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Patent · US10106467B1 · B1 · US

Method and apparatus for manufacturing quartz slab

(11) Publication number
US10106467B1
(21) Application number
16/018,968
(22) Filing date
2018-06-26
(30) Priority date
2017-12-26
(43) Publication date
2018-10-23
(45) Date of grant
2018-10-23
(51) IPC
B29C 39/02; B29C 39/24; B29C 39/44; B29D 99/00; B44F 9/04; B65G 41/00; B65G 47/18; B65G 47/62; C04B 111/54; C04B 35/14; C04B 35/622; C04B 40/00
(52) CPC
  • C04B Lime, magnesia; slag; cements; compositions thereof, e.g. mortars, concrete or like building materials; artificial stone {}; ceramics; refractories; treatment of natural stone: 40/0032, 2111/542, 26/02, 35/14, 35/622
  • B28B Shaping clay or other ceramic compositions; shaping slag; shaping mixtures containing cementitious material, e.g. plaster: 1/005, 13/022, 13/027, 7/0038, 7/08
  • B29C Shaping or joining of plastics; shaping of material in a plastic state, not otherwise provided for; after-treatment of the shaped products, e.g. repairing: 39/023, 39/24, 39/44, 67/243
  • B29D Producing particular articles from plastics or from substances in a plastic state: 99/0039
  • B44F Special designs or pictures: 9/04
  • B65G Transport or storage devices, e.g. conveyors for loading or tipping, shop conveyor systems or pneumatic tube conveyors: 2201/042, 2812/12, 41/003, 47/18, 47/62
  • C03B Manufacture, shaping, or supplementary processes: 1/00, 3/00
(72) Inventors
Alex Xie
(54) Title
Method and apparatus for manufacturing quartz slab
(57) Abstract

An apparatus including a first conveyor device including a first conveyor belt; a second conveyor device including a second conveyor belt; a movement device; and a mold device including a mold; wherein the first conveyor device is connected to the second conveyor device so that when the movement device moves the first conveyor device, the second conveyor device also moves with respect to the mold device; wherein the first conveyor belt moves independent of the second conveyor belt; and wherein the first conveyor belt and the second conveyor belt move independent from the movement device. The apparatus may further include a first and second dispensing devices configured to dispense first and second materials, first and second gate devices to control height, and a computer processor to control the various components and the resulting ratio of first material to second material in a processed slab.

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Claims (14)

