Methods and apparatus for replicating original objects

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for producing cast articles with characteristics of original objects such as a stone panel. The cast articles can replicate the contours, textures, and colors of all or a portion of the original object and can be made in any shape or size and specifically can be formed to simulate rock walls, carved stone architecture details, and other construction components normally created by stone masons or sculptors on site and at a high cost. The processes used in making the cast articles include the production of a series of molds. The molds seek to replicate the size, shape, contour, and surface texture of an original object with or without modifications to the original object. (end of abstract)

Agent: John R Ley, LLC - Greenwood Village, CO, US
Inventor: Bruce E. Harrington
USPTO Applicaton #: #20080063739 - Class: 425123000 (USPTO)
Related Patent Categories: Plastic Article Or Earthenware Shaping Or Treating: Apparatus, Distinct Means To Feed, Support Or Manipulate Preform Stock And Means For Shaping Fluent Or Bulk Stock To Form United Product, Female Mold Type Means, Means To Support Plural Preforms In Spaced Relation In Or At Common Female Mold

Methods and apparatus for replicating original objects description/claims

The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20080063739, Methods and apparatus for replicating original objects.

Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/460,603 filed Jun. 12, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. ______, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/236,667 filed Sep. 6, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,235,204, and a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/148,241 filed Sep. 4, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,607,683, all of which are assigned to the assignee of this invention. This application, through application Ser. No. 10/460,603, also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/409,686 filed Sep. 9, 2002. These applications and patents are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The invention relates to the general field of methods and apparatus for replicating the characteristics of an original object such as a stone or stone panel in a cast article. More particularly, the invention relates to the field of such methods and apparatus further incorporating into the cast article useful shapes and properties not present in the original object but normally helpful in constructing commercial structures such as facades and walls from the cast articles.

[0004] 2. Discussion of the Background

[0005] Many people have attempted to manufacture items simulating the contours and colors of an original object such as a natural article, but produce an item that either does not look authentic or poorly reproduces the original object in its entirety. One example is Formica, a hard plastic substrate used to cover countertops and the like. Some forms of Formica were impregnated during manufacture with dyes or other colored material to simulate the look of wood or stone. However, the simulation was not convincing because the Formica was fiat. Also, it did not have the texture of the original object it purported to simulate.

[0006] Another example is Corian. This was made from plastic in the form of sheets of varying thickness for use as countertops and related structures. Most forms of Corian were made by mixing filler materials with plastic and the resulting product was colored much like the filler material used during manufacture. Some forms of Corian were made to resemble stone. However, the simulation was not appealing because Corian was largely fiat and it also did not have the texture of the natural articles it purported to simulate.

[0007] Yet another example is Linoleum. This was made from various plastics and fillers and was sold in the form of sheets or rolls, principally for covering floors with a wear-resistant surface. While some forms of Linoleum were colored and textured to resemble natural articles, the simulation was still not convincing. The colors were artificial and the texture so regular as to dispel the notion of a natural articles.

[0008] Still another example is plastic floor tiles. These were typically squares of regular size. They were intended to be butted against one another once a mastic had been applied, and some were both colored and textured to resemble natural articles. However, the colors were often unconvincing. Further, the same was true for the textures, which were not only shallow but also discontinuous where one tile butted up against another.

[0009] Another example is exterior siding designed to replace or cover some or all of the exterior of outdoor structures, including houses. This siding typically was made of plastic or aluminum and was marked or embossed in an effort to simulate natural articles. However, the simulation was not appealing. The colors were unconvincing and the textures were not only shallow and unrealistic but also discontinuous where one piece of siding butted up against another.

[0010] Another example is cultured stone. This was cast from cement and aggregate and simply mimicked the characteristics of real stone. It could not be molded any differently from the natural article and required the same methods for installation as real stone.

[0011] Processes for casting plastics are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,750,583 to Gansen et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 3,883,627 to Fitts. Gansen et al. disclosed a process for the preparation of polyurethane products in which a plastic film was positioned in a mold, the mold was closed, a polyurethane reaction mixture was injected into the mold, and the product was removed from the mold once the reaction mixture had fully reacted.

[0012] Fitts disclosed a process in which a heat curable elastomeric sheet comprising a curing agent and either urethane elastomeric gum stock or silicone gum stock was placed over a master to be copied. The heat curable elastomeric sheet was one that did not cause inhibition between the master and the heat curable elastomeric sheet. Next, the elastomeric sheet was vacuum drawn against the master and the master sheet material was enclosed in a frame. A foamed polymeric backing was then formed in situ to force the heat curable elastomeric sheet against the master to copy the shape of the master. The heat curable elastomeric sheet was then cured in the shape of the master. Finally, articles were molded in the shape of the master in a mold constructed from the cured elastomeric sheet material.

[0013] A decorative plastic moulding was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,869 to Drexinger et. al. The moulding comprised two moulding pieces, each with a decorative face, a back, two sides, and two ends. Each end of each piece had a 45 degree angle pre-mitered cut relative to the plane of the decorative face, with the pre-mitered cuts of each piece being in parallel planes. Each side of each piece was in a plane at a 45 degree angle to the plane of the decorative face, with the side planes converging at a position spaced from the back of the piece. The two moulding pieces were made of fire rated polyurethane.

