WO1996031656A1

WO1996031656A1 - Paving block and method of manufacturing same

Info

Publication number: WO1996031656A1
Application number: PCT/AU1996/000200
Authority: WO
Inventors: Glenn Whiteford; Trevor Dixon; Marc Mearing
Original assignee: Amatek Ltd
Current assignee: Amatek Ltd
Priority date: 1995-04-06
Filing date: 1996-04-09
Publication date: 1996-10-10
Anticipated expiration: 1997-10-06
Also published as: AUPN219895A0

Abstract

A paving block (1) which incorporates a rigid base section (2) having upper and lower surfaces, a plurality of tiles (3, 4, 5) each having upper and lower faces, and bonding agent (6) which extends from the base section (2) in gaps (10, 10a) between the tiles. The said tiles (3, 4, 5) are affixed to the base section (2) and the bonding agent (6) extends from the base section to a level between the lower and upper faces of the respective tiles. Also disclosed is a method of manufacturing such a paving block in a mould, wherein the gaps (10, 10a) between the tiles (3, 4, 5) are partially filled with a non-adhesive filler before the bonding agent (6) is introduced into the mould.

Description

PAVING BLOCK AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SAME

This invention relates to a paving product. The invention has particular application in the paving of outdoor areas although it is not so limited. The invention also relates to a method for producing a composite paving product and a mould suitable for the manufacture of such a product.

For centuries, landscape architects have appreciated the beauty and practicality of utilising tiles and pavers in outdoor areas. Ceramic and terracotta tiles are ideal in such applications and may be laid in different patterns and colours to produce a desired effect. In this specification the term "tile" is used to embrace any rigid and discrete unit which may be used in conjunction with other such units for the formation of a paved or other surface for taking pedestrian traffic. The term is used to include baked clay tiles, pavers and mosaic pieces. In the past, it has been general practice to lay exterior tiles in the following manner. First, the ground is prepared by levelling the surface. A firm base is applied to the ground surface to form a foundation for the tiles or pavers. Generally, a bed of sand is prepared on which the pavers or tiles are laid and they are then compacted into the sand bed using a plate vibrator. Once the pavers are compacted into place dry sand is swept into the joints and vibrated once more. Whilst this methodology is generally quite effective, it does give rise to various difficulties. First, if one is laying a tile pattern which is particularly ornate and with small tiles, the process is particularly time consuming. This generally means that ornate outdoor tiling over a large area is prohibitively expensive for most domestic purposes. Secondly, small tiles laid in this fashion have a tendency to roll over when a high load is applied (such as by the heel of a shoe). If the tile rolls over to any significant extent the tile will become loose.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative paving and tiling product which overcomes some of the deficiencies of prior practices such as those described above. Thus in accordance with the present invention there is provided a paving block with incorporates a rigid base section having upper and lower surfaces, a plurality of tiles each having upper and lower faces and a bonding agent which extends from the base section between each of the respective tiles; wherein the said tiles are affixed to the base section and the bonding agent extends between adjacent tiles from the base to a level between the lower and upper faces of the respective tiles.

Preferably the rigid base section is formed from an aggregate material such as concrete. Most preferred are those concretes which are highly fluid and which are rapid setting.

Conventional tiles may be used in the construction of the paving block. However, the invention has particular application where the tiles used are small and are affixed to the upper surface of the base section in a predetermined pattern.

The bonding agent extends from the base section between respective adjacent tiles to a level beneath the upper surface of the tiles. In this way a gap is left between the respective tiles and this gap may be filled in the normal manner with a product such as joint filling sand once the paving blocks have been installed. This joint filling sand is a blend of specially graded fine sands and selective additives. As the bonding agent extends between the tiles it provides further stability to the tiles against roll over being a difficulty encountered particularly with small tiles using prior methods. The bonding agent also provides inter-tile adhesion. The bonding agent may be any suitable material which is preferably substantially non-compressible and rigid once it is set. It may be a separate adhesive material applied to the base section between the tiles but preferably it is integral with the base section and is formed from the same material.

