IE56781B1 - Method and apparatus for marking an article - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a method for marking an article by scorching the mark onto the article, and when the mark is applied to a fibrous material, for example, fiber glass heat insulating material, the surface fibers in the area of the mark are scorched, and fibers beneath the surface fibers are also scorched. Apparatus according to the invention comprises at least one drum (8), having a stencil plate (21) mounted thereon. The drum is rotatable on a shaft 10 by friction of the batt passing under the drum (8). A manifold (25) with a plurality of gas jets (26) provide a flame (24) directed towards the batt (3) of material, and as the stencil plate (21) passes beneath the flames, the mark (2) is scorched onto the batt (4).

Description

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for marking an article, and in particular, for marking a batt of fibrous material, for example, fiber glass heat insulating material, or other non woven fibrous materials.

Fiber glass heat insulating material of the type used, for example, in insulating attics, in general, is provided in long batts of material formed from non woven randomly distributed and loosely arranged fibers.

The fibers are coated with a water based resin binder and baked. The binder polymerizes, and thus each fiber is loosely bonded to its adjacent fibers by the binder.

It is desirable that the R value, size, thickness, and other relevant information, should be marked on the batts.

This is generally done by ink printing. Unfortunately, such printing is not successful. Because of the nature of the fiber glass material in that the fibers are relatively loosely held together, normal handling of the material causes shedding of the surface fibers, and in turn, any print, which may be applied, falls off witn the fibers. -3There is therefore a need for a method and apparatus for making fiber glass heat Insulating material, and indeed, any other fibrous materials. Indeed, there 1s also a need for a method and apparatus for marking other articles.

The present Invention 1s directed towards providing such a method and apparatus which overcomes the problems of known methods and apparatus.

According to the Invention there Is provided a method for marking a batt of fibrous material with an Indicating mark comprising the step of scorching fibers adjacent the surface of the batt and some of the fibers beneath the the surface fibers by applying a flame directly to the fibers through an opening In a stencil, the opening being substantially In the shape of the indicating mark.

The advantages of the Invention are many, however, the main advantage of the Invention Is that because the mark or marks, as well as being applied to the surface fibers, are also applied to the fibers beneath the surface, and accordingly, even 1f the surface fibers which are marked are rubbed off or worn off, fresh marked fibers beneath the rubbed off fibers, still remain. Thus, irrespective of rubbing or wearing, the mark still remains on the batt. Needless to say>, the -4more layers of fibers beneath the surface layer which are marked, the better. The flame can penetrate between the surface fibers down through the layers of fibers, thus readily easily marking fibers beneath the surface layer. The flame, thus scorches, sears, singes, or burns the surface, or in certain cases portions of the fibers, thus carbonising or changing the colour of the fibers, to leave a clear permanent mark. The surface to the fibers changes colour, to a brown scorched colour or black, in the case where the surface has been carbonised. The advantage of applying the flame through an opening Itencil is that it provides a mark on the material which is clearly and sharply defined, and furthermore, it also provides a relatively simple and inexpensive method of marking.

Advantageously, the temperature of the flame is not less than 300°C.

The advantage of this feature of the invention is that it ensures good surface scorching, with no damage to the fibers. Needless to say, depending on the material to be marked, a flame of higher or lower temperature could be used. However, in the case of marking heat insulating fiber glass, a flame temperature of not less than 300°C has been found to be acceptable.

Indeed, in the cases of heat insulating fiber glass material, a flame temperature of up to 500°C may be used. -5Preferably, the flame plays on the local area for not more than two seconds. This ensures good surface scorching In the area of the mark. In fact. In certain cases, 1t has been found preferable to have the flame playing on the surface for approximately 0.4 seconds.

In another embodiment of the Invention, the method Includes the step of marking a batt of fiber glass heat Insulating material, having loosely, randomly distributed fibers coated with a binding agent, and the surface of the binding agent of the fibers is scorched.

The advantage of this feature of the invention Is that It avoids any damage to the actual fiber glass fibers.

Advantageously, the method Includes the step of passing the marking means through an opening substantially 1n the shape of the marking stencil.

According to another aspect the Invention provides an apparatus, for marking a batt of fibrous material the apparatus comprising a flame heat sorce and a stencil with an opening therethrough, which substantially defines the mark, flame being passed through the stencil opening to mark the article by scorching fibers adjacent the surface of the batt and some of the fibers beneath the surface fibers. -6The advantage you achieve form the apparatus of the invention, is that 1t provides a means for effectively marking articles with a relatively permanent mark, and in particular, It provides apparatus for marking fibrous materials with a mark which will remain relatively permanently. It also provides a relatively Inexpensive and simple effective apparatus for marking an article. The flame readily quickly scorches the mark onto the article, thereby providing a relatively fast and effective means of permanently marking an article. In the case where a fibrous material is being marked, the flame can readily easily pass through the surface fibers to mark fibers beneath the surface layer of fibers, thus, the advantage achieved here 1s that even if the surface layer of fibers rub or wear off, fresh marked fibers are beneath the rubbed off layers.

