Ceramic tile
AssigneeUnilin BV
InventorsBernard Thiers, Christine Walmsley-Scott, Bart Van Der Stockt
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Ceramic tile having a ceramic base layer and a cover glaze layer including a printed pattern, where the surface of the ceramic tile has a relief having structural features corresponding to the printed pattern. The relief being basically formed as a plurality of excavations present in the generally plane upper surface of the ceramic tile and the structural features have a depth such that they are completely situated above the ceramic base layer.
Claims12
A ceramic tile having a ceramic base layer and a cover glaze layer comprising a printed pattern, wherein the surface of the ceramic tile comprises a relief having structural features corresponding to said printed pattern, wherein said relief is formed by a plurality of excavations in said glaze layer, and wherein said relief comprises irregular or random relief features, distributed essentially over the entirety of the surface of the ceramic tile, that are combined with the structural features that correspond to the printed pattern.
A method for manufacturing a ceramic tile, wherein said ceramic tile has a ceramic base layer and a cover glaze layer with a printed pattern, and wherein the method comprises the following steps:
- the step of forming the ceramic base layer;
- the step of providing a glaze layer on said ceramic base layer;
- the step of printing a pattern on said glaze layer;
- the step of firing the ceramic base layer with the glaze layer having the printed pattern;
- wherein the method further comprises the step of forming a relief having structural features corresponding to said printed pattern, and in that said relief is basically formed as a plurality of excavations present in the glaze layer, and in that said relief is formed on the surface of said ceramic base layer before said step of providing a glaze layer, and in that said relief comprises irregular or random relief features, distributed essentially over the entirety of the surface of the ceramic tile, that are combined with the structural features that correspond to the printed pattern.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.