Preferably the bonding agent extends upwardly from the base section to a level representing at least one quarter of the thickness of the tiles. Most preferably the bonding agent extends upwardly from the base section for a distance representing between one third to one half of the thickness of the tiles. Thus for example if the tiles have a thickness of approximately 24mm it is preferred that the bonding agent extend at least 6mm upwardly from the base section between the tiles. Most preferably the bonding agent extends upwardly from the base section by a distance of between 8 to 12mm.

Generally it is preferred that the overall thickness of the paving block is between 50 to 60mm and the tiles are between 20 to 25mm. It will be appreciated that the installation of paving blocks made in accordance with the invention significantly simplifies the laying of pattern tiles especially in outdoor applications. Once the appropriate area has been levelled the paving blocks of the invention can be laid side-by-side with each of the tiles fixed in the required or desired pattern. Once the paving blocks have been laid the gaps between the respective tiles can be filled with a joint filling material such as joint filling sand in the normal way.

In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of manufacturing a paving block, said method including the following steps:

(a) arranging a plurality of tiles into the base of a mould in such manner as to leave a gap between each of the respective tiles;

(b) partially filling the gaps between the respective tiles with a non- adhesive filler; (c) introducing an uncured concrete mixture into the mould so to fill the remaining gaps between the respective tiles;

(d) introducing a further uncured concrete mixture into the mould to form a base section of the paving block; and

(e) removing the paving block from the mould once the concrete has cured.

Preferably the mould provided is rectangular or square having a base and perpendicular side walls. Preferably the side walls are formed from two "L" sections hinged together at respective ends and lockable into position by a toggle latch or the like. The base of the mould preferably includes upstands or ridges so to accurately locate and separate the respective tiies so that they are disposed and maintained in a desired pattern during the construction process. Alternatively appropriately positioned pins may be located into the base of the mould. Whatever separating means is provided it is preferred that the tiles once located within the base of the mould be separated on ail sides by between 3 to 6mm and most preferably between 4 to 5mm. This gap will match the required sand joint when the constructed paving unit is installed. As the joint provides paving lockup and flexural strength it is preferred that the gap between the respective tiles when being located into the base of the mould be no more than 7mm. It is preferred that the filler be an absorbent material and fine sand is the preferred filling material. If the filler is fine sand it will prevent any of the subsequently introduced concrete flowing down and staining the upper faces of the tiles. The filler should preferably be introduced between the tiles to a height above the bottom of the mould equal to at least half the thickness of the tiles. Preferably it is introduced to a height equal to between one half and three quarters of the thickness of the tiles.

Preferably the same uncured concrete mixture is used in both steps (c) and (d) as recited above and is introduced into the mould in a single operation. The concrete used is preferably a highly fluid concrete which when poured into the mould will completely fill the gap between the respective tiles not filled with the sand. Further it is preferred that the concrete be a rapid setting concrete so that the assembled paving block may be removed from the mould reasonably shortly after construction so to make the mould available for the construction of further units. It is preferred that the concrete used be one which will cure within 30 minutes.

In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a mould for constructing a paving block said mould including a base and peripheral side walls wherein the base of the mould is provided with separating means so to locate and separate tiles introduced into the mould in a predetermined pattern.

The mould is preferably made from galvanised steel and it is preferred that the side walls be hinged at at least one point. The separating means may be constituted by pins attached to the base of the mould located in appropriate locations or upstands or ridges of appropriate width provided on the base plate of the mould.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is hereinafter described with reference to the following drawings in which: Figure 1 is a cross-sectional representation of a paving block made in accordance with the invention; and

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a mould used in the manufacture of a paving block made in accordance with the invention. With respect to Figure 1 there is illustrated a paving block 1 which includes a base section 2 and plurality of tiles 3,4,5. Each of the tiles are affixed to the base section 2.

A bonding agent 6 extends upwardly from the base section 2 between the respective tiles 4 and 5 and 3 and 4. The bonding agent 6 is integral and made of the same material as the base section 2. Preferably this is a rapid setting concrete.

