COMPOSITE BUILDING COMPONENT FOR CONSTRUCTIONAL ASSEMBLY AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THEREOF

1. TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a composite building component and method of manufacturing thereof comprising mainly paper- based core member such as paper board and sawn timber members bonded under heat and pressure with adhesives, for use in constructional assemblies such as in the fabrication of furniture, frames, beams, partition or the like wherein the composite building component is light but yet resembles solid wood.

2. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Most people consider solid wood to be more attractive and posh than engineered wood such as fibreboard which on its own has no significant structural strength and is susceptible to moisture damage and is not suitable for outdoor use. Frequently to achieve the appearance of solid wood a wood veneer is often glued onto the fibreboard wood for enhanced appearance. Plywood another type of engineered wood comprising thin sheets of wood

veneer stacked together and bonded under heat and pressure with strong adhesives, has been widely used as it looks similar to wood but its layered structure shows at the ends. Thus wood veneer is often glued and pressed at its edges to hide the sight of layered structure for cosmetic effect.

However the greatest disadvantage of solid wood is that it is costly. It is significantly more expensive than fibreboard, plywood or other types of engineered wood as engineered wood can be made from waste material such as sawdust and chips whilst solid wood requires large portion of wood that are relatively free from defects and the solid wood has to be from the species of trees with relatively hard wood. Further as solid wood is derived directly from timber it is very heavy and may be difficult to handle and assembled into desired structures. With increased demand for timber worldwide, the amount of solid timber available has steadily declined. Hence, with our forest fast depleting, the quality of timber is not as consistent as it used to be. To alleviate the above problems, hollow wood structures such as hollow core doors, hollow beams or pillars were introduced. Unfortunately these hollow wood structures allow sound to travel more freely through them thereby causing added and unwanted noise pollution.

In light of the above a material having the aesthetic appearance of solid wood whilst being light, durable and more sound proof will be hailed as a cheaper, more practical and durable alternative.

This prompted the creation and use of a composite building component and method of manufacturing thereof comprising mainly paper-based core member such as paper board and sawn timber members bonded under heat and pressure with adhesives, to overcome the cost and problems associated with use of 100% solid wood in constructional assemblies.

3. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is the primary aim of the present invention to provide a composite building component for use in constructional assembly which appears to be 100% solid wood.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a composite building component for use in constructional assembly which is capable of reducing solid wood usage.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a composite building component for use in constructional assembly which uses recycled paper as a substrate and core and hence is environmental friendly.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a composite building component for use in constructional assembly which is light but rigid.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a composite component for use in constructional assembly which is water resistant.

Other and further objects of the invention will become apparent with an understanding of the following detailed description of the invention or upon employment of the invention in practice.

These and other objects of the present invention are addressed by the present invention, which in its preferred embodiment provides,

A composite building component (20) for use in constructional assembly comprising paper-based core member (6) and complementary sawn timber members (2) bonded under heat and pressure with adhesive (14) for use in constructional assembly.

In another embodiment, the present invention provides,

A composite building component (20) comprising paper-based core member (6) having gaps (10) within it packed with fillers (12) and complementary sawn timber members (2) bonded under heat and pressure with adhesive (14) for use in constructional assembly.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention a method of manufacturing a composite building component (20) for use in constructional assembly comprising steps of;

sawing sawn timber members (2) of desired sizes and configurations from timber sections;

utilising paper-based core member (6) of desired size or assembling paper-based core member (6) into a desired size to provide substrate for sawn timber members (2) to adhere;

applying adhesive (14) to the sides of the said paper-based core member (6) and the inner side of the pre-cut sawn timber members (2) and

then mounting the complementary pre-cut sawn timber members (2) onto the said sides;

applying heat and pressure to compress the adhesively provided paper-based core member (6) and sawn timber members (2) together;

repeating the process of applying adhesive (14) to the remaining uncovered sides of the said paper-based core member (6) and additional pre- cut sawn timber members (2) and mounting the additional complementary pre-cut sawn timber members (2) onto the said remaining sides and applying heat and pressure to compress the said paper-based core member (6) and sawn timber members (2) together; and

sanding the external surfaces of the adhesively mounted sawn timber members (2) for a smooth uniform finish.

4. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other aspect of the present invention and their advantages will be discerned after studying the Detailed Description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG.l are several views showing sawn timber members which have been cut to desired sizes and configurations for mounting purposes.

FIG. 2 is a view from the top of the paper board employed in the present invention.

FIG. 2- A are several views showing a single unit of paper board and the assembly of several such boards into a bigger substrate and a sectional view illustrating the composition of the paper board.

FIG. 2-B is an overall and sectional view of the paper board with gaps within it being packed with fillers.

FIG. 3 shows a view of an unfinished composite building component wherein pre-cut sawn timber members are mounted on a first pair of opposing side of the paper board.

FIG. 4 shows a view of an unfinished composite building component wherein pre-cut sawn timber members are mounted on a second pair of opposing side of the paper board.

FIG. 5 shows a view of a finished composite building component wherein pre-cut sawn timber members are mounted on a third pair of opposing side of the paper board.

FIG. 6 shows several assemblies constructed from the composite building material of the present invention.

5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of the embodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings which are not drawn to scale.

FIGl illustrates several views of the pre-cut sawn timber members (2) which have been cut to desired sizes and configurations for mounting purposes. Sawn timber members (2) in desired sizes and numbers of are cut from large timber sections (4) and are used in combination with paper-based core members (6) preferably paper boards to form a composite building component (20) for use in construction of various assemblies and structures including furniture, frames beams, partition, ceiling and fences.

FIG. 2 and 2-A illustrates several views of the paper board as a singular unit and an assembly of several such units to form a bigger substrate for mounting of the sawn timber members and FIG. 2-B is an overall and sectional view of the paper board showing gaps within it packed with fillers. The paper board (6) is actually recycled paper preferably manufactured from a plurality of corrugated cardboard (6A) combined with plain cardboard (6B) and bonded together with an adhesive. Multiple layers of the corrugated and plain cardboard combination are used to form a unit of paper board (6) which will act as a substrate on which the sawn timber members (2) will be adhered to. The number of layers of corrugated and plain cardboard combination to be used depends on the thickness of the unit of paper board (6) desired. If a thicker unit of paper board (6) is required, more layers of the corrugated and

plain cardboard combination will be employed. Although the paper board (6) to be used as the substrate and inner core has been described and illustrated in some detail as being made of layers of the corrugated and plain cardboard combination, this is not necessarily the only form of recyclable paper suitable for this invention, for example the substrate and inner core may also be made of other forms of recyclable paper such as recycled paper which is compacted and fused together by way of heat and pressure into a compacted paper slab or papier-mache moulded into a slab or any kind of material which is paper- based as what is advantageous in accordance to the present invention is that the composite building component (20) of the present invention is light yet rigid. Depending on the size of the surface area of the composite building component (20) to be formed a single unit of paper board (6) or a plurality of the paper board (6) adhesively attached to each other side by side to form a larger area may utilised as the substrate and inner core. As the paper board (6) is made up of multiple layers of recycled corrugated and plain cardboard combination, tiny gaps (10) within the paper board (6) will inevitably be present. These gaps (10) may be optionally filled and packed with a material used to fill a cavity or increase bulk [hereinafter referred to as fillers (12)] preferably saw dust thereby eliminating the gaps (10) within the paper board (6). This has the effect of improving the sound proof effect whilst adding bulk

and weight to the composite building component (20) for a more rigid structure. The fillers (12) may be of any kind of material as long as it is able to function as a gap-filler.

