Patent Application
20080302061
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a structural element used in residential and commercial buildings, more particularly to a baluster made of recycled material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to
Although the conventional baluster 1 is widely used, because the baluster 1 is entirely made of wood, production of the baluster 1 requires the wood material to be turned in a wood lathe to form the desired design. Such a process results in large waste of wood material.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a baluster that utilizes a minimal amount of wood material and that has the quality and strength of wood.
According to this invention, a baluster comprises at least one first post made of non-composite wood and having a longitudinal engaging end portion, and a second post made of a wood flour composite, which includes wood flour and a resin binder, and having at least one longitudinal connecting end portion connected longitudinally to the engaging end portion. The connecting end portion and the engaging end portion are sleeved one onto the other.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Before the present invention is described in greater detail, it should be noted that the same reference numerals have been used to denote like elements throughout the specification.
Referring to
The first post 10 is made of wood, and may be made from a log or a plurality of wood plates fixed together to form the shape of a post and covered with a face layer. The first post 10 includes a post section 11 having a square-shaped cross section and extending along a longitudinal direction (X), a longitudinal engaging end portion 12 provided on one end of the post section 11, and a tenon 15 that projects longitudinally and outwardly from the first post 10 opposite to the engaging end portion 12. The engaging end portion 12 has a longitudinal engaging pillar 14 that is stepped, so that the engaging pillar 14 has at least two pillar sections 141, 142 of different cross sections, and at least one pillar shoulder face 144 formed between the pillar sections 141, 142. In this embodiment, the engaging pillar 14 has three pillar sections 141, 142, 143 of different cross sections, and two pillar shoulder faces 144, 145 each formed between two adjacent ones of the pillar sections 141, 142, 143. Preferably, each of the pillar shoulder faces 144, 145 has a ring-shape.
The second post 20 is fixed to the first post 10 along the longitudinal direction (X), and is made of a wood flour composite. The wood flour composite includes wood flour and a resin binder, such as polyethylene (PE). The wood flour is distributed uniformly in the second post 20, and is formed of the waste produced from processing wood. The wood flour is added to the resin binder to enhance hardness. The second post 20 has a longitudinal tapered end section 21 with a substantially conical shape, and a connecting end portion 22 opposite to the tapered end section 21. The connecting end portion 22 has a hole-confining wall 221 that is stepped and that confines a longitudinal receiving hole 220. The stepped formation of the connecting end portion 22 is such that the hole-confining wall 221 has at least two hole sections 2211, 2212, and at least one internal shoulder face 2214 formed between the hole sections 2211, 2212. In this embodiment, the hole-confining wall 221 has three hole sections 2211, 2212, 2213 to receive respectively the pillar sections 141, 142, 143 of the engaging pillar 14, and two internal shoulder faces 2214, 2215 each formed between two adjacent ones of the hole sections 2211, 2212, 2213. Preferably, each of the internal shoulder faces 2214, 2215 has a ring-shape.
In an alternative embodiment, the second post 20 is made of a foamed composite that includes wood flour, a suitable amount of foaming agent, and a resin binder, such as PE. The wood flour is blended uniformly with the resin binder. The weight of the second post 20 is reduced due to the use of the foamed composite.
A coating layer 30 is coated on an outer surface of each of the first and second posts 10, 20. The coating layer 30 may be a polyurethane (PU) coating or any other suitable coating.
As shown in
After the first and second posts 10, 20 are interconnected along the longitudinal direction (X), a primer paint and a surface paint are applied to the outer surface of each of the first and second posts 10, 20, thereby forming the coating layer 30. The quality and strength of the entire baluster 2 can be as good as the aforementioned conventional baluster 1 (see
As shown in
The present invention makes use of the wood flour composite to produce the second post 20, so that not only can consumption and waste of wood material be reduced, the waste (wood flour) produced during wood processing can also be recycled. This is highly beneficial to the protection of the environment. Further, through the insertion of the pillar sections 141, 142, 143 of the engaging pillar 14 into the respective hole sections 2211, 2212, 2213 of the connecting end portion 22, the structure of the entire baluster 2 is strong, and the quality of the baluster 2 after assembly and coating is good.
It should be noted that the second post 20 may be made through a process of plastic molding, so that when the second post 20 is removed from the mold, production of the second post 20 is nearly complete. After polishing the outer surface of the second post 20, it is only necessary to apply the coating layer 30 to the second post 20. There is no need for other processing steps, so that the making and processing of the baluster 2 of the present invention are relatively easy.
Referring to
To assemble the baluster 2′, the three pillar sections 141, 142, 143 of the engaging pillar 14 of each first post 10 are inserted into the three hole sections 2211, 2212, 2213 of a respective one of the connecting end portions 22 of the second post 20′ until the pillar shoulder faces 144, 145 abut respectively against the internal shoulder faces 2214, 2215. The advantages of the first preferred embodiment can be similarly achieved using the second preferred embodiment.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what are considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretations and equivalent arrangements.
