SE1851097A1 - A treatment unit for in-line treatment of thread - Google Patents

Abstract

A system (10) for in-line treatment of one or more threads (20a-b) for use with a thread consuming device (15) is provided. The system comprises a treatment unit (100) having a plurality of nozzles (152a-f) being distributed in at least a first and a second dispensing zone (154a-b), the dispensing zones (154a-b) being separated in a direction being perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the at least one thread (20a-b), said thread (20a-b) being in motion in use, each nozzle (152a-f) being configured to dispense one or more coating substances at least onto the at least one thread (20a-b) when activated, and a control unit (190) being configured to control activation of each dispensing zone (154a-b) of nozzles (152a-f) independently.

Description

A TREATMENT UNIT FOR IN-LINE TREATMENT OF THREAD TECHNICAL FIELDThe present invention relates to the technical field of thread consumingdevices. In particular, the present invention relates to a system comprising a treatment unit to be used in association With such thread consuming device.

BACKGROUND lt has been suggested to provide thread consuming devices, such as embroiderymachines or the like, With in-line apparatuses designed to provide the thread With acertain treatment. Such in-line apparatuses could e. g. be used to colour the thread,Whereby multiple colour nozzles could replace the current use of multiple pre-colouredthreads When producing multi-coloured pattems using embroidery machines. In prior artsystems Where threads of different colours are used, one thread, having a first specifiedcolour, is used for some stitches While another thread, having a second specified colour,is used for other stitches. ln order to elin1inate the obvious draWbacks of the requirement of multiplethreads of different colours, the present applicant has filed several patent applications onthe technique of in-line colouring of thread, such as PCT/SE20l6/050589 andPCT/SE20l6/050588. The proposed solutions provide improvements in terms of colourquality and also reduces the complexity of the thread consuming device.

HoWever, in order to further improve the quality and efficiency of the in-linecolouring of threads it Would be advantageous if the in-line colouring apparatus could be able to handle more than one thread simultaneously.

SUMMARY An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a solutionovercoming the disadvantages of prior art. More specifically, the present inventionprovides a solution Where the system for in-line treatment of a thread is configured tohandle more than one thread simultaneously by dividing the nozzles into different dispensing zones that can be controlled individually. ln a first aspect, a system for in-line treatment of one or more threads for useWith a thread consurr1ing device. The system comprises a treatment unit having aplurality of nozzles being distributed in at least a first and a second dispensing zone, thedispensing zones can be separated in a direction being perpendicular to the longitudinaldirection of the at least one thread, said thread being in motion in use, each nozzle beingconfigured to dispense one or more coating substances at least onto the at least onethread When activated, and a control unit being configured to control activation of eachdispensing zone of nozzles independently.

Some thread consuming devices needs to use a plurality of separate threadssimultaneously. A solution having separate systems for each thread is not beneficialsince it Would be both costly and space consuming. Hence, having a single system thatis capable of treating a plurality of threads With coating substance simultaneously hasseveral benefits. With the system described herein the plurality of threads can forexample be applied With different coating substances (such as different colour)simultaneously.

The plurality of nozzles may be arranged in one or more nozzle arrays. ln oneembodiment, the plurality of nozzles arranged in one nozzle array and Wherein thenozzle array is arranged at an angle in relation to the direction of the at least one thread.

The plurality of nozzles may be arranged in at least two nozzle arrays. The atleast two nozzle arrays may be parallel to each other.

The nozzle arrays may be arranged at an angle in relation to the direction of theat least one thread. ln one embodiment, at least a part of the nozzles of the first nozzle array aredistributed in the first dispensing zone and at least a part of the nozzles of the secondnozzle array are distributed in the second dispensing zone. ln one embodiment, all of the nozzles of the first nozzle array are distributed inthe first dispensing zone and all of the nozzles of the second nozzle array are distributedin the second dispensing zone. ln one embodiment, the system is arranged for in-line treatment of at least afirst thread and a second thread, and Wherein the control unit is configured to control activation of the nozzles of each dispensing zone independently such that the first thread can be treated by the first dispensing zone, While the second thread can besimultaneously treated by the second dispensing zone. ln one embodiment, the control unit is configured to control activation of eachdispensing zone by transmitting trigger signals to the nozzles being arranged in thespecific dispensing zone.

The control unit may be configured to activate the nozzles of one dispensingzone individually.

The control unit may be configured to activate the nozzles of one dispensingzone individually With a predetermined offset from receiving the trigger signal. ln one embodiment, the first thread and a second thread are different from eachother. ln one embodiment the nozzles are inkjet nozzles. ln one embodiment, the system further comprises a thread consuming device.The thread consuming device may be an embroidery machine, a seWing machine, aknitting machine, a Weaving machine, a tufting machine, a thread Winding machine, andor any combination thereof.

