Profiled element for dressing the edge of components, for example made of natural or artificial stone, in building or decoration

Abstract

 A profiled element for dressing the edge of a structure (1), for example made of natural or artificial stone in building and decoration, comprising at least one profiled element which is adapted to constitute a dressing edge of said components, said profiled element having a flat rear face for coupling to a substantially vertical arrangement of the component that it must dress, said profiled element being provided with at least one anchoring laminar element (7) for anchoring between the structure (1) and an overlying cladding (2) which protrudes backwards from said flat rear face at a depth (H) from the top of said profiled element which is a least equal to the thickness of said cladding of said structure.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a profiled element for dressing the edge of components, for example made of natural or artificial stone, in building or decoration; i.e., it relates to a border to be applied, for example to the front part of the steps of a staircase made of marble or ceramic tiles or of a decorative protrusion, so as to constitute a dressing element which is advantageously but not exclusively given a semicylindrical radiused shape also known as "toric".

[0002] Prior art comprises three types of profiled element for dressing steps or for blending the surface of the sink with the front face of the structure that contains it, particularly in kitchens:

-- a first type constituted by a right-angled profiled element which has a horizontal lip that provides front integration of the tread and riser cladding of the step, which is provided in an upward region with a forward-protruding radiused portion that acts as a dressing edge for said cladding, for example of the "toric" type;

-- a second type constituted only by the riser cladding, which is provided in an upward region with a forward-protruding radiused portion that acts as a tread finishing edge, for example also of the "toric" type;

-- a third type which is similar to the second one but has an internally hollow protrusion to reduce weight.

[0003] However, all three of the described dressings entail drawbacks.

[0004] As regards the first type, since it is a right-angled profiled element with the tread lip, the radiused portion, and the riser in a monolithic unit, the unit can be used only for a single tread thickness. The profiled element has manufacturing difficulties and a high cost; however, since it has a tread lip, its installation is stable even in the presence of stronger and more frequent stresses, such as downward stresses.

[0005] As regards the second and third types, since they do not have the right-angled lip, they face less manufacturing difficulties and provide better flexibility in association with the treads, but since they must be installed by simply gluing their rear face against the vertical riser plane, they do not have the stability which is indispensable to prevent the possibility of becoming loose and to accordingly prevent possible accidents causing harm to people.

[0006] This prior art is susceptible of considerable improvements as regards the possibility of avoiding the above-mentioned drawbacks.

[0007] The above description shows the need to solve the technical problem of providing a profiled element for dressing the edge of components made of natural or artificial stone in building and decoration between a substantially horizontal arrangement and a substantially vertical arrangement which, whilst allowing easy and inexpensive manufacture as well as flexibility in its association with various thicknesses of elements that constitute horizontal and vertical planes, nonetheless allows stability in installation with no risk of failure and consequent harm.

[0008] The profiled element can be applied for example not only for dressing steps and sink surfaces in the kitchen but also for balconies, window sills, and thresholds, with associated drip moldings and for edge dressing in decoration, including fireplaces.

[0009] The radiused edge of the profiled element can have a vertical protrusion as well as a longitudinal front protrusion.

[0010] The invention solves the above-mentioned technical problem by proposing a profiled element which is formed by an element for mutually blending cladding elements of structures which constitute a substantially horizontal plane and a substantially vertical plane; said element is advantageously constituted by a forward and/or upward protrusion which can also taper vertically downwards so as to constitute said vertical cladding plane.

[0011] The rear coupling face of said profiled element, which is substantially vertical and flat, has at least one laminar anchoring element which protrudes backwards and is meant to penetrate between the horizontal cladding of the structure and the structure itself, said at least one laminar anchoring element being advantageously constituted by a laminar insert which can be inserted on one side in at least one corresponding slot that penetrates at right angles said rear coupling face if the body of said profiled element is solid or substantially solid; if said body is hollow, for example obtained by extrusion or in any case from thin metal plate, the at least one laminar anchoring element is advantageously monolithic with the profiled element; the anchoring of said at least one laminar element to the profiled element on one side and to said supporting structure on the other side and below said cladding element which constitutes the horizontal plane is facilitated by adhesive or anchoring material in general, such as mortar.

