Ceramic Floor Element Structure for Impact-Resistant Floating Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Floating installations of ceramic tiles in floor coverings are prone to impact breaking and fatigue due to lack of solid bonding to the subfloor and increased flexibility, particularly at grout joints, which reduces the covering's strength and durability.
Innovation Solution
A floor element design comprising a decorative layer, a support layer, and an intermediate layer with offset edges, where the intermediate layer is bonded to the decorative layer using a resin or metal plate to enhance rigidity and impact resistance, allowing mechanical coupling with adjacent elements in a 50/50 offset pattern.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If floating installation is used for ceramic tiles, then ease of installation is improved, but impact resistance and fatigue strength deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining a ceramic decorative layer with a rigid support layer (such as fiber cement board or rigid PVC) to create a hybrid floor element. The rigid support layer compensates for the brittleness of ceramic tiles, providing impact resistance and fatigue strength while maintaining the aesthetic qualities of ceramic. This composite structure allows floating installation to proceed while preventing impact breaking.
Solution Approach 2:
The floor element is segmented into distinct functional layers: a decorative ceramic layer for aesthetics, a rigid support layer for structural strength and impact resistance, and potentially an intermediate adhesive layer for bonding. This segmentation allows each layer to perform its specific function optimally while working together as an integrated unit that resists impact and fatigue.
2Ease of operation
If floating installation is used for ceramic tiles, then ease of installation is improved, but fatigue strength deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The rigid support layer in the composite structure provides dimensional stability and resistance to repeated stress cycles. Materials like fiber cement board or rigid PVC have high fatigue resistance, allowing the floor covering to withstand continuous foot traffic and environmental changes without degradation at the joints, thereby extending the service life of the installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by providing enhanced rigidity and fatigue resistance specifically at critical locations such as the back of the ceramic tile and at the joints between elements. The rigid support layer is positioned to provide maximum reinforcement where fatigue stresses are most likely to occur, while the ceramic decorative layer maintains its aesthetic function.
3Strength
If intermediate layer with offset edges is used, then impact resistance is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The offset edge design segments the intermediate layer to create overlapping joints between adjacent floor elements. This segmentation allows the rigid support layer to extend beyond the ceramic decorative layer at the edges, creating an overlapping configuration that distributes impact forces across multiple elements and joints, thereby enhancing overall impact resistance through a relatively simple geometric modification.
Data Source
AI summary
Floor element for forming a floor covering, wherein the floor element comprises a decorative layer, a support layer, and an intermediate layer disposed between the decorative layer and the support layer, wherein the decorative layer is made of a brittle material, wherein the floor elements comprises edges provided with coupling elements adapted to cooperate with coupling elements of an adjacent similar floor element in said floor covering and wherein the intermediate layer comprises at least one edge that is offset relative to a respective edge of the decorative layer.