EP4140599A1 - Adhesive melting device for an edge glueing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an adhesive melting device (10) for an edge banding machine, the adhesive melting device (10) having a melting chamber (22) for receiving adhesive material to be melted, a melting device (24) with an electrically heatable melting body (32) for melting the adhesive material and an in pressing piston (26) movable in a feed direction (30) for pressing the adhesive material located in the melting chamber (22) against the melting body (32), and wherein the melting body (32) has a multiplicity of through-channels (38) which are in the feed direction ( 30) extend. In order to develop the adhesive melting device (10) in such a way that the adhesive material can be melted within a shorter time and fed into an adhesive application system of the edge banding machine, the invention proposes that the melting device (24) have a collecting body (34) which moves in the feed direction (30) adjoins the melting body (32) and can be detachably connected to it, the collecting body (34) having a plurality of collecting channels (68, 70, 72, 74, 76) into which the through-channels (38) of the melting body (32) open and the direct the melted adhesive material to an outlet area (78) of the collection body (34).

Description

The invention relates to an adhesive melting device for an edge banding machine, the adhesive melting device having a melting chamber for receiving adhesive material to be melted, a melting device with an electrically heatable melting body for melting the adhesive material and a pressure piston movable in a feed direction for pressing the adhesive material located in the melting chamber against the melting body has, wherein the melting body comprises a plurality of through-channels which extend in the direction of advance.

Glue melting devices of this type are used in edge banding machines, with the aid of which a glued edge, which is often also referred to as an “edge band”, can be fed to a longitudinal side of a workpiece moved in a transport direction and glued to the longitudinal side. The workpiece with the glued edge can then usually be fed to post-processing in order to achieve a continuous transition between the top and bottom sides of the workpiece and the glued edge.

To glue the glued edge to the long side of the workpiece, adhesive material is melted with the aid of an adhesive melting device of the type in question. The melted adhesive material can then be fed into an adhesive application system of the edge banding machine to apply the adhesive material to the long side of the workpiece so that the banded edge can then be glued to the long side.

The adhesive melting devices under discussion here have a melting chamber into which adhesive material to be melted can be introduced. In addition, the adhesive melting devices have a melting device for melting the adhesive material. The melting device has a electrically heatable melting body, which has a plurality of through-channels. In addition, the adhesive melting devices under discussion here have a pressure piston that can be moved in a feed direction. With the aid of the pressure piston, the adhesive material introduced into the melting chamber can be pressed against the melting body in order to melt the adhesive material. The passage channels of the melting body extend in the direction of advance of the pressure piston. The melted adhesive material can be fed to the adhesive application system of the edge banding machine via the passage channels.

Such adhesive melting devices are, for example, from DE 31 09 369 A1 and the EP 3 403 728 A1 known.

The object of the present invention is to further develop an adhesive melting device of the type mentioned at the outset in such a way that the adhesive material can be melted within a shorter time and fed into an adhesive application system of the edge banding machine.

In an adhesive melting device of the generic type, this object is achieved according to the invention in that the melting device has a collecting body which adjoins the melting body in the feed direction and can be releasably connected to the melting body, the collecting body having a plurality of collecting channels into which the passage channels of the melting body open and directing the melted adhesive material to an outlet portion of the collector body. The melted adhesive material can be fed from the outlet area to the adhesive application system of the edge banding machine. The shape of the passage channels can be optimized to achieve particularly effective and rapid heat transfer from the electrically heatable melt body to the adhesive material, and the shape of the collecting channels can be optimized to achieve improved flow behavior of the melted adhesive material. Since the collecting body can be releasably connected to the melting body, it can be easily separated from the melting body, for example for cleaning purposes become. Overall, this allows for improved heat transfer to the adhesive material and improved flow behavior of the melted adhesive material.

At least one through-channel opens into each of the collecting channels. A plurality of through-channels preferably open into at least one collecting channel.

