Cellulose fiber element

Abstract

Element (1) composed of cellulose fibers in the form of a substantially helical strip (11), said strip (11) having a width of 2 to 9 millimeters, a length of 10 to 100 centimeters, and a thickness of 0.3 to 0.9 millimeters. Figure to be published with the abbreviation: Fig. 1

Description

Title of the invention: Cellulose fiber element

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of elements composed mainly of cellulose fibers, more particularly to cellulose fiber elements used as animal bedding.

[0002] Furthermore, the invention also relates to a device for producing such an element from cellulose fibers, as well as a preferential use of said element from cellulose fibers.

[0003] The use of cellulose fibre elements as animal bedding is known, in particular glass wool, wood or straw.

[0004] Generally, and because of its practical use and ease of supply, straw is used as bedding for animals weighing more than 200 kilograms, such as equines or bovine animals.

[0005] However, straw, used as bedding, can be uncomfortable for animals due to its dry and rough appearance, which can cause skin irritation and consequently impair their well-being.

[0006] In addition, conventional bedding for large animals has a relatively low absorption rate, resulting in regular changes.

[0007] Moreover, the weight of the animals will gradually compact the straw bedding, which requires regular changing of the latter, an operation that is heavy and tedious in terms of human or financial cost.

[0008] Similarly, conventional bedding produces a significant amount of dust, which can again negatively affect the living conditions of animals.

[0009] Finally, straw is also an edible food for animals and consequently can be eaten by them, which can lead to health risks, such as colic or obstructions of the animals' digestive systems, and reduces the amount of material usable as bedding.

[0010] To address these issues, it is known to replace straw with wood chips, peat, flax fibers or hemp.

[0011] However, the advantages and disadvantages of each of these alternatives require the user to make a trade-off on the said associated advantages.

[0012] The invention therefore falls within this context and seeks to meet all the aforementioned needs while resolving all the aforementioned drawbacks.

[0013] Thus, the invention seeks to provide a cellulose fiber element having good absorption capacity, producing little or no dust and / or mold, unpalatable to animals, easy and inexpensive to store and produce, all while providing improved comfort for the animals.

[0014] Moreover, the invention tends to offer a cellulose fiber element that can be recycled more easily. Presentation of the invention

[0015] The invention relates to an element composed mainly of cellulose fibers, inexpensive, comfortable for animals and reusable.

[0016] For this purpose, an element composed of cellulose fibers in the form of a substantially helical strip has been developed according to the invention, said strip comprising a width ranging from 2 to 15 millimeters, a length between 10 and 100 centimeters and a thickness ranging from 0.3 to 0.9 millimeters.

[0017] It is understood then, according to the invention, that the specific dimensions and helical shape of the cellulose fiber strip makes it possible to create a particular volume having the property of good absorption, good resistance to compaction, while producing little or no dust.

[0018] Similarly, it is understood that the length of the cellulose fiber element is the length of the helical shape and not the end-to-end stretched length of the cellulose fiber element according to the invention.

[0019] Similarly, the fact that the strip of the invention comprises a larger volume than the simple cellulose fiber from the cellulose fiber body makes it possible to limit the amount of material in order to obtain a litter having the desired properties.

[0020] Furthermore, the fact that the cellulose fiber strip is in a helical shape provides increased comfort for the animals. Indeed, the curves of the cellulose fiber strip reduce the snagging areas that can be present on other materials used as bedding.

[0021] Thus, in the invention, the cellulose fiber element is used as an aggregate of a multitude of elements that can form a litter.

[0022] Preferably, the cellulose fibers of the cellulose fiber element are fibers from all types of wood.

[0023] Indeed, it is not excluded that the species of wood from which the cellulose fiber elements according to the invention will be derived may come from different species chosen according to their intrinsic property of the species, such as for example the smell or the absorbent properties.

[0024] In a preferred embodiment, the elements according to the invention are composed mainly of cellulose fibers, more preferably, exclusively of cellulose fibers.

[0025] In a particular embodiment, the cellulose fiber elements comprise a width of 2 to 9 millimeters, a length of 10 to 100 centimeters and a thickness of 0.3 to 0.9 millimeters.

[0026] In a particular embodiment, the cellulose fiber elements comprise a width of 4 to 7 millimeters, a length of 20 to 100 centimeters and a thickness of 0.5 to 0.7 millimeters.

[0027] It is then understood that the different dimensions of the cellulose fibre element can be adjusted relative to each other without going out of the scope of the invention.

[0028] More preferably, the cellulose fibre elements comprise a width of 8 millimetres, a length of 10 centimetres and a thickness of 0.65 millimetres in order to obtain the best compromise of all the criteria presented above.

