Peel-and-set tile adhesive perimeter gasket
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Solution Overview
Problem
The installation of ceramic and porcelain tiles is labor-intensive and requires messy mortars or strong bonding agents, making it difficult to achieve a strong and reliable bond, especially on smooth surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A peel-and-set tile system where a contact adhesive array is applied to the back of the tiles, covered with a peel-away laminate, and the substrate is coated with a bond enhancer for improved hook-and-loop engagement, allowing for easy installation without mortars and providing a strong, durable bond.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional mortars or strong bonding agents are used to install ceramic and porcelain tiles, then the bond strength may be sufficient, but the installation process becomes labor-intensive and messy
Solution Approach 1:
The bonding system is segmented into three distinct functional components: (1) a contact adhesive array with multiple discrete adhesive elements distributed across the tile back, (2) a bond enhancer applied to the substrate surface, and (3) a peel-away protective layer. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function optimally while simplifying the overall installation process compared to traditional single-component mortars.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact adhesive array is pre-applied to the back of the tile during manufacturing, and the bond enhancer is pre-applied to the substrate surface before tile installation. This preliminary action eliminates the need for workers to mix and apply messy mortars during installation, reducing labor intensity and cleanup requirements while maintaining strong bonding.
Solution Approach 3:
The bond enhancer acts as an intermediary substance between the substrate and the contact adhesive array. It modifies the substrate surface to improve adhesion, creating an intermediate layer that facilitates stronger bonding between the tile and substrate, particularly important for smooth surfaces like porcelain that are difficult to bond to directly.
2Strength
If smooth and hard tile surfaces are used, then the tiles are more durable and attractive, but the bond strength decreases making installation more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The bond enhancer provides localized surface modification at the substrate-tile interface, creating zones of improved adhesion exactly where needed. The contact adhesive array also exhibits local quality with different adhesive elements positioned to address varying bonding challenges across the tile back surface, ensuring consistent bonding regardless of the tile's overall smoothness or hardness.
Solution Approach 2:
The bonding system uses composite material strategies: the contact adhesive array combines multiple adhesive elements with different properties, the bond enhancer creates a composite interface layer between substrate and tile, and the overall system integrates these components to achieve bonding capability across diverse tile surfaces including smooth porcelain, ceramic, stone, and glass.
3Reliability
If traditional mortar installation methods are used, then tiles can be installed on various surfaces, but the process requires sufficient drying or cure time
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces the chemical curing process of traditional mortars with a mechanical bonding mechanism. The contact adhesive array provides immediate mechanical adhesion upon pressing the tile to the substrate, eliminating the need for extended drying or curing times. The bond enhancer reinforces this mechanical bond, ensuring reliability without time delays.
Solution Approach 2:
The peel-away protective layer on the contact adhesive array serves a dual function: it protects the adhesive during handling and storage, and it provides a simple self-contained mechanism for activating the bonding process. The worker simply peels away the protective layer and presses the tile into place, with the adhesive self-activating without requiring external application of mortars or extended curing periods.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Facilitates efficient and durable tile installation by eliminating the need for wet mortars and trowel-applied setting pastes, ensuring a strong bond that withstands moisture and contaminants, while simplifying the process and reducing installation time.
Implementation Method 1
a contact adhesive array, generally denoted as 30, applied to the underside surface 22 of the tile body 20
Implementation Method 2
a release liner 50 applied over the contact adhesive array 30 substantially parallel to the underside surface 22 of the tile body 20 and configured to be removed therefrom
Implementation Method 3
the substrate is first coated with a bond enhancer that has a "Velcro" effect when in contact with the adhesive, further strengthening the bond between the tile and the underlying surface
Data Source
AI summary
A peel-and-set tile system is disclosed for being installed onto a substrate, along with a corresponding method of manufacture and installation. The system provides, in an exemplary embodiment, a tile body. An underside surface of the tile body provides a contact adhesive array for securing the tile body to the substrate, the contact adhesive array being positioned and configured for forming a perimeter gasket continuously about a perimeter of the underside surface of the tile body when it is secured to the substrate. A peel-away release liner is applied over the contact adhesive array and configured to be removed therefrom when the tile body is to be installed onto the substrate. When the tile body is secured to the substrate, the perimeter gasket forms a bond that substantially prevents liquid or contaminants from getting between the underside surface of the tile body and the substrate or compromising the installation.