CH621086A5 - Apparatus for manufacturing articles having a non-woven pile layer - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing articles having a non-woven pile layer, this apparatus making it possible to mechanically execute all of the manufacturing operations in such a way that the manufacturing can be carried out according to a continuous process. Reference is made in this regard to U.S. Patent No. 3,499,807, which discloses a method of manually manufacturing such items.

The method described in said patent consists in manufacturing a large number of separate bristle groups, each comprising compressed oriented fibers held in position by a peripheral sheath which is removed when the fibers are fixed by gluing to the surface to which they will adhere, or just before they are so fixed. Although effective, this process requires a lot of manual labor, which tends to increase the price of manufactured articles, to the point that they are no longer competitive with comparable articles with a surface covered with bristles produced by conventional methods. weaving or knotting stitches.

Thanks to the apparatus according to the present invention, which is defined in claim 1, the manufacturing requires only a very reduced manual labor, which results in savings on the cost price of manufacturing the finished article.

The invention will be better understood from the following description given by way of example and with reference to the appended drawing in which the same reference numbers designate the same elements and in which:

fig. 1 is a perspective view of a part of an embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention;

fig. 2 is a view, also in perspective, of part of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

fig. 3 is a partial view in side elevation of a mechanism for selecting, supplying and transporting a disc or base group;

fig. 4 is a view in horizontal section along the plane 4-4 of FIG. 3;

fig. 5 is a view in horizontal section along the plane 5-5 of FIG. 3;

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fig. 6 is a partial plan view from above, looking from the plane 6-6 of FIG. 3;

fig. 7 is a partial view in side elevation showing in detail an elastic tip intended to penetrate successive groups of bristles during the operation of the device;

fig. 8 schematically represents, in side view and in different relative positions, certain movable walls constituting means for advancing oriented fibers during the operation of the device according to the invention;

fig. 9 is a similar schematic representation, in side view, which illustrates successive positioning operations;

fig. 10 is a partial plan view from above corresponding to the upper position of FIG. 8;

35 fig. 11 is a partial view in side elevation showing means for bringing successive stacks of elementary groups of bristles, before their laying in series on a moving belt, in order to advance them towards fixing points on a carpet substrate;

fig. 12 is a partial top plan view from the plane 12-12 of FIG. 11;

fig. 13 is a side view corresponding to the central right part of FIG. 11 and showing means for determining the location of the highest group of bristles, so as to thus control the supply of a set of stacked groups of bristles in order to avoid overturning of this set;

fig. 14 is a partial view in elevation looking from the right part of FIG. 11;

fig. 15 is a partial view in side elevation, partly in section, showing the mechanism for transferring a pile of groups of hairs from a horizontal means of transport to the structure shown in FIG. 11;

fig. 16 is a partial plan view from above, looking from the upper part of FIG. 15;

55 fig. 17 is a partial view in elevation showing the means suitable for cooperating with a transport element of a pile of pile groups with a horizontal transport means carrying the batteries;

fig. 18 is a partial sectional view looking from 60 of the plane 18-18 of FIG. 1, which shows a clutch means for separately controlling the parallel sections of a conveyor belt, in order to allow the formation of patterns on the finished bristle article, and FIG. 19 is a schematic view showing a pneumatic means 65 for orienting groups of bristles.

Before proceeding to the detailed description of an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a brief overview of the prior art is considered appropriate.

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As disclosed in the aforementioned US Patent No. 3499807, the disclosed method consists of forming a series of groups of bristles each having a large number of elongated fibers whose axes are aligned and parallel, the fibers being surrounded by a sheath which keeps a large number of fibers relatively compressed. These separate groups are then placed on a surface and in an enclosure preventing the fibers from relaxing beyond a desired area during the subsequent removal of the sheaths. The ends of the fibers are attached to a desired surface coated with glue, which is usually a strip of fabric.

It is obvious that this process requires manual work. considerable as well as a certain skill both in the formation of hair groups, which is accomplished by assembly by radial compression of axially oriented fibers, in the form of a cylinder, which is then divided into thin slices perpendicular to its axis pricipal, and in the subsequent laying of the hair groups on the surface, followed by the removal of the sheaths. The invention relates to a device which mechanically performs all of the above operations continuously.

