SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DESIGNING
AND ASSEMBLING TILES
Field of invention
[0001] The present invention relates to the design of tiles. More particularly, the present invention provides a system and method for designing and assembling tiles for storing and displaying articles.
Background of the invention
[0002] Retail establishments often use wall shelves to display merchandise to customers. Wall shelves can also be used in home and office environment for storing articles of use or for furnishing purposes. A typical wall shelf system may comprise multiple components such as structural members made of materials such as metals, glass, plastics etc., structural members for supporting shelves, structural members for engaging and connecting shelves. The process of installing a typical wall shelf system includes a series of steps such as preparing a blueprint for positioning of structural members and shelves, securing structural members to the wall and to each other, aligning shelves with the structural members, fastening shelves to structural members etc. The process of performing abovementioned steps is a lengthy and cumbersome process. Moreover, in case a wall shelf needs to be relocated, it has to be dismantled and reassembled which is again a cumbersome process. Further, a retail establishment may require display of a lot of merchandise which may necessitate assembling each individual wall shelf and arranging the wall shelves together.
[0003] In light of the above mentioned disadvantages, there exists a need for a structural arrangement for storing and displaying articles against a wall which is simple and easy to build. Furthermore, the structural arrangement should be able to accommodate requirements such as dismantling and reconstruction of storage arrangement without the need for application of significant effort.
Summary of the invention
[0004] A method and system for designing and assembling tiles is provided. In an embodiment of the present invention, the system comprises a plurality of tiles attachable to a surface such as a wall structure. Each tile further comprises a side rim and a top rim. The side rim is located at right side of the tile and the top rim is located at top of the tile. Further, the side rim houses a pair of horizontal slots and the top rim houses a pair of vertical slots. The system further comprises a pair of horizontal flanges, a pair of vertical flanges and a plurality of forward facing, horizontally spaced slots.
[0005] In various embodiments of the present invention, the tiles are assembled by fastening them with each other. Two adjacent tiles are fastened by inserting horizontal flanges of a first tile into horizontal slots of a second tile. Further, a third tile is assembled by inserting vertical flanges of the third tile into vertical slots of the first tile. Furthermore, a fourth tile is assembled by inserting vertical flanges of the fourth tile into vertical slots of the second tile.
Brief description of the accompanying drawings
[0006] The present invention is described by way of embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:
[0007] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a single wall tile in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0008] FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating fastening of two single wall tiles;
[0009] FIGs. 3, 4 and 5 are schematic views illustrating steps for assembling a group of wall tiles in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0010] FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a group of four wall tiles being riveted onto a wall in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0011] FIG. 7 is a schematic view illustrating corner headings fastened onto a wall having an assembled group of wall tiles.
[0012] FIG. 8 is a schematic view illustrating fastening of brackets to wall tiles, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Detailed description of the invention
[0013] A system and a method for designing and assembling wall tiles are described herein. The system comprises a wall tile having horizontal and vertical slots as well as horizontal and vertical flanges. As per the present invention, a group of wall tiles are assembled by screwing a first wall tile to a wall and then attaching a second wall tile to the first wall tile. The two wall tiles are joined with each other by latching horizontal slots of a first wall tile with horizontal flanges of a second wall tile. Further, a third wall tile is assembled by securing vertical flanges of the third wall tile with vertical slots of the first wall tile. Similarly, a fourth wall tile is assembled by securing vertical flanges of the fourth wall tile with vertical slots of the second wall tile. Additional wall tiles are then attached to the existing group to obtain a larger group of wall tiles. In the abovementioned steps, after each attachment step of a wall tile to another wall tile, the wall tile is screwed to the wall.
[0014] The following disclosure is provided in order to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention. Exemplary embodiments are provided only for illustrative purposes and various modifications will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art. The general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Also, the terminology and phraseology used is for the purpose of describing exemplary embodiments and should not be considered limiting. Thus, the present invention is to be accorded the widest scope encompassing numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalents consistent with the principles and features disclosed. For purpose of clarity, details relating to technical material that is known in the technical fields related to the invention have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention.
