A POSITIONING DEVICE FOR CORRECT POSITIONING OF BOARDS OR PLANKS WHEN BOARDING A SURFACE

Abstract

 A positioning device (1) is disclosed for correct positioning of the boards or planks (6) when boarding a surface such as, for instance, a floor, a wall, a ceiling or a terrace, which positioning device consist of a stretchable band (2) comprising a plurality of band sections, each of which band sections comprises a marking on the surface of the band or a rest (3) protruding from the surface of the band for a board or plank to abut against and an expansion section (4), which is arranged so that, if and when the band is stretched, the expansion of the length of the band takes places in the expansion sections only, wherein the expansion sections of the different band sections of the band are substantially identical so that, if and when the band is stretched, the total expansion of the length of the band is divided equally between the expansion sections.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a positioning device for correct positioning of the boards or planks when a surface such as a floor, a wall, a ceiling or a terrace is boarded.

Background of the invention

[0002] When a surface is boarded, i.e. covered with boards or planks, the job typically consists in mounting a plurality of boards of planks of substantially constant and identical widths parallel to each other. One of the challenges associated with this task is to ensure that the distance between any two neighbouring boards or planks at least appears to be the same all over the boarded surface.

[0003] Simply using distance pieces to be placed between the latest mounted board or plank and the next to be mounted is no secure way to obtain an optimal result, because an already occurred misalignment of one board or plank will be repeated again and again on the following ones.

[0004] EP 2 369 094 A1 discloses a positioning device for obtaining a constant and uniform distance between neighbouring boards or planks. This positioning device comprises a non-extensible tape with fixed supports, onto which the boards or planks are to be mounted. When at least two such positioning devices are mounted perpendicularly to the desired longitudinal axis of the boards or planks to be used, preferably near the two opposite ends of the surface, the fixed positions of the supports ensures that the boards or planks are positioned with a constant and uniform distance there between.

[0005] Because the boards or planks are actually mounted to the supports of the positioning device, each of those supports needs to be fastened to the underlying surface by means of a screw, which is a relatively time consuming and cumbersome work.

[0006] Furthermore, as this positioning device ensures that the boards or planks are, in fact, mounted absolutely parallel to each other, it means that, if the surface to be boarded is not absolutely rectangular, but rather a little wider in one end than in the other as if very often the case, a wedge-shaped board or plank must be mounted in one or both sides of the surface to cover it completely. Such wedge-shaped boards or planks are typically undesired, because they make the lacking rectangularity of the surface very visible to the human eye.

Brief description of the invention

[0007] It is an object of the present invention to overcome at least some of the disadvantages of solutions known in the art as described above.

[0008] The present invention relates to a positioning device for correct positioning of the boards or planks when boarding a surface such as, for instance, a floor, a wall, a ceiling or a terrace, which positioning device consist of a stretchable band comprising a plurality of band sections, each of which band sections comprises a marking on the surface of the band or a rest protruding from the surface of the band for a board or plank to abut against and an expansion section, which is arranged so that, if and when the band is stretched, the expansion of the length of the band takes places in the expansion sections only, wherein the expansion sections of the different sections of the band are substantially identical so that, if and when the band is stretched, the total expansion of the length of the band is divided equally between the expansion sections.

[0009] The configuration with a stretchable band having identical expansion sections between each pair of neighbouring markings or rests for the boards or planks to abut against is very advantageous, because the typically occurring variations in the width from one end to the other of surfaces to be boarded can be handled very easily. By mounting a positioning device according to the invention perpendicularly to the desired longitudinal axes of the boards or planks to be used, in each end on the surface to be boarded before mounting the boards or planks and stretching the positioning device in the wide end of the surface a little more than the positioning device in the narrow end, the difference in widths can be evenly divided on the distances between neighbouring boards or planks across the surface, when they are placed to abut the markings or the rests of the positioning device before being fastened to the surface. In this way, the boards or planks will still seem to be parallel, although this is, in fact, not exactly the case.

