Patent Application
20110207386
The present invention relates generally to apparatuses and methods for treating the surface of an object, including the faces and edges of the object. More particularly, it relates to an apparatus and a method for aging surfaces of artificial stones, pavers, cobblestones, slabs, curbs, masonry units or steps made of concrete, such as those used for landscaping, masonry and/or decorative purposes.
For a long time, craftsmen have been using various techniques to give objects a rustic look, objects that, otherwise, would all look alike. For example, various stone aging techniques can be used when a person wishes to pave his driveway with concrete blocks while still preserving the rustic look of his house and landscape. In that case, a good solution is to use concrete blocks having a rough, old-looking surface. The current techniques for providing such an antique aspect to an object are most of the time old-fashioned, manual techniques. Even though the result might be adequate, the process of manually crafting the surface of an object to give it a rustic look is long, arduous, inefficient and uneconomical.
In order to facilitate stone aging processes, various apparatuses have been developed for roughing or texturing the surface of an object and have been disclosed in recent years.
Among those there are the tumbler type apparatuses wherein concrete blocks are exposed to tumbling operations. Such techniques are however time consuming and may require additional steps and/or operations in the handling of the blocks prior and after such exposure. Indeed the textured blocks exit the tumbler in a disorderly fashion and have to be reorganized in piles These handling steps are obviously time-consuming. An example of such apparatuses is disclosed in WO2004/067242 (GRUBB). Tumbling apparatus present the disadvantage of not being able to treat or age large thin stones, or fragile stones, and such stone would be damaged rather than aged.
Other apparatuses using a conveyor to transport the concrete blocks to a surface treatment section have also been developed in the prior art. Example of those are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,496,206 (YOUNG), 6,109,906 (CASTONGUAY et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,540,501 (BOTT); US 2002/0145224 (CICCARELLO); US 2002/015863 (CICCARELLO et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,786 (CICCARELLO), U.S. Pat. No. 6,575,727 (CICARRELLO et al.), US 2003/0173697 (CICCARELLO et al.), One drawback however with most of these apparatuses is that, although they do roughen the surface of concrete blocks, they do not provide a satisfactory real, natural, antique look.
Also known in the art are U.S. Pat. No. 6,321,740 (SCHERER et al.), US 2002/0092257 (SCHERER et al. US 2003/0180099 (SCHERER et al.), which disclose various devices and methods for roughing the surface of masonry blocks or artificial stone blocks.
Also known in related art are the following documents: U.S. Pat. No. 3,536,150 (STEBLEY), No. 3,834,200 (WINTER), No. 4,451,093 (PEREZ), No. 4,669,556 (BARR et al.), No. US 2002/0056771 (ZEHR), and No. US 2003/0138516 (HESS et al.).
Since the market for concrete blocks with a rough, old-looking surface is developing and demand for such products is growing, there is indeed a need for an apparatus or method that can rapidly bestow an antique look on an object in an efficient and economical manner.
An object of the present invention is to provide a stone aging device that satisfies the above mentioned need and that overcomes several of the drawbacks encountered in the above mentioned prior art.
The present invention provides an apparatus and a method for aging a stone, preferably an artificial stone. By “stone”, it is meant any artificial concrete block devised to be treated in order to create a textured or antique appearance, as well as any natural stone or rock to which an aging treatment is to be applied. The expression artificial stone when used in the present description is intended to encompass artificial pavers, cobblestones, slabs, curbs, masonry units or steps made of concrete but may also include naturally occurring stones to be artificially aged. The apparatus and method according to the present invention enables a stone to be processed and thereby given an antique textured look to its surface. It is worth mentioning that the expression “surface” when used in the present description is intended to encompass the outer boundary of the faces and/or edges of the stone The present invention also provides an apparatus and method for mass production of stones having rough surfaces.
According to the present invention, an aging device for aging a stone is provided. The aging device comprises a rotary support operatively connected to a rotary shaft. It also comprises at least one abrasive tool mounted to the rotary support for roughing and/or polishing a surface and corresponding peripheral edges of the stone when the rotary support is brought into functional contact with said surface. The device further comprises biasing means that biasingly connect the abrasive tool to the rotary support. The biasing means urge the abrasive tool away from the rotary support while allowing the same to move toward the rotary support when the rotary support is brought into functional contact with the surface of the stone, thereby allowing the abrasive tool to follow a surface profile of the stone while roughing and/or polishing its surface.
