A structural panel for use in building structures or in the formation, finish or decoration thereof includes an outer sheet and a connector sheet with a plurality of collapsible or compressible dividers therebetween. The panel in a rest condition is expanded and of a desired thickness for final use but can be compressed into a relatively thin thickness or profile for shipping purposes. The panel is very lightweight but structurally strong and can be selectively bent in one transverse direction if desired. The panel can be easily cut or formed into any predetermined size or shape.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/309,939 filed Dec. 3, 2002, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/970,008, filed Sep. 27, 2001, now abandoned which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/839,373, filed Apr. 23, 2001, now abandoned which application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 60/199,208, filed Apr. 24, 2000. This application also relates to co-pending application Ser. No. 10/309,944 filed Dec. 3, 2002 entitled "Method and Apparatus For Fabricating Cellular Structural Panels". All of the above-identified applications are hereby incorporated by reference as if fully disclosed herein.
An apparatus for manufacturing cellular laminate structural panels includes one or more supply stations of a flexible strip material including folding rollers for sequentially folding the strip material into cellular structures and feeding the cellular structures into a conveyor where the cellular structures are held in compression. The apparatus further includes a laminating station where the folded cellular structures are laminated to an upper and/or lower sheet material to which lines of a bonding medium have been applied prior to engagement with the cellular structures. The folded cellular structures are heated before engaging the sheet material so as to enhance the bonding of the sheet material to the cellular structures and subsequent to bonding, the laminate is passed through a cooling station to set the bonding medium. Downstream from the laminating station, the laminate passes through a side edge folding station where edges of the sheet material are folded over side edges of the laminate to finish the side edges of the laminate and subsequently the laminate is passed into a cutter for cutting the continuous laminate into predetermined lengths. Ends of the cut panels then receive rigid edge strips to fully finish the panel. The method of the invention includes the steps performed by the components of the apparatus.
