HIGHLY INSULATED TILE

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE TO ANY PRIORITY APPLICATIONS

Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claim is identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the present application are hereby incorporated by reference under 37 CFR 1.57.

BACKGROUND
Field

The present disclosure is directed to a tile for use, for example, as insulation in a building or for a vessel, and more particularly to a tile having structures to insulate against heat conduction, convection and radiation therethrough.

Description of the Related Art

To keep a house or a building energy efficient, insulation can play a big role. During summer powerful solar rays radiate down onto to the roof and walls of the house. In a hot geographic region, temperature inside the house can rise to an uncomfortable level. The usual solution is to turn on an electric fan or an air conditioning system installed in the house. During winter, the outside temperature can become very cold. Then it is necessary to turn on the heating system to keep the interior of the house warm.

Solutions have been developed to keep the inside of a house or building insulated from the outside environment. For example, it has been a common practice for a house wall to include an insulation layer, e.g., fiberglass or polymeric foam. Double-pane glass with inert gas filled in the space between the glass layers has been adopted for windows. Other solutions have been invented and implemented.

SUMMARY

In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, a tile for heat insulation comprises a tile box forming an enclosure. The tile box comprises aluminum or aluminum alloy material. Inside the enclosure are disposed at least one aluminum foil panel, wherein the at least one aluminum foil panel separates the enclosure into two or more chambers. The tile inhibits conduction, convection and radiation heat transfer therethrough. In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, the tile box of the tile comprises a tile body and a tile cover assembled together. In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, the two or more chambers are disposed adjacent each other and extend along an entire width and length of the enclosure. In one example, the tile can be a rectangular box (e.g., have planar surfaces). In another example, the tile can be curved (e.g., have a C-shape, have an S-shape) that allows the tile to conform to a curved surface, such as a vessel (e.g., tank, pipe) having a circular perimeter.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a tile for heat insulation, the tile including: a tile body defining a shell having a pair of sidewalls and an end wall extending between and attached to the sidewalls; a cover configured to couple to and close the shell to form a box with an enclosure inside the box; and one or more spaced apart panels of infrared radiation reflective material disposed within the enclosure and extending across a width and length of the enclosure to divide the enclosure into two or more separate sub-chambers, wherein the tile inhibits conduction heat transfer, convection heat transfer and radiation heat transfer therethrough.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a tile, wherein the cover is coupleable to the shell via an adhesive, one or more welds, or one or more fasteners.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a tile, wherein the one or more spaced apart panels include aluminum foil.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a tile, wherein the one or more spaced apart panels within the enclosure are three spaced apart panels.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a tile, wherein the one or more spaced apart panels are attached to a frame, an assembly of the one or more spaced apart panels and the frame configured to be disposed in the enclosure.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a tile, wherein the frame can be removably disposed within the enclosure.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a tile, wherein the box has planar surfaces.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a tile, wherein the box has an arc shape defined by a radius of curvature.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a tile, wherein the box has S-shaped surfaces.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a tile for heat insulation, the tile including: a tile body at least partially defining an enclosure; a cover configured to couple to and close the enclosure; and one or more spaced apart panels of reflective material disposed within the enclosure and extending across a width and length of the enclosure to divide the enclosure into two or more separate sub-chambers, wherein the tile inhibits conduction heat transfer, convection heat transfer and radiation heat transfer therethrough.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a tile, wherein the one or more spaced apart panels include aluminum foil.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a tile, wherein the one or more spaced apart panels are attached to a frame configured to be removably disposed in the enclosure.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a tile, wherein the tile body has planar surfaces or curved surfaces.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a tile, wherein the curved surfaces define an arc shape or a wavy shape.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a tile for heat insulation, the tile including: a tile body at least partially defining an enclosure; and one or more spaced apart panels of reflective material disposed within the enclosure and extending across a width and length of the enclosure to divide the enclosure into two or more separate sub-chambers, wherein the tile inhibits conduction heat transfer, convection heat transfer and radiation heat transfer therethrough.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a tile, wherein the one or more spaced apart panels include aluminum foil.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a tile, wherein the one or more spaced apart panels are attached to a frame within the enclosure.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a tile, wherein the tile body has a planar shape or a curved shape.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a tile, wherein the curved shape defines an arc shape or a wavy shape.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a tile, wherein the one or more spaced apart panels have a same shape as the tile body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an example embodiment of a tile.

FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of the tile of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view along the line 3-3 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view along the line 4-4 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a schematic detail view taken out of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of tile of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a schematic partial top view of a plurality of tiles of FIG. 1 assembled together with lateral edges facing up.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of another example embodiment of a tile.

FIG. 9 is a schematic top view of the tile of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view along the line 10-10 in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a schematic partial perspective view of a plurality of tiles of FIG. 8 assembled on a sloped surface.

FIG. 12 is a schematic perspective view of another example embodiment of a tile.

FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view along the line 13-13 in FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a plurality of tiles of FIG. 12 assembled covering partial outer circumference of a pipe.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic perspective view of a tile 1 (e.g., an insulation tile), which is an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The tile 1 includes a tile body 10 and a tile cover 12 assembled together. The tile 1 may be rectangular box (e.g., with planar surfaces) shaped with a top plate 13 having a flat top surface and lateral edges 15. The tile body 10 can be made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy. In other implementations, the tile body 10 can be made of other suitable materials (e.g., made of other metals or metal alloys). As shown in FIG. 2, the top view of the tile 1 has a rectangular shape. However, the tile 1 can have other suitable shapes (e.g., square).

FIGS. 3 and 4 are schematic cross-sectional views taken from FIG. 2. While FIG. 3 is taken from line 3-3 in FIG. 2 in the length direction of the rectangular top view of the tile 1, FIG. 4 is taken from line 4-4, which is perpendicular to the line 3-3 and is in the width direction of the rectangular top view. It can be seen from both FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 that the tile body 10 is shell-shaped with a small thickness of a top plate 13 and sidewalls 19 forming part thereof. The tile body 10 and the tile cover 12 are coupled together making a box shaped structure, and forming an enclosure 18 inside the box. The coupling between the tile body 10 and the tile cover 12 may be made via an adhesive, welding, or by fasteners, e.g., screws or rivets. In some implementations, once assembled, the enclosure 18 may be hermitically sealed.

The enclosure 18 is divided into layered (e.g., adjacent) sub-chambers 18a, 18b, 18c, and 18d by panels 14a-14c, which can be made of aluminum foil or another type of thin and highly infrared radiation reflective material. The panels 14a-14c extend across the enclosure 18 (e.g., across the width and length of the enclosure 18) and are spaced apart from each other and from the top plate 13 and the cover 12. Although three panels 14a-14c arc shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, less than three or more than three panels can be implemented in the enclosure 18. Each of the panels 14a-14c may be attached to an edge frame 16, for example by an adhesive. In some implementations, the panel 14a-14c can include a clear thermoplastic backing layer. As such, the panel 14 can be heat staked onto the frame 16, which may be made of a heat stake-able thermoplastic material. The assembly of the panel(s) 14 and the frame(s) 16 can be disposed in the enclosure 18, and attached in place by adhesive, friction fit, or another suitable method. In some implementations, the assembly of the panel(s) 14 and the frame(s) 16 can be removably disposed in the enclosure 18, which can facilitate maintenance and/or replacement of the panel(s) 14. In some implementations, the panels 14a-14c can be directly attached to the sidewalls 19, e.g., to edges or other features formed on the sidewalls 19, without the frames 16.