It is advantageous if several through-channels open one after the other into the collecting channels in the direction of the outlet area and the flow cross-section of the collecting channels increases in the direction of the outlet area. The flow cross-section of the collecting channels, which increases in the direction of the outlet area, makes it possible to receive an increasing amount of molten adhesive material in the direction of the outlet area, which is fed to the collecting channels via the through-channels, with the flow rate of the adhesive material inside the collecting channels practically not changing despite the increasing amount of adhesive material . The flow behavior of the adhesive material is therefore not impaired by the fact that several through-channels open into each collecting channel.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the collecting channels have a width and/or depth that increases in the direction of the outlet area.

It is advantageous if the width and/or depth of at least one collecting channel increases continuously over its entire length. As a result, a particularly uniform flow behavior of the adhesive material can be achieved.

The collecting channels are preferably aligned perpendicular to the through-channels.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the collecting body forms a collecting plate which has a front side facing the melting body and a rear side facing away from the melting body the collecting channels are arranged in the form of depressions on the front side.

The front and the back of the collector plate are preferably designed to be planar.

It is favorable if the back of the collector plate is aligned parallel to the front of the collector plate.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the adhesive melting device has an outlet body, the melting device being detachably connectable to the outlet body, the collecting body being arranged between the melting body and the outlet body, and the outlet body having an outlet opening aligned with the outlet region of the collecting body for the has melted adhesive material. The molten adhesive material can reach the outlet opening of the outlet body via the collecting channels and the outlet area of the collecting body, from which the adhesive material can be fed into an adhesive application system, with the aid of which the adhesive material can be applied to a longitudinal edge of a workpiece moved in a transport direction. For maintenance purposes, especially for cleaning, the melting device can be separated from the outlet body.

The area of the melting body against which the collecting body rests and/or the area of the outlet body against which the collecting body rests are preferably configured flat.

In order to be able to melt the adhesive material within a particularly short time, in a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention the passage channels of the melting body have an inlet section facing the melting chamber, with the inlet sections forming a honeycomb structure.

The adhesive material introduced into the melting chamber can be pressed against the honeycomb structure of the melting body by means of the pressure piston. The honeycomb structure faces the melting chamber and forms a large surface through which heat can be transferred particularly effectively and quickly from the electrically heated melting body to the adhesive material. This makes it possible to melt the adhesive material in a very short time. In addition, the honeycomb structure has the advantage that the melted body can be cleaned easily.

It is advantageous if the honeycomb structure has a multiplicity of polygonal cells which each form an entry section of a through-channel and are separated from one another by partition walls. The heat can be transferred from the heated melting body to the adhesive material via the partition walls. The partition walls can have planar surfaces without recesses or undercuts, at least in certain areas. This reduces the risk of residues of adhesive material forming within the honeycomb structure.

It is favorable if at least some of the cells are designed in the shape of a hexagon.

It is particularly advantageous if the hexagonal cells each have two mutually opposite longitudinal sides aligned parallel to one another, which are integrally connected to one another via two pairs of narrow sides aligned at an angle to one another, the longitudinal sides being longer than the narrow sides.

In particular, it can be provided that the two pairs of narrow sides are configured identically and that the two long sides are configured identically.

It has proven to be advantageous if the long sides are at least twice as long as the narrow sides.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, each of the polygonal cells of the honeycomb structure merges continuously in the feed direction into an exit section of a through channel which is round in cross section, in particular circular, and faces away from the melting chamber. In such a configuration, the cells of the honeycomb structure are each adjoined by an exit section of a through-channel, which is round in cross section, with the transition from the cells to the round exit sections being continuous. The passage channels therefore have no steps or recesses on which residues of adhesive material could form and which could make cleaning the melted body more difficult.

It is advantageous if the polygonal cells of the honeycomb structure taper continuously in the direction of advance. In such an embodiment of the invention, the flow cross section of the polygonal cells decreases continuously in the direction of advance. As a result, the flow rate of the adhesive material increases continuously. This counteracts the formation of so-called dead spots within the cells, in which the flow rate goes to zero. Such dead spots could lead to thermal decomposition or to hardening of the adhesive material, as a result of which residues of adhesive material could form inside the cells.

