U.S. patent application number 14/784094 was filed with the patent office on 2016-03-10 for method for manufacturing an industrial clothing, and industrial clothing.
The applicant listed for this patent is VOITH PATENT GMBH. Invention is credited to ANDREW ALLUM, ANTONY MORTON, DAVID STUART PONTON, PAUL RAYMOND RIDING.
Application Number | 20160066638 14/784094 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50442533 |
Filed Date | 2016-03-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160066638 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
MORTON; ANTONY ; et
al. |
March 10, 2016 |
Method for Manufacturing an Industrial Clothing, and Industrial
Clothing
Abstract
An industrial clothing, in particular a clothing for a machine
for manufacturing a fibrous web, such as a paper, cardboard, or
tissue web, or a non-woven product, is manufactured by: i) forming
a planar structure from yarn in the form of a woven fabric, a
cross-laid structure, a knitted fabric, a warp-knitted fabric; or
from interconnected helical elements; ii) applying polymer material
in the form of at least one group of beads to at least one surface
of the planar structure, the application of the polymer commencing
at starting points and terminating at terminal points remote from
the starting points; iii) repeating step ii), wherein terminating
points of the group of beads are spaced apart from starting points
of at least one further group of beads, which generates regions
with a void between the groups on the surface of the planar
structure.
Inventors: |
MORTON; ANTONY; (LANCASHIRE,
GB) ; ALLUM; ANDREW; (LANCASHIRE, GB) ;
PONTON; DAVID STUART; (BLACKBURN LANCASHIRE, GB) ;
RIDING; PAUL RAYMOND; (LANCASHIRE, GB) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
VOITH PATENT GMBH |
Heidenheim |
|
DE |
|
|
Family ID: |
50442533 |
Appl. No.: |
14/784094 |
Filed: |
April 9, 2014 |
PCT Filed: |
April 9, 2014 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP2014/057131 |
371 Date: |
October 13, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/243.1 ; 28/163;
28/169 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41D 31/04 20190201;
A41D 31/12 20190201; D04H 1/64 20130101; D21F 11/006 20130101; D21F
1/0027 20130101; A41D 2500/54 20130101; D04H 1/413 20130101; D21F
1/0036 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A41D 31/00 20060101
A41D031/00; D04H 1/64 20060101 D04H001/64; D04H 1/413 20060101
D04H001/413 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 10, 2013 |
DE |
10 2013 206 278.8 |
Claims
1-17. (canceled)
18. A method for manufacturing an industrial clothing, the method
comprising the following method steps: i) manufacturing a planar
structure from yarn in the form of a woven fabric, a cross-laid
structure, a knitted fabric, a warp-knitted fabric, or from
interconnected helical elements; ii) applying at least one polymer
material in the form of at least one group of beads to at least one
surface of the planar structure, thereby commencing at starting
points and terminating at terminal points that are remote from the
starting points; iii) repeating step ii) and generating on the
surface of the planar structure regions with a void between the
groups of beads by spacing apart terminating points of the at least
one group of beads from the starting points of at least one further
group of beads.
19. The method according to claim 18, wherein a length of
individual beads is at least twice a maximum width thereof.
20. The method according to claim 18, which comprises applying the
polymer with at least one application nozzle.
21. The method according to claim 20, which comprises applying the
polymer with a multiplicity of application nozzles.
22. The method according to claim 21, which comprises actuating the
application nozzles individually or in sets, and applying the
polymer of the individual application nozzles or of the sets of
application nozzles with individual activation or deactivation,
wherein the sets comprise between 2 and 50 application nozzles.
23. The method according to claim 18, which comprises manufacturing
a clothing for a machine for manufacturing a fibrous web selected
from the group consisting of paper, cardboard, tissue web, and a
non-woven product.
24. An industrial clothing, manufactured by the method according to
claim 18.
25. The industrial clothing according to claim 24, wherein the
beads and/or the regions with a void are disposed to form a pattern
or a virtual pattern.
26. The industrial clothing according to claim 24, which comprises
applying the beads along tracks, with individual tracks running
uniformly and in a machine cross direction in relation to the in
each case mutually adjacent tracks have a spacing, which spacing
remains substantially constant along a profile of the tracks.
