US5992106A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Hexagon tile with equilateral reinforcement
Assignee: Connor Sport Court International LLC
•
Filing: 1998-08-03
•
Granted: 1999-11-30
•
Expires: 2018-08-03
Abstract
Abstract A polymer tile for forming a floor covering, comprising a perimeter wall for providing support and for enclosing a perimeter boundary for the tile. A honeycomb configuration of intermediate wall structure is interconnected between inner portions of the perimeter wall and forms recurring hexagon units of hexagon support walls of common dimension, wherein the hexagon support walls have a height common with a height of the perimeter wall for providing support for a load imposed at a top surface of the tile within an intermediate area. A plurality of ribs of lesser height than the hexagon support walls are disposed in traversing orientation between opposing vertices of the hexagon support walls, and are joined at a central axis of the hexagon units as a common load transfer point to form a tile grid defining a plurality of hexagon support walls reinforced by equilateral triangles of lesser height formed within the hexagon units of the tile.
Inventors
- 👤 Jason D. Carling
- 👤 Brad Andes
- 👤 Frank A. Jugler
- 👤 Jeffrey L. Nish
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 12:04
CPC Classifications
E; E01; E01C; E01C13/00; E01C13/04; E01C13/045; E01C5/00; E01C5/20; E04; E04F; E04F15/00; E04F15/02; E04F15/10; E04F15/105; E04F15/22; E01C2201/00; E01C2201/12
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
156 words
A polymer tile for forming a floor covering, comprising: a perimeter wall for providing support and for enclosing a perimeter boundary for the tile; a honeycomb configuration of intermediate wall structure interconnected between inner portions of the perimeter wall and forming recurring hexagon units of hexagon support walls of common dimension, said hexagon support walls having a height common with a height of the perimeter wall for providing support for a load imposed at a top surface of the tile within an intermediate area; and a plurality of ribs of lesser height than the hexagon support walls and being disposed in traversing orientation between opposing vertices of the hexagon support walls, said ribs being joined at a central axis of the hexagon units as a common load transfer point to form a tile grid defining a plurality of hexagon support walls reinforced by equilateral triangles of lesser height formed within the hexagon units of the tile.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
156 words
A polymer tile for forming a floor covering, comprising: a perimeter wall for providing support and for enclosing a perimeter boundary for the tile; a honeycomb configuration of intermediate wall structure interconnected between inner portions of the perimeter wall and forming recurring hexagon units of hexagon support walls of common dimension, said hexagon support walls having a height common with a height of the perimeter wall for providing support for a load imposed at a top surface of the tile within an intermediate area; and a plurality of ribs of lesser height than the hexagon support walls and being disposed in traversing orientation between opposing vertices of the hexagon support walls, said ribs being joined at a central axis of the hexagon units as a common load transfer point to form a tile grid defining a plurality of hexagon support walls reinforced by equilateral triangles of lesser height formed within the hexagon units of the tile.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
27 words
The tile of claim 1, wherein a majority of wall sections of the hexagon units form respective common walls with respective adjacent hexagon units within the tile.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
20 words
The tile of claim 2, wherein the hexagon units and plurality of traversing ribs are disposed in a common plane.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
24 words
The tile of claim 1, wherein opposing side walls of the hexagon units are spaced apart from one another between 0.3 to 1.0 inches.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
20 words
The tile of claim 4, wherein the side walls are spaced apart at a distance between 0.5 and 0.7 inches.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
19 words
The tile of claim 4, wherein the side walls are spaced apart and a distance of approximately 0.625 inches.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
37 words
The tile of claim 1, wherein the interconnecting ribs traversing between the vertices of the hexagon units have a cross-section thickness within a range of 0.10 to 0.30 inches and a height between 0.03 to 0.30 inches.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
32 words
The tile of claim 7, wherein the interconnecting ribs traversing between the vertices of the hexagon units have a cross-section thickness of approximately 0.075 inches and a height of approximately 0.05 inches.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
26 words
The tile as defined in claim 1, further comprising interconnecting structure for releasably connecting with interconnecting structure of adjacent tiles to form a continuous floor surface.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
144 words
