Environment protective liner plank structure

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6672031
  • Patent Number
    6,672,031
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, January 15, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, January 6, 2004
    20 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Chapman; Jeanette
    Agents
    • Bacon & Thomas, PLLC
Abstract
Environment protective liner plank structure having several legs and a panel. Each leg is composed of multiple layers of rice grasses (or wheat stems) which evenly overlap each other in the same direction. A layer of adhesive is sprayed between each two layers of rice grasses (or wheat stems). When each layer of rice grasses (or wheat stems) is evenly overlaid on a lower layer of rice grasses (or wheat stems), a male mold is used to compress the rice grasses (or wheat stems) into a compact state. The lowermost layer of rice grasses (or wheat stems) of the panel is evenly overlaid on the adhesive on the uppermost layer of rice grasses (or wheat stems) of the leg. A plane board mold is used to compress the rice grasses (or wheat stems) into a compact state. A layer of adhesive is sprayed over the lowermost layer of rice grasses (or wheat stems) of the panel and then an upper layer of rice grasses (or wheat stems) are overlaid on the lowermost layer of rice grasses (or wheat stems). Then, the plane board mold is used to compress the layer of rice grasses (or wheat stems). Such procedure is repeated until the panel of the rice grasses (or wheat stems) has a certain thickness.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The present invention is related to an environment protective liner plank structure made of waste rice grasses (or wheat stems) which are high pressure compacted. Such a liner plank is manufactured at low cost without ruining natural trees and causing environmental pollution.





FIG. 1

shows a conventional wooden liner plank


10


formed with several legs


12


and slats


11


overlaid thereon. The slats


11


are fixed with the legs


12


by nails.




Such a liner plank has some shortcomings as follows:




1. The liner plank is made from natural trees so that the forest and maintenance of water and soil may be ruined.




2. The trunk of a tree is milled into wooden boards. The slats


11


and legs


12


are made of the wooden boards. The slats


11


and legs


12


are nailed with nails


13


one by one. All these procedures are complicated and troublesome.




3. In case the slats


11


bear a heavy load of a cargo and are damaged, the slats


11


may thrust into the cargo.




4. The liner plank is heavy so that it is laborious to use and move the liner plank and a forklift must be used to move the liner plank. Therefore, it is quite inconvenient to use such liner plank.




5. It is hard and expensive to repair such a liner plank.





FIG. 2

shows another type of conventional solid liner plank


20


which is integrally made of plastic material. This liner plank


20


has a panel


21


and several legs


22


.




The above liner plank also has some shortcomings as follows:




1. The plastic liner plank has a large volume so that a large mold is necessary for integrally molding the liner plank. Moreover, it is time-consuming to mold the plastic liner plank so that it is impossible to mass-produce the plastic liner plank.




2. The plastic liner plank has a weight slightly lighter than the wooden liner plank


10


. However, it is still heavy and cannot be conveniently used.




3. The manufacturing cost for the plastic liner plank is high. Once the plastic liner plank is damaged, it will be impossible to repair the plastic liner plank and the plastic liner plank must be discarded. This leads to waste.




4. The discarded plastic liner plank will result in environmental pollution.





FIG. 3

shows still another type of conventional liner plank


30


which is made of paper material. Reinforcing material is placed between the layers of paper material to form a panel


31


and legs


33


. The panel


31


is adhered to the legs


33


to form the paper-made liner plank.




The above liner plank still has some shortcomings as follows:




1. The paper-made liner plank is also made from natural trees so that the forest and maintenance of water and soil may be ruined.




2. It is necessary to add a special reinforcing material


33


into the paper material to enhance the strength of the liner plank. Such a procedure is complicated and troublesome.




3. The paper-made liner plank may be subject to the thrust of sharp objects and is very likely to be damaged.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an environment protective liner plank structure made of waste rice grasses (or wheat stems ) which are high pressure compacted. Such a liner plank is manufactured without ruining natural trees and causing environmental pollution.




It is a further object of the present invention to provide the above environment protective liner plank structure made of waste rice grasses (or wheat stems) at low cost.




It is still a further object of the present invention to provide the above environment protective liner plank structure made of rice grasses (or wheat stems) which is light weight and water-impermeable. The surface of the liner plank is treated with an adhesive so that the liner lank can be conveniently and durably used.




It is still a further object of the present invent ion to provide the above environment protective liner plank structure made of rice grasses (or wheat stems) which are easily compressed so that the liner plank can be mass-produced.




It is still a further object of the present invention to provide the above environment protective liner plank structure made of rice grasses (or wheat stems) which are high pressure compacted. The liner plank is not susceptible to being cut or damaged by external objects and the structural strength of the liner plank is not easily weakened.











