GB1586262A - Creación de Inventos y Patentes con Inteligencia Artificial

GB1586262A – Method and apparatus for reducing edge thickness of non-woven fabrics
– Google Patents

GB1586262A – Method and apparatus for reducing edge thickness of non-woven fabrics
– Google Patents
Method and apparatus for reducing edge thickness of non-woven fabrics

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Publication number
GB1586262A

GB1586262A
GB36977/77A
GB3697777A
GB1586262A
GB 1586262 A
GB1586262 A
GB 1586262A
GB 36977/77 A
GB36977/77 A
GB 36977/77A
GB 3697777 A
GB3697777 A
GB 3697777A
GB 1586262 A
GB1586262 A
GB 1586262A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
fabric
roll
fixed axis
roller
rollers
Prior art date
1976-09-15
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)

Expired

Application number
GB36977/77A
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)

Phillips Petroleum Co

Original Assignee
Phillips Petroleum Co
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
1976-09-15
Filing date
1977-09-05
Publication date
1981-03-18

1977-09-05
Application filed by Phillips Petroleum Co
filed
Critical
Phillips Petroleum Co

1981-03-18
Publication of GB1586262A
publication
Critical
patent/GB1586262A/en

Status
Expired
legal-status
Critical
Current

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Classifications

D—TEXTILES; PAPER

D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS

D04H—MAKING TEXTILE FABRICS, e.g. FROM FIBRES OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; FABRICS MADE BY SUCH PROCESSES OR APPARATUS, e.g. FELTS, NON-WOVEN FABRICS; COTTON-WOOL; WADDING ; NON-WOVEN FABRICS FROM STAPLE FIBRES, FILAMENTS OR YARNS, BONDED WITH AT LEAST ONE WEB-LIKE MATERIAL DURING THEIR CONSOLIDATION

D04H1/00—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres

D04H1/40—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties

D04H1/44—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties the fleeces or layers being consolidated by mechanical means, e.g. by rolling

