Technical Field

The present invention relates to a process for the manufacture of boards from reclaimed wooden material.

Background Art

It is known that boards are made from a mixture of reclaimed wooden material in the form of flakes and/or powders and from at least one binding agent consisting, e.g., of polymer resins and/or adhesives of various kinds.

Specifically, the term “reclaimed material” as used in this disclosure refers to the wooden material that has already undergone one or more uses and is then subjected to preliminary treatments of chipping and/or shredding, so as to obtain flakes and/or powders, and then subjected to a drying process.

Next, the mixture is cast within a forming mould wherein it undergoes a compaction phase, allowing it to acquire predefined dimensions and densities corresponding to those of the final product.

It is, in addition, known to carry out one or more heating phases of the mixture cast, e.g. at the same time as the compaction phase, to allow the activation of the binding agent.

By heating the mixture, in fact, it is possible to bring the binding agent to its curing temperature and, as a result, join the flakes and/or powders of wooden material which are compacted to each other.

Boards made in this way are characterized by lower mechanical properties (such as, e.g., bending strength) than boards made from solid wood.

Boards made in this way tend, therefore, to deform more than boards made of solid wood or even to break when subjected to high loads, thus being unsuitable for a plurality of uses.

That said, there is an increasing need to make boards from reclaimed wooden material provided with mechanical properties (such as, e.g., bending strength) similar to those typical of boards made from solid wood.

Description of the Invention The main aim of the present invention is to devise a process by which boards can be made from reclaimed wooden material having mechanical properties similar to those typical of boards made from solid wood.

An additional object of the present invention is to devise a process by which boards can be made from reclaimed wooden material which are suitable for a wide range of use and, therefore, significantly more flexible in use than boards made to date from reclaimed wooden material.

Another object of the present invention is to devise a process for the manufacture of boards from reclaimed wooden material which can overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art within the framework of a simple, rational, easy and effective to use as well as affordable solution.

The aforementioned objects are achieved by this process for the manufacture of boards from reclaimed wooden material having the characteristics of claim 1. Brief Description of the Drawings

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of a process for the manufacture of boards from reclaimed wooden material, illustrated by way of an indicative, yet non-limiting example, in the attached tables of drawings in which:

Figures 1 to 5 schematically show a first embodiment of the process according to the invention;

Figures 6 to 10 schematically show a second embodiment of the process according to the invention.

Embodiments of the Invention

With particular reference to this figure, reference numeral 1 globally denotes a board made by means of the process for the manufacture of boards from reclaimed wooden material according to the invention.

The process for the manufacture of boards from reclaimed wooden material comprises at least one phase of supplying at least one mixture M comprising wooden material 2 in the form of flakes and/or powders and at least one binding agent 3. In this regard, the supply of the flakes and/or powders of wooden material 2 already mixed with the binding agent 3, or the supply of the flakes and/or powders of wooden material 2 and of the binding agent 3 not yet mixed together can be provided.

In the latter case, one or more pretreatments of the flakes and/or powders of wooden material 2 can be carried out before mixing the latter with the binding agent 3, such as one or more drying processes.

In addition, the process comprises the phase of supplying at least one forming mould 4 of at least one board 1 starting from the mixture M.

In particular, the forming mould 4 is provided with at least one forming cavity 4a which has a conformation corresponding to those of the finished product and can be at least partly filled with the mixture M.

In addition, the forming cavity 4a is bounded inferiorly by at least one bottom wall 4b adapted to hold the mixture M by weight.

Next, the process comprises at least one phase of casting the mixture M within the forming mould 4.

During the aforementioned phase, the mixture M is cast within the forming mould 4 by arranging itself against the bottom wall 4b and filling at least part of the forming cavity 4a.

Casting can be done by means of one or more suitable injectors or by other methods still known to the expert in the field.

The process comprises, at this point, at least one phase of forming the mixture M within the forming mould 4 to obtain the board 1.

Specifically, forming comprises at least the step of heating the mixture M within the forming mould 4.

By heating the mixture M, in fact, it is possible to bring the binding agent 3 to its curing temperature and, in this way, to join the flakes and/or powders of wooden material 2 together.

Heating, in particular, is carried out by heating means 5 associated with the forming mould 4.

The heating means 5 may be of the electrical type (e.g., of the electric resistor type), or they may be of another type known to the expert in the field.

In addition, forming also comprises at least the step of compacting the mixture M within the forming mould 4.

This step is carried out through compaction means 6, e.g. of the hydraulic and/or pneumatic type (e.g., one or more hydraulic and/or pneumatic pistons).

