Engineered molded fiberboard panels, methods of making the panels, and products fabricated from the panels

• US 8,475,894 B2
• Filed: 03/27/2009
• Issued: 07/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Noble Environmental Technologies Corporation, United States Department Of Agriculture
• Original Assignee: Nobel Environmental Technologies Corporation, United States Department Of Agriculture
• Inventors: Noble, Robert, Hunt, John F., Newburn, Timothy L., Mahoney, James F., Lassegard, Coleen M., Gu, Hongmei
• Primary Examiner(s): SAMPLE, DAVID R
• Application Number:
  US12/412,780
• Publication Number:
  US 20100078985A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,558 Days
• Field of Search: 428/34.2
• US Class Current: 428/34.2
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 5/005 of paper, cardboard or similar pliable material
• CPC Class Codes: B27F 1/00 Dovetailed work; Tenons; Making tongues or grooves slotting B27F5/00; Groove- and- tongue jointed work; Finger- joints machines or devices for working mitred joints B27G5/00; cutting tools for cutting grooves or tenons B27G13/14
• CPC Class Codes: B27H 1/00 Bending wood stock, e.g. boards
• CPC Class Codes: B27N 5/00 Manufacture of non-flat articles
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 21/02 the layer being formed of fibres, chips, or particles , e.g. MDF, HDF, OSB, chipboard, particle board, hardboard
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 21/10 Next to a fibrous or filamentary layer
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 21/13 all layers being exclusively wood
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2262/062 Cellulose fibres, e.g. cotton
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2262/14 Mixture of at least two fibres made of different materials
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/50 having particular mechanical properties
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/546 Flexural strength; Flexion stiffness
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/718 Weight, e.g. weight per square meter
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/72 Density
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2419/00 Buildings or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 3/00 Layered products comprising a layer with external or internal discontinuities or unevennesses, or a layer of non-planar shape; Layered products comprising a layer having particular features of form
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 3/10 characterised by a discontinuous layer, i.e. formed of separate pieces of material
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 3/12 characterised by a layer of regularly- arranged cells, e.g. a honeycomb structure
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 3/28 characterised by a layer comprising a deformed thin sheet , i.e. the layer having its entire thickness deformed out of the plane, e.g. corrugated, crumpled B32B29/08 takes precedence
• 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 5/022 Non-woven fabric
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 5/22 : characterised by the presence of two or more layers which are next to each other and are fibrous, filamentary, formed of particles or foamed layer formed of natural mineral fibres or particles next to a foam layer B32B19/047, next to a layer made of particles B32B19/048, or next to a fibrous or filamentary layer B32B19/06; paper layer or cardboard layer next to a paper layer or cardboard layer B32B29/005, next to a foam layer B32B29/007, next to a fibrous or filamentary layer B32B29/02, or next to a particulate layer B32B29/04
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 5/26 : another layer next to it also being fibrous or filamentary relative arrangement of fibres or filaments of different layers B32B5/12
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 7/05 : the layers not being connected over the whole surface, e.g. discontinuous connection or patterned connection using interposed adhesives or bonding materials applied in spaced arrangements B32B7/14
• CPC Class Codes: D21J 1/04 : Pressing
• CPC Class Codes: D21J 1/16 : Special fibreboard
• CPC Class Codes: E04C 2/16 : of fibres, chips, vegetable stems, or the like
• CPC Class Codes: E04C 2/322 : with parallel corrugations
• CPC Class Codes: E04C 2/3405 : spaced apart by profiled spacer sheets
• CPC Class Codes: E04C 2/365 : by honeycomb structures
• CPC Class Codes: E04C 2002/3455 : with trapezoidal corrugations
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 13/16 : of fibres or chips, e.g. bonded with synthetic resins , or with an outer layer of fibres or chips E04F13/0864 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 2203/04 : comprising a plurality of internal elongated cavities arranged in substantially parallel rows
• CPC Class Codes: E04F 2203/08 : with a plurality of grooves or slits in the back side, to increase the flexibility or bendability of the elements
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1052 : with cutting, punching, tearing or severing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1062 : Prior to assembly
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1075 : of plural laminae from single stock and assembling to each other or to additional lamina
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/1303 : Paper containing [e.g., paperboard, cardboard, fiberboard, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/1348 : Cellular material derived from plant or animal source [e.g., wood, cotton, wool, leather, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/236 : Honeycomb type cells extend perpendicularly to nonthickness layer
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24083 : Nonlinear strands or strand-portions
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24149 : Honeycomb-like
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24165 : Hexagonally shaped cavities
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24314 : Slit or elongated
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24694 : Parallel corrugations