Description

PATENT SPECIFICATION
( 11) 1 586 262 ( 21) Application No 36977/77 ( 22) Filed 5 Sept 1977 ( 19) ( 31) Convention Application No 723 394 ( 32) Filed 15 Sept 1976 in ( 33) United States of America (US) ( 44) Complete Specification published 18 March 1981 ( 51) INT CL 3 DO 6 C 25/00 ( 52) Index at acceptance B 5 K 2 B B 8 R 8 D 5 8 DX 3 8 F 1 RR 4 DIS 17 ( 54) METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REDUCING EDGE THICKNESS OF NON-WOVEN FABRICS ( 71) We, PHILLIPS PETROLEUM COMPANY, a corporation organised and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, United States of America, of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, United States of America, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the
following statement:-
The invention relates to a method suitable to produce a nonwoven fabric with a uniform thickness Further the invention relates to apparatus suitable to carry out the method.
Non woven fabrics produced employing various staple fibers such as for example polypropylene, nylon, polyvinylchloride, cotton and wool are well known ih the art Various methods are known to produce such nonwoven fabrics from staple -fibers One method commonly employed involves forming a nonwoven fabric by crosslapping a carded web of staple fibers using crosslappers, passing the nonwoven fabric formed from the crosslapped carded web to one or more needle looms to needle punch the nonwoven fabric which forces filaments in the various layers of the web into one another thus bonding the cross-lapped layers together to provide integrity to the fabric Such nonwoven fabrics when fused on one or both sides are useful for such products as carpet backing, upholstery stretching strips and mattress ticking.
A relatively new use for such nonwoven fabrics which are generally unfused is for backing polymeric films to produce upholstery material as is known in the art Although the use of such upholstery material has been accepted in the industry with considerable success, there is a problem in cutting the material into patterns This problem involves the lack of uniformity in thickness of such crosslapped nonwoven fabrics because the crosslapping of the webs causes the edge portions of such fabrics to be thicker than the middle portion of the fabric The nonwoven fabric is generally produced by the manufacturer in widths of approximately 15 feet Since the upholstery industry generally manufactures upholstery goods in widths substantially less than 15 feet, such as approximately 4 feet, 6 inches, the nonwoven fabric with a width of 15 feet is cut into three 5 foot widths by the nonwoven fabric manufacturer, and then trimmed to 4 feet, 6 inches by the upholstery goods manufacturer Thus, two of the three 5 foot widths of fabric have one edge thicker than the other The 5 foot width nonwoven fabric is then coated with a polymeric material generally employing the direct calender lamination or the post lamination technique known in the art to produce the nonwoven backed upholstery material As noted above it is common for the upholstery industry to cut such upholstery material into patterns It is also common to cut a number of pieces of the material at the same time by cutting stacks of the material, that is, cutting several pieces of the material which are stacked one above the other A problem arises when cutting stacks of the material because the two 4 foot, 6 inch width pieces made from the 5 foot width outside edge pieces of the 15 foot width material do not have a uniform thickness When the nonwoven backed upholstery material is stacked for cutting the nonuniformity of the nonwoven backing material is magnified which results in poor pattern definition The present invention provides a method and apparatus useful for producing a nonwoven fabric with a uniform thickness which results in the elimination of the above-described cutting problems when such fabric is used as the backing in the upholstery material.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of reducing the thickness of the edges of a nonwoven fabric comprising a cross-lapped carded web, which comprises passing the fabric through a compression zone in which the edge portions only of the fabric are compressed thereby to reduce the thickness of said edge portions.
C:
1,586,262 In another aspect, there is provided apparatus for carrying out the above method comprising a first roller having a fixed axis; a pair of secondary rollers mounted about a common axis parallel with said fixed axis, said two secondary rollers being spaced from one another adjacent opposite ends of said fixed axis roller, each of said secondary rollers being mounted for sliding movement towards and away from said fixed axis roller; and means for biassing each of the secondary rollers against the fixed axis roller.
The invention is further described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of the cross section of the width of a nonwoven fabric before being processed in accordance with the invention.
Figure 2 shows the cross section of the width of a non-woven fabric of Figure 1 after being processed in accordance with the invention.
Figure 3 is a pictorial view of one embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention used for treatment of a non-woven fabric prior to rolling up the fabric.
Referring to Figure 3 one embodiment of the apparatus of the invention is shown in which a first roll 10 having a fixed axis 12 and rotating in the direction shown by the arrow forms a nip 64 with a second roll 14 having a movable axis 16 with ends 18 and 20 mounted in bearing blocks 22 and 24, respectively.
Bearing block 22 is mounted on slidable support 26 and bearing block 24 is mounted on slidable support 28 Slidable supports 26 and 28 each comprise stationary pieces 30 and 32 with two fixed rods 34 passing through the respective slidable supports and attached to the stationary pieces Each slidable support 26, 28 is attached to a means for moving the slidable support and thus moving each end of the axis of roll 14 As shown in the drawing, said means comprises two air cylinders 36 and 38 having a stationary end 40 and 42, respectively, and plungers 44 and 46 Plunger 44 passes through stationary piece 30 and is attached to slidable support 26 and plunger 46 passes through another stationary support and is attached to slidable support 28 Air is supplied via line 50 to a regulator 52 then through line 54 to a four-way valve 57 with one line 58 connected to air cylinders 36 and 38 near the fixed end and line 60 connected near the plunger end of said air cylinders.
