Apparatus and method for bonding or reinforcing a web of fibrous material to a nonwoven fabric

Abstract

An apparatus and method for reinforcing a nonwoven fabric comprising at least one layer of unreinforced nonwoven fabric and / or one layer of loose fibers, the apparatus having at least one transport platform configured for transporting the unreinforced nonwoven fabric and / or loose fiber layer, the transport platform having a circulating conveyor belt having a first horizontal section, followed by a second downwardly sloping section along the material transport direction, having a first cylinder with at least two water jet beams along the material transport direction, and a second cylinder with at least two water jet beams disposed above the first cylinder. The invention is characterized in that the first cylinder for receiving the nonwoven fabric or loose fiber layer cooperates with the downwardly sloping section of the transport platform such that the upper side of the unreinforced nonwoven fabric or the upper side of the loose fiber layer is located on the cylinder surface.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for reinforcing a nonwoven fabric comprising at least one layer of unreinforced nonwoven fabric and / or one layer of loose fibers. Background Technology

[0002] According to existing technology, loose fibers are placed on a nonwoven fabric and needled together on two stacked cylinders using a hydroentangling process. A known device has a horizontal conveyor belt guide for guiding the loose fibers and nonwoven fabric to a first needled cylinder. The needled cylinder is equipped with two water jet beams, both reinforcing the underside of the nonwoven / fiber composition. Subsequent guide rollers ensure that the nonwoven / fiber composition on a second needled cylinder, vertically positioned above the first needled cylinder, is similarly reinforced from the underside by means of the water jet beams. Then, five guide rollers are positioned downstream of the second reinforced cylinder, by which the reinforced nonwoven fabric is again turned onto the horizontal conveyor belt for further processing. The five guide rollers downstream of the second cylinder result in increased deformation. Furthermore, based on the horizontal layer of the conveyor belt, only three water jet beams can be placed on the lower cylinder. However, for higher speeds, seven water jet beams are required on the cylinders. This adds further complexity because a third cylinder must be added. Other disadvantages include increased deformation, increased structural cost at higher speeds, a complex yarn threading process based on significant deflection, and increased space requirements throughout the length of the equipment. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The objective of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for combining loose fiber webs with nonwoven fabrics, thereby enabling the production of compact and inexpensive equipment, and producing nonwoven fabrics with high strength. The equipment should also have high production capacity.

[0004] This invention addresses the problem through a device for reinforcing nonwoven fabrics, wherein the reinforced nonwoven fabric comprises at least one layer of unreinforced nonwoven fabric and / or one layer of loose fibers. The device has at least one transport platform configured to transport the unreinforced nonwoven fabric and / or loose fiber layer. The transport platform has a circulating conveyor belt having a first horizontal section, followed by a second downward-sloping section along the material transport direction. Following the transport platform along the material transport direction is a first cylinder having at least two water jet beams and a second cylinder disposed above the first cylinder and having at least two water jet beams. The invention is characterized in that the first cylinder for receiving the nonwoven fabric or loose fiber layer cooperates with the downward-sloping section of the transport platform such that the upper side of the unreinforced nonwoven fabric or the upper side of the loose fiber layer is located on the surface of the cylinder.

[0005] The present invention also addresses this issue through a method for reinforcing a nonwoven fabric comprising at least one unreinforced layer of nonwoven fabric and / or one layer of loose fibers, wherein the unreinforced nonwoven fabric and / or loose fiber layer is conveyed to a first cylinder by means of a transport table. Here, the upper side of the unreinforced nonwoven fabric or the upper side of the loose fiber layer is moved from a downwardly inclined section of the transport table to the surface of the first cylinder, wherein reinforcement on the first cylinder is performed from the lower side of the nonwoven fabric or the lower side of the loose fiber layer by at least two water jet beams, and further reinforcement is performed on a second cylinder disposed above the first cylinder by water jet beams.

[0006] The side of the unreinforced nonwoven fabric and / or loose fiber layer resting against the conveyor belt is defined as the lower side. Therefore, the upper side is the side of the unreinforced nonwoven fabric and / or loose fiber layer facing away from the conveyor belt of the conveyor belt.

