CN110382753B

CN110382753B - Device for transferring and/or inserting fibre sheets into a consolidation device, in particular a flocking machine

Info

Publication number: CN110382753B
Application number: CN201880016707.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: H·勒罗伊; S·迪斯普兰; F·德曼奇
Original assignee: Andritz Asselin Thibeau SAS
Current assignee: Andritz Asselin Thibeau SAS
Priority date: 2017-03-09
Filing date: 2018-03-08
Publication date: 2023-02-17
Anticipated expiration: 2038-03-08
Also published as: CN110382753A; EP3592886A1; FR3063742A1; WO2018162624A1; FR3063742B1; EP3592886B1

Abstract

An apparatus (9) for transferring and/or placing fibre sheets, in particular non-woven fibre sheets, into a consolidation means, in particular a mechanical or hydraulic consolidation means, wherein the consolidation means is, for example, a flocking machine, the apparatus comprising at least one transfer element (11a 11b) comprising at least one traction roller (12), an endless belt (13) extending between an upstream end (14) and a downstream end (15), and at least one knife-or angle-shaped element, the at least one roller being arranged such that the traction endless belt rotates on each side of the upstream end of the at least one knife-or angle-or nozzle-shaped element, characterized in that the endless belt is a modular belt consisting of segments (30) in the form of transverse belts hinged to one another.

Description

Device for transferring and/or inserting fibre sheets into a consolidation device, in particular a flocking machine

The invention relates to a device for transferring and/or placing a fiber sheet, in particular a nonwoven sheet, into a consolidation device, in particular a flocking machine.

Transfer devices ensuring the insertion of the fibre sheet coming from the cross lapper between the plates of the flocking machine are known in the prior art. The apparatus comprises two elements, respectively an upper element and a lower element, which define between them a gap of decreasing thickness in the direction of the flocking machine, in which the sheet passes, each element comprising a roller, an endless belt surrounding the roller upstream, and a prism downstream for forming therein an area in the shape of an angle or a tip at the inlet of the flocking machine, the gap guiding the sheet to the inlet of the plate of the flocking machine.

Although these prior art systems have significant advantages with respect to the previously existing devices, in particular the drawing required to put the sheet into the flocking machine by means of the drive limit closer to the first needle, they have a complex structure, in particular requiring the tips to be realised in the form of a lower tip row aligned in the transverse direction and movable in the longitudinal direction with respect to each other, comprising means for moving each lower tip longitudinally independently of each other. On the other hand, these apparatuses are not perfectly adapted to sheets that are very wide and/or heavy with respect to the length of the insertion apparatus, an improvement being desired in terms of the quality and uniformity of the sheets inserted into the consolidation apparatus and therefore of the consolidated sheets produced at the output, as well as in terms of the time reliability of the transfer apparatus (in particular with respect to the service life of the endless or transport belt).

EP 2 175 056 discloses a device for transferring a fibre sheet to a flocking machine, which comprises at least one transfer element comprising at least one drive roller and at least one endless belt extending between an upstream end and a downstream end, the at least one roller being arranged to drive the endless belt in rotation. At the downstream end, the endless belt is looped around a roller with a large diameter, which does not allow the sheet to pass closest to the flocked sheet, requiring an additional transfer roller between the endless belt and the flocked sheet.

From EP 1 790 766 an apparatus for transferring a fibrous sheet to a flocking machine is known, comprising a conveyor comprising a slatted circulating belt that passes the sheet to two transfer elements in the form of angles fixed with respect to the flocking machine input, through which water jets intended to maintain the sheet, even a compressed sheet, pass. This system is complicated, inter alia, by the need to generate water jets, and, given its toothing, these elements in the form of corners cannot be arranged very close to the input of the flocking machine. Likewise, the slat conveyor is maintained at a large distance from the flocking machine.

The present invention aims to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art by proposing an apparatus for transferring and/or placing a fibrous sheet, in particular a non-woven fibrous sheet, into a consolidation means, in particular a mechanical or hydraulic consolidation means (for example a flocking machine), which allows bringing the sheet to be consolidated proximate to the consolidation action area, for example proximate to the action area of the needles of the flocking machine, without having to carry out treatments on the sheet (for example drawing) which could cause damage, in particular in terms of uniformity, to the sheet placed and therefore to the consolidated sheet produced at the output, and without having to provide complex systems.