Roll 8 positioned parallel and adjacent to roll is supported by frame members 6 and 7 which also support roll 10 Rolls 8 and 10 form a cradle which holds the roll of nonwoven fabric as it is being wound Roll 8 and/or 10 are driven in the direction of the arrows by a suitable power means (not shown) The rotation of rolls 8 and 10 cuase nonwoven fabric 61 to form the roll 62 of 65 nonwoven fabric.
In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 3 an additional roll 14 A is provided in which a nip 64 A is formed between roll 10 and roll 14 A comparable to nip 64 formed 70 between roll 10 and roll 14 Also, roll 14 A is equipped identically to roll 14 with two air cylinders, two bearings, two slidable supports, air lines, four-way valve, and other associated equipment although only a por 75 tion of said equipment is shown in the drawing.
In the operation of the invention as shown in the embodiment of Figure 3 a nonwoven fabric passes under roll 10 and between rolls 80 8 and 10 The rotation of rolls 8 and 10 in a counterclockwise direction rolls the nonwoven fabric into roll 62 which rotates in a clockwise direction Edge 66 of nonwoven fabric 61 passes between nip 64 formed 85 between roll 10 and roll 14 and edge 68 of nonwoven fabric 61 passes between nip 64 A formed between roll 10 and roll 14 A Air pressure is supplied to air cylinders through air supply line 50, regulator 52, line 54, four 90 way valve 57 and line 58 to force roll 14 against roll 10 and to compress edge 66 of nonwoven fabric 61 In a like manner roll 14 A is forced against roll 10 to compress edge 68 of nonwoven fabric 61 The non 95 woven fabric shown in Figure 1 is schematically representative of nonwoven fabric 61 prior to passing through nips 64 and 64 A and Figure 2 represents a cross section of the width of said nonwoven fabric 61 after pass 100 ing through said nips and illustrates how the compression of the edge portions 66, 68 of the fabric 61 provide a uniform thickness across the fabric When the uniform fabric of Figure 2 is used as a backing for polymeric 105 film such as polyvinyl chloride it can be stacked for pattern cutting with good pattern definition.
Four-way valve 57 is used td apply air pressure either to the stationary end of air 110 cylinders 36 and 38 via line 58 and thus to force roll 14 against roll 10 or to supply air pressure to air cylinders 36 and 38 via line 60 near the plunger end of said cylinders thus to move roll 14 away from roll 10 Regulator 115 52 is used to adjust the air pressure in either lines 58 or line 60 to the desired pressure as indicated on pressure gauge 56 which accordingly controls the pressure of roll 14 against roll 10 Of course the operation of roll 14 A is 120 identical to roll 14 Also both roll 14 and roll 14 A can be operated by the same fourway valve if desired simply by connecting line 58 to the stationary end of all four air cylinders and connecting line 60 to the 125 plunger end of all four air cylinders.
The pressure on the fabric between the nip of rolls 14 and 10 and 14 A and l O canl be selected over a relatively wide range which depends to some degree upon the weight of the nonwoven fabric Generally the pressure ranges from about 25 to about 80 pounds per lineal inch of the roll with the movable axis such as rolls 14 and 14 A of Figure 3 The lower end of the above range is generally employed for lighter weight nonwoven fabrics and the higher end of the above range is generally employed for the heavier weight nonwoven fabrics For the heavier weight fabrics, those ranging from about 3 5 to about 6 ounces per square yard, a pressure ranging from about 60 to about 80 pounds per lineal inch is employed For light weight fabric.
those ranging from about 1-5 to about 3-5 ounces per square yard, a pressure is generally employed ranging from about 25 to about 60 pounds per lineal inch.
Although the embodiment in Figure 3 shows that roll 10 provides a dual function in that it functions to form the cradle for roll 62 of nonwoven fabric along with roll 8, and roll 10 also is used as the stationary or fixed roll for use with movable rolls 14 and 14 A to form nips 64 and 64 A, respectively, it is understood that one can practice the present invention by using independent stationary or fixed rolls with movable rolls 14 and 14 A completely independent of roll 10 Further it is understood that a stationary roll for use with rolls 14 and 14 A other than roll 10 can be one roll on a single axis serving as the fixed roll for both rolls 14 and 14 A, in the same manner as roll 10 in Figure 3, or that two stationary or fixed rolls for use with rolls 14 and 14 A respectively, can be used which are also independent and completely separate from roll 10 and from one another Rolls 14 and 14 A should be of a sufficient length to compress the nonuniformities caused by the crosslapper, for example, a roll 18 inches long ( 457 cm), 5 inch diameter ( 127 cm) was used for a 15 foot wide ( 457 meters) fabric.
While invention has been described in relation to 15 foot wide ( 457 meters) fabric, it can be applied to narrower or wider fabrics which may require longer or shorter rolls 14 and 14 A depending on the nonuniformities caused by the crosslapper.
The diameter of the fixed roll and the movable roll, as well as the materials used on the surface of the rolls used in accordance with the present invention have not been found to be particularly critical Either the stationary or movable rolls can have surfaces of steel, rubber, plastics material, or any combinations thereof, which may be desirable.
Good results have been obtained employing roll 10 with a steel surface and rolls 14 and 14 A with a steel surface as indicated in the example described below.
Example
A nonwoven fabric was constructed from 3 denier polypropylene staple fibers 3-25 inches long ( 8-25 cm) by carding the fibers to form a narrow web which was then laid on a floor apron by crosslapping the web to form a batt 15 feet ( 457 meters) wide The bait was needle punched to consolidate the batt and then passed between the nip of a fixed axis steel surfaced roll, 1275 inch diameter ( 3232 cm), similar to roll 10 of Figure 3 and two movable axis steel rolls 18 inches long ( 457 cm), 5 inch ( 127 cm) in diameter, similar to rolls 14 and 14 A of Figure 3 positioned at each end of the fixed axis roll and held at a pressure of 70 Ibs /lineal inch of the 18 inch rolls against the fabric to produce ati unfused nonwoven fabric, 4 ‘1 ounces ( 1275 grams) per square yard which had a uniform thickness The material was then cut to produce three 5 foot width ( 1 5 meter) pieces.
8 O

