BANDE SEPARATRICE POUR ARTICLES SANITAIRES

MOUNTING STRIP FOR SANITARY OBJECTS

Abrégé anglais

A mounting strip of elastomeric material is
interposed between a sanitary fixture (e.g., toilet) and
a surface to which the fixture is mounted. The mounting
strip is curved to conform to the shape of an attachment
surface of the fixture. An inside edge of the strip
includes slots, and an outside edge of the strip includes
notches alternating with the slots. The notches form an
undercut to retain an adhesive which secures the
attachment surface to the mounting surface.

Revendications

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. A mounting strip for being interposed
between an object and a surface to which the object is
to be mounted, comprising a substantially flat strip of
elastomeric material having first and second longitudinal
edges, a plurality of longitudinally spaced slots
extending into said strip from said first edge, each of
said slots having sides diverging toward said first edge,
and a plurality of notches extending into said strip from
said second edge, said notches and said slots alternating
with one another in the longitudinal direction of said
strip; an intersection of said notch and said second edge
defining a mouth of said notch, at least a portion of each
notch being undercut with respect to said mouth.
2. The mounting strip according to Claim 1,
wherein said notches include side edges which diverge
relative to one another in a direction away from said
second edge.
3. The mounting strip according to Claim 2,
wherein said notches are of dovetail shape.
4. The mounting strip according to Claim 2,
wherein said notches are configured as a circular arc
whose center is offset from said second edge in a
direction toward said first edge.
5. The mounting strip according to Claim 1,
wherein each notch includes side edges which initially
extend from said second edge in a convergent relationship
and which then become divergent to form said undercut.

6. The mounting strip according to Claim 5,
wherein said side edges are linear in said convergent
relationship and form a circular arc when becoming
divergent.
7. A sanitary installation comprising:
a sanitary fixture mounted on a surface, said
fixture including an attachment surface of
curvalinear shape;
a mounting strip disposed between said fixture
and said surface and being of curvalinear shape
corresponding to that of said attachment surface,
said mounting strip being flat and formed of
elastomeric material, said mounting strip
including inner and outer edges, a plurality of
longitudinally spaced slots extending into said
strip from said second edge, at least some of
said slots having sides diverging toward said
first edge, a plurality of notches extending into
said strip from said second edge, said notches
arranged said in alternating relationship with
said slots, an intersection of said notch and
said second edge defining a mouth of said notch,
at least a portion of each notch being undercut
with respect to said mouth; and
adhesive material extending between said
attachment surface and said mounting surface
and anchored in said undercut portions of said
notches.

Description

2143702
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Mounting Strip for Sanitary Objects
Backqround of the Invention
The invention relates to a mounting strip, which
is intended for sanitary objects and which comprises an
essentially flat elastomer strip, from whose inner
longitudinal edge inwardly tapering transverse slots
run at regular intervals.
Sanitary objects, like toilet bowls, which are
often made of stoneware or a similar material, have to be
fastened to floor surfaces or wall surfaces, which are not
totally flat in many cases. Therefore, when the sanitary
objects are screwed on, locally high load peaks can be
produced that can result in the hard and brittle stoneware
being damaged. Therefore, elastic mounting strips were
developed that are inserted between the attachment surface
of the sanitary object and the wall or floor surface.
A known mounting strip of the aforementioned
kind (EP-PS 131 184) is adapted in a simple manner to any
arbitrary shape and size of the attachment surface of the
sanitary object owing to the transverse slots starting
from its inner longitudinal edge. In the case of this
known mounting strip the outer longitudinal edge is
designed continuously smooth. In many cases a joint
filling compound is injected into the joint formed between
the sanitary object and the wall or floor surface in the
region of this outer longitudinal edge of the mounting
strip. The adhesion of the joint filling compound is
defined solely by the surface adhesion to the adjoining
surfaces of the sanitary objects and the wall or floor
surface. This adhesion can be impaired through

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contamination of the adjoining surfaces and can also
decline over time, so that the bead formed by the joint
filling compound detaches.
The object of the invention is to design a
mounting strip of the aforementioned kind in such a manner
that the anchoring of the joint filling compound is not
only improved but also is virtually independent of the
chemical character of the neighboring surfaces.
Summary of the Invention
The invention solves this problem in that the
outer longitudinal edge of the mounting strip has notches,
which are arranged between two adjacent transverse slots
and each of which exhibits an undercut.
The elastic bead, formed by the cured joint
filling compound, is anchored in these undercut notches,
so that said bead cannot detach itself from the joint,
even if the surface adhesion to the adjacent surfaces is
inadequate or loosens in the course of time. In this
manner the goal of an improved joint closure is achieved.
At the same time a better seal is obtained both from the
outside to the inside and from the inside to the outside.
In addition, the mounting strip becomes even more
flexible owing to the additional notches of the outer
longitudinal edge opposite the transverse slots of the
inner longitudinal edge and can, therefore, be adapted
more easily and completely to all curvatures and radii
of the attachment surface of the sanitary objects.
Unevennesses of the wall and floor surfaces and
the attachment surfaces of the sanitary objects are closed
even better permanently by means of the shape-locking
anchoring of the joint filling compound according to the
invention.

