CUTTING DEVICE FOR A CONTINUOUS MILLING MACHINE AND METHOD FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PANELS

Abstract

A cutting device for a continuous milling machine for the profiling of one or more edges of panels has a slide shoe or pressure shoe, which has a sliding surface or sliding surfaces for guiding a surface of a panel to be milled over it or them. The aforementioned slide shoe or pressure shoe is provided with at least one cutting blade for machining the panel; the cutting blade maintains a fixed position during this machining. The slide shoe or the pressure shoe is provided in order to support the surface of the panel to be milled by means of its sliding surface or sliding surfaces on a rotating milling cutter that carries out a milling operation on the edge of the panel.

Claims

1.-17. (canceled)

18. A method for the manufacture of panels wherein a continuous milling machine is used, wherein the continuous milling machine comprises a cutting device; and wherein the continuous milling machine comprises positions with additional rotating milling cutters for machining the edge of the panel that can be machined by the cutting device; wherein the cutting device comprises a slide shoe or pressure shoe, wherein the respective slide shoe or pressure shoe has a sliding surface or sliding surfaces for guiding a surface of a panel to be milled over it or them, wherein the slide shoe or pressure shoe is provided with at least one cutting blade for machining the panel, wherein this cutting blade maintains a fixed position during this machining; wherein the slide shoe or the pressure shoe is provided in order to support the surface of the panel to be milled by means of its sliding surface or sliding surfaces on a rotating milling cutter that carries out a milling operation on the edge of the panel; wherein the cutting device comprises a rotating milling cutter for the milling of the panel at the location of the slide shoe or the pressure shoe; wherein the rotating milling cutter is provided upstream of the cutting blade; wherein the method comprises the step of providing the panels with a profiled edge region on one or more edges, wherein the forming of the profiled edge region is carried out at least by means of one or more of the additional rotating milling cutters and by the rotating milling cutter, and wherein the panel to be milled is guided with its surface over the sliding surface or sliding surfaces of the slide shoe or pressure shoe, wherein the method comprises the step of forming a portion of the profiled edge region by means of the cutting blade that is provided on the aforementioned slide shoe or pressure shoe.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein at the location of the aforementioned slide shoe or pressure shoe, a milling operation is carried out on the respective edge by means of the rotating milling cutter, wherein the sliding surface or the sliding surfaces of the slide shoe or pressure shoe support the surface of the panel to be milled on the rotating milling cutter.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the rotating milling cutter engages in the edge of the panel so that the rotating milling cutter, while it engages in the edge of the panel, turns away from the position of the cutting blade.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the aforementioned profiled edge region has, at the location of at least one of the principal surfaces of the panel, a chamfer or a beveled edge, wherein the surface of the chamfer or of the beveled edge is formed partially or entirely by the cutting blade.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the aforementioned profiled edge region comprises coupling parts, with which it can interact with one or more edges of similar panels; wherein the coupling parts are formed at least partially by the milling operation with the rotating milling cutter.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the panels are provided on at least one of the principal surfaces with a coating.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the coating is formed by a transparent thermoplastic layer.

25. The method of claim 18, wherein the panels have a substrate material that comprises mineral constituents.

26. The method of claim 18, wherein the panels have a substrate material that comprises thermoplastic material or rigid polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with a plasticizer content below 5 phr.

27. The method of claim 18, wherein at least three or four, or just three or four rotating milling cutters, and the aforementioned cutting blade, are used for forming the profiled edge region.

28. The method of claim 18, wherein the slide shoe or pressure shoe comprises a one-piece component; wherein this one-piece component comprises a sliding surface or sliding surfaces in order to support the panel both before and after the position where the rotating milling cutter can carry out the milling operation on the edge of the panel.

29. The method of claim 18, wherein the slide shoe or the pressure shoe comprises two individual components; wherein the first component comprises a sliding surface to support the panel before the position where the rotating milling cutter can carry out the milling operation on the edge of the panel; and wherein the second component comprises a sliding surface to support the panel after the position where the rotating milling cutter can carry out the milling operation on the edge of the panel.

