IE71211B1

IE71211B1 - Glass wool collector

Info

Publication number: IE71211B1
Application number: IE950491A
Authority: IE
Inventors: Kunio Takezaki; Saburou Sakuma; Kazuhiro Terayama
Original assignee: Nitto Boseki Co Ltd; Paramount Glass Mfg Co Ltd
Priority date: 1994-07-01
Filing date: 1995-06-30
Publication date: 1997-02-12
Also published as: CA2153138A1; KR0174290B1; IE950491A1; KR960004246A; HUT72371A; JPH0813307A; DE19523749C2; JP3280163B2; HU217904B; HU9501948D0; DE19523749A1

Abstract

The collector assembly for glass wool has a number of units (2) which produce fibres from molten glass over a conveyor system (3) to collect the glass wool (G). Cladding side walls (4) form a glass wool accumulation zone (X) across the width of the conveyor (3) surface. At least the surface towards the glass wool accumulation zone (X) is formed by a ring belt, which moves continuously as a continuous belt parallel to the movement of the glass wool (G) on the conveyor (3). An upper side wall unit (110) is over the side wall claddings (4). At least the surface towards the glass fibre prodn. units (2) and the falling glass wool (G) is a further ring belt (111) moving at right angles to the direction of glass wool (G) travel on the conveyor (3), with a continuous movement. The second ring belt (111) extends to a position to overlap the neighbouring side wall cladding (4).

Description

GLASS WOOL COLLECTOR FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improvement of a glass wool collector, or an apparatus that shapes molten glass into fine fibers (glass wool) that are then collected in the form of a mat.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A conventional glass wool collector generally indicated by 1 in Figs. 4 and 5 is reproduced from JPB 88/43496. As shown, the apparatus comprises a plurality of glass fiberizers 2 which shape molten glass into fine fibers (glass wool G) and an accumulating conveyor unit 3 that is positioned below the glass fiberizers 2 for collecting glass wool G in the form of a mat as it falls from the glass fiberizers 2. Hood sidewall members 4 for determining the width across which glass wool G will accumulate or deposit onto the upper surface of the conveyor unit 3 are provided on opposite sides of the glass wool accumulation zone X in the widthwise direction W of the upper surface of the conveyor unit 3.

Each glass fiberizer 2 is equipped with a sprayer 5 of a binder to glass wool G as it is fiberized by the glass fiberizers 2. The conveyor unit 3 comprises a perforated conveyor belt 6 capable of endless continuous motion in 211 direction A in which the glass wool travels and a vacuum drawing box 7 that is open toward the underside of the conveyor belt 6 in the glass wool accumulation zone X.

The peripheral wall of each hood sidewall member 4 is 5 formed of an annular strip 11 capable of endless continuous motion in direction B which is opposite to direction A in which the glass wool on the conveyor unit 3 travels. The hood sidewall 4 is equipped with a cleaner 12 for wiping the surfaces of the annular strip 11 which consists of a cleaning water sprayer 12a and a wiper 12b. The cleaner 12 is provided on the side exterior to the annular strip 11 which is opposite to the side facing the glass wool accumulation zone X.

In the conventional glass wool collector 1, a drive pulley 14 that is rotated by means of a first motor 13, a tension pulley 15 that applies tension to the annular strip 11, and guide pulleys 16 that are provided between the drive pulley 14 and the tension pulley 15 are mounted on the frame 17 of each hood sidewall member 4 in such a way that the annular strip 11 stretched between the drive pulley 14 and the tension pulley 15 is driven to travel in an endless continuous manner by the rotating force of the drive pulley 14.

Tension pulley 15 is mounted on the frame 17, with a slide member 21 being interposed in such a way that it is slidable in the longitudinal direction C of the frame 17.

Frame 17 has a nut member 22 that engages threadably with a f screw member 23; as the screw member 23 rotates clockwise or counterclockwise, the slide member 21 is allowed to slide in the longitudinal direction C of the frame 17, thereby applying tension to the annular strip 11.

The conventional glass wool collector 1 also has a barrier wall 31 on both sides of the glass wool accumulation zone X in its longitudinal direction. A transverse beam 32 along the upper end of each barrier wall 31 has a rail 33 fixed thereto so that it carries a wheel 34 as it is mounted rotatably at both upper ends of the frame 17 of each hood sidewall member 4. The two hood sidewall members 4 which hang between the two barrier walls 31 are so adapted that they are driven by means of a feed mechanism (to be described just below) to either approach or depart away from each other along the rails 33 in the widthwise direction W of the glass wool accumulation zone X.

