Artificial stone plate and combined equipment for preparing veins of artificial stone plate

Abstract

The utility model relates to an artificial stone plate and vein preparation combined equipment, which comprises a fragmentation and arrangement unit, a coloring unit, a calendering unit and a supporting unit, the supporting unit comprises a conveying structure and a rigid supporting structure, and the fragmentation and arrangement unit comprises a conveying structure and a rigid supporting structure. The material distributing device is used for forming irregular fragments with required sizes and distributing or placing the irregular fragments according to a preset mode; the coloring unit is used for adding an additional mixture at a preset position of the fragments and / or along a preset track; and the calendaring unit is used for enabling the fragments and the additional mixture on the fragments to be deformed and connected into a flat plate with required veins through extrusion or calendaring. The equipment disclosed by the utility model does not need high investment, and an artificial stone plate which is more in line with aesthetic standards of modern people can be prepared by a relatively convenient process and has more natural continuous long veins.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to a combined device for preparing an artificial stone plate and its veins. Background Art

[0002] Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in the earth's crust and one of the hardest natural materials, and one of its many uses is in "manufactured stone". Manufactured stone containing quartz has become a common choice for surfaces and countertops in many countries around the world; its applications include kitchen and bathroom countertops, tables and tabletops, floor tiles, food service areas, wall cladding, and various other horizontal and vertical applications. The production of man-made stone generally involves mixing particulate materials such as ground quartzite, crushed glass, rocks, pebbles, sand, shells, silica and other inorganic mineral materials with polymers, binders, resins, colorants, dyes, etc. These particulate materials of different sizes are used simultaneously, and the particle size can vary from 400 mesh to 4 mesh. The polymer may include additives such as binders, curing agents, initiators, or combinations of the foregoing. The particulate material and polymer, binder, resin, colorant, dye, etc. are mixed to obtain a slightly moist mixture. This initial mixture can be processed through a lump breaker, which can be a machine known in the art for reducing lumps formed during mixing. The resulting finer mixture can be poured into a support mold, tray or other support structure. The mixture can also be slightly compacted to make the surface of the material flatter and smoother. The mold or tray containing the slightly moist quartz mixture is then moved to a padded conveyor belt and sent to a vacuum press to be pressed into a slab. The slab is then placed in a curing oven and heated to form a hardened plate. The hardened plate is then moved to a grinder to be ground to the desired thickness, and then the product is completed using a polisher.

[0003] Compared with natural stones such as marble and granite, artificial stones, including quartz-based artificial stones, have many advantages, generally including higher hardness, greater strength, lower water absorption, and greater resistance to stains, scratches, breakage, chemicals and high temperatures; but at the same time, compared with these natural stones, artificial stones also have obvious disadvantages, one of which is that artificial stones lack natural, random veins and color patterns.

[0004] The known prior art includes various methods, apparatuses and systems for producing artificial stone panels that imitate the color and vein patterns of natural stone.

[0005] In these known technologies, composite materials are mixed, which may include or be composed of granular stones or minerals, quartz, glass, shells or silicon and polymer resins, dyes, binders, curing agents, initiators or any combination of the above materials. Composite materials can vary according to many factors, such as particle size, resin percentage, colorant used, or composition. It is worth noting that a colorant mixture consisting of resin and colorant or a colorant in the form of liquid, powder or other particles alone can be considered as a composite mixture. This composite material can be used as disclosed in the process steps of U.S. Patent No. US10,376,912B2 to obtain the aesthetic effect of natural stone, which is incorporated into this application by reference. Before or after this process, the composite material can also be used as disclosed in U.S. Patent Nos. 9,707,698B1 and 10,843,977B2 of Alex Xie, which are also incorporated into this application by reference.

[0006] Xie's U.S. Patent No. 9,707,698B1 discloses a process in which a composite material or a plurality of composite materials are subjected to a process including layering, rolling and fragmentation to obtain an artificial stone having the texture effect of natural stone. Prior art discloses such a process in which, before the composite material is compressed using a means such as a roller, the composite material may be compacted, the compacted composite material may be fragmented, or a gate device may be used to scrape off any excess material to obtain a layer of composite material having a substantially flat or smooth upper surface.

[0007] In the prior art, for example, Toncelli's US application US20220048216A1 specifically mentions that different materials are layered on a generally flat surface, and then the materials are pressed together or sandwiched together, and then the materials are folded and pressed again. This will cause the colorant layer to be substantially on the same horizontal plane as the material, and will not cause any mixing or deformation in the vertical direction.

[0008] In the prior art, such as US Pat. No. 9,707,698B1 and US Pat. No. 1,084,3977 to Xie, a colorant or a composite mixture of different colors is contained in each fragment. Therefore, after being compressed by, for example, a roller, the vein length continuity does not extend to other different fragments.

[0009] One way to ensure that a large amount of the side surface area of ​​the fragments is covered with colorant is to have an apparatus similar to that taught in U.S. Patent Application 2019 / 0105800 to Xie (published April 11, 2014, the contents of which are incorporated by reference), wherein a notching device or V-shaped rolling wheel is connected to a computer-controlled CNC to form a groove through the composite material, and the colorant is then deposited / placed on the walls of the groove. The problem is that the work performed by the device on the material will form relatively straight, smooth-edged lines with undesirable artifacts, which will be exacerbated when rolled over by a pressure roller. Summary of the invention

[0010] In view of the problems existing in the prior art, the utility model provides an artificial stone slab and a preparation device for the veins thereof, which can deform and connect the artificial stone slab and obtain the desired more realistic vein design effect by changing, controlling or adjusting the placement and size of the composite mixture fragments used as the raw materials for preparing the slab, and coloring them according to a predetermined trajectory, and then squeezing, pressing and stretching the fragments through an extrusion or calendering device such as a pressure roller or a pair of pressure rollers.

[0011] The technical solution of the utility model is achieved in this way:

[0012] A combined device for preparing an artificial stone plate and its veins, comprising a fragmentation and arrangement unit, a coloring unit, a calendering unit and a support unit, wherein the support unit comprises a conveying structure and a rigid support structure, wherein:

[0013] The fragmentation and arrangement unit is used to form irregular fragments of the required approximate size and to arrange or place the irregular fragments in a predetermined manner or pattern;

[0014] The coloring unit is used to add additional mixture at a predetermined position of the fragment and / or along a predetermined trajectory;

[0015] The calendering unit is used to deform and connect the fragments and the additional mixture added thereto into a flat plate with desired veins by extrusion or calendering. The adding method includes spraying, deposition, etc.; the additional mixture includes but is not limited to a colorant mixture, or at least a composite mixture of artificial stone raw materials with a color different from that of the irregular fragments.

[0016] Here, the "deformation connection" achieved by the calendering operation includes deformation connection of the broken pieces into plates and deformation connection of the additional mixture added to the broken pieces into desired continuous long veins, wherein at least part of the veins run through the thickness direction of the plate body.

[0017] Specifically, the fragmentation and arrangement unit includes a fragmentation device and a device for arranging fragments; further, the fragmentation device includes, for example, a stirring device or a grid; the device for arranging fragments includes a material-pickling device, including, for example, a material-pickling device, the material-pickling device includes a motor, a lifting device, a rotating device and a main body, the main body can be a device with a narrow head and a slender and narrow tail made of a rigid flat plate, connected to the rotating device through an axis; the motor is connected to the lifting device and the rotating device to drive or drive the main body to move up and down and swing in a horizontal plane.