Advantageously, the stencil is mounted in the cylindrical wall of the rotatable hollow drum, the heat source being mounted within the drum.

The advantage of this feature of the invention 1s that it is particularly suited to marking articles of fibrous materials which are being produced from a continuous process machine. Further, it provides a relatively simple and effective, while at the same time being relatively inexpensive, apparatus.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the -7following description of some preferred embodiments thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, In which: Fig. 1 1s a perspective view of apparatus according to the Invention, for making an article, F1g. 2 Is a rear perspective view of the apparatus of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 1s a side elevational view of the apparatus of Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a partly sectional front elevational view of portion of the apparatus of Fig. 1 on the line IV-IV of Fig. 3, Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a detail of the apparatus of Fig. 1, F1g. 6 is a perspective view of another detail of the apparatus of Fig. 1, Fig. 7 1s a persepctlve view of a further detail of the apparatus of Fig. 1, and Fig. 8 is a perspective view of apparatus according to another embodiment of the invention, for marking an article. 8Referrlng to the drawings, and Initially to Figs. 1 to 7, there is provided apparatus according to the invention, indicated generally by the reference numeral 1, for marking fibrous material. In this case, the apparatus 1 Is for making the T value 2 of a batt 3 of fiber glass heat Insulating material, onto the batt 3. The batt of material Is formed from non woven randomly distributed and loosely arranged fibers. The fibers are coated with a water based resin binder and baked. The binder polymerizes on baking, and thus each fiber 1s loosely bonded to Its adjacent fibers by the binder. The apparatus 1 operates by scorching the mark 2 onto the batt 3. The surface of the binder coating on each of the surface fibers in the area of the mark, is scorched by a flame which penetrates through the surface fibers to impinge on fibers beneath the surface fibers, thereby similarly scorching the binder coating on the lower fibers.

The apparatus 1 1s mounted on the end of a process machine 5 for producing the fiber glass, batt 3. The batt 3 as 1t Is delivered from the machine In the direction of the arrow A, 1s normally cut to length and stacked. This 1s not illustrated 1n the drawings. For convenience, only the end portion 4 of the machine 5 is Illustrated.

The apparatus 1 comprises three hollow drums 8 supported -9by spokes 9 fast on a shaft 10. Plumber block bearings 11 rotatably support the shaft 10 on a pair of conterbalanced support arms 12. The arms 12 are pivotally mounted at 15 on support brackets 16, which are in turn mounted on a pair of side rails 18 of the machine 5.

An opening 20 1s provided on each drum 8, and stencil plates 21 cover the openings 20. The plates 21 are releasably secured to the drums 8 by screws 22. As can be seen, openings 23 in the stendl plate 21 include the R” value of the particular batt of fiber glass material being produced. In this case, the R value is given as R2.5. A marking means for marking the fibers of the batt, in this case 1s a heat source provided by three tublar manifolds 25, with a plurality of gas jets 26, which extend into each drum T.5 8, to direct flames 24 downwardly towards the fiber glass batt 3. The flames 24 are illustrated by broken lines 1n the drawings. Gas supply lines 27 deliver gas to the manifolds 25, and are supported on a framework 28 mounted the support arms 12. Flame sensors 30 are 2Q mounted within each drum 8 adjacent the manifold 25 to detect the presence of flame. The sensors 30 are connected by cables 32 to control apparatus (not shown) to isolate the gas to the manifold should the flame fall for any reason. A spark ignition device (not shown) is mounted in each drum 8 for ingnlting the gas jets at start up. A heat Insulating asbestos coating 31 is provided on the interior of each drum to protect the drums 8 from excessive heat from flames.

The support arms 12 are held rigidly together by the framework 28. Counterbalance weights 34 on the ends of the support arms 12, counterbalance the weight of the drums. A pair of cams 35 on a shaft 38 rotatable 1n brackets 36 which extend from the support brackets 16, engage follower plates 37 on the support arms 12 for raising and lowering the drums 8 to accommodate varying thicknesses of batt.

In use, the drums 8 are set by means of the cams 35, so that the drums 8 lightly engage the batt of material 3.

As the batt 3 passes along the machine 5 beneath the drums 8, the drums 8 are frictionally driven by the batt 4. The gas is ignited and flames are directed downwardly within the drums 8 towards the batt 3. As the stencil openings 23 pass beneath the flames, the batt is marked with the R41 number 2, and any other desired information which is provided on the stencil plates 21. The flames pass through the stencil opening 23 and impinge on the surface fibers, thereby scorching the binder coating on the fibers, and turning it black by carbonisation. The flames also pass through the surface fibers and impinge on fibers beneath the surface, similarly scorching the surface binder coating on the lower fibers.

It has been found in practice, that by regulating the machine 5 so that the output of the batt 4 is at the rate of approximately ten metres per minute, the flame plays on the batt through the stencil openings 23 for a dwell time of approximately 0.4 secs. With the flame temperature at approximately 500°C, and preferably not less than 300°C, adequate scorching of the mahk onto the surface of the fibers of the batt is achieved. In fact, It has been found that with the flame temperature at 500°C and a dwell time of 0.4 secs, the surface fibers In the area of the mark, and fibers to a considerable depth below the surface are scorched.