It is favorable if the exit sections of the through-channels, which are round in cross-section, in particular circular, taper continuously in the direction of advance. This leads to a continuous reduction in the flow cross sections in the area of the exit sections and thus to an increasing flow speed of the adhesive material in the exit sections. This counteracts the formation of residues of adhesive material in the initial sections.

It is particularly favorable if the through-channels taper continuously over their entire length.

Figur 1:

eine perspektivische Darstellung einer Kleberschmelzvorrichtung für eine Kantenanleimmaschine;

Figur 2:

eine Explosionszeichnung einer Schmelzeinrichtung und eines Auslasskörpers der Kleberschmelzvorrichtung aus Figur 1;

Figur 3:

eine perspektivische Darstellung der Schmelzeinrichtung schräg von vorne;

Figur 4:

eine perspektivische Darstellung der Schmelzeinrichtung schräg von hinten;

Figur 5:

eine Schnittansicht eines Schmelzkörpers der Schmelzeinrich-tung;

Figur 6:

eine Schnittansicht eines Sammelkörpers der Schmelzeinrichtung.

The following description of an advantageous embodiment of the invention is used in connection with the drawing for more detailed explanation. Show it:

Figure 1:

a perspective view of an adhesive melting device for an edge banding machine;

Figure 2:

Figure 1 shows an exploded view of a melter and an outlet body of the adhesive melter figure 1 ;

Figure 3:

a perspective view of the melting device at an angle from the front;

Figure 4:

a perspective view of the melting device at an angle from behind;

Figure 5:

a sectional view of a melting body of the melting device;

Figure 6:

a sectional view of a collecting body of the fusing device.

In the drawing, an advantageous embodiment of an adhesive melting device 10 according to the invention is shown schematically, which is used in an edge banding machine. Such edge banding machines are known per se to those skilled in the art. In figure 1 an adhesive application system 12 of the edge banding machine is shown schematically. The adhesive melting device 10 is connected to the adhesive application system 12 . An adhesive material can be melted with the aid of the adhesive melting device 10, this will be explained in more detail below, and by means of the adhesive application system 12, the melted adhesive material can be applied with the aid of a nozzle body 14 to a longitudinal side 16 of a workpiece 18, which can be applied with the aid of known and therefore in the drawing not shown transport elements, for example with the help of transport rollers or transport chains, is moved in a transport direction 20. After the adhesive material has been applied to the long side 16, a glued edge can be glued to the long side 16 in a known manner by means of the edge banding machine.

The adhesive melting device 10 has a melting chamber 22 into which adhesive material to be melted can be introduced. The adhesive material to be melted can be designed, for example, in the form of an adhesive cartridge or in the form of adhesive granules.

The adhesive melting device 10 also has a melting device 24 and an outlet body 25 . The melting device 24 is in the Figures 2 to 6 shown schematically. figure 2 also schematically shows the outlet body 25. The adhesive material introduced into the melting chamber 22 can be melted with the aid of the melting device 24, and the melted adhesive material can be fed into the adhesive application system 12 with the aid of the outlet body 25. The outlet body 25 forms an interface between the melting device 24 and the adhesive application system 12 .

The adhesive melting device 10 has a pressure piston 26 which can be moved in a feed direction 30 with the aid of a feed unit 28 . The adhesive material introduced into the melting chamber 22 can be pressed against the melting device 24 with the aid of the pressure piston 26 . The feed unit 28 can be designed, for example, as a piston-cylinder unit or, for example, as an electric motor. Such feed units 28 are known to those skilled in the art.

The melting device 24 has a melting body 32 and a collecting body 34 which are arranged one behind the other in the feed direction 30 . The outlet body 25 is arranged behind the collecting body 34 . This will be off figure 2 clearly.

The melting body 32 has a multiplicity of through-channels 38 which extend in the feed direction 30 and each have an inlet section 40 facing the melting chamber 22 and an outlet section 42 facing away from the melting chamber 22 . The input sections 40 in their entirety form a honeycomb structure 44 facing the melting chamber 22 .