In the embodiment shown the bonding agent 6 extends to a level equal to half the thickness of the tiles. As previously indicated it is preferred that the bonding extend between the tiles by a distance equal to between one quarter to one half of the thickness of the tiles. The bonding agent 6 does not extend to the level of upper faces 7,8,9 of tiles 3,4,5 respectively thus leaving gaps 10,10a between the tiles towards the upper face of the paving block.

Any conventional tile or paver may be used in forming the paving block of the invention. In one embodiment ceramic and/or clay tiles and/or pavers are used. In another preferred embodiment the tiles are manufactured from conventional concrete pavers. For example, standard 50mm thick concrete pavers might be used. If these units are cut in half lengthwise one can obtain two thin biscuits each of approximately 23mm in thickness. Concrete pavers can be made to have a particularly aesthetic appearance if they are honed and if using this type of product it is preferred that the 50mm concrete paver be honed on both sides before it is cut into the two thin biscuits. These biscuits may be then further cut using a diamond saw or the like into separate leaves having particular shapes so to create a desired pattern. Of course this procedure is just one of many different options open to one constructing the paving unit of the present invention.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 1 the tiles 3,4,5 are each approximately 25mm in thickness. The base section 2 is about 35mm in thickness so that the total thickness of the paving block is about 60mm. It should be appreciated that these dimensions are indicative only and that the dimensions of the paving block may be varied depending on the particular application. In this embodiment the bonding agent 6 extends upwardly from the base section 2 by a distance of approximately 12mm. ln Figure 2 there is illustrated a mould 11. The mould is square in shape and is formed from a base plate 12 and side walls 13,14. Side walls 13,14 are "L" shaped and are hinged together at point 15. Side walls 13,14 may be locked together at point 16 by a latch such as the toggle latch 17 depicted in Figure 2. The side walls of the mould may be stiffened with angle sections 18 affixed to the side walls such as by spot welding. Preferably the base and side walls are formed from galvanised steel.

Attached to the base plate 12 are separators 19 affixed to the base plate 12 in a pattern which is the mirror image of the desired pattern of the formed paving block. The separators 19 shown in Figure 2 are provided by lengths of galvanised wire soldered to the base plate 12. Alternatively separating pins standing to a height of approximately 5mm may be utilised with two pins being provided for each edge of the respective tiles. The separating means 19 are required to correctly locate the tiles in the desired pattern and to provide a precise gap between each of the respective adjacent tiles.

In the preferred method a mould such as that shown in Figure 2 is first assembled and lightly oiled on the upper half of the side walls.

The tiles are then set into their respective positions in the mould with the upper surface of each respective tile (i.e. that surface which is to form the upper surface of the paving block) being placed face down against the bottom of the mould.

When all the leaves are position in the mould the filler, preferably sand, is introduced into the gaps between each tile to a height preferably equal to at least one quarter of the thickness of the tile. In the embodiment referred to in Figure 1 where the tiles were 25mm the sand is introduced between each leaf to a height of 12mm above the bottom of the mould. This will leave approximately a further 12mm of gap height without sand. Alternatively the gap can be further filled to a height of approximately 15mm from the bottom of the mould to leave a 10mm gap height without sand. Once the sand has been introduced into the mould all excess sand is removed from the top surface of the tiles within the mould.

Thereafter a highly fluid, rapid setting concrete is poured into the mould to fill the gaps between the tiles and to form the base section 2. In the embodiment described with reference to Figure 1 the rapid setting concrete would be poured into the mould to fill it to a height of 60mm. This means a concrete backing of 35mm.

The assembly is then allowed to cure and if a rapid setting concrete is used the formed paving block should be ready for removal from the mould within 30 minutes. The mould is thereafter cleaned and reassembled ready for the manufacture of the next block.

It will be appreciated that the base of the mould may incorporate separating means oriented and positioned to create any desired pattern.

Once the paving block has cured it may be installed with several like units to provide a paved area. Once the units have been assembled the upper gaps 10 and 10a may be filled with joint filling sand or the like.

Various alterations and modifications may be made to the previously described preferred embodiments of the invention without departing from the ambit of the present invention as defined in the following claims.