[0007] In all embodiments, the downward-sloping section of the transport platform allows the first cylinder to be positioned below the plane of the horizontal section with its center of rotation. This provides free space for other waterjet beams, which can be positioned below the axis of rotation of the first cylinder. There is also necessary free space for the waterjet beams on the second cylinder to be positioned to the right of the common central axis of the cylinders, i.e., on the side of the central axis along the material flow direction. An associated advantage is that the fiber / nonwoven fabric composition has already achieved greater reinforcement on the first cylinder, allowing the equipment to operate at higher speeds, for example, 300 m / min. Another advantage is the altered arrangement of the waterjet beams on the second cylinder on the side of the central axis along the material flow direction, allowing the reinforced nonwoven fabric to be transferred downstream to a processing station with up to two deflecting rollers. The receiving point of this processing station is located, for example, below the final contact point of the reinforcement station via a circulating conveyor belt. This significantly reduces uncontrolled deformation of the reinforced nonwoven fabric. Here, the already smoothed lower side of the nonwoven fabric to be reinforced is loaded by hydroentangling, and the uneven upper side is leveled by the surface of the cylinder in wet or dry fiber bundles. In a fiber / nonwoven fabric composition consisting of unreinforced nonwoven fabric and fiber material, loose fibers are pressed into the unreinforced nonwoven fabric. This reduces the washing of short fibers and simultaneously increases the strength of this double-layer reinforced nonwoven fabric. When hydroentangling reinforcement is performed on a conveyor belt, the equipment technology required to achieve the same results increases, and the equipment is longer in terms of construction length.

[0008] Further improvements can be made by configuring the guide rollers and steering rollers as driven rollers, thereby significantly reducing the deformation of the reinforced nonwoven fabric and at least not altering its surface structure. The corresponding circumferential speed of the rollers always corresponds to the conveying speed of the reinforced nonwoven fabric. Similarly, the cylinder is configured as a driven cylinder.

[0009] The redesigned arrangement of the waterjet beams positions the cylinders further apart, allowing both cylinders to be equipped with cleaning devices, thus extending the equipment's lifespan. The redesigned arrangement of the waterjet beams on the cylinders, along with the optimized layout and reduced number of guide rollers, resulted in significant improvements. The first cylinder is placed on an inclined surface on the conveyor belt to provide more space for the waterjet beams.

[0010] The arrangement of components (water jet beams, cylinders, and guide rollers) is optimized to improve fabric guidance, specifically by using only two guide rollers downstream of the second cylinder to transfer the fabric width to, for example, a suction belt or another workstation. This results in less deformation than in variants equipped with multiple guide rollers. Furthermore, by positioning the first cylinder on an inclined conveyor belt, it is possible to add a fourth water jet beam on the cylinder, thereby enabling a transport speed of up to 300 m / min for nonwoven fabrics using seven water jet beams across the two cylinders.

[0011] The device can reinforce a nonwoven fabric comprising at least one layer of unreinforced nonwoven fabric and / or one layer of loose fibers. However, the device can also reinforce a nonwoven fabric comprising only one layer of unreinforced nonwoven fabric (e.g., carded nonwoven fabric) or only one layer of loose fibers. Alternatively, a three-layer nonwoven fabric can be produced by providing an unwinding station, which is used to introduce the reinforced nonwoven fabric into the device. Preferably, the loose fiber layer surrounds the unreinforced and reinforced nonwoven fabrics. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Furthermore, other measures to improve the invention are presented in more detail below, together with the accompanying drawings, in conjunction with the description of several embodiments of the invention.

[0013] In the picture:

[0014] Figure 1 A first general arrangement diagram of a device having five water jet beams according to the invention is shown;

[0015] Figure 2 A second general arrangement diagram of a device having seven water jet beams according to the invention is shown;

[0016] Figure 3 A second general layout diagram showing alternative operating modes with fiber widths is shown.

[0017] 1. An apparatus (100) for reinforcing a nonwoven fabric (23), the nonwoven fabric comprising at least one layer of unreinforced nonwoven fabric and / or one layer of loose fibers, the apparatus having at least one transport platform (17) configured for transporting the unreinforced nonwoven fabric and / or loose fiber layer, wherein the transport platform (17) has a circulating conveyor belt (17a) having a first horizontal section (17b), a second downwardly sloping section (17c) following the first horizontal section in the material transport direction, and a first cylinder (18) having at least two water jet beams (18.2, 18.1) in the material transport direction. The first cylinder (18) and the second cylinder (20) having at least two water jet beams (20.1, 20.2) disposed above the first cylinder (18) are characterized in that the first cylinder (18) for receiving nonwoven fabric or loose fiber layer cooperates with the downwardly inclined section (17c) of the transport table (17) such that the upper side of the unreinforced nonwoven fabric or the upper side of the loose fiber layer is located on the surface of the first cylinder (18), wherein a guide roller (19) is disposed between the first cylinder (18) and the second cylinder (20) such that the upper side of the nonwoven fabric or loose fiber layer is received by the second cylinder (20).

[0018] 2. The device according to embodiment 1, characterized in that the rotation axis of the first cylinder (18) is disposed below the plane of the horizontal section (17b) of the transport table (17).