[0015] The present invention would now be discussed in context of embodiments as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
[0016] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a single wall tile 100. In an embodiment of the present invention, the wall tile 100 is a slab comprising structural components such as a frame 102, a side rim 103 including a pair of horizontal slots 104, a pair of horizontal flanges 106 located on a side opposite to the side rim 103, a top rim 107 including a pair of vertical slots 108, a pair of vertical flanges 110 located opposite to the top rim 107 and a plurality of bracket slots 112 located on the surface of the wall tile 100. The frame 102 is an extended portion of the wall tile 100 which is formed by turning the slab at its corner periphery by an angle. In an embodiment of the present invention, the frame 102 is a support structure used for supporting an adjoining wall tile while the flanges of the adjoining wall tile latch onto the slots. In an embodiment of the present invention, the side rim 103 is located on right side of the wall tile 100. The pair of horizontal slots 104 is used for securing the pair of horizontal flanges 106 of an adjacent horizontal tile. Similarly, the pair of vertical slots 108 is used for securing the pair of vertical flanges 110 of an adjacent vertical tile. The fastening of two adjacent tiles using slots and flanges is shown in conjunction with the description of FIG. 2. The plurality of bracket slots 112 are used for securing brackets. In an embodiment of the present invention, a bracket is a structural element secured at one end to a bracket slot and open at the other end for supporting a shelf. Securing of a bracket to a bracket slot in the frame 102 is described in FIG. 8.
[0017] FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating fastening of two single wall tiles. In an embodiment of the present invention, views 202 and 204 demonstrate steps in connecting two single wall tiles. View 202 illustrates attachment of a tile into an adjacent tile by placing in the flanges of a tile 206 into slots 210 provided in a tile 208. View 204 illustrates a composite group comprising the connected tiles 206 and 208.
[0018] FIGs. 3, 4, and 5 are schematic views illustrating steps for assembling a group of four wall tiles and mounting them onto a wall in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 illustrates three schematic views showing the adjacent
placement and screwing of two wall tiles onto the wall. Schematic view 302 illustrates a preliminary step showing screwing of corner headings. As shown in FIG. 3, corner headings 308 are screwed onto the wall. Screwing of the corner headings 308 ensures straight line edges along the wall. Thereafter, in the schematic view 304, a corner wall tile 310 is placed alongside the corner headings 308 and is screwed onto the wall using countersunk screws. In an embodiment of the present invention, the corner wall tile 310 is screwed to the wall using countersunk screws provided both on the side rim 103 (FIG.l) and the top rim 107 (FIG.l). As shown in the schematic view 306, a second wall tile 312 placed adjacent to the corner wall tile 310 is bonded by inserting its horizontal flanges into the horizontal slots provided in the corner wall tile 310. In an embodiment of the present invention, screw heads of the countersunk screws of the side rim of the corner wall tile 310 act as platform for resting the horizontal flanges of the second wall tile 312. Additionally, horizontal flanges of the second wall tile 312 cover screw heads of the countersunk screws and hide them from the eyes of an onlooker. After insertion of flanges into slots of the corner wall tile 310, the second wall tile 312 is screwed to the wall. FIG. 4 illustrates fastening of a third wall tile 406 to the corner wall tile 310 of FIG. 3. The third wall tile 406 is slid down to latch onto the corner wall tile 310 (FIG. 3) by interlocking of the vertical flanges of the third wall tile 406 with the vertical slots of the corner wall tile 310. Following the latching of the vertical flanges of the third wall tile 406 with the vertical slots of the corner wall tile 310, the third wall tile 406 is slid sideways and screwed to align it with the horizontal portion of the corner headings 308. FIG. 5 illustrates the linking of a fourth wall tile 502 with the corner wall tile 310, the second wall tile 312 and the third wall tile 406. In an embodiment of the present invention, the fourth wall tile 502 is first slid down to catch onto the second wall tile 312. In various embodiments of the present invention, the vertical slots of the second wall tile 312 are constructed such that the vertical slots are bigger in size compared to its horizontal slots. In an example, once the vertical flanges of the fourth wall tile 502 are latched with the vertical slots of the second wall tile 312, the fourth wall tile 502 is slid sideways so its horizontal flanges are inserted in the horizontal slots of the third wall tile 406.
