Patent Application
20230382008
Not Applicable.
This invention relates to building materials, and more particularly to a method of making structural building materials with hemp stalks.
Hemp products have grown in popularity due to the strong fibers found in cannabis plants, particularly in their stalks. A variety of products are available that utilize hemp fibrous materials. However, such existing products do not take advantage of additional strength that can be obtained by aligning hemp stalks in a common orientation when manufacturing hemp structural products.
Therefore, there is a need for a method of making structural products from hemp stalks that aligns the hemp stalks in substantially a common direction. Such a needed method would provide for an interlocking hemp board that can be stacked to produce larger structural products when compressed with adhesive. Such larger structural products could then be cut into standard products, such as two-by-fours. The present invention accomplishes these objectives.
The present invention is a method of making a structural member from hemp stalks. The hemp stalks are typically produced by a harvester by harvesting cannabis plants and stripping off the leaves and flowers. A plurality of the hemp stalks are fed into a baler that bundles and aligns the hemp stalks in a common axial direction. Preferably a hemp cord is used to bound the hemp stalks into a continuous hemp extrusion. A saw cuts the hemp extrusion into a plurality of hemp logs at predetermined lengths, such as eight feet or twelve feet.
At this point each hemp log is saturated with an adhesive mixture that includes an adhesive and possibly a nano-crystalline cellulose, tannic acid, and/or FeCl3. An adhesive sprayer coats each side of the hemp log and saturates the hemp log between many if not most of the hemp stalks. The hemp log can also be saturated with the adhesive mixture using a dip tank, or the like.
The adhesive-saturated hemp log is then introduced into a mold and compressed with a hydraulic press, or the like, to compress the hemp log by 60%-80% and to conform the hemp log to the shape of the mold, forming an interlocking hemp board. Once cured, such a hemp board is stable if needing to be stored for a period of time.
A plurality of such interlocking hemp boards can be combined to form the structural member, a larger structural material, by applying the adhesive or the adhesive mix to each of the plurality of interlocking hemp boards, and then compressing the plurality of interlocking hemp boards in another press until cured. Such a larger structural material or member may then be further cut into a finished product, such as two-by-fours, or the like.
The present invention is a method of making structural products from hemp stalks that aligns the hemp stalks in substantially a common direction. The present method provides for an interlocking hemp board that can be stacked to produce larger structural products when compressed with adhesive. Such larger structural products can then be cut into standard products, such as two-by-fours. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.
Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described below. The following explanation provides specific details for a thorough understanding of and enabling description for these embodiments. One skilled in the art will understand that the invention may be practiced without such details. In other instances, well-known structures and functions have not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of the embodiments.
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to.” Words using the singular or plural number also include the plural or singular number respectively. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below” and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. When the claims use the word “or” in reference to a list of two or more items, that word covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list and any combination of the items in the list. When the word “each” is used to refer to an element that was previously introduced as being at least one in number, the word “each” does not necessarily imply a plurality of the elements, but can also mean a singular element.
The hemp stalks 20 are typically produced by a harvester 30 by harvesting hemp plants and stripping off the leaves and flowers. A plurality of the hemp stalks 20 are fed into a baler 40 that bundles and aligns the hemp stalks 20 in a common axial direction D1. Preferably a hemp cord 50 is used to bound the hemp stalks 20 into a continuous hemp extrusion 60. A saw 65 cuts the hemp extrusion 60 into a plurality of hemp logs 70 at predetermined lengths L1, such as eight feet or twelve feet.
At this point each hemp log 70 is saturated with an adhesive mixture 85 that preferably includes an adhesive 80, such as LignoBond 870L adhesive produced by LignoTech Florida, or the like. The adhesive mixture 85 may further include a nano-crystalline cellulose 81 at 5-8%, tannic acid 82 at 5-8%, and/or FeCl3 (not shown) at 5-8%. An adhesive sprayer 87 coats each side of the hemp log 70 and saturates the hemp log 70 between many if not most of the hemp stalks 20.
The adhesive-saturated hemp log 70 is then introduced into a mold 90 and compressed with a hydraulic press 95, or the like, to compress the hemp log 70 by 60-80% and conform to the shape of the mold 90, forming an interlocking hemp board 100. Such a hemp board 100 is stable if needing to be stored for a period of time. Thereafter the hemp boards may be dried at a temperature of 150 degrees for one to three hours in a drying apparatus 110.
A plurality of such interlocking hemp boards 100 can be combined to form the structural member 10 by applying the adhesive 80 or the adhesive mix 85 to each of the plurality of interlocking hemp boards 100, and then compressing the plurality of interlocking hemp boards 100 in another press 95 until cured. Such a structural member 10 may then be further cut into a finished product (not shown), such as two-by-fours, or the like.
While a particular form of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited, except as by the appended claims.
Particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology is associated. In general, the terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Description section explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope of the invention encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments, but also all equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the invention.
The above detailed description of the embodiments of the invention is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed above or to the particular field of usage mentioned in this disclosure. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. Also, the teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied to other systems, not necessarily the system described above. The elements and acts of the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments.
All of the above patents and applications and other references, including any that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporated herein by reference. Aspects of the invention can be modified, if necessary, to employ the systems, functions, and concepts of the various references described above to provide yet further embodiments of the invention.
Changes can be made to the invention in light of the above “Detailed Description.” While the above description details certain embodiments of the invention and describes the best mode contemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, the invention can be practiced in many ways. Therefore, implementation details may vary considerably while still being encompassed by the invention disclosed herein. As noted above, particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology is associated.
While certain aspects of the invention are presented below in certain claim forms, the inventor contemplates the various aspects of the invention in any number of claim forms. Accordingly, the inventor reserves the right to add additional claims after filing the application to pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects of the invention.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 63/346,304, filed on May 26, 2022, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application 63/442,050, filed on Jan. 30, 2023, both incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63442050 | Jan 2023 | US | |
| 63346304 | May 2022 | US |
