This invention relates to simulated stone products. More particularly, this invention relates to a mold useful for manufacturing simulated stone products.
Simulated stone products include stone veneers and stone architectural trim products. Stone veneers are used as a lightweight veneer facing on masonry, and on metal framed or wood framed construction for architectural aesthetics. The products can be used for exterior applications such as building walls or interior applications such as fireplaces. Stone veneers can include simulated natural stones, such as granite, limestone, coral or river rock. Stone veneers can also include simulated new or used brick products. Stone architectural trim products include capstones, hearthstones, keystones, trim stones and the like. Simulated stone products are usually lower in cost than the natural stones that they replace.
CULTURED STONE® products are simulated stone products manufactured by Cultured Stone Corporation, a division of Owens Corning, Napa, Calif. The CULTURED STONE® product line includes hundreds of designs of precast stone veneers and architectural trim products that replicate an extensive variety of textures, sizes, shapes and colors of natural stone.
CULTURED BRICK® products are simulated brick products manufactured by Cultured Stone Corporation, a division of Owens Corning, Napa, Calif. The CULTURED BRICK® product line includes an extensive variety of designs of precast bricks that replicate an extensive variety of textures, sizes, shapes and colors of bricks.
Simulated stone products are manufactured using molds taken from natural stones or bricks. The molds generally include a mold cavity that is filled with a castable material. After the castable material has cured, or set, the flexible layer is stretched or distorted to remove the stone products from the mold.
It would be advantageous if the molds for stone products could be improved to make them more efficient.
The above objects as well as other objects not specifically enumerated are achieved by a mold for manufacturing stone products. The stone products have a major face, the major face has a texture that simulates the appearance of natural stone or brick, a back face opposed to the major face, a top face, a bottom face and a plurality of side faces, the stone product configured for installation with the major face in a vertical orientation. The mold comprises a flexible layer having a plurality of mold cavities. The mold cavities have a major wall configured to form the major face. The major wall have a texture configured for imprinting the desired texture on the major face, a back wall opposed to the major wall and configured to form the back face, a bottom wall configured to form the bottom face, and a plurality of side walls configured to form the side faces. The mold cavities are oriented such that the major wall is substantially vertical.
According to this invention there is also provided a method of manufacturing stone products. The stone products have a major face, the major face has a texture that simulates the appearance of natural stone or brick, a back face opposed to the major face, a top face, a bottom face and a plurality of side faces. The method comprising providing a mold, the mold has a flexible layer, the flexible layer has a plurality of mold cavities, each mold cavities has a major wall configured to form the major face, the major wall has a texture configured for imprinting the desired texture on the major face, a back wall opposed to the major wall and configured to form the back face, a bottom wall configured to form the bottom face and a plurality of side walls configured to form the side faces, the mold cavities are oriented such that the major wall is substantially vertical, introducing a castable material into the mold cavities, allowing the castable material to harden to form the stone products, and removing the stone products from the mold cavities.
Various advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, when read in light of the accompanying drawings.
Simulated stone veneer products can be in the form of relatively flat-shaped pieces, such as for example granite veneers, limestone veneers, river rock veneers or new or used bricks. Flat-shaped stone products are manufactured using molds taken from natural stones or bricks. The molds generally include a mold cavity that is filled with a castable material. After the castable material has cured, or set, the flexible layer is flexed, stretched or distorted to remove the simulated stone products from the mold. As used herein, the term natural stone is defined to include natural stone and brick.
As shown in
Stone products 10 are manufactured using molds taken from natural stones. The procedure for making the molds themselves is shown in
Generally, the master mold 22 is made by pouring a curable urethane resin or similar curable base 26 around the natural stones 24, and allowing the urethane to cure to set the stones 24 in the base 26.
After the base 26 has set and the stones 24 are substantially fixed in the base 26, at least one flexible layer 28 is applied over an exposed surface 24a of the stones 24 and an exposed surface 26a of the base 26 to form a mold cavity 30 as shown in
In one embodiment, the flexible layer 28 can be made from one or more layers of a suitable flexible material and can be applied by any suitable method. The flexible layer 28 conforms its shape around the exposed surface 24a of the natural stones 14 and the exposed surface 26a of the base and retains that shape when the flexible layer 28 is removed from the master mold 22 and is in use. The flexible layer 28 can be made from one or more layers of a suitable flexible material, such as a curable elastomeric, latex or silicone rubber, or any other material suitable to form the mold cavities 30 and to flex when the simulated corner stone products 10 are removed from the mold cavities 30. In another embodiment, the master mold 22 includes positioning the natural stones 24 on a pedestal (not shown). The flexible layer 28 is subsequently formed in a similar manner. An example of a master mold formed using a pedestal is a master mold technique of the type disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/319,675 filed Dec. 28, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference, in its entirety.