It will appear obvious to specialists that, although the preferred embodiment of the invention indicates that the groups of bristles are cut square, other effects can be obtained if the cutting is not made square.

The device, designated as a whole by the reference 10 and whose organization will be understood more particularly by examining FIGS. 1 and 2, generally comprises: a means 11 for forming bristle groups, a means 12 for horizontal primary transfer of bristle groups, a means 13 for vertical secondary transfer of bristle groups, a means 14 d stacking and unloading of stacks of hair groups, means 15 for longitudinal transfer of hair groups, means 16 for assembling the hair and means 17 for applying a strip of fabric.

The means 11 for forming bristle groups serves to channel a continuous flow of short or long oriented fibers. The fibers can be natural or synthetic or both natural and synthetic, depending on the effect desired in the finished article. A continuous strip 21 of polyethylene in sheet or in a similar material, which can be closed on itself by thermal welding, is unwound from a source (not shown) and extends between side edges 22 and 23. After having passed by a roller, 24, the strip enters a guide 25 in the form of a funnel, which also receives the aforementioned fibers 26, which can be in the form of thread, tow or wick. The guide 25 is extended by a cylindrical sheath 27 having two radially directed flanges, one of which is designated by the reference 29 and which delimit a slot capable of allowing a pair of rollers to close by thermal welding, one of which is designated by the reference 31. Several rolls of horizontal axes, one of which is designated by the reference 32, are knurled so as to exert an adequate tension on the cylindrical sheath 28 as the latter is raised not to not during his training.

A multiple cutting assembly 34 cuts the cylinder 28 simultaneously into a series of bristle groups at periodic intervals. It is mounted on a vertical shaft 35 by means of an upper arm 36 and a lower arm 37 which are connected to each other by a shaft 38 which can move in an orbit and carrying a series of cutting discs 39. These are rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow 40, by a means not shown, preferably a small electric motor. A yoke 41 connects a rod 42 to an extension 43 of the upper arm 36 which brings the assembly 34 into contact with the cylinder 28 during the cutting operation. As will be seen, this cutting operation takes place while the cylinder is carried by the stacking means 14. An upper stop 45 and lateral guides, one of which is designated by the reference 46, position the group of bristles 47 formed when parting off takes place.

The horizontal transfer means 12 serves to bring transversely, on command, a stack of groups of freshly cut hairs 47, to selected elements of the means 14, and comprises an upper belt 51 and a lower belt 52 mounted in the positions shown on the fig. 2, by means not shown. The belts move in the direction of arrow 54, that is to say in the direction of clockwise in FIG. 2, and carry a series of elements 55, 56, 57 hairs group carriers. These elements are practically similar and each comprise a tubular body 58, of rectangular section, carrying a series of clamps 59 which engage with the tongues 60 of the groups of bristles 47 which are formed by the rollers 31 which close by welding and which form protrudes radially from the periphery of these groups. The clamps 59 are opened by pins 61 (see fig. 16) in the manner of a spring clothespin, and are placed in the open position, so as to allow the lifting of a section of a certain length of the cylinder 28 by a control means which will be described below. The clamps 59 are closed just before the cutting operation so that, when this is completed, each group of bristles 47 will be carried by a clamp in a way that will be more easily understood using fig. 16. Thus, when the cutting discs 39 have completed the cutting operation and are distant, the elements 55-57 can be moved along the means 12 without hindrance. The elements 55-57 are fixed to the belts 51-52 by elastic means 63 shown in FIG. 17 and are provided with pins 64, allowing the vertical secondary transfer means 13 to grasp these elements.

The means 13, shown in FIG. 2, comprises a plurality of belts 66 arranged vertically and each having an upper continuous loop 67 and a continuous lower loop 68. These belts are moved by a support and guide means 69 (FIGS. 15 to 17). A common control shaft 71 keeps all the belts 66 in movement in the direction of the arrow 71A, by means of a pulley 72. A series of connecting rods 73, articulated, are mounted on each of the belts 66, each of them comprising a main central pivot 74 and a lower end 75 carrying a cleat 76, cam follower, guided by a groove 77 of a plate cam.

