EP1717357B1 - Cross-lapper - Google Patents

Abstract

Non-wovens are cross-laid in a deposition zone (A) on a transverse conveyor (7) by two air-permeable depositing belts (5, 6) made of a textile material, which traverse across the conveyor. The belts are carried on pulleys mounted on reciprocating carriages (1, 2, 3, 4), the non-woven being supplied in a feed zone (B). In the deposition zone (B) the non-woven is covered by two smooth impermeable covering belts (9, 10) that are linked to the drive. In the deposition zone (B) the belts (5, 6) run over two additional rollers (11, 12), which, if desired, can be spaced to exert pressure on the non-woven in the gap. They can also be arranged to run momentarily faster than the turn-round rollers (20, 21) for the belts (5, 6). At the inlet, two pairs of rollers (16, 17, 18, 19) are arranged so that the belts (5, 6) form a V-shaped inlet funnel.

Description

The present invention relates to a fleece laying with a superstructure and a laying carriage, which are movably guided across an endless delivery conveyor belt transversely to the transport direction, two tensioning carriages and two tensioned, made of textile fabric, air-permeable Legebändem, which are passed over the superstructure and the laying carriage and between which a to be deposited pile is at least partially recorded and guided to a laying carriage located at the laying carriage. A fleece layer of this kind is made EP 0 398 240 B1 known.

The known nonwoven is a counter-runner, so-called because in the movement of the laying carriage on the delivery conveyor belt of the superstructure performs a counter-rotating movement and in this way had guided over stationary deflection rollers guide belts under tension. To compensate for voltage differences between the Legebändem a tension roller is additionally arranged in the path of movement of one of the leg bands, which is to a certain extent spatially adjustable in the extent of the voltage differences to be compensated, but essentially remains at rest.

Out EP 0 865 521 B1 is nonwoven with a superstructure and a laying carriage, which are movably guided across an endless delivery conveyor belt transversely to the transport direction, known, which is designed as a synchronizer, runner, because in the laying movement of the laying carriage of the superstructure is moved in the same direction. In order to keep the air-permeable trained also bandages that record the deposited at least in some areas between them and are guided over the superstructure and the laying carriage to keep curious, each band is each guided by its own tensioning carriage, the opposite direction to the upper and laying carriages is moved.

In other known nonwoven layers, such as in EP 0 517 568 A1 . EP 0 609 907 A2 and WO 91/15618 described, the strips are airtight. This causes serious problems in operation, especially at high speeds. To remedy, for example, in the nonwoven EP 0 865 521 B1 the inlet section, where the pile is received by the nonwoven, acute funnel-shaped constricting formed acute-angled so that the pile can be gradually compressed or clamped and the air contained in it can be gently pushed out over a longer path and time period. To support the air discharge from the pile can according EP 0 865 521 B1 the ribbons are permeable to air.

In practice, the bands are made of rubber or PVC continuously coated fabrics and have a very flat surface, because they move during the movement of the laying carriage close to the deposited fleece and touch it. Would that be Laying tapes permeable to air, ie provided with holes, in order to allow an air discharge from the pile through the laying belts, the surface would be so rough that the laying belts would entrain fibers from the fleece as they move over the laid fleece. In fact, on the market so far no nonwoven fabric has appeared, the air-permeable ribbon has. Therefore, the mentioned hint arises in EP 0 865 521 B1 on air permeability of the ribbons probably a wishful thinking.

The very even surface of the bands has the consequence that the bands are relatively firmly adhere to each other and in the superimposed state not against each slipping in the longitudinal direction or can be controlled independently of each other in the transverse direction. For this reason, the bands must be separated from each other on the superstructure and the laying carriage in the area where the path of the pile to be laid, and then rejoined, including, as in the aforementioned EP 0 865 521 B1 is shown clearly, in each case a plurality of guide rollers are provided for each one of the bands. It turns out that just in the path areas where the pile experiences the strongest centrifugal forces, it is insufficiently supported on its radially outer side. Furthermore, the lifting of the bands from one another and the separation of them from the pile can produce suction effects which adversely affect the pile. Conversely, the reintroduction of the respective lifted ribbon to the pile can lead to blowing effects, which laterally fade the pile.