[0018] Specifically, the calendering unit includes at least one level of pressing roller device or at least one level of pressing roller pair device;

[0019] Each stage of the pressing roller device includes a pressing roller; each stage of the pressing roller pair device includes a pair of pressing rollers. The pair of pressing rollers are usually arranged up and down.

[0020] In the calendering operation state, one of the pressure rollers in the pressure roller device or the pressure roller pair device (called the main pressure roller, usually the upper pressure roller) is arranged above the broken pieces to directly calender them; the other pressure roller in the pressure roller device (called the auxiliary pressure roller, usually the lower pressure roller) corresponds to the main pressure roller of the same level and is arranged below the broken pieces, and the axes of the main pressure roller and the auxiliary pressure roller are parallel to each other, or the two axes form an angle; for example, the angle is π / 4.

[0021] Furthermore, the pressing roller device or the pressing roller pair device further comprises a film placing roller and a film collecting roller; the film placing roller is arranged at an upstream position of the pressing roller, and is used to cover the isolation film on the working surface of the pressing roller before the calendering operation;

[0022] The film collection roller is correspondingly arranged at a downstream position of the pressing roller, and is used for rolling up or removing the isolation film on the pressing roller after the calendering operation.

[0023] Specifically, the support unit is used to transport, place or support broken pieces and / or slabs formed by deformation and connection of broken pieces. Its transport structure, such as a conveyor belt, and its rigid support structure are usually located below its transport structure, such as a steel plate, which is laid flat below the conveyor belt; the support unit is usually also an operating platform, and the support unit and the corresponding equipment unit have mutual position matching corresponding to the specific operation: for example, in the operation of forming and placing broken pieces, at least part of the fragmentation and its arrangement unit, such as the main body of the material dispensing device, is located above the support unit; in the operation of adding additional mixtures, at least part of the coloring unit corresponds to the support unit; in the calendering operation, at least the calendering unit corresponds to the support unit, for example, when the calendering unit is a pressing roller or a pair of pressing rollers, the pressing roller or the main pressing roller is located above the support unit, and the auxiliary pressing roller corresponds to the main pressing roller of the same level and is located below the support unit.

[0024] Furthermore, the preparation equipment described in the utility model also includes a computer processor; and a computer memory and a computer interaction device respectively connected thereto; the computer processor is respectively connected to the fragmentation and arrangement unit, the coloring unit, the calendering unit and the support unit, and is used to control the positioning, operating amplitude and frequency of the fragmentation and arrangement unit (for example, it may refer to the swing amplitude and swing frequency of the main body of the material feeding device, etc.), the size and placement of the fragments (including their position, orientation, height and quantity, etc.), the type and amount of the additional mixture and its coloring area and coloring order, the deformation and stretching amount of the irregular fragments after passing through the calendering unit, and the relative position and corresponding speed and / or rotation speed of the calendering unit and the support unit through the computer program in the computer memory.

[0025] The combined equipment for preparing the artificial stone slab and its veins of the utility model generally further comprises a mixing unit for mixing raw materials to obtain a composite mixture; a pressure unit, which may include a front pressure unit for pre-pressurizing the composite mixture before the fragmentation and arrangement unit operates to obtain a relatively compact composite mixture (for example, the Chinese patent "Artificial quartz stone forming method and equipment", authorization announcement number CN107685453B, announced on November 6, 2020, wherein the conical truncated cone pressure roller, power hammer and air hammer device disclosed therein; and the Chinese patent " "Artificial marble forming method and equipment", authorization announcement number CN107696242B, announced on February 14, 2020, the layered material distribution, rolling, stirring, and re-rolling equipment disclosed therein are now incorporated into this patent by reference. The relevant technical schemes of the above two patents are incorporated into this patent, as well as other existing roller devices, etc.); it also includes a post-pressure unit (such as an existing vibration vacuum press, and other vacuum pressure equipment commonly used in this field, etc.) that presses and shapes the flat sheet after the calendering unit operates; as well as a curing unit, a grinding unit, and a cutting unit.

[0026] The mixing unit, pressure unit, curing unit, grinding unit and cutting unit may also be connected to a computer processor respectively and configured to operate in response to computer program instructions of the computer processor.

[0027] The utility model also discloses a method for preparing a corresponding artificial stone plate and its veins, comprising:

[0028] Pressing the composite mixture into a relatively dense composite mixture;

[0029] Breaking the dense composite mixture into a plurality of composite mixture fragments of a size roughly meeting the requirements; the fragments are generally irregular in shape;

[0030] depositing additional mixture onto corresponding areas of the fragments along a predetermined trajectory to form additional layers; and,

[0031] Then, a device is used to flatten and extend the additional layer including the corresponding area and the fragments of the plurality of composite mixtures into a plate,

[0032] The additional mixture is different from the dense composite mixture in at least color; for example, the additional mixture is a colorant mixture, which contains a colorant. The colorant mixture can be in different forms such as liquid, powder, or granules.

[0033] The corresponding area includes at least part of the surface of the fragments within the predetermined trajectory and at least part of the connecting area between adjacent fragments; the surface includes at least part of the side surface (or side wall) of the fragments.

[0034] According to the utility model, the fragments of the composite mixture are finally calendered into a plate, and the density of their placement or stacking before calendering depends on many factors, including the shape and size of the fragments: larger fragments or larger fragment areas produce larger deformation (including stretching and stretching) in the calendering step, and conversely, smaller fragments or smaller fragment areas produce relatively smaller deformation in the calendering step; therefore, larger irregular fragments can be placed more sparsely, and a certain gap can be left between adjacent fragments; in contrast, smaller irregular fragments are usually placed relatively closely, and adjacent fragments are in contact with each other and even some relative surfaces are partially or completely overlapped or covered.

[0035] Accordingly, in the step of depositing the additional mixture along the predetermined trajectory, the connecting area between adjacent fragments within the predetermined trajectory includes the above-mentioned gaps between larger fragments or the areas where smaller fragments contact, overlap or cover each other.

[0036] The additional layer refers to a coating layer formed by the additional mixture on the corresponding area, which has a different color from the original dense composite mixture or its fragments.

[0037] Specifically, a plate formed by flattening and stretching presents continuous long veins with random bends, the veins are usually formed by the additional layer being rolled and / or stretched together with the fragments, and a considerable portion of the veins will basically penetrate the plate body or extend to the entire plate thickness.

[0038] Furthermore, before depositing the additional mixture along the predetermined trajectory, one or more of the fragments of the plurality of composite mixtures are moved to form grooves in the fragments of the plurality of composite mixtures without substantially breaking or deforming the fragments; the grooves constitute at least a portion of the predetermined trajectory.

[0039] The operation of forming the grooves here can utilize manual, mechanical, semi-automatic or automated devices, including but not limited to the tools or devices described in the present utility model, and can also adopt other existing tools, devices or methods.

[0040] Specifically, for example, the present invention discloses a material-push device, which is used to push or push away the fragments to expose more surfaces (especially side walls) of the irregularly shaped fragments, while maintaining the shape of the fragments and preventing them from breaking or deforming.

[0041] For example, the method and equipment for preparing textured artificial quartz stone slabs disclosed in Chinese patent CN108501409 (published on September 7, 2018) can realize the above-mentioned process steps and can be incorporated into the present utility model by reference.

