WO2016179725A1

WO2016179725A1 - Three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform

Info

Publication number: WO2016179725A1
Application number: PCT/CN2015/000596
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yu-Hua Kan; Nian Liu
Original assignee: Yu-Hua Kan
Priority date: 2015-05-11
Filing date: 2015-08-18
Publication date: 2016-11-17
Also published as: CN104831472B; CN104831472A

Abstract

A cylindrical three-dimensional weaving platform is disclosed, which comprises a central shaft and n strip units (2), wherein the n strip units are annularly distributed around the central shaft; n is an even number; each strip unit (2) comprises a bottom plate strip (3); the length direction of each bottom plate strip (3) is parallel to the direction of the central shaft; each bottom plate strip(3) comprises two opposite surfaces; one surface facing to the central shaft, of each bottom plate strip (3) is an inner surface; one row of m inner yarn carrying discs (4) are arranged on one side of the inner surface of each bottom plate strip (3) in the length direction; m is a natural number; the inner yarn carrying discs (4) on the n strip units (2) form a cylindrical weaving platform; m circles and n rows of inner yarn carrying disc (4) arrays are arranged on the cylindrical weaving platform; each inner yarn carrying disc (4) is in transmission connection by using an inner shaft (41) which is pivoted with each bottom plate strip (3); the inner shafts (41) are connected with one same power source or different power sources, so that the inner yarn carrying disc (4) arrays can relatively rotate at a preset speed in a preset direction. By adopting the weaving machine, the weaving platform can be very conveniently expanded.

Description

THREE-DIMENSIONAL CYLINDRICAL BRAIDING PLATFORM

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a three-dimensional braiding machine， particularly to a cylindrical braiding platform of a three-dimensional cylindrical braiding machine.

BACKGROUND

Three-dimensional braiding technology is an important technology for producing composite materials， and particularly for producing a preform of reinforced composite materials with advanced fibers. The three-dimensional braiding technology is applied widely in a field for producing a preform of composite materials with fibers， having integrality， a certain thickness， and a high performance requirement.

So far， three-dimensional braiding machines in the world can be divided into machines using a four-step method， machines using a two-step method and machines using a rotary method according to classification of braiding methods (the former two methods are also known as track and column stepping method， and the latter rotary method refers to a Chinese patent invented by the present applicant： the patent’s title is Rotary braiding machines， and the patent’s Application No. is CN200810226422.5) ， therein， production efficiency is relatively higher because braiding machines using the rotary method can be operated continuously.

Current three-dimensional braiding machines， according to classification of platform shapes， can also be divided into machines with rectangular platforms， machines with circular (disc) platforms and machines with cylindrical platforms， wherein， machines with rectangular platforms and machines with circular (disc) platforms are easy to be implemented (in the above-mentioned invention patent of “Rotary braiding machines” ， the present applicant proposes that the rotary braiding machines can braid continuously on a rectangular platform and a circular (disc) platform， on which movement of the yarn carriers can be driven by the yarn carrying discs) . However， only cylindrical braiding machines in a form of the four-step method are known in public reports for cylindrical braiding machines due to technical difficulty.

The present applicant also encounter a bottleneck in a technology of three-dimensional braiding machines with a circular (disc) platform： there are multiple annular orbits on the circular (disc) platform. The closer to the outer edge， the larger is the diameter of the yarn carrying discs of the annular orbits on the circular platform. With an increase of numbers of the annular orbits， the platform area of the equipment increases rapidly， and the length of yarn wrapping increases quickly too. And thus the quantity of annular orbits only can be limited in a certain range， so， the braiding machines with a circular (disc) platform only have annular orbits with only 5-6 rings at present in the world.

In short， there is no three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform which can braid continuously by applying the rotation method， and which can increases production efficiency， meanwhile reducing platform area to fit to more annular orbits.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One object of the present invention is to overcome the shortcomings and deficiencies of the prior art， and another one object of the present invention is to meet requirements for industrial production. The present invention provides a three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform， which can increase production efficiency， while reducing platform area， so as to break through the bottleneck of the technology of current three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platforms.

In order to achieve the above objects， the present invention discloses a following technical solution：

A three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform， comprising： a central axis and n strip units distributed annularly around the central axis， wherein n is an even number；

Each strip unit includes one bottom plate band， and a length direction of each bottom plate band is in parallel with an axial direction of the central axis， and each bottom plate band has two opposing surfaces， wherein one surface of the two opposing surfaces toward the central axis of each bottom plate band is called as an internal surface， the other surface is called as an external surface； a column of m inner yarn carrying discs are arranged along a length direction at the internal surface of each bottom plate band， wherein m is a natural number， and all inner yarn carrying discs on the n strip units constitute a cylindrical braiding platform， on which an array of inner yarn carrying discs with m rings and n columns is provided.