In a second aspect, a method for in-line treatment of at least one thread isprovided. The method comprises providing a treatment unit having a plurality ofnozzles being distributed in at least a first and a second dispensing zone, the dispensingzones being separated in a direction being substantially perpendicular to the longitudinaldirection of the at least one thread, said thread being in motion in use, each nozzle beingconfigured to dispense one or more coating substances at least onto the at least onethread When activated, and providing a control unit being configured to control activation of each dispensing zone of nozzles independently.

Thread consuming device is in this context any apparatus Which in useconsumes thread. It may e. g. be an embroidery machine, Weaving machine, seWingmachine, knitting machine, Weaving machine, a tufting machine, a thread Windingmachine or any other thread consuming apparatus Which may benefit from a surfacetreatment or coating or any other process involving subjecting the thread to a substance, such as dying.

Treatment is in this context any process designed to cause a change of theproperties of a thread. Such processes include, but are not limited to, colouring, wetting,lubrication, cleaning, fixing, heating, curing, dying, etc.

Thread is in this context a flexible elongate member or substrate, being thin inwidth and height direction, and having a longitudinal extension being significantlygreater than the longitudinal extension of any parts of the system described herein, aswell as than its width and height dimensions. Typically, a thread may consist of aplurality of plies being bundled or twisted together. The term thread thus includes ayarn, wire, strand, filament, etc. made of various materials such as glass fibre, wool,cotton, synthetic materials such as polymers, metals, polyester, viscos, or e.g. a mixtureof wool, cotton, polymer, or metal or any combination thereof.

Within this specification, all references to upstream and/or downstream shouldbe interpreted as relative positions during normal operation of the thread consumingdevice, i.e. when the device is operating to treat an elongated substrate, such as a thread,continuously moving through the device in a normal operating direction. Hence, anupstream component is arranged such that a specific part of the thread passes it before it passes a downstream component.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the invention will be described in the following description ofthe present invention; reference being made to the appended drawings which illustratenon-limiting examples of how the inventive concept can be reduced into practice.

Fig. la is a schematic view of a system for in-line treatment of threadaccording to an embodiment; Fig. lb is a perspective view of a system having a thread consuming device anda treatment unit according to an embodiment; Fig. 2 is a schematic view of a treatment unit for use with a system accordingto an embodiment; Fig. 3 is a schematic view of a discharge device forrning part of a treatmentunit; Fig. 4a is a schematic top view of a part of a discharge device according to an embodiment; lS 2S Fig. 4b is a schematic top view of a part of a discharge device according to anembodiment; Fig. Sa is a schematic view of a part of a treatment unit according to anembodiment; Fig. Sb is a schematic view of a part of a treatment unit according to anembodiment; Fig. Sc is a schematic view of a part of a treatment unit according to anembodiment; Fig. Sd is a schematic view of a part of a treatment unit according to anembodiment; Fig. Se is a schematic view of a part of a treatment unit according to anembodiment; Fig. Sf is a schematic view of a part of a treatment unit according to anembodiment; Fig. 6a is a schematic view of a system according to an embodiment, and Fig. 6b is a schematic view of a system according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION An idea of the present invention is to provide a system and method fordistributing a coating substance onto a thread in a controlled manner, for use inassociation With a thread consumption device. Starting in Fig. la a schematic view ofsystem l0 for in-line treatment of thread is shown. The system l0 comprises a treatmentunit 100 for dispensing one or more coating substances onto at least one thread. Thesystem l0 further comprises at least one thread consuming device lS, Which may e. g. bein the form of one or several embroidery machine(s), a Weaving machine(s), a seWingmachine(s), knitting machine(s), a tufting machine(s), a thread Winding machine(s) etc.The system thereby forms a thread consuming unit, including the at least one threadconsuming device lS and the treatment unit l00. It should be noted that more than onethread can be used in the thread consuming device(s). lt should be noted that several aspects of a system are described Within thisspecification, and they do not require the inclusion of the thread consuming device lS.

As Will be further understood from the following, for all embodiments the system for in- line treatment of thread requires a treatment unit 100, to be used with a threadconsuming device 15.

Now turning to Fig. lb the thread consuming device 15 is eXemplified as anembroidery machine, here illustrated as a single-head embroidery machine, beingequipped with a treatment unit 100. The embroidery machine 15 comprises a moveablestage 2b carrying the fabric to be embroidered. During operation the moveable stage 2bis controlled to rapidly change its position in the X and Y direction (i.e. in this case thehorizontal plane, but it could also be in the Vertical plane).

