The invention relates to a wood paving stone, especially, a ready-to-install interlocking wood paving stone having a base body with at least one top and bottom side, the top side forming the walking surface and the bottom side forming the support surface of the wood paving stone. The base body is a multi-layer structure with one upper panel-like or block-like wood layer and at least one support layer forming the bottom side of the base body. The wood surface is installed in an interlocking manner.
Paving stones and surface coverings manufactured therefrom, preferably interlocking paving of concrete stones or natural stones, are sufficiently known in the art.
German Patent Number DE 31 44 559 A1 discloses a wood paving stone comprising a smoothly ground top side as a walking surface. The edges limit the top side being broken and a layer of a sealing means is applied to the smooth top side. These wood paving stones are manufactured from cross-cut wood. The bottom side opposite of the smooth top side comprises longitudinal and crosswise slots cut into the surface.
United Kingdom Patent Number GB 422005 further discloses a one-piece wood paving stone of cross-cut wood that has lateral distance elements or front-side recesses provided for interlocking installation.
Based on this, it is an object of the present invention to present a wood paving stone and a wood surface covering featuring a long life as well as flexibility for diverse areas of application.
An essential aspect of the wood paving stone according to the invention is that its base body has a multi-layer structure and the base body comprises one upper panel-like or block-like wood layer and at least one additional support layer forming the bottom side of the base body. The one upper panel-like or block-like wood layer and the support layer are connected with each other directly or indirectly. It is especially advantageous that the multi-layer structure of the base body has an upper plate-like or block-like wood layer and a support layer that enables the manufacture of wood paving stones that are individually adapted to different application conditions. A wood paving stone according to the invention is understood to be a ready-to-install paving stone, which can be installed in an interlocking manner, which has a multi-part and/or multi-layer structure and whose plate-like of block-like wood layer forming the walking surface is comprised of a solid piece of wood, preferably of one piece or one part. The wood paving stone according to the invention is further characterized as having a long life and can be installed quickly and easily on a variety of underlying surfaces. Interlocking installation with joints also enables optional drainage of a wood surface covering manufactured from wood paving stones according to the invention. It is especially advantageous that the aforementioned layers can be manufactured separately from one another and can then be joined together for manufacturing the wood paving stone. The upper wood layer and the lower support layer can be arranged either congruently stacked one above the other, or offset against each other, in order to produce a ready-to-install paving stone. Such a wood paving stone is especially suitable also for heavy load traffic.
It is especially advantageous that the upper plate-like or block-like wood layer is manufactured from an impregnated wood, preferably Dauerholz, robinia or acacia. The upper wood layer is preferable manufactured from long-cut wood, namely as one part or one piece. Dauerholz according to the invention is a wood, namely pine or spruce that has been completely impregnated with a chemical means, according to the method described in German Patent Number DE 102004020729B4, which is incorporated herein by reference. In this method, pine or spruce wood with a wood humidity of at least 30% is impregnated with at least one paraffin and/or wax as an impregnating composition. The moist wood is immersed in the melted impregnating composition and subjected to a temperature of the impregnating composition between 110° C. and 140° C., so that the water emerges from the wood in the form of water vapor and the wood is impregnated by the impregnating composition both in the sapwood and in the heartwood. The wood humidity in the treated wood is reduced to 20% or less and the wood is removed from the impregnating composition in hot condition after completion of the impregnation.
It is especially advantageous that the base body has a thickness of at least 40 mm and the wood layer has a first thickness between 15 mm and 60 mm, preferably between 20 mm and 30 mm. The lower support layer is comprised of a plastic panel with a honeycomb-like structure or of a further preferably plate-like wood layer or a wood sub-construction, the lower support layer—regardless of the area of application—has a second thickness between 10 mm and 30 mm, preferably between 12 mm and 25 mm. In the case of implementation of the support layer in the form of a plate-like wood layer, the latter has a second thickness, for example, of, 12 mm. The second thickness of a plastic panel with a honeycomb-like structure on the other hand is, for example, 25 mm. The honeycomb-like structure, according to the invention, is understood to be a plastic panel with a plurality of mutually intersecting connecting web sections, which due to the intersections form a plurality of rectangular, triangular and/or quadratic honeycomb openings.