[0042] Further, at least a portion of the fragments having the additional mixture deposited thereon are arranged in a predetermined pattern on a support structure before being flattened and stretched into a plate.

[0043] Alternatively, at least some of the fragments of the corresponding regions are arranged in a predetermined pattern on the support structure before depositing the additional mixture along the predetermined trajectory.

[0044] As mentioned above, the device for flattening and stretching the fragments of the multiple composite mixtures includes a first-level pressing roller device or a first-level pressing roller pair device. Usually, the first-level pressing roller device includes a first pressing roller, and the first-level pressing roller pair includes a first upper pressing roller and a first lower pressing roller corresponding to each other, wherein the first pressing roller or the upper pressing roller of the first pressing roller pair can usually be belt-driven; the operation performed using the first-level pressing roller device or the first-level pressing roller pair device can be correspondingly referred to as a primary calendering operation.

[0045] Furthermore, the device for flattening and stretching the fragments of the multiple composite mixtures may also include a secondary pressing roller device or a secondary pressing roller pair device. Typically, the secondary pressing roller device includes a second pressing roller, and the secondary pressing roller pair device includes a second upper pressing roller and a second lower pressing roller corresponding to each other, wherein the second pressing roller or the second upper pressing roller can usually be belt-driven; then, the operation performed using the secondary pressing roller device or the secondary pressing roller pair device can be correspondingly referred to as a secondary calendering operation; that is, the calendering operation includes the fragments of the multiple composite mixtures passing through a primary pressing roller device or a primary pressing roller pair device (for primary calendering), and, a secondary pressing roller device or a secondary pressing roller pair device (for secondary calendering) in sequence, to be flattened and stretched into a plate.

[0046] That is, according to the specific requirements of the plate making process, the flattening and stretching operation may include only one calendering, or may include more than two graded calenderings; meanwhile, the flattening and stretching operation in the present invention may also include extrusion.

[0047] According to the utility model, aggregate minerals, such as quartz sand and powder, can be mixed with resin, colorant and other additives in a high-speed mixer to obtain a slightly moist and soft loose composite mixture, which is also the original base material used in the utility model. As known in the art, this composite mixture can be compacted into a denser composite mixture by pressing.

[0048] After the dense composite mixture is prepared, it can be broken into a plurality of fragments in a controllable manner, such as by breaking the dense composite mixture by a stirring device, wherein the rotation speed of the stirring device can be varied: the faster the stirring device rotates, the smaller the fragments obtained by breaking the dense composite mixture. Alternatively, the dense composite mixture can be dropped onto a rigid grid or screen, and by controlling the mesh size of the rigid grid or screen and / or the height of the drop, fragments of the desired size can be obtained. There are also other methods that can complete the crushing process to obtain irregularly shaped fragments of the desired size.

[0049] The irregularly shaped pieces of the composite mixture can then be evenly distributed on a support unit (such as a conveyor belt), specifically, in any area where the pieces are distributed, there are no significantly more pieces of the composite mixture than in another area. Generally speaking, any square foot of the area should not have more than 50% more pieces than another square foot of the area; and ideally, it is best to avoid an area where smaller pieces are significantly piled up next to a significantly larger piece, resulting in the inability to deposit colorant on the side walls of the larger piece. In addition, if the irregularly shaped pieces are piled up too high, the pieces may be compressed together due to their own weight, thereby losing their original shape.

[0050] The advantage of handling and arranging the irregularly shaped fragments of the composite mixture in this way is that when an additional mixture is deposited or applied (e.g. sprayed) on a certain area of ​​the fragments, for example, a colorant mixture is sprayed on the previous layer in a predetermined area, the colorant mixture is also sprayed on the side walls, i.e., the side surfaces, of the irregularly shaped fragments in the corresponding area, and the connecting area of ​​adjacent fragments. These side walls are usually not smooth and flat surfaces, but have irregular shapes. Compared with the dense composite mixture, the irregularly shaped fragments have a larger surface area that can be coated with the colorant mixture to form the corresponding additional layer, because the dense composite mixture is obtained by the step of compaction and compaction, and its surface is basically flat before it is fragmented, so the colorant mixture can only be covered on the upper surface of the dense composite mixture. The number of irregularly shaped fragments can vary, and the height of the irregularly shaped fragments distributed on the conveyor belt can be greater than or even much greater than the specified distance between the pressure roller and the conveyor belt, or the distance between the pressure roller pairs. Therefore, when the irregularly shaped pieces pass through the roller or roller pair, there will be a material accumulation in front of the roller or roller pair (here, the upper roller), and the height of the accumulation can be controlled by a number of factors, including the conveying speed of the conveyor belt (hereinafter referred to as the belt speed), the rotation speed of the roller, the height or average height of the irregularly shaped pieces distributed on the conveyor belt, and the distance between the roller and the conveyor belt or the distance between the roller pairs. When the irregularly shaped pieces pass through the roller or roller pair, they will be flattened and stretched by the roller or roller pair and deformed into a plate. Compared with smaller pieces, larger irregularly shaped pieces are more likely to be squeezed out from under the roller, thereby correspondingly changing the veins formed by the additional layer on the side wall of the irregularly shaped pieces.

[0051] It is worth noting that, depending on the desired final aesthetic design (especially including veining etc.), it may be desirable to cover more of the surface area of ​​any particular irregularly shaped fragment, i.e., to coat more of the surface of the irregularly shaped fragment with the additional mixture, including, more importantly, more of its sidewalls. The rollers tend to stretch or extend the composite mixture significantly in the horizontal direction, but to stretch or extend it less or very limitedly in the vertical direction. Therefore, if the additional mixture (such as the colorant mixture) is applied only to the upper surface of the original or base composite mixture, or if the irregular fragment is slightly compressed with a flat upper surface, the additional mixture will remain substantially on the upper surface after passing through the rollers. For example, if a piece of the irregularly shaped fragment has a significantly larger horizontal surface area, such as a flat disk, substantially all of the additional mixture on the upper surface of the disk will remain on it after passing through the rollers. This results in the additional mixture or additional layer appearing on the horizontal upper surface of the sheet formed after calendering, rather than having veins running through the sheet in the vertical direction. However, if the irregularly shaped pieces are cylindrical in shape with a height greater than width and the additional mixture is applied over the entire height of the side walls, then thereafter, when the irregularly shaped pieces pass through the rollers, the additional mixture or additional layer on the side surfaces will be stretched and deformed in the horizontal direction. The resulting appearance of the slab will not only have visible veins on the horizontal surface due to the color of the additional layer, but also corresponding random veins throughout the thickness of the slab.

[0052] In order to achieve the same effect, in addition to the pressing rollers, various other existing methods and devices can also be used, such as using pressure to squeeze the pieces of the composite mixture through a narrow opening such as an injection mold.

