FR2879503A1 - Ambiance decorating unit manufacturing method for e.g. reptile, involves shaping hardenable foaming material mass deposited on support across canvas impregnated previously with composition and removing canvas after hardening material - Google Patents

Abstract

The method involves shaping a hardenable foaming and malleable material mass (1) deposited on a support e.g. mold (2) across a canvas (3) e.g. floor cloth that is applied on mold`s surface and is impregnated previously with a composition. The composition contains an agent dispersive in a liquid vehicle e.g. water, which is incompatible with the mass. The canvas is removed after hardening the material. An independent claim is also included for a utilization of a decorating unit obtained by a decorating unit manufacturing method in a cage for an animal at a vivarium and aquarium.

Description

2879503 1

  The present invention relates to techniques for manufacturing decorative elements. It is interested in a preferential way, although not limited to the creation of atmospheric decors intended to recreate the illusion of a natural environment for animals, in particular for exotic animals that live in cages designed to reproduce as best as possible their original living environment. It aims to improve the conditions of manufacture and use of the various elements of a specific setting, such as that of a specific cage, both from the point of view of quality and lo that of the financial implications.

  To this end, the invention proposes to manufacture such decorative elements by a method according to which a malleable mass of hardenable material deposited on a support is formed through a fabric applied on its surface and impregnated with a composition containing a dispersing agent. in a liquid vehicle incompatible with the curable material. Incompatible means a vehicle that does not react chemically with the hardenable material. The fabric is then removed after curing the material. This gives a decorative element whose surface is continuously rough, due to the action of the dispersing agent on the surface of the mass worked while it has not yet fully cured. Such an element reproduces advantageously closer to the qualities of appearance and touch elements of the natural environment of the animal for whom it is intended.

  The shaping or modeling is preferably done by hand, so that it is possible to give the element all forms and all types of surface reliefs. It is thus advantageously possible, on demand, to reproduce as faithfully as possible natural decors with reliefs that are not geometric and regular but random and uneven.

  According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the dispersive agent composition is sprayed onto the fabric applied to the malleable mass several times during the forming step. This ensures a permanent contact of the dispersive agent composition at the interface between the curable material and the fabric, which allows the most efficient method to be implemented.

  In a complementary step in the implementation of this method, it is advantageous to paint the element obtained.

  By using paint colors in accordance with the shape of the element in its different parts, it is possible to obtain an element whose external appearance, in shapes, color and dimensions, is as close as that of an element of natural scenery that one seeks to imitate, such as rock, tree trunk, mass of foliage, stones, rock wall, etc.

  For the application of the paint, we use techniques known in themselves. However, it is highly desirable to operate under conditions that preserve the roughness. It is therefore preferred to avoid sputter or spray methods and rather to apply the paint compositions to the surface of the element by means of a paintbrush. Being careful not to exert too much pressure and not to use a brush whose bristles would be too soft, it is possible to deposit the paint only on the asperities of the rough surface, without filling the hollows between them.

  In accordance with the invention, it is important to best preserve the surface roughness obtained through the foaming effect exerted by the dispersant composition impregnating the fabric applied to the mass during curing. It is indeed this roughness that gives the final decorative element a quality of touch complementing the shapes and colors to provide animals sensations similar to those they would experience in the natural environment, allowing them to hang on, to climb, to crawl, as they did when they moved in their home ground.

  In this, the decorative elements manufactured according to the invention are fundamentally different from those which are formed in a known manner based on hardenable materials. By way of example, materials hardened in a mold do not allow the shapes of the elements to be varied according to the animals to be accommodated. Above all, whatever the composition of the hardenable material used, the techniques applied to their shaping always lead to smooth surfaces, often too friable to support the animals.

  According to preferred embodiments in industrial practice, the invention furthermore meets the following characteristics, implemented separately or in each of their technically operating combinations.

  In preferred embodiments of the invention, a foaming curable material is used. It is allowed to swell after having deposited it on the support, before compacting it at the same time as it is shaped so as to make it denser. By thus reducing the degree of porosity of the foam, greater rigidity and greater strength is imparted to the element obtained by this process.

  According to a preferred feature of the invention, the mass of material is prevented from swelling along its edges, in particular by means of a rigid frame held pressed against these edges. This produces elements with flat edges and finer than the rest of the element, which have the advantage of being assembled by interlocking with each other.