Referring again to
The mold support 36 is positioned over the flexible layer 28; or, if the backing layer 29 is present, over the backing layer 29. A gap or space 37 remains between the mold support 36 and the flexible layer 28, or the backing layer 29, when the backing layer 29 is present. In the illustrated embodiments, a structural material 48 fills the gap 37 between the mold support 36 and the backing layer 29. The material 48, when hardened, provides support to the flexible layer 28. The material 48 can be introduced by any suitable means. In the illustrated embodiment, the material 48 is a load supporting material capable of providing structural strength. The material 48 can be any type of material such as, for example, foams such as polyurethane, polystyrene and polyphenylene oxide, or any other type of material sufficient to be a load supporting material capable of providing structural support to the flexible layer 28.
Referring to
In another embodiment, the back wall 28-b of the mold cavity 30 is configured for imprinting a scratch coat on the back face 14 of the stone product 10. A scratch coat is a grooved or rough pattern that assists the installer in applying the stone product 10 to a structural surface. Specifically, the rough pattern of the scratch coat on the back face 14 of the stone product 10 provides an efficient surface for the installation mortar to adhere to. The scratch coat can be any pattern, such as cross-hatch, circular or irregular sufficient to provide a grooved or rough pattern.
In certain embodiments as further shown in
In certain embodiments, as shown in
Also, in certain embodiments as shown in
As further shown in
As illustrated in
Referring again to
A castable material 58 is introduced into the mold cavities 30. The castable material 58 can be introduced by any suitable means, such as by pouring the castable material 58 into the mold cavities 30. In certain embodiments, the flexible layer 28 may be vibrated after the castable material 58 substantially fills the mold cavities 30 to insure that the castable material 58 flows into all the contours of each mold cavity 30.
It is to be understood that any suitable castable material 58 can be used for producing the stone products 10. In one embodiment, the castable material 58 is a lightweight concrete material comprising Portland cement, lightweight aggregates and mineral oxides. However, other castable materials 58 are also useful, such as plaster of Paris or a ceramic material.
Upon hardening, the castable material 58 in each of the mold cavities 30 becomes a stone product 10, as shown in
In certain embodiments, the stone product 10 is at least partially dislodged from the mold cavity 30 by flexing or stretching the flexible layer 28 to force the stone product 10 from its mold cavity 30. In certain embodiments, a pressurized fluid, such as air, is introduced between the flexible layer 28 and the mold support 36. In embodiments where the flexible layer 28 includes support sections 52, the support sections 52 of the flexible layer 28 are at least partially restrained from being stretched or distorted by the pressurized fluid. The major wall 28-m, the back wall 28-b, the bottom wall 28-bo, and the side walls 28-s are stretched or flexed, thereby lifting the stone product 10 from its mold cavity 30. In embodiments where the porous backing layer 29 is present, the pressurized fluid passes through the porous backing layer 29 to the flexible layer 28.
In one embodiment as shown in
In certain embodiments, for example when the top face 18 may be visible upon close inspection, a textured, or simulated, stone appearance may be desired for the top face 18 of the stone product 10. The textured stone appearance may be imprinted on the top face 18 of the stone product in several manners. In one embodiment, a textured surface can be formed on the top face 18 by an imprint member 66 as shown in
In yet another embodiment, the aesthetics of the stone products 10 can be further enhanced by a post-screeding painting step. The post-screeding painting step includes applying paint to the top face 18 of the stone product 10 after the flexible layer 28 has been filled and screed, but before any settling or vibrating step. The paint provides a generally uniform color to the top face 18, and the subsequent vibration step blends the paint into the castable material 58. In certain embodiments, the post-screeding paints can be low-viscosity paints which are readily dispersed into the top face 18. Alternatively, the paint can be applied to the untextured top face 18 after the vibration step. In such embodiments, the paint can be high viscosity paint which smoothes the top face 18 and reduces the visual awareness of the aggregates.
In still another embodiment, an excess amount of paint 56 is applied to one or more of the major wall 18-m, the bottom wall 18-bo, or the side walls 18-s, before the mold cavity 20 is filled with the castable material 58. The extra amount of paint 56 within the mold cavity 20 causes a supply of paint 56 to remain, or puddle, in the bottom of the mold cavity 20. When the mold cavity 20 is filled with the castable material 58 and then vibrated, the paint 56 migrates along the major wall 18-m, the bottom wall 18-bo, and the side walls 18-s of the mold cavity 20. The paint 56 flows, or oozes, onto at least an outer perimeter (i.e., the outer areas of the surface) of the top face 18 of the stone product 10, creating a painted top face. Since the perimeter of the top face 18 is one of the points of visual contact on the installed wall of stone product 10, there is an aesthetically pleasing appearance to the stone product 10.
Referring now to
The principle and mode of operation of the flat mold have been described in various embodiments. However, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the flat mold may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without departing from its essential scope.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/319,675 filed Dec. 28, 2005, the disclosure of which is incorporated in the present application in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 11319675 | Dec 2005 | US |
Child | 11933182 | Oct 2007 | US |