Tile-Leveling Spacer With Segmented Base And Breakable Bridge
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing leveling spacer devices for tiles have issues with minimizing glue volume incorporation, ensuring excellent tile adhesion, efficient bridge separation, and maintaining structural integrity during use, transportation, and storage.
Innovation Solution
A tile-leveling spacer device with a base having a central support plane and side portions at a reduced distance, a breakable bridge connection, and a fracture line optimized for easy separation, along with inclined surfaces and slots for improved glue penetration and stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If the base is positioned close to the tile surface, then the glue volume incorporated is reduced, but the tile adhesion area is also reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The base is divided into a central portion and multiple peripheral portions, where the central portion maintains a first distance from the tile surface and the peripheral portions are positioned at a second distance that is less than the first distance. This segmentation allows different regions of the base to serve different functions: the central portion provides stable support while the peripheral portions maximize glue contact area for adhesion.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the base have different spatial relationships with the tile surface. The peripheral portions are positioned closer to the tile surface than the central portion, creating local variations in distance that optimize both glue incorporation reduction and adhesion enhancement in different regions.
2Reliability
If the bridge is made resilient for accidental separation, then the structural integrity is improved, but the intentional separation after glue solidification becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
A predetermined fracture line is created in the bridge during manufacturing, which defines a separation plane between the central and peripheral portions. This preliminary structural feature ensures that when intentional separation is needed after glue solidification, the bridge will break cleanly along this pre-defined line, making separation easy while maintaining structural integrity during transport and storage.
3Reliability
If the peripheral portions are positioned at reduced distance, then the glue penetration is improved, but the base complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The base is segmented into a central portion and peripheral portions with distinct spatial positions. This segmentation creates a straightforward geometric structure that is easy to manufacture while achieving the dual benefit of reduced glue incorporation volume and enhanced adhesion through increased peripheral contact area.
Data Source
AI summary
A tile-leveling spacer device comprising:a base having a lower surface and an opposite upper surface, wherein the upper surface comprises two opposite side portions with respect to a central portion and each defining a planar surface arranged at a second distance from the lower surface,wherein the second distance is less than the first distance;a spacer bridge defining with the base a through opening adapted for being crossed by a pressing wedge, wherein:each leg of the bridge is connected to the base at a respective side portion of the base in a breakable manner through a predetermined fracture line arranged at a third distance from the intermediate lower surface with respect to the first distance and to the second distance,each side portion has a longitudinal axis parallel to the crossing direction of the pressing wedge and extends for the entire length of the base along such a crossing direction, andthe second distance is comprised between 20% and 90% of the first distance.