[0053] According to the utility model, the device for arranging the fragments in a predetermined manner or pattern may be a material shifting device (which may be configured to be controlled by CNC (computer numerical control)), the main body of which has a narrow head structure and a slender and narrow tail made of a rigid flat plate, which gently shifts or pushes away the irregularly shaped fragments and maintains their irregular shape; it will not cut through the irregularly shaped fragments of the composite mixture, nor cause the fragments to be broken or compressed. Specifically, the slender and narrow tail of the main body of the material-dispensing device can be connected to its narrow head and swing back and forth like a pendulum, so as to push or push away irregularly shaped fragments to form grooves with irregular edge contours, and as mentioned above, the force of its swinging will basically not cause the fragments to deform or break; compared with the devices and process methods in the prior art, such as V-wheel rolling devices that pass through the composite mixture to form smooth groove walls, the device and process of the utility model have their own outstanding features: after the above-mentioned grooves are formed according to the utility model, an additional mixture is sprayed inside the groove and on its side walls, and the additional mixture includes but is not limited to a colorant mixture, which is different from the original composite mixture or its fragments in color (including brightness, hue, saturation), and then the irregular fragments of the composite mixture including the area where the grooves are located are flattened and stretched into a plate by a pressing roller, so that the required veins can be formed in the slab. For example, a spray gun controlled by CNC, robot or manual control can be used to deposit the colorant mixture on certain areas of the irregularly shaped fragments; in this way, at least part of the surface (including at least part of the side wall) of the irregularly shaped fragments that have been moved by the material feeding device is deposited with the colorant mixture to form a corresponding additional layer. Each irregularly shaped fragment along the colorant mixture deposition path is usually close to each other, and the colorant mixture on each irregularly shaped fragment or the additional layer formed by it will extend to the random-shaped fragments adjacent to it, and after being rolled by the pressing roller, the appearance of continuous long lines is simulated in the plate. Since the state of extrusion and deformation of each irregularly shaped fragment is random, the continuous long lines often present irregular Z-shaped veins, thereby achieving a more realistic simulation of the random veins often seen in natural stone.

[0054] The size of the irregularly shaped pieces is important in controlling the amount of additional mixture applied thereto. Since the additional mixture is deposited only on the outer surface of any given irregularly shaped piece to form the corresponding additional layer, as the size of the irregularly shaped pieces becomes smaller, the volume having the color of the original composite mixture or its pieces becomes smaller relative to the color of the additional layer, until the particle size is so small that the color of the entire composite mixture becomes the color of the additional layer. Thus, after passing through the nip rollers, smaller pieces will result in a solid color or short vein appearance, which is generally undesirable.

[0055] Another method of coating a large amount of the surface, especially the sidewalls, with the additional mixture is to place irregularly shaped pieces that are significantly larger than the other pieces. The additional mixture can be applied to the large irregularly shaped pieces before or after they are placed on the support structure. The placement of each large irregularly shaped piece can be controlled or pre-defined. This will ensure that a significant portion of the sidewalls of the large irregularly shaped pieces are coated with colorant, and if enough of these large irregularly shaped pieces are close together, after being calendered through the press rollers, the irregularly shaped pieces will connect together and produce the effect of a long zigzag vein.

[0056] The larger the size of the irregularly shaped pieces distributed on the conveyor belt, or the more irregularly shaped pieces are accumulated in front of the roller relative to the distance between the roller and the conveyor belt, the greater the deformation and stretching of the composite mixture pieces after passing through the roller or roller pair, and the formation of continuous long lines; it is stretched or deformed to a controlled extent, depending on how many pieces of the composite mixture are accumulated in front of the roller. If there are not enough pieces in front of the roller, the amount of stretching or deformation will be very small. In extreme cases, if there are not enough pieces, the pieces will not even be pressed together and will eventually leave the roller in the form of pieces instead of a sheet. Conversely, if too much material is accumulated in front of the roller, the composite material will be stretched too much. Depending on the final aesthetic design requirements, there will be a specific amount of stretching or deformation that is required to be achieved. In addition, the conveyor belt transmission speed can be increased to accumulate more irregularly shaped pieces in front of the roller, or the conveyor belt transmission speed can be reduced to accumulate fewer irregularly shaped pieces in front of the roller.

[0057] The speed of the roller or roller pairs, the distance between the conveyor belt and the rollers or roller pairs also affect the degree of deformation and elongation of irregularly shaped pieces of the composite material.

[0058] According to the utility model, an additional mixture is deposited along a predetermined pattern or track connecting a plurality of fragments, and the additional mixture is not only deposited on the upper surface of the fragments, but also on the side walls of at least part of the fragments, and at least part of the connecting area between adjacent fragments, to form a corresponding additional layer; and then the fragments of the composite mixture including the corresponding area forming the additional layer are rolled into a plate by a pressing roller, and the required continuous veins are correspondingly formed on the plate, wherein at least part of the veins run through the entire thickness of the plate body.

[0059] A variety of additional mixtures can be deposited in corresponding areas of the composite mixture fragments along a predetermined trajectory. They usually have different color effects. A variety of additional mixtures can be deposited simultaneously or at different times. The type of additional mixture, the deposition order and the corresponding deposition amount can be controlled by a computer.

[0060] According to the utility model, the size and / or position of the irregularly shaped fragments are controlled, and various methods of applying the additional mixture to specific positions are combined to coat the surface of the irregularly shaped fragments (especially including their side surfaces) according to the required size or area; then the fragments of the composite mixture are processed by a pressing roller or a pair of pressing rollers, or other calendering deformation devices to form the required veins that can better simulate natural stone.

[0061] According to the utility model, the preparation method and the device are configured to respond to the control of the computer processor, store and adjust variables in the computer memory to control the type of colorant, the amount of each colorant, the area on the composite mixture where the additional mixture (including but not limited to the colorant mixture) needs to be deposited, and the amount of deformation and stretching of the fragments of the composite mixture after passing through one or any known extrusion or calendering deformation device / device (including but not limited to a pressure roller or a pressure roller pair, etc.). It also includes, for example, the positioning of the material-diverting device, its swing direction and swing amplitude (or angle), the distance between the pressure roller and the conveyor belt, or the distance between a pair of pressure rollers, the height and number of the fragments of the composite mixture, and the transmission speed of the conveyor belt, etc., which can be configured to respond to the control of the computer processor.

[0062] Compared with the prior art, the utility model realizes the preparation of artificial stone slabs that are more in line with the aesthetic standards of modern people with a relatively convenient process and without high-investment equipment or devices. In particular, compared with the existing artificial stone, its simulated veins are natural and lifelike, which satisfies the aesthetic pursuit of modern people to return to nature to a greater extent:

[0063] According to the method and corresponding equipment or devices disclosed in the utility model, first, from forming a relatively dense composite mixture to fragmenting it; and or further, without causing the irregularly shaped fragments to be basically broken or deformed, at least part of the fragments are moved to form grooves; and or a part of the fragments are arranged on a supporting structure in a predetermined pattern; all in order to form a relatively non-smooth and irregular contour of a predetermined trajectory, when an additional mixture (such as a colorant mixture) is deposited on the corresponding area of ​​the fragments along the predetermined trajectory (the grooves constitute at least a part of the predetermined trajectory) to form an additional layer and then a calendering operation is performed, the corresponding area coated with the additional layer (such as the grooves, the upper surface and side surface of the corresponding fragments, and the corresponding connecting area between adjacent fragments, etc.) and the fragments outside the predetermined trajectory are jointly calendered into a plate, and continuous relatively long veins with random bends are presented on the plate, which is an effect difficult to achieve with the prior art and is closer to the vein characteristics in natural stone. In addition, irregularly shaped fragments with additional layers applied to the surface including the sidewalls are close to each other, and the additional layer on each fragment will extend to the adjacent fragments, and then a slab will be formed through flattening and stretching operations, that is, continuous irregular long lines will be formed in the slab; at the same time, due to calendering or stretching, a transition or gradient effect of the color of the veins will be produced. In summary, the artificial stone slab prepared by the process and equipment of the utility model can have realistic and natural veins, overcoming the technical difficulty of simulating the vein effect of natural stone under existing technical conditions.

