MODULAR SURFACE ELEMENT
A modular surface element that can be arranged in a running bond pattern with other such modular surface elements. The modular surface element has a configuration comprising a decorative face, an opposed base, and sides extending therebetween generally orthogonal to the base. The sides are proximal to and within a modular perimeter defined by three non-alike pairs of opposed matching segments that are oriented substantially parallel to each other. At least two of the pairs of opposed matching segments are non-linear and at least two of the pairs of opposed matching segments are point symmetric. Optionally, the modular surface element may comprise two or more mating components.
The present invention relates generally to the field of modular elements for covering a surface. More specifically, the invention relates to a novel shaped modular element for paving or facing surfaces in the form of tiles, pavers, bricks, artificial stones, etc. or for use in puzzles and other toys and games.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONWalls, floors, ground coverings and other structures are often constructed by fitting irregularly sized and shaped natural stones. The work requires a skilled stonemason to select, cut and fit the stone. It is labor intensive, and accordingly expensive. However, custom-built natural stone surfaces are considered very attractive and desirable.
Conventional manufactured pavers, bricks, tiles, and so forth, are cheaper and easier to install than natural stone due to their regular geometric shapes, typically squares, rectangles, hexagons, or combinations thereof. These surface coverings are typically laid in repeating patterns, which simplifies installation and therefore decreases labor costs. However, the repeating patterns lack the same aesthetic appeal of irregular natural stone.
It is known to produce manufactured pavers and other surface elements in shapes that can be laid in repeated patterns that create an effect that somewhat resembles irregular natural stone. For instance, PCT application No. PCT/CA2005/001644 to Castonguay shows such a design. However, the pattern extends radially, an arrangement that is not very well suited for producing elongated structures such as walkways. It can also be difficult for an unskilled person to lay pavers in such a pattern, requiring careful selection and orientation of each element. Furthermore, the shapes that such manufactured surface elements may adopt are somewhat limited, which restricts manufacturing freedom as well as the choices offered to consumers.
Some known paver designs intended to imitate the look of natural stone, such as the pavers disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,217,740, use a combination of different shapes. However, these require multiple moulds and the stocking of different pieces. Also, such pavers are more complicated to install.
In addition, some known surface elements intended to imitate irregular natural stones are not well suited for manufacture on pre-existing production boards because their shapes and dimensions do not efficiently fit within the production board, and the dimensions and angles of the surface element cannot readily be modified while still fitting together in the intended pattern.
Many known designs of modular surface elements are also not suited for installation where it is desired to include internal spacing, such as for water drainage. Some of these designs cannot have open spaces in their pattern without losing necessary support of surrounding stones, while others cannot be laid at all in their intended patterns while accommodating open spaces.
Certain playthings, such as puzzles, also comprise a collection of elements that can be arranged so as to cover a surface. In some cases it may be desirable to lay out such elements in a variety of arrangements. However, the pieces of common picture puzzles and similar known playthings are intended to fit together in only one arrangement.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is an object of the present invention to provide a modular surface element that overcomes or mitigates one or more disadvantages of known modular surface elements, or at least provides a useful alternative.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a modular surface element that can be arranged in a running bond pattern with other such modular surface elements. The modular surface element has a configuration comprising a decorative face, an opposed base, and six sides extending therebetween generally orthogonal to the base. The sides are proximal to and within a modular perimeter defined by three non-alike pairs of opposed matching segments that are oriented substantially parallel to each other. At least two of the pairs of opposed matching segments are non-linear while at least two of the pairs of opposed matching segments are point symmetric. The third of the pairs of opposed matching segments may also be point symmetric. Alternatively, the third of the pairs of opposed matching segments is non-point symmetric.
Each pair of the contiguous segments may form an obtuse angle. Alternatively, each of two pairs of the contiguous segments forms an angle of approximately 180° and each of the other pairs of contiguous sides forms an angle of approximately 90°. As another alternative, each of two pairs of the contiguous segments forms an angle greater than 180° and each of two other pairs of the contiguous sides forms an angle of less than 90°.
All six of the segments may be non-linear. The face may include grooves resembling joints between areas of the face. The sides may have projecting regions that align more closely to the segments of the modular perimeter. Optionally, the projecting regions of the sides are adjacent to the base. The projecting regions of the sides may be near the ends of the segments. It is possible to have the sides and the decorative face define edges that are irregularly recessed from the segments of the modular perimeter. Optionally, the modular surface element is made of at least two pieces.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a surface covering system comprising a multiplicity of modular surface elements as previously described where the modular surface elements are substantially congruent and arranged in aligned rows in a running bond pattern. A plurality of adjacent modular surface elements in one of the aligned rows may be positioned with respect to an adjacent row such as to create open spaces, so as for example to provide drainage. Optionally, several renditions of modular surface elements are distinguished by having different decorative faces.
In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a pair of substantially identical components assemblable into a modular surface element as previously defined. The components have mating sides that are point symmetric and that pass through the geometric center of such an assembled modular surface element of said pair of components. Advantageously, each said mating side is non-linear.
The invention provides the advantages of being easy to install because it requires only one type of manufactured stone that is designed to match perfectly when installed in running bond pattern. Because of the seaming irregularity of its shape, and features such as false joints and variation in the appearance of its face, the manufactured stone of the present invention may be assembled to produce a surface covering that closely resembles the look of natural stone. Using the same design principle, many different shapes of manufactured stones may be produced, which enhance customer choice and offers manufacturers great flexibility. Moreover, the manufactured stone of the present invention may easily be installed without modification so as to provide internal spacing for water drainage or other purposes.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGSThese and other features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings wherein:
The present invention may be used in a wide variety of industries, ranging from manufactured stones, pavers, floor and wall coverings to puzzles and other games. The invention provides a way of designing an element for the applications so that once a multitude of such elements are installed in a pattern, the pattern looks random and the elements do not look similar.