Each inner yarn carrying disc is drive connected by an inner shaft pivoted to the bottom plate band， and the inner shaft are connected to a same power source or a different power source， so that the inner yarn carrying discs can relatively rotate according to a predefined speed and a predefined direction.

Said three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform， wherein： further having two annular end plates arranged in parallel with each other， between which the n strip units are fixed.

Said three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform， wherein： the n inner yarn carrying discs in a direction of each ring of the m rings are connected with each other successively by the annular drive gears installed on the inner shafts， wherein sizes of annular drive gears in the each ring are the same so that rotary rates of inner yarn carrying discs in the each ring are the same， and rotary directions of any two adjacent inner yarn carrying discs in the each ring are opposite to each other.

Said three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform， wherein： the annular drive gears of adjacent rings are staggered.

Said three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform， wherein： the annular drive gears are bevel gears.

Said three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform， wherein： the inner yarn carrying discs in different rings are connected to each other by the column drive gears installed on the inner shafts.

Said three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform， wherein： the inner yarn carrying discs in different rings are connected with power sources at different speeds， and the power sources at different speeds are controlled independently.

Said three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform， wherein： one outer yarn carrying disc is installed in either of two ends of inner yarn carrying discs in each column.

Said three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform， wherein： each outer yarn carrying disc is drive connected by an outer shaft pivoted to the bottom plate band， and the outer shaft is connected to an independent power source， or is drive connected to the inner shafts at an adjacent position by gears.

Said three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform， wherein： each of the inner yarn carrying discs and the outer yarn carrying discs is respectively connected with an independent power source， and wherein， each of the inner yarn carrying discs and the outer yarn carrying discs is controlled independently by an automatic control system.

Said three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform， wherein： braiding grooved rails are arranged on the internal surface of the bottom plate band.

Said three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform， wherein： the n strip units constitute a cylindrical shape or a conical shape.

Said three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform， wherein： the central axis is arranged along a horizontal direction， a vertical direction or any other direction in space.

Said three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform， wherein： diameters of the outer yarn carrying discs are less than or equal to diameters of the inner yarn carrying discs.

Compared with the prior art， the beneficial effects of the present invention are in that： by applying the braiding machine provided by the present invention， the braiding platform can be expanded easily and conveniently， and are no longer limited by increasing sizes of the yarn carrying discs along with the increasing number of the rings. And thus， due to fewer types of parts and a unitary size of parts in the present invention， it is much easier to expand scales， and to implement modular production and large-scale production.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic diagram of stereoscopic appearance of the three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform provided by the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a simplified side view of the three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform provided by the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a stereoscopic structure diagram of a strip unit of the three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform provided by the present invention.

FIG. 4 is the side view of a strip unit of the three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform provided by the present invention.

FIG. 5 is the front view of strip units of the three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform provided by the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the drive connection of two adjacent inner shafts of the three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform provided by the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a guiding rail shape on a bottom plate band of the three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform provided by the present invention.

Brief description of the reference signs： end plate 1； support 11； strip unit 2； bottom plate band 3； braiding grooved rail 31； inner yarn carrying disc 4； inner shaft 41； annular drive gear 42； column drive gears 43； outer yarn carrying disc 5； outer shaft 51； outer drive gear 52.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIG. 1， FIG. 2， which is simplified structure diagram of the three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform provided by the present invention； wherein， the braiding platform comprises two annular end plates 1 arranged in parallel with each other， and one side of two annular end plates 1 close to the ground is extended as a support 11， wherein n strip units 2 (n is even number) distributed equally circularly are fixed between the two annular end plates 1. Because the number of strip units 2 is too many in the present embodiment， for the sake of clarity， FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 only show a detailed structure of two adjacent strip units 2.

