(19) TZZ ¥_T (11) EP 2 944 443 A1 (12) EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION published in accordance with Art. 153(4) EPC (43) Date of publication: (51) Int Cl.: 18.11.2015 Bulletin 2015/47 B28B 13/02 (2006.01) C04B 26/06 (2006.01) C04B 26/14 (2006.01) C04B 26/18 (2006.01) (21) Application number: 13721358.3 (86) International application number: (22) Date of filing: 11.01.2013 PCT/ES2013/070006 (87) International publication number: WO 2014/108582 (17.07.2014 Gazette 2014/29) (84) Designated Contracting States: (72) Inventors: AL AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB • BENITO LÓPEZ, José Manuel GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO E-04850 Cantoria (Almería) (ES) PL PT RO RS SE SI SK SM TR • GONZÁLEZ HERNÁNDEZ, Leopoldo Designated Extension States: E-04850 Cantoria (Almeria) (ES) BA ME • JARA GUERRERO, Juan Antonio E-04850 Cantoria (Almería) (ES) (71) Applicant: CosentinoResearch and Development, S.L (74) Representative: Carlos Hernando, Borja 04850 Cantoria (Almería) (ES) Garrigues IP, S.L.P. Hermosilla, 3 28001 Madrid (ES) (54) ARTIFICIAL STONE TILE AND/OR SLABS HAVING VEINS MADE BY STRATI OF DIFFERENT MASSES (57) The present invention relates to those articles ferent strati or veins, of heterogeneous variable mass that include any kind of agglomerated artificial stone and that provide a special aesthetic effect similar to the nat- polymerisable resin, such as tiles or slabs, to be used as ural stone products. construction material, characterised for consisting of dif- EP 2 944 443 A1 Printed by Jouve, 75001 PARIS (FR) 1 EP 2 944 443 A1 2 Description with a greater layer effect than those vein effects achieved until now and described in the state of the art, [0001] Stratified, agglomerated artificial stone articles thus surpassing the existing technical limitation. with polymerisable resin and process for its manufactur- ing by vacuum vibro-compression system. 5 State of the art Technical part [0005] Currently, petrous agglomerated articles are used as decorative surfaces in interior and exterior spac- [0002] The present invention relates to those articles es, such as kitchen worktops, bathrooms, flooring, exte- that include any kind of agglomerated artificial stone and 10 rior staircases, etc., being an important condition for polymerisable resin, such as tiles or slabs, to be used as these products as these also provide good technical construction material, characterised for consisting of dif- characteristics in that related to resistance, a look as ferent strati or veins, of heterogeneous variable mass close as possible to natural stone which design can be that provide a special aesthetic effect similar to the nat- defined by different layered minerals, with different gran- ural stone products that have a nature consisting in dif- 15 ulometries and varied colours. ferent layers or veins, depending on their lithological [0006] Different techniques are already known to man- composition. A stratified product is achieved, where the ufacture artificial stone articles that show an aesthetic layers (that can be considered as big size veins); they effect similar to that of natural stone. have a width and length of grater dimensions than the [0007] For example, in the ceramic sector, the docu- products existing in the state of the art, exceeding the 20 ment WO2005068146, owned by Sacmi, provide a plant technical limitation in this sense. This makes the natu- to make tiles or ceramic slabs that include a mean to feed ralness of the resulting product to be higher. Also an ob- a mixture of powders which have different characteristics ject of the present invention is the process to manufacture and colours to a hopper that has the shape of a rectan- tiles or slabs made of agglomerated artificial stone that gular box; this hopper has a loading opening and an un- include the controlled placing of the heterogeneous multi- 25 loading opening defined between the front and the back mass strati in a manufacturing process of agglomerated sides. Through the unload opening, place a strip of pow- artificial stone articles with the vacuum vibro-compres- der present in the hopper over an underlying moving re- sion system. This controlled and not random placement ception surface which moves forward; this strip has the of the layers is another factor that allows increasing the same width and thickness of the hopper unloading open- natural look of the products, making them different to the 30 ing; compress the powder strip characterised because current, where the introduction of veins is uncontrolled compacting takes place over the reception surface. The and thus, it does not follow any ruled or controlled place- object of this plant is to provide with a method to manu- ment pattern. facture tiles or ceramic slabs especially, but not exclu- [0003] The regular processes to manufacture artificial sively, in a continuous cycle press. stone tiles or slabs include, in general, a crushing stage 35 [0008] Amongst others, the process marketed by Bre- for the different materials with different granulometries ton S.p.A (Italy) that developed the technology