Method and system for manufacturing a configurable appearance coating and coating obtained by implementing said method and system

Abstract

The invention relates to a system for manufacturing a web of solid elements connected to each other by means of a grid (WNT) having a first plurality of nodes where two distinct cables are connected to each other. This web of solid elements comprises a plurality of solid elements produced by depositing a hardenable paste material into a thermoforming mold comprising a plurality of so-called primitive cavities (CAV11, CAV12, CAV1N), each encompassing at least one of said nodes of the grid (WNT). According to the invention, this system includes means for selecting a second plurality of cavities intended to receive said hardenable paste material, and means for pouring (TRM, EVB, BS) said material into only the selected cavities.The invention makes it possible to integrate into the tablecloth only the solid elements that are ultimately intended to be included, thus avoiding any waste of resources in producing a tablecloth with irregular patterns. Reference: Figure 1.

Description

Title of the invention: Method and system for manufacturing a configurable appearance coating and coating obtained by implementing said method and system

[0001] The invention relates generally to a system and a method for manufacturing a web of solid elements connected to each other by means of cables previously assembled in the form of a grid having a first plurality of nodes where two distinct cables are connected to each other, said web of solid elements including a plurality of solid elements made by depositing a hardenable paste material in a mold including a plurality of cavities encompassing said nodes of the grid. technical field

[0002] The present invention falls particularly, but not exclusively, within the general field of construction, and more specifically within the field of exterior building cladding for purposes not only of aesthetics, but also of visual, acoustic, and solar protection. The invention can also be used in safety applications involving barriers, walkways, or guardrails. Previous technique

[0003] In the current state of the art, it is known to produce a flexible perforated veil formed by a sheet of solid elements obtained by casting hardenable paste material, which veil is intended to be suspended after manufacture so as to form a flexible screen suitable for being substituted as a privacy screen for an interior wall of a dwelling.

[0004] A process and a system for manufacturing such a sheet are described in particular in the French patent published under reference 2996495B1, which makes it possible to produce a veil made up of a multitude of solid elements arranged uniformly over the whole surface of the sheet and connected to each other by means of flexible connecting threads of high resistance previously assembled in the form of a weave.

[0005] The known manufacturing process involves creating a matrix that possesses all the characteristics of the final product, and in particular a regular and uniform arrangement of the solid elements constituting the web, and generating a mold based on this matrix. This mold has as many cavities as there are solid elements to be integrated by molding, each cavity housing a node of the web before casting. A paste-like material such as concrete is then poured in a single step into all the cavities of said mold, in order to produce a sheet of solid elements arranged in a regular and uniform manner and each encompassing a node of the weft. Principle of the invention

[0006] The inventors observed that, although the known process makes it possible to obtain sheets that can attractively form flexible walls inside living spaces, this process does not make it possible to obtain screens with irregular patterns. Thus, a sheet of solid elements obtained using the known process will often be unsuitable for cladding the exterior facade of a building that has openings such as windows, doors, balconies, terraces, etc.

[0007] To remedy this drawback, a person skilled in the art might be tempted to first manufacture a uniform sheet using the known process, and then, after casting and solidification of the solid elements constituting the sheet, cut out open surfaces corresponding to the openings on the facade that the sheet is intended to cover, but this would result in a waste of material that is hardly compatible with the environmental constraints currently in force.

[0008] Moreover, the material used to make the grid at the intersections of which the solid elements are cast is not sufficiently resistant to allow the implementation of known screens outdoors, because such a grid will not be able to withstand the weather. Summary of the invention

[0009] According to a first of its material aspects, the present invention thus proposes a system for manufacturing a web of solid elements connected to each other by means of cables previously assembled in the form of a grid having a first plurality of nodes where two distinct cables are connected to each other, said web of solid elements including a plurality of solid elements made by depositing a hardenable paste material in a mold including a plurality of so-called primitive cavities each encompassing at least one of said nodes of the grid, system characterized in that it includes means for selecting a second plurality of cavities intended to receive said hardenable paste material, and means for pouring said material into only the selected cavities, and in that the mold has been previously obtained by thermoforming.

[0010] Indeed, the inventors considered that it would be more efficient and more environmentally friendly to actually integrate into the tablecloth only the solid elements that are ultimately intended to be included there, which will avoid having to resort later to cutting that generates waste of resources to make a tablecloth with irregular patterns.

[0011] According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the cables forming the The frames are cables made of stainless steel.

[0012] Such cables will exhibit significant resistance and are particularly, but not exclusively, suited to applications for exterior building cladding.

