Patent Application
20180010298
This disclosure relates to a device for processing bamboo or vegetable cane that increases flexibility by separating fibers substantially without compromising strength.
Bamboo and other vegetable cane contain extremely strong fibers that, unless separated, maintain a memory of individual growth patterns. This makes it difficult to produce a product made of the fibers that is more dense for specific industrial needs. The cylindrical bamboo stalks or culms have a plurality of fiber bundles along their length, and these bundles give superior strength joining one to another. Once the culms are flattened by allowing them to break along their natural fiber boundaries they are ready for further processing or conditioning. Conventional process methods use a cutting device that compromises the strength of the long fibers when material is removed.
The present disclosure describes embodiments of apparatus, systems, and methods for processing bamboo and/or other vegetable cane that overcomes the drawbacks in the prior art and provides other benefits. The present technology can allow for better reconsolidation of bamboo or other vegetable cane fibers for improved mechanical properties with engineered products. In at least one embodiment, a system is provided for processing axially split bamboo or other vegetable cane culms of variable lengths to provide substantially flat conditioned sheets substantially without cutting (i.e., shortening) the fibers while allowing the fibrous materials to remain joined together in a flat, substantially planar sheet. The system includes apparatus that separates bamboo or other vegetable cane fiber bundles from laterally adjacent fiber bundles in multiple areas along the length of the culm, to allow the culm to remain joined together after fully separating the fiber along the length of the culm without cutting or removal of fiber.
For example, at least one aspect of the present technology provides a cane processing assembly for use with a substantially flattened sheet of bamboo culm or vegetable cane having a plurality of longitudinally oriented fiber bundles. The assembly comprises first and second conditioning rollers. The first conditioning roller has a first set of alternating grooves and protrusions. The second conditioning roller has a second set of alternating grooves and protrusions. The assembly also comprises a frame coupling the first and second conditioning rollers in a position adjacent to each other with the first set of alternating grooves and protrusions interleaved with the second set of alternating grooves and protrusions to form a conditioning nip. The first and second conditioning rollers are configured to apply pressure to the sheet at the conditioning nip that breaks at least some natural bonds connecting laterally adjacent fiber bundles in the sheet. The assembly also comprises a roller biasing unit coupled to the first and second conditioning rollers. The roller biasing unit is configured to adjust the position of the first and second conditioning rollers relative to each other so as to vary the pressure applied to the sheet by the first and second conditioning rollers. The assembly also comprises a drive motor coupled to the frame. The drive motor is configured to rotate the first and second conditioning rollers in opposing directions so as to advance the sheet through the conditioning nip.
Another aspect of the present technology provides a cane processing assembly for use with a substantially flattened sheet of bamboo culm or vegetable cane having a plurality of longitudinally oriented fiber bundles. The assembly comprises first and second conditioning rollers. The first conditioning roller has a first set of alternating grooves and protrusions. The second conditioning roller has a second set of alternating grooves and protrusions. The first and second conditioning rollers are positioned adjacent to each other with the first set of alternating grooves and protrusions interleaved with the second set of alternating grooves and protrusions so as to form a conditioning nip. The first and second conditioning rollers are configured to apply pressure to the sheet at the conditioning nip that breaks at least some natural bonds connecting laterally adjacent fiber bundles in the sheet. The first and second conditioning rollers are adjustable relative to each other so as to vary the pressure applied to the sheet by the first and second conditioning rollers. The assembly further comprises a drive assembly coupled to at least one of the first or second conditioning rollers. The drive assembly is configured to rotate the first and second conditioning rollers in opposing directions so as to advance the sheet through the conditioning nip.
