ITUD20010007A1 - PROCEDURE AND EQUIPMENT FOR MAKING SAILS - Google Patents

Description

"PROCEDURE AND EQUIPMENT FOR MAKING SAILS"

FIELD OF APPLICATION

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for making sails by means of a film of plastic material impermeable to the wind, which is made to come out from a power supply unit and passed, while it is still in a state of deformability, on one mold arranged in a fixed position but capable of changing its profile to shape the film as it advances. In a subsequent and coordinated reinforcement unit, on the already shaped film, very resistant plastic threads are deposited along the load lines of the sail.

STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE

According to the most recent techniques, it is known to produce sails using a plurality of layers of synthetic materials arranged in a sandwich, between which a plurality of reinforcing threads or lines are arranged, which extend without interruption from one corner of the sail to the other, along the loading lines, seamlessly.

A process for making sails is known which comprises the preparation of a mold, substantially as large as the sail to be made and having a convex and suitably shaped surface to assume the three-dimensional shape of the sail to be made. A first sheet of flexible material is first deposited on this three-dimensional mold, which defines an external layer of the sail, exposed to the wind, on which reinforcing refi are then applied and glued from one edge to the other and from one corner to the other of the first sheet. Subsequently, on top of the refi and the first sheet, a second flexible sheet is applied which defines a second outer layer of the sail. The two sheets and the refi layer are then laminated together, keeping them resting on the mold.

However, this known method has some drawbacks.

First of all, it requires the creation of a huge mold, with a surface extension at least as large as the entire sail to be built, or of the order of several hundred square meters, considering the dimensions that today sails for large tonnage boats have. , with consequent costs and very high investments.

Another drawback of this known method is the need to provide expensive and complex equipment, to spread the sheets and the refi above the very large surface of the mold, as well as the use of highly specialized personnel who literally "fly" above of the mold itself to check the spreading of the different components and their mutual bonding.

In order to obviate the aforesaid drawbacks and to obtain further advantages, which will be explained further on, the Applicant has devised and implemented the present invention.

EXPOSURE OF THE FOUND

The method and the apparatus for making sails according to the present invention are expressed and characterized in the main claims.

Other innovative aspects of the present invention are expressed in the secondary claims.

An object of the present invention is to provide both a method and an associated apparatus for making three-dimensional sails without the need to provide a mold having a support surface as large as the sail to be made.

In accordance with this purpose, the method according to the present invention comprises at least the following steps: extracting a film of flexible plastic material from a supply unit, while the film is in a state of deformability, i.e. it has not yet assumed a defined shape ; arranging, downstream of the feeding assembly, a forming unit, arranged in a fixed position, transversely to the longitudinal axis of the advancing film and comprising a mold capable of assuming a variable transverse profile; advance the film with respect to the forming unit, making it adhere to the mold while the latter temporarily has a certain profile; and cooling the film to make it assume, in the area of contact with the mold, the temporary profile of the latter.

In this way the film, as it passes over the mold, assumes the desired shape. The mold, advantageously under the control of a programmable processor, will assume a specific profile for each cross section of the sail, so that the film, and therefore the sail, will in turn take on any desired three-dimensional shape.

The method according to the present invention advantageously also comprises a further step of reinforcing the already formed film, by means of reinforcing elements which are arranged at least along preferential lines, for example along the lines of greatest load of the sail to be made.

To achieve this, downstream of the forming mold, the film passes through a reinforcing unit, also arranged in a fixed position, transversely to the direction of advance of the film. This reinforcing unit comprises laying means suitable for spreading on the film reinforcing elements made of substantially inextensible plastic material, and contrast means suitable for assuming the transversal profile of the film while it is passing in correspondence with the reinforcing unit.

As far as the film feeding unit is concerned, it can comprise an extruder or a heating device arranged downstream of one or more film reels, which can be glued one to the other, along their edges, to form a single film of the desired width.