The honeycomb structure 44 has a multiplicity of polygonal cells 46 which each form an entry section 40 of a through-channel 38 and are separated from one another by partition walls 48 . In the feed direction 30 , each cell 46 is followed by an exit section 42 of a through-channel 38 which extends to a planar rear side 50 of the melting body 32 .

Like in particular figure 2 and 3 As can be seen, several of the cells 46 have a hexagonal shape. They have two opposite longitudinal sides 52, 54 aligned parallel to one another, which are integrally connected to one another via a first pair of narrow sides 56, 58 and a second pair of narrow sides 60, 62, the narrow sides 56, 58 being arranged at an angle to one another and wherein the short sides 60, 62 are also arranged at an angle to one another. Long sides 52, 54 are significantly longer than narrow sides 56, 58, 60, 62. In the exemplary embodiment shown, long sides 52, 54 are more than twice as long as narrow sides 56, 58, 60, 62.

The cross-sections of the exit sections 42 of the through-channels 38 are designed to be round; in the exemplary embodiment shown, they are designed to be circular. Both the input sections 40 in the form of the cells 46 and the output sections 42 adjoining them taper continuously in the feed direction 30, with the transition from the cells 46 to the output sections 42 also taking place continuously. The flow cross-section of the through-channels 38 is thus reduced in the feed direction 30 continually. This is made out in particular figure 5 clearly. The result of the decreasing flow cross-section is that the flow speed of the adhesive material increases continuously as the distance from the melting chamber 22 increases. This counteracts the risk of so-called dead spots forming within the passage channels 38, in which the flow rate goes to zero and at which thermal decomposition or curing of the adhesive material could take place. The risk of residues of adhesive material forming inside the through-channels 38 is therefore very small.

The melting body 32 can be heated electrically. For this purpose, it has a plurality of cylindrical recesses 64 which are arranged between the outlet sections 42 of the through-channels 38 and in each of which an electric heating cartridge can be inserted. Such cartridge heaters are known per se to those skilled in the art and are therefore not shown in the drawing to provide a better overview.

The honeycomb structure 44 allows for rapid and efficient heat transfer from the electrically heated fuser body 32 to the adhesive material. Therefore, the adhesive material can be melted in a short time.

As already mentioned, the through-channels 38 extend to the rear side 50 of the melting body 32. The rear side 50 is configured flat, and the collecting body 34 rests on the rear side 50. FIG.

The collecting body 34 forms a collecting plate 66 and has a plurality of collecting channels 68, 70, 72, 74, 76 which are designed in the form of depressions and into which a plurality of passage channels 38 open in each case. The molten adhesive material can reach an outlet area 78 of the collecting body 34 via the collecting channels 68 , 70 , 72 , 74 , 76 from the passage channels 38 .

The flow cross-section of the collecting channels 68, 70, 72, 74, 76 increases in the direction of the outlet area 78. To this end, the collecting channels 68, 70, 72, 74, 76 widen and/or deepen as they approach the outlet area 78. This becomes especially from figure 6 clearly. The flow cross-section of the collecting channels 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, which increases in the direction of the outlet area 78, makes it possible to take up an increasing quantity of molten adhesive material in the direction of the outlet area 78, which is fed to the collecting channels 68, 70, 72, 74, 76 via the through-channels 38 is supplied, the flow rate of the adhesive material within the collecting channels 68, 70, 72, 74, 76 practically not changing despite the increasing amount of adhesive material. The flow behavior of the adhesive material is therefore not impaired by the fact that several through-channels 38 open into each collecting channel.

The collector plate 66 has a flat front side 79 facing the melting body 32 and a flat rear side 80 facing away from the melting body 32 . The collecting channels 68, 70, 72, 74, 76 are arranged in the form of depressions on the front side 79. The back 80 is aligned parallel to the front 79 . The rear side 80 of the collection plate 66 rests against a planar front side 82 of the outlet body 25, which has an outlet opening 84 aligned with the outlet region 78 of the collection body 34, through which the molten adhesive material can be fed into the adhesive application system 12. For this purpose, the adhesive application system 12 has a connecting channel 86 which adjoins the outlet opening 84 and via which the melted adhesive material can be fed to the nozzle body 14 .