Claims (1)

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 85
1 A method of reducing the thickness of the edges of a non-woven fabric comprising a cross-lapped carded web, which comprises passing the fabric through a compression zone in which the edge portions only of the fabric 90 are compressed thereby to reduce the thickness of said edge portions.
2 A method according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of said edges is reduced by feeding the edges of the fabric through a 95 nip formed between two squeeze rollers.
3 A method according to claim 2, wherein the two opposite edges of the fabric are compressed simultaneously each by passage through a nip formed between two 100 squeeze rollers.
4 A method according to claim 3, wherein the fabric is passed around a first roller having a length equal to or longer than the width of the fabric, and the opposite 105 edges of the fabric are simultaneously compressed by separate second rollers biassed against said first roller and spaced one from the other along the length of the first roller.
A method according to any one of the 110 preceding claims, wherein the non-woven fabric has a weight in the range 3 5 to 6 ounces per square yard and the pressure applied to the edges of the fabric is in the range 60-80 pounds per lineal inch of the 115 compression zone.
6 A method according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein the weight of the fabric is in the range 1 5 to 3 5 ounces per square yard, and said pressure is from 25 to 60 120 pounds per lineal inch.
7 A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the non-woven fabric comprises polypropylene staple fibres.
8 A method according to claim 1, sub 125 stantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to the accompanying drawing.
9 A method according to claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described in the foregoing Example 130 1,586,262 1,586,262 Non-woven fabric comprising a crosslapped carded web the edges of which have been reduced in thickness by a method claimed in any one of the preceding claims.
11 Apparatus for carrying out the method of claim 2, comprising a first roller having a fixed axis; a pair of secondary rollers mounted about a common axis parallel with said fixed axis, said two secondary rollers being spaced from one another adjacent opposite ends of said fixed axis roller, each of said secondary rollers being mounted for sliding movement towards and away from said fixed axis roller; and means for biassing each of the secondary rollers against the fixed axis roller.
12 Apparatus according to claim 11, wherein each of said secondary rollers is mounted in a pair of bearings, each bearing being mounted on a slide block connected to a pneumatically operable piston and cylinder arrangement whereby the secondary rollers can be biassed against said fixed axis roller.
13 Apparatus according to claim 11 or 12, comprising a second fixed axis roller parallel with the first fixed axis roller and closely adjacent thereto, said first and second fixed axis rollers thereby together forming a support for a roll of non-woven fabric and serving to rotate said roll thereby to roll up the fabric after passage thereof between the nips provided between said first fixed axis roller and said two secondary rollers.
14 Apparatus according to claim 11, substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
For the Applicants, D YOUNG & CO, Chartered Patent Agents, 9 & 10 Staple Inn, London WC 1 V 7RD.
Printed for Her Majesty’s Stationery Office by Burgess & Son (Abingdon), Ltd -1981.
Published at The Patent Office, 25 Southampton Buildings, London, WC 2 A l AY from which copies may be obtained.

GB36977/77A
1976-09-15
1977-09-05
Method and apparatus for reducing edge thickness of non-woven fabrics

Expired

GB1586262A
(en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number
Priority Date
Filing Date
Title

US05/723,394

US4113827A
(en)

1976-09-15
1976-09-15
Method and apparatus useful in control of edge uniformity in nonwoven fabrics

Publications (1)

Publication Number
Publication Date

GB1586262A
true

GB1586262A
(en)

1981-03-18

Family
ID=24906061
Family Applications (1)

Application Number
Title
Priority Date
Filing Date

GB36977/77A
Expired

GB1586262A
(en)

1976-09-15
1977-09-05
Method and apparatus for reducing edge thickness of non-woven fabrics

Country Status (12)

Country
Link

US
(1)

US4113827A
(en)

JP
(1)

JPS5338769A
(en)

AU
(1)

AU509243B2
(en)

BE
(1)