Please refer to FIG. 3， FIG. 4， FIG. 5 further， which is a structure diagram of a strip unit 2 of the three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform provided by the present invention， wherein， each strip unit 2 includes one bottom plate band 3， and a length direction of each bottom plate band 3 is in parallel with an axial direction of the central axis of the annular end plates 1， and each bottom plate band has two opposing surfaces， wherein one surface of the two opposing surfaces toward the central axis of the annular end plates 1 is called as an internal surface， and the other surface is called as an external surface； a column of m inner yarn carrying discs 4 are arranged along a length direction at a side of the internal surface of each bottom plate band 3 (m is a natural number) ， and one outer yarn carrying disc 5 is arranged in either of two ends of inner yarn carrying discs 4 in each column； and all inner yarn carrying discs 4 on the n strip units 2 constitute a cylindrical braiding platform， on which an m by n array of inner yarn carrying discs 4 (with m rings， n columns) is provided. inner yarn carrying yarn discs 4 is drive connected by one inner shaft 41， each outer yarn carrying discs 5 is drive connected by one outer shaft 51， the inner yarn carrying discs 4 and the outer yarn carrying discs 5 both penetrate to the outside surface of the bottom plate band 3 and are connected to several pairs of gears， and the several pairs of gears allows the inner yarn carrying discs 4 and the outer yarn carrying discs 5 to rotate according to a predefined speed. And the yarn carriers seated on openings of the inner yarn carrying discs 4 and the outer yarn carrying discs 5 go forward according to a prescribed path.

In this embodiment， as shown in FIG. 3， FIG. 4， FIG. 5， n inner yarn carrying discs 4 in a direction of each ring of the m rings are connected with each other successively by the annular drive gears 42 installed on the inner shafts 41， and sizes of the annular drive gears 42 in the each ring are the same， so that rotary rates of the inner yarn carrying discs 4 in the each ring are the same， and rotary directions of any two adjacent inner yarn carrying discs 4 in the each ring are opposite to each other. In order to avoid intervening annular drive gears 42 on adjacent rings， the axial positions of the annular drive gears 42 on the adjacent rings are preferably staggered. As shown in FIG. 6， the two adjacent inner shafts 41 are not in parallel with each other， but an angle between the two adjacent inner shafts 41 is 360/n. In order to ensure drive stability， the annular drive gears 42 are preferably bevel gears；

The rotary speeds of the inner yarn carrying discs 4 in different rings may either be the same， or be different. The inner yarn carrying discs 4 in different rings can either be controlled independently， or be drive connected by the gears. In this embodiment， as shown in FIG. 3， FIG. 4， FIG 5， the inner yarn carrying discs 4 in the same column are connected successively with each other by the column drive gears 43 installed on the inner shafts 41， wherein sizes of the column drive gears 43 in the same column are the same， so that rotary rates of the inner yarn carrying discs 4 in the same column are the same， and rotary directions of any two adjacent inner yarn carrying discs 4 in the each column are opposite to each other.

As shown in FIG. 3， FIG. 4， FIG. 5， one outer drive gear 52 is arranged on each outer shaft 51， and the outer drive gear 52 mesh with one column drive gear 43 so that an exact drive relationship exists between the outer yarn carrying discs 5 and the inner yarn carrying discs 4.

Using the drive structure of the present embodiment， as long as a driving torque is added onto any one of the inner shafts 41 or any one of the outer shafts 51， all the inner yarn carrying discs 4 and all the outer yarn carrying discs 5 would move.

Certainly， if the rotary rates of the inner yarn carrying discs 4 in directions of different rings are to be different， so as to meet complicated braiding requirements (for example： the structure of interior area of the braided fabric are different from the structure of surface area of the braided fabric. The rotary rates of rings on which interior area are braided may be different from rotary rates of rings on which surface area are braided. At this time， the rotary rates of different rings need to be reasonably designed according to requirements of actual braiding structures) . One design method is to apply power sources at different speeds to the inner yarn carrying discs 4 in the rings at different speeds， and the other design method is that the inner yarn carrying discs 4 in two rings are drive connected with each other by a drive ratio which is not equal to 1 (such as， the inner yarn carrying discs 4 in two rings are drive connected by gears with different numbers of gear teeth) in a drive way. The above two design methods are both improved based on the above-mentioned embodiment. They are not illustrated by the drawings.

Further， each of the inner yarn carrying discs 4 and the outer yarn carrying discs 5 is respectively connected with an independent power source， wherein each of the inner yarn carrying discs 4 and the outer yarn carrying discs 5 is controlled independently by an automatic control system.

As shown in FIG. 7， braiding grooved rails 31 are arranged on the internal surface of the bottom plate band 3. When the yarn carriers are driven by the openings of the inner yarn carrying discs 4 and the outer yarn carrying discs 5， the braiding grooved rails 31 would guide yarn spools in the yarn carriers to go forward according to the prescribed path.

The other related structures of the three-dimensional braiding machine by applying the three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform provided by the present invention， such as a braiding forming ring， and a traction device， are not key points of the creative work of the present invention； therefore， herein their details will be not given.

