Method of making scratching post for animals

Abstract

FIELD: care of animals; primarily cats.SUBSTANCE: invention intended for use in sharpening claws, as well as as a bed. The scratching post is made from a monolithic block, which is formed by gluing 80-90 sheets layer by layer and dried under pressure in two stages. At the first stage, pressing is carried out at a pressure of 0.00015-0.0002 MPa until the sheets are fixed together, then the pressure is increased to 0.0003-0.0004 MPa and the block is held until the glue is completely dry. The monolithic block is divided by cutting across the direction of the corrugation of the sheets of corrugated cardboard into individual blocks for sharpening the claws, each sharpening block is installed in a self-assembling housing and fixed with glue to the inner surfaces of the housing.EFFECT: strength of the connection between the layers of corrugated cardboard in the claw sharpening block is increased, uniformity of block density across the entire thickness is ensured, and manufacturing productivity is increased.2 cl

Description

[0001] The invention relates to products for the care of animals, primarily cats, and is intended for use in sharpening claws, as well as as a bed.

[0002] Technology Level

[0003] The prior art includes methods for manufacturing scratching posts assembled by manually laying and gluing strips of corrugated cardboard to the base of the frame. This prevents uniform and sufficient compressive load on each strip during drying. All strips, except the outermost ones, are glued to the bottom of the frame not flat, but with hollow ribs. The bond area of ​​each strip to the bottom of the frame is therefore minimal, leading to frequent strip pullouts and product failure.

[0004] A method for manufacturing a block for a scratching post is known (Patent US 10111406, published October 30, 2018), in which a block is formed from a plurality of glued strips of corrugated cardboard, which is glued to the base.

[0005] A method for manufacturing scratching posts is also known, described in the patent Scratching post for cats (Patent RU 217242, published on March 23, 2023), in which a block of corrugated cardboard is formed, tightly laying rectangular strips in the body, gluing them to the base.

[0006] The disadvantage of known technical solutions is the labor intensity of manufacturing scratching posts, poor adhesion of the strips to the base, and low productivity.

[0007] Essence of the invention

[0008] The objective of the invention is to create a method for manufacturing a scratching post for animals that ensures increased manufacturing productivity while simultaneously increasing the service life of the scratching post and ensuring uniform wear of the working surface.

[0009] This problem is solved by achieving the technical result of the claimed invention, which consists in increasing the strength of the connection of the layers of corrugated cardboard in the claw sharpening block, ensuring uniformity of the block density across the entire thickness and increasing the productivity of production.

[0010] The said technical result is achieved by the fact that in the method for manufacturing a scratching post for animals, including the formation of a block for sharpening claws from corrugated cardboard and fixing it in the body, a monolithic block is formed by layer-by-layer gluing of 80-90 sheets with the application of glue on the surface of the sheets, ensuring their gluing without filling the internal channels of the corrugation, the resulting monolithic block is dried under pressing in two stages, while at the first stage pressing is carried out at a pressure of 0.00015 - 0.0002 MPa until the sheets are fixed together, at the second stage the pressure is increased to 0.0003-0.0004 MPa and the block is held until the glue is completely dry, the pressed monolithic block is divided by cutting across the direction of the corrugation of the sheets of corrugated cardboard into separate blocks for sharpening claws, each sharpening block is installed in self-assembled body from a flat scan and fixed with glue to the internal surfaces.

[0011] When fixing a block with glue, it is advisable to limit the application of glue to the base of the housing by a perforation line made on the base of the housing, repeating the contour of the upper surface of the housing, while the glue is applied without going onto the specified line.

[0012] Implementation of the invention

[0013] Use 80 to 90 sheets of corrugated cardboard, as using fewer sheets reduces process productivity, and using more than 100 sheets of corrugated cardboard increases the risk of uneven adhesive drying in the central layers before pressing. Adhesive is applied evenly over the entire surface of each sheet of corrugated cardboard of a given size, and the sheets are glued together. The resulting monolithic block is dried in two stages. In the first stage, it is dried under a pressure of 0.00015 - 0.0002 MPa until the sheets are fixed together. In the second stage, the pressure is increased to 0.0003-0.0004 MPa and the block is held until the adhesive is completely dry. Two-stage drying minimizes corrugation deformation due to the reduced pressure during the first stage, while simultaneously creating strong and uniform adhesion between the layers by increasing the pressure. At the first stage, the deformation of the corrugation is 5-7% of the original height without destroying its structural integrity while maintaining its elastic properties.During the second stage of drying, uniform adhesion is achieved on each layer and, as a result, uniform strength and wear of the working surfaces.

