KR101244534B1 - Flexible sheet materials having decorative rock―natural stone veneer surface and processes for making same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a flexible and flat material having a top surface comprising at least one layer of multilayered stone material and a flexible, high tensile support layer for supporting the surface layer. The backside of the flat material is smooth and flat.

Flexible sheet material, rock, surface layer, support layer, back.

Description

FLEXIBLE SHEET MATERIALS HAVING DECORATIVE ROCK—NATURAL STONE VENEER SURFACE AND PROCESSES FOR MAKING SAME}

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to flexible sheet materials, and in particular to sheet materials and natural stone veneers that provide a decorative rock surface.

Materials (eg, slate, marble, granite, other types of rock, and various ceramic materials) can be used to decorate floors, furniture surfaces, building signboards, panels, etc. Commonly used to provide appearance. Such materials are advantageous because of their decorative appearance and long wear resistance.

Despite these and other advantages, generally used rock materials are relatively brittle and cannot sustain significant bending loads. In addition, the rock material is heavy and inflexible, which limits the use of the rock material in various applications (eg, floor and wall-panel). Such materials are only available through heavy and expensive anchoring-systems, or through cement and mortar.

Because of the above characteristics, the use of rock materials such as slate is rather complicated and in fact requires extensive installation techniques. For example, the rock cannot be installed directly on a common wood structure or base because the support provided by the wood structure is not hard enough and / or stable. This is because the wood structure tends to settle, expand, contract and bend over time as the temperature or humidity changes, and it tends to bend to the local type of load caused by a person walking on the floor. Because. Such dimensionally change can occur by breaking many rock materials over a period of time.

To solve the above problems, conventional rock installation is rigid, dimensional, typically formed by applying a cement-based foundation on the base, which can be wood, brick or one of many other common building materials. The preparation of a stable base layer was generally included. The cement-based materials are generally applied on wire or metal grids for additional rigidity.

One or more layers of cement-based material may be needed to achieve inherent rigidity. The manufacture of such layers is difficult and time consuming. In addition, special techniques and / or additional costs may be associated with the manufacture of the base layer. Furthermore, it may be necessary to add structural reinforcement to the common wood floor because of the weight of the cement. Thus, manufacturing rock-based floors can be labor intensive, time consuming and expensive.

Similar problems may arise by using rock material as a decorative element of the furniture (eg, a component on the table top). That is, a rigid, dimensionally stable base layer must be able to sufficiently support the heavy weight of the rock inlay. Furthermore, the type of inlay may be limited because of the relatively hard rock material, ie no corners, corners, etc. can be wrapped in the rock.

For various decorative purposes, attempts have been made to cut or cut rock material (eg granite) into thin slices. Thin slices of granite are generally bonded to a metal substrate that supports the rock layer. Other decorative rock materials include split, relatively thin sections of slate. Thin layered rock products of this type can be reduced in weight, thereby eliminating some of the problems associated with the use of rock materials. However, the resulting product can be difficult to manufacture, which is time consuming and labor intensive to manufacture. Furthermore, layered rock (i.e., slate), when made in the form of a relatively thin slab, can be brittle and relatively fragile and easily broken during the cleaving process and subsequent processes.

In addition, the use of rock materials for decorative surfaces in furniture, floors and the like may be limited due to the availability of certain types of rock. For example, the slate of the various individual fragments can have a unique, attractive and desired appearance. However, individual fragments can be used simultaneously in only one particular application (eg, a component of a floor), limiting the availability of such desired attractive fragments for many uses. DE 295 08 372 U1 refers to a flexible and flat material which solves the above mentioned problems. Nevertheless, it is still difficult to apply on the base-material.

DE 202006013010 U1 provides a generally flexible sheet material comprising one or more visible rock material layers peeled from multilayered rock material (eg slate, quartzite and the like). The sheet material also includes a support and a flexible support layer having a property of supporting a tensile load and adhering to the surface layer.

The present invention is directed to solving the problems as described above, and the present invention is characterized by providing a flexible sheet material and a method of manufacturing the same.

The present invention provides a surface layer comprising one or more layers of multilayered rock material; And a flexible, tensile-bearing support layer adjacent the surface layer, wherein the flexible sheet material has a flat and smooth back surface.

