Method of manufacturing artificially figured veneer or artificially figured board

• US 6,481,476 B1
• Filed: 05/31/2001
• Issued: 11/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hokusan Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hokusan Ltd.
• Inventors: Okamoto, Susumu
• Primary Examiner(s): Bray, W. Donald
• Application Number:
  US09/867,586
• Publication Number:
  US 20020179182A1
• Time in Patent Office: 537 Days
• Field of Search: 144/344, 144/345, 144/348, 144/349, 144/350, 156/39, 156/78, 156/79, 156/83, 156/86, 156/244.11, 156/244.12, 156/62.2, 428/15, 428/151, 428/332, 428/518, 428/910, 428/913
• US Class Current: 144/350
• CPC Class Codes: B27D 1/08 Manufacture of shaped articles; Presses specially designed therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B27L 5/00 Manufacture of veneer working veneer or plywood B27D ; Preparatory processing therefor drying F26B
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 21/04 comprising wood as the main or only constituent of a layer, which is next to another layer of the same or of a different material next to a layer of a particular substance B32B9/042; next to a bituminous or tarry layer B32B11/042; next to a water setting substance layer B32B13/10; next to a metal layer B32B15/10; next to a glass layer B32B17/062; next to a layer formed of natural mineral fibres or particles B32B19/042; next to a cellulosic plastic layer B32B23/044
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 21/13 all layers being exclusively wood
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 21/14 comprising wood board or veneer
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 38/0004 Cutting, tearing or severing, e.g. bursting; Cutter details cutting in general B26D; laminating combined with punching or perforating B32B38/04; removing all or part of the layers B32B38/10; cutting in combination with laying up and registration B32B38/185 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 38/06 Embossing
• CPC Class Codes: B44C 5/043 containing wooden elements
• CPC Class Codes: B44F 9/02 wood grain effects
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 428/91 Product with molecular orientation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24438 Artificial wood or leather grain surface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24521 with component conforming to contour of nonplanar surface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/3192 Next to vinyl or vinylidene chloride polymer

Abstract

The present invention provides the method of manufacturing the artificially figured veneer or artificially figured board at high productivity with the expression of the grain and figure of natural wood in very similar form observed in natural woods, in addition to normal grain of natural wood.

The present invention relates to the method of manufacturing an artificially figured veneer or an artificially figured board, comprising the steps of 1) preparing a set of a multiple sheets of material veneers by rotary cutting a log or repeatedly cutting a wood flitch with their grains sequential, 2) embossing simultaneously said material veneers whose number was determined according to the static bending strength (proportional limit) and specific gravity of the material veneers, with press dies having concave-convex patterns corresponding to a site of figure of a natural wood, to form a concave-convex pattern on the material veneers, 3) laminating the set of embossed material veneers such that their grains become substantially sequential, and pressing it with said press dies, and 4) cutting the laminate in the direction crossing the plane of the lamination to manufacture an artificially figured veneer or an artificially figured board with desired thickness.

Claims

1. Method of manufacturing an artificially figured veneer or an artificially figured board, comprising the steps of:

1) preparing a set of multiple sheets of veneer material by rotary cutting a log or repeatedly cutting a wood flitch of a same kind of wood, wherein said multiple sheets have sequential grains;

2) embossing simultaneously said multiple sheets whose number is determined according to a static bending strength (proportional limit) and specific gravity of the sheets, with a pair of upper and lower press dies respectively having concave-convex patterns corresponding to a site of a figure of a natural wood on a die face of the upper press die and a die face of the lower press die, to form a concave-convex pattern on the sheets;

3) laminating the set of thus embossed multiple sheets to form a laminate such that the grains of said multiple sheets again become sequential by interposing an adhesive layer between each of the sheets, placing the set between the upper and the lower press dies, and then pressing; and

4) cutting the laminate obtained in a direction crossing a plane of lamination to manufacture the artificially figured veneer or the artificially figured board with a desired thickness.

2. Method of manufacturing an artificially figured veneer or an artificially figured board according to claim 1, wherein, in step 2, 3-6 sheets are embossed simultaneously when the static bending strength of said sheets is below 330 kg/cm², and 4-10 sheets are embossed simultaneously when the static bending strength of said sheets is above 330 kg/cm² with a specific gravity of said sheets below 0.49.

3. Method of manufacturing an artificially figured veneer or an artificially figured board according to claim 1, wherein, in step 2, 3-6 sheets are embossed simultaneously when the static bending strength of said sheets is below 400 kg/cm², 3-8 sheets are embossed simultaneously when the static bending strength of said sheets is above 400 kg/cm² and below 540 kg/cm², and 4-8 sheets are embossed simultaneously when the static bending strength of said sheets is above 540 kg/cm² with a specific gravity of said sheets above 0.49 and below 0.61.

4. Method of manufacturing an artificially figured veneer or an artificially figured board according to claim 1, wherein, in step 2, 2-5 sheets are embossed simultaneously when the static bending strength of said sheets is below 540 kg/cm², 3-6 sheets are embossed simultaneously when the static bending strength of said sheets is above 540 kg/cm² and below 710 kg/cm², and 3-8 sheets are embossed simultaneously when the static bending strength of said sheets is above 710 kg/cm² with a specific gravity of said sheets above 0.61 and below 0.75.

5. Method of manufacturing an artificially figured veneer or an artificially figured board according to claim 1, wherein, in step 2, 2-3 sheets are embossed simultaneously when the static bending strength of said sheets is below 820 kg/cm², and 2-6 sheets are embossed simultaneously when the static bending strength of said sheets is above 820 kg/cm² with a specific gravity of said sheets above 0.75.

6. Method of manufacturing an artificially figured veneer or an artificially figured board according to claim 1, wherein, in step 2, a pressure is increased continuously up to a predetermined level to emboss the sheets.

7. Method of manufacturing an artificially figured veneer or an artificially figured board according to claim 1, wherein, in step 2, a pressure is increased stepwise up to a predetermined level to emboss the sheets.

8. Method of manufacturing an artificially figured veneer or an artificially figured board according to claim 1, wherein, in step 2, the sheets are embossed with a cushioning material interposed between said sheets and one of said upper or lower press die.

10. An artificially figured veneer or an artificially figured board manufactured by the method according to claim 1.

9. Method of manufacturing an artificially figured veneer or an artificially figured board, comprising the steps of:

1) preparing a set of multiple sheets of veneer material by rotary cutting a log or repeatedly cutting a flitch of wood of a certain family or a certain species, wherein said multiple sheets have similar textures with substantially sequential grains;

2) embossing simultaneously said multiple sheets whose number is determined according to a static bending strength (proportional limit) and specific gravity of the sheets, with a pair of upper and lower press dies respectively having concave-convex patterns corresponding to a site of a figure of a natural wood on a die face of the upper press die and a die face of the lower press die, to form a concave-convex pattern on the sheets;

3) laminating the set of thus embossed multiple sheets to form a laminate such that grains of said multiple sheets again become substantially sequential by interposing an adhesive layer between each of the sheets, placing the set between the upper and the lower press dies, and then pressing; and

4) cutting the laminate obtained in a direction crossing a plane of lamination to manufacture the artificially figured veneer or the artificially figured board with a desired thickness.

11. An artificially figured veneer or an artificially figured board manufactured by the method according to claim 9.