A device as claimed in the preamble of claim 1 is known from WO 89/03446.

According to the invention, an apparatus for transferring and/or placing a fibre sheet, in particular a non-woven fibre sheet, into a consolidation means, in particular a mechanical or hydraulic consolidation means (for example a flocking machine), is defined in claim 1, with the dependent claims defining perfecting solutions and preferred embodiments.

By thus providing the strip in modular form with very fine steps, the downstream end of the strip can be realized with very high precision, which allows it to be arranged closest to the consolidation device, without having to carry out treatments on the transferred sheet (for example drawing) that could damage it. Furthermore, the transfer equipment can be greatly simplified with respect to the existing equipment for at least the same, or even higher, quality of the consolidated sheet.

Preferably, the width of the transverse belt, i.e. the width of the modular belt, is 6mm to 15mm.

According to a preferred embodiment, the or each band has an inner radius of curvature at its downstream end of, for example, 3.5mm, and may in particular be 2 to 5mm.

According to a preferred embodiment, the or each strip has an outer radius of curvature at its downstream end, in particular of from 6 to 12mm.

Preferably, the apparatus comprises two transfer elements, respectively an upper element and a lower element, which define between them a gap through which the sheet passes during its transfer, and which preferably define between them a gap of decreasing thickness from upstream to downstream.

Preferably, the downstream end of one of the elements is set back, i.e. is further downstream with respect to the downstream end of the other element.

The invention also relates to a combination comprising a consolidation device, in particular a mechanical and/or hydraulic consolidation device (e.g. a flocking machine), and an apparatus according to the invention, and to a plant comprising a cross-lapper and a combination according to the invention.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 shows a combination according to an embodiment of the invention, comprising a transfer and/or insertion device according to an embodiment of the invention and a flocking machine;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the interface between the ends of the upper and lower transfer elements of the flocking machine and the work roll and the sheet material, showing in particular the position of the first needle with respect to the transfer device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the lower transfer member of the transfer apparatus of FIG. 1; and

fig. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a portion of an endless belt of the apparatus of fig. 1-3.

In fig. 1, a flocking machine is shown, comprising an upper plate 1, called work roll, and a lower plate 2, called table, defining between them a substantially horizontal flocking channel, in which a sheet 3 advances, in an input condition formed by fibres that are not large or interconnected, and in an output condition formed by a flocked sheet or strip 4. The needle board 6 is connected to a reciprocating mechanism 7 so that needles 8 carried by the needle board 6 enter the flocking channel through suitable openings of the table 1 at a determined frequency and exit from said channel. This crosses the fibres of the sheet 3 in a known manner, giving the sheet obtained at the output its adhesion and mechanical strength.

Upstream of the flocking channel, the plant comprises a transfer and/or insertion device 9, the function of which is to transfer the non-woven sheet 3 coming from a cross-lapper (not shown in the figures) into the flocking channel with as little drawing as possible. The device 9 may also have the function of a precompression plate.

The insertion device 9 comprises substantially identical upper transfer elements 11a and lower transfer elements 11b. Hereinafter, the lower transfer member 11b is explained. The same applies to the upper transfer element 11a.

The transfer element 11b comprises a drawing roll 12 or transverse shaft provided with a large number of gears distributed over the width of the upstream end 14 of the device 9 and of the element 11b. The pull roll 12 is rotated by an associated motor and drives the endless belt 13 in rotation. The endless belt 13 defines a transport path extending between an upstream end 14 and a downstream end 15, which transport path surrounds the drawing roll 12 at the upstream end 14 and an element forming an angle or knife 16 at the downstream end 15 to form an angle or tip in longitudinal section. The belt 13 is looped around an edge 17 of the knife 16 on the side opposite the pull roll 12. The knife 16 is stationary, in particular without driving the endless belt 13 which moves along the upper and lower sides of the knife 16 and at the same time is reversed at its edges 17 or apex.

