Patent Application
20110111192
The object of the present invention is a porcelain laminate and the procedure for manufacturing it, wherein the laminate is formed by a sheet of porcelain material of a small thickness joined to at least one base sheet or laminate.
The present invention is characterised by the nature of the materials combined in it, by the small thickness of the porcelain material layer and by having layers of different nature disposed in a combined manner, to produce a laminate that obtains a synergic effect of the individual characteristics of each of the combined layers.
Therefore, the present invention falls in the field of laminates, and specifically laminates having one of their layers made of ceramic or porcelain materials.
The present invention is also characterised by the specific actions and stages required for the sheets that make up the laminate in order to attach them in a resistant and stable manner.
Porcelain materials are characterised in that they have very low water absorption, are dry pressed, are not enameled and are subjected to a single firing. Their low porosity means that they have a very low water absorption of 0.1%. For this reason, vitrified porcelain can be used to produce pieces that are compact, slip-proof and very resistant to chemical agents, cleaning products and abrasion. Its hardness makes it an outstanding material for use in outdoor cladding, in cold or intensive-use areas.
In addition, it withstands sudden temperature changes, impact and wear well, and is a very hygienic material: its low retention of water and dirt hinders the presence of bacteria in kitchens and bathrooms, and it can also be used in swimming pools and premises where hygiene is essential.
Despite their qualities, the use of porcelain materials is limited for several reasons. On one hand, their high price, as they are undoubtedly some of the most expensive products used in cladding, and on the other their relatively high weight, which limits their use in large cladding surfaces. In addition, their use is limited is limited to pieces of moderate size, generally not more than 60 cm×60 cm.
Furthermore, some of their characteristics could be improved, such as their thermal and acoustic insulation properties, or their low bending capacity.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to develop a laminate that on one hand improves the price, weight and size limitations and also improves aspects such as thermal insulation, acoustic insulation and resistance to bending, obtaining a laminate as the one object of the present invention.
It is known that it is possible to manufacture porcelain sheets of limited thickness, on the order of 3 mm. However, these sheets are not used on their own, instead being mounted jointly and attached to other sheets of equal thickness, normally employing up to three sheets together to achieve the necessary structural strength, as otherwise, they would be very fragile during handling, installation and even in their use, when attached to a wall or mounted on a floor, as a simple impact could fracture the porcelain material.
The aforementioned assemblies formed by three sheets of porcelain material with thickness on the order of 3 mm have an additional drawback in that they need special tools for machining, requiring to hire a stonecutter.
Therefore, in order to overcome the limitations characteristic of low-thickness porcelain sheets, a laminate has been developed as the one object of the present invention in order to obtain an assembly having the outer appearance of a porcelain material, a much lower weight and allowing to manufacture larger pieces, while having a less cumbersome manufacturing process and improved thermal and acoustic properties, as well as improved bending resistance.
The object of the invention is a porcelain laminate in which at least one of the sheets is made of a porcelain material, and has at least one other sheet or layer which can be referred to as the base or supporting layer.
The thickness of the sheet made of porcelain material ranges from 2 mm to 7 mm. This size is not limiting, but it is illustrative as the thickness of porcelain materials when used on their own is from 10 to 15 mm.
Different materials can be used for the support sheet, such as:
In combination with these base or support sheets, any other sheet of appropriate nature can be used as deemed appropriate to achieve a specific goal. Thus, it is possible to use a sheet of elastomer or rubber or EPDM to provide sound-proofing qualities to the laminate, that is, improving acoustic insulation as well as improving the flexibility of the laminate.
Different support sheets of different thickness will be used depending on the desired goals. Thus, when attempting to provide the laminate assembly with a certain resistance to bending without breaking, the porcelain sheet will be joined to a base or support sheet made of polyethylene.
If a porcelain sheet is joined to a base or support sheet made of wood, particleboard or MDF board, the laminate can be used to make a raised floor.
In addition, as an option and in a complementary manner it is possible to add to the aforementioned laminate a counterface or a sheet on the free face of the base or support sheet. The counterface sheet will be made of metal in order to provide a greater flatness of the laminate.
This metal counterface is used to reinforce the structural characteristics of the laminate, and can be used as a train floor, in addition having structural properties.
