JP2003508644A - Nozzle body for generating a fine liquid jet in a hydroentangler and method for jet entanglement - Google Patents

Abstract

The water jet streams on a nozzle beam for the hydrodynamic water needling are formed inside a nozzle body (14, 31) which extends over the length of the nozzle beam. The material of the nozzle strip (14) is, in general, made of high-grade steel in which the holes (30) for the nozzle jet streams are punched or drilled. According to the invention, the material of the nozzle body (31) is made of hard metal, ceramic or of a material having similar properties such as sapphire, and the holes are then made using a laser beam or an electrical discharge machining method or a diamond drill. The nozzle body can be provided as a nozzle strip or only as one individual unit that produces the respective water jet stream. This ensures not only a high level of abrasive resistance of the hole edge areas, but very smooth and, in particular, longer hole walls which can also be produced with sharp-edges and without the formation of burrs.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

The present invention relates to long fibers (endl) in product webs made of chemical or natural fibers.
os. Non-woven fabrics (Nonwovens), thin woven fabrics (Tissue), woven fabrics (Gew)
Nozzle body for producing a very fine liquid jet for forming an eben) or a knit (Gewirken), the nozzle body advantageously extending in a transverse direction orthogonal to the product web to be fed. Liquid-tightly supported in a nozzle beam (also called a jet head), the length of the nozzle beam corresponds to the width of the product web, and a liquid pressure of up to 1000 bar is created in the nozzle beam. The liquid pressure presses the nozzle strip against the wall of the nozzle beam, which has through-flow slits, the nozzle strip having a diameter closely aligned to generate a liquid jet. Of the type in which a large number of extremely small nozzle holes are machined.

Nozzle strips are known, for example from EP-A-0725175. The nozzle strip extends over a large working width and is generally formed from a thin sheet of, for example, stainless steel with a plurality of mechanically formed holes. The nozzle strip or the hole machined into the nozzle strip has a geometry that has been thoroughly tested and repeatedly improved in actual use, but a hole having such a geometry. The manufacturing method of is very expensive. The walls of the individual nozzle holes with a diameter of up to 0.1 mm must be made extremely smooth. Therefore, these holes are punched or stamped. The geometry of the holes is particularly important for forming water jets, or water jets. Therefore, generally behind the nozzle cross section defining the water jet is a conical section extending over the height of the nozzle bore. This also prevents the formed water jet from being cleaved by friction on the hole wall on the way to the hole end. Due to the ever-increasing water pressure demanded from the field of use, and due to constant wear, the edge areas of the nozzle holes quickly become unclean. This gives rise to water jets which are neither sharp nor circular and which impart an unsatisfactory energy to the dynamic treatment of the product web.

The problem underlying the present invention is a nozzle body in which a precisely formed, very smooth nozzle hole can be formed over its effective length and whose inner surface exhibits wear resistance over a large period of time. Or to develop a nozzle strip.

Starting from a nozzle body of the type mentioned at the outset, the solution to the problem is to provide a material for the nozzle body such as a cemented carbide (Hartmetal) or ceramic material or a physics equivalent or similar to these materials. It will be appreciated that a material having the desired properties has been selected. Such materials also include artificial ruby and sapphire, ie single crystal aluminum oxide. Since these materials, especially ceramics, are brittle, it is desirable first to give preference to the group of cemented carbides with high E-modules. Cemented carbide is a two-phase or multi-phase alloy produced by powder metallurgy using a metallurgical binder. Cemented Carbide can be classified into Class K, Class M and Class P; Class K Tungsten Carbide-Cobalt Alloys: Characterized by high hardness, Class M Additives of titanium carbide and tantalum carbide such as cermet (5- 15%): Characterized by higher hot wear resistance Titanium carbide / tantalum carbide content higher than P type (10 to 60%): Characterized by better steel cutting.

These materials can be used to manufacture nozzle bodies with nozzle holes with the great advantage of having high wear resistance. These materials are currently used mainly for cutting metal alloys. And now these materials themselves are hydroentanglement machines (Wasserstrahl-Vernadelungsmas) for hydroentanglement (also called spunlace) using water jets.
in the chin) for a large number of fluid jets.

It has been found that these materials are particularly suitable for laser beam machining or electrical discharge machining. In the case of laser beam machining, the cutting edges formed in this material can be cut smoothly, so that in some cases the previously required post-treatment of the holes can be dispensed with. Even better results are obtained in the case of electrical discharge machining, and also particularly good in the case of drilling with a diamond punch. As far as this is concerned, it is a constituent feature of the present invention that the holes for the nozzle jets provided in the nozzle body are made of the above-mentioned material by laser beam machining, electric discharge machining or diamond punching.

