U.S. patent application number 10/711164 was filed with the patent office on 2006-03-16 for system and method for design and construction of natural stone facade and flooring.
Invention is credited to Scott A. Hayden.
Application Number | 20060053742 10/711164 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36032353 |
Filed Date | 2006-03-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060053742 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hayden; Scott A. |
March 16, 2006 |
System and Method for Design and Construction of Natural Stone
Facade and Flooring
Abstract
The present invention, in various embodiments, includes novel
system and method to design and construct natural stone facade and
flooring. In one embodiment, natural stones products are
individually characterized and positioned based on design
requirements for construction at the project site. In another
embodiment, characterized natural stones are preassembled in
modular units prior to shipment to the project site. In another
embodiment, characterized natural stone products are preassembled
in modular units to effect desired designs, textures or patterns at
any project site.
Inventors: |
Hayden; Scott A.; (Fort
Collins, CO) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Michael Lau
P. O. Box 270181
Louisville
CO
80027
US
|
Family ID: |
36032353 |
Appl. No.: |
10/711164 |
Filed: |
August 29, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/747.12 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04F 15/08 20130101;
E04F 13/144 20130101; B44F 9/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
052/747.12 |
International
Class: |
E04B 1/00 20060101
E04B001/00 |
Claims
1. A method of providing a design report regarding natural stone
facade or flooring construction project, the method comprising of
characterizing individual natural stone products, optimized
placement of each natural stone product, and accurate visual and
quantitative representation project.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the entire method is practiced at
the construction site.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the characterization of the
natural stone product is practiced at a remote location such as the
stone quarry and the other processes practiced at a different
location such as architect office or construction site.
4. A system of providing a design report regarding natural stone
facade or flooring construction project, the system comprising of
optical imaging and ranging detectors, digitized information such
as spatial contour, surface, veining pattern and appearance, and
three dimensional data, optimized placement of each natural stone
product based on prioritized design requirements, and graphical
visualization display of the constructed facade or flooring
project.
5. The system of claim 4 wherein the entire system is located at
the stone quarry or construction site.
6. The system of claim 4 wherein the respective subsystems are
located in geographically diverse locations.
7. A method of providing an unique identifier tag code for each
natural stone product wherein the tag code contains a condensed
representation of visual, geometric and other physical
characteristics of the natural stone product.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein the tag code is labeled on each
characterized natural stone product.
9. The method of claim 7 wherein the tag code is stored in
machine-readable media for selection and optimized placement of the
characterized natural stone product.
10. A method of providing preassembled modular units of
characterized natural stone products to achieve certain artistic
expression, dimensional profiles or sculptured imagery.
11. A method of providing preassembled modular units of
characterized natural stone products to achieve desired physical
properties such as slip resistance, self-draining, or ease of
installation and maintenance.
12. A method of providing preassembled modular units of
characterized natural stone products that can be used for
customized design and alteration at any construction site.
Description
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT
[0001] A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains
material, which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright
owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of
the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the
Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise
reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. The following notice
applies to the software and data as described below and in the
drawings hereto: Copyright 2004, Scott A. Hayden, All Rights
Reserved.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0002] The use of natural stone as building materials for interiors
and exteriors is growing rapidly, driven in part by the beauty of
natural materials and technical advances in stone production.
Slabs, tiles, and pebbles are some of the natural stone products
used as building materials. Automated machineries used in quarrying
and fabrication produce thinner stone slab and tile slices
consistently. Advances in cladding and anchorage systems make
installation easier and quicker. Pebbles, either
naturally-weathered or machine tumbled, are collected and sorted
according to type and size. They are either offered as loose
pebbles or attached to a backing sheet for ease of
installation.
[0003] The quality and look of a constructed natural stone project
relies solely on the craftsmanship and artistic partiality of the
installers or stone masons. Constructed natural stone projects
rarely resemble the sample swatches and photographs at the planning
stage. Thermal and humidity related issues, mismatched types,
colors, and patterns are common problems in constructed natural
stone projects. Alternation to a constructed project is difficulty
and costly. Remedial actions to an unsatisfactory project may
involve total removal, followed by new installation. Several
reiterations to achieve the desired design are not uncommon in the
industry. This is costly in terms of wasted resources and financial
penalties for late completion.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0004] In the following description, numerous details are set
forth. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that
embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these
specific details. In other instances, well-known structures,
devices, and techniques have not been shown in detail, in order to
avoid obscuring the understanding of the description. The
description is thus to be regarded as illustrative instead of
limiting.