[0013] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the pouring means include a hopper intended to be supplied with concrete and suitable for being positioned over each of the primitive cavities, said hopper being equipped with a nozzle having an outlet surface smaller than an inlet surface of a primitive cavity, the nozzle being connected to the hopper via a pouring valve.

[0014] In this embodiment of the invention, the hopper is successively positioned above each of the cavities to be filled, and, at each stop of the hopper above one of these cavities, the pouring valve is opened, thus allowing a natural flow by gravity of the hardenable paste material into said cavity from the nozzle.

[0015] According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the pouring valve being electrically controlled, the selection means include a programmable control unit capable of producing a control signal for opening / closing said pouring valve as a function of the position of the hopper and programming instructions previously received by said programmable control unit.

[0016] Such an embodiment allows for particularly easy and efficient management of the casting means. Indeed, it allows, on the one hand, for the identification by software and in a single step of all the cavities intended to receive hardenable paste material, and, on the other hand, for the selective control of the actual casting operations by electrically or radio-based control of the opening and closing of the casting valve.

[0017] According to a preferred variant of this embodiment, the manufacturing system described above further includes means for moving the hopper in at least two directions defining together a plane substantially parallel to the frame, the programmable control unit being intended to produce control signals for said means for moving.

[0018] This variant allows for the complete automation of the web manufacturing process by programming the programmable control unit. Indeed, a simple computer file generated beforehand using techniques well known to those skilled in the art will contain, for example, a set of coordinates for the cavities into which hardenable paste material must be poured to create a predetermined web pattern, as well as a representative code for the open / close signal to be sent to the pouring valve when the hopper is in each position defined by these coordinates, and a sequence of control signals for said drive means that will allow the hopper to be automatically positioned in the succession of positions defined by the set of cavity coordinates. fill.

[0019] According to a functional aspect, the invention also relates to a method of manufacturing a web of solid elements connected to each other by means of cables previously assembled in the form of a grid having a first plurality of nodes where two distinct cables are connected to each other, said web of solid elements including a plurality of solid elements made by depositing a hardenable paste material in a mold including a plurality of cavities encompassing said nodes of the grid, method characterized in that it includes a prior step of making said mold by thermoforming and a step of selecting a second plurality of cavities intended to receive said hardenable paste material, and a step of pouring said material into only the selected cavities.

[0020] According to a variant of this functional aspect, the invention also relates to a manufacturing process as defined above, characterized in that it further includes at least: . a cleaning step of the equipment used to carry out the previously performed pouring step; . a step of selecting a new plurality of cavities intended to accommodate a new hardenable paste-like material having a different color than the material used to carry out the previously performed casting step; and . a step of pouring said new material into only the newly selected cavities.

[0021] This variant of the invention makes it possible to produce multicoloured tablecloths, which is not possible with the manufacturing process known in the prior art.

[0022] According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the mold-making step includes: . a step of arranging, above a matrix of refractory material, a sheet of thermo-deformable plastic material; . a step of heating said sheet of thermoformable plastic material until it conforms to the shapes of said matrix; and . an insertion step, before cooling of said thermo-deformable plastic sheet, of said frame within a thicker portion of said thermo-deformable plastic sheet.

[0023] This embodiment of the invention makes it possible to make the mold in one piece, and to insert the weft during the making of the mold without requiring machining operations on the latter in order to provide grooves for the cables forming the weft.

[0024] Multiple materials can be used to make the matrix for shaping the mold, but a material obtained from wood fibers known as The abbreviation "MDF" (Medium Density Fiber) will allow for optimal heat resistance in relation to its cost price and ease of machining.

[0025] According to a second of its material aspects, the invention also relates to a sheet of solid elements obtained by implementing a process in accordance with the preceding description. Brief description of the drawings

[0026] Other features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent upon reading the following description of particular embodiments, given by way of illustrative and non-limiting examples, and with regard to the accompanying drawings, among which: Fig. 1

[0027] [Fig. 1] is a diagram of a system for manufacturing a sheet of solid elements according to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention; and Fig. 2

[0028] [Fig.2] is a diagram that partially represents such a manufacturing system in top view; Fig.3

[0029] [Fig.3] is a functional diagram that represents such a production system of a mold intended to be implemented according to a preferred variant of the invention; and Fig. 4

[0030] [Fig.4] is a diagram that represents a mold intended to be implemented according to a preferred variant of the invention. Description of the implementation methods

[0031] Fig. 1 represents schematically a system for manufacturing a sheet of solid elements connected to each other by means of cables previously assembled in the form of a WNT frame having a first plurality of nodes ND where two distinct cables are connected to each other.