[0029] In a particular embodiment, the element composed of cellulose fibers comprises a volume, of said dispersed element, greater by 10 to 20 times, the volume of a cellulose fiber from a body made of cellulose fibers.

[0030] The term "a volume of said dispersed element" means the volume occupied by the element composed of cellulose fibers according to the invention, when the latter is dispersed, i.e. used as bedding for example.

[0031] Thus, such a volume allows optimal absorption while also providing increased comfort for the animals.

[0032] In a preferred embodiment, the dispersed volumetric volume of the cellulose fiber strip element is 10 times greater than the volumetric volume of the cellulose fiber from the cellulose fiber body.

[0033] Preferably, the distance between two substantially similar points of the pitch of the substantially helical band pattern is between 20 and 150 millimeters.

[0034] In a preferred embodiment, the distance between two substantially similar points of the pitch of the substantially helical band pattern is between 50 and 150 millimeters

[0035] More preferably, the distance of the pattern pitch is 140 millimeters in order to obtain spacings preventing the cellulose fiber strip from rolling up on itself.

[0036] Indeed, the formation of the helical element is uncontrolled during cutting, which causes irregular shapes in the patterns of the helical strip.

[0037] In a particular embodiment, the cellulose fibre element comprises a moisture content of between 5 and 20%.

[0038] Preferably, the cellulose fibre element comprises a moisture content of between 10 and 12%.

[0039] More preferably, the moisture content of the cellulose fibre element band is 11% in order to have the most optimal absorption rate.

[0040] The invention also relates to a device for producing the element composed of cellulose fibers in the form of a substantially helical strip, according to the invention, said production device comprises at least one motor driving a hydraulic system, at least one vertical guide system for at least one body made of cellulose fibers intended to be cut, mounted to slide on a horizontal guide system in which a cutting system is arranged and at least one pusher system, mounted on the vertical guide system.

[0041] Thus, it is understood that the cellulose fiber body intended to be cut in order to form the cellulose fiber elements according to the invention is placed in the vertical guidance system and is pushed by the pusher system in order to be able to be cut by the cutting system arranged in the horizontal guidance system.

[0042] It is also understood that a back-and-forth movement of the hydraulic system allows a complete movement of the vertical guide system on the horizontal guide system in order to cut a determined thickness of the body in cellulose fibers.

[0043] In a preferred embodiment, the vertical guidance system includes a receiving device for at least one cellulose fiber body on which is arranged at least one pusher system.

[0044] More preferably, the guidance system is in the form of a substantially parallel wall and the receiving device is in the form of a cone comprising a bottleneck connected to the vertical guidance system.

[0045] In a preferred embodiment, the cutting system comprises at least two cutting devices, each fixed to a plate, the cutting devices each comprising at least two knives, a first knife in the shape of a comb and a second knife in the shape of a solid.

[0046] It is understood that the first knife is arranged to cut a part of the body in cellulose fibers forming a notch which the second knife will come to cut this notch, so that the first and second knives form the said elements composed of cellulose fibers.

[0047] Preferably, the cutting devices include cutting teeth, comprising a beveled portion forming an angle between 20° and 45° with respect to the body of the cutting tooth.

[0048] More preferably, the angle formed by the beveled part of the cutting tooth is 33°.

[0049] In a particular embodiment, the beveled parts of the cutting teeth of each of the cutting devices are oriented in opposite directions to each other.

[0050] It is then understood that each pair of first and second knives are arranged to form cellulose fiber elements both on the forward and return movement of the vertical guide system.

[0051] Preferably, that the cutting system includes a system for adjusting the height of the cutting devices.

[0052] The invention also relates to a use of said element composed of cellulose fibres as animal bedding material.

[0053] Other advantages and features of the present invention are now described by means of purely illustrative and in no way limiting examples of the scope of the invention, and from the accompanying drawings, in which the various figures represent:

[0054] [Fig-1] is a perspective representation of the element composed of cellulose fibers according to the invention.

[0055] [Fig.2] is a schematic front view representation of the device for producing said element in cellulose fibres.

[0056] [Fig.3] is a schematic representation of the cutting system seen from above.

[0057] [Fig.4] is a schematic perspective representation of the cutting device.

[0058] For reasons of simplicity and clarity of illustration, the elements shown in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. Thus, the dimensions and relative proportions of certain elements may be exaggerated or reduced.

[0059] In the following description, identical elements, by structure or by function, appearing on different figures retain, unless otherwise specified, the same references.

[0060] It should be noted that in these figures the structural and / or functional elements common to the different variants may have the same references.

[0061] Of course, various other modifications can be made to the invention within the scope of the annexed claims.

