Reusable Tile Leveling Tab with Detachable Spring Cap
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tile aligning and lippage tuning systems generate waste and are time-consuming, with potential for damaging tiles during the process of breaking away vertical shafts, and do not effectively maintain lippage reducing forces over a wide range of tab elongation.
Innovation Solution
A reusable connecting tab system with a detachable cap that applies variable pressure using a spring-like mechanism, reducing material consumption and waste, and maintaining lippage forces across elongation, while allowing for easy tile alignment and reduced adhesive displacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If reusable connecting tabs are used instead of breakable shafts, then material waste is reduced and cost is decreased, but the system complexity increases due to the need for detachment and reuse mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting tab system is divided into separate functional components: the reusable connecting tab that remains in the tile joint, and the removable cap that provides the leveling function. This segmentation allows the tab to be reused across multiple tiles while the cap can be detached and reused on subsequent tiles, eliminating the need to break and discard entire shaft assemblies.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of discarding the entire shaft after use, the system recovers and reuses the connecting tab portion by leaving it embedded in the tile joint. Only the cap is removed and reused on subsequent tiles, maximizing material utilization and reducing waste while maintaining system functionality.
2Productivity
If breakable shafts are used to align tiles, then the alignment function is achieved, but the process becomes time-consuming and risks damaging the tile during shaft removal
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful function of breaking and removing shafts is extracted from the system. Instead, the connecting tab remains permanently embedded in the tile joint where it belongs, while only the cap is removed. This eliminates the risk of tile damage associated with shaft breakage and removal while maintaining the alignment function.
Solution Approach 2:
The conventional approach is inverted: rather than using a temporary shaft that must be broken and removed, the system uses a permanent connecting tab that stays in place and a removable cap that performs the temporary leveling function. This inversion eliminates the removal step that risks tile damage.
3Force
If a rigid cap is used to apply pressure to the tile, then the lippage reducing force is maintained, but the system cannot accommodate variations in tab elongation
Solution Approach 1:
The cap is designed with dynamic characteristics that allow it to flex and adapt to variations in connecting tab elongation. This dynamic design enables the cap to maintain consistent contact pressure with the tile surface while accommodating different tab lengths and elongation rates, ensuring reliable lippage reduction across varying installation conditions.
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
The system reduces material waste, simplifies the tile alignment process, minimizes tile displacement, and maintains effective lippage reduction forces, making it more efficient and cost-effective.
Implementation Method 1
a spring like cap which provides for variable forces between the cap and the tile without any change in the separation between base and the tile
Data Source
AI summary
A tile aligning and lippage tuning method and 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.