APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SUBSTRATE-BACKED PORCELAIN

Abstract

A method and apparatus is disclosed for substrate-backed porcelain. A sheet of substrate is secured to a sheet of porcelain. A surface of the substrate is coated with adhesive. A surface of the porcelain is coated with adhesive. The surfaces are joined together by the adhesive. A force is applied across the surfaces to improve adhesion.

Claims

1. A porcelain panel product for construction, the porcelain panel product comprising: a porcelain sheet having a frontside surface with a first surface area and a backside surface, the frontside surface opposite the backside surface; and a substrate sheet including a foam board material, the substrate sheet having a frontside surface and a backside surface, the frontside surface of the substrate sheet positioned in abutting contact with the backside surface of the porcelain sheet with adhesive material therebetween such that edges of the substrate sheet extend beyond edges of the first surface area of the porcelain sheet to define a set in region, thereby to allow the set in region to be visible when viewing the porcelain sheet from the frontside and to enhance resistance against fracture when the porcelain panel product is transported and fitted.

2. The porcelain panel product of claim 1, wherein the substrate sheet has a surface area larger than the first surface area of the porcelain sheet.

3. The porcelain panel product of claim 1, wherein the porcelain sheet has a total surface area defined by summating the surface areas from all surfaces of the porcelain slab.

4. The porcelain panel product of claim 1, wherein the substrate sheet has a total surface area defined by summating the surface areas from all surfaces of the substrate sheet.

5. The porcelain panel product of claim 1, wherein the substrate sheet has a thickness greater than the porcelain sheet.

6. The porcelain panel product of claim 1, wherein the porcelain sheet has a thickness of about 3.5 millimeters to about 20 millimeters.

7. The porcelain panel product of claim 1, wherein the substrate sheet has a thickness of about 3.5 millimeters to about 12 millimeters.

8. The porcelain panel product of claim 1, wherein the frontside and backside surfaces of the substrate sheet and the porcelain sheet are flat and form uniform thicknesses, respectively.

9. The porcelain panel product of claim 1, wherein the backside surface of the substrate sheet is configured to attach to a structural element of a wall

10. The porcelain panel product of claim 1, wherein the set in region includes a first pair of opposing edges positioned substantially parallel with each other and a second pair of opposing edges extending transverse to the first pair of opposing edges, the second pair of opposing edges positioned substantially parallel to each other.

11. The porcelain panel product of claim 1, including at least a second porcelain panel product, together with the porcelain panel product forming two or more construction panels cut from a porcelain panel product, each of the two or more construction panels having a frontside surface opposite a backside surface, the frontside surface equivalent to a frontside surface of the porcelain panel product and to the frontside surface of the porcelain panel.

12. The porcelain panel product of claim 1, including at least a second porcelain panel product, together with the porcelain panel product forming two or more construction panels cut from a porcelain panel product, each of the two or more construction panels having a frontside surface opposite a backside surface, the backside surface of the substrate sheet equivalent to a backside surface of the porcelain panel product and to the backside surface of the associated construction panel.

13. The porcelain panel product of claim 1, including at least a second porcelain panel product, together with the porcelain panel product forming two or more construction panels cut from a porcelain panel product, each of the two or more construction panels having a frontside surface opposite a backside surface and a set in region extending between and connected to the frontside surface and the backside surface, the backside surface to be adhesively affixed to a structural element when installed.

14. A porcelain panel assembly, comprising: two or more construction panels cut from a porcelain panel product, each of the two or more construction panels having a frontside surface opposite a backside surface and a set in region extending between and connected to the frontside surface and the backside surface, the backside surface to be adhesively affixed to a structural element when installed, the porcelain panel product defined by: a porcelain sheet having a frontside surface with a first surface area opposite a backside surface, the frontside surface equivalent to a frontside surface of the porcelain panel product and to the frontside surface of the associated construction panel; and a substrate sheet including a foam board material, the substrate sheet having a frontside surface and a backside surface, the frontside surface of the substrate sheet positioned in abutting contact with the backside surface of the porcelain sheet with adhesive material therebetween such that edges of the substrate sheet extend beyond edges of the first surface area of the porcelain sheet to define a set in region, thereby to allow the set in region to be visible when viewing the porcelain sheet from the frontside and to enhance resistance against fracture when the porcelain panel product is transported and fitted, the backside surface of the substrate sheet equivalent to a backside surface of the porcelain panel product and to the backside surface of the associated construction panel.

15. The porcelain panel assembly of claim 14, wherein the substrate sheet has a surface area larger than the first surface area of the porcelain sheet.

