Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C04—CEMENTS; CONCRETE; ARTIFICIAL STONE; CERAMICS; REFRACTORIES
  • C04B—LIME, MAGNESIA; SLAG; CEMENTS; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF, e.g. MORTARS, CONCRETE OR LIKE BUILDING MATERIALS; ARTIFICIAL STONE; CERAMICS; REFRACTORIES; TREATMENT OF NATURAL STONE
  • C04B14/00—Use of inorganic materials as fillers, e.g. pigments, for mortars, concrete or artificial stone; Treatment of inorganic materials specially adapted to enhance their filling properties in mortars, concrete or artificial stone
  • C04B14/02—Granular materials, e.g. microballoons
  • C04B14/04—Silica-rich materials; Silicates
  • C04B14/22—Glass ; Devitrified glass
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C04—CEMENTS; CONCRETE; ARTIFICIAL STONE; CERAMICS; REFRACTORIES
  • C04B—LIME, MAGNESIA; SLAG; CEMENTS; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF, e.g. MORTARS, CONCRETE OR LIKE BUILDING MATERIALS; ARTIFICIAL STONE; CERAMICS; REFRACTORIES; TREATMENT OF NATURAL STONE
  • C04B20/00—Use of materials as fillers for mortars, concrete or artificial stone according to more than one of groups C04B14/00 - C04B18/00 and characterised by shape or grain distribution; Treatment of materials according to more than one of the groups C04B14/00 - C04B18/00 specially adapted to enhance their filling properties in mortars, concrete or artificial stone; Expanding or defibrillating materials
  • C04B20/10—Coating or impregnating
  • C04B20/12—Multiple coating or impregnating
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C04—CEMENTS; CONCRETE; ARTIFICIAL STONE; CERAMICS; REFRACTORIES
  • C04B—LIME, MAGNESIA; SLAG; CEMENTS; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF, e.g. MORTARS, CONCRETE OR LIKE BUILDING MATERIALS; ARTIFICIAL STONE; CERAMICS; REFRACTORIES; TREATMENT OF NATURAL STONE
  • C04B20/00—Use of materials as fillers for mortars, concrete or artificial stone according to more than one of groups C04B14/00 - C04B18/00 and characterised by shape or grain distribution; Treatment of materials according to more than one of the groups C04B14/00 - C04B18/00 specially adapted to enhance their filling properties in mortars, concrete or artificial stone; Expanding or defibrillating materials
  • C04B20/10—Coating or impregnating
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C04—CEMENTS; CONCRETE; ARTIFICIAL STONE; CERAMICS; REFRACTORIES
  • C04B—LIME, MAGNESIA; SLAG; CEMENTS; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF, e.g. MORTARS, CONCRETE OR LIKE BUILDING MATERIALS; ARTIFICIAL STONE; CERAMICS; REFRACTORIES; TREATMENT OF NATURAL STONE
  • C04B26/00—Compositions of mortars, concrete or artificial stone, containing only organic binders, e.g. polymer or resin concrete
  • C04B26/02—Macromolecular compounds
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C04—CEMENTS; CONCRETE; ARTIFICIAL STONE; CERAMICS; REFRACTORIES
  • C04B—LIME, MAGNESIA; SLAG; CEMENTS; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF, e.g. MORTARS, CONCRETE OR LIKE BUILDING MATERIALS; ARTIFICIAL STONE; CERAMICS; REFRACTORIES; TREATMENT OF NATURAL STONE
  • C04B2111/00—Mortars, concrete or artificial stone or mixtures to prepare them, characterised by specific function, property or use
  • C04B2111/80—Optical properties, e.g. transparency or reflexibility

