Woodworking – Process – Securing
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-08
2001-08-21
Bray, W. Donald (Department: 3725)
Woodworking
Process
Securing
C052S592100, C052S796100, C144S346000, C144S347000, C144S351000, C144S355000, C156S266000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06276413
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to wood processing methods, and more particularly, to a method for making two wood products using a single laminating step.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Wood products having a specific cross-sectional geometry are widely used in home and cabinet construction as decorative moldings, stiles and rails, window jambs, and for other purposes. One method for creating such a wood product includes cutting away portions of a piece of wood to arrive at a desired shape. However, the portions of wood that are cut away often cannot be used for any other purpose and can only be discarded. In addition, this method requires a worker to begin with a piece of wood having a large cross-section. It may be difficult and expensive to find pieces of some hardwoods having a large enough cross-section to create the product.
Another method of creating such a wood product includes cutting pieces of wood into desired shapes, and then laminating or gluing the pieces together in a laminating press to create a composite piece of wood having a desired shape. For example, one may saw a corner from one piece of wood and then glue it to another piece of wood. One drawback of this method is that it is complicated to glue and press together pieces of wood having different thicknesses and cross-sections. Presses often allow for multiple products to be placed or nested together in the press so that all the products may be pressed together during single operation of the press, and it is often difficult to nest together pieces that have non-rectangular cross-sections or varying thicknesses. Typically, a press must be fitted with a custom hold-down to press such pieces together. An assembly process that depends on the production of such composite pieces of wood is therefore limited in its output by the required pressing. Furthermore, some desired composite shapes may require creating waste wood as the smaller pieces of wood are shaped prior to lamination.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an alternative to the methods discussed above. The invention provides a method of making two wood products using only a single or at least a reduced number of attaching or laminating steps. The method may include the following steps: making a cut or recess only partially through a first piece of wood; attaching a second piece of wood to the first piece of wood to make a composite piece of wood; and cutting the composite piece of wood to create two wood products. The attaching step may be performed by a laminating process wherein the two pieces of wood are glued and pressed together. The method of the present invention may be used to create two wood products having substantially identical cross-sections. The invention can be an improvement over the known methods described above because more parts may be processed in a press at a time without requiring any custom hold downs or a custom configuration for the press.
REFERENCES:
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patent: 4624295 (1986-11-01), Howland
patent: 5050653 (1991-09-01), Brown
patent: 5109898 (1992-05-01), Schacht
patent: 5505653 (1996-04-01), Nedo et al.
Bray W. Donald
Kolisch Hartwell Dickinson & McCormack & Heuser
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