[0012] The advantages achieved by the present invention are linked to the obtainment of stability upon installation but with very low manufacturing, storage, and transport costs; in particular, the profiled element is or can be provided with a right-angled laminar insert; the vertical position of said insert between the lower face of the cladding element and the upper face of the structure is allowed to vary by varying the thickness of adhesive, mortar, or other material; however, the flat rear face of the profiled element can have a plurality of slots at different levels.

[0013] Some embodiments of the invention are illustrated merely by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of a portion of a staircase clad with tiles on the tread and on the riser, with a solid profiled element which acts as a blending element between the tread and the riser and is constituted by the profiled element according to the present invention;

figure 2 is a top view of figure 1, which shows components constituted by blending profiled elements with an angled end chamfer for dressing the lateral edge, according to the present invention;

figure 3 is a partial, enlarged-scale, longitudinal vertical sectional view of the installation configuration of said blending profiled element;

figure 4 is a vertical sectional view, similar to figure 3, in the case of a profiled element with an optional drip molding in the dressing of the balcony or window sill surface, according to the present invention;

figure 5 is a vertical sectional view, similar to figure 3, in the case of the dressing of the surface for example of a sink or optionally of a balcony, with a profiled element that protrudes forwards and upwards, according to the present invention;

figure 6 is a view of a different embodiment of figure 5, with a hollow profiled element, in which the laminar anchoring element is monolithic with said profiled element;

figures 7, 8, 9, and 10 are plan views of the anchoring insert of the component upon installation; respectively, of a flat insert advantageously provided with holes to increase grip, of an insert shaped like a transverse strip, like long longitudinal strips, like short longitudinal strips, and like a U-shaped fork, according to the invention;

figure 11 is a plan view of an anchoring insert applied by means of fixing elements, for example screws, to the underlying structure, according to the invention.

[0014] The reference numeral 1 designates the masonry or structure in general, optionally of the load-bearing type; the reference numeral 2 designates the natural or artificial stones, for example marble or ceramic tiles, or the cladding in general of the structure 1, which are blended by the profiled element 3, obtained in any manner and made of any suitable material, in the solid-body case; the reference numeral 4 designates the laminar insert, shaped like a transverse strip, for anchoring the profiled element 3 between the tiles 2 and the structure 1, said anchoring being facilitated by adhesives or by anchoring material in general; the reference numeral 5 (figure 2) designates profiled elements for chamfered coupling between their ends by means of inclined coupling lines 6; the reference numeral 7 (figure 3) designates a laminar anchoring insert which is constituted by a flat transverse strip optionally provided with holes or openings 8 for anchoring to the cement or adhesive material; the reference numeral 9 designates a slot which is formed on the inner vertical face of the profiled element for the snug-fit coupling therein of the laminar anchoring insert 7, for example by gluing and/or forcing; the reference numeral 10 (figure 4) designates a generic extraction-preventing rear tab of an anchoring insert 4a, for example for a profiled element 3 having a drip molding 3a; the reference numeral 11 (figure 6) designates a hollow profiled element which has a monolithic anchoring insert 12 and a lower fold 13 the front face 14 whereof is co-planar with respect to the front surface 15 of the upper fold 16; the reference numeral 17 (figure 8) designates a pair of longitudinal laminar strips which act as anchoring inserts; the reference numeral 18 (figure 9) designates a pair of short longitudinal laminar strips; the reference numeral 19 (figure 10) designates a fork-shaped or U-shaped laminar anchoring insert; the reference numeral 20 (figure 11) designates optional screws for fixing a laminar anchoring insert to the underlying generic supporting structure 1; the letter H (figure 3) designates the depth of the laminar anchoring element 4 from the top of the profiled element; said depth can be equal, for example, to the thickness of the stone that constitutes the tread or substantially horizontal plane in general as in figure 3 or can be greater, as in figures 5 and 6; the letter Z designates an optional knurled or engraved antislip top surface of the profiled element, in the case for dressing the cladding of a step; the length of the element can be equal to the width of the tiles or of the cladding elements in general in the two substantially perpendicular directions or equal to the overall dimension of the component of which it constitutes the edge.