The treatment unit 100 allows the embroidery machine 15 to operate withoutthe provision of uniquely pre-coloured threads, as is required for conventionalembroidery machines. Instead, the treatment unit 100 provides in-line colouring of athread 20 in accordance with predetermined colouring pattems, such that a colouredembroidery can be produced. The treatment unit thus replaces individual thread reels asis present in prior art systems.

As is shown in Fig. lb the only connection between the treatment unit 100 andthe embroidery machine 15 is the thread 20, as well as electrical connections (notshown). The treatment unit 100 is thus provided as a stand-alone unit having nomechanical connection with the moveable stage 2b. In an optional embodiment, thestand-alone treatment unit 100 is mounted to the thread consurning device 15 via asuspension arrangement for reducing the transmission of vibrations to the treatment unit100.

The system 10 described herein is capable of treating one or more threads 20a-c with coating substances using only one treatment unit 100. lf plurality of threads areused in the system 10, different coating substance may be dispensed onto the differentthreads 20a-c at the same time. Additionally, or alternatively, the coating substance maybe dispensed in different patterns for the different threads 20a-c.

The various components of the treatment unit 100 configured to treat one ormore threads are shown in Fig. 2. ln the following the system will be described for theuse of two threads, however it should be understood that the system could be adaptedfor a single thread or more than two threads.

The majority, or all, of the components described for the system 10 may be arranged inside a housing.

Each thread 20a-b is arranged to pass through a respective thread reel 120a-b.Immediately downstream the thread reels 120a-b, thread feeders 130a-b are arranged -one thread feeder 130a-b for each thread 20a-b. The thread feeder 130 may beconfigured to pull the thread forward through the treatment unit 100. The thread feeder130 is not described further herein, but for a more general understanding each threadfeeder 130 receives and forwards its respective thread 20a-b. For this, the thread feeders130 may be controlled by a control unit 190 described further below. After the threads10a-b have passed its respective thread feeder 130, each thread 20a-b engages with arespective thread guiding device 140a-b. Each thread guiding device 140a-b, which maye.g. be in the form of one or more guiding rollers or other suitable means, is ensuringthat its thread 20a-b is aligned with one or more treatment nozzles forrning part of atleast one discharge device 150. Both the threads 20a-b then pass through the commondischarge device 150.

The discharge device 150 is configured to discharge treatment substance, suchas a colouring substance, onto the thread 20 as it passes the discharge device 150. Forthis the nozzles are arranged preferably in the longitudinal direction of the thread 20 aswill be further explained in relation to Figs. 3-5.

The discharge device 150, or parts of the discharge device 150 such as the printhead(s) 151a-d (as shown for example in Fig. 3), may be moveable by means of a driveunit (not shown). Having a drive unit will make it possible to arrange the dischargedevice 150, or parts of the discharge device 150, in different operating states in order toperform different tasks, such as for example a first state of dispensing a coatingsubstance to a thread and a second state of performing a cleaning session, or othermaintenance or idling.

Downstream the discharge device 150 the threads 20a-b are separated onto arespective thread guiding device 160a-b. The second thread guiding devices 160a-b arecooperating with the respective first thread guiding devices 140a-b such that theposition of the respective threads 20a-b are correct during its travel along the dischargedevice 150. The second thread guiding device 160 may e. g. be in the form of one ormore guiding rollers, although it may also be designed to induce a rotation of the thread along its longitudinal aXis.

The system 10 may further comprise one common, or two separate, or anynumber of thread speed sensor(s) (not shown) configured to measure the speed of thethreads 20a-b passing through the system 10.

Moreover, one common, or two separate, light detection system(s) (not shown)may be arranged downstream the discharge device 150 along the travel direction of thethreads 20a-b. The light detection system(s) is arranged to illuminate the threads 20a-bin order to receive light which is reflected from the threads 20a-b when the threads 20a-b are illuminated. The information gathered from the light detection signal may forexample be used to determine the position of the threads in relation to the nozzles 152a-f, the width of each thread and/or properties of each thread. This information can in turnfor example be used to detect nozzle(s) that are in need of maintenance, that the positionof the nozzle(s) needs to be altered and/or detect variations in the coating substance.Additionally or alternatively, the light detection system(s) may be used to determinedifferent properties of the threads that have been applied with one or several coatingsubstances.

The threads 20a-b are then fed forward to pass one or more fiXation units 170which are provided in order to fiXate the treatment substance to the thread 20a-b. ThefiXation unit may be common for both threads, or provided as two separate units havingone for each thread 20a-b. The fiXation unit 170 preferably comprises heating means,such as a hot air supply or heated elements, or an UV light source such that thetreatment substance, e. g. a colouring substance, is cured or fiXated onto the thread 20.As is shown in Fig. 2 the fiXation unit 170 may either be arranged horizontally,vertically, or at an angle between horizontally and vertically.

