Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02472684 2011-03-18
PROCES ANa APPARATU FO MANUFACTURING A
I L
HONEYCOMB COMPOSITE MATES
Field of the Invention
[00011 The present invention relates to the field of manufacturing a composite
material and, more particularly, to a process for manufacturing a honeycomb
composite material and an apparatus to manufacture same. The composite
material
can be used for packaging and building applications.
[0002[ Background of the invention
[0003] Safe product delivery requires a strong and efficient packaging
material which
can hold up under tough conditions. For the selection of a packaging material,
the
important criteria are its weight, its recyclabliity, its mechanical
properties, and its
cost.
[0004] Foam materials are widely used since they are inexpensive and
lightweight.
However most of them are not environmentally friendly and sometimes foam
materials can generate static electricity when in contact with another object.
Paper
honeycomb materials are fully recyclable, lightweight, and inexpensive.
Honeycomb
materials probably offer the best strength to weight ratio of any material
available.
However, they do not offer a good compressive strength in the plane of the
material
(edge compression resistance). Corrugated cardboards are also fully
recyclable,
lightweight, and inexpensive. However, important quantities of material are
necessary to produce safe containers with corrugated cardboard, which increase
the
packaging cost. Moreover, corrugated cardboard having anti-static electricity
properties can be obtained.
[00051 Massive applications of the packaging materials require cost efficient
and
continuous productions to be competitive with the existing products.
Furthermore,
better mechanical properties to allow weight and raw material cost savings are
essential for packaging applications.
CA 02472684 2004-06-29
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] It is an object of the present invention to provide a process to
manufacture a
honeycomb composite material that is lightweight, inexpensive, has high
mechanical
properties, and is preferably recyclable.
[0006] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
manufacturing
process for a lightweight composite material that has high mechanical
properties.
[0007] It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus
for
continuous production of a lightweight composite material.
[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
process
for a continuous production of a web of a composite material. The process
comprises the steps of: providing a web of honeycomb material; providing at
least
one web of face sheet material having a corrugated medium with at least one
linerboard on at least one face thereof; carrying the web of honeycomb
material and
the at least one web of face sheet material along a production line; and
adhesively
applying the at least one web of face sheet material to one face of the
honeycomb
material while the honeycomb material is being conveyed through the production
line
and maintained in an expanded state.
[0009] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided
a
packaging material manufactured with the process described hereinabove.
[0010] According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is
provided an
apparatus for a continuous production of a web of a composite material. The
apparatus comprises at least one carrier for moving a web of honeycomb
material
along the apparatus; at least one carrier for moving at least one web of a
face sheet
material along the apparatus, the face sheet material having a corrugated
medium
with a linerboard on at least one face thereof; at least one laminator for
adhesively
applying the at least one web of the face sheet material to a face of the web
of
honeycomb material in an expanded state.
[0011] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided
a
packaging material manufactured with the apparatus described hereinabove.
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CA 02472684 2004-06-29
[0012] The term paper is herein intended to means any wood fiber based
materials
such as cardboard, kraft paper, recycled paper, medium, chipboard, bleached or
not,
and the like.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] Further features and advantages of the present invention will become
apparent from the following detailed description, taken in combination with
the
appended drawings, in which:
[0014] Fig. 1. is a perspective view of a composite material according to the
prior art,
the composite material is manufactured manually;
[0015] Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the composite material of
Fig. 1;
[0016] Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a composite material
manufactured
with a process according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a composite material
manufactured
with a process according to another embodiment of the present invention, the
composite material has only one face sheet including a corrugated medium;
[0018] Fig. 5 is a schematic view of a process according to a first embodiment
of the
present invention, wherein the process is used to manufacture the composite
material of FIG. 3;
[0019] Fig. 6 is a schematic view of a process according to a second
embodiment of
the present invention, wherein the process is used to manufacture the
composite
material of FIG. 4 and the face sheets are bonded to a core portion with a hot
melt
adhesive;
[0020] Fig. 7 is a top plan view of an apparatus according to an embodiment of
the
present invention, the apparatus is used to carry out the composite material
of FIG. 4
with the process of FIG. 6; and
[0021] Fig. 8 is a side elevation view of the apparatus of FIG. 7 according to
the
present invention.
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CA 02472684 2004-06-29
[0022] It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like features
are
identified by like reference numerals.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0023] Referring simultaneously to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a composite
material 10 of the prior art typically used in packaging applications. The
composite
material 10 has a core portion 12 including an expanded honeycomb material 14
and
two linerboards 16 laminated on the honeycomb material 14. The linerboards 16
are
usually compulsory to maintain the honeycomb material 14 in an expanded state.