27. The industrial clothing according to claim 26, wherein the
tracks run along a straight, undulated, or zigzag course.
28. The industrial clothing according to claim 26, wherein a length
of the tracks corresponds to a full length of a circumference of
the industrial clothing or a multiple thereof.
29. The industrial clothing according to claim 25, wherein the
pattern is constructed from at least one digital image motif which
is formed by the combination of beads and of regions with a void,
wherein the beads correspond to line-shaped color points and the
regions with a void correspond to white spots, and wherein the
digital image motif has an extent in the machine running direction
and the machine cross direction, and the pattern is created by
selectively repeating the at least one digital image motif.
30. The industrial clothing according to claim 29, wherein the
pattern is created by way of tessellation of the entire surface or
parts of the surface of the industrial clothing using the digital
image motif.
31. The industrial clothing according to claim 29, wherein an
extent of the digital image motif in the machine cross direction
prior to a repeat of the motif is at least two beads and/or regions
with a void or tracks, respectively.
32. The industrial clothing according to claim 29, wherein an
extent of the digital image motif in the machine cross direction
prior to a repeat of the motif is at maximum 10% of a width of the
industrial clothing.
33. The industrial clothing according to claim 21, which comprises
at least two types of beads that differ in at least one parameter
selected from the group consisting of material, cross-sectional
shape, and cross-sectional size.
34. The industrial clothing according to claim 21, wherein the
polymer is selected from the group consisting of silicone,
polyurethane, epoxy resin, and ester.
35. The industrial clothing according to claim 21, wherein the
beads are configured to be flush with a surface of the industrial
clothing.
36. The industrial clothing according to claim 21, wherein the
beads protrude above a surface of the industrial clothing in a
direction z.
37. The industrial clothing according to claim 36, wherein a ratio
between a height in the direction z and a width of the beads lies
between 0.5:1 and 2:1.
Description
[0001] The invention proceeds from a method for manufacturing an
industrial clothing which may be used for example in various
positions in a machine for manufacturing a fibrous web, such as a
paper, cardboard, or tissue web, or else for manufacturing
non-wovens, according to the preamble of claim 1, and from an
industrial clothing which is manufacturable by means of a method of
this type, according to the preamble of claim 5.
[0002] Clothings for large-scale industrial plants such as paper
machines or machines for manufacturing non-woven products are
usually manufactured from a polymer monofilament yarn from which a
planar structure is generated for example by weaving or coiling. On
account thereof, a carrier structure which is to correspond to
specific requirements in terms of properties and functions in order
to enable manufacturing of the respective paper quality is
obtained. The carrier structures support the fibrous web while the
latter runs through the fibrous-web machine.
[0003] A plurality of various sections which during the
manufacturing process fulfill various tasks are usually present in
a machine of this type for manufacturing a fibrous web. Therefore,
various requirements which are reflected in various features are
thus set for the clothings. Many clothings have a permeable and
flexible structure, so as to enable liquid to pass through during
de-watering, while the cellulose fibers of the material are
simultaneously oriented and commence forming the fibrous web. Other
clothings are less complicated in their construction and have
higher air permeability. Drying wires convey the paper web through
the dryer section and simultaneously permit dissipation of water
vapor during the drying process.
[0004] Woven structures may also be manufactured such that they
have a certain degree of topography or structure on that side that
faces the paper. This may be in the form of a pattern of line
elements which is dominant in the machine direction or in the
machine cross direction, or in the form of a single pattern or
motif.
[0005] The surface structure may be transferred from a clothing to
the paper web during the manufacturing process, such that a
permanent structure is visible in the finished product.
[0006] A significant disadvantage when using weft or warp threads
in the manufacture of such topographic patterns lies in the
complexity of the weaving patterns for generating a specific visual
or structural effect. In terms of the manufacturing operation of
the clothing, this means losses in time efficiency during
manufacture, higher costs, limitations with respect to the freedom
of design and the balance between functionality and aesthetic
considerations in the clothing, and higher reject rates on account
of the complex patterns. Moreover, line-shaped patterns are limited
to the machine direction, the machine cross direction, or to a
twill weave.
