Compositions: coating or plastic – Coating or plastic compositions – Inorganic settable ingredient containing
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-26
2001-07-31
Green, Anthony (Department: 1755)
Compositions: coating or plastic
Coating or plastic compositions
Inorganic settable ingredient containing
C106S644000, C106S712000, C427S343000, C427S427000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06267813
ABSTRACT:
Concrete and other mixes using a cement binder have been traditionally coloured using conventional grey or white cement, which creates an ordinary grey tone. Hues other than grey have been created by using differently coloured aggregates or various kinds of powdered pigments.
Concrete can be coloured by adding 0-6 per cent pigment The most usual pigments are metal oxides and earth colours. For example, the use of metal oxide is known from EP application 191 278. French patent publication 2 439 627 describes a method for colouring concrete. The French publication concentrates on colouring an already hardened piece of concrete, on the assumption that it will be porous enough for the colour to adhere. Certain kinds of superficial colouration are always weak—as in the above case—because, if a colour solution can enter the pores, so can rainwater, for example, which naturally reduces the permanence and, quite clearly, the brightness of the colour.
A mortar mixture, intended only for interior use, is also known, in publication JP 87-37169, which otherwise differs considerably from cement-based concrete in composition and use. A rust colour is created in the mortar by adding iron powder and another metal with a lower ionization tendency. The iron oxidizes, forming rust, thus colouring the mortar.
Pigments have traditionally been used to colour various kinds of hardening mixtures based on plastic and resin.
Besides the aforementioned detriments, the methods according to the above state-of-the-art lack certain hues. In particular, the colours blue and green are problematic, due to the cost of the pigment needed to create them, making the manufacture of the product uneconomical.
The purpose of this invention is to create a method based on a completely new principle, which will create new kinds of colours for concrete and similar. These colours are especially, but not solely, blue and green hues. In brief, according to the invention, when metal powder or other fine metal material is mixed into the concrete or other mix, the metal will react chemically to make a compound producing the desired colour.
The above and other advantages and benefits of the invention have been created using a method with the characteristic features given in the accompanying claims.
As stated above, the invention is based on adding a metal powder or other relatively fine metal material, such as copper powder or granules, to the mix to be hardened, and treating it with a suitable chemical substance to create the colour. Thus, the chemical substance producing the colour may be included as a component of the mix itself, or may be added separately. In particular, but not exclusively—as described later—the metal powder or similar may be added to an unhardened concrete or corresponding mix, whence it spreads evenly and thoroughly in the mix, becoming bound more permanently than in known methods.
The addition of copper powder to a concrete or corresponding mix colours the mix blue or green. As the colouration is extremely strong, adding a relatively small amount of copper is sufficient to create a bright colour. It is clear that, instead of using copper powder, it is also possible to use many other alloys with a copper content, such as brass, bronze or other substances containing copper. Other cheap materials are ores that contain copper, and other similar substances that create colour. Examples of substances that colour the above mixes include ammonium chloride, ammonium carbonate, acetic acid or oxalic acid. A colour can also be created without adding reagents, due to the substances that are naturally in concrete.
Although there are innumerable alternatives for forming colour, the creation of blue or green colour, as stated above, is particularly important. Familiarity with the known chemical reactions that create colours from metal powders or similar allows a desired chemical substance to be used to create a reaction. The book, The Colouring, Bronzing and Patination of Metals, by Richard Hughes and Michael Rowe, published by Thames and Hudson Ltd., London, deals extensively with chemical substances used to treat metals.
The essence of the invention is that the colour arises from a chemical reaction and not, for example, from the mere addition of coloured particles to the mix. Thus, the permanence of the colour is of a totally different order to that of a colour created only superficially, through, for instance, a surface treatment. An example from a different field is the permanence of the colour created by a chemical reaction when a copper plate is treated with nitric acid, in comparison with the easily removable colour that results from treating the same plate with a copper sulphate solution.
The invention is described in the following text with the aid of three examples of manufacture.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4247589 (1981-01-01), Greenspan
patent: 4962006 (1990-10-01), Oat
patent: 5344671 (1994-09-01), Wottrich
patent: 5520298 (1996-05-01), Opanasenko
patent: 55-078748 (1980-06-01), None
patent: 55-078750 (1980-06-01), None
patent: 55-078751 (1980-06-01), None
Fay Sharpe Fagan Minnich & McKee LLP
Green Anthony
LandOfFree
Method for the coloration of concrete and other mixtures does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Method for the coloration of concrete and other mixtures, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Method for the coloration of concrete and other mixtures will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2554221