METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PRODUCING A THREE-DIMENSIONALLY DEFORMED PLATE

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a three-dimensionally deformed plate made of a wood fiber material comprises providing a prefabricated, flat wood fiber material plate as the original plate, preheating the original plate in sections, wetting the preheated section of the original plate with an atomized liquid mixture of water and a separating agent, introducing a section of the original plate that is preheated and wetted with a liquid mixture of water and a separating agent between two rollers of a molding station, wherein the rollers respectively provide a corrugated profile in the peripheral direction of the external surface, such that the original plate is being deformed in sections into a plate with a wave shape, wherein rollers are being used, the respective profiling of which has half-waves which follow one another in the peripheral direction and which at least partially have a different extension in the peripheral direction.

Claims

1. A method for producing a three-dimensionally deformed plate made of a wood fiber material comprising: providing a prefabricated, flat wood fiber material plate as the original plate, preheating the original plate in sections, wetting the preheated section of the original plate with an atomized liquid mixture of water and a separating agent, and introducing a section of the original plate that is preheated and wetted with a liquid mixture of water and a separating agent between two rollers of a molding station, wherein the rollers respectively provide a corrugated profiling in the peripheral direction of the external surface, such that the original plate is being deformed in sections into a plate with a wave shape, wherein rollers are being used, the respective profiling of which has half-waves which follow one another in the peripheral direction and which at least partially have a different extension in the peripheral direction.

2. The method according to claim 1, in which rollers are used, the respective profiling of which has half-waves which are at least in sections essentially planar to form an essentially flat contact surface on the side of the plate.

3. The method according to claim 1, in which rollers are being used, the respective profiling of which has half-waves which are at least in sections essentially concave or convex to form an essentially curved contact surface on the side of the plate.

4. The method according to claim 1, in which rollers are being used, the respective profiling of which has exclusively negative or positive half-waves.

5. The method according to claim 1, in which rollers are being used, the respective profiling of which has positive and negative half-waves alternating one after the other in the peripheral direction.

6. The method according to claim 5, in which rollers are being used, the respective profiling of which has two different half-wave configurations, wherein three half-waves of the first half-wave configuration are being followed by one half-wave of the second half-wave configuration.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein that a wood fiber material plate is being used comprising a surface weight comprised between 1.0 kg/m.sup.2 and 3.0 kg/m.sup.2.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein that a wood fiber material plate is being used having a thickness comprised between 1 mm and 3 mm, preferably 2 mm.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the deformation will be performed at a temperature in the range comprised between 200° C. and 300° C., preferably between 200° C. and 260° C., even more preferably between 200° C. and 240° C., and the most preferably at 220° C.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the deformation is being performed at a line load in the range comprised between 100 N/mm and 300 N/mm, preferably between 170 N/mm and 250 N/mm, and the most preferably at 200 N/mm.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein this one is carried out continuously.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein that a MDF-plate is being used as the flat wood fiber material plate.

13. A system for manufacturing a three-dimensionally deformed plate made of a wood fiber material according to the method of claim 1, comprising a prefabricated, flat wood fiber material plate as the original plate and a treatment installation comprising a preheating station, a wetting device and a molding station, wherein the molding station comprises a pair of rollers with rollers, which respectively provide a wave-shaped profiling of the outer surface in the peripheral direction, wherein the respective profiling has half-waves which follow one another in the peripheral direction, and which at least partly have a different extension in the peripheral direction.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein rollers are being provided, the respective profiling has half-waves which, at least in sections, are essentially planar in order to form a contact surface on the side of the plate.

15. The system according to claim 13, wherein rollers are being provided, the respective profiling of which exclusively has negative or positive half-waves.

16. The system according to claim 13, wherein rollers are being provided, the respective profiling of which has positive and negative half-waves alternating one after the other in the peripheral direction.

17. The system according to claim 13, wherein rollers are being provided, the respective profiling of which has two different half-wave configurations, wherein three half-waves of a first half-wave configuration are being followed by one half-wave of a second half-wave configuration.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0039] Further features and advantages of the invention become apparent from the following description by means of the Figures.

