U.S. patent number 3,908,588 [Application Number 05/477,917] was granted by the patent office on 1975-09-30 for apparatus for making decorative panels.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Masonite Corporation. Invention is credited to Lyn R. Daunheimer, William M. Irvine.
United States Patent |
3,908,588 |
Daunheimer , et al. |
September 30, 1975 |
Apparatus for making decorative panels
Abstract
A sheet of building material having a decorative outer surface
comprising an embossed panel with segments of different thickness
and grooves formed in the outer surface between adjacent segments,
said outer surface covered with a first ground coat of solid color,
a second coat of stain applied and wiped to provide elongated
streaks, a third solid color ground coat applied to the surface of
said segments exclusive of said grooves and a finish coating
comprising a printed pattern of wood grain. Apparatus for the
production of said decorative panels includes means for applying a
liquid coloring agent over said surface and wiping the same with an
elongated belt of woven fabric movable relatively over the surface
at a selected rate and biased into wiping contact with said surface
by a rotary brush having a plurality of bristles, with free ends of
bristles relatively movable with respect to the woven fabric belt
and rotated to movingly penetrate at least some of the openings in
said woven fabric thereby forming elongated streaks of coloring
agent on said surface of said panel.
Inventors: |
Daunheimer; Lyn R. (Batavia,
IL), Irvine; William M. (Lombard, IL) |
Assignee: |
Masonite Corporation (Chicago,
IL)
|
Family
ID: |
26964592 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/477,917 |
Filed: |
June 10, 1974 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
|
287682 |
Sep 11, 1972 |
3847646 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
118/58;
118/DIG.9; 118/103; 118/109; 118/102; 118/106; 118/110 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B44F
9/02 (20130101); B05D 1/40 (20130101); B44C
1/04 (20130101); Y10S 118/09 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B44F
9/00 (20060101); B44F 9/02 (20060101); B44C
1/04 (20060101); B44C 1/00 (20060101); B05D
1/40 (20060101); B05C 011/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;118/DIG.9,103,118,106,119,109,110,102,111,58
;15/99,102,98,97R,230.19 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: McIntosh; John P.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Mason, Kolehmainen, Rathburn &
Wyss
Parent Case Text
This application is a division of copending U.S. Pat. application
Ser. No. 287,682, filed Sept. 11, 1972, now U.S. Pat. No.
3,847,646.
Claims
What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent
of the United States is:
1. Apparatus for decorating the surface of building panels
comprising means for moving said panels along a substantially
horizontal path in one direction at a controllable speed, panel
surface treatment-means including sequence in said one direction
along said path, means for directing liquid colorant material onto
said surface, means for spreading said colorant material over said
surface, means for partially drying said colorant material and
means for wiping said colorant material parallel of said one
direction including means for applying open mesh woven fabric
biased against said colorant material on said surface by a rotating
brush having bristles moving across said panels parallel to said
one direction and randomly penetrating said open mesh for random
wiping contact with said colorant material.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said fabric comprises an
elongated web of stranded material moved over said surface at
controlled speed relative thereto.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said rotary brush includes
means for moving the axis of rotation thereof toward and away from
said surface to increase and decrease the biasing force of said
brush against said fabric web.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for partially drying
said stain includes a rotary brush driven to provide bristle
contact with said surface in a direction parallel and opposite said
one direction of movement thereof.
5. The apparatus of claim 4 including speed control means for
driving said rotary brush at a selected speed in a selected speed
range.
Description
The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing
improved decorative building panel and more particularly a building
panel having a decorative outer surface resembling that of V-groove
wood planks laid side to side. The panel is formed with a plurality
of segments of different thickness, and grooves are formed in the
simulated joints between adjacent segments to make the panel have
an appearance of actual V-groove type wood planks laid side by
side.
In prior art paneling sheets decorated to resemble V-groove wood
planks laid side by side, difficulty has been encountered in
providing suitable finishing techniques for the surfaces of the
V-groove joints between adjacent plank sections. The deep relief of
such joints greatly improves the appearance of the paneling,
however, requiring a higher cost because of the difficulty of
treating and properly finishing the surfaces of the grooves.
In wood grain decoration on panel sheets, the wood grain pattern is
usually applied with a roll in a liquid form such as ink or other
coloring agent, and the printing pattern is usually developed from
a photograph taken of actual V-groove type wood planks laid side by
side. Another difficulty has been encountered in obtaining uniform
application of a wood grain printed pattern on the outer surface of
a panel when segments of the surface are at different levels due to
different thicknesses of portions of the panel sheet. Another
problem has been the extremely difficult task of obtaining an
authentic appearing stained panel having randomly oriented lines or
streaks resembling those produced by the old time hand craftsman
when using antique finishing techniques.
