Classifications

• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D01—NATURAL OR MAN-MADE THREADS OR FIBRES; SPINNING
  • D01G—PRELIMINARY TREATMENT OF FIBRES, e.g. FOR SPINNING
  • D01G7/00—Breaking or opening fibre bales
  • D01G7/04—Breaking or opening fibre bales by means of toothed members
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D01—NATURAL OR MAN-MADE THREADS OR FIBRES; SPINNING
  • D01G—PRELIMINARY TREATMENT OF FIBRES, e.g. FOR SPINNING
  • D01G7/00—Breaking or opening fibre bales
  • D01G7/06—Details of apparatus or machines
  • D01G7/10—Arrangements for discharging fibres

Definitions

• This invention relates to an apparatus for the treat ⁇ ment of fibre material, in particular mineral or glass fibre. More precisely, the invention concerns an apparatus having a unit for loosening or opening the fibre material, and a unit for feeding the fibre material in the form of a compacted fibre body to the loosening unit.
• Apparatus for loosening fibre material are disclosed in, for instance, FR-A1-2, 557, 817, SE-A-8603878 and EP-A-2- 0,197,011.
• Such apparatus are, inter alia, used for blow or spray insulation of buildings, where the fibre material loosened by the apparatus is blown through a hose onto the surface to be insulated, a binder being optionally added during this operation.
• Spray insulation is also employed for insulating irregular surfaces, such as car doors and the walls of railway-carriages.
• Apparatus of this type are also used in industries where finely-divided fibre material is admixed, e.g. in asphalt works where the fibre material is admixed to the asphalt compounds to improve the strength thereof.
• one object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which is of the type stated by way of introduction and which can accomplish the feeding and loosening of compacted fibre bodies in such a manner that the metering of fibre material to the loosening unit can be accurately controlled and the degree of fine division of the loosened fibre material is maintained constant.
• an object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the type stated by way of introduction which obviates the above inconvenience associated with the feeding of the tail end of a compacted fibre body.
• the loosening unit includes two adjacent toothed shredding rollers having parallel axes of rotation and opposite directions of rota ⁇ tion; that the feeding unit is designed to gradually feed, in a feeding direction, the fibre material in the form of a compacted fibre body, especially a pressure-compressed bale, to simultaneous engagement with the teeth of the two shredding rollers on that side of a common diametral plane of said rollers where the latter rotate away from one another, two concave shredding surfaces converging into an apex being formed in said fibre body at the point of engagement; and that the two shredding surfaces are co - pletely or at least substantially located between the dia ⁇ metral planes of the shredding rollers that are parallel to the feeding direction.
• the new and distinctive feature of the invention resides in the way any unwanted draw-in effect brought about by the loosening unit is eliminated.
• This is mainly achieved by the inventive combination of (i) the fact that the compacted fibre body is simultaneously engaged with the teeth of the shredding rollers on that side of the common diametral plane where the rollers rotate away from one another, and (ii) the fact that this engagement com ⁇ pletely or at least substantially takes place where the peripheral speed of the shredding rollers has at least one component directed opposite to the feeding direction of the fibre body.
• the fibre body is at its infeed end subjected to a rearward force, i.e. a force directed opposite to the feeding force exert ⁇ ed by the feeding unit on the other end of the fibre body.
• a rearward force i.e. a force directed opposite to the feeding force exert ⁇ ed by the feeding unit on the other end of the fibre body.
• the feeding direction of the fibre body forms an acute angle with a normal to the axes of rotation of the shredding rollers. Any unwanted draw-in forces generated by the loosening unit and acting upon the tail end of the fibre body can thus be further reduced.
• the acute angle is variable.
• one object of the invention is to enable exact metering -of the compacted fibre body to the loosening unit.
• the 'tail end' incon ⁇ venience (obviated by the basic embodiment of the inven ⁇ tion), there is another inconvenience which may result in an uncontrolled metering unless special measures are taken.
• the fibre body is, when being fed towards the loosening unit, compressed in the feeding direction in case the feeding force is applied against the fibre-body end facing away from the loosening unit. If the feeding unit is stopped before the entire fibre body has been fed to the loosening unit, e.g. because the proper amount has been metered from the feeding unit, the thus-compressed fibre body tends to automatically re-expand parallel to the feeding direction. As a result of this expansion, a minor amount of the fibre body will additionally be press ⁇ ed into the loosening unit. Yet another object of the invention is, therefore, to obviate the effect of this re-expansion of the fibre body.