[0064] The significant advantage of the utility model is that, compared with the one-plate-at-a-time plate-forming process before the vibration and compaction of the plate, the utility model can realize the continuous conveying of materials and the continuous operation of unloading, coloring and calendering to form a continuous material strip. This advantage, in addition to saving costs, can also produce a longer plate length than the standard plate length (where the standard plate length is usually 3.2 meters), while producing aesthetic value and practical effects. This is because when producing a single plate, the degree of stretching presented in the front or back is very different from the degree of stretching presented in the middle, and the main reason is that at these points, the front of the roller cannot usually accumulate a suitable or stable amount of material. If continuous production, such as 10 slab lengths, only the material in the front and back of the slab length can be removed, and the rest can be cut into corresponding standard length plates with 3.2 meters as length increments for the next step of processing.

[0065] The utility model also saves material costs in that it is usually difficult to evenly distribute the material on a sufficiently large plate surface during plate processing, such as a plate area of ​​1.6m×3.2m and a thickness of 60mm. The vibration and compaction steps can make the local area flat, but if there is more material at one end of the plate than at the other end, it is difficult to make it flat. Under existing production technology conditions, in order to adapt to this unevenness, the slab is usually thicker than the thickness required by other methods, and accordingly, it is necessary to grind the slab to the appropriate size in the subsequent steps of the process. For example, if the required thickness of the final product is 30.0mm, a plate thickness of 36.0mm will be produced, and then it will be roughly ground and polished to 30.0mm, wasting some additional 6.0mm of material. Compared with the prior art, by using a pressure roller or similar device to squeeze and flatten any excess material, a more consistent and flat plate can be produced, thereby allowing the production of plates with a thickness of less than 36.0mm before grinding, while still ensuring the thickness of the final product of 30.0mm. The utility model overcomes the common difficulties under the existing technical conditions, that is, it usually achieves uniform distribution of materials within a sufficiently large size range, which not only saves material costs, but also saves costs in various aspects including labor, equipment, cutting tools, etc. Naturally, this also includes the value of energy conservation and green ecology. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0066] Figure 1 According to the embodiment of the utility model Figure 3 A perspective view of a partial structure of the first device 1, wherein 2 is a colorant storage tank, 4 is a Z-axis lifting device, 6 is a spraying device for spraying colorant or other additional mixtures, 8 is a rotating device for driving the material-dispensing device 10 to rotate, and 102 is a conveyor belt;

[0067] Figure 2 Shows Figure 1 A close-up simplified diagram of a portion of the structure in the first device of FIG. 1 is shown; in the figure, the first device 1 includes a motor 18, a component 14, a shaft 16, a material-dispensing device body 10, and a spraying device 6. The spraying device 6 includes pipes 7a and 7b that supply materials to nozzles 6a and 6b, respectively. The shaft 16 is configured to be rotated by the motor 18 and the component 14 in the direction C1 (counterclockwise) or C2 (clockwise) to rotate the material-dispensing device 10 around the shaft 16.

[0068] Figure 3 A simplified top view of a first device is shown, with a portion shown in Figure 1 In the illustrated state, the material-dividing device body 10 of the device has formed a groove 150 in the composite mixture 160 while maintaining the irregular shape of the side wall of the composite mixture 160;

[0069] Figure 43 is a perspective view of a second device according to an embodiment of the present utility model; the second device includes a primary pressure roller pair device 300 and a secondary pressure roller pair device 200.

[0070] Figure 5 A schematic side view 400 of irregularly shaped pieces of a composite mixture is shown, illustrating various piece sizes and random positioning of their sides; including piece 402 and piece 404. Piece 402 has sides 402a and 402b, and piece 404 has sides including sides 404a and 404b. Sides 402a, 402b, 404a, and 404b have randomly different orientations relative to the conveyor surface of conveyor belt 102. This is a result of the random orientation caused by one or more methods and / or apparatus of the present invention.

[0071] Figure 6 A flowchart 800 of a method described according to an embodiment of the present utility model is shown;

[0072] Figure 7 A simplified block diagram 900 showing device components used in embodiments of the present invention;

[0073] Figure 8 A side view 1000 of a pressing roller during operation in an embodiment of the present invention is shown, wherein the fragments of the composite mixture are deformed under the action of the pressing roller, pressed into a piece and stretched to form a plate;

[0074] Fig. 9 A side view 1100 of a pressure roller pair used in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0075] In at least one embodiment of the present invention, a method for preparing an artificial stone slab and its veins is provided, comprising:

[0076] Compacting: Compacting the composite mixture to form a denser composite mixture;

[0077] Fragmentation treatment: breaking the dense composite mixture into a plurality of composite mixture fragments;

[0078] Coloring: depositing a colorant mixture (or other additional mixture having a different color from the original dense composite mixture) to the corresponding area of ​​the fragment along a predetermined trajectory to form an additional layer having a different color from the original dense composite mixture; and

[0079] Calendering into plates and forming continuous veins with bends: using a device to calender and deform the fragments of the multiple composite mixtures into a plate, the plate presents continuous veins with random bends, the veins are formed by the additional layer being calendered, stretched and connected to each other along with the fragments, and a considerable part of them will penetrate the plate body or extend to the entire plate thickness.

[0080] The fragmentation process may further include a step of forming grooves, i.e., before depositing the colorant mixture along the predetermined trajectory, moving one or more of the plurality of fragments without substantially breaking or deforming them, thereby forming grooves in the plurality of fragments, the grooves will constitute at least a part of the predetermined trajectory.

[0081] In at least one embodiment of the present invention, before the device is used to flatten and stretch the multiple composite material fragments into a plate, the multiple fragments having additional layers on part of their surfaces are arranged on a support structure in a predetermined pattern.

[0082] In at least one embodiment of the present invention, before depositing a colorant mixture or other additional mixture on a partial surface of a first group of fragments of the plurality of composite mixtures and forming an additional layer, at least the first group of fragments may be arranged on a support structure in a predetermined pattern.

[0083] The present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:

[0084] In one embodiment of the present invention, the groove can be formed by using a material-dividing device, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2 The material diverting device, its main body 10 and its associated structure, as shown in Figure 2 , which shows the lifting device 18, the connecting member 14, the connecting rod 16 and the main body 10, etc. The groove 150 is formed in the fragments 160 of the composite mixture, while maintaining the random shape and orientation of the fragments constituting the edge of the groove 150, so that the groove 150 forms an irregular edge profile, such as Figure 3 shown.

[0085] Figure 2 Also shown is a spraying device 6, which comprises nozzles 6a and 6b and pipes 7a and 7b for supplying the nozzles.

[0086] In another embodiment of the present invention, a second device is used, such as Figure 4The second device includes a primary roller pair device 300 and a secondary roller pair device 200. The primary roller pair device 300 includes a first upper roller 302 and a first lower roller 310, and also includes a film collection roller 304 and a film placement roller 306; the secondary roller pair device 200 includes a second upper roller 202 and a second lower roller 210, and also includes a film collection roller 204 and a film placement roller 206.

[0087] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the preparation process of the artificial stone plate and its veins is as follows: Figure 6 As shown, where:

[0088] At step 802, aggregate minerals, such as quartz sand and powder, are mixed with resin, colorant, other additives, or any combination thereof in a high-speed mixer to obtain a slightly moist and soft loose composite mixture.