In high-speed operation, the bands also tend to flutter, with the result that the pile is blown laterally. It creates fiber fly that disturbs the machine operation and the product has non-uniform quality.

The invention has for its object to provide a nonwoven layering of the type mentioned, which allows a simplified structure and in which the pile is gently guided.

This object is achieved according to the invention with a nonwoven layer of the type mentioned, as described in claim 1 hereinafter. Advantageous embodiments of the fleece layer are the subject of the dependent claims.

In practice, the laying belts are screen belts and are preferably made of a polyamide or polyester fabric of monofilaments. Also steel fabric tapes are used.

Lanyards of the type used are able to immediately divert any trailing air contained in a pile to the outside. Suction or blowing effects can not occur if the ribbons separate or approach each other. Also mentioned Fluttering effects of known bands are at least largely, if not completely avoidable. The fact that the bands are made of tissue, makes their surface pointy uneven, ie in the surface are formed by the crossover points of the fabric filaments thick areas, next to which there are thin spots. This avoids that the tape is "sticking" to each other, as is the case with the known, designed more like films Legebändem and there must be taken into account at the guide rollers by separating the bands from each other.

A particular advantage of the bands is when they are made of a very smooth material, which makes it possible to guide them together under sandwichartigem inclusion of the pile to be laid around the guide rollers on the upper and laying carriage where they can move against each other in the longitudinal direction , A complicated construction with special additional guide rollers of the kind as mentioned in the EP 0 865 521 B1 is described and must be selected there to take into account the problem of strong adhesion of the bands to each other, is completely unnecessary in a nonwoven fabric of the present invention.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the laying belts are guided on the superstructure namely in each case only via an inlet roller and a guide roller and form at the guide rollers an inlet gap for receiving the pile. A first of the laying belts accompanies the second laying belt on its way around the guide roller on the superstructure over an arc of 90 °, and the laying carriage are each guided over a guide roller and form a discharge gap for discharging the pile at the laying point. The second ribbon accompanies the first ribbon on its way to the deflection roller on the laying carriage over a 90 ° arc. Mutual slippage of the bands therefore takes place only on the said 90 ° arc and in the section between these arches. Due to the smooth surface of the bands, this slip does not adversely affect the operation of the device and the piles trapped between the bands.

The delivery conveyor belt, over which the carriage is movable, is covered in the swept by the deposit of the laying carriage surface area of two preferably air-impermeable, endless, movable Abdeckbändem, each of which is connected to its own drive means. This Abdeckbändem fiber fly is prevented, and the laid fleece can not be disturbed by the uneven surface of the ribbons. The masking tapes are preferably guided over a respective deflection roller mounted in the laying carriage. The two deflecting the cover strips Guide rollers are mounted near the discharge gap forming deflection rollers and form between them a passage through which the emerging from the discharge gap pile is passed to the delivery conveyor belt. In this way, the pile passes from the discharge nip on a straight path on the delivery conveyor belt.

It is advantageous if the bands are stretchable to some extent, because thereby the transport conditions at those guide rollers on which the conveyor belts are deflected together, be improved.

The presence of the Durchleitspalts between the cover strips at their mounted on laying carriage deflection rollers makes it advantageously possible to use the pile section between the discharge gap and the directly below arranged Durchleitspalt as draw zone by giving the Abdeckbändern at their guide rollers a higher surface speed than the put bands. The stretching effect arising here can be modulated on its trajectory depending on the respective location of the laying carriage, so that it is possible to form a predetermined cross-sectional profile in the laid nonwoven.

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawing.

The single drawing shows schematically only the essential parts of a nonwoven fabric with the features of the invention. The basic characteristics of the fleece layer and its function are in line with those of the fleece layer EP 0 865 521 B1 match. For explanation, reference may therefore be made to those document additionally.

