DALLA VALLE, Roberto (Via Sen. Montresor 11, Bussolengo, I-37012, IT)
| CLAIMS
1. A method for manufacturing rigid and flexible mosaic tiles or sheets, in which a tile or sheet, advantageously made from stone material, agglomerate or similar, is subjected to the following processing stages: in a first stage a series of incisions (13, 14) are made, generally but not necessarily at right angles to each other, in order to obtain a mosaic consisting of squares or rectangular strips or similar shapes; in a second stage the joints are filled with a rubber or in any case flexible adhesive sealing material; in a third stage the pre-cut sheet is turned over and a further series of right-angle incisions are made in correspondence with the previous ones.
2. A method according to claim 1, characterised in that the tile or sheet (10) is initially subjected to two milling operations by a set of circular blades (11) or by another milling device designed for the same purpose .
3 . A method according to either of the foregoing claims , characterised in that the tile or sheet ( 10 ) is subjected to a milling operation that makes it possible to produce a series of parallel linear incisions ( 12 ) in a first processing stage , and to a second milling operation producing a series of incisions ( 13 ) at right angles to the previous ones .
4 . A method according to any of the foregoing claims , characterised in that the incisions (12, 13) are cut to a depth that can be approximately half the thickness of the tile or sheet.
5. A method according to any of the foregoing claims, characterised in that after the incisions (12, 13), forming relief mosaic tesserae (14), have been cut, the joints are filled using an appropriate dispenser (15) of sealing material preferably the rubbery or in any case flexible type.
6. A method according to any of the foregoing claims, characterised in that after the first processing stage, the tile can be used as a rigid type covering element, suitable for flat surfaces, simply by glueing the side opposite to the side with the relief mosaic (14) or similar shapes to the surface to be covered.
7. A method according to any of the foregoing claims, characterised in that in order to carry out the second stage of the process that gives the tile or sheet flexibility, the sheet is turned over and the side opposite to the previous one is milled in an identical way, manufacturing incisions (16) thus forming mosaic tesserae (17) or similar shapes also on the opposite side to the previous one.
8. A method according to any of the foregoing claims, characterised in that the cutting depth is approximately half or even less than the thickness of the sheet, so that the second milling operation allows the set of blades to reach the grouting mixture of the previous operation.
9. A method according to any of the foregoing claims, characterised in that to grout the joints an adhesive sealant is used with high elasticity, adhesion and resistance to high and low temperatures, and in that the sealant, once hardened, forms an elastic and resistant material ideal for professional sealing and assembly applications.
10. A method according to any of the foregoing claims, characterised in that the sealing material consists of
MDSL V400 Mungo®, with the following technical features:
Density: 1 6 0 g / c m 2
Skin f o rma t i on /ma 11 e&B i 1 i ty : m i n u t e s Hardening (1 mm layer).: hour (variable)
Hardening ( 10 mm lEayehiD)irs (variable)
Application temperature :+ 5 / +40 0 C
Hardness (Shore A - DIN 53505): 30
Modulus of elasticity at 10 0D% 67 e 1 on gat io N/mm2
Tensile strength :l1 . 5 8 N / m m 2
Ultimate elongation (DIN53504): 650%
Temperature resistance: -40 / +90 0 C
11. A method according to any of the foregoing claims, characterised in that the incisions made by the second milling operation can also be grouted with flexible adhesive material, thus manufacturing tiles or sheets which can be laid with either side facing upwards.
12. A method according to any of the foregoing claims, characterised in that it can be used on tiles or sheets made from stone material such as marble, stone or granite, stone agglomerate, or glass, glass paste, wood, metal, semiprecious stones or synthetic material, or on tiles or sheets made from combinations of the aforesaid materials.
13. A mosaic tile or sheet, consisting of a plurality of tesserae, strips or similar shapes held together by a sealing mixture, characterised in that it is obtained by means of a method according to any of the foregoing claims. |
METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING RIGID OR FLEXIBLE
MOSAIC-LIKE TILES OR PANELS, AS WELL AS TILES AND
PANELS OBTAINED THROUGH SAID METHOD
********** TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention concerns a method for manufacturing rigid and flexible mosaic tiles or panels or sheets and tiles or panels or sheets obtained through said method.
More specifically, this invention refers to a method which makes it possible to obtain, in a first stage, rigid tiles or sheets with a mosaic effect and, in a second stage, flexible tiles or sheets with a mosaic effect.