On
each linerboard 16, a face sheet 18 is manually laminated. The face sheet 18
is
constituted of a corrugated medium 20 and two linerboards 22 laminated on each
side of the corrugated medium 20. The composite material 10 has adequate
mechanical properties for packaging applications. However, since the face
sheets 18
are laminated manually on the core portion 12, it cannot be used widely due to
its
high manufacturing cost.
[0024] It is highly desirable to produce in a continuous manner a composite
material such as the composite material described hereinabove, to reduce the
manufacturing costs. Moreover, it is also desirable to reduce the raw material
necessary to produce the composite material. When the composite material 10 is
manufactured manually, two linerboards 16, 22 are contiguous on each side of
the
honeycomb material 14. As mentioned earlier, the linerboards 16 are necessary
to
maintain the honeycomb material 14 in an expanded state.
[0025] The present invention provides an apparatus to continuously manufacture
a composite material similar to the composite material 10 and, preferably,
without the
double linerboards 16, 22 on each side of the honeycomb material 14.
[0026] Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a composite material 10a
manufactured by a production line 30 (or a process line) (FIG. 5). As the
composite
material 10, the composite material 10a has a core portion 12 and two face
sheets
18 laminated on the core portion 12. The core portion 12 solely includes a
honeycomb material 14 in an expanded state. As opposed to the prior art (FIGS.
1
and 2), it does not include linerboards 16 laminated on each side of the
honeycomb
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CA 02472684 2004-06-29
material 14. The core portion 12 has two faces 34a, 34b. The cells of the
honeycomb
material 14 have an hexagonal shape but any other nested shape can be used.
Each face sheet 18 is constituted of a corrugated medium 20 and two
linerboards 22
laminated on each side of the corrugated medium 18. Each face sheet 18 is
preferably directly laminated on the honeycomb material 14 forming the core
portion
12 thereby reducing the raw material necessary to manufacture the composite
material 10a.
[0027] One skilled in the art will understand that the face sheets 18 can
include
only one linerboard 22 laminated on one side of the corrugated medium 20. In
that
case, either the corrugated medium 20 or the linerboard 22 can be laminated on
the
core portion 12. Referring to FIG. 4, it will be seen that the composite
material 10b
can also have only one face sheet 18 with a corrugated medium 20 laminated one
face 34a of the core portion 12 without departing from the scope of the
invention.
The other face 34b of the core portion 12 can be covered with a linerboard 22
as
shown in FIG. 4 or it can be uncovered.
[0028] As mentioned earlier, massive application of the honeycomb composite
material requires a cost efficient and continuous production, especially for
packaging
applications to be competitive with the existing products.
[0029] Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown a production line 30 used to
manufacture
the composite material 10a (FIG. 3). The production line 30 has a longitudinal
axis
40 and a transversal axis 42 (FIG. 7) which correspond to the longitudinal and
transversal axis of the composite material 10a manufactured. The faces sheets
18
are provided in webs. Two stacks 44, 46 of face sheet webs are provided, each
face
sheet 18 including a corrugated medium 20 and two linerboards 22 laminated on
each side of the corrugated medium 20. If the face sheets 18 are constituted
of a
corrugated medium 20 and one linerboard 22 laminated on one side of the
corrugated medium 20, the face sheets 18 are preferably provided in rolls (not
shown). Moreover, if the composite material 10a includes only one face sheet
18
including the corrugated medium 20, the production line 30 has only one stack
44 or
roll. If the core portion 12 of the composite material 10a has one face 34a
covered
with a face sheet 18 including the corrugated medium 20 and the other face 34b
is
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CA 02472684 2004-06-29
covered with a linerboard 22, a roll 48 (FIG. 6) of linerboard 22 is provided
instead of
a second stack 46 of face sheet 18.
[0030] The production line 30 is continuously fed in face sheets 18 since the
face
sheets are provided in webs. A new roll or stack 44, 46 is supplied to the
production
line 30 when the face sheet web 18 of a previous roll or stack 44, 46 has been
totally
consumed. The face sheets 18 are carried along the production line 30 with
carriers
such as driven rolls, as it will be more described in details later.
[0031] The honeycomb material 14 is provided in a collapsed state to form the
core
portion 12. The honeycomb material 14 is previously manufactured with a
technology
known by those skilled in the art. For example, collapsed blocks 52 of
honeycomb
material 14 are obtained by printing glue lines on a plurality of flat sheets
(not
shown). A stack of these sheets is made, the glue is cured, and slices are cut
from
these blocks 52. To expand the honeycomb material 14, the sheets are pulled
apart
in the direction perpendicular to the planes of the constituent strips, i.e.
in the
expansion direction, thus expanding into an open cellular state having,
usually, an
hexagonal cell configuration. However, for the production line 30, the
honeycomb
material 14 is provided in a collapsed state since it does not have
linerboards 16
laminated thereon to maintain it in the expanded state. Webs of honeycomb
material
14 are continuously supplied to the production line 30.
