Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Structurally defined web or sheet – Honeycomb-like
Reexamination Certificate
1998-05-06
2001-02-06
Medley, Margaret (Department: 1721)
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Structurally defined web or sheet
Honeycomb-like
C428S118000, C493S397000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06183836
ABSTRACT:
The invention relates to folded honeycombs comprising a plurality of cells, processes for the production of the folded honeycombs, and to uses of such folded honeycombs.
Sandwich core layers are usually produced from honeycombs whose cells respectively form equilateral hexagons. The honeycomb layer is provided with cover layers which are glued to the edges of the side portions defining the honeycomb cells. In practice the honeycombs are produced by being cut off a honeycomb block. In regard to the sandwich composite material, the connection of the honeycomb edges to the cover layers is acritical factor, and for that reason relatively thick adhesive layers are used for embedding the honeycomb edges and the viscosity of the adhesive is precisely monitored.
Honeycombs with cover layer portions which are integral with respect to the cell walls are also already known (U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,341). Such honeycombs however must be produced from individual strips, of which two strips are fitted together to form a row of cells, and that requires precise production of the elements of the row of cells.
It is also already known for folded honeycombs to be produced from a flat blank of web material (WO-94/02311=PCT/US93/06872). An embodiment of the folded honeycomb is provided with connecting surfaces for cover layers which however extend over gaps between cell walls between large octagonal cells and smaller hexagonal cells. The other embodiment includes uniformly hexagonal cells but it does not have any connecting surfaces for cover layers.
The object of the present invention is to provide a folded honeycomb having similar cells, which is folded from a flat blank of web material and which affords sufficiently large connecting surfaces for cover layers.
The invention is defined in the claims.
Externally, the novel folded honeycomb differs from the folded honeycomb which is cut from a block, insofar as there are bridging portions which extend transversely with respect to the honeycomb walls and which form connecting surfaces for cover layers. When therefore the folded honeycomb is used as a sandwich core layer, it is possible to achieve a high degree of cylinder peel-off strength in respect of the cover layer, relative to the sandwich core layer.
As the folded honeycomb has differently oriented, perpendicular walls (that is to say walls which are disposed transversely relative to each other), it is relatively stiff and strong in respect of shear in any direction, parallel to the layer.
The connecting surfaces can also be in the form of bridging portions which integrally connect the cell walls together and which thus provide for an additional stiffening effect for the folded honeycomb, transversely with respect to the cell walls.
The bridging portions are defined in the flat blank by cuts and possibly by fold lines. In that respect, it is possible to provide U-shaped cuts and to use the lugs or tabs formed in that way, partly or entirely, as connecting surfaces.
It is also possible to produce wedge-shaped folded honeycombs or honeycombs generally with a profile in respect of height. In that case the strip-shaped portions are made continuously wider or narrower and the boundary cuts defining the strip-shaped portions are curved or are formed along curvatures.
Before the mutually touching corrugation ridges and corrugation dips of the half-honeycomb corrugations are durably connected together, it is possible for the folded honeycomb to be distorted or displaced in itself in order possibly to adapt to curved surfaces. That shape is then so-to-speak frozen by production of the durable connection between the corrugation ridges and the corrugation dips. In that way it is possible to produce shell-like folded honeycombs which have a certain degree of self-supporting capacity. Folded honeycombs of that kind can be further processed to constitute sandwich structure shaped portions, it is also possible for the honeycomb to be used in crash structures.
To produce the folded honeycomb, the web material is provided with cuts and folded, and that can be implemented by a rolling procedure. Inexpensive manufacture is therefore to be expected. When using conventional paper or cardboard as the starting material therefore a folded honeycomb is considered for use as a packaging material.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3292513 (1966-12-01), Palmer
patent: 3673057 (1972-06-01), Fairbanks
patent: 3752089 (1973-08-01), Bartels
patent: 3753843 (1973-08-01), Hutchison
patent: 3951730 (1976-04-01), Wennberg et al.
patent: 4001964 (1977-01-01), Hooker
patent: 4027058 (1977-05-01), Wotten
patent: 4087302 (1978-05-01), Miller et al.
patent: 4090384 (1978-05-01), Wotten
patent: 4197341 (1980-04-01), Rule
patent: 4333622 (1982-06-01), Albano
patent: 5389059 (1995-02-01), Corwin
patent: 196 01 72A1 (1997-01-01), None
patent: WO 9402311 (1994-02-01), None
patent: WO 94/02311 (1994-03-01), None
Medley Margaret
Reising Ethington, Barnes, Kisselle, Learman & McCulloch, P.C.
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