[0089] In step 804, the composite mixture is compacted into a denser composite mixture.

[0090] At step 806, the denser composite mixture is broken into a plurality of irregularly shaped pieces of desired size.

[0091] Preferably, the dense composite mixture is broken into a plurality of fragments in a controllable manner, for example, by using a stirring device to break up the dense composite mixture. The size of the fragments can be changed by adjusting the rotation speed of the stirring device. Generally, the faster the rotation speed, the smaller the resulting fragments.

[0092] Alternatively, in order to break the dense composite mixture into large or irregularly shaped composite material fragments, the dense composite mixture can be dropped onto a rigid grid or screen, and the desired fragment size can be obtained by controlling the size of the rigid grid or screen and / or the falling height of the composite mixture.

[0093] There are other methods for breaking the relatively dense composite mixture into a desired plurality of pieces.

[0094] The size of the fragments varies depending on the final aesthetic design requirements. However, each three-dimensional fragment in the plurality of fragments involved in step 806 can be described as having a width, a length, and a height, and the maximum size of the width, length, and height is preferably in the range of 25 mm to 250 mm. The size of the fragments depends on the veining effect required for the final aesthetic design. Generally, the larger the fragments, the sparser the veins throughout the slab after being pressed by the pressing roller or rollers.

[0095] The shape of each fragment is usually irregular. On the contrary, if the fragments are too uniform, the veins obtained after the roller processing will be too mechanical and unnatural.

[0096] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the obtained composite mixture has irregularly shaped pieces, such as Figure 5 As shown, the composite mixture 400 includes a plurality of randomly placed fragments of different sizes, shapes, and orientations, such as fragment 402, fragment 404, etc., wherein fragment 402 has sides 402a and 402b, etc., and fragment 404 has sides 404a and 404b, etc., and the sides 402a, 402b, 404a, and 404b have random different orientations relative to the surface of the conveyor belt 102.

[0097] At step 808, the plurality of broken pieces are placed relatively evenly on a support unit, such as a conveyor belt, to avoid a situation where some areas have significantly more composite material than other areas.

[0098] At step 810, a colorant mixture is applied to the surfaces of the plurality of fragments, particularly including the sidewalls, to form respective additional layers.

[0099] The advantage of treating (e.g., step 806) and placing (e.g., step 808) the plurality of fragments in the manner described above is that when additional mixture is applied in certain areas, for example, by spraying a colorant mixture on the previous composite mixture layer in the corresponding area (e.g., step 810), the colorant mixture will also be sprayed onto the side walls of the corresponding fragments to form an additional layer, which will have a color different from the previous composite mixture. At the same time, these side walls are generally irregular in shape and at least not completely smooth and flat surfaces. In particular, these side surfaces will each have their own random orientation. It can be seen that compared with the dense composite mixture with a substantially flat surface obtained after pressing, the irregularly shaped fragments obtained after crushing will obtain a larger surface area of ​​additional layer after depositing (e.g., spraying) additional mixture; the reason is simple, the former additional layer is basically formed on the upper surface of the dense composite mixture, while the latter additional layer will also be formed more on the side surface of the irregularly shaped fragments.

[0100] At step 812, the irregularly shaped pieces are pressed using a pressing roller or a pair of pressing rollers or other calendering devices to extend and stretch the irregularly shaped pieces into a sheet.

[0101] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, in step 812, the following process and state are included: when the fragments enter the pressing roller, the trajectory of the colorant mixture appears on some of the fragments, and the fragments in the area just in front of the pressing roller appear to be in a "piled" state.

[0102] Then, when the fragments leave the pressing rollers, they have been pressed together and stretched to form a slab, in which the fragments are stretched and deformed to form irregular Z-shaped veins running through the plate body; further, the slab is subjected to vacuum vibration pressing, curing, trimming, rough grinding and polishing to become a finished plate.

[0103] The number of irregularly shaped pieces distributed on the conveyor belt can vary, and the height of the irregularly shaped pieces distributed on the conveyor belt can be greater than or even much greater than the specified distance between the roller and the conveyor belt or between the roller pairs. Therefore, when the irregularly shaped pieces pass through the rollers, there will be a material accumulation in front of the rollers. The height of the material accumulation can be controlled by a number of factors, including the conveying speed of the conveyor belt, the speed of the rollers, the height or average height of the irregularly shaped pieces, and the distance between the rollers and the conveyor belt or between the roller pairs. The irregularly shaped pieces of the composite mixture will be squeezed together by the roller or roller pairs, stretched into a sheet, and finally formed into a sheet when it passes through the rollers. Compared with smaller irregularly shaped pieces, larger irregularly shaped pieces will have a greater amount of deformation squeezed out from under the rollers, thereby also changing the effect of the veining formed by the additional layer on the surface (especially including the sidewalls) of the irregularly shaped pieces.

[0104] For example, the irregularly shaped pieces piled in front of the rollers may be 100 mm high from the conveyor belt, and the gap between the rollers and the conveyor belt may be 25 mm. After leaving the rollers, the irregularly shaped pieces are pressed and squeezed by the rollers and deformed into a slab with a height slightly exceeding 25 mm. The composite mixture has a certain elasticity, so its final height may be slightly greater than the height of the rollers. Since the colorant mixture will be deposited (or sprayed) on the surface of the irregularly shaped pieces, especially including their side walls and forming a corresponding additional layer, such as Figure 3 As shown, the veins subsequently formed and displayed by the additional layer will not only appear on the upper surface of the slab formed after calendering, but will also penetrate the entire thickness of the slab, thereby obtaining a satisfactory vein appearance that penetrates the slab.

[0105] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, a multi-stage roller device or a roller pair device can be sequentially used to perform graded calendering, such as Figure 4As shown (a two-stage roller pair device is shown), the composite mixture fragments (for forming a plate) and the additional mixture therein (for forming veins) are gradually deformed (stretched / stretched) and connected by multi-stage calendering. For example, the irregularly shaped fragments piled in front of the rollers may be 100 mm high from the conveyor belt, the distance between the first roller and the conveyor belt or between the first roller pair (including the first upper roller 302 and the first lower roller 310) may be 30 mm, and the distance between the second roller and the conveyor belt or between the second roller pair (including the second upper roller 202 and the second lower roller 210) may be 25 mm.

[0106] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, irregularly shaped pieces can be placed on a fixed support unit, and the pressing roller or pressing roller pair is designed to move back and forth along a track to roll the irregularly shaped pieces, similar to rolling dough with a rolling pin. The distance between the pressing roller and the support unit or between the pressing roller pair is adjustable.

[0107] In one or more embodiments of the utility model, a film-releasing roller and a film-collecting roller are attached to the pressure roller (or the upper pressure roller of the pressure roller pair) to respectively cover the isolation film on the working surface of the pressure roller before the pressure roller calenders the fragments and to roll up or remove the isolation film on the pressure roller after the pressure roller calendering operation is completed. Since the composite material is a slightly wet and soft particle mixture, it is easy to stick to the pressure roller when it contacts the pressure roller. The use of the isolation film can avoid the direct contact between the working surface of the pressure roller and the composite mixture, so that the pressure roller always maintains a smooth working surface during production, thereby ensuring the surface quality of the formed slab. Specifically, the isolation film can be applied to the working surface of the upper pressure roller 302, 202 (or the pressure roller) through the film-releasing roller 306, 206 upstream, and the used protective film can be removed or rolled up from the upper pressure roller (or pressure roller) through the film-collecting roller 204, 304 at the downstream position (the upstream can be understood as the position where the fragments begin to enter the upper pressure roller or the pressure roller or the initial contact between the two, and correspondingly, the downstream is the position where the fragments leave the upper pressure roller or the pressure roller after being deformed by the pressure roller).