The material thickness of the nozzle body is advantageous as it allows the nozzle holes to be formed with an overall height. That is, the extension that has been introduced so far, which extends conically towards the outlet of the hole, is no longer necessary. The nozzle holes preferably have a diameter of 0.08 to 0.15 mm, and the hole spacing is 20 to 128 hpi in one or two rows.
Is desirable. The thickness of the nozzle body is 0.8-2 mm. However, the length of the nozzle holes may be larger, for example up to 3 mm or more.

The idea of the invention provides particular advantages by not having to make the entire nozzle strip from the same material. It is desirable that a supportive material, such as stainless steel, support another material for the unique nozzle body. However, this can also be done entirely for individual nozzle bodies.

With respect to the alternative construction of the nozzle body and thus the nozzle strip for a larger working width, several possibilities are offered. Cemented carbide or ceramic materials are extremely brittle, so that the material forming the nozzle holes can be supported in a more stable frame or the material can be applied to a support, for example made of special steel. . This allows the nozzle body to be formed over the entire length of the nozzle strip from the hard materials listed above, or of cemented carbide, ceramics or sapphire, each with one wall, for example in the form of a small cylinder. It can be embodied as a unit or as a micro-unit and can be supported as a separate part on a further strip-shaped support material, for example stainless steel, and held on this support material. In that case, with respect to these nozzle body individual parts, a large number of nozzle body individual parts can be arranged directly next to each other and fixed, or a large number of nozzle bodies can be arranged and fixed respectively in a predetermined hole. it can. The fixing can be performed by adhesion.

[0010]   Example description   Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

The casing of the nozzle beam consists of an upper part 1 and a lower part 2 which is screwed onto the upper part 1 from below at several points over the entire length by screws 3. The top one is
It has two holes 4 and 5 along the longitudinal direction, and of both holes, the upper hole is the pressure chamber 4 and the lower hole is the pressure distribution chamber 5. Both chambers 4 and 5 are open on one end face side and screwed so as to be liquid-tightly closed again by the cover. Both chambers 4, 5 are separated from each other by an intermediate wall. A large number of through holes 9 are provided in this partition wall over the entire length of the nozzle beam.
, 5 are connected to each other. As a result, the liquid flowing into the pressure chamber 4 is uniformly distributed over the entire length and flows into the pressure distribution chamber 5. In the pressure distribution chamber 5, the holding device 21 additionally holds the baffle body 20. The pressure distribution chamber 5 is open downwards, and in this case the pressure distribution chamber 5 is opened by a slit 10 having a width smaller than the diameter of the hole of the pressure distribution chamber 5. This slit 10 likewise extends over the entire length of the nozzle beam.

As shown in FIG. 1, the upper part 1 of the casing is screwed tightly and liquid-tightly to the lower part 2. The sealing property is secured by the O-ring 11. This O-ring 11
Are fitted in an annular groove provided in the upper part 1. A key protrusion 23 is provided in the center between the O-ring 11 and the slit 10 and surrounds the slit 10. The key protrusion 23 is provided with a corresponding groove 24 provided in the lower portion 2 of the casing.
Fitted in and having a repair groove 26 for the O-ring 12. The outer edge 25 of the repair groove 26 is directed toward the edge of the nozzle strip 14. An annular groove is also provided at the bottom of the groove 24 of the lower part 2, and an O-ring 12 for sealing the nozzle strip 14 is fitted in the annular groove. Below the through hole 9 and the slit 10 for the liquid, a slit 13 is also formed in the lower part 2 of the casing so as to be aligned with the through hole 9 and the slit 10. The upper region of the slit 13 is formed to have an extremely small width, and is left by an amount slightly larger than the width of the effective nozzle opening of the nozzle strip 14.

FIG. 1 is intended only to illustrate the manner in which the nozzle strip 14 or the nozzle body 31 is mounted, the nozzle beam itself having a completely different appearance, for example in DE-A 1992 1694. It may have the appearance as disclosed.

The nozzle strip 14 has a predetermined width required to accommodate the large number of nozzle holes 30 and to support the nozzle strip 14 above the O-ring 12.
If the nozzle body 31 is manufactured as a separate part and is mounted on the nozzle strip 14, the nozzle body 31 is respectively in an individual notch 32 provided in the material containing the nozzle body 31. Is held. This material is
It may be a unique nozzle strip 33 material as illustrated in FIGS. This is advantageous because it is possible to machine a plurality of notches 32 through the nozzle strip 33. This nozzle strip 33 is then applied to a support strip 34. This support strip 34
The nozzle body 31 has a plurality of holes 35 corresponding to the arrangement of the nozzle bodies 31. In this case, the holes 35 and the holes 30 provided in the nozzle body 31 for forming a predetermined shape of the nozzle jet flow, respectively. Aligned, but formed to have a larger diameter than the hole 30. This allows the water jet to flow smoothly through the strips 14; 33, 34 as a whole.