Before exiting the housing the threads 20a-b may pass a cleaning unit 180,such as an ultrasonic bath, where unwanted particles are removed from the threads 20a-b. The cleaning unit may be common for both threads, or provided as two separate unitshaving one for each thread 20a-b. As the treatment substance is fiXated onto the threads20a-b, the cleaning unit 180 will leave the treatment substance unaffected.

The treatment unit 100 may further comprise a lubrication unit (not shown).The lubrication unit may be common for both threads, or provided as two separate units having one for each thread 20a-b. Additional thread buffers and feeders (not shown) may also be included in the treatment unit 100, arranged at various positions in thethread path.

The threads 20a-b preferably eXits the treatment unit 100 through an apertureor similar, whereby the threads 20a-b are forwarded to an associated thread consumingdevice, such as an embroidery machine 15 as is shown in Figs. 1a-b.

A control unit 190 with associated electronics, such as power electronics,communication modules, memories, etc. is also provided. The control unit 190 isconnected to the thread feeders 130a-b, the discharge device 150, and the fiXation unit170 for allowing control of the operation of these components. Further, the control unit190 is configured to controlling operation of the entire treatment unit 100 including thecleaning unit 180, the lubrication unit, a disruption of the threads 20a-b, the threadspeed at various position along the treatment unit 100, the thread buffers, etc. Thecontrol unit 190 may also be configured to receive control signals from one or morecomponents of the treatment unit 100, e.g. control signals for triggering specific control,or other information relating to e. g. thread consumption by the embroidery machine 15.

The control unit 190 may be implemented by any commercially available CPU("Central Processing Unit"), DSP ("digital signal processor") or any other electronicprogrammable logic device, or a combination of such processors or other electronicprogrammable logic device. The control unit 190 may be implemented usinginstructions that enable hardware functionality, for example, by using eXecutablecomputer program instructions in a general-purpose or special-purpose processor thatmay be stored on a computer readable storage medium (disk, memory etc.) to beeXecuted by such a processor. The storage medium is preferably in operativecommunication with the control unit 190.

In one embodiment, a user interface is also provided, preferably via a displayarranged at the front end of the housing. The display allows a user to interact with thecontrol unit 190 and is thus connected thereto, so that the control parameters of thethread feeder 130, the discharge device 150, the fiXation unit 170, etc. may be setdepending on process specifications. The display may also preferably be used foralerting the user of critical situations, whereby the display may be used for the control unit 190 to issue alarms or the like. lt should be noted that the components described above may not necessarily beincluded in the stand-alone treatment unit 100, but instead the components of thetreatment unit 100 may be separated into several units, Preferably, the stand-alone unitincludes at least the at least one discharge device 150. In one embodiment thecomponents are not provided as a stand-alone unit, but is integrated with the threadconsuming device 15.

In Eig. 3 a discharge device 150 is shown, forrning part of the treatment unit100 as described above. The direction of movement of the thread(s) 20a-b in use isindicated by the solid arrow in Eig 3. As will soon be described in more detail, thedischarge device 150 comprises a plurality of nozzles 152a-f arranged at differentlongitudinal positions (for example spaced by a distance dl) along the thread 20 whichpasses by the treatment unit 100 during use.

Each nozzle 152a-f is arranged to dispense a coating substance, such as ink,onto the thread 20 when the nozzle is activated. The coating substance is absorbed bythe thread 20, e. g. at different circumferential positions of the thread 20 when the thread20 twists about its longitudinal axis. The relative position of two adjacently dispenseddroplets of coating substance may be selected such that the droplets will overlap.

The treatment unit 100 comprises one or more discharge devices 150. Eachdischarge device 150 is preferably formed as a series of ink-jet print heads 151a-d, eachprint head 151a-d having one or more nozzle arrays. Each nozzle array typicallycomprises hundreds or thousands of nozzles. For illustrative purpose only six nozzles152a-f are shown for one print head 151a-d; it should however be realized that eachnozzle array may be provided with hundreds or thousands of nozzles 152 each. As anexample, each print head 151a-d may be associated with a single colour; in the shownexample, the discharge device 150 has four print heads 151a-d, each print head 151a-dbeing associated with a specific colour according to the CMYK standard. However,other colouring models may be used as well.

The exact configuration of the treatment unit 100 may vary. For example, thetreatment unit 100 is provided with a single discharge device 150 having a plurality ofprint heads 151a-d. Each print head 151a-d is in turn provided with a plurality of nozzles 152a-f. 11 ln another embodiment the treatment unit 100 is provided with severaldischarge devices 150, arranged either in series or in parallel. Each discharge device150 is then provided with a plurality of print heads 151a-d. If serially arranged, theupstream discharge device 150 may have print heads 151a-d being associated with oneor more colours of a specific colour standard, while the downstream discharge device150 has print heads 151a_d being associated with other colours of the same colourstandard. lf arranged in parallel, each discharge device 150 may have print heads 151a-dbeing associated with all colours of a specific colour standard, but with different threads20. For such embodiment, two separate threads 20 can be treated simultaneously and inparallel. Combinations of parallel/serial configurations are of course also possible.

