical branch (3) which causes the leveling piece to break at the weakening point (5), so that the leveling piece is not visible once the casting has been applied to the joints. To avoid possible damage to the edges of the tiles or panels (2) in this process, and as shown in figures 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6, it has been planned that the sectors defined on both sides of the window (4) have, at least on one of the faces of the vertical branch (3) corresponding to the area of contact with the tiles or panels (2), a reticular structure based on prismatic cells (7). As previously stated, this reticular structure based on prismatic cells (7) allows reducing the contact surface with the tiles or panels (2) to be separated, offering greater flexibility in that area, which allows greater flexion in the breaking process and avoids damage / marking of the tiles or panels (2) with which it is in contact. The configuration of the reticular structure based on prismatic cells (7) may vary according to different design lines without affecting the essence of the invention, and can include, among others, hexagonal, rhomboid, star-shaped, circular cells, etc. Since the leveling piece is struck only once in a single direction, the reticular structure based on prismatic cells (7) could affect only one of the faces of said sectors of the vertical branch (3) or both faces, without affecting the essence of the invention. Finally, it should be noted that, as can be seen in Figure 6, the section of the sectors, instead of being perfectly rectangular, will preferably have rounded edges to avoid the formation of angular edges that could mark the tiles or panels (2).
Claims
1. Piece for leveling tiles, ceramic tiles and panels, which, being of the type constituted from a body of plastic nature, has an inverted "T" configuration profile, in which a flattened base (1) participates on which the ends of tiles, ceramic tiles or panels (2) are intended to rest, and a vertical branch (3) which is perpendicular to the base (1), which includes a window (4) defining a means of passage for a leveling wedge (6) and sectors, where one of the edges of the window (4) coincides with the base (1);1. A vertical branch (3) including weakenings (5) in the area of confluence with the base (1), characterized in that it has a reticular structure based on prismatic cells (7) located in the sectors arranged on both sides of the window (4) of the vertical branch (3), which is present on at least one of the faces of the vertical branch (3) and corresponding to the contact area with the tiles or panels (2).
2. A piece for leveling tiles and panels, according to claim 1, characterized in that the reticular structure based on prismatic cells (7) is arranged in the sectors on both faces of the vertical branch (3).
3. A piece for leveling tiles and panels, according to claim 1, characterized in that the sectors of the vertical branch (3) where the reticular structure based on prismatic cells (7) is arranged have rounded edges.