The present invention also provides an aging method for aging a stone.
The stone aging method comprises the following steps:
The rotary support is preferably a disk-shaped plate, which rotates about a central axis thereof, or a rotary support in the form of a cylinder.
The rotary support is advantageously provided with a protective plate mounted to the plate to substantially shield the biasing means, and in certain cases to preload the same. Openings are provided in the protective plate through which the abrasive tool are urged by the biasing means.
The combination of the abrasive tool and the biasing means make up an “aging unit,” that can take a variety of forms and embodiments which comprise combinations of flexing rods, flexing bases, compression or torsion springs, lever arms, guiding sleeves, suspension units, spring blades, as well as abrasive tools with a variety of shapes and sizes mounted to engage the surface of the artificial stone.
In a first embodiment of the invention, the aging device includes spring blades arranged around the rotary support and fixed thereto, each of the spring blades being separated into various strip ends. Onto each extending point of the strip ends is attached an abrasive tool.
In a second embodiment of the invention, the aging device includes a plurality of double rod systems flexibly mounted to the rotary plate via connectors, and having an abrasive tool mounted at the end extending away from the rotary support.
In a third embodiment of the invention, the aging device includes a plurality of biasing arms each mounted to the rotary plate on a compression spring. The biasing ability in this case is substantially due to the springs. At one end of each biasing arm, an abrasive tool is mounted. The biasing arm is able to pivot and move up and down on the compression spring.
In a fourth embodiment of the invention, the aging device includes a plurality of abrasive tools directly mounted to corresponding compression springs, which are in turn mounted to the rotary support. Each abrasive tool is mounted to a compression spring and laterally surrounded and stabilized by a guiding sleeve.
In a fifth embodiment of the invention, the aging device includes a plurality of flexible spring arms fixedly mounted to the rotary support. At the end of each flexible spring arm an abrasive tool is mounted. In this embodiment, the flexing arm itself acts as the biasing means bending and flexing in various directions in response to the surface profile of the stone to be aged.
In a sixth embodiment of the invention, the aging device includes a plurality of spring blades each mounted to a base with a locking plate. The base is fixed to the rotary support. The abrasive tool is mounted to the extending end of the spring blade.
In a seventh embodiment of the invention, the aging device includes a plurality of L-shaped biasing arms pivotally mounted to a suspension unit. The suspension unit provides the biasing force and it is fixedly mounted to the rotary support. The L-shaped biasing arms each extend substantially vertically from the pivot point and then substantially horizontally. At one end of the horizontal projection, the abrasive tool is mounted to the end of the L-shaped biasing arm.
In an eighth embodiment of the invention, the aging device includes a plurality of curved biasing arms pivotally mounted to a suspension unit. The suspension unit provides the biasing force and it is fixedly mounted to the rotary support. The curved biasing arms each extend obliquely from the pivot point and at the opposite end thereof the abrasive tool is mounted.
The abrasive tool is advantageously made of stainless steel or carbide, but can also be made of any hard material capable of roughing the surface of artificial stone.
As can be appreciated, one advantage of the aging device according to the invention as compared to a prior art tumbler type apparatus is that it allows the aging of large, thin stones without running the risk of breaking the same.
The aging method according to the present invention preferably has a conveying step for bringing the artificial stones into contact with the stone aging apparatus. This also enables the efficient mass production of the aged stones.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent upon reading the detailed description and upon referring to the drawings in which:
While the invention will be described in conjunction with an example embodiment, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to such embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included as defined by the appended claims.
In the following description, similar features in the drawings have been given similar reference numerals and in order not to unduly weigh down the figures. Also, some elements are not referred to in some figures if they were already identified in a precedent figure.
The stone aging device, in its various embodiments that can be seen in
The aged artificial stones can be used in a variety of ways, including for covering walls, floors or ceilings, for constructing retaining walls or paving walkways, or for aesthetic display in a garden or home.
