Granule spreader

Abstract

The invention relates to a granule spreader for vertically or substantially vertically fed material webs, comprising a feeding device for granules, a vibrating trough for receiving the granules, a spreader for the uniform distribution of the granules over the width of the vertically running material web, a control unit for regulating the components, and a method for spreading granules onto a vertically or substantially vertically running material web.

Description

Conventionally, sheet-like materials such as films, paper, cloth sheets, nonwoven fabric or foam material are horizontally sprinkled with granules, powder or chopped members. However, in the production of films, situations frequently occur in which they are produced in the vertical direction of the web. The web cools down to the next pair of rollers in such a way that it is no longer capable of receiving granules.The object of the present invention is to provide a device which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art. A solution is needed to spread the granulate onto the web before it cools or reaches the next pair of rollers. In order to achieve this object, the device according to the invention comprises a feeding device for granulate, a vibrating chute (optionally with baffle plate), a spreader and a control unit for controlling the components.The present invention relates to a vertical web granulator designed to uniformly scatter granules onto a vertically moving web of material. The device comprises a feeding device for granulate, a vibrating chute for receiving the granulate, a spreader for evenly distributing the granulate over the width of the material web and a control unit for controlling the components. The granulate is pressed via a pair of rollers into the still thicker film upstream of the so-called smoothing unit and is thereby connected to the latter.The feeding device is provided with an opening through which the granulate is introduced into the spreader. The vibrating chute can optionally contain a baffle plate which scatters the granulate onto the vertically running material web. This baffle plate is preferably a simple plate which extends the channel and fixes the exact point of impingement of the granulate on the film. During the scattering process, the granulate is scattered from zero to the maximum dosage over the guide plate onto the material web. The distance between the guide plate and the entry of the web into the roller pair is preferably between 2 cm and 10 cm, without limiting the invention thereto.In order to connect the granulate and the material web, rollers are used which take up the granulate during the incorporation process. The vibrating trough can produce various vibrations by making frequency and amplitude adjustments to assure uniform scattering of the granules.The material web can be a film web made of a plastic material with a variable thickness of preferably 30 μ to several hundred μ. The film web preferably has a width of 2.20 m, without limiting the invention to this. The film web is produced in an extruder.In a preferred embodiment, the film is a TPO film. However, it is also possible to use all other films which are produced with an extruder and have not yet been fully cooled when the granulate impinges. Preferably, the film and the granulate should come from the same product group (similar melting point etc.)The granulate can have a variable granulate size of preferably and without limiting the invention thereto 3 mm to 15 mm grain size and consist of the same material as the film web, a recycling material or another material suitable for connection to the material of the material web. The use of recycling material has proven to be advantageous.The granulate may take various forms including grit, powder or chopped parts. The vertically running material web can be a film, plastic or a similar web-shaped material. The rollers can comprise smoothing rollers, deflecting rollers or deflecting rollers in order to process the granulate and the material web.The granulate feeding device feeds the granulate into the spreader. The spreader itself can also be referred to as a powder spreader or granulate spreader. The guide plate can also be referred to as a guide plate, since it guides the granulate onto the material web.In a preferred embodiment, an ionization device, for example an ionization rod, can be attached to or in the vicinity of the baffle plate in order to charge the granulate positively, for example. On the opposite side on the film web (web of material) there is likewise an ionization device, for example an ionization rod which is charged negatively. Due to the different polarization / charge, the granulate is attracted to the web of material and a better adhesion of the granulate to the web of film is achieved.The present invention furthermore relates to a method for scattering granules on a vertically running material web. The method comprises the steps of filling the granulate into a spreader, evenly distributing the granulate over the width of the material web by means of a vibrating chute, spreading the granulate from the vibrating chute onto the material web via a guide plate, and working in and connecting the granulate and the material web via rollers.The figure shows the various components of the apparatus: (1) the guiding of the material web, (2) the material web running vertically or substantially vertically, (3) rollers, (4) guide plate, (5) vibrating chute, (6) spreader and (7) granulate.The spreading process begins with the granulate ( 7) being introduced into the spreader ( 6). The spreader (6) distributes the granulate uniformly over the width of the material web (2) onto the vibrating chute (5). The vibrating chute (5) uniformly scatters the granulate (7) from zero up to the maximum dosage via the optional guide plate (4) onto the material web (2). The granulate ( 7) is then worked in and connected together with the material web ( 2) via the rollers ( 3) of the so-called smoothing unit.Alternatively, the terms listed in the figure can be used: (1) guiding the material web, production of the material web or extruder, (2) material web, film, plastic, (3) rollers, smoothing unit, smoothing roller, calendering unit, calendering roller, deflection roller, deflection roller, (4) baffle plate or guide plate, (5) vibrating trough, vibrating conveyor or component which is excited to different oscillations via frequency and amplitude, (6) spreader, powder spreader or granulate spreader, (7) granulate, powder, chopped parts or scattering material.In summary, the described apparatus and the method enable an efficient scattering of granulate on a vertically or substantially vertically running material web, whereby the production of web-shaped products is optimized.The invention is schematically illustrated in the attached drawing, without limiting the invention to this:It shows FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of granulate distributors for vertical websFig. 1 shows a feeding device for granules developed for vertically running material webs. The material web (2), shown as a vertically running film, is guided by the guide material web (1). The rollers (3) serve to work in the granulate (7) and the material web (2) and to connect them to one another.The spreader (6) contains the granulate (7) and ensures a uniform distribution over the entire width of the material web (2). The granulate ( 7) reaches the material web ( 2) via the vibrating chute ( 5) which optionally contains a guide plate ( 4). The vibrating trough (5) can generate different oscillations by adjusting the frequency and amplitude in order to ensure uniform scattering of the granulate (7).• Guiding material web (1) can also be referred to as production material web or extruder.• Material web (2) can be a foil, plastic or a similar web-shaped material.• Rollers (3) can also be referred to as a smoothing unit, smoothing roller, calendering unit, calendering roller, deflecting roller or deflecting roller.• The guide plate (4) can also be referred to as a guide plate.• The vibration channel (5) can also be referred to as a vibration conveyor or component which is excited to different oscillations via frequency and amplitude.• The spreader (6) can also be referred to as a powder spreader or a granulate spreader.• The granulate (7) can also comprise powder, chopped parts or scattering material.