The present invention can be best understood through the following description and accompanying drawings wherein:




BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a perspective assembled view of a conventional liner plank;





FIG. 2

is a perspective view of another type of conventional liner plank;





FIG. 3

is a perspective assembled view of still another conventional liner plank;





FIG. 4

is a manufacturing flow chart of the present invention;





FIG. 5

is an enlarged sectional assembled view of the present invention;





FIG. 6

is a perspective exploded view of the present invention;





FIG. 7

is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention; and





FIG. 8

is an enlarged view of a part of the other embodiment of

FIG. 7

of the present invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




Please refer to

FIG. 4

which shows the manufacturing flow chart of the present invention. Several groups of rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


with substantially equal length are placed into the cavities


41


of a female mold


40


. The rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


are compressed by the projecting leg


51


of a male mold


50


. Then, an adhesive


70


is sprayed onto the surface of the rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


in the cavities


41


. Such procedure is repeated to make the rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


have a height slightly higher than the surface of the female mold


40


and serve as legs of the liner plank. Then, the adhesive


70


is sprayed over the upper surface of the female mold


40


and then a layer of rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


′ are overlaid on the upper surface of the female mold


40


in the same direction as the rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


in the cavities


41


. Then, the adhesive


70


is sprayed over the upper surface and another layer of rice grasses (or wheat stems )


60


″ are overlaid on the first layer of rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


in a different direction. A plane board mold


80


is used to downward press the rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


″. The procedure is repeated until the rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


′ have a certain thickness and are formed as a panel. Thereafter, the adhesive


70


is evenly sprayed over the uppermost surface of the panel-shaped rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


′ and then the female mold


40


is taken off. At this time, an environment protective liner plank having legs


91


and panel


92


is achieved (as shown in FIG.


5


).





FIG. 6

is a perspective exploded view of the present invention which includes several legs


91


and a panel


92


. Each leg


91


is composed of multiple layers of rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


which evenly overlap each other in the same direction. A layer of adhesive


70


is sprayed between each two layers of rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


. When each layer of rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


is evenly overlaid on a tower layer of rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


, the male mold


50


is used to compress the rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


into a compact state. The lowermost layer of rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


of the panel


92


are evenly overlaid on the adhesive


70


on the uppermost layer of rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


of the leg


91


. A plane board mold


80


is used to compress the rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


into a compact state. A layer of adhesive


70


is sprayed over the lowermost layer of rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


′ of the panel


92


and then an upper layer of rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


″ are overlaid on the lowermost layer of rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


′. Then, the plane board mold


80


is used to compress the layer of rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


″. Such procedure is repeated until the panel


92


of the rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


has a certain thickness.





FIGS. 7 and 8

show another embodiment of the present invention, in which several groups of rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


are first chopped into chips of rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


. Then, the adhesive


70


is mixed with the chips of rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


and stirred into a thin state. Then a certain amount of mixture is poured into the cavities


41


of the female mold


40


. The projecting legs


51


of the male mold


50


are used to compress the mixture. Such procedure is repeated to form legs of the liner plank. Then, a certain amount of mixture is poured onto the upper surface of the legs and a plane board mold


80


is used to downward press the mixture. Such procedure is repeated until a panel of a certain thickness is formed. The adhesive


70


is then evenly sprayed over the upper surface of the panel and then the female mold


40


is taken off. At this time, an environment protective liner plank


90


′ made of chips of rice grasses (or wheat stems)


60


and having legs


91


′ and panel


92


′ is achieved.




The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, not intended to limit the scope thereof. Many modifications of the above embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.



Claims
  • 1. An environment protective liner plank structure having several legs and a panel, said environment protective liner plank structure being characterized in that each leg is composed of multiple layers of rice grasses or wheat stems compressed into a compact state by a male mold and which evenly overlap each other in the same direction with a layer of adhesive between each two layers of rice grasses or wheat stems, the lower most layer of rice grasses or heat stems of the panel being evenly overlaid on the adhesive of the upper most layer of rice grasses or wheat stems of the leg, the panel comprising compressed rice grasses or wheat stems in a compact state and having a layer of adhesive over the lower most layer of rice grasses or wheat stems of the panel and having an upper layer of rice grasses or wheat stems being overlaid on the lower most layer of rice grasses or wheat stems.
  • 2. The environment protective liner plank structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the layers of rice grasses or wheat stems of the legs are oriented in the same direction.
  • 3. An environment protective liner plank structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the direction of each layer of rice grasses or wheat stems of the panel intersects the direction of the adjacent layer of rice grasses or wheat stems to reinforce the panel.
  • 4. An environment protective liner plank structure as claimed in claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein a layer of adhesive is between each two adjacent layers of rice grasses or wheat stems of the legs and panel.
  • 5. A method of producing an environmental protective liner plank structure wherein several groups of rice grasses or wheat stems are first chopped into chips of rice grasses or wheat stems, then an adhesive is mixed with the chips of rice grasses or wheat stems and stirred into a thin state, then a certain amount of mixture is poured into the cavities of a female mold, the projecting legs of a male mold being used to compress the mixture in the cavities of the female mold, and such procedure is repeated to form legs of the liner plank, then, a certain amount of mixture is poured onto the upper surface of the legs and a plane board mold is used to downward press the mixture, such procedure being repeated until a panel of a certain thickness is formed, the adhesive being then evenly sprayed over the upper surface of the panel and then the female mold being taken off so as to achieve an environment protective liner plank made of chips of rice grasses or wheat stems and having legs and a panel.
  • 6. The environment protective plank structure made by the process of claim 5.
US Referenced Citations (10)
Number Name Date Kind
3995003 Potter et al. Nov 1976 A
4058580 Flanders Nov 1977 A
4108377 Potter Aug 1978 A
4127636 Flanders Nov 1978 A
4486557 Gaul et al. Dec 1984 A
4716062 Klein Dec 1987 A
4748777 Glassco et al. Jun 1988 A
4879850 Glassco et al. Nov 1989 A
6164034 Roetheli et al. Dec 2000 A
6329565 Dutkiewicz et al. Dec 2001 B1