[0014] Finally, a method for molding an artificial rock was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,558 to Jarboe et. al. This method entailed selecting a rock for reproduction and creating a flexible rubber mold and supporting cradle having a mold cavity conforming to the exterior of the rock. The mold has a substantial degree of flexibility and is created by applying an uncured liquid rubber forming material to the rock and curing the uncured liquid rubber forming material to produce the rubber mold. The cradle is formed by applying or spraying a low density urethane foam forming mixture to the exterior of the rubber mold to provide a self-supporting cradle and spraying a two-sided urethane composition into the mold cavity. The urethane composition comprises an isocyanate side and a polyol side and is mixed in a spray gun in a spray-in-mold process to build up the molded artificial rock to a desired thickness. The cradle and mold are then stripped away after curing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0015] The present invention involves methods and apparatus for producing cast articles with characteristics of original objects such as a stone panel. The cast articles can replicate the contours, textures, and colors of all or a portion of the original object and can be made in any shape or size and specifically can be formed to simulate rock walls, carved stone architecture details, and other construction components normally created by stone masons or sculptors on site and at a high cost. The processes used in making the cast articles include the production of a series of molds. The molds seek to replicate the size, shape, contour, and surface texture of an original object with or without modifications to the original object. For example, the original object may be a wall with multiple and different stone sections as would occur if a stone mason created a wall from individual stones. It may also be an architectural piece such as a carved stone element with a natural outward appearance in a customized shape. A master reproduction is used in this invention to form molds from which commercial quantities of cast articles can be made.

[0016] The general procedures and materials specifically disclosed herein have wide application. In most of the embodiments, an original object is physically placed in a frame to make a mold. However, rather than binging or modifying an original object (natural or manmade) to fit within the confines of such a frame, an impression can be taken of at least a portion of the original object where it is located. In this regard, an impression of a portion of a large object found in nature (e.g., a portion of a huge, immovable stone, boulder, etc.) could be taken in the field. To this end, an open faced box could be securely held, or constructed, around a portion of the object that one desires to replicate. The securely held box could then be sealed around its open face edges and filled with a first impressionable material. This first impressionable material could be a flowable mold making material such as a semi-liquid silicone that, upon curing or drying (in the box), captures the surface morphology, texture, etc. of the object to be replicated. This first impressionable material could also be a precursor to an inflexible material (e.g., a polymeric material or a non-polymeric material) such as those used to create certain hereinafter more fully described thermosetting polymeric materials. These impressionable materials are capable of replicating the surface morphology, texture, etc. of a solid object they contact while in a semi-fluid (impressionable) state. They then maintain that surface morphology, texture, etc. after the originally impressionable material has cured, dried, cooled, etc., and been removed from its impression-forming contact with the solid object it replicates. In a less preferred, but still operable embodiment of these alternative procedures, such impressionable materials could even be a non-polymeric material (e.g., a crystalline material) such as plaster of Paris.

[0017] Many of the preferred embodiments of this invention involve taking impressions of manmade objects (e.g., bricks, manmade carvings in the face of a block of marble, wood, metal, thermoset resin, ceramic material, etc., three dimensional manmade objects such as castings of objects of art, mold parts, etc.). In such cases, a resulting impression-bearing first mold material can be employed in ways hereinafter described in order to produce a master reproduction. A final product or cast article bearing a replication of the surface morphology of the original object (be it a natural or manmade object) can then be made. Generally speaking, the herinafter described processes for making a final product or cast article that replicates a portion of a surface of the original object may comprise: (1) making a first mold that replicates at least part of the surface of the original object, (2) filling the first mold with a first castable material to produce a cast reproduction, (3) modifying the cast reproduction to form a master reproduction, (4) making a second mold that replicates at least part of the surface of the master reproduction, (5) filling the second mold with a second castable material, and (6) curing the second castable material to produce a cast article that replicates at least a portion of the surface of the original object.

[0018] One particularly preferred process for making the cast articles that replicate the surface of an original object such as a natural article comprises the steps of modifying the original object to a predetermined size and configuration (such as cutting two or more stones to fit together or to carve a piece of stone) and thereafter making a mold of at least part of the modified original object (e.g., modified natural article). The mold is then filled with a castable material to produce a cast reproduction of at least part of the surface of the modified original object (e.g., modified natural article). Next, the reproduction may be modified for construction and installation purposes to a predetermined size and configuration to make a master reproduction. The final cast article may then be made from a mold replicating at least a part of the surface of the master reproduction.

[0019] Another method of the invention involves making reproductions or cast articles of architectural details, such as cornices or moldings that replicate the surface of a natural article (e.g., stone). The method comprises the steps of making a mold of at least part of the surface of the stone and then lining the inner surface of a support structure with the mold. The support structure with the surface mold is filled with castable material creating a master reproduction with the replicated stone surface texture incorporated into the casting in the three-dimensional shape desired.

[0020] Apparatus of the invention as disclosed can be used in systems for the production of cast articles that replicate the surface of an original object. These systems include two types. One is a continuous conveyor system and a second is a single mold operation that is individually filled. These may be placed in a multiple mold stack for curing or cured individually with or without pressure. The conveyor system comprises a conveyor, one or more molds positioned on the conveyor (each of which molds replicates on at least part of its surface the surface of the original object), a dispenser positioned adjacent to the conveyor for filling one or more of the molds with a castable material, and second conveyor positioned adjacent to the first conveyor for substantially confining the castable material to the molds. This system can further comprise one or more dispensers of castable material, liquid or powdered coloring agents secondary additives, such as UV blockers, or solvent positioned adjacent to the first conveyor, as well as a heater for heating the molds and drying any paint, coloring agent or solvent placed in them. In another method, the curing may occur in separate closable support structures, with or without pressure systems. These may be individual or aggregated for efficiency and production.

[0021] These methods and apparatus can be practiced or configured in a number of variations. For example, molds can be placed in closable support structures to facilitate casting of the article. The closable support structure can be made of metal, wood, plastic or the like and lined with an inert material to prevent adhesion of castable material to the rigid support structure.

Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
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