Hemp building material

A hemp building material for creating a reinforced structure utilizing hemp fibers. The hemp building material includes an elongate structure having a plurality of bast fibers contained within the elongate structure. The bast fibers are orientated substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the elongate structure. The bast fibers are preferably positioned within the lower portion of the elongate structure to provide tensile resistance to the elongate structure during the supporting of a vertical load. The elongate structure may have various configurations and may be constructed of various materials such as but not limited to plastic and composite materials.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, FIGS. 1 through 12 illustrate a hemp building material 10 , which comprises an elongate structure 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 having a plurality of bast fibers 20 contained within the elongate structure 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 . The bast fibers 20 are orientated substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the elongate structure 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 . The bast fibers 20 are preferably positioned within the lower portion of the elongate structure 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 to provide tensile resistance to the elongate structure 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 during the supporting of a vertical load. The elongate structure 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 may have various configurations and may be constructed of various materials such as but not limited to plastic and composite materials. Bast fibers 20 , particularly those of hemp, possess by nature a high degree of tensile strength not commonly found in other fiber materials thereby making them suitable for usage in building materials. Hemp is commonly “retted” which is the process of exposing the hemp stalks to moisture and the elements to allow bacteria to digest the lignins (i.e. gummy material) that hold the fiber strands to the rest of the stalk, and is dependent upon the weather conditions. The current process contained within the present invention does not utilize the process of retting as the entire hemp stalk is preferably utilized. The present invention is comprised of an elongate structure 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 12 of the drawings. The elongate structure 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 may be formed utilizing various materials and chemicals such as plastic, composite materials or other common building materials. The elongate structure 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 may be formed by various conventional processes such as but not limited to pressing, molding or extrusion. The elongate structure 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 may be formed into various shapes and structures as illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 12 of the drawings. The elongate structure 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 may be comprised of a board member 30 30 , an I-beam 40 40 , a beam member 50 50 , or a tubular column 60 60 . The bast fibers 20 are preferably positioned within the lower portion of the elongate structure 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 to provide increased tensile strength to the elongate structure 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 while under a vertical load. As shown in FIGS. 1 through 4 of the drawings, the board member 30 is comprised of an upper surface 32 and a lower surface 34 . The bast fibers 20 are preferably at least positioned within the lower layer of the board member 30 , however the bast fibers 20 may be positioned through the entire board member 30 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings. The bast fibers 20 are preferably comprised of the entire hemp stalk without the retting process applied to effectively utilize the long and short fibers 20 within the hemp stalk. The board member 30 may have various lengths, cross sectional shapes and thickness. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawings, the I-beam 40 is comprised of an upper member 42 , a middle member 44 extending orthogonally from the upper member 42 , and a lower member 46 attached to the middle member 44 orthogonally and opposite of the upper member 42 . The bast fibers 20 are preferably at least positioned within the lower member 46 of the I-beam 40 as clearly shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawings. However, the bast fibers 20 may be positioned through the entire I-beam 40 including the middle member 44 and the upper member 42 . The bast fibers 20 are preferably comprised of the entire hemp stalk without the retting process applied to effectively utilize the long and short fibers 20 within the hemp stalk. The I-beam 40 may have various lengths, cross sectional shapes and thickness. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 of the drawings, the beam member 50 is comprised of an upper edge 52 and a lower edge 54 . The bast fibers 20 are preferably at least positioned within the lower layer of the beam member 50 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 of the drawings. However, the bast fibers 20 may be positioned through the entire beam member 50 in an alternative embodiment. The bast fibers 20 are preferably comprised of the entire hemp stalk without the retting process applied to effectively utilize the long and short fibers 20 within the hemp stalk. The board member 30 may have various lengths, cross sectional shapes and thickness. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 , a tubular beam member 50 includes a passage 56 with the bast fibers 20 within the lower portion of the beam member 50 . As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 of the drawings, the column 60 is comprised of an inner wall 64 and an outer wall 62 . The bast fibers 20 are preferably at least positioned within the central portion of the column 60 between the inner wall 64 and the outer wall 62 . However, the bast fibers 20 may be positioned through the entire column 60 in an alternative embodiment. The bast fibers 20 are preferably comprised of the entire hemp stalk without the retting process applied to effectively utilize the long and short fibers 20 within the hemp stalk. The column 60 may have various lengths and thickness. The raw hemp material may be crushed while maintaining the longitudinal orientation of the bast fibers 20 . After the bast fibers 20 are prepared, they are mixed within binding agents such as plastic, resin or composite material to construct the elongate structure 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 . The mixture of bast fibers 20 and binding agent is then formed into the desired elongate structure 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 by using a pressing process, extrusion process or molding process. The bast fibers 20 are preferably orientated longitudinally within the elongate structure 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 and are preferably positioned within the lower portion of the elongate structure 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 to provide maximum tensile strength to the elongate structure 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 during a vertical load. As to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of the present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description. Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided. With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed to be within the expertise of those skilled in the art, and all equivalent structural variations and relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention. Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention. 1 Index of Elements for Hemp Building Material &square; ENVIRONMENTAL ELEMENTS &square; &square; &square; &square; &square; &square; &square; &square; &square; &square; 10. Hemp Building Material &square; 11. &square; 12. &square; 13. &square; 14. &square; 15. &square; 16. &square; 17. &square; 18. &square; 19. &square; 20. Bast Fibers &square; 21. &square; 22. &square; 23. &square; 24. &square; 25. &square; 26. &square; 27. &square; 28. &square; 29. &square; 30. Board Member &square; 31. &square; 32. Upper Surface &square; 33. &square; 34. Lower Surface &square; 35. &square; 36. &square; 37. &square; 38. &square; 39. &square; 40. I-Beam &square; 41. &square; 42. Upper Member &square; 43. &square; 44. Middle Member &square; 45. &square; 46. Lower Member &square; 47. &square; 48. &square; 49. &square; 50. Beam Member &square; 51. &square; 52. Upper Edge &square; 53. &square; 54. Lower Edge &square; 55. &square; 56. Passage &square; 57. &square; 58. &square; 59. &square; 60. Column &square; 61. &square; 62. Outer Wall &square; 63. &square; 64. Inner Wall &square; 65. &square; 66. &square; 67. &square; 68. &square; 69. &square; 70. &square; 71. &square; 72. &square; 73. &square; 74. &square; 75. &square; 76. &square; 77. &square; 78. &square; 79.