  1. A method comprising supplying a first material to a first conveyor device; supplying a second material, which is different from the first material, to a second conveyor device; supplying the second material from the second conveyor device to the first conveyor device to cause mixing of the first material and the second material; and wherein the first conveyor device is connected to the second conveyor device; and further comprising moving a combination of the first conveyor device and the second conveyor device to cause a combination of the first material and the second material to be supplied to different locations of a mold.
  2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first conveyor device includes a first conveyor belt; wherein the second conveyor device includes a second conveyor belt; wherein the first conveyor belt moves independent of the second conveyor belt; and wherein the combination of the first conveyor device and the second conveyor device is moved independent of movement of the first conveyor belt and independent of movement of the second conveyor belt.
  3. The method of claim 1 wherein the first material is supplied to the first conveyor device by being dropped onto a first conveyor belt of the first conveyor device; wherein the second material is supplied to the second conveyor device by being dropped onto a second conveyor belt of the second conveyor device; and wherein the combination of the first material and the second material is supplied to different locations of the mold by being dropped into the mold.
  4. The method of claim 1 further comprising controlling a speed of the first conveyor belt; controlling a speed of the second conveyor belt; and controlling a speed of movement of the combination of the first conveyor device and the second conveyor device.
  5. The method of claim 4 further comprising using a computer processor to control the speed of the first conveyor belt, the speed of the second conveyor belt, and the speed of movement of the combination of the first conveyor device and the second conveyor device.
  6. The method of claim 1 further comprising using a first gate device, which is connected to the first conveyor device, to control a height of the first material prior to the first material mixing with the second material; and using a second gate device, which is connected to the second conveyor device, to control a height of the second material prior to the first material mixing with the second material.
  7. The method of claim 1 wherein the combination of the first material and the second material are supplied to different locations of the mold to form a processed slab; wherein the processed slab comprises a major surface at least two feet wide by at least six feet long and extending perpendicularly to a slab thickness; wherein the processed slab includes at least one vein of a combination of materials; wherein the at least one vein extends generally lengthwise from a first edge of the processed slab to an opposing second edge; wherein the at least one vein has a thickness equal to and parallel to the slab thickness; and wherein the at least one vein has a combination of materials which includes at least the first material and the second material; and wherein a ratio of the first material to the second material continuously varies over a height of the at least one vein.
  8. The method of claim 1 wherein the first material is supplied, the second material is supplied, the first material and the second material are mixed to form the combination of the first material and the second material, and the combination of the first material and the second material are supplied to different locations of the mold using a computer processor, so that the combination of the first material and the second material has a predetermined ratio of the first material to the second material as the combination of the first material and the second material is dropped into the mold.
  9. The method of claim 6 further comprising using a computer processor to control the first conveyor device, the second conveyor device, the first gate device, and the second gate device.
  10. The method of claim 9 wherein the computer processor controls a speed of a first conveyor belt of the first conveyor device, a speed of a second conveyor belt of the second conveyor device, a height of the first gate device, and a height of the second gate device.
  11. The method of claim 1 wherein using a computer processor to control contents of the combination of the first material the the second material, so that the combination of the first material and the second material has a continuously varying ratio of the first material to the second material as the combination of materials is dropped into the mold.
  12. The method of claim 2 wherein the first conveyor belt is configured to move in substantially the same direction as the second conveyor belt.
  13. The method of claim 12 wherein the combination of the first conveyor device and the second conveyor device is configured to move in a direction which is substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of the first conveyor belt and the conveyor belt.
  14. A method comprising supplying a first material to a first conveyor device; supplying a second material, which is different from the first material, to a second conveyor device; mixing the first material from the first conveyor device with the second material from the second conveyor device to form a first mixture; and moving the first mixture along a length of the opening of the mold, before supplying the first mixture to the mold through the opening of the mold; and wherein the opening of the mold has a width, with the length of the mold being substantially greater than the width of the mold.

Description

This invention relates to improved methods and apparatus concerning quartz slabs.

Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's crust and one of the hardest naturally occurring materials. One of its many uses is in “engineered stone”. Engineered stone, including quartz, has become a common surfacing and countertop choice in many countries throughout the world. Its applications include kitchen and bathroom countertops, tables and desktops, floor tile, food service areas, wall cladding, and various other horizontal and vertical applications.

The production of engineered stone generally involves particulate materials such as ground quartz rock, crushed glass, rocks, pebbles, sand, shells, silicon, and other inorganic materials combined with polymers, binders, resins, colorants, dyes, etc. The particulate material(s) may be varying sizes ranging from four hundred mesh particle size to four mesh particle size with multiple materials of different sizes used simultaneously. The polymer may include agents to such as a binder, hardener, initiator, or combination of such. The particulate material(s) and polymers, binders, resins, colorants, dyes, etc. are then mixed resulting in a slightly damp mixture. This initial mixture may be processed through a crushing machine to reduce the size of the combined particles. The resultant, finer mixture may be poured into a supporting mold, tray, or other supporting structure, after that, the slab is moved into a vacuumed press machine to be pressed, and then, moved into a curing machine to be cured into a hardened quartz slab.

