Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Structurally defined web or sheet – Edge feature
Patent
1994-05-24
1997-06-03
Ryan, Patrick
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Structurally defined web or sheet
Edge feature
428121, 428172, 428218, 428464, 4284744, 428511, 156212, 156216, 156475, 295642, B32B 900
Patent
active
056352808
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for postforming a laminate to a core of, for example, chipboard, plywood or M.D.F., etc. The term laminate should be taken to cover any sheet material which may be applied to a core, including plastics, metallic laminates, melamine and wood veneers.
To form a laminate about a core having a profiled edge, it is traditional that the laminate is firstly cut in accordance with the core shape, and an adhesive applied to the laminate and/or core surface. The laminate is then bonded to a flat surface of the core, with a portion overlapping the core edge. The core and laminate are then placed on a postforming machine which heats the overlap to allow it to bend without cracking. The machine then wraps the overlap around the core edge.
There are a number of different types of postforming machine. Most either use metal flanges having a profile corresponding to a portion of the core edge profile or use plates or rollers to press the laminate against the edge and form it to the core. There are two basic types of machine: flow-line machines in which the laminate and core move along a conveyor to a heating station and then to a forming station; and static machines in which the laminate and core are held fixed and the heating element and the bending rollers or flanges are pivotable in turn to face/contact the laminate.
Most machines are capable of forming laminate around a profiled edge through an angle of 180.degree., but either this action requires two separate machining operations, or else the structure of the machine itself limits the extent to which the laminate can be wrapped around the profiled edge, usually to as little as 20-100 mm past the edge.
Both types of machine (and especially the flow-line type) are quite limited as to the core shapes which they are able to laminate, because neither bending rollers nor metal flanges readily adapt to different bending angles.
A. further type of postforming machine has a horizontal heating bed, above which a core and laminate are mounted. The core is manually rotated whilst being held at a constant pressure against the heating bed with the laminate sandwiched in between. Whilst such a machine allows for a greater variety of shapes to be postformed, the profiles are restricted to arcs of constant radius, and other profiles, such as parabolic and tapered profiles, are not possible. The machine is also expensive and may be cumbersome to use when postforming large and unwieldy cores.
The present invention aims to provide an apparatus and method for postforming a core and laminate, which is simple to use, inexpensive, and extends the range of possible core shapes which may be postformed.
Viewed from one aspect, the present invention provides an apparatus for forming a laminate to a core having a profiled edge, comprising a frame for supporting the core and laminate, a resilient sheet, and means mounted to the frame for placing the sheet in tension and moving the sheet between a position out of contact with the laminate to a tensioned position in contact with the laminate, whereby further movement of the sheet applies a force to the laminate to form the laminate to the edge of the core.
By using a tensioned resilient sheet to urge the laminate to the core, a simple and reliable apparatus is provided which is relatively inexpensive.
Moreover, the tensioned sheet is able to apply a more even force over a greater extent of the edge area than could the rollers or metal flaps of the prior art machines, and so, for example, a 180.degree. wrap may be machined in one operation and the wrap may extend further around the core past the edge than was possible on prior art machines, thereby saving on manufacturing time and cost.
The same resilient sheet is able to conform to a wide variety of edge profiles having angles from 0.degree. to about 200.degree., and overcomes the problem of having to use differently profiled metal flanges for different core edge profiles.
The apparatus is able to postform a wide variety of core shapes and edge
Bahta Abraham
Ryan Patrick
LandOfFree
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