PROCESS FOR THE REINFORCEMENT OF BLOCKS OF STONE MATERIAL

Abstract

A process for reinforcing blocks of stone material, in particular extracted from a quarry, comprises the following operative steps: preparing a block of stone material to be treated on a mobile carriage; spreading on said block a layer or film of suitable resin by means of spraying; stretching over the entire surface of the said resin block a reinforcing fabric or fibre layer; and removing the so reinforced block from said carriage after a preset time.

Claims

1. A process for reinforcing blocks of stone material, in particular extracted from a quarry, characterized in that it comprises the following operative steps: preparing a block of stone material to be treated on a base suitable to allow the sliding of a mobile carriage; spreading on said block by means of said carriage a layer or resin film by spraying; spreading over the entire surface of said resinate block a layer of fabric or reinforcing fiber; and removing the so block reinforced from said carriage after a preset time.

2. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that a further step of applying on said block of a paste adhesive substance or equivalent follows said step of spreading the resin on said block.

3. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that an additional step for covering said block reinforced with a protection film follows said removal step.

4. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises the further step of applying by winding a fabric material draining adapted to allow the irrigating of resins.

Description

[0019] In particular, the object of the present invention is to provide a process to reinforce, in an automatic way and with limited use of manpower, blocks of stone material extracted from a quarry.

[0020] The structural and functional characteristics of the present invention and its advantages over the known art will be clearer and more evident from the claims below and, in particular, from an examination of the following description.

[0021] The present innovative process, which can be carried out also in a semi-continuous way, requires a specific apparatus able to realize the operational steps of: [0022] providing a block of stone material to be treated on a carriage movable on wheels so as to allow an easy handling in a possibly paved, flat area; [0023] spreading on said block a layer or film of suitable epoxy-type, for example Resin Lock produced by TENAX S.p.A., or a polyurethane resin or an unsaturated polyester resin; by means of a spraying of such resin, the spraying being performed preferably by a spray nozzle moving along the entire surface of said block; [0024] stretching over the entire surface of the said block, on which the resin has been applied, a suitable reinforcement fabric or fibre layer by means of stretcher means and/or fibre stretcher; arranged near said sprayer nozzle. [0025] allowing catalysing or semi-hardening; [0026] and removing the so reinforced block from said carriage.

[0027] In case of blocks having irregular forms, said resin coating is followed by a step of applying a paste adhesive which allows an optimal bonding of said reinforcement fabric or fibre.

[0028] Upon removal of the so reinforced block, it is also possible to realize a protective cover of the block itself in order to protect it from the atmospheric agents with a film of extensible material.

[0029] Therefore, such process allows obtaining the following advantages: [0030] limited use of operators (only reserved for the starting and end steps of the process); [0031] limited movement of the blocks, which often causes accidents, since it is necessary only the positioning on the base where the carriage will be able to rotate around the block; [0032] limited contact with the used resin product (once the machine has been turned on, the operator moves away from the machine itself); [0033] rapid stretching of the reinforcing fibre through an automatic fabric stretcher; [0034] automatic spraying of the resin and consequent immediate stretching of the reinforcing fabric in order to eliminate any leakage of the resin product. [0035] It is also possible the application of a further extensible film in order to prevent solvent fumes (e.g. styrene in the polyester resins) and/or foul-smelling vapours, and to protect the operators from possible contacts with the chemicals used, and also to protect the reinforcement treatment from bad weather, and also the stretching by winding of a draining fabric material suitable for allowing the irrigation of resins.