CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

The present application claims priority to PCT International Application No. PCT/IB2018/053522 filed on May 18, 2018, which application claims priority to Italian Patent Application Nos. 102017000054669 filed May 19, 2017, the entirety of the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference.

STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the scope of manufacturing composite panels with light translucency properties. In particular, the present invention relates to a method for making a new panel, a composite panel, e.g. cementitious mortar based, and a semi-finished product for a preferred embodiment of such a method. The present invention also relates to a new composite panel with light translucency properties obtainable through said manufacturing method.

BACKGROUND ART

The use of cementitious articles with light translucency properties are known. Among such manufactured items are those in the form of cementitious mortar composite panels comprising elements made of translucent transparent material. These elements are named “through elements” because they extend through the whole thickness of the panel so as to transmit light between its two opposite surfaces. Typically, these through elements are made of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) or alternatively of glass.

The patent application WO2015132287, for example, describes a method for the making a panel with through elements made of PPMA. This method provides for the use of a monolithic structure, by a plastic injection process, which defines a plurality of elements made of PMMA emerging from a lower base. The method includes placing this structure in a formwork and pouring cementitious mortar so that it is distributed between the elements in the PMMA. After the cementitious mortar sets, the cementitious manufactured item is removed from the formwork and finished by eliminating the lower base of the monolithic structure and taking the surfaces to the desired size.

The patent application WO 2014184242, instead, describes a method for making a composite panel with through elements made of PPMA. Such a method includes positioning glass sheets inside a formwork on parallel planes. Each sheet comprises a peripheral frame which supports the mutually separated longitudinal elements and have a shape corresponding to that provided for the through elements of the panel to be made. When the positioning of these sheets is completed, the method includes pouring the cementitious mortar inside the formwork so that it is distributed around the longitudinal elements defined by the plates. At the end of the setting process of the cementitious mortar, the manufactured item thus obtained is extracted from the formwork and roughed to eliminate the portions containing the peripheral frame of the sheets. In this manner, only the longitudinal elements remain incorporated in the cementitious mortar. The semi-finished product thus roughed is further sectioned, according to planes orthogonal to the axis of the longitudinal elements made of glass, so as to obtain prismatic portions of thickness substantially corresponding to that of the composite panel to be made. These portions are then finished in order to obtain the desired panel.

Patent application EP 2179105 describes another method for carrying out a cementitious mortar composite panel with through elements. Such a method includes carrying out one or more supporting structures made of plastic material which support the through elements in separated and distinct positions. Each of these structures has a substantially two-dimensional development and defines apertures for the passage of the mortar in the subsequent step of casting. The assembly formed by the supporting structure and the through elements is placed inside the formwork and locked on its bottom with fixing means. The cementitious mortar is then poured. At the end of the step of setting, the cementitious panel thus formed is extracted and possibly finished.

In all the methods described above, as in other substantially similar known, the final shape and size of the panel are established from the formwork in which the step of pouring is performed. The surfaces of the formworks deteriorate over time and this inevitably translates into a lower quality of the surfaces obtained by the formwork itself. So, with the traditional methods, in order to maintain an acceptable level of quality, the formworks must be frequently replaced. This aspect has a strong impact on the manufacturing cost of the panels.

Another drawback connected with the use of traditional formworks is the difficulty in positioning the elements which define the inner structure of the panel inside it. In particular, the positioning operations require very long times and cannot be automated in practice. These aspects are also extremely disadvantageous, especially for making panels on large scale.

In addition to the aforesaid drawbacks, the methods described above are absolutely not suitable for making composite panels with through elements made of glass. The request for this type of panels is however greatly on the rise because glass guarantees a better light transmission than that which can be obtained using through elements made of PMMA.

The method described in WO 2014184242, for example, shows several critical aspects, one of which is the complex structure to be assigned to the glass plates to be inserted in the formwork. Another critical aspect is in the high number of operations required to transform the product obtained at the end of the setting process, into panels of the desired shape and size. Indeed, such operations require the use of particularly complex machinery for handling and cutting and designed specifically for this process. The costs of such machines affect heavily on the final production costs of the panels.

The method described in EP 2179105 is also totally inappropriate for making composite panels with through elements made of glass. In particular, the use of a two-dimensional supporting structure appears disadvantageous especially during the step of casting of the cementitious mortar. The latter applies multiple thrusts on glass elements which tend to misalign the through elements with respect to the provided theoretical orientation. In many cases, these stresses cause the breakage of the glass elements and the consequent rejection of the panel. In general, it is seen that the method described in EP 2179105 causes a considerable number of rejects and poor-quality panels.

Given considerations above, it is the main object of the present invention to provide a new method for making a composite panel comprising a pourable and settable base material, e.g. cementitious mortar, and glass through elements to transmit the light radiation between two opposite surfaces of the panel. In the context of this task, it is a first object to provide a new method for making composite panels of the indicated type which overcomes the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art. It is a second object to provide a method for making composite panels which allows a greater control of the tolerances and thus a better quality of the panel. It is another object to provide a method particularly suited to make composite panels with through elements made of glass. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method for making composite panels which allows a large-scale manufacturing of composite panels while allowing to contain production waste. It is a not last object of the present invention to provide a method which is relatively easy to implement and allows a high production of composite panels at competitive costs.

SUMMARY

The present invention thus relates to a method for making a composite panel comprising a pourable and settable base material, preferably cementitious mortar, and a plurality of through elements made of glass for transmitting light between two base surfaces of the panel. The method according to the invention comprises the steps of:making a semi-finished product comprising a body which incorporates a central part of said through elements, such a body defines a first main surface from which a first end part of the through elements emerges and a second main surface from which a second end part of the through elements emerges; such a semi-finished product is made by defining:a first containing frame which emerges from the first main surface of the body and which extends about a first part of the perimeter of the first main surface, and,a second containing frame which emerges from the second main surface in position opposite to said first containing frame, with respect to said body of said semi-finished product;closing the semi-finished product between a first containing element and a second containing element, each of which defining a closing surface, in particular the semi-finished product is arranged so as to define two half-spaces, each of which delimited by one of said closing surfaces, one of said main surfaces of said central body and one of said containing frames, and wherein each half-space is open at a second part of said perimeter which is different from said first part;filling said half-spaces with said cementitious mortar;following the setting of said cementitious mortar, extracting a manufactured item comprising said semi-finished product, a first main portion and a second main portion made of said cementitious mortar, wherein said main portions are opposite to each other with respect to the body of said semi-finished product;finishing said manufactured item, preferably by using hot wire, so as to eliminate the containing portions of the semi-finished product.

The method according to the invention thus provides making a semi-finished product comprising containing frames which define some of the faces of the panel after pouring and successive setting. The formwork traditionally used for the pouring is therefore advantageously replaced by containing elements which define only the base surfaces of the panel. The containing frames allow a better control of the tolerances relating to the peripheral surfaces of the panel. At the same time, they are substantially “disposable” because they are eliminated during the step of finishing of the panel. Therefore, their use allows to solve the problems of managing traditional formworks. Unlike traditional solutions, the method according to the invention can be advantageously automated with the advantage of a reduction of production costs.

