JPH041102B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing an entangled fiber sheet, in which a high-speed fluid stream is injected onto the fiber sheet to entangle the fibers.

(b) Conventional technology Conventionally, the needle punch method has been widely used for the entanglement treatment of fiber sheets, and it has become a general-purpose technology in the field of nonwoven fabrics, especially in the field of artificial leather. The high-speed fluid punch method that had been previously used has been reviewed and applied to the entanglement of some fiber sheets.

In the conventional high-speed fluid punching method, a fiber sheet is placed on a conveyor net that moves at a constant speed, and a high-speed fluid flow impinges on the fiber sheet to entangle the fiber sheet.

However, according to these conventional methods, the range of entanglement on the fiber sheet surface is limited to the area where the high-speed fluid flow collides, and that area remains as deep groove-like depressions and uneven streaks, resulting in extremely poor surface uniformity. It was inferior.

Furthermore, in order to improve this drawback, a nozzle device that collides high-speed fluid streams while reciprocating the jet nozzle in the width direction of the sheet has been proposed, for example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 30740/1983. This patent publication merely states that the traverse rod performs an initial reciprocating movement by being connected to a drive source via a cam, and further details of the nozzle support mechanism are provided in the following. nothing has been done.

A conventional nozzle rocking support mechanism of this type may include a built-in bearing 25 that loads the weight of the nozzle head 1 via a support shaft 26 of the nozzle head 1, as shown in a side sectional view in FIG. A combination system of a rotating roller 22 that rotates, a guide rail 23 laid in the swinging direction of the nozzle head 1 on a base 27 on which the rotating roller 22 rolls, and a guide rail 24 for regulating the linear swinging direction. As shown in FIG. 13 as a side sectional view, one support mechanism of the nozzle head 1 is the same as that in FIG. 12, but the other support mechanism is a guide supported by a support bearing 31 provided on the base 27. The rotating roller 22 is of a type in which a linear motion bearing 29 in a bearing housing 30 that supports the nozzle head 1 is slidably attached to the shaft 28, and the direction is regulated by the guide shaft 28 and the nozzle head 1 is guided. and one guide shaft 28 for regulating the direction of linear swing.Furthermore, as shown in a side sectional view in FIG. 14, the guide shaft 28, which is one of the support mechanisms shown in FIG. The nozzle head gravity load adopted in the mechanism, a guide to regulate the direction of linear swing,
Two guide shafts 2 each equipped with anti-rotation mechanisms
However, the common drawbacks of any of these methods are inconsistency of movement and abnormal vibration during nozzle rocking motion.

In other words, with respect to the direction of linear movement of the swinging actuator, due to the misalignment of the center of gravity of the swinging motion and the gravity support point, a couple is generated between the linear center line and the gravity support point relative to the thrust of the actuator, and the linear motion support section A twisting phenomenon occurs. This prevents the nozzle from moving in a straight line at a smooth constant speed.
In addition, when the rocking actuator generates a high thrust due to the high gravity of the rocking object or under high-speed rocking conditions, abnormal vibrations are promoted, so the device configuration must be large in order to suppress the abnormal vibrations mentioned above. , resulting in a robust structure.

On the other hand, in the installation, removal, and replacement operations of injection nozzles, in a nozzle device having a configuration in which the high-speed fluid injection holes open downward, generally a large number (several tens to hundreds of high-speed fluid injection nozzles) are installed from the bottom of the nozzle head. This is done through a pressure plate with mounting bolts.

In addition, the distance between the bottom surface of the nozzle and the sheet to be processed that is placed opposite the nozzle is determined by the length that can generate a high-speed fluid flow with high energy retention. The maximum length at which a columnar flow with a high retention amount can be stably obtained is several tens of mm. It is virtually impossible to operate the mounting bolt of the pressure plate, which is located at a distance of several tens of millimeters and facing downward.

Furthermore, in order to efficiently operate a large number of pressure plate mounting bolts, it is necessary to fix the operating surface at an arbitrary position that allows the operator to take an optimal working posture.