named to create the fillers; another stage that consists of the "Breton Stone" and that is described in the patent US addition of the resin with the catalyser and, optionally, a 4,698,010 (Marcello Toncelli, 6 October 1987) where ag- colouring agent; the mix of such two previous stages until gregates of a material with variable particles are mixed the homogenization of the materials with the resin; a later 40 with a binder (organic or inorganic), and after such mix- stage to model and compact the paste by a vacuum vibro- ture has been made homogeneous, it gets to a mould compression system; a hardening stage consisting in the which is also moved inside a press where it is submitted polymerization reaction of the resin by heating; ending to pressure and vibration on vacuum conditions, harden- with a cooling, cutting and polishing stage. ing the mix which results in blocks that can be cut into [0004] Including at least two different mass mixing45 others of different dimensions. stages is the essential characteristic of the process de- [0009] The product placed in the market by the authors scribed in the present invention. In each one of them, of the present application as Silestone®, consisting in a there are different petrous and artificial materials, in dif- natural quartz agglomerate and bound with polyester res- ferent proportions, compositions and granulometry, in, which is based on the patent ES 2 187 313, describes which mixed in their suitable stage that include the resin 50 the process to manufacture artificial stone slabs made and other additives like, for example, a catalyser and, of a mix of crushed materials of different granulometries optionally, a colouring agent; they are distributed in a of silica, granite, quartz, ferrosilicon and/or other mate- controlled manner and not randomly in the mould giving rials such as plastics, marble and metals, with liquid pol- place, after the vacuum vibro-compression, hardening, yester resins by vacuum vibro-compression, heating, cooling, cutting and polishing stage to a petrous agglom- 55 cooling and polishing, especially applicable to the use in erated article such as a tile or slab made of artificial stone interiors and decoration. that has an heterogeneous multi-mass decorative effect [0010] The writing authors have also developed some which shows an aesthetic look similar to natural stone, slabs similar to these previously described in that related 2 3 EP 2 944 443 A1 4 to the fillers but that use as polymer resin only a liquid that, the vein acquires a tri-dimensional character. methacrylate resin, PCT/ES2005/000152, so the slabs [0016] In the patent US3318984 in favour of Christina resulting are more resistant to ultra-violet light that can Germain Louis Dussel, she makes reference to an arti- be used in walls, staircases and decoration of exteriors ficial stone manufacturing process by the mix of thermo- without risk of deterioration that can be caused by the 5 setting resins and mineral materials starting from the continuous exposure to sun rays. preparation of marble mixes or pastes of different colours [0011] In the above mentioned cases, the different look sprayedtogether with a controlled mix ofpolyester resins. of the slabs is achieved depending on the composition One of the pastes means the main portion of the artificial and the granulometry of the products included as fillers, marble while the other or other pastes will be the spots giving colour to different proportions of fillers with various 10 or veins that will appear in the surface of the manufac- colours and afterwards, making homogeneous all the fill- tured products. In such process the load of the different ers until achieving a more or less uniform colour. pastes is made loading by hand the different materials [0012] In other cases, the processes designed imply to the mould or by the use of a feeding mechanism with the creation of the said "veins" thus imitating the natural pre-defined settings, which will allow manufacturing ele- stone. 15 ments with different colours in a single operation. [0013] Amongst others, the process described in EP 0 [0017] The application of the international patent 970 790 is based in the use of a machine, object of the WO2006/134179 presented by the holder of the present said patent, that first causes cavities in the surface of the invention, describes a process for the manufacturing of mix that will build the slab,and later, such cavities are artificial stone with polymerisable resin with a tri-dimen- filled with the desired colorant. 20 sional vein effect by a vacuum vibro-compression sys- [0014] Another method described in the patent appli- tem, achieving such vein effect by the addition of liquid cation WO 03/027042 includes two alternatives depend- or solid colouring mixed with the resin and added either ing if the binding product that builds the slab is of the at the mixing stage in upper mixers or in the inside of the "cement" kind or of the "polymer resin" using the powder homogenization ring either in the belt that carries the pigment in the first case and the liquid pigment in the25 feeding mechanism or even inside it.