[0019] FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a group of four wall tiles being riveted onto a wall. In an embodiment of the present invention, pursuant to the assembly of four wall
tiles, a pair of corner headings 602 are nailed to the frame 102 (FIG. 1) in addition to the corner headings 308 that had been nailed before the assembly of the four wall tiles.
[0020] FIG. 7 is a schematic view illustrating corner headings fastened onto a wall having an assembled group of wall tiles. As shown in FIG. 7, screws are used to fasten corner headings 308 and 602 to a wall 702.
[0021] FIG. 8 is a schematic view illustrating fastening of brackets to wall tiles, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In an embodiment of the present invention, brackets 802 and 804 are inserted into slots provided in the wall tiles 806 and 808 respectively and are locked in. In various embodiments of the present invention, the brackets 802 and 804 are used for supporting a shelf for storing and displaying articles. In an embodiment of the present invention, combination of brackets 802 and 804 can be used to hold a top made of glass wood, plastic etc. In other embodiments of the present invention, the combination of brackets 802 and 804 may be used either in a retail environment or at home for hanging beads, hangers or other articles for display such as clothes etc.
[0022] Therefore the present invention provides a system and a method for designing and assembling wall tiles. The present invention does not require a complicated process for designing and assembling individual wall shelves. Further, the system and method of the present invention does not necessitate fastening of brackets to a wall for supporting shelves.
[0023] While the exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described and illustrated herein, it will be appreciated that they are merely illustrative. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from or offending the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

We claim:
1. A system for designing and assembling tiles, the system comprising:
a plurality of tiles (100) attachable to a surface such as a wall structure, each tile comprising:
a side rim (103) and a top rim (107) , wherein the side rim is located at right side of the tile and the top rim is located at top of the tile, further wherein the side rim houses a pair of horizontal slots (104) and the top rim houses a pair of vertical slots (108);
a pair of horizontal flanges (106) formed and extended outward from left side of the each tile;
a pair of vertical flanges (110) formed and extended outward from top of the each tile; and
a plurality of forward facing, horizontally spaced slots (112) for receiving a plurality of brackets, wherein the tiles are fastened to each other by inserting horizontal flanges in horizontal slots and vertical flanges in vertical slots.
2. The system of claim 1 further comprises a plurality of corner headings (308) bolted to the surface and located around the plurality of tiles, wherein corner headings are attached to the surface in order to obtain straight line edges along the surface.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein each tile is a slab made of a material comprising at least one of metal, glass, plastic ceramic, steel, wood or an alloy.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein each tile is bent at an angle at corner periphery to form a frame (102), further wherein the frame is a support structure formed for supporting an adjoining tile while flanges of the adjoining wall tile latch onto slots of the each tile.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the side rim and the top rim of each tile further
houses countersunk screws for bolting the side rim and the top rim to the
surface while fastening the each tile to an adjoining tile.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein a combination of the plurality of brackets (802,
804) is used for supporting a top made of a material selected from a group
consisting of glass, metal, ceramic and plastic.
7. A method for designing and assembling a plurality of tiles, wherein each tile
comprises a side rim having a pair of horizontal slots, a top rim having a pair
of vertical slots, a pair of horizontal flanges, a pair of vertical flanges and a
plurality of forward facing, horizontally spaced slots, the method comprising:
attaching a first tile to a second tile, wherein the first tile is connected
to the second tile by inserting pair of horizontal flanges of the second
tile into pair of horizontal slots in the first tile;
attaching a third tile to the first tile by inserting pair of vertical flanges
of the third tile into pair of vertical slots of the first tile;
attaching a fourth tile to the second tile by inserting pair of vertical
flanges of the fourth tile into pair of vertical slots of the second tile;
and
attaching one or more tiles to the first tile, the second tile, the third tile
and the fourth tile.