The edge 17 of the knife 16 has a cylindrical chamfer. Its radius of curvature corresponding to the inner radius of curvature of the belt 13 at its downstream end is, for example, 3.5mm, and may in particular be 2 to 5mm. As regards the outer radius of curvature of the belt at its downstream end, it is, for example, 9.5mm and may in particular be 6 to 12mm. The edge 17 is adjacent to two

flat surfaces

18 and 19 on which the belt 13 is supported along its outward path and its return path to the drawing roller 12. The

faces

18 and 19 converge towards the edge 17 along an angle of 24 ° (see fig. 2 and 3) and may be from 10 ° to 35 °.

As shown in fig. 2, the downstream end of the upper element 11a is set back, i.e. further upstream, with respect to the downstream end of the lower element 11b. On the other hand, the two elements are not arranged symmetrically with respect to the horizontal, but rather symmetrically with respect to the horizontal in the direction of the flocking machine, in particular at an angle of 8 ° and possibly 5 ° to 20 °. In particular, the lower face 19 of the belt of the upper element is inclined slightly downwards (in the direction from upstream to downstream), in particular at an angle of 5 ° with respect to the horizontal, while the upper face 18 of the lower element is inclined upwards at an angle of 12 ° with respect to the horizontal.

According to one possible embodiment, but without going beyond the scope of the present invention, the knives 16 are formed by prisms aligned in the transverse direction and urged in the longitudinal direction (i.e. upstream-downstream direction) independently of each other. To this end, each prism has a parallel hole in its rear face opposite to edge 17, in which a plug is slidingly engaged. A tensioner compressing a coil spring is sandwiched between the free end of the plug and the bottom of the hole to urge the prism in a direction opposite the pull roll as previously described. However, as shown in fig. 3, instead of providing a plurality of prisms independent of one another, only a single blade 16 extending over the entire width of the belt can be provided which can be longitudinally tensioned by the tensioner 60.

According to the invention, a belt is provided which is realized in the form of a modular belt, so-called micro-step belt, of which several sections in the form of belts are shown in longitudinal section in fig. 4. The modular belt comprises longitudinal segments 30 in the form of individual transverse belts extending parallel to the axis of the traction rollers 12 and hinged to each other at their side edges, the width of the segments (i.e. the dimension in the upstream-downstream direction of the belt) defining the step length of the belt. This step, called microstep, may be equal to 8mm, in particular 6 to 15mm, preferably 6 to 10mm.

The hinging of the transverse belt to the next one is effected directly to each other by means of the cam 31 inserted in the hole 32 in the manner of a door hinge.

By thus providing a modular belt, it is possible to obtain a very small thickness of the belt, in particular at the edge 17 of the knife 16, to allow the interspace formed between the two

transfer elements

11a and 11b to extend up to a point very close to the inlet of the flocking machine with respect to the known devices of the prior art. This in particular allows to dispense with a system as described in WO 89/03446, which is also described above as a possible but not essential embodiment, which consists in providing a plurality of prisms which are movable relative to one another by means of associated devices for applying a tensile force. Thus, according to the invention, it is possible to realize a belt with a simpler structure, if desired, while allowing to bring the sheet closest to the flocking machine.

In particular, according to the invention, the angle-forming element does not have a circular cross-section and is not driven in rotation with respect to its axis.

Claims

1. An apparatus (9) for transferring and/or placing a fibre sheet into a consolidation facility, characterized in that: the apparatus comprises at least one transfer element (11a.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the fiber sheet is a non-woven fiber sheet and/or the consolidation means is a mechanical or hydraulic consolidation means.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the endless belt has an inner radius of curvature at its downstream end of 2 to 5mm.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the endless belt has an outer radius of curvature at its downstream end of from 6 to 12mm.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises two transfer elements, respectively an upper element and a lower element, which define a gap between the elements in the shape of a horn or a knife through which the sheet passes during its transfer.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the two transfer elements define a gap therebetween that decreases in thickness from upstream to downstream.

7. A device according to claim 5, characterised in that the downstream end of one of the transfer elements (11a.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transverse belts are hinged along their respective transverse edges.

9. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the or each transfer element comprises a single endless belt and a single knife-shaped or angled element.

10. The apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the consolidation means is a flocking machine.

11. A combination comprising a consolidation facility and an apparatus according to any of claims 1-10.

12. A plant comprising a cross lapper and a combination according to claim 11.