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EP-4563310-B1 - METHOD OF MAKING TEAK PLANK

EP4563310B1EP 4563310 B1EP4563310 B1EP 4563310B1EP-4563310-B1

Inventors

  • Vayakornvichitr, Supakrit

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20231130

Claims (13)

  1. A method of making a teak plank, comprising steps: a. peeling a teakwood log to form a plurality of primary veneers; characterized in that the method comprises the following: b. obtaining defect-free primary veneers by patching a defect area on the primary veneer with a corresponding piece of premium-quality secondary veneers; c. assembling each of the primary veneers lengthwise and/or widthwise using scarf jointing and gluing two or more primary veneers together by an adhesive to form a plurality of assembled veneers; d. ripping each of the assembled veneers lengthways to form a plurality of strips; e. laminating the strips by the adhesive under high-pressure compression to form a multilayer block; f. multi-ripping the multilayer block to form a plurality of teak planks with desired thickness and width; and g. kiln drying each of the teak planks to have a moisture content between 8-20%, wherein the teak planks have a transverse coefficient of thermal expansion less than 50 × 10 -6 /°C.
  2. The method of making the teak plank of claim 1, wherein each of the primary veneers has a thickness between 0.5-2.0 mm, a width between 1,200-1,500 mm, and a length between 1,200-1,500 mm.
  3. The method of making the teak plank of any one of claims 1-2, wherein the assembled veneers are wider and/or longer than the primary veneers at least 1.5 fold.
  4. The method of making the teak plank of any one of claims 1-3, further comprising calibrating each strip to obtain the strips having the same thickness and evenness before the laminating step.
  5. The method of making the teak plank of any one of claims 1-4, further comprising conditioning each strip to obtain the strips with desired moisture content before the laminating step.
  6. The method of making the teak plank of any one of claims 1-5, wherein each strip has a thickness between 0.5-2.0 mm, a width between 75-155 mm, and a length between 900-5,000 mm.
  7. The method of making the teak plank of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the adhesive is selected from a group consisting of polyvinyl Acetate (PVA), polyurethane, cyanoacrylate (CA), Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate (EVA), urea-formaldehyde, hide glue, epoxy, melamine-based glue and a combination thereof.
  8. The method of making the teak plank of any one of claims 1-7, wherein the adhesive is dyed adhesive.
  9. The method of making the teak plank of any one of claims 1-8, wherein the multilayer block has a thickness between 75-155 mm, a width between 150-300 mm, and a length between 900-5,000 mm.
  10. The method of making the teak plank of any one of claims 1-9, wherein the teak plank has a thickness between 2-153 mm, a width between 30-300 mm, and a length between 900-5,000 mm.
  11. The method of making the teak plank of any one of claims 1-10, further comprising sun burning the teak plank to mature the color of the teak plank.
  12. The method of making the teak plank of any one of claims 1-11, further comprising finishing steps to provide the teak plank with scratch resistance, chemical resistance, moisture resistance, clarity, appearance, sheen, and reparability.
  13. The method of making the teak plank of claim 12, wherein the finishing materials used in the finishing steps are selected from the group consisting of beeswax, linseed oil, catalyzed lacquer, conversion varnish, urethanes, polyesters, urethane/acrylic blends, stain/toner, wash coat, wiping glaze, seal, and topcoat.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention generally relates to a method of making a teak plank according to the preamble of the independent claim 1. Such a method is known from the document: WO 2010/072139 A1. BACKGROUND Teakwood is a dense, close-grained hardwood sourced from the Tectona grandis tree, native to South and Southeast Asia. Teakwood is originally golden in color and has a smooth grain and texture. Natural antimicrobial and insecticide substances of teakwood cause excellent natural anti-rot and weathering resistance, even if left untreated. This precious wood is suitable in shipbuilding: the nautical sector uses teak to build manufactured teak decks to join on yachts and sailing, thanks to teakwood's superior durability. Natural teak forests occur only in four countries of the world: India, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Thailand. Myanmar is the only country supplying teak from natural forests to the international market. Global teak supply from natural and planted teak forests contributes 2 to 2.5 million m3, roughly 2% of the total tropical round wood production. The supply of teak from natural forests is declining at an alarming rate of about 1.3% globally and the planted teak shows an increasing trend from 1.3 to 5.7 million ha between 1995-2010 (Kollert and Cherubini, 2012). Production of high-quality teakwood in relatively long rotations of 50-70 years has been the traditional practice ever since the first world teak plantation was established in India (Nilambur- Kerala) in the 1840s. Due to the diminishing supply of matured natural teak, new and alternative methods are being explored to rely less on natural teak. The traditional method of producing teak plank using natural teakwood consists of several steps including (i) cutting a teak log into teak quartered log; (ii) re-sawing the teak quartered log into teak boards; (iii) removing bark and heartwood from the teak boards; (iv) ripping the teak boards into sawn timbers; (v) ripping the sawn timbers with quality satisfaction to obtain teak planks in size required for the production of final product; (vi) kiln drying the teak planks; (vii) planing the dried teak planks to remove the irregularities on the outside of the teak planks; (viii) sun burning the planed teak planks to mature their color; (ix) removing defects from the sunburned teak planks; (x) finishing the teak planks by a variety of ways known in the related art to receive the final teak planks with desired characteristics. (See Fig. 1). US20070292656A1 discloses a composite board comprising a first layer having an orientation and a second layer bonded to the first layer where the second layer comprises a plurality of wooden veneer structures, each wooden veneer structure is substantially perpendicular to the orientation of the first layer. It also discloses a method of making a composite board comprising of providing a first layer having an orientation; assembling a second layer by arranging a plurality of wooden veneer structures so that each wooden veneer structure is substantially perpendicular to the orientation of the first layer; and bonding the first layer to a first surface of the second layer. CN100344425C discloses a technology for producing floor board with plywood made of medium- or small-diameter includes such steps as spinning cutting to obtain ply, drying, removing excessive edges, milling edge to form bevel edge, longitudinal splicing, abrading, coating resin, laminating, pre-pressing, hot pressing, longitudinal sawing to become strips, planning, lateral splicing, planning, making tenon and slot mortise, painting and polishing. Due to the dwindling supply of teak from natural forests, teak logs from shorter rotations of 20-30 years appear promising and are being practiced for veneer and saw log production for relatively quick returns. Wood from short-rotation teak plantations generally has a lower price in the timber market because the wood is considered inferior in its quality attributes such as color, density, natural durability, size and defect properties. Thai Petty Patent No. 14937 discloses a method for producing teak plank from planted teakwood comprising steps of: (i) slicing a teakwood log to form a plurality of veneers 1-2 mm thick; (ii) obtaining defect-free veneers by die cutting a defect area out of each defective veneer, filling the gaping veneer with a corresponding piece of other veneers and attaching another veneer to the gaping veneer by adhesive; (iii) laminating the defect-free veneers by adhesive under high-pressure compression to form a multilayer block; and (iv) multi-ripping the block lengthways to form a plurality of teak planks (see Fig. 2). SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to obtain teak plank with a straight grain pattern from a method with fewer steps, lowered cost, higher yield, and overall more "green" and sustainable compared with the prior methods of making the teak plank. One embodiment of the invention well suited