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OPAQUE SURFACE PLATE WHICH GAINS LIGHT TRANSMITTANCE VIA THE OPTICAL FIBRES THAT IT COMPRISES AND ITS METHOD OF PRODUCTION

DESCRIPTION

The Related Art

The invention relates to a plate, which is used for forming surfaces in architecture, decoration, and construction fields, and which is made of an acrylic derivative and/or plastics derivative opaque material.

The invention particularly relates to a plate and its method of production, which is formed in order to provide the light coming on one side of the plate be seen from the other side of it, or in other words, from the side of the plate that is visible or that one looks at, via the optical fibres placed inside the said opaque material during the phase of forming the plate.

The Prior Art

Fibre optic, or in other words the optical fibre is a type of fibre comprising a plastic or glass core found at its centre and a glass or plastic shell covering this core. Nowadays, it is commonly used as wires in electrics/electronics and communication sectors. It can transfer the light provided from one of its ends to the other end in high speed, with very low loss and without being affected by electrical interfaces or electromagnetic impacts. Therefore, it has become to be an important element in communication technology. At the same time, the optical fibre is a preferable material since it is not affected by other environmental factors such as moisture.

The optical fibre technology is also used in many different areas. It is used in various fields such as table cloths, clothing, lighting technologies, toys etc.

One of the areas of usage of acrylic, which is the subject of the invention, is the sector of textile. It provides obtaining textile products with woollen appearance with low costs.

However, its usage in the invention relates to massive plates which are obtained by combination of acrylic and plastic derivative materials and natural minerals. These are generally used for obtaining frequently used surfaces such as kitchen tops, vanity tops, and various bath surfaces.

In the patent research made about visual or usage surfaces comprising optical fibre such as the subject of the present invention, the PCT patent application with no W09837536 is encountered.

The said patent particularly discloses a sign plate. This sign plate comprises a plate having channels opened in certain points, and a connection part which emits the light carried by the optical fibres that are placed in these channels and connected to it. Via the fibre optic wire carrying the light it takes from a light source to the said connection part, the connection part emits light out of the plate and the desired figures and texts are formed via these parts. However, in the said plate, the optical fibres are placed inside the channels, which are opened on the plate, via an external connection part and thus it is different from the present invention.

The closest prior art to the subject of the invention is the blocks which are known as Litracon™, and which are obtained from the mixture of concrete and optical fibre. Via the fibre optics, the concrete became a light transmitting material. However, since this product is formed of concrete material, its areas of usage are not as wide as the acrylic based plates. While the acrylic and plastic based plates can be twisted, bent and put into any shape, the same things can not be said for concrete. Moreover, it is known that the plates which are mixtures of acrylic and natural minerals are stronger against heat, moisture, and shocks.

Brief Description of the Invention

The invention is formed by being inspired from the known status of the art, and its purpose is to solve the above said problems.

Primary purpose of the invention is to form durable surfaces which have various visual impacts. Surface materials which preferably comprise acrylic derivatives and/or plastic derivatives and natural minerals are used with this purpose.

The purpose of the invention is to obtain a novel visual material by combining two presently available materials. In this way, while their fields of usage will increase, also variations and diversity will increase in the present fields.

A purpose of the invention is to obtain a material which enables forming visually novel and varied designs in products such as pools, sinks, bath-tubs.

Another purpose of the invention is to provide a material which is durable against water and heat via the optical fibres used in it. Furthermore, maintenance costs of the final products are minimized especially by using amendable materials such as acrylic materials and optical fibres.

Another purpose of the invention is to transform the acrylic and plastic derivative materials, which have to be formed in thin layers in order to transmit light, into textured or modified materials which transmit light without having thickness problems. The structural and characteristic features of the invention and all advantages will be understood better in detailed descriptions with the figures given below and with reference to the figures, and therefore, the assessment should be made taking into account the said figures and detailed explanations.

Figures for Better Understanding of the Invention

Figure-1 , shows the perspective view of the plate having optical fibre, which is the subject of the invention, and its alternative comprising a closed circuit light source and a control unit. Figure-2, illustrates the way of usage of the plate having optical fibre, which is the subject of the invention, with external light sources.

Figure-3, shows the representative sink application obtained by using the plate having optical fibre, which is the subject of the invention.

Figure-4, shows the representative bath-tub application obtained by using the plate having optical fibre, which is the subject of the invention.

The drawings are not required to be scaled and details which are not necessary for understanding the present invention may be neglected. Moreover, the components which are almost identical or which have almost identical functions are shown with the same numbers.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The invention relates to a plate (10), which is used in architecture, decoration and construction fields, and which is made of an acrylic derivative and/or plastics derivative opaque material. The material used in the invention can also comprise surface material made of natural minerals.

The novelty provided by the present invention is placing at least one optical fibre (11 ) inside the plate (10) made of the said opaque material during the formation phase and thus provide the light coming on one side of the plate (10) be seen from the other side of the plate (10), or in other words, from the side of the plate (10) that is visible or that one looks at, via the optical fibre (11 ).