In a yet further embodiment, the discharge device 150 is only having a singleprint head 151a-d; dynamic colouring of the thread 20 would then require severaldischarge devices 150 of the treatment unit 100.

Each nozzle 152a-f may dispense a coating substance having a colouraccording to the CMYK colour model, where the primary colours are Cyan, Magenta,Yellow, and Black. It may thus be possible to dispense a wide variety of colours ontothe thread by activating nozzles 152a-f such that the total colouring substance of aspecific length of the thread 20 will be a mix of the colouring substances dispensed bythe nozzles 152a-f. As explained earlier, this is preferably achieved by having severalprint heads 151a-d arranged in series, whereby the nozzles 152a-f of a specific printhead 151a-d are dedicated to a single colour. ln another embodiment, each nozzle 152a-f dispenses a coating substancehaving a colour comprising a mix of two or more primary colours of the CMYK colourmodel.

The control unit 190 is configured to control the activation of the nozzles 152a-f such as the coating substance is emitted onto the thread 20 as it passes through thetreatment unit 100, and especially pass the discharge device 150. By such configurationvery precise colouring of the thread 20 is possible e.g. in order to provide advancedembroidery patterns, visually extremely sophisticated by means of the colouringprovided by the treatment unit 100.

For a colouring operation the control unit 190 receives one or more input signals specifying the desired colour and/or colouring effect. The colour input 12 preferably includes information regarding the exact colour, as well as the longitudinalstart and stop positions of the thread 20 for that particular colour. The longitudinal startand stop position could be represented by specific time values if the thread speed isdeterrnined.

Fig. 4a-b illustrates a respective top view of a print head 151a. The print head151a has a planar surface on which the nozzles 152 are arranged. As mentioned earlier,the total number of nozzles 152 of a single print head can be up to several thousands,provided on a print head 151a in the size of a couple of centimeters. ln the shownexample, a far less number of nozzles 152 are shown. The nozzles 152 can bedistributed in one or more nozzle arrays 153a-b. In Fig. 4a, the nozzles 152 aredistributed in two parallel arrays 153a-b. The arrays 153a-b are aligned with each other,such that nozzles 152 of one array 153a-b are arranged adjacent a nozzle 152 of theother array 153a-b.

Fig 4b shows a similar example, however there is a longitudinal offset betweenthe two arrays 153a-b.

The system 10 described herein is capable of treating one or more threads 20a-c with coating substances using only one treatment unit 100. lf plurality of threads areused in the system 10, different coating substance may be dispensed onto the differentthreads 20a-c at the same time. Additionally, or alternatively, the coating substance maybe dispensed in different patterns for the different threads 20a-c.

The dispensing coating substance onto a plurality of threads is preferablyachieved by arranging the nozzles of the discharge device 150 into several dispensingzones 154a-c that can be controlled independently. Some exemplified embodiments willnow be described with reference to Figs. 5a-f. ln Figs. 5a- f, the print head 151a isarranged to dispense coating substance onto at least two threads 20a-b and in Fig. 5d, asituation having three threads 20a-c is shown. lt should be noted that the following also is applicable for a higher number ofthreads such as four, five, etc.. In a preferred embodiment, the threads 20a-c are parallelwith each other. Moreover, all threads 20a-c used in the system may be of the samethickness or be of different thickness. Additionally, all threads 20a-c used in the system may be of the same type, or being of a different types having different properties. 1S 2S 13 Fig. Sa shows a print head 1S1a having two nozzle arrays 1S3a-b. In thisembodiment, the nozzle arrays 1S3a-b are arranged in parallel with each other. Thenozzles 1S2a-f of the nozzle arrays 1S3a-b are arranged in two dispensing zones 1S4a-b.The dispensing zones 1S4a-b are separated in a direction that is perpendicular to thelongitudinal direction of the threads 20a-b. In this embodiment, the nozzles of the firstnozzle array 1S3a are distributed in the first dispensing zone 1S4a and the nozzles of thesecond nozzle array 1S3b are distributed in the second dispensing zone 1S4b. In theillustrative example, all nozzles 1S2a-f of each nozzle array are part of the samedispensing zone 1S3a-b. However, as is illustrated in Figs. Sb-c, not all nozzles 1S2a-fof the same array 1S3a-b must be of the same dispensing zone 1S4a-b. In this example,the first dispensing zone 1S4a is configured to dispense coating substance onto the firstthread 20a and the second dispensing zone 1S4b is configured to dispense coatingsubstance onto the second thread 20b.