Referring to fig. 15, a lower pin 64 carried by each of the elements 55-57 is gripped by the free end 79 of a connecting rod 73, which is held by the cam in the horizontal position at the time of latching. The continuation of the downward movement causes the attachment means 63 to separate and an air jet generating means 81 (fig. 1) opposes the tendency of the element 55-57 to tilt in the opposite direction to the needles d 'a watch, according to fig. 15, and stabilizes this element 55-57 until the moment when it enters an element of the means 14. The means 14 engages with an upper pin 61, so as to release the groups of bristles 47 at the appropriate time, then the empty elements 55-57 follow a path illustrated by the lines in dotted lines 83, 84 and 85. At a point of recovery by the primary transfer means, a pneumatic cylinder 86 resiliently pushes the latching structure, shown in fig. 16 and 17, towards the open position, so as to again allow the element 55-57 to grasp the means 12 and, consequently, to bring this element back to its initial position to take a following series of groups of hairs 47. When released, the pins 87 (fig. 16-17) resume a state without relative tension, which causes them to engage in the elements 55-57, as illustrated in fig. 16. During the operation of the device 10, the succession of operations described above takes place continuously, the speed of this device being such that the rate at which a pile of groups 47 of bristles runs out is less than the rate of formation of the new hair groups and, through appropriate programming, a 55-57 element arrives in the area that needs it before the remaining hair groups are exhausted. When the element 55-57 descends to be discharged, the clamps 59

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are opened by means of a lever 89 actuated by a structure, shown in FIG. 12, and described below.

The means 14 for stacking and discharging groups of bristles will be better understood by examining in particular FIGS. 3,4, 5 and 11 to 14. As seen in Figs. 1 and 2, this means comprises a series of cylindrical envelopes 92 communicating with corresponding prismatic envelopes 93 of rectangular section. The cylindrical envelopes 92 may be provided with guides 95 with metallic wires, intended to limit friction and which, as can be seen in FIG. 11, continue at the top of the walls without discontinuity of these envelopes and can be flared, for example in 96. The means 97 for opening clamps cannot be actuated at random, but must on the contrary be opened at a time when the the lowest group of hairs in the stack, which has just been transferred, is just above the highest group of hairs in the remaining part of the previous stack, so as to prevent spreading or tilting of the different groups, which would cause blockage of one or more groups of bristles and prevent appropriate discharge from the lower ends of the cylindrical casings 92. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, this is accomplished by means of a servomotor 98 comprising a drive gear 99, driving a transmission chain 100 wound on an idler upper gear 101, an insane lower gear 102 and a third idler gear 103. With reference to fig. 13, a fixing support 104 assures the mounting of an optical collimator 105, whose beam 106 strikes a mirror 107 and is reflected towards a light detector 108. As long as light is detected, the servomotor operates so as to lower the fixing support 104 until the presence of the highest pile group 109 of the lower stack 110 interrupts the light beam and consequently stops the operation of the motor 98. The conveyor element 55 descending on the means of secondary transfer then comes into contact with the opening boss 112 carried by a connecting rod 113 following (fig. 12), thus gradually loosening each of the groups of hairs which fall on the culminating edge 109, without reversing the stack which has just 'be added.

The above structure can be replaced by a probe (not shown) which continues downwards from element 55-57, which mechanically detects the presence of the highest group of hairs 109 and which then opens the clamps , or it is possible to provide a calculator which counts the groups of hairs which are deposited on a given pile and those which leave the lower end of the pile, so that the position of the highest group can be calculated and that the pliers can be opened at the appropriate time.

With reference to fig. 3 to 7, each of the cylindrical envelopes 92 is provided, at its lower end 115, with a pressure door 116 actuated by a connecting rod 117, an elbow lever 118 and an operating rod 119, in cooperation with a programming means ( not shown).

