Impregnating tool and method of continuously impregnating a reinforcing fiber material with a plastics material

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10059036-B2
Application number	US-201615184407-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 16, 2016
Priority date	Dec 19, 2013
Publication date	Aug 28, 2018
Grant date	Aug 28, 2018

Abstract

A tool for impregnating a reinforcing fiber material with plastic comprising a support element supporting face facing and spaced from a cover element covering face. A receiving space, between the supporting and covering faces, is connected to an injection channel for supplying the plastic into the space and comprises an inlet opening for continuously feeding the fiber material into the space, as well as an outlet opening for continuously removing plastic impregnated fiber material. The distance between the supporting and covering faces is constant, perpendicular to a feed direction of the fiber material and parallel to a plane defined by at least one of the supporting and covering faces. The support and cover elements are movable relative to one another such that the distance between the supporting and covering faces in the feed direction is adaptable to a varying thickness of the fiber material fed through the receiving space.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An impregnating tool for impregnating a reinforcing fiber material with a plastics material, comprising:
a support element, comprising a supporting face,
a cover element, comprising a covering face that faces the supporting face of the support element and is disposed at a distance from the supporting face of the support element, and
a receiving space, delimited by the supporting face of the support element and the covering face of the cover element, being connected to an injection channel for supplying the plastics material into the receiving space and comprising an inlet opening for supplying the reinforcing fiber material into the receiving space in a continuous process as well as an outlet opening for removing reinforcing fiber material impregnated with the plastics material from the receiving space in a continuous process,
wherein a distance between the supporting face of the support element and the covering face of the cover element is constant in a direction perpendicular to a feed direction of the reinforcing fiber material through the receiving space and parallel to a plane defined by at least one of the supporting face and the covering face, and
wherein the support element and the cover element are movable in such a way relative to one another that the distance between the supporting face of the support element and the covering face of the cover element in the feed direction of the reinforcing fiber material through the receiving space is adaptable to a varying thickness of the reinforcing fiber material fed in a continuous process through the receiving space,
wherein the support element and the cover element are pivotable relative to one another about an axis, which extends perpendicular to the feed direction of the reinforcing fiber material through the receiving space and parallel to a plane defined by at least one of the supporting face and the covering face, in order to adapt the distance between the supporting face of the support element and the covering face of the cover element to a varying thickness of the reinforcing fiber material fed in a continuous process through the receiving space.

2. The impregnating tool according to claim 1 , wherein the support element and the cover element are movable relative to one another in a direction perpendicular to the feed direction of the reinforcing fiber material through the receiving space and perpendicular to a plane defined by at least one of the supporting face and the covering face in order to adapt the distance between the supporting face of the support element and the covering face of the cover element to a varying thickness of the reinforcing fiber material fed in a continuous process through the receiving space, wherein the cover element or the support element is in particular of a plate-shaped construction and is accommodated between lateral walls formed on the support element or the cover element.

3. The impregnating tool according to claim 1 , wherein on the support element at least one contact face is formed, which along the feed direction of the reinforcing fiber material through the receiving space, is inclined relative to the supporting face and interacts with a complementary contact face formed on the cover element, wherein the support element and the cover element are movable relative to one another in a direction parallel to the contact faces in order to adapt the distance between the supporting face of the support element and the covering face of the cover element to a varying thickness of the reinforcing fiber material fed in a continuous process through the receiving space.

4. The impregnating tool according to claim 3 , wherein the contact face formed on the support element forms with the supporting face an angle of inclination, which corresponds to an angle of inclination that the contact face formed on the cover element forms with the covering face.

5. The impregnating tool according to claim 3 , wherein the contact face formed on the support element is disposed in a region that is at least one of
facing the cover element, of a lateral wall of the support element and interacts with a contact face, which is formed on the cover element and disposed in a region, facing the support element, of a recess provided in particular in an outer face of the cover element, and
facing the support element, of a lateral wall of the cover element and interacts with a contact face, which is formed on the support element and disposed in a region, facing the cover element, of a recess provided in particular in an outer face of the support element.

6. The impregnating tool according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of
in the region of the inlet opening of the receiving space at least one sealing element is provided, which is configured to effect sealing of a gap between the reinforcing fiber material, which is fed to the receiving space through the inlet opening, and at least one of the support element and the cover element, and
in the region of the outlet opening of the receiving space at least one sealing element is provided, which is configured to effect sealing of a gap between the reinforcing fiber material, which is impregnated with the plastics material and is removed from the receiving space through the outlet opening, and at least one of the support element and the cover element.

7. The impregnating tool according to claim 1 , wherein in the region of at least one of the inlet opening and the outlet opening of the receiving space at least one of a heating device and a cooling device is provided for at least one of heating and cooling the reinforcing fiber material impregnated with the plastics material.

8. The impregnating tool according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of
the support element comprises at least one support-element sealing portion, which is disposed in the region of at least one of the inlet opening and the outlet opening of the receiving space, as well as a support-element central portion, wherein on each support-element sealing portion a supporting-face end portion is formed, which delimits the receiving space in the region of the at least one of inlet opening and the outlet opening, and on the support-element central portion a supporting-face central portion is formed, and wherein the support-element sealing portion and the support-element central portion are movable in such a way relative to one another that between the supporting-face end portion formed on the support-element sealing portion and the covering face a first distance is adjustable, which is adapted to a varying thickness of the reinforcing fiber material fed in a continuous process through the receiving space and differs from a second distance between the supporting-face central portion and the covering face that is adapted to a varying thickness of the reinforcing fiber material fed in a continuous process through the receiving space, and
the cover element comprises at least one cover-element sealing portion, which is disposed in the region of at least one of the inlet opening and the outlet opening of the receiving space, as well as a cover-element central portion, wherein on each cover-element sealing portion a covering-face end portion is formed, which delimits the receiving space in the region of at least one of the inlet opening and the outlet opening, and on the cover-element central portion a covering-face central portion is formed, and wherein the cover-element sealing portion and the cover-element central portion are movable in such a way relative to one another that between the covering-face end portion formed on the cover-element sealing portion and the supporting face a first distance is adjustable, which is adapted to a varying thickness of the reinforcing fiber mater

Assignees

• Airbus Operations Gmbh

Inventors

• Backhaus Sascha
• Lenartowicz Krzysztof
• Gaitzsch Robert

Classifications

• B29C70/50

  for producing articles of indefinite length, e.g. prepregs, sheet moulding compounds [SMC] or cross moulding compounds [XMC] · CPC title

• B29B15/122 Primary

  with a matrix in liquid form, e.g. as melt, solution or latex · CPC title

• B05C1/04

  for applying liquid or other fluent material to work of indefinite length {(B05C1/003 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• B05D2504/00

  Epoxy polymers · CPC title

• B05D1/40

  Distributing applied liquids or other fluent materials by members moving relatively to surface · CPC title