Method for making slab-faced and headed panels including corners or returns

Claim 2

A process for manufacturing slab-faced panels which include corners, comprising: a. disposing two generally planar surfaces to meet at an inside corner having an included angle of less than 180* ; b. completely bordering said two surfaces, except longitudinally along the corner, with upstanding confining surfaces extending generally normally to the respectively bordered surfaces; c. providing a covering of resilient gasketing material on said two surfaces; d. temporarily disposing a reticulated placement grid, having a plurality of slab-receiving cells, flatwise, upon each of said covered surfaces; e. inserting a slab front-face-forward in each cell; f. pushing each slab, upon the rear face thereof, against the resilient gasketing material with sufficient force greater than atmospheric pressure to seal the front face of each slab to the resilient gasketing material; while g. drawing a vacuum through the resilient gasketing material generally centrally of each cell to maintain the slabs in contact with the resilient gasketing material and to so resiliently compress the gasketing material that it bulges up perimetrically of each of the slabs; then h. terminating the exertion of said greater-than-atmospheric pressure force; i. removing the reticulated placement grid from the vicinity of the slabs; j. disposing two generally planar covering surfaces to meet at an outside corner having an included angle generally equal to the angle of step (a) and securing the covering surfaces in such disposition peripherally upon borders of the upstanding confining surfaces, distally of said two surfaces of step (a) that the covering surfaces generally parallel the respective ones of said two surfaces of step (a); k. introducing a hardenable fluid backing composition onto the array of slabs sealed to the horizontal one of said two surfaces in a sufficiently fluid condition and in sufficient quantity that the composition substantially fills the free space unoccupied by said slabs upon the resilient gasketing material and slabs disposed on one of said two surfaces and unoccupied by said slabs upon the resilient gasketing material and slabs disposed on tHe other one of said two surfaces, up to the level of the respective covering surface; l. allowing the hardenable fluid backing composition to harden; m. terminating said drawing of vacuum; and n. removing the slab faced corner panel thus created from the vicinity of said two surfaces, resilient gasketing material, upstanding confining surfaces, and covering surfaces.

Claim 3

The process of claim 1 comprising the additional steps of: c''. providing a covering of resilient gasketing material on at least one of said upstanding confining surfaces; d''. defining an array of slab-receiving cells on that covered upstanding confining surface as a progression of the cells temporarily defined on the respectively adjacent of said covered two surfaces; e''. inserting a slab front-face-forward in each cell of said array on that covered upstanding confining surface; f''. conducting step (f) in respect to the slabs of (e''); g''. conducting step (g) in respect to the gasketing material of step (c'') and the slabs of step (e''), prior to conducting steps (h) through (n) to produce a slab faced corner panel having at least one at least partial return.

Claim 4

The process of claim 2 comprising the additional steps of: c''''. providing a covering of resilient gasketing material on at least one of said covering surfaces; d''''. defining an array of slab-receiving cells on that covered covering surface; e''''. inserting a slab front-face-forward in each cell of said array on that covered covering surface; f''''. conducting step (f) in respect to the slabs of step (e''''); g''''. conducting step (g) in respect to the gasketing material of step (c'''') and the slabs of step (e''''), prior to conducting steps (h) through (n), to produce a slab faced corner panel having at least the inner and outer surfaces thereof extending from the inside and outside corners thereof faced with slabs.

Claim 5

The process of claim 3 wherein at least some of said slabs are arrayed in a simulation of staggered courses and wherein at least some of said slabs are L-shaped, so that conducting each of steps (e), (e'') and (e'''') includes inserting at least one L-shaped slab in an L-shaped cell having front faces simultaneously on two of said covered surfaces, and so that conducting each of steps (f), (f'') and (f'''') includes pushing each such L-shaped slab upon both rear faces thereof, against the resilient gasketing material on the two respective ones of said covered surfaces.

Claim 6

The process of claim 1 comprising the additional steps of: c''. providing a covering of resilient gasketing material on at least one of said covering surfaces; d''. defining an array of slab-receiving cells on that covered covering surface; e''. inserting a slab front-face-forward in each cell of said array on that covered covering surface; f''. conducting step (f) in respect to the slabs of step (e''); g''. conducting step (g) in respect to the gasketing material of step (c'') and the slabs of step (e''), prior to conducting steps (h) through (n), to produce a slab faced corner panel having at least the inner and outer surfaces thereof extending from the inside and outside corners thereof faced with slabs.