In actual facts, due to the pressure exerted by the compaction means 6 on the mixture M it is clearly possible to obtain a board 1 of the desired size and density. Conveniently, compaction is carried out at the same time as heating.

Thus, in this case, the heating means 5 are built into the compaction means 6 and/or into the forming mould 4.

By doing so, in fact, it is possible to carry out the forming of the board 1 while simultaneously reducing the production time of the same.

The board 1 obtained as a result of forming has a substantially slab-like conformation and is, therefore, provided with a first face la, facing the bottom wall 4b, and with a second face lb, opposite the first face la and facing, therefore, upwards.

According to the invention, the process comprises at least one phase of arranging at least one structural reinforcement mesh 7 which can be coupled to the mixture M within the forming mould 4.

Preferably, the arrangement of the reinforcement mesh 7 is carried out prior to forming.

In fact, in this way, it is clearly possible to join the reinforcement mesh 7 and the mixture M together through the curing of the binding agent 3.

Advantageously, the reinforcement mesh 7 is made at least partly of flexible material in order to ensure adequate bending strength to the resulting board 1.

In addition, the use of a reinforcement mesh 7 made of flexible material allows the mixture M to be formed in a totally safe and efficient manner, avoiding the risk of plasticization or break of the reinforcement mesh itself as a result of the pressure exerted by the compaction means 6.

Usefully, the flexible material is selected from the list comprising: iron, plastic, fiberglass. In all cases, other materials than those just listed should not be ruled out that will, however, give the reinforcement mesh 7 enough flexibility to allow it to deform in a uniquely elastic maimer as a result of the action of the compaction means.

According to a first embodiment of the process, shown in Figures 1 to 4, the arrangement of the reinforcement mesh 7 is carried out prior to casting.

In this case, the reinforcement mesh 7 is bonded within the still-empty forming mould 4, arranging it against the bottom wall 4b.

Once this is done, the mixture M is cast over the reinforcement mesh 7, thus filling at least part of the forming cavity 4a.

It is easy to appreciate that, by doing so, it is possible to obtain a board 1 in which the reinforcement mesh 7 is coupled to the first face la.

Alternatively, in accordance with a second embodiment of the process, shown in Figures 5 to 8, the arrangement of the reinforcement mesh 7 is carried out subsequently to casting.

In actual facts, in this case, the mixture M is cast within the still-empty forming mould 4, filling at least part of the forming cavity 4a.

Once casting is done, the reinforcement mesh 7 is placed inside the forming mould 4, arranging it against the mixture M.

At this point, by forming the mixture M, it is possible to obtain a board 1 in which the reinforcement mesh 7 is coupled to the second face lb.

In accordance with a third embodiment of the process alternative to the previous ones and not shown in the figures, the casting comprises at least one step of first casting of a part of the mixture M within the forming mould 4 and at least one step of second casting, carried out subsequently to the first casting, of the remaining part of the mixture M within the forming mould 4.

In actual facts, this means that the mixture M is cast inside the forming mould 4 at two temporally distinct times corresponding, specifically, to the first casting and to the second casting.

In this regard, in accordance with the third embodiment, the arrangement of the reinforcement mesh 7 is carried out between the first casting and the second casting. This means that once the first part of the mixture M has been cast into the forming mould 4, the reinforcement mesh 7 is positioned resting on the latter, and having done so, the second and remaining part of the mixture M is cast onto the reinforcement mesh itself

It is, therefore, simple to appreciate that the process in accordance with this third embodiment allows obtaining a board 1 containing the reinforcement mesh 7 within it.

It is emphasized, in this regard, that arranging a reinforcement mesh 7 in contact with the mixture M according to any one of the described embodiments allows, once forming has been carried out, obtaining a board 1 having mechanical properties (such as, e.g., bending stiffness) similar to those typical of boards made of solid wood.

In this regard, according to a further aspect of the invention, the present invention also relates to a board 1 which can be made from reclaimed wooden material by means of the process just described.

In detail, the board thus made has at least a first face la and at least a second face lb opposite the first face la and at least one reinforcement mesh 7.

In the present case, the reinforcement mesh 7 can be arranged internally to the board 1 (e.g. by making the arrangement between the first casting and the second casting) or be coupled to one of either the first face la or the second face lb (e.g. by making the arrangement before or after casting, respectively).

It has in practice been ascertained that the described invention achieves the intended objects.

In particular, the fact is emphasized that the special expedient of providing for the arrangement of a reinforcement mesh associated with the mixture makes it possible to obtain boards from reclaimed wooden material having mechanical properties similar to those typical of boards made from solid wood.

In fact, in this way, it is possible to expand the scope of application of the boards thus obtained, thus also employing them for uses requiring good mechanical properties (e.g., good bending strength).