IT202100005756U1 - OPTIMIZED COMPONENT IN NATURAL-BASED NON-WOVEN TEXTILE FIBERS - Google Patents

Description

Utility model patent application:

OPTIMIZED TEXTILE FIBER COMPONENT

NATURALLY BASED NON-WOVEN

DESCRIPTION

The present invention refers to an optimized component made of non-woven natural-based textile fibres.

Generally, textile fibers are divided into two large categories: natural fibers and "technofibres".

Since the object of the present invention concerns only natural fibres, a brief summary of the latter is provided below.

Natural fibers are divided into fibers of origin: vegetable (for example, linen, hemp, jute, coconut, cotton...) or animal (for example, silk, and wool from various animals such as sheep, camel...) or mineral (for example those of asbestos, glass, ...) which in some ways are natural, as they derive from minerals found in nature, but which require thermal and/or chemical processes to be obtained. Textile fiber products are used in various technical sectors as well as, of course, in the textile industry; for example, as heat-insulating and/or sound-absorbing components; in the construction industry, as padding components; in the furniture and automotive industries, as filter components for various applications, and in geotechnics.

In the textile industry in particular, fibers are typically woven; in this way, the product acquires consistency and resistance.

? It is also possible to firmly join textile fibers together in other ways.

The technology of joining textile fibers? undoubtedly that of traditional weaving.

In addition to this technology, for example, in the 1950s, ? "non-woven fabric" technology was created; this technology uses "synthetic" fibers (often different and mixed together), ? more? economical of weaving and allows very high production rates.

Textile fiber components suitable for carrying out thermal insulation, acoustic insulation, padding and filtering functions are known.

However, these components are made of textile fibers for use in the aforementioned industries or are made through the use of ?technofibres? not natural-based or, if natural-based, do not have adequate technical characteristics to optimally carry out the various uses in the industrial field. Purpose of the present invention? that of making available an optimized component in non-woven natural-based textile fibers capable of overcoming the drawbacks of the state of the art.

A further important purpose of the present invention? that of making available an optimized component in non-woven natural-based textile fibers with the function of thermal insulation and/or acoustic insulation and/or padding and/or filtering which does not require high temperature heat treatments for its production.

An additional purpose? that of providing an optimized component in non-woven natural-based textile fibers with thermal insulation and/or acoustic insulation and/or padding and/or filtering functions that can be produced in a manner and in line with "sustainability" environmental? and ?the circular economy? eco-friendly.

These and other purposes are achieved by an optimized component made of non-woven natural-based textile fibers having the technical characteristics expressed in the attached claims which form an integral part of the present description.

The technical characteristics of the present invention as well as? its advantages will be clear from the following description to be considered together with the attached drawings in which:

- figure 1 schematically shows a veil of textile fibres,

- figure 2 schematically shows the veil of figure 1 after ? been pleated,

- figure 3 schematically shows the veil of figure 2 after ? been needled,

- figure 4 schematically shows a part of an example of a machine suitable for producing a component according to the present invention, and

- figure 5 schematically shows the needling head of the machine in figure 4 while needling a small section of a web of textile fibers

The idea behind the present invention? that of creating the component starting from a veil of natural textile fibers (both animal and/or vegetable mixed together) which is first "pleated" and then "needled" in a direction corresponding to the length of the veil; in particular, the needling is carried out in a transverse direction, preferably perpendicular, to the thickness of the pleated veil; in this way, the component presents a certain consistency and structure, but also presents a notable elasticity, softness? and lightness.

It should be noted that "veil" means a set of textile fibers that are not firmly joined together and which therefore appears soft, light and also transparent.

In general, the non-woven textile fiber component according to the present invention comprises a layer of carded textile fibers which is pleated in the direction of the length and/or width of the component and which is needle punched in the direction of the length and/or width of the component.

An example of manufacturing a component 1 in non-woven textile fibers according to the present invention? shown in figure 3.

It derives from a ply 2 of carded textile fibres, in particular of carded wool shown in figure 1 when it is in a horizontal condition before the processing which is the object of the present invention.

