Λ Transparent floor covering structure
The object of the invention is a transparent floor covering structure that can be matched well to the surrounding covering, fitting into the surrounding surface organically, without protruding from it, constituting a homogeneous flat surface, which can be installed at any angle (horizontally, vertically or inclined), and the information carrying layer (advertising medium) in it can be replaced if required without disassembling the surrounding surface.
Significant number of advertisement carrying devices sunk into the covering are known, which all have the characteristic that their construction principle do not follow the laying technology of so called "panelled covering", but they are built subsequently with edges, or glued onto the original surface. These constructions have the deficiency that they protrude from the environment, and e.g. if they are installed in horizontal position, they constitute an obstacle for the traffic.
Prior art also includes the construction presented in patent specification "Method for decorating floor-tiles" no. HU 179 317, where a coating mass is prepared by mixing and homogenising a part of the base mass acting as the material of the raw floor-tile and colouring substances, and than the laminated and pressed raw floor-tile is decorated by applying the coating thus obtained. This method has the deficiency that the decoration thus obtained is fixed, it cannot be modified.
Patent specifications WO 99/17267 and DE 3636805 present advertising devices to be used with different objects (vehicle windows, shopping trolleys). These constructions are suitable for placing advertisements or commercials in vehicle windows or in a frame on the side of shopping trolleys, but they are not suitable for being used with slabs.
Prior art also includes the slab presented in specification WO 03/010734, which is used as an information and advertisement carrying device. The slab comprises at least two layers, of which the first one is transparent, the second one is a graphic element. The information
is displayed by light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The transparent layer is made of glass, the non-transparent layer is made of ceramics. This known construction is primarily used with wall tiles. It has the deficiency that the information carrying graphic element is fixed, it can not be changed.
Patent specification DE 1002986 describes a device made of transparent material to be used for covering large flat surfaces of roofs. The transparent material is flat glass or at least partly transparent flat plastic. This construction has the deficiency that it cannot be used in small size and it does not include any information carrier.
The building panels presented in specification EP 1108826 also represent the prior art, which building panels comprise several parts, and are in connection with the light transmitting part of the roof panel. This construction also has the deficiency that it cannot be used in floor coverings and it does not include any information carrier.
Patent specifications CN 1311500 and CN 1122034 presenting a floor covering advertisement construction and an advertisement sunk in the floor also represent the prior art. The former is primarily used for making floor covering advertisements skid-proof, and it has the disadvantage that it is not transparent. The latter construction containing an advertisement sunk in the floor has a frame, a transparent tile, a transparent board, a neon lamp, a lamphouse, a decorative picture, a novel projecting lamp, and it has a harmonic advertising effect. This known construction has the deficiency that it cannot be easily fit into the covering in its environment, and it does not contain an exchangeable information carrier.
The purpose of the invention is to eliminate the deficiencies of the prior art and to provide a transparent floor covering structure which is prefabricated, can be sunk in the covering indoors and outdoors as well, can be installed at any angle (horizontally, vertically or inclined), can easily be matched into an existing environment, fitting organically to the applied covering technology, and further, the information carrier is independent from the
other parts, and can easily be replaced if required without disassembling the surrounding surface, which also functions as a load carrying surface, the surface roughness of which is variable and can be adjusted to be the same as the roughness of the surrounding covering, which is skid-proof, safe and economically manufactured.
The fundamental idea of the invention is that if we create a transparent floor covering structure that has an information carrying layer, a supporting structure and a transparent load carrying layer, where the supporting structure is a frame with the shape of a baking dish, the information carrying layer is placed on the base plate of the frame, and the load carrying layer is placed above the information carrying layer on the inside edge of the frame with no internal abutment, and is fixed to the frame by a binding element, than the transparent floor covering structure thus obtained achieves the target of the invention.
The target is achieved by the invention as described in principal claim 1. The characteristic features of the different embodiments are included in the subclaims.
The structure according to the invention is described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings where:
Figure 1. is a top view of the transparent floor covering structure according to the invention, fit into the surrounding surface, Figure 2. shows the A-A section of the transparent floor covering structure shown in
Figure 1, Figure 3. shows an exploded view of the most important elements of the transparent floor covering structure according to the invention.
Figure 1 is a top view of the transparent floor covering structure according to the invention, fit into the surrounding surface. As shown in the figure, the transparent floor covering structure has a frame 1, a sealing element 5, and binding elements 4. The shape of the frame 1 is expediently square. Near to the corners on each side there are expediently two-two
binding elements 4. The transparent floor covering structure is connected to the surrounding surface 8 by binding material 1, as is usual with modular covering systems.
Figure 2 shows the A - A section of the transparent floor covering structure of Figure 1. In this drawing, one can see the base plate 12 of the frame 1, on which the information carrying layer 6 is placed. Above the information carrying layer 6 is the load carrying layer 2, which is attached to the frame 1 by the binding element 4. Surrounding this binding element 4, there is a ring 41 acting as a water seal. The frame 1 has an inside edge 11 acting as a support for the load carrying layer 2. The thickness of these inside edges 11 is larger than that of the base plate 12 between the inside edges 11. Between the load carrying layer 2 and the inside edge 11 there is a sealing element 5. Between the load carrying layer 2 and the information carrying layer 6 there is an air-gap 13, and there is a transparent coating layer 3 attached to the top surface of the load carrying layer 2, which coating layer 3 fits to the neighbouring elements surrounding the transparent floor covering structure.