The feed mechanism for the hood sidewall members 4 is composed of a second motor 41, two feed screw rods 42 that are rotated by means of the motor 41, screw members 43 at opposite ends of each feed screw rod 42, and nut members 44 on each hood sidewall 4 that engage threadably with the screw members. Screw member 43 at one end of each feed screw rod 42 is operationally reverse to the screw member 43 at the other end.

Shown by 45 in Fig. 5 is a bevel gear mechanism, and 46 refers to a rotating shaft that transmits the rotation of the second motor 41 via the bevel gear mechanism 45. Shown by 50 in Figs. 4 and 5 are a pair of press rolls that compress the glass wool mat to a specified thickness as it is conveyed from the glass wool accumulation zone X.

While the bound glass wool G fiberized by the glass fiberizers 2 in the conventional glass wool collector 1 is falling toward the glass wool accumulation zone X, that part of the glass wool G which has adhered to the surface of the annular strip 11 of each hood sidewall member 4 moves together with the annular strip 11 in direction B in which the latter travels continuously, so that it is carried to the side exterior to the annular strip 11 which is opposite to the side facing the glass wool accumulation zone X and subsequently wiped off the surface of the annular strip 11 by means of the associated surface cleaner 12.

A certain portion of the bound glass wool G fiberized by the glass fiberizers 2 falls in directions that deviate from the main-stream of its fall and most of such deviations will adhere to areas 4a that consist of a portion 4b that projects upward of the annular strip 11 forming the peripheral wall of each hood sidewall member 4 and the upper portion 11a of the annular strip 11.

However, the conventional glass wool collector 1 is not capable of removing the bound glass wool G that has adhered to the portion 4b projecting from each hood sidewall member 4 and, hence, the deposit of such glass wool G will grow to lumps which, when shaken by the hood sidewall members 4 or otherwise disturbed, will partly drop on to the glass wool mat in the glass wool accumulation zone X, thereby causing unevenness in the distribution of the binder and the density of fibers within the glass wool mat.

The conventional glass wool collector 1 may be so designed that an increased amount of glass wool G will adhere to each annular strip 11 as it moves continuously from the front end Y of the glass wool accumulation zone X to its rear end Z and this is typically realized by increasing the number of glass fiberizers 2. In this case, the deposit of glass wool G on the upper portion 11a of each annular strip 11 will grow to lumps as the strip moves continuously from the front end Y to the rear end Z of the glass wool accumulation zone X and the resulting lumps, when shaken by the hood sidewall members 4 or otherwise disturbed, will partly drop on to the glass wool mat in the glass wool accumulation zone X, thereby causing unevenness in the distribution of the binder and the density of fibers within the glass wool mat.

Thus, the conventional glass wool collector 1 has suffered from the disadvantage that the lumps of glass wool G which has adhered to areas 4a consisting of the portion 4b projecting beyond each hood sidewall member 4 and the upper portion 11a of each annular strip 11 will drop on to the glass wool mat within the glass wool accumulation zone X, thereby causing unevenness in the distribution of the binder and the density of fibers within the glass wool mat.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been accomplished under these circumstances and has an object providing a glass wool collector that is capable of producing glass wool mats characterized by smaller unevenness in binder distribution and fiber density than the products manufactured by the conventional glass wool collector 1 shown in Fig. 4.

The glass wool collector provided by the present invention as means for solving the aforementioned problems of the prior art comprises basically a plurality of glass fiberizers, a conveyor unit provided below the glass fiberizers for collecting glass wool as it accumulates, and.hood sidewall members provided on opposite sides of the glass wool accumulation zone in the widthwise direction of the upper surface of the conveyor unit and an upper sidewall member. Each of the hood sidewall members are such that at least the surface which faces the glass wool accumulation zone is formed of an annular strip that is capable of endless and continuous motion in a direction parallel to the movement of the glass wool on the conveyor unit.

The upper sidewall member is provided above each of the hood sidewall members. Each of the upper sidewall members is such that at least the surface which faces the glass wool as it falls from the glass fiberizers is formed of a second annular strip capable of endless and continuous motion in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the glass wool on the accumulation conveyor unit moves. The second annular strip extends to such a position that it overhangs the associated hood sidewall member and a cleaner for wiping the surface of the second annular strip is located in any of the areas exterior to the second annular strip other than the side that faces the glass wool as it falls from the glass fiberizers.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the apparatus of the invention has an upper sidewall member 110 that is provided above each of the hood sidewall members 4. Further, at least the surface of each upper sidewall member 110 which faces the glass wool G as it falls from the glass fiberizers 2 is formed of a second annular strip 111 capable of endless and continuous motion in direction D (or E) which is perpendicular to the direction A in which the glass woqI on the accumulation conveyor unit 3 moves. Furthermore, the second annular strip 111 extends to such a position that it overhangs areas 4a that are the upper part of and above the associated hood sidewall member 4. Because of this structure, the portion of glass wool G which falls from the glass fiberizers 2 in directions that deviate from the mainstream of its fall will not adhere to those areas which are the upper part of and above the hood sidewall member 4 but adheres to the surface of the second annular strip 111 of each of the upper sidewall members 110.