[0032] This mesh could, for example, consist of a "WEBNET" type net manufactured by JAKOB ROPE SYSTEMS, made from stainless steel cables, giving the resulting web significant strength, making it particularly, but not exclusively, suitable for exterior building cladding applications. Other types of mesh could be used depending on the installation conditions of the webs to be manufactured. For instance, a semi-rigid metal mesh with shape memory could be used, which offers numerous possibilities for implementation within self-supporting structures.

[0033] This layer of solid elements includes a plurality of solid elements produced by depositing a hardenable paste material BET in a mold (MLD1, MLD2) including a plurality of primitive cavities (CAV11, CAV12, CAV1N) encompassing said nodes of the WNT framework.

[0034] As represented in [Fig.1], the mold (MLD1, MLD2) is formed in this particular example by an assembly of two half-molds, a first half-mold MLD1 having a substantially horizontal upper surface and including cavities with bottoms having here each substantially a partially hemispherical shape, other shapes being conceivable in other embodiments of the invention.

[0035] The mold (MLD1, MLD2) includes a second half-mold MLD2 having a substantially horizontal upper and lower surface and including through cavities each placed overhanging one of the cavities of the first mold MLD1 and each formed of substantially vertical walls delimiting a section which agrees with an upper section of that of the cavities of the second mold MLD2 which it overhangs.

[0036] The two half-molds MLD1 and MLD2 forming the mold (MLD1, MLD2) may, for example, be made of HDPE1000 or any other plastic derivative. More generally, any material characterized by its ease of milling and ease of demolding upon contact with the chosen hardening paste material may be considered, such as, for example, water-repellent MDF.

[0037] The WNT frame is connected by means of fixing not shown here, to a first frame BATI which surrounds it, these means of fixing allowing tensioning of the WNT frame so that it is in a substantially horizontal plane and able to be clamped between the two half-molds MLD1 and MLD2, the upper and lower surfaces of which, respectively, will include grooves able to accommodate the portions of cables actually clamped between the two half-molds MLD1 and MLD2.

[0038] In other embodiments of the invention, the mold may be made in one piece, and have between the primitive cavities walls provided with grooves deep enough so that the portions of cables of the WNT frame which they are intended to accommodate can, for example, rest at about half-height of the primitive cavities.

[0039] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the mold will be made in one piece, and the WNT mesh will be inserted into it during the making of the mold without requiring machining operations on the latter in order to provide passage grooves for the cables forming the WNT mesh.

[0040] In accordance with the invention, the manufacturing system shown here includes means for selecting a second plurality of cavities intended to receive said hardenable paste material BET, and means for pouring (TRM, EVB, BS) said material in only the selected cavities.

[0041] In the advantageous embodiment of the invention described herein, the pouring means include a hopper TRM intended to be supplied with concrete and suitable for being positioned over each of the primitive cavities (CAV11, CAV12, CAV1N), said hopper TRM being equipped with a nozzle BS having an outlet surface smaller than an inlet surface of a primitive cavity (CAV11, CAV12, CAV1N), the nozzle BS being connected to the hopper TRM by means of a pouring valve EVB.

[0042] In this embodiment of the invention, the hopper is successively positioned above each of the cavities to be filled, and, at each stop of the hopper above one of these cavities, the pouring valve is opened, thus allowing a natural RPC flow by gravity of the hardenable paste material BET into said cavity from the nozzle BS.

[0043] The hardenable paste material may, for example, consist of a “EFFIX ARCA” type concrete formulated by CIMENTS CALCIA.

[0044] In the particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention represented in [Fig.1], a screw conveyor VSF is used to transfer the hardenable paste material BET from a first tank CVB to a second tank CVM located at an altitude higher than that of a plane of movement of the hopper TRM.

[0045] The second CVB tank is connected to a GLT feed chute of the TRM hopper via a tank bottom valve EVM, thus allowing gravity flow of hardenable paste material towards the TRM hopper when the tank bottom valve EVM is in the open position.

[0046] In the embodiment represented here, the EVM tank bottom valve is a solenoid valve whose open or closed states are imposed by a CSV tank control signal produced by a CNTU programmable control unit included in the selection means.

[0047] In the particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention described herein, the EVB pouring valve is electrically controlled, and the CNTU programmable control unit is capable of producing a CSB opening / closing control signal of said EVB pouring valve as a function of the position of the TRM hopper and PINT programming instructions previously received by said CNTU programmable control unit.

[0048] Such an embodiment allows for particularly easy and efficient management of the casting means. Indeed, it allows, on the one hand, for the identification by software and in a single step of all the cavities intended to receive the hardenable paste material BET, and, on the other hand, for the selective control of the actual casting operations by electrically or radio-controlled opening and closing of the EVB casting valve.