In Fig. Sa, the print head 1S1a is arranged in the direction of the length of thethreads 20a-b. The nozzle arrays 1S3a-b are aligned with the direction of the length ofthe threads 20a-b.

It should be noted that the print head 1S1a shown in Fig. Sa also could bedefined as having ten nozzle arrays comprising two nozzles each. With this definition,the nozzle arrays are perpendicular with the length of the thread 20a,b. This situation isillustrated in Fig. Sf.

Fig. Sb shows a print head 1S1a having one single nozzle array 1S3a. Thenozzles 1S2a-f of the nozzle arrays 1S3a-b are arranged in three dispensing zones 1S4a-c. In this embodiment, the nozzles that are covering, i.e. is able to dispense coating onto,the first thread 20a are distributed in the first dispensing zone 1S4a and the nozzles thatare covering the second thread 20b are distributed in the second dispensing zone 1S4b.Here, an intermediate dispensing zone 1S4c is arranged for nozzle(s) that are notcovering any of the threads 20a-b.

In Fig. Sb, the print head 1S1a, and thus its nozzle array 1S3a, is arranged suchthat it is tilted compared to the length of the threads 20a-b. The nozzle array 1S3a isthus arranged at an angle in relation to the length of the parallel threads 20a-b. Theangle is either larger or smaller than 0 degrees. The nozzle array is inclined relative to the direction of the thread in order to be able to simultaneously treat more than one 1S 2S 14 thread using a single nozzle array. The higher angle that is between the nozzle array andthe threads, the more threads will be possible to colour with one nozzle array. The trade-off with a higher angle is that fewer nozzles per nozzle array can be utilised to coloureach thread 20a-b.

The length of the nozzle array may preferably be at least as long as the distanceit takes for the thread 20 to rotate one 180° revolution around itself, and more preferablyat least as long as the distance it takes for the thread 20 to rotate a 360° revolutionaround itself. For this, means may be provided to induce a rotation of the thread as itpasses the treatment unit.

Eig. Sc illustrates a print head 1S1a similar to that of Eig. Sa, with thedifference that the print head 1S1a, and thus its parallel nozzle arrays 1S3a-b, arearranged with an angle compared to the parallel threads 20a-b and that not all nozzles1S2a-f of the same array 1S3a-b are part of the same dispensing zones 1S4a-b. Havingboth nozzle arrays inclined relative to the direction of the thread allows nozzles of boththe nozzle arrays to dispense coating onto both threads 20a-b. The higher angle that isbetween the nozzle arrays and the threads, the more threads will be possible to colourwith each nozzle array. The trade-off with a higher angle is that fewer nozzles pernozzle array can be utilised to colour each thread 20a-b.

Eig. Sd illustrates a print head 1S1a similar to that of Eig. Sa, with thedifference that the print head comprises three parallel nozzle arrays 1S3a-c and threedispensing zones 1S4a-c. Moreover, in Eig. Sd the print head 1S1a is arranged todispense coating substance onto at least three parallel threads 20a-c.

Eig. Sd illustrates a print head 1S1a similar to that of Eig. Sa, with thedifference that the nozzles are distributed in six different dispensing zones 1S4a-f. Eachnozzle array 1S3a comprises different sections of nozzles comprising different coatingsubstance, such as different colour, as illustrated by the patterned filled nozzles in Eig.Sd. Each section of nozzles having different coating substances are seen as onedispensing zone 1S4a-f. Each nozzle array may thus comprise different colours, withdifferent colours for each dispensing zone 1S4a-f. Although Eig. Se illustrates a printhead 1S1 comprising two identical nozzle arrays, it should be noted that the nozzle arrays does not need to be identical with each other.

Fig. 5f illustrates a print head 151a similar to that of Fig. 5a having twodispensing zones 154a-b each covering one thread 20a-b. Here, the threads 20a-b areshown having different thickness. Depending on the thickness, or Width, of the thread20a-b different number of nozzles Will cover the thread 20a-b. It should be noted thatthe size of the nozzles of Figs. 3-5 are made large in relation to the thickness and/orWidth of the thread 20a, 20b only for illustrative purposes. ln addition to the components described With reference to Fig. 2, the system 10may comprise one or more encoders (not shown). ln one embodiment the number ofthreads 20a-b in the system 10 and the number of encoders are the same, hence oneencoder is provided for each thread 20a-b. The individual encoders are arranged totrigger dispensing signals to the individual nozzles of a dispensing zone. In yet oneembodiment, one single encoder is provided for all threads 20a-b. The one encoder isthus configured to trigger dispensing signals to the individual nozzles of a dispensingzone and/or to trigger to all dispensing zones.