Still another object of the present invention is directed toward
the provision of novel apparatus for the mass production finishing
of decorative panel sheets including novel means for applying
liquid coloring agents and subsequently wiping the same to provide
a streaked effect having the appearance of a wiping stain.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and
improved apparatus for producing paneling of the type described
wherein the surfaces of the grooves formed in the panel are treated
with stain and thereafter the stain is wiped slowly with a woven
fabric biased into contact by rotary brush means to provide random
orientated streaks.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present
invention are accomplished in a new and improved paneling sheet of
building material having a decorative outer surface comprising
segments of different thickness with grooves formed between
adjacent segments. The surface of the panel sheet is covered with a
first ground coat of solid color, a second coat of stain is applied
and wiped with woven fabric to provide elongated streaks, a third
solid ground color coat is applied only to the surface of the
segments exclusive of the grooves, and a final or finish coat
comprising a printed pattern of wood grain is then applied onto the
segments.
A novel apparatus in accordance with the present invention provides
means for applying a liquid coloring agent such as wiping stain
over the surface of the panels passing through the same and for
slowly wiping the stain with an elongated belt of woven fabric
which is relatively movable over the surface at a controlled rate
and which is biased into wiping contact against the surface of the
panels by a rotary brush having a plurality of bristles. The outer
free ends of the bristles are adapted to rotate and movingly
penetrate through at least some of the openings in the woven fabric
and engage the stain thereby forming elongated streaks resembling a
hand wiped stain.
For a better understanding of the present invention reference
should be had to the following detailed description taken in
conjunction with the drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a side elevational, schematic view of the new and
improved machine for decorating the outer surface of a building
panel in accordance with the features of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially through
lines 2--2 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a photograph of a sheet of paneling in accordance with
the present invention taken after only the first solid color ground
coat had been applied to the surface thereof;
FIG. 4 is a photograph of the paneling sheet taken after the
application of a second coating of stain has been applied and
wiped;
FIG. 5 is a photograph of the paneling sheet taken after a third
solid color ground coat has been applied on the surface of the
plank segments exclusive of the grooves between adjacent segments;
and
FIG. 6 is a photograph of a finished panel sheet in accordance with
the present invention taken after the final application of a wood
grain, printed pattern.
Referring now more particularly to the drawings, a new and improved
decorative, embossed building paneling sheet constructed in
accordance with the present invention is shown in FIG. 6 and is
generally referred to by the reference numeral 10. The finished
sheet of paneling 10 is decorated to appear similar to actual
V-groove, tongue and groove type wood planks side by side and
includes a plurality of segments or sections 12 resembling
individual wood boards or planks, some of which are thicker than
others as best indicated in FIG. 2 by the reference numerals 12a
(thick section) and 12b (thinner sections).
Between each pair of adjacent sections 12 each of which resembles a
surface of an individual plank or board of lumber, there is formed
an indented, elongated groove 14 having a pair of inwardly sloped,
angularly intersecting, opposite surfaces 16 to provide the same
visual effect as a V-groove joint between adjacent boards or
planks. As best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the surfaces 16 of the
grooves 14 are embossed with grain patterns therein and accordingly
are relatively difficult to finish on automatic equipment because
of variations in the surface. It is desirable that the groove
surfaces be finished to appear the same as actual wood after
finishing is complete. It should be noted that many prior art
panels have dark coloring of a solid nature in the grooves, which
coloring detracts from the authenticity of the appearance of the
finished panels and which does not accurately portray V-groove
joints between planks.
The paneling sheets 10 are preferably formed with a hydraulic
press, at relatively high temperatures and pressure, and the
materials used normally comprises wood fibers or chips which have
been exploded into small size fibrous pieces. The pieces are mixed
and heated with steam and finally are compressed under extremely
high pressure and temperature with an embossed pressure plate to
provide the section thickness variations and the authentic
appearing V-groove joints with embossed grain patterns therein. The
assignee of this application makes and sells paneling sheets of the
same general type under the trademark "MASONITE," however paneling
sheet of other construction and materials such as fiber board,
particle board, pressed wood, etc. may be utilized when decorated
in accordance with the present invention to closely resembly
V-groove wood planks or boards laid side by side.
In accordance with the present invention, blank paneling sheets 10
formed of pressed wood fiber material and the like with an outer
surface embossed with V-grooves therein as described, are first
passed through a ground coating paint or color applicator station,
preferably of the roll type such as shown and described in the U.S.