A tile for forming a floor covering, comprising: a perimeter support wall defining an outer boundary of the tile and including interconnecting structure for releasably connecting with interconnecting structure of adjacent tiles to form a continuous floor surface; intermediate grid structure internally coupled to the perimeter support wall and within the outer boundary, said grid structure comprising hexagon units having at least two differing cross-sectional geometries taken in two different planes parallel to a top surface of the tile, including: (i) a first planar cross-section comprising a repeating pattern of equilateral triangles extending substantially across an entire area of the first planar cross-section and being located at an upper portion of the tile; and (ii) a second planar cross-section comprising a repeating pattern of hexagonal polygons extending in parallel orientation substantially across an entire area of the second planar cross-section of the same tile.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
144 words
A tile for forming a floor covering, comprising: a perimeter support wall defining an outer boundary of the tile and including interconnecting structure for releasably connecting with interconnecting structure of adjacent tiles to form a continuous floor surface; intermediate grid structure internally coupled to the perimeter support wall and within the outer boundary, said grid structure comprising hexagon units having at least two differing cross-sectional geometries taken in two different planes parallel to a top surface of the tile, including: (i) a first planar cross-section comprising a repeating pattern of equilateral triangles extending substantially across an entire area of the first planar cross-section and being located at an upper portion of the tile; and (ii) a second planar cross-section comprising a repeating pattern of hexagonal polygons extending in parallel orientation substantially across an entire area of the second planar cross-section of the same tile.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
27 words
The tile of claim 10, wherein a majority of wall sections of the hexagon units form respective common walls with respective adjacent hexagon units within the tile.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
24 words
The tile of claim 11, wherein the hexagon units include a plurality of traversing ribs disposed in a common plane with the hexagonal units.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
24 words
The tile of claim 10, wherein opposing side walls of the hexagon units are spaced apart from one another between 0.3 to 1.0 inches.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
20 words
The tile of claim 13, wherein the side walls are spaced apart at a distance between 0.5 and 0.7 inches.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
19 words
The tile of claim 14, wherein the side walls are spaced apart and a distance of approximately 0.625 inches.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
37 words
The tile of claim 10, wherein the interconnecting ribs traversing between the vertices of the hexagon units have a cross-section thickness within a range of 0.10 to 0.30 inches and a height between 0.03 to 0.30 inches.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
32 words
The tile of claim 16, wherein the interconnecting ribs traversing between the vertices of the hexagon units have a cross-section thickness of approximately 0.075 inches and a height of approximately 0.05 inches.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
26 words
The tile as defined in claim 10, further comprising interconnecting structure for releasably connecting with interconnecting structure of adjacent tiles to form a continuous floor surface.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
82 words
A method for uniformly dispersing load in a floor covering assembly, the method comprising: (a) forming the floor covering from a plurality of tiles having intersecting ribs disposed so as to form a plurality of hexagonal support walls configured in honeycomb manner and including reinforcing cross rib structure disposed between vertices of the hexagonal support walls to form six equilateral triangles wherein the cross ribs have a lesser height than the hexagonal support walls; and b) placing a load on the tile.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
82 words
A method for uniformly dispersing load in a floor covering assembly, the method comprising: (a) forming the floor covering from a plurality of tiles having intersecting ribs disposed so as to form a plurality of hexagonal support walls configured in honeycomb manner and including reinforcing cross rib structure disposed between vertices of the hexagonal support walls to form six equilateral triangles wherein the cross ribs have a lesser height than the hexagonal support walls; and b) placing a load on the tile.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3723233A
Cited
US3909996A
Cited
USD255744S
Cited
USD274948S
Cited
US4436779A
Cited
US4478901A
Cited
US4590731A
Cited
US4584221A
Cited
USD327748S
Cited
US5379557A
Cited
US5628160A
Cited
US5787654A
Cited
US5865007A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2002-11-29 | 2003-05-31 | 2003-11-30 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-11-29 | 2007-05-31 | 2007-11-30 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-11-29 | 2011-05-31 | 2011-11-30 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |