초록 ▼

An easily-installed groutless wall tile plank backsplash system includes plural lower tile planks positioned edgewise spaced from each other in a horizontal direction of a wall in a lower plane. Plural upper tile planks have a decorative surface and edge finish, optionally three-dimensional, and are

An easily-installed groutless wall tile plank backsplash system includes plural lower tile planks positioned edgewise spaced from each other in a horizontal direction of a wall in a lower plane. Plural upper tile planks have a decorative surface and edge finish, optionally three-dimensional, and are positioned edgewise spaced apart from each other in a second, upper plane. The lower and upper planks are configured such that facing inner edges of two nearest neighbor adjacent lower planks in the lower plane are covered by a single upper plank positioned over the inner edges of the adjacent lower planks in the upper plane. The planks are secured by an adhesive without mechanical fasteners, substantially reducing installation time. In order to custom fit a wall space, the spacing between adjacent upper planks and adjacent lower planks is variable. For emphasis, a lower tile plank can be a large decorative mural tile plank.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An easily-installed groutless tile plank backsplash system for covering a wall, said system comprising: a plurality of lower tile planks selected from at least a first monolithic, rigid material comprising natural stone, marble, granite, porcelain, artificial stone, concrete, ceramic, or slumped

1. An easily-installed groutless tile plank backsplash system for covering a wall, said system comprising: a plurality of lower tile planks selected from at least a first monolithic, rigid material comprising natural stone, marble, granite, porcelain, artificial stone, concrete, ceramic, or slumped glass, and having a first decorative surface finish and a first lower tile plank thickness, each lower plank configured to be positioned edgewise from each other in a horizontal direction of the wall in a first, lower plane substantially parallel to the wall such that adjacent lower planks are configured to be spaced apart from one another and the lower planks are manufactured to have a first predetermined length extending vertically between selected predetermined upper and lower boundaries of the wall and one or more first predetermined widths;a plurality of upper tile planks selected from at least a second monolithic, rigid material, which is the same or different from the first material, the second material comprising natural stone, marble, granite, porcelain, artificial stone, concrete, ceramic, or slumped glass and having a second decorative surface finish and a decorative vertical edge finish on one or more exposed vertical edges, each upper plank configured to be positioned edgewise from each other in the horizontal direction of the wall in a second, upper plane substantially parallel to the wall such that adjacent upper planks are configured to be spaced apart from one another, the upper planks being manufactured to have a predetermined length and extending vertically between the predetermined upper and lower boundaries of the wall and having one or more second predetermined widths, the one or more second predetermined widths being the same as or different from the first one or more predetermined widths;wherein the first thickness of the lower planks is the same or different from the second thickness of the upper planks and wherein the first decorative finish is the same or different from the second decorative finish;the lower and upper planks being configured such that at least facing inner edges of two nearest neighbor adjacent lower planks in the lower plane are covered by a single upper plank positioned over the inner edges of the adjacent lower planks in the upper plane and wherein each of the upper planks and each of the lower planks is secured in position by an adhesive material; andwherein the spacing between adjacent upper planks and adjacent lower planks is adjustable to cover an intended width of a wall space without edge trimming and the spacing between upper planks is the same or different from the spacing between lower planks, the combination of the upper planks and lower planks adhesively affixed to a wall forming a water resistant backsplash without the need for mechanical fasteners and wherein the adhesive material directly adheres the upper plank to the wall. 2. A groutless tile plank backsplash system according to claim 1 wherein a lower tile plank is integrated with an upper tile plank to form a composite lower-upper tile plank. 3. A groutless tile plank backsplash system according to claim 2 wherein the composite lower-upper tile plank comprises a lower tile plank and an upper tile plank fabricated from the same material. 4. A groutless tile plank backsplash system according to claim 2 wherein the composite lower-upper tile plank comprises a lower tile plank and an upper tile plank each fabricated from different materials. 5. A groutless tile plank backsplash system according to claim 1 further comprising a support member positioned between adjacent lower tile planks for supporting an upper tile plank. 