The arrangement of the three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform on the ground can be changed arbitrarily according to requirements. A typical arrangement may be horizontal or vertical. In one instance， the axis of the cylindrical braiding platform is perpendicular to the ground when the platform is placed in a horizontal direction. And planes of all rings are parallel with the ground. And the inner shafts 41， and the outer shafts 51 on the ring are all horizontal. And formed fabric pulls along an up or down vertical direction or along an oblique direction. In another instance， the axis of the cylindrical braiding platform is along a horizontal direction when the platform is placed in a vertical direction (as shown in FIG. 1， FIG. 2) ， and the planes of rings are vertical to the ground， and formed fabric pulls along a front or back direction or along a oblique direction.

Finally， what need to be complemented is that： in the above-mentioned embodiment， the n strip units in parallel with each other constitute a cylindrical braiding platform. Actually， there may be angles between the n strip units and the central axis， so that the n strip units constitute a conical braiding platform. In the above-mentioned embodiment， diameters of the outer yarn carrying discs are less than diameters of the inner yarn carrying discs. However， actually， diameters of the outer yarn carrying discs can also be equal to diameters of the inner yarn carrying discs.

For the present invention， the above description is merely illustrative， and is not intended to limit the present invention. It is appreciated by those skilled in the art that： any modification， improvement， equivalent replacement without departing the spirit and principle of the claims could be made， and should be deemed to fall within the scope of the present invention..

Claims

A three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform comprising a central axis and n strip units distributed annularly around the central axis， wherein n is an even number；

Each strip unit includes one bottom plate band， and a length direction of each bottom plate band is in parallel with an axial direction of the central axis， and each bottom plate band has two opposing surfaces， wherein one surface of the two opposing surfaces toward the central axis is named as an internal surface， and the other surface is named as an external surface； a column of m inner yam carrying discs are arranged along a length direction at a side of the internal surface of each bottom plate band， wherein m is a natural number， and all inner yarn carrying discs on the n strip units constitute a cylindrical braiding platform， on which an array of inner yarn carrying discs with m rings and n columns is provided；

Each inner yarn carrying disc is drive connected by an inner shaft pivoted to the bottom plate band， and the inner shaft is connected to a same power source or a different power source， so that the inner yarn carrying discs can relatively rotate according to a predefined speed and a predefined direction.
The three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform as claimed in claim 1 further comprising two annular end plates arranged in parallel with each other， between which the n strip units are fixed.
The three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform as claimed in claim 1 wherein， the n inner yarn carrying discs in a direction of each ring of the m rings are connected with each other successively by the annular drive gears installed on the inner shafts， wherein sizes of the annular drive gears in the each ring are the same so that rotary rates of the inner yam carrying discs in the each ring are the same， and rotary directions of any two adjacent inner yam carrying discs in the each ring are opposite to each other.
The three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform as claimed in claim 3 wherein， the annular drive gears of adjacent rings are staggered；
The three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform as claimed in claim 3 wherein， the annular drive gears are bevel gears.
The three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform as claimed in claim 3 wherein， the inner yarn carrying discs in different rings are connected with each other by the column drive gears installed on the inner shafts.
The three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform as claimed in claim 3 wherein， the inner yarn carrying discs in different rings are connected to power sources at different speeds， wherein the power sources at different speeds are controlled independently.
The three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform as claimed in claim 1 wherein， one outer yam carrying disc is installed in either of two ends of inner yarn carrying discs in each column.
The three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform as claimed in claim 8 wherein， each outer yarn carrying disc is drive connected by an outer shaft pivoted to the bottom plate band； wherein the outer shaft is connected to an independent power source， or is drive connected to the inner shafts at an adjacent position by gears.
The three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform as claimed in claim 8 wherein， each of the inner yarn carrying discs and the outer yarn carrying discs is respectively connected with an independent power source， and wherein， each of the inner yarn carrying discs and the outer yarn carrying discs is controlled independently by an automatic control system.
The three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform as claimed in claim 1 wherein， braiding grooved rails are arranged on the internal surface of the bottom plate band.
The three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform as claimed in claim 1 wherein， the n strip units constitute a cylindrical shape or a conical shape.
The three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform as claimed in claim 1 wherein， the central axis is arranged along a horizontal direction， a vertical direction or any other direction in space.
The three-dimensional cylindrical braiding platform as claimed in claim 8 wherein， diameters of the outer yam carrying discs are less than or equal to diameters of the inner yam carrying discs.