Method for making ready-to-install ceramic and/or stone compositions

Abstract

 The method for making ready-to-install mosaic compositions comprises obtaining said pieces (9) to form said compositions by cutting matrix products (1); fixing said pieces (9) according to said compositions on supports (6), said obtaining comprising cutting said matrix products (1) according to a first cutting direction obtaining portions (3) of said matrix products (1); fixing said portions (3) on said supports (6) according to predetermined arrangements, obtaining fixed portions (3); cutting said fixed portions (3) and said supports (6) according to a cutting direction (T2) that intersects said first cutting direction (T1) obtaining said compositions of ceramic and/or stone pieces (9).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for making ready-to-install ceramic and/or stone compositions.

[0002] To create ceramic or stone compositions, including mosaic compositions, according to predetermined designs, an industrial process is currently used according to which the pieces and the tesserae making up the designs are obtained by cutting matrixes, for example ceramic tiles made using known techniques.

[0003] The cuts are made using specific cutting machines which have a series of circular rotating blades, all keyed on a motorised turning shaft and arranged, on this shaft, with predefined distances between one another according to the dimensions of the tesserae to be obtained.

[0004] The cuts are made according to two directions perpendicular to one another, placing the tiles on a conveyor that runs underneath the blades and making these tiles complete a first run during which a cut is made according to a first direction and a second run in which the tiles are previously turned on the conveyor by a right angle, so that this second cut automatically forms the tesserae for the mosaic compositions.

[0005] To create a composition according to a predefined design, the pieces and the tesserae are arranged one by one in a template, more precisely in a cavity obtained in this template and which has dimensions that substantially coincide with the dimensions of the composition to be achieved.

[0006] To be able to manipulate the composition obtained by arranging the pieces and the tesserae in the template, it is envisaged that this composition be glued onto a support, specifically a flexible support, normally made up of a mesh, in such a way that, when the composition is completely glued on the supporting mesh, this can be removed from the template and installed without the pieces and the tesserae moving or falling from the composition, thus leaving empty spaces.

[0007] This supporting mesh and the adhesive material are usually arranged on the bottom of the template cavity before introducing into this the pieces and the tesserae forming the composition; nevertheless, it is also possible to glue the mesh, or another type of support, such as for instance a sheet of adhesive paper, on the surface resulting from the composition, when this is already completed inside the template cavity.

[0008] This state of the art does have a series of drawbacks.

[0009] A first drawback is that because the formation costs of the compositions are determined by counting the total numbers of gluings of all the pieces and the tesserae making them up, this circumstance determines an increase in the cost of producing the compositions, including mosaic compositions, which increases in proportion to the number of tesserae that have to be glued to form a composition.

[0010] A second drawback is that the pieces and the tesserae used to make the design compositions do not generally all come from the same cutting cycle: for this reason, their perimeter dimensions may be slightly different at each cycle, even though apparently similar and, in the compositions made with these pieces or tesserae, this determines misalignments between the outlines that are clearly visible to observers, even not particularly expert ones.

[0011] This circumstance very clearly occurs above all in ceramic compositions comprising decorative bands that are set side by side in succession or parallel with each other on a wall.

[0012] One object of the invention is to improve the state of the art.

[0013] Another object of the invention is to develop a method for making ceramic and/or stone compositions that permits cutting production costs.

[0014] A further object of the invention is to develop a method for making ceramic and/or stone compositions that permits eliminating even very small size differences between the tesserae making up the compositions and making with different cutting cycles, so as to avoid misalignments both between adjacent compositions and between the tesserae themselves making up each composition.

[0015] According to one aspect of the invention, a method is envisaged for making ready-to-install compositions of ceramic and/or stone pieces, comprising obtaining said pieces to form said compositions by cutting matrix products; fixing said pieces according to compositions on supports, characterized in that said obtaining comprises: cutting said matrix products according to a first cutting direction obtaining portions of said matrix products; fixing said portions on said supports according to predetermined arrangements, obtaining fixed portions; cutting said fixed portions and said supports according to a second cutting direction that intersects said first cutting direction obtaining said compositions of ceramic and/or stone pieces.

[0016] The method for making ceramic and/or stone compositions therefore permits obtaining these compositions by manipulating a much smaller number of pieces compared to the prior art.

[0017] The method for making ceramic compositions consequently also permits considerably reducing the costs of making these compositions, especially mosaic compositions.

[0018] The method for making ceramic and/or stone compositions further permits making pieces and tesserae to form mosaics and these compositions having identical dimensions, quite apart from the manufacturing cycles, and already trued-up edges, so as to avoid misalignments in the compositions.