The veil 2? been pleated, as shown in figure 2, in a horizontal direction.

Afterwards, the veil 2 ? needled, as shown in figure 3, in a horizontal direction.

The needling operation, carried out with a limited number of needles (in particular from 1 to 9 per square centimeter), binds the web 2 in a horizontal direction without any filler material, in particular without the use of thread, and is compact a little veil in horizontal direction; in this way, component 1 presents a certain consistency and structure; however, since? the number of needling needles? limited, component 1 maintains a notable elasticity, softness? and lightness similar to those of veil 2 from which it derives.

As can be understood from what is shown in figures 1-3, the needling direction advantageously corresponds to that of pleating, even if this Not ? strictly indispensable for the present invention.

Component 1 constitutes a sort of soft and foldable mattress of constant thickness S corresponding to the size of the pleating; this pleating size? of 20 millimeters alternatively this pleating size can? have a value chosen between 4 millimeters and 240 millimetres.

Advantageously, the thickness is constant for the entire length of the component 1 but, again according to the present invention, it cannot be excluded that the component 1 has a variable thickness (deriving from a variable pleating dimension).

In order to be able to reach a thickness S greater than the average length of the fibers (60-70mm)? necessary, to make the component resistant, to include a processing phase aimed at stabilizing the fibers themselves.

This stabilization operation? carried out, for example by adding a heat-fixing material to the fibres.

In this way the individual fibers are mutually held together, not only by the needling operation but also by the heat-setting material laid out.

In detail of the various processing phases, the ply 4 is subjected to the unit before undergoing the pleating operation. heating device 9 designed to activate the heat-setting material.

The unit? heating system 9 includes for example a heated and thermostatable cylinder (therefore adjustable to different temperatures chosen by the user depending on the material of component 1).

The veil 4 comes into contact with this cylinder so as to activate the heat-setting material.

In this way the veil 4 turns out to be much more? robust and immune to any tears even with very high thicknesses and greater than the length of the fibres.

Figures 4 and 5 also show an example of a machine suitable for producing a component 1 in non-woven textile fibers like the one covered by the present invention.

Will it come in the sequel? described, with the aid of figure 4 and figure 5, only the part of this machine which carries out the most operations? innovative, the remaining processes are therefore done in a traditional way. Figure 4 shows:

- means 3 suitable for continuously feeding a long web 4 of carded textile fibers towards a processing area 5,

- a pleating head 6 placed in said processing area 5 and suitable for repeatedly carrying out pleating operations on the ply 4,

- a needling head 7 placed in said processing area 5 and suitable for repeatedly carrying out needling operations on the web 4 after been pleated, and

- means 8 suitable for continuously advancing the web 4 after ? been pleated and needle punched away from the processing area 5.

As mentioned, the machine which is the subject of the present invention also includes a unit of heating 9, suitable for the thermofusion of the heat-setting material, which advantageously includes a thermostatically heated cylinder,

Advantageously this unit? of heating 9 ? arranged before the pleating head 6 and the needling head 7.

In figure 4, the veil 4 is continuous, it extends longitudinally from left to right, and moves progressively from left to right, passing through processing zone 5, as processing proceeds.

As mentioned, methods and devices for producing veils of carded textile fibers are already known and known. in use; therefore, they will not be described here.

After the processes shown schematically in figure 4, the pleated and needle-punched veil 4 can be be, for example rolled up thus forming? a roll or cut thus forming? a plurality? of boxes.

The means 3 and 8 can for example be made using conveyor belts.

The pleating head 6 ? schematized, in figure 4, as a straight bar suitable for folding the web 4. The needling head 7 is schematized, in figures 4 and 5, as a rectilinear bar 71 equipped with a plurality? of needles (of needling) 72 of such length as to pass through a plurality? of layers of veil 4.

Not many details about needling are provided here because? this technique? in itself? known and used in the non-woven fabrics sector; ? it should be noted that, according to the present invention, the material to be needle-punched is not squeezed between plates as instead happens in the case of non-woven fabrics.

