Tile End Profile with Stop Leg and Through Holes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tile profiles for terminating tiles lack flexibility in installation and manufacturing, and fail to provide a stable and uniform joint width with efficient grout absorption.
Innovation Solution
A profile with a stop leg adjacent to the boundary leg, forming an angle between 5 and 30°, and featuring through holes for grout interlocking, made from a bent metal strip with a uniform thickness, and optionally including a connecting leg and stiffening beads for stability and grout absorption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a profile is produced from a metal strip by roller profiling or edging, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the profile lacks flexibility in installation and uniform joint width control
Solution Approach 1:
The profile is divided into distinct functional segments: a boundary leg for visual termination, a stop leg for joint width control, and a fastening leg for secure installation. This segmentation allows each part to perform its specific function optimally while maintaining overall manufacturing simplicity through bending a single metal strip.
Solution Approach 2:
The profile incorporates a stop leg that can be adjusted or removed to provide installation flexibility. The stop leg enables dynamic control of joint width during installation, allowing adaptability to different installation scenarios while maintaining the simple bent-metal-strip construction.
2Manufacturing precision
If the stop leg is positioned close to the boundary leg, then joint width control is improved, but grout absorption space is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The stop leg is designed with through holes that allow grout to penetrate and interlock with the profile structure. This porous design enables the stop leg to provide joint width control while simultaneously serving as a grout retention mechanism, compensating for the reduced grout absorption space caused by its proximity to the boundary leg.
Solution Approach 2:
The through holes in the stop leg create nested cavities that capture and retain grout within the profile structure. This nested design allows grout to be absorbed and locked into the stop leg's internal volume, effectively increasing grout absorption space despite the stop leg's compact positioning.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the profile is made from a bent metal strip, then manufacturing flexibility is improved, but structural stability during handling may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
Stiffening beads are预先 formed on the metal strip before bending into the final profile shape. These beads create predetermined reinforcement zones that maintain structural stability during handling and installation, while the overall bent-metal-strip construction retains manufacturing flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The profile utilizes the metal strip's inherent properties combined with geometric reinforcement through bending and bead formation. This creates a composite structure where the metal material and the formed geometry work together to provide both flexibility in manufacturing and stability in the finished product.
Data Source
AI summary
An elongate profile (1) for terminating installed tiles includes, viewed in cross-section, a fastening leg (4) for fixing the profile to a base (10), wherein the fasting leg (4) defines a contact surface (2) and is provided with passage openings (3), and a boundary leg (5) adjoining the fastening leg (4) substantially vertically, wherein the outside (7) of the boundary leg (5) defines a visible surface. A stop leg (8) is further provided directly adjacent to the boundary leg (5) and extending downwardly in the direction of the fastening leg (4), the stop leg (8) including an angle (α) with the boundary leg (5) in the range between 5 and 30° and having a plurality of through holes (9).