[0049] According to a preferred variant of this embodiment, the manufacturing system described herein further includes means for moving (SVM1, SVM21, SVM22) the TRM hopper in at least two directions (DR1, DR2) together defining a plane substantially parallel to the WNT frame, the programmable control unit CNTU being intended to produce control signals (CSM1, CSM2) of said means for moving (SVM1, SVM21, SVM22).

[0050] This variant allows for the complete automation of the web production by programming the CNTU programmable control unit. Indeed, a simple computer file generated beforehand using techniques well known to those skilled in the art will contain, for example, a set of coordinates of the cavities into which hardenable paste material must be poured in order to create a predetermined web pattern, but also a representative code of the opening / closing signal CSB to be sent to the EVB pouring valve when the hopper is in each position defined by these coordinates, as well as a coding sequence of control signals (CSM1, CSM2) of said movement means (SVM1, SVM21, SVM22) which will allow the TRM hopper to be automatically positioned in the succession of positions defined by the set of coordinates of the cavities to be filled.

[0051] Fig. 2 represents schematically a portion of the manufacturing system described above in order to illustrate from a top view how the TRM hopper is intended to be controlled in order to carry out a selective pouring operation in a plurality of cavities selected from a set of so-called primitive cavities CAVij (for i=l to P and j=l to N).

[0052] This top view allows us to observe that the TRM hopper is mounted on a first rail RL1 extending parallel to a first direction DR1, called longitudinal, and is attached to a servomotor SVM1 intended to drive the hopper in a translational movement along this longitudinal direction DIR1.

[0053] The first longitudinal rail RL1 itself has two ends attached to servomotors (SVM1, SVM2) cooperating respectively with two rails (RT21, RT22) extending in a second direction DR2, called transverse, in order to drive the longitudinal rail LR1, and therefore the hopper TRM carried by this rail, in a translational movement along this transverse direction DIR2.

[0054] For this purpose, the servomotors (SVM21, SVM) are equipped with wheels (Wl, W2) arranged inside transverse grooves formed in the transverse rails (RT21, RT22), as shown in [Fig.l].

[0055] The transverse rails (RT21, RT22) are connected to vertical uprights of a second frame BAT2, to which two longitudinal rails (RL11, RL22) are also connected, in order to form a supporting frame for the first longitudinal rail RL1, and therefore for the TRM hopper in its two-dimensional movement above the second half- MLD2 mold.

[0056] It should be noted that, to facilitate understanding of [Fig.1], the vertical uprights of the second frame BAT2 and the longitudinal rails (RL11, RL12) have not been represented there in order to show only the elements ensuring the movement of the hopper TRM above the second half-mold MLD2.

[0057] Moreover, those of the primitive cavities CAVij (for i=l at P and j=l at N) which have been filled are here greyed out and in this particular example form a beginning of a frame which can for example enhance an opening of the type door or window on the exterior wall, which the implementation of known techniques does not allow to be obtained.

[0058] It should also be emphasized that although, in the particular example represented here, each of the primitive cavities encompasses only one of the nodes of the WNT grid, many other embodiments of the invention may implement molds whose primitive cavities may encompass several nodes of the grid, and thus present oblong or rectangular, or more generally polygonal, shapes.

[0059] According to a functional aspect, the invention also relates to a method of manufacturing a web of solid elements connected to each other by means of cables previously assembled in the form of a WNT grid having a first plurality of nodes where two distinct cables are connected to each other, said web of solid elements including a plurality of solid elements made by depositing a hardenable paste material BET in a mold (MLD1, MLD2) including a plurality of cavities (CAV11, CAV12, CAV1N) encompassing at least one of said nodes of the WNT grid, method characterized in that it includes a step of selecting a second plurality of cavities intended to receive said hardenable paste material BET, and a step of pouring said BET material into only the selected cavities.

[0060] According to a variant of this functional aspect, the invention also relates to a manufacturing process as defined above, characterized in that it further includes at least: . a cleaning step of the means (CVB, VSF, CVM, EVM, GLT, TRM) implemented to carry out the previously executed casting step; . a step of selecting a new plurality of cavities intended to accommodate a new hardenable paste material having a different shade from that of the BET material used to carry out the previously performed casting step; and . a step of casting said new material into only the newly selected cavities.

[0061] This variant of the invention makes it possible to produce multicoloured tablecloths, which is not possible with the manufacturing process known in the prior art.

