FR2677673A1 - Installation making it possible to clean carpets (mats) or similar articles continuously - Google Patents

Abstract

Installation making it possible to clean textile articles in the piece (carpets (mats)) continuously. In such an installation, the treatment zone (3) (beating (dust-removal), washing ...) is designed to hold the material horizontally, the pile pointing downwards, and the treatments carried out by means of jet action, the drying operation (4) blowing hot air over the pile face of the article and the entrainment means (5) are made up of a continuous set controlled by means making it possible to carry out the treatment without a break and without dead time (downtime) and to immobilise the set at the feed zone of the article to be cleaned. Application: washing of carpets or similar articles.

Description

INSTALLATION FOR CONTINUOUSLY CONDUCTING THE NET
CARPET CARRYING OR THE LIKE.

 The present invention relates to an improved installation making it possible to carry out continuously, automatically and precisely, without manual intervention, the operations necessary for carrying out the cleaning of carpets (or similar articles), and more particularly of carpets comprising an underlay (padding). ) non-slip (foam, rubber or similar underlay).

 To date, numerous solutions have been proposed for cleaning textile articles in pieces (furnishing articles, bedding, etc.). The most common solution uses sets of "washer extractors" which, in general, exert a mechanical action on the material (fulling and kneading operation) followed by a heat treatment operation to carry out the drying.

 Such conventional installations which are suitable for flexible and homogeneous articles, such as curtains, bedding, carpets without underlay, etc., are however not suitable for treating complex articles comprising on the one hand a textile structure, and on the other hand hand, a base or undercoat, rubber or derivatives.

 Indeed, for such articles, as the undercoat is not permeable, the wringing action only allows a minimal amount of water to be extracted. This therefore involves evacuating the residual water using a rotary laundry dryer, in order to cause evaporation, which leads to an overconsumption of heat energy.

 Furthermore and above all, rotary laundry dryers require the use of high temperatures which can cause degradation of the undercoat.

 Finally, it should be noted that in such conventional installations, it is not possible to perform a preliminary dusting of the article as is required for carpets.

 In addition to conventional cleaning machines, specific installations have also been proposed for particular applications such as washing mattresses, enabling the various cleaning phases to be carried out continuously, as shown in particular in European patent 0 157 252.

 If such installations allow continuous treatment of articles of the "mattress" type, on the other hand, they are not suitable for cleaning carpets with foam or rubber underlay, the dimensions (length and width) of which may vary large ranges, and for which it is necessary not to exert a brutal action likely to deteriorate the underlay. Furthermore, the solution described in the aforementioned document involves on the one hand passing the mattress inside of treatment tanks (full bath washing), and on the other hand exerting significant compression forces to achieve draining and spinning. Such a type of installation is therefore not suitable for treating underlayed carpets, since the cleaning conditions may be different for the two constituents of such articles (textile constituents and continuous underlayers); moreover, from an industrial point of view, the treatment of full bath articles increases production costs.

 However, we have found, and this is the subject of the present invention, an improvement made to the installations making it possible to continuously clean articles in pieces of the type "underlay carpet", which makes it possible to solve all of the problems posed by such treatment, and not only to continuously carry out the various successive operations (dusting, washing, stain removal, drying, continuous evacuation and without recovery), but also to minimize the mechanical actions liable to deteriorate such items while having a minimum operating cost resulting from the low consumption of both energy (heat) and water, chemicals that such an installation requires for its implementation.

In general, the invention therefore relates to an installation making it possible to carry out continuous cleaning of textile articles in pieces, such as carpet comprising a non-slip underlay (rubber, foam, etc.), said installation comprising, arranged between an insertion station for the article to be cleaned and an evacuation station after treatment
. an area for performing operations
successive dusting, washing, stain removal,
spinning,
an area for drying net products
toyed
. means for moving the pieces of
flat material along the aforementioned areas, and it is characterized in that
- the actual processing operations (dusting, washing, stain removal, spinning) are carried out while keeping the material horizontally, the bristles being oriented downwards, the treatment using liquids (water, chemicals) being carried out by the action of jets acting against the surface of the article (at least against the "hair" side and possibly on the reverse side),
the drying operation is carried out by blowing hot air onto the piece of material turned over so that the "bristle" face is directed upwards and
- the means for driving the pieces of material inside the installation are constituted by a continuous assembly (endless chains) controlled by means allowing, on the one hand to carry out the treatment (cleaning and drying) without stopping no dead time and, on the other hand, to immobilize the conveyor assembly at the level of the feeding zone, for a sufficient time to introduce a new part without interrupting the course of the cycle inside the machine itself.

