Patent Application
20190264066
This disclosure relates to field of tile installation, and more specifically, this disclosure relates to reactivatable tile bonding mats installable without cement-based thinset.
Tiles are widely used for wall and floor coverings. Tiles can be made of ceramic, glass, porcelain, concrete, stone, and various composite materials. Currently cement-based thinset is used to adhere the tiles to cover surfaces, such floors and walls. However, the use of the cement-based thinset for tile installation has disadvantages. First, it makes hard to remove or replace tile after the tile is glued to a surface. Second, production of the cement used in cement-based thinset is not environmentally friendly because it involves extensive emission of carbon dioxide. Thirdly, the mixing of cement thinset creates a dust-filled area with airborne silica being of concern.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described in the Detailed Description below. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Generally, the present disclosure is directed to tile boding mats. Some embodiments of the present disclosure may allow installment of the tile without using a cement-based thinset.
According to one example embodiment of the present disclosure, a reactivatable tile bonding mat is providing for installation without cement-based thinset. The reactivatable tile bonding mat may include a top surface and a bottom surface. The top surface and the bottom surface may include polymer hot-melt material. The polymer hot-melt material can be reactivated by heating. The polymer hot-melt material may have adhesive properties.
The polymer hot-melt material can be able to adhere to a surface of at least one of concrete, wood, stone, tile and vinyl. The polymer hot-melt material may bond to the surface after being heated to a pre-determined temperature. The strength of the bonding may be sufficient to satisfy one or more construction requirements for tile installation.
The top surface and the bottom surface can include a heat receptor and the heating may be carried out with induction heating. The heat receptor can be embedded in the polymer hot-melt material and include at least one of metal flake, metallic fiber, powdered steel, and a steel screen mesh. The heating may also be carried out with convection heating. The heating can be produced by a microwave heater and a heat gun.
The polymer hot-melt material may include a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and a filler. The filler may include at least one of calcium carbonate, aragonite, silica, metal flake, and glass. The filler can be melted into the PET in a pre-determined proportion to obtain a polymer hot-melt material with a pre-determined melting temperature. The polymer hot-melt material may include 20-50% by volume of the PET and 50%-80% by volume of glass material. The glass material can be made of a recycled windshield glass or other ground glass filler. The melting temperature of the polymer hot-melt material can be higher than a temperature produced by a floor heating system.
The top surface and the bottom surface of the mat may include a hydrophobic material to cause the reactivatable tile bonding mat to be moisture resistant. The top surface and the bottom surface further can include a crack suppressant membrane. In some embodiments, the top surface and bottom surface may be carried out in a notch pattern. The notch pattern may include notches ½ inches wide and ⅜ inches deep and a distance between two neighboring notches can be ¼ inches. In some embodiments, the height between the top surface and the bottom surface can be between ½ inch to ¾ inch.
According to one example embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for manufacturing a reactivatable tile bonding mat installable without cement-based thinset is provided. The method may include using a polymer PET polyester and a filler. The filler may be melted into the polyester in a pre-determined proportion to obtain a polymer hot-melt material having a pre-determined melting temperature. The method may further include forming, from the polymer hot-melt material, a mat having a first surface and a second surface, wherein heating of the polymer hot-melt material causes the first surface to adhere to a tile and the second surface to adhere to a surface being covered by the tile.
Other example embodiments of the disclosure and aspects will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the following drawings.
The accompanying drawings, where like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate views, together with the detailed description below, are incorporated in and form part of the specification, and serve to further illustrate embodiments of concepts that include the claimed disclosure and explain various principles and advantages of those embodiments.
In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosure. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, structures and devices are shown at block diagram form only in order to avoid obscuring the disclosure.
The technology disclosed herein is concerned with tile installation. Specifically, a reactivatable tile bonding mat that requires no cement-based thinset for installation is disclosed. In some embodiments, the reactivatable tile bonding mat includes material with adhesive properties on the top surface and the bottom surface. The top surface and the bottom surface can include a polymer hot-melt material that is reactivatable after heating, the polymer hot-melt material having adhesive properties for adhering to concrete and other substrates activated upon heating.
Technical effects of certain embodiments of the disclosure may provide a method for installation of tiles without use of a cement-based thinset by using a reactivatable tile bonding mat. Eliminating the need for cement-based thinset may result in reduction of the use and production of cement-based products, and thereby reducing carbon dioxide emission.
Referring now to the drawings, various embodiments are described in which like reference numerals represent like parts and assemblies throughout the several views. It should be noted that the reference to various embodiments does not limit the scope of the claims attached hereto. Additionally, any examples outlined in this specification are not intended to be limiting and merely set forth some of the many possible embodiments for the appended claims.
In an example embodiment, the polymer hot-melt material can be made of a mixture of a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and a filler. The filler may include one or more of calcium carbonate, aragonite, silica, metal flake, and glass. In some embodiments, the filler can be made of recycled windshield glass.
The filler in the polymer hot-melt material can be added for the following reasons. First, the filler may stabilize temperature at which the polymer hot-melt material can melt. A pre-determined proportion of the filler to the PET can be selected to obtain the polymer material with a desired melting temperature for the polymer hot-melt material. The descried melting temperature of the polymer hot-melt material can be higher than a temperature produced by the floor heating system to allow the reactivatable tile bonding mat to be used with floor heating systems without being melted. At the same time, the desired melting temperature can be low enough to allow heating 120 to be applied to the reactivatable tile bonding mat to cause melting of the polymer hot-melt material. In some embodiments, the polymer hot-melt material may include 20-50% by volume of the PET and 50-80% by volume of glass material.
Another reason for adding the filler is that the filler may provide extra support structure for the tile 110 when the tile 110 is positioned on top of the reactivatable tile bonding mat 115. Yet another reason for adding the filler is that the filler may replace, at least partially, the PET and thus reduce costs of manufacturing the polymer hot-melt material and the reactivatable tile bonding mat 115 because the filler (for example, recycled windshield glass) can be less expensive than the PET.
Heating 120 may include inductive heating or conductive heating. The heating may be used to adhere the tile 110 to the surface of floor 105 by melting the polymer hot-melt material. The heating can be also used to remove the tile or adjust position of the tile already attached to the floor by re-melting the polymer hot-melt material of the reactivatable tile bonding mat 115.
In some embodiment, the reactivatable tile bonding mat 115 may include a heat receptor. In some embodiments, when heating is induction heating, the heat receptor may include on or more of metal flake, metallic fiber, powdered steel or a steel screen mesh, embedded in the polymer hot-melt material. Heating may cause molecules of the hot receptor to stir up, which, in turn, causes the polymer hot-melt material to melt and create bonding to surfaces of the tile 110, the floor 105 and/or floor heating system (if installed on the floor), and other surfaces on which the tile can be installed.
In some embodiments, when relying on other heating methods (for example using a microwave device, heat gun, and so forth) the reactivatable tile bonding mat 115 may include a porous, melt-bonded polyester that is non-woven and has proven dimensional stability when, for example, subjected to changes in temperature and humidity.
In some embodiments, the reactivatable tile bonding mat 115 may further include a hydrophobic material. The hydrophobic material can make the reactivatable tile bonding mat 115 moisture resistant. In some embodiments, the reactivatable tile bonding mat 115 can also act as a crack suppressant membrane.
In various embodiments, the reactivatable tile bonding mat may include a low-melting point polymer or synthetic material impregnated with metal flake, metallic fibers, or a steel mesh. For example, the tile can be placed on the reactivatable tile bonding mat 115 as described above and bonded to the tile by heating the polymer hot-melt material.
In various embodiments, the tile and mat can be properly positioned and an induction heater can be passed over the top of the tile to melt the mat and form a bond between the floor and the tile. The induction heater can include a floor buffing machine generating a high frequency alternating current. The current can inductively couple with the PET mix, thus setting up an alternating current flow through the metal impregnated mat. In various embodiment, the mat would resistively heat and form a permanent bond with the tile and the floor. The induction heater can be also be used to re-melt the mat and loosen the tile.
In some embodiments, parameters of bonding of a tile to a surface using the reactivatable tile bonding mat 115 can satisfy one or more construction requirements. The requirements may include certain bond strength, tensile strength, crack isolation, and water proofing.
In block 615, the method 600 may melt the filler in the polymer PET polyester in a pre-determined proportion to obtain a polymer hot-melt material having a pre-determined melting temperature. In block 620, the method may proceed with forming, from the polymer hot-melt material, a mat of a predetermined length, width, and thickness. The mat can include a first surface and a second surface such that when the mat is positioned between a tile and a surface to be covered by the tile, heating of the polymer hot-melt material causes the first surface to adhere to the tile and the second surface to adhere to the surface to be covered by the tile.
The present technology is described above with reference to example embodiments. Therefore, other variations upon the example embodiments are intended to be covered by the present disclosure.
The present application claims the priority benefit of U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/634,711, filed on Feb. 23, 2018, titled “Methods of Installing Tile Using a Reactivatable Tile Bonding Mat,” and claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/634,724, filed on Feb. 23, 2018, titled Reactivatable Tile Bonding Mat, the subject matter of the aforementioned applications are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. The present application is also related to U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. ______ filed on February _, titled “Methods of Installing Tile Using a Reactivatable Tile Bonding Mat,” (Attorney Docket No. PA9043US), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62634724 | Feb 2018 | US | |
| 62634711 | Feb 2018 | US |