[0007] Patterns of this type and the methods for generating the
same have been known in the prior art in a multiplicity of
variations for a long time.
[0008] For some time, patters on the surface of clothings are also
generated by printing, for example using a polymer which is applied
to the clothing by means of various methods and fixed thereon. In
this way, it is known from EP2304104B1 to use a rotary screen for
generating a topographic pattern from a polymer material on an
endless belt, the cylindrical sleeve face of said rotary screen
having a perforated pattern which determines the topographic
pattern and which, when viewed in the circumferential direction of
the sleeve face, is formed by a perforated pattern portion or by a
plurality of perforated pattern portions which lie in sequence and
are mutually identical. In order for the pattern to be generated on
a circumferential side of the endless belt, the polymer material in
a liquid or pasty state is squeezed through perforations of the
sleeve face of the rotary screen while the rotary screen, turning
about is longitudinal axis, rolls in a continuously revolving path
on the circumferential side of the endless belt.
[0009] DE 10 2005 006 738 A1 likewise discloses a method in which a
topographic pattern on a paper machine clothing is generated by
means of a rotary screen.
[0010] Combinations including topographic weaving patterns and
patterns which are printed thereonto and superimpose the former are
also known, for example from EP1242681B1. Here, a fabric which is
used in a paper-making machine in order for a pattern to be formed
on a tissue paper is described. The fabric comprises a load-bearing
layer which defines a first plane, and forming layer which is
interwoven with the load-bearing layer and defines a second plane
which is spaced apart from the first plane, wherein the upper side
has a background texture which is defined by the load-bearing layer
and the forming layer. A polymer strand is disposed in a decorative
and thread-like pattern on the upper side, the background texture
appearing where the pattern formed by the polymer strand does not
appear.
[0011] The methods mentioned here have various disadvantages. In
the rotary screen method it is disadvantageous that no formations
of comparatively great length are manufacturable if the size of the
screen is to be within manageable limits. The combined fabric and
polymer patterns are complex in their manufacture. The freedom of
design in terms of the dimensions of the polymer application is not
ensured either, but rather is limited by further limiting factors
such as the screen thickness and may not be implementable in the
desired manner in all fields of application. For example, it is not
possible for polymer to be applied in any arbitrary thickness, or
height above the screen surface, respectively, since the thickness
of the material is correlated to that of the screen.
[0012] Moreover the design of the polymer application across the
extent of the clothing cannot be varied when the rotary screen
printing method is used, despite it being desirable in many cases,
for a polymer application which in the peripheral regions is
different than in the central part of the clothing to be attached,
for example.
[0013] Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to mitigate or
avoid the disadvantages of the prior art and to state a method for
manufacturing an industrial clothing and an industrial clothing
which on the one hand is manufacturable such that the fundamental
physical properties such as dimensional stability and air
permeability are ensured and on the other hand patterns in the
desired shape and number may be readily applied to the
clothing.
[0014] This object in terms of the method is achieved by the
features of claim 1, and in terms of the industrial clothing by the
features of claim 5, in each case in conjunction with the generic
features.
[0015] According to the invention, it is provided that in a first
method step manufacturing a planar structure from yarn in the form
of a woven fabric, a cross-laid structure, a knitted fabric, a
warp-knitted fabric, or from interconnected helical elements is
performed. In a second method step at least one polymer material in
the form of at least one group of beads is applied to at least one
surface of the planar structure, the application of the polymer
commencing at starting points and terminating at terminal points
which are remote from the starting points. This method step is
repeated arbitrarily, wherein terminating points of the at least
one group of beads are spaced apart from starting points of at
least one further group of beads, on account of which regions with
a void between the groups on the surface of the planar structure
are generated.
[0016] On account thereof, beads which are of arbitrary length and
number may be manufactured in arbitrary patterns, combinations, and
shapes, on the one hand, which beads on the other hand are
interrupted at arbitrary spacing and, on account thereof, define
regions with a void, so as to, on account thereof, achieve space
for further patterns, motifs, logos, etc., which may be readily
incorporated into the regions with a void in a further method step
or else simultaneously with the beads. Combinations of patterns of
an arbitrary variety and having properties of the final product in
terms of strength, thickness, air permeability, etc. which are
adjustable in an almost unlimited manner may thus be enabled.