[0019] 3. The device according to embodiment 1, characterized in that the first cylinder (18) and the second cylinder (20) have a common central axis (Ma), wherein the water jet beams (18.1, 18.2, 20.1, 20.2, 20.3) are arranged downstream of the central axis (Ma) along the material flow direction.

[0020] 4. The device according to embodiment 1 is characterized in that up to two guide rollers (21, 22) are provided downstream of the second cylinder (20) along the material flow direction, the guide rollers being configured to guide the reinforced nonwoven fabric (23) to a subsequent processing station.

[0021] 5. The device according to embodiment 1, characterized in that the first cylinder (18) has two additional water jet beams (18.3, 18.4) disposed below the rotation center of the first cylinder (18).

[0022] 6. The device according to embodiment 5, characterized in that the water jet beam (18.4) is disposed within the conveyor belt (17a) and aligned with the first cylinder (18) through a downwardly inclined section (17c).

[0023] 7. The device according to embodiment 1, characterized in that a guide roller (25) is disposed between the first cylinder (18) and the second cylinder (20) against the material flow direction, wherein the guide roller (25) is configured to guide the nonwoven fabric onto the second cylinder (20) with its underside.

[0024] 8. The equipment according to embodiment 1, characterized in that the loose fiber layer as fiber material (9) is produced by a device in the equipment (100), the device being constructed as an inclined wire mesh forming machine (1), a circular wire mesh forming machine, a meltblown equipment, a secondary headbox, or an airflow forming equipment.

[0025] 9. The equipment according to embodiment 8, characterized in that the nonwoven fabric as a carding machine nonwoven fabric (15a) is produced by a carding machine (15) in the equipment (100), wherein the carding machine (15) is arranged downstream of the device for producing fiber material (9) along the material flow direction.

[0026] 10. The device according to embodiment 9, characterized in that the carding machine (15) in the device (100) is configured such that the carding machine nonwoven fabric (15a) is placed on the fiber material (9) and the two together form a fiber / nonwoven fabric composition (16) in the device (100).

[0027] 11. The device according to embodiment 1, characterized in that the first cylinder (18) has a cleaning device (18R) and / or the second cylinder (20) has a cleaning device (20R).

[0028] 12. According to the device described in embodiment 8, a reinforced nonwoven fabric (26a) is introduced into the device by means of a dewinding station (26), and a fiber material (9) is placed on the nonwoven fabric.

[0029] 13. The device according to embodiment 1, characterized in that the first cylinder (18) has a cleaning device (18R) and the second cylinder (20) has a cleaning device (20R).

[0030] 14. A method for reinforcing a nonwoven fabric (23), the nonwoven fabric comprising at least one layer of unreinforced nonwoven fabric and / or one layer of loose fibers, wherein the unreinforced nonwoven fabric and / or loose fiber layer is transported to a first cylinder (18) by means of a transport table (17) of an apparatus (100) for reinforcing the nonwoven fabric (23), and wherein the upper side of the unreinforced nonwoven fabric or the upper side of the loose fiber layer is moved from a downwardly inclined section (17c) onto the surface of the first cylinder (18), wherein, The first cylinder (18) is reinforced from the underside of the nonwoven fabric or the loose fiber layer by at least two water jet beams (18.1, 18.2), and further reinforced by water jet beams on the second cylinder (20), which is positioned above the first cylinder (18), wherein the nonwoven fabric or loose fiber layer is guided to the second cylinder (20) by means of a guide roller (19), such that the upper side of the nonwoven fabric or loose fiber layer is received by the second cylinder (10).

[0031] 15. The method according to embodiment 14 is characterized in that the nonwoven fabric (23) reinforced on the first cylinder (18) and the second cylinder (20) is guided to the downstream processing station and turned there at most twice.

[0032] 16. The method according to embodiment 14 is characterized in that the unreinforced nonwoven fabric layer and / or loose fiber layer on the first cylinder (18) is reinforced by two additional water jet beams (18.3, 18.4).

[0033] 17. The method according to embodiment 16, characterized in that, by means of a water jet beam (18.4) disposed within the conveyor belt (17a) and aligned with the first cylinder (18) via a downwardly inclined section (17c), an unreinforced nonwoven layer and / or loose fiber layer is pressed between the conveyor belt (17a) and the first cylinder (18) and transferred by the conveyor belt (17a) onto the first cylinder (18).

[0034] 18. The method according to embodiment 14 is characterized in that the unreinforced nonwoven fabric is guided onto the second cylinder (20) by means of a guide roller (25) disposed between the first cylinder (18) and the second cylinder (20) against the material flow direction.

