ES1295948U - Pressed ceramic piece to cover facades (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

Pressed ceramic piece for facade cladding, characterized by having some figures on its outer surface that represent facing bricks in whose joints the means of anchoring to the support are located, anchoring means that are distributed in multiple positions throughout the width. Of the piece. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

DESCRIPTION

Pressed ceramic piece to cover facades

Technical sector.

The present invention belongs to the field of construction materials, and more specifically, to the field of pressed ceramic pieces. It is an invention whose on-site purpose is to cover facades, to provide them externally with the physical and technical characteristics of ceramics, and give them the appearance of exposed brick.

Background of the invention

Bricks for building envelopes are among the oldest products that exist, as they have been used with great success since Babylonian times, as the brick facades of the Ishtar Gate show us. The most enduring Roman constructions have also used them, as witnessed by the Roman Colosseum, the Trajan Forum and the Basilica of Magentius, works whose exterior enclosure is made with ceramic bricks. In some cases, in works like these, the bricks were covered with marble in sections, leaving other sections directly visible. Undoubtedly, the Roman wall bricks are equivalent to the current facing bricks, and their properties, their purpose and their execution hardly differ.

Today facing bricks continue to be used massively, even in avant-garde works, such as the expansion of the Tate Modern in London, the expansion of the Prado Museum in Madrid, or the building designed by the famous architect Frank Gehry in Sydney, Australia, building that was given the name of Dr Chau Chak Wing Building. No one can doubt that bricks and ceramics are still modern thousands of years after they were born.

The industry has worked with great interest in finding solutions that allow buildings to be covered with the same aesthetics of exposed brick, but without having to complete the enclosure with full bricks. Thus, there are many works in which the enclosure is made with a resistant wall of another material, and it is covered with ceramic tiles whose dimensions are the same as the one with the facing bricks on its external face. The size of these platelets varies depending on the uses of each country or region, but the most widespread platelets are 50 millimeters long by 50 millimeters high, and 3 centimeters thick, with small differences above or below. The result is that once they are placed in their position on the façade, either mechanically anchored (as in the Chinese patent CN208533938) or glued, the visual effect they cause is exactly the same as that of a façade made with full facing bricks. It is evident that the platelets do not fulfill the same resistant function in the wall as that offered by facing bricks (it is not, after all, what is expected of them, since when they are used the wall is already raised). but its resistance to climatic and environmental agents is the same, as is its aesthetics. Hence the convenience of its use on the facade.

There are many circumstances in which it may be interesting to execute a façade in this way, with platelets or with equivalent solutions that achieve a facing brick effect. One of these circumstances, very current, is due to the interest in improving the energy efficiency of exposed brick facades already built.

There are hundreds of thousands of buildings whose enclosures are made like this, with facing bricks, and all of them are always capable of having superior insulating behavior and thus improving their energy efficiency. Surprisingly, a significant proportion of these works are executed in a way whose finish is not exposed brick. Instead of platelets, or some prefabricated facing brick effect, they are simply covered with mortar. Sheets of insulating material are anchored on the existing facing bricks on the façade, and it is on these sheets that the mortar is applied. This system is known as External Thermal Insulation System, or SATE. The final result is, of course, more efficient than the initial one (the mere raising of the wall ensures this), but at the cost of sacrificing or distorting the aesthetic nature of the buildings, which go from presenting the finish typical of an authentic brick façade. caravista, to present a smooth mortar finish. There is the alternative of gluing ceramic tiles (or prefabricated solutions with the same appearance) on the insulating material, but this alternative is more expensive than the simple mortar coating, so that in the end there are many works in which the original aesthetic is sacrificed. for this financial savings (which is not always real). In the world of architecture it is considered that with this way of doing "a crime" is committed against the initial project, against aesthetics, and against constructive and cultural harmony.

Faced with this problem, and others associated with façade cladding (normally rehabilitation or restoration), various solutions arise. The vast majority of them in the form of prefabricated plates that simulate the aesthetic effect of facing bricks, but without being, obviously, facing bricks. We are going to point out some background in the state of the art that will help us understand this search to find effective solutions.