[0017] According to one advantageous aspect of the invention, all
beads have a length which corresponds to at least double the
maximum width thereof. The width of the bead may be considered to
be the width on the surface of the planar structure, for
example.
[0018] In one further advantageous embodiment of the method
according to the invention, the application of polymer is performed
by means of at least one application nozzle. By way of an
application by a nozzle, beads which are short as well as of an
arbitrary length may be applied without particular technical
complexity. The application of polymer is preferably performed by
way of a plurality of application nozzles simultaneously. An
arbitrary number of application nozzles operated simultaneously are
conceivable. In one particularly preferred embodiment the
application of polymer is simultaneously performed by means of 5 to
100 application nozzles. The plurality of application nozzles may
be disposed in the machine cross direction so as to be beside one
another and so as to be fixedly spaced apart. This spacing may be
identical for all application nozzles or else be variable.
Advantageous spacings between the application nozzles are between
0.5 mm and 20 mm.
[0019] In one further advantageous embodiment the application
nozzles are actuated individually or in sets. In this way, the
application of polymer of the individual application nozzles or
sets of application nozzles may be independently activated or
deactivated, respectively, and/or regulated. In the context of the
invention one set here comprises a plurality of application
nozzles, preferably between 2 and 50 application nozzles. One
application nozzle here may always be associated with at maximum
only one set. The application nozzles of a set here may either be
directly adjacent to one another or be mutually spaced apart in a
fixed manner, such as, for example, to include every tenth or
twentieth nozzle. However, it is also possible for a set to
comprise a non-uniform selection of application nozzles.
[0020] Actuating the application nozzles in sets offers advantages
in economy. In this way, only 10 valves are required for actuating
100 application nozzles which are grouped into 10 sets.
[0021] An industrial clothing according to the invention, in
particular a clothing for a machine for manufacturing a fibrous
web, such as a paper, cardboard, or tissue web, or a non-woven
product, is an industrial clothing which has been manufactured
according to one of the methods according to the invention.
[0022] According to one advantageous aspect of the invention, the
beads and/or the regions with a void may be configured in the form
of patterns or virtual patterns.
[0023] The beads are preferably applied along tracks. The
individual tracks here run in a uniform manner and beside one
another in the machine cross direction. There is a spacing here
between two adjacent tracks, which spacing along the profile of the
track remains substantially constant. Variations may arise here
within the scope of production accuracy. In one particularly
preferred embodiment, all spacings between the tracks are of
identical size.
[0024] The tracks here are to be understood to be like grid lines
on which the polymer beads are deposited. Many of the tracks may be
completely covered with polymer. Other tracks contain one or more
regions with a void between the individual beads. The potential for
individual tracks being entirely without an application of polymer
may also be provided.
[0025] The tracks may particularly preferably run in a straight,
undulated, or zigzag manner. However, other variants of a uniform
profile are also conceivable.
[0026] The tracks may preferably have the full length of the
circumference of the industrial clothing. There is also the
possibility for the tracks to have an even greater length, up to a
multiple of the circumference of the industrial clothing. This is
the case with a helically encircling profile of the tracks. In this
way, a helical profile of the tracks is conceivable, for example,
in that the mounting having the application nozzle or application
nozzles, respectively during application is moved in the machine
cross direction such that said mounting after one revolution of the
industrial clothing is offset in the machine cross direction by its
own width.
[0027] It is also advantageous for the pattern to be constructed
from at least one digital image motif. In the context of this
patent application a digital image motif is understood to be a
motif which, in an analogous manner to usual digital images, is
composed of a finite number of discrete color values. A digital
image motif in the context of the invention here is formed by beads
and regions with a void. The beads correspond to line-shaped color
spots and the regions with a void correspond to white spots. If
only one type of beads is used, the digital image motif corresponds
to a black and white image. If different types of beads are used,
the digital image motif in an analogous manner to a digital image
has a plurality of gray scales.
[0028] The digital image motif has an extent in the machine running
direction and the machine cross direction. Said digital image motif
forms the core of the pattern. The pattern per se is created by
repeating the at least one image motif. In one preferred embodiment
the pattern is created by way of tessellation of the entire surface
of the industrial clothing, or at least parts thereof, using the
digital image motif.
