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US-20260124781-A1 - PRESS AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A CURVED LAMINATED VENEER LUMBER MODULE

US20260124781A1US 20260124781 A1US20260124781 A1US 20260124781A1US-20260124781-A1

Abstract

Method and press for producing a curved laminated wood module including a plurality of laminated veneer lumber (LVL) boards, where the press includes a convex mold, where the mold is arranged on a frame, and where the press includes an upper part adapted to be placed on the plurality of LVL boards, where the press further includes a plurality of pulling brackets and pulling means attached between the frame and the pulling brackets, where the pulling means are arranged to pull the pulling brackets towards the frame until the plurality of LVL boards bears completely on the mold.

Inventors

  • Leo Anderson

Assignees

  • MODVION AB

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20221028
Priority Date
20211029

Claims (19)

  1. 1 . A press for producing a curved laminated wood module comprising a plurality of laminated veneer lumber (LVL) boards, the press comprising: a convex mold adapted to receive the plurality of LVL boards on an outer surface, where the mold is arranged on a frame; an upper part adapted to be placed on the plurality of LVL boards, such that the plurality of LVL boards are held between the mold and the upper part, wherein the upper part comprises a plurality of pulling brackets arranged at the long sides of the press; and pulling means attached between the frame and the pulling brackets, where the pulling means are arranged to pull the pulling brackets towards the frame until the plurality of LVL boards bears completely on the outer surface of the mold, wherein the frame comprises a plurality of beams, where each beam is provided with two extendable members arranged at each side of the beam, and where the extendable members are arranged to provide a pressure to the pulling means.
  2. 2 . The press according to claim 1 , wherein an extendable member is a hydraulic cylinder arranged to provide a hydraulic pulling pressure to the pulling means.
  3. 3 . The press according to claim 1 , wherein an extendable member is an electric motor arranged to provide a pulling pressure to the pulling means.
  4. 4 . The press according to claim 1 , wherein the press is longitudinal with a length between 10-30 metres and a width between 2-5 meters.
  5. 5 . The press according to claim 1 , wherein the mold is removably attached to the frame.
  6. 6 . The press according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one guide member arranged at each end region of the press.
  7. 7 . The press according to claim 1 , wherein the mold is provided with a conical shape.
  8. 8 . The press according to claim 1 , wherein the pulling means is attached to an adjustment bracket arranged on the frame in a movable manner, such that the position of the adjustment bracket can be changed.
  9. 9 . The press according to claim 1 , wherein the upper part further comprises a pressure plate.
  10. 10 . A method for producing a curved laminated wood module comprising a plurality of laminated veneer lumber (LVL) boards, the method comprising the steps of: placing one of the plurality of LVL boards on a convex mold arranged on a frame, wherein the frame comprises a plurality of beams, where each beam is provided with two extendable members arranged at each side of the beam; applying a glue layer on the LVL board before the next LVL board is placed on the previous LVL board, until all LVL boards are placed on the mold; placing an upper part on the plurality of LVL boards; pulling the long sides of the upper part towards an outer surface of the mold with pulling means until the plurality of LVL boards bears completely on the outer surface of the mold, where the extendable members are arranged to provide a pressure to the pulling means; holding the plurality of LVL boards pressed against the mold until the glue has cured; releasing the pulling means; and removing the curved laminated wood module from the press.
  11. 11 . The method according to claim 10 , wherein the pulling means is operated by hydraulic pressure.
  12. 12 . The method according to claim 10 , wherein the press comprises a plurality of hydraulic cylinders acting on the pulling means and connected to the same hydraulic pressure source to provide the pulling force.
  13. 13 . The press according to claim 2 , wherein the mold is removably attached to the frame.
  14. 14 . The press according to claim 3 , wherein the mold is removably attached to the frame.
  15. 15 . The press according to claim 2 , further comprising at least one guide member arranged at each end region of the press.
  16. 16 . The press according to claim 3 , further comprising at least one guide member arranged at each end region of the press.
  17. 17 . The press according to claim 2 , wherein the pulling means is attached to an adjustment bracket arranged on the frame in a movable manner, such that the position of the adjustment bracket can be changed.
  18. 18 . The press according to claim 3 , wherein the pulling means is attached to an adjustment bracket arranged on the frame in a movable manner, such that the position of the adjustment bracket can be changed.
  19. 19 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein the press comprises a plurality of hydraulic cylinders acting on the pulling means and connected to the same hydraulic pressure source to provide the pulling force.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a press and a method for producing a curved laminated veneer lumber (LVL) module comprising a plurality of laminated veneer lumber (LVL) boards. The project leading to this application has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 959151. BACKGROUND ART Wood is used for several different constructions and buildings. Wood may either be used as planks or beams sawn in one piece, but is often laminated in one way or the other. One common structural wood element is glued laminated timber (glulam), which consists of layers of dimensional lumber bonded together. These may be used as vertical columns, horizontal beams or arches. Another type of laminated wood is plywood, which consists of a plurality of cross-laminated veneer plies glued to each other. A plywood board is strong, dimension stable and does not warp or bend. Flat plywood boards are pressed in large flat presses, using a high pressure and often a high temperature to cure the glue. Sometimes, bent laminated veneer materials are used, e.g., in chairs or other smaller objects, where the lamination is done by placing a number of separate veneer layers in a mold and gluing them together in the desired shape in order to obtain the laminated part. This is time consuming and work intensive, and is only suitable for smaller objects. To facilitate the bending of the separate veneer layers, the veneer layers are often treated with steam such that they can be bent without breaking. The pressing of the veneer layers is performed using a high pressure and a high temperature. When wood is used for larger constructions such as buildings, especially if the building is built on a remote site, it is of advantage to prefabricate as much as possible at a production site where the environmental conditions can be controlled, and to transport larger modules to the building site for assembly. Some wall modules and glulam beams are manufactured in this way. There is however room for an improved laminated veneer lumber module adapted to be used for curved objects. SUMMARY OF INVENTION An object of the invention is therefore to provide a press for producing a curved laminated veneer lumber module. A further object of the invention is to provide a method for producing a curved laminated veneer lumber module. A further object of the invention is to provide a curved laminated veneer lumber module. The solution to the problem according to the invention is described in the characterizing part of claim 1 for the press for producing a curved laminated veneer lumber module, in claim 10 for a method for producing a curved laminated veneer lumber module, and in claim 14 for a curved laminated veneer lumber module. The other claims contain advantageous embodiments and further developments of the press and the method for producing a curved laminated veneer lumber module. In a press for producing a curved laminated wood module comprising a plurality of laminated veneer lumber (LVL) boards, where the press comprises a convex mold adapted to receive the plurality of LVL boards on an outer surface, where the mold is arranged on a frame, and where the press comprises an upper part adapted to be placed on the plurality of LVL boards, such that the plurality of LVL boards are held between the mold and the upper part, where the press further comprises a plurality of pulling members arranged on the long sides of the upper part, where the press comprises pulling means attached between the frame and the pulling members, where the pulling means are arranged to pull the pulling members towards the frame until the plurality of LVL boards bears completely on the outer surface of the mold, the object of the invention is achieved in that the frame comprises a plurality of beams, where each beam is provided with two extendable members arranged at each side of the beam, and where the extendable members are arranged to provide a pressure to the pulling means. By this first embodiment of a press for producing a curved laminated wood module, a press that can bend and laminate a plurality of LVL boards to a curved laminated wood module is provided. The press comprises a lower part having a mold and a frame, and an upper part that may be provided with a pressure plate. The shape of the mold corresponds to the desired shape of a curved laminated wood module. The LVL boards are placed on the mold one by one with a glue layer between each LVL board. The glue may be applied to an LVL board before the LVL board is placed on the mold, or when an LVL board is positioned on the mold, before the next LVL board is placed on the mold. When all LVL boards are positioned on the mold, an upper part with or without a pressure plate is placed on the plurality of LVL boards. Pulling brackets arranged on each side of the upper part are pulled towards the frame by pulling means operated by a hydraulic pressure prov