ILLUSTRATION OF DRAWINGS

These and other characteristics of the present invention will become clear from the following description of a preferred embodiment made by way of non-limiting example, with the aid of the attached drawings in which:

- fig. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus according to the present invention;

- fig. 2 is a first variant of the power supply unit of the apparatus of fig. 1;

- fig. 3 is a second variant of the power supply unit of the apparatus of fig. 1; - fig. 4 is a transversal view of a first working unit of the apparatus of fig. 1; - fig.5 is a transversal view of a second working unit of the apparatus of fig.1;

- fig. 6 is a plan view of the apparatus of fig. 1;

- fig.7 is a side view, partially sectioned, of the apparatus of fig.l.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED FORM OF PRODUCTION

OF THE FOUND

With reference to Fig. 1, an apparatus 10 for making sails, according to the present invention, comprises a power supply unit 11 from which a film 12 of plastic material, impermeable to wind as well as easily deformable and shapeable, such as a polymer, is able to exit , a polyester, such as for example that known commercially as "Mylar", or other materials of a known type, already used or not in the sailing sector.

The thickness of the film 12 can vary, depending on the type of sail 13 to be made (Fig. 6), from a few tenths of a millimeter to a few millimeters. The width of the film 12, which can comprise a plurality of elements coupled to each other either in a longitudinal or transverse direction, is a function of the width of the sail 13 to be made.

Advantageously, the width of the film 12 is greater than that of the sail 13 to be made, so that, for very large sails, this width can reach and exceed 30 m.

The feeding assembly 11 can be constituted for example by an extruder 14 (Fig. 1), which in turn comprises one or more extrusion heads 15 of known type, placed side by side. The different extrusion heads 15 are advantageously modular, so that they are placed side by side in a convenient number, according to the dimensions of the sail 13 to be made.

According to a first variant, illustrated in Fig. 2, the feeding assembly 11 comprises a reel 16 of film 12 arranged upstream of a heating device 17, which is adapted to heat the film 12 to make it deformable.

When the width of the sail 13 to be made is very large, instead of a single reel 16 a plurality of reels 16 can be provided (fig. 3), arranged so that the individual films, unwinding, overlap the adjacent films, along their edges, and are joined together, in any known way, to form the film 12 of the desired width.

The film 12, while it is still in its deformability stage and has not yet assumed its final shape, is passed through a forming unit 20 (Figs. 1 and 4), in contact with an upper surface 21 of a first mold 22.

According to a characteristic of the present invention, the mold 22 is made of flexible material, such as rubber, and comprises a plurality of segments 23, side by side, each of which is associated with a corresponding actuator 25, for example of the pneumatic or fluid dynamic, in order to be selectively raised or lowered with respect to a nominal horizontal plane X, so that the mold 22 itself can assume any curvature, both convex and concave with respect to the horizontal plane X.

In order to keep the film 12 constantly adhering to the upper surface 21 of the mold 22, the latter is internally provided with a cavity 26, in which, in any known way, a depression is created, and with a plurality of small holes 28, which they put the cavity 26 in communication with the upper surface 21.

Above the mold 22 there is a plurality of nozzles 29 from which cold air is blown towards the underlying film 12.

In this way the film 12 is cooled when it has assumed, from time to time, the shape of the mold 22.

Downstream of the forming unit 20 there are towing means 30 (figs 1, 5 and 6), consisting for example of a plurality of pairs of opposed and motorized rollers, which collaborate with the lateral edges 12a, 12b of the film 12 , to make it advance at a substantially constant speed with respect to the mold 22.

As the film 12 advances, the curvature of the mold 22 is modified, by operating in a coordinated manner on the actuators 25, to make each cross section of the sail 13 to be made assume the desired shape and camber.

The control of the actuators 25, as the film 12 advances with respect to the mold 22, is carried out by a processor 31, to which a signal indicating the position arrives from a fixed sensor 32 (fig. 6) of a known type. of film 12 as it advances.

Downstream of the forming unit 20, and possibly also of the first towing means 30, there is a unit 40 for reinforcing the sail 13 under formation, which unit 40 is able to spread on the film 12 a plurality of reinforcing elements 41 consisting for example of threads or strands of very resistant and substantially inextensible plastic material, such as carbon fiber, aramid fiber such as Kevlar, high molecular weight polyethylene such as Spectra, liquid crystal polymers such as Vectra, PBO or other.

