LIGHTENED TILE FOR SWIMMING-POOL EDGE AND PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING SUCH TILE

The present invention refers to a lightened tile, in particular used for manufacturing swimming-pool edges. The present invention further refers to a process for manufacturing a lightened tile for swimming-pool edges.

As known, there is a wide variety of tiles used in the building field; some of J£ne ^" s^§ ones are realised as products manufactured of cement or vibrated concrete with the most different shapes and uses.

One of the peculiar applications to which the realisation of such tiles is aimed, is the one providing for the manufacturing of swimming-pool edges: these specific products, substantially made as a shaped paving-tile block, due to their particular destination, must satisfy specific requirements: in fact, though being generally made of cement, usually of a coloured or white type, they must anyway be aesthetically pleasant, and resist to particular climatic conditions deriving from the extreme proximity of a high mass of water, with all that results in terms of humidity.

One of the problems which such tiles have, and that

anyway is also shared by the other tiles for different uses, is their relatively high weight, this negatively affecting both their transport, and their handling by operators responsible for their laying.

Therefore, object of the present invention is solving the above prior art problems by providing a lightened tile, in particular used for manufacturing swimming-pool edges.

Another object of the present invention is providing a process for manufacturing a lightened tile for swimming-pool edges .

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention, as will appear from the following description, are obtained by a lightened tile as claimed in claim 1.

Moreover, the above and other objects and advantages of the invention are obtained by a process for manufacturing a lightened tile as claimed in claim 12.

Preferred embodiments and non-trivial variations of the present invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims .

The present invention will be better described by some preferred embodiments thereof, provided as a non-limiting example, with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a bottom perspective view of an embodiment of the lightened tile according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a bottom perspective view of another

embodiment of the lightened tile according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a bottom perspective view of a preferred variation of the lightened tile of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows a bottom perspective view of a preferred variation of the lightened tile of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5a and 5b show bottom plan views of some further variations of the lightened tile according to the present invention; and

FIG. βa to βc show some step of the process according to the present invention.

With reference to the Figures, it is possible to note that the lightened tile 1 according to the present invention comprises a paving-tile block, made with substantially traditional materials, such as, for example, white or coloured cement, defined by an upper surface 3a, which is the visible surface once the tile 1 is laid, by a lower surface 3b, obviously aimed to be glued onto the laying tamped floor, such surfaces being mutually fitted by side edges 3c, typically in contact with the side edges of the other adjacent tiles forming the pavement, by interposing classic clearances made of gluing material; possibly, one of such side edges 3c can be a free edge 3d remaining visible to realise the swimming pool perimeter edge. Advantageously, the lower surface 3b of the tile 1 according to the present invention is equipped with at

least one lightening recess 5, as can be noted in particular in FIG. 1, such lightening recess 5 having in every one of its points a depth L ₀ which is less than the thickness L _M of the

paving-tile block in such points, in order not to interfere with the upper surface 3a. It is moreover wholly clear that the same depth L ₀ will have to be such as to optimise the

lightening of the tile 1 without however impairing the strength of the upper surface 3a when it is subjected to be walked on. Moreover, though, in the Figures, the lightening recess 5 is generically shown as having the shape of a parallelepiped, it is clear that it can be made of any other shape or size, though remaining within the limits of the adequate structural strength which is necessary for using the tile 1.

In order to solve the strength problems of the upper surface 3a deriving from the removal of the paving-tile block material due to the presence of the lightening recess 5, the lower surface 3b can be preferably equipped with a plurality of lightening recesses 5 arranged as a matrix, such particular arrangement advantageously allowing to define, between every pair of adjacent lightening recesses 5, a reinforcement rib 7 adapted to further prevent an excessive brittleness or even the risk of piercing the upper surface 3a when one walks thereon. In particular, in the alternative embodiment of the tile 1 shown in FIG. 2, it is possible to note that the lower

surface 3b can be preferably equipped with four lightening recesses 5 with rectangular plan, arranged as a matrix. It is anyway also clear that number, shape and/or arrangement of the lightening recesses 5 can be different from those shown and described as an example: by increasing the number of lightening recesses 5 in the lower surface 3b, it is anyway advantageous to be able to manufacture a grid of reinforcement ribs 7 in order to further increase the upper surface 3a strength, however at the expense of the lightening effect, which can be obtained in the tile 1 according to the present invention. For such purpose, the number and/or sizes of the lightening recess 5 must therefore be a useful trade-off between the need of conferring an adequate strength to the upper surface 3a, and anyway to the tile 1 as a whole, and the amount of lightening of the tile 1 itself which has to be obtained, depending on the amount of material of the paving- tile block replaced by the lightening recess 5. It has anyway be computed that, with respect to a known tile made of white cement whose sizes are 600 x 316 x 65/30 mm and whose weight is 18,5 Kg., a lightened tile 1 according to the present invention with the same sizes and material and equipped with six lightening recesses 5 with rectangular plan, each one of which has sizes 160 x 120 mm and defining reinforcement ribs 7 whose thickness is 15 mm, weighs 11,5 Kg., with obvious and advantageous results in terms of easiness and efficiency of

transport and handling for laying with respect to known prior art tiles.