[0108] One or more embodiments of the present invention may use a device assembly 900 such as Figure 7 As shown, the computer processor 902 is connected to the computer memory 904 and the computer interaction device 906 respectively, and is also connected to at least the spraying device 6, the material-dispensing device (represented by its main body 10 here), the placement position control device 908, the speed control device 912 for the upper pressing rollers 202 and 302, the height control device 910 for the upper pressing rollers 202 and 302, and the control device 102a for the transmission speed of the conveyor belt 102. The computer interaction device 906 can be, for example, a computer touch screen, a computer mouse and / or a computer keyboard.

[0109] One embodiment of the utility model may include a material dispensing device body 10 controlled by CNC, for example, by executing a computer program stored in a computer memory 904 through a computer processor 902, to control the material dispensing device body 10 to gently push away irregularly shaped fragments and maintain their irregular shapes; the narrow head 10c at the end 10a thereof will not cut through the irregularly shaped fragments and cause them to be shredded or compressed.

[0110] The material-dispensing device body 10 has one end 10a and the other end 10b, including a head 10c and a tail 10d. The tail 10d is elongated and has a Figure 2 Width W1, length L1 and height H1 are shown; preferably, width W1 is the same throughout length L1, and the dimensions of W1, L1 and H1 may be 2 mm, 90 mm and 80 mm respectively.

[0111] Preferably, the elongated and narrow tail 10d is made of a flat rigid plate, connected to the head 10c, and can be configured to swing back and forth like a pendulum by rotating around the axis 16 to further push away the irregularly shaped fragments without exerting a force so great as to deform or break the irregularly shaped fragments. The distance of the swing can vary according to design requirements, such as the width of the groove to be formed, and the force of oscillation may vary based on the specific formula used to form the random shaped fragments.

[0112] The swinging of the material dispensing device body 10 forms a groove in the plurality of fragments, the groove having a slightly irregular edge profile due to the plurality of irregularly shaped fragments being pushed away without breaking or deforming and / or substantially without breaking or deforming. When the side walls of the groove are coated with colorant and stretched by a roller or roller pairs, this can produce a more realistic veining effect. This is in contrast to the smooth groove walls formed by, for example, using a V-wheel cutting device or any other known type of cutting device to cut through the composite material.

[0113] After the grooves are formed, additional layers of composite material or colorant may be applied to the predetermined areas. One embodiment of this method includes using a CNC (and / or computer processor 902, such as Figure 7 As shown) control the spraying device 6 (as Figure 2As shown, for example, a spray gun is used to deposit colorant on certain areas of the plurality of irregularly shaped fragments. In this way, the colorant is deposited on the side walls of the plurality of irregularly shaped fragments that have been pushed by the material dispensing device body 10. Since the colorant on each irregularly shaped fragment and or the connection between them along the colorant deposition path will extend or connect to the adjacent random-shaped fragments as the fragments are stretched and deformed, the colorant is deposited on the side walls of the plurality of irregularly shaped fragments that have been pushed by the material dispensing device body 10. Figure 4 The upper pressing roller 202 or 302 shown then simulates the appearance of continuous long grains in the plate. As each irregularly shaped fragment is squeezed and deformed differently, the continuous long grains will have a slightly random zigzag pattern, thus better simulating the random veins seen in natural stone.

[0114] The size of the irregularly shaped pieces is important for controlling the volume of colorant applied to them. As the size of the pieces decreases, the volume of the original color of the composite material decreases until the size is so small that the color of the entire composite material changes to the color of the colorant. Figure 4 With the upper pressing rollers 202 or 302 shown, smaller pieces would result in an undesirable solid or short vein appearance.

[0115] Another method of ensuring that a large amount of vertical surface area is coated with colorant is to place irregularly shaped pieces that are significantly larger than other pieces on a conveyor, such as conveyor belt 102 or other support unit. The position of each large irregularly shaped piece on conveyor belt 102 or other support unit can be determined by, for example Figure 7 The placement control device 908 shown in FIG. 1 is controlled by the placement control device 908, which is responsive to the control of the computer processor 902. This ensures that a substantial portion of the sidewalls of the large irregularly shaped pieces are coated with colorant, and if enough of these large irregularly shaped pieces are close enough together, after they pass through the calendaring unit (such as the roller pair devices 200 and 300), the irregularly shaped pieces will connect together and produce a long vein effect.

[0116] Distributed on the conveyor belt 102 (such as Figure 1 The larger the size of the irregularly shaped pieces on the upper pressing roller 202 and / or 302 (as shown in FIG. Figure 4The greater the deformation and stretching after the upper roller 202 or 302 is, the greater the deformation and stretching after the upper roller 202 or 302 is. The resulting elongated veins are stretched or deformed in a controlled manner, depending on how many pieces of composite material are accumulated in front of the upper roller 202 or 302. If there are not enough pieces of the composite material accumulated in front of the upper roller 202 and / or 302, the amount of stretching or deformation of the pieces will be very small. In extreme cases, if there are not enough pieces of the composite material, the pieces will not even be compressed and will leave the roller in the form of pieces rather than a single flat plate. If too many pieces of the composite material are accumulated in front of the upper roller 202 and / or 302, the pieces will be stretched too much. Depending on the needs of the final design aesthetics, there is a specific amount of stretching or deformation that is desired to be achieved. In addition, the conveyor belt 102 transmission speed can be increased by the control of the computer processor 902 to allow more irregularly shaped pieces to be accumulated in front of the upper roller 202 or 302, or the belt transmission speed can be reduced to allow fewer irregularly shaped pieces to be accumulated in front of the upper roller 202 or 302.

[0117] The rotation speed of the pressure roller or upper pressure rollers 202 and 302 (controlled by the computer processor 902 through the pressure roller speed control device 912) and the height between the conveyor belt 102 and the pressure roller or upper pressure rollers 202 and 302 (controlled by the computer processor 902 through the pressure roller height control device 910) will also affect the degree of deformation of the irregularly shaped fragments of the composite material.

[0118] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the colorant may be deposited not only on the surface of the fragments but also along the height direction of the side walls of the fragments, for example, by the spraying device 6, in a predetermined pattern or trajectory connecting the plurality of fragments. After the colorant is deposited and passes through one or more stages of rollers or roller pairs, the veins extending through the board body will appear as continuous veins on the surface of the treated board.

[0119] The size of the irregular pieces is usually determined by a variety of factors, including the desired final design aesthetics (such as the desired vein effect), the method of applying the additional mixture (such as the colorant mixture) to the surface or sidewall of the pieces, etc. After the additional mixture is applied, the desired pattern will be formed on the single or multiple pieces; the desired effect can be obtained by combining it with one or more rollers 202 and 302 (i.e., deformation such as stretching, stretching, and connection after calendering).

[0120] The fragmentation and arrangement unit, in addition to the aforementioned material-dispensing device, also has some other embodiments, which utilize corresponding equipment and devices to push the fragments away, thereby exposing more surface area or side walls of the fragments while maintaining the shape of the fragments and preventing them from breaking or deforming.

