METHOD FOR CONSTRUCTING A MONOLITHIC MULTILAYER PANEL HAVING A RIGID OR SEMI-RIGID SURFACE CONFORMED WITH A THREE-DIMENSIONAL DESIGN

Technical field

This invention relates to a method for constructing a monolithic multilayer panel having a rigid or semi-rigid surface conformed with a three- dimensional design and placed on the visible face of the panel.

Background art

In the context of the manufacturing of multilayer panels used, for example, for the construction of interior walls, such as modular walls, ceilings, coverings for display counters of commercial establishments, coverings or finishes of doors, furniture components, doors of modular furniture or doors of domestic appliances such as, for example, certain chiller cabinets etc., the prior art teaches the use of panels with three-dimensional designs for the visible surfaces, wherein the design is achieved by means of suitable conformation of sheets of metallic materials, such as, for example, aluminium, used as the outermost layer, on view, of a multilayer structure which constitutes the panel in its entirety.

In practice, the three-dimensional design is obtained by curving, folding and shaping the sheet with plastic deformation techniques, such as moulding, drawing and the like, which allow three-dimensional raised surfaces to be obtained on a face of the sheet and to simultaneously create corresponding cavities on the other face of the sheet. Due to the presence of the cavities behind the visible surface provided with a three- dimensional design, the panels made in this way have the fundamental drawback of being rather susceptible to damage in the case of impact, for example in the form of marks which adversely affect the appearance and which may even be produced in the presence of impacts of relatively low intensity.

Disclosure of the invention

The technical purpose of this invention is therefore to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks, devising a manufacturing method such as to obtain panels with outer surfaces made of rigid or semi-rigid material, provided with a three-dimensional design and which have a certain degree of elastic deformation capacity which allows them to dampen the impacts without damage.

As part of this purpose, one aim of the invention is to provide a construction method which makes it possible to obtain in an easy and inexpensive manner the most varied of three-dimensional designs, customisable with extreme ease, according to the requirements or the features of the specific use planned.

Brief description of drawings

According to the invention, this purpose and this aim are achieved by a method the technical features which are clearly described in the appended claims and its advantages are apparent from the detailed description which follows, with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred non-limiting example embodiments of it, and in which:

- Figure 1 is a schematic axonometric representation of the multilayer panel in the final monolithic configuration;

- Figure 2 is a schematic axonometric exploded representation which illustrates the components and the steps for making the panel;

- Figure 3 is a cross section of a component of an apparatus used for manufacturing the panel. Detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention

With reference to the accompanying drawings, the numeral 1 in Figure denotes in its entirety a monolithic multilayer panel (1 ) having a rigid or semi-rigid surface (2) conformed with a three-dimensional design.

The panel (1 ) is obtained with a construction method illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, and which comprises a sequence of steps described below.

Firstly, a first slim layer (3) of a plastically-deformable material is rested on a matrix (4) provided with a plurality of recessed seats (5), made preferably in a through manner, provided with any geometry and arranged as needed on the matrix (4). In the example in the description, reference will be made to a first layer (3) made in the form of a thin metal sheet, such as aluminium or copper. However, this must be considered by way of example and without limiting the scope of the inventive concept, since the following description can be referred to other laminated materials, made from rigid or semi-rigid plastic or provided with a composite structure containing plastic components such as, for example, Formica.

A second layer (6) of a heat-expandable rubber appropriately conformed and designed, preferably prepared separately, is joined to a third layer (8) of rigid material by interposing an intermediate layer of glue indicated with numeral (9). The third layer (8) of rigid material is actuated by a thick flat plate made of wooden material. Amongst the materials constituting the plate, a preferential choice is represented by the wooden-based composite material known by the acronym MDF. It is equally possible to also use other materials such as, for example, composite materials consisting of wooden chipboard. According to a further alternative of possible choices, the use of wooden material based on poplar wood is a particularly advantageous solution due to the useful compromise of giving the panel

(1 ) a high degree of rigidity without an excessive penalisation in terms of its own weight.

After the adhesion of the second layer (6) of rubber to the third layer (8) of rigid material, a layer (7) of heat-activatable glue is placed above the second layer (6) of rubber.

After this, the overall multilayer (7, 6, 9 and 8), oriented with the second rubber layer (6) facing towards the supporting first slim layer (3), is positioned resting on and against the first layer (3) previously placed against the matrix (4).

At this point, the method comprises a compression and heating step, continued for a convenient period of time, by which the layers (3, 7, 6, 9 and 8) of the panel (1 ) arranged in the form of a pack are pressed against the opposite reaction of the matrix (4). Due to the effect of the concurrent mechanical compressive action and thermal action which activates the glue of the layer (7) and which causes the expansion of the rubber of the second layer (6), the first slim layer (3) pushed inside the seats (5) of the matrix (4) permanently deforms some of its raised parts (10), which are shaped to match the contour of the cavities (5).

It is should be noted that to avoid surface damage of the visible face of the first slim layer (3) of plastically-deformable material, during the shaping of the parts (10), the matrix (4) is preferably equipped with one of its faces (1 1 ) facing towards the first layer (3) which is made of material having a low friction coefficient. Amongst the various possible choices of these types of materials, the use of a matrix (4) made of shiny Formica is particularly advantageous, both in terms of the production result and in terms of the production cost.

Moreover, the parts (10) are particularly well formed in terms of their geometrical shape, if the recessed seats (5) of the matrix (4) are equipped with borders (12) having a sharp edge profile.

With regard to the time required for actuating the method, the compression and heating steps have variable durations ranging from a minimum of approximately 30 minutes to a maximum of approximately 60 minutes. A duration of 45 minutes is considered preferential. With regard to the temperatures, a heating to a temperature of between 40°C and 80°C is adequate for the needs; a temperature of approximately 50°C is considered preferential.

The invention fully achieves the preset aims and should also be noted for the surprising elastic yield of the parts (10) without permanent damage in the case of impact.

Moreover, the invention offers the possibility of obtaining relatively low production costs and also a wide range of possible appearances for the parts (10).

It is also possible to also integrate, easily and inexpensively, inside the multilayer structure of the panel (1 ) further additional layers to obtain in the panel (1 ), in addition to aesthetic appeal, a functional performance such as fire resistance and/or heat insulating capacity and/or soundproofing and/or load-bearing capacity in a structural sense.

It will be understood that the invention described may be useful in many industrial applications and may be modified and adapted in several ways without thereby departing from the following claims. Moreover, all the details of the invention may be substituted for technically equivalent elements.