From the above, according to the configuration of the nozzle device, when replacing the fluid injection nozzle, in order to operate the pressure plate mounting bolt, both the nozzle head and the nozzle head must be removed outside the machine.
A method such as fixing it to a separate workbench must be used. This makes it extremely difficult to remove or install the nozzle head, which is inevitably heavy (over 100 kg) due to its high pressure-resistant structure.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional techniques, and to provide a method in which the power required for the oscillation is extremely small in the linear reciprocating oscillation motion of a high-speed fluid injection nozzle. Smooth constant-speed linear rocking motion can be obtained even under high-speed rocking conditions for small and heavy objects, and furthermore,
To provide an apparatus for manufacturing a fiber entangled sheet which can be easily and quickly replaced on a machine stand without removing the nozzle head to which the nozzle is mounted outside the machine when replacing a high-speed fluid jet nozzle.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention achieves the above object by attaching a nozzle head equipped with a high-speed fluid injection nozzle having a plurality of high-speed fluid injection holes and opening downward to a sheet. In an apparatus for manufacturing a fiber entangled sheet by impinging a high-speed fluid flow on a fiber sheet while reciprocating the fiber sheet in a straight line in the width direction, the support shafts supporting both ends of the nozzle head are set relative to the rocking direction of the nozzle head. The fiber entangled sheet manufacturing apparatus is characterized in that the gravity support shafts are provided substantially on the same axis, and the gravity support shaft is supported by a plurality of support points.

(d) Effects and Examples Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in more detail based on drawings showing embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a fiber entangled sheet manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, and is a front sectional view taken at the axis in the swinging direction. FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG. 1, in which the nozzle head 1, the bearing 8, the electro-hydraulic stepping cylinder 10 for swinging the nozzle head, and the worm reducer 13 are arranged in series on the same axis, and are connected to a common base 14. It is a diagram showing that it is unitized. FIGS. 3A and 3B are external perspective explanatory views showing the supported state of the nozzle head of the fiber entangled sheet manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. Also,
FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the nozzle head section of FIG. 1 taken in a direction perpendicular to the axis. FIG. 5 shows an example of the impact pattern on the fiber sheet surface caused by the high-speed fluid flow obtained by the apparatus of the present invention.

In FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, a high-pressure fluid inlet 17, an upper flow path 18, a lower flow path 20, an upstream/downstream communication hole 19, a rectifying plate 2, and a plurality of high-speed fluid injection holes are drilled. In a nozzle head 1 equipped with a high-speed fluid jet nozzle 3, high-pressure fluid pressurized by a pressure pump (not shown) flows into the nozzle head 1 through a high-pressure fluid inlet 17.
It fills the upper flow path 18 and flows into the lower flow path 20 while being distributed in the axial direction through a plurality of upstream and downstream flow communication holes 19 that are bored in the axial direction between the upper and lower flow paths.

After the high-pressure fluid is rectified by the rectifying plate 2 arranged in the center of the lower flow path 20, the high-pressure fluid is passed through the injection port of the high-pressure fluid injection nozzle located at the end of the flow path that is connected to the lower flow path in a continuous slit shape. As it passes, it becomes a high-speed fluid stream and is ejected. Although not shown, the fiber sheet is run either in the direction shown in the figure or in the opposite direction to a position facing the lower surface of the nozzle head 1.

At both ends of the nozzle head 1 having the above-mentioned high-speed fluid flow generating mechanism, support shafts 5 and 6 are arranged substantially on the same axis with respect to the swinging direction of the nozzle head 1, respectively. The support shafts 5 and 6 are supported by bearings that can roll and guide reciprocating motion, rotational motion, and compound motion, that is, bearings 8 that have a built-in LM stroke 7. Load the rotational movement of the nozzle head inversion.

