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(11) | EP 1 593 798 A2 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Device for realising reference areas for laying a coating and method that uses such device |
| (57) Device (1) for realising reference areas (18) for laying a coating adapted to form
a floor, said device (1) comprising a substantially parallelepiped-shaped structure
(4) composed of a fixed portion (3) and of a mobile portion or wing (5) and of levelling
means (17), integral to said wing (5), that during a rotary motion of said wing (5),
level a layer of cement mortar deposited on a laying plane in order to form a reference
area (18) on a plane. |
[0001] The present invention refers to a device for realising reference areas for laying a coating adapted to form a floor.
[0002] More precisely, the present invention refers to a device comprising means that allow leveling the layers of cement mortar that are commonly deposited in various regions of a laying plane and that are aimed to support a coating adapted to form a floor.
[0003] The present invention further refers to a method for realising reference areas for laying a coating that uses the device according to the present invention.
[0004] It is known that, before proceeding to lay a coating, reference areas made of cement mortar, or equivalent material, are arranged on its laying plane in order to form a surface for a coating.
[0005] Such arrangement provides the steps of:
- depositing a thick layer of cement mortar in a first region of the laying plane next to a wall of the environment in which it is desired to lay the coating;
- positioning a portion of tile or another stiff object having a planar development in order to flatten the layer of mortar;
- depositing a further thick layer of cement mortar in a second region of the laying plane always next to the wall of the environment and at a small distance from the first region;
- placing again a portion of tile or similar onto the second region and with the help of a stiff rod, or ruler, and a level moving the portion of tile so that the second region of cement mortar has a surface level snugly at the same level as of the first region.
[0006] The above-described operations are repeated till a discrete grid is created with reference areas made of cement mortar which are arranged peripherally and internally to the environment to be paved.
[0007] Once the cement mortar has hardened, further amounts of mortar are deposited to cover the space between the various reference areas.
[0008] Afterwards, these further amounts of cement mortar are leveled off in order to form various beads of cement mortar on which the coating will then be laid.
[0009] The above-described traditional process however has the inconvenience of not guaranteeing that the created reference areas are really on a plane and that, consequently, the coating that will be laid thereon is in turn on a plane.
[0010] This is due to the fact that, in the traditional method, every reference area is generated in succession starting from another previously-created reference area. Therefore, a possible planarity error between two contiguous reference areas propagates in the space with the consequence that the laid floor will not be on a plane.
[0011] Object of the present invention is therefore providing a device that allows realising such reference areas that a coating laid using such reference areas is perfectly on a plane.
[0012] A further object of the present invention is providing a method for realising said reference areas using a device for realising reference areas according to the present invention.
[0013] These and other objects are obtained with the device for realising reference areas and with the method that uses such device as claimed in the attached claims.
[0014] Advantageously, the device for realising reference areas according to the present invention is of a simple construction, can be easily handled and can be easily used.
[0015] The device according to the invention and the related method for realising reference areas that uses such device can advantageously be applied in the step for preparing the laying of any coating material.
[0016] Moreover, the device according to the present invention can be easily transported and allows, with a single tool, to realise perfectly plane floors.
[0017] The invention will be now described in detail with particular reference to the enclosed drawings, provided as a non-limiting example, in which:
- Figure 1 shows a front view of a device according to the invention, in a vertical and closed position, for realising reference areas for laying a coating;
- Figure 2 shows a front view of the device of Figure 1 at the end of an operation for realising a reference area ;
- Figure 3 shows a plan view of the opening movement of the device of Figure 1;
- Figure 4 shows a side view of the device of Figure 1 placed in an horizontal position and with a completely retracted telescopic rod.
[0018] With reference to Figures 1 and 2, a device 1 is shown for realising reference areas for laying a coating comprising a structure 4 shaped as an elongated parallelepiped composed of a fixed portion 3 and a portion or wing 5 able to be opened which is hinged to the structure 4 through pivots 7 and hinges 6.
[0019] The wing 5 is laterally equipped with a handle 15 that allows opening the wing 5 by performing a counter-clockwise movement.
[0020] On an external side of the structure 4 and making part of this latter one, a telescopic rod 13 is further provided, that can be seen in Figure 4, which can be extracted and is sliding from the top and whose height is at most equal to the structure 4, whose use will be better shown below.
[0021] At the lower end of the wing 5, a spatula or foot element 17 is provided, which is composed of an horizontal portion 19, secured to the wing 5 perpendicular to the structure 4, and of a vertical portion 21 parallel to the structure 4.
[0022] With reference to Figures 1 to 3, a method according to the invention will now be shown for realising reference areas for laying a coating.
[0023] In a preliminary method step, it is provided to use a laser tracer that allows an operator to trace, on a wall 2 with writing means, an horizontal reference placed at a pre-established height, preferably at 1 m and namely at the height of a head surface 8 of the device 1, with respect to the level of the coating to be laid.
[0025] The device 1 is then tightly kept by the operator with one of his hands next to the fixed portion 3 so that said device 1 is completely rested with its rear face onto a wall 2 of the environment in which it is desired to lay a coating and that the head surface 8 of the device 1 is perfectly aligned with the reference traced onto the wall 2.
