Fiber Opening Feed Shaft Design for Uniform Density
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for nonwoven production face challenges in maintaining uniform fiber material density and web uniformity, especially at high material throughputs, due to fluctuations in material supply and inadequate compensation by compressed air flows, leading to irregularities in fiber density and web uniformity.
Innovation Solution
A two-stage opening process with a large cross-sectional area feed chute in the first stage and a smaller, precisely controlled feed chute in the second stage, eliminating pneumatic transport and allowing for continuous, uniform fiber material supply, ensuring consistent density and minimizing compaction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a large-volume filling chute is used to compensate for material fluctuations, then operational reliability is improved, but the height of the device increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a vertical filling chute design to a horizontal feed shaft design with large cross-sectional area. This dimensional change allows the same volume capacity to be achieved without increasing height, solving the contradiction between operational reliability and device height.
2Stability of the object's composition
If compressed air flow is used to compensate for height fluctuations, then material density uniformity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the compressed air flow control system entirely by designing a feed shaft with large cross-sectional area that naturally maintains low and stable filling levels. This extraction of the complex air flow compensation mechanism eliminates device complexity while preserving density uniformity through geometric design.
3Speed
If pneumatic transport routes are used to deliver fiber material, then material can be transported over distance, but delays occur and filling level control becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a feed shaft with large cross-sectional area as an intermediary between the mixing/opening systems and the carding machines. This intermediary directly receives and delivers material without pneumatic transport, eliminating delays while maintaining efficient material flow.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach achieves uniform web production by maintaining consistent fiber density and reducing material fluctuations, eliminating the need for complex air flow compensation and pneumatic transport, resulting in improved operational reliability and space efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
Due to the large cross-sectional area of the feed chute upstream of the first opening stage, a large supply is made possible with a low filling level and large fluctuations in the filling level are avoided
Implementation Method 2
Due to the two-stage opening, the fiber material is dissolved very well, with a kind of distortion or thinning of the fiber material occurring at the same time. This also makes the density of the fiber material more uniform.
Implementation Method 3
Due to the avoidance of pneumatic transport routes, the second opening stage only requires a much smaller filling chute, which can be controlled very precisely according to the requirements of the following working machine to be loaded
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
Method for opening and dosing fibrous material comprises working the fibrous material in a dosing opener (D) in a first opener stage and feeding to an injection shaft of a second opener stage without intermediate switching of a pneumatic path, in which the fibrous material is worked finer than in the first opener stage. An independent claim is also included for a device for opening and dosing fibrous material. Preferred Features: The fibrous material mass in the second opener stage is thinned compared with the first opener stage. The delivery of the fibrous material to the second opener stage.