The modular surface element 1 is created by defining its modular perimeter 10 according to a set of design rules. In a first embodiment of the invention, the segments 12, 12′, 14 and 14′ have point symmetry. Point symmetry exists when a segment is built around a single point called the central point. For every point in the segment, there is another point found at the same distance from the central point, but in the opposite direction. A segment that is point symmetric is unchanged in appearance by a 180 degree rotation. In order to achieve point symmetry, the segments are built in a specific manner. Each segment is built of two identical portions. As shown in
Referring again to
As seen in
In both embodiments, the segments 12, 12′, 14, 14′, 16, 16′, 316 and 316′ may either be linear (a straight line) or non-linear. As will be discussed later on, for the intended purpose, it is sufficient that the segments of a pair of segments be matching. Indeed, for the intended purposes, each pair of matching segments may be slightly different and still match when two adjacent modular surface elements are placed together.
Similarly,
Some installations of modular surface elements 1 may require that adequate water drainage be provided. In the prior art, this is mostly provided by either removing a modular surface element, or part of it, from a pattern or by spacing two adjacent modular surface elements. Very often, the drawback of doing so is that as a result the modular surface element does not have the complete support from surrounding modular surface elements and is prone to stability problems when subjected to a vertical load that is offset from the modular surface element's center. This is especially the case when the modular surface element is a manufactured stone for a driveway, for instance. When no gap is present, the surrounding modular surface elements provide support to the modular surface element under load, but if a space is left, for instance with a rectangular modular surface element, the loaded modular surface element loses its support on one side and becomes unstable under load.
Shown in
Reference is now made both to
Adding to the natural appearance of the modular surface element 1, it is also possible to include false joints 122 as shown in
It is also possible to completely divide a modular surface element 400 made in accordance with the present invention into two (or more) pieces such as components 401 and 403, shown in
It follows that the modular surface element 400 can be divided into a pair of substantially identical components 410, 412 that can be assembled to produce the modular surface element 400 by bringing them together along their point symmetric mating sides 414, 416 defined by a point symmetric division 402 that passes through the geometric center 404 of the modular surface element 400. Splitting the modular surface element 400 this way is advantageous as it creates two identical components 410, 412 each having half the size and half the weight of the modular surface element 400. They can therefore be more easily manipulated than the modular surface element 400 while still retaining the advantage of requiring only one overall shape for all of the pavers.
It will be readily apparent that the modular surface element 1 of the present invention may be molded so as to provide a decorative top surface that closely resembles, in form, texture and color, the appearance of natural stone. Adding different geometries of false joints further enhance the natural aspect of the modular surface element 1.
Moreover, the same modular surface element system may be used to create puzzles or other games and playthings, which have a particular level of difficulty since some parts may fit upside-down.
The present invention has been described with regard to preferred embodiments. The description as much as the drawings were intended to help the understanding of the invention, rather than to limit its scope. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various modifications may be made to the invention without departing from the scope of the invention as described herein, and such modifications are intended to be covered by the present description.
Claims
1. A modular surface element that can be arranged in a running bond pattern with other such modular surface elements, having a configuration comprising a decorative face, an opposed base, and six sides extending therebetween generally orthogonal to said base, said sides being proximal to and within a modular perimeter defined by three non-alike pairs of opposed matching segments that are oriented substantially parallel to each other, at least two of said pairs of opposed matching segments being non-linear, and at least two of said pairs of opposed matching segments being point symmetric.
2. The modular surface element of claim 1 wherein the third of said pairs of opposed matching segments is point symmetric.
3. The modular surface element of claim 2 wherein each pair of said contiguous segments forms an obtuse angle.
4. The modular surface element of claim 2 wherein each of two pairs of said contiguous segments forms an angle of approximately 180° and wherein each of said other pairs of contiguous sides forms an angle of approximately 90°.
5. The modular surface element of claim 2 wherein each of two pairs of said contiguous segments forms an angle greater than 180° and wherein each of two other pairs of said contiguous sides forms an angle of less than 90°.
6. The modular surface element of claim 2 wherein all six of said segments are non-linear.
7. The modular surface element of claim 6, wherein said face includes grooves resembling joints between areas of said face.
8. The modular surface element of claim 6, wherein said sides have projecting regions that align more closely to said segments of said modular perimeter.
9. The modular surface element claim 8, wherein said projecting regions of said sides are adjacent said base.
10. The modular surface element claim 8, wherein said projecting regions of said sides are near the ends of said segments.
11. The modular surface element of claim 6, wherein said sides and said decorative face define edges that are irregularly recessed from said segments of said modular perimeter.
12. The modular surface element of claim 6 comprising at least two mating components.
13. A surface covering system comprising a multiplicity of modular surface elements as recited in claim 1, said modular surface elements being substantially congruent and being arranged in aligned rows in a running bond pattern.
14. The surface covering system of claim 13 wherein a plurality of adjacent modular surface elements in one of said aligned rows are positioned with respect to an adjacent row such as to create open spaces to provide drainage.
15. The surface covering system of claim 13 wherein said multiplicity of modular surface elements are distinguished by having different decorative faces.
16. A pair of substantially identical components assemblable into a modular surface element as defined by claim 1, each said component having a mating side that is point symmetric and that passes through the geometric center of such an assembled modular surface element of said pair of components.
17. The pair of components of claim 16 wherein each said mating side is non-linear.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 19, 2007
Publication Date: Apr 24, 2008
Inventor: Rene Brun (St-Christophe-d'Arthabaska)
Application Number: 11/875,300
International Classification: E01C 5/00 (20060101);