The nonwoven fabric has in a housing or frame (only hinted) a superstructure 1 shown here only schematically and a likewise only schematically illustrated laying carriage 2, which is arranged in a relation to the uppercarriage 1 lower altitude. The crosslapper also has two tensioning carriages 3 and 4. About the superstructure 1 and the laying carriage 2 and each one of the tensioning carriages 3 and 4 are guided by means of suitable, fixedly mounted rollers two guide belts 5 and 6, each consisting of an open fabric. The aforementioned cars 1 to 4 are on a delivery conveyor belt 7 transversely to the transport direction of the same Rails (indicated by dashed lines) movably guided. The first laying belt 5 passes through a loading region B, to which an endlessly circulating charging belt 8 leads to the feeding of a card web to be deposited (hereinafter referred to as "pile").

Below the transverse to the delivery conveyor belt 7 extending strand of the bands 5 and 6, two smooth cover strips 9 and 10, which serve to protect the deposited on the delivery conveyor belt 7 pile layers against air turbulence, by depositing the pile by means of the laying carriage. 2 can be generated. The masking tapes 9 and 10 are guided over a plurality of stationary mounted guide rollers and also run over two opposing guide rollers 11 and 12, which are rotatably mounted on the laying carriage 2, and two guide rollers 13 and 14, at one below the delivery conveyor belt 7 transversely to its Transport direction movable auxiliary carriage 15 are rotatably mounted. At least one each of the fixedly mounted guide rollers is connected to a drive device, which is symbolized in the drawing by a sector mark of the respective guide rollers. At their guide rollers 11 and 12 on the laying carriage 2, the cover bands 9 and 10 form a passage for passing the pile to be deposited on the delivery conveyor belt 7.

On the uppercarriage 1, a guide roller 16 and a guide roller 17 for the first guide belt 5 and a second guide roller 18 and a second guide roller 19 for the second guide belt 6 are rotatably mounted. On the laying carriage 2 are two closely opposite guide rollers 20 and 21 for the bands 5 and 6 rotatably mounted.

The course of the laying belts 5 and 6 through the nonwoven layer is as follows. The one (first) laying belt 5 runs from the loading area B approximately horizontally to the first guide roller 16 on the superstructure 1, via the guide roller 17 on the superstructure 1 and from there horizontally to the guide roller 21 on the laying carriage 2 and wraps around this on an arc of 90 °. Then it runs over the guide roller 20 on the laying carriage 2, this also on an arc of 90 °, looping over a stationary mounted guide roller to a mounted on the first tensioning carriage 3 guide roller and then back to the feed area B. At least one of the fixedly mounted guide rollers is with a drive connected, which is symbolized in the drawing by a sector mark of the respective guide roller.

The other (second) laying belt 6 runs on a horizontal section to the guide roller 18 on the uppercarriage 1 and the guide roller 19 in the uppercarriage 1 and then puts on the other guide roller 17 on the uppercarriage 1 wrap around first guide belt 5, so that there is a Arc of 90 ° describes. It then accompanies the path of the first laying belt to the laying carriage 2 and wraps around its guide roller 21 on an arc of 180 °, from where the second laying belt 6 extends horizontally above the delivery conveyor belt 7 and two stationary mounted guide rollers to one in the second tensioning carriage 4th mounted deflecting roller is guided. After looping around the same by 180 °, the second laying belt 6 extends over a further stationarily mounted deflection roller, looping it through 180 °, back to the guide roller 18 on the uppercarriage 1. Again, at least one of the fixedly mounted guide rollers is connected to a drive, which is symbolized in the drawing by a sector mark of the respective guide roller.

On the uppercarriage 1, the two guide belts 5 and 6 form an approximately funnel-shaped inlet area, which opens into an inlet gap formed by the two guide belts 5 and 6 on the guide rollers 17 and 19. At the deflection rollers 20 and 21 mounted on the laying carriage 2, the two laying belts 5 and 6 form a discharge gap, from which the pile to be laid is delivered to a deposit point A, which is movable via the delivery conveyor belt 7.

