Method for molding fibrous material

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10508368-B2
Application number	US-201715724134-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 3, 2017
Priority date	May 19, 2011
Publication date	Dec 17, 2019
Grant date	Dec 17, 2019

Abstract

A device for producing a three dimensional shaped consolidated product. The device includes a rotary drum, defined as a rotary conveyor with a peripheral surface extending in circumferential direction with at least one product shaping area in the form of a cavity on said peripheral surface, the peripheral surface is pervious to air at least in the product shaping area, at least one material feed device to feed a base material into the at least one cavity, a vacuum device designed to generate a negative pressure at least in the at least one cavity, whereby the generated suction is directed towards the interior of the rotary conveyor, and whereby downstream of the material feed device at least one consolidating device is located such that at least a part of the filled cavity is subjected to a consolidating treatment whereby the base material at least partly will adhere to neighboring material.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for producing a three-dimensional consolidated fibrous product, comprising:
providing a device having a rotary drum with a product-shaping area in the form of a cavity provided on a peripheral surface thereof;
providing a first processing zone comprised of a feeding apparatus adapted to feed loose fiber base material into the cavity;
rotating the rotary drum to place the product shaping area adjacent to the loose fiber base material feeding apparatus;
feeding loose base material into the product-shaping areas as the product shaping area rotates through the feeding zone, which results is filling the at least a portion of the cavity defined by the product-shaping area with loose fiber base material;
providing a second processing zone comprised of a heating device that is adapted to consolidate the loose fiber base material by heat setting;
consolidating at least a portion of the loose fiber base material by heating the cavity, whereby the fibers in the loose fibrous base material in the cavity are at least partially adhered as the product-shaping area rotates through the second processing zone
providing a third processing zone that is adapted to cool the material in the cavity;
cooling the at least partially-consolidated base material to form a consolidated base material in the cavity as the product-shaping area rotates through the third processing zone, to form the three-dimensional consolidated fibrous product;
providing a fourth processing zone adapted to remove the three-dimensional consolidated fibrous product from the cavity;
demolding the three-dimensional consolidated fibrous product as the product-shaping area rotates through fourth processing zone; and
rotating the product-shaping area into the feeding zone to complete the rotational cycle.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the loose fiber base material comprises at least one of natural fibers, synthetic fibers, binding materials that are activated during the consolidating.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the third processing zone employs active cooling between the second processing zone and the fourth processing zone, the cooling device configured to direct airflow towards the cavity, the airflow having a temperature less than that of ambient air.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second processing zone delivers thermal energy to the loose fibrous base material by at least one of heat radiation and convective heat transfer, and wherein the heating device does not provide contact heating.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second processing zone is comprised of a first heating zone and a second heating zone, and wherein the at least one heating device is configured to provide a heat of a first temperature to the first heating zone and heat of a second temperature to the second heating zone.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cavity spans a width of the rotary drum.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the feeding apparatus comprises one or more transport rollers.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the feeding apparatus is a carding roller.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the rotary drum employs a vacuum device designed to generate a negative pressure at least in the at least one cavity, thereby generating suction directed towards an interior of the rotary conveyor.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the negative pressure is comprised of a first negative pressure and a second negative pressure, the first negative pressure and the second negative pressure being different.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cavity is lined with an air pervious material selected from a group consisting of metal mesh and wire cloth.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the air pervious material has a first portion that provides a first air resistance and a second portion that provides a second air resistance.

13. A three-dimensional consolidated fibrous product manufactured by the method of claim 1 .

Assignees

• Autoneum Man Ag

Inventors

• Peroz Jacky

Classifications

• A61F2013/15943

  by air-laid technique · CPC title

• D04H1/60

  the bonding agent being applied in dry state, e.g. thermo-activatable agents in solid or molten state, and heat being applied subsequently · CPC title

• D04H1/005 Primary

  Making three-dimensional articles by consolidation (D04H1/22 takes precedence) · CPC title

• D04H1/732

  by fluid current, e.g. air-lay · CPC title

• D04H1/76 Primary

  otherwise than in a plane, e.g. in a tubular way · CPC title