Of course, the nozzle body 31 is manufactured from a hard, resistant material. The material of the strips 33, 33 'may be made of special steel, but the material of the support strips 34, 34' may be made of a rigid and hard material such as cemented carbide. This reduces the excessively large elasticity of the long strip desired at the point of use.

To obtain a uniform entanglement effect, it is advantageous to arrange the nozzle bodies 31 directly next to each other on the support strip 34 ′, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. This allows the nozzle jets to be formed closer together as required in the hydroentanglement industry. In any case, it is advantageous to arrange the nozzle bodies 31 in two rows (FIGS. 2 and 4) offset from one another. In order to hold the nozzle body 31, in the case of the embodiment of FIG.
It is not necessary to provide holes in this material, only partition bodies 32 '(possibly circular segments) being provided on both sides for laterally fixing the nozzle body 31.

In each case, the nozzle body 31 is glued in the strips 33, 33 'and / or on the support strips 34, 34'.

The holes provided in each nozzle body 31 are formed exactly in a cylindrical shape over the entire length thereof. The edge edge of the water inflow hole forms a sharp edge, which can also be said to the water outflow hole. In any case, the outflow end of the nozzle hole 30 is not provided with a conical enlargement, which was heretofore considered necessary.

The drawings shown in FIGS. 2 to 5 are drawn to be considerably enlarged from the actual size. The hole spacing is preferably 20 to 128 hpi. That is, the diameter of the nozzle body 31 is about 1 mm, and therefore the nozzle hole 30 itself is extremely fine, that is, 0.08 to 0.15 mm.

2-5, the nozzle body 31 is shown as a separate part in the support strips 34, 3
An embodiment supported on 4'is shown. However, the strips 33, 33
′ Made entirely of a hard material and provided directly with nozzle holes 30 in this strip and then using this strip alone as a nozzle strip, or such a strip is not very brittle in itself and It is also possible to mount it on support strips 34, 34 'made of special steel.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a cross-sectional view of a nozzle beam as disclosed in EP-A-0725175.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a nozzle strip with individual nozzle bodies supported by nozzle strips of another material.

[Figure 3]   FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the nozzle strip shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a nozzle strip with individual nozzle bodies supported very closely to each other, supported on a nozzle strip of another material.

[Figure 5]   FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the nozzle strip shown in FIG. 4.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 upper part, 2 lower part, 3 screw, 4 pressure chamber, 5 pressure distribution chamber, 6
Through-flow holes, 10 slits, 11, 12 O-rings, 13 slits,
14 nozzle strips, 20 baffle bodies, 21 holding devices, 23
Key protrusion, 24 groove, 25 outer edge portion, 26 repair groove, 30 nozzle hole, 31 nozzle body, 32 notch, 32 'partition body, 33, 33
'Strips, 34,34' support strips, 35 holes

[Procedure for Amendment] Submission for translation of Article 34 Amendment of Patent Cooperation Treaty

[Submission date] June 12, 2001 (2001.6.12)

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0001

[Correction method] Change

[Contents of correction]

The present invention relates to long fibers (endl) in product webs made of chemical or natural fibers.
os. Non-woven fabrics (Nonwovens), thin woven fabrics (Tissue), woven fabrics (Gew)
Nozzle strip for producing a very fine liquid jet for forming an eben) or a knit (Gewirken), said nozzle strip advantageously extending transversely to the product web to be fed. Liquid-tightly supported in a nozzle beam (also called a jet head), the length of the nozzle beam corresponds to the width of the product web, and a liquid pressure of up to 1000 bar is created in the nozzle beam. The liquid pressure presses the nozzle strip against the wall of the nozzle beam, which has through-slits, at a distance of 20 to 128 hpi, i.e. A large number of very small nozzle holes with a diameter of 0.08 to 0.15 mm, that is, a very small number, are arranged closely side by side. It related to those of the formula.