16. The porcelain panel assembly of claim 14, wherein the substrate sheet has a thickness greater than the porcelain sheet.

17. The porcelain panel assembly of claim 14, wherein the frontside and backside surfaces of the substrate sheet and the porcelain sheet are flat and form uniform thicknesses, respectively.

18. The porcelain panel assembly of claim 14, wherein the backside surface of the substrate sheet is configured to attach to a structural element of a wall.

19. The porcelain panel assembly of claim 14, wherein the set in region includes a first pair of opposing edges positioned substantially parallel with each other and a second pair of opposing edges extending transverse to the first pair of opposing edges, the second pair of opposing edges positioned substantially parallel to each other.

20. The porcelain panel assembly of claim 14, wherein each porcelain panel product has a resistance against fracture that is greater than each respective porcelain panel.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Various aspects and advantages will become apparent upon review of the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which:

[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates a sheet of substrate secured to a sheet of porcelain;

[0014] FIG. 2 illustrates adhesive being applied to a sheet of substrate and to a sheet of porcelain;

[0015] FIG. 3 illustrates a sheet of substrate located adjacent to a sheet of porcelain for adhesion;

[0016] FIG. 4 illustrates a compressive force being applied across a sheet of substrate to secure the sheet of substrate to a sheet of porcelain;

[0017] FIG. 5 illustrates adjacent sets of substrate and porcelain sheets positioned with a fill joint.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The following disclosure includes a method and apparatus for optimizing wall coverings formed of porcelain sheets. Owing to the instability and brittleness of porcelain, this disclosure presents the addition of substrate to one side of the porcelain (e.g., to the backside) to stabilize the porcelain and help the porcelain resist fracture whether during transportation and/or installation or thereafter. The addition of substrate (e.g., waterproof substrate) to one side of the porcelain greatly improves the porcelain's resistance to fracture across various sizes and thicknesses and therefore enables porcelain of thinner cross-section to be used thereby reducing overall weight. The addition of substrate therefore improves transportability and is easier to hold and lift and move by hand during installation.

[0019] Improved resistance to fracture also means the porcelain sheets may be manufactured at larger sizes without having to worry about fracture. The addition of substrate also simplifies installation in that underlayment (e.g., Hardie backer board) is not required, since the substrate may be secured directly to the structural elements of a wall (e.g., studs, concrete, etc.). Because the porcelain can be prepared at the factory with a majority of the porcelain sheet surface area adhered to the substrate, it is not as critical that installation have a high level of surface area adhesion to the building structure. Rather, it may be sufficient to achieve at least point adhesion of the substrate to the structural elements of a building structure (e.g., on a wall at several points along the surface area of the substrate). The substrate may be adhered to underlayment (e.g., cement board) with spot gluing (e.g., via silicone).

[0020] The addition of substrate to the porcelain also improves the ease at which the porcelain (e.g., porcelain sheets) may be resized and/or cut while on the job site without causing fracture. Thus, the addition of substrate to the porcelain vastly improves the usability of porcelain as an alternative material for surface coverings in construction and the above advantages may lead to greater adoption in the industry.

[0021] FIG. 1 illustrates a sheet of substrate 110 secured to a sheet of porcelain 100. One corner of the assembly (circled) illustrates a zoomed in view of the sheet of porcelain 100 and the sheet of substrate 110. The sheet of porcelain 100 may be dimensioned as appropriate for its final installed position at a job site. While the sheet of porcelain 100 is represented as having a particular size and shape (e.g., a rectangle), the sheet of porcelain 100 may be manufactured in any shape appropriate for its intended use (e.g., having uneven edges, non-linear edges, cut-outs and so forth).

[0022] The sheet of porcelain 100 may be very small or very large, depending on the intended application (e.g., up to 63 inches wide by 126 inches long) and may cover an entire surface or discrete elements of a surface (e.g., an entire side of a shower stall). The sheet of porcelain 100 may be any number of thicknesses (e.g., 3.5 mm, 6 mm, 12 mm, 20 mm, inch, inch, inch, inch, or more).

[0023] The sheet of substrate 110 may be sized and dimensions approximately similarly to the sheet of porcelain 100. The sheet of substrate 110 may be slightly smaller than the sheet of porcelain 100. The sheet of substrate 110 may be smaller than the sheet of porcelain 100 (e.g., smaller by 1/16 inches along each edge, as represented in FIG. 1). Each edge of the sheet of substrate 110 may be set in from a corresponding edge of the sheet of porcelain (e.g., by 1/16 inch). The inset of the sheet of substrate 110 may facilitate better sealing during installation of adjacent sheets of porcelain (e.g., as described with respect to FIG. 5).

