Patent Application
20080023129
An artificial masonry piece (10) consists in admixing 1 portion of perlite, by volume, with 7 portions of calcium sulfate (CaSO4) in solution. Once admixed, the compound is stirred at low speed, approximately 60-100 RPM for about 10 minutes. During stirring, various pigments are added, they are generally metal oxydes, the amount and types of pigments added depends upon the final color desired. The calcium sulfate in solution is readily available commercially and facilitates the manufacturing process since it is already optimally premixed.
Once the stirring is completed, the compound is put into a vacuum chamber in order to remove air bubbles trapped inside. The mixture is taken out of the vacuum chamber and poured into molds to cure. The preferred curing process is done at a temperature set at between 12 C to 25 C, preferably at 17% relative humidity and for about 4 hours.
Method of installation: Since the mansory pieces are mostly made out of calcium sulfate and are lightweight, many types of adhesives can be used, including a standard type 1 tile adhesive, to cover the surface upon which one desires to install the masonry pieces. The material upon which the adhesive is applied can be concrete, cinder blocks, gypsum boards, wood, melamine, which covers just about anything a wall can be made of. A wire mesh is not needed prior to the application of the adhesive.
The masonry pieces are applied to the wall. When a piece is too large for the place it is intended to be, it is cut by simply making a score line with a cutting means such as a knife or saw, even a blunt object like a screwdriver or a key. Once the score line is made, the piece can then be cracked, somewhat like cracking glass or ceramic.
To finish the job, the joints are filled with mortar as is normally done for ordinary brick or stone construction.
It is thus seen that an artificial piece of masonry as used according to the combination of inventive concepts and details herein set forth, provides novel concepts of a desirable and usefully advantageous installation and procedure, yielding advantages which are and provide special and particular advantages when used as herein set forth.
In summary as to the nature of the overall and advantageous concepts, their novelty and inventive nature is shown by novel features of concept and construction shown here in advantageous combination and by the novel concepts hereof not only being different from all the prior art known, even though other artificial pieces of masonry have been known and used for scores of years, but because the achievement is not what is or has been suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art, especially realistically considering this as a novel combination comprising components which individually are similar in nature to what is well known to most all persons, surely including most of the many technicians and professionals of masonry and related construction trades for a great number of years, throughout the entire world. No prior art component or element has even suggested the modifications of any other prior art to achieve the particulars of the novel concepts of the overall combination here achieved, with the special advantages which the overall combination system provides; and this lack of suggestion by any prior art has been in spite of the long worldwide use of masonry products.
The differences of concept and construction as specified herein yield advantages over the prior art; and the lack of this invention by the prior art, as a prior art combination, has been in spite of this invention's apparent simplicity of the construction once the concepts have been conceived, in spite of the advantages it would have given, and in spite of the availability of all the materials, to all persons of the entire world, and the invention's non-technical and openly-visible nature.
Quite certainly this particular combination of prior art details as here presented in this overall combination has not been suggested by the prior art, this achievement in its particular details and utility being a substantial and advantageous departure from prior art, even though the prior art has had somewhat similar systems for numbers of years. And particularly is the overall difference from the prior art significant when the non-obviousness is viewed by a consideration of the subject matter of this overall device as a whole, as a combination integrally incorporating features different in their combination from the prior art, in contrast to merely separate details themselves, and further in view of the prior art not achieving particular advantages here achieved by this combination.
Accordingly, it will thus be seen from the foregoing description of the invention according to these embodiments, that the present invention provides new and useful concepts of a novel and advantageous system and procedure, possessing and yielding desired advantages and characteristics in formation and use, and accomplishing the intended objects, including those hereinbefore pointed out and others which are inherent in the invention. Modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the invention; accordingly, the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments, or form or arrangement of components herein described.