[0040] FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a method according to the invention;

[0041] FIG. 2 shows a schematic side view of a pair of rollers of the type according to the invention;

[0042] FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of a roller embodiment according to the invention and a corrugated plate configured according to the invention;

[0043] FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of a roller embodiment according to the invention and a corrugated plate configured according to the invention according to a second embodiment;

[0044] FIG. 5 shows a schematic cut view of a sandwich board with a corrugated plate according to FIG. 3 and

[0045] FIG. 6 shows a schematic cut view of a sandwich board with a corrugated plate according to FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] FIG. 1 shows, in a schematic representation, a process according to the invention or rather a system according to the invention.

[0047] A treatment installation 1 is shown. This one comprises a preheating station 2, a wetting device 3, and a molding station 4.

[0048] The molding station 4 in turn comprises a pair of rollers 9. This one provides two rollers 10 and 11, which are spaced from one another while forming a gap. Every roller has an external surface 23, which is provided with a profiling, that will be described in more detail below.

[0049] The wetting station 3 provides a spraying unit 12. When used as intended, the spraying unit 12 sprays a liquid mixture of water and a separating agent, wherein an exemplarily drawn spray cone 13 is obtained. According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, only one spraying unit 12 is being used. It goes without saying, that a variety of such spraying units could be used, also such, which are arranged underneath a plate that is guided through the treatment installation 1.

[0050] The preheating station 2 comprises two heating devices 14 and 15. These heating devices can in particular be infrared radiators. However, other heating devices such as microwave radiators or the like are also conceivable. It is significant, that the plate is preheated during the process according to the invention, which further ensures that a liquid mixture of water and a separating agent applied to the plate is homogeneously distributed.

[0051] The treatment installation 1 described above, allows the process to be performed as follows.

[0052] A wood fiber material plate is supplied to the treatment installation 1 as the original plate in accordance with the arrow 7. Herein, the wood fiber material plate is flat and prefabricated. In the shown exemplary embodiment, the wood fiber material plate is a MDF-plate 5.

[0053] The MDF-plate 5 runs through the treatment installation 1 in the direction of the arrow 7, wherein first preheating takes place in sections, then wetting of the preheated section, and then a deformation of the plate 5 takes place in the molding station 4, such that the result is a corrugated plate 6, i.e. a three-dimensionally deformed plate 6, which leaves the treatment installation 1 in the direction of the arrow 8.

[0054] FIG. 2 shows the rollers 10 and 11 of the roller pair 9 of the molding station 4 in a schematic side view. As it can be seen from this illustration, the rollers 10 and 11 respectively have a profiling, which has successive half-waves in peripheral direction 22. Herein, a half-wave is being formed by a wave crest or a wave trough, wherein a wave crest represents a positive half-wave and a wave trough represents a negative half-wave. With respect to a line passing through the wave shaped extension as a zero line, a wave crest represents a half-wave above the zero line and a wave trough represents a half-wave below the zero line.

[0055] As the illustration according to FIG. 2 shows by means of the example of the upper roller 10, a first half-wave 16 is followed by a second half-wave 17, a third half-wave 16, a fourth half-wave 17, a fifth half-wave 18, and so on. It is essential to the invention that the half-waves have at least partially a different extension in the peripheral direction 22, wherein the half-waves 16 and 17 each provide a first extension in the exemplary embodiment shown, whereas the half-waves 18 and 19 provide a second extension which turns out to be larger in the peripheral direction 22 than the extension of the half-waves 16 and 17. According to the wave pattern shown in FIG. 2, three half-waves of a first type, that means of a first half-wave configuration, are being followed by one half-wave of a second type, that means of a second half-wave configuration. In the shown exemplary embodiment, the half-waves 16 and 17 belong to the first half-wave type, whereas the half-waves 18 and 19 belong to the second half-wave type. Herein, the half-waves 16 and 17 of the first type only differ in that the half-waves 16 are positive half-waves and the half-waves 17 are negative half-waves. The same applies to the half-waves of the second type. Because here the half-waves 18 are positive half-waves, whereas the half-waves 19 are negative half-waves.