To improve the maximum deflection of the laminate, it is possible to add, to a laminate assembly formed by the porcelain sheet, the base or support sheet and the metal counterface or sheet, an additional foam sheet with a thickness from 20 to 70 mm glued in turn to a metal sheet.
It is also possible to use as the support sheet a laminate formed by several sandwich-style sheets consisting of a core of any of the aforementioned materials (MDF, particleboard, foams, polyethylene, methacrylate, HPL or plywood) which is laminated on both faces with corresponding metal sheets, in which the thickness of the metal sheets of either face of the core do not have to be the same.
It is also possible to use for the core material of the laminate a honeycomb-type material consisting of cells, which may be made of metal, aluminium or steel, or plastic, synthetic or cardboard, also having on both faces metal laminates.
In an alternative embodiment, the support sheet can be a laminate formed by a sheet of silicates or fibre cement with metal laminates in at least one of the faces. It is necessary to laminate silicates and fibrocement, as these materials are too fragile to use without laminating.
Another alternative embodiment is to use a sheet of porcelain material to which is adhered a base sheet of any of the aforementioned materials (MDF, particleboard, foams, polyethylene, methacrylate, high-pressure laminate HPL or plywood) or, for example, birch wood, to which can be added another sheet of porcelain or silica quartz, which can be used for example to make partition walls.
The thickness of the base or support sheets can vary depending on the technical and aesthetic features desired. Thus, for the different base sheets the thickness can be in the following ranges:
The result of the combination described above is a laminate with an outer face made of a porcelain sheet having a small thickness, from 2 to 7 mm, joined to a base or support sheet, which provides the following advantages:
The laminate obtained even has advantages compared to materials such as Silestone®. Silestone is a difficult material to machine, it is fragile against impacts and hot materials can leave marks on it.
To obtain a laminate such as that of the object of the invention, it has been necessary to develop a procedure that allows obtaining the laminate formed by a sheet of porcelain material with a small thickness, on the order of 2 to 7 mm, joined to at least one base or support sheet. This procedure comprises the following stages:
If the laminate has a base or support sheet made of aluminium or steel, or if it has a non-metallic support sheet and a metallic counterface or sheet attached to the free face of the base or support sheet, before adhering it to the porcelain sheet or to the base or support sheet the metallic sheet is it is subjected to the following process:
If the support sheet or assembly is a sandwich-type laminate with a laminate core in at least one of its faces, the manufacturing procedure will depend on the composition of the core.
Thus, if the material used in the laminate employed as support is MDF, particleboard, high density foam, polyethylene or polypropylene, methacrylate, high pressure laminate or plywood, once the laminate or assembly is conformed it is adhered directly to the porcelain sheet.
However, if the core of the support laminate is made of a silicate or fibre cement, the process is as follows:
To complete the description made below and to aid a better understanding of its characteristics, the present descriptive memory is accompanied by a set of drawings, the figures of which represent the most significant details of the invention for purposes of illustration only and in a non-limiting sense.
In view of the figures, a preferred embodiment of the proposed invention is described below.
With this configuration, and as previously described, a synergic effect is obtained between the properties of the porcelain sheet (1) and those of the support sheet (2), defining a laminate with a great resistance to abrasion, wear, attack by chemical agents, as well as having an outstanding aesthetic result, while being lighter than a porcelain plate as used to date, increasing its bending resistance, increasing its acoustic insulation properties and being less expensive, as well as easier to machine.
Due to the aforementioned properties it has many applications, ranging from cladding partitions, façades, raised floors or for building ships, train cars, aircrafts, etc.
This metal sheet (3) is used to maintain the flatness of the laminates manufactured. The material used to manufacture the metal sheet (3) or metal counterface (3) is preferably aluminium, steel or stainless steel. The composition of the metal sheet used is also not limiting.
The procedure used to adhere the porcelain sheet (1) to the base or support sheet (2) is as described above, while that used to adhere the base or support sheet (2) to the metal sheet (3) has also been described in the description of the invention.
If a polyethylene sheet is used as the base sheet, the face of the base or support sheet to be adhered can receive the following pre-treatment:
The essence of this invention is not affected by variations in the materials, shape, size and arrangement of its component elements, described in a non-limiting manner that will allow its reproduction by an expert.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200902148 | Nov 2009 | ES | national |
| 200901564 | Nov 2009 | ES | national |
| 200901717 | Dec 2009 | ES | national |
