DE20203627U1 - Gutter / stripe element - Google Patents

Description

■ ■ &bgr;

KombiIith GmbH
Development and exploitation
Wasserstr. 1

40213 Dusseldorf

Attorney file: Dn - 2713 Düsseldorf, 05 March 2002

Gutter/strip element

The present innovation relates to a gutter/strip element with two outer stone sections arranged along an axis running perpendicular to the gutter/strip axis and a middle stone section arranged offset therefrom in the direction of the gutter/strip axis, wherein a spacer is arranged on at least one side surface of the two outer stone sections running perpendicular to the gutter/strip axis.

Such a gutter/strip element is known from DE 296 14 953 Ul. Such gutter/strip elements enable the simplified production of gutters or strips, since several stone sections are combined to form a complete element, thus saving considerable laying work. The three stone sections preferably have indicated joints between them, so that the observer has the impression of three individual stones, although the stone sections are formed by one element.

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Because the middle stone section is offset from the two outer stone sections, an interlocking effect occurs when the elements are placed together, which makes it impossible for the elements to be moved perpendicular to the channel or strip axis.

The known gutter/strip element has a spacer on at least one side surface of the two outer stone sections that runs perpendicular to the gutter/strip axis. In the known embodiment, this spacer is designed as a small projection in the lower area of the side surface and has the task of ensuring that a correct joint is maintained when two elements are placed together.

The aim of this innovation is to create a gutter/strip element of the type described above that can be laid particularly well and variably.

This task is solved in accordance with the innovation in a gutter/strip element of the specified type by

the spacer is strip-shaped and arranged vertically .25,

the spacer is provided in the outer area of the side surface and

the spacer is designed as a joint for the angular placement of a neighboring element for an arc-shaped installation.

The present innovation relates to the design and arrangement of a spacer in the channel/strip element described above. According to the innovation, this spacer is designed and arranged in such a way that it fulfils the following three functions:
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1. A traditional function as a spacer to maintain a correct joint dimension between two adjacent gutter/strip elements;

2. a function to prevent the joint material from escaping sideways. When laying gutters/strips, the joints must be mortared before the side paving. This is done by sweeping a dry cement-sand mixture into the open joints, which is then wetted and then sets. Since the joints in conventionally designed gutter stones or gutter elements are open at the sides and the gutter is not shuttered at the sides for economic reasons, a large part of the dry mixture trickles out of the joints at the sides, which are then only inadequately mortared. In the innovative solution, in which the spacer is provided in the outer area of the side surface, this prevents the joint material from escaping sideways, so that a much better mortaring is achieved.

between adjacent gutter/strip elements is achieved.

3. A joint function for the angular placement of a neighboring element for laying an arcuate gutter or arcuate strip. In other words, the spacer is designed in such a way that the neighboring element can be placed at a certain opening angle of the desired arc laying on the already laid gutter/strip element, with the corresponding side surface of the outer stone section of the installed gutter/strip element coming into contact with the spacer of the already laid element. The spacer should enable the neighboring gutter/strip element to be placed at different opening angles so that arcs with different radii can be laid. In order to achieve a corresponding angular laying, the spacer is preferably curved on its surface, in particular arcuate or partially circular in horizontal section.

As mentioned, the spacer is provided in the outer area of the side surface. This means

•25 that the spacer is arranged at least within the lateral outer half of the side surface, preferably in the edge region of the side surface. An arrangement of the spacer directly on the outer edge of the side surfaces is less desirable, since in this case the spacer cannot fulfill its joint function as well.

With the new gutter/strip element, straight as well as curved gutters/strips can be laid. When laying in a straight line, the side surfaces of the outer stone sections of the neighbouring stone are in contact with the spacers on both sides of the other stone, so that in this way an even joint is ensured and a joint closure on the outside is achieved in order to

to prevent lateral escape of joint material.
When laying in an arc, depending on the size
of the arch opening angle, only one spacer is in contact with the side surface of the neighbouring stone, whereby this spacer acts as a joint and a

swivelling the neighbouring stone to maintain the desired
Of course, this spacer also forms a corresponding joint closure on the inside, so that no material can escape. On the outside, due to the

the spacers provided there no longer completely close the joint,
However, it forms at least a partial joint closure. Even with the curved laying
This prevents at least some of the leakage of joint material from the outside.