While the said optical fibre (11 ) can be mixed with the said material during the production phase of the plate (10); it can be placed in a way that one end of it fits on the face of the plate (10) where light comes on or in a position where it is in contact with at least one light source (30) placed at a side of the plate (10), and the other end fits on the other face of the plate (10). In this way, the light coming from the backside of the plate (10) or the light provided to the fibres (11 ) from the light source (30) can be seen from the front side of the plate (10) (Figure-2).

The said light source (30), if present, is controlled by at least one control unit (50). The preferred embodiment and process steps of the invention:

In this detailed description, the preferred embodiments of the plate (10) comprising optical fibre (11 ), which is the subject of the invention, will only be disclosed as an example for better understanding of the subject, and will not form any limiting effect.

The optical fibres (11 ), which are the subject of the invention, can be any glass or plastic core optical fibre known in the art.

One of the alternatives of the above said plate (10), which is the subject of the invention, is obtained by the method comprising the process steps of;

- placing the said acrylic derivative or plastic derivative opaque material into a suitable wooden or metal mould,

- placing the said at least one optical fibre (11 ) into the said material in a way that the two ends of it would be left outside of the material,

- taking the obtained plate (10) out of the mould, and

- cutting the optical fibre (11 ) which is found on at least one face of the plate (10) and which goes out of it.

Another alternative of the plate (10) is obtained by the method which comprises the process steps of;

- mixing the said acrylic derivative or plastic derivative opaque material with the optical fibre (11 ), and

- placing the mixture into a suitable wooden or metal mould, and

- taking the obtained plate (10) out of the mould.

Optionally, the surface where the cut optical fibre end is found or the other surfaces are smoothed out and polished by methods known in the art. Afterwards, the obtained plate (10) is shaped by methods known in the art according to the place and area where it will be used. When we considered that, it is obtained from materials of acrylic origin, the preferred method is to give shape by heat. However, any other method suitable with the properties of the material can be chosen.

During the said placing operation, the fibres (11 ) are placed in a certain arrangement and in a way that they would form a motif (Figure-1 ). In this way, a plate (10) which is visually nice and products which are obtained by this plate (10) are formed. Fibres (11 ) are preferably placed in vertical position with the visible face of the plate (10) and in parallel with each other.

The acrylic derivative material used in the invention is preferably polymethyl methacrylate. However, aluminium trihydrate is also used as a surface material, which is formed of natural minerals and which is added in order to contribute positive characteristics to the acrylic and improve it. In this context, the preferred material is the surface material, which is presented by the DuPont™ company with the Corian® trademark, consists of acrylic resin (polymethylmethacrylate - PMMA) in 1/3 ratio and natural minerals in 2/3 ratio. Here, the said natural main mineral is aluminium trihydrate (ATH) obtained from bauxite.

Corian® is a preferred material because of its properties such as having high durability against abrasion and wear occurring due to mechanical, thermal, and electrical usage; having nonporous massive and thus hygienic nature; the formed damages being correctable without changing all the structure; not being toxic; being mountable without showing its points of attachment; and providing unlimited design opportunities by being easily shaped.

Due to its superior characteristics, while Corian® is a material which is preferred with primary priority, also an acrylic material, Meganite™, a 100% acrylic material Livingstone®, and Avonite® which is a material produced with acrylic or polyester origin of the Avonite Surfaces™ company are also used.

Another alternative of the invention is the plate (10), which transmits the light coming from an external light source (30) found at the back of the plate (10) to the front side via the optical fibres (11 ), which are distributed preferably in a homogeneous manner inside the plate. Another alternative comprises one or more light sources (30), in which the fibre (11 ) ends are fixed, which are left without being cut after being smoothly placed, and which provide light only to the connected ends of the optical fibres (11 ). The said light source (30) preferably consists of LED lamps which consume less energy. Different lamps or light emitting tools (fluorescent, cold cathode etc.) can also be used. Different light impacts can be obtained via use of the said lamps in different colours and their opening and closing schemes in various combinations via a computer supported control unit (50).

The control unit (50) which is used for the light source (30) preferably comprises at least one sensor. This sensor can be at least one of the heat, sound, light, and movement sensors. In this way, as a result of different impacts, the elements in which the plate (10) is used can provide the light responses they have. The energy needed by the said light source (30) and the control unit (50) can be obtained from any energy source (70).

While the area of use of the plate (10), which is the subject of the invention, can be any area in which the said acrylic and plastic derivative surface materials are used, if it is required to specify, these are;

- material products forming swimming pools, decorative pools etc.,

- bath-tub, sink, and ceramics and bath products (Figure-3 and 4),

- interior and exterior wall covering panels having all kinds of patterns and textures,

- interior and exterior floor covering products having all kinds of patterns and textures,

- massive coating products having all kinds of patterns and textures,

- surfaces used in places open to public such as banks, and

- furniture and similar products having all kinds of patterns and textures.

Although the cost of the said second alternative is more than the first option, the cost problem can be minimized with the final products produced in mass production.

The protection area of this application has been specified under claims and cannot be limited to the descriptions only given as sampling above. It is obvious that a person skilled in the related art can apply the innovation disclosed by this invention into similar purposed other areas by means of changing the parts in form and using similar structures. Therefore, it is also clear that such embodiments lack of novelty criteria.