Luminescent artificial vegetation element

Abstract

The invention relates to a luminescent artificial vegetation element comprising one or more bodies made from a material or raw material mixed with a mixture of dye pigments and with an additive filler with luminescent properties. The additive filler with luminescent properties is preferably an additive filler with phosphorescent properties and, even more preferably, a strontium aluminate filler.

Description

[0001] DESCRIPTION

[0002] LUMINESCENT ARTIFICIAL VEGETATION ELEMENT

[0003] OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The invention, as stated in the present descriptive report, refers to a luminescent artificial vegetation element, which has advantages and characteristics, described in detail below, that represent an improvement over the current state of the art.

[0005] The object of the present invention is an element of artificial vegetation, such as grass, plants, flowers, trees, or any other element, whether individual or unitary or in the form of a set for a planter, hanging garden or similar, whether decorative or for use in sports facilities, both indoors and outdoors, which is distinguished essentially by the fact of being composed from a material that includes, integrated into the “masterbatch” itself, that is, in the mixture of coloring pigments and additives, with which it is manufactured, added to said material, an additive charge with luminescent properties, specifically an additive charge to promote the phosphorescence of all or at least part of the vegetation element, consisting, preferably, of strontium aluminate and, optionally, depending on the color of the element, of fluorine.

[0006] FIELD OF APPLICATION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The field of application of the present invention falls within the industrial sector dedicated to the manufacture of artificial vegetation elements and articles, encompassing both exterior and interior decoration, as well as landscaping and interior design, and all types of decorative uses such as vertical gardens, plants, flowers, trees, and their combinations for hanging, screening, or decorative purposes both indoors and outdoors, as well as decorative turf or turf for use in sports facilities. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0008] As is well known, the market offers a wide variety of artificial vegetation products and elements, such as turf, vertical gardens, plants, flowers, trees, and combinations thereof, each with its own set of advantages. Furthermore, the numerous uses of luminescent paints and coatings are also well-established, along with the benefits they provide to their respective sectors. Therefore, it would be advantageous to implement the use of these paints on such elements to give them luminescent capabilities, potentially offering further benefits.

[0009] In this regard, according to document U202200041, whose owner is the applicant of the present invention, a luminescent and solar artificial turf is already known in which, in addition to its original treatment, that is, once manufactured, a luminescent paint is subsequently added as a coating layer.

[0010] The objective of the present invention is, therefore, an improvement of said application, in that, in addition to being implemented in any type of artificial vegetation element including a lawn, it allows achieving a noticeably more resistant phosphorescent effect, since in the case of the lawn disclosed by said document, being a layer of paint added as a coating, it has the disadvantage that it deteriorates easily with friction, causing erosion deterioration that can be very rapid, detracting from the product's appearance and reducing its luminescent capacity.

[0011] Furthermore, and with reference to the current state of the art, it should be noted that, at least as far as the applicant is concerned, there is no knowledge of any other artificial luminescent plant element, nor any other invention of similar application, that presents technical and constitutive characteristics equal or similar to those claimed herein.

[0012] EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] The luminescent artificial vegetation element proposed by the invention is configured as an ideal solution to achieve the aforementioned objectives, with the characterizing details that make it possible and that distinguish it being conveniently included in the final claims that accompany this description.

[0014] Specifically, what the invention proposes, as previously mentioned, is an element of artificial vegetation, which may consist of grass, plants, flowers, trees, or any other plant element, either individually or as a group, for example for planters, hanging gardens or similar, and either for decorative purposes or for use in sports facilities, both indoors and outdoors, which is distinguished essentially by the fact that it is composed of a material, which may or may not be polymeric, such as nylon, polyethylene, polypropylene or other, and integrated into the “masterbatch”, which is a mixture of coloring pigments and additives, normally in the form of granules, which are added to said material during the manufacturing process of the fibers, pieces or parts that make up the plant element in question to give color to the element, and includes a load of additive with luminescent properties.

[0015] More specifically, the artificial vegetation element of the invention comprises one or more pieces, filaments or bodies, obtained by extrusion, molding or any other manufacturing process known in the sector, which, being composed from a material or raw material, conventionally mixed with a mixture of coloring pigments and / or additives, for example to give it color, is distinguished by the fact that said mixture, sometimes known as masterbatch, includes a load of additive with luminescent properties;More specifically, an additive charge with phosphorescent properties, such that, after the vegetation element is excited by natural or artificial light, usually during the day, said element emits light for a time after said excitation has been removed, usually during the night, so that the vegetation element, in addition to the advantages provided by the characteristic of being a luminescent element, this characteristic is more resistant, since it is not affected by erosion as it is integrated into the material with which it is made, and has greater power.

[0016] Preferably, the phosphorescent additive filler incorporated into the mixture of coloring pigments and additives used to manufacture the artificial plant element of the invention is a strontium aluminate filler, which may optionally be doped with europium and dysprosium, since this combination is particularly used to create long-lasting phosphorescent materials. Europium acts as the activator that enables light emission, while dysprosium helps to prolong the emission time.

[0017] Furthermore, this aluminate may constitute between 2% and 100% by weight of the mixture of coloring pigments and additives added to the material of the artificial plant element, although, preferably, it constitutes between 10% and 80% by weight of the total mixture of coloring pigments and / or additives added to the material of the artificial plant element. And, more preferably, between 40% and 60% by weight.

[0018] However, optionally, the additive to promote phosphorescence that is incorporated into the mixture of coloring pigments and / or additives, sometimes known as masterbatch, of the material from which the artificial plant element of the invention is made, particularly in the case of a mixture based on coloring pigments intended to achieve complex colors, that is, colors that are not easy to obtain, such as neutral, green, yellow, orange, blue or white, is fluorescent.