[0010] Furthermore, when the band is stretched slightly, the positioning device will lie tight against the surface to be boarded, even if it is a downward-facing surface such as a ceiling.

[0011] In an embodiment of the invention, the cross-sectional area of the band is significantly smaller within the expansion sections than outside the expansion sections.

[0012] In an embodiment of the invention, wherein each of the expansion sections of the band comprises two curved bands, both of which are significantly narrower than the band outside the expansion sections.

[0013] This has proven to be a simple and reliable way to obtain expansion sections with elastic deformations.

[0014] In an embodiment of the invention, each of the expansion sections is arranged so that at least smaller expansions, i.e. up to at least 2 mm, preferably up to at least 5 mm, of the length thereof are obtained through an elastic deformation of the expansion sections.

[0015] Elastic deformations, i.e. reversible deformations causing the band to return to its original length if the stretching force is removed, are advantageous because it means that the positioning device is not made useless if, for instance, a part of it is stretched by mistake during handling before actually mounting it..

[0016] In an embodiment of the invention, one or more, preferably all, of the band sections of the band further comprises a distance section for obtaining a desired distance between the markings or rests of two neighbouring band sections of the band.

[0017] In this way, almost identical positioning devices can be used for different widths of the boards or planks to be used, the only difference being the length of the distance sections entered between any two neighbouring markings or rests for the boards or planks to abut against.

[0018] In an embodiment of the invention, the band is produced from a plastic material such as, for instance, polypropylene (PP), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or polyethylene high density (PEH).

[0019] Many types of plastic materials are suitable for being used, because of their elastic properties. The positioning device can also be made from other materials, such as metals, but that makes it much more difficult to obtain the desired elastic properties, i.e. the reversible length expansions thereof.

[0020] In an embodiment of the invention, the band is produced by injection moulding.

[0021] Injection moulding is a well-known, relatively non-expensive and reliable production method when it comes to items produced from plastic materials.

[0022] In an embodiment of the invention, the rests for the boards or planks to abut against consist of parts of the band, preferably in the form of stripes perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the band, which have been pressed in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the band to protrude at least partly from one side thereof

[0023] This is a simple and reliable way of ensuring identical rests along the full length of the positioning device.

[0024] In an embodiment of the invention, the thickness of the band is between 0.5 and 10 mm, preferably between 1 and 3 mm.

[0025] In an embodiment of the invention, the width of the band is between 1 and 8 cm, preferably between 2 and 5 cm.

[0026] In an embodiment of the invention, the height of the rests for the boards or planks to abut against is between 0.5 and 10 mm, preferably between 1.5 and 4 mm.

[0027] The optimal dimensions of the positioning device varies from one application to the other, depending, for instance, on the material from which the positioning device is produced, on the desired strength and elasticity of the positioning device and on cost reduction considerations related to the amount of material used.

[0028] In an embodiment of the invention, the markings or rests are marked, for instance with repeated series of consecutive numbers or different colours, so that they can be distinguished from neighbouring markings or rests.

[0029] Marking the series of markings or rests, for instance with repeated series consisting of the numbers from 0 to 9 or with repeated series of different identification colours, makes it easy to control that the different positioning devices used for boarding a surface are in fact of the same length. This can be done by simple checking that the markings of the first and last marking are the same for each positioning device. Otherwise, it may be necessary either to measure the length of each positioning device or to count the number of markings or rests on each positioning device, which may be very long and contain a large number of band sections if the surface is wide.

The figures

[0030] In the following, a few exemplary embodiments are described in further detail with reference to the figures, of which

Fig. 1

is a perspective view of a positioning device according to an embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 2

is a perspective view of a positioning device according to another embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 3A

is a top view of the positioning device shown in Fig. 2,

Fig. 3B

is a top view of the positioning device shown in Fig. 3A after being stretched,

Fig. 4

is a side view of positioning device according to an embodiment of the invention, and

Fig. 5

illustrates schematically a use of the positioning device shown in Fig. 4.