In particular applications and climatic situations, the thickness reduction of the tile 1 according to the present invention next to the lightening recesses 5, could however have problems. In particular, it has been discovered that, once being laid, the presence of humidity transpiring from the tamped floor on which the tile is placed, can bring about the formation of stains on the upper surface 3a, or, more specifically, to the creation of darker chromatic differences which copy the below matrix arrangement of the lightening recesses 5 with respect to the filled tile 1 portions which remain clearer, resulting in a rather unpleasant aesthetic impact .

In order to solve such inconvenience, it is possible to provide that the surface of the lightening recesses 5 is covered with an insulating with neglectable, if not null, hygroscopicity, as for example a plastic material as polystyrene, high-density polyurethane or resin of the two- mode type, to be laid after having manufactured the tile 1. Such variation could however impair the manufacturing times of the tiles 1, with severe results on mass production volumes.

Alternatively, and with reference to FIG. 3 and 4, it is possible to provide that such insulating material is shaped as an insulating tank 9 whose shape and sizes are similar to the

lightening recesses 5, such insulating tank 9 being adapted to be inserted inside a respective lightening recess 5. The insulating tank 9 could be kept inside its lightening recess 5 by being restrained or due to the simple friction exerted on the walls of the lightening recess 5 itself, Alternatively, it can be provided to make the insulating tank 9 integral with its lightening recess 5 through other securing means, such as for example by gluing.

In a further preferred variation, at least one insulating tank 9 could be pressure-inserted in the lower surface 3b when the material which composes the paving-tile block is still in its fluid state, thereby obtaining the double object of simultaneously creating the related lightening recess 5 and securing the insulating tank 9 inside it through the following material hardening.

With reference to FIG. 5a and 5b, it is possible to further note that the possible shapes of the tile 1 according to the present invention and the possible number, shape and sizes of the lightening recesses 5 can be rather different. For example, the lightening recesses 5 could be six, arranged in a matrix form with rows of three, and whose shape can be substantially rectangular with rounded angles: similarly, the insulating tanks 9 inserted in their respective lightening recesses 5 will have shapes and sizes similar to these latter ones. Alternatively, the tile could also not be shaped as a

rectilinear plan, but for example a curvilinear plan, like the one shown in FIG. 5b.

The present invention further refers to a process for manufacturing a lightened tile 1 like the previously described one. In particular, with reference to FIG. βa to 6c, the process according to the present invention comprises the steps of: a) arranging at least one die 20 realising the upper surface 3a, the side edges 3c and possibly the free edge 3d of the paving-tile block of the tile 1 (FIG. 6a) ; b) pouring, inside such die 20, an adequate amount of material 21 for realising the paving-tile block; the material 21 to be used can be substantially known, such as for example white or coloured cement or concrete (FIG. 6b) ; c) vibrating the die 20 to remove possible fissures, interstices or bubbles in the material 21 and to make it more homogeneous; d) arranging at least one insulating tank 9 made of insulating material with neglectable, if not null, hygroscopicity, such as for example a plastic material such as polystyrene, high-density polyurethane o resin of the two-mode type having shape and sizes of the lightening recess 5 to be manufactured; e) inserting F ₁ at least one of such insulating tanks 9, along

its convexity direction, in the material 21 still in its

fluid state into the die 20; it is clear that the number of insulating tanks 9 to be inserted and their arrangement will be a function of the type of tile 1 which has to be manufactured, as previously described (FIG. 6c); it is clear that the adequate amount of the above material 21 must be computed in such a way as to take into account, for the complete manufacture of the tile 1, of the global volume of the insulating tanks 9 which will be inserted inside it; it is clear that such step can be repeated for every insulating tank 9 to be inserted in the material 21. Alternatively, it is possible that all insulating tanks 9 are provided simultaneously inserted in the material 21; f) vibrating the die 20 to remove from inside the material 21 possible fissures, interstices or bubbles possibly produced upon inserting the insulating tanks 9 of the previous step; g) drying the material 21 in the die 21; and h) extracting the tile 1 according to the present invention from the die 20.

From what has been described above, it is clear that implementing the steps of the process according to the present invention for manufacturing a lightened tile 1 can occur both manually and with the help of suitably designed machines and/or manufacturing lines, whose mere realisation is within the skills of a normal technician in the art.