The reinforcement unit 40, during operation, is advantageously kept stationary in a determined position, even if its distance from the forming unit 20 can be variable according to the production cycle.

Each reinforcing element 41 is able to be placed by a laying device 42 (figs. 1, 5 and 6), of a per se known type, which is mounted on a carriage 43 sliding on horizontal guides 45 and controlled by a motor 46 in turn controlled by processor 31.

The reinforcing elements 41 can be threads, tapes or extruded elements being deposited on the film 12.

A contrast device 48 is arranged below the film 12 in correspondence with the laying devices 42 to define a support surface for the film 12 itself.

In particular, the contrast device 48 comprises a support element 49 similar to the mold 22, also made of flexible material, such as rubber, and comprising a plurality of segments 50, side by side, each of which is associated with a corresponding actuator 51, for example of the pneumatic or fluid-dynamic type. The actuators 51 are also controlled by the processor 31 to be selectively raised or lowered with respect to the nominal horizontal plane X, to make the support element 49 assume a configuration equal to the profile of the film 12 as it passes through the forming unit 20.

In order to keep the film 12 constantly adhering to the upper surface of the support element 49, the latter is internally provided with a cavity 52, in which, in any known way, a depression is created, and with a plurality of small holes 53 , which put the cavity 52 in communication with the upper surface of the support element 49.

On the other hand, to detach the film 12 from the upper surface of the support element 49, the latter is provided with a second cavity 55, into which pressurized air is introduced, which is made to come out from above through small holes 56.

To adapt to the profile of the film 12 and the support element 49, each laying device 42, in addition to being able to slide horizontally on the guides 45, can move vertically by means of an upper actuator 58, also controlled by the processor 31.

Pressing means 59 of a known type can be provided downstream of the reinforcing unit 40 to flatten the reinforcing elements 41 and make them adhere better to the film 12.

The operation of the apparatus 10 described up to now is as follows.

The film 12 is extracted from the feeding unit 11 and, by means of the motorized towing means 30, is made to advance at a determined substantially constant speed, parallel to its longitudinal axis Y (Fig. 6).

When the film 12 passes through the forming unit 20, the mold 22 is configured to make it assume the profile that is to be given to the sail 13. In particular, the processor 31 operates in a coordinated manner the various actuators 25 which raise or lower, the individual segments 23. The depression inside the cavity 26 keeps the film 12 adherent to the surface 21 of the mold 22, while the cold air, blown by the nozzles 29, cools the film 12 making them assume, locally, or in the section in contact with the mold 22, the profile of the latter.

The step of forming the film 12 continues until it has assumed the shape of the sail 13 to be made. In fact, as the film 12 advances with respect to the unit 20, the processor 31 makes the mold 22 assume the appropriate profile, i.e. more or less concave or convex, depending on the greater or lesser width that the sail must have in the different cross sections, from the pen P to the base B of the same (fig. 6).

The film 12, immediately after the forming unit 20, passes through the reinforcing unit 40, where the laying devices 42 place the reinforcing elements 41 on a surface thereof. In particular, the processor 31 actuates each actuator 51 to causing the support element 49 to assume the profile corresponding to the transversal section of the film 12 which momentarily passes over it. Furthermore, the processor 31 controls the horizontal and vertical displacement of each laying device 42, autonomously and independently of the other devices 42, by means of the corresponding motor 46 and actuator 58.

In this way, while the film 12 continues to advance in the direction of its longitudinal axis Y, controlled by the processor 31, through the sensor 32 and the drawing means 30, the laying devices 42, moving transversely to this axis Y, are in able to lay the reinforcing elements 41 along any path, advantageously along the load lines of the sail 13 to be made.

The reinforcing elements 41 are adhered to the film 12 in any known way, for example by the use of quick-setting adhesives.