The encoder may comprise or being in communication With a Wheel such as apulley or a guiding roller. The encoder may for example be a rotary encoder or a shaftencoder.

The control unit 190 is configured to control activation and deactivation ofeach dispensing zone 154a-c of nozzles 152a-f independently. For this, the control unit190 may be configured to transmit trigger signals to the nozzles 152a-f being arrangedin a specific dispensing zone 154a-c. Additionally, or alternatively, if the nozzlesarranged in one nozzle array 153a-c are distributed into one single dispensing zone154a-c, the control unit 190 may be configured to transmit trigger signals to theindividual nozzle array 153a-c in order to activate or deactivate the nozzles of thatarray, and thus that dispensing zone.

The control unit 190 may further be configured to control the activation anddeactivation of the nozzles 152a-f individually in each dispensing zone 154a-b bytransmitting trigger signals to the nozzles 152a-f being arranged in the specificdispensing zone 154a-c.

The control unit 190 may further be configured to activate the nozzles of one dispensing zone 154a-c individually using a predeterrnined offset from receiving the 16 trigger signal. The offset may for example be a specific time, length and or acombination of both. ln one embodiment, the first thread 20a-b is arranged With a trigger foractivation of the nozzles 152a-f being distributed in the first dispensing zone 154a andthe second thread 20b is arranged With a trigger for activation of the nozzles 152a-fbeing distributed in the second dispensing zone 154b.

Each thread 20a-b may have its own trigger for activation of the nozzles of itsdispensing zone, i.e. the nozzles that are arranged in a dispensing zone covering thethread 20a-b. ln one embodiment, all dispensing zones are arranged With a commontrigger.

The control unit 190 may further be configured to alter the size of thedispensing zones 154a-c. Moreover, the control unit 190 may be configured to alterWhich nozzles that are to be distributed in the dispensing zones 154a-c. Thesealternations may be based on for example the thickness of the threads, the density of thethreads, the number of threads to be treated, the properties of the coating substance,calibration results and/or based on the number of active nozzles.

The control unit 190 may further be configured to alter the angle of the printhead(s) 151a, or its nozzle arrays 153a-c, in relation to the treads 20a-c to be treated.The control unit 190 may be configured to alter the angle based on the thickness of thethreads, the density of the threads, the number of threads to be treated, the properties ofthe coating substance and/or based on the number of active nozzles. ln the above, reference is made to one or more threads 20a-c. In one embodiment, all threads arranged through the system 10 are in need of in-line treatment.

In yet one embodiment, When several threads are used, it is sufficient if one of thethreads are in need of in-line treatment (such as a thread that is not pre-coloured). Thesystem 10 is thus configured to handle both uniquely pre-threated threads and threadsthat are in need of in-line treatment at the same time. For example, an embroiderymachine could combine an in-line treated thread With a pre-threated thread to create aspecific pattem on a substrate. Such a pre-treated thread could for example be ametallic, thick, thin, neon-coloured thread.The control unit 190 may thus be configured to determine if the thread shall be treated or not When passing through the discharge device 150. HoWever, it should be 17 noted that not all threads needs to pass though the treatment unit 100. This is forexample the case when a thread does not need to be treated with a coating substance.

Although the present invention has been mainly described with reference to asystem comprising one treatment unit 100 and one thread consuming device 15, itshould be understood by a person skilled in the art that the inventive features could beapplied to other systems as well. Figs. 6a-b illustrates two example of such altemativesystems. ln Fig. 6a, the system 10 comprises a first and a second treatment unit 100a,100b as well as a first and a second thread consuming device 15a-b. Each treatment unit100a, 100b is controlling and performing the operations on each thread consumingdevice 15a-b. lt should be noted that the first and second treatment unit 100a, althoughbeing separated may share one or more components. In one embodiment, the controlunit 190 is arranged as a separate unit from the first and second treatment unit 100a,100b and one control unit 190 is thus configured to control the operation of bothtreatment units 100a, 100b and correspondingly the operation of both thread consumingdevices 15a-b.

In Fig. 6b, the system 10 comprises one treatment unit 100a and a first and asecond thread consurr1ing device 15a-b. In this embodiment, one treatment unit 100a isconfigured to control and perform the operation of the two thread consuming devices15a-b. lt should be noted that although only two treatment units and two threadconsuming devices are shown in Fig. 6a, and only one treatment unit and two threadconsuming devices are shown in Fig. 6b, it should be understood that any reasonablenumber of treatment units and/or thread consuming devices could be present in thesystem 10.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference tospecific embodiments, it is not intended to be limited to the specific form set forthherein. Rather, the invention is limited only by the accompanying claims. ln the claims, the term "comprises/comprising" does not eXclude the presenceof other elements or steps. Additionally, although individual features may be includedin different claims, these may possibly advantageously be combined, and the inclusion in different claims does not imply that a combination of features is not feasible and/or 18 LL 77 advantageous. ln addition, singular references do not exclude a plurality. The terms a ,"an", "first", "second" etc do not preclude a plurality. Reference signs in the claims areprovided merely as a clarifying example and shall not be construed as lirniting the scope of the claims in any Way.