[0029] The digital image motif in one preferred embodiment in the
machine cross direction prior to a repeat of the motif commencing
extends across at least two beads and/or regions with a void, or
across at least two tracks, respectively, in one particularly
preferred embodiment the digital image motif embodiment extends
across at least three beads and/or regions with a void, or across
at least three tracks, respectively, and in a very particularly
preferred embodiment the digital image motif embodiment extends
across at least five beads and/or regions with a void, or across at
least five tracks, respectively.
[0030] In one further advantageous embodiment the extent of the
digital image motif in the machine cross direction prior to a
repeat of the motif commencing is at maximum 10%, preferably at
maximum 5% of the width of the industrial clothing.
[0031] According to the two preferred embodiments which have just
been described above, the digital image motif in the machine cross
direction is thus considerably wider than one individual bead.
However, in comparison with the industrial clothing, said digital
image motif is still small in the sense that it may be disposed
frequently, for example more than 10 times or more than 20 times,
across the width of the industrial clothing.
[0032] In one further preferred embodiment at least two types of
beads are applied on the industrial clothing, which types of beads
differ in at least one of the parameters of material,
cross-sectional shape, and cross-sectional size. These different
types of beads in the fibrous web may lead to various or variously
pronounced effects, respectively. This may be utilized for
functional or decorative purposes. A digital image motif which is
constructed from regions with a void and from two types of beads,
for example, may thus be considered to be an image motif with three
colors.
[0033] The polymer may advantageously be a silicone, a
polyurethane, an epoxy resin, or an ester. The mentioned materials
in terms of their processability and shelf life are easily
manageable and available in bulk quantities.
[0034] It may be preferably provided that the polymer is linked to
the surface of the clothing in a form-fitting and/or materially
integral manner. On account thereof, it is ensured that the beads
adhere thereto in a reliable manner, and that the clothing is
capable of being used for a long time without material flaking off
therefrom.
[0035] According to one advantageous aspect of the invention it may
be provided that the beads are configured so as to be flush with a
surface of the industrial clothing. This is advantageous in
particular for forming wires for manufacturing watermarks.
[0036] However, according to one alternative variant of a design
embodiment it may also be provided that the beads protrude above
the surface of the industrial clothing in a direction z. On account
thereof, the structuring embossed in the fibrous web becomes more
visible.
[0037] The height of the beads in the direction z is preferably up
to 2 mm. In other advantageous embodiments the height of the beads
in the direction z may be up to 5 mm. On account thereof, it is
possible for clear and sharply delineated structures which are
deeply embossed in the fibrous web to be achieved.
[0038] A ratio between the height in the direction z and the width
of the beads may preferably be between 0.5:1 to 2:1, preferably be
1:1. Variations therefrom may lead to instability of the beads,
damage, and flaking, potentially compromising the quality of the
final product.
[0039] The invention will be described in the following in an
exemplary manner with reference to the figures in which:
[0040] FIGS. 1 to 3 show exemplary embodiments in which beads are
deposited according to the invention along tracks, and the pattern
is formed by repeating a digital image motif.
[0041] Highly schematic exemplary embodiments of patterns 6 which
are applied to an industrial clothing which is not illustrated in
detail are illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3. Only a small detail of the
pattern 6, which is further repeated both in the machine running
direction 7 as well as in a perpendicular manner thereto in the
machine cross direction, is in each case shown in the three
figures.
[0042] The patterns 6 are created according to the invention by
regularly repeating a digital image motif 5. The image motif 5 in
the three figures is in each case composed of beads 1 and regions
with a void 3.
[0043] The beards 1 in FIGS. 1 to 3 are in each case deposited
along tracks 10. In FIGS. 1 and 3 the tracks run in a straight
manner along the machine running direction 7, in FIG. 2 the tracks
10 run in a zigzag manner also substantially along the machine
running direction 7. However, the tracks 10 may also run in an
undulated manner or in other shapes. In the case of further
embodiments according to the invention the tracks 10 run at a
slight angle to the machine running direction 7. In this way it may
be achieved that the tracks 10 encircle the industrial clothing in
a multiple helical manner. Beads 1 which are longer than the
circumference of the industrial clothing may then also be deposited
on such tracks 10.