• the feeding unit includes a driving means for generating a pressure load in the feeding direction, and a spacer means which is arranged between the fibre body and the driving means to transmit said pressure load and which is operable to an active state in which .
• the spacer means maintains a distance between the fibre body and the driv- ing means, and an inactive state in which the spacer means permits the fibre body to expand towards the driv ⁇ ing means if said body after being compressed during the feeding thereof, strives to re-expand upon cessation of the pressure load from the driving means.
• the spacer means arranged between the fibre body and the driving means may include one or more cushions, or the like, which are adapted to be supplied with a pressurised fluid in order to expand when the spacer means is to occupy its active state, and from which the supplied fluid is to be evacuated to permit compression of the cushions when the spacer means is to occupy its inactive state.
• the spacer means may further include one or more controllable piston-cylinder units.
• Fig. 1 is a cross-section of a first embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention
• Fig. 2 is a section from above taken along line II-II in Fig. 1
• Fig. 3 is a broken-away section of a shredding roller on a larger scale.
• Fig. 4 is a cross-section of a second embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention with inclined infeed
• Fig. 5 is a section from above taken along line V-V in Fig. 4,
• Fig. 6 is a cross-section of a third embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention, which has an upper compressed-air intake,
• Fig. 7 is a cross-section of a fourth embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention, a feeding unit of which is equipped with a compensating spacer means, and
• Fig. 8 is a section from above taken along line VIII-VTII in Fig. 7.
• the apparatus generally includes a loosening unit 1 and a feeding unit 2. There may also be provided a feeding-out unit 3.
• the loosening unit 1 has at least two shredding rollers 4, 5 with paral- lei axes of rotation 4' , 5 ' , as well as a driving means
• the loosening unit 1 in addition has a third shredding roller 6 whose axis of rotation 6' is parallel to the axes 4', 5' and whose direction of rotation Pb- coincides with the direction of rotation P_ of the shredding roller 5.
• the shredding rollers are arranged in a housing 7 having an inlet opening 8 provided opposite to the shredd- ing rollers 4 and 5 in the side wall of the housing, and an outlet opening 9 provided at the bottom.
• the shredd ⁇ ing rollers are equipped with spaced-apart teeth 10 which may have the appearance shown in Fig. 3.
• Fig. 3 which is a broken-away and enlarged section of the shredding roller 5, illustrates a tooth 10 having a cutting edge 11 and a clearance surface 12.
• the diameter of the roller 5 is e.g. 250 mm
• the radial length of the tooth 10 may be e.g. about 25 mm.
• the clearance surface 12 is inclined in relation to a tangent 13 of the roller surface extend ⁇ ing through the point of attachment of the tooth 10 and, in the angular direction shown, in relation to the direc ⁇ tion of rotation P_.
• no wedging action arises between the tooth 10 and the adjacent, compacted fibre material 14.
• the feeding unit 2 includes a receiving space 15 for the compacted fibre material 14, which may. be a vacuum-compressed bale of glass fibre or compacted fibre material without wrapping. Further, the feeding unit 2 has a driving means 16, in this case a piston-cylinder unit on whose piston rod 17 is mounted a pressure plate 18 intended to gradually feed the compacted fibre body 14 through the inlet opening 8 of the housing 7 into engagement with the teeth 10 of the rollers 4, 5.
• a driving means 16 in this case a piston-cylinder unit on whose piston rod 17 is mounted a pressure plate 18 intended to gradually feed the compacted fibre body 14 through the inlet opening 8 of the housing 7 into engagement with the teeth 10 of the rollers 4, 5.
• an L-shaped and elongate shredding strip 19 is provided adjacent to the roller 5 to- cooperate with the teeth 10 thereof.
• a similar L-shaped and elongate shredding strip (not shown) may advantageously be arranged close to the overlying roller 4 to cooperate with the teeth 10 thereof.
• two concave shredding surfaces 20 and 21 are formed at the infeed end 23 of the fibre body 14 as a result of the engagement between the fibre body 14 and the two shredding rollers 4 and 5, and the fibre material is suc- cessively torn from the fibre body 14 at these surfaces.
• the two shredding surfaces 20, 21 are each defined by a circular arc whose angles at centres 20' and 21', respectively, are in the order of 90°.
• the two shredding surfaces 20, 21 are completely or at least substantially located between the diametral planes (indicated by broken lines at PL 2 and PL 3 in Fig. 1) of the shredding rollers 4, 5 that are parallel to the feed ⁇ ing direction.
• the diametral plane PL 1 common to the shredding rollers 4 and 5 is indicated by a broken line.
• a distinctive feature of the invention resides in the fact that the fibre body 14 is fed in on that side of the plane PL 1 where the shredding rollers 4 and 5 rotate away from one another.
• fibre material is thus torn from the first shredding surface 20 by the teeth 10 of the shredd- ing roller 4, as well as from the second shredding surface 21 by the teeth 10 of the shredding roller 5.
