BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a conventional inferior view of a palm plant B. dulcis with some inferior leaves fallen.
FIG. 2 is a conventional superior view of the plant shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a view of plant B. dulcis showing hanging inflorescence in a raceme shape.
FIG. 4 shows a ripe palm leaf in a fan shape.
FIG. 5 shows a palm leaf that contracts after being cut.
FIG. 6 shows a palm leaf that was cut and has a heavy object on it (e.g., a stone) to avoid shrinking of the leaves.
FIG. 7 shows the traditional fastening or fixing of the pressed leaves onto crosspieces.
FIG. 8 illustrates the collocation and fastening of a palm tile onto crosspieces.
FIG. 9 shows how leaves are collected.
FIG. 10 illustrates the drying of the leaves outdoors with the help of sun rays.
FIG. 11 shows the cutting of the petiole.
FIG. 12 shows the lengthwise cut of the palm leaf.
FIG. 13 shows the hanging of the leaves to select sizes.
FIG. 14 illustrates the collocation and arrangement of the selected leaves pair by pair in a mold.
FIG. 15 shows the mold with the leaves set and fixed and screwed with a crossbar to prevent movement.
FIG. 16 shows the sewing of the tile, which is in the mold.
FIG. 17 shows the hooks or clips, whichever are chosen.
FIG. 18 shows a finished tile.
FIG. 19 shows a hook shaped attachment to fasten to the crossbars.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIGS. 1 to 6 correspond to the plant called Brahea dulcis, which has simple leaves like a fan, green in the fascicle and pale in the back, divided into 40 to 60 segments that measure 40 to 50 cm in length; the leaves 1 are concentrated in the top end of the stem and going down there are some fallen leaves 1. The leaves have marginal teeth 2 2.4 cm in length; the palm leaf presents hanging inflorescence in a raceme shape, which are 1 to 3 m in length.
Brahea dulcis is the most abundant species of the Arecaceae family and can be found in many calcareous soils located from 900 to 1900 m above sea level. Popular names include “hat palm”, “sweet palm”, “fan palm”, “common palm”, “apache palm”, “pochitla palm”, and “soyal” or “soyate”.
When the leaves are ripe 4 they have a fan shape and after they are cut they shrink 5.
To avoid shrinking a stone or other heavy object is put on them 6.
FIG. 7 shows how roofs are constructed using pressed palm leaves, where they are tied, knitted over the crossbars 6 overlapping its collocation 7. As demonstrated in FIG. 8, using palm tiles 7 according to the present disclosure, being previously knitted, are hooked onto the crossbars 6 staying firmly fastened 8.
The procedure to manufacture palm tiles is as follows:
a) Collect the palm leaves manually directly from the tree holding the leaf with one hand and cutting and separating the petiole P with the other (see FIG. 9).
b) Dry the leaves by exposing them directly to the sun rays (see FIG. 10) or by a mechanical dehydrating process using a dehydrator (not shown).
c) Cut the excess of petiole manually or mechanically down to the base (see FIG. 11).
d) Cut or tear the leave lengthwise into two parts (see FIG. 12) using a punching object or a mechanical instrument.
e) Select the leaves by size (see FIG. 13) so they have a uniformed presentation.
f) Place and arrange the leaves two by two (see FIG. 14) in a mold 8 which can be of any size but designed to avoid deformations of the palm tile when it is sewn.
g) Sew, glue, staple, fasten or tie up the leaves using a strap 16 where the fan begins taking advantage of the natural union of the lamina and the petiole.
h) At this stage of the process (or later) the hooks are fixed 9 (when used) onto the finished tile 10 by setting the threads 11 for sewing perpendicularly.
FIG. 14 shows a mold 8, which in this particular embodiment is a rectangular table 12 with a crossbar 13 intermediate and an extreme crossbar formed by a crosspiece 14, two lower 15 crossbars and a strap 16 with orifices to screw and tighten it with butterfly nuts 17 to press the leaves.
FIG. 15 shows the mold 8 as a rectangular table 12 with the leaves set and fixed and screwed with a crossbar to prevent movement.
FIG. 16 shows the sewing of the tile, which is in the mold.
FIG. 17 shows the hooks or clips 9, fixed onto the finished tile 10 by threads 11.
FIG. 18 shows a finished tile 10.
Finally, FIG. 19 shows a hook 9, that has two loops in its body 18 and 19 that are used to hold to the threads for sewing the tile and the hook is held to a crosspiece or “strap” to the structure of hut or palapa fixing the tile. These hooks 9 can be of diverse materials, the most common ones are plastic and wire, their shape and size depend on the crosspiece but the purpose is the same, to hang and to set the tile to form the palm roof.
The palm tiles can be set on the structures that hold them by fixing, fastening with special accessories or stapling them directly onto the crossbars (also called leashes) transplanting their position. Stages b, c, d, and f can be reordered interchangeably.
The leaves and/or the tiles, whether in process or finished, can have a chemical or natural treatment to preserve the color, avoid infestation by plagues or /and delaying or inhibiting fire and /or different finishing measures or special accessories that facilitate the fixing or placement in the structures of huts or palapas that hold them.
The disclosure of every patent, patent application, and publication cited herein is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
While this invention has been disclosed with reference to specific embodiments, it is apparent that other embodiments and variations of this invention can be devised by others skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. The appended claims include all such embodiments and equivalent variations.
Patent Application
20080047216
