WO1988002037A1

WO1988002037A1 - Device for treating and blowing fibre insulating material

Info

Publication number: WO1988002037A1
Application number: PCT/SE1987/000395
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gérard VIVÈS
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-09-15
Filing date: 1987-09-03
Publication date: 1988-03-24
Anticipated expiration: 1989-03-15
Also published as: SE460976B; SE8603878D0; AU7915487A; SE8603878L

Abstract

A device for treating and blowing fibre insulating material such as glass wool or rock wool, comprises a container (1) for insulating material and a housing (4) arranged adjacent said container and communicating therewith. Moreover, the device comprises a feed screw (2) arranged in the lower portion of the container (1) and adapted to supply insulating material from the container to the housing (4). The housing (4) accommodates on one hand a carding roller (11) adapted to receive insulating material supplied to the housing by the feed screw, for carding the same and, on the other hand, a blowout unit (14) positioned under the carding roller (11) and adapted to blow carded material provided by the carding roller, out of the housing (4). The feed screw (2) extends into the housing (4) and is enclosed by a tearing-off unit (6) mounted in the housing and having rods (7) which extend in parallel with the feed screw (2) and rotate around the feed screw in a direction of rotation opposed to the direction of rotation of the feed screw. Each rod (7) supports a plurality of tearing-off fingers (10) extending substantially perpendicular to the rod, for tearing-off insulating material from the feed screw (2) and throwing out torn-off insulating material towards the carding roller (11).

Description

DEVICE FOR TREATING AND BLOWING FIBRE INSULATING MATERIAL

The present invention relates to a device for treating and blowing fibre insulating material such as glass wool or rock wool, said device comprising a container for insulating material, a housing arranged adjacent said container and communicating therewith, and a feed screw arranged in the lower portion of said container and adapted to supply insulating material from the container to the housing, said housing accom¬ modating on the one hand a carding roller adapted to receive insulating material which is supplied to the housing by said feed screw, for carding the same and, on the other hand, a blowout unit positioned under the carding roller and adapted to blow carded material provided by the carding roller, out of the housing.

An example of such a device is disclosed in FR Al 2,557,817.

Such devices are used in insulation work, for example when insulating the walls and floors of build- ings, the insulating material being blown through a hose connected to the blowout unit and provided with a nozzle.

In prior art devices for treating and blowing fibre insulating material, the material which is being fed to the housing by means of the screw, occasionally is compacted to such an extent that there is formed in the housing a plug of material which prevents further feeding of the material. The risk that such a plug is formed, is particularly great when the material is slightly damp. Electrostatic charge of the moving fibre insulating material can also cause the formation of a plug.

An object of the present invention therefore is to provide a treating and blowing device designed such that the risk of such plug formation is elimin¬ ated or at least considerably reduced.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by means of a device of the type mentioned by way of introduction, which is characterised in that the feed screw extends into the housing, and that said feed screw is enclosed by a tearing-off unit disposed in the housing and having rods which extend in parallel with said feed screw and rotate around the feed screw in a direction of rotation opposed to the direction of rotation of the feed screw, each rod carrying a plurality of tearing-off fingers extending substantially perpendicular to the rod, for tearingoff insulating material from the feed screw and throwing out torn-off insulating material towards the carding roller.

In a preferred embodiment, the-.carding roller is arranged under the tearing-off unit, the axis of the carding roller extending in parallel with the axis of the feed screw, and the carding roller being adapted to rotate in the same direction of rotation as the rods of the tearing-off unit. The carding roller is preferably adapted to rotate at a speed which is 2-2.5 times the speed of rotation of the rods of the tearing-off unit, and the tearing-off unit is preferably adapted to throw out insulating material torn-off from the feed screw, substantially radially to the carding roller, the tearing-off unit preferably being arranged in a substantially circular-cylindrical upper housing portion whose axis coincides with the axis of the feed screw and whose inner diameter slightly _ exceeds the outer diameter of the tearing-off unit. Preferably, the blowout unit is a per se known rotary vane feeder having a vane-wheel-shaped element whose axis extends in parallel with the axis of the carding roller and which comprises substantially radial vanes forming between themselves cells for receiving carded insulating material from the carding roller, said element being arranged to rotate in a direction of rotation opposed to the direction of rotation of the carding roller so as to conduct the cells one by one to a blowing-out position in which the insulating material is blown out. The diameter of the vane-wheel- ^' shaped element preferably is 2-2.5 times the diameter of the feed screw, and the carding roller is preferably adapted to provide carded insulating material sub¬ stantially radially to the vanewheel-shaped element.

The carding roller is suitably arranged in a substantially circular-cylindrical intermediate housing portion whose axis extends in parallel with the axis of the substantially circular-cylindrical upper housing portion and whose inner diameter slightly exceeds the outer diameter of the carding roller. The vane- wheel-shaped element is preferably arranged in a sub¬ stantially circular-cylindrical lower housing portion whose inner diameter equals the outer diameter of this element and whose axis extends in parallel with the axis of the upper housing portion and the axis of the intermediate housing portion, but is offset a distance from the plane of these two axes. The invention will now be described in greater detail below, reference being had to the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic longitudinal section and shows the part of the device according to the invention, which is essential to the description of the invention, and

Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-section of the housing along line II-II in Fig. 1.

The device according to the present invention comprises a container -1 for receiving fibre insulating material such as glass wool or rock wool, in flocculent form. The container 1 has a lower portion with a reduced width, in which a feed screw 2 is mounted. An agitator 3 is mounted in the container 1 above the screw 2. The agitator 3, the shaft 3a of which extends in paral- lei with the shaft 2a of the screw 2 , comprises vanes 3b which project radially from the shaft 3a and which for appropriate setting are rotatable about their axes. The vanes 3b next to the front end wall la of the container 1 are preferably set so as to convey the material backwards (to the right in Fig. 1) in the container 1 during rotation of the agitator 3, while the vanes (not shown) next to the rear end wall (not shown) of the container 1 are suitably set so as to convey the material forwards (to the left in Fig. 1) during said rotation.

