Abstract
The invention relates to a ring-shaped joint tape for use in sanitary applications. The joint tape is designed to cover joints passing around sanitary objects.
Claims
1. Ring-shaped joint tape for covering a joint, wherein the joint tape comprises elastic material and has one outer side and at least one right side flank and at least one left side flank which together enclose a volume which in cross-section is asymmetrically tapering.
2. The joint tape according to claim 1, wherein at least one side flank is concavely shaped.
3. The joint tape according to claim 2, wherein the concavely shaped side flank adjoins the outer side with a first inner angle of 15° to 50°.
4. The joint tape according to claim 1, wherein at least one side flank comprises at least two surfaces wherein the first surface adjoins the outer side and is in angular position towards a second surface.
5. The joint tape according to claim 4, wherein the first surface of the side flank adjoins the outer side with a second inner angle of 5° to 55°.
6. The joint tape according to claim 4, wherein the edge of at least one side flank in cross-section is at least twice as long as the edge of the cross-section of the first surface.
7. The joint tape according to claim 4, wherein the edge of at least one side flank in cross-section is three to four times as long as the edge of the cross-section of the first surface.
8. The joint tape according to claim 1, wherein a ratio of cross-sectional width to cross-sectional height is between 0.3 and 0.8.
9. The joint tape according to claim 1, wherein at least one surface of the left side flank and at least one surface of the right side flank adjoin each other forming a tip which is slightly tilted towards one side flank.
10. The joint tape according to claim 1, wherein the joint tape comprises rubber and wherein the rubber percentage is at least 35 wt %.
11. The joint tape according to claim 1, wherein the joint tape is extendable to at least 110% when a force of 50 N is applied.
12. The joint tape according to claim 1, wherein the joint tape is extendable to at least 130% when a force of 50 N is applied.
13. The joint tape according to claim 1, wherein the joint tape is extendable to at least 160% when a force of 50 N is applied.
14. The joint tape according to claim 1, wherein the joint tape comprises a connection element.
15. The joint tape according to claim 14, wherein the inner contour of the connection element at least partly corresponds to the outer contour of the joint tape.
16. The joint tape according to claim 14, wherein the connection element has a length of at least 30 mm extending along the joint tape's longitudinal direction.
17. The joint tape according to claim 1 which is adapted to be reusable.
18. Joint tape according to claim 1, wherein the joint tape having the ring-shape is configured to be put over a sanitary object by elastic stretching.
19. Joint tape according to claim 18, wherein the elastic stretching comprises extending the joint tape to at least 110% by applying a force of 50 N.
20. A set comprising: an elongated joint tape having two ends, wherein the joint tape comprises elastic material and has one outer side and at least one right side flank and at least one left side flank which together enclose a volume which in cross-section is asymmetrically tapering; and a connection element which is adapted to connect the two ends of the elongate joint tape.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0096] In the following, preferred embodiments of the invention are described by way of example with reference to the following figures, which show:
[0097] FIG. 1 a schematic 3D-view of a ring-shaped joint tape according to a preferred embodiment;
[0098] FIG. 2 a 3D-view of a section from the unwinding of a joint tape according to FIG. 1;
[0099] FIG. 3 a cross-section of the joint tape's unwinding from FIG. 2;
[0100] FIG. 4 a 3D-view of a ring-shaped joint tape with connection element according to another preferred embodiment;
[0101] FIG. 5 a 3D-view of a connection element according to a preferred embodiment;
[0102] FIG. 6 a cross-section of the connection element from FIG. 5;
[0103] FIG. 7 a 3D-view of a ring-shaped joint tape according to a preferred embodiment installed to a wall-mounted sanitary object; and
[0104] FIG. 8 a perspective cross section through joint tape, wall and sanitary object from FIG. 7.
[0105] While the above-identified figures set forth one or more embodiments of the present 5 invention, other embodiments are also contemplated as noted in the discussion. In all cases, this disclosure presents the invention by way of representation and not limitation. It should be understood that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art, which fall within the scope and spirit of the principles of the invention. The figures may not be drawn to scale, and applications and embodiments of the present invention may include features, steps, and/or 10 components not specifically shown in the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS
[0106] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a ring-shaped joint-tape 1 according to a preferred embodiment. Additionally, the outer side 2 and the center line 50 of the displayed ring-shaped body are indicated.
[0107] FIG. 2 shows a 3D section of the unwinding of the ring-shaped joint tape from FIG. 1. The displayed embodiment comprises an outer side 2, a left side flank 3 and a right side flank 4. As it will be apparent to the skilled person, left and right side could also be exchanged depending on the orientation of the cross-section. Further, an asymmetrical tapering of the two side flanks is visible. In this embodiment, both side flanks are adjoining each other forming a tip 10 which is slightly tilted towards the left side flank. As it is shown in FIG. 2, the cross section is invariable over the entire length of the unwound joint tape.