[0062] Figures 3 and 4, considered together, illustrate a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention; the mold-making step includes: . a step of arranging, above an MTX matrix made of refractory material, a PLS sheet of thermo-deformable plastic material; . a heating step of said PLS sheet of thermoformable plastic material until it conforms to the shapes of said MTX matrix, through the implementation of HTW heating means, for example, lamps emitting high-power infrared radiation; and . an insertion step, before cooling of said PLS sheet of thermo-deformable plastic material, of the WNT mesh within a thicker portion of said sheet of thermo-deformable plastic material.

[0063] This embodiment of the invention makes it possible to make the mold in one piece, and to insert the WNT weave during the making of the MLD mold without requiring machining operations of the latter in order to provide passage grooves for the cables forming the WNT weave, as illustrated more particularly by [Fig.4] which represents the MLD mold obtained after demolding, which integrates the WNT weave within it.

[0064] Multiple materials can be used to produce the MTX matrix for formatting the MLD mold, but a material made from wood fibers known by the abbreviation "MDF" (Medium Density Fiber) will provide optimal heat resistance in relation to its cost and ease of machining. According to a second material aspect, the invention also relates to a sheet of solid elements obtained by implementing a process according to the preceding description.

Claims

Demands

1. A system for manufacturing a web of solid elements connected to each other by means of cables previously assembled in the form of a grid (WNT) having a first plurality of nodes (ND) where two distinct cables are connected to each other, said web of solid elements including a plurality of solid elements made by depositing a hardened sand-paste material in a mold, including a plurality of so-called primitive cavities (CAV11, CAV12, CAV1N) each encompassing at least one of said nodes of the grid (WNT), a system characterized in that it includes means for selecting a plurality of cavities intended to receive said hardenable paste material, and means for pouring (TRM, EVB, BS) said material into only the selected cavities, and in that the mold has been previously obtained by thermoforming,said casting means including a hopper (TRM) intended to be supplied with hardenable paste material and suitable for being positioned above each of the cavities (CAV11, CAV12, CAV1N).

2. Manufacturing system according to claim 1, characterized in that the cables forming the weft (WNT) are cables made of stainless steel.

3. Manufacturing system according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that said hopper (TRM) is provided with a nozzle (BS) having an outlet surface smaller than an inlet surface of a cavity (CAV11, CAV12, CAVIN), the nozzle (BS) being connected to the hopper (TRM) via a flow valve (EVB).

4. Manufacturing system according to claim 3, characterized in that, the flow valve (EVB) being electrically controlled, the selection means include a programmable control unit (CNTU) capable of producing an open / close control signal (CSB) of said flow valve (EVB) as a function of the position of the hopper (TRM) and programming instructions (PINT) previously received by said programmable control unit (CNTU).

5. A manufacturing system according to claim 4, characterized in that it further includes means for moving (SVM1, SVM21, SVM22) the hopper (TRM) in at least two directions (DR1, DR2) together defining a plane substantially parallel to the frame (WNT), the programmable control unit (CNTU) being intended to produce control signals (CSM1, CSM2) of said means of movement (SVM1, SVM21, SVM22).

6. A method for manufacturing a web of solid elements connected to each other by means of cables previously assembled in the form of a grid (WNT) having a first plurality of nodes where two distinct cables are connected to each other, said web of solid elements including a plurality of solid elements made by depositing a hardenable paste material in a mold (MLD1, MLD2) including a plurality of cavities (CAV11, CAV12, CAV1N) encompassing at least one of said nodes of the grid (WNT), a method characterized in that it includes a preliminary step of making said mold by thermoforming and a step of selecting a plurality of cavities intended to receive said hardenable paste material, and a step of pouring said material into only the selected cavities by means of a hopper (TRM) intended to be supplied with hardenable paste material and suitable for being disposed over each of the cavities. (CAV11, CAV12, CAV1N).

7. A manufacturing method according to claim 6, characterized in that it further includes at least: . a step of cleaning the means used to carry out the previously performed casting step; . a step of selecting a new plurality of cavities intended to receive a new hardenable paste material having a different color than that of the material used to carry out the previously performed casting step; and . a step of casting said new material into only the newly selected cavities.

8. A manufacturing method according to any one of claims 6 or 7, characterized in that the mold making step includes: . a step of arranging, above a refractory material matrix (MTX), a sheet (PLS) of thermo-deformable plastic material; . a step of heating the sheet of thermo-deformable plastic material until it conforms to the shape of said matrix; and . a step of inserting, before cooling said sheet of thermo-deformable plastic material, said frame (WNT) within a thicker portion of said sheet (PLS) of thermo-deformable plastic material.

9. A manufacturing process according to claim 8, characterized in that the matrix (MTX) is made of a material obtained from wood fibers.

10. Sheet of solid elements obtained by implementing a process according to any one of claims 6 to 9.

Images