The tile 1 with internal structures shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and as described above is highly effective for heat insulation purposes. Heat transfer in general has three modes, including conduction, convection and radiation. Conduction heat transfer is calculated using the following equation:

$Q_{cond} = kA Δ T / L$

wherein Q_condis conduction heat transfer rate, k is the thermal conductivity of the material involved, A is the structural cross-sectional area that the heat transfers across, and L is the thickness of the heat transfer path, e.g., a thickness of the tile 1 when conduction heat transfer from the top plate 13 side to the tile cover 12 side is considered. To transfer from one side of the tile 1 to the other side, e.g., from the top side (e.g., the top plate 13) to the bottom side (e.g., the tile cover 12), with a temperature differential AT, conduction heat transfer has to go through the sidewalls 19, which has much smaller cross-sectional area than the total area of the top side (or bottom side). For example, if the tile 1 has a top side dimensioned 17 inches by 12 inches and a thickness of sidewalls 19 about ¼ inch, the cross-sectional area of the sidewalls 19 is about 7% the total area of the tile 1, e.g., the total area of the top plate 13. If the thickness of the sidewalls 19 is reduced to ⅛ inch, the cross-sectional area of the sidewalls 19 is about 3.5% of the total area of the top plate 13. Therefore, compared with a tile made of solid material, the tile 1 with dimensions described above can achieve over 96% of conduction heat transfer reduction if the sidewalls 19 are ⅛ inch thick, according to the equation for conduction heat transfer. In implementations where the tile 1 is made of aluminum or aluminum alloy, which has much higher strength, the sidewalls 19 can be made quite thin, e.g., thinner than ⅛ inch, and with ample strength to be implemented, for example, in a building (e.g., a roof).

The tile cover 12 can be made of aluminum. In another example, the cover 12 can be made of a heat insulation material, e.g., wood or plastic, which can further limit conduction heat transfer across the thickness of the tile 1. In an example where the tile 1 is used on a roof, the tile cover 12 can be disposed under the tile body 10 adjacent a house roof, so the tile cover 12 is not exposed to the sun and the weather, including rain and moisture. As such the tile cover 12 is protected from weathering.

To illustrate convection heat transfer and radiation heat transfer, a detail view in FIG. 4 is zoomed and shown in FIG. 5. For convection heat transfer, the enclosure 18 is isolated to four layered chambers 18a, 18b, 18c, and 18d. In each of the four chambers, when the bottom or top side is hotter than the other, the air trapped inside the chamber 18a-18d is heated at the hot side and has a tendency to rise up due to gravitation effect or buoyancy effect, as indicated by the flow pattern arrows 24 in FIG. 5. The buoyancy effect causes the hot air to stay at a top portion of the chamber 18a-18d and the cold air stays at a lower portion of the chamber 18a-18d. When the tile 1 is laid approximately horizontal or forming an acute angle with a horizontal plane, such as on a roof, the layered chamber 18a-18d are oriented approximately horizontally. Therefore, the buoyancy effect (and the convention heat transfer) is significantly reduced because of the reduced height of each chamber 18a-18d. Even if the tile 1 is vertically oriented, the reduced size of each chamber 18a-18d can significantly reduce the buoyancy effect, and hence the convection heat transfer. In some implementations, more than four layered chambers 18a-18d can be implemented to limit convection heat transfer.

Radiation heat transfer is also shown in FIG. 5 as 22a on the top surface of the tile 1 and 22b in the chambers 18a-18d, assuming the tile 1 is laid flat (e.g., on a roof). Radiation heat transfer is calculated using the following equation:

$Q_{rad} = εσ A (T_{2}^{4} - T_{1}^{4})$

wherein Q_radis radiation heat transfer rate, σ is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant, ε is the emissivity and depends on the emitting body (e.g., the tile 1) surface properties, and A is the surface of the emitting body. In this case, A is the area of the top plate 13 of the tile 1 shown in FIG. 2, or the total area of each panel 14a-14c disposed in the enclosure 18. T₁and T₂are the temperatures of the two bodies exchanging heat energy by radiation. For example when the tile 1 is exposed under the sun, T₁and T₂are the temperatures of the tile 1 and the sun that radiates energy to the tile 1. Since radiation energy is related to the fourth power of temperature and the product of σ and ε is quiet small, radiation heat transfer only becomes significant when the temperature difference between the two bodies is significantly big. For example, in nighttime the surrounding of a house or building is not significantly colder than the house or building, radiation heat transfer is not significant. Therefore, FIG. 5 only illustrates the case when the tile 1 receives radiation energy from the sun during the day.