[0019] Further characteristics and advantages will appear more evident from the description of an embodiment of a method for making ready-to-install ceramic and/or stone compositions, illustrated indicatively by way of non limiting example, in the attached drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a matrix product, specifically a tile, on which first cutting lines are indicated;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of pieces obtained by cutting the matrix product of Figure 1 according to the first cutting lines and glued onto a flexible mesh support;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of pieces glued onto a flexible mesh support of Figure 2, obtained by cutting the pieces of Figure 2 according to a second cutting direction;

Figure 4 is a reduced-scale side view of the pieces of Figure 3 in an elastically bent configuration and ready to cover surfaces with sinuous pattern.

[0020] With special reference to Figure 1, by 1 is indicated a matrix product, in this specific case a ceramic tile, which can already be fired or be still in raw state.

[0021] The ceramic tile 1, according to the invention, is cut according to a first cutting direction "T1", shown by the broken lines 2, which are parallel with each other, obtaining a series of ceramic portions shaped like ceramic strips 3, parallel.

[0022] The ceramic strips 3 all have the edges of the opposite sides 4 and 5 trued up, meaning straight and of identical lengths, because the sides 4 are already defined in the ceramic tile 1 which, when made, has its sides trued up, while the sides 5 are trued up following cutting according to the first cutting direction "T1".

[0023] The ceramic strips 3 are subsequently glued parallel to one another on an elastic support, such as, for example, a mesh 6 in plastic material, making up, in effect, a sort of new ceramic tile which, however, has a flexible body.

[0024] After the strips 3 are glued to the mesh 6, according to the invention, they can be cut at the same time according to a second cutting direction "T2", along the broken lines 7 and which, as can be seen in the drawings, is perpendicular to the first cutting direction "T1".

[0025] The cutting directions "T1" and "T2" can also not be perpendicular with each other, so as to be able to obtain mosaic compositions also made using tiles, for example, with rhombus-shaped perimeter.

[0026] Once the second cut has been completed, bands 8 are obtained composed of small strips or tesserae 9 that are already glued on their own elastic support, i.e. the mesh 6, and are therefore ready for installation.

[0027] The fact must be emphasised that the bands 8 are therefore obtained by gluing the ceramic strips 3 on the mesh 6 just once and not by gluing, one by one, all the small strips or tesserae 9 to the mesh 6, as occurs according to the prior art.

[0028] This permits achieving a considerable saving in the production of compositions of small strips or tesserae 9 because, according to the prior art, each composition has a cost that is strongly affected by the number of glued pieces.

[0029] In other words, with reference to the Figure 3, it will be seen that the composition is formed, for example, of eight small strips 9 which have a cost of gluing to the mesh 6 of eight pieces and the same as that of the other compositions obtainable from the same tile-matrix 1, and the same as the sole cost of gluing the eight ceramic strips 3 obtained with the cut made according to the first cutting direction "T1", and not as that of the total cost of gluing together each of the small strips 9 obtainable altogether from the tile-matrix 1 on the mesh 6.

[0030] It must also be pointed out that, as mentioned before, the small strips or tesserae 9 have the sides automatically trued up, thus eliminating undesired misalignments in the compositions which would make necessary further costly truing-up operations.

Claims

1. Method for making ready-to-install compositions of ceramic and/or stone pieces (9), comprising obtaining said pieces (9) to form said compositions by cutting matrix products (1); fixing said pieces (9) according to said compositions on supports (6), characterized in that said obtaining comprises: cutting said matrix products (1) according to a first cutting direction (T1) obtaining portions (3) of said matrix products (1); fixing said portions (3) on said supports (6) according to predetermined arrangements, obtaining fixed portions (3); cutting said fixed portions (3) and said supports (6) according to a second cutting direction (T2) that intersects said first cutting direction (T1) obtaining said compositions of ceramic and/or stone pieces (9).

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein said matrix products comprise ceramic tiles (1).

3. Method according to claim 1 wherein said matrix products comprise stone slabs (1).

4. Method according to claim 1, wherein said portions comprise small strips (3).

5. Method according to claim 1 or 4, wherein said fixing comprises gluing said small strips (3) parallel to one another.

6. Method according to claim 5, wherein said gluing comprises gluing keeping adjacent spaces among the small strips (3).

7. Method according to claim 6, wherein said spaces have substantially identical width.

8. Method according to claim 1, wherein said first cutting direction (T1) and second cutting direction (T2) are perpendicular.

9. Method according to claim 1, wherein said supports (6) comprise flexible supports.

10. Method according to claim 1, wherein after said fixing, homologous sides of said portions (3) are engraved according to at least one engraving direction.

11. Method according to claim 10, wherein said engraving direction comprises a direction substantially crossways to said first cutting direction (T1).

12. Method according to claim 1, wherein said fixing comprises fixing inside template means.

13. Method according to claim 1 wherein said pieces (9) comprise tesserae for mosaics.

Drawing