The first precedent that we will highlight is the European patent ES2402595. In the descriptive text of the patent we see that we are dealing with "a prefabricated panel for the wall cladding of buildings". , of two layers, that is, a first layer that constitutes a visible external film that covers the wall of the building, this layer being constituted by platelets arranged in rows and spaced apart, and a second layer of binder arranged on the internal side, in contact with the back face of the platelets to solidify them”. It is considered that the platelets may be made of ceramic. In fact, it is set out like this in the text of the patent: "external layer made up of platelets, particularly terracotta, ceramic..." And the preamble to its first claim indicates exactly the same thing. This European patent not only is it similar to the product it intends to imitate, which are brick facades, but it also has the same physical properties, specifically ceramics, which are the ones we are interested in for the purposes of this invention, but it should be noted that this patent ES2402595 is a composite of different materials, and not a single piece, like the invention that is the subject of this document.Antecedents similar to ES2402595 are patents FR2149846 and EP0345244.

A patent prior to ES2402595 is the German patent DE2440497. This patent reveals very well the desire and need of industry and commerce to simulate facing bricks. It is a precast made of plastic materials that offers a finish that looks like a set of facing bricks. In the text of this patent, once translated, we read that "cladding elements for cladding walls are already known in various shapes and designs... that simulate a clinker (ceramic) or stone wall". It is indicated there that it is not There is therefore a novelty in the realization of this type of precast. This patent is from 1974, so there is no doubt that this concern for precast that simulates a brick enclosure is from many decades ago. The novelty of this patent German is not in that it is a prefabricated with appearance of facing bricks, which, as indicated in the text of the patent, already existed, but basically consists in the fact that in the precast there are courses of simulated bricks that protrude freely from the side, to make it possible for them to go up on the next precast or panel. This is what is indicated in its first claim.

It is important to point out that with this German patent we are not dealing with a solution made of ceramic, but of materials with which it is intended to imitate ceramic, and therefore it does not enter into the problems of ceramics. In the patent description we read that these "cladding elements must be made of moldable plastics... realistic in their representation". And we can also read that “the object of the invention is to provide a covering element in which the known drawbacks are eliminated; [...] in addition to giving it the appearance of an impeccable clinker brick (ceramic) façade ”. Production in plastic material by injection, or molded with fiberglass, makes possible formats such as those proposed in this German patent.

The interest in making prefabricated elements that simulate facing brick facades is unquestionable, as is the existence of numerous precedents. And certainly, in the construction market today we can find samples of products equivalent to the aforementioned precedents, which shows that these are solutions demanded by the public and that they serve their purpose. As a commercial example we can mention the product that is available in the Spanish market and is sold under the Termoklinker brand (European brand 011413655).

There are, on the other hand, other ceramic products whose destination is the covering of facades, such as extruded ceramic plates, or the so-called porcelain stoneware, or even tiles, which may have the pattern of bricks printed on their surface, but in these materials it is not possible to make forms of great relief that reproduce the shape and background of the facing bricks on the façade.

Finally, we will point to the pressed ceramic tiles as an antecedent to the present invention in terms of the technology used in their production. They obviously do not have a facing brick finish, nor is it their goal to have one, but their dimensions and structural constitution are very similar to the pressed ceramic piece of the invention. The most notable deference that distinguishes the tiles from this invention, apart from their destination on the facades, is that the tiles overlap and overlap each other, causing the classic staggered pattern of tiles between the different courses or rows.

Explanation of the invention

The present invention consists of a pressed ceramic piece, which reproduces on its external face a set of figures representing facing bricks, and has an extremely simple and versatile anchoring system, in such a way that with the installation of a plurality of these Three fundamental purposes are achieved on the façade: 1) to cover it with ceramic properties, 2) to reproduce the aesthetics of a ceramic facing brick façade, and 3) to simplify installation and reduce costs associated with installation. The final aesthetic effect of the product once installed is already known in the state of the art (covering a façade and giving it the appearance of ceramic facing brick), but not the way to achieve it, nor the resulting practical effects.

It must be taken into account that we are in a very mature technical field, where the possibilities of creating and innovating are very limited, but where any small formal or conceptual advance can have a great impact on the results and greatly benefit the companies. production and consumption chains. We are talking about a sector with great limitations, where it is not possible to carry out in an industrialized way any form that occurs to us.

