The present invention generally relates, in a first aspect, to a method for manufacturing conductive plates, applicable for covering floors or walls, such as tiles, sheets, lining panels and particularly to a method for manufacturing polymer concrete conductive plates by means of injecting conductive ink in the plate during the production process thereof.
A conductive plate is understood as a plate which can conduct through the width of the plate manufactured according to the proposed method and in a plurality of selected areas.
A second aspect of the invention relates to a conductive plate obtained by means of applying the proposed method.
A third aspect of the invention relates to an ink injecting machine which can be used to carry out part of the method proposed by the first aspect of the invention.
There are different proposals relating to adding certain conductivity features to originally non-conductive plates for several purposes. Some documents describing some of these proposals are set forth below.
Utility model ES-A-180349 proposes a tile with channels defined in one of its sides which are subsequently filled with a conductive mass forming an electric conductor circuit, for the purpose of acting as a heating device when the heat generated upon applying a voltage in said circuit is transmitted towards the rest of the tile.
Application US-A-20040109681 proposes a modular tile with a body made of clay or cement, and with an electric heating element mounted inside the body in an enveloped manner.
Patent ES-A-2127129 proposes a process for manufacturing heating resistances printed by serigraphy on base plates that are preferably made of micanite.
Patent EP1376015 relates to an electric radiator and a method for manufacturing it, formed by two or three glass panels with a resistance circuit formed by glass and silver in the form of ink, applied by serigraphy between the panels.
Patent ES-A-2221336 proposes an injected heating panel, a composition, a device and a process for manufacturing it. The panel is manufactured by injection molding, and the non-conductive part or body of the panel is formed by a mixture of resins and mineral powder mass, the heating element, which can be a conducting wire, being introduced inside the mold before introducing the powder-resin mixture, or concrete.
None of these background documents contemplates applications other than heating nor do they contemplate the possibility of defining conductors in non-conductive bodies, either tiles or panels, during the forming thereof.
On the other hand, there is an increasing need to install technical or elevated floors for the purpose of enabling the passage of several classes of pipelines under them, such as those relating to electric, computer or telephone conduits, as well as for creating enough space for cooling the air comprised between said elevated floors and the floor on which they are arranged.
It is necessary for said floors to have a good system for discharging the static electricity that tends to accumulate due to the mentioned passage of electric wiring under said elevated floors, as well as for other reasons.
A proposal of such elevated floors is described in document ES-A-1059464, relating to an elevated screwed steel access flooring filled with mortar. Said flooring is formed by a steel tile filled with mortar and a pedestal or static element to be arranged between the floor and a series of similar tiles, the pedestal making contact with the steel of the tiles such that the correct discharge of static electricity therefrom is enabled.
Patent GB-A-1425977 proposes a panel for elevated floors which comprises, for the purpose of electrostatically discharging the persons and objects on the floor, covering a non-conductive core of the panel with a flexible carpet introduced through the edges of said core until making contact with a metal plate fixed to the bottom surface of the non-conductive core electrostatically discharging said carpet.
The conductive contact areas are not distributed homogeneously, or according to predetermined distribution, along the entire tile or panel in either of the last two mentioned background documents, rather they are located at specific points.
A proposal which does contemplate distributing the conductive areas in an initially homogenous manner is that described in US patent application US-A-20050208746, relating to an electrically conductive tile manufactured from materials based on conductive resins formed by conductive powder microparticles, conductive fibers, or a combination of both in a resin base or body. It is proposed to mix all the conductive and non-conductive components and form a tile with the mixture by injection molding for example.
Although said US patent application achieves the uniform distribution of the conductive areas throughout the entire tile, enabling a homogenous static electricity discharge which is virtually identical whichever the point of the tile connected to ground, the mentioned homogeneous distribution of the conductive particles is random, i.e. it does not define predetermined conductive paths from the top surface of the tile to the bottom surface in desired areas, rather random paths are formed.
