ES2786777B2 - PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING A LUMINESCENT CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL AND LUMINESCENT CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL OBTAINED WITH SAID PROCEDURE. - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION

PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING A CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL

LUMINESCENT AND LUMINESCENT CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL OBTAINED WITH

SAID PROCEDURE

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The invention, as expressed in the title of this specification, refers to a process for obtaining a luminescent construction material and the luminescent construction material obtained with said process.

More specifically, the object of the invention focuses on a procedure for obtaining a construction material with the capacity to emit light without the need for a temperature increase and that should only have absorbed energy with optically stimulated luminescence, which is the phosphorescence triggered by the exposure of the material to visible or infrared light, for which said material consists, specifically, of a piece of stone or the like with surface cavities, which is subjected, among other stages, to filling them with a resin preparation and luminescent powder, said mixture being able to be supplemented with other pigments or additives, according to needs, and which is subsequently polished, ensuring that said cavities, in addition to providing said luminescent property to the material, are protected from weather agents without disturbing the natural aesthetics of the material. base material itself.

FIELD OF APPLICATION OF THE INVENTION

The field of application of the present invention falls within the construction sector, focusing particularly on the field of manufacturing pieces of construction material endowed with luminescent properties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As a reference to the current state of the art, it should be noted that, although in other areas the existence of products and elements endowed, totally or partially, with luminescent properties is known, in most cases they are either objects to which , Once manufactured, a layer of paint with luminescent properties has been added that totally or partially covers the external surface of the same, or objects that, at the time of manufacture, the material with which they are made is made up of a mixture that includes components that give it luminescent properties.

However, at least on the part of the applicant, it is unknown that any procedure for obtaining construction materials has been disclosed, nor any construction material, which has technical, structural and constitutive characteristics equal to or similar to those presented by the claimed here, and whose objective is to provide a type of construction material with cavities that is provided with luminescent properties so that, in addition to providing a unique optical effect, it enhances the aesthetic characteristics of the material in question in each case, it is an effective and different way of protecting it against external effects that may affect it.

EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

The procedure for obtaining a luminescent construction material and the luminescent construction material obtained with said procedure that the invention proposes allow the aforementioned objectives to be satisfactorily achieved, with the characterizing details that make it possible and that distinguish it conveniently collected in the claims endings that accompany this description.

More specifically, the method proposed by the invention essentially comprises the following steps:

- Stage 1: It starts with a piece of stone, preferably a natural stone slab, which has surface cavities (for example a travertine slab) with the surface and cavities previously cleaned and free of residue. This process is carried out with the method that is considered most appropriate, depending on the type of material, for example: pressurized air, pressurized water...

- Stage 2: We proceed to the preparation of a luminescent mixture that, at least, comprises three fundamental elements: liquid crystal resin or similar, depending on the durability that is to be achieved; hardener, which is added to the resin in the proportion recommended by the manufacturer); and luminescent powder, which is added in proportion to the light power that you want to achieve. The higher the percentage of luminescent product, the greater the light power. Said components are mixed uniformly for a minimum of 3 minutes in a mixer. Other pigments may be added to this mixture, if required, for example for aesthetic needs.

- Stage 3: The mixture is poured, quickly, generously over the entire surface of the stone piece and allowed to harden at room temperature, or by forced heat in an oven or chamber prepared for this purpose. After 24 hours, which is the optimal time for the mixture to settle and harden, the piece is removed from the chamber. The mixture will have decreased a few millimeters in its thickness due to the settling of the material, so preferably, a second pouring of the mixture is made.

- Stage 4: Preferably, a second batch of the luminescent mixture is prepared and the process of stages 2 and 3 of the aforementioned mixing and pouring is repeated. This fourth stage aims to achieve a uniform and level surface of the luminescent mixture, leaving the pores of the stone perfectly filled and sealed by the luminescent mixture, therefore, it can be omitted or repeated, depending on the case.

- Stage 5: The piece of material is introduced into a water-based industrial polisher and is polished, reducing the layer of excess luminescent mixture, until it reaches the surface level of the base stone, that is, until only the natural cavities of the stone are filled with the luminescent mixture, leaving the rest of the natural stone surface visible. With this, the luminescent effect is formed by small punctual flashes or in the form of beta, depending on the morphology of the pore.