The longitudinal transfer means 15 comprises a series of belts controlled separately, some of which are indicated by the reference 120 and which move to the left, according to FIGS. 1 and 2, by winding on an anterior roller 121, then on a posterior roller (not shown). Each belt is bounded by an upper surface 123, a lower surface 124 and lateral surfaces 125 and 126 separated from each other by a distance corresponding to the effective diameter of the different groups 47. Lugs 127, protruding, engage in corresponding notches 128 of the front roller 121, so as to ensure a positive drive. Each of the belts 120 passes over a series of control elements, two of which are indicated in FIG. 3 by the references 129 and 130. The control elements selectively put trays 131, by lifting them, in contact with the doors 116, so that a pair of spikes 132 aligned longitudinally

(see figs. 2 and 7) penetrate into the compressed fibers and maintain the orientation of the different groups 47 after they have passed through the door 116.

By means of individual clutch means 134 (see fig. 18), each of the front rollers 121 can be stopped at the same time as a plate 131 is raised to allow a group 47 to be taken up. taken, the plate 131 is lowered and the rotation of the front roller 121 begins again. As seen in fig. 3, it should be noted that each separate belt 120 can receive groups 47 from any door among several doors, each door providing fibers of a different color, or a group having a distinct design formed by fibers of different colors, so as to allow the creation of a design on the finished article. Obviously, to maintain uniformity, each belt must receive, when it travels a predetermined distance, the same number of groups 47 as all the other belts traveling the same distance, but it is not necessary that the deposits of the groups on the belts are made at the same longitudinal location or even at the same instant. As the manufacture of the finished article progresses, all groups 47 are moved to the left, according to FIG. 3, and finally arrive, more or less simultaneously, at a location the transverse extent of which is located directly above the anterior rolls 121 of the various courts 120 tracks 120.

The bristle assembly means 16 serves to position the groups 47 arriving in series, after which the sheath sections surrounding these are broken and removed and the compressed fibers are allowed to relax and merge with the fibers of other groups. 47 of the same transverse row. We now refer to the left side of FIG. 1 as well as in fig. 8. Horizontal guides 137 include notches 138 for the passage of the tips 132, when these are removed from the groups 47, which are led towards the upper surface of the guides. The guides 137 35 communicate with a support floor 139 and a series of vertical parallel walls 140 each having a head end 141 and a rear end 142. The oriented fibers are retained on the support floor 139 by lateral belts, of which the 'one is designated by the reference 143 and which pass .40 each on an end roller 144 and on a series of idle rollers 145. When the groups 47 progress to the left, they are gripped by a tongue-holding wall 146 provided with notches 147 and opposite jaws 148 which grip the tongue 60 of a group 47 and retain this tongue until the 45 moment when the sections 48 of the sheaths have been removed. The wall 146 is carried, at one end, by a shaft 149 coupled to a motor means (not shown) which allows this wall to follow a movement along a rectangular trajectory, indicated at 150 in FIG. 1. After the sections of Roma-50 pues sheaths have been removed, the movements of the fibers, which had been compressed until then, are limited by four walls 151, 152, 153 and 154 which are more conveniently designated by the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 in figs. 8 and 9. As shown in fig. 1, each of the walls 151-154 has a movement with corresponding trajectory 155, 55 156, 157 and 158 and we will now refer to FIGS. 8 and 9 which schematically illustrate the movements of each of the walls during the introduction of a row of groups 47.

Consider position 1 in fig. 8: when the wall 146 advances a group 47, the walls 1 and 3 are raised above the level of the material to be worked, the wall 4 is below this level and the wall 2 is at this level. A leaf spring 160 (see position 1) presses against the group 47 so as to stabilize it against the jaws 148, then pushes the latter to the left against a perforating element 161.

65 In the following position, the wall No. 1 descends between the wall 146 and the group 47. Then the wall 146 and the wall No. 1 advance to pierce the sheath section 48 and break it when it touches the perforating element. 161 carried by the wall No. 2, after which

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the wall is withdrawn and removes the sheath section 48 which is no longer necessary. The wall 146 is then removed and a cover 169 descends so as to be above the fibers now enclosed. In position 3, walls Nos 1 and 3 continue their downward movement, wall N ° 3 coming to occupy the position previously occupied by wall N ° 1.