It seems to be necessary to offer an alternative to the state of the art in form of a conductive plate, as well as a method and a machine for manufacturing said conductive plate such that it enables a good static electricity discharge therethrough, by means of, unlike the last mentioned background document, predetermined and direct conductive paths from the top surface to the bottom surface of the plate, and furthermore only in desired areas, said conductive paths being usable for other applications apart from the mentioned static electricity discharge, by means of forming an electric circuit by connecting some of said conductive paths to one another, or with other conductors circulating under the plate for example, following a prior circuit diagram or design.
For this purpose, in a first aspect, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing of conductive plates, applicable for covering of floors or walls, comprising the following steps which are carried out sequentially:
a) carrying out a polymer concrete mixture or mortar,
b) introducing said mortar in a hollow mold with a shape of one of said plates to be obtained when said mortar solidifies,
c) making at least one, although preferably a plurality of through holes on said mortar deposited in said mold with a homogeneous or predetermined distribution, and
d) injecting an electrically conductive ink in said through hole or holes.
The mentioned steps c) and d) are carried out successively with the same tool provided with a series of injection needles at the start or during the gelling of said mortar, after which a step e) of curing said polymer concrete is carried out.
Although the previous steps have been described for one plate, the method comprises carrying out all the steps, the previous steps and those described below, to obtain a plurality of conductive plates.
After the mentioned curing of said step e) the method further comprises carrying out the following steps:
f) demolding the plate from said mold once it has solidified, and
g) depositing the plate or plates in an oven or chamber and controlling its or their thermal conditions, generally by means of a corresponding heating, so as to carry out a post-curing of the polymer concrete forming it or them.
For one embodiment, the method comprises carrying out said heating of said step g) at a temperature of approximately 60° C. and for a time period of approximately 12 hours.
After said step g), the method comprises removing the plate or plates from said oven and carrying out a step g1) of calibrating and polishing the plates to obtain the desired dimensions and the desired texture and luster appearance, respectively.
In order to carry out said mixture of said step a), the method comprises adding thermosetting resins and mineral fillers, as well as cross-linking elements and catalysts, and for one embodiment, also colored sand with fluorescent pigments for the purpose of obtaining a sign in low luminous intensity situations.
Although the mixed components and proportions of the materials used to manufacture the mortar can vary, for one exemplary embodiment the added elements for forming the polymer concrete mixture or mortar represent the following percentage of the final composition:
18% orthophthalic polyester resin,
1% cross-linking elements and catalysts, and
81% quartz sand and colored quartz from 0.06 mm to 0.8 mm.
For one exemplary embodiment, the mixture of step a) is carried out by means of a polymer concrete mixer by means of which a polymer concrete mortar is produced through a process for mixing and homogenizing the different mentioned ingredients forming the compound formulation. Said mixture is carried out when the different components are incorporated in a mixing chamber, a homogenization being obtained by mechanical or pneumatic means.
Once the mortar has been obtained by means of mixing the mentioned ingredients, the method comprises carrying out the mentioned step b) for each plate, introducing the mortar in the mold by means of casting, and moving and making the mold vibrate in a controlled manner by means of an automated mechanical system.
The object of the mold is to provide the plate with the desired shape, either as a sheet, a tile or a lining panel. The molds can be made of any material provided that they offer the mechanical strength and the thermal and chemical resistance required by said process.
For one embodiment, said molds move on a conveyor, such as a carousel, allowing each mold to go through the different steps of the method from the casting of the mortar to its demolding.
After said step g1), the method may further comprise carrying out a step h) comprising carrying out quality control on the plate obtained in order to ensure that it meets at least a series of mechanical, thermal and conductive requirements.
As regards the ink injected in said step d), in a preferred embodiment, such ink comprises a combination of silver and/or carbon graphite conductive inks, formulated so as to obtain a desired conductivity or conduction which, for one embodiment, are in the following proportions so as to obtain the final composition of the ink to be injected: 35% carbon ink and 65% silver ink.
For one embodiment, the method comprises making said holes and carrying out said ink injections of steps c) and d) by means of an automatic punching system formed by a set of injecting needles connected to a dosing pump.