6. A groutless tile plank backsplash system according to claim 5 wherein the support member is integrated with the upper tile plank. 7. A groutless tile plank backsplash system according to claim 5 wherein the support member is a support plank. 8. A groutless tile plank backsplash system according to claim 5 wherein the support member is a polymeric material. 9. A groutless tile plank backsplash system according to claim 8 wherein the polymeric material is an adhesive. 10. A groutless tile plank backsplash system according to claim 1 wherein the upper tile plank has a three-dimensional decorative surface. 11. A groutless tile plank backsplash system according to claim 1 wherein at least one lower tile plank is a mural tile plank having a horizontal width substantially larger than other lower tile planks in the tile plank system, wherein the mural tile edges that are overlapped by upper tiles have the same thickness as other lower tile planks and other portions of the mural tile plank have a thickness that can be the same or different as the other lower tile planks. 12. An easily-installed groutless tile plank backsplash system including one or more decorative murals for covering a wall, said system comprising: a plurality of lower tile planks selected from at least a first monolithic, rigid material comprising natural stone, marble, granite, porcelain, artificial stone, concrete, ceramic, or slumped glass and having a first decorative surface finish and a first lower tile plank thickness, each lower plank configured to be positioned edgewise from each other in a horizontal direction of the wall in a first, lower plane substantially parallel to the wall such that adjacent lower planks are configured to be spaced apart from one another and the lower planks are manufactured to have a first predetermined length extending vertically between selected predetermined upper and lower boundaries of the wall and one or more first predetermined widths, at least one of the lower planks configured to be a mural tile plank having a width substantially greater than the width of other lower planks in the backsplash system, the mural tile plank having a decorative feature incorporated therein;a plurality of upper tile planks selected from at least a second monolithic, rigid material, which is the same or different from the first material, the second material comprising natural stone, marble, granite, porcelain, artificial stone, concrete, ceramic, or slumped glass and having a second decorative surface finish, each upper plank configured to be positioned edgewise from each other in the horizontal direction of the wall in a second, upper plane substantially parallel to the wall such that adjacent upper planks are configured to be spaced apart from one another, the upper planks being manufactured to have a predetermined length and extending vertically between the predetermined upper and lower boundaries of the wall and having one or more second predetermined widths, the one or more second predetermined widths being the same as or different from the first one or more predetermined widths;wherein the first thickness of the lower planks is the same or different from the second thickness of the upper planks and wherein the first decorative finish is the same or different from the second decorative finish;the lower and upper planks being configured such that at least facing inner edges of two nearest neighbor adjacent lower planks in the lower plane are covered by a single upper plank positioned over the inner edges of the adjacent lower planks in the upper plane and wherein each of the upper planks and each of the lower planks is secured in position by an adhesive material and wherein the adhesive material directly adheres the upper plank to the wall; andwherein the spacing between adjacent upper planks and adjacent lower planks is adjustable to cover an intended width of a wall space without edge trimming and the spacing between upper planks is the same or different from the spacing between lower planks, the combination of the upper planks and lower planks adhesively affixed to a wall forming a water resistant backsplash. 13. A groutless tile plank backsplash system according to claim 12 wherein the mural tile plank is a composite mural tile plank including a reinforcing backing member. 14. A groutless tile plank backsplash system according to claim 12 wherein upper tile planks overlapping the mural tile plank include one or more upper tile planks have a three-dimensional decorative surface. 15. A groutless tile plank backsplash system according to claim 12 wherein the mural tile plank has a pattern including inlay materials. 16. A groutless tile plank backsplash system according to claim 12 wherein the mural tile plank includes a three-dimensional decorative surface feature incorporated therein. 17. A groutless tile plank backsplash system according to claim 16 wherein the three-dimensional decorative surface feature incorporated therein includes a relief feature. 18. A groutless tile plank backsplash system according to claim 16 wherein the three-dimensional decorative surface feature incorporated therein includes a mosaic. 19. A groutless tile plank backsplash system according to claim 12 wherein at least one upper tile plank includes a finished edge trim feature.