The cover 169 is now located in the same plane as a larger cover plate 170. In position 4, the entire worked material, the cover and the plate advance in a row to the left with the walls 2 and 3. In position 5, the wall 2 rises through a slot 163, allowing all fibers to merge. The wall No. 1 has reached its initial culminating position and awaits the return of the wall No. 3 which has already partially risen, as well as the wall No. 4. In the position No. 6, the cover 169 has as high and the plate 170 moved behind a row. In position 7 (fig. 9), the wall No. 3 continues its upward movement before beginning its movement to the right, during which it is above the wall No. 1, so as to return thus to the position 1 initial. Wall No. 2 has moved to the right so that it is above wall No. 4 then, as shown in position No. 8, walls Nos 2 and 4 descend to finally reach the relative position of fig. 1. The wall 146 is now raised, allowing the introduction of the next row of groups 47 and the subsequent repetition of the whole cycle described above.

The strip application means 17 advances a strip of fabric 173 to an adhesive application device 174 by which a surface is coated with an appropriate adhesive before it adheres to the free ends of the fibers. The strip 173 passes between a roller 175 and a squeegee 176 to spread the glue uniformly, after which it is wound on a roller 177, which places it so that it is applied against the surface 172 formed by the ends erect fibers now united. Although the groups 47 are advanced step by step, given the cutting of the sections of enveloping sheaths and given the relaxation of the previously compressed fibers, the arrival of the fibers for their bonding to the strip 173 is substantially constant, so that the advancement of the strip 173 can be practically continuous.

The strip 178 is kept in contact with the ends of the fibers for a sufficient period to ensure proper adhesion, and it will be understood that the support floor 139 continues on the left for a sufficient distance to give this result. The finished article can undergo all the conventional operations in the carpet manufacturing technique such as, for example, shearing or other finishing techniques.

Fig. 19 illustrates an optional means for orienting groups 47 on a surface 123 of a belt, in which a single point 180 penetrates into a group to allow rotation thereof around the point, using means 181 generators jets, which act on the two surfaces of the tongue 60, so that the group reaches its equilibrium position when the tongue is aligned on the main axis 162 of the movement.

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Claims (2)

621,086 CLAIMS 1. Apparatus for forming articles having a layer of non-woven hairs on at least one of their surfaces, characterized in that it comprises means (11) for forming groups of hairs (47) each having a generally cylindrical flat shape and containing each of the oriented and compressed fibers surrounded by a removable sheath (48) having a radial tongue (60), the means (11) comprising a cylindrical sheath (27) having a continuous slot, the tongue (60) passing through the continuous slot ; horizontal endless feed belts (120) disposed parallel to and spaced from each other, a horizontal fixed surface (139) adjacent a continuous strand of each of the belts; means for transferring the groups of bristles from the forming means (11), placing the groups of bristles in a stack above each belt in order to deposit them in series on the belts to advance them to the horizontal surface (139); bristle assembly means (16) comprising means (146) for transferring the hair groups from the belts to the horizontal surface (139) and means (148, 161) for breaking the sleeves and removing them from the hair groups and allowing the oriented fibers to expand and fuse with the fibers of the adjacent pile groups; means (17) bringing a strip of backing material coated with adhesive to a location above the horizontal surface (139) and applying it to one end of the fibers oriented so that they are supported by the strip and bonded thereto, said transfer means comprising an endless primary conveyor (12) arranged across the path of each of the feed belts (120), carrying elements (55, 56, 57) carried by the conveyor primary and gripping the radial tabs of a pile of groups of bristles at the location of the forming means (11) and transporting them above a predetermined feed belt (120), at least one means ( 14) battery receiver above each belt, said battery receiving means having a door (116) at its lower end; and a secondary conveyor (13) detaching the carrier elements from the primary carrier and transporting them vertically so as to place a pile of pile groups held by a carrier element opposite said predetermined endless belt (120). 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises means (98-110, 112) associated with the stack receiving means (14) for releasing a stack of groups of hairs from the transport element so as to prevent a change of hair groups.