The surface profile of the artificial stone is substantially what gives it its aged look. To give the stone a surface profile having natural looking lines and/or grooves, recesses and/or raised parts, bumps and/or a stratified-looking aspect, is the goal of aging the stone. The surface profile can be preconceived in a general or specific manner, or randomized. The arrangement and design of the abrasive tools and the biasing means as well as the operating conditions can be chosen according to the desired surface profile.
The term “aged” as used in the present application, refers to the state of an object as it appears. An aged stone, therefore, is a stone that appears to be old, rustic, etc. However, an “aged” stone can also be a stone that has undergone a distressing treatment, and thus has a certain look to it. The aging can occur on the surface and/or the edges of the stone. Also, the “aging effect” can bestow various predefined patterns, natural looking or not, on the treated (“aged”) stone. Therefore, the term “aged stone” should be interpreted in a general sense of a treated or processed stone that has acquired a certain look therefrom. Another term sometimes used in the art to describe an “aged” stone is “distressed”.
Referring to
Biasing means are provided for biasingly connecting the abrasive tools 6 to the rotary support 2 and allowing the abrasive tools 6 to move freely towards the rotary support 2 when it is brought into functional contact with the surface of the artificial stone; thereby allowing the abrasive tools 6 to follow the surface profile of the stone upon aging the same.
According to the first to eighth preferred embodiments of the invention, as shown in
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It should be understood that certain features of the above mentioned embodiments may be used in other embodiments. For example, the protective plate 30 can be used to protect and/or preload the biasing means of other embodiments than those for which it was specifically mentioned.
The apparatus is preferably used in conjunction with another aspect of the invention, that is, the inventive aging method. This method includes bringing the artificial stone into rotational contact with at least one abrasive tool. Preferably there are many abrasive tools engaging the stone. The method also calls for the abrasive tools to be urged toward the surface of the artificial stone while allowing the abrasive tools to move away therefrom. In this way, the abrasive tools are able to follow a surface profile of the stone material while roughing and/or polishing the surface thereof. The rotational contact between the abrasive tools and the stone is maintained until the latter is adequately aged.
The aging device is preferably installed on the handling system in order for the abrasive tools to come into contact with the surfaces of the concrete blocks. A handling system such as a conveyor system (not shown) may be used to carry the concrete blocks under a reaching distance of the aging device, to achieve mass production. However, depending on the configuration of the apparatus or if desired, the stones or blocks may be treated one at a time. Upon rotation of the rotary support 2, driven by the conventional rotary shaft 4 at very high speed, the abrasive tools come into contact with the surfaces of the concrete blocks, thereby aging the surfaces and edges of the concrete blocks mostly by friction and also by impact.
Moreover, the aging device can be maintained in a static position as the stone moves under it, but the stone can also be static as the device is moved over top of it. Furthermore, both can be moving in a predetermined pattern relative to one another, said pattern involving rotational and/or translational movement.
Of course, in the preferred embodiments, as well as in other embodiments, the apparatus and method may be used in conjunction with other such apparatuses and methods to increase efficiency of the operation. It is also worth noting that the abrasive tools, as well as the biasing means and units, may differ from one apparatus to another, to give various finishes to the surfaces.
The components of the aging device are constructed using a variety of appropriate materials. The non flexing components can be made of steel or other robust metals or compounds. The biasing means (rods, spring arms, strips, etc) can be made of flexible/elastic polymers or metals. The suspension unit is one such as a ROSTA® suspension unit and is preferably made of a rubber or rubber-like material that can be easily loaded.
The operating conditions of the aging device can be modified according to the desired aging effect, the properties of the stone and the specific preferred embodiment employed. The tension of the springs and the biasing arms can be modified by varying the length, material or orientation thereof. The speed of rotation of the rotary support can be varied as well. The cylindrical plate can rotate, for example, at about 300 RPMs or above.
Another advantage of the aging apparatus according to the present invention is that it enables a delicate aging treatment of stones. This is particularly important for large, thin stone that break easily.
Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these precise embodiments and that various changes and modifications may be effected therein without departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60618591 | Oct 2004 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 11577328 | Apr 2007 | US |
| Child | 13098540 | US |
