Process for applying an anti-fragmentation system to manufactured articles made of natural stone or ceramic and related manufactured article made of natural stone or ceramic

Abstract

A process for applying an anti-fragmentation system to manufactured articles made of natural stone or ceramic, and a respective manufactured article equipped with such an anti-fragmentation system, which is provided with at least one retaining member having an adhesive surface, and a manufactured article in the form of a slab and having a first, visible surface with a respective ornamental appearance, and a second, non-visible surface opposite to said first surface; the retaining member is associated with the manufactured article by joining the adhesive surface to said second surface.

Claims

1. A process for applying an anti-fragmentation system to manufactured articles made of natural stone or ceramic comprising the steps of: providing at least one retaining member having an adhesive surface; said step of providing at least one retaining member comprises a substep of providing a fibre sheet and applying a tackifying layer to at least one side of said sheet in order to form said adhesive surface; providing a manufactured article made in the form of a slab and having a first, visible surface with a respective ornamental appearance, and a second, non-visible surface opposite to said first surface; and associating the retaining member with the manufactured article by joining the adhesive surface to said second surface; wherein said step of applying a tackifying layer is implemented by providing a bi-adhesive film and engaging one side of said film with the side of said sheet; and wherein further comprises the step of associating a gripping layer with the retaining member on the opposite side of the respective adhesive surface, the gripping layer having an adhesive sheet on the side coupled to the retaining member and a gripping sheet on the opposite side.

2. The process according to claim 1, characterised in that said step of associating the retaining member with the manufactured article comprises a substep of spreading the fibre sheet over the entire second surface of the slab so as to abut the respective adhesive surface against said second surface.

3. The process according to claim 2, characterised in that said step of associating the retaining member with the manufactured article further comprises, subsequent to the step of spreading the sheet on the second surface, a substep of pressing the sheet against the manufactured article so as to define a stable coupling of the retaining member to said manufactured article.

4. A process according to claim 1, characterised in that it further comprises, prior to the step of associating the retaining member with the manufactured article, a step of removing a protective film from said tackifying layer of the sheet to define said adhesive surface of the retaining member.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Further features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the indicative, and therefore non-limiting description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of a process for applying an anti-fragmentation system to manufactured articles made of natural stone or ceramic, and a manufactured article made of natural stone or ceramic, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a perspective and schematic view of a manufactured article in stone equipped with an anti-fragmentation system according to the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a perspective and exploded view of the manufactured article of FIG. 1 according to a first embodiment in accordance with the present invention; and

(4) FIG. 3 shows a perspective and exploded view of the manufactured article of FIG. 1 according to a second embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

(5) With reference to the attached figures, a manufactured article made of natural stone or ceramic in accordance with the present invention is indicated as a whole by the numeral 1.

(6) It should first be noted that the present invention finds application with coating and/or ornamental articles made of any material having the same characteristics as stone or ceramic and in any geometric shape.

(7) However, for purposes of greater clarity and in accordance with the advantages of the present invention, reference will be specifically made to manufactured articles made of natural stone or ceramic and in the form of a slab of any size.

(8) In greater detail, the manufactured article 1 comprises at least one slab 2 having a first surface 2a, which, in use, is visible on the outside and has a respective ornamental appearance. A second surface 2b extends on the opposite side of the first surface 2a, the former, in use, being non-visible and usually anchored to a respective surface to be coated by known procedures.

(9) As specified above, the slab 2 can have any peripheral extension and size. For example, the slab 2 may have the typical dimensions of a tile, in the case of ceramic materials, or a length up to 3.5 metres as in the case of marble slabs.

(10) The manufactured article 1 further comprises at least one retaining member 3 provided with an adhesive surface 3a firmly engaged with the second, non-visible surface 2b of the slab 2.

(11) In particular, as is better illustrated in the accompanying figures, the retaining member 3 constitutes the anti-fragmentation system for manufactured articles 1 made of natural stone or ceramic according to the present invention.

(12) In this context, the retaining member comprises a fibre sheet 4 and a tackifying layer 5 arranged on at least one side of said sheet 4. The tackifying layer 5 defines the adhesive surface 3a that allows anchorage of the retaining member 3 to the slab 2.

(13) Advantageously, the fibre sheet 4 comprises a net or mesh, preferably made of glass fibre or of a material with similar structural characteristics.

(14) The tackifying layer 5, which is interposed between the slab 2 and the sheet 4, preferably comprises an adhesive film 6 with which the sheet 4 itself is associated.

(15) In accordance with a possible embodiment according to the present invention, the film 6 is of the double-sided type so as to be interposed between the slab 2 and the sheet 4, thereby defining a stable coupling (FIG. 2).

(16) In accordance with other possible embodiments, the film 6 has only one adhesive side that is in contact with the second surface 2b of the slab 2. In this situation, the film 6 is a single body with the sheet 4 as it internally encloses said fibre material mesh (FIG. 3).

(17) Again, in this embodiment, the film 6 can be provided alone without said sheet 4. In this case, the fibre sheet is not used, and the retaining member 3 is constituted by the film 6 alone, which is suitably sized so that it can retain the fragments of the slab 2.

(18) In this case too, the film 6 can be of the double-sided type so as to be coupled to the slab 2 on one side, and on the opposite side so as to provide a wall or support, which is to be coated with the manufactured article 1, with a laying adhesive surface.

(19) Preferably, the retaining member 3 uncoupled from the slab 2 is provided with a protective film (not shown in the accompanying figures) associated with the adhesive surface 3a and removable therefrom to allow coupling with a slab 2.

