Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B28—WORKING CEMENT, CLAY, OR STONE
  • B28B—SHAPING CLAY OR OTHER CERAMIC COMPOSITIONS; SHAPING SLAG; SHAPING MIXTURES CONTAINING CEMENTITIOUS MATERIAL, e.g. PLASTER
  • B28B3/00—Producing shaped articles from the material by using presses; Presses specially adapted therefor
  • B28B3/006—Pressing by atmospheric pressure, as a result of vacuum generation or by gas or liquid pressure acting directly upon the material, e.g. jets of compressed air
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B28—WORKING CEMENT, CLAY, OR STONE
  • B28B—SHAPING CLAY OR OTHER CERAMIC COMPOSITIONS; SHAPING SLAG; SHAPING MIXTURES CONTAINING CEMENTITIOUS MATERIAL, e.g. PLASTER
  • B28B1/00—Producing shaped prefabricated articles from the material
  • B28B1/08—Producing shaped prefabricated articles from the material by vibrating or jolting
  • B28B1/082—Producing shaped prefabricated articles from the material by vibrating or jolting combined with a vacuum, e.g. for moisture extraction
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B28—WORKING CEMENT, CLAY, OR STONE
  • B28B—SHAPING CLAY OR OTHER CERAMIC COMPOSITIONS; SHAPING SLAG; SHAPING MIXTURES CONTAINING CEMENTITIOUS MATERIAL, e.g. PLASTER
  • B28B23/00—Arrangements specially adapted for the production of shaped articles with elements wholly or partly embedded in the moulding material; Production of reinforced objects
  • B28B23/0075—Arrangements specially adapted for the production of shaped articles with elements wholly or partly embedded in the moulding material; Production of reinforced objects for decorative purposes

