WO2003093552A1

WO2003093552A1 - Improved method for making a sunlight reflecting textile material, device therefor, and curtains produced with said material

Info

Publication number: WO2003093552A1
Application number: PCT/FR2003/001228
Authority: WO
Inventors: Paolo Georges De Carvalho
Original assignee: Paolo Georges De Carvalho
Priority date: 2002-04-30
Filing date: 2003-04-16
Publication date: 2003-11-13
Also published as: EP1499765A1; AU2003265506A1; FR2839086A1; FR2839086B1

Abstract

The invention concerns a method for making a sunlight reflecting material consisting of a planar structure comprising laminates made of a reflecting material laterally juxtaposed in the longitudinal direction and maintained together by a network of threads, said method comprising knitting of a network of threads on a knitting machine and inserting laminates made of reflecting material in each row being knitted. The reflecting material laminates (2) are provided flat in the knitting machine input, in the form of a web of laminates derived from an assembly of bobbins and at substantially constant speed and tension. The invention is useful for windows and glazed surfaces of living rooms, in particular verandahs.

Description

"Improvement of a manufacturing process for a textile material reflecting sunlight, device implemented for this improvement, and curtains made with this material"

The present invention relates to an improvement made to a method for manufacturing a textile material reflecting sunlight. It also relates to a device implemented for this improvement, as well as curtains or screens made with the material thus obtained.

In the glazed interior spaces of a house or apartment, especially in living rooms or verandas, the comfort of the occupants is achieved by controlling the thermal ambiance of these spaces according to the outdoor climatic conditions and the weather. 'sunshine. In addition, it is a question of protecting the furniture and objects contained in these spaces against the harmful effects of solar and lunar radiation, while allowing the passage of light. To meet this need, there are already textile materials of composite structure, implemented in the form of curtains and having a first face with metal coating intended to receive and reflect incident radiation, and a second face with plastic or synthetic coating designed to receive decorative patterns by printing.

However, these composite textile materials have the drawback of being crumplable and of exhibiting a memory effect of previous crumplings, which contributes to affecting the general aesthetics of the curtains produced with these materials.

Document WO0030432 discloses a material reflecting sunlight used in the field of agriculture and a process for obtaining it. This reflective material is used to increase the amount of solar radiation received by plants. This material is made from reflective strips juxtaposed side by side in the width direction and held together by a network of wires. This network is constituted by a knitting, carried out on a knitted loom, with front weft insertion, according to a weave of the net type from three layers of warp threads. The yarns used for the production of the support knitting may be synthetic monofilaments and the reflective lamellas are woven over the entire width of the knitting.

Also known from document US4626465 is a material for a greenhouse curtain comprising reflective metal strips incorporated in a matrix of knitted threads having longitudinal and transverse connection threads.

This type of reflective material could have the performance of a heat shield suitable for an application for protecting inhabited glazed spaces against heat. It has on the one hand a reflective face consisting of juxtaposed lamellae enclosed in a network of yarn and on the other hand a knitted face. However, it is observed that it is difficult to obtain such a material with reflective strips perfectly juxtaposed without twisting or twisting within the knitted network, despite the use of a presentation assembly bringing the strips flat and under tension against all the warp yarns of the knitting loom, as disclosed in the aforementioned document O0030432. However, the twisting or twisting of the reflective lamellae within the network of wires notably results in the presence of visible irregularities on the reflective face and detectable by touch. These disadvantages can be prohibitive in domestic applications for reasons of aesthetics and comfort.

Document FR2632324 discloses a method of knitting a fabric from strips conditioned on a beam, in which these strips, kept in tension, are delivered to a knitting needle and are assembled with a top embroidery thread and an embroidery thread of lower weft by means of a warp thread. The strips are guided so as to keep them flat, parallel to each other, with spacing adapted to allow the vertical translation movements of the needle. These straps are kept in tension between variable pressure pressure rollers which are rotated with an adjustable constant speed. This process is however not suitable for the manufacture of a reflective material based on metal lamellae which are delivered from a set of coils and which therefore are not packaged on a beam.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improvement to the current method of manufacturing a material based on reflective lamellae from a set of coils, which makes it possible to obtain a material in which the twisting of the reflective lamellae is suppressed.

This objective is achieved with a method for producing a material reflecting the sunlight consisting of a flat structure comprising reflective lamellae juxtaposed side by side in the width direction and held together by a network of threads, this method comprising a knitting of '' a network of threads on a knitting loom and an insertion of strips of reflective material during knitting in each row of knitting in formation.

According to the invention, the strips of reflective material are supplied flat at the entrance to the loom. knitting, in the form of a strip of lamellae from a set of coils and at substantially constant speed and tension.

