EP2138617B1 - Needle board for a needle machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The needle board (6) comprises a base plate (16) having receptions (18), needles (8) arranged in the area of the receptions in a predetermined pattern, where tips of the needles protrude from the base plate, and needle modules (21), of which each is inserted into the reception of the base plate and has a group of needles. The needles of each group are formed with one another in a single-piece. Each group of the needles is formed from a sheet metal, and is punched. The receptions are formed as slits in the base plate. The needle modules have a protruding edge section. The needle board (6) comprises a base plate (16) having receptions (18), needles (8) arranged in the area of the receptions in a predetermined pattern, where tips of the needles protrude from the base plate, and needle modules (21), of which each is inserted into the reception of the base plate and has a group of needles. The needles of each group are formed with one another in a single-piece. Each group of the needles is formed from a sheet metal, and is punched. The receptions are formed as slits in the base plate. The needle modules have a protruding edge section, which lies on a recess in a wall area of the corresponding reception in the base plate. Each of the needle modules has a plastic carrier plate (22), which is fixedly connected with one group of the needles. Each carrier plate is cast or injected onto the group of the needles. The needles of the group of the needles are connected with one another at its foot region, and are arranged in a row. An independent claim is included for a method for producing a needle board for a needle machine.

Description

The invention relates to a needle board for a needle machine.

Needle machines are well known and, for example, in Lünenschloß and Albrecht: Nonwovens ", Georg-Thieme-Verlag Stuttgart, 1982, pp. 122 to 129 or in Albrecht, Fuchs, Kittelmann "Nonwovens", Wiley-VCH Verlag Weinheim, 2000, p. 270 ff , described.

The needle boards used in such a needle machine usually consist of a base plate made of aluminum, from whose holes the needles protrude, and attached to its back, appropriately drilled plastic plate, in particular of a polyamide (nylon), in the back grooves are milled into the the holes open. The grooves serve to receive the bent at the rear ends of the needles portions of the needle shafts. The holes in such a needle board are closely matched to the shaft diameter of the needles held by the needle board so that the needles in the needle board are as tight as possible and do not wobble in use. The needle board rests on the back of the needle bar of the needle machine to which it is attached, whereby the bent portions of the needles are held in the grooves.

Usually, the needles of a conventional needling machine have a round cross-section and a so-called "crutch", ie an angled piece on the upper part. The needle is in cross-section repeatedly equipped with conical transitions to reduced diameter sections, the working part is usually triangular and has a tip. The circular cylindrical cross section on the clamping part of conventional needles allows the attachment in the needle board by a press fit in holes provided for this purpose with a slightly smaller diameter than the needle shaft.

Since the life of needles is limited, they must be replaced from time to time. However, the needling and needling of the needle boards wear out the holes and the fit in the aluminum base plate of the needle board between the needle shaft and the hole is widened so that there are no longer sufficient clamping forces. The needles can therefore wobble in the holes and are bent as a result of the stitching process and possibly canceled.

Another disadvantage of known needle boards is that the placement of the needle boards with the needles is very complex and thus an exchange of a needle board or an exchange of individual needles in the needle board is always associated with considerable effort and high costs.

In the GB 399 104 the use of multiple needle modules is described on a needle board, the needle modules each having a plurality of pressed-in needles and are bolted to webs of the needle board, which extend between parallel grooves of the needle board. The disadvantage here is that the introduction of the needles in the individual needle modules takes a lot of time.

It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a needle board for a needle machine and a method for producing a needle board for a needle machine, in which the replacement of defective needles or a replacement can be done easily and inexpensively.

This object is solved by the features of claim 1 and claim 11.

According to the invention, the needle board has a base plate with a plurality of receptacles and a plurality of needles arranged in a predetermined pattern in the receptacles and the tips of which project from the base plate, and the needle board has a plurality of needle modules, each of which is in a receptacle of the base plate is inserted and has at least one group of needles, wherein the needles of each group are formed integrally with each other. Integral means that the needles of a group are integrally formed of a material.

By equipping each needle module with an integrally formed group of needles a particularly simple construction is achieved, which is inexpensive to produce and requires little maintenance.

Preferably, the needle groups are formed from sheet metal and are produced by punching and / or sawing. This allows a cost-effective mass production.

Advantageously, the receptacles are formed as slots in the base plate. The slot formation can be done by a simple machining operation, so that the production of the needle board is simplified.

