Covering elements with refracting and reflecting upper surface

Description

[0001] The present invention concerns the covering elements for buildings and in particular it concerns a new covering with refracting and reflecting upper surface, suited to be used for buildings in general.

[0002] Various types of coverings for buildings are known, like coverings consisting of tiles or bent tiles made of burnt clay or cement, coverings consisting of asbestos cement sheets, plate, insulating and waterproof elastomeric sheaths, etc.

[0003] The known sheaths, being usually made of dark or black materials, however, are particularly subject to deterioration because of the high absorption of sun rays that is typical of black bodies, even if they are protected by an upper layer of paint or granulated material.

[0004] The problem of heat insulation of buildings is known, in particular the problem of heat transmission from the outside to the inside of buildings, which, especially at our latitudes and in warm weather, causes a considerable increase in the internal temperature of the buildings themselves. At present, in order to reduce sun radiation transmitted through the coverings, and therefore to reduce the transmission of heat inside the buildings, in particular for coverings consisting of tiles, bent tiles and asbestos cement sheets, the ventilated roof technique is adopted.

[0005] Sheaths, on the other hand, are generally covered with silver or chrome paints that reflect at least partially the incident sun rays.

[0006] However, the painted surfaces exposed to sun radiation and weather agents lose their paint layer and thus their effectiveness over time.

[0007] The subject of the present patent is a new covering with refracting and reflecting upper surface, suited to be used for buildings in general.

[0008] The main object of the present invention is to carry out a new covering for buildings, whose external surface has a high coefficient of reflection of incident light in order to reduce the absorption of sun radiation and thus to limit the transmission of heat through said coverings.

[0009] Another object of the present invention is to obtain a covering that can be applied to any type of material commonly used for making covering elements for buildings, like tiles and bent tiles, asbestos cement sheets, waterproofing sheaths, etc.

[0010] These and other direct and complementary objects have been achieved through the development of the new covering with refracting and reflecting upper surface, suited to be used for buildings in general.

[0011] The new covering comprises, like the known coverings, a plurality of elements like for example:

• tiles and bent tiles, made of cement or burnt clay;
• asbestos cement sheets, corrugated, shaped, flat, etc.;
• sheets made of plate, copper or any other suitable material;
• insulating and waterproofing sheaths;
• other elements.

[0012] Each one of said components of the new covering comprises, on part or preferably on the whole of its upper surface, at least one layer of spheres or microspheres, made of plastic and/or glass and/or ceramic, suited to reflect the light that is incident on them, and wherein said spheres and/or microspheres are made adhere to said elements through the application of paints and/or binders and/or bonding agents and/or other products suitable for this purpose.

[0013] In practice, the process for making the new covering comprises the following steps:

• arranging said elements suitable for making coverings;
• laying paints and/or binders and/or bonding agents on the whole or on part of the surface of said elements;
• applying, through spraying, scattering or another suitable technique, a plurality of spheres and/or microspheres on the whole or on part of the surface treated with said paints and/or binders and/or bonding agents;

and wherein said application of said spheres and/or microspheres is preferably carried out soon after laying said paints and/or binders and/or bonding agents, that is, before they have completely dried up, in order to ensure the adhesion of the spheres and/or microspheres themselves.

[0014] Said spheres or microspheres are constituted by pieces of glass or ceramic and, in particular in the case of said microspheres, have typical dimensions in the order of tenths of a millimetre, or even smaller.

[0015] Also spheres or microspheres made of plastic material may be used.

[0016] As an alternative to or in combination with said types of spheres or microspheres, also oriented spheres or microspheres may be used, that is, spheres or microspheres having a silvery hemisphere, and therefore suited to lend a chromed hue to the surface of said support, thus further enhancing the reflecting effect of the spheres.

[0017] Said elements for making coverings, treated as described above, can then be installed and their external surface, partially or completely covered with said spheres or microspheres, is characterized by a high coefficient of reflection of incident light.

[0018] In this way, the transmission of the incident sun rays through said covering is reduced to a minimum, which means that heat transmission from the outside to the inside of the building is minimized.