[0035] 19. The method according to embodiment 14, characterized in that the loose fiber layer is constructed of fiber material (9), and the loose fiber layer is produced by a slanted mesh forming machine (1), a circular mesh forming machine, a meltblown equipment, a secondary flow box or an airflow forming equipment provided in the equipment (100).

[0036] 20. The method according to embodiment 14, characterized in that the unreinforced nonwoven fabric is a carded nonwoven fabric (15a), which is produced by a carding machine (15) in the device (100), wherein the carded nonwoven fabric (15a) is introduced into the device (100) after the fiber material (9) in the material flow direction.

[0037] 21. The method according to embodiment 20, characterized in that the carding machine nonwoven fabric (15a) is placed on the fiber material (9) and the two together form a fiber / nonwoven fabric composition (16) in the device (100).

[0038] 22. The method according to embodiment 21, characterized in that the reinforced nonwoven fabric (26a) is introduced into the device, and the fiber material (9) is placed on the nonwoven fabric. Detailed Implementation

[0039] Figure 1 The device 100 is shown, which enables the combined nonwoven fabric to reach speeds of up to 250 m / min due to optimized fabric guidance downstream of the second cylinder, and has a total of five water jet beams.

[0040] Unlike existing technologies, the nonwoven fabric is placed on a loose fiber web and then needled onto cylinders 18 and 20 on its lower side. Here, the loose fibers are pressed into the nonwoven fabric, resulting in higher strength and reduced loss of loose fibers. The reinforcement or bonding of the loose fibers to the nonwoven fabric occurs only on cylinders 18 and 20, rather than on a circulating conveyor belt, thus maintaining the same high strength between the loose fibers and the nonwoven fabric, while simultaneously allowing for a shorter device 100.

[0041] The increased distance between cylinders 18 and 20 allows for the installation of cleaning components, such as suction devices and / or cleaning brushes, between cylinders 18 and 20, thereby increasing the durability of device 100 between cleaning intervals.

[0042] exist Figures 1 to 3 The carding machine nonwoven fabric shown can be constructed as an unreinforced nonwoven fabric from the carding machine 15, or as a reinforced nonwoven fabric introduced into the device 100 from the carding machine 15 or the unwinding station having a reinforcement section (not shown) located downstream.

[0043] An inclined screen forming machine 1 is positioned above the circulating screen belt 10. The inclined screen forming machine 1 exemplarily represents a device for placing loose fibers, which can also be configured as a meltblown device, a secondary headbox, etc. The screen belt 10, which can be configured as a continuous conveyor belt, runs around different rollers 12 and has inclined sections 11 that rise at an angle along the running direction of the screen belt. In the region of the inclined sections 11, the inclined screen forming machine 1 is positioned above the screen belt 10, and the screen belt 10 is supported on the liner 2 of the inclined screen forming machine. At least one suction zone 3 is provided below the liner 2, which is placed under negative pressure by means of a pump (not shown). The inclined screen forming machine 1 can have multiple suction zones 3, which are loaded with different pressures or negative pressures. The negative pressure source is preferably configured as a controllable / adjustable vacuum pump.

[0044] One or more fiber suspensions arranged in a stacked manner are supplied to the screen belt 10 through the headbox 8. Each fiber suspension contains a certain amount of solids in addition to water, which includes fibers and other fillers. In the case of multiple fiber suspensions, thin sheets (not shown) are arranged between them, which can be used to change the layer thickness of the fiber suspensions individually or collectively.

[0045] The fibers used here may consist at least in part of short synthetic fibers (e.g., polyester, polyamide, polypropylene, or polyolefin) with a fiber length of 8 mm to 12 mm. The fiber mixture may also consist of synthetic and natural fibers. Similarly, the outer layer may be composed of 100% pulp. The intermediate fiber suspension may be composed of natural fibers with high water absorption capacity and preferably biodegradable.

[0046] Alternatively, only one type of fiber suspension can be added, thus forming a single layer of fiber after water extraction. The fiber suspension can consist of a mixture of fibers with a high pulp content and a lower content of short synthetic fibers, these synthetic fibers being 8 to 12 mm in length, such as polyester, polyamide, polyolefin, polypropylene, viscose fiber, or lyocell. The dried web weight per unit area of ​​the fiber material 9 is preferably 10 g / m². 2 Up to 60g / m 2 (Dry weight)

[0047] A liquid- and gas-permeable screen belt 10 transports the at least one fiber suspension via an inclined section 11 to an inclined mesh forming machine 1. Based on gravity and negative pressure acting on the at least one fiber suspension, water is drained from the fiber suspension, thereby forming, in this example, a web formed of fibrous material 9 with at least one layer of fibers. Below the suction zone 3, screen water 6 is collected in a screen box 5 and sucked out.