[0015] In the practical embodiment, the materials, selected in each case in a group which comprises ceramic, stone-like, wood, elastomeric, plastic, metallic, clay-like, and conglomerate materials, the dimensions, the details of execution, the shape of the cross-section of the profiled element, with or without an arc-like blending portion, the smooth or rough state of the surface may be different from those described but technically equivalent thereto, without thereby abandoning the scope of the present invention.

[0016] The profiled element can also be obtained with any convenient formation process, such as molding, drawing, or finishing from a solid piece.

[0017] Finally, the profiled element can have a solid, hollow, or partially hollow cross-section.

[0018] Moreover, said profiled element can also have an antislip knurling Z or applied antislip material on its upper surface or strips of antislip material fixed in any manner on said surface.

[0019] Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

1. A profiled element for dressing the edge of a structure (1), for example made of natural or artificial stone in building and decoration, comprising at least one profiled element (3, 11) which is adapted to constitute a dressing edge of said components, said profiled element having a flat rear face for coupling to a substantially vertical arrangement of the component that it must dress, characterized in that said profiled element (3, 11) is provided with at least one anchoring laminar element (7, 12, 17, 18, 19) for anchoring between the structure (1) and an overlying cladding (2) which protrudes backwards from said flat rear face at a depth (H) from the top of said profiled element which is a least equal to the thickness of said cladding of said structure.

2. A profiled element according to claim 1, characterized in that said profiled element (3) is constituted by a solid body and is provided with at least one slot (9) which is substantially at right angles to said flat rear face.

3. A profiled element according to claim 2, characterized in that at least one laminar anchoring element (7, 17, 18, 19) is inserted in said at least one slot (9).

4. A profiled element according to claim 2, characterized in that at least one laminar anchoring element (7, 12, 17, 18, 19) provided with a rear extraction-preventing tab (10) is inserted in said at least one slot (9).

5. A profiled element according to claim 2, characterized in that at least one laminar anchoring element (7, 17, 18, 19) together with an adhesive substance is inserted in said at least one slot (9).

6. A profiled element according to claim 1, characterized in that said profiled element (11) is constituted by a hollow body having a laminar contour, the anchoring laminar element (12) being monolithic with said profiled element.

7. A profiled element according to claim 1, characterized in that said laminar anchoring element (7, 12, 17, 18, 19) is anchored to the overlying cladding (2) and to the underlying structure (1) by means of anchoring material.

8. A profiled element according to claim 1, characterized in that said profiled element is provided with antislip means (Z) in an upward region.

9. A profiled element according to claim 7, characterized in that said laminar anchoring element (7, 12, 17, 18, 19) is provided with at least one opening (8).

10. A profiled element according to claim 1, characterized in that said at least one laminar element comprises at least one laminar strip (7, 12, 17, 18).

11. A profiled element according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a fork-shaped laminar element (19).

12. A profiled element according to claim 1, characterized in that said profiled element protrudes forwards with respect to the structure (1).

13. A profiled element according to claim 1, characterized in that said profiled element protrudes upwards with respect to the structure (1).

14. A profiled element according to claim 1, characterized in that said profiled element protrudes forwards and upwards with respect to the structure (1).

15. A profiled element according to claim 6, characterized in that in said laminar body (11) provided with a laminar anchoring element (12) that protrudes from the flat rear vertical face (14, 15), the remaining profile is constituted by a lower fold (13) and by an upper fold (16) which are blended by a front face, the end of the upper fold being higher than the cladding (2) to use said profiled element as an edge and optionally as a raised edge.

16. A profiled element according to claim 2, characterized in that said solid body is delimited by a sectional profile which is formed by an upper fold and by a lower fold connected by a front face and by a flat vertical rear face in which said slot (9) is formed, the end of the upper fold being higher than the cladding (2) to use said profiled element as an edge and optionally as a raised edge.

17. A profiled element according to claim 2, characterized in that said solid body is delimited by a profile the upper face whereof is co-planar with respect to the cladding (2) and a lower face having a drip molding (3a).

18. A profiled element according to claim 1, characterized in that said profiled element is constituted by a material selected within the group that comprises: ceramic, stone-like, wood, elastomeric, plastic, metallic , clay-like, conglomerate materials.

19. A profiled element according to claim 18, characterized in that said profiled element is obtained through formation operations which are selected within a group comprising extrusion, molding, and finishing from a solid part.

Drawing