Another embodiment of the invention, the step of applying a flexible and high tensile material to the stone / rock material of the multi-layer; Creating a smooth, flat back side in the flexible, high tensile material; A method of making a flexible sheet material comprising the step of pulling a flexible, high tensile material comprising one or more layers of stone / rock material.

The present invention is characterized by providing a flexible sheet material that provides a decorative rock surface. Because of this, the flexible sheet material can withstand significant bending loads and can be used for various purposes, such as exterior surfaces of buildings, floor sheets, tiles, panels for exterior surfaces of furniture, exterior panels for walls, doors, and the like. In addition, the flat materials of the present invention having a flat and smooth backside result in materials of the best quality for more specific industrial processes.

According to the present invention, a flexible sheet having an outer layer of rock material is produced by adhering a flexible, tensile-bearing material on the surface of the layered rock material and then peeling the flexible layer from the layered rock material. Make sure you can. When the bonded flexible layer is peeled from a layered rock (e.g. slate), since the rock layer is bonded to the flexible layer, the flexible layer is one or more of the underlying multilayered rock material. The layer is pulled from the surface of the multilayered rock material.

In the application of these materials, some problems have arisen. It has been found that permanent glue-joints on base-materials are difficult to achieve. Furthermore, it has been recognized that industrial application of such materials is difficult. Adhesive-bonding has often been tested and manually repaired.

As above, the present invention is based on the task of preventing the above problems and producing a better flexible and flat-material to easily achieve a layer of decorative stone veneer surface.

In particular, it is important to layer these materials easily and quickly. Adhesion to the base-material should be permanent. Furthermore, it is a subject of the present invention to provide a method of making such a material.

The problem can be solved by making a flexible, flat-material consisting of:

A surface layer consisting of one or more layers of rock-material in multiple layers;

A flexible carrier supporting the surface layer, having a flat and smooth backside and having high tensile strength.

The above problem is also solved by a method according to an independent method claim.

According to the present invention, a flexible, flat material can be used to pull multiple layers of rock-material (eg, slate, quartzite, mica or the like) to form one or more single visible layers of stone / rock material. It is prepared to contain. The flat material adheres to and adheres to the surface layer of the stone / rock and consists of a flexible support that serves as a support for the stone / rock material and additionally provides the composite with intrinsic tensile strength.

The flexible layer is preferably an adhesive resin layer adhered to the surface of the multilayered rock material. Depending on the type of resin used, the resin may in some cases be applied to the layered rock and is immediately pulled thereafter from the underlying multilayered rock material, or to the rock material before it is exfoliated. It can be cured to promote adhesion of the resin.

Advantageously, the reinforcing material (plural high strength fibers) that bears a tensile load different from the adhesive resin can be bonded to the rock material as a mixture with the adhesive resin or as a separate layer. If the reinforcing fibers are applied as a separate layer, preferably some means are used to dispense the adhesive resin throughout the high strength fibers, so that the fibers are formed to form substantially one flexible layer. It is sufficiently embedded in the resin and fixed to the adhesive resin.

The flat material of the present invention with a flat and smooth backside results in the material of the highest quality for more specific industrial processes. Flat materials available to date have a rugged, rough backside and are very difficult and expensive to adhere to a support or surface. This experience indicates that even the flat material pressed onto the support by the compactor will return to its original shape. The cavity will be the result. They can be several millimeters high. In the future due to condensation and freezing of external use, the material and the adhesive layer will be destroyed. This can be avoided by creating a flat smooth surface for the flat-material according to the invention. Although this process can be more expensive and difficult, the advantages of such materials are meaningful.

The preparation of materials with smooth and flat backsides can be accomplished by several methods. The support layer can be bonded with the support in a flat layer having a flat and smooth back side at the time of manufacture.

Alternatively, the rough surface of the backside of the flat material may be filled with a filler to produce a flat, smooth backside, and smoothed with trowels. Any filler that permanently adheres to the support is suitable.

According to the invention, the multilayered stone / rock material can be ground flat, polished or polished before the flexible material with high tensile strength is added. In this way, the backside is flattened after curing with a high tensile strength material. By pulling on the stone / rock material, the surface was still roughly split. This creates the natural appearance of the natural layered material. Before preparation of the next sheet, the material must be ground again and polished / polished.

By another method, a flat, non-stick film is rolled on the back side of the high tensile sheet. This creates a flat backside. It is important that the foil can be easily removed without sticking to the sheet.

Finally, it is possible to use a backing material that produces a plain backing and self-carrying (ie, does not require a supporting support). Here, mention should be made of substances bearing the trade name SPHERETEX. SPHERETEX can produce integrated supports 4 mm to 35 mm thick. In the manufacturing process, SPHERETEX is saturated with epoxy resins, polyurethane resins or polyester resins. This creates a flat backside and adheres well to the stone / rock material. Prior to final curing of the resin, the material is pulled out of the rock, thus creating a decorative stone-surface.

After curing, these materials can be used as building panels without adding a support.

Panels of these flat materials with SPHERETEX as a support can be used directly as signboard panels for the exterior of buildings.

It is also possible to produce the back side of a flexible, high tensile material having a metal sheet. In this process, the metal sheet can be used as a high tensile support for the stone / rock surface. The metal may be steel, galvanized steel, stainless steel or aluminum.

The production of flat materials can be facilitated by heating and cooling the rock surface. The surface of the stone / rock material according to the invention is heated and then cooled, for example with liquid nitrogen. This significantly increases the cleavability of the layered material. Mica cyst materials can break up without causing problems.

All of the above processes work better with heat-reactants / resins.

In flexible sheet materials having various advantages, a self-adhesive glue is applied to the back side of the material. This may allow the material to be applied directly to the surface. For this purpose, a self-adhesive adhesive is applied to the back side of the material. Acrylate adhesives and butylrubber adhesives are suitable.

Acrylate has high adhesion and high peeling strength. Depending on the thickness of the acrylate, the flexible and flat material can be fixed to the vertical surface. Butyl rubber not only has high adhesive strength but is also very soft. Thus, it is particularly suitable for rough surfaces. According to the present application, it is shown that the adhesive is reinforced with a glass-fiber lattice. Butyl rubber is particularly suitable for external use.

The adhesive-layer can be protected with a suitable foil or silicone-paper to roll, store and transport it. At the construction site, the protective foil / paper is removed and the flexible flat sheet material is applied directly to the surface. This method avoids the high cost and enables quick and easy application compared to the conventional method.

Materials that express adhesion only after application of pressure are also suitable.

The generally flexible sheet material resulting from the above of the present invention exhibits various desired properties and can be used for a variety of applications. For example, even though the surface layer is thinner than the exfoliated multilayered rock material, the sheet material inherently has the appearance of a thicker and heavier rock itself. Furthermore, the sheet material is generally flexible and can withstand significant bending and tensile loads. Thus, the sheet provides a decorative surface to a substantially non-planar surface and covers not only the substrate but also the corners, corners, etc. of the planar substrate (eg, floor, wall, roof, door, table top, etc.). Can be used.

In addition, the sheet material, despite including the components of the rock, is relatively light, reducing or substantially eliminating the need for a hard, dimensionally stable base layer. Furthermore, a single rock piece may be used multiple times to produce a significant amount of the sheet material of the present invention. This makes it possible to use rocks of particularly desired and attractive fragments for many applications, unless limited to a single application and use.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and drawings.

The invention is more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. However, the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the specific embodiments set forth herein. Rather, specific embodiments will be provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. The number means exactly the same as the element. For clarity, the size is exaggerated.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a top background view of an exemplary generally flexible sheet material 10 of the present invention. The sheet material includes a surface layer comprising one or more layers that are peeled off from the multilayered rock material. As shown in FIG. 1, as mentioned in the following more detailed description, although the sheet material of the present invention may be a component of any of a variety of articles, the sheet material of the present invention is made of the bottom sheet material 12. It is integrated as a component.

Although the surface layer of the sheet material 10 is thinner than the exfoliated multilayered rock material, the sheet material 10 inherently has the appearance of a thicker and heavier rock itself. As shown in FIG. 2, the sheet material 10 includes a visible surface layer comprising a plurality of different rock materials arranged in a desired design, shown as a block in FIG. 2. The design may be a regular geometric design, such as a representative square block, as shown, or it may be an irregular or abstract design. Alternatively, the sheet material may comprise a visible rock layer formed from a single rock material.

3 is a cross-sectional view of the sheet material 10 of FIG. 1 taken along line 3-3, showing the components of the sheet material of the present invention. 3A is an enlarged view of the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 3A, a typical flexible sheet material 10 includes a surface layer 14 comprising one or more layers of multilayered rock material, and a surface layer 14 as well as a flat back surface 15. And a support layer 16 that is flexible and bears a tensile load. As illustrated, the support layer 16 is normally several times thicker than the surface layer 14, and in some cases may be ten times, 100 times, and 1000 times thicker than the surface layer.

Further, the back surface 15 may be provided as an adhesive layer to connect the sheet material 10 below the surface. Prior to use, the adhesive layer may be covered with a covering layer (not shown), which covering layer is preferably formed of a foil and removed in that area before adhering the sheet material.

Surface layer 14 is shown as having a substantially continuous surface. However, as will be appreciated, in general, the surface of the surface layer will be substantially discontinuous. That is, the surface of the surface layer will comprise a region having a larger or smaller number of rock layers compared to other regions. Furthermore, it may be an area of the surface layer which is free of rocks, for example, the rock is broken from the support layer, and the rock is not peeled from the multilayered rock material during manufacture.

The surface layer can be of any variety, as long as the rock material comprises a plurality of relatively separated layers (preferably generally flat and parallel in crystallographic orientation and can be separated from the rock material as thin slabs or sheets). It can be formed from rock material. The rock material is a sedimentary rock material or is a metamorphic rock, preferably resulting from the gradual degeneration of the sedimentary rock material by the action of mechanical forces (eg shearing and crunching) and / or recrystallization forces due to pressure and temperature It may be a substance. Preferably, the rock material is relatively hard and the rock material can be split into a hard and brittle sheet (eg, slate, quartzite and the like). Alternatively, the rock material may be a layered rock that is formed of a relatively flexible layer that can be easily separated into layers, such as mica. Layered rock materials include those derived from sediments of clay, lime and / or quartzite, and the various minerals that form their layers (eg, mica (silicate), chlorite, quartz, Hematite, clay and other minerals). Exemplary multilayered rock materials include, but are not limited to, slate, quartzite, mica, and the like. The rock material may be a natural material as mentioned above, but may also include an artificial rock material as known in the art.

Preferably, the rock material is slate. As will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, there are a variety of other slates available and any slate may be used to form the sheet material of the present invention. Different types of slates may have different properties (eg, different colors, thicknesses of layers, adhesion between layers, brittleness, etc.). Furthermore, as understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, the slate of each fragment itself is a different color layer, i.e. different colors of minerals resulting from deposition and deformation of other materials during the formation of the rock. It can have a strata of. This property provides one advantageous property to the present invention, ie the slats of the individual and / or multiple layers are peeled off to form the sheet material of the present invention, as described in more detail below, and each sheet The material will have a unique and characteristic appearance. Exemplary and highly desired decorative slate materials include those from India and those from South African, as any of the above mentioned multi-layered rock materials may be used as mentioned above. This is because the characteristics of the slate from India and from South Africa have a rare and bright color. For convenience, as used herein, the term "slate" will be used to refer to a multilayered rock material.

In general, the slate or other rock layer that peels to form the sheet material of the present invention is very thin and not self-supporting. Thus, the sheet material of the present invention includes a support layer 16 that is adhered to the surface layer 14. Preferably, the support layer 16 is formed of a reinforcing material that is flexible and bears a tensile load. Thus, the support layer 16 provides support to the surface layer and adds flexibility to the components of the rock, such that the surface layer can at least sustain significant bending and / or tensile loads or essentially break the stone. It is preferable that, as mentioned above, the rock material to which the rock component of the sheet material is peeled off is supported by a rigid support to prevent it from being relatively hard and cracked during use. This is especially advantageous. The support layer is also used for the method of the present invention to form the sheet material as described in more detail below.