For another embodiment the method comprises making some holes and corresponding ink injections by carrying out said steps c) and d) by means of an automatic punching system formed by a set of injecting needles, each connected to a syringe with a respective ink tank, removing said set of needles from the polymer concrete, moving said set of needles in a direction substantially parallel to the plane of a superior face of said polymer concrete, and then make other holes and corresponding ink injections by carrying out other steps c) and d) by means of said automatic punching system.
After carrying out said step d), the method also comprises removing said set of needles from the polymer concrete, and then carrying out a first step of cleaning the needles which, for one embodiment, comprises externally applying a demolding liquid on the needles to clean them each time they have been used with a conductive plate.
The method also comprises a second step of cleaning the needles by circulating a solvent liquid inside the needles to clean them internally after they have been used with a plurality of conductive plates.
In a second aspect, the present invention relates to a conductive plate which can be obtained by means of applying the method according to the first aspect of the invention, which plate, for one embodiment, forms a tile adapted to be assembled on a floor, particularly an elevated floor; and for another embodiment, it forms a panel or lining adapted to be assembled, attached or leaving an intermediate space, in a wall.
A third aspect of the present invention relates to an injecting machine which is adapted for applying part of the proposed method according to the first aspect of the invention, specifically steps c) and d), as well as those relating to the operations to be carried out with the mentioned injecting needles, relating to the main perforating and injection operation, i.e. steps c) and d), and to auxiliary operations such as the previously described cleaning steps.
Said machine will be described in detail in a subsequent section of this specification.
The previous and other advantages and features will be more fully understood from the following detailed description of several embodiments with reference to the attached drawings which must be considered by way of an illustrative and non-limiting example and in which:
a shows a perspective view of a tile manufactured according to the method proposed by the present invention,
b shows an elevational view of the tile of
This section will describe the machine proposed by the third aspect of the present invention, adapted to carry out part of the method proposed by the first aspect for manufacturing a plate such as that proposed by the second aspect, an example of which can be seen in
The injecting machine proposed by the third aspect of the present invention is shown, for an embodiment, by respective views in
a support structure 1 with a receiving inlet 2 for receiving each 3 of said molds filled with polymer concrete,
an automatic punching system formed by a set of injecting needles 4 connected to conductive ink supply means, for making through holes through said mortar deposited in said mold 3, and injecting an electrically conductive ink in said holes,
at least one mobile bearing member 5 for bearing said set of needles 4 and configured to move in two directions, by means of first actuation means between at least a first area Z1, or injection area, in which the needles 4 are located on said mold 3 located in said receiving inlet 2, and a second area Z2 for carrying out auxiliary operations, far from said first area Z1, and
a supporting head 9 for supporting said set of needles 4, which can move in an upward-downward run with respect to said carriage 5 by means of second actuation means which, for the embodiment shown, comprises cylinders 11, pneumatic cylinders for example, pushing said head 9 and moving it downwards when they are actuated, this movement being a perpendicular movement with respect to the mold 3 for the embodiment shown, and then when the cylinders retract, they raise the head 9.
For the embodiment shown in
For a preferred embodiment said automatic punching system formed by said set of injecting needles 4 is adapted for making, according to a predetermined distribution, a plurality of through holes through said mortar deposited in said mold 3 and injecting said electrically conductive ink in said holes.
In
For an embodiment said conductive ink supply means comprises a conductive ink dosing pump (not shown) connected to said set of injecting needles 4.
Said receiving inlet 2 of said support structure 1 is associated with a conveyor for said molds filled with polymer concrete, adapted to move the molds until one of them, indicated by reference number 3 in
For the embodiment shown, the mentioned conveyor comprises a series of rollers that are aligned forming two rows traversing said receiving inlet 2, a roller 12 of each row being observed in
For the purpose of not exerting pressure on the mentioned rollers 2 when the needles 4 perforate the concrete of the mold 3, the machine comprises a series of L-shaped angles or supports, indicated with reference number 13 in
For the embodiment shown in
It can be observed in
The movement between the first area Z1 and the second area Z2 is preferably carried out each time a step c) and a step d) is carried out on a plate to be formed, the carriage 5 again moving from the second area Z2 to the first area Z1 after the needles 4 have been externally cleaned.