As shown in FIG. 3A, in the present invention, the nozzle head 1 is supported at both ends by support shafts 5 and 6. As shown in FIG. The support shafts 5 and 6 are mounted on the same axis parallel to the swing direction of the nozzle head, and the support shafts are supported by a plurality of support points. As shown by the broken line in Figure 3A, if the axial center position is misaligned between one end and the other end of the nozzle head 1, a moment (couple) due to the axial misalignment will occur against the swinging thrust, and Since the center of rotation of the nozzle head is different depending on the left and right axis positions, the rotation locus is also different, causing problems such as difficulty in configuring the support points. In addition, in Figure 3 A,
The support shafts 5 and 6 substantially support the nozzle head 1
The nozzle head is attached at a position passing through the center of gravity of the nozzle head in a plane perpendicular to the swing direction of the nozzle head.

In Fig. 3B, the mounting position of the support shaft is different from that in Fig. 3A, and it is attached to a bracket provided at the top of the nozzle head 1.
The support shafts 5' and 6' are mounted substantially on a vertical line passing through the center of gravity of the nozzle head in a plane perpendicular to the direction of oscillation of the nozzle head 1.

As described above, in the present invention, the support shafts 5 and 6 of the nozzle head are substantially located at positions passing through the center of gravity of the nozzle head in a plane perpendicular to the rocking direction of the nozzle head 1, or perpendicularly through the center of gravity. Preferably, it is attached on a line.

FIG. 6 is a front sectional view showing the structure of the LM stroke 7, and FIG. 7 is a side sectional view thereof.

As shown in the figure, in the LM stroke 7, the rolling surfaces of the balls 34 and 35 of the bearing housed in the outer cylinder 32 are formed in a cylindrical shape with respect to the support shafts 5 and 6, and the load ball 34 is integrally held. This structure is aligned and guided in the axial direction by a container 33.

Further, the tip of the support shaft 5 is equipped with an electro-hydraulic stepping actuator that can apply tensile and compressive loads, and is an actuator that allows the nozzle head 1 to swing back and forth in a straight line in the width direction of the shot via a rotatable link ball joint 9. A cylinder 10 is attached. The electrohydraulic stepping cylinder 10 will be described later.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing the structure of the link ball joint 9, in which a shaft 40 and a holder 41 are rotatably connected.

On the other hand, a ball spline shaft joint 11 is linearly guided and connected to the tip of the support shaft 6 . The ball spline shaft joint 11 is fixed to the housing 12 with a key 15 so as not to rotate.

FIG. 8 is a front sectional view showing the structure of the ball spline shaft joint 11, and FIG. 9 is a side sectional view thereof. As shown in the figure, the spline shaft 6
The orbital protrusions on the outer periphery (three stripes equally spaced at 120° in the figure) are
Load ball rows 38 are arranged so as to be sandwiched from the left and right by outer cylinders 36 each having a keyway 15, and apply torque. The ball rows 38 and 39 are aligned and circulated in the axial direction by a retainer 37.

On the other hand, the tip of the housing 12 is connected and fixed to the output shaft of a worm reducer 13 used as a booster by means of a rotation prevention key and a set screw (both not shown).

Therefore, in the nozzle replacement work, by rotating the handle 13' attached to the input shaft of the worm reducer 13, the nozzle head 1 directly connected to the output shaft thereof is rotated upward, and the pressure resistance shown in FIG. Remove the plate mounting bolts 16 and remove the pressure plate 4 and the nozzle 3 in this order.

FIG. 11 is a front sectional view showing the structure of the electrohydraulic stepping cylinder 10 described above.

In FIG. 11, reference numeral 43 denotes an electric stepping motor whose rotation is controlled by pulses transmitted by a pulse generator (not shown);
A hydraulic chamber surrounded by a cylinder 46 is formed between the shaft 40 and the shaft 40 for swinging the fluid injection nozzle. The step-like rotational displacement of the stepping motor 43 is converted into linear displacement by a screw shaft 44 attached to the tip of the motor shaft 43 and a valve spool (3-way valve) 45 screwed to the screw shaft 44. A conversion mechanism is constructed, and this conversion mechanism is fitted into the hydraulic chamber. Further, hydraulic pressure is applied to the valve spool 45 in the hydraulic chamber, and the shaft 40 is moved through a piston head 47 fixed to the tip of the shaft 40 connected to the valve spool 45.
This is to amplify the force and apply a driving force to the shaft 40 that is different from the driving force caused by the rotational displacement of the electric stepping motor 43. The working oil pressure is introduced into the hydraulic chamber of the cylinder 46 from a hydraulic pump (not shown) via Ps, and is returned to the tank via Pt.