According to the example of implementation in figure 4, the conveyor belt 3 advances the web 4 longitudinally towards the processing area 5 from left to right; the processing zone 5 is located further? below (for example 5-20 cm lower) than the advancement area of the web 4 defined by the conveyor belt 3.

According to the embodiment example of figure 4, the pleating head 6 moving first from top to bottom from a pre-established upper position to a pre-established lower position and then from bottom to top from the pre-established lower position to the pre-established upper position creates first a fold of the veil 4 downwards and then a fold of the veil upwards; in this way a pleating operation is carried out on the ply 4 in a direction corresponding to the length of the ply itself (i.e. the folds are transverse to the length of the ply). According to the embodiment example of figure 4, the needling head 7 moving first from left to right from a pre-established position away from the web (figure 4) to a pre-established position adjacent to the web (figure 5) and then from right to left from pre-established position adjacent to the veil at the pre-established position away from the veil performs a needling operation on the pleated veil in a direction corresponding to the length of the veil itself.

According to the embodiment example in figure 4, the conveyor belt 8 continuously advances the web 4 from left to right, after which been pleated and needled, moving it away from the processing area 5.

In the previous paragraphs, precise directions and provisions have been well indicated which are, in fact, the most typical and advantageous for implementing the present invention, even if they are not necessarily the only possible ones.

As can be understood from figure 4, the pleating operations and the needling operations are repeated; in particular, the pleating operations are alternated with the needling operations; more? in particular and advantageously, each pleating operation is immediately followed by a needling operation.

According to the embodiment example of figure 4, the pleating head 6 carries out an alternating translational movement in a direction perpendicular to the web 4, the needling head 7 carries out an alternating translational movement in a direction longitudinal to the web 4 as it moves (direction D1) in the machine towards the processing area and to that of the finished component as it moves in the machine away from the processing area (to be precise, the head 7 with its needles 72 works on the web 4 in a direction perpendicular to the web 4, but after the veil 4 has been pleated, i.e. folded several times); specifically, the needling head 7 ? shaped and moves in such a way as to complete previous pleating operations, i.e. when the bar 71 of the head 7 moves towards the pre-established position adjacent to the ply (figure 5), it crushes it a little and highlights the pleating folds.

According to the embodiment example of figures 4 and 5, the needling head 7 comprises a plurality of of needling needles 72 with a density? preferred needle size per square centimeter ranging from 1 to 9 and with a preferred length ranging from 4 to 8 centimeters.

Claims (9)

1. Component (1) made of non-woven textile fibers comprising a layer (2) of carded textile fibers which is pleated in the direction of the length and/or width of the component (1) and which is? needle punched in the direction of the length and/or width of the component (1), said component (1) having a thickness between 4 mm and 240 mm in the pleated configuration. 2. Component (1) according to claim 1, wherein said textile fibers are natural. 3. Component (1) according to claim 2 wherein said fibers are of animal and/or vegetable type. 4. Component (1) according to the previous claim in which said animal and/or vegetable fibers are mixed together. 5. Component (1) according to any of the previous claims wherein said textile fibers comprise 100% wool. 6. Component (1) according to any of the previous claims comprising, furthermore, a quantity? determined of heat-fixing material mixed with said textile fibres, said heat-fixing material being suitable for keeping said carded textile fibers together. 7. Component (1) according to any of the preceding claims wherein said thickness of said component (1) in the pleated configuration is ? constant for the entire length of said component (1). 8. Component (1) according to any of the preceding claims 1 to 6 wherein said thickness of said component (1) in the pleated configuration is ? variable in the length of said component (1). 9. Machine for producing a non-woven textile fiber component according to any of the preceding claims comprising: - means (3) capable of continuously feeding a long layer (4) of carded natural textile fibres, previously heat-fixed through a unit? heating (9), towards a processing area (5), - a pleating head (6) located in said processing area (5) and suitable for repeatedly carrying out pleating operations on said web (4), - a needling head (7) located in said processing area (5) and suitable for repeatedly carrying out needling operations on said pleated web (4), and - means (8) designed to continuously advance said pleated and needle-punched web (4) away from said processing area (5).