A particularly preferred embodiment of the innovation is characterized in that on both vertical
A spacer is arranged on each side surface of an outer stone section that runs to the channel/strip axis, whereby these spacers are arranged in side-surface

This design ensures that when two gutter/strip elements are placed next to one another, a spacer on one side of one stone interacts with a spacer on the side of the other stone that is offset from it, i.e. it either comes into contact with it or is arranged at a relatively small distance from it. This achieves an improved joint function on the one hand, and an improved joint closure function on the other. It goes without saying that the interaction of the pair of spacers closes the joint better than a single spacer, since here two spacers protrude into the joint from opposite directions. This improved closure effect is particularly noticeable when the gutter/strip elements are laid in an arc, since with a wedge-shaped joint that widens outwards, a reasonable joint closure is then achieved even in the outdoor area with a joint width that exceeds the thickness of one spacer, because both spacers are effective. The joint can therefore be twice as large as the thickness of a spacer, and yet an exact joint finish is still achieved. "25

As mentioned, the joint function is also improved, as the two spacers of the two stones can be rolled onto each other when one stone is pivoted relative to the other.

Finally, in this embodiment, the spacers perform a certain guiding function when placing the stones.

In a further development, the innovation provides for at least one additional spacer to be arranged on a side surface of the middle stone section that runs perpendicular to the channel/strip axis. This achieves an additional joint securing function in the area of the middle stone section.

In this embodiment, an embodiment is particularly preferred in which the spacer on the middle stone section has a larger dimension parallel to the channel/strip axis than the spacer(s) on the outer stone sections. This embodiment has the following effect. Two spacers are expediently arranged on the middle stone section at a distance from one another, preferably in the edge areas of the middle stone section. Since the larger spacers (with greater thickness) are oriented closer to the middle of the stone, one of the larger spacers initially acts as a '25 joint when laying in an arc with smaller opening angles. As the opening angle increases, the smaller spacer (with less thickness) which is located near the edge of the stone (on the outer stone section) takes over the joint function. The spacers on the middle stone section can then be made in the required size without having to take on the wedge-shaped design when laying in an arc.

of the joints with the largest possible opening angle and the smallest possible joint width. The smaller spacers (from the outer stone sections) can be dimensioned and placed towards the edge in such a way that the desired inner joint size is achieved while maintaining the maximum outer joint width.

Since in this embodiment the spacers on the outer stone sections are thinner than the spacers on the middle stone section, the joints are not completely closed at the sides if only one spacer on the outer stone sections interacts with the opposite side surface. The embodiment with two interacting spacers is therefore particularly advantageous in this case.

In a further embodiment of the innovation, the inner corners of the element have wedge-shaped thickenings. Such thickenings can also take on spacer functions and/or joint functions. They also have guiding functions and form an effective laying aid by guiding and adjusting the stones when they are placed together in gutters.

■25 longitudinal direction. The adjustment achieved in this way is also fully effective when laying in a curve.

A corresponding guiding function is provided by the side surface of the middle stone section, which runs perpendicular to the channel/strip axis.

spacers in conjunction with the spacers arranged on the outer stone sections.

Otherwise, the gutter/strip element described here can be designed in a known manner. In one embodiment, the tops of the outer stone sections are inclined towards the middle, while the top of the middle stone section is designed parallel to the bottom of the element in order to fulfil a gutter function. When used as a strip element, all three stone sections can lie in a plane parallel to the bottom.

The innovation is explained in detail below using examples in conjunction with the drawing. They show:

Figure 1 is a spatial view of part of a

Gutter with a gutter element to be installed;

Figure 2 is a plan view of two adjacent channel elements of a different embodiment than shown in Figure 1/

Figure 3 is a plan view analogous to Figure 2, where the

Gutter elements are arranged in an arc shape;

Figure 4 is a plan view analogous to Figure 2 of two

stacked gutter elements of a further embodiment;

Figure 5 is a plan view corresponding to Figure 4 of two arched channel elements; and

Figure 6 is a spatial view from above of two adjacent

Interlocking channel elements of the embodiment of Figures 4 and 5.

Figure 1 shows part of a gutter composed of gutter elements 1 and a gutter element 1 before being attached to the gutter elements already laid. The gutter element 1 has two outer stone sections 2 arranged along an axis running perpendicular to the gutter axis and a middle stone section 3 offset in the direction of the gutter axis. The middle stone section 3 is offset from the two outer stone sections 1 and 2 by approximately half a stone. The individual stone sections are roughly cube-shaped, with the tops of the two outer stone sections 2 inclined inwards, while the top of the middle stone section runs parallel to the bottom of the stone section.

'25 As Figure 1 shows, the channel formed is made up of several channel elements 1 placed next to one another. Since the middle stone section 3 of each channel element is offset from the two outer stone sections 2, an interlocking between the adjacent channel elements results, so that they do not move against one another in a direction transverse to the channel axis.

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can be moved relative to one another.