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 illustrate views of a four sided composite building component wherein pre-cut sawn timber members are mounted on a first, a second and a third pair of opposing side of the paper board respectively. Adhesive material (14) is firstly applied to a first pair (16) of opposing sides of the paper board (6) and the inner side of the complementary pre-cut sawn timber members (2) and same is then mounted and adhered onto the said first pair (16) of opposing sides by a first compression wherein heat and pressure to compress the paper board (6) and sawn timber members (2) together are applied. Preferably the compression is achieved by a hydraulically operated press (not shown) but other types of press may be possible as long as the compression press is able to apply sufficient heat and pressure for adhering the sawn timber members (2) and the paper board (6) together. Under the heat and pressure generated from the press the adhesive applied on the sides of the paper board (6) and inner side of the sawn timber members (2) are fused together thereby strongly holding both elements together to form a partially complete composite building component (20).

A second compression is a repeated process of the first compression but is effected by applying adhesive (14) to a second pair (16A) of opposing sides of the paper board (6) and the inner side of additional complementary pre-cut sawn timber members (2) and same is then mounted and adhered onto the said second pair (16A) of opposing sides. In a similar manner heat and pressure generated from the press will result in the adhesives applied on the sides of the paper board (6) and inner side of the additional sawn timber members (2) to become fused together thereby strongly holding both elements together to form a partially complete composite building component (20).

A third compression is a repeated process of the first compression and second compression but is effected by applying adhesives (14) to a third pair (16B) of opposing sides of the paper board (6) and the inner side of additional complementary pre-cut sawn timber members (2) and same is then mounted and adhered onto the said third pair (16B) of opposing sides. Likewise as in the first and second compression, the heat and pressure generated from the press will result in the adhesives applied on the sides of the paper board (6) and inner side of the additional sawn timber members (2) to become fused together thereby strongly holding both elements together to form a complete composite building component (20).

When all the sides of the paper board (6) is covered by sawn timber members (2) a four sided composite component (20) is formed. The sawn timber members (2) will prevent moisture damage to the insulated paper board (6) by retarding seepage of moisture to the paper board (6) which is highly susceptible to moisture damage thereby providing a composite building component (20) which is more water resistant than fibreboards, ordinarily uninsulated paper-based boards which are highly susceptible to moisture damage. A sanding process is carried out to achieve a smooth uniform finish of its surface. The finished composite building component (20) of the present invention resembles solid wood.

Although the said composite building component (20) has been described and illustrated in some detail as having four sides, this is not necessarily the only shape that the composite building component (20) may assume, for instance the composite building component (20) may be of any shape regular or otherwise provided always that the top and bottom surface of the composite building component (20) to be formed is always flat. Therefore the composite building material (20) may have three, five, six or eight sides or assume a cylindrical, diamond or star shape as what is advantageous in accordance with the present invention is that the composite

building component (20) of the present invention is light whilst has the appearance of 100% solid wood and is rigid. The configuration of the paper boards (6) and the sawn timber members (2) and the number of times of compression and the manner of compression depends on the shape and configuration of the composite building component (20) to be formed.

As the composite building component (20) of the present invention resembles solid wood in appearance, it can be used in place of many constructional assemblies which currently use 100% solid wood to save cost and help conserve the forest. Its lightweight characteristic has also enabled it to be used in assemblies which would appear more attractive if solid wood had been used but was not being used because of cost constraint or installation problem due to the weight of solid wood. FIG. 6 shows some structures constructed from the composite material of the present invention.

While the said composite building component (20) has been described and illustrated in some detail as having the sides of the paper board (6) being covered by sawn timber members (2) which is solid wood this is not necessarily the only type of material which may be used to cover the paper board (6) for instance the paper board (6) may be covered by formica, arcrylic or plywood panels as what is advantageous in accordance with the present

invention is that the composite building component (20) of the present invention is light, rigid and is water resistant.

While the preferred embodiment of the present invention and their advantages have been disclosed in the above Detailed Description, the invention is not limited thereto but only by the spirit and scope of the appended claim.