Advantageously and in practice, according to a concrete embodiment of an installation according to the invention
- the treatment zones (cleaning and drying) are superimposed, which not only makes it possible to be able to treat the material so that the bristles are directed downwards during the action of the liquid and, on the other hand, oriented towards the top when drying but also to have a very compact set
- the endless chains allowing the pieces of material to be driven inside the installation, are equipped with clamps regularly distributed over their length, the temporary stopping of the transport system at the level of the part introduction area to be cleaned being obtained by a hauling system, and the engagement of said piece facilitated by a presentation assembly automatically engaging the end of the mat in the holding clips.

The invention and the advantages which it brings will however be better understood thanks to the example of embodiment which follows, given by way of illustration but not limitation, and which is illustrated by the appended diagrams in which
- Figure 1 is a general elevational view of the assembly of an installation according to the invention;
- Figures 2a and 2b schematically illustrate how the drying operation of the article is carried out after cleaning
- Figures 3a to 3d are detailed views illustrating the manner in which the introduction of a part to be cleaned is carried out in an installation according to the invention.

 If reference is made to the appended figures and more particularly to FIG. 1, the invention therefore relates to an installation, designated by the general reference (1) which makes it possible to continuously clean textile articles in pieces, and more particularly carpets with an underlay (rubber layer, foam).

Such an installation comprises, arranged between an introduction station (designated by general reference 1) for the articles to be cleaned, and an evacuation station (designated by general reference 2) after treatment.
- an area (3) for performing the successive operations of dusting (possibly), washing, stain removal, spinning;
- an area (4) for drying the cleaned products and
- Means (5) for moving the pieces of material flat along the aforementioned areas.

 In accordance with the invention, the actual processing operations carried out in zone (3) are carried out while maintaining the material horizontally, the bristles being oriented downwards, the treatment by means of liquids being carried out by the action of jets acting at least against the surface of the article having bristles.

 In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the treatment zone (3) comprises a washing zone (4) in which the article is subjected to a pressure spraying of a mixture of water and chemicals.

In the present case, this washing zone comprises three ramps provided with injectors treating the "pile" surface of the article and a ramp acting against the undercoat.

 This washing zone (24) is followed by a wringing zone (25) and a rinsing assembly (26) having a structure similar to the washing assembly (4).

 The final spin is carried out in (27) immediately after rinsing, using an assembly comprising two pairs of movable rollers.

 In the washing area (24), the introduction of chemicals dissolves fatty substances and stains. In addition, the mechanical action of the liquid projected against the carpet loosens the dirt and simultaneously causes any dust stuck between the rubber support and the fibers. Such an embodiment of the rinsing zone therefore makes it possible to simultaneously carry out the dusting, but of course, it could be envisaged to have an independent preliminary station making it possible to carry out such a dusting.

 The washing liquid is collected below the treatment area and is filtered appropriately.

The washing bath can be renewed by a continuous leak on a drain valve. By proceeding in this way, it is possible to remove 70% of the impurities from the bath and thus limit the consumption of products and water.

 For the rinsing zone (26), the nozzles which are similar to those of the washing zone can be supplied in such a way that the first series of nozzles which can be supplied with slightly soiled bath water, results in a high quantity of detergents. The second series of ramps allows the carpet to be rinsed properly with fresh water, while the third series of ramps completes the rinsing and possibly allows the deposit of a dust-proof product.

 The renewal of the rinsing bath can be achieved by a leak in a drain valve while the supply of fresh water is ensured by the last two treatment ramps.

 Between the various washing / spinning stations, systems are arranged allowing the zones to be separated, such as for example rubber "lips".

 The wringing area (27) is essentially made up of two pairs of movable rollers which allow regular wringing both on fine carpets and on thick carpets.

 In these treatment zones, in accordance with the invention, the material to be cleaned is therefore kept flat, moves at regular speed, the bristles being oriented downwards.