To form the gutter, the stones are placed next to one another. Appropriate spacers 4 ensure that an even joint is formed between the individual gutter elements placed next to one another. This joint is desirable in order to ensure that the laid gutter is adequately mortared. The joints must be mortared before the paving is laid on the sides. This is done by sweeping a dry cement-sand mixture into the open joints, which is then wetted and then sets.

Each outer stone section 2 has a spacer 4 on a side surface perpendicular to the channel axis, which is designed as a vertical strip and has an approximately partial circular shape in horizontal section. This spacer 4 is arranged in the outer side area of the respective side surface. It can be seen that they form an outer lateral joint closure which prevents the dry cement-sand mixture from trickling out of the joints laterally after filling. This is no longer possible due to the spacers 4 provided, so that almost full-surface mortaring ■25 can take place between two adjacent channel elements. The corresponding almost full-surface mortar layer is shown in Figure 1 at 6.

Figure 2 shows a top view of two adjacent 30

• · ♦

Gutter elements 1 of another embodiment. In this embodiment, two types of spacers are provided. A first type of spacer 4 is located on the two outer stone sections, while a second type 5 is located on a side surface of the middle stone section 3 that runs perpendicular to the gutter axis. The spacers 4, which are also arranged in the outer region of the side surface, have a smaller thickness (dimension parallel to the gutter axis) than the spacers 5 on the middle stone section. When a gutter is formed in a straight line, the gutter elements placed next to one another are therefore only in contact via the two inner spacers 5, while the outer spacers 4 do not contact the opposite side surface of the other stone. Nevertheless, the outer spacers 4 form a certain joint closure.

Figure 3 shows the gutter elements of Figure 2 laid in a curved manner. It can be seen that the joint between the two gutter elements in Figure 3 extends from right to

widened in a wedge shape on the left, as shown at 7. With smaller opening angles between the gutter elements, one of the larger spacers 5 initially acts as a joint. As the opening angle increases, the ■25 smaller spacer near the stone edge takes over the joint function. The spacers can then be made in the required size without hindering the wedge-shaped design of the joints with the largest possible opening angle and the smallest possible joint width when laying in curves. This design is therefore particularly suitable for curved gutters.

place.

Figure 4 shows a top view of two channel elements 1
another embodiment. In this embodiment too
the spacers 5 provided on the middle stone section 3 are thicker than those on the
spacers 8 provided on the outer stone sections 2. The difference compared to the embodiment of Figures 2 and 4 is that the outer spacers of

two interacting spacers 8, each of which extends from a side surface of a stone and is arranged close to one another, but
do not touch. Figure 5 shows that when laying in a curve, even with an expanding joint 7, these interacting spacers 8 ensure a good joint closure

form, since they have a thickness twice as large in the position shown in Figure 5 as in the position shown in Figure 4
Position. This design is therefore particularly suitable for curved installation.

Figure 6 shows a spatial view from above of two
gutter elements of the embodiment
Figures 4 and 5. It can be clearly seen that the inner spacers 5 have a greater thickness than the outer ones.'25
outer spacer 8. Furthermore, the inner angles of the element have wedge-shaped thickenings 9, which
Take on guiding and adjustment functions when placing the stones together.

Claims (6)

1. Gutter/strip element with two outer stone sections arranged perpendicular to the axis of the gutter/strip and a middle stone section arranged offset in the direction of the gutter/strip axis, wherein a spacer is arranged on at least one side surface of the two outer stone sections running perpendicular to the gutter/strip axis, characterized in that
the spacer ( 4 , 8 ) is strip-shaped and arranged vertically,
the spacer ( 4 , 8 ) is provided in the outer area of the side surface and
the spacer ( 4 , 8 ) is designed as a joint for the angular placement of a neighboring element for an arcuate installation. 2. Channel/strip element according to claim 1, characterized in that a spacer ( 8 ) is arranged on each of the two side surfaces of an outer core section ( 2 ) running perpendicular to the channel/strip axis, said spacers ( 8 ) being slightly offset from one another in the direction parallel to the side surfaces. 3. Gutter/strip element according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that at least one further spacer ( 5 ) is arranged on a side surface of the middle stone section ( 3 ) running perpendicular to the gutter/strip axis. 4. Gutter/strip element according to claim 3, characterized in that the spacer ( 5 ) on the middle stone section ( 3 ) has a larger dimension parallel to the gutter/strip axis than the spacer(s) ( 4 , 8 ) on the outer stone sections ( 2 ). 5. Gutter/strip element according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inner angles of the element have wedge-shaped thickenings ( 9 ). 6. Gutter/strip element according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the upper sides of the outer stone sections ( 2 ) are inclined towards the center.