Reusable Tile Alignment Tab with Detachable Cap
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tile aligning and lippage tuning systems generate waste and are time-consuming, as they require breaking vertical shafts, leading to increased material disposal and risk of damaging tiles.
Innovation Solution
A mechanical edge setting system with reusable connecting tabs and a detachable cap system that applies variable pressure without changing the tab's separation from the base, allowing for easier alignment and reduced lippage over a wider range of elongation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If vertical shafts are broken away from the base at the conclusion of each job, then the shafts can be discarded, but this generates waste that must be disposed of in landfills and increases material consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the discarding and recovering principle by making the connecting tab reusable rather than disposable. The cap is detached from the tab, allowing the tab to remain attached to the base for future use. This transforms the shaft from a single-use component that must be broken and discarded into a recoverable component that maintains its integrity and can be reused across multiple jobs, thereby eliminating material waste while preserving ease of removal through cap detachment.
2Productivity
If vertical shafts are broken away from the base, then shaft removal is simplified, but this act is time-consuming and may require additional steps that increase exposure to damaging the tile
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the shaft into two separate components: a cap and a connecting tab. The cap can be easily detached from the tab without applying force to the tile, while the tab remains securely attached to the base. This segmentation eliminates the need to break the entire shaft, thereby reducing the time required for removal and eliminating the risk of tile damage associated with breaking shafts directly adjacent to tiles.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the removable cap from the connecting tab, allowing the cap to be separated and set aside while the tab remains intact on the base. This extraction enables removal of the visible portion (cap) without affecting the embedded portion (tab), thereby simplifying the removal process and eliminating the need for time-consuming breaking operations that risk tile damage.
3Manufacturing precision
If pressure is applied to the surface of the tile and connecting tab, then alignment is achieved, but this may cause displacement of under tile adhesive material during plate insertion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces the connecting tab as an intermediary component between the cap and the base. The tab is embedded in the adhesive layer but extends through the tile joint, allowing the cap to apply alignment pressure to the tile surface without directly compressing the adhesive beneath the tile. This intermediary structure enables precise alignment while minimizing adhesive displacement, as the force is transmitted through the tab rather than being applied directly to the adhesive bed.
Data Source
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AI summary
A tile aligning and lippage tuning system that uses an under tile base reusable upright connecting tab, which is detachably connected to said under tile base, a reusable flexible edge slotted cap configured to slip over the connecting tab and latch thereto as the cap is slid further down the connecting tab. The cap has an edge slot so that the connecting tab can be separated from the cap, by merely sliding the cap, so that the connecting tab passes through the slot. A flexible spring-like portion of the cap provides increased force on the tile even if undesired elongation of the connecting tab occurs.