Method for fabricating cellular structural panels

• US 7,303,641 B2
• Filed: 12/03/2002
• Issued: 12/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hunter Douglas Incorporated (Hunter Douglas N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Hunter Douglas Incorporated (Hunter Douglas N.V.)
• Inventors: Swiszcz, Paul G., Kuperus, Ko, Ballard, Eugene, Cook, Stephen, Jeske, Tim
• Primary Examiner(s): WARD, JESSICA LEE
• Application Number:
  US10/309,944
• Publication Number:
  US 20040103980A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,827 Days
• Field of Search: 156/65, 156/197, 156/199, 156/200, 156/201, 156/203, 156/204, 156/227, 156/322, 156/301, 156/302, 156/303, 428/77, 428/116, 428/188, 428/190, 29/245, 160/84.05, 160/130, 160/136, 160/166.1
• US Class Current: 156/201
• CPC Class Codes: B31D 3/002 Methods for making cellular structures; Cellular structures B31D3/005 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/101 Prior to or during assembly with additional lamina
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1015 Folding
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1051 by folding
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1095 Opposed laminae are running length webs
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1097 Lamina is running length web
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/39 Venetian blind assembling

Abstract

An apparatus for manufacturing cellular laminate structural panels includes one or more supply stations of a flexible strip material including folding rollers for sequentially folding the strip material into cellular structures and feeding the cellular structures into a conveyor where the cellular structures are held in compression. The apparatus further includes a laminating station where the folded cellular structures are laminated to an upper and/or lower sheet material to which lines of a bonding medium have been applied prior to engagement with the cellular structures. The folded cellular structures are heated before engaging the sheet material so as to enhance the bonding of the sheet material to the cellular structures and subsequent to bonding, the laminate is passed through a cooling station to set the bonding medium. Downstream from the laminating station, the laminate passes through a side edge folding station where edges of the sheet material are folded over side edges of the laminate to finish the side edges of the laminate and subsequently the laminate is passed into a cutter for cutting the continuous laminate into predetermined lengths. Ends of the cut panels then receive rigid edge strips to fully finish the panel. The method of the invention includes the steps performed by the components of the apparatus.

Claims

1. A method of making a compressible cellular laminate that is biased to expand when compressed, said cellular laminate having opposed sheet materials separated by resilient, compressible cellular structures such that said cellular laminate can be compressed by moving one of said opposed sheet materials perpendicularly toward the other sheet material with no translative movement of the sheet materials, comprising the steps of:

providing a laminate station, providing a plurality of strips of flexible material positioned in side-by-side parallel relationship for downstream movement along a path of travel toward said laminating station;

providing two supplies of sheet materials adjacent to said path of travel, advancing said plurality of strips of material in a downstream direction, providing a folding system for engagement with said strips into a cellular material, said folding system progressively folding each of said strips into a cellular structure having an open side and a closed side, said cellular structures being resilient, compressible, and biased to expand when compressed, confining each of said cellular structures in at least a partially compressed condition until they reach said laminating station, feeding said sheet materials into engagement with the open and closed sides of said side-by-side expandable at least partially compressed cellular structures at said laminating station and securing said sheet materials to said structures at said laminating station to form a laminate having elongated side-by-side cellular structures secured to said sheet materials.

2. The method of claim 1 further including the step of maintaining said structures in said at least partially compressed condition while in said laminating station.

3. The method of claim 1 further including rollers progressively folding each of said strips into a cellular structure.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein at least some of said rollers have axes of rotation which are perpendicular to each other.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said cellular structures are confined in at least a partially compressed condition with rollers on opposite sides of said cellular structures.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said rollers extend transverse to said cellular structures and said path of travel.