In a further embodiment, there is accommodated between the upper wood layer and the lower support layer at least one intermediate layer. The layers are directly connected with each other by gluing, screwing or pressing. Advantageously, the intermediate layer has a damping and/or insulating effect and/or is formed by a permanently elastic silicone layer, a Styrofoam layer or a hard foam layer.
In a preferred embodiment, the wood paving stone comprises lateral connecting means and/or distance lugs, the connecting means being comprised for example of groove-shaped recesses and/or of lug-shaped sections.
Further, it is advantageous that the panel-like or block-like wood layer comprises a circumferential groove for accommodating a sealing element, preferably a bead-shaped seal or a sealing lip. The plate-like or block-like wood layer can also additionally comprise a circumferential edge-side step on the bottom of the wood layer.
In an advantageous embodiment of the ready-to-install wood paving stone, the honeycomb-like plastic panel comprises a plurality of mutually perpendicular first and second connecting web sections, which are outwardly closed by a circumferential frame section. The intersections of the first and second connecting web sections produce a plurality of rectangular and/or quadratic inner honeycomb openings and triangular edge-side honeycomb openings.
The terms “approximately”, “essentially”, or “about” as used in the invention mean deviations from the exact value by +/−10%, preferably by +/−5% and/or deviations in the form of changes that are insignificant for the function.
Further embodiments, advantages and possible applications of the invention are disclosed by the following description of exemplary embodiments and the drawings.
The invention is described in more detail below based on an exemplary embodiment with reference to the drawings, in which:
The wood paving stone according to the invention comprises a base body 1 having at least one top side 1.1 and one opposing bottom side 1.2, which preferably are designed flat and parallel to each other. The top side 1.1 forms the walking surface and the bottom side 1.2 forms the support surface of the wood paving stone.
The base body 1 further comprises, regardless of its cross-sectional form, a plurality of flat and/or curved side surfaces 1.3, 1.4, which preferably extend in pairs parallel or mirror symmetric to each other and perpendicular to the top and bottom side 1.1, 1.2, to enable the known method of interlocking installation.
The base body 1 can in principle comprise any suitable circumferential form for interlocking installation, i.e., the teaching according to the invention is by no means limited to a particular circumferential form of the base body 1. Preferably the wood paving stones are installed in an interlocking manner so that the side surfaces of adjacent wood paving stones adjoin each other and produce between the latter a vertical joint, which after installation of the wood paving stones is filled with a suitable joint filling material, for example quartz sand or a similar material, therefore forming a joined ground covering of wood paving stones. In one embodiment of the invention the joints can be sealed by a sealing element that is removably connected with the outer side of the base body 1.
According to the invention, the base body 1 of the wood paving stone has a multi-layer structure, i.e., it comprises at least two firmly and mutually connected material layers 2, 3 which, interlocking with the base body 1, constitute the wood paving stone. After being manufactured, the wood paving stone is “ready to install”, i.e., the invention relates to a ready-to-install wood paving stone, in particular, an interlocking wood paving stone. The entire thickness D of the base body 1 from the top side 1.1 to the bottom side 1.2 is at least 40 mm, preferably between 40 mm and 160 mm, depending on the assumed load capacity.
More particularly, the base body 1 comprises a wood layer 2 forming the top side 1.1 of the base body 1 and at least one support layer 3 forming the bottom side 1.2 of the base body 1. The wood layer 2 and the support layer 3 are arranged congruently stacked one above the other, i.e., the support layer 3 is directly or indirectly connected with the wood layer 2. The wood layer 2 is panel-like or block-like in design and is manufactured from a long-cut wood and/or from an impregnated wood, preferably Dauerholz, robinia or acacia. Preferably, the wood layer 2 is constructed as one piece or one part and therefore forms the load bearing, solid part of the base body 1.
The wood layer 2 comprises, in a preferred embodiment, a flat wood layer top side 2.1 and a flat wood layer bottom side 2.2, which preferably extend parallel to each other. The panel-like wood layer 2 has a first thickness D1 between 15 mm and 60 mm, preferably between 20 mm and 30 mm.