[0048] The width of the fiber material 9 is transported on the conveyor belt 10 first through a horizontal section in the direction of the arrow and then through a downward sloping section. After the downward sloping section, the width of the fiber material 9 is transferred with its underside to another circulating conveyor belt 13, which runs as a continuous conveyor belt around at least two rollers 14.

[0049] In the first embodiment, a carding machine 15 is provided in the device 100 in the transport direction of the fiber material 9. The carding machine 15 is spatially positioned above the conveyor belt 13, thereby allowing the fiber material 9 to be guided independently of the carding machine 15 to the hydroentangling reinforcement section having at least one waterjet beam. In other words, the conveyor belt 13 is guided below the fixedly mounted carding machine 15, and this conveyor belt is configured to guide the fiber material 9 directly from the device for placing loose fibers (here, a slanted wire forming machine) to the hydroentangling reinforcement section. Here, the fiber material 9 is reinforced.

[0050] The carding machine 15 can introduce an unconsolidated, carded fiber fabric web, or carded nonwoven fabric 15a, into the equipment 100. This is done prior to hydroentangling, thereby combining the web of the fiber material 9 with the carded nonwoven fabric 15a by means of a water jet beam. The carded nonwoven fabric 15a can be made of, for example, polyester, viscose fiber, cotton-wool blends, or blends of synthetic and / or natural fibers. Preferably, the area weight of the carded nonwoven fabric 15a is 15 g / m². 2 Up to 60g / m 2 Instead of the carding machine 15, the unwinding station can also apply reinforced nonwoven fabric to the layer of fiber material 9, but this has disadvantages for further processing, namely, the bonding between the reinforced nonwoven fabric and the fiber material 9 is not as uniform and tight as with the unreinforced nonwoven fabric 15a. In this variant, the pressure of the water jet beam in the downstream reinforcement station must be significantly increased, which increases energy costs and also increases the cost of rinsing the wet-laid fibers.

[0051] The following describes the fiber / nonwoven fabric composition 16, wherein it is clear that the equipment is variable and can also only reinforce and process the fiber material 9 or only reinforce and process the unreinforced carded nonwoven fabric 15a. The fiber / nonwoven fabric composition 16 is transferred by a circulating conveyor belt 13 to a transport table 17 having a circulating conveyor belt 17a, which initially has a horizontal section 17b along the material flow direction, followed by a downward sloping section 17c along the material flow direction. The downward sloping section 17c is equipped with a first cylinder 18, which receives the fiber / nonwoven fabric composition 16 above, i.e., on the unreinforced carded nonwoven fabric 15a. A first compression is performed between the downward sloping section 17c of the conveyor belt 17a and the cylinder 18, thereby simultaneously transferring the fiber / nonwoven fabric composition 16 onto the cylinder 18. In the embodiment, the first cylinder 18 is equipped with two water jet beams 18.1 and 18.2, the water jets from which strike the underside of the fiber / nonwoven fabric composition 16. This presses the fiber material 9 into the unreinforced carding nonwoven fabric 15a and bonds and reinforces them together. A second cylinder 20 is vertically positioned above the first cylinder 18, and in this embodiment, the second cylinder is equipped with three water jet beams 20.1, 20.2, and 20.3. The two cylinders 18 and 20 are configured as suction cylinders; optionally, a structured outer casing can be pulled onto the suction cylinders. The distance between the cylinders 18 and 20 is greater than in the prior art, so that one or two cleaning devices 18R and 20R can optionally be positioned between the cylinders 18 and 20. Each cleaning device 18R and 20R can be configured, for example, as a scraper with a suction device or as a cleaning roller with a brush. The guide roller 19 between cylinders 18 and 20 is configured to ensure that the fiber / nonwoven composition 16 adheres to or is guided on cylinders 18 and 20 at a large wrap angle before entering the action area of ​​the first water jet beam 20.1 of the second cylinder 20 from the last water jet beam 18.2 of the first cylinder 8. The fiber / nonwoven composition 16 is also placed on the upper side, i.e., on the carding nonwoven fabric 15a, on the second cylinder 20, so that the fiber material 9 is also pressed into, bonded to, and reinforced in the carding nonwoven fabric 15a.