Once the above described step of reinforcing the film 12 has been completed, this is cut to size to eliminate the edges exceeding the actual sail surface. The sail 13 thus made is then finished, according to known techniques.

As soon as a sail 13 has been formed, a new sail 13, even completely different from the previous one, can be formed by the apparatus 10 described above. The processor 31 can in fact be programmed both to mass-produce sails of the same type and the same dimensions, and to produce sails having characteristics and shapes that are always different from each other.

It is obvious that modifications or additions of parts or steps can be made to the apparatus 10 and to the method described up to now, without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention.

It is also obvious that, although the present invention has been described with reference to a specific example, a person skilled in the art will certainly be able to realize many other forms of equivalent apparatus, all falling within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (1)

CLAIMS 1 - Process for making a sail (13) having at least one layer of windproof material, characterized in that it comprises at least the following steps: - extracting from a feeding unit (11) a film (12) of flexible plastic material while said film (12) is in a state of deformability; - arranging, downstream of said feeding unit (11), a fixed forming unit (20), arranged transversely to the longitudinal axis (Y) of said film (12) and comprising a mold (22) adapted to assume a variable cross profile; - making said film (12) advance with respect to said forming unit (20), making said film (12) adhere to said mold (22) while the latter each time and temporarily has a certain profile; And - cooling said film (12) to make them assume the temporary profile of the latter in the area of contact with said mold (22). 2 - Process as in Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a subsequent step of reinforcing said film (12) by means of reinforcing elements (41) arranged at least along preferential lines. 3 - Process as in Claim 2, characterized in that said reinforcement step comprises the transit of said film (12) through a fixed reinforcement unit (40), arranged downstream of said forming unit (20) and comprising means of laying (42) adapted to lay on said film (12) reinforcing elements (41) in substantially inextensible plastic material, and contrast means (48) able to assume each time the transversal profile that has said film (12) while it is passing in correspondence with said reinforcement unit (40). 4 - Process as in Claim 3, characterized in that said laying means comprise a plurality of laying devices (42) each movable transversely to said film (12) under the control of a processor (31). 5 - Process as in Claim 4, characterized in that said processor (31) also controls the actuation of a first plurality of actuators (25) adapted to make said mold (22) assume said specific profile from time to time. 6 - Process as in Claim 4, characterized in that said processor (31) is also able to control the actuation of a second plurality of actuators (51) adapted to make said contrast means (48) assume each time the profile corresponding to the cross section of said film (12) which is momentarily transiting in correspondence with them. 7 - Process according to Claim 2, characterized in that said reinforcing elements (41) are made to adhere to said film (12) by means of the use of quick-setting adhesives. 8 - Process as in Claim 7, characterized in that said reinforcing elements (41) are subsequently made to solidify. 9 - Process according to Claim 7, characterized in that said reinforcing elements (41) are subjected to pressure to be flattened and made to adhere better to said film (12). 10 - Process according to Claim 7, characterized in that said reinforcing elements (41) comprise threads, tapes or extruded elements in the deposition phase on said film (12). 11 - Process as in Claim 2, characterized in that said film (12), after said reinforcement step, is cut to size to eliminate the parts of said film (12) exceeding the actual sail surface of said sail (13 ). 12 - Apparatus for making a sail (13) having at least one layer of windproof material, characterized in that it comprises at least one power supply unit (11) from which a film (12) of flexible plastic material is able to come out, while said film (12) is in a state of deformability, a fixed forming unit (20), arranged downstream of said feeding unit (11), transversely to the longitudinal axis (Y) of said film (12) and comprising a mold (22) adapted to assume a transversal profile which varies from time to time and cooling means (29) adapted to cool said film (12) to make them assume in the area of contact with said mold (22) the temporary profile of this Lastly, drawing means (30) being provided for advancing said film through said forming unit (20) at a determined speed. 