The path of a pile supplied to the fleece layer is as follows: The pile passes via the loading belt 8 at the loading area B onto the horizontal upper section (upper run) of the first laying belt 5 which extends from the loading area B to the upper carriage 1. From the first guide roller 16 deflected on the uppercarriage 1, the pile passes into the inlet gap between the first and second guide belts 5 and 6 to the guide rollers 17 and 19 mounted in the uppercarriage 1, and then between the two guide belts 5 and 6 via the guide roller 21 on the laying carriage 2, where the two guide belts 5 and 6 separate from each other at the discharge gap between the two guide rollers 20 and 21 mounted in the laying carriage 2. The released at the discharge gap Flor then passes through a passage through which, between the two guide rollers 11 and 12 is present, which deflect the cover strips 9 and 10, at the depositing point A on the delivery conveyor belt 7th

Hereinafter, the operation of the nonwoven layer according to the embodiment will be described. The drawing shows the crosslapper in a state in which the laying carriage 2 is located approximately in the middle of its path of movement above the delivery conveyor belt 7. The superstructure 1 is arranged in the drawing to the right of the carriage 2. Pile is fed to the leveler via the feed belt 8 at a speed v. If the pile is not to be stretched on its way through the nonwoven layer, the laying belt 5 in the loading area B has a speed which is also v.

It is now assumed that the carriage 2 moves from the position shown to the right at a uniform speed. He also has the speed v. Because it is delivered via the guide rollers 20 and 21 Flor at the peripheral speed of the guide rollers, which is just as large as the speed of movement of the laying carriage 2, the superstructure 1 moves at the speed v / 2 also to the right. This has the consequence that the tensioning carriages 3 and 4 of the laying belts 5 and 6 each move at the speed v / 2 to the left. The same applies with opposite sign when the laying carriage 2 moves at the speed v to the left. The uppercarriage follows it then with the speed v / 2, while the tensioning carriages 3 and 4 with the speed v / 2 move to the right.

During the movement of the laying carriage 2 to the right, the driven deflection roller of the cover strip 9 is stopped, so that the covering belt 9 unwinds via the guide roller 11 on the laying carriage 2 onto the delivery conveyor belt 7, which has been newly deposited by the drag movement of the laying carriage 2. The auxiliary carriage 15 is thus retraced to the left with the speed v. Since at the passage gap between the two guide rollers 11 and 12, the cover strips 9 and 10 must not have a speed difference, the cover strip 10 must have at its mounted on the laying carriage 2 guide roller 12 has a peripheral speed which is equal to v. Further, because the laying carriage 2 moves to the right at the speed v, this means that the cover tape 10 moves at twice the speed, that is, 2v to the right over the piles placed on the delivery conveyor 7. This requires a corresponding drive speed at its driven, stationary deflection roller. If the movement of the laying carriage is reversed, the delivery conveyor belt 10 is wound on the newly laid pile, while the other cover tape 9 slides at twice the speed 2v over the laid pile layers.

In the edge regions of the delivery conveyor belt 7, the laying carriage 2 must be braked to zero speed. However, since the feed belt 8 continues to feed pile at the speed v and the take-up speed of the laying tape 5 in the loading area B can not be reduced, the speed ratio between the uppercarriage 1 and the laying carriage 2 is temporarily changed. The superstructure 1 moves slightly further than the original speed ratio, so that between the superstructure 1 and the laying carriage 2 a buffer is formed, the volume increases during the deceleration phase of the laying carriage 2 and again reduced after the reversal of motion and subsequent acceleration of the laying carriage 2 ,

As has been described, the lower run of the masking tape located in the direction of movement behind the laying carriage is essentially stationary on the pile newly laid during the current movement stroke of the laying carriage, on the relative movement between the delivery conveyor belt 7 and the cover bands 9 and 10 caused by the transport movement of the delivery conveyor Abliefertransportbandes 7 is caused, once apart. The lower run of the masking tape located in front of this in the direction of movement of the laying carriage, on the other hand, sweeps away over the felt web laid in the preceding laying process with the speed doubled in relation to the speed of the laying carriage. However, since the masking tape is smooth, the structure of the laid card web is not disturbed by this movement of the masking tape.