  This characteristic makes it possible to easily fit the elements together so as, for example, to form internal walls of a cage. Each element is then easily removable, and easy to replace by simply disengaging and re-interlocking with others. This allows easy disassembly and reassembly of the inner walls of the cage especially when it is necessary to clean the elements and / or the cage.

  In view of optimum mechanical properties, the invention provides for the use preferably of substances based on organic resins curing by polymerization which are further presented in aerosol-type packaging facilitating their deposition on the support.

  The curable material is preferably a composition of organic resins curing in foam form by cross-linking polymerization of the constituents. In this form, polyurethane foam compositions, consisting essentially of polyisocyanate in admixture with a complementary hardener, are commonly known which are commonly sold for spraying and forming caulking gaskets or thermal insulation coatings. and phonics in applications in the building industry or in DIY applications.

  The use of such compositions in the context of the present invention brings many advantages. And in this, it is not only to take advantage of their qualities of lightness, mechanical strength, chemical resistance, thermal barrier, phonic, electrical and / or where appropriate fire resistance. On the one hand, there is no need to heat them or expose them to radiation other than natural light or to a medium other than atmospheric air to cause the curing reaction. On the other hand, they are easy to deposit by projection on a support in a sufficient thickness to form a malleable hardening mass sufficiently slow to remain malleable for a time of several tens of minutes, largely sufficient to allow them to be shaped. This is preferably done by hand, compressing the material in places to bring out the desired reliefs, through the cloth impregnated with foaming solution placed on the surface.

  On the other hand, where in the known conditions of their uses, these compositions lead to very smooth surfaces, on which the paints do not adhere, their implementation in accordance with the invention leads to a surface roughness which , in addition to meeting the vital needs of animals, facilitates the holding of applied paints.

  In preferred embodiments of the invention, the dispersant composition is a solution of a surfactant in water.

  According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the support is further coated with the dispersing agent composition prior to the deposition of the malleable mass, which increases the adhesion of this mass on the support.

  Another feature of the invention relates to the choice of the. canvas used to create superficial roughness. According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the fabric is chosen for its texture as a function of the desired surface configuration of the element. Its texture may be more or less coarse, with a mesh size more or less fine, but also it may itself have particular surface shapes, depending in particular on given weaving characteristics.

  In practice, the invention thus makes it possible to adjust at will three ranges of reliefs on the surface of the decorative element manufactured, considering that between the fine and tight asperities of the surface roughness, caused by the action of the dispersant agent composition on this surface, and the reliefs created by modeling shaping of the malleable mass during hardening, it introduces an intermediate degree of superficial configuration surface irregularities that are related to the nature of the canvas, following for example that its texture is that of a fine or coarse linen, a veil, a cloth of cloth, a mop, etc. The mesh size and the thickness of the yarns of the fabric also play a role complementing that of the more or less absorbent nature of the fibers in the formation of the surface roughness.

  Note also that the formation of reliefs by compression leads to edges of high density, so more resistant.

  According to various forms of practical implementation of the invention, the support on which the foaming composition is deposited may be a permanent support or a temporary support. As an example of permanent support, there may be mentioned the case of a cache standing in front of a lighting tube to protect the animals from contact and heat without interfering with the lighting, or that of the housings protecting electrical connections, or water circulation pipes. As an example of temporary support, it is thought in particular to the realization of relatively large coherent masses to serve as bases for other decorative elements, for example to serve as a base in which is planted a real or artificial tree branch. We also think of self-supporting plates to make light walls closing the cage of one or more animals.

  In this regard the invention also relates to the use of a decorative element obtained by the method it proposes, in an animal cage.

  The invention will now be more fully described in the context of preferred features and their advantages, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, in which: FIG. 1 represents the various elements necessary for carrying out the process according to FIG. invention; Figure 2 illustrates a cage whose inner walls are doubled by decorative elements obtained by the. process according to the invention; - And Figure 3 shows a sectional view of a detail of the cage of Figure 2 showing the junction between two walls.

  According to the process according to the invention, a decorative element is manufactured from a mass of curable material 1. This material is in particular a foaming material, curing by polymerization, presented in aerosol-type packaging, which facilitates its deposition. . In preferred embodiments of the invention, it is a composition for polyurethane foam.

  Such a material has the particular advantage of a low density, so that the elements that are made with it are light, while being rigid after curing. They are also resistant to moisture, unlike traditional plaster and cement elements and heat.