Another aspect of the present technology provides a cane processing system for use with a substantially flattened sheet of bamboo culm or vegetable cane, the sheet having a longitudinal axis and a plurality of longitudinally oriented fiber bundles substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis and connected laterally to each other by natural bonds. The system comprises a cane conditioning assembly having a plurality of conditioning roller sets. Each conditioning roller set comprises a first conditioning roller, a second conditioning roller, a frame, and a roller biasing unit. The first conditioning roller has a first set of alternating grooves and protrusions. The second conditioning roller has a second set of alternating grooves and protrusions. The frame couples the first and second conditioning rollers in a position adjacent to each other with the first set of alternating grooves and protrusions interleaved with the second set of alternating grooves and protrusions to form a conditioning nip. The first and second conditioning rollers are configured to apply pressure to the sheet at the conditioning nip that breaks at least some of the natural bonds connecting laterally adjacent fiber bundles in the sheet. The roller biasing unit is coupled to the first and second conditioning rollers. The roller biasing unit is configured to adjust the position of the first and second conditioning rollers relative to each other so as to vary the pressure applied to the sheet by the first and second conditioning rollers. The system also includes an input conveying unit positioned to receive and advance the sheet into the cane conditioning assembly. The system also includes an output conveying unit positioned to receive the sheet from the cane conditioning assembly.
Several embodiments of the technology are described in more detail in reference to
The following discussion provides an illustrative example of the technology and components in connection with a system for processing bamboo or other types of vegetable canes to separate laterally adjacent fibers along their length without cutting or removal of the fiber. The following discussion provides an illustrative example of the technology and components in connection with the system and associated methods. One or more specific and alternative embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings. It shall be apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that this invention may be practiced without such specific details. Some of the details may not be described at length so as not to obscure the invention. For ease of reference, common reference numerals or series of numerals will be used throughout the figures when referring to the same or similar features common to the figures.
While the illustrated embodiment is discussed in connection with processing bamboo, it is to be understood that the system and/or aspects of the system can be used for processing other fibrous vegetable cane. Further, the system and its components can be arranged in a stationary configuration, such as in a factory, or the system and its components can be provided on a mobile configuration that allows the system to be moved and operated at selected locations.
The assembly 101 of the present technology has a first conditioning roller 103 adjacent to a mating second conditioning roller 105 defining a conditioning nip 106 therebetween. Each of the first and second rollers 103 and 105 can be metal, cylindrical, ribbed structures with alternating grooves 107 and protrusions 109. Although the illustrated embodiment utilizes metal rollers 103 and 105, other embodiments can use other suitable materials for the conditioning rollers.
The first and second rollers 103 and 105 can be spaced and aligned such that protrusions 109 of the first roller 103 are partially received within corresponding grooves 107 of the second roller and vice versa. This configuration allows a sheet of flattened culm (i.e., bamboo or other vegetable fiber) to be passed between the two mating conditioning rollers 103 and 105. The opposing grooves 107 and protrusions 109 of the mating rollers are interleaved to form a conditioning nip 106 and are configured to further separate the bamboo along its natural fiber boundaries. The mating rollers 103 and 105 are configured to firmly engage the flattened culm and to fracture the natural bonds between many of the laterally adjacent fiber bundles along the length of the bamboo culm, so as to provide a more pliable culm for further processing without unduly sacrificing the integrity and/or tensile strength of the bamboo fibers. While the conditioning rollers 103 and 105 break the bonds between many of the lateral fiber bundles, the fibers across the width of the culm remain interconnected such that the culm remains in a conditioned sheet configuration, which may be further processed downstream of the assembly 101.
The first and second rollers 103 and 105 can be spring-biased towards one another to apply pressure to the bamboo culm as it passes through the conditioning nip 106 between the first and second rollers 103 and 105. The grooves 107 can have various widths in different embodiments, for example ⅜″, ¼″, ⅛″, or other suitable sizes. In some embodiments, the depth of the grooves 107 can be approximately 0.2″.
The rollers 103 and 105 are substantially parallel to each other and positionable so the grooves 107 of each roller are opposite the protrusions 109 of the other roller. Each groove 107 is sized with a width greater than the width of the mating protrusion 109 so the protrusion 109 can be in or adjacent to the mating groove 107 to define a receiving portion through which the portion of the culm passes as it moves between the rollers. As the culm moves through the receiving portion, the culm is squeezed between mating grooves 107 and protrusions 109 with a shearing load that breaks the bonds of the laterally adjacent fiber bundles.