- Stage 6: Finally, the piece is subjected to a finishing process consisting of two options:

Polished natural stone: In this option, the surface of the stone is again subjected to the polishing process specified in stage 5. This ensures that the surface is shiny but retains the stone's own porosity, so the touch of the final material is somewhat rougher and less protected than with the option detailed below.

Natural stone protective coating of polished resin: In this option, a layer of resin is poured on the surface of the stone, which is subsequently subjected to the polishing process specified in stage 5. With this, the surface is completely sealed, the stone and luminescent material are occluded and protected and there are no surface pores, so the final material feels soft, smooth and uniform.

The main advantages of the invention are the following:

The luminescent construction material obtained has the property of emitting light without the need for a rise in temperature, being visible in the dark. This phenomenon is often confused with incandescence and is generally said of a metal that turns red or white due to the action of heat. Luminescent processes surround us, we can observe them in nature, in the countryside, in the deep sea, in the atmosphere, or in everyday objects.

From a physical point of view, for luminescence to take place it is necessary that the solid in question has absorbed radiation energy. Once that process has taken place, the electrons gain energy by going from a ground state, or low energy, to a more energetic (or excited) state. Luminescence will occur when an energy strikes the excited electrons, which does not necessarily have to be radiation energy, and which can be of various types: photoluminescence, electroluminescence, catadoluminescence, optically stimulated luminescence, radioluminescence, triboluminescence, sonoluminescence, thermoluminescence, chemiluminescence. and ionoluminescence. In the case of the present invention, it responds exclusively to the type of optically stimulated luminescence, which is the phosphorescence triggered by exposure of the material to visible or infrared light.

fluorescence and phosphorescence. Fluorescence is a process where there is a de-excitation that produces light emission when there are allowed transitions between the excited state and the ground state of the material, with which the emission occurs simultaneously with the absorption of radiation. On the other hand, in the phosphorescence process, the luminescence lasts once the excitation is cut off because the excited state is metastable and the emission is delayed. To distinguish the different existing luminescent processes, the TC parameter is used, which is defined as the time elapsed between the absorption of radiation and the emission of light.

The luminescent material is charged by solar radiation, ultraviolet light or neon lights, allowing the characteristic pores or cavities of the base material to light up in totally dark environments, and it can be made in a multitude of shades.

The luminescent construction material resulting from the process described above protects the cavities of the stone materials from weather agents without disturbing the natural aesthetics of the base material itself.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement the description that is being made and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, a set of plans is attached to this specification, as an integral part of it, in which for illustrative and non-limiting, the following has been represented:

Figure number 1.- Shows a sectional view of a portion of material in the initial stage from which it starts, appreciating the cavities it presents.

Figure number 2.- Shows the section of the portion of material shown in figure 1, in its stage of pouring the luminescent mixture on its surface.

Figure number 3.- Shows the portion of material in its drying stage of the luminescent mixture.

Figure number 4.- Shows the portion of material in its final stage, once the luminescent mixture has been polished to reveal the surface of the base stone.

And figure number 5.- Shows a more enlarged portion of the luminescent construction material obtained with the method of the invention, showing the constitution and parts thereof.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In view of the aforementioned figures, and according to the numbering adopted, an example of construction material can be seen in some of the successive and main stages to which it is subjected, according to the procedure of the invention, to obtain of a luminescent construction material, which comprise:

- A first stage, in which the starting point is a piece (1) of stone or other construction material with superficial cavities (2), for example, a travertine slab, previously clean and free of residues (figure 1).

- A second stage in which a luminescent mixture (3) is prepared which, at least, comprises three elements consisting of: resin or liquid crystal or the like; hardener; and luminescent powder, which may include, if required, coloring pigments and/or additives, all of which are uniformly mixed for a minimum of three minutes in a mixer.

- A third stage in which the previous luminescent mixture (3) is poured, quickly and generously, over the entire surface (1a) of the piece (1) until it is completely covered (figure 2), and it is allowed to cure and harden at room temperature, or by forced heat in an oven or chamber prepared for this purpose, for at least 24 hours (figure 3).

- Optionally, a fourth stage in which a second batch of the luminescent mixture (3) is prepared and the process of the aforementioned second and third stages of mixing and pouring is repeated, until a uniform and level surface of the luminescent mixture (3) is achieved. ) covering the entire surface (1a) of the stone piece (1), leaving the surface cavities (2) perfectly filled and sealed by said luminescent mixture (3).