[0032] The web of honeycomb material 14 is provided in the collapsed state on
pallets (not shown). The pallets carrying honeycomb material 14 are conveyed
toward an hydraulic table 56 (FIGS. 7 and 8) with a conveyor 58 (FIGS. 7 and
8).
The hydraulic table 56 moves vertically to adjust the height of the pallet.
Furthermore, the hydraulic table 56 can tilt to a predetermined' angle to
facilitate the
expansion of the honeycomb material 14. In a preferred embodiment, the
hydraulic
table 56 is tilted to a 30-degree angle.
[0033] The honeycomb material 14 is then expanded on an expanding table 60
(FIGS. 7 and 8). The expanding table 60 is equipped with two expanding rolls
62,
which are preferably scored. Expanding rolls 62 are disposed on each side of
the
honeycomb material 14. The height of the expanding rolls 62 can be adjusted
according to the thickness of the honeycomb material 14. The expanding table
60
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CA 02472684 2011-03-18
also includes two curved guides 66 (FIG. 7). While going through the curved
guides
66, the width of the honeycomb material 14 is reduced and, in combination with
the
expanding rolls 62, the honeycomb material 14 is expanded. The expanding rolls
62
draw and expand to a predetermined degree the collapsed honeycomb material 14.
The expanding rolls 62 are preferably driven rolls and carry the web of
honeycomb
material 30 along the production line 30. Expanding rolls 62 also supply the
expanded honeycomb material 14 to a pair of adhesive rolls 68 disposed on each
side of the honeycomb material 14.
(0030] The expanded honeycomb material 14 is then introduced between the two
adhesive rolls 68 where an adhesive is applied on both faces 34a, 34b of the
expanded honeycomb material 14. Each adhesive roll 68 is continuously supplied
in
the adhesive to apply homogeneously a predetermined quantity of adhesive on
each
face 34a, 34b of the honeycomb material 14. Any other technique known by those
skilled in the art can be used to apply the adhesive on the faces 34a, 34b of
the
honeycomb material 14. If the composite material 10a includes only one face
sheet
18, the adhesive is applied on only one face 34a of the expanded honeycomb
material 14 and the face sheet 18 is applied on the face 34a wherein the
adhesive
has previously been applied. Moreover, one skilled in the art will appreciate
that the
adhesive can be applied on a face 72 of the face sheets 18, the face 72 that
is in
contact with the honeycomb material 14, without departing from the scope of
the
invention. However, in that case, the quantity of adhesive required to bond
the face
sheets 18 on the core portion 12 is more important.
(0031) The adhesive rolls 68 can be driven rolls to carry the web of honeycomb
material 14 or the web of face sheets 18 along the production line 30.
[0032] Both face sheets 18 are carried close to the honeycomb material 14
after
adhesive rolls 68, one face sheet 18 on each side of the honeycomb material
14.
The face sheets 18 circulate parallel to the honeycomb material 14. The face
sheets
18 are carried along with a plurality of rolls 50 disposed at various
positions (only
one is shown). Some of the rolls 50 can be driven rolls.
(00331 The face sheets 18 are laminated on the honeycomb material 14 with two
insertion rolls 80, one roll 80 disposed on each side of the honeycomb
material 14.
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As it is seen in FIG. 5, each face sheet 18 is inserted between the insertion
roll 80
and the honeycomb material 14. The insertion roll 80 applies a slight pressure
on the
face sheet 18 and the honeycomb material 14 to create a link between both and
produce the composite material 10a without excessively compressing any of
them.
Insertion rolls 80 can also be driven rolls to carry the web of composite
material 10a
along the production line 30.
[0038] The composite material 10a can then circulate between two heating
plates
(not shown) wherein the adhesive is heated to activate its adhesive
properties. For
example, for PVA, the adhesive is heated to approximately 215 C. One heating
plate can be disposed on each side of the composite material 10a. One skilled
in the
art will appreciate that the heating plates can be replaced by several heating
systems and apparatus such as electric plates, steam plates, gas or electric
infrared
heaters, microwaves, and a warm air flow.
