# US 2009/0260317 A1 · Rotatabel wedge tile spacer having a curved body

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- Number: US 2009/0260317 A1
- Document ID: US20090260317A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 12/386,227
- Filed: 2009-04-14
- Published: 2009-10-22
- Earliest claimed: 2008-04-17
- Inventors: Jason W. Burns; Grant B. Jones
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20090260317A1

## CPC

- E04F 21/0092: {Separate provisional spacers used between adjacent floor or wall tiles (E04F13/0889, E04F15/02005 takes precedence)}
- E04F: FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS (windows, doors E06B)

## Abstract

A rotatable wedge tile spacer to be removably positioned in a gap between adjacent upper and lower tiles that are being bonded one above the other to a vertical surface (i.e., a wall). The tile spacer includes a curved (i.e., circular) body having a thin tip at one end and a thick tail at the opposite end. The height of the circular body increases along a tile-supporting top surface thereof that runs from the thin tip to the thick tail. With the tile spacer seated upon the lower tile, the circular body is rotated continuously around its longitudinal axis until the tile-supporting top surface engages the upper tile. Accordingly, the circular body of the rotatable wedge tile spacer will fill the gap and thereby prevent the upper tile from moving through the gap towards the lower tile during the bonding process.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A combination comprising:
a first tile attached to a surface;
a second tile attached to the surface, said first and second tiles being spaced from one another by a gap therebetween; and
a tile spacer to be removably positioned in said gap, said tile spacer including a curved body having a bottom surface and a tile-supporting top surface, the height of said curved body between said bottom surface and said tile-supporting top surface varying from a first end of said tile spacer to the opposite end thereof.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The combination recited in claim 1, wherein the height of said curved body increases uniformly and continuously from the first end of said tile spacer to the opposite end.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The combination recited in claim 1, wherein the height of said curved body increases incrementally from the first end of said tile spacer to the opposite end.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The combination recited in claim 3, wherein the tile-supporting top surface of said curved body has a series of steps formed therein, the height of said curved body increasing at each successive step along said tile-supporting top surface from the first end of said tile spacer to the opposite end.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The combination recited in claim 1, wherein the curved body of said tile spacer is a circular body having a longitudinal axis extending in co-axial alignment therewith, said circular body rotating within said gap around said longitudinal axis until the bottom surface of said tile spacer lays upon said second tile and the tile-supporting top surface of said tile spacer engages said first tile, whereby said circular body fills the gap to prevent said first tile from moving through said gap towards said second tile.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The combination recited in claim 1, wherein the first end of said tile spacer is a tapered wedge, said tapered wedge having the height that is less than the height of said tile spacer at the opposite end thereof.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The combination recited in claim 1, wherein at least some of the curved body of said tile spacer forms an arc of a circle having a constant radius.

### Claim 8

For maintaining a gap between a pair of adjacent surfaces that are laid end-to-end and separated from one another by said gap, a spacer to be removably positioned in said gap, said spacer having a curved body including a top and a bottom, and a longitudinal axis extending in coaxial alignment with said body, the height of said curved body between said top and said bottom increasing from a first end of said spacer to an opposite end thereof, said circular body rotating within said gap around said longitudinal axis until the bottom of said body engages one of said pair of adjacent surfaces and the top of said body engages the other one of said surfaces, whereby said circular body fills said gap and preserves the separation of said pair of surfaces.