Citations (28)

  • US1597103A
  • US1735674A
  • US1935985A
  • US1949517A
  • US2044585A
  • US2140197A
  • US3088713A
  • US3318984A
  • US4013616A
  • US4343752A
  • US4209486A
  • FR2627424A1
  • US5266253A
  • US5795513A
  • US5885503A
  • US6517915B1
  • US6702967B2
  • US20060101752A1
  • US20040175514A1
  • US8436075B2
  • US8702886B2
  • US20120283384A1
  • US20140127450A1
  • US20160236984A1
  • US9186819B1
  • US9718303B2
  • US9511516B2
  • US9707698B1
Record as JSON 
{
  "publication_number": "US10106467B1",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B1",
  "title": "Method and apparatus for manufacturing quartz slab",
  "abstract": "An apparatus including a first conveyor device including a first conveyor belt; a second conveyor device including a second conveyor belt; a movement device; and a mold device including a mold; wherein the first conveyor device is connected to the second conveyor device so that when the movement device moves the first conveyor device, the second conveyor device also moves with respect to the mold device; wherein the first conveyor belt moves independent of the second conveyor belt; and wherein the first conveyor belt and the second conveyor belt move independent from the movement device. The apparatus may further include a first and second dispensing devices configured to dispense first and second materials, first and second gate devices to control height, and a computer processor to control the various components and the resulting ratio of first material to second material in a processed slab.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A method comprising supplying a first material to a first conveyor device; supplying a second material, which is different from the first material, to a second conveyor device; supplying the second material from the second conveyor device to the first conveyor device to cause mixing of the first material and the second material; and wherein the first conveyor device is connected to the second conveyor device; and further comprising moving a combination of the first conveyor device and the second conveyor device to cause a combination of the first material and the second material to be supplied to different locations of a mold.",
    "2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first conveyor device includes a first conveyor belt; wherein the second conveyor device includes a second conveyor belt; wherein the first conveyor belt moves independent of the second conveyor belt; and wherein the combination of the first conveyor device and the second conveyor device is moved independent of movement of the first conveyor belt and independent of movement of the second conveyor belt.",
    "3. The method of claim 1 wherein the first material is supplied to the first conveyor device by being dropped onto a first conveyor belt of the first conveyor device; wherein the second material is supplied to the second conveyor device by being dropped onto a second conveyor belt of the second conveyor device; and wherein the combination of the first material and the second material is supplied to different locations of the mold by being dropped into the mold.",
    "4. The method of claim 1 further comprising controlling a speed of the first conveyor belt; controlling a speed of the second conveyor belt; and controlling a speed of movement of the combination of the first conveyor device and the second conveyor device.",
    "5. The method of claim 4 further comprising using a computer processor to control the speed of the first conveyor belt, the speed of the second conveyor belt, and the speed of movement of the combination of the first conveyor device and the second conveyor device.",
    "6. The method of claim 1 further comprising using a first gate device, which is connected to the first conveyor device, to control a height of the first material prior to the first material mixing with the second material; and using a second gate device, which is connected to the second conveyor device, to control a height of the second material prior to the first material mixing with the second material.",
    "7. The method of claim 1 wherein the combination of the first material and the second material are supplied to different locations of the mold to form a processed slab; wherein the processed slab comprises a major surface at least two feet wide by at least six feet long and extending perpendicularly to a slab thickness; wherein the processed slab includes at least one vein of a combination of materials; wherein the at least one vein extends generally lengthwise from a first edge of the processed slab to an opposing second edge; wherein the at least one vein has a thickness equal to and parallel to the slab thickness; and wherein the at least one vein has a combination of materials which includes at least the first material and the second material; and wherein a ratio of the first material to the second material continuously varies over a height of the at least one vein.",
    "8. The method of claim 1 wherein the first material is supplied, the second material is supplied, the first material and the second material are mixed to form the combination of the first material and the second material, and the combination of the first material and the second material are supplied to different locations of the mold using a computer processor, so that the combination of the first material and the second material has a predetermined ratio of the first material to the second material as the combination of the first material and the second material is dropped into the mold.",