According to an advantageous embodiment, the method according to the invention is carried out on stone tiles or sheets and foresees that in a first stage the bases of this stone material, which can be used to produce kitchen worktops, table tops and decorative wall coverings in general, are cut on the first side to about half their depth, that in a second stage these cuts are filled with rubbery or elastic sealing material preferably made from specific polymer resin, and in a third stage the base treated as above is turned over and further cuts are made in correspondence with the cuts made in the first stage. A mosaic tile or sheet is obtained that presents features of flexibility that make it particularly suitable for application of the tile on curved, rounded and/or convex surfaces.
The method according to the invention can also be applied in the industrial sector of glass, glass paste, wood, metals, semiprecious stones, plastic, marble, stone materials in general and stone material agglomerates that can be used in the wall covering sector in general.
BACKGROUND ART
The production of decorative mosaic stone elements consisting of a plurality of tesserae in plain colours and in different shades, presenting various forms of colouring, is known and is in continuous expansion with a wide range of techniques .
The basic technique for manufacturing these elements foresees the tracing, on the surface to be decorated, of a drawing representing the decorative motif, the preparation of a plurality of stone tesserae in various colours, the fixing of the tesserae on the surface to be decorated following the layout indicated by the drawing and so as to complete a decorative representation with chromatic variations, the cleaning and, if necessary, the polishing of the mosaic surface obtained.
Growing interest has recently developed in the production of stone or agglomerate tiles or sheets made according to at least two solutions: the first to obtain rigid mosaic tiles and the second to obtain flexible mosaic tiles.
Rigid mosaic tiles are formed by means of a more dated technique, from a tile on which a series of incisions are made, to a depth of about half the thickness of the tiles, in two directions at right angles to each other. These incisions are then filled with material normally used for the grouting, to obtain a rigid mosaic tile.
This is the case described in the international patent PCT WO2005/092638, which is limited by the fact that these mosaic tiles cannot be used to cover curved, convex or shaped surfaces.
If it should be necessary to cover curved, convex or shaped surfaces, a second solution is known to the background art whereby a plurality of tesserae, in plain
colours, multicoloured or shaded, are positioned, either manually or using special machines, to form a sort of chessboard in which the joints are partially filled with rubbery or in any case elastic and flexible sealing material .
This technique, although already fairly well consolidated in the sector, presents the problem of having to prepare a considerable quantity of individual mosaic tesserae that must be laid in place and sealed with the technique described above.
The preparation of these tesserae in turn requires the use of machines that take up a great deal of space and are complex and costly; they also require specialised personnel, increasing the cost of the raw material and also of the finished product.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
This invention proposes to provide a method for manufacturing rigid and flexible mosaic tiles or sheets and at least one type of tile or sheet obtained by means of this method, that is able to eliminate or at least reduce the drawbacks described above.
The invention also proposes to provide a method for manufacturing rigid and flexible mosaic tiles or sheets and a type of tile or sheet obtained by means of this method that is easy to produce so as to be economically inexpensive from a production point of view.
This is achieved by means of a method for manufacturing rigid and flexible mosaic tiles or sheets and a tile or sheet obtained by means of this method with the features described in the main claim.
The dependent claims of the solution in question describe advantageous embodiments of the invention.
In addition to those due to the construction
simplicity, the main advantages of this solution concern first of all the fact that the sheets obtained by means of this method can be used to cover rounded, convex and curved surfaces, no longer starting from a number of individual tesserae but from a sheet subjected to a processing method according to the invention.
The method according to the invention thus substantially foresees that a tile or sheet, advantageously made from stone material, agglomerate or similar,:
• is in a first stage processed by making incisions, generally at right angles to each other, in order to obtain an engraved mosaic chessboard;
• in a second stage the incisions are filled with rubbery or in any case flexible sealing material;
• is in a third stage turned over and a further series of incisions are made corresponding to the previous ones.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the second series of incisions reaches a cutting depth that substantially corresponds to approximately half the thickness of the sheet, but any other cutting depth can be used according to requirements .