The main characteristic of the pressed ceramic piece of the invention is that it is installed in an extraordinarily simple way. The key is that it can be screwed or anchored to the support material at very different points and heights immediately and extremely easily. For this, it has perforations distributed on its outer surface, right at the joints that are formed between each of the bricks represented. In this way, for each course and for each row there can be several anchoring points where a piece can be anchored to the support. This is radically important, as it greatly facilitates the setting out, and covers all work needs. As is well known, it is rare that there are two panels or sections of work of equal dimensions, and whose measurement is always a multiple of the size of the pieces to be installed, to make it possible to use complete pieces at all times. The normal and most frequent thing is that this dimensional coincidence does not occur, and that many pieces have to be cut at the beginnings and ends of each panel. For this reason, the fact that the pieces can be anchored at many different heights allows a very simple and fast execution, which avoids wasting time in setting out and in the realization of any height, and the resulting selection will always continue to be able to be anchored to the support very easily.

The perforations that are integrated into the pieces can be complete, that is, passing through from side to side, or they can be simply pre-marked, so that they can be completed on site or with the anchor screw used (or equivalent hardware). When it is in this second way -pre-marked-, the perforations that have not finally been used on site will not filter rainwater, as they would if they had been the case with through perforations.

Since the perforations are located in the joints, the distant observer (passerby or owner) will hardly appreciate their existence. And the same will happen with the head of the screws in the points where they have been used. To further improve the concealment of the perforations and the heads of the screws (or of the hardware used), it has been planned that the joints present a very irregular and not smooth pattern, as if they were made of granulated mortar. When older, it must be taken into account that the joints are recessed with respect to the figures that represent the bricks, and therefore, generally in shadow. Both of these things mean that once a set of pieces is installed, the position of the different screws or of the unused perforations will remain hidden from the eye, since the visual information that the passer-by or viewer of the façade will receive as a whole is vast and varied, and it will force you to keep the main thing, which are the bricks represented. In reality, this is what already happens, in all exposed brick works, where any irregularity at one point of the installation is hidden by the overall vision.

In any case, the joints can be covered on site by a line of mortar, or painted, to equalize or improve, where necessary, the characteristic aesthetic appearance of a facing brick façade. In doing so, the screws that have been used, and the perforations that have been left free and unused, will be permanently covered and not visible.

The number of facing brick figures that each piece incorporates is variable, adjusting to the desired finish and to the size that the manufacturer chooses. And their arrangement can also be varied, depending on whether the aim is to reproduce an aesthetic of bricks in a continuous joint, or a matt joint, or if what is sought is to reproduce a framework of bricks placed on a tang, rope, or combined basis. In mata joint arrangements, there are immediate upper and lower rows, and this causes the existence of various lateral projections. In order to prevent these protrusions from being exposed during the manufacturing of the parts, it has been foreseen that they are produced with additions inserts, which help to give the pieces a more uniform conformation. These inserts will be detached at the end of the industrial process, after the drying and firing processes, leaving the piece with its own measurements of use.

It has also been provided that the pressed ceramic piece to cover facades that is the object of this invention can incorporate longitudinal and transversal overlaps when appropriate, to facilitate the drainage of rainwater from its outer face and to cut off the air inlet.

Brief description of the drawings

Figure 1 shows, in perspective, the pressed ceramic piece to cover facades (1), whose outer face presents figures representing facing bricks (2), between which joints (3) are formed. Inside these joints are located the necessary means to anchor the part to its support, consisting in this figure 1 of some perforations (4) in which fixing screws can be accommodated.

Figure 2 shows, in a second perspective, the pressed ceramic piece to cover facades (1), in which the figures representing facing bricks (2) are distributed so that each course is offset from the previous one, thus creating an installation effect to kill together. The joints (3) in this version have a very rough finish, so that the perforations (4) provided for the screws are visually confused and are very difficult to distinguish.

Figures 3 and 4 show, in perspective, the same section of a pressed ceramic piece to cover facades, where we can see that the joints (3) have a very rough finish. Figure 3 shows the perforations (4), and it can be seen that they are semi-hidden, as they are difficult to distinguish visually. In figure 4, the screw heads (5) appear, in the place of the perforations, which are not clearly distinguishable visually either.

Figure 5 shows a set of four pieces of pressed ceramic to clad façades where it can be seen that once installed the effect is that of a façade where it can be seen that once installed the effect is that of a facing brick façade , where the multitude of figures representing facing bricks (2) stands out, leaving the joints (3) in the background. The perforations (4), which are at the bottom of the joints (3), are difficult to distinguish, which is favored by the roughness of the surface of the joints.

Figure 6 shows a set of four pieces of pressed ceramic to cover facades, where all the joints have been covered with mortar (6), in the style of how it is normally executed on site. This means that the perforations, or instead the screws, have been permanently covered and not visible.