The support layer 16 preferably contains an adhesive resin. In the case of some high strength engineering resins, the strength properties of the resin are sufficient to give the support layer the desired properties to sustain the tensile load. Alternatively, flexible and tensile load bearing materials other than the adhesive resin of the support layer 16 may be included in the support layer 16. Materials supporting such tensile loads are known in the art and are shown in FIGS. 3 and 3A as a plurality of high strength fibers, referred to as 18 embedded within the adhesive resin layer 16. High strength fibers are also known in the art and include organic and inorganic reinforcements such as glass fibers, carbon fibers, Kevlar fibers, boron fibers, and the like. The fibers may be in the form of chopped fibers, woven or nonwoven fabrics, mats, substantially continuous warps of filaments, cords or tows of fibers and the like. Can be. In addition or alternatively, as will be apparent, other non-fiber reinforced materials known in the art may be used.

The adhesive resin may be a thermoplastic resin or a thermosetting resin, with thermosetting resins being presently preferred. The polymer may be used in a natural color or alternatively may be used as a color treated by imparting color to the slate layer underlying the resin and the support layer.

Suitable polymers that form the adhesive resin component of the flexible support layer of the sheet material of the present invention include saturated and unsaturated polyolefins (eg, polyethylene and polypropylene); Vinyl polymers and copolymers (eg, polyvinylchloride (PVC), polystyrene, and the like); Acrylate polymers (e.g., polymers and copolymers of acrylic and methacrylic acid and amides, esters, salts and corresponding nitriles; polyamides, polyesters) Epoxy, polyurethane, mixtures and copolymers of such polymers, other thermoplastic polymers and thermoset polymers (e.g. acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)); The polymer will be chosen to adhere strongly to the surface of the multilayered rock material while the support layer is manufactured as mentioned below, and one or more layers of slate may be the surface layer of the resulting sheet material 10 Exemplary adhesive resins may be selected from those that can be easily stripped from those that comprise Ashland Chemical. Unsaturated polyester curable castings or coating resins as are well known in the art, including styrene containing polyester resins in the form of UNPA 505EC25, a commercially available UN1866 solution.

Polyester polymers useful in practicing the present invention include polycondensation products of dihydroxy alcohols and dicarboxylic acids, including maleic acid and fumaric acid. acid), phthalic acid (isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid, etc.), adipic acid and other acids or anhydrides thereof, and ethylene, propylene, diethylene, dipropylene, 1,4-butylene and From starting reactants including hexamethylene glycol, others and the like. Cross-linking agents can be added to the reaction product when it is desired that the ethylenically unsaturated monomers (eg styrene and diallyl phthalate) be thermoset to become crosslinked unsaturated polyesters.

Acrylate polymers useful in practicing the present invention are obtained from a variety of acrylic monomers (eg, acrylic acid and methacrylic acid, and their amides, esters, salts and corresponding nitriles). Particularly suitable monomers for such polymers are methyl methacrylate, ethyl acrylate and acrylonitrile. The polymers can each be used in the form of a homopolymer or in combination with various other monomers that can be copolymerized with them. Additional illustrative examples of acrylate polymers useful in the present invention include homopolymers and copolymers of acrylic esters and methacrylic esters (eg, polyacrylic acid isobutyl esters, polymethacrylic acid methyl esters, polymethacrylic acid ethylhexyl esters). , Polyacrylic acid ethyl esters, copolymers of various acrylic acid esters), and / or methacrylic acid esters (eg, methacrylic acid methyl esters / acrylic acid cyclohexyl ester copolymers); And copolymers of acrylic acid esters and / or methacrylic acid esters with styrene and / or alphamethylstyrene (eg, graft polymers and copolymers, and acrylic esters, methacrylic acid esters, styrenes and butadienes). Polymer mixture) consisting of polyacrylates and polymethacrylates.

Urethane polymers useful in practicing the present invention contain polyisocyanates (e.g., toluene diisocyanate, diphenylmethane diisocyanate and hexamethylene diisocyanate) containing two or more active hydrogen atoms. It is prepared by reacting with a compound (e.g., polyol, polyamine or polyisocyanate). Many polyurethane resins are available that are suitable for practicing the present invention.