[0024] The sheet of substrate 110 may be any suitable thickness (e.g., inch, inch, inch, or more). The thickness of the sheet of substrate 110 may be selected to adequately strengthen the sheet of porcelain 100 against fracture.

[0025] The sheet of substrate 110 may be formed of lightweight foam board or other suitable material, and may be formed of multiple layers of similar or different materials. Suitable materials may include naturally-occurring or synthetic substrates. Suitable materials may include polystyrene, expanded polystyrene (EPS), extruded polystyrene (XPS), polyurethane (PU, polyester), polyethylene (PE), polyisocyanurate (e.g., GoBoard), polyether, and/or aluminum alloy foaming. Suitable materials may include charcoal foam, closed cell foam, open cell foam, closed cell rubber, open cell rubber, high density foam, high resilience foam, latex foam, lux foam, rebond foam, Ethafoam, Volara, and/or spray foam. The sheet of substrate 110 may be unfaced or faced (e.g., foil faced, plastic faced, paper faced, clay paper faced, cotton faced, fiber glass faced, etc.).

[0026] FIG. 2 illustrates adhesive 220 being applied to a sheet of substrate 210 and to a sheet of porcelain 200. The sheet of porcelain 200 and the sheet of substrate 210 are illustrated as facing each other, but this need not be the case during application of adhesive 220. Adhesive 220 may be applied across a surface of the sheet of porcelain 200 (e.g., across an entire side). The sheet of porcelain 200 may have a finished side 201 and an unfinished side 202 (e.g., a back side). Adhesive 220 may be applied across a backside surface (e.g., unfinished side 202) of the sheet of porcelain 200 (e.g., where the frontside surface is the decorated surface meant to be viewed when the porcelain 200 is installed on site). Adhesive 220 may be applied across a surface of the sheet of substrate 210 (e.g., across an entire side).

[0027] Adhesive 220 may be one or more of a spray adhesive, a paste, a liquid, a film, and/or pellets. Adhesive 220 may be one or more of a hot melt (reactive and/or nonreactive), thermosetting, pressure sensitive, and/or contact adhesive. Adhesive 220 may be structural, semi-structural, or non-structural. Adhesive 220 may be an acrylic hot-melt, acrylic resin, cyanoacrylate, epoxy, polyimide, polyurethane, and/or polyvinyl acetate adhesive. Adhesive 220 may be water resistant. Adhesive 220 may be temperature resistant. Adhesive 220 may be sprayed onto a surface of the porcelain 200. Adhesive 220 may be sprayed onto a surface of the substrate 210. Adhesive 220 may be sprayed onto a surface of the porcelain 200 and onto a surface of the substrate 210.

[0028] FIG. 3 illustrates a sheet of substrate 310 located adjacent to a sheet of porcelain 300 for adhesion, such as in a stacking relationship. After the application of adhesive (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 2), the sheet of porcelain 300 and the sheet of substrate 310 may be positioned adjacent to each other. The sheet of substrate 310 and the sheet of porcelain 300 may be moved into contact with one another (e.g., as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 3). A surface of the sheet of substrate 310 may be moved into contact with a back side (e.g., unfinished side 202) of the sheet of porcelain 300. Substrate 310 may be waterproof (e.g., having a resistance to degradation caused by water).

[0029] FIG. 3 illustrates the sheets of material positioned or stacked substantially vertically though this need not be the case. The sheet of porcelain 300 may be positioned horizontally with the surface having adhesive facing upward, and the sheet of substrate 310 may be positioned horizontally with the surface having adhesive facing downward (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 4) when the sheets are moved into contact. Other configurations are contemplated by this disclosure.

[0030] FIG. 4 illustrates a compressive force being applied across a sheet of substrate 410 to secure the sheet of substrate 410 to a sheet of porcelain 400. The compressive force may be exerted by a compression element 430 (e.g., a roller) such that the sheet of porcelain 400 and the sheet of substrate 410 are sandwiched or compacted between the compression element 430 and a flat surface (e.g., a force between 30 and 40 psi). While the flat surface isn't shown, it is understood that porcelain 400 would be positioned on a flat, supporting surface to prevent fracture of the sheet of porcelain 400 until after application of the sheet of substrate 410 is complete.

