Floor tile
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Solution Overview
Problem
Renovating shower spaces with ceramic tiles is laborious due to the need to address uneven sub-floors, requiring extensive preparation to achieve the necessary slope, which is challenging and time-consuming.
Innovation Solution
A ceramic floor tile design featuring a lower surface in one plane, an upper surface in another plane, and an upright wall with a discharge channel, where the angles between these surfaces allow for height differences to be evened out and the slope to be adjusted, enabling easier installation and reduced labor in preparing the sub-floor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the ground surface is prepared to achieve the desired slope in traditional shower tiling, then the slope can be obtained after placing tiles, but extensive labor is required to eliminate unevennesses and height differences in the sub-floor
Solution Approach 1:
The slope is pre-formed as an integral part of the floor tile itself, rather than being created during installation. The tile includes a lower surface at a first plane and an upper surface at a second plane that is inclined relative to the first plane, with the discharge channel also pre-formed to facilitate drainage. This preliminary formation of the slope eliminates the need for laborious ground surface preparation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a two-dimensional flat tile to a three-dimensional tile with varying thickness. The tile has different thicknesses in the vertical dimension, creating the slope effect. The lower surface is at a first plane while the upper surface is at a second plane inclined at an angle of 1-5 degrees, effectively using the third dimension to achieve the desired drainage slope without modifying the ground surface.
2Manufacturing precision
If the sub-floor is raised or cut to accommodate height differences, then the desired slope can be achieved, but the construction process becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The floor tile has non-uniform thickness distribution, with the lower surface at a first plane and the upper surface at a second plane inclined at 1-5 degrees. This local variation in thickness allows the tile to compensate for height differences in the sub-floor at specific locations without requiring complex construction modifications. The discharge channel is strategically positioned to utilize this thickness variation for effective drainage.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a wedge-shaped tile is used to even out height differences, then the slope can be adjusted, but the tile processing and manufacturing becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The invention specifies precise angular parameters for the slope: the upper surface is inclined at an angle of 1-5 degrees relative to the lower surface, and the upright wall's upper edge forms an angle of 1-3 degrees with the lower surface. By defining these specific parameter ranges, the tile achieves adjustable slope capability while maintaining manufacturability. The discharge channel is positioned to work with these angular parameters, allowing water to flow efficiently along the inclined surface.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a floor tile (1; 21), such as a ceramic floor tile, for use in a sanitary space such as a shower space, which floor tile has a lower surface (2; 22) extending in a first plane (6; 26a, 26b), an upper surface (3; 23) extending in a second plane (7; 27) and an upright wall (5; 25) extending along the peripheral edge (4; 24) of the upper surface (3), wherein the floor tile (1; 21) has a discharge channel, which discharge channel (10; 30) extends from the upper surface (3; 23) to at least the lower surface (2; 22), wherein the upper edge (8; 28) of the upright wall (5; 25) lies in a third plane (9) which makes an angle (β) greater than 0° and smaller than 15° with the first plane (6; 26), and wherein the second plane (7; 27) makes an angle (α) greater than 0° and smaller than 10° with the first plane (6; 26) .