Patent Application
20110113721
The present invention relates to a method for treating wood, particularly surfaces of wooden planks or plates for use as floor covering or floor parts. This may involve solid parts or laminated parts.
Aim of the invention is to treat wooden surfaces in such a way that the wood is protected well against influences of use or surroundings and/or the wood requires less maintenance. Furthermore, for some applications it is desirable that the wooden surface has an “old” or even “antique” impression, and the present invention also aims to meet this desire.
To this effect, a method for treating a main surface of a wooden plank according to the present invention comprises the steps of arranging a system of grooves or scratches in the surface and applying a protection agent or filling agent into the grooves.
These and other aspect, features and advantages of the present invention will be further explained by the following description with reference to the drawings, in which same reference numerals indicate same or similar parts, in which indications “below/above”, “higher/lower”, “left/right” etc. only relate to the orientation displayed in the drawings, and in which:
The present invention proposes to treat such a plank according to a two-step process. It is noted that the invention is applied advantageously in the manufacturing process of new planks, and can be added to an existing production line relatively easily, but the invention can also be applied to already existing, older planks.
In a first step, the upper face is provided with a system of grooves or scratches.
The grooves/scratches may be applied in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the plank, or in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the plank, or both. It is noted that the longitudinal direction of the plank typically coincides with the longitudinal direction of the grain of the wood, and grooves parallel to or perpendicular to the wood grain seem “natural”; conversely, oblique grooves give the impression of a damage.
The grooves should have sufficient width and depth, but should of course not be too wide or too deep. Preferably, the depth is more than approximately 0.05 mm, more preferably in the range of approximately 0.1 mm to approximately 5 mm. In any case, there is little sense in making the grooves deeper than approximately 7 mm, and it is undesirable to make the grooves deeper than approximately 10 mm. The width of the grooves preferably is in the range of approximately 0.5 mm to approximately 5 mm, more preferably in the order of approximately 1 to approximately 2 mm.
The length of the grooves is not critical.
Also, the mutual distance between the grooves is not critical: this may for instance lie in the range from approximately 0.5 mm to approximately 20 mm, and in a possible embodiment the distance lies in the range from approximately 1 to approximately 4 times the groove width.
The grooves may be applied by making saw cuts in the upper face 2 using a rather coarse saw, for instance a circular saw, a band saw or a chain saw.
Alternatively, the grooves may be applied by selectively sanding (or burning followed by sanding) the upper face, having the result that the softer parts of the wood are removed sooner and further than the harder parts. This may involve differences in hardness resulting from the annual growing process, but it may also involve the harder knots. When the upper face 12 is provided with grooves in this manner, the product gives to an observer the impression that the product is worn in a natural manner.
The figure shows that the grooves do not need to have mutually equal dimensions, and further it gives a more natural impression if there are differences. Further, the figure shows that the exact cross sectional contour of a groove is not critical.
In a second step, a protection agent or filling agent is applied in the grooves. This protection agent may precisely fill the grooves, but this is not necessary in practice, and the exact filling depth will in practice also depend on the dimensions and the contour of the several grooves. Applying may for instance be done by spraying or by a brush. Applying may also be done by rubbing it in with a cloth, and/or one can apply a finishing treatment to the treated surface by rubbing with a cloth.
It may be clear that the upper surface 12 provided with grooves 13 is capable of absorbing much more protection agent 14 as compared to the planar surface 2 as illustrated in
The protection agent may have different compositions. The protection agent 14 may consist of oil, wax, or varnish, or a mixture of two or three of these components. The varnish may for instance be on the basis of acryl and/or polyurethane. Further, pigment substances may be added to the protection agent if desired. If desired, the protection agent may be provided with metals and/or silicium and/or lime, and/or a chemical compound of said components.
When the protection agent 14 contains varnish, this varnish will harden after some time. When the protection agent 14 is primarily on the basis of oil, the wood will hold the oil like a kind of sponge; when now a point load (such as the leg of a chair) is applied on the upper face 12, the oil will be pressed out of the wood (by pressing the open wood structure closed) and form a thin protective layer on the wood. Therefore, it takes substantially longer before bald spots of wear emerge.
Thus, the present invention succeeds in providing a wooden plank that requires less maintenance and has an antique character. It is noted that the planks may be applied carrying or non carrying, but if desired they may of course also be applied for manufacturing furniture such as cabinets, tables, chairs, etc. The planks may be solid wood, but it may also involve thin wood laminate on a carrier plate, for instance fiber board.
It should be clear to a person skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments discussed above, but that several variations and modifications are possible within the protective scope of the invention as defined in the appending claims.
Features described in relation to a particular embodiment can also be applied to other embodiments described. Features of different embodiments may be combined to achieve another embodiment. Features not explicitly indicated as being essential may be omitted.
The reference numerals used in the claims only serve as clarification when understanding the claims with a view to the exemplary embodiments described, and should not be interpreted in any way limiting.