 The drying operation (zone 4) is carried out by blowing hot air on the piece of material returned, so that the bristles are directed upwards. Drying is obtained by a hot air circuit by means of a single assembly (8) making it possible to create two air circuits (8a, 8b) making it possible to act against the "bristle" surface of the article.

 FIGS. 2a and 2b schematically illustrate, in detail, the manner in which the circulation of hot air is carried out against the surface of the article, FIG. 2a representing the circuit which immediately follows the treatment zone (lower circuit) and Figure 2b illustrating the action of hot air on the article before it is discharged (upper circuit).

 The drive system (5) of the pieces of material inside the installation, and the manner in which the treatment is carried out without stopping or idle time during all the cleaning operations while allowing the introduction of a new part to be treated, is designed and operates as follows.

 First of all, the actual drive system (5) consists of two parallel endless chains provided, at regular intervals, with clamps (10). A hauling system (11) makes it possible to immobilize the conveyor chains (5) in the introduction zone (1) when it is desired to introduce a new part to be treated.

 The engagement cycle of the new part is illustrated in detail in Figures 3a to 3d.

 To achieve this commitment, we proceed as follows.

 First of all (FIG. 3a), the article (12) to be introduced is presented, hair down, at the entrance to a feeding table (13) constituting the introduction station. During this operating phase, the conveyor assembly (chain 5) continues its movement.

 The article being engaged on the table (13), it is maintained on the latter by means of a transverse comb (14) (Figure 3b).

 In synchronism with the advance of the conveyor assembly (5), when a clamp (10) arrives at the introduction assembly (13)., And as shown in FIG. 3c, the table (13) is raised automatically and the article (12), held by the comb (14) against the surface of said table (13), is driven towards the clamps (10).

 The end of the article (12) arriving at the clamp (10) (Figure 3d), the comb (14) simultaneously causes the opening of said clamp (10) and the establishment of the end of the article.

 During these operating phases (Figures 3c and 3d), thanks to the hauling system (11), the grippers (10) are held stationary while inside the processing assembly, the conveyor chains (5) continue to move .

 When the article (12) is engaged between the clamps (10), the comb (14) is retracted and the hauling system (11) brought into the normal operating position to allow the article (12) to be driven to the inside the treatment areas.

 Such an installation has a very high efficiency for carrying out the cleaning of pile articles, requires for its use a minimum quantity of energy and makes it possible to carry out all of the operations automatically, without manual intervention in addition to that of presentation of the article at the entrance of the machine.

 At the outlet of the machine, the cleaned material can be removed in different ways, either by packaging the carpets flat on pallets, or possibly by rolling them up.

Claims (3)

 1 / Installation making it possible to carry out continuous cleaning of textile articles in pieces, such as carpets comprising a non-slip underlay (rubber or derivatives), said installation comprising, arranged between an introduction station (1) for the article to be cleaned and an evacuation station (2) after treatment  . an area (3) for performing operations  successive dusting, washing, stain removal,  spinning,  an area (4) for drying the products  cleaned ;;  . means (5) for moving the parts  of flat material along the aforementioned areas, characterized in that  - the actual processing operations (dusting, washing, stain removal, spinning) are carried out while keeping the material horizontally, the bristles being oriented downwards, the treatment using liquids (water, chemicals) being carried out by the action of jets acting against the surface of the article (at least against the "hair" side and possibly on the reverse side),  the drying operation is carried out by blowing hot air onto the piece of material turned over so that the "bristle" face is directed upwards and  - The means (5) for driving the pieces of material inside the installation are constituted by a continuous assembly (endless chains) controlled by means making it possible, on the one hand, to carry out the treatment (cleaning and drying ) without stopping or downtime and, secondly, immobilizing the conveyor assembly at the level of the supply zone, for a sufficient time to introduce a new part without interrupting the course of the cycle inside of the machine.  2 / installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the treatment zones (cleaning and drying), are superimposed which, not only, allows to be able to treat the material so that the bristles are directed downward during l 'action of the liquid and, on the other hand, oriented upwards during drying but also to have a very compact set.  3 / Installation according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the endless chains for driving the pieces of material inside the installation, are equipped with clamps (10) regularly distributed over their length , the temporary stopping of the transport system at the level of the zone for introducing the parts to be cleaned being obtained by a hauling system (11), and the engagement of said piece facilitated by a presentation assembly automatically engaging the end of the carpet in the holding clips.