30. The method of claim 18, wherein the position of the cutting blade with respect to the aforementioned sliding surface is configured to be controllable.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the aforementioned position is controllable on the basis of one or more set screws.

32. The method of claim 18, wherein the aforementioned cutting blade has a cutting surface that makes an angle (A) with a surface of the panel to be milled.

33. A method for the manufacture of panels wherein a continuous milling machine is used, wherein the continuous milling machine comprises a cutting device; and wherein the continuous milling machine comprises positions with additional rotating milling cutters for machining the edge of the panel that can be machined by the cutting device; wherein the cutting device comprises a slide shoe or pressure shoe, wherein the respective slide shoe or pressure shoe has a sliding surface or sliding surfaces for guiding a surface of a panel to be milled over it or them, wherein the slide shoe or pressure shoe is provided with at least one cutting blade for machining the panel, wherein this cutting blade maintains a fixed position during this machining; wherein the slide shoe or the pressure shoe is provided in order to support the surface of the panel to be milled by means of its sliding surface or sliding surfaces on a rotating milling cutter that carries out a milling operation on the edge of the panel; wherein the cutting device comprises a rotating milling cutter for the milling of the panel at the location of the slide shoe or the pressure shoe; wherein the rotating milling cutter is provided upstream of the cutting blade; wherein the method comprises the step of providing the panels with a profiled edge region on one or more edges, wherein the forming of the profiled edge region is carried out at least by means of one or more of the additional rotating milling cutters and by the rotating milling cutter, and wherein the panel to be milled is guided with its surface over the sliding surface or sliding surfaces of the slide shoe or pressure shoe, wherein the method comprises the step of forming a portion of the profiled edge region by means of the cutting blade that is provided on the aforementioned slide shoe or pressure shoe; wherein at the location of the aforementioned slide shoe or pressure shoe, a milling operation is carried out on the respective edge by means of the rotating milling cutter, wherein the sliding surface or the sliding surfaces of the slide shoe or pressure shoe support the surface of the panel to be milled on the rotating milling cutter, wherein the aforementioned profiled edge region has, at the location of at least one of the principal surfaces of the panel, a chamfer or a bevelled edge, wherein the surface of the chamfer or of the bevelled edge is formed partially or entirely by the cutting blade.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the aforementioned profiled edge region comprises coupling parts, with which it can interact with one or more edges of similar panels; wherein the coupling parts are formed at least partially by the milling operation with the rotating milling cutter.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the panels have a substrate material that comprises thermoplastic material, wherein the substrate material comprises mineral constituents in an amount of at least 40 percent by weight.

Description

[0031] With the aim of better illustrating the features of the invention, some preferred embodiments are described hereunder, as examples without any limiting character, referring to the appended drawings, in which:

[0032] FIG. 1 shows a method for the manufacture of panels with the characteristic features of the present invention;

[0033] FIG. 2 shows a cross-section along line II-II shown in FIG. 1;

[0034] FIG. 3 shows a cross-section along line shown in FIG. 2;

[0035] FIG. 4 shows a detail view along line II-II shown in FIG. 1, of a first embodiment of a cutting device according to the invention; and

[0036] FIG. 5 shows a detail view along line II-II shown in FIG. 1, of a second embodiment of a cutting device according to the invention.

[0037] FIG. 1 shows a top view of a continuous milling machine 1 for the profiling of one or more edges 2 of panels 3. In this case it relates to a continuous milling machine of the double-end-tenoner type for the milling of the short opposite edges of rectangular floor panels. The principles of the invention may be translated mutatis mutandis to a similar milling machine for the profiling of the opposite long edges.

[0038] FIGS. 2 and 3 show further views of the same continuous milling machine 1. The references used, if not defined here, are defined in the appended claims.

[0039] In particular, it is shown in FIG. 3 that at the location of the cutting blade 9, a rotating milling cutter 11 is active for machining the edge 2. The edge 2 is supported for both machining operations by sliding surfaces 6 of the same slide shoe 4 and pressure shoe 5.