• the pressure load (to the left in e.g. Fig. 1) generated by the driving means 16 is counter ⁇ acted by right-handed forces from the shredding rollers 4 and 5 on the shredding surfaces 20 and 21, respectively.
• the lowermost roller 6 of the three first embodiments rotates in the same direction as the overlying shredding roller 5.
• the roller 6, which optionally may be dispensed with, as illustrated in Figs 7 and 8, is design ⁇ ed to card the loosened fibre material.
• a curved and elongate guide surface 25 is fixedly arranged adjacent to the lower part of the shredding rol ⁇ ler 5. As illustrated in Figs 4 and 6, the guide surface 25 may be dispensed with.
• the feeding-out unit 3 includes a conventional rotary vane feeder having a fixed cylinder casing 27 and a rotor 28 which defines a number of rotating cells 29 for receiving the loosened fibre material.
• the rotary vane feeder has both an inlet opening 30 through which air enters the cylinder casing 27, and an outlet opening 31 through which the air, and the loosened fibre material entrained thereby, leaves.
• FIG. 6 showing the third embodiment and Figs 7 and 8 showing the fourth embodiment illustrate an alternative to the rotary vane feeder.
• an inclined compressed-air intake 40 is provided at the top of the housing 7.
• the bottom 41 of the housing 7 is closed, as illustrated in Figs 6 and 7, and an outlet opening 42 is provided for the loosened fibre material at the bottom.
• the feeding unit 2 further has two retarding surfaces 32, 33 which, as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 2, are located immediately adjacent to the shredding rollers 4 and 5, respectively, and which are designed to further compact the fibre body 14 in order to promote accurate guiding of the amount of fibre material fed to the loosen ⁇ ing unit 1, as well as to prevent fibre material from spreading backwards towards the feeding unit 2 when the tail end of a compacted fibre body 14 is being fed in.
• the simplest embodiment of the feeding unit 2 is illustrated in Figs 1 and 2, in which the feeding direc ⁇ tion of the fibre body 14, i.e. the direction of the pis- ton rod 17, is perpendicular to the axes 4', 5' of the rollers 4 and 5, as seen from above in Fig. 2. Further, the piston disc 18 of the driving means 16 acts directly on the right end of the fibre body 14.
• the feeding unit 2 is modified in such a manner that the feeding direction of the fibre body 14 forms an acute angle with a normal 43 to the axes 4 ' , 5 ' .
• This design of the feeding unit 2 has the advantage that any unwanted draw-in forces acting on the tail end of the fibre body 14 are reduced in that they act only upon part of the tail end.
• the feeding unit 2 can be movable, thereby enabling variation of the angle a, e.g. in the range of 0-45°.
• the feeding unit 2 is further modified.
• a spacer means 50 com ⁇ prising a number of interconnected cushions is disposed between the piston disc 18 and a pressure plate 51.
• a hose 52 is connected to the cushions 50 to enable pumping of a pressurised fluid into the cushions to make them expand. When so desired, the fluid can be removed from the cush ⁇ ions through the same hose 52.
• the purpose and the operation of the spacer means 50 are as follows.
• the spacer means 50 is activated.
• actuation of the spacer means 50 immediately causes a pressurised fluid to be supplied through the hose 52 (under the action of a control means not shown in the Figures), such that the cushions are expanded and a given distance is maintained between the piston disc 18 and the pressure plate 51.
• the spacer means 50 is maintained acti- vated while the fibre body 14 is being fed in. If the driving means 16 is stopped during the feeding operation, the spacer means 50 is immediately inactivated.
• the housing 7 can be so designed that the fibre material torn off by the uppermost shredding roller 4 is made to take a different path than the one illustrated in the drawings. This can be done if the housing 7 is made up of two cylindrical tubular elements whose diameters slightly exceed those of the shredding rollers 4, 5 and each of which is concentric with a shredding roller 4 and 5, respectively. In the area where the shredding rollers 4, 5 are closest to one another, the tubular elements are interconnected, and a communication opening between the two housing elements is provided.
• the fibre material torn from the upper shredding surface 20 is first entrained anticlockwise round the upper shredding roller 4, and is then trans ⁇ mitted to the other shredding roller 5 through the commu ⁇ nication opening between the tubular elements.
• the lower tubular element is formed with an outlet opening for the fibre material which consequently flows out on only one side of the shredding roller 5.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Preliminary Treatment Of Fibers (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

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Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Cited By (1)

Citations (5)

• 1990
  • 1990-07-05 SE SE9002358A patent/SE466501B/sv not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1991
  • 1991-07-02 WO PCT/SE1991/000472 patent/WO1992001095A1/en active Application Filing

Patent Citations (5)

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