[0056] The half-waves 18 and 19, which extend longer in the peripheral direction 22, each provide a substantially flat plateau 20. With regard to a finally deformed plate 6, this plateau formation produces an essentially planar contact surface 24, as it can be seen from FIG. 3.

[0057] As can be seen in FIG. 3 when viewed together, a roller is shown on the left with reference to the plane of the drawing, wherein the profile resulting with respect to the plate 6 is being represented on the right of the roller. As can be seen from this illustration, the profile of the deformed plate 6 is wave-shaped, wherein the half-waves in the longitudinal direction of the deformed plate 6 partially have a different longitudinal extension. Herein, half-waves 16 or 17 that are shorter in the longitudinal direction alternate with half-waves 18 or 19 that are longer in the longitudinal direction. A total of two wave types are provided, namely a first half-wave pair 16 or 17 and a second half-wave pair 18 or 19. Herein, the half-waves 16 are positive and the half-waves 17 are negative. The same applies to half-wave type 2. Here, the half-waves 18 are positive and the half-waves 19 are negative. The distance between two repeating waves X is 303 mm in the represented exemplary embodiment. Of course, other configurations are also conceivable here, wherein the distance X is being shown in the exemplary embodiment between two negative half-waves of type 2, in the present case the half-wave 19.

[0058] The roller shown in FIG. 3 still allows the “zero line” 21 to be recognized, around which the half-waves are respectively guided, from which wave crests, namely positive half-waves and wave troughs, that means negative half-waves, result in the manner already described.

[0059] FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of an alternative embodiment with respect to FIG. 3. As it can be seen from this illustration, the half-waves 18 and 19 according to this exemplary embodiment do not have an essentially flat plateau, but are rather convex or concave. The result of this embodiment is a finished, deformed plate 6, which, in a manner corresponding to the embodiment of the half-waves 18 and 19, has contact surfaces 25 that are essentially curved.

[0060] The exemplary embodiments according to FIGS. 3 and 4 serve only for explanation and are not limiting. That is because the execution of the method according to the invention not only allows a plate profiling, as it is shown exemplarily in FIGS. 3 and 4. Rather, it is within the scope of the invention to choose an appropriate profile depending on the application. It is essential to the invention that half-waves 16 or 17 on the one hand and half-waves 18 or 19 on the other hand are provided, which are of different lengths in the peripheral direction of the rollers or in the longitudinal direction of the later plates, i.e. they have different extensions. Therefore, the half period duration provided depending on the half-wave differs. Herein, depending on the intended use, a large number of differently designed half-waves can be provided, as can be the arrangement of these half-waves. For example, a recurring half-wave pattern can be provided for each roller circumference, but this is not mandatory. An embodiment is also conceivable in which a recurring half-wave pattern only results from the fact that the rollers are rotated by more than 360°.

[0061] FIGS. 5 and 6 finally show two sandwich boards 26 as an example. Herein, each sandwich board 26 respectively has a deformed plate 6 and a first cover layer 27 and a second cover layer 28. With reference to the plane of the drawing according to FIGS. 5 and 6, the cover layers 27 and 28 are each arranged on the top and the bottom of the deformed plate 6, so they take the deformed plate 6 between them.

[0062] According to the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 5, a deformed plate 6 is being used, which corresponds to that one according to FIG. 3. However, the embodiment according to FIG. 6 shows a deformed plate 6 corresponding to the embodiment according to FIG. 4.

[0063] Functional elements 29 are shown exemplarily in FIGS. 5 and 6, each of which are arranged on the deformed plate 6. According to the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 5, a bar with an essentially rectangular cross-section is used as a functional element 29, which rests on an essentially flat contact surface 24 of the deformed plate 6.

[0064] In contrast to this, FIG. 6 shows a functional element 29, which, on its side facing the deformed plate 6, provides a contour which corresponds to the associated curved contact surface 25 of the deformed plate 6.