A double-sided knitted material is thus obtained having the qualities required for domestic use, with a reflective face free of irregularities due to the twisting of the lamellae of reflective material. This material has remarkable characteristics in terms of flexibility and elasticity, without any memory effect. This material is particularly well suited for the production of curtains and shutters for glass surfaces.

The production method according to the invention preferably comprises controlled braking of the reels for supplying the strips, as well as controlling the speed of the reflective strips at the input of the knitting loom, as a function of the level of unwinding of the reels.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a device for providing a sheet of flat reflective strips at the entrance to a knitting machine, implementing the method according to the invention, comprising a creel comprising a set of coils with a horizontal axis on each of which a reflective strip is wound, characterized in that it further comprises regulation means for maintaining the speed and the tension of the reflective strips at respective setpoints for speed and tension.

These regulation means can advantageously include means for slowing down the unwinding of the reels in operation and when stopped, as well as means for compensating for the speed of the strip of lamellae during the unwinding of the reels, these compensation means being arranged in downstream of the creel and upstream of the knitting loom. According to yet another aspect of the invention, a textile material reflecting sunlight is proposed, comprising a first face made up of strips of reflective material juxtaposed side by side in the width direction and held together by a network of wires constituting a knit, and a second face made of synthetic material constituted by said knit, obtained with the production method according to the invention.

It is advantageous to provide that the second face of synthetic material is covered with a pattern produced by transfer.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a window curtain made with a reflective textile material according to the invention, as well as a screen device against solar radiation, for glass wall, especially in a veranda, made with a textile material according to the invention.

Other advantages and characteristics of the invention will appear on examining the detailed description of a mode of implementation which is in no way limitative, and the appended drawings in which:

- Figure 1 briefly illustrates an example of implementation of a textile material according to the invention for the production of a window or bay curtain; - Figure 2 schematically illustrates the modules making up a system for manufacturing the textile material according to the invention;

- Figure 3 is a front view of a creel used for the production of the textile material according to the invention; - Figure 4 is a rear view of the dunce shown in Figure 3;

- Figure 5 shows an embodiment of a compensation device implemented for the production of the textile material according to the invention; - Figure 6 is a front view of a second embodiment of a tablecloth supply device according to the invention;

- Figure 7 is a perspective view of the device of Figure 6; Figure 8 is a view of a system of rotation of the passettes implemented in the device according to the invention; and

- Figure 9 is a partial bottom view of a non-limiting example of embodiment of the rotation system of the passettes shown in Figure 8, showing a rack mechanism implemented in this rotation system.

We will now describe, with reference to FIGS. 1 and

2, an embodiment of a system for manufacturing a textile material according to the invention. This manufacturing system

10 is built around an industrial knitting unit 11, for example a knitting loom with front weft insertion from the company KARL MEYER. It further comprises a module 14 for feeding polyester yarn intended to supply the warp yarns, and, upstream of the knitting unit 11, a device 6 for supplying a layer of lamellae including a set 13 of spools lamellae of reflective material such as aluminum, designed to continuously supply one or more layers 9 of lamellae, and a device 12 for regulating the speed and the tension of this layer which is presented at the input of the unit knitting 11.

The knitted material 1 produced by the knitting unit

11 is presented at the input of a transfer unit 16 provided for transferring a decorative pattern onto the knitted face 20.

After transfer, the knitted material is then presented at the inlet of an induction unit 17 provided for inducing the material thus produced with a conventional coating for induction, such as polyvinyl chloride. This induction of the textile material makes it possible to prevent the fabric from fraying and to have a cleaner cut.

The textile material thus manufactured and treated will subsequently be cut and conditioned to produce, for example, a curtain 20 comprising on the one hand an external reflective face 22 made of aluminum made from strips and an internal face 21 made of synthetic material constituted by the knitted structure in polyester yarn with decorative patterns. The reflecting face 22 has the function of obstructing a major part of the solar radiation while allowing light to pass through and is therefore directed towards the outside, while the knitted face of synthetic material is directed towards the inside and in particular ensures , by the transferred decorative patterns, an aesthetic character. The manufacturing method used makes it possible to obtain a flexible textile material which does not wrinkle.

We will now describe, with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5, a practical embodiment of a device 12 for regulating the speed and the tension of a sheet of reflective strips presented at the input of the knitting unit 11. This regulating device 12 comprises, on the one hand, a device 7 for braking the coils 31, which is disposed within a creel 3, and on the other hand, a device 5 for compensating the flow rate of the strip of lamellae , which is arranged between the creel 3 and the entrance to the knitting unit 11.