[0040] It is not shown in the example that the opposite edge 2 of the panel for example is machined similarly, namely at least with one non-rotating cutting blade 9 that forms a bevelled edge 13, with the difference that the coupling means 16 on the opposite edge 2 is configured as a groove instead of a tooth 17 in the case of the edge illustrated.

[0041] It is clear that in the embodiment illustrated, the cutting blade 9 is provided on the slide shoe 4, and that it can be provided, mutatis mutandis, on the pressure shoe 5. It is not necessary that a cutting blade 9 that is provided on the slide shoe 4, or respectively pressure shoe 5, machines the surface 7, or respectively surface 8, that is led over the sliding surface 6 of the respective slide shoe 4. It is namely possible that a cutting blade 9 mounted on the slide shoe 4 machines the opposite surface 8, for example because the cutting blade 9 in question machines the opposite surface 8 via a bridge that bridges over the thickness of the panel, and vice versa for a cutting blade mounted on the pressure shoe 5. Furthermore, it is also possible that the cutting blade 9 is used for machining a portion of the substrate 15, without a portion of the surfaces 7-8 necessarily being removed for this. The substrate 15 may be provided with a coating, for example formed by a transparent thermoplastic layer 14. The cutting blade 9 may, as stated in the introduction, be used as a roughing operation. As stated in the introduction, such a blade may also be fixed firmly to the machine bed 18 in some other way. The machine bed 18 is only shown schematically in FIG. 3, but a person skilled in the art is sufficiently aware that a machine bed 18 relates to the reference construction of the continuous milling machine 1.

[0042] FIG. 4 shows a detail view along line II-II shown in FIG. 1 of a first embodiment of a cutting device according to the invention. The slide shoe 4 in FIG. 4 is made as one piece. The slide shoe 4 has sliding surfaces 6 for guiding a surface of a panel to be milled over them. A cutting blade 9 is fastened to this slide shoe 4. The cutting blade 9 is fastened to the slide shoe 4 by means of two bolts 21 in a slot 23 of the cutting blade. By loosening these two bolts 21, the vertical position of the cutting blade 9 can be adjusted by means of a set screw 25 placed obliquely, after which the cutting blade is fixed to the slide shoe with the two bolts. The slide shoe is configured so that space 27 is available for mounting of and the operation of a rotating milling cutter. The one-piece slide shoe can, by means of its sliding surfaces, support the panel in the positions before and after the engagement of the rotating milling cutter. This milling cutter is not shown in FIG. 4. At the location of this slide shoe, a milling operation may thus be carried out by means of a rotating milling cutter, simultaneously with the forming of a portion of the profiled edge region of the panel by means of the cutting blade 9.

[0043] FIG. 5 shows a detail view along line II-II shown in FIG. 1 of a second embodiment of a cutting device according to the invention. The slide shoe 4 from FIG. 4 is made in two parts. The slide shoe 4 has sliding surfaces 6 for guiding a surface of a panel to be milled over them. A cutting blade 9 is fastened to this slide shoe 4. The cutting blade 9 is fastened to the slide shoe 4 by means of two bolts 21 in a slot 23 of the cutting blade. By loosening these two bolts 21, the vertical position of the cutting blade 9 can be adjusted by means of a set screw 25 placed obliquely, after which the cutting blade is fixed to the slide shoe with the two bolts. The slide shoe is configured so that space 27 is available for the mounting and operation of a rotating milling cutter. This milling cutter is not shown in FIG. 5. At the location of this slide shoe, a milling operation may thus be carried out by means of a rotating milling cutter, simultaneously with the forming of a portion of the profiled edge region of the panel by means of the cutting blade 9. The one part of the slide shoe can support the panel by means of its sliding surface for engagement of the rotating cutting tool, whereas the other part of the slide shoe can support the panel by means of its sliding surface after engagement of the rotating cutting tool.

[0044] The present invention is by no means limited to the embodiments described above, and such slide shoes and/or pressure shoes, cutting devices, continuous milling machine and methods for the manufacture of panels can be realized while remaining within the scope of the present invention.