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A preferred embodiment of the invention provides
that the notches exhibit diverging side edges that start
from the outer longitudinal edge, thus resulting in
preferably a dovetailed shape of the notches.
Another advantageous design of the notches
involves the notches being defined by a circular arc,
which intersects the outer longitudinal edge and whose
center of curvature is offset inwardly with respect to the
outer longitudinal edge. Thus, the circular arc extends
over an angle of more than 180, so that it forms the
undercut, in which the joint filling compound is anchored.
Another embodiment of the invention provides that
the notches taper inwardly, starting from the outer
longitudinal edge and terminate in an expanding, rounded
off recess, which forms the undercut. In so doing, the
region that forms the undercut and causes the anchoring
of the joint filling compound is on the inner end of the
notches. This region is deformed only slightly even when
the mounting strip is subjected to a relatively severe
convex bending, so that the anchoring effect remains
actively preserved even in spots where the mounting strip
is severely bent.
Brief Description of the Drawings
In the following the embodiments of the invention
are explained in detail with reference to the drawings
FIG. 1 is a top view of a mounting strip in the
undeformed, straight state.
FIG. 2 is a spatial drawing of a section of the
mounting strip according to FIG. 1 with affixed adhesive
strip.
FIG. 3 is a drawing of a fragment of the mounting
strip according to FIG. 1 in the curved state attached to
a sanitary object.

2143702
FIG. 4 is a perpendicular view of the foot of a
sanitary object, which stands on the mounting strip
according to FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of a modified
embodiment of the mounting strip; and
FIG. 6 is a view according to FIG. 5 of another
modified embodiment of the mounting strip.
Detailed Description of Preferred
Embodiments of the Invention
The mounting strip, which is shown in FIGS. 1
and 2 and is intended for sanitary objects, like toilet
bowls, is made of an elastic, soft plastic. The flat
mounting strip 1 has an outer longitudinal edge 2 and an
inner longitudinal edge 3, whereby the terms "outer" and
"inner" that are used here relate to the arrangement of
the mounting strip at the sanitary object. Evenly spaced
transverse slots 4, which taper in the direction of the
outer longitudinal edge 2 and terminate in an expanding,
rounded off recess 5, start from the inner, uninterrupted
longitudinal edge 3. A web 6 remains between the rounded
off recess 5 at the end of the transverse slot 4 and the
adjacent outer longitudinal edge 2.
As shown in FIG. 2, the upper side of the
mounting strip 1 is provided with a two-sided adhering
adhesive strip 7, which exhibits constant width and to
whose upper side a removable cover strip 8 is affixed.
Evenly spaced notches 9, which are arranged
between two adjacent transverse slots 4 and each of which
exhibits an undercut, start from the outer longitudinal
edge 2, which is also uninterrupted. By "undercut is
meant that a portion of the width W of the notch 9 located
inwardly of the outer edge 2 is wider than the width W'
of the mouth of the notch located at the outer edge.

21~37Q~
In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the
notches 9 exhibit diverging side edges 10, which start
from the outer longitudinal edge 2, so that a dovetailed
design of the notches 9 is produced. Therefore, the
web 6, an outer edge of which is defined by the outer
longitudinal edge 2 and remains between the adjacent
notches 9, is also dovetailed.
Before the mounting strip 1 is fastened to the
attachment edge 11 of a sanitary object, the cover strip 8
is removed; and the mounting strip 1 is bent in such a
manner in its plane that its outer longitudinal edge 2
adapts as accurately as possible to the outer contour of
the attachment edge 11. If the mounting strip 1 is bent
convexly, i.e., in the direction of its inner longitudinal
edge 3, the adhesive strip 7 forms in the region of the
transverse slots 4 a small transverse fold 12, which is
indicated with dash-dotted lines in FIG. 2. Thus, the
adhesive strip 7 does not prevent the mounting strip
from being bent. If, in contrast, an opposite (concave)
curvature of the mounting strip 1 is demanded, the
adhesive strip 7 is cut in the region of the transverse
slots 4.
As soon as the mounting strip 1 is attached in
the described manner to the sanitary object, said sanitary
object is put on the foundation, which is usually more or
less uneven, for example a floor 13 covered with tiles,
and fastened there, as depicted in FIG. 4. Finally the
joint, which is located in front of the outer longitudinal
edge 2 and is defined, on the one hand, by the attachment
edge 11 of the sanitary object and, on the other hand, by
the floor 13, is filled in most cases with a conventional
joint filling compound, for example a silicone rubber,

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which forms in the cured state a joint bead 14, which
closes the gap. This permanently elastic joint bead 14
is anchored (locked) in the notches 9 of the mounting
strip 1, due to the undercut configuration of the
notches 9.
FIG. 5 is a view of a modified design of the
mounting strip lA. Each of the notches 9A on the outer
longitudinal edge 2 of the mounting strip lA is defined
by a circular arc 15, which intersects and interrupts the
outer longitudinal edge 2 and whose center of curvature is
offset inwardly from the outer edge 2, i.e., offset in the
direction of the inner longitudinal edge 3, with respect
to the outer longitudinal edge 2, whereby the notch 9A
forms an undercut.
FIG. 6 shows another modified embodiment of the
mounting strip lB. In this Figure, the notches 9B are
designed in such a manner that, starting from the
uninterrupted outer longitudinal edge 2, they taper,
first of all, inwardly. Each notch 9B terminates in
an expanding, rounded off recess 16, which forms the
undercut. In this embodiment the notches 9B of the outer
longitudinal edge 2 have a shape similar to the transverse
slots 4 on the inner longitudinal edge 3, but are
significantly shorter than the slots 4.
Although the present invention has been described
in connection with preferred embodiments thereof, it will
be appreciated by those skilled in the art that additions,
deletions, modifications, and substitutions not
specifically described may be made without departing from
the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the
appended claims.

Dessin représentatif