The creel 3 comprises a support structure 33 on a front face of which are arranged three sub-assemblies of coils 31 with horizontal axis and spatially offset, and three sub-assemblies of return pulleys 32 each associated with a reel 31. The creel 3 is arranged so as to deliver a sheet 9 of reflective strips 2 arranged in parallel. The braking device 7 is located on the rear face of the creel 3 and comprises for each coil 31 a braking pulley 41 integral in rotation with said coil and against which a braking cable is applied

410 which is in rubbing contact with three braking pulleys arranged on the same horizontal line. The six brake cables 410 fitted to the creel 3 each have a first end connected to an edge of the support structure 33 and a second end connected to a common tension adjustment bar 4 according to a puppet mechanism.

The ply 9 of strips from the creel 3 is then presented, via a set of guide mechanisms (not shown), at the input of a compensation device 5 disposed upstream of the knitting unit 11.

This compensation device 5 comprises a fixed support structure 58 and a movable carriage 8 adjustable in translation relative to two parallel rods 56, 57 secured to the support structure 58, by means of a belt and pulley mechanism 55 controlled by a control device (not shown).

The carriage 8 comprises a first deflection pulley 51 intended to receive a ply of lamellas juxtaposed flat and associated with a first guide comb 510 adapted to keep the slats of the ply correctly spaced, and a second deflection pulley 52 associated with a second guide comb 520. This second pulley 52 is arranged opposite a third deflection pulley 54 whose axis is integral with the support structure 58 of the compensation device 5.

By controlling the braking of the coils by adjusting the tension of the braking cables and by compensating for the flow of the lamina ply by adjusting the position in translation of the movable carriage during the unwinding of the lamina reels, according to conventional techniques in the field of industrial control, it is possible to maintain substantially constant at set values the speed and tension of the reflective strips at the input of the knitting unit. The permanent control of the speed and tension of the slats ensures that the juxtaposed slats are kept flat when they are inserted into the rows of stitches.

We will now describe, with reference to Figures 6 and 7, a second embodiment of a tablecloth supply device according to the invention.

The device 60 comprises an unwinding block 70, which may be of the same type as that described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. This block 70 comprises eighteen unwinders 71 mounted on an axle and ball bearings without friction, a braking system during the unwinding (not visible in Figures 6 and 7) which can be of the type described above, and a braking system stop.

The lamellae L from the creel 70 pass through a system 90 for supplying the lamellae to the loom, which is synchronized with the speed of the knitting loom and which has the function of allowing an unwinding at constant speed on the creel.

This supply system 90 includes:

- a puppet 91 with counterweight guided by a bar and roller system,

a drum 90 driven by a motor 93 by means of a toothed belt 94 to pull each strip coming from the creel 70,

- A control cabinet 95 for controlling the motor 93 synchronized at the speed of the loom, allowing the unwinding of the slats in the creel at constant speed and also controlling an operating brake and a parking brake.

The supply device 60 according to the invention also comprises a supply structure 80 disposed directly upstream of the knitting loom (not shown). This feed structure 80, on a side part of which is fixed the supply system for the strips 90, comprises a system 81 for compensating consumption of strips, provided to allow a supply of strips equal to the consumption of the knitting loom. .

This compensation system 81 includes:

an upper carriage 82 equipped with a set of pulleys for the passage of the lamellae, synchronized at the speed of the loom by pulleys 84, 85 and a toothed belt 83, and

- a set of detour pulleys 86, 87, 88.

The upper compensation carriage 82 makes it possible to instantly call up the same length of strip as that consumed by the loom.

The strips passing through the upper compensation carriage 82 are led to a lower carriage 110 for depositing the strips L on two sets of movable hooks arranged laterally on two motorized strips 130, 131 on each of the edges of the loom or of the knitting machine. These hooks 120 are designed to each receive a strip of the strip of strips at each passage of the lower depositing carriage 110.

The depositing carriage 110 is arranged and controlled to make the set of passettes describe a bypass trajectory of a set of movable hooks so as to deposit the set of strips on these hooks while ensuring that these strips are removed without stray loop or twist. The stroke of the upper compensation carriage 82 is half that of the lower removal carriage 110, between the left end of the supply device 80 and the middle of this device. The upper compensation carriage 82 is synchronized with the lower removal carriage 110, with a speed half that of said lower removal carriage 110, so that the two lower and upper carriages 110, 82 are found together at the left end of the device 80. The depositing carriage 110 comprises a support plate 106 comprising a row of holes 105 provided to receive a layer of lamellae (for example 18 lamellae), a row of passers 104 provided to receive these lamellae, in number equal to the number of holes 105, and a system 100 for rotating these passettes from 0 180 ° on one side of the knitting machine, and 180 ° to 0 ° on the other side.

