Process for production of tile products

Claim 1

A CONTINUOUS PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING SELF-SUPPORTING SHEET TILE, COMPRISING, CONTINUOUSLY FORMING AN INTIMATELY MIXED RESINOUS COMPOSITION COMPSED OF (A) FROM ABOUT 0 TO ABOUT 90% BY WEIGHT, BASED ON THE TOTAL WEIGHT OF THE AGGREGATES IN THE MIXTURE, OF FINE AGGREATE HAVING AS ASTM SIZE FOR FROM ABOUT 40 TO ABOUT 200, AND FROM ABOUT 10% TO ABOUT 90% BY WEIGHT, BASED ON THE TOTAL WEIGHT OF THE AGGREGATES IN THE MIXTURE, OF LARGE AGGREGATE HAVING A SIZE OF FROM ABOUT 1/8" TO ABOUT 3", AND (B) FROM ABOUT 2 1/2% TO ABOUT 12 1/2% BY WEIGHT, BASED ON THE WEIGHT OF THE AGGREGATES, OF AN EPOXY RESIN INCLUDING A CATALYST THEREFOR, CONTINUOUSLY SPREADING SAID COMPOSITION TO A DESIRED DEPTH ON A SERIES OF MOULD SECTIONS ARRANGED FOR MOVEMENT IN A LINE UPON A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL SUPPORT, THE MOULD SECTIONS HAVING SIDE RIMS ARRANGED IN ALIGMENT AND HAVING RIMLESS JUXTAPOSED TRANSVERSE EDGES, THE MOULD SECTIONS BEING COVERED BY A CONTINUOUS LAYER OF MOULD RELEASE AGENT, MOVING THE CONTINUOUS RIBBON OF RESINOUS COMPOSITION SO FORMED SEQUENTIALLY THROUGH A HEATING STATION, A VIBRATING STATION, A MOULD SEPARATING STATION, AND A POLISHING STATION, CONTINUOUSLY VIBRATING SAID SUPPORTING SURFACE AS SAID MIXTURE IS SPERATING STATION, A VIBRATING STATION, A MOULD SEPARATING STATION, AND A POLISHING STATION, CONTINUOUSLY VIBRATING SIAD SUPPORTING SURFACE AS SAID MIXTURE IS SPREAD THEREON FIRST IN A HORIZONTAL DIRECTION AND SUBSEQUENTLY IN A VERTICAL DIRECTION AS IT PASSES THROUGH SAID VIBRATING STATION, WHERE THE COMPOSITION IS IN A HEATED CONDITION, TO FREE ANY GAS CONTAINED IN SAID MIXTURE AND PRODUCE A COMPOSITION FREE FROM GASEOUS OCCULSIONS, MAINTAINING THE MIXTURE IN A HEATED CONDITION AFTER PASSING THROUGH SAID HEATING STATION FOR SUFFICIENT TIME TO CURE AND SET THE EPOXY RESIN, CONTINUOUSLY SEPARTING THE INCOMPLETELY HARDENED SELF-SUPPORTING RIBBON OF SOLIDIFIED MIXTURE FROM THE MOULD SECTIONS AS IT PASSES THROUGH SAID MOULD SEPARATING STATION, AND POLISHING AT LEAST ONE SURFACE OF THE SOLIDFIED RIBBON TO OBTAIN A SHEET TILE PRODUCT HAVING A THREE-DIMENSIONAL DECORATIVE EFFECT.