Figure 7 shows, in perspective, a new version of the pressed ceramic piece to cover facades (1), where you can see the figures representing facing bricks (2), the intermediate joints (3), and the perforations (4). in which fixing screws can be accommodated. We also see an upper flap (7) and three lateral ones (8), whose purpose is to facilitate the drainage of rainwater and cut off the air intake once piece after piece is installed on a façade.

Figure 8 shows, in a new perspective, the same version of the pressed ceramic piece for covering facades (1) shown in figure 7, only seen from the inside. As is typical of a pressed ceramic piece, the piece produced must maintain wall thicknesses that are as homogeneous as possible, since failure to maintain the thickness would cause the piece to break or crack during the drying and firing processes. To achieve this homogeneity, the inner shape of the piece is similar to the outer shape but in negative, to which a series of ribs (9) or walls can be added to help give the piece rigidity, as in the case of this figure. 8. These ribs (9) maintain a similar thickness.

In figure 9 we see, in perspective, a set of three pressed ceramic pieces to cover facades, the upper one of which is shorter because it has been cut transversally. This allows us to see that the battens (10.1, 10.2 and 10.3) or purlins that are used as supports are at an unequal distance, without causing any difficulty or complexity when executing the façade. The two lower battens (10.1 and 10.2) are at a distance that allows the installation of complete pieces, and the upper batten (10.3) and the intermediate batten (10.2) are at a smaller distance, adjusted to the piece that has been cut.

In figure 10 we see, now in elevation, a set of three other pressed ceramic pieces to cover façades, in this case with the one on the right cut longitudinally. The battens (10.4, 10.5 and 10.6) that are used as supports are also at an unequal distance, but now installed in a vertical position, again without this being the cause of any difficulty or complexity when executing the façade. The left batten (10.4) and the central batten (10.5) are at a distance that allows the installation of complete pieces, and the right batten (10.6) is at a smaller distance from the central batten (10.5), adjusted to the piece that has been cut.

In figure 11 we see the pressed ceramic piece to clad facades (1) with three additions or inserts (11) that allow the configuration of the piece to have more uniform external measurements, avoiding protrusions that could expose the piece to breakage during installation. production.

Finally, in figure 12 we see the same pressed ceramic piece to cover facades (1) shown in figure 11, but in this case in its state of use, once the industrial process has finished. We can see the protrusions (12) that remain after the inserts that appeared in figure 11 came off, which would have compromised the integrity of the piece during the drying and firing processes, and also in other production phases.

Preferred embodiment of the invention

A particular example of the realization of the pressed ceramic piece for covering facades (1) is described below, with reference to the attached figures.

Specifically, figure 2 shows the pressed ceramic piece to clad façades (1), which has on its outer face figures representing facing bricks (2), distributed so that each course is offset from the previous one, thus creating an installation effect to kill together. In the joints (3) that are formed between the different figures of facing bricks (2) there are perforations (4) distributed at different heights, which will serve as a means of anchoring the piece to the support, with the complement of a screw or a equivalent hardware.

The joints (3) have, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, their surface very rough, and this will mean that, when the piece is anchored to the support, the screws or fittings that have been housed in their respective perforations, as well as the perforations that have been released, are visually confusing in the depth of the joint, and are very difficult to distinguish in the whole of the piece once it is installed on the façade. However, on many occasions the joints will be covered with mortar, as we see in figure 6, either to equalize the aesthetics of an original facing brick façade, or to blind all the joints between pieces and completely prevent passage. from rainwater and air.

The particularities of the design and production of the new pressed ceramic piece to cover facades (1) make its use especially interesting in the rehabilitation of exposed brick facades, and also in the covering of any other vertical wall.

Claims (3)

1. Pressed ceramic piece for facade cladding, characterized by having some figures on its outer surface that represent facing bricks in whose joints the means of anchoring to the support are located, anchoring means that are distributed in multiple positions throughout the width. Of the piece. 2. Pressed ceramic piece for façade cladding, according to claim one, characterized by the anchoring means consisting of perforations whose diameter will allow the passage of a screw, or similar hardware, which will hold the piece to the support on the façade; the perforations can be through, giving shape to a complete hole, or be only pre-marked, to be finished in situ on site. 3. Pressed ceramic piece for facade cladding, according to previous claims, characterized by having very rough joints, so that the perforations, and the screws or fittings, are visually confused, thus remaining semi-hidden.