As mentioned above, an electro-hydraulic stepping cylinder that uses a pulse motor to directly drive hydraulic pressure to a servo valve is preferable because it has high output and high-speed response, and can perform precise stop position control. The actuator is not limited to this type, and a known reciprocating rocking mechanism such as a cam type, a crank type, or a motor forward/reverse rotation type may be used.

As described above, the present invention uses the combination of the ball spline shaft joint 11 and the worm reducer 13 used as a booster to reduce the rotational force around the axis caused by vibrations etc. during the reciprocating rocking motion of the nozzle head 1. , the load is applied by the boosting mechanism of the worm reducer 13 via the ball spline shaft joint 11. In addition, the linear reciprocating motion is achieved by the ball spline shaft joint 11.
It is freed by the guided connection of. Furthermore, in order to reverse the nozzle head 1, which is required when replacing the high-speed fluid injection nozzle 3, the input shaft of the worm reducer 13 is rotated, and a torque is generated via the ball spline shaft joint 11 fixed to the output shaft. The transmission is carried out, and the rotation can be made to any desired angular position, and furthermore, the inverted position is maintained by the boosting mechanism of the worm reducer 13.

In the high-speed fluid flow treatment of the present invention, liquid or gas can be used as the fluid for the high-speed fluid flow, but water is most preferably used in terms of ease of handling, cost, and amount of collision energy as a fluid flow. . Furthermore, organic solvents, alkali, acid aqueous solutions, etc. may also be used depending on the purpose.

Such fluid is pressurized by a high pressure pump;
It is injected from a discharge hole with a small diameter, and is applied to the fiber sheet surface as a high-speed columnar flow. As for the pressure conditions, a range of about 5 to 300 kg/cm ² can be used. 300
A pressure higher than Kg/cm ² is not preferable because impact defects and deformation occur. The preferred range is 20-200
Kg/cm ² , more preferably in the range of 30 to 150 Kg/cm ² .

Next, as the fiber sheet that can be used in the present invention, ordinary nonwoven fabrics, laminates of woven or knitted fabrics and nonwoven fabrics, laminates of nonwoven fabrics with different properties, etc. It can be manufactured by forming a sheet by a sheet forming method such as a web forming method or a paper making method, and further fixing the structure by a method such as needle punching or primary fluid punching, if necessary.

The fibers constituting the fiber sheet used in the present invention are:
Natural fibers, chemical fibers, synthetic fibers, or a combination of these fibers can be used.

(f) Effects of the invention Since the present invention has the above-described configuration and effects,
It has the following excellent effects.

That is, first, the left and right nozzle head gravity support shafts are arranged on the same axis parallel to the nozzle head swing direction, and the support shafts are supported by multiple support points, so that the gravity and swing motion of the nozzle head are No moment is generated between directions, and it is possible to swing the nozzle head with minimal thrust relative to gravity.

In addition, the above means that the rocking motion itself is extremely smooth, in other words, there is extremely little occurrence of abnormal vibrations such as chatter, and constant-speed linear reciprocating motion can be obtained even under high-speed rocking conditions. In order to obtain a high-quality sheet with good smoothness, it is highly effective in a nozzle rocking device for manufacturing a fiber-entangled sheet, which requires an accurate rocking pattern.

Further, the above-mentioned phenomena of small swing thrust and abnormal vibration are very convenient in terms of device configuration, and the device can be designed easily and downsized.