Various epoxy resins are also used, which are epoxide groups (generated by bonding two different atoms to one oxygen atom, usually carbon) (e.g. epichlorohydrin, oxidized polyolefin ( For example, ethylene oxide) is prepared by reacting an aliphatic alcohol or an aromatic alcohol (eg, bisphenol A, glycerol, etc.).

In addition, as known in the art, vinyl polymers (e.g., polyvinylchloride, polyvinylacetate, polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl ether) , Polystyrene and copolymers thereof) can also be used.

Advantageously, the decorative sheet material comprises a generally transparent or translucent protective agent that coats the outer surface of the rock layer opposite the reinforcement layer. The protective layer can be applied to the surface of the rock component of the thin layered sheet material using any technique known in the art to apply a polymer or other protective coating layer on the surface of the material. Such techniques include, for example, spraying a solution onto the surface of a material, or by applying a polymer or prepolymer onto a surface of a conventional coating device (e.g. reverse roll coater, doctor blade). (doctor blade) or the like), or injection of polymer or coating of prepolymer. Advantageously, the polymer of the protective layer can penetrate and / or be injected into at least a portion of the rock material.

Suitable polymers for forming such protective layers are preferably weatherable polymers, which are selected to provide a layer that does not significantly peel off or crack when exposed to ambient during the intended lifetime of the product made of decorative rock sheet material. . Such weatherable polymers include fluoropolymers, acrylate polymers, urethane polymers, vinyl polymers and mixtures and copolymers thereof. Fluoropolymers useful in practicing the present invention include polymers and copolymers formed from trifluoroethylene, tetrafluoroethylene, hexafluoropropylene, monochlorotrifluoroethylene and dichlorodifluoroethylene. Copolymers of such monomers formed from fluoroolefins such as vinylidene fluoride are also useful. Additional illustrative examples of fluoropolymers useful in practicing the present invention include polyvinyl fluoride and polyvinylidene fluoride. The fluoropolymer may be a fluorinated ethylene / propylene copolymer (an easily produced “FEP” resin) or a copolymer of ethylene / chlorotrifluoroethylene, such as “HALAR”. Vinylidene fluoride / hexafluoropropene and vinylidene fluoride / perfluoro (alkyl vinyl ether) dipolymers and terpolymers together with tetrafluoroethylene are further examples useful in practicing the present invention. Fluoropolymers.

4-9, an exemplary method of forming the sheet material of the present invention is shown. 4 shows the rock material 20 used to form the surface layer 14 of the sheet material 10. As mentioned above, a plurality of individual multi-layered rocks (eg, slate fragments) may be provided in a regular or irregular decorative pattern. Alternatively, a single slate fragment can be used as the multilayered slate material.

The adhesive resin layer 22 may be applied to the exposed surface of the slate as shown in FIG. 5. The adhesive resin can be applied to the exposed surface of the slate or other multilayered rock material using any technique known in the art to apply a polymer coating on the surface of the material. Such techniques include, for example, spraying the solution onto the surface of the material, or by using a conventional coating device (e.g., reverse roll coater, doctor blade or the like). Spraying a polymer coating on the surface of the substrate.

Furthermore, it is also possible to use materials that produce a flat and smooth back side without any further treatment. Materials containing microspheres have proven to be suitable. This is known, for example, under the trade name SPHERETEX. SPHERETEX is available in thicknesses of 4 mm to 35 mm.

As will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, adhesive resins adhere to the surface of a multilayered rock material by chemical or mechanical forces, generally mechanical forces. Thus, the surface of the multilayered rock material is advantageously rough or irregular at least microscopic size, ie porous or microporous or, in other words, sufficient to mechanically bond the resin. Or physically discontinuous surfaces.