Claim 7

A process for manufacturing slab-faced panels which include corners, comprising: a. disposing two generally planar surfaces to meet at a corner having an included angle of less than 180* ; b. completely bordering said two surfaces, except longitudinally along the corner, with upstanding confining surfaces extending generally normally to the respectively bordered surfaces; c. providing a covering of resilient gasketing material on said two surfaces; d. temporarily disposing a reticulated placement grid, having a plurality of slab-receiving cells, flatwise, upon each of said covered surfaces; e. inserting a slab front-face-forward in each cell; f. pushing each slab, upon the rear Face thereof, against the resilient gasketing material with sufficient force greater than atmospheric pressure to seal the front face of each slab to the resilient gasketing material; while g. drawing a vacuum through the resilient gasketing material generally centrally of each cell to maintain the slabs in contact with the resilient gasketing material and to so resiliently compress the gasketing material that it bulges up perimetrically of each of the slabs; then h. terminating the exertion of said greater-than-atmospheric pressure force; i. removing the reticulated placement grid from the vicinity of the slabs; j. disposing said two surfaces so that one of them is generally horizontal and the other projects upwardly; k. introducing a hardenable fluid backing composition onto the array of slabs sealed to the horizontal one of said two surfaces in a sufficiently fluid condition and in sufficient quantity that the composition substantially fills the free space unoccupied by said slabs upon the resilient gasketing material and slabs disposed on the horizontal one of said two surfaces and unoccupied by said slabs upon the resilient gasketing material and slabs disposed on the upwardly projecting other one of said two surfaces, up to the level of the upper extent of the upstanding confining surfaces bordering the horizontal one of said two surfaces; l. after said hardenable fluid backing composition has hardened sufficiently to retain the shape and disposition thereof if moved to an upright disposition, redisposing said two surfaces so that the other one of them is generally horizontal and said one of them projects upwardly; m. introducing an additional quantity of said hardenable fluid backing composition onto the array of slabs sealed to the horizontal other one of said two surfaces, beside and in intimate contact with said sufficiently hardened hardenable fluid backing composition, in a sufficiently fluid condition and in sufficient quantity that the additional quantity of said composition substantially fills the free space unoccupied by said slabs, and unoccupied by said sufficiently hardened hardenable fluid backing composition, upon the resilient gasketing material and slabs disposed on the horizontal other one of said two surfaces, up to the level of the upper extent of the upstanding confining surfaces bordering the horizontal other one of said two surfaces; n. allowing the hardenable fluid backing composition to harden; o. terminating said drawing of vacuum; and p. removing the slab faced corner panel thus created, from the vicinity of said two surfaces, resilient gasketing material and upstanding confining surfaces.

Claim 8

A process for manufacturing slab-faced panels which include corners, comprising: a. disposing two generally planar surfaces to meet at a corner having an included angle of less than 180* ; b. completely bordering said two surfaces, except longitudinally along the corner, with upstanding confining surfaces extending generally normally to the respectively bordered surfaces; c. providing a covering of resilient gasketing material on said two surfaces; d. temporarily disposing a reticulated placement grid, having a plurality of slab-receiving cells, flatwise, upon each of said covered surfaces; e. inserting a slab front-face-forward in each cell; f. pushing each slab, upon the rear Face thereof, against the resilient gasketing material with sufficient force greater than atmospheric pressure to seal the front face of each slab to the resilient gasketing material; while g. drawing a vacuum through the resilient gasketing material generally centrally of each cell to maintain the slabs in contact with the resilient gasketing material and to so resiliently compress the gasketing material that it bulges up perimetrically of each of the slabs; then h. terminating the exertion of said greater-than-atmospheric pressure force; i. removing the reticulated placement grid from the vicinity of the slabs; j. disposing said two surfaces so that one of them is generally horizontal and the other projects upwardly; k. introducing a hardenable fluid backing composition onto the array of slabs sealed to the horizontal one of said two surfaces in a sufficiently fluid condition and in sufficient quantity that the composition substantially fills the free space unoccupied by said slabs upon the resilient gasketing material and slabs disposed on the horizontal one of said two surfaces and unoccupied by said slabs upon the resilient gasketing material and slabs disposed on the upwardly projecting other one of said two surfaces, up to the level of the upper extent of the upstanding confining surfaces bordering the horizontal one of said two surfaces; l. after said hardenable fluid backing composition has hardened sufficiently to retain the shape and disposition thereof if moved to an upright disposition, redisposing said two surfaces so that the other one of them is generally horizontal and said one of them projects upwardly; m. introducing an additional quantity of said hardenable fluid backing composition onto the array of slabs sealed to the horizontal other one of said two surfaces, beside and in intimate contact with said sufficiently hardened hardenable fluid backing composition, in a sufficiently fluid condition and in sufficient quantity that the additional quantity of said composition substantially fills the free space unoccupied by said slabs, and unoccupied by said sufficiently hardened hardenable fluid backing composition, upon the resilient gasketing material and slabs disposed on the horizontal other one of said two surfaces, up to the level of the upper extent of the upstanding confining surfaces bordering the horizontal other one of said two surfaces; n. allowing the hardenable fluid backing composition to harden; o. terminating said drawing of vacuum; and p. removing the slab faced corner panel thus created, from the vicinity of said two surfaces, resilient gasketing material and upstanding confining surfaces.