On the other hand, the bands are 5 and 6 both on the uppercarriage 1 and the laying carriage 2 each on a path arc of only 90 ° with the interposition of the transported card web successively, the path radius of the laying belt 5 on its guide roller 17 on the uppercarriage 1 is smaller than that of the laying belt 6, on the guide roller 21 on the laying carriage 2 but larger than that of the laying belt 6. Because textile fabrics are used for the laying belts 5 and 6 according to the invention, which are not prone to mutual sticking, the laying belts 5 and 6 can easily move against each other without the risk of disturbing the pile trapped between them.

The above-described speed ratios of the laying and masking tapes apply in the event that the pile is laid unstretched by the nonwoven layer. If a stretching effect on the pile in the region between the discharge gap between the guide rollers 20 and 21 on the one hand and the guide rollers 11 and 12 on the other hand are caused by means of the nonwoven layer, the discharge gap at the guide rollers 20 and 21 and Durchleitspalt between the guide rollers 11 and 12th make the masking tapes so tight that there is a respective clamping action is caused on the pile, and the drive both cover strips 11 and 12 is to control so that their peripheral speed at their guide rollers 11 and 12 is greater than the peripheral speed of the guide belts 5 and 6 at their guide rollers 20 and 21. As already mentioned, the speed difference can be controlled by the respective location of the laying carriage during the laying movement in intended profiling. But it is also possible to measure the thickness profile of the laid web transversely to its longitudinal extent and to compare with a nominal profile and control the stretching process with the comparison result, so that also thickness tolerances in the supplied pile can be compensated. The invention thus offers advantages that still add to the structural advantages.

Both the laying belts and the masking tapes can each have more than one driven roller in order to improve the traction, as shown in the drawing by the example of the masking tapes.

Claims (5)

1. Non-woven fabric laying apparatus having an upper carriage (1) and a laying carriage (2) which are guided above an endless discharge conveyor belt (7) so as to be movable transversely to the direction of transport thereof, and having air-permeable laying belts (5, 6) made of textile fabric which are guided over the upper carriage (1) and the laying carriage (2) and between which a fibrous web to be deposited is received at least in one region and guided to a depositing station (A) located under the laying carriage (2) for depositing on the discharge conveyor belt (7), characterised in that there is provided a tension carriage (3, 4) over which the laying belt concerned (5, 6) is guided, and in that the discharge conveyor belt (7) in the surface region swept by the depositing station (A) is covered by two endless, smooth, movable covering belts (9, 10) which are each connected to a drive device.
2. Non-woven fabric laying apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that the covering belts (9, 10) are air-impermeable.
3. Non-woven fabric laying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that in the laying carriage (2) beneath two deflecting rollers (20, 21) which deflect the laying belts (5, 6) are rotatably mounted two further deflecting rollers (11, 12) which are each wrapped by one of the covering belts (9, 10) which form between them, at the further deflecting rollers (11, 12), a gap for passage of the fibrous web to be deposited onto the discharge conveyor belt (7).
4. Non-woven fabric laying apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that the laying belts (5, 6) are guided on the upper carriage (1) in each case only over one inlet roller (16, 18) and one deflecting roller (17, 19), and form an inlet gap at the deflecting rollers (17, 19) for receiving the fibrous web, a first one (6) of the laying belts accompanying the second laying belt (5) on its path round its deflecting roller (17) on the upper carriage (1) through an arc of 90°, and in that the laying belts (5, 6) on the laying carriage (2) are guided in each case only over one deflecting roller (20, 21) and form a discharge gap for discharging the fibrous web at the depositing station (A), the second laying belt (5) accompanying the first laying belt (6) on its path round its deflecting roller (20) on the laying carriage (2) through an arc of 90°.
5. Non-woven fabric laying apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the discharge gap between the deflecting rollers (20, 21) of the laying belts (5, 6) on the laying carriage (2) and the gap for passage between the deflecting rollers (11, 12) of the covering belts (9, 10) on the laying carriage (2) are in each case so narrow that a fibrous web enclosed therebetween is clamped, and in that the drives of the laying belts (5, 6) and covering belts (9, 10) are designed such that the circumferential speed of the deflecting rollers (11, 12) of the covering belts (9, 10) is at least temporarily greater than the circumferential speed of the deflecting rollers (20, 21) of the laying belts (5, 6).

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