[0039] Thereafter, the composite material 1Oa goes between two compression
conveyors 96 wherein the honeycomb material 14 and the face sheets 18 are
maintained together permitting the adhesive to set. The composite material 10a
is
maintained in the compression conveyors 96 until the adhesive is sufficiently
dried
and an adequate bond is formed between honeycomb material 14 and face sheets
18. One compression conveyor 96 disposed on each side of the composite
material
10a. Each compression conveyor 96 has a rubber endless belt 98 mounted over a
plurality of rolls 100. The width of the compression conveyors 96 is
preferably at
least equal to the width of the composite material 10a and they are
sufficiently long
to permit to the adhesive to set. The pressure applied by both two compression
conveyors 96 is small in order to provide a composite material 10a with a
honeycomb material 14 that has not been excessively compressed. However, it is
sufficient to maintain both face sheets 18 in continuous contact with the
honeycomb
material 14 to ensure an adequate adhesion of the composite material 10a. The
compression conveyors can also be carriers that carries the web of composite
material 1 Oa along the production line 30.
[0040] One skilled in the art will appreciate that even if the compression
conveyors
96 are used to maintain the honeycomb material 14 in contact with the face
sheets
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18, any other appropriate system can be used such as flat presses or a
plurality of
rolls disposed on each side of the composite material 10a.. The system used to
maintain the composite material 10a together until the adhesive is set can be
cooled
down to accelerate the adhesive setting. Infrareds can also be used to
accelerate the
adhesive setting.
[0041] Thereafter, the composite material 10a is sent to a trim cutter unit
110
wherein the trims of the composite material 10a are cut to obtain a composite
material 10a having a predetermined width. It is followed with a longitudinal
cutter
unit 112 wherein the composite material 10a manufactured is cut
longitudinally. If
desired, it is also possible to cut grooves on-line to facilitate the folding
of the
composite material 10a. In a groove cutter unit 114, a saw (not shown) cuts
one face
sheet 18 along a predetermined length and a wheel (not shown) is used to bend
the
composite material 10a at a predetermined angle, for instance 900. It is
followed with
a transversal cutter unit 116 wherein pieces of the composite material 10a
having a
predetermined length are produced by cutting transversally the composite
material
10a manufactured. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, the composite
material
10a can be cut on-line or off-line and the order of the cutting operations
(trim cutter
unit 110, longitudinal cutter unit 112, groove cutter unit 114, and
transversal cutter
unit 116) can be interchanged.
[0042] Referring to FIG. 6, it will be seen another embodiment of a production
line
130 used to manufacture the composite material 10b (FIG. 4) with a hot-melt
adhesive process. A stack 44 of face sheet 18, having a corrugated medium 20
and
two linerboards 22 laminated on each side of the corrugated medium 20, is
provided
to cover a first face 34a of the honeycomb material 14. A roll 48 of
linerboard 22 is
also provided to cover the opposite face 34b of the honeycomb material 14. As
for
the production line 30 (FIG. 5), the face sheet 18 and the linerboard 22 are
fed to the
production line 130 with driven rolls. Each of the face sheet 18 and the
linerboard 22
are provided on one particular side of the honeycomb material 14. The
honeycomb
material 14 is provided in a collapsed state to form the core portion 12. The
honeycomb material 14 is supplied, expanded, and the adhesive is applied in a
similar manner than for the production line 30. However, the adhesive applied
is an
hot melt adhesive that does not need to be activated with heat to have
adhesive
OR File No. 8244-51 CA -9-
CA 02472684 2004-06-29
properties. The hot melt adhesive is applied on both faces 34a, 34b of the
expanded
honeycomb material 14. The face sheet 18 and the linerboard 22 are applied on
the
expanded honeycomb material 14 similarly as for the production line 30 of FIG.
5.
Two compression conveyors 96 are used to maintain the face sheet 18 and the
linerboard 22 in contact with. the honeycomb material 14 during only few
seconds
since the hot melt adhesive dries rapidly. Therefore, the length of the
compression
conveyors .96 of production line 130 is shorter than the length of the
compression
conveyors 96 of production line 30.
[0043] Thereafter, the composite material I Ob is sent to trim cutter unit
110, followed
with the longitudinal cutter unit 112, and the groove cutter unit 114 where a
saw cuts
the face sheet 18 along a predetermined length and a wheel is used to bend the
composite material 10b at a predetermined angle, for instance 900. Finally,
the
composite material 10b is sent to the transversal cutter unit 116. As
mentioned
earlier, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the composite material
10a can be
cut on-line or off-line and the order of the cutting operations (trim cutter
unit 110,
longitudinal cutter unit 112, groove cutter unit 114, and transversal cutter
unit 116)
can be interchanged.