- A fifth stage in which the piece (1) of stone is introduced into a water-based industrial polisher and is polished, lowering the surface of the luminescent mixture layer (3), until reaching the level of the surface (1a ) of the stone piece (1) and ensure that only the surface cavities (2) are filled with the luminescent mixture (3), leaving the rest of said surface (1a) visible (figure 4).

- And a sixth stage of finishing by polishing, which consists of:

or in which the surface (1a) of the piece (1) with the surface cavities (2) filled with the luminescent mixture (3) is again subjected to a second polishing process as described in the fifth stage,

or in that, on the surface (1a) of the piece (1) with the surface cavities (2) filled with the luminescent mixture (3), a layer of resin (4) is poured, which is subsequently subjected to a second polishing process as described in the fifth stage.

Looking at Figure 5, it can be seen how the luminescent construction material obtained with the described procedure consists of a piece (1) of construction material, for example stone, which has surface cavities (2), and there may also be internal cavities (2a). ) or not, which surface cavities (2) are filled with a luminescent mixture (3) that defines a layer flush with the surface (1a) of said piece (1), exposing the parts of it that are not they present superficial cavities (2). And, preferably, it is covered with a layer of resin (4) with a polished finish.

Having sufficiently described the nature of the present invention, as well as the way of putting it into practice, it is not considered necessary to make its explanation more extensive so that any person skilled in the art understands its scope and the advantages derived from it, stating that, within its essentiality, it may be put into practice in other forms of embodiment that differ in detail from the one indicated by way of example, and to which it will also achieve the protection that is sought as long as its fundamental principle is not altered, changed or modified. .

Claims (9)

1. - Procedure for obtaining a luminescent construction material, characterized by comprising, at least: - a first stage, starting from a piece (1) of stone or other construction material with superficial cavities (2), clean and free of residues; - a second stage in which a luminescent mixture (3) is prepared, comprising at least: resin or liquid crystal; hardener; and luminescent powder, components that are uniformly mixed for a minimum of three minutes in a mixer; - a third stage in which the previous luminescent mixture (3) is poured over the entire surface (1a) of the piece (1) until it is completely covered and it is allowed to harden for at least 24 hours; - a fifth stage in which the piece (1) of stone is introduced into an industrial water polisher and is polished, lowering the surface of the layer of luminescent mixture (3), until reaching the level of the surface (1a ) of the stone piece (1) and ensure that only the surface cavities (2) are filled with the luminescent mixture (3), leaving the rest of said surface (1a) visible; - and a sixth stage of finishing by polishing. 2. - Method for obtaining a luminescent construction material, according to claim 1, characterized in that in the stage in which the luminescent mixture (3) is prepared, said mixture also comprises pigments and/or additives. 3. - Procedure for obtaining a luminescent construction material, according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the finishing stage by polishing consists in that the surface (1a) of the piece (1) with the surface cavities (2) filled with the luminescent mixture (3) is again subjected to a second polishing process as described in the fifth stage. 4. - Procedure for obtaining a luminescent construction material, according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the finishing stage by polishing consists in that, on the surface (1a) of the piece (1) with the surface cavities ( 2) filled with the luminescent mixture (3), a layer of resin (4) is poured, which is subsequently subjected to a second polishing process as described in the fifth stage. 5. - Procedure for obtaining a luminescent construction material, according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it comprises a fourth stage in which a second batch of the luminescent mixture (3) is prepared and the process of the second and third stages of mixing and pouring, until a uniform and level surface of the luminescent mixture (3) is achieved, covering the entire surface (1a) of the piece (1) of stone, leaving the surface cavities (2) perfectly filled and sealed by said luminescent mixture (3). 6. - Procedure for obtaining a luminescent construction material, according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that in the third stage in which the luminescent mixture (3) is poured, it is allowed to harden at room temperature. 7. - Procedure for obtaining a luminescent construction material, according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that in the third stage in which the luminescent mixture (3) is poured, it is allowed to harden by forced heat in an oven or chamber prepared for that purpose. 8. - Luminescent construction material obtained with a procedure as described in any of claims 1 to 7, characterized by consisting of a piece (1) with surface cavities (2) filled with a luminescent mixture (3) that defines a layer flush with the surface (1a) of said part (1), exposing the parts thereof that do not have surface cavities (2). 9. - Luminescent construction material according to claim 8, characterized in that the surface (1a) of the part (1) with the surface cavities (2) filled with the luminescent mixture (3) is covered with a layer of resin (4 ) polished finish. 1