[0019] In any case, the proportion of the aluminate or fluorine additive load in the mixture of coloring pigments and / or additives, sometimes known as masterbatch, of the material forming the vegetation element will be valid for all possible manufacturing materials of this type of standard products in their manufacture, and will be used complying with the manufacturing methods already known for this type of product, adjusting where appropriate some mold parameters, pressure or temperature so that it can store solar energy and use it to deploy lighting at night.

[0020] Finally, it should be noted that, preferably, when the artificial vegetation element that is the subject of the invention is grass or another similar type of thread-like element that is manufactured from a yarn or fiber, the Dtex (or Decitex) of said yarn, necessary so that the grass does not break with the aluminate and eventually the fluorine integrated in its mixture of coloring pigments and / or additives, and which as is known is the unit of measurement that in the case of artificial grass refers to the weight in grams of 10,000 meters of fiber, is 10,000 and more preferably 15,000 as a minimum.

[0021] Furthermore, in the case that the artificial vegetation element is grass or another similar type of filiform element comprising a fabric or geotextile support where the fibers that make it up are fixed, preferably said fabric is also made of a material that includes, integrated into the material itself, an additive with luminescent properties.

[0022] With all this, the luminescent vegetation element that is the object of the invention provides advantages in decoration, landscaping, and interior design, respecting and contributing elements of safety and sustainability that add a unique value, as well as energy savings in its use indoors and outdoors.

[0023] This invention improves upon the already known benefits of installing artificial vertical gardens, which are water and energy savings and minimal maintenance, while adding decorative and sustainability value.

[0024] Another advantage of the luminescent vegetation element is that it optimizes the characteristics of artificial vegetation products, such as artificial turf, providing safety to facilities and users while respecting sustainability criteria.

[0025] Furthermore, the mixture of coloring pigments and additives, which includes the luminescent artificial vegetation element of the invention, is suitable for all colors and guarantees the best performance in each of them, thus giving a maximum radiance of luminosity and color; it increases the resistance capacity of the products against external elements.

[0026] Taking into account one of the most important factors, which is the sun and artificial light, the vegetation element of the invention allows it to be transformed into luminescent energy, which allows for lasting brightness at night.

[0027] Another advantage is the use of an energy that does not pollute, it has no pollution.

[0028] In turn, other advantages of the luminescent artificial vegetation element of the invention can be broken down in the following sections:

[0029] Sustainability: The ecological benefits it provides are easily recouped, as it does not require irrigation, unlike natural products. The significant savings in water and related supply costs for conventional products are noteworthy. Energy savings and basic nighttime lighting also contribute to its sustainability, and it can be used for visibility and high-pressure intrusion detection on-site.

[0030] Costs related to gardening are avoided, as maintenance is not required.

[0031] Safety: Regarding safety, all measures are guaranteed to ensure no risk to user health. To this end, the mixture of coloring pigments and additives complies with Regulation No. 1272 / 2008 (CLP) on hazard identifiers that may affect health.

[0032] Furthermore, another innovative aspect in security is that it can constitute an anti-intrusion and theft system thanks to the luminosity it generates, which allows traditional security systems such as cameras to detect any break-in more efficiently.

[0033] On the other hand, one of the biggest risk factors for a natural product is pests.

[0034] And finally, the luminescent vegetation element of the invention also reduces the chances of avoiding accidents related to falls in sports facilities, both in indoor and outdoor use.

[0035] Having sufficiently described the nature of the present invention, as well as the manner of putting it into practice, it is not considered necessary to make its explanation more extensive so that any expert in the field can understand its scope and the advantages that derive from it.

Claims

CLAIMS 1.- Luminescent artificial vegetation element consisting of grass, plants, flowers, trees, or any other plant element, either individually or as a group, for planters, hanging gardens or others, with a decorative character or for indoor or outdoor sports facilities, and comprising one or more pieces, filaments or bodies, obtained by extrusion, molding or any other manufacturing process, from a material or raw material mixed with a mixture of coloring pigments and / or additives, is characterized by the fact that said mixture of coloring pigments and / or additives includes a charge of additive with luminescent properties.

2. Luminescent artificial vegetation element, according to claim 1, characterized in that the additive charge with luminescent properties that is added to the material during the manufacturing process of the fibers, pieces or parts that make up the plant element is an additive charge with phosphorescent properties.

3. Luminescent artificial vegetation element, according to claim 2, characterized in that the additive charge with phosphorescent properties is a strontium aluminate charge.

4. Luminescent artificial vegetation element, according to claim 3, characterized in that the strontium aluminate filler is doped with europium and dysprosium.

5. Luminescent artificial vegetation element, according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the aluminate load is between 2% and 100% by weight of the mixture of coloring pigments and / or additives.

6. Luminescent artificial vegetation element, according to claim 5, characterized in that the aluminate content is between 10% and 80% by weight of the mixture of coloring pigments and / or additives 7. Luminescent artificial vegetation element, according to claim 6, characterized in that the aluminate content is between 40% and 60% by weight of the mixture of coloring pigments and / or additives.

8. Luminescent artificial vegetation element, according to claim 2, characterized in that the additive charge with phosphorescent properties is a fluorine charge.

9. Luminescent artificial vegetation element, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that, when the artificial vegetation element is grass or another similar type of thread-like element that is manufactured from a thread or fiber, the Dtex of said thread is 10,000.

10. Luminescent artificial vegetation element, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that, when the artificial vegetation element is grass or another similar type of thread-like element that is manufactured from a thread or fiber, the Dtex of said thread is 15,000. 11.- Luminescent artificial vegetation element, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that, when the artificial vegetation element is grass or another similar type of filiform element comprising a fabric or geotextile support where the fibers that make it up are fixed, said fabric is also made of a material that includes, integrated into the material itself, an additive with luminescent properties.