Pat. Applications Ser. Nos. 244,623 filed Apr. 17, 1972 and Ser.
No. 178,556 filed Sept. 8, 1971, which applications are assigned to
the same assignee as the present application and which applications
are incorporated herein by reference. After the paneling sheets 10
have been covered with the first solid color ground coat, the
decorative surface of the paneling sheets appear as shown in the
photograph of FIG. 3. The ground coat application provides a solid
color base for the subsequent application of stain coloring agents,
such as paint or ink in printed patterns. The color of the first
coat is chosen to provide a base or background compatible with the
type of wood which is to be resembled by the finished paneling
sheets. It should be noted that the grooves 14 and the surfaces 16
thereof are formed with embossed grain patterns therein, however,
the grain pattern does not stand out in deep contrast as shown in
FIG. 3 after the application of the first ground coat. A single
application of a solid color ground coat along does not
particularly enhance the relief appearance of the grooves formed in
the panels, and subsequent finishing steps in accordance with the
invention produce a dramatic and pleasing change in appearance.
After the panels 10 have received the first solid color ground coat
application which has been dried, they appear as shown in the
photograph of FIG. 3. These panels are next passed through a stain
applicator as indicated schematically in FIG. 1 and referred to
generally by the reference numeral 20. The novel stain applicator
20 in accordance with the invention includes a plurality of support
rolls 22 for carrying the ground coated panels 10 along a
horizontal path as indicated. In addition to the individual support
rolls 22 there is provided a first pair of pulling pinch rolls 24
and 26 which are adapted to move the panels 10 into and through the
stain applicator 20. The lower roll 24 of the first pair of pinch
rolls is power driven by means of endless chain 28 which chain
drivingly interconnects the roll 24 with the lower one of a second
pair of pulling rolls 30 and 32 at the outlet or exit of the stain
applicator. The endless chain 28 is drivingly engaged with a
plurality of separate, lower support rolls 34, 36 and 38 which are
spaced intermediate the pairs of pinch rolls at the entry and exit
end of the apparatus. As indicated schematically in FIG. 1 a number
of idler sprockets 40 are provided to maintain the proper tension
on the chain drive, and each of the drive rolls 24, 30, 34, 36 and
38 is supported on a horizontal axle for free rotation as driven by
the chain through a sprocket 42 in the roll shaft. The lower exit
roll 30 is rotated at a controlled and adjustable speed by means of
a drive chain 44 which interconnects a driven sprocket 46 on the
roll shaft with a sprocket 48 on the output shaft of an electric
motor powered, variable speed, main drive, gear reducer unit
50.
In an apparatus constructed in accordance with the present
invention, the reduction gear unit 50 and/or electric drive motor
was selected in order to provide a wide variable speed range of
feed for the panels 10 moving through the apparatus 20. The drive
unit was selected to provide a speed variation from a minimum of
approximately 45 feet per minute to a maximum of over 180 feet per
minute. The driven upper pinch rolls 26 and 32 are spaced above the
respective lower, driven pinch rolls 24 and 30, and the upper rolls
are adjustable in a vertical direction as shown by the arrows A so
that the desired contact pressure may be maintained upon the
paneling sheets 10 to pull them through at the desired speed. In
this connection it should be noted that the contact pressure is
increased somewhat at higher feeding speeds and may be reduced
somewhat at lower feeding speeds because of the decreased tendency
to slip.
In accordance with the present invention, a fast drying liquid
stain of the proper color or tint is applied onto the upper
decorative surface of the paneling sheets 10 as they move through
the stain applicator 20. The stain is supplied from a liquid trough
52 extending across the sheets and having an elongated dam or weir
52a over which is flowed a thin curtain of stain. The liquid
curtain of stain moves downwardly onto the panels guided by a
sloped applicator strip 54. The stain is flooded over the entire
upper surface of the moving panels 10 at a controlled flow rate and
is spread and disbursed over the sections 12 and into the grooves
14 by means of a first squeegee type applicator 56 having a blade
58 formed of rubber or other flexible material capable of
deflecting enough to move the stain down into the groove surfaces
16 and the grain patterns formed therein.