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other features and advantages of the invention will become evident on reading the description given below of a non-binding example of the invention, with the help of the accompanying drawings in which: figure 1 represents a schematic view of the tile or sheet to be processed, positioned in correspondence with the multiple incision cutting means; figure 2 is a schematic view of the tile or sheet to
be processed which has undergone the first part of the method according to the invention. figure 3 shows the tile or sheet to be processed in the second part of the first stage of the method, in which the second cuts are made at right angles to the previous ones; figure 4 is a schematic view of the tile or sheet at the end of the stage shown in the previous figure; figures 5 and 6 are schematic views of the tile or sheet during the filling stage of the chessboard style joints or those dividing the various rectangular shapes previously formed; figure 7 is a schematic view of the tile or sheet turned over and prepared for the second part of this stage which foresees the milling of the sheet on the opposite side to the first one; figure 8 is a view of the milling phase of the second side of the tile or sheet; figure 9 is a view of the tile or sheet after the second stage of the method; figure 10 shows the tile or sheet after the last processing stage. figure 11 is a schematic view of the tile or sheet showing the elastic flexion of the tile after the method according to the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF ONE EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
With reference to the accompanying figures, according to a preferred embodiment, the method according to the invention foresees the preparation of a plurality of shaped sheets or tiles made from natural stone, marble, granite, but also from composite material such as agglomerate and the like, generally square or rectangular in shape or with any other shape according to
requirements .
With reference first of all to figure 1, according to the invention the tile or sheet 10 must initially be subjected to two series of milling operations by a set of circular blades 11 or other milling device designed for the same purpose.
Fifteen circular blades 11 are shown here but the preferred number of blades for 30 X 30 sheets is nineteen, although any other number of blades can be used according to the different requirements and to the size of the tile or sheet.
As can be seen in figure 2, the sheet 10 is milled to form a series of parallel linear incisions 12 in the first stage of the method, while in figures 3 and 4 it can be seen that the same tile or sheet is milled to form a second series of incisions 13 at right angles to the previous ones.
The incisions 12 and 13 are made to a depth that can be approximately half the thickness of the tile or sheet. After cutting the tile or sheet with the incisions 12 and 13, which form the relief mosaic tesserae 14, the joints are filled as can be seen in figure 6 by means of a dispenser and/or a dispensing machine or by hand 15 with sealing material preferably the rubber type or in any case flexible, the features of which will be described below.
On completion of the first stage of the method, in which the tile or sheet can already be used as a rigid covering element, suitable for flat surfaces, simply by glueing the side opposite to the relief mosaic side 14 to the surface to be covered, the second stage is carried out, providing the sheet with flexibility.
To carry out this second stage of the process, the tile or sheet is turned over, as can be seen in figure 7,
and the opposite side is milled in exactly the same way, manufacturing incisions 16 which form further relief mosaic tesserae 17 on this side too.
In this case too, the cutting depth is approximately half the thickness of the tile or sheet, so that the second milling phase reaches the grouting mixture of the previous operation, as shown in figure 8.
Figure 9 shows how the tile or sheet is now made up of a plurality of tesserae held together by a sealing mixture, but unlike the known solutions the tesserae are not the result of laying in place a considerable quantity of individual mosaic tesserae that must be picked up, positioned and joined together, but much more simply from the same tile or sheet appropriately cut and grouted. The tile or sheet thus becomes flexible, as the joints are totally separate.
During laying of the tile or sheet, the second incisions are turned towards the surface to be covered previously coated with adhesive sealing material which, by penetrating the hollow part of the incisions, further improves the toughness of the grip.
The second milling incisions can also be grouted, thus manufacturing sheets with a laying surface on both sides. It can be noted that this technique has the fundamental advantage of manufacturing flexible mosaic tiles or sheets starting from tesserae that are identical but which form part of the same sheet, with all the evident advantages that ensue, starting from the extremely simple production.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sealing material for filling the joints consists of an adhesive sealant which is highly elastic and resistant to high and low temperatures. Once it has
hardened, this sealant forms an elastic and resistant material ideal for professional sealing and assembly applications.
The sealing material should preferably consist of MDSL V400 Mungo ® , with the following technical features: Density: 160 g/cm 2
Skin formation/malleability: 20 minutes Hardening (1 mm layer): 1 hour (variable)
Hardening (10 mm layer): 16 hours (variable) Application temperature: +5 / +40 0 C Hardness (Shore A - DIN 53505): 30
Modulus of elasticity at 100% elongation: 0.67 N/mm 2 Tensile strength: 1.58 N/mm 2
Ultimate elongation (DIN53504): 650% Temperature resistance: -40 / +90 0 C
UV resistance (after 50000 hours) : excellent
The invention is described above with reference to a preferred embodiment. It is nevertheless clear that the invention is susceptible to numerous variations which lie within its scope, within the framework of technical equivalents .
In particular, the method according to the invention can be used to produce mosaic tiles or sheets made from materials other than stone as per the previous description, and that it can thus be used to produce tiles or sheets made from glass, glass paste, wood, metal, semiprecious stones or synthetic material, or on tiles or sheets made from stone material combined with the aforesaid materials.