Detailed description of the invention

[0031] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a positioning device 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. The illustrated positioning device 1 is very short, consisting of a band 2 with only four complete band sections 7, each of which comprises a rest 3 for a board or a plank to abut against and an expansion section 4.

[0032] A longer embodiment of the positioning device 1 is illustrated in Fig. 2. This embodiment is longer partly because it comprises a higher number of complete band sections 7 of the band 2, partly because each of these band sections 7 further comprise a distance section 5. The expansion sections 4 are identical to the ones of the positioning device illustrated in Fig. 1.

[0033] The inclusion of the distance sections 5 means that the distance between any neighbouring rests 3 is larger in this embodiment than in the one illustrated in Fig. 1. As can be seen from Fig. 5, which is further described below, the length of one complete band section 7 of the band 2 corresponds to the width of one board or plank 6 and one gap between neighbouring boards or planks 6. Thus, the distance sections 5 mean that the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 2 is to be used for mounting broader boards or planks 6 than the embodiment in Fig. 1. In different embodiments of the positioning device 1, distance lengths 5 of different lengths can be used for obtaining positioning devices 1 optimised for mounting boards or planks 6 of different widths and/or with different gap widths between neighbouring boards or planks 6.

[0034] Figs. 3A and 3B are top views of the positioning device 1 shown in Fig. 2 in an unstretched and a stretched configuration, respectively. These figures show how the expansion of the length of the positioning device 1 takes place in the expansion sections 4 only, while the distance sections 5 and the parts around the rests 3 are left unchanged. Furthermore, it is seen that the total expansion of the length of the positioning device 1 is equally distributed between the individual expansion sections 4 thereof

[0035] Fig. 4 is a side view of positioning device 1 according to an embodiment of the invention, the use of which is schematically illustrated in Fig. 5. The boards or planks 6 in this figure are illustrated in cross-section indicating that, in use, the positioning device 1 is to be mounted on the surface to be boarded (not shown) before and under the boards or planks 6 in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis thereof At least two positioning devices 1 must be used near the opposite ends of the surface to be boarded, respectively. For longer surfaces, i.e. where long boards or planks 6 are to be used for the boarding, one or more additional positioning devices 1 are preferably mounted between the two first ones with approximately constant mutual distances there between.

[0036] It is very important that the right type of positioning devices 1 are chosen, i.e. a type in which the length of the band sections 7 corresponds to the width of the boards or planks 6 to be used for the boarding plus the desired gap width between any two neighbouring boards or planks 6.

[0037] Many surfaces to be boarded, such as for instance floors, walls, ceilings and terraces are not exactly rectangular, i.e. the lengths of two opposite sides of the surface is not exactly the same but differs, for instance, by a few centimetres. In the longitudinal direction of the boards or planks 6, this can simply be handled by cutting the boards or planks 6 in slightly different lengths before mounting them. In the transversal direction, however, such lack of rectangularity may require the mounting of a wedge-shaped board or plank 6 in one or both sides of the surface to cover it completely.

[0038] With the present invention, this is easily avoided. The used positioning devices 1 should be of the same initial length determined by the shortest of the two side lengths of the surface to be boarded. Now, due to the stretchability of the band 2, the positioning devices 1 can simply be stretched so that each of them reaches across the surface from one side to the other. Preferably, the initial length of the positioning devices 1 used should be a little shorter than the shortest side length of the surface to be boarded. This means that all the positioning devices 1 must be stretched at least a little bit, which causes the positioning devices 1 to lie tight against the surface, even if the surface is a downward-faced ceiling. This deliberate undersizing of the positioning devices 1 should typically only amount to a couple of millimetres in order not to "use" too much of the stretchability of the band 2 already for covering the shortest side length of the surface to be boarded.