Definitions

• This invention is directed to a coated particle which has a shimmering appearance to an observer and to an engineered stone also having a shimmering appearance due to incorporation of coated particles.
• Engineered stone products may be produced by a well known procedure commercialized by Breton S.p.A. of Castello di Godego, Italy, so-called "Breton Stone".
• resin precursors are blended at low weight percentages with crushed stone aggregate to provide a relatively dry mass of material, distributed evenly on a support carrier, vibro-compacted under vacuum and then cured to yield a rigid product.
• a process used to practice this technology is disclosed by Toncelli in U.S. Patent No. 4,698,010. Breton Stone materials are disclosed for use as flooring tile.
• Subsequent improvements to the technology such as US Patent No. 6,387,985 to Wilkinson and Burchfield increased the uses of the material for general surfacing, particularly making it suitable for use as a countertop.
• Zodiaq ® Quartz Surfacing from DuPont is an example of a commercially available engineered stone. Whether the product is floor tile or countertop, the slab produced by the Breton Stone process requires calibration to render it planar and uniform in thickness, as well as to reveal the aesthetic features of the product. This is followed by polishing to render the surface glossy. As described in US Patent No. 6,387,985, materials may be added for a decorative effect. Decorative additives are distinguished from stone fillers primarily by the amount present in the composition. The crushed natural stone filler acts as an aggregate and is typically present in the a range from 85% to 95% by weight.
• Decorative additives such as gemstones, metal flake or filings, micas, seashells, pearls, colored or transparent polymeric particles, mirrored particles and pigments have been added in attempts to increase the visual appeal and aesthetic qualities of the engineered stone. However, these quantities typically have not exceeded about 5% by weight, and preferably, do not exceed 2% by weight.
• the decorative additives are thoroughly mixed with the other components during the blending, or placed on the surface subsequent to distribution on the support carrier and prior to vibro- compaction.
• a limiting factor in the incorporation of a decorative additive is due to contact with heavy aggregates during manufacture of the final article. Such aggregate can act to minimize or destroy the desired decorative effect of the additive.
• the present invention is directed to a coated particle having a shimmering appearance to an observer comprising; (a) a refractive particle;
• the present invention is directed to an engineered stone containing coated particles.
• a critical requirement in the present invention is visual in nature and more specifically the requirement is directed to a shimmering appearance which is present in a coated particle. Also the shimmering appearance is imparted by incorporation of the coated particles into an engineered stone .
• the word “shimmering” is used in its normal meaning, namely to shine with a tremulous or fitful light.
• “Tremulous” likewise is used in its normal meaning namely characterized by trembling or tremours.
• the first required component of the invention is a transparent particle which has the ability to refract light.
• the degree of transparency of the particle may vary; illustratively s translucent particle may be employed while in contrast an opaque particle is not suitable. Glass and transparent quartz are preferred materials for such particle.
• the transparent particle which refracts light may- vary in size. A particle having a size in a range from 10 mesh to 3 mesh is preferred, in order to have a large enough particle to demonstrate the shimmering effect, while not being too large such that the particle would not be able to pass through a manufacturing process without being fractured. A larger particle can be used with modification to the process parameters.
• the surface of the transparent particle can be planar, but curved and multifaceted surfaces are of more interest aesthetically in that they demonstrate more shimmering effect as the angle of observation changes. It is understood that both larger and smaller particles may be employed. However, generally at least 50% and more preferably 80% of the transparent, refractive particles will be present in the ranges set forth above in a final product of an engineered stone .
• a coating is applied to the transparent refractive particle which coating is needed to provide abrasion resistance. Also the coating serves as a binder to hold additional particles as will be more fully described below.
• a preferred coating comprises a polyester which typically prior to polymerization contains coupling agent and catalyst .
• An example of a suitable polyester coating is described in USP 3,278,662 and USP 5,321,055.
• an acrylic coating can be employed such as disclosed in USP 6,387,985.
• the coating prior to polymerization typically has a viscosity in a range from 1000 to 50,000 centipoise, preferably in the range from 15,000 to 40,000 centipoise to effectively coat the transparent refractive particle.
• Polymerization, or "curing" of the coating can occur, as it is known to those skilled in the art, by chemical initiation, thermal or UV/Visible light, depending on the nature of the polymer with which the coating is formulated.
• a first additive reflects light, while a second additive refracts light.
• An example of an additive which reflects light is a metal (such as copper and brass) which also includes alloys. Additional examples include mica, holographic particles, metallized polyesters and reflective polymers including pearlescent and fluorescent pigments. Examples of a second additive which refract light are glass and transparent quartz.
• the two additives which reflect or refract light will be in particle form and will be embedded within the coating.
• the refractive particles will be concentrated near the outer surface of the coating (i.e. the surface which does not contact the innermost transparent refractive particle to which the coating is applied) .
• the concentration and size of the particles is not critical with the understanding that both concentration and size affect the desired shimmering appearance and it is necessary for the particles to be embedded within the transparent coating.
