It is worth mentioning that the expressions “stone” and “flagstone” are used throughout the present description without distinction to define a flat slab of stone used as a paving or building material. Artificial stones often made of concrete are well-known to lay out pavements or covering wall surfaces on residential or commercial properties, for example defining the surface of walkways or patios. Such stones are advantageously relatively inexpensive to make, as opposed to natural carved flagstones, but the resulting pattern is often repetitive or has what is called in this field an unnatural “linear line effect”. Great efforts are therefore being made to design artificial stones which provide a more natural look, creating the effect of old world craftsmanship, while still retaining the ease of their manufacture.
One example of a prior art artificial flagstone is the flagstone marketed under the trademark Kusel-Form. One drawback however with that prior art flagstone, which is provided with regular segments, is that it still does not provide a satisfactory old natural look. It still looks artificial.
Other attempts have been made in the past to develop sets of artificial stones comprising stones of different shapes used in combination with each other for paving a surface. The natural random look in those cases is obtained by combining artificial stones of different shapes. A major drawback however with those sets is that it often becomes a real puzzle for a user to install and combine those stones in a proper way.
Thus, there is still presently a need for an artificial flagstone that provides the real natural random look, long sought after, while at the same time being easy to manufacture at a reasonable cost and easy to install for any unskilled person.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds