EP4244037A2

EP4244037A2 - Charge carrier and method for the production thereof

Info

Publication number: EP4244037A2
Application number: EP21820453.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Willy Lutz
Original assignee: Logistics Arts Production GmbH
Current assignee: Logistics Arts Production GmbH
Priority date: 2019-11-13
Filing date: 2021-10-08
Publication date: 2023-09-20
Also published as: WO2022100771A2; EP3822064A1; DE202019004661U1; WO2022100771A3

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for producing charge carriers which substantially comprise composite material made up of recycled material, curable binders and possibly fibres and are obtainable by preparing a mixture (figure 2, item 3) of recycled materials, binder particles and possibly fibres in a gas stream; introducing the gas mixture prepared in this way (figure 2, item 3) into a closed multipart mould (figure 1 and figure 2, items 1 and 2) having a lower mould (figure 1 and figure 2 and figure 3, item 1) and at least one gas-permeable upper mould (figure 1 and figure 2, item 2); possibly changing the upper mould; curing the formed mixture (figure 2, item 3) in the mould (figure 1 and figure 2, items 1 and 2) by heating and/or compressing with the upper mould and thereby curing the binder and thereby bonding the constituents of the mixture, leaving it to cool and demoulding the charge carrier, and also relates to charge carriers produced thereby.

Description

description

Charge carrier and method for its production

The invention relates to a method for producing load carriers and load carriers produced thereafter, which can be, for example, pallets, crates or components thereof and carrying aids, and load carriers produced thereafter.

Load carriers, as defined in DIN 30781, are supporting means for combining goods into a loading unit. They are irreplaceable and well-known for logistics. A distinction must be made between single-use load carriers and load carriers that can be used multiple times, including those made from recycling material. For example, cardboard pallets, containers, vehicle (parts) or pressboard pallets, but also carrying aids such as bottle carriers and lattice boxes made of recycled plastics are available. They facilitate the handling of the loading units and thus promote the efficiency and speed of the transport chain. In connection with the invention, a part of a charge carrier is also referred to as a charge carrier.

So far, these have been produced by the simplest pressing or molding from just a few materials, partly because they require a constant quality of the starting material. Due to waste disposal, it is desirable to recycle a wide variety of recycling materials - including from single-use load carriers.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a charge carrier and a method for its production, which can have recycling material. This is done in light of the waste problem and the desire for more recycling.

The object is achieved according to the invention by charge carriers according to claim 1 and a method for its production according to claim 8. Advantageous developments result from the dependent claims.

The charge carriers according to the invention are essentially made of a composite material which has mixtures of recycled material, curable binder and optionally fibers; wherein mixing recycling material, heating the recycling material to a temperature above the sterilization temperature in a hot gas stream, mixing the hot gas stream with binder particles and optionally fibers in a mixer; Introducing the fluid material mixture produced in this way into a multi-part mold with a lower tool and a first upper tool; Closing the mold with another, gas-permeable upper tool while pressing the mixture on the lower tool, if necessary heating the mold - to harden the binder and combine the components of the mixture, allow to cool and demould the charge carrier.

[0006] By using a stream of hot gas at temperatures of 80-250° C., microorganisms on recycling materials - e.g. protective masks, clinical waste, food packaging, but also mold and the like - are sterilized and can be reused as a component of load carriers. The binder is activated in the hot gas stream, so that when it comes into contact with the other components of the fluid gas/liquid/solid stream, it bonds them and then hardens when they cool down.

The mold used to produce it has a lower tool (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, item 1) and at least one gas-permeable upper tool (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, item 2) and (Fig 3, item 10) and at least one injection opening. Of course, both the lower and the upper molds can be gas-permeable.

In one embodiment with differently compressed charge carrier sections, the mixture to be cured is introduced unevenly into the mold before pressing according to a predetermined pattern depending on the degree of compaction to be achieved, with the mixture to be cured (Fig. 2, item 3) after the introduction into the mold with a first gas-permeable upper tool by pressing and, if necessary, heating with a second gas-permeable upper tool (Fig. 3, item 10) is brought into the final shape and thereby predetermined degrees of compaction with partly more highly compacted material (Fig. 3 and Fig 4, item 4) and less compacted material (Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, item 5), depending on the deviation of the shape of the first upper tool (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, item 2) from the shape of the second upper tool 10 present.

One embodiment of a fully biodegradable charge carrier that is recyclable may include recycled materials such as cellulose, natural fibers such as hemp, linen, ramie, groundwood fibers, grass fibers and natural binders or charge carrier residues; in the case of non-biodegradable but recyclable charge carriers according to the invention, chips from composite packaging materials (e.g. Tetra Pak®), printed paper and cardboard remnants, and old paper Pierce residues and synthetic binding agents residues from masks and medical packaging/materials must be processed in the load carrier.

The (heat) curable binder of the charge carrier can be selected from thermosets, two-component binders and natural curing binders such as starch, proteins, chitin, resins or rubber. It is also possible to use silicon-based binders, such as silicone binders and silicates.

The method according to the invention for producing a charge carrier includes the following steps:

Preparation of a mixture of a hot gas flow with recycling material particles, binder particles and possibly fibres;

Injecting the hot gas flow with particles and possibly fibers into a multi-part mold with an exchangeable, gas-permeable upper tool; whereby a multi-step filling with different upper tools is possible,

closing the mold over the tool;

Applying pressure to the material in the final form of the lower tool and the gas-permeable final form of the upper tool, if necessary with heating (also by hot gas or steam, such as steam), with hardening of the binder and bonding of the mixture components;

Cooling and demoulding of the load carrier.

In a further embodiment of the method, the introduction of recycling materials, possibly fibers and binders between the lower tool and possibly changing upper tool show is carried out in several steps while maintaining a layered structure.

The layers produced in this way can have different material compositions.

Thus, the charge carrier according to the invention can essentially be made of a composite material that includes a wide variety of recycling materials. Recycled materials also include complex composite materials such as Discarded beverage cartons, coffee to go cups, packaging materials with the registered brand name Tetra Pak® or yoghurt cups, materials from masks from the medical and processing units, which were shredded accordingly.

The composite material for the charge carriers according to the invention can also be mixed with rather problematic recycling materials due to the heating, which contain binder particles, plastic residues, possibly metal residues, but also microorganism growth.

A particular advantage of the invention is its adaptability to the currently available starting materials - it is by no means limited to a special combination of materials, but can be adapted accordingly to the existing recycling materials.

The charge carriers are produced in several steps.

First, the recycling materials - eg. Beverage cartons and cups - ground uncleaned into small pieces that are only a few millimeters in size to form regrind.

This shredded ground material is then mixed with a heat and pressure-curable binder, the mixture with special fibers is blown into a hollow tool mold with a lower tool and a first upper tool and then pressed in several steps with at least one other upper tool(s) to form the finished end product .

The invention is explained in more detail using an embodiment of a charge carrier with different densities shown in the attached drawing, to which it is in no way restricted. In this show:

1 shows a view of a mold to be filled, consisting of a lower tool and a first upper tool

2 shows the mold filled with the material mixture blown in, with a first upper tool 3 shows a view of the material in the mold pressed by means of a second closed upper tool

FIG. 4 shows a view of a demolded charge carrier according to FIG. 3; and

5 is a view of the underside of a pallet according to the invention.

In the form shown in Fig. 1 for the production of a load carrier according to the invention, this has a lower tool 1, which specifies the final shape of the underside of the load carrier, and variable upper tools 2, 10. A first upper tool 2 is taken when blowing in the gas/solids mixture and, in this embodiment, has different indentations that offer different volumes for the material mixture (FIG. 2, item 3) against the lower tool. Deviating from the final shape of the upper side of the demolded load carrier with a planar surface, shown as an example in Figure 4, in the first upper tool 2 in certain areas with higher loads, a larger injection space is specified at the corresponding tool point than corresponds to the final shape of the load carrier. This creates an accumulation of material there when blowing in (Fig. 2).

After the blowing is complete, the first upper tool is exchanged for a second upper tool 10, which here corresponds to the final shape. The second upper tool 10 is closed over the material mixture that has been preformed in this way (FIG. 2, item 3), as a result of which different densities are formed in the material mixture on the lower tool 1. If the temperature of the mixture is not sufficient, the mold can be heated to harden the binder. The resulting molded part made from recycled materials, fibers and hardened binder is demoulded.

Due to the possibility of multiple upper tool exchanges, possibly with intermediate consolidation - layers of different densities or different materials can also be produced in one molded body, resulting in completely new molded body designs. Waterproof top layers can be produced on non-waterproof fillings, but solid to high-strength layers can also be combined with lighter material.

Regarding the details of this method is fully on the DE10 2019 121 222.7 of Fiber Engineering GmbH, Karlsruhe.

In the first step, the tool mold with the lower tool and the first upper tool is usually filled in the blow-in station by blowing in the material mixture described above. In Fig. 2 the completely filled state of the tool is shown in the injection station. The larger volume on the left side of the injection tool is clearly visible.

The next step takes place in the pressing station (Fig. 3). Here the material is compacted by the second upper tool 10, which can be heated if necessary, in the heating-pressing station by heating and pressing and solidified by setting the binding agent (Fig. 3), the shape of the second upper tool 10.2 being the final upper side of the load carrier, here in the example a flat surface. Thus, during pressing, indicated by the arrows 7, the density of the filled-in material is increased depending on the shape deviation of the second upper tool 10 compared to the first upper tool 2. In (FIG. 3) this is indicated by a darker area, with a lighter area 5 with less compression remaining.

[0026] This means that particularly stressed areas (for example the edges of a pallet) can be manufactured in a particularly stable and solid manner using this method. In addition, the weight of the panels is optimized according to the stressed areas.

When using a binder which sets at temperatures above 120° C., preferably above 170° C., organic microorganisms such as bacteria which may be present in unwashed recycling materials are killed. This also greatly reduces possible odor pollution. Setting aids, such as superheated steam or hot vaporous setting aids, can also be blown into the mold in order to improve the activation of the binding agent.

If required, additional additives can be added to the material mixture in the process in order to obtain special product properties. For example, water resistance can be significantly increased by adding certain waxes or waterproofing material. Depending on the binder, the fire resistance can also be increased by adding fire-retardant additives (e.g. silicon-based binder). Fully compostable carriers made from natural fibers, natural thermosetting binders (starch, chitin, silicates, gums and resins) and natural fillers such as cellulose, groundwood and wood residues, plant residues such as straw, blades of grass, cotton, kapok, coconut fibers, including those produced when the fibers are processed into yarns, fibers and textiles and the like.

In the last step, a cooling station, the material is allowed to cool down to normal temperature or is actively cooled down to normal temperature. After cooling and hardening (Fig. 4), the bound charge carrier is removed from the press. Reworking - for example deburring the edges - is usually not necessary.

While the invention has been described in detail in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that various alternatives and embodiments for practicing the invention are possible within the scope of the claims.

[0031] Reference number list

1: Blowing station lower tool

2: first upper tool of the blow-in station

3: mixture

4: Material more compacted

5: Material less compacted 7: Pressing force

10: second upper tool for pressing/heating

Claims

8 claims

1 . Process for the production of charge carriers, which essentially have composite material with recycling material, hardenable binder and optionally fibers, obtainable by producing a mixture (FIG. 2, item 3) of recycling materials, binder particles and optionally fibers in a gas stream; Introduction of the gas mixture produced in this way (Fig. 2, item 3) in a multi-part closed mold (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, item 1 and 2) with a lower tool (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 and Fig. 3). , Pos. 1) and at least one gas-permeable upper tool (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, Pos. 2); if necessary, changing the upper tool; Hardening of the shaped mixture (Fig. 2, item 3) in the mold (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, item 1 and 2) by heating and/or pressing with the upper tool while hardening the binder while connecting the mixture components, allowing to cool and Demoulding of the load carrier.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the gas flow is a hot gas flow.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the load carrier is selected from pallets (Fig. 5), crate components and carrying aids.

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the mold has several exchangeable upper tools (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, 2 and 10) and a final form lower tool (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 and Fig 3, item 1) and at least one injection opening.

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the charge carrier has different material densities, which can be produced by introducing the mixture to be hardened (Fig. 2, item 3) into the mold with the lower tool (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, Pos. 1) and a first upper tool (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, Pos. 2), which has an increased volume for a material accumulation according to the predetermined pattern according to the degree of compaction to be achieved in the final molded part and Changing the first upper tool to another upper tool (Fig. 3, item 10) with final shape and compression molding of the mixture (Fig. 2, item 3) through the other upper tool (Fig. 3, item 10) and curing of the mixture formed in this way ( Fig. 2, item 3)

6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the recycling materials of the charge carrier are natural recycling materials such as cellulose, 9

Natural fibres, wood particles, grass residues, chips from composite packaging materials; Paper residues, plastic residues, also waste paper residues. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pressure - and heat-curable binder of the charge carrier is selected from thermosetting plastics, two-component binders and natural binders such as starch, protein, chitin, resins, rubber and silicon derivatives such as silicates and silicones. Load carriers, produced according to one of the preceding claims, can be produced by: introducing binding agents and comminuted recycling materials and possibly fibers into a multi-part mold with a lower tool (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 and Fig.

3, item 1) and an exchangeable first upper tool (FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, item 2); Changing the upper tool to a final form upper tool and

Closing the mold by exerting pressure on the material mixture (Fig. 2, item 3) on the filled lower tool (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, item 1) and, if necessary, with additional heating of the mold to harden the binder and connecting the components of the mixture (Fig. 2, Pos. 3);

Cooling and demoulding of the load carrier. Load carrier according to claim 8, characterized in that the introduction of the mixture (Fig. 2, Pos. 3) between the lower tool and. if necessary, different upper tools in several steps while maintaining a layered structure. Charge carrier according to Claim 8, characterized in that the layers have different compositions.