Alan S Franc

US Patent:

20040124554, Jul 1, 2004

Filed:

Sep 22, 2003

Appl. No.:

10/665370

Inventors:

Jeff Lippy - Front Royal VA, US
Glenn Owens - Front Royal VA, US
Andrew Aitken - Front Royal VA, US
Alan Franc - Front Royal VA, US

Assignee:

Toray Plastics (America), Inc. - Front Royal VA

International Classification:

C08J009/00

US Classification:

264/050000, 521/050000

Abstract:

This invention relates to an isolation gasket intended to reduce the damage and wear of finishing layers, such as ceramic tiles, when installed over a rigid support layer, such as concrete. The disclosed isolation gasket prevents the propagation of cracks that may develop in the supporting layer through to the finishing layer. A preferred isolation gasket is a low-density, crosslinked polyolefin foam having a density of from about 60 kg/m3 to about 200 kg/m3, a compressive strength of from about kg/cm2 to about 8 kg/cm2, a shear strength of at least 2 mm, and a thickness of at least 0.5 mm.