[0052] A guide roller 21 positioned above the second cylinder 20 guides the reinforced nonwoven fabric 23 onto the second cylinder 20 at a large winding angle, deflecting the fabric by almost 180° for further transport to a subsequent processing station, which in this example is configured as a suction device 24. Another second guide roller 22, positioned adjacent to the reinforcement station along the material flow direction, guides the reinforced nonwoven fabric 23 onto another horizontal conveyor belt 24a of the suction device 24. The second guide roller 22 could be omitted by using the suction device 24, which is positioned at a corresponding height, but this would be structurally more costly and expensive. Water is extracted from the reinforced nonwoven fabric 23 via an integrated suction device 24b, positioned below the perforated circulating conveyor belt 24a. Other processing stations, such as dryers or winding stations, can be connected along the material flow direction.

[0053] Figure 1 The arrangement of cleaning devices 18R and 20R is shown, which are arranged opposite to water jet beams 18.1, 18.2, 20.1–20.3 on the outer periphery of the first cylinder 18 and the second cylinder 20.

[0054] The reinforced nonwoven fabric 23 in the device can be configured as a fiber / nonwoven fabric composition 16, wherein an unreinforced carding nonwoven fabric 15a is laid flat on dry or wet-laid fiber material 9 and reinforced together. Alternatively, only the unreinforced carding nonwoven fabric 15a may be reinforced.

[0055] Figure 2 and Figure 1The system is identical except for minor differences, namely, the cylinder 18 is equipped with two additional water jet beams 18.3 and 18.4. These water jet beams are positioned below the rotation axis of the cylinder 18, with the first water jet beam 18.4 positioned below the conveyor belt 17a in the downwardly inclined section 17c of the transport platform 17. In this position, the first water jet beam 18.4 is aligned with the rotation axis of the first cylinder 18, so that the fiber / nonwoven fabric composition 16 is not only compressed between the conveyor belt 17a and the cylinder 18, but also pressed against the cylinder 18 and thus separated from the conveyor belt 17a. The water jet beam 18.4 positioned within the conveyor belt 17a preferably operates within a pressure range of 10 bar to 50 bar. The reinforcement of the fiber / nonwoven fabric composition 16 occurs significantly faster, thereby increasing the transport speed of the nonwoven fabric in the equipment to up to 300 m / min. All other waterjet beams 18.1, 18.2, 18.3, 20.1, 20.2, and 20.3 preferably operate at pressures between 40 bar and 150 bar. In the embodiment described, the two cylinders 18 and 20 are also equipped with cleaning devices 18R and 20R, respectively, which can be installed by increasing the cylinder distance from the current 30 mm to at least 700 mm.

[0056] Figure 3 An alternative operating method is shown, which reinforces the nonwoven fabric using another guide roller 25. This other guide roller can be positioned between cylinders 18 and 20 against the material flow direction. Thus, the nonwoven fabric can be reinforced on both sides, with water jet beams 18.1-18.4 acting on the underside of the nonwoven fabric on the first cylinder 18 as currently present. The nonwoven fabric is guided against the material flow direction onto the upper cylinder 20 via guide roller 25, thereby now reinforcing the upper side of the nonwoven fabric 23. The nonwoven fabric 23 is then transferred to the suction device 24 by deflection of guide roller 19. This variation in fabric width guidance is advantageous, for example, for unreinforced carding nonwoven fabric 15a that should be reinforced without a loose fiber layer. However, this operating method can also be advantageous if the fiber / nonwoven fabric composition 16 is to be structured from both sides. For this purpose, cylinders 18 and 20 may optionally be equipped with a structured cover. Alternatively, the unreinforced carding nonwoven fabric 15a or the layer of fiber material 9 can be reinforced separately in the equipment. As another alternative, an unwinding station 26 can be located upstream of the circulating conveyor belt 13, thereby guiding the reinforced nonwoven fabric 26a into the equipment onto the first conveyor belt 13, below the fiber material 9, by means of a guide roller 27. Therefore, a three-layer nonwoven fabric with fiber material 9 in the middle layer or a two-layer nonwoven fabric with fiber material 9 in the upper layer can be processed. This nonwoven fabric can then not only be processed... Figure 1 and Figure 2 In its operation, it is processed with reinforcement on one side, or alternatively, it can be done in... Figure 3In its operation mode, it is processed by reinforcing both sides.