[0039] Thus, the mounting of the positioning devices 1 is simply done by placing one end of a positioning device 1 at the surface to be boarded in one side thereof, fastening this first end of the positioning device 1 to the surface by means of a staple, a nail or the like, stretching the positioning device 1 to reach the opposite side of the surface and fastening the second end of the positioning device 1 to the surface in a similar way. In order to secure the positioning device 1 in the correct position during the boarding of the surface, the positioning device 1 is preferably fastened to the surface with a number of additional staples or nails, typically one for each band section 7.

[0040] When all the positioning devices 1 have been mounted on the surface to be boarded, the boards or planks 6 are mounted one by one by placing them to abut against a series of rests 3 of the respective positioning devices 1 and fastening them to the surface, either through or between the positioning devices 1, for instance using nails or screws.

[0041] Because the expansion sections 4 of each band section 7 of the positioning devices 1 are identical, the distance between any neighbouring rests 3 for the boards or planks 6 to abut against is constant for a given positioning device 1. Thus, any differences in the lengths of the stretched positioning devices 1 are divided equally between the individual band sections 7 of the respective positioning devices 1.

[0042] The equal distribution of the length difference between typically a relatively large number of band sections 7 and, thereby, between the same number of boards or planks 6 means that any two neighbouring boards or planks 6 is minimal and typically barely or not visible for the human eye. Thus, wedge-formed boards or planks 6 along one or both sides of the boarded surface are avoided, and the boards or planks 6 used seem to be parallel although this is not exactly the case.

[0043] Compared to a manual positioning of each of the boards or planks 6 when boarding the surface, the use of a positioning device 1 according to the present invention results in a significant time saving as well as in a more accurate placement of the boards or planks 6.

List of reference numbers

[0044] 

1. Positioning device

2. Band

3. Rest for board or plank

4. Expansion section

5. Distance section

6. Board or plank

7. Band section

Claims

1. A positioning device (1) for correct positioning of the boards or planks (6) when boarding a surface such as, for instance, a floor, a wall, a ceiling or a terrace, which positioning device consist of a stretchable band (2) comprising a plurality of band sections (7), each of which band sections comprises
a marking on the surface of the band or a rest (3) protruding from the surface of the band for a board or plank to abut against and
an expansion section (4), which is arranged so that, if and when the band is stretched, the expansion of the length of the band takes places in the expansion sections only,
wherein the expansion sections of the different band sections of the band are substantially identical so that, if and when the band is stretched, the total expansion of the length of the band is divided equally between the expansion sections.

2. The positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional area of the band is significantly smaller within the expansion sections than outside the expansion sections.

3. The positioning device according to claim 2, wherein each of the expansion sections of the band comprises two curved bands, both of which are significantly narrower than the band outside the expansion sections.

4. The positioning device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein each of the expansion sections is arranged so that at least smaller expansions, i.e. up to at least 2 mm, preferably up to at least 5 mm, of the length thereof are obtained through an elastic deformation of the expansion sections.

5. The positioning device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein one or more, preferably all, of the band sections of the band further comprises a distance section (5) for obtaining a desired distance between the rests of two neighbouring band sections of the band.

6. The positioning device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the band is produced from a plastic material such as, for instance, polypropylene (PP), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or polyethylene high density (PEH).

7. The positioning device according to claim 6, wherein the band is produced by injection moulding.

8. The positioning device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the rests for the boards or planks to abut against consist of parts of the band, preferably in the form of stripes perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the band, which have been pressed in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the band to protrude at least partly from one side thereof

9. The positioning device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the thickness of the band is between 0.5 and 10 mm, preferably between 1 and 3 mm.

10. The positioning device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the width of the band is between 1 and 8 cm, preferably between 2 and 5 cm.

11. The positioning device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the height of the rests for the boards or planks to abut against is between 0.5 and 10 mm, preferably between 1.5 and 4 mm.

12. The positioning device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the markings or rests are marked, for instance with series of consecutive numbers, so that they can be distinguished from neighbouring markings or rests.

Drawing