[0121] The variables can be adjusted and stored in the computer memory 904 to control the degree to which the irregular pieces are deformed and stretched after passing through one or more rollers or roller pairs, through computer software executed by the computer processor 902. In at least one embodiment, the distance between the rollers (or roller pairs) and the support unit (such as a conveyor belt), the height and number of the irregular pieces, and the speed at which the conveyor belt is transported to one or more rollers (or roller pairs) can be configured to respond to the control instructions of the computer processor 902.

[0122] An embodiment of the utility model, as Figure 8 The schematic diagram 1000 shows a side view of a roller 1002 rotatably mounted on a member 1004 during operation, wherein at least a portion of a plurality of composite material fragments 1050 are being calendered by the roller 1002, and the remaining fragments 1050 are also moving toward the roller 1002 as the conveyor belt 1006 moves in the direction D1, and are about to be calendered. The slab 1052 represents the fragments 1050 that have been calendered into a sheet by the roller 1002, which has veins throughout the slab obtained by calendering deformation (uncured). Figure 8 Also shown is a steel plate 1008 which serves as a rigid support structure for the support unit over which the conveyor belt 1006 moves.

[0123] An embodiment of the utility model, as Fig. 9 A schematic diagram 1100 is shown, showing a side view of a compression roller 1102 rotatably mounted on a member 1104 during operation, wherein a portion of a plurality of fragments 1150 of composite material are being compressed by the upper compression roller 1102 and the lower compression roller 1108, and the remaining fragments 1150 are moving into the gap between the upper compression roller 1102 and the bottom 1108 as the conveyor belt 1106 moves in the direction D4, and are about to be compressed. The sheet 1152 represents a sheet of fragments that have been compressed by the upper compression roller 1102 and the lower compression roller 1108, wherein there are veins throughout the sheet after calendaring deformation (uncured). Fig. 9 Also shown is a steel plate 1112 which serves as a rigid support structure for the support unit on which the conveyor belt 1106 moves. In the embodiment described, the lower pressure roller 1108 located below the conveyor belt 1106 also rotates to help ensure that there is no braking effect due to friction between the upper pressure roller 1102 and the conveyor belt 1106.

[0124] Side baffles 104 / 106 are also provided corresponding to the upper pressing rollers 202 / 302, and the side baffles are provided in pairs at the two ends of the pressing roller or the upper pressing roller, and are located at the two side edges in the width direction of the conveyor belt. Figure 4Only one side baffle is shown in the figure. When the pressing roller or the upper pressing roll presses the composite mixture fragments accumulated in front of it, the pressed composite mixture fragments will not be squeezed out from both sides of the rolling roll due to the physical restriction of the side baffle; at the same time, the side baffle plays a role in setting or limiting the width of the final slab or strip.

[0125] The speed of the roller or roller pair and the height between the conveyor belt and the roller or roller pair will also affect the degree of deformation of the irregularly shaped pieces of the composite mixture. The speed and height are controlled by the roller speed control device 912 and the roller height control device 910 connected to the computer processor 902, respectively. Figure 7 shown.

[0126] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the colorant mixture may be deposited on the surface (including the side surface) of the fragments along a predetermined pattern or track connecting the plurality of fragments, for example, by the spraying device 6. After the plurality of fragments are colored according to the predetermined pattern or track and deformed by calendering by one or more rollers or roller pairs, the elongated veins that penetrate the plate body formed thereby will appear as the desired continuous veins on the formed slab.

[0127] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, other known devices and apparatuses other than the material-dispensing device 10 are used to push the fragments away, thereby exposing more surface area or sidewalls of the fragments while maintaining the shape of the fragments and preventing them from being broken or deformed, or further forming grooves 150, such as Figure 3 shown.

[0128] The artificial stone slab prepared by the method for preparing the artificial stone slab described in the utility model can finally obtain the appearance of continuous long veins running through the entire slab for a considerable distance. In contrast, in the prior art, short veins are formed in each individual fragment by coating the fragments with colorants, and the short veins formed in each fragment are usually not connected to each other.

[0129] A significant advantage of one or more embodiments of the present invention is that it can be operated continuously, rather than producing only one plate at a time. The degree of stretching of the slab produced in a continuous operation according to the embodiments of the present invention is generally uniform over the entire length of the slab; in contrast, the degree of stretching of the left side of the slab and the degree of stretching of the right side of the slab produced in a single batch rather than continuously according to the embodiments of the present invention is significantly different.

[0130] Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific illustrative embodiments, many changes and modifications of the present invention may be obvious to those skilled in the art without departing from the core essence and scope of the present invention. Therefore, all such changes and modifications should also be reasonably and appropriately regarded as contributions of the present invention to the art and included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A combined device for preparing an artificial stone plate and its veins, comprising a fragmentation and arrangement unit, a coloring unit, a calendering unit and a support unit, wherein the support unit comprises a conveying structure and a rigid support structure, characterized in that: The fragmentation and arrangement unit comprises a fragmentation device for forming irregular fragments of a desired size, and a fragment arrangement device for laying out or placing the fragments in a predetermined manner or pattern; The coloring unit is used to add additional mixture at a predetermined position of the fragment and / or along a predetermined trajectory; The calendering unit is used to deform and connect the broken pieces and the additional mixture added thereto into a flat plate with desired veins through extrusion or calendering.

2. The combined device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The fragmentation device comprises a stirring device or a grid.

3. The combined device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The device for arranging the broken pieces comprises a material shifting device, which comprises a motor, a lifting device, a rotating device and a main body; the motor is connected to the lifting device and the rotating device to drive or drive the main body to move up and down and swing in a horizontal plane.

4. The combined device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The main body of the material-digging device has a narrow head and an elongated narrow tail made of a rigid flat plate.

5. The combined device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The calendering unit comprises at least one level of pressing roller device or at least one level of pressing roller pair device; Each level of the pressing roller device includes a pressing roller; each level of the pressing roller pair device includes a pair of pressing rollers.

6. The combined device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The pressing roller device or the pressing roller pair device further comprises a film placing roller and a film collecting roller; The film placing roller is arranged at the upstream position of the pressing roller, and is used to cover the isolation film on the working surface of the pressing roller before the calendering operation; The film collection roller is correspondingly arranged at a downstream position of the pressing roller, and is used for rolling up or removing the isolation film on the pressing roller after the calendering operation.

7. The combined device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that Also includes: A mixing unit, which is used to mix raw materials to obtain a composite mixture; A pressure unit, which includes a front pressure unit for pre-pressing the composite mixture to obtain a relatively compact composite mixture before the fragmentation and arrangement unit operates; and a rear pressure unit for pressurizing and shaping the flat plate after the calendering unit operates; as well as Curing unit, grinding unit and cutting unit.

8. The combined device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that Also includes: Computer processors; and computer storage and computer interaction devices respectively connected thereto; The computer processor is connected to the fragmentation and arrangement unit, the coloring unit, the calendering unit and the support unit respectively, and controls the positioning, operation amplitude and frequency of the fragmentation and arrangement unit, the size and placement of the fragments, the type and amount of the additional mixture, the coloring area and coloring order, the deformation and stretching amount of the irregular fragments after passing through the calendering unit, and the relative position of the calendering unit and the support unit and the corresponding speed and / or rotation speed through a computer program stored in the computer memory.

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