[0057] In all embodiments, the downwardly inclined section 17c of the transport platform 17 allows for a deeper arrangement of the first cylinder 18. This, in turn, allows for the placement of other waterjet beams 18.3, 18.4 located below the rotation axis of the first cylinder 18. Figure 2 and Figure 3 This provides free space. Therefore, necessary free space exists so that the water jet beams 20.1-20.3, in this figure, are positioned on the right side of the common central axis Ma of the cylinders 18 and 20, i.e., on the side of the central axis Ma along the material flow direction, on the second cylinder 20. An associated advantage is that a stronger reinforcement of the fiber / nonwoven fabric composition 16 has been achieved on the first cylinder 18, allowing the device 100 to operate at higher speeds, for example, 300 m / min. Advantageously, the rotation center of the first cylinder can be located below the plane of the horizontal section 17b of the transport table. Therefore, the fourth water jet beam 18.4 can be positioned within the conveyor belt 17a such that compression is achieved between the conveyor belt 17a and the cylinder 18 at the downwardly inclined section 17c, thereby simultaneously improving the transfer from the conveyor belt 17a to the first cylinder 18. Another advantage lies in the altered arrangement of the waterjet beams 20.1-20.3 on the second cylinder 20 along the material flow direction on the side of the central axis Ma. This allows the reinforced nonwoven fabric 23 to be moved downstream to a processing station with only two guide rollers 21, 22. The receiving point of this processing station is located, for example, below the final contact point of the reinforcement station via a circulating conveyor belt 24a. This significantly reduces uncontrolled deformation of the reinforced nonwoven fabric 23. Hydroentangling reinforcement on a conveyor belt requires more advanced equipment and increases the structural length of the equipment to achieve the same results. In the fiber / nonwoven fabric composition, loose fibers are pressed into the unreinforced nonwoven fabric, thereby reducing the washing of loose fibers. Advantageously, the guide rollers 21, 22 and the guide rollers 19, 25 are configured as driven rollers, thereby reducing deformation of the reinforced nonwoven fabric 23 and at least not altering the surface structure. The corresponding circumferential speed of the rollers always corresponds to the conveying speed of the reinforced nonwoven fabric 23. The silin 18 and 20 are also constructed as driven silinous structures.

[0058] Instead of Figure 1 The oblique mesh forming machine described in detail can be any other nonwoven machine used to form loose fibers into fibrous materials and place them on a circulating conveyor belt, such as meltblown equipment, secondary headboxes, rotary screen forming machines, or airflow forming equipment.

[0059] Figure Labels

[0060] 100 devices

[0061] 1. Inclined mesh forming machine

[0062] 2 Lining

[0063] 3. Suction Zone

[0064] 5 sieve boxes

[0065] 6. Sieve water

[0066] 8 headbox

[0067] 9. Fiber Materials

[0068] 10 sieve belts

[0069] 11. Inclined Section

[0070] 12 rollers

[0071] 13 Conveyor Belt

[0072] 14 rolls

[0073] 15 Carding Machine

[0074] 15a carding machine for nonwoven fabrics

[0075] 16 Fiber / Nonwoven Fabric Compositions

[0076] 17 Transport Station

[0077] 17a Conveyor Belt

[0078] 17b Horizontal section

[0079] 17c Downward-sloping section

[0080] 18 First Xilin

[0081] 18.1–18.4 Waterjet Beam

[0082] 18R Cleaning Device

[0083] 19 guide rollers

[0084] 20 The Second Xilin Gol

[0085] 20.1–20.3 Waterjet Beam

[0086] 20R Cleaning Device

[0087] 21. Steering rollers

[0088] 22. Steering rollers

[0089] 23. Reinforced nonwoven fabric

[0090] 24. Suction equipment

[0091] 24a Circulating Conveyor Belt

[0092] 24b Suction device

[0093] 25 guide rollers

[0094] 26 Rewind Station

[0095] 26a Reinforced nonwoven fabric

[0096] 27. Steering rollers

[0097] Ma Xilin's central axis

Claims

1. An apparatus for reinforcing a nonwoven fabric, said nonwoven fabric comprising at least one layer of unreinforced nonwoven fabric and / or one layer of loose fibers, said apparatus having at least one transport table (17) configured for transporting the unreinforced nonwoven fabric and / or loose fiber layer, wherein, The transport platform (17) has a circulating conveyor belt (17a) having a first horizontal section (17b), a second downwardly inclined section (17c) following the first horizontal section in the material transport direction, and a first cylinder (18) having at least two water jet beams (18.2, 18.1) in the material transport direction, and a second cylinder (20) having at least two water jet beams (20.1, 20.2) disposed above the first cylinder (18). The first cylinder (18) for receiving nonwoven fabric or loose fiber layer cooperates with the downwardly inclined section (17c) of the transport platform (17) such that the upper side of the unreinforced nonwoven fabric or the upper side of the loose fiber layer is located on the surface of the first cylinder (18), wherein a first guide roller (19) is disposed between the first cylinder (18) and the second cylinder (20) such that the upper side of the nonwoven fabric or loose fiber layer is received by the second cylinder (20).

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The rotation axis of the first cylinder (18) is located below the plane of the horizontal section (17b) of the transport platform (17).