The needle modules may additionally comprise a carrier plate fixedly connected to the at least one group of needles. This allows a simplified fixation of the needle module in the receptacle of the base plate. The carrier plates are preferably made of plastic, e.g. Nylon, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyurethane or the like, formed and molded on the needle groups or molded.

Alternatively, it is possible that the plastic carrier plate has a slot and is pressed onto the needle module or vice versa. The slipping is prevented, for example, by frontally notched edges of the needle module.

So that movement of the needle modules is reliably prevented at high accelerations of the needle board, the carrier plates or alternatively the needle groups themselves may have a protruding edge portion, which in each case rests on a shoulder in the wall region of the corresponding receptacle in the base plate. In terms of a uniform edition of the above edge portion and the paragraph are advantageously formed circumferentially.

The needles of a group of needles are preferably connected together at their foot area. As a result, a web is formed, which gives the needle group sufficient stability.

Within a group of needles different arrangements of the individual needles are conceivable, for example in a row, in a zig-zag shape, in a wave form or the like. However, the row arrangement is preferred. It is also possible to use individual needle modules in different geometries, i. in the running direction, transverse or diagonal to arrange on the base plate.

The invention further provides a method for producing a needle board for a needle machine, comprising the steps of (a) providing a base plate with a plurality of receptacles, (b) providing a plurality of needle modules, each of which has at least one group of needles formed integrally with one another, and ( c) inserting the needle modules in the recordings of the base plate. In this case, step (b) may comprise the step of punching out several groups of needles made of sheet metal. With further advantage, step (b) comprises the step of applying, spraying or pressing a carrier plate made of plastic to at least one group of needles.

The method according to the invention can be automated during operation in that the needle modules are automatically pressed from a magazine into the base plate and pressed out again after wear and the needle board is correspondingly equipped with new needle modules.

Fig. 1

ist eine schematische Ansicht des Grundaufbaus einer einfachen Nadelma- schine;

Fig. 2

ist eine Perspektivansicht einer Ausführungsform des erfindungsgemäßen Na- delbretts mit drei Nadelmodulen, wobei die Nadelmodule eine Trägerplatte aufweisen und sowohl in einem Zustand vor als auch in einem Zustand nach dem Einsetzen in das Nadelbrett dargestellt sind;

Fig. 3a

ist eine Seitenansicht eines Ausschnitts einer ersten Ausführungsform eines Nadelmoduls als Teil des erfindungsgemäßen Nadelbretts, wobei die drei dar- gestellten Nadeln einer Gruppe von Nadeln an ihrer Spitze jeweils einen ande- ren Querschnitt aufweisen;

Fig. 3b

ist eine Querschnittansicht entlang der Linie A - A des Nadelmoduls aus Fig. 3a;

Fig. 4a

ist eine Seitenansicht einer zweiten Ausführungsform eines Nadelmoduls als Teil des erfindungsgemäßen Nadelbretts;

Fig. 4b

ist eine Frontansicht des Nadelmoduls aus Fig. 4a;

Fig. 4c

ist eine Perspektivansicht des Nadelmoduls aus Fig. 4a;

Fig. 5a

ist eine Seitenansicht einer dritten Ausführungsform eines Nadelmoduls als Teil des erfindungsgemäßen Nadelbretts;

Fig. 5b

ist eine Frontansicht des Nadelmoduls aus Fig. 5a;

Fig. 5c

ist eine Perspektivansicht des Nadelmoduls aus Fig. 5a;

Fig. 6a

ist eine Seitenansicht einer vierten Ausführungsform eines Nadelmoduls als Teil des erfindungsgemäßen Nadelbretts;

Fig. 6b

ist eine Frontansicht des Nadelmoduls aus Fig. 6a;

Fig. 6c

ist eine Perspektivansicht des Nadelmoduls aus Fig. 6a;

Fig. 7a

ist eine Seitenansicht einer fünften Ausführungsform eines Nadelmoduls als Teil des erfindungsgemäßen Nadelbretts;

Fig. 7b

ist eine Frontansicht des Nadelmoduls aus Fig. 7a;

Fig. 7c

ist eine Perspektivansicht des Nadelmoduls aus Fig. 7a;

Fig. 8a

ist eine Seitenansicht einer sechsten Ausführungsform eines Nadelmoduls als Teil des erfindungsgemäßen Nadelbretts;

Fig. 8b

ist eine Frontansicht des Nadelmoduls aus Fig. 8a;

Fig. 8c

ist eine Perspektivansicht des Nadelmoduls aus Fig. 8a;

Fig. 9a

ist eine Seitenansicht einer siebten Ausführungsform eines Nadelmoduls als Teil des erfindungsgemäßen Nadelbretts;