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0002

[Correction method] Change

[Contents of correction]

Nozzle strips of this type are known, for example, from European Patent Application Publication No. 0725.
It is known based on specification No. 175. The nozzle strip extends over a large working width and is generally formed from a thin sheet of, for example, stainless steel with a plurality of mechanically formed holes. The nozzle strip or the hole machined into the nozzle strip has a geometry that has been thoroughly tested and repeatedly improved in actual use, but a hole having such a geometry. The manufacturing method of is very expensive. The walls of the individual nozzle holes with a diameter of up to 0.1 mm must be made extremely smooth. Therefore, these holes are punched or stamped.
The geometry of the holes is particularly important for forming water jets, or water jets. Therefore, generally behind the nozzle cross section defining the water jet is a conical section extending over the height of the nozzle bore. This also prevents the formed water jet from being cleaved by friction on the hole wall on the way to the hole end. Due to the ever-increasing water pressure demanded from the field of use, and due to constant wear, the edge areas of the nozzle holes quickly become unclean. This gives rise to water jets which are neither sharp nor circular and which impart an unsatisfactory energy to the dynamic treatment of the product web.

[Procedure for Amendment] Submission for translation of Article 34 Amendment of Patent Cooperation Treaty

[Submission date] July 13, 2001 (2001.7.13)

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be amended] Claims

[Correction method] Change

[Contents of correction]

[Claims]

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0003

[Correction method] Change

[Contents of correction]

The problem underlying the present invention is a nozzle body in which a precisely formed, very smooth nozzle hole can be formed over its effective length and whose inner surface exhibits wear resistance over a large period of time. Or to develop a nozzle strip.

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0004

[Correction method] Change

[Contents of correction]

Starting from a nozzle body of the type mentioned at the outset, the solution to the abovementioned problem is to use cemented carbide (Har) as the material for the nozzle strip or the individual nozzle bodies.
tmetall) or ceramic materials or materials having physical properties equivalent or similar to these materials are selected such that the nozzle strips or individual nozzle bodies are made of another material, such as special steel, over their entire surface extension length. Recognized to be held and supported by the material. Such materials also include artificial ruby and sapphire, ie single crystal aluminum oxide. Since these materials, especially ceramics, are brittle, it is desirable first to give preference to the group of cemented carbides with high E-modules. Cemented carbide is a two-phase or multi-phase alloy produced by powder metallurgy using a metallurgical binder. Cemented Carbide can be classified into Class K, Class M and Class P; Class K Tungsten Carbide-Cobalt Alloys: Characterized by high hardness, Class M Additives of titanium carbide and tantalum carbide such as cermet (5- 15%): Characterized by higher hot wear resistance Titanium carbide / tantalum carbide content higher than P type (10 to 60%): Characterized by better steel cutting.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0005

[Correction method] Change

[Contents of correction]

These materials can be used to manufacture nozzle bodies with nozzle holes with the great advantage of having high wear resistance. These materials are currently used for machining metal alloys, for example for cutting any material for pressures up to 10,000 bar, as described in GB 2178342, and also in Germany. It is used for high pressure cleaning equipment as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,908,648. In this case, in this way, only individual nozzles or associated nozzle parts are formed from the material. And now these materials are hydroentangled machines (Wasserstrahl-Ve) for hydroentanglement (also called spunlace) using water jets.
It is intended to be used for multiple fluid jets placed directly next to each other in a rnadelungsmascene.

[Procedure Amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0006

[Correction method] Change

[Contents of correction]

It has been found that these materials are particularly suitable for laser beam machining or electrical discharge machining. In the case of laser beam machining, the cutting edges formed in this material can be cut smoothly, so that in some cases the previously required post-treatment of the holes can be dispensed with. Even better results are obtained in the case of electrical discharge machining, and also particularly good in the case of drilling with a diamond punch. As far as this is concerned, it is a constituent feature of the present invention that the holes for the nozzle jets provided in the nozzle body are made of the above-mentioned material by laser beam machining, electric discharge machining or diamond punching.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (81) Designated countries EP (AT, BE, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, IE, I T, LU, MC, NL, PT, SE), EA (AM, AZ , BY, KG, KZ, MD, RU, TJ, TM), AE , AG, AL, AM, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BR, BY, BZ, CA, CH, CN, CR, C U, CZ, DE, DK, DM, DZ, EE, ES, FI , GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, IS, JP, KE, KG, KP, KR, K Z, LC, LK, LR, LS, LT, LU, LV, MA , MD, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, MZ, NO, NZ, PL, PT, RO, RU, SD, SE, SG, S I, SK, SL, TJ, TM, TR, TT, TZ, UA , UG, US, UZ, VN, YU, ZA, ZW

Claims (19)