[0108] In FIG. 3, a cross-section from the joint tape's unwinding from FIG. 2, is shown. In this embodiment, the contour of the outer side 2 is convexly shaped whereas both contours of the left side flank 3 and of the right side flank 4 are concavely shaped. The left side flank 3 of the shown embodiment comprises three surfaces. One first surface 5 adjoins the outer side 2 with an inner angle A, a third surface 7 adjoins the right side flank with an inner angle F and a second surface 6 is located in between the two surfaces 5 and 7. The exterior angle between surface 5 and surface 6 is indicated with letter D. Surfaces 6 and 7 adjoin each other with an exterior angle E. In this embodiment, the right side flank 4 comprises two surfaces. A first surface 8 is convexly shaped to improve installation, adjoins the outer side 2 with an inner angle B and is oriented to a second surface 9 in an exterior angle C. The second surface 9 of the right side flank adjoins the third surface 7 of the left side flank with the inner angle F. Hence a tip 10 is formed. The overall shape of the various tip-shaped extensions in particular governs the functionality of the joint-tape. This shape is connected to the corresponding angles but it is not always obvious how to determine the described angles since some angles are formed by curved contours. Thus, envelopes of these contours are created as indicated with 2′, 5′ and 8′. The named angles are determined by measuring the angles between these envelopes. Achieving a suitable tip-shape on the left side, it is preferred to have an angle A between 25° and 40°. In the shown embodiment, this angle A is defined by a convexly shaped outer side 2 and a plane surface 5 of the left side flank. In further possible embodiments, this angle A may be formed by differently shaped surfaces, such as a plane outer side and/or a left side flank comprising only one, preferably concavely shaped, surface. Furthermore, embodiments are possible in which the left side flank comprises only two or even more than three surfaces which may be plane or curved while one surface adjoins the outer side with the named angle A and another surface forms the angle F together with the right side flank. While the right side flank comprises two surfaces in the shown embodiment including one convexly shaped surface, this right side flank may be designed to comprise only one surface, preferably concavely shaped, or even more than two plane or curved surfaces, in other embodiments. Nevertheless, it is preferred that angle F is between 25° and 45° to achieve a suitable tip-shaped extension in the upper area of the shown cross section. The right side flank further forms a tip-shaped extension on the right side by enclosing angle B together with the outer side. Thus, angle B is preferred to be between 20° and 40°.
[0109] FIG. 4 schematically shows another preferred embodiment of a joint-tape 1′, which originally has been an elongated string but is formed to its ring-shape by using a connection element 20. Hence, a center line 50 can be determined. Preferably, the shown joint tape 1′ comprises a cross-sectional geometry as described within FIGS. 2 and 3.
[0110] FIG. 5 shows a preferred embodiment of the open connection element 20 in relation to a section of joint tape 1′. The connection element 20 in the shown embodiment is a connection clip comprising two parts, a cavity 22 and a cover 21. Both parts are equipped with spikes 23 on their inner sides and comprise flange surfaces 24. In the shown embodiment, the connection clip is mainly made of stainless steel. First, sheet metal is used to produce the shape by metal forming. Subsequently, the spikes are fixed.
[0111] The cross-section of the connection clip from FIG. 5 is displayed in FIG. 6. Therein, the connection clip is shown in closed condition. The contour of cover 21 corresponds to the contour of the joint tape's outer side 2 from FIG. 3 and comprises three surfaces: one convexly shaped main surface 212 comprising one flange area 24 on its right side, one connection surface 2121 adjoining the main surface on its left side and connecting it to the third surface which is a further flange surface 24. The cavity 22 comprises a left side flank 223 and a right side flank 224 which correspond to the side flanks 3 and 4 of the joint tape from FIG. 3. While the cavity's right side flank 224 basically comprises two surfaces 229 and 228 and only one additional flange surface 24, the cavity's left side flank comprises, besides the three surfaces 225-227 known from the joint tape's geometry, two further surfaces: connection surface 2251 and a further flange surface 24. In this embodiment, the displayed angles A′ to F′ correspond to angles A to F from FIG. 3, so the drawn in angle A′ ignores the connection surfaces 2121 and 2251. Angle A′ is measured between the envelopes of surfaces 225 and 212 to indicate the analogy to angle A from FIG. 3. Nevertheless, due to the two connection surfaces 2121 and 2251, the connection clip in the shown cross-section encloses an area which is slightly bigger than the cross-section of the compressed joint tape. Hence, closing a joint tape with such a connection clip, deformed material can enter the additional cavity built from the connection surfaces 2121 and 2251. Therefore, all flange surfaces 24 can be in direct contact with each other. Thus, no material is trapped between the flanges and so, the connection clip can be closed completely using any kind of well-known connection elements such as clamps, screws, rivets or adhesives.
[0112] FIG. 7 shows an installed ring-shaped joint tape 1 or 1′. In this example, the joint tape covers a joint between a wall 30 and a wall-mounted sanitary object 40. The joint passes around the sanitary-object 40.
[0113] In FIG. 8, a cross-section of the installation example from FIG. 7 is displayed. The circumferential joint between the wall 30 and the wall-mounted sanitary object 40 is covered by a joint tape 1 or 1′ which cling to the surfaces 30 and 401 adjacent to the joint. The installed joint tape is in an elastically stretched state, so the joint tape's circumference is bigger than it was before installation. Due to this elastic stretching, tensile forces act in the joint tape trying to compress it. Caused by the joint tape's ring-shape, these tensile forces act towards the center of the circumferential joint and pull the edge 10 into the joint, as it is illustrated in the figure. As the joint tape's width is larger than the joint's width, the joint tape gets pressed to the adjacent surfaces 30 and 401. The joint tape's elasticity in combination with the tensile effect causes a deformation of the side flanks. Along with the asymmetrically tapering of the joint tape, this enables a precise fit, increases the pressing effect of the joint tape to the adjacent surfaces and ensures the joint tape clings neatly to the adjacent surfaces. Hence, the contours of the originally concavely shaped side flanks 3 and 4 are reshaped in installed condition, so the left side flank 3 clings at least partly to the sanitary object 40 while the right side flank 4 is in contact with the wall 30 and appears almost straight in the installation example. The edge of tip 10 is oriented to the joints center while the joint tape's outer side 2 is the side visible to the user and adapted to ensure a neat look, long durability and easy cleaning of the covered joint.
[0114] Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