Fig. 9b

ist eine Frontansicht des Nadelmoduls aus Fig. 9a;

Fig. 9c

ist eine Perspektivansicht des Nadelmoduls aus Fig. 9a;

Fig. 10a

ist eine Seitenansicht einer achten Ausführungsform eines Nadelmoduls als Teil des erfindungsgemäßen Nadelbretts;

Fig. 10b

ist eine Frontansicht des Nadelmoduls aus Fig. 10a;

Fig. 10c

ist eine Perspektivansicht des Nadelmoduls aus Fig. 10a;

Fig. 11a

ist eine Seitenansicht einer neunten Ausführungsform eines Nadelmoduls als Teil des erfindungsgemäßen Nadelbretts;

Fig. 11 b

ist eine Seitenansicht des Nadelmoduls aus Fig. 11a; und

Fig. 11c

ist eine Perspektivansicht des Nadelmoduls aus Fig. 11a.

The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

Fig. 1

is a schematic view of the basic structure of a simple needle machine;

Fig. 2

Figure 3 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the needle board according to the invention with three needle modules, the needle modules having a carrier plate and being shown in a state before as well as in a state after insertion into the needle board;

Fig. 3a

is a side view of a section of a first embodiment of a needle module as part of the needle board according to the invention, wherein the three illustrated needles of a group of needles at their tip each have a different cross section;

Fig. 3b

is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A - A of the needle module Fig. 3a ;

Fig. 4a

is a side view of a second embodiment of a needle module as part of the needle board according to the invention;

Fig. 4b

is a front view of the needle module off Fig. 4a ;

Fig. 4c

is a perspective view of the needle module off Fig. 4a ;

Fig. 5a

is a side view of a third embodiment of a needle module as Part of the needle board according to the invention;

Fig. 5b

is a front view of the needle module off Fig. 5a ;

Fig. 5c

is a perspective view of the needle module off Fig. 5a ;

Fig. 6a

is a side view of a fourth embodiment of a needle module as part of the needle board according to the invention;

Fig. 6b

is a front view of the needle module off Fig. 6a ;

Fig. 6c

is a perspective view of the needle module off Fig. 6a ;

Fig. 7a

is a side view of a fifth embodiment of a needle module as part of the needle board according to the invention;

Fig. 7b

is a front view of the needle module off Fig. 7a ;

Fig. 7c

is a perspective view of the needle module off Fig. 7a ;

Fig. 8a

is a side view of a sixth embodiment of a needle module as part of the needle board according to the invention;

Fig. 8b

is a front view of the needle module off Fig. 8a ;

Fig. 8c

is a perspective view of the needle module off Fig. 8a ;

Fig. 9a

is a side view of a seventh embodiment of a needle module as part of the needle board according to the invention;

Fig. 9b

is a front view of the needle module off Fig. 9a ;

Fig. 9c

is a perspective view of the needle module off Fig. 9a ;

Fig. 10a

is a side view of an eighth embodiment of a needle module as Part of the needle board according to the invention;

Fig. 10b

is a front view of the needle module off Fig. 10a ;

Fig. 10c

is a perspective view of the needle module off Fig. 10a ;

Fig. 11a

is a side view of a ninth embodiment of a needle module as part of the needle board according to the invention;

Fig. 11b

is a side view of the needle module off Fig. 11a ; and

Fig. 11c

is a perspective view of the needle module off Fig. 11a ,

In Fig. 1 the schematic structure of a needle machine is shown. A fleece 2 is supplied at the inlet of the needle machine and conveyed to the needle zone. In the area of the needle zone, a needle bar 4 with a needle board 6 attached thereto is arranged, which is equipped with needles 8 for solidifying the nonwoven. In this area, the nonwoven 2 to be needled is guided between a hold-down plate 10 and a throat plate 12. The needles 8 densify the web 2 by being pierced into the nonwoven web at a high frequency and pulled out again. They pass through recesses in the hold-down plate 10 and the needle plate 12 therethrough. The resulting product is a consolidated web 14. The person skilled in the various forms of needle machines are known, including double needle machines, which is needled from above and below by means of two needle bars, or needle machines in which the needle bar during the solidification process in the direction of movement of the web be moved.

The needle board 6 according to the invention can be used for any type of needle machine. In Fig. 2 an embodiment of the needle board 6 according to the invention is shown.