After the panels pass the first spreader blade 58, most of the
stained surface is covered uniformly and the stain is evenly
distributed. As the panels continue to move, they pass under a
first rotary brush assembly 60 which includes a drum 62 having a
plurality of radial bristles formed of polypropylene plastic
material and having crimped or bent over outer ends for engagement
with the panels. As indicated in FIG. 1, the drum and bristles are
rotated in a counter-clockwise direction so that the relative
bristle movement is counter to the direction of movement of the
paneling sheets at the region of contact between the bristles and
panel. The rotary drum is adjustably movable in a vertical
direction (arrows B) to increase or decrease the amount of bristle
contact with the stained surface of the panels. The drum 62 is
driven to rotate at adjustable speeds varying in a range of 200 to
600 rpm. An electric motor 63 of variable speed and a gear reducer
64 are connected to drive the drum of the brush assembly through a
belt drive 65.
The flexible squeegee-like blade 58 serves to distribute the stain
over the entire surface of the paneling sheets and removes much of
the excess stain that is present. The rotating bristles on the drum
62 similarly serve to evenly distribute the stain over the entire
surface of the paneling sheets while working the stain in
thoroughly into the grain pattern indentations in the groove
surfaces 16. Any excess stain remaining is also removed by the
rotating bristles which act to help dry the stain by creating an
air flow over the surface. As the rotating bristles pass over the
panels in a direction contra to that of panel movement, the excess
stain is sort of swept off and the stain is substantially uniformly
distributed over the entire upper surface of the moving panel
sheets 10 and is thoroughly worked into the indentations in the
embossed grain pattern.
As the panels continue to move through the stain applicating
apparatus 20, they pass beneath a second squeegeelike mechanism 66
having a blade 68 like that of the blade 58 formed of flexible
material such as rubber. This blade removes any excess stain that
may remain on the upper surface of the panels after passage through
the first brush rolls assembly 60. The panels move past the second
squeegee-like blade 68 and pass underneath a plurality of holddown
disks 70 which are spaced apart on a transverse axle 72. The disks
maintain the paneling sheets 10 in driving engagement against the
drive rolls 34 and 36. The panels then pass under a second rotary
brush assembly 73 similar to the first rotary brush assembly 60,
and the brush action is similar and will not be described in detail
herein. The second rotary brush assembly rotates in a
counterclockwise direction and its speed is adjustable so that the
drum 74 rotates in a speed range from 200 to 600 rpm with the tips
of the bristles operating in a speed range of 267 feet per minute
to approximately 1,100 feet per minute relative to the surface of
the panels. The second rotary brush assembly is driven by a
variable speed electric motor 75 and gear reducer 76 connected to
the drum 74 by a belt drive 78.
After passage through the second rotary brush assembly 73, the
stain is reduced to a thin, evenly distributed coating over the
entire surface of the panel sheets 10 and is beginning to become
dry and somewhat tacky. With the stain in the described condition,
the panels move under a second set of holddown disks 80 spaced
apart on a transverse axle 82 and move to a stain wiping station
indicated generally by the reference numeral 84.
At the wiping station 84, the somewhat tacky, partially dry stain
coating is wiped by an elongated belt 86 of woven stranded material
to produce elongated, random streaks in the stain coat to provide
an appearance like that shown in the photograph of FIG. 4. The
stain coating is wiped to provide a random orientated streaked
effect as might be provided in the olden days by an individual
craftsman, and this streaked stain effect is especially noticeable
on the surface 16 of the grooves 14 between adjacent plank segments
12. The wiped stain streaks on the surface of the segments 12 also
provide some slight surface variation away from a completely planar
surface, and when an additional solid color ground coating is
applied following the stain wiping process, these surface
variations in depth provide added authenticity for the final wood
grain printed pattern.
The novel stain wiping station includes an idler supply or feed
roll 88 for the wiping belt and a driven take-up roll 90. The belt
is passed beneath a pair of idler rolls 92 and 94 adjacent the
upper surface of the moving panels and spaced on opposite sides of
a rotary brush roll 96 having a large number of radial bristles
formed of polypropylene plastic material 3 to 31/2 inches long and
crimped or bent over at their outer free ends. The bristles are
relatively stout and are approximately 0.014 inch in diameter. In
general, the bristles on the drums 62 and 74 are similar and the
drum 96 is movable vertically like the others (arrows B) to
increase or decrease the area of bristle contact with the back side
of the wiping belt 86.
The belt 86 passes over a tensioning idler roll 98 before it is
wound up on the take-up roll 90 in a clockwise direction as shown.