[0019] The process described above can be applied, as already explained, to any type of material and elements suitable for making coverings.

[0020] For example, in the particular case of coverings made of tiles or bent tiles made of cement or burnt clay, the process includes the following steps:

• applying a layer of paint and/or binder and/or bonding agent, transparent or coloured, to the upper surface of said tiles or bent tiles;
• applying, by scattering and/or dusting and/or another suitable technique, said spheres or microspheres, said application being carried out during the humid phase of said products, that is, before they have completely dried up;
• installing said tiles or bent tiles, following the known procedures.

[0021] Analogously, in the case of coverings consisting of asbestos cement sheets, both corrugated and shaped, the process includes the following steps:

• applying a layer of paint and/or binder and/or bonding agent, transparent or coloured, to the upper surface of said sheets;
• applying, by scattering and/or dusting and/or another suitable technique, said spheres or microspheres, said application being carried out during the humid phase of said products, that is, before they have completely dried up;
• installing said sheets, following the known procedures.

[0022] Said tiles, bent tiles and/or said sheets substantially comprise at least one layer of paint, for example silver or chrome paint, and/or at least one layer of bonding agent and/or binder, suited to ensure the adhesion of at least one layer of said spheres or microspheres.

[0023] Each one of the elements that make up the new covering thus features a reflecting surface, which considerably limits the transmission of incident sun radiation through the covering itself, and therefore minimizes the transmission of heat.

[0024] Said process can be applied also to insulating and waterproofing sheaths and comprises the same steps described above, that is, the spreading of a binder and/or bonding agent and/or paint, transparent or coloured, on the upper surface of the sheath and the successive application of said spheres or microspheres.

[0025] Alternatively, said spheres or microspheres can be applied to other types of support, like for example sheets or layers of paper and/or plastic material, suited to be successively associated with said elements making up the covering and in particular with said waterproofing sheaths.

[0026] In this case, the process consists of the following steps:

• arranging one or more or said support sheets or layers of paper or plastic material;
• applying a layer of paint and/or binder and/or bonding agent to the surface of said support sheets;
• applying said spheres or microspheres;
• associating said support sheets with said sheath;
• installing the sheath following the known procedures.

[0027] According to the invention, it is also possible to apply silver or chrome paint, before or at the same time as said spheres or microspheres, said paint serving to further enhance the reflecting properties of the product obtained.

[0028] Said spheres or microspheres can be sprayed onto the surface to be treated together with said paint, in a single step.

[0029] As an alternative, if said paint was applied previously and is already dry, said spheres or microspheres can be applied after a transparent binder and/or bonding agent.

[0030] Therefore, with reference to the preceding description, the following claims are expressed.

Claims

1. New covering for buildings in general, consisting of elements like tiles, bent tiles, sheets or plates, sheaths, and so on, characterized in that one or more of said elements comprises/comprise one or more surface layers of said spheres and/or microspheres made of glass and/or ceramic and/or plastic and suited to reflect and refract the light incident on them, wherein said spheres or microspheres are made adhere directly or indirectly to part or the whole of the surface of said elements through the application of at least one layer of paint and/or bonding agent and/or binder and/or another suitable product.

2. New covering according to claim 1, characterized in that said spheres or microspheres are oriented.

3. New covering according to claims 1 and/or 2, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of tiles or bent tiles, whose surface is partially or completely covered with said layer of spheres and/or microspheres.

4. New covering according to claims 1 and/or 2, characterized in that it comprises one or more asbestos cement sheet/s, whose surface is partially or completely covered with said layer of spheres and/or microspheres.

5. New covering according to claims 1 and/or 2, characterized in that it comprises one or more sheaths, whose surface is partially or completely covered with said layer of spheres and/or microspheres.

6. New covering according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that one ore more of said elements comprise one or more sheets or layers made of paper and/or plastic material, to which said spheres and/or microspheres are applied through the application of said layer of paint and/or bonding agent and/or binder and/or another suitable product, and wherein said layers or sheets are in turn associated with part or the whole of the surface of said elements for making said covering.

7. New covering according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said spheres and/or microspheres are applied to the surface to be treated through a spraying and/or scattering technique.