Claims (17)

1. A system (10) for in-1ine treatment of one or more threads (20a-b) for useWith a thread consuming device (15), comprising: a treatment unit (100) having a p1ura1ity of nozzles (152a-f) being distributed inat 1east a first and a second dispensing zone (154a-b), the dispensing zones (154a-b)being separated in a direction being substantia11y perpendicular to the 1ongitudina1direction of the at 1east one thread (20a-b), said thread (20a-b) being in motion in use,each nozzle (152a-f) being configured to dispense one or more coating substances at1east onto the at 1east one thread (20a-b) When activated; and a contro1 unit (190) being configured to contro1 activation of each dispensing zone (154a-b) of nozzles (152a-f) independent1y.

2. The system according to c1aim 1, Wherein the p1ura1ity of nozzles (152a-f) are arranged in one or more nozz1e arrays (153a-b).

3. The system according to c1aim 2, Wherein the p1ura1ity of nozzles (152a-f)are arranged in one nozz1e array (153a-b) and Wherein the nozzle array (153a-b) is arranged at an ang1e in re1ation to the direction of the at 1east one thread (20a-b).

4. The system according to c1aim 2, Wherein the p1ura1ity of nozzles (152a-f) are arranged in at 1east two nozzle arrays (153a-b).

5. The system according to c1aim 4, Wherein the at 1east two nozz1e arrays (153a-b) are para11e1 to each other.

6. The system according to any one of c1aim 2, 4 or 5, Wherein the nozzlearrays (153a-b) are arranged at an ang1e in re1ation to the direction of the at 1east one thread (20a-b).

7. The system according to any one of c1aims 4 to 6, Wherein at 1east a part of the nozzles (152a-f) of the first nozzle array (153a) are distributed in the first dispensing zone (154a) and at least a part of the nozzles (152a-f) of the second nozzle array (153b) are distributed in the second dispensing zone (154b).

8. The system according to claim 7, Wherein all of the nozzles (152a-f) of thefirst nozzle array (153a) are distributed in the first dispensing zone (154a) and all of thenozzles (152a-f) of the second nozzle array (153b) are distributed in the second dispensing zone (154b).

9. The system according to any preceding claim, Wherein the system isarranged for in-line treatment of at least a first thread (20a) and a second thread (20b),and Wherein the control unit (190) is configured to control activation of the nozzles(152a-f) of each dispensing zone (154a-b) independently such that the first thread (20a)can be treated by the first dispensing zone (154a), While the second thread (20b) can be simultaneously treated by the second dispensing zone (154b).

10. The system according to claim 9, Wherein control unit (190) is configuredto control activation of each dispensing zone (154a-b) by transmitting trigger signals to the nozzles (152a-f) being arranged in the specific dispensing zone (154a-c).

11. The system according to claim 10, Wherein the control unit (190) is further configured to activate the nozzles of one dispensing zone (154a-c) individually.

12. The system according to claim 11, Wherein the control unit (190) is furtherconfigured to activate the nozzles of one dispensing zone (154a-c) individually With a predeterrnined offset from receiving the trigger signal.

13. The system according to any one of claim 9 to 12, Wherein the first thread (20a) and a second thread (20b) are different from each other.

14. The system according to any preceding claim, Wherein the nozzles (152a-f) are inkjet nozzles. 21

15. The system according to any preceding c1aim, further comprising a thread consuming device (15).

16. The system according to c1aim 15, Wherein the thread consuming device (15) is an embroidery machine, a seWing machine, a knitting machine, a Weaving machine, a tufting machine, a thread Winding machine, and or any combination thereof.

17. A method for in-1ine treatment of at 1east one thread (20), comprising: providing a treatment unit (100) having a p1ura1ity of nozzles (152a-f) beingdistributed in at 1east a first and a second dispensing zone (154a-b), the dispensingzones (154a-b) being separated in a direction being perpendicular to the 1ongitudina1direction of the at 1east one thread (20a-b), said thread (20a-b) being in motion in use,each nozzle (152a-f) being configured to dispense one or more coating substances at1east onto the at 1east one thread (20a-b) When activated; and providing a control unit (190) being configured to contro1 activation of each dispensing zone (154a-b) of nozzles (152a-f) independent1y.