The needle board 6 comprises a base plate 16, in which a plurality of receptacles 18 is formed, which are formed here in the form of longitudinal slots. The base plate 16 is preferably made of aluminum, but other materials such as magnesium, etc. are also possible. In the slots 18 each needle modules 21 are inserted. Each needle module has a group of needles 8 integrally formed with each other are. In the upper portion of each needle module 21 may each be arranged a support plate 22 which is formed of plastic by injection molding around the needle group around. Likewise, there are embodiments (see below) in which it is possible to dispense with the carrier plate 22.

In Fig. 2 three needle modules 21 are shown on the one hand in a separated state from the needle board 6 and on the other hand in an inserted into the needle board 6 state. To better illustrate three slots 18 of the needle board 6 are shown unfilled in the right part of the figure.

The needle modules 21 are introduced in the illustrated example case in the slots 18 and held there form-fitting manner, wherein the support plate 22, the slot 18 of the base plate 16 completely fills. Each slot 18 may have in its wall region a circumferential shoulder on which rests in the inserted state of the support plate 22, a projecting edge portion of the support plate 22. Depending on the acceleration of the needle board 6, the shoulder and the protruding edge portion can also be omitted. In this case, the necessary force for holding the needle modules 21 in the base plate 16 is generated by frictional engagement. Likewise, a conical or tapered narrowing of the slots 18 in the direction of its lower edge and a corresponding shape of the support plates 22 is conceivable.

In an alternative, simpler construction (in Fig. 2 not shown) can hold the needle modules 21 only by the clamping forces of the fit between the shank portion of the needle group and the base plate 16, ie without providing a support plate 22. In this alternative embodiment, each shaft portion of a needle group may have a protruding edge portion which positively engages the corresponding circumferential shoulder of the slots 18. Again, it is possible to provide the shaft portion with narrowing flanks.

Fig. 3a shows a side view of a section of a needle module 21, wherein the three illustrated needles 8 each have a different cross section at its tip. In Fig. 3b are in cross-sectional view along the line A - A off Fig. 3a the different tips of the needles 8 are shown.

The upper portion of the needle module 21 is used as a clamping portion, the middle as the central portion and the lower section is referred to as a work section. The needles 8 may have any cross section in the middle and working section, for example, square, rectangular, circular, elliptical or polygonal. Preferably, a rectangular cross-section, so as to be able to punch the needle groups in one piece from sheet metal strips. The circular cross-section of the needles is reduced for example by pulling on thinner cross-sections and brought by hammering on the triangular working section. A punched from metal strips or otherwise machined (sawing) processed needle group can be produced cheaper and faster, but may also have reduced or oblique or conical sections of the needles, which are cold-formed in a press, for example.

The group of needles has varied cross-sections, the chuck at the top with constant cross-section and optionally provided with a projection or shoulder, conical in a central portion of the individual needles or narrowing with oblique flanks and in the working section below e.g. cylindrical or conical. The tip of the needles can be formed by stamping, forming or machining (for example by grinding).

Alternatively, materials other than sheet metal may be used. For example, with very high hardness requirements on the needles, special metal alloys can be used, whereby the needle group can be milled out or sawn in one piece.

The Fig. 4a, 4b, 4c to 11a, 11b, 11c show, respectively, a side, front and perspective view of various embodiments of needle modules according to the present invention. In this case, a needle module 21 each have a group of needles 8, but it could also be arranged a plurality of needle groups in a needle module 21. The needles 8 of the needle group are arranged here in series, but other groupings are also conceivable. In the example shown, the needle group has twenty equally spaced needles 8.

In the Fig. 4a, 4b, 4c the needles 8 of the needle module 21 in the middle section in each case a straight edge and a bevelled right flank. Also, the front of the central portion of the needles 8 is chamfered to the working section. Alternatively, however, the needles 8 in the middle section could also be equipped with symmetrical flanks or tapering towards the working section.

The in the Fig. 5a, 5b, 5c illustrated embodiment of the needle module 21 is except for the Point of the needles 8, which is here multidimensionally shaped, with the in the Fig. 4a, 4b, 4c identical embodiment shown. Multidimensional means in this context that the tips have at least two obliquely tapered flanks, which are offset from each other by 90 °.

The in the Fig. 6a, 6b, 6c illustrated embodiment of the needle module 21 has in the clamping portion a support plate 22 similar to the in Fig. 2 shown embodiment. In this case, the clamping section of the needle module 21 may be provided with holes 25 in order to promote the injection molding of a plastic sheath, ie the support plate 22, by a better fixation. Also in the Fig. 6a, 6b, 6c a protruding edge portion 27 is shown in the clamping section of the needle module 21.

