Prefabricated covering and bearing paving tile for surfaces, squares, streets, building or other

Abstract

 57 The paving tile consists of an outside covering layer (1) of stone material, and of a support layer (2) of cement material intimately joined together by a binder or adhesive (3).
Application of support layer (2) makes possible the reduction of covering (1) generally irregular or in a regular shape as a parellelepiped.
The result is the formation of entirely regular paving tiles of constant thickness with ease in laying and in leveling of the surface to be covered.
Further, the mechanical characteristics of strength and adherence are considerably increased because of the cement support, contributing to the solidity and life of the covering, while, on the other hand, a saving in material and labor is achieved.
It has application in all uses for covering, buildings, streets, squares, surfaces, etc. and also as a bearing element.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a prefabricated covering and bearing paving tile for walls, surfaces, squares, streets, buildings or other, of a stone material provided with a laying support of cement material of the type usually used in the building trade; the two covering and supporting materials being held together by a binder or special mortars with notable and complete adherence between the parts.

[0002] Besides making it possible to obtain a product with high mechanical properties, this configuration makes it possible to achieve a notable saving of material and to facilitate laying and installation, obtaining perfectly leveled surfaces with the consequent practical and esthetic effet.

[0003] Actually, it suffices to recall that the support cement material has a cost on the order of 1/5 to 1/6 of the covering material and that the ratio between the covering material and the support material can vary from 1 _: 1 to 1 : 3, depending on the cases and uses.

[0004] It is known that rough paving tiles or slabs are characterized by their variable and irregular thickness, a machine working for reduction to a layer of constant thickness involving a very heavy cost, and being done only in exceptional cases.

[0005] This causes the leveling of the paving surface to be entrusted to the ability of the workman on site, who, with mortar or other suitable material, must increase the tickness of the slab to create the plane or support surfaces suitably shaped for correct leveling. This procedure is repeated, slab by slab, and the base of the slab is not always completely filled with this material which acts as a support and adherence means at the same time.

[0006] Consequently, the coverings do not always have the solidity and adherence required, especially if is subjected to severe stresses unless use is made of covering thicknesses that are great but which involve a great increase in cost either for material or shipping or for the required working conditions.

[0007] Therefore, the work is slow, by hand, entrusted to the skill of the installer and therefore also costly from the viewpoint of labor, and the desired leveling and required reliability in regard to solidity and adherence are not always obtained.

[0008] Moreover, to have a resistance to pressure of a certain magnitude, in particular in zones subject to vehicular traffic it is necessary to use paving tiles of considerable thickness with the consequent increase in material and shipping cost.

[0009] This invention has as its object the aim to solve the problems set forth above by offering a paving tile that, altough performing strustural practical esthetic duties like traditional ones, makes possible a drastic reduction in the thickness of the covering material but accompanied by a notable increase in the mechanical characteristics of strenght and adherence due to the presence of a support of cement material.

[0010] Further, this invention makes it possible to make the tile on site, i.e., where it is being laid, avoiding shipping of support material that is available there, and also allows the automatic phase, perfectly leveled covering surfaces being obtained with optimal characteristics of solidity and adherence.

[0011] This paving tile consists substantially of two superposed layers, one a covering of stone material, the other support cement material, joined together by a binder.

[0012] The paving tile, thus constituted, is usually made on site before laying and is reduced to an element of constant thickness starting from the layer of stone material of irregular thickness, its strength being able to be increased by regular thin thicknesses.

[0013] More precisely, the object of this invention relates to a covering and bearing paving tile, characterized by comprising a fist layer constituting the outside, i.e., the seen part of natural stone, and a second layer constituting the inside part, joined together by a layer of binding material so that the surfaces of the outside of the first layer and the inside of the second layer are parallel to one another, i.e., so as to constitute a single leveled block of constant thickness, with notable increase of the mechanical characteristics of strength and adherence and notable saving of the outside material used.

[0014] As outside covering material there are usually used in particular: granite or slade or limestone or sandstone or quartzite or porphyry or and other stone material suitable for this purpose.

[0015] For the inside, particularly support, material, common cement building materials are used such as, for example, concrete, cement, mortar, or other synthetic materials that are heat insulating, acoustical, impermeable or of another nature.

[0016] A description of a preferred embodiment of the invention is now given with reference to the figures in the accompanying drawings, without, however, taking away from the generality of the invention.