[0005] Reference in the specification to "one embodiment" or "an
embodiment" or "another embodiment" means that a particular
feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with
the embodiment is included in at least an embodiment of the
invention. The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" in
various places in the specification are not necessarily all
referring to the same embodiment.
[0006] In addition, select embodiments of the present invention
include various operations, which are described herein. The
operations of the embodiments of the present invention may be
performed by hardware components or may be embodied in
machine-executable instructions, which may be in turn utilized to
cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor, or logic
circuits programmed with the instructions to perform the
operations. Alternatively, the operations may be performed by a
combination of hardware and software, and mechanical subsystem.
[0007] Moreover, embodiments of the present invention may be
provided as computer program products, which may include
machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions used to
program a computer (or other electronic devices) to perform a
process according to embodiments of the present invention.
[0008] Additionally, embodiments of the present invention may be
provided as modular units of natural stones products that have been
characterized and prefabricated to effect desired designs such as
artistic expressions, letterings or logos, geometric or random
patterns, or surface textures at any construction site.
[0009] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system 100 for the
characterization of natural stone materials in which the present
invention may be embodied in certain embodiments. The system 100
comprises of an image data acquisition subsystem 110, consisting of
a rotating turntable stage scale 112, multiple optical imaging and
ranging detector arrays 114 interfaced to a data acquisition and
control module 116.
[0010] Each individual natural stone product, such as slap, tile,
or pebble, is transported sequentially to 112 where the weight of
the product is measured. Multiple optical imaging and ranging
detector arrays in 114 enables information containing spatial
contour, surface, veining pattern and appearance, and three
dimensional data to be collected. This information is then
digitized and coordinated by 116 and processed further by computer
system 120.
[0011] Information acquired by 110 is processed by a computer 120
consisting of hardware 122, operating system 124, imaging
processing algorithms 126 and software to optimize design 128. Each
individual natural stone product is then indexed and labeled if
necessary in subsystem 130 and the optimized design is displayed
and a report presented in subsystem 140.
[0012] Each natural stone product is then classified by software
126 operating under operating system 124 on hardware 122. An
identifier tag code consisting of a representation of visual,
geometric and other physical characteristics is then assigned to
each natural stone product. The stone product is index and labeled
if necessary in 130. A spatial optimization algorithm based on
pre-selected design rules 128 is then employed to optimize the
individual placement of each stone product.
[0013] When appearance is of paramount importance as specified by
the architect or designer, such as stone sizes uniformity or
veining pattern, the alignment of individual veining and size
uniformity takes precedence, while maintaining proper spacing
between stones. Alternatively, the orientation of the veining
patterns and the thickness of the stone may be exploited to create
an artistic expression of dimensional profiles or sculptured
imagery by specific placement of classified stones in desired
positions. The designed flooring or facade project is then
presented both visually and quantified in report and display
generator 140.
[0014] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplarily block diagram of the
method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
The quantity of natural stone products required for a construction
project is first estimated based on standard industry practices,
such as volumetric calculations from area and thickness and
contingency factors such as waste and availability of materials. At
the start of the characterization of 200, the natural stone product
is scanned 210, classified and indexed 220. The design rules 230
specified by the architect are specified, and placement and
orientation of each stone is optimized 240. The project is
displayed graphically 250 and in tabulated form 260. An electronic
acceptance of 250 and 260 is included in 270, thus completing the
characterization of the natural stone products 280.
[0015] Accordingly, in one embodiment, the present invention
generally relates to automated methods and apparatus to
characterize individual natural stone products. In another
embodiment, a detailed report with visually accurate depiction of a
natural stone project can be generated.
[0016] The foregoing description has been directed to specific
embodiments. It will be apparent to those with ordinary skill in
the art that modifications may be made to the described
embodiments, with the attainment of all or some of the advantages.
For example, the techniques of the present invention may be applied
to any type of natural stone products in any construction setting.
Also, a dedicated machine is not required to provide embodiments of
the present invention. Instead, the classification may be performed
at the stone quarry or at the construction site. Therefore, it is
the object of the appended claims to cover all such variations and
modifications as come within the spirit and scope of the
invention.
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