[0044] The tracks 10 in FIGS. 1 to 3 all have an identical spacing
4 from the respective adjacent track. The spacing 4 here also
remains constant across the entire length of the track 10 even in
the case of the zigzag tracks 10 in FIG. 2, disregarding minor
variations caused by the production technology. However, there is
also the potential for the tracks 10 to have variable mutual
spacing's 4.
[0045] As shown in FIG. 1, the beads in one digital image motif 5
may all have the same length. FIGS. 2 and 3 however also show
embodiments according to the invention, in which the beads 1 have
variable lengths. Regions with a void 3 in the digital image motifs
5 are created by interruptions 2 of the beads 1.
[0046] The digital image motif 5 in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a width in
the machine cross direction of eight tracks. FIG. 3 shows a digital
image motif 5 having a width of five tracks 10, wherein one track
10 has no beads 1 deposited thereon.
[0047] The industrial clothing here may be a forming wire, a base
fabric of a press felt, a drying wire, a transfer belt, or any
further arbitrary clothing. The mentioned clothings may be disposed
in various positions in machines for manufacturing a paper,
cardboard, or tissue web, or else in machines for manufacturing
non-wovens. As has already been mentioned above, various
requirements in terms of water permeability, tensile strength,
resilience, open volume, etc., are set for the clothing, depending
on the position thereof.
[0048] The clothings may be configured in a sufficiently known
manner in the form of woven or non-woven structures. The planar
textile structures which form the clothings are usually
manufactured by interweaving warp and weft threads. Clothings which
are entirely or partially composed of non-woven components, such as
cross-laid structures, knitted fabrics or warp-knitted fabrics, are
also known and suitable for application of the measures according
to the invention. The planar textile structures may likewise bye
manufactured by coiling a tape-like material or skeins of threads.
Finally, forming clothings by interconnecting helical structures by
means of pintles is also known, the latter being usual in
particular in the field of drying wires. The clothings may be
combined in a known way with further components, such as
staple-fiber layers or polymer proportions in the form of films or
particles, so as to further model the profile of the
properties.
[0049] The pattern 6 or else a virtual pattern, which is applied
repeatedly or without a specific repeat to at least one surface of
the planar textile structure, here is composed of beads 1 from a
polymer material, such as silicone, polyurethane, epoxy resin, or
esters, for example.
[0050] Each of the beads 1 here has a specific length L between a
starting point and a terminating point of the respective bead 1.
The interruptions 2 lie in each case between terminating points of
one or a plurality of beads 1 and starting points of further beads
1. The regions with a void 3 may assume any arbitrary shape,
depending on how the mutual spacing of the individual beads 1 is
conceived. Patterns 6, virtual patterns, or arbitrary arrangements
of regions with a void 3 may be generated.
[0051] In a further step of the manufacturing method these regions
with a void 3 may then be provided with a further polymer pattern
which may be a personalized motif or a logo, for example.
[0052] The pattern 6 here may be selected for aesthetic and/or
practical considerations, the latter influencing the physical
properties of the fibrous web, for example.
[0053] The topography of the beads 1 may vary depending on the
respective field of application of the clothing as well as on the
thickness and the grammage of the product. The beads 1 may lie in
the plane of the clothing surface or protrude above the latter by a
certain height in the direction z of up to 5 mm. The width of the
beads 1 here depends on the height in the direction z. The ratio of
height to width will typically be in a range of approx. 0.5:1.0 to
2:1. A ratio close to 1:1 is currently preferable, so as to ensure
an optimal shape of the beads 1. The spacings between the
individual beads 1 are preferably at least of the same size as the
width of said beads 1.
[0054] The polymer adheres to the surface of the clothing by way of
a combination of form-fit and material integrity. Form-fitting here
is obtained by way of the threads of the planar textile structure
by encasing said threads with a polymer. The material combination
of clothing and polymer may optionally also form a chemical bond
and, on account thereof, enable material integration. Pre-treatment
of the clothing for the purpose of improving adhesion of the
polymer to the clothing, for example by way of plasma activation,
is likewise possible.
* * * * *