    "9. The method of claim 6 further comprising using a computer processor to control the first conveyor device, the second conveyor device, the first gate device, and the second gate device.",
    "10. The method of claim 9 wherein the computer processor controls a speed of a first conveyor belt of the first conveyor device, a speed of a second conveyor belt of the second conveyor device, a height of the first gate device, and a height of the second gate device.",
    "11. The method of claim 1 wherein using a computer processor to control contents of the combination of the first material the the second material, so that the combination of the first material and the second material has a continuously varying ratio of the first material to the second material as the combination of materials is dropped into the mold.",
    "12. The method of claim 2 wherein the first conveyor belt is configured to move in substantially the same direction as the second conveyor belt.",
    "13. The method of claim 12 wherein the combination of the first conveyor device and the second conveyor device is configured to move in a direction which is substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of the first conveyor belt and the conveyor belt.",
    "14. A method comprising supplying a first material to a first conveyor device; supplying a second material, which is different from the first material, to a second conveyor device; mixing the first material from the first conveyor device with the second material from the second conveyor device to form a first mixture; and moving the first mixture along a length of the opening of the mold, before supplying the first mixture to the mold through the opening of the mold; and wherein the opening of the mold has a width, with the length of the mold being substantially greater than the width of the mold."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "This invention relates to improved methods and apparatus concerning quartz slabs.\n\nQuartz is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's crust and one of the hardest naturally occurring materials. One of its many uses is in “engineered stone”. Engineered stone, including quartz, has become a common surfacing and countertop choice in many countries throughout the world. Its applications include kitchen and bathroom countertops, tables and desktops, floor tile, food service areas, wall cladding, and various other horizontal and vertical applications.\n\nThe production of engineered stone generally involves particulate materials such as ground quartz rock, crushed glass, rocks, pebbles, sand, shells, silicon, and other inorganic materials combined with polymers, binders, resins, colorants, dyes, etc. The particulate material(s) may be varying sizes ranging from four hundred mesh particle size to four mesh particle size with multiple materials of different sizes used simultaneously. The polymer may include agents to such as a binder, hardener, initiator, or combination of such. The particulate material(s) and polymers, binders, resins, colorants, dyes, etc. are then mixed resulting in a slightly damp mixture. This initial mixture may be processed through a crushing machine to reduce the size of the combined particles. The resultant, finer mixture may be poured into a supporting mold, tray, or other supporting structure, after that, the slab is moved into a vacuumed press machine to be pressed, and then, moved into a curing machine to be cured into a hardened quartz slab.",
  "cpc": [
    "C04B 40/0032",
    "B28B 1/005",
    "B28B 13/022",
    "B28B 13/027",
    "B28B 7/0038",
    "B28B 7/08",
    "B29C 39/023",
    "B29C 39/24",
    "B29C 39/44",
    "B29C 67/243",
    "B29D 99/0039",
    "B44F 9/04",
    "B65G 2201/042",
    "B65G 2812/12",
    "B65G 41/003",
    "B65G 47/18",
    "B65G 47/62",
    "C03B 1/00",
    "C03B 3/00",
    "C04B 2111/542",
    "C04B 26/02",
    "C04B 35/14",
    "C04B 35/622"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "B29C 39/02",
    "B29C 39/24",
    "B29C 39/44",
    "B29D 99/00",
    "B44F 9/04",
    "B65G 41/00",
    "B65G 47/18",
    "B65G 47/62",
    "C04B 111/54",
    "C04B 35/14",
    "C04B 35/622",
    "C04B 40/00"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Alex Xie"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2018-06-26",
  "publication_date": "2018-10-23",
  "grant_date": "2018-10-23",
  "priority_date": "2017-12-26",
  "application_number": "US-201816018968-A",
  "family_id": "62949196",
  "cited_by_count": 2,
  "citations": [
    "US1597103A",
    "US1735674A",
    "US1935985A",
    "US1949517A",
    "US2044585A",
    "US2140197A",
    "US3088713A",
    "US3318984A",
    "US4013616A",
    "US4343752A",
    "US4209486A",
    "FR2627424A1",
    "US5266253A",
    "US5795513A",
    "US5885503A",
    "US6517915B1",
    "US6702967B2",
    "US20060101752A1",
    "US20040175514A1",
    "US8436075B2",
    "US8702886B2",
    "US20120283384A1",
    "US20140127450A1",
    "US20160236984A1",
    "US9186819B1",
    "US9718303B2",
    "US9511516B2",
    "US9707698B1"
  ]
}

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