  The mass to be shaped is deposited on a support, which may in particular be a plate, or a mold 2 of small thickness (of the order of a few centimeters), as shown in FIG. 1. According to the decorative element that the It is desirable to make it possible to use a flat support, for example when it is desired to make an element intended to double the internal walls of a cage by applying against them. In other cases, it will be preferred to use a particular form of support, for example to achieve an element that will serve as a cover for hiding pipes or electrical son in a given setting.

  Prior to deposition, a dispersing agent is mixed in a vehicle incompatible with the curable material used. In the preferred case of using a polyurethane foam, the chosen vehicle is preferably water. This vehicle has the particularity of being neutral in the polymerization reaction of the polyurethane foam. The dispersing agent is a soapy agent. This mixture advantageously constitutes a solution in which the dispersing agent is completely solubilized in water. Such a solution offers the advantage of a homogeneous distribution of the dispersing agent in the vehicle.

  Part of the dispersant solution in water is first spread on the bottom wall of the mold 2, so as to increase the adhesion of the foam on this wall.

  Then a mass of the curable material 1 is deposited in the mold 2. The deposited mass thickness varies depending on the volume of the element that is desired to achieve.

  A fabric 3, which has been previously impregnated with the dispersant solution in water, is then applied to the surface of the mass 1.

  2879503 8 The canvas 3 is chosen according to its texture, according to the surface configuration that we want to give to the element. It may be a dish towel, curtain, mop, etc., the only condition being that the fabric must have sufficient impregnation capacity by the vehicle chosen for the dissolution of the dispersive agent, so that it can releasing this composition at the interface it forms with the mass of hardenable material. Depending on the texture of the fabric employed, that is, following its weaving, and depending on whether it is embroidered, braided, etc., different surface patterns will be obtained on the element.

  After application of the impregnated fabric on its surface, the mass of material 1 is left to rest for a few minutes, in particular three or four minutes, so as to allow it to swell a few centimeters.

  During this step, a grid 4 is optionally applied to the fabric 3, which is kept pressed on the latter so as to extract the air contained in the mass while it is inflating and to compact it. The grid 4 is removed before the shaping step.

  The mass is then patterned according to the configuration that it is desired to give it, by working it through the fabric 3. The modeling is preferably done manually, which makes it possible to produce a range of particular profiles as required. If necessary, the web of the dispersing agent solution is sprayed several times during the shaping operation, so as to ensure permanent contact of the dispersing agent on the surface of the mass 1, and to give the latter good surface roughness.

  During modeling, the mass is advantageously pressed so as to extract the air that it still contains, so that finally a compact and solid mass is obtained. For example, for a foam thickness of about 5 cm deposited on the support (after its initial swelling), after compaction, an element approximately 2 cm thick is obtained.

  The pressure exerted on the mass 1 through the fabric 3 also has the effect of penetrating the fibers of the fabric slightly into the mass 2, so that the patterns formed on the fabric are printed on the surface of the mass. Finally, the whole is allowed to stand for a few minutes, this time varying according to the ambient temperature, so as to allow the hardening of the mass to finish in the form which has been given to it. During this step, it is still possible to perform some modeling retouching.

  The fabric is then removed, which is facilitated by the fact that, because of the presence of the dispersing agent composition on its surface, it does not adhere to the mass. After demolding, the desired decorative element is obtained. Its surface is continuously rough because of the effect exerted on it by the dispersive agent during its hardening since its initial state of soft mass. The surface of the element also carries, following the canvas that has been used, the footprint of the latter. Finally, the element in its entirety presents the reliefs that were imposed during shaping.

  As needed, the item is then painted to give it the desired appearance. The paint is preferably applied by means of a brush, which advantageously makes it possible not to mask the surface roughness of the element. Optionally, after the coat of paint is applied a clear colorless varnish.

  The element obtained is compact and solid, and it does not fear moisture, so it can be used in a humid environment, and it is advantageously cleanable.

  This method makes it possible to manufacture decor elements which are entirely suitable for use in animal cages, especially in vivariums or in aquariums, since it advantageously allows the maximum approach to the natural environment of the animal. animal, and in particular reptiles.

