NRICH disseminates disaster response technology for architectural cultural heritage to the private sector

- state-owned patent for ‘tile fixing device’ to be used by a private company for cultural heritage repairs-

National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (NRICH, Director-General Ji Byongmok) under Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) conducted technology transfer to a private company through ‘Roofing tile fixture and roofing tile roof containing them’ patent (Patent No. 10-1990849), which was designed to maintain the original form of cultural heritages while responding to earthquakes, typhoons, and heavy snow.

‘Roofing tile fixture and roofing tile roof containing them’ p is a research result of ‘Technological Study of Cultural Heritage Disaster Response,’ which has been promoted by NRICH since 2017. It is a technology that prevents the phenomenon of sliding or dropping tiles from disasters such as earthquakes, typhoons, and heavy snow.

The tiled roof of an architectural cultural heritage is constructed by order of <boto (filling soil of roof slope) - almae soil – amkiwa (concave tile) - hongdukae soil – sukiwa (convex tile)>. There are many cases that roofing tiles falling off due to vibrations caused by earthquakes, strong winds such as typhoons, heavy snow, etc. This technology aims to protect the value of cultural heritage from such disasters and prevent human casualties caused by falling tiles.

* almae soil: Mud underneath amkiwa to place amkiwa on a tiled roof

* hongdukae soil: Mud underneath the sukiwa to place the sukiwa on a tiled roof

This technology inserts a C-shaped device at both ends of ammaksae(concave finishing tile) or under the amkiwa and fixes them to the roofing tile. The installed device is covered by sumaksae (convex finishing tile) and sukiwa, which is not visible from the exterior and does not spoil the aesthetics of cultural heritage. Installation is possible regardless of the various type and structure of tiled roofs. If a hole is drilled for nailing to fix the tile, leaks may occur due to cracks in the tile. On the other hand, in the case of using the developed C-shaped device, it can be used without changing the shape of the tile. In recognition that it has the same effect as that of a wajeong, a patent was applied in December 2018 and registered as a national patent in June 2019.

* Wajeong (瓦釘): A long nail or tile nail used to fix the sukiwa at the end of the eaves to the rafters so that the tile does not slip.

The NRICH initiated the technology transfer procedure through the “IP-Market (national intellectual property trading platform)” of the Korea Invention Promotion Association in September to transfer the patent of ‘Roofing tile fixture and roofing tile roof containing them’ to the private sector. After the consultation with Donghae Construction Co., Ltd. and they recently signed an exclusive license agreement. Currently, the company is pursuing a number of cultural heritage maintenance and repair projects in the Jeju area. From 2021, it is planning to use this technology to restore damage to cultural assets caused by disasters.

* Patent technology related to research results can be viewed at the patent information search service (http://www.kipris.or.kr).

* Exclusive license: The right to exclusively enforce the relevant intellectual property within the scope of the content, region, and period by a contract with the right holder, other than the intellectual property right holder.

Since 2017, NRICH has researched on the characteristics of damage caused by disasters such as earthquakes, storms and floods, and fires that occur in cultural heritage, and is conducting technology research to effectively respond while maintaining the original form of the cultural heritage. In the future, we will endeavor to contribute to the preservation of the value of cultural heritage and damage prevention through the developing technologies related to the improvement of disaster response capabilities and field applications.

Attachment: Drawings on the patent.

Division: Safety and Disaster Prevention Division, National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage

Contact Person: JO Sangsun (042-860-9216), KIM Sehyun (042-860-9212)