In one example, aluminum is selected as the material for the tile 1 (e.g., the tile body 10, the panels 14a-14c) because of its high reflection rate of visible light and infrared light. Other materials, e.g., silver and copper, may also be suitable for use for the tile 1 (e.g., for the tile body 10, the cover 12 and/or panels 14a-14c) for reflecting visible and infrared light. References indicate that aluminum can reflect more than 86% of visible light. Pure aluminum material can be weathered over time when exposed to the sun, rain, and other weather conditions. Therefore, in some implementations the aluminum surface can be coated with a coating layer, potentially for enhanced visible light and infrared light reflection property. Conventionally available aluminum foil may have a bright side that is more effective for specular reflection and a matte side that is better for diffusive reflection. Overall, both sides can reflect 97% of infrared spectrum. ‘Household aluminum foil matte and bright side reflectivity measurements: Application to a photobioreactor light concentrator design’. November 2019, Biotechnology Reports 25: e00399 [retrieved on Apr. 17, 2023]. Retrieved from the Internet: <URL: www.researchgate.net/publication/337390826_Household_aluminum_foil_matte_and_bright_side_reflectivity_measurements_Application_to_a_photobioreactor_light_concentrator_desi gn>.

Considering the layered structure of panels 14a-14c (e.g., aluminum foil) in FIG. 5, the visible light 22a from the sun is reflected at the top surface of the tile 1. The reflection rate is 86% or more. Any companion infrared light from the sun is reflected by about 97%. A portion of the visible and infrared light that is not reflected can be absorbed by the top plate 13 of the tile body 10 to heat up the tile body 10 including the top plate 13. The heated top plate 13 then emits infrared light to all directions, including the infrared light portion 22b into the first chamber 18a. About 97% of the incident infrared light 22b is reflected by the first panel 14a disposed in the enclosure 18, mostly back to the top plate 13 of the tile body 10. The remaining infrared light 22b is absorbed by the first panel 14a, and the absorbed energy is emitted by the first panel 14a as infrared energy to all directions. Repeating the pattern described above, a portion of the infrared light emitted by the first panels 14a enters into the second chamber 18b and gets reflected by the second panel 14b. And so forth. As set forth above, most of the light energy is reflected. At the top surface, the reflection rate is over 86%. Into the first chamber 18a, the combined reflection rate of the top surface and the first panel 14a can be more than 99.5%. Into the second chamber 18b, the combined reflection rate of the top surface, the first panel 14a, and the second panel 14b can be more than 99.98%. This means that nearly all visible and infrared light energy incident on the tile 1 from the sun is reflected down in the second chamber 18b. Therefore, the tile 1 comprising aluminum and with the internal structure as shown in FIG. 5 is advantageously highly effective for insulating radiation heat transfer, and implementation of two layers of panels 14a-14b is sufficient to insulate the radiation energy from the sun.

Moving to FIG. 6, a schematic exploded view of FIG. 1 is illustrated, with the tile cover shown 12 above the tile body 10. Three panels 14a-14c are shown assembled with respective frames 16. As described above, the panels 14a-14c can be installed inside the enclosure 18 of the tile body 10 by adhesion or by friction fit.

FIG. 7 shows a partial top view of a plurality of tiles 1 assembled together in adjacent rows, for example attached on a house or building wall, to provide thermal insulation for the house or building. The view in FIG. 7 is the lateral (e.g., right or left) edges 15 of the tiles 1 as shown in FIG. 1. Two rows of the tiles 1 are placed together, with an offset between the rows, so that a tile 1 of the front row is offset for about a half of the length of the tile 1 of the rear row. The offset between the two rows (and columns in a traverse direction) can ensure that any gaps 26 between adjacent tiles 1, either vertically or horizontally, of one row of the tiles 1 are covered by the tiles 1 of the other row. This implementation can enhance the thermal insulation effect. The gaps 26 between the adjacent tiles 1 can optionally be filled by a material as an adhesive layer, which can serve to prevent rainwater or moisture from penetrating to the downside of the tiles 1. The filling material may be asphalt, mortar, grout, or polymeric filler. The filling material can have a waterproof sealing layer disposed on the top surface to stop water penetration.