[Claims] 1. For jet entangling long or short fibers within a product web of chemical or natural fibers to produce an ultrafine liquid jet for forming a nonwoven, thin woven, woven or knitted fabric. A nozzle body, which is supported in a liquid-tight manner in a laterally extending nozzle beam which is preferably orthogonal to the product web to be fed, the length of the nozzle beam being Corresponding to the width of a liquid pressure of up to 1000 bar in the nozzle beam,
The liquid pressure presses the nozzle strip against the wall of the nozzle beam, which has through-slits, in which the nozzle strip is closely spaced and has a very small diameter, in order to generate a liquid jet. In the type in which a large number of nozzle holes are machined, a material for the nozzle body (14, 31) is selected to be a cemented carbide or a material having the same or similar physical properties as the cemented carbide. Nozzle body for generating a very fine liquid jet in a water entanglement device. 2. For jet entangling long or short fibers within a product web of chemical or natural fibers to produce an ultrafine liquid jet for forming a nonwoven, thin woven, woven or knitted fabric. A nozzle body, which is supported in a liquid-tight manner in a laterally extending nozzle beam which is preferably orthogonal to the product web to be fed, the length of the nozzle beam being Corresponding to the width of a liquid pressure of up to 1000 bar in the nozzle beam,
The liquid pressure presses the nozzle strip against the wall of the nozzle beam, which has through-slits, in which the nozzle strip is closely spaced and has a very small diameter, in order to generate a liquid jet. In the type in which a large number of nozzle holes are machined, ceramic materials as well as sapphire or materials having physical properties comparable or similar to these materials are selected as materials for the nozzle bodies (14, 31). Nozzle body for generating an extremely fine liquid jet in a water entanglement device. 3. The nozzle body is formed as a separate part (31) in the nozzle strip (14), the nozzle strip (14) holding a number of nozzle bodies over the entire length of the nozzle strip (14). Claim 1
Or the nozzle body described in 2. 4. The nozzle body according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle hole is formed by processing the material using a laser beam. 5. The nozzle body according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the nozzle hole is machined into the material by electric discharge machining (die-sinking electric discharge machining). 6. A nozzle body according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the nozzle holes are machined into the material using a diamond punch. 7. The nozzle body according to claim 1, wherein the effective length of the nozzle hole (30) is larger than the effective nozzle diameter because of the jet diameter. 8. The nozzle body according to claim 7, wherein the ratio between the effective nozzle diameter and the effective length of the nozzle hole (30) is 1: 1 to 1:50, preferably 1:10. 9. The nozzle body according to claim 7, wherein the effective length of the nozzle hole (30) is set to be greater than 1 mm, preferably to a maximum of 2 mm. 10. The nozzle surface of the nozzle bore (30) has a very low smoothness, that is to say a roughness R _{A of} at most 0.01 μ, preferably 0.01 to 0.2 μ. Nozzle body according to any one of the above. 11. The nozzle hole (30) according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle hole (30) is formed so as to form a sharp edge over the entire circumference with respect to the surface of the nozzle body (31). Nozzle body. 12. The nozzle body according to claim 11, wherein the effective nozzle hole length (30) extends over the entire height of the nozzle body cross section. 13. The nozzle body (31) according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the nozzle body (31) is held and supported over its surface extension length by another material (31, 31 ') such as special steel. The nozzle body according to item 1. 14. A support is entirely coated with a cemented carbide layer or a ceramic layer, and the cemented carbide layer or the ceramic layer has a plurality of holes for independently forming a water jet. The nozzle body according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the support layer has a larger passage cross section that does not affect each water jet and allows the water jet to pass smoothly. . 15. Nozzle body (31) is formed as a walled, optionally cylindrical unit made of cemented carbide, ceramics or sapphire, like special steel formed in strips. 4. Supported on a separate support material (34) as an individual part and retained on said support material (34).
The stated nozzle body. 16. Nozzle body according to claim 15, wherein a number of nozzle bodies are arranged closely side by side, possibly in two rows offset from one another, on the support material (34, 34 '). 17. The support material (34, 34 ') is provided with a plurality of notches (32) for accommodating individual cylindrical nozzle bodies (31). Nozzle body. 18. The cutouts are each formed in a circular shape, or are formed only as closely-spaced segments of such a circle for each nozzle body. Nozzle body. 19. A method for jet entanglement or jet transport of long or short fibers within a product web of chemical or natural fibers to form a nonwoven, thin woven, woven or knitted fabric. In a method of the type in which a large number of water jets arranged close to each other across the working width are penetrated into the fibrous structure with high energy, they are brought under pressure in order to form each individual water jet without swirling. The water is brought into contact with the effective nozzle wall to form a precisely cylindrical water jet over a relatively long effective area, i.e. greater than 1 mm, i.e. A nozzle having a plurality of effective nozzle holes formed in an effective length longer than 1 mm for the jet entanglement and the jet flow movement over the entire length. Method for jet entanglement, characterized by using a cheat body.