With the aid of the adhesive melting device 10, the adhesive material can be melted within a short time and fed to the adhesive application system 12. The melting device 24 can be cleaned in a simple manner. For this purpose, the melting body 32, the collecting body 34 and the outlet body 25 are detachably connected to one another.

Claims (15)

Adhesive melting device for an edge banding machine, wherein the adhesive melting device (10) has a melting chamber (22) for receiving adhesive material to be melted, a melting device (24) with an electrically heatable melting body (32) for melting the adhesive material and a pressure piston movable in a feed direction (30). (26) for pressing the adhesive material located in the melting chamber (22) against the melting body (32), and wherein the melting body (32) has a multiplicity of through-channels (38) which extend in the feed direction (30), characterized in that that the melting device (24) has a collecting body (34) which adjoins the melting body (32) in the feed direction (30) and can be releasably connected to the melting body (32), the collecting body (34) having a plurality of collecting channels (68, 70 , 72, 74, 76) into which the passage channels (38) of the melting body (32) open and which the molten adhesive material z u lead to an outlet area (78) of the collecting body (34). Adhesive melting device according to Claim 1, characterized in that a plurality of through-channels (38) successively open into the collecting channels (68, 70, 72, 74, 76) in the direction of the outlet region (78) and the flow cross-section of the collecting channels (68, 70, 72, 74 , 76) enlarged in the direction of the outlet area (78). Adhesive melting device according to Claim 2, characterized in that the collecting channels (68, 70, 72, 74, 76) have a width and/or depth which increases in the direction of the outlet region (78). Adhesive melting device according to Claim 3, characterized in that the width and/or depth of at least one collecting channel (68, 70, 72, 74, 76) increases continuously over its entire length. Adhesive melting device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the collecting body (34) forms a collecting plate (66) which has a front side (79) facing the melting body (32) and a rear side (80) facing away from the melting body (32), wherein the collecting channels (68, 70, 72, 74, 76) are arranged in the form of depressions on the front side (79). Adhesive melting device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adhesive melting device (10) has an outlet body (25), the melting device (24) being connectable to the outlet body (25), the collecting body (34) between the melting body (32) and the outlet body (25), and wherein the outlet body (25) has an outlet opening (84) for the molten adhesive material, aligned with the outlet region (78) of the collecting body (34). Adhesive melting device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the through-channels (38) of the melting body (32) have an inlet section (40) facing the melting chamber (22), the inlet sections (40) forming a honeycomb structure (44). Adhesive melting device according to Claim 7, characterized in that the honeycomb structure (44) has a multiplicity of polygonal cells (46) which each form an entrance section (40) of a through channel (38) and are separated from one another by partition walls (48). Adhesive melting device according to claim 8, characterized in that at least some of the cells (46) are hexagonally shaped. Adhesive melting device according to Claim 9, characterized in that the hexagonal cells (46) each have two opposite longitudinal sides (52, 54) aligned parallel to one another, which extend via two pairs of narrow sides (56, 58; 60, 62) aligned at an angle to one another. are connected to one another in one piece, the longitudinal sides (52, 54) being longer than the narrow sides (56, 58, 60, 62). Adhesive melting device according to Claim 10, characterized in that the longitudinal sides (52, 54) are at least twice as long as the narrow sides (56, 58, 60, 62). Adhesive melting device according to one of Claims 8 to 11, characterized in that each of the polygonal cells (46) of the honeycomb structure (44) merges continuously in the feed direction (30) into an exit section (42) of a through channel (38) with a round cross section. Adhesive melting device according to Claim 12, characterized in that the polygonal cells (46) taper continuously in the direction of advance (30). Adhesive melting device according to Claim 12 or 13, characterized in that the exit sections (42) of the through-channels (38), which are round in cross-section, taper continuously in the feed direction (30). Adhesive melting device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the passage channels (38) taper continuously over their entire length.

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