Accordingly, the portion of glass wool G which adheres to the surface of the second annular strip 111 moves with the second annular strip 111 in direction D (or E) in which the latter makes endless and continuous motion.

In addition, the apparatus of the invention has a cleaner 112 for wiping the surface of each of the second annular strips 111, which cleaner is located in any of the area exterior to the second annular strip 111 other than the side that faces the glass wool G as it falls from the glass fiberizers 2. Because of this structure, the glass wool G as it moves with the second annular strip 111 in direction D (or E) in which the latter makes endless and continuous motion will be carried from the side of the second annular strip 111 which faces the falling glass wool G to the side where the cleaner 112 for the second annular strip 111 is located and the glass wool G is then wiped off the surface of the second annular strip 111 by means of the cleaner 112.

If the amount of adhesion of glass wool G onto the second annular strip 111 is increased as by adding to the number of glass fiberizers 2, the deposit of glass wool G on the second annular strip 111 will grow to lumps as the strip travels continuously in such a way that it faces the glass wool G falling from the glass fiberizers 2 and there is an increased chance for the resulting lumps to partly drop on to the glass wool mat in the glass wool accumulation zone X when it is shaken by the upper sidewall members 110 or otherwise disturbed.

However, the apparatus of the present invention can be so adapted that the distance L (see Fig. 3) over which the second annular strip 111 travels continuously as it faces the falling glass wool G is shorter than the distance M (see Fig. 1) over which the annular strip 11 of each of the hood sidewall members 4 travels continuously as it faces the glass wool accumulation zone X. This contributes to reducing the chance described in the preceding paragraph compared to the possibility that part of the lumps of glass wool G will drop on to the glass wool mat from the upper part 11a of the annular strip 11 while the annular strips 11 in the conventional glass wool collector 1 shown in Fig. 4 move continuously as they face the glass wool accumulation zone X.

This is because if L is smaller than M, the amount of glass wool G that deposits onto the second annular strip 111 as it moves continuously while facing the falling glass wool G can be reduced compared to the amount of glass wool G that deposits onto the upper part 11a of the annular strip 11 as said annular strip 11 forming each hood sidewall member 4 moves continuously while facing the glass wool accumulation zone X of the conventional glass wool collector 1 shown in Fig. 4.

Thus, according to the present invention, the adhesion of glass wool G onto areas 4a which consist of the portion 4b projecting upward of the annular strip 11 of each hood sidewall member 4 and the upper part 11a of the annular strip 11 can be prevented by means of the upper sidewall members 110. In addition, the possibility that lumps of glass wool will drop on to the glass wool mat from the second annular strip 111 of each upper sidewall member 110 can be made smaller than the possibility that lumps of glass wool will drop on to the glass wool mat from the upper part 11a of each of the annular strips 11 in the conventional glass wool collector 1 shown in Fig. 4.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a front view of a glass wool collector according to an embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a section T-T of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a front view of a .conventional glass wool collector; and Fig. 5 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 3, except that those units, components, parts, etc. which are the same as those described in the prior art with reference to Figs. 4 and 5 will be identified by like numerals and symbols and will not be described in detail.

A glass wool collector that is an embodiment of the invention and which is generally indicated by 100 is basically of the same construction as the conventional apparatus indicated by 1 in Figs. 4 and 5. As shown, the apparatus 100. has an accumulation conveyor unit 3 provided below centrifugal glass fiberizers 2 for collecting glass wool as it accumulates after falling from the glass fiberizers 2. A hood sidewall member 4 is provided on both sides of the glass wool accumulation zone X in the widthwise direction W of the upper surface of the conveyor unit 3. The peripheral wall of each hood sidewall member 4 is formed of an annular strip 11 capable of endless continuous motion in direction B (see Fig. 5) which is opposite to direction A in which the glass wool on the accumulation conveyor unit 3 travels.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the. first motor units 13 for rotating the drive pulleys 14 in the conventional glass wool collector are mounted on the upper surfaces of the frames 17 of the hood sidewall members 4. In contrast, the first motor units 61 in the glass wool collector 10 shown in Figs. 1 to 3 are mounted on the lateral sides of the frames 17 of the hood sidewall members 4 so that drive pulleys 14 are rotated with the intermediary of belts 62.

The glass wool collector 100 has the following additional features. It has an upper sidewall member 110 provided above each of the hood sidewall members 4. The peripheral surface of each upper sidewall member 110 is formed of a second annular strip 111 capable of endless and continuous motion in direction D which is perpendicular to direction A in which the glass wool on the accumulation conveyor unit 3 travels. The second annular strip 111 extends to such a position that it overhangs areas 4a which are the upper part of and above the hood sidewall member 4. A cleaner 112 for wiping the surfaces of each of the second annular strips 111 which consists of a cleaning water sprayer 112a and a rotary brush 112b is located on the side exterior to the second annular strip 111 which is opposite to the side facing the glass wool G as it falls from the glass fiberizers 2.

The water that has been used to clean the surfaces of the annular strips 11 and the second annular strips 111 and the glass wool G that has been removed, from these strips are discharged through channels (not shown) provided on both the hood sidewall members 4 and the upper sidewall members 110.

The glass wool collector 100 has a frame 116 of each upper sidewall member 110 provided in an erect position on either side of the length of the glass wool accumulation zone X in such a way that it crosses a barrier wall 31 which is also provided in an erect position on both sides of said accumulation zone X. The frame 116 has a transverse plate 116a that is fitted with the following components in a freely rotating manner, a rotary brush 112b which is driven to rotate by means of a third motor 121, a drive roll 113 which is driven to rotate by means of a fourth motor 122 and three guide rolls 114. Each barrier wall 31 is fitted with a tension roll 115 for applying tension to the second annular strip 111 and the roll 115 is mounted in such a way that it is capable of freely rotating and movable in the vertical direction of the barrier wall 31.

The second annular strip 111 is stretched along the drive roll 113, guide rolls 114 and tension roll 115 and it is driven by the rotation of the drive roll 113 to move in an endless and continuous manner as it is given tension by the tension roll 115 under its own weight.

The annular strips 11 and second annular strips 111 are each a flexible metal sheet in a thickness of about 0.2 to 0.5 mm that is made from steel, brass, bronze, phosphor bronze, aluminum, aluminum alloys, stainless steel, etc. or they may be other flexible plates in a thickness of about 2 to 5 mm that have synthetic resins such as poly(vinyl chloride), poly(vinylidene chloride), poly(ethylene terephthalate), nylons, etc. bonded or laminated to the surfaces of textiles. If metal sheets are to be used, they are preferably made of stainless steel since it has high resistance to corrosion.

In Fig. 3, numeral 17a designates the upper members of the frame 17 of the hood sidewall member 4 and numeral 17b designates the lower member of the frame 17. Numeral 18 designates a shoe that prevents pressure leakage from the vacuum drawing box 7 in the accumulation conveyor unit 3. Numeral 116b refers to a member for connecting the two frames 116 of each upper sidewall member 110 which are provided in an erect position on both sides of the length of the glass wool accumulation zone X. The upper members 17a of the frame 17 of each hood sidewall member 4 are connected to the lower member 17b by a connecting member not shown in Fig. 3, and the shoe 18 is connected to the lower member 17b of the frame 17 by a connecting member also not shown in Fig. 3.

As already mentioned in the prior art, the two sidewall members 4 of the glass wool collector 100 are so adapted that they are capable of approaching or departing away from each other in the widthwise direction W of the glass wool accumulation zone X and Figs. 1 to 3 .show the case where the two sidewall members 4 have moved to become the closest to each other. The glass wool collector 100 of the invention is so designed that by increasing the distance between the two hood sidewall members 4, the width of the glass wool accumulation zone X on the upper surface of the accumulation conveyor unit 3 is increased accordingly, thereby insuring that the width of the glass wool mat to be removed from the accumulation zone X can be varied within a specified range.

As already mentioned, the tension roll 115 on each of the upper sidewall members 110 is mounted in such a way that it is movable in a vertical direction and the second annular strips 111 are given tension by the tension roll 115 under its own weight. Alternatively, one of the guide rolls 114 on each of the upper sidewall members 110 shown in Fig. 3 may be so adapted as to be movable in the widthwise direction W of the glass wool accumulation zone X so that it also serves as a tension roll. In this case, the tension rolls 115 shown in Fig. 3 work as guide rolls which are prevented from moving in a vertical direction and, if desired, they may be guide rolls that are capable of moving in the widthwise direction W of the glass wool accumulation zone X as the hood sidewall members move in the same direction W.