Figure 3 shows an exploded drawing of the elements of the transparent floor covering structure. On the top, there is the coating layer 3, below it there are the binding elements 4 and the water-sealing rings 41. Under it, the figure shows the load carrying layer 2 and the holes 21 for sinking the head of the binding elements 4. Under the load carrying layer 2 one can see the sealing element 5 and the drawing of the information carrying layer 6 below it. At the bottom the figure shows the frame 1 and the threaded hole 14 for the binding element 4.
At one preferred embodiment of the transparent floor covering structure, the frame 1 is expediently made of acid-proof steel and its inside edge 11 is used for supporting the load carrying layer 2. There is a threaded hole 14 of predetermined length cut into the inside edge 11, which is suitable for receiving the binding element 4, and due to the end-position of the threaded hole 14 the binding element 4 can be tightened in a way that it does not damage the load carrying layer 2, and therefore it is ensured that there is no stress in the load carrying layer 2. The material of the frame 1 makes it possible to use the structure both
indoors and outdoors. The thinning of the base plate 12 of the frame 1 provides enough space for the information carrying layer 6.
The load carrying layer 2 - which is acting as a floor - is preferably made from double- layer compound glass of preferably 18 mm thickness. There are holes 21 etched in the load carrying layer 2 corresponding to the size of the head of the binding elements 4, so that they should completely sunk into the upper level of the load carrying layer 2 when fixed. The load carrying layer 2 lies only on the inside edges 11 of the frame 1, so it does not burden the information carrying layer 6, and there is an air-gap 13 between them protecting the graphical surface of the information carrying layer 6.
The supporting structure thus constructed from the frame with the shape of a baking dish ensures spatial independence of the base plate 12, the information carrying layer 6 to be inserted and the load carrying layer 2. Hence, there is no need for internal support, as due to the structure and the dimensions of the load carrying layer 2 there is no deformation when it is loaded. Therefore this construction sets no restriction on the design of the information carrying layer 6 to be placed on the base plate 12.
The coating layer 3 attached to the upper surface of the load carrying layer 2 is preferably enduring, skid-proof sheet, the surface roughness of which is variable and can be adjusted to be the same as the roughness of the surrounding covering. This way a homogeneous surface can be obtained in spite of the change in the material.
The binding element 4 is preferably a countersunk screw, fixing the load carrying layer 2 to the frame 1. The special, countersunk head of the screw is important because the structure, which is otherwise easy to open can only be opened by an authorised person with a special wrench. If required, e.g. in case of outdoor installation, there is a colourless, water-sealing ring 41 around the binding element 4, preferably made of rubber, providing perfect water seal. The length of the binding element 4 is determined so that when the binding element 4 reaches the end-position in the inside edge 11 of the frame 1, the head of the binding
element 4 should not strain the load carrying layer 2. The sealing element 5 between the load carrying layer 2 and the inside edges 11 of the frame 1, preferably made of elastic material, is applied so as to ensure airtight connection. The information carrying layer 6 can be placed in the free space with no restrictions, there are no requirements regarding its material, geometry, surface etc., and it can easily be replaced on demand.
The transparent floor covering structure according to the invention can be sunk into the level of the surrounding surface 8, without any collar overlying on the surrounding surface 8, but similarly as the panelled covering pieces are connected to each other, it is connected to the surrounding elements by binding material 7, as is usual with modular covering systems. The binding material 7 is preferably mortar or flexible grout. This construction ensures that the structure organically fits to its environment, and that it is perfectly in level with the surrounding surface, which is a general feature of modular covering systems.
In accordance with the market demand, the transparent floor covering structure is preferably manufactured in overall dimensions of 30 x 30 cm, but other sizes up to a maximum of 60 x 60 cm can also be manufactured. Structures of larger dimensions can only be manufactured based on prior static calculations.
The transparent floor covering structure according to the invention has achieved the targets, and it has the following advantages: it is prefabricated, it can be used indoors and outdoors as well,
- it can be built at any angle (horizontally, vertically or inclined),
- it can easily be installed into its environment without changing the level or disassembling the surrounding surface, it can be organically matched to the adjacent elements, its supporting structure constructed from a baking dish shaped frame and internal edges ensure the independence of the base plate, the information carrying layer to be inserted
and the load carrying layer with no internal support required, therefore any kind of information carrier can be inserted, the information carrying layer can easily be replaced on demand without disassembling the surrounding surface, the surface roughness of the coating layer attached to the upper surface of the load carrying layer is variable and can be adjusted to be the same as the roughness of the surrounding covering, it is enduring, skid-proof and safe, the overall dimensions of it meet the marked demands, its production is economical.