The wiping mechanism is powered by an adjustable speed electric
motor 100 and gear reducer 102 via a belt drive 104 running to a
pulley 106 on the shaft 108 supporting the brush roll 96. A belt
tensioning idler 110 is provided to accommodate belt adjustments
when the brush roll 86 is adjusted. A relatively constant speed
ratio is maintained between the wiping belt 86 and the brush roll
96 by means of an interconnecting drive chain or belt 112 running
from a pulley or gear 106 on the brush drum axle to a pulley or
gear 114 carried on a shaft 116 mounted beneath the take-up roll
90. A knurled drive drum 118 on the shaft 116 drives the take-up
roll 90 of the belt 86 in a clockwise direction as shown, to
provide constant belt speed for the wiping belt. An idler 122 is
provided to tighten or loosen the belt or chain 112 as needed.
In accordance with the present invention, the wiping of the stain
by the belt 86 occurs at a relatively low speed so that only about
6 inches of belt travel occurs during the interval of time required
for a panel 10 which is 8 feet in length, to travel across the
wiping station. It has been found that a wiping speed of
approximately this value works well and provides a desirable
appearance. However, the motor 100 and gear reducer 102 permit a
relatively wide range of belt speeds to be utilized so that speeds
can be varied over a range of 6 to 1. It has also been found that
the type of woven fabric used for the belt is an important factor
in the finished appearance of the wiped stain, and different
fabrics may require adjustments in wiping speeds. For example,
heavy cotton duck No. S/55252 purchased from B. J. Seaman & Co.
of Chicago with minimal sizing or unsized works well. Hopsacking of
a relatively rough weave with heavy fiber or strand size and
relative large openings has worked effectively.
In accordance with the invention, the rotating bristles of the drum
96 urge and bias the woven wiping belt 86 into contact with the
paneling sheets 10. The tip speed of the bristles is considerably
slower than that of the bristles on the first and second brush
assemblies 60 and 73. The tip speed of the bristles on the drum 96
is set up to be substantially the same as the speed of the slow
moving belt 86 and the moving mass of bristles form a sort of
resilient cushioning effect on the back side of the belt which
urges the belt into wiping contact against the paneling sheets 10
moving therebeneath. This cushioning effect provides for a sort of
randomness that the wiped streaks in the stain appear to have, and
this is one of the effects that makes the wiped stain appear as an
authentic hand wiped job. In addition some of the bristles which
are moving at a tip speed ranging from 2.6 feet per minute to 15.5
feet per minute may randomly penetrate random openings in the weave
of the belt 86 and come into contact with the stain to provide a
streaked effect therein. The belt 86 moves at about the same speed
as the tips of the bristles of the rotary drum 96 which act as a
biasing force on the belt to produce the wiped stain effect as if
it were done by hand. FIG. 2 illustrates the belt 86 biased in
wiping contact with the panel sheet 10 by the bristles of the brush
drum 96, and the drum is movable vertically as indicated by the
arrows B to increase or decrease the wiping contact area.
After the paneling sheets 10 have passed through the apparatus 20
of the invention and appear as shown in FIG. 4, they are passed
through another solid color ground coat applicator wherein only the
board or plank segments 12 are covered to provide a base for the
final grain pattern printing application in ink. The grooves 14 and
surface 16 thereof remain the same before and after the solid color
ground coat application following the stain and wiping process.
However, it should be noticed that the contrast between the solid
color coated plank segments 12 and the grooves 14 is much greater
than before as shown by the difference in appearance between the
paneling in FIG. 5 and the partially finished sheets of FIGS. 3 and
4.
The paneling sheets 10 are then passed through a printing station
wherein a wood grain pattern (FIG. 6) is applied onto the plank
segments 12 and then a clear seal coat is applied over the entire
decorative surface of the paneling sheets to produce the finished
panels is illustrated, which panels closely resemble the actual
thing.
The building panels may comprise wood particles and/or wood fibers
formed under pressure and may also comprise plywood sheets or
embossed plywood sheets wherein the decorative outer face is formed
with sections of different thicknesses and grooves along the joints
between the sections. Mineral filler or gypsum board panels may
also be used in accordance with the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 4, the building panels 10 may be provided with
only a solid color ground coat (FIG. 3) followed by the application
of wiped stain on the apparatus 20. The panels appear as shown in
FIG. 4 and are then covered with a final clear sealer coat. The
resulting panels do not have a printed grain pattern as do the
panels of FIG. 6, but instead have only the hand wiped stain
appearance with streaks therein as shown in FIG. 4.
Another embodiment of a panel may be provided by eliminating the
second solid color coating on the flat surfaces (FIG. 5) and
following the wiping of the stain with the printing of a grain
pattern on the flat surfaces. This type of panel is similar in
appearance to the panel of FIG. 6 but may have a slightly different
subtle undertone closely related to the color of the first solid
color coating.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to
several illustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood
that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by
those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope
of the principles of this invention.
* * * * *