In the glass wool collector 100, each of the upper sidewall members 110 is mounted on the frame 116 of the upper sidewall members 110 so that they are.prevented from movement in the widthwise direction W of the glass wool accumulation zone X. If desired, each of the upper sidewall members 110 may be fixed individually on to the frames 17 of the hood sidewall members 4 so that they are capable of approaching or departing away from each other in combination with the hood sidewall members 4 in the widthwise direction W of the glass wool accumulation zone X.

The glass wool collector 100 is also designed in such a way that the annular strip 11 of each hood sidewall member 4 is caused to travel endlessly and continuously in direction B (see Fig. 5) which is opposite to direction A in which the glass wool on the accumulation conveyor unit 3 moves. It should, however, be noted that the present invention requires that the annular strip 11 should suffice to be capable of endless and continuous movement in directions parallel to direction A and, hence, the direction in which the annular strip 11 makes endless and continuous motion is by no means limited to direction B which is opposite to direction A but it may be the same as direction A.

However, direction B is preferred over direction A as the direction in which the annular strip 11 makes endless and continuous motion. This is because if the annular strip 11 is permitted to make endless and continuous motion in direction B, both the right and left edges of the glass wool mat accumulating in the zone X is kept under the force that will sever the mat from the annular strip 11 as it is being recovered from the zone X and, hence, those edges will be finished to produce surfaces having good aesthetic appearance that are generally at right angles to both the obverse and reverse sides of the glass wool mat.

Additionally, the glass wool collector 100 is so adapted that the second annular strip 111 of each upper sidewall member 110 is caused to travel endless and continuously in direction D (see Figs. 2 and 3) but the second annular strip 111 may be adapted to make endless and continuous motion in direction E which is opposite to direction D. This is because the present invention requires that the second annular strip 111 should suffice to be capable of endless and continuous motion in directions that are perpendicular to direction A in which the glass wool on the accumulation conveyor unit 3 moves.

However, direction D is preferred over direction E as the direction in which the second annular strip 111 makes endless and continuous motion. The reason is as follows. In the case where it makes endless and continuous motion in direction D, the second annular strip 111 travelling in such a way that it faces the glass wool G falling from the glass fiberizers 2 is allowed to change in direction by 270 degree by the guide roll 114 which it contacts first. To the contrary, in the case where the second annular strip 11 makes endless and continuous motion in direction E, it is first allowed to change in direction by as much as 360 degrees by the tension roll 115, as a result, compared to the case where the second annular strip 111 makes endless and continuous motion in direction E, the deposit of glass wool G on the second annular strip 111 that faces the glass wool G falling from the glass fiberizers while making endless and continuous motion in direction D in less likely to drop from the second annular strip 111 on to the glass wool mat within the glass wool accumulation zone X.

According to the present invention, the adhesion of glass wool onto areas that are the upper part of and above each of the hood sidewall members can be prevented by means of the upper sidewall members. In addition, the possibility that lumps of glass wool will drop on to the glass wool mat from the second annular strip of each upper sidewall member can be made smaller than the possibility that lumps of glass wool will drop on to the glass wool mat from the upper part of each of the annular strips in the conventional glass wool collector. As a result, the glass wool collector of the present invention has the advantage of producing glass wool mats that are less uneven in the distribution of a binder and the density of fibers than the product from the conventional glass wool collector.

Claims

1. A glass wool collector comprising: a plurality of glass fiberizers; a conveyor unit provided below said glass fiberizers for collecting glass wool; hood sidewall members provided on opposite sides of a glass wool accumulation zone in the widthwise direction of the upper surface of said conveyor unit, at least the surface which faces said glass wool accumulation zone being formed of an annular strip, said annular strip being capable of endless and continuous motion in a direction parallel to the movement of said glass wool on said conveyor unit; and an upper sidewall member provided above each of said hood sidewall members, at least the surface which faces said glass wool falling from said glass fiberizers being formed of a second annular strip, said second annular strip being capable of endless and continuous motion in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which said glass wool on said accumulation conveyor unit moves, and said second annular strip extending to a position so as to overhang said associated hood sidewall member. I# . 1 2. A glass wool collector according to claim 1,

2. Wherein a cleaner for wiping the surface of said second 3. Annular strip is located in any of the areas exterior to said 4. Second annular strip other than the side that faces said glass 5. Wool falling from said glass fiberizers.

3. A glass wool collector substantially as described herein with reference to and/or as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.