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing slabs of agglomerated stone material with a cementitious binder having a mosaic composition and the slabs thus obtained.
• the present invention relates to the manufacture of slabs of agglomerated stone material with a cementitious binder decorated with inlaid pieces or inserts for producing mosaic compositions.
• slabs are used for forming high-quality flooring, but may also be used for internal as well as external cladding.
• a method is known where firstly a mosaic pattern is prepared graphically so as to obtain a required pattern, and then the pattern or the pattern contour are printed on a sheet, for example a laminated sheet.
• Tesserae (or inserts) of various material are then glued onto the sheet, following the pattern of the mosaic which has been defined beforehand.
• the tesserae are pieces made of a specific material, preferably with a square or rectangular shape, which are used to construct the mosaics, usually enamelled mosaic tesserae.
• Other types of tesserae such as glass tesserae or gold-lined or silver-lined tesserae, may also be used for the production of high-quality mosaics. Tesserae of natural marble, or tesserae consisting of tiles of various types, suitably cut, may also be used.
• the sheet with the tesserae is positioned inside the mould, so that the surface of the laminated sheet without tesserae is in contact with the bottom of the mould. Obviously since the exposed face of the slab will be that directed towards the bottom of the mould, the pattern must be reproduced accordingly, namely mirrored.
• the laminated sheet may be transparent and may also be provided with reference lines for cantering it inside the mould (for example two centre lines forming a cross) and obviously the same reference lines may be provided on the bottom of the mould.
• reference lines for cantering it inside the mould (for example two centre lines forming a cross) and obviously the same reference lines may be provided on the bottom of the mould.
• the grout (liquid cement mortar) is then poured into the mould, on top of the tesserae and the sheet, so as to cover completely the mosaic composition.
• the entire assembly then undergoes vibration so that the chippings are uniformly distributed within the grout.
• the article Once the article has hardened, it is extracted from the mould and, like any cement-based product, it is allowed to set.
• the face with the mosaic composition i.e. the face which was in contact with the bottom of the mould) undergoes smoothing and polishing operations.
• the problem of air being trapped inside the mixture has already been considered by the prior art, for example in European patent EP 1,266,734.
• the patent relates to a method for the production of slabs where firstly grout is poured inside the mould, followed by the chippings, and the entire assembly is then subjected to vibration. After the vibration step, a second quantity of grout and a second quantity of chippings are distributed inside the mould and the entire assembly is subjected to a second vibration operation.
• the object of the invention is therefore to solve the drawbacks of the prior art.
• a first task of the present invention is to produce articles which are well compacted and do not have air bubbles inside them.
• a second task of the present invention is to reduce the complexity and the cost of the operations to be performed in order to obtain slabs with mosaic compositions.
• a further task of the present invention is to provide a slab with a high aesthetic value and with optimum mechanical strength characteristics.
• the object and the task are achieved with a method according to Claim 1 and with a slab according to Claim 12.
• the method for manufacturing slabs of agglomerated stone material with a cementitious binder having a mosaic composition comprises the steps of:
• the method comprises an initial step where a pattern of a mosaic is graphically prepared.
• the pattern of the mosaic, or its contour is then placed on a sheet.
• the mosaic pattern or its contour may be printed on the sheet.
• the sheet thus obtained is positioned inside the mould. Obviously since the visible face of the slab will be that directed towards the bottom of the mould, the pattern must be prepared accordingly, namely mirrored.
• the laminated sheet may be transparent.
• reference lines may also be printed so as to allow cantering of the sheet inside the mould (for example two centre lines forming a cross) and obviously the same reference lines may be reproduced on the bottom of the mould.
• tesserae (or inserts) of various material are then glued onto the sheet, manually or by means of an automatic robotic manipulator, following the pattern of the mosaic which has been defined beforehand.
• the sheet may have a thickness in the region of one tenth of a millimetre.
• the sheet may be a laminated sheet of polymer material.
• the tesserae may be pieces made of specific material used for the formation of mosaics, for example enamelled tesserae for mosaics.
• Other types of tesserae such as glass tesserae or mirror tesserae, glassy tesserae gold-lined or silver-lined on the back or metal tesserae may also be positioned in this way, for the production of high-quality mosaics.
• Tesserae made of natural stone, for example marble, or tesserae consisting of tiles of various types, for example ceramic tiles, suitably cut, may also be used.
• the first vacuum may be relatively high and have a residual pressure value of between 60 and 20 mbar.
• the second vacuum may have a residual pressure value of between 100 and 30 mbar in relation to the temperature of the mixture.
• the residual pressure of the second vacuum value is higher than the vapour pressure at the temperature of the mixture, such as to avoid boiling of the water in the mixture.
• the first vacuum value may be applied for a time of 1-10 seconds.
• the vibratory motion may have a frequency of between 2,000 and 4,800 Hz, and preferably between 2,800 and 3,600 Hz.
• the second vacuum value and the vibratory motion may be applied for a time period of between 1 and 4 minutes.
• inert materials which have a more uniform particle size distribution ranging from the coarsest size down to the finest size. Since there is the possibility of using inert materials which have a more uniform particle size distribution, slabs with superior aesthetic qualities and greater mechanical strength characteristics are obtained.
• the vibration operation is performed in air
• the mixture is vibrated under a vacuum, with obvious advantages in terms of elimination of the air from the mixture. It is possible to obtain a finished product with superior aesthetic and mechanical properties since it is does not have air bubbles which negatively affect the mechanical strength as well as the resistance to staining with absorption of liquids and dust inside the pores.
• the product of the present invention in view of its characteristics described above, may be advantageously used both for flooring as well as for internal and external cladding and for furnishing.
• the laminated sheet is positioned inside the mould after the tesserae of the mosaic have been applied beforehand on top of it, in the manner described above, namely with the use of a special adhesive, manually or also using robotic devices.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Ceramic Engineering (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Devices For Post-Treatments, Processing, Supply, Discharge, And Other Processes (AREA)
• Finishing Walls (AREA)
• Laminated Bodies (AREA)
• Press-Shaping Or Shaping Using Conveyers (AREA)

Priority Applications (3)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=50190607

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Citations (7)

Family Cites Families (7)

• 2013
  • 2013-12-31 IT IT000217A patent/ITTV20130217A1/it unknown
• 2014
  • 2014-12-29 ES ES201690030A patent/ES2580904B2/es not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2014-12-29 KR KR1020167017794A patent/KR102290116B1/ko active IP Right Grant
  • 2014-12-29 CN CN201480070274.6A patent/CN105873733B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2014-12-29 WO PCT/IB2014/067385 patent/WO2015101919A1/en active Application Filing

Patent Citations (7)

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