Next, by combining a rotation bearing, a reciprocating motion bearing, a spline shaft joint, and a booster (worm reducer) and arranging them on the same axis, the nozzle head can be moved outside the machine by rotating the input shaft of the worm reducer. It can be rotated to any position on the machine stand without having to take it out, and the rotational angle position can be maintained, so it is possible to set the optimal position for the nozzle replacement work posture, and it is possible to operate a large number of pressure plate mounting bolts. This has a remarkable effect in quickly performing the main nozzle replacement work.

This reduces the waiting time for nozzle replacement work, where the durability of the nozzle injection hole is extremely short due to wear due to high-speed water flow, or when the nozzle is frequently replaced due to nozzle clogging, etc.
This has a great effect on improving productivity.

Furthermore, the rotational force around the axis caused by vibrations during the reciprocating rocking motion of the nozzle head is applied to the worm reducer output shaft via the spline shaft joint.
Since shaking is prevented, the relative angular positional relationship between the nozzle injection hole and the processed sheet is always constant, so an accurate swing trajectory can be obtained.

Therefore, the device according to the present invention can smoothly perform reciprocating linear rocking of the high-speed fluid injection nozzle with extremely low thrust, and can obtain an accurate rocking trajectory even under high-speed rocking conditions. The treated fiber sheet has excellent surface smoothness, and a high-quality sheet with uniform density can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an example of a fiber entangled sheet manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, and is a front sectional view taken at the axis in the swinging direction. FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG. 1, and FIGS. 3A and 3B are external perspective explanatory views showing the supported state of the nozzle head of the fiber entangled sheet manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. 4 is a side sectional view of the nozzle head shown in FIG. 1 taken in a direction perpendicular to the axis. FIG. 5 shows an example of a fiber sheet surface impact pattern caused by a high-speed fluid flow obtained by the fiber entangled sheet manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a front sectional view showing the structure of the LM stroke 7 that can be employed in the apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a side sectional view thereof. FIG. 8 is a front sectional view showing the structure of the ball spline shaft joint 11 that can also be adopted in the device of the present invention, FIG. 9 is a side sectional view thereof, and FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the link ball joint 9. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure. FIG. 11 is a front sectional view showing the structure of an electro-hydraulic stepping cylinder that is preferably applicable to the device of the present invention. Figure 12 ~ 1st
FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of a conventional nozzle swing support mechanism. Explanation of symbols in the drawings: 1: Nozzle head, 2:
Current plate, 3: High speed fluid injection nozzle, 4: Pressure plate,
5, 6: Support shaft, 7: LM stroke, 8: Bearing, 9: Link ball joint, 10: Electro-hydraulic stepping cylinder, 11: Ball spline shaft joint, 12: Housing, 13: Worm reducer, 14: Base plate, 15: Key, 1
6: Pressure plate mounting bolt, 17: High pressure fluid flow inlet, 18: Upper channel, 19: Upper and lower communication hole, 20:
Lower flow path, 21: O ring, 22: rotating roller,
23: Rail, 24: Guide rail, 25: Bearing, 26: Axis, 27: Base, 28: Guide shaft, 29: Linear motion bearing, 30:
Bearing housing, 31: Support bearing, 32,
36: Outer cylinder, 33, 37: Cage, 34, 38:
Load ball row, 35, 39: Escape ball row, 3
7: Cage, 40: Shaft, 41: Holder, 42:
Keyway, 43: Electric stepping motor, 44:
Screw shaft, 45: Valve spool, 46: Cylinder, 47: Piston head.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A nozzle head equipped with a high-speed fluid jet nozzle with multiple high-speed fluid jet holes and a downward opening is reciprocated in a straight line in the width direction of the sheet, and a high-speed fluid flow collides with the fiber sheet to entangle the fibers. In an apparatus for manufacturing sheets, support shafts supporting both ends of the nozzle head are provided substantially on the same axis with respect to the swinging direction of the nozzle head, and the gravity support shaft is provided at a plurality of support points. 1. An apparatus for manufacturing an intertwined fiber sheet, characterized in that the sheet is supported by.