The assembly 101 can include one or more sets of guide rollers that receive and advance the culm through the conditioning rollers 103 and 105. For example, a set of guide rollers can include one or more pushing rollers positioned adjacent to and upstream of the rollers 103 and 105 to push the culm through the rollers 103 and 105. Alternatively or in combination, a set of guide rollers can include one or more pulling rollers positioned adjacent to and downstream of the rollers 103 and 105 to pull the culm through the rollers 103 and 105.
Each of these conditioning roller sets 507, 509, 511 can also be coupled to a roller biasing unit 513. These biasing units 513 can spring bias the top and/or bottom rollers of each conditioning roller set 507, 509, 511 to adjust the size of the conditioning nip 106 between the rollers and to provide varying degrees of force to the culm depending on the desired degree of conditioning to be applied to the culm by the particular set of conditioning rollers. For example, in some embodiments, the conditioning rollers of each pair can be adjustable relative to each other (e.g. up and down) by springs, cylinders, or threaded adjustment components that allow a culm to pass through each set of rollers under a selected pressure to achieve the desired degree of conditioning. One or more sets of conditioning rollers can be configured as bypass rollers that do not apply conditioning forces to the flattened culm passing therethrough so as to not condition the culm, which will be has been (or will be conditioned by another set of the conditioning rollers in the assembly 501.
Once the culm passes through the first set of rollers, many laterally adjacent fiber bundles are separated from each other, yet the conditioned culm is still held together in a sheet arrangement by other interconnected fiber bundles. Depending on the end product desired, passing the selected flattened culm through the first set of rollers may be sufficient, in which case the biasing units 513 of the second and third conditioning roller sets 509 and 511 can be adjusted to the bypass configuration to allow greater separation in those roller sets, thereby reducing or eliminating any further processing performed by those roller sets 509 and 511.
Each of the conditioning roller sets 507, 509, and 511 can be configured to have varying groove sizes and/or different degrees of spring bias. For example, the first conditioning roller set 507 may have grooves with ⅜″ width, while the second conditioning roller set 509 has grooves with ¼″ width, and the third conditioning roller set 511 has grooves with ⅛″ width. In such a configuration, each subsequent conditioning roller set further divides and processes the laterally adjacent fiber bundles in the culm. In other embodiments the groove sizing and relative order of the conditioning rollers can vary. For example, all of the conditioning rollers can have grooves of the same size, or having increasingly larger grooves in subsequent conditioning rollers.
An output guide roller 515 is provided adjacent to the third conditioning roller set 511 and is configured to receive the conditioned flattened culm as it exits the third conditioning roller set 511. The output guide roller 515 engages the culm to pass it forwardly to the adjacent output conveying unit 517. The output guide roller 515 can be similar to the pulling rollers 201 and 203 of
Each of the conditioning roller sets 507, 509, and 511 as well as the output guide roller 515 can be coupled to a roller driver 519 that controls rotation of one or both of the rollers in a given set. For example, the roller driver 519 can be an electrical motor that causes the top and bottom rollers to rotate in opposite directions so as to draw the culm from the input conveying unit 503, feed it through and between each of the roller sets 507, 509, 511, and 515, and direct it forwardly to the output conveying unit 517.
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that specific embodiments of the technology have been described herein for purposes of illustration, but that various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the technology. Further, certain aspects of the technology described in the context of particular embodiments may be combined or eliminated in other embodiments. Moreover, while advantages associated with certain embodiments of the technology have been described in the context of those embodiments, other embodiments may also exhibit such advantages, and not all embodiments need necessarily exhibit such advantages to fall within the scope of the technology. Accordingly, the disclosure and associated technology can encompass other embodiments not expressly shown or described herein.
The above Detailed Description of examples of the disclosure is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed above. While specific examples for the disclosure are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the disclosure, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. The teachings of the disclosure provided herein can be applied to other apparatus, systems and/or methods, not necessarily those described above. The elements and acts of the various examples described above can be combined to provide further implementations of the disclosure. Some alternative implementations of the disclosure may include not only additional elements to those implementations noted above, but also may include fewer elements. Thus, the disclosure is not limited except as by the appended claims.
This application hereby claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/360,905, titled “Apparatus and Method for Conditioning Bamboo or Vegetable Cane Fiber,” filed Jul. 11, 2016, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62360905 | Jul 2016 | US |