As mentioned above, the support layer provides the property of sustaining sufficient tensile load to peel one or more layers of rock from the layered rock material without tearing or substantially crushing the support layer. Depending on the nature of the adhesive resin chosen, the adhesive resin may provide the property of sustaining sufficient tensile load alone to achieve this function. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6, a flexible and tensile load bearing material different from the adhesive resin may be added to the adhesive resin and used in combination. In FIG. 6, a mat 24 of high strength fiber is applied to the adhesive layer 22. Additional adhesive resins may be applied to the high strength fibers shown in FIG. 7 as adhesive resin layer 26. Composite of the resulting adhesive resin layer / reinforcement fiber mat / adhesive resin layer to ensure that the adhesive resin is distributed throughout the high strength fiber and that the fiber is sufficiently embedded and protected in the adhesive resin Pressure is applied downwards. Colorants including dyes and pigments may also be added to enhance the hard rock appearance of the final product.

Alternatively, the fibers and adhesive resin may be mixed and simultaneously coated on the surface of the multilayered rock material 20 by extrusion coating, spray coating or the like. One or more such coatings of fiber / adhesive mixtures may be applied where necessary.

After the support layer has been applied to the surface of the rock material, the adhesive resin may be dried, if necessary to form a single, flexible, tensile-bearing support layer 16 bonded to the multilayered rock material 20. And / or cured. As will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, such curing may not be necessary for certain types of adhesive resins.

According to the invention, the step of smoothing the back surface 15 may occur later depending on the manufacturing method chosen. For example, this smoothing step is performed by removing the uncured support layer with a straight blade.

Alternatively or additionally, separation foils may be applied to the uncured support layer 16 according to the invention. The support layer is evened with a roller on top of the separation foil to provide a smooth back surface. Thereafter, the separation foil is removed.

As shown in FIG. 8, the support layer 16 is peeled off from the multilayered rock material surface 20. This is done by pulling the flexible support layer 16 from the surface 20 of the multilayered rock material, as indicated by arrow 21. When the support layer 16 is peeled off from the rock material 20, one or more layers, in some cases a plurality of layers of multilayered rock material 20 adhered to the support layer 16, are also formed of the rock material. It peels off from the surface. This results in the formation of the surface layer 14 of the sheet material 10. If applicable, the smoothing step by removing the uncured support layer with a straight blade may also be performed after removing the support layer 16.

Alternatively or additionally to the smoothing method mentioned above, the support layer can be firmly connected to a sheet having a smooth and flat back surface.

The number of layers peeled off from the surface of the material may vary depending on the particular adhesive material, the conditions used in the method, the type of multilayered rock material used, and the like, as described below. In general, the rock layer or layers adhered to the support layer 16 and pulled and peeled from the multilayered rock material 20 are considerably thinner and still considerably thinner than the thickness of the multilayered rock material 20. It will comprise a plurality of thin rock layers. The rock layer may be substantially uniform and smooth over the surface of the sheet material, but generally the number of rock layers and the thickness along any direction of the sheet material may vary. This may be very advantageous and desirable to provide a woven appearance and feel to the surface of the sheet material. In some cases, the rock layer or rock layers may contain many cracks formed during the exfoliation process, but the thin rock layer looks like hard rock because the cracks are not visible. Furthermore, as discussed above, some types of layered rock may include layers of different colors. Thus, the sheet material may include various colors and contrasts over its surface.

The particular angle used to peel the support layer 16 is such that it causes a substantially visible crack in the component 14 of the single- or multilayered rock surface of the pulled / peeled thin surface of the sheet material. It does not matter unless the angle is very large relative to the surface 20 of the rock material. Preferably, the angle is less than about 90 ° relative to the surface of the rock material, but the exact angle used may vary depending on several factors (eg, peel rate, applied tensile force and the like).

The stripping process is best shown in FIG. 8A, which shows a greatly enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of FIG. 8 along lines 8A-8A ′. As shown, when the support layer 16 is peeled upward from the surface 20 of the rock material, a portion of the underlying rock material 20, ie, one or more layers of the rock material 20 in the multilayer, may be It is pulled from the rock material surface. In contrast, in the region of the rock material surface 20 where the support layer has not yet been pulled away from the rock surface, no layer has been peeled off. This illustrates that the thickness of the underlying rock material was reduced after peeling, albeit in a small amount, and illustrates the relative thickness of the peeled rock layer or rock layers compared to the size of the support layer.

