Patent Application
20140097169
The present invention relates to a floor heating system and its method of construction and wherein one or more heating wire support members are secured to a flexible and stretchable anti-fracture membrane for connection to a sub-floor and wherein the membrane absorbs displacement of the sub-floor by stretching.
It is known to construct electric radiant heating floors whereby to allow the heat generated in the floor to radiate into a room. This is particularly so in the construction of bathrooms or other rooms where it is desirable to have a warm floor surface whereby a person walking on the floor with bare feet or with socks does not have the feeling of a cold floor. It is also desirable to heat the floor of a room subjected to water or snow to evaporate same.
Commonly, these floors are constructed by securing wire support strips or meshing directly on the sub-floor by gluing and then securing heating wires in a desired path to the heating wire support members and thereafter applying a cementitious material thereover to form a cement floor on which a desired floor covering, such as ceramic tiles or carpet, can be adhered. A problem that arises with such floors is that any movement in the sub-floor will be immediately transferred to the set cement and cause it to crack and often cause a fracture in a heating wire captive in the cement thereby requiring expensive repairs. Complex support sheets have been developed whereby to uncouple a sub-floor to a main cement floor to prevent fracture but such members are complex in structure, are thick and are not adapted for heated floors. Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 6,434,901 which describes such an uncoupling system. Such support structure is not, however, suitable for heated flooring. It is also known to use spacer plates having spacers on the bottom of the plate to form a hollow floor and grooves in the top surface of the plate to hold heating or cooling pipes. It is also known to secure a fiber mat on a sub-floor or layers thereof in addition to the spacer plate and this results in a costly installation.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,176,694 describes a support structure that combines the established functionality of both the commonly used support structure and a commonly used heating structure into a single structure that supports a tiled floor to prevent fractures and failure and also supports a heating cable to heat the floor. As such, the need for a separate heating structure is eliminated. However, such structures are expensive to produce and are secured directly to a sub-floor surface and any shifting in the sub-floor will be transmitted into the support structure and results in cracks developing in the set mortar.
A more cost-efficient and easy-to-install floor heating system which prevents the transfer of movement in the sub-floor to the heating wire supports and the set concrete is desired. It is also desirable that the floor heating system be integrated and easy-to-install and be supplied in sheet or roll form.
It is a feature of the present invention to provide a floor heating system which substantially overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art and provides the above needs.
According to the above feature, from a broad aspect, the present invention provides a floor heating system comprising one or more heating wire support members having heating wire support and guiding means to secure and guide one or more heating wires along a desired path on an upper surface thereof. A lower surface of the one or more heating wire support members is secured to the surface of a flexible anti-fracture membrane formed of a material having stretchable elastic properties. A lower surface of the flexible anti-fracture membrane is adapted for securement to a floor surface. The upper surface of the one or more heating wire support members is adapted to receive a cementitious material to embed the one or more heating wires and the heating wire support members therein. The flexible anti-fracture membrane has a core of predetermined thickness whereby the elastic properties of the core will stretch to absorb displacement in the lower surface thereof caused by displacement in the floor surface to prevent transfer of the displacement to the lower surface of the heating wire support members secured to the upper surface of the flexible anti-fracture membrane and the cementitious material set on the upper surface of the flexible anti-fracture membrane.
According to a further broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of constructing a heated floor surface having one or more heating wires therein. The method comprises the steps of: i) securing one or more heating wire support members having heating wire support and guiding means to a surface of a flexible anti-fracture membrane formed of a material having elastic properties, the flexible anti-fracture membrane having a core of predetermined thickness; ii) gluing a lower surface of the flexible anti-fracture membrane on a floor surface of a sub-floor; iii) securing one or more heating wires to the heating wire support and guiding means along one or more desired paths; iv) connecting the heating wires to a cold lead of a thermostat; v) applying a cementitious slurry over the one or more heating wire support members to embed the heating wires and the support members in the slurry; vi) applying a surface covering material on the cementitious surface; and wherein the flexible anti-fracture member core thickness is sufficient for the elastic properties thereof to stretch to absorb displacement in the lower surface thereof caused by shifting in the sub-floor and not be transferred to the upper surface of the anti-fracture membrane.
According to a still further broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a flexible heating wire support meshing for the construction of heated floors. The flexible heating wire support meshing comprises a flexible anti-fracture membrane formed of a material having elastic properties and having a core of predetermined thickness to cause relative movement between an upper and a lower surface thereof. One or more heating wire support members, having heating wire support and guiding means, are secured to the upper surface of the flexible anti-fracture membrane. The lower surface of the flexible anti-fracture membrane is adapted for securement to a surface of a sub-floor wherein the elastic properties of the core between the lower and upper surfaces will stretch to absorb any displacement in the lower surface caused by shifting of the sub-floor and not be transferred to the upper surface of the flexible anti-fracture membrane.
According to a still further broad aspect of the present invention, the flexible anti-fracture membrane is a composite membrane formed of a core sheet of stretchable material and opposed attachment sheets bonded thereto for securement to the lower surface of one or more heating wire support members and a sub-floor surface, respectively. The composite membrane also has thermal and sound insulating properties.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Referring now to
As shown in
The flexible anti-fracture membrane 13 is formed of a material having elastic properties capable of recovering its shape and having a core of predetermined thickness to cause relative movement between an upper surface 13′ and a lower surface 13″ thereof. Typically, this flexible and stretchable anti-fracture member may be constructed of rubber material or woven stretchable yarns stitched in a pattern to produce a thickness sufficient to decouple the lower surface thereof 13″ from the upper surface 13′ thereof when the lower surface is stretched or displaced.
As shown in
As shown in
Referring again to
Any shifting of the sub-floor will cause a corresponding shifting in the flexible core material 35, as indicated by arrow 37 in
With reference now to
The bonded wire support meshing 11 and flexible anti-fracture membrane 13 may be pre-glued together and supplied in sheet form, preferably in roll and which sheet is easily cut to cover floor surfaces of different shapes and sizes to cover an entire floor surface prior to the assembly of heating wires thereon in desired patterns. It is pointed out that flexible anti-fracture membrane 13 inherently provides thermal and sound damping between the heated floor and the area under the sub-floor. It also provides vibration damping.
It is pointed out that the heating wire support meshing 11 may be glued to the anti-fracture membrane 13 and heating wires secured to the meshing 11 at a manufacturing plant with the assembly then rolled up for delivery in roll form. Such would result in quick installation by unskilled labour.
It is within the ambit of the present invention to cover any obvious modifications of the preferred embodiment described herein, provided such modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2792370 | Oct 2012 | CA | national |