13 - Apparatus as claimed in Claim 12, characterized in that said film (12) is adapted to constitute said layer of windproof material and is made of a deformable and shapeable plastic material, such as a polymer, a polyester, or similar materials. 14 - Apparatus as claimed in Claim 12, characterized in that the thickness of said film (12) varies, according to the type of sail (13) to be made, from a few tenths of a millimeter to a few millimeters. 15 - Apparatus as in Claim 12, characterized in that the width of said film (12) is a function of the width of the sail (13) to be made and that said film (12) can comprise a plurality of elements coupled together in a longitudinal direction or in a transversal sense. 16 - Apparatus as in Claim 12, characterized in that the width of said film (12) is greater than the width of said sail (13) to be made and that said towing means (30) comprise a plurality of pairs of opposing rollers and motorized, which are able to collaborate with the lateral edges (12a, 12b) of said film (12). 17 - Apparatus as claimed in Claim 12, characterized in that said feeding unit (11) comprises an extruder (14). 18 - Apparatus as claimed in Claim 12, characterized in that said feed assembly (11) comprises at least one reel (16) of said film (12), arranged upstream of heating means (17) suitable for heating said film (12) to make it deformable. 19 - Apparatus as in Claim 12, characterized in that said feed assembly (11) comprises a plurality of film reels (16), arranged so that the individual films, unwinding, partially overlap the adjacent films, along their lengths. edges, and can be combined with one another, along said edges, to form said film (12) of the desired width. 20 - Apparatus as in claim 12, characterized in that said mold (22) is made of flexible material and comprises a plurality of segments (23) side by side and associated with a corresponding first plurality of actuators (25) in order to be selectively and individually raised, or lowered, with respect to a nominal reference plane (X). 21 - Apparatus as in claim 12, characterized in that said mold (22) comprises an upper surface (21) and vacuum means suitable for keeping said film (12) in contact with said upper surface (21). 22 - Apparatus as in claim 12, characterized in that said cooling means comprise a plurality of nozzles (29) arranged above said mold (22) and able to blow cold air towards said film (12). 23 - Apparatus as in Claim 20, characterized in that said first plurality of actuators (25) is controlled by a processor (31), to which a sensor (32) is also connected to generate a signal indicative of the position of said film (12) as he advances. 24 - Apparatus as in claim 12, characterized in that downstream of said forming unit (20) there is a unit (40) for reinforcing said sail (13) being formed, in a coordinated position, said reinforcement unit (40) being able to spread on said film (12) a plurality of reinforcing elements (41) made of very resistant and substantially inextensible plastic material. 25 - Apparatus as claimed in claims 23 and 24, characterized in that said reinforcement unit (40) comprises a plurality of laying devices (42), each of which is mounted on a carriage (43) sliding on horizontal guides (45) and controlled by a motor member (46) in turn controlled by said processor (31). 26 - Apparatus as in claim 25, characterized in that said reinforcement unit (40) comprises contrast means (48) arranged under said film (12) in correspondence with said laying devices (42) to define a surface support for said film (12). 27 - Apparatus as in claim 26, characterized in that said contrast means (48) comprise a support element (49) made of flexible material having a plurality of segments (50) side by side and associated with a corresponding plurality of second actuators (51) controlled by said processor (31). 28 - Apparatus as claimed in Claim 27, characterized in that vacuum means (52, 53) are provided to keep said film (12) in contact with said support element (49). 29 - Apparatus as claimed in Claim 27, characterized in that detachment means (55, 56) are provided for detaching said film (12) from the upper surface of said supporting element (49). 30 - Apparatus as in claim 27, characterized in that said laying devices (42), in order to adapt to the profile of said film (12) and said support element (49), are connected to third actuators (58), also they are controlled by said processor (31). 31 - Apparatus as in claim 25, characterized in that said reinforcing elements (41) comprise threads, tapes or extruded elements deposited on said film (12) by said laying devices (42). 32 - Apparatus as in Claim 24, characterized in that pressing means (59) are provided downstream of said reinforcing unit (40) to flatten said reinforcing elements (41) and make them adhere better to said film (12). 33 - Sail made with the method according to one of claims 1 to 11 or with an apparatus according to one of claims 12 to 32. 34 - Process and apparatus for making sails, substantially as described with reference to the attached drawings.