Abstract

A honeycomb-shaped panel is formed from a plurality of generally sinusoidally shaped strips of molded fiberboard material each having spaced, oppositely directed flat peaks, the peaks of adjacent strips being secured together to form a plurality of hexagonally shaped cells extending perpendicular to the surfaces of the sheet. The strips may be cut from a single sheet of corrugated fiberboard sheet material and then secured together to form the honeycomb panel, or a plurality of such panels may be secured together face to face with their ribs aligned to form a stack, and selected cuts may be made through the secured, stacked panels to form a plurality of honeycomb panels of desired surface shape and height dimensions. The strips forming the cells are substantially rigid and resistant to collapse of the cells, and form a substantially rigid core when assembled between two flexible fiberboard skins, while the panel is bendable to adopt a desired panel curvature.

Claims

1. A fiberboard product, comprising:

a single multi-ply panel having first and second outer layers of flexible flat fiberboard material and a core layer of flexible flat fiberboard material secured between the outer layers, the layers being flexible prior to assembly and the assembled layers being substantially rigid;

the core layer including fiberboard sheet portions with voids between the portions;

the panel being cut and shaped to form a tubular product having opposite open ends; and

a flat panel secured across one open end of the tubular product to form a bin;

wherein the core layer comprises a honeycomb shaped sheet of molded fiberboard material having a plurality of open-ended hexagonal cells oriented transverse to the outer layers with the open ends facing the respective first and second outer layers.

2. A tubular product, comprising:

a sheet of molded fiberboard material of corrugated shape having opposite first and second faces and opposite ends, each face having a plurality of alternating ribs and grooves extending in a first direction along the sheet, and a plurality of spaced slits extending transversely across the ribs in the first face and terminating short of the outer ends of the ribs in the second face;

the sheet being formed into a closed tube with the first face facing inwards into the tube and the alternating ribs and grooves extending around the periphery of the tube, whereby the tubular product has alternating ribs and grooves and spaced rows of slits along its length, and the alternating ribs and grooves and spaced rows of slits are visible on the outside and inside of the tubular product.

3. The tubular product of claim 2, wherein the sheet is formed into a spiraling tubular shape.

4. The tubular product of claim 2, wherein the sheet is formed into a cylindrical tubular shape with alternating ribs and grooves extending circumferentially around the cylindrical tubular product.

5. The tubular product of claim 4, further comprising an annular strip of flexible flat material secured in each groove in the outer face of the tubular shape.

6. The tubular product of claim 2, wherein the sheet is formed into a rectangular tubular shape having four corner regions.

7. The tubular product of claim 6, wherein the slits are formed in spaced slotted regions of the sheet only, each slotted region corresponding to a respective corner region.

8. A multi-layer fiberboard panel, comprising:

first and second core layers of corrugated fiberboard sheet material having opposite outer and inner faces with a plurality of ribs and grooves on each face, the core layers positioned with their ribs and grooves extending parallel to one another, each rib having a flat peak and the flat peaks of the ribs on the inner face of the first layer aligned and adhered with the flat peaks of the ribs on the inner face of the second core layer to form a plurality of open cells of hexagonal shape between the core layers;

third and fourth layers of flat molded fiberboard material, the third layer having an inner face secured to the flat peaks of the ribs on the outer face of the first core layer and the fourth layer having an inner face secured to the flat peaks of the ribs on the outer face of the second core layer;

fifth and sixth layers of corrugated fiberboard sheet material secured to the outer faces of the third and fourth layers, respectively, the fifth and sixth layers having a plurality of ribs and grooves extending parallel to one another and perpendicular to the ribs and grooves of the first and second layers; and

seventh and eighth layers of flat molded fiberboard material secured to the outer faces of the fifth and sixth layers, respectively.