[0014] Experimentation has shown that pressures below 0.00015 MPa during the first drying stage are insufficient for full layer contact and initial bonding, leading to sheet warping. Exceeding 0.0002 MPa during this stage causes uncontrolled deformation (crumpling) of the corrugation structure, reducing the strength of the block. During the second stage, a pressure of 0.0003-0.0004 MPa is optimal for achieving uniform adhesive distribution and maximum adhesion across the entire sheet density without corrugation failure. Pressures below 0.0003 MPa do not achieve the required bond strength, while pressures above 0.0004 MPa lead to irreversible compaction of the material and loss of its elastic properties.

[0015] Next, the monolithic block is divided by cutting the corrugated cardboard sheets across the corrugation direction into identical sharpening blocks (e.g., using a CNC automatic band saw). Each sharpening block is installed in a pre-assembled housing.

[0016] The body is formed by bending the reamer along the fold lines, creating side and end walls and a top surface from a flat reamer. A monolithic claw sharpening block is glued to the inner surfaces of the body.

[0017] The claw sharpening block can be installed in a self-assembling case with a base containing a perforated line that follows the contour of the top surface of the case. The claw sharpening block is glued to the inner surfaces of the case without extending beyond the perforated line. The perforation limits the adhesive application area and allows the scratching post to be used on both sides.

[0018] Example of specific implementation

[0019] To manufacture the monolithic block, 82 sheets of three-layer C-flute corrugated cardboard (average corrugation height 3.8 mm) were used, and the flat pattern for the self-assembly body was cut from micro-corrugated cardboard. In this embodiment, the monolithic block, measuring 545 x 428 x 289-296 mm in size, was placed under a press with a pressure of 0.00017 MPa until the sheets were initially fixed (under specific production conditions, the drying time was two hours). After the initial fixation, the pressure was increased to 0.00038 MPa and the block was left under the press for 12 hours until the adhesive was completely dry. The resulting monolithic block was cut transversely to the corrugation direction of the corrugated cardboard sheets into 22 sharpening blocks measuring 545 x 289-296 x 19 mm in size. Each claw sharpening block was installed in a pre-assembled self-assembling housing.

[0020] To confirm the declared technical result, comparative tests of the claimed method and its closest analogue were conducted.

[0021] The production of 22 scratching posts using the stated method involved gluing a monolithic block of 82 sheets (180-300 seconds) and cutting it on a band saw (300-400 seconds). The total time to produce the scratching blocks was 480-700 seconds, or 22-37 seconds per block.

[0022] Making 22 scratching posts by hand laying and gluing individual strips required 180-300 seconds for each claw sharpening block.

[0023] Thus, it has been experimentally confirmed that the claimed method provides productivity 8-10 times higher than the closest analogue while maintaining the strength of the connection.

[0024] Due to uniform adhesion across the entire plane of the sheets, the block is resistant to tearing out of individual strips, which has been confirmed experimentally.

[0025] The combination of essential features allows to achieve the claimed

[0026] Technical result due to the formation of a monolithic block, which allows to increase the productivity in the production of scratching posts, as well as to increase the strength of the connection of the layers of corrugated cardboard in the block for sharpening claws and to ensure uniformity of the block density throughout the entire thickness.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a scratching post for animals, including forming a block for sharpening claws from corrugated cardboard and fixing it in a housing, characterized in that a monolithic block is formed by layer-by-layer gluing of 80-90 sheets with the application of glue on the surfaces of the sheets, ensuring their gluing without filling the internal channels of the corrugation, the resulting monolithic block is dried under pressing in two stages, wherein at the first stage pressing is carried out at a pressure of 0.00015-0.0002 MPa, at the second stage the pressure is increased to 0.0003-0.0004 MPa and the block is held until the glue is completely dry, the pressed monolithic block is divided by cutting across the direction of the corrugation of the corrugated cardboard sheets into separate blocks for sharpening claws, each sharpening block is installed in a self-assembling housing from a flat scan and fixed with glue to the internal surfaces of the housing.

2. A method for manufacturing a scratching post for animals according to paragraph 1, characterized in that when fixing the block with glue, the application of glue to the base of the body is limited by a perforation line made on the base of the body, repeating the contour of the upper surface of the body, while the glue is applied without going onto the said line.