  In preferred embodiments of the invention, the elements made are plates 5 which are intended to be glued against the inside face of the glass walls 6 of a cage 7, as illustrated in FIG. 2, and which have reliefs reproducing the natural environment of animals including reptiles. These animals can then cling to the plates 5, and move along the walls, as in their natural environment. The animals living in a cage whose walls are lined with a decor element obtained by the process according to the invention are better than in conventional cages, the essential difference being related to the surface state of the elements of the invention. decor, especially with their roughness reminiscent of natural elements, such as rocks. For example, it is observed that the reptiles raised in such cages reproduce much more closely to reality than what happens in conventional vivariums that are not made with decorative elements obtained according to the invention.

  In the case of preferred application of elements intended to double the internal face of the walls 6 of a cage 7, the invention furthermore advantageously makes it possible to prevent during the manufacture of the elements the swelling of the foam along certain edges of the mass deposited in the mold. This can for example be achieved by means of a rigid frame held pressed against the edges of the mass during all stages of swelling and shaping. Decorative elements 5 are thus obtained whose edges 8 have a flat surface, are flat and thinner than the actual body of the element. Such elements can advantageously be nested with each other, as illustrated in Figure 3, when lining the inside of the cage 7. Each element is then easy to remove and put back in place by interlocking with the other elements lining the cage.

  The method according to the invention also makes it possible to approach as close as possible to the natural environment of the animal by inserting into the element during its manufacture plants and other objects of the natural environment, such as branches of the animal. trees standing on a decorative element that forms the base.

  It is also possible to apply the method of the invention to the manufacture of all other types of elements, in particular of neon lights, which prevents the animals from being burnt in contact with the neon thanks to the quality of thermal insulation of polyurethane foam, or sheaths for electrical son or various pipes, or even drinking troughs or feeders, for example by modeling the hardenable mass deposited around a container.

  In all these cases, the invention advantageously ensures that the decorative elements have a shape such that they are easily demountable, to be able to intervene on the installation at any time.

  The invention can also be applied to the manufacture of decorative elements for the exterior of the cage, for aesthetic purposes but also to serve as support for the animals when they leave the cage.

  Finally, by the great variety of shapes that can be given to the elements, the method according to the invention can also be applied to the manufacture of all types of decorative objects, for example picture frames, nursery decorations. Christmas mounted on a fir stand, interior fountains, decors for model trains, cars ...

  In addition, by solidifying the foam by means of a mesh inserted into the foam under the fabric 3, it is also possible to achieve more solid and bulky decor elements, such as decorative elements of carnival floats.

  The foregoing description clearly explains how the invention achieves the goals it has set for itself. In particular, it proposes a method of manufacturing decorative elements which have a surface with continuously rough reliefs, which are both light and compact, and which allow, used in an animal cage, in particular a vivarium, to reproduce at the same time. closer to the natural environment of animals.

  Nevertheless, it is apparent from the foregoing that the invention is not limited to the embodiments which have been specifically described and shown in the figures and which, on the contrary, extends to any variant passing through equivalent means.

Claims (2)

13 Claims   A method of manufacturing decorative elements, characterized in that a malleable mass of curable material (1) deposited on a support (2) is formed through a fabric (3) applied to its surface and impregnated with a composition containing a dispersing agent in a liquid vehicle incompatible with said curable material, then removing said web (3) after curing said material.   2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that spraying said dispersant composition on said web (3) applied to said malleable mass (1) several times during the shaping step.   3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said support (2) is coated with said dispersing agent composition prior to the deposition of said malleable mass (1).   4. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that then applies a paint on the surface of said element (5), preferably by means of a brush for applying the paint on the asperities of said surface without filling the hollows.   5. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a foaming curable material is used, and in that it is allowed to swell after having deposited on said support (2), before the compact at the same time as it is shaped to make it denser.   The method according to claim 5, characterized in that said mass (1) of material is prevented from swelling along its edges, in particular by means of a rigid frame pressed against said edges, so as to obtain elements (5) with flat and thinner edges (8) that can be assembled by interlocking with each other.   7. A process according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said curable material is based on a polymerization-hardening organic resin, preferably a polyurethane foam composition.   8. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said hardenable material is in aerosol-type packaging facilitating its deposition on said support (2).   9. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that said composition is a solution of a surfactant in water.   10. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that said fabric (3) is chosen for its texture as a function of the desired surface configuration of said element (5).   11. Use of a decorative element (5) obtained by the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 in an animal cage (7), including a vivarium or aquarium.