Claims

Granulate spreader for vertically or substantially vertically supplied material webs, comprising: • at least one supply device for granulate, • at least one vibration chute for receiving the granulate, • at least one spreader for evenly distributing the granulate over the width of the vertically running material web, • optionally a control unit for controlling the components.Granulate spreader according to claim 1, characterised in that the feeding device has an opening for filling the granulate into the spreader.Granulate spreader according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the vibrating chute has an optional guide plate which spreads the granulate onto the vertically running material web.Granulate spreader according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the granulate is spread over the guide plate onto the material web during the spreading process from zero up to the maximum metering.Granulate spreader according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the granulate and the vertically running material web are incorporated and connected via rollers.Granulate spreader according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the vibration channel can generate different oscillations by means of frequency and amplitude settings.Granulate spreader according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the granulate comprises spreading material, powder or chopped parts.Granulate spreader according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the vertically running material web is a film, plastic or a similar web-shaped material.Granulate spreader according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rollers can comprise smoothing rollers, a deflection roller or a deflection roller.Granulate spreader according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the guide plate is also referred to as guide plate.Granulate spreader according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the spreader is also referred to as powder spreader or granulate spreader.Granulate spreader according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the feeding device for granulate can also be referred to as extruder.Method for spreading granulate onto a vertically or substantially vertically running material web, comprising the steps: • filling the granulate into a spreader, • uniform distribution of the granulate over the width of the material web by means of a vibrating chute, • spreading the granulate from the vibrating chute onto the material web via a guide plate, • working in and connecting the granulate and the material web via rollers.Use of the granulate spreader according to one of claims 1 to 12 for spreading granulate onto a vertically or substantially vertically running material web in a film production device.

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