Referring to FIG. 8, a schematic perspective view of another example implementation of a tile 3 is illustrated. Instead of flat tile, such as tile 1, the tile 3 has a wavy top surface, including a trough portion 44 and a hump portion 42, both formed as portions of a top plate of the tile 3 and parallel to the length direction. The tile 3 has a left edge 46 and a right edge 48. As with the tile 1, the tile 3 can be made of aluminum or aluminum alloy. The top view of the tile 3 is also rectangular shaped, as shown in FIG. 9. The tile 3 can be used in some examples as a roof tile.

FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the tile 3 taken from line 10-10 in FIG. 9. As can be seen, the tile 3 has an enclosure 38 formed by attaching the tile cover 32 to the tile body 30. As with the tile 1, the tile body 30 and the tile cover 32 are assembly to for a sinusoidal shaped box with the internal enclosure 38. Inside the enclosure 38 are disposed two layers of (aluminum foil) panels 34, that have the wavy shapes matching the shape of the top plate of the tile 3. The (aluminum foil) panels 34 can be attached to individual frames similar to the (aluminum foil) panels 14 in the tile 1, and the frames with the panels 34 can be installed in the enclosure 38. In some implementations, the (aluminum foil) panels 34 can be attached to the sidewalls of the tile body 30, e.g., to steps or features formed on the sidewalls. As shown in FIG. 10, the two (aluminum foil) panels 34 are installed in the enclosure 38 spaced apart from each other to partition the enclosure 38 into three chambers 38a, 38b, and 38c. The tile 3, including the panels 34 and chambers 38a-38c functions the same as tile 1 for heat transfer insulation purposes, including insulation against conduction heat transfer, convection heat transfer, and radiation heat transfer. Therefore, the explanations of heat transfer functioning of the tile 1 set forth above directly apply to the tile 3.

The wavy shape in the traverse direction of the tile 3 has advantages of laying on top of each other. In FIG. 11, a partial prospective view of an area, e.g., a roof, is presented with a plurality of tiles 3 installed, e.g., on a house roof. The area, e.g., roof, can be sloped, so that rainwater can run from a ridge of the roof down the slope to a lower roof edge. When the tiles 3 are laid, an inferior edge of an upper tile 3 is placed on top of a superior edge of a lower tile 3. In a traverse direction, a right edge 48 that is connected to a hump 42 of a left side tile 3 is stacked into a trough 44 of a right side tile 3. In this manner the plurality tiles 3 can be connected continuously up and down, and left and right, forming troughs to allow rainwater to flow downward from the roof ridge. No filling material is needed between the tiles.

Referring to FIG. 12, a schematic perspective view of another example implementation of a tile 4 is illustrated. Traversing a length direction, the tile 4 has a curved shape. In one example, the curved shape can be defined by a radius of curvature (e.g. an inner radius of curvature, such as along tile body 40, and an outer radius of curvature, such as along a tile cover 42). In one example, the curved shape can form and arc (e.g., forming a partial circle, such as ¼ of a circle, ⅓ of a circle, ½ of a circle, etc.). As with the tile 1 and the tile 3, the tile 4 can in some implementations be made of aluminum or aluminum alloy.

FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the tile 4 taken from line 13-13 in FIG. 12. Similar to the tile 1 and the tile 3, the tile 4 has an enclosure 48 formed by attaching the tile cover 42 to the tile body 40. At least one, e.g., two, panel 44, which can be made of aluminum foil or another type of thin and highly infrared radiation reflective material, can be installed in the enclosure 48. The at least one panel 44 can have a curved shape (e.g., can have matching curved shape to that of the tile 4, such as of the tile cover 42 and/or the tile body 40). The (aluminum foil) panels 44 can be attached to individual frames similar to the (aluminum foil) panels 14 in the tile 1 and panels 34 in the tile 3. The frames with the panels 44 can then be installed in the enclosure 48, thereby facilitation the installation and removal of the panel(s) 44 from the enclosure 48. In some implementations, the (aluminum foil) panels 44 can be attached to the sidewalls of the tile body 40, e.g., to steps, ledges or features formed on the inner sidewalls of the tile body 40. As shown in FIG. 13, the at least one panel 44 is two (aluminum foil) panels 44 and can be installed in the enclosure 48 spaced apart from each other to partition the enclosure 48 into three sub-chambers. The tile 4, including the panels 44 and the internal chambers function in the manner as tile 1 for heat transfer insulation purposes, including insulation against conduction heat transfer, convection heat transfer, and radiation heat transfer. Therefore, the explanations of heat transfer insulation performance of the tile 1 set forth above directly apply to the tile 4.

FIG. 14 shows a cross-sectional view of an example application of the insulating tile 4. In the illustrated example, three tiles 4 are shown disposed partially about a vessel 50 with a curved (e.g., circular) outer wall. In one example, the vessel 50 can be a tank (e.g., a pressurized tank). In another example, the vessel 50 can be a pipe (e.g., through which a fluid, such as a liquid like hot water or a gas, flows). Though FIG. 14 only shows two tiles 4a adjacent the outer surface of the vessel 50, one of skill in the art will recognize that the tiles 4a can be disposed completely around the perimeter of the vessel 50 (e.g., so no portion of the outer surface of the vessel 50 is exposed). Additionally, in some example, multiple layers of the tiles 4 can be arranged about the vessel 50. As shown in FIG. 14, the tile 4b can be disposed on an opposite side of the tiles 4a from the vessel 50. Though FIG. 14 only shows one tile 4b adjacent the outer surface of the tiles 4a, one of skill in the art will recognize that the tiles 4a can be disposed completely around the perimeter of the vessel 50 (e.g., so no portion of the outer surface of the vessel 50 is exposed) and that the tiles 4b can be disposed adjacent the tiles 4a completely around the perimeter of the vessel 50 (e.g., so no portion of the tiles 4a is exposed) to provide another layer of heat transfer insulation. Accordingly, one or more (e.g., two, three, etc.) layers of tile insulation can be arranged about the perimeter of the vessel 50 (e.g., tank, pipe). The tiles 4 advantageously insulate the vessel 50 (e.g., hot water tank, thermal storage tank) to inhibit (e.g., prevent) heat loss from the vessel 50 (e.g., to the environment), which can advantageously increase the efficiency of the system utilizing the vessel 50 and or result in energy savings (e.g., from not having to reheat the fluid in the vessel 50 since the tile 4 would inhibit or prevent heat loss from the vessel 50).

As shown in FIG. 14, the inner layer of tiles 4a are sized and shape to fit the outer circumferential surface of the vessel 50, while the outer layer of tiles 4b are sized and shaped to fit the outer surface of the inner layer of tiles 4a. For example, if each of the tiles 4a and 4b expands a partial circle, an outer diameter of the inner tile 4a can be about the same as an inner diameter of the outer tile 4b. For the inner layer, the tiles 4a are installed allowing the side edges of the adjacent tiles to come in touch or to leave only a small gap. In the length direction, the tiles 4a can meet head touching tail, or only leave small gaps. In this manner the plurality tiles 4a in the inner layer can be connected continuously up and down, and left and right. When the outer layer is installed, the tiles 4b can be placed with an offset to the tiles 4a in the inner layer, so that a tile 4b may be offset for about a half of the width with the tiles 4a. In the length direction, the tile 4b may be offset for about a half of the length with the tiles 4a as well. The tile offset between the two layers can ensure that any gaps between adjacent tiles 4a, either vertically or horizontally, of the inner layer are covered by the tiles 4b of the outer layer. This implementation can enhance the thermal insulation effect and inhibit (e.g., prevent) heat loss via the gaps between tiles. The gaps between the adjacent tiles 4a and 4b can optionally be filled by a material such as an adhesive, which can inhibit (e.g., prevent) rainwater or moisture from penetrating through the layers. The filling material may be asphalt, mortar, grout, or polymeric filler. The filling material can have a waterproof sealing layer disposed on the top surface to stop water penetration.