The support layer 3 is comprised of a plastic panel with a honeycomb-like structure or of a further wood layer. The support layer 3 comprises a support layer top side 3.1, which is bound to the flat wood layer bottom side 2.2 of the wood layer, and a support layer bottom side 3.2. The support layer top side 3.1 and the support layer bottom side 3.2 extend in planes oriented parallel to each other. The support layer 3, depending on the application, has a second thickness D2 between 10 mm and 30 mm, preferably between 12 mm and 25 mm.
The top side 1.1 of the base body 1 forms the wood layer top side 2.1 and the bottom side 1.2 of the base body 1 forms the support layer bottom side 3.2, and in the case of a direct connection of the wood layer 2 with the support layer 3, the support layer top side 3.1 directly contacts the wood layer bottom side 2.2 and is firmly connected with the latter.
In accordance with embodiments shown with reference to
As shown with reference to
Alternatively, as shown in
In a further alternative embodiment, according to
In a further embodiment, according to
In the alternative,
In a further embodiment, according to
In the present embodiment, the honeycomb-like plastic panel 3 comprises eight such stud-like connecting pin sections 10, which are provided with circumferential retainer rings 10′, to ensure secure support of the latter in the corresponding bore holes 11 in the wood layer bottom side 2.2.
The honeycomb-like plastic panel 3 depicted in
In the disclosed embodiment the recesses 7 are formed by slot-like openings in the circumferential frame section 3c, which preferably are arranged on two mutually adjacent edge sides of the honeycomb-like plastic panel 3. The other two edge sides of the honeycomb-like plastic panel 3 comprise connecting means 5, which have a T-shaped cross section and are molded onto the frame section 3c and also protrude outwardly from the latter. The connecting means 5 and the recesses 7 are formed so that they engage positively with each other and therefore are designed for manufacturing a plug-in connection, in which case the T-shaped connecting means 5 is inserted from above into the respective slot-like opening 7 defining the recesses. In this respect the short legs of the T-shaped connecting means 5 engage behind the opposite sections of the circumferential frame section 3c forming the slot-like opening 7.
In the present embodiment the honeycomb-like plastic panel 3 is rectangular and comprises on the opposing short sides two slot-like openings 7 and/or connecting means 5, whereas four slot-like openings 7 and/or connecting means 5 are provided on the opposing long sides.
In an advantageous embodiment of the support layer 3 embodied as a honeycomb-like plastic panel, the support layer comprises on the support layer bottom side 3.2 a plurality of lug-like support elements 12, which protrude downward perpendicularly from the support layer bottom side 3.2. The latter preferably are molded onto the intersecting points of the connecting web sections 3a, 3b and are therefore evenly distributed over the support layer bottom side 3.2 of the honeycomb-like plastic panel 3. The lug-like support elements 12 protrude outwardly, preferably between 5 mm and 8 mm from the support layer bottom side 3.2.
In a preferred embodiment the wood surface top side 2.1 forming the walking surface is provided with a non-slip coating 13 made of a plastic material. The non-slip coating 13 is formed for example by a plurality of strip-like sections, which preferably are arranged parallel to each other and along the longitudinal axis of the base body 1. For this purpose a plurality of longitudinal grooves can be incorporated into the wood layer top side 2.1, for example, which are then molded with a plastic material, preferably having a Shore hardness of approximately 85 and preferably protruding slightly over the wood layer top side 2.1. Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) can be used for this.
Advantageously, during installation of the wood paving, this results in optimal sealing of the wood paving stones against each other, to produce a closed paving surface. This makes it possible to eliminate the joint filling that normally is formed by a fine sand mixture. Advantageously this prevents the escape of joint filling material during cleaning of the wood paving covering.
Further, in the embodiments depicted in
Also, the edge from the wood layer top side 2.1 to the wood layer bottom side 2.2 extends slightly inward, i.e., it is beveled inward, namely preferably by an angle between 5° and 10°. This allows effective compensation of the swelling and shrinking properties of the wood layer 2 at different temperature and humidity conditions. This especially effectively prevents the rising of the installed wood paving.
The invention was described above based on exemplary embodiments. It goes without saying that numerous modifications and variations are possible, without abandoning the underlying inventive idea on which the invention is based.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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DE 102013104631.2 | May 2013 | DE | national |