Claims

1. A paving block which incorporates a rigid base section having upper and lower surfaces, a plurality of tiles each having upper and lower faces and a bonding agent which extends from the base section between each of the respective tiles; wherein the said tiles are affixed to the base section and the bonding agent extends between adjacent tiles from the base section to a level between the lower and upper faces of the respective tiles.

2. A paving block as claimed in claim 1 wherein said bonding agent is a separate adhesive material which is applied to the base section and extends between adjacent tiles.

3. A paving block as claimed in claim 1 wherein said adhesive material is integral with the base section and is formed from the same material as the said base section.

4. A paving block as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the said bonding agent is substantially non-compressible and rigid once it is set.

5. A paving block as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein said base section is formed from concrete.

6. A paving block as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein said bonding agent extends upwardly from the base section to a level representing at least one quarter of the thickness of the tiles.

7. A paving block as claimed in claim 6 wherein said bonding agent extends upwardly from the base section for a distance representing between one third to one half of the thickness of the tiles.

8. A paving block as claimed in claim 7 wherein each of the said tiles are approximately 24 mm in thickness and the bonding agent extends at least 6 mm upwardly from the base section between the tiles.

9. A paving block as claimed in any one of the previous claims wherein said paving block is between 50 to 66 mm in thickness.

10. A paving block as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein said tiles are affixed to the upper surface of the base section in a predetermined pattern.

11. A method of forming a paved area in which the surface of the paved area includes a plurality of tiles wherein; (a) the area to be paved is levelled;

(b) a number of separate paving blocks of the type claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10 are laid side by side over the area to be paved; and

(c) the gaps between the respective tiles are thereafter filled with a joint filling material.

12. A method as claimed in claim 11 wherein the tiles of the surface of the paved area are to be arranged in a predetermined patterned arrangement and said separate paving blocks are of the type claimed in claim 10 in which each said paving block incorporates the affixed tiles in the said predetermined patterned arrangement.

13. A method as claimed in either one of claims 11 or 12 wherein said joint filling material is joint filling sand.

14. A method of manufacturing a paving block, said method including the following steps: (a) arranging a plurality of tiles into the base of a mould in such manner as to leave a gap between each of the respective tiles;

(b) partially filling the gaps between the respective tiles with a non adhesive filler;

(c) introducing a bonding agent into the mould so to fill the unfilled portions of the gaps between the respective tiles;

(d) introducing an uncured concrete mixture into the mould to form a base section of the paving block; and

(e) removing the paving block from the mould once the concrete has cured.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14 wherein said bonding agent is an uncured concrete mixture.

16. A method as claimed in claim 15 wherein said uncured concrete mixture used as the bonding agent is of the same composition as the uncured concrete mixture used to form the base section and is introduced into the mould as a single mixture in a single operation.

17. A method as claimed in claim 16 wherein the uncured concrete mixture is a rapid setting concrete mixture.

18. A method as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 17 wherein said mould is rectangular or square in shape and includes a base and a perpendicular side wall and wherein said side walls are formed from two "L" shaped sections hinged together at respective ends and which are lockable in a position forming the said rectangular or square shape.

19. A method as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 18 wherein the base of the mould includes separating means adapted to locate and separate the respective tiles arranged in the base of the mould so that they are disposed and maintained in a desired pattern.

20. A method as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 19 wherein the respective tiles are arranged in the base of the mould so that each tile is separated on all sides by between 3 to 6 mm from adjacent tiles.

21. A method as claimed in claim 20 wherein each respective tile is separated on all sides by between 4 to 5 mm from adjacent tiles.

22. A method as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 21 wherein said non adhesive filler is a fine sand.

23. A method as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 22 wherein said non adhesive filler is introduced between the respective tiles to a height above the bottom of the mould equal to at least half the thickness of the tiles.

24. A method as claimed in claim 23 wherein said non adhesive filler is introduced between the respective tiles to a height above the bottom of the mould equal to between one half and three quarters of the thickness of the tiles.

25. A paving block as claimed in claim 1 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to what is shown in Figure 1.

26. A method as claimed in claim 11 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to what is shown in Figure 1.

27. A method as claimed in claim 14 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to what is shown in Figures 1 and 2.