[0044] Referring simultaneously to FIGS. 7 and 8, there is shown an apparatus
230
for manufacturing the composite material 10b (FIG. 4) with the production line
30. A
stack 44 of face sheet 18, having a corrugated medium 20 and two linerboards
22
laminated on each side of the corrugated medium 20, is provided to cover a
first face
34a of the honeycomb material. A roll 48 of linerboard 22 is also provided to
cover
the opposite face 34b of the honeycomb material (not shown). The face sheet 18
and the linerboard 22 are fed to the production line 30 with driven rolls.
Each of the
face sheet 18 and the linerboard 22 are provided on one particular side of the
honeycomb material.
10045] As for the production lines 30 and 130, the honeycomb material is
provided in
the collapsed state on pallets that are conveyed toward the hydraulic table 56
with
the conveyor 58. The honeycomb material is then expanded on the expanding
table
60. The expanding table 60 is equipped with two expanding rolls 62 disposed on
each side of the honeycomb material and two curved guides 66. The expanding
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table 60 draws and expands to a predetermined degree the collapsed honeycomb
material. Expanding rolls 62 also supply the expanded honeycomb material to a
pair
of adhesive rolls 68 disposed on each side of the honeycomb material. The
adhesive
rolls 68 apply the adhesive on both faces 34a, 34b of the expanded honeycomb
material.
[0046] The face sheet 18 and the linerboard 22 are carried close to the
honeycomb
material after adhesive rolls 68. The face sheet 18 and the linerboard 22
circulate
parallel to the honeycomb material. The face sheet 18 and the linerboard 22
are
carried along with a plurality of rolls 50 disposed at various positions (only
one is
shown). Some of the rolls 50 can be driven rolls.
[0047] The face sheet 18 and the linerboard 22 are laminated on the honeycomb
material with two insertion rolls 80, one roll 80 disposed on each side of the
honeycomb material. As it is seen in FIG. 5, the face sheet 18 and the
linerboard 22
are inserted between a respective insertion roll 80 and the honeycomb material
14.
The composite material 10a can then circulate between two heating plates
wherein
the adhesive is heated to activate its adhesive properties.
[0048] Thereafter, the composite material 10a goes between two compression
conveyors 96 wherein the honeycomb material and the face sheets 18 are
maintained together permitting the adhesive to set. One compression conveyor
96
disposed on each side of the composite material 10a. Each compression conveyor
96 has a rubber endless belt 98 mounted over a plurality of rolls 100. Then,
the
composite material 1 Ob is sent to cutter units (not shown) described above.
[0049] The honeycomb material 14 can be corrugated honeycomb without departing
from the scope of the invention. Furthermore, one skilled in the art, will
understand
that the adhesive can be applied on the face sheets 18 without departing from
the
scope of the invention.
[0050] The composite material produced with either the hot melt production
line 130
or the conventional production line 30 can consist in any combination of at
least one
face sheet 18 having at least one corrugated medium 20 laminated on a
honeycomb
material 14.
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[0051] One skilled in the art will understand that any number of linerboards
16, 22 or
face sheets 18 can be laminated on the composite material 10a, 10b without
departing from the scope of the invention.
[0052] The composite material 10a, 10b can be used for packaging applications
wherein at least a portion of a container as shown in FIG. 7 is made of the
composite
material 10a, 10b.
[0053] The core portion 12, the face sheets 18, and the linerboard 22 are
preferably
made from material which may be readily recycled using commercially available
technology such as wood fiber based materials (cardboard, kraft paper,
recycled
paper, medium, chipboard, bleached or not, and the like). The material can be
impregnated with a resin to improve its resistance to water, grease or fire,
its gas
and vapor barrier properties, its non-slip properties, and the like.
[0054] The choice of the adhesive to join together the various components of
the
composite material 10a, 10b can also be made on the basis of recyclability.
The
adhesive must ensure a good adhesion of the core portion 12 and the face
sheets 18
or the linerboard 22, remain on the top of the honeycomb material, and bond
very
rapidly. Adhesives such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), stamp glue, dextrin, and
polyurethane can be used to assembly the composite material 10. Hot melt
adhesives such as polyolefin and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) can also be
used.
[0055] Preferably, the composite material is wholly recyclable. It can be used
as a
packaging material due to its high strength for resisting stresses and
strains.
[0056] The embodiments of the invention described above are intended to be
exemplary only. For example, a portion or the entirety of the wood fiber based
materials forming the composite material can be covered with a metallic foil,
such as
an aluminum foil, or a polymer, such as polyethylene. The composite material
can be
used in building applications such as for walls, doors, tableaux, etc. The
scope of the
invention is therefore intended to be limited solely by the scope of the
appended
claims.
OR File No. 8244-51 CA -12-