The mentioned guide members 6, the mentioned guide configuration 7 (which is a rail in the embodiment shown in
It is necessary to emphasize that although three carriages 5 can be seen in
The proposed machine comprises in said third area Z3 a series of devices adapted to be used for carrying out said second step of cleaning the needles 4, one of which devices is a supply source (not shown) for supplying a solvent liquid which is circulated through the needles 4, once they have been located in the third area Z3 and in communication with said source, so that they can thus be internally cleaned when it is considered to be appropriate, for example after a certain number of operative cycle or steps c) and d) carried out on various molds 3 filled with polymer concrete.
For the embodiment shown in
The proposed machine comprises a control system (not shown) adapted to activate said first, said second and said third actuation means.
The mentioned control system is adapted to activate the second actuation means to:
when said carriage 5 is in the injection area Z1, move the supporting head 9, and with it the needles 4, towards one 3 of said molds so as to carry out steps c) and d), and remove them from the mold 3 when step d) has ended, and
when said carriage 5 is in said second area Z2, move the supporting head 9, and with it the needles 4, towards said sponge 8 so as to carry our said demolding liquid application and remove them from the sponge 8 after a certain time period.
The proposed machine comprises fourth actuation means adapted to connect the needles 4 to said supply source (not shown) for supplying solvent liquid and activate the supply source to internally clean the needles 4 when said carriage is in said third area Z3.
It must be emphasized that the movement of the carriage 5 along the guide configuration 7 to go from one area to another Z1, Z2, Z3, is carried out when it is in the position indicated in
For another embodiment, not shown, the mentioned conductive ink supply means comprises individualized ink supply systems for each injecting needle 4 of said set of injecting needles 4, which for a variant of said embodiment comprises a syringe with or connected to an ink tank, said tanks containing equal or different types of inks.
The control system proposed by the method of the present invention is adapted to activate said first and said second actuation means, to select the needles 4 to be used to achieve a predetermined distribution of holes, and to control said individualized ink supply systems to regulate the ink flow rate to be supplied to each of the selected needles 4.
For an embodiment said supporting head 9 can move also in a plane parallel to a base wall of said mold 3 and in a direction perpendicular to the movement directions of said mobile bearing member 5.
For the last paragraph embodiment, not shown, the supporting head 9 holds up only a row of needles 4, and in order to achieve said predetermined distribution of needles 4 (and consequently of holes), after one injection has been made, it is needed to remove said set of needles 4 from the polymer concrete, moving said supporting head 9 in said direction substantially parallel to said base wall of the mold 3, and make other injections with said row of needles 4, so obtaining, for example, a square grid of ink filled holes with just one row of needles 4.
For a variant of said embodiment said supporting head 9 is connected to a pantographic system controllably operated by said control system, being said mobile bearing member 5 a bearing robotic arm 5 comprised by said pantographic system, and being said supporting head 9 carried by an end of said bearing arm 5 which can also move in said plane parallel to said base wall of said mold 3 to move the supporting head 9, i.e. the robotic arm is responsible for all the movements, the ones related to the transport of the set of needles 4 to the different zones Z1, Z2, Z3 of the machine and the ones related to movements of the needles 4 for the injection operations, even when displacing a row of needles 4 to achieve said square grid of ink filled holes with just one row of needles 4.
In order to achieve a wider variety of predetermined distribution of holes, in the machine proposed by the present invention said set of needles 4 is interchangeable by other set of needles 4 with different dimensions (for example needle diameters).
For a more accurate embodiment even each individual needle 4 can be interchanged by other with different dimensions.
As mentioned previously, the conductive plates obtained, either tiles, sheets or lining panels, in addition to eliminating electrostatic charges, allow carrying out one or several electric circuits, or a part thereof, by means of a predetermined connection, according to a previous design, of one or more of the conductive paths formed by each of the holes filled with conductive ink.
Said electric circuits can thus be used for electric, computer and telephone applications.
A person skilled in the art could introduce changes and modifications in the described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as it is defined in the attached claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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ES200601241 | May 2006 | ES | national |