As mentioned above, the number of rock layers adhered to the support layer and peeled off from the rock material surface may vary. This depends on various factors (eg, the intrinsic properties of the rock material, the adhesion between the inner layers in the multilayered rock material, the depth penetrated into the rock material by the adhesive resin, and the like). As will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, various types of multilayered rock material may have a greater degree of irregularity at their surface and may have different adhesion between inner layers, resulting in a greater amount of adhesion. The resin can penetrate or separate into single or multiple layers as a result of the peeling force. As mentioned above, the surface layer of the resultant sheet material may vary in degree of thickness, for example having areas free of rock layers or having only areas where a single layer is peeled off from the surface of the rock material. Alternatively, the multilayer may have an area that is peeled off from the rock material surface.

The degree of penetration of the resin into the rock and / or the amount of adhesive strength of the adhesive resin can be controlled by selection of appropriate adhesive resin composition, temperature, application time and the like. For example, to limit the degree of penetration, thermosetting resins can be used, which can be cured and solidified before the resin penetrates significantly into the rock material surface. Alternatively, greater penetration may be possible if thicker rock elements are desired.

In order to more readily promote and improve the exfoliation of the layer of the layered rock material, the layered rock material is reduced, for example into the layer, to reduce the adhesion between its inner layers during or before the exfoliation step. The treated rock can be treated by wet treatment, injection treatment and application of heat thereto. Due to this, it is also possible to control the number of layers that are peeled off or separated into layers from the multilayered rock material.

Referring to the back side of FIG. 4, as mentioned, a plurality of multilayered rock materials can be placed together to provide the desired design. The fragments of the rock can be positioned such that the sides of each fragment are tightly aligned with the adjacent sides of the surrounding fragments. Alternatively, an adhesive or mortar can be used to bind each of the individual pieces together. In one embodiment of the invention, release materials (eg, fluoropolymers, silicones and the like) can be applied to the top surface of the adhesive mortar that bonds the rock fragments together. Such materials may also be peeled off the rock surface and provide the sheet material with additional decorative features such as the appearance of a mortar-filled crack.

After the flexible sheet material is formed, any excess support layer may be cut as shown in FIG. 9.

The sheet materials of the present invention can be used in a variety of applications. The sheet material can be used, for example, as a surface material to provide a decorative surface for various substrates. As mentioned above, the sheet material may be applied to the surface of a relatively planar substrate. Alternatively, the sheet material may be applied to the non-planar surface. Exemplary uses include exterior surfaces of buildings, floor sheets or floor inlay shapes, tiles, panels for exterior surfaces of furniture, exterior panels for walls, doors, and the like.

The above examples illustrate the invention and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. The invention is defined by the following claims, along with equivalents of the claims contained herein.

1 is a top background view of a typical flexible and decorative sheet material according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the sheet material of FIG. 1.

3 is a cross-sectional view of the sheet material of FIG. 2 obtained along line 3-3.

3A is an enlarged view of the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3.

4-9 illustrate exemplary methods for forming the flexible sheet material of the present invention.

Claims (13)

delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete As a method of making a flexible sheet material,  Forming at least one layer of the material 20 including stone and rock and forming a support layer by applying a flexible and high tensile material;  Creating a smooth, flat back surface 15 in a support layer formed of a flexible, high tensile material; And pulling and peeling the support layer attached to the layer formed of the material 20 including the stone and rock. The flexible, high-strength material forming the support layer includes an adhesive resin, and also includes any one or more materials selected from glass fiber, carbon fiber, Kevlar fiber, and boron fiber. Adhesive resins include saturated and unsaturated polyolefins (eg, polyethylene and polypropylene); Vinyl polymers and copolymers (eg, polyvinylchloride (PVC), polystyrene, and the like); Acrylate polymers (e.g., polymers and copolymers of acrylic and methacrylic acid and amides, esters, salts and corresponding nitriles; polyamides, polyesters) Epoxy, polyurethane; Selected from polymers or mixtures and copolymers of other thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers Before pulling and peeling the support layer Smoothing the flexible, high tensile material; Applying a separation foil onto the flexible, high tensile material; Leveling the flexible, highly stretchable material on top of the foil; And Removing the separation foil  Comprising a flexible sheet material.

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