The depositing carriage 110 is further provided with an axial displacement mechanism, for example of the pneumatic cylinder type or the like, designed to move the support plate 106 during each passage of the depositing carriage 110 so as to surround movable hooks 120 from one then the other of the edges of the loom, and then to adjust the axial position of the support plate 110 throughout the movement of the depositing carriage 110 to the other end of the loom. Each pass 104 is fixed inside a pinion mounted on ball bearings and is rotated by a rack 101 provided at one of its ends with a first switching roller 102 and a second roller. switching 103, as illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9. The rack 101 moves in one direction when the first roller 102 comes to bear on a first cam 111 on the right side of the feed structure 80, and in the other direction when the second roller 103 comes into contact with a second cam 110 on the left side of the structure 80. The simultaneous rotation of all the passettes at each end of the travel of the lower depositing carriage 110 has the effect of ensuring that each strip well surrounds a movable hook of the loom in parallel without creating a loop or twisting of the strip. The aluminum strips used for producing a textile material according to the invention can be of very small unit width, for example less than one millimeter, and of thickness generally less than one hundred microns.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the examples which have just been described and numerous modifications can be made to these examples without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, it is possible to provide, for the production of the textile material according to the invention, materials other than those which have just been described. In particular, aluminum can be replaced by other metallic materials available in thin sheets such as gold or silver or alloys of these metals. The son of synthetic material can be made other than polyester, for example from nylon or any other material suitable for the textile function.

One can also provide a particular application of a reflective material according to the invention, in which this material is used as a lining for a conventional double curtain. In this application, the reflective material according to the invention need not be transferred or induction, and its textile face is applied against the external face of the double curtain while its metallic face reflective is exposed to the outside. The reflective material according to the invention can be attached to the double curtain according to any suitable technique for producing a lining, in particular by sewing.

The applications of the textile material are not necessarily limited to only curtains or thermal screens for windows or verandas. One can thus also foresee applications in the field of vehicles and transport equipment.

Claims

1. Method for producing a material (1) reflecting sunlight consisting of a flat structure comprising strips of reflective material (2) juxtaposed side by side in the width direction and held together by a network of wires, this method comprising knitting a network of threads on a knitting loom (11) and inserting strips (2) of reflective material during knitting in each row of knitting in formation, in which the strips (2) of reflective material are supplied flat at the input of the knitting loom (11), at substantially constant speed and tension, in the form of a sheet (15), characterized in that the strips come from a set of coils (13) and in that it further comprises controlled braking of the coils.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises a control of the speed of the reflective strips (2) at the input of the knitting loom (11), as a function of the level of unwinding of the reels (31).

3. Method according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that it further comprises compensation for the supply of strips in the knitting loom, according to the consumption of strips of said loom.

4. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises a rotation of 180 degrees of passettes arranged on a carriage for depositing the lamellae in the knitting loom each time the direction of movement of said carriage changes. deposit.

5. Method according to claim 4, characterized in that the rotation of 180 degrees of the passettes is controlled by cams fixed on each side of the supply structure.

6. Device (6) for supplying a sheet (15) of reflective strips (2) flat at the entrance to a knitting machine (11), implementing the method according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a creel (3) comprising a set (13) of coils with horizontal axis (31) on each of which is wound a reflective strip (2), and regulating means (12) to maintain the speed and the tension of the reflective strips at values respective speed and voltage setpoints, characterized in that the regulation means (12) comprise means (7; 4, 41, 410) for braking the unwinding of the coils (31) in operation and at stop.

7. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the regulation means (12) further comprise means (5) for compensating for the speed of the web (15) of lamellae during the unwinding of the reels (31), these compensation means (5) being arranged downstream of the creel (3) and upstream of the knitting loom (11).

8. Device according to one of claims 6 or 7, characterized in that it further comprises means for compensating the feeding of the strips as a function of the consumption of the knitting loom.

9. Device according to claim 8, characterized in that the feed compensation means comprise a compensation carriage equipped with a set of pulleys for the passage of the strips, synchronized at the speed of the knitting loom.

10. Device according to one of claims 6 to 9, further comprising a carriage for depositing a layer of lamellae in the knitting loom, provided with passettes, characterized in that the depositing carriage comprises a system for rotating said passettes at 180 degrees depending on the direction of movement of said removal carriage.

11. Textile material (1) reflecting sunlight, comprising a first face (22) consisting of strips of reflective material juxtaposed side by side in the width direction and held together by a network of threads constituting a knitted fabric, and a second face (21) of synthetic material constituted by said knitted fabric, obtained with the production method according to one of claims 1 to 5.

12. Textile material according to claim 11, characterized in that the second face (21) of synthetic material is covered with a pattern produced by transfer.

13. Curtain (20) for window made with a reflective textile material (1) according to one of claims 11 or 12.

14. Screen device against solar radiation, for a glass wall, in particular in a veranda, produced with a textile material (1) according to one of claims 11 or 12.

15. Double curtain provided on its external face with a reflective textile material according to claim 11.

16. Double curtain according to claim 15, characterized in that the reflective textile material constitutes a lining of said double curtain.