Molded wood particle products including integrally joined intersecting members

A molded product formed from wood flakes intermixed with a binder and a first elongated member formed from elongated wood flakes compressed and bonded together with a binder, the wood flakes having a grain direction extending generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the flakes and the flakes being generally oriented in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the first elongated member. A second elongated member intersects the first elongated member and is integrally joined to it. The second elongated member is also formed from elongated wood flakes compressed and bonded together with a binder, the wood flakes being generally oriented in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the second elongated member. The wood flakes of the second elongated member intersect and are interleaved with the wood flakes of the first elongated member to thereby form an integral molded joint between the first elongated member and the second elongated member.https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/patents/1122/thumbnail.jp

Molded wood particle pallet having increased bending strength

The invention includes a molded unitarily formed pallet comprising wood particles bonded together by a cured binder in compressed relation and forming a deck having an upper surface supporting a load, and a plurality of elongated substantially parallel spaced channels supporting the deck. The channels extend from adjacent one edge of the pallet to adjacent an opposite edge. The channels each including spaced channel side walls extending downwardly from said deck and terminating in a planar bottom wall parallel to the deck. The side walls are integrally joined at their upper edges to the deck and integrally joined at their lower edges to the bottom wall. The deck and elongated channels are formed by laying a loosely felted mat of wood particles in a press, the mat including wood flakes mixed with a binder and the wood flakes being thin and generally planar and being laid in felted relation so as to lie in substantially horizontal planes in interleaved relation, and by compressing the mat.https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/patents/1121/thumbnail.jp

Fingerling shear

A fingerling shear for shearing a length of wood in a plane transverse to the grain direction and for splitting the sheared length along the grain direction to form a plurality of fingerlings. The shear includes a planar shearing blade, supported for rotation about a generally vertical axis, the planar shearing blade including an involute cutting edge adapted to engage the elongated piece of wood during rotation of the blade and for shearing off a length of that piece of wood, and a plurality of splitting blades fixed to the lower surface of the planar shearing blade and spaced along the involute cutting edge, the splitting blades each including a leading cutting edge spaced from the involute cutting edge of the planar blade and extending tranversely to the lower surface, the cutting edges of the splitting blades being adapted to sequentially engage portions of the sheared length of the wood stock to sequentially split fingerlings from the sheared length.https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/patents/1128/thumbnail.jp

Articles molded from papermill sludge

An article, such as a pallet having a substantially flat deck member and a plurality of hollow legs projecting from the deck member, is molded as a one-piece unit from a papermill sludge. Dried, comminuted papermill sludge is blended with a fibrous reinforcing material, preferably a cellulosic material such as fibrous bark particles, and a resinous particle board binder, the resulting mixture of furnish is formed into a loosely fitted mat, and the mat is placed between dyes of a mold and press and compressed to substantially the desired shape under temperature and pressure conditions sufficient to bond the sludge and bark particles together.https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/patents/1126/thumbnail.jp

Method for compression molding articles from lignocellulosic materials

Flakeboard or particle board panels and other composite articles made from wood flakes or other particulate lignocellulosic materials having a relatively high internal bond and improved resistance to moisture are made from flakes or particles which have a moisture content of at least 15%. A catalyst capable of accelerating the reaction between the flakes or particles, the binder and water is applied to the flakes or particles prior to the addition of a moisture-tolerant particle board binder, such as an organic polyisocyanate. A mat of the resulting furnish is compression shaped under pressure and at a temperature less than 250° F. for a time period sufficient to form a composite article of the desired shape and/or dimensions.https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/patents/1088/thumbnail.jp

Method for forming articles having deep drawn portions from matted wood flakes

An article having non-planar portions, such as a material handling pallet, including a substantially flat deck member and a plurality of hollow leg members projecting integrally from the deck member, is molded as a one-piece unit from a loosely-felted mat formed from a mixture of resinous particle board binder and flake-like wood particles. The leg members are preformed in a separate preform mold or the article forming mold and the mat is deposited on the female die over mold cavities containing the preforms. When the article forming mold is closed, the mat and preforms are compressed into substantially the desired shape and size under temperature and pressure conditions which bond the wood particles of the mat and the preforms together to form a unitary structure.https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/patents/1091/thumbnail.jp

Method for molding articles having non-planar portions from matted wood flakes

An article having non-planar portions, such as a pallet having a substantially flat deck member and a plurality of hollow leg members projecting integrally from the deck member, is molded as a one-piece unit from a loosely-felted, layered mat formed from a mixture of a resinous particle board binder and flake-like wood particles. The wood flakes have an average length of about 11/4 to about 6 inches, preferably about 2 to about 3 inches, an average thickness of about 0.005 to about 0.075 inch, preferably about 0.015 to about 0.025 inch, and an average width of 3 inches or less and no greater than the average length. Each layer of wood flakes in the mat lie substantially flat on a plane generally parallel to the major plane thereof and are randomly oriented to each other. The mat is placed between the male and female dies of a mold or press and compressed therein to substantially the desired shape under temperature and pressure conditions sufficient to bond the flakes together.https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/patents/1118/thumbnail.jp

Multiple funnel flake aligner for making a loosely felted mat of aligned wood flakes

Apparatus for forming a loosely felted mat of thin elongated wood flakes with said flakes being aligned in mutually parallel relation. The apparatus includes a mat supporting surface, a hopper for holding a quantity of wood flakes, and a funnel assembly for receiving wood flakes from the hopper and for causing the flakes to be aligned in substantially parallel side-by-side relation as they are deposited on the supporting surface. The funnel assembly includes a plurality of funnels positioned in adjacent side-by-side relation, the funnels each including inclined walls having lower edges defining an elongated narrow opening adjacent the supporting surface and upper edges defining an opening wider than said narrow opening and for receiving wood flakes from the hopper. The narrow openings of the funnels are parallel and distribute the flakes uniformly across the supporting surface.https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/patents/1109/thumbnail.jp

Apparatus for making continuous lengths of composite wood material, the apparatus including rotating circular baffles

Apparatus for forming an elongated loosely felted mat of thin elongated wood flakes with the flakes being aligned in mutually parallel relation and being aligned with the longitudinal direction of the elongated mat. The apparatus comprises a plurality of conveyor belts positioned in closely adjacent side-by-side relation and defining a mat supporting surface adapted to support the aligned wood flakes, the belts being supported on the surface of a cylinder. Wood flakes are deposited in loosely felted relation on the belts, and a plurality of closely spaced parallel planar baffles surround the cylinder, the baffles comprising plates positioned between the belts and functioning to cause alignment of the flakes as they are deposited on the belts. The mat is compressed against the supporting surface by a plurality of belts positioned in adjacent side-by-side relation, the belts being positionable between the baffles and engage- able against the mat.https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/patents/1108/thumbnail.jp

Pallets molded from matted wood flakes

An article having non-planar portions, such as a pallet having a substantially flat deck member and a plurality of hollow leg members projecting integrally from the deck member, is molded as a one-piece unit from a loosely-felted, layered mat formed from a mixture of a resinous particle board binder and flake-like wood particles. The wood flakes have an average length of about 11/4 to about 6 inches, preferably about 2 to about 3 inches, an average thickness of about 0.005 to about 0.075 inch, preferably about 0.015 to about 0.025 inch, and an average width of 3 inches or less and no greater than the average length. Each layer of wood flakes in the mat lie substantially flat on a plane generally parallel to the major plane thereof and are randomly oriented to each other. The mat is placed between the male and female dies of a mold or press and compressed therein to substantially the desired shape under temperature and pressure conditions sufficient to bond the flakes together.https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/patents/1125/thumbnail.jp