[0031] Thus, as the compression element 430 is moved across the sheet of substrate 410 from one side to the other, the sheet of substrate 410 and the sheet of porcelain 400 may be compressed such that a tight bond is achieved by the adhesive (e.g., adhesive 220 of FIG. 2) between the sheet of porcelain 400 and the sheet of substrate 410. After the compression force has been applied across the entire surface of the sheet of porcelain 400 and sheet of substrate 410, the assembly may be ready for transportation. The type of adhesive used may determine cure time and how soon the assembly is ready for transportation. In some embodiments cure time may be between 0 and 24 hours after compression element 430 is moved across the sheet of substrate 410 and the sheet of porcelain 400. No subsequent application of compressive force may be necessary after the use of compression element 430. The adhesive (e.g., adhesive 220 of FIG. 2) may cure after application of the compressive force by compressive element 430. Compressive force may not need to be applied during and/or throughout the curing period.

[0032] FIG. 5 illustrates adjacent sets of substrate and porcelain sheets positioned with a fill joint 540 between the adjacent sets. A first set of substrate and porcelain sheets (e.g., having a sheet of porcelain 500 and a sheet of substrate 510) forms a first construction panel 598. The first construction panel 598 may be located adjacent to a second set of substrate and porcelain sheets, forming a second construction panel 599. The first and second construction panels 598, 599 might not be in direct contact with each other (e.g., having a gap between adjacent sheets of porcelain). The gap may be 1/16.sup.th of an inch. The gap may be of an inch. In some embodiments the gap may be between about 1/16.sup.th of an inch and about .sup.th of an inch.

[0033] Each construction panel 599 may be secured to a common underlayment and/or to a common structural element within a wall. Thus, a gap or fill joint 540 may exist between the first and second construction panels 599 (i.e., with the underlayment and/or structural element extending across the fill joint 540 along the substrate side of the first and second construction panels 598, 599). During installation, a sealant dispenser 545 may be positioned and/or moved along fill joint 540 to allow sealant 547 to be inserted into fill joint 540 along the length and/or width of the adjacent sheets of porcelain 500 to seal fill joint 540 and prevent the passage of moisture, oil, or other substances from one side of the sheets of porcelain 500 to the other.

[0034] Where the sheets of substrate 510 have a smaller length and/or width dimension than the sheets of porcelain 500, the fill joint 540 may have a relatively smaller gap (e.g., 1/16 inches) between adjacent sheets of porcelain 500, and a relatively larger gap (e.g., 3/16 inches) between adjacent sheets of substrate 510. This configuration may enable a better, more resilient seal between adjacent sets of porcelain and substrate sheets (e.g., and a more finished appearance between adjacent construction panels 598, 599).

[0035] While not illustrated, it is understood that the construction panels 598, 599 may be installed on any surface (e.g., a wall, floor, or ceiling). Adjoining construction panels 599 may be secured to any surface (e.g., a wall), with or without underlayment, since the sheets of porcelain 500 are not attached directly to the underlayment (e.g., with cement, thinset, or other cementous mixture) for support. The sheets of substrate 510 provide reinforcement for the sheets of porcelain 500, and the sheets of substrate 510 may be secured to underlayment or structural elements within the surface at discrete points, along discrete lines, or in discrete areas without a need for full adhesion across the entire surface area of each sheet of substrate 510. Once construction panels 598, 599 are installed in close proximity to each other, whether along a surface or at corners of adjoining surfaces, the corresponding fill joints between each adjacent construction panel 599 may be filled in the manner described in this disclosure.

[0036] Construction panels 598, 599 may be manufactured in any of a range of sizes, and may be configured in standardized sizes (e.g., 12 inch by 24 inch) or may be configured in customized sizes as required at each job site. Construction panels 598, 599 may be 39 inches by 96 inches. Construction panels 598, 599 may be 31.5 inches by 63 inches. Construction panels 598, 599 may be 31.5 inches by 31.5 inches. Construction panels 598, 599 may be 30.5 inches by 30.5 inches. Construction panels 598, 599 may be 63 inches wide by 126 inches long). Nevertheless, construction panels 598, 599 may be easily modified on the job site to fit into any space, since the substrate backing may provide support to the porcelain to resist fracture during fitting work (e.g., cutting, drilling). The dense, non-porous nature of porcelain makes the construction panels 598, 599 well suited for use in wet environments, including kitchens, bathrooms, tub/shower areas, and for exterior use, though it is conceivable that construction panels 598, 599 may be used on any surface.

[0037] Other aspects will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice disclosed herein. It is intended, therefore, that the specification and illustrated embodiments be considered as examples only.