[0062] With reference to [Fig.1] to [Fig.4], the invention relates to an element 1 composed of cellulose fibers in the form of a helical strip 11 for its use as bedding for animals, such as horses.

[0063] As illustrated in [Fig.1], element 1 according to the invention comprises a substantially helical shape having a repeatable pattern, called pitch, which can vary between different patterns.

[0064] Thus, the distance d between two similar points of the pitch of the band pattern is between 20 and 150 millimeters.

[0065] Element 1 according to the invention is intended to form animal bedding, comprising a multitude of elements 1 made of cellulose fibers of the invention in order to to obtain a dust-free, comfortable, inexpensive litter with good absorption capacity.

[0066] The helical strip-shaped cellulose fiber element 11 comprises a width of 9 millimeters, a length of 100 centimeters and a thickness of 0.65 millimeters.

[0067] Similarly, the cellulose fiber element 1 comprises a volume greater than 15, the volume of the cellulose fiber from a cellulose fiber body 9, from which the element 1 is derived.

[0068] In addition, and in order to allow optimal absorption, element 1 made of cellulose fibers comprises a moisture content of 11%.

[0069] The invention also relates to a production device 2 of the element 1 in cellulose fibers as illustrated in [Fig.2], comprising a motor 3 driving a hydraulic system 4, a vertical guide system 5 of at least one body 6 in cellulose fibers intended to be cut, mounted sliding on a horizontal guide system 7 in which a cutting system 8 is arranged.

[0070] In addition, the production device includes a pusher system 9, mounted on the vertical guide system 5, in order to push the cellulose fiber bodies towards the vertical guide system 5 and then towards the cutting system 8.

[0071] Furthermore, the hydraulic system 4 is connected to the vertical guide system 5; the hydraulic system 4 is intended to perform a horizontal movement arranged to move the vertical guide system 5 on the horizontal guide system 7, and wherein the cutting system 8 is arranged to be stationary

[0072] As illustrated in [Fig.3] and [Fig.4], the cutting system 8 comprises at least two cutting devices 81, each fixed to a plate 82, the cutting devices 81 each comprise at least two knives, a first knife 84 in the shape of a comb and a second knife 85 in the shape of a solid.

[0073] The cutting devices 81 include cutting teeth 83, formed by a beveled portion, said beveled portion forming an angle of 33°.

[0074] The beveled parts of the cutting teeth 83 of each of the cutting devices 81 are oriented in opposite ways to each other in order to be able to cut strips 11 of cellulose fibers from the body 6 into cellulose fibers for each horizontal movement of the cutting system 8.

[0075] The cutting system 2 also includes a system for adjusting the height of the cutting devices 81 so that the operator can choose the thickness of the cellulose fiber element 1.

[0076] In any event, the invention cannot be limited to the embodiments specifically described in this document, and extends in particular to all equivalent means and to any technically operative combination of these means.

Claims

Demands

1. Element (1) composed of cellulose fibres in the form of a substantially helical strip (11), said strip (11) comprising a width from 2 to 15 millimeters, a length from 10 to 100 centimeters and a thickness from 0.3 to 0.9 millimeters.

2. Element (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a volume of said dispersed element (1) greater than 10 to 20 times the volume of a cellulose fiber from a body (6) made of cellulose fibers.

3. Element (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the distance (d) between two substantially similar points of the pitch of the pattern of the substantially helical band (11) is between 20 and 150 millimeters.

4. Element (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a moisture content of between 5 and 20%.

5. A production device (2) for the element (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it comprises: - At least one motor (3) driving a hydraulic system (4); - At least one vertical guide system (5) for at least one body (6) made of cellulose fibers intended to be cut, mounted to slide on a horizontal guide system (7) in which a cutting system (8) is arranged, said cutting system (8) comprising at least two cutting devices (81), each fixed to a plate (82), the cutting devices (81) each comprising at least two knives, a first knife (84) in the shape of a comb and a second knife (85) in the shape of a solid; and - At least one pusher system (9), mounted on the vertical guide system (5);in which the hydraulic system (4) is connected to the vertical guide system (5), the hydraulic system (4) is intended to perform a horizontal movement arranged so as to move the vertical guide system (5) on the horizontal guide system (7), and in which the cutting system (8) is arranged so as to be stationary.

6. Device (2) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the cutting devices (81) comprise cutting teeth (83), comprising a beveled portion forming an angle between 20° and 45° with respect to the body of the cutting tooth.

7. Device (2) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the beveled part of the cutting teeth (83) of each of the cutting devices (61) are oriented in opposite directions to each other.

8. Device (2) according to any one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the cutting system (8) includes a height adjustment system (10) for the cutting devices.

9. Use of the cellulosic fiber element (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4 as animal bedding material.

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