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The first cylinder (18) and the second cylinder (20) have a common central axis (Ma), wherein the water jet beams (18.1, 18.2, 20.1, 20.2, 20.3) are arranged downstream of the central axis (Ma) along the material flow direction.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, Up to two guide rollers (21, 22) are provided downstream of the second cylinder (20) along the material flow direction. The guide rollers are configured to guide the reinforced nonwoven fabric (23) to a subsequent processing station.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The first cylinder (18) has two additional water jet beams (18.3, 18.4) which are positioned below the rotation center of the first cylinder (18).

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein, The water jet beam (18.4) is positioned within the conveyor belt (17a) and aligned with the first cylinder (18) via a downwardly sloping section (17c).

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The second guide roller (25) is disposed between the first cylinder (18) and the second cylinder (20) against the material flow direction, wherein the second guide roller (25) is configured to guide the nonwoven fabric onto the second cylinder (20) with its underside.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The loose fiber layer as fiber material (9) is produced by a device in the equipment (100) which is configured as an inclined wire mesh forming machine (1), a circular wire mesh forming machine, a meltblown equipment, a secondary headbox, or an airflow forming equipment.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein, Nonwoven fabric as carding machine nonwoven fabric (15a) is produced by carding machine (15) in said equipment (100), wherein said carding machine (15) is arranged downstream of said device for producing fiber material (9) along the material flow direction.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein, The carding machine (15) in the device (100) is configured such that the carding machine nonwoven fabric (15a) is placed on the fiber material (9) and the two together form a fiber / nonwoven fabric composition (16) in the device (100).

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The first cylinder (18) has a cleaning device (18R) and / or the second cylinder (20) has a cleaning device (20R).

12. The device according to claim 8, wherein a reinforced nonwoven fabric (26a) from the unwinding station (26) is introduced into the device by means of the unwinding station (26), and the fiber material (9) is placed on the nonwoven fabric.

13. A method for reinforcing a nonwoven fabric, the nonwoven fabric comprising at least one layer of non-reinforced nonwoven fabric and / or one layer of loose fibers, wherein, The unreinforced nonwoven fabric and / or loose fiber layer is transported to the first cylinder (18) by means of a transport table (17) of a device (100) for reinforcing the nonwoven fabric (23), and the upper side of the unreinforced nonwoven fabric or the upper side of the loose fiber layer is moved onto the surface of the first cylinder (18) by a downwardly inclined section (17c), wherein reinforcement is carried out on the first cylinder (18) from the lower side of the nonwoven fabric or the lower side of the loose fiber layer by at least two water jet beams (18.1, 18.2), and further reinforcement is carried out on the second cylinder (20) by means of water jet beams, the second cylinder being disposed above the first cylinder (18), wherein the nonwoven fabric or loose fiber layer is guided to the second cylinder (20) by means of a first guide roller (19), such that the upper side of the nonwoven fabric or loose fiber layer is received by the second cylinder (20).

14. The method of claim 13, wherein, The nonwoven fabric (23) reinforced on the first cylinder (18) and the second cylinder (20) is guided to the downstream processing station and turned up to twice.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein, The unreinforced nonwoven fabric layer and / or loose fiber layer on the first cylinder (18) will be reinforced using two additional water jet beams (18.3, 18.4).

16. The method of claim 15, wherein, By means of a water jet beam (18.4) disposed within the conveyor belt (17a) and aligned with the first cylinder (18) through a downwardly inclined section (17c), an unreinforced nonwoven layer and / or loose fiber layer is pressed between the conveyor belt (17a) and the first cylinder (18) and transferred by the conveyor belt (17a) onto the first cylinder (18).

17. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The unreinforced nonwoven fabric is guided onto the second cylinder (20) by means of a second guide roller (25) disposed between the first cylinder (18) and the second cylinder (20) against the material flow direction.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein, The loose fiber layer is constructed of fiber material (9), and the loose fiber layer is produced by a slanted mesh forming machine (1), a circular mesh forming machine, a meltblown equipment, a secondary flow box, or an airflow forming equipment set in the equipment (100).

19. The method of claim 13, wherein, The unreinforced nonwoven fabric structure is a carded nonwoven fabric (15a), which is produced by a carding machine (15) in the device (100), wherein the carded nonwoven fabric (15a) is introduced into the device (100) after the fiber material (9) in the material flow direction.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein, The carding machine nonwoven fabric (15a) is placed on the fiber material (9) and the two together form a fiber / nonwoven fabric composition (16) in the device (100).

21. The method of claim 20, wherein, A reinforced nonwoven fabric (26a) from the unwinding station (26) is introduced into the device, and the fiber material (9) is placed on the nonwoven fabric.

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