Patent Application
20090014904
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of producing a structural element used in residential and commercial buildings, more particularly to a method of producing a baluster component 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 is difficult to perform and results in large waste of wood material.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a method of producing a baluster component that utilizes a minimal amount of wood material, that can minimize processing cost, and that can produce the baluster component so that it has the quality and strength of wood.
According to one aspect of this invention, a method of producing a baluster component comprises the steps of: (A) blending wood flour with a resin to form a wood flour composition; (B) filling a mold with the wood flour composition to form a semi-finished baluster component; (C) polishing the semi-finished baluster component; and (D) providing an outer surface of the semi-finished baluster component with a coating layer after polishing to form the baluster component.
According to another aspect of this invention, a method of producing a baluster component comprises the steps of: (A) blending wood flour with a resin to form a wood flour composition; (B) filling a mold with the wood flour composition to form a semi-finished baluster component; (C) machining a portion of the semi-finished baluster component to form a pattern; (D) polishing the semi-finished baluster component; and (E) providing an outer surface of the semi-finished baluster component with a coating layer after polishing to form the baluster component.
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:
In step (A), wood flour and a plastic resin are melted and blended in a predetermined mixing ratio to form a wood flour composition. The wood flour composition includes 50˜70% by weight of the wood flour and 30˜50% by weight of the plastic resin. In this embodiment, the plastic resin may be polyethylene (PE).
In step (B), with reference to
In step (C), with reference to
Continuing with step (C), the semi-finished baluster component 10′ is subsequently removed from the mold 100, then outer surfaces of the first and second portions 11, 12 of the semi-finished baluster component 10′ are polished, while the intermediate portion 13 thereof is machined to form a pattern 130 of a desired design. The intermediate portion 13 of the present invention maybe formed with grooves, protrusions, or curved surfaces.
Finally, in step (D), with reference to
Since the baluster component 10 of the present invention is made by a molding process, the semi-finished baluster component 10′ removed from the mold 100 is already near to completion. In order to complete the baluster component 10 of the present invention, the semi-finished baluster component 10′ has only to undergo machining of the intermediate portion 13 thereof to form the pattern 130, polishing of the outer surfaces of the first and second portions 11, 12 thereof, and finally, application of the primer coat and the surface coat to the outer surfaces of the first, second, and intermediate portions 11, 12, 13 thereof to form the coating layer 14. There is no need for other processing steps. Hence, the making and processing of the baluster component 10 of the present invention are relatively easy. The quality and strength of the entire baluster component 10 can be as good as the aforementioned conventional baluster 1 (see
Further, the method of producing the baluster component 10 of the present invention utilizes blending of the wood flour and the PE plastic resin to form the wood flour composition so as to enhance its strength, and so that not only consumption and waste of wood material can be minimized, the waste (wood flour) produced during wood processing can also be recycled. This is highly beneficial to the protection of the environment. Moreover, through the plastic molding process, the processing cost of the present invention is reduced when compared to conventional configuration requiring significantly more processing.
Additionally, the method of the present invention utilizes a common mold 100, and the intermediate portion 13 of the semi-finished baluster component 10′ is produced to have a square-shaped cross section, after which the intermediate portion 13 is machined to form the desired pattern 130. Alternatively, a mold of particular specifications may be used, so that the intermediate portion 13 may be directly formed with the desired pattern 130, in which case the next (and final) step would consist only of polishing the outer surfaces of the first, second, and intermediate portions 11, 12, 13.
Referring to
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.
