Method of making molded fiberboard panels and products fabricated from the panels

Abstract

A honeycomb-shaped panel is formed from a plurality of generally sinusoidally shaped strips of molded fiberboard material each having spaced, oppositely directed flat peaks, the peaks of adjacent strips being secured together to form a plurality of hexagonally shaped cells extending perpendicular to the surfaces of the sheet. The strips may be cut from a single sheet of corrugated fiberboard sheet material and then secured together to form the honeycomb panel, or a plurality of such panels may be secured together face to face with their ribs aligned to form a stack, and selected cuts may be made through the secured, stacked panels to form a plurality of honeycomb panels of desired surface shape and height dimensions.

1 . A method of forming a fiberboard panel, comprising the steps of:
 making a series of spaced cuts at least one sheet of molded, corrugated fiberboard material having a plurality of alternating ribs and grooves, the cuts extending transversely across the sheet to form a plurality of wave-shaped strips having opposite cut edges and alternating flat peaks on opposite faces connected by inclined webs;   positioning the strips side-by-side with the flat peaks of adjacent strips aligned face-to-face and oriented parallel to one another, whereby the strips together form a generally honeycomb shaped array; and   adhering the opposing flat peaks of the adjacent cells together to form a honeycomb-shaped sheet having a plurality of hexagonal cells.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one cut edge of each strip is cut in a direction non-parallel to the opposite cut edge of the strip, whereby the sheet formed from the strips has at least one non-flat face. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the strip edges are cut such that the sheet has one curved face. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the strip edges are cut such that the sheet has opposite curved faces. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the strip edges are cut such that the sheet has one faceted face. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the strip edges are cut such that the sheet has one angled face and is generally triangular in cross-section. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising securing first and second outer layers of flexible flat fiberboard sheet material over the first and second faces of the sheet. 
     
     
         8 . A method of forming a fiberboard panel, comprising the steps of:
 positioning a plurality of molded corrugated fiberboard sheets face to face to form a stack of sheets, each sheet having opposite faces each having a plurality of alternating, longitudinally extending ribs and grooves extending along the length of the sheet, the ribs on the first face each having a first peak and the ribs on the second face each having a second peak facing in the opposite direction to the first peaks;   aligning the peaks on opposing faces of each pair of adjacent sheets in the stack;   adhering the aligned peaks of each pair of adjacent sheets together to form a plurality of generally hexagonal cells extending along the length of the stacked sheets; and   cutting generally transversely through the stack at a plurality of selected spaced locations along the length of the stack to form a plurality of separate, honeycomb shaped panels.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the cuts through the stack are parallel to one another. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein at least one cut through the stack is in a non-straight direction, whereby the panel face formed by said one cut is a non flat face. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  wherein said one cut is curved and the non-flat panel face is curved. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein at least two adjacent cuts through the stack are curved and the panel formed between the adjacent curved cuts has opposing curved faces. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein said one cut forms a faceted panel face. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein said one cut is at an angle to the longitudinal direction of the stack and an adjacent cut is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, whereby a panel formed by said adjacent cuts has a first flat face and a second angled face. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising securing first and second outer layers of flexible flat fiberboard sheet material over opposite faces of the honeycomb-shaped panel.