This has the particular advantage that even if the surface fibers 1n the area of the mark rub or wear off, further scorched fibers remain, thus clearly defining the mark.

Referring now to F1g. 8, there 1s illustrated apparatus according to another embodiment of the invention. This apparatus is substantially similar to that just described, and similar components are identified by the same reference numerals. In this case, two drums 8 are provided and driven by an electric motor 40. The motor 40 is mounted on a base plate 41, extending from one of the support arms 12 and drive the shaft 10. The stencil plates 21 slidably engage the openings 20 of each drum 8. Wings 42 on each stencil plate 21 engage corresponding grooves 43 on the edges of the openings 20.

This. It will be appreciated, permits the stencil plates to be readily easily changed when the machine is being changed over to produce a batt of fiber glass material of different *R value, to that previously produced.

The advantage of driving the drums 8 1s that 1t avoids any possibility of slip between the batt and the drums. Further, it permits the drums to be driven at a faster or slower speed to the batt of fiber glass material, which in certain cases may be advantageous.

While the apparatus has been described as comprising in one case three drums, and in the other case two drums, any number of drums may be used, Indeed, in many cases it is envisaged that only one drum may be required.

Additionally, it will be appreciated that while the drums have been described as comprising replaceable stencil plates, this is not necessary, In fact, the stencil openings could be formed in the cylindrical surface of the drum, although needless to say, having replaceable stencil plates has considerable advantages, when It 1s desired to produce batts of different R value. It will of course be appreciated that while the apparatus and method have been described for marking fiber glass heat insulating material with an R value. -13any other desired narks could be marked on the material, for example, length, width, thickness, indeed, the trade mark of the producer or any other relevant marks could also be marked on the material. In fact. It Is envisaged that the apparatus and method may be used for marking many other fibrous materials besides fiber glass.

Additionally, while the apparatus has been described as having hollow drums supported on spokes on a shaft, any other suitable configuration of drum and support could be used, and it will be appreciated that In many cases the drum may be dispensed with. Indeed, It will be appreciated that all that Is necessary for carrying out the method of the invention is a stencil with holes 1n the shape of the desired mark. It Is envisaged that the stencil may be provided on a flat plate, rather than on a drum. In which case it 1s envisaged that the plate may be moved towards and away from the material, as It 1s desired to mark the material. The method in this case, In general, would Include the step of passing the flame through the openings of the flat stencil. Additionally, It will be appreciated that while the heat source has been described in both embodiments of the Invention as being provided by a gas powered flame, any other suitable flame could be used.

It will also of course be appreciated that the method and apparatus could be used for marking a Static batt -14of fibrous material. In o£her words, a batt of material which is not moving. In which case, it Is envisaged that the flame and the stendl would be raised and lowered relative to the batt for marking.

In fact, in such cases, it is envisaged that a jig would be provided to receive the article or material, and when the article is positioned in the jig, then the apparatus could be lowered down to mark it.

Needless to say, while the apparatus has been described as including a flame sensor, this is not necessary, although, for safety reasons it is preferable. Further, 1t will be appreciated that it is not necessary that the interior of the drums need be coated with a heat resistant material, and where they are coated materials other than asbestos could be used. Other means for igniting the gas besides spark ignition may be used.

Needless to say, it will be appreciated that it is not necessary for the drums to be supported on a counter balanced arm, the drum shaft could be mounted directly onto brackets extending form the process machine or in any other fashion.

Claims (7)

1. A method for marking a batt of fibrous material with an Indicating mark comprising the step of scorching fibers adjacent the surface of the batt and some of the fibers beneath the surface fibers by applying a flame 5 directly to the fibers through an opening In a stencil, the opening being susbtantially in the shape of the indicating mark.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, in which the temperature of the flame Is not less than 300°C 10

3. A method as claimed In claim 2 In which the flame plays on the local area for not more than two seconds.

4. A method as claimed in any preceding claim for marking a batt of fiber glass heat Insulating material, having loosely, randomly distributed fibers coated with 15 a binding agent, in which the surface of the binding agent of the fibers 15' scorched.

5. Apparatus for marking a batt of fibrous material, the apparatus comprising a flame heat source and a stencil with an opening therethrough, which substantially defines 20 the mark, flame being passed through the stencil opening to mark the article by scorching fibers adjacent the surface of the batt and some of the fibers beneath the surface fibers. -166. Apparatus as claimed 1n claim 5, 1n which the stencil Is mounted in the cylindrical wall of a rotatable hollow drum, the flame heat source being mounted within the drum. 57. A method for marking a batt of fibrous material substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated 1n the accompanying drawings.

6. 8. Apparatus for marking a batt of fibrous material susbtantlally as described herein with

7. 10 reference to and as Illustrated ,1n the accompanying drawings.