• the reflective particles will be uniformly distributed within the coating.
• An example of a size for such particles is in a range from lmicron to 3 millimeters.
• the refractive particles need to be concentrated near the outer surface of the coating and will be smaller.
• An example of a size for such particle is in a range from 325 mesh to 34 mesh. In a preferred mode the refractive particle will be concentrated at the surface of the coating .
• a further beneficial effect is present from the additive which is concentrated at the surface of the coated particle. Such benefit minimizes or eliminates agglomeration of coated particles since a number are formed at the same time.
• an individual particle can cause a color shift which is considered to be caused by a combination of refraction and reflection. Such color shift is within the scope of the present invention.
• the coated particles described above are incorporated into an engineered stone to provide the shimmering appearance in the stone .
• engineered stone is well known in the art and is specific to a naturally occurring mineral in combination with a binder and other additives.
• the engineered stone contains 85 to 95 % by weight mineral and the remainder binder (on a basis of mineral and binder) .
• a preferred engineered stone contains quartz in the amount stated with binder such as polyester or acrylic.
• the binder may be the same binder as employed for the coating of the particles.
• the amount of coated particles to impart a shimmering effect is not critical but illustratively will be present in an amount of at least 5 percent by weight of the final composition.
• the engineered stone is typically manufactured in the form of a slab.
• An advantage of the coated particle additive is an ability to withstand the weight and abrasion present in manufacture of the engineered stone. Such advantage includes an ability to be uniformly- distributed in the engineered stone such that the shimmering appearance is present on different surfaces.
• the engineered stone is used as a kitchen countertop with an upper surface (i.e. the surface which does not face the floor) and side surfaces can have similar appearances.
• the coated particle is formed by applying the transparent coating to a reflective particle wherein prior to solidification of the coating both the reflective and refractive additives are present.
• the coated particle is added in formation of the engineered stone (which manufacture is well known such as set forth in the Background of the Invention) .
• the coated particle is capable of being mixed into an abrasive mixture and undergoes vibration and compaction without loss of the coating which is needed for the shimmering effect.
• the coated particle may be added at a later stage of the process to minimize abrasive contact. Typically, this latter addition would require the coated particle be hand placed on the surface of the uncured mix and compacted into the topmost portion of the mix. This is more labor intensive and less efficient. It will also result in coated particles present primarily on the topmost surface and leading to an uneven appearance along edge portions of the engineered stone.
• an engineered stone material is calibrated to remove surface material for uniformity and polished.
• Vi x 8 mesh glass of various colors were put into a 4 oz sample cup. This cup was filled approximately 1/3 to Vt full with the glass. A small amount of the resin mixture was added and stirred using a plastic stir rod followed by adding additional resin and stirring until all the glass in the cup was uniformly coated with the resin mixture (approximately 12 - 14% by weight of the binder resin) . The resin coated glass particles were then transferred to a large strainer to allow for any excess resin mixture to drip off the glass. The resin coated glass particles were then transferred to a pail filled with the 30 x 50 mesh fine crushed clear glass.
• the resin coated glass particles were stirred in the 30 x 50 mesh fine crushed clear glass. The process was repeated to obtain a quantity of resin coated particles having a further coating of 30 x 50 mesh fine crushed clear glass. Any excess of the 30 x 50 mesh fine crushed clear glass was removed by use of a sieve .
• the resin and glass coated particles were evenly spread on a baking sheet and placed in an oven and the resin cured at 120 degrees Celsius for 45 minutes. Once cured, any remaining loose fine clear crushed glass was separated. The coated particles were placed in a bag and labeled. The above particles were then used in the engineered stone slab making process as follows;
• Example 2 The above materials were placed in a mixer and blended for 215 seconds. They were conveyed to a lay- down frame and distributed onto a support carrier. The support carrier with distributed mix was conveyed into a vibro-compacter and the materials were compacted. After vibro-compaction, the materials were conveyed into an oven and cured to form a slab of engineered stone. The engineered stone slab was polished with the final article having a desired decorative effect .
• Example 2 Example 2
• the above materials were placed in a mixer and blended for 215 seconds. They were conveyed to a lay- down frame and distributed onto a support carrier. The support carrier with distributed mix was conveyed into a vibro-compacter and the materials were compacted. After vibro-compaction, the materials were conveyed into an oven and cured to form a slab of engineered stone. The engineered stone slab was polished with the final article having a desired decorative effect.

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

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• 2008
  • 2008-05-05 WO PCT/US2008/005763 patent/WO2008137129A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2008-05-05 KR KR1020097025225A patent/KR20100017591A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2008-05-05 MX MX2009011803A patent/MX2009011803A/es unknown
  • 2008-05-05 JP JP2010507424A patent/JP2010526021A/ja not_active Withdrawn
  • 2008-05-05 EP EP08754214A patent/EP2142487A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2008-05-05 CA CA002683540A patent/CA2683540A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2008-05-05 CN CN200880014674A patent/CN101675012A/zh active Pending

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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