While certain embodiments of the inventions have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the systems and methods described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the disclosure. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosure. Accordingly, the scope of the present inventions is defined only by reference to the appended claims.

Features, materials, characteristics, or groups described in conjunction with a particular aspect, embodiment, or example are to be understood to be applicable to any other aspect, embodiment or example described in this section or elsewhere in this specification unless incompatible therewith. All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive. The protection is not restricted to the details of any foregoing embodiments. The protection extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.

Furthermore, certain features that are described in this disclosure in the context of separate implementations can also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single implementation can also be implemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations, one or more features from a claimed combination can, in some cases, be excised from the combination, and the combination may be claimed as a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Moreover, while operations may be depicted in the drawings or described in the specification in a particular order, such operations need not be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. Other operations that are not depicted or described can be incorporated in the example methods and processes. For example, one or more additional operations can be performed before, after, simultaneously, or between any of the described operations. Further, the operations may be rearranged or reordered in other implementations. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that in some embodiments, the actual steps taken in the processes illustrated and/or disclosed may differ from those shown in the figures. Depending on the embodiment, certain of the steps described above may be removed, others may be added. Furthermore, the features and attributes of the specific embodiments disclosed above may be combined in different ways to form additional embodiments, all of which fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Also, the separation of various system components in the implementations described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all implementations, and it should be understood that the described components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single product or packaged into multiple products.

For purposes of this disclosure, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features are described herein. Not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment. Thus, for example, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves one advantage or a group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.

Conditional language, such as “can,” “could,” “might,” or “may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements, and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements, and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whether these features, elements, and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

Conjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, and Z,” unless specifically stated otherwise, is otherwise understood with the context as used in general to convey that an item, term, etc. may be either X, Y, or Z. Thus, such conjunctive language is not generally intended to imply that certain embodiments require the presence of at least one of X, at least one of Y, and at least one of Z.

Language of degree used herein, such as the terms “approximately,” “about,” “generally,” and “substantially” as used herein represent a value, amount, or characteristic close to the stated value, amount, or characteristic that still performs a desired function or achieves a desired result. For example, the terms “approximately”, “about”, “generally,” and “substantially” may refer to an amount that is within less than 10% of, within less than 5% of, within less than 1% of, within less than 0.1% of, and within less than 0.01% of the stated amount. As another example, in certain embodiments, the terms “generally parallel” and “substantially parallel” refer to a value, amount, or characteristic that departs from exactly parallel by less than or equal to 15 degrees, 10 degrees, 5 degrees, 3 degrees, 1 degree, or 0.1 degree.

The scope of the present disclosure is not intended to be limited by the specific disclosures of preferred embodiments in this section or elsewhere in this specification, and may be defined by claims as presented in this section or elsewhere in this specification or as presented in the future. The language of the claims is to be interpreted broadly based on the language employed in the claims and not limited to the examples described in the present specification or during the prosecution of the application, which examples are to be construed as non-exclusive.

Of course, the foregoing description is that of certain features, aspects and advantages of the present invention, to which various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Moreover, the devices described herein need not feature all of the objects, advantages, features and aspects discussed above. Thus, for example, those of skill in the art will recognize that the invention can be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or a group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other objects or advantages as may be taught or suggested herein. In addition, while a number of variations of the invention have been shown and described in detail, other modifications and methods of use, which are within the scope of this invention, will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art based upon this disclosure. It is contemplated that various combinations or sub-combinations of these specific features and aspects of embodiments may be made and still fall within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that various features and aspects of the disclosed embodiments can be combined with or substituted for one another in order to form varying modes of the discussed devices.

HIGHLY INSULATED TILE

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