[0026] With the other hand thereof, the operator acts on the handle 15 opening the wing 5 counter-clockwise, thereby generating a corresponding movement of the foot 17 adapted to level off the layer of cement mortar 18 that had been previously deposited onto the laying plane next to the operating range of the device 1 so that such layer is perfectly on a plane, as can be verified by comparing Figures 1 and 2.
[0027] Due to the vertical wall 21 of the foot 17, the cement mortar transported by the foot 17 during the counter-clockwise movement is helped towards the wall 2 in order to be easily removed.
[0028] The operation is repeated for all desired reference areas in order to realise a peripheral structure of such areas next to the environment walls.
[0029] With respect to the traditional method, the method according to the present invention guarantees that all peripheral areas are absolutely on a plane since the references are taken with respect to a wall and not with respect to previously-made reference areas as occurs in the prior art. With respect to the traditional method, therefore, there is no space propagation of the planarity error.
[0030] With reference to Figure 4, the device 1 is shown from which the telescopic rod 13 have been completely extracted from the top part of the structure 4. A cross-shaped level 22 is further shown on a side of the device 1.
[0031] In order to make a discrete grid of reference areas, in such a way that such grid extends also inside the environment on which it is desired to lay the coating, first of all a further thick layer of cement mortar 18' is deposited in an internal region to the environment to be paved and an end of the device 1, for example next to the foot 17, is positioned on one of the previously-made reference areas 18 in which the cement mortar has already hardened, and an end 20 of the telescopic rod 13, opposite to the foot 17 of the device 1, next to the internal region where the further layer of cement mortar 18' has been deposited.
[0032] With a lateral rightward and leftward oscillating movement with respect to the telescopic rod 13 axis, the layer of mortar is levelled off till the level 19 does not point that also the new reference area 18' inside the environment is on a plane with respect to the reference area 18 where the foot 17 of the device 1 has been abutted.
[0034] The device 1 preferably has a height of 1 m and also the telescopic rod 13 that in a rest position is completely retracted inside the structure 4, once extracted has a height of about 1 m.
[0035] It is clear that what has been described is given as a non-limiting example and that variations and modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention.
1. Device (1) for realising reference areas (18, 18') for laying a coating adapted to
form a floor, said device (1) comprising a substantially parallelepiped-shaped structure
(4) composed of a fixed portion (3) and of a mobile portion or wing (5) adapted to
perform a rotary motion with respect to said fixed portion (3), said wing (5) comprising
on its lower part levelling means (17), integral to said wing (5), that during the
rotary motion of said wing (5) level off a layer of cement mortar, or equivalent material,
deposited on a laying plane in order to form a reference area (18, 18') on a plane.
2. Device according to claim 1, wherein said levelling means (17) comprise a substantially
horizontal portion (19) that levels off said layer of cement mortar and a substantially
vertical portion (21) that during said rotary motion of said wing (5) removes the
excess of cement mortar used for realising said reference area (18, 18').
3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said wing (5) has a handle (15) that, when
operated, allows an operator to perform said rotary motion.
4. Device according to claim 3, wherein said rotary motion is counter-clockwise.
5. Device according to any one of the previous claims, wherein said structure (4) comprises
inside it a telescopic rod (13) that is adapted to be slidingly extracted from the
top of said structure (4) and which is part of this latter one.
6. Device according to claim 5, wherein on a side of said structure (4) of said device
(1) a cross-shaped level (22) is provided.
7. Device according to any one of claims 5 or 6, wherein said structure (4) and said
rod (13) have a height of about 1 m.
8. Device according to any one of the previous claims, wherein said wing (5) is hinged
to said parallelepiped structure (4) through pivots (7) and hinges (6).
9. Method for realising reference areas for laying a coating adapted to form a floor
that uses a device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, said method comprising the
steps of:
a) locating on a wall (2), preferably through a laser tracer, a reference located at a predetermined height with respect to the level of reference areas (18, 18') to be realised;
b) depositing a layer of cement mortar on a laying plane;
c) abutting said device (1) with its rear face against a wall (2) so that the head surface (8, 20) of said device (1) is aligned with said reference on the wall (2) located in step a);
d) operating on the wing (5) through said handle (15) so that said levelling means (17), arranged below said wing (5) and integral therewith, level said layer of cement mortar in order to form a reference area (18) on a plane.
19. Method according to claim 9, further comprising the steps of:
- extracting said telescopic rod (13) slidingly from the top of said device (1);
- arranging said device (1) in an horizontal position so that a portion of said device (1), preferably next to the levelling means (17) abuts onto a reference area (18) already realised and now hardened, and that an end (20) of said telescopic rod (13) opposite to said levelling means (17) is laid on a further layer of cement mortar (18') deposited in an internal region of the laying plane;
- performing a lateral movement of said device (1) alternatively rightwards and leftwards till said level (22) points out that said further layer of cement mortar (18') is on a plane with respect to said already-realised reference area (18).