The in the Fig. 7a, 7b, 7c illustrated embodiment of the needle module 21 is connected to the in the Fig. 6a, 6b, 6c identical embodiment, with the exception of the notches 29, which are arranged in the working section of the needles 8. The notches 29 with a few hundredths of mm depth can be punched in mass production or first finely punch the plate and then separate the holes by punching, so that semi-circular or pitch-like notches arise. There are all known in the art forms of notches conceivable.

In the in the Fig. 8a, 8b, 8c illustrated embodiment, the notches 29 are arranged on the right side of the working portion of the needles 8, in which in Fig. 9a, 9b, 9c illustrated embodiment on the front. The number of notches is freely selectable depending on the needling requirements. At least one notch is either oriented on one side of the needle in or against the direction of travel or 90 ° offset to the left or right. Multiple notches can be placed on the three or four sides at the same height or offset from one another.

The Fig. 10a, 10b, 10c show a further embodiment of the needle module 21, wherein the projecting edge portion 27 in the clamping section further down than in the in the Fig. 6a, 6b, 6c illustrated embodiment. Depending on the arrangement of acting as a counterpart paragraph in the slot 18 formed as a receptacle of the base plate, the needle module 21 penetrates completely or only partially into the base plate.

The in the Fig. 11a, 11b, 11c illustrated embodiment of the needle module 21 has a protruding edge portion 30 in the form of a crutch as a bent edge of the upper end of the chucking on. Such crutches are easily produced by bending in sheet metal as a material of the one-piece needle group. The crutch, for example, provided to intervene in a designated receptacle 18 in the base plate 16 of the needle board 6 or to serve as a point of attack for an automated, mechanically carried out replacement process for the needle module. It is also possible that the protruding edge portion 30 is formed only in sections, on both longitudinal sides or on the end faces. Function of the protruding edge portion 30 is a stopper forming in the needle tip direction, which prevents slipping out of the needle group.

In order to simplify the insertion of the needle modules 21 in the slots 18 of the base plate 16, placement machines can be provided which perform these standardized operations without manual effort. Likewise, it is conceivable to run both processes in a machine.

The alternative casting or injection molding or pressing of the support plate 22 made of plastic to the needle group can preferably be done automatically.

With the subject invention, a needle board is provided in which the replacement of defective needles or a replacement can be done in a simple and cost-effective and consists of simple, suitable for mass production, cost-effective components.

Claims (13)

1. Needle board (6) for a needle machine, comprising a base plate (16), having a plurality of recesses (18), and a plurality of needles (8) which are arranged in the recesses (18) in a predetermined pattern, the tips of which needles project from the base plate (16), characterised in that the needle board (6) comprises a plurality of needle modules (21), each of which is inserted into a recess (18) of the base plate (16) and comprises at least one group of needles (8), the needles (8) of each group being formed integrally with one another.
2. Needle board (6) according to claim 1, characterised in that each group of needles (8) is formed from sheet metal.
3. Needle board (6) according to claim 2, characterised in that each group of needles (8) is punched.
4. Needle board (6) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the recesses (18) are formed as slots in the base plate (16).
5. Needle board (6) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the needle modules (21) comprise a projecting edge portion (27, 30) which rests against a shoulder (24) in the wall region of the corresponding recess (18) in the base plate (16) in each case.
6. Needle board (6) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that each needle module (21) comprises a carrier plate (22) which is rigidly connected to the at least one group of needles (8).
7. Needle board (6) according to claim 6, characterised in that the carrier plates (22) are formed from plastics material.
8. Needle board (6) according to claim 7, characterised in that each carrier plate (22) is moulded or injection-moulded onto the respective group of needles (8).
9. Needle board according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the needles (8) of a group of needles (8) are interconnected at the base region thereof.
10. Needle board according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the needles (8) of a group of needles (8) are arranged in a row.
11. Method for producing a needle board (6) for a needle machine, comprising the following steps:

    (a) providing a base plate (16) having a plurality of recesses (18);

    (b) providing a plurality of needle modules (21), each of which comprises at least one group of needles (8) which are formed integrally with one another; and

    (c) inserting the needle modules (21) into the recesses (18) of the base plate (16).
12. Method for producing a needle board (6) according to claim 11, characterised in that step (b) includes the step of punching out a plurality of groups of needles (8) from sheet metal.
13. Method for producing a needle board (6) according to claim 12, characterised in that step (b) includes the step of mouldings injection-moutding a carrier plate (22) made of plastics material onto at least one group of needles (8) in each case.

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