BE858664A
(en)

CA
(1)

CA1069285A
(en)

DD
(1)

DD132737A5
(en)

DE
(1)

DE2736741A1
(en)

ES
(1)

ES462336A1
(en)

FR
(1)

FR2364994A1
(en)

GB
(1)

GB1586262A
(en)

IT
(1)

IT1085418B
(en)

NL
(1)

NL7710077A
(en)

Families Citing this family (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party

Publication number
Priority date
Publication date
Assignee
Title

JPS5478009A
(en)

1977-12-02
1979-06-21
Sony Corp
Disturbing signal elimination unit

US4295251A
(en)

1980-03-14
1981-10-20
Phillips Petroleum Company
Method for controlling edge uniformity in nonwoven fabrics

US4377889A
(en)

1980-03-14
1983-03-29
Phillips Petroleum Company
Apparatus for controlling edge uniformity in nonwoven fabrics

JPS5787530U
(en)

1980-11-17
1982-05-29

US4609517A
(en)

1984-08-22
1986-09-02
The Mead Corporation
Sheet flattening method

JPS61207654A
(en)

1985-03-07
1986-09-16
東レ株式会社
Production of needle punched nonwoven fabric

GB9920689D0
(en)

1999-09-03
1999-11-03
Gaskell Textiles Limited
Modular carpet tile

GB9921675D0
(en)

1999-09-15
1999-11-17
C M Kelly Limited
Carpet underfelt

NO321929B1
(en)

2005-02-18
2006-07-24
Lise Andrine Hauge

Machine

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* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party

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Priority date
Publication date
Assignee
Title

US3103410A
(en)

1963-09-10

Method of producing a sound absorbing structure

US2165280A
(en)

1936-06-03
1939-07-11
Owens Corning Fiberglass Corp
Method and apparatus for forming a fibrous mat

US2591385A
(en)

1951-03-20
1952-04-01
Frederick A Sunderhauf
Method of treating selvage edges of textile sheet material

US2891279A
(en)

1952-06-10
1959-06-23
C F Roser G M B H
Process of and apparatus for the manufacture of paper-like materials from thermoplastic synthetic materials

US2744848A
(en)

1954-03-29
1956-05-08
Long Bell Lumber Company
Making fiberboard of uniform density and thickness

US2700177A
(en)

1954-03-29
1955-01-25
Long Bell Lumber Company
Method and apparatus for making fiberboard with prepressed margins

US2922190A
(en)

1955-09-21
1960-01-26
American Viscose Corp
Method and apparatus for flattening beaded edges of a film

US3860002A
(en)

1973-05-14
1975-01-14
Scott Paper Co
Absorbent articles

1976

1976-09-15
US
US05/723,394
patent/US4113827A/en
not_active
Expired – Lifetime

1977

1977-06-07
CA
CA280,007A
patent/CA1069285A/en
not_active
Expired

1977-08-16
DE
DE19772736741
patent/DE2736741A1/en
not_active
Ceased

1977-09-05
GB
GB36977/77A
patent/GB1586262A/en
not_active
Expired

1977-09-09
AU
AU28688/77A
patent/AU509243B2/en
not_active
Expired

1977-09-13
BE
BE180881A
patent/BE858664A/en
unknown

1977-09-14
DD
DD7700201024A
patent/DD132737A5/en
unknown

1977-09-14
JP
JP11119177A
patent/JPS5338769A/en
active
Pending

1977-09-14
ES
ES462336A
patent/ES462336A1/en
not_active
Expired

1977-09-14
FR
FR7727795A
patent/FR2364994A1/en
active
Granted

1977-09-14
IT
IT27543/77A
patent/IT1085418B/en
active

1977-09-14
NL
NL7710077A
patent/NL7710077A/en
unknown

Also Published As

Publication number
Publication date

DE2736741A1
(en)

1978-03-16

AU509243B2
(en)

1980-05-01

ES462336A1
(en)

1978-06-01

FR2364994B1
(en)

1980-08-01

JPS5338769A
(en)

1978-04-10

AU2868877A
(en)

1979-03-15

DD132737A5
(en)

1978-10-25

CA1069285A
(en)

1980-01-08

BE858664A
(en)

1978-03-13

FR2364994A1
(en)

1978-04-14

US4113827A
(en)

1978-09-12

IT1085418B
(en)

1985-05-28

NL7710077A
(en)

1978-03-17

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