[0017] 

- Fig. 1 shows in perspective the structure of this paving tile with reference to a paving element, in particular it shows how from an irregular covering layer a single block is obtained as a parallelepiped by addition of the cement material laying support.

- Fig. 2 shows the traditional, i.e., known, laying of the paving tile of a single covering material.

- Fig. 3 shows the laying of the paving tile, object of the invention.

[0018] The paving tile in question (Fig. 1) consists of a covering layer of stone material 1, and of a laying layer 2, intimately joined by a layer 3, preferably thin, of binder or adhesive, so as to form a single compact block in the form of a parallelepiped with faces A and B substantially parallel.

[0019] Intermediate layer 3 can also run parallel to base B.

[0020] The materials used for covering 1 are preferably granite, sane stone, limestone, slate, quartzite, porphyry and the like.

[0021] Known building materials are used for the cement materials such as concrete, cement, mortars and the like.

[0022] This paving tile has two basic aims: saving of covering material and ease in leveling of the paving or covering surface during laying.

[0023] Moreover, such an embodiment makes possible a notable increas, of the mechanical characteristics of resistance to pressures and a notable increase of adherence capacity to the laying plane and therefore of solidity and life of the covered surface, which is due to the properties of the cement materials.

[0024] Traditional laying according to known systems was obtained instead by layers of covering materials cut and dressed in blocks or slabs usually with a machine and at times reduced in thickness, by using the properties of the cutting plane of the material; this wasdone, when particular tolerances in the thickness or characteristics of smoothness or compla- nation in the covering surface were not required. Otherwise, work to make the covering surfaces parallel became essential.

[0025] The work of leveling and adherence to the paying surface (PT, ground plane, fig. 2) was entrusted to handling of mortar and binder 4 (fig. 2) placed between the paving tile and the ground by the specialist, mostly in spots and in an irregular or discrete way.

[0026] On the other hand,with the present invention (fig.3), on a laying plane PP placed above the ground plane PT, and drawn by a rod, are placed the regular paving tile elements already prefabricated with a constant thickness until a completely adherent and solid leveled and uniform surface is obtained.

[0027] The great adherence that binder 3 produces between stone covering 1 and cement support 2 (fig.l and 2) makes possible as an indirect consequence an increase in the adherence capacity of the paving tile to the laying plane because of the greater adherence between support cement material 2 and laying plane PP than in the previous case.

[0028] Cement support (2) is applied to the covering at the laying site,usually ba hand or ba suitable machine; laying of the unit, i.e., of the paving tile thus obtained, on the laying plane PP can also be automatic.

[0029] Therefore, with this paving tile there is an overall cost saving both from the viewpoint of material and shipping costs and from the viewpoint of reduced laying time, while the characteristics of solidity and life of the covered surface are increased, because of the improved characteristics of mechanical strength and adherence with a notable overall effect for the installlation of the level covering.

[0030] This inventivo concept can be applied to slabs or layers of any size or shape and of irregular but still marketable thickness.

[0031] The products that are derived therefrom find use in all covering and bearing installations.

[0032] Use of the above described paving tile as a bearing element for building construction is also provided, in addition to being decorative and a covering.

Claims

1. Prefabricated covering and bearing paving tile for walls, surface, squares, streets, buildings or other, characterized by comprising a first layer (1) consituting the outside, i.e. the seen part, of natural stone and a second layer (2), constituting the inside part, joined together by a layer (3) of binding material so that the surfaces (A) of the outside (1) of the first layer and (B) of the inside (2) of the second layer, are parallel to one another, i.e., so as to constitute a single leveled block of constant thickness, with notable increase in the characteristics of strength and adherence and notable saving of the outside material used.

2. Paving tile according to claim l,wherein the outside part (1) is of natural stone such as granite,sandstone,limestone, slate, quartzite, porphyry and any other.

3. Paving tile according to claims 1,2,wherein the inside laying part (2) is of concrete or cement or mortar, or other synthetic materials that are heat insulating,acoustical,impermeable or of another nature.

4. Process for the use of the paving tile as a covering or bearing element for superposition as bricks, as in claim l,wherein on the laying plane, already leveled with a rod,are automatically or manually placed said paving tiles made on site or at the factory, of perfectly constant thickness, obtaining a completely leveled covering or masonry plane with increased characteristics of adherence and bearing.

5. Use of the paving tile according to claim 1 as a bearing element for building construction,besides as a decorative or covering element.

Drawing