(20) Still, the manufactured article 1 can be provided with a gripping layer 7 (FIG. 1) associated with the retaining member 3 on the opposite side of the respective adhesive surface 3a. The gripping layer 7 gives the possibility of bonding the manufactured article 1 to the supports used, i.e. plaster walls or any other surface to be coated with the manufactured articles 1 object of the present invention, in a simple and firm manner.

(21) In accordance with the two embodiments described above, namely the bi-adhesive film 6 arrangement (FIG. 2) or the arrangement in which the film 6 is integrated with the sheet 4 (FIG. 3), in both cases the gripping layer 7 is constituted by a sheet element having at least one surface that can be glued to the retaining member 3 on the opposite side of the adhesive surface 3a.

(22) In accordance with a first technical solution, the gripping layer 7 has an adhesive sheet on the side coupled to the retaining member, and a gripping sheet on the opposite side, so that it can provide for the laying of the manufactured article 1 and then be installed on supports or walls to be coated.

(23) In accordance with a second technical solution, the gripping layer 7 can be constituted by a bi-adhesive sheet provided with a protective film on the outer side (the laying side). In this case, the protective film is removed to provide for the installation of the manufactured article 1 on supports or walls to be coated.

(24) The present invention also relates to a process for applying the anti-fragmentation system to manufactured articles made of natural stone or ceramic.

(25) The process comprises the preliminary steps of providing at least one retaining member 3 having the aforementioned adhesive surface 3a, and providing a manufactured article made in the form of a slab 2 having a first, visible surface 2a and a second, non-visible surface 2b opposite to the first surface 2a.

(26) The step of providing at least one retaining member 3 is carried out by providing the above fibre mesh/net sheet 4 and applying a tackifying layer 5 to at least one side 4a of the sheet 4 in order to form said adhesive surface 3a.

(27) In accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 2, the step of applying the tackifying layer 5 is implemented by providing a bi-adhesive film 6 and engaging a first side 6a of the film 6 with the side 4a of the sheet 4.

(28) In accordance with a second embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 3, the step of applying the tackifying layer 5 is implemented by providing a film 6 internally enclosing the fibre sheet 4. In this case, the film 6 and the sheet are made in one body.

(29) The process further comprises the step of associating the above-described retaining member 3 with the manufactured article 1, i.e. with the slab 2, by joining the adhesive surface 3a to the second surface 2b of the slab 2.

(30) In particular, the step of associating the retaining member 3 with the manufactured article 1 is carried out by spreading the fibre sheet 4 over the entire second surface 2b of the slab 2 so as to maintain the respective adhesive surface 3a abutted against said second surface 2b.

(31) This operation may be performed manually by an operator or automatically by means of suitable rollers, which unwind and feed the retaining member 3 over the second surface 2b of the slab 2.

(32) In this case, the feeding and application of the retaining member 3 over the slab 2 is implemented continuously over the whole planar extension of the second surface 2b of each slab 2.

(33) In addition, prior to the step of associating the retaining member 3 with the manufactured article 1, an additional step of removing the protective film (if any) from the tackifying layer 5 is performed, in order to activate the adhesive surface 3a of the retaining member 3 and define a stable coupling between said member 3 and the slab 2.

(34) Advantageously, the step of associating the retaining member 3 with the manufactured article 1 further comprises, subsequent to the step of spreading the sheet 4 on the second surface 2b of the slab 2, the substep of pressing the sheet 4 against the manufactured article 1 so as to define a stable coupling of the retaining member 3 to said manufactured article 1.

(35) In fact, to ensure that the entire adhesive surface 3a is glued in a homogeneous and efficient manner, the above-mentioned pressing step is carried out, which step can be implemented by known pressing systems, such as for instance feed rollers or calenders suitably sized for the intended purpose.

(36) Advantageously, the above-described process solves the problems of the prior art and provides numerous advantages.

(37) Firstly, the entire process of application of the anti-fragmentation system is very fast and easy to implement because it only entails the coupling of the retaining member 3 to the stone or ceramic article.

(38) As a result, spreading and heating/cooling operations in furnaces are not required, with consequent advantages in terms of rate of application, operational simplicity and therefore total production costs.

(39) This simplicity also entails advantages in terms of versatility of the application system, which can be performed either manually, by gluing the member 3, or automatically with the above-mentioned unwinding rollers.

(40) Advantageously, any plant for the application of the anti-fragmentation system would also be very simple, limited in size and cost as it would not require furnaces, coating systems and management of epoxy resins. On the contrary, the plant for the application of the anti-fragmentation system according to the present invention would only consist of rollers or similar devices for feeding and pressing the fibre sheet 4 bonded to the respective slab 2.

(41) In this respect, it should also be considered that the exclusion of the resin for stably engaging the sheet 4 with the slab 2 entails considerable advantages related to the management of the resin itself, in that systems suitable for suction and storage of the resin are not required.

(42) In addition, a further major advantage of the present invention is due to easy implementation of the single retaining member 3, which is provided simply by joining the fibre mesh 4 to the film 6 that can be a bi-adhesive film.

(43) This structure ensures stable retention of the fragments of the slab in case of possible damage to the same.

(44) Moreover, the present invention is applicable to any type of manufactured article 1 in the form of a slab 2 without any limit in size or type of material.

(45) This advantage is again due to the constructional simplicity of the retaining member 3 that, by being adhesive, is easily applicable, even manually, to any surface.

(46) Furthermore, the process object of the present invention does not change the aesthetic and structural characteristics of the manufactured article 1, given the absence of additional treatments to the manufactured article 1 itself, which are instead implemented in the prior art, such as for example the heating in furnaces.