Furthermore, the device comprises a housing 4 arrange^'d in front of the container 1 and communicating therewith via an opening 5 in the front end wall la of the container 1. The housing 4 comprises a sub- stantially circular-cylindrical upper portion 4a whose axis coincides with the axis of the feed screw 2, a substantially circular-cylindrical intermediate portion 4b whose axis extends in parallel with the axis of the upper housing portion 4a, and a substan- tially circular-cylindrical lower portion 4c whose axis extends in parallel with the axes of the housing portions 4a and 4b, but is offset a distance from the vertical plane of these two axes.

The feed screw 2 extends through the opening 5 into the housing 4 and terminates in the vicinity of the front end wall of the housing 4. The feed screw 2 is enclosed by a tearing-off unit 6 arranged in the upper housing portion 4a and comprising three rods 7 which extend in parallel with the screw 2 and are attached to a disc 8 at a mutual angular dist¬ ance of 120°. The disc 8 is mounted at the front end wall of the housing 4 and is fixedly connected with a tubular shaft 9 in which the shaft 2a of the feed screw 2 is mounted. The tubular shaft 9 is rotatable so as to rotate the disc 8 and thus the rods 7 in a rotation of direction P2 opposed to the rotation of direction Pi of the feed screw 2. Each rod 7 supports over its entire length a plurality of parallel tearing- off fingers 10 extending substantially perpendicular to the rod, for tearing off insulating material from the feed screw 2. For better clarity, only some of the fingers 10 are shown in Fig. 1. Each rod 7 is adjusted by rotation about its axis such that the inner ends of the tearing-off fingers 10 are as close to the feed screw 2 as possible without making contact therewith during rotation of the tearing-off unit

6. To facilitate said adjustment, each rod 7 comprises a threaded end portion by means of which it is screwed into a threaded hole in the disc 8. When mounting the rods 7 on the disc 8, they are screwed into the respective holes and turned to the desired setting position, whereupon they are fixed in position by means of locking nuts (not shown).

A carding roller 11 for carding insulating material received from the tearing-off unit 6 is arranged in the intermediate housing portion 4b. The axis of the carding roller 11 extends in parallel with the axis of the feed screw 2. The carding roller 11 comprises along its circumference radially projecting pins 12 which are uniformely distributed over the entire cir- cumference. For better clarity, only some of the pins

12 are shown in Fig. 1. The carding roller 11 is adapted to rotate in the same direction as the tearing-off unit 6 (see the arrow P3 in Fig. 2).

The upper housing portion 4a and the intermediate housing portion 4b communicate with one another via an opening which on its one side is defined by a planar opening flange 13 integrally formed with the upper housing portion 4a and oriented such that the insulating material torn off from the feed screw 2 by the tearing- off unit 6 is thrown out substantially radially to the carding roller 11.

A blowout unit 14 for blowing carded insulating material received from the carding roller 11 comprises a per se known rotary vane feeder or lockgate system, the stator of which is a lower housing portion 4c and the rotor of which is a vane-wheel-shaped element 15 whose diameter is 2-2.5 times the diameter of the feed screw 2 and which is rotatable in a direction of rotation P opposed to the direction of rotation P3 of the carding roller 11. The element 15 comprises radial vanes 15a forming between themselves cells for receiving carded insulating material from the carding rol'ier It. The cells are sealed against the inner walls of the lower housing portion 4c by means of rubber sealings 16 extending along the free edges of the vanes 15a. The blowout unit 14 is provided with an air inlet 17 in the rear end wall of the lower housing portion 4c and, opposite the air inlet 17, an air outlet 18 in the front end wall. The air inlet 17 is connected to a blower (not shown), e.g. a co - pressor producing a strong air current P5 for blowing out insulating material from the cell facing the air inlet 17 an^*d the air outlet 18.

The intermediate housing portion 4b and the lower housing portion 4c communicate with one another via an opening which on its one side is defined by a planar opening flange 19 integrallyformed with the inter¬ mediate housing portion 4b and oriented such that the insulating material carded by the carding roller 11 is thrown out substantially radially to the vane- wheel-shaped element 15. The opening between the in¬ termediate housing portion 4b and the lower housing portion 4c must have such a large width or opening angle that, when passing the opening, the cells of the blowout unit 14 are allowed to be filled with insulating material. Simultaneously, the carding dist- ance or angle of the carding roller 11 must be so large that sufficient carding can be effected by the carding roller 11 before the insulating material is conveyed to the blowout unit 14. These two require¬ ments which to some extent are in conflict, are satis- fied in the device according to the invention in that the axis of the lower housing portion 4c is slightly offset (forwards as seen in the direction of rotation P3 of the carding roller 11) in relation to the vertical plane containing the axes of the other housing portions 4a and 4b. In this way, both a sufficient carding angle and a sufficient opening angle are obtained.

The agitator 3, the feed screw 2..and the vane-÷ wheel-shaped element 15 are rotated preferably by means of one and the same first motor (not shown), the speed ratio being about 1:5:10-12.5. The tearing- off unit 6, the carding roller 11 and the blower are rotated preferably by one and the same second motor (not shown), the speed ratio of the tearing-off unit 6 and the carding roller 11 being 1:2-2.5. The above-described function of the device will now be explained in greater detail.

The container 1 is supplied with- fibre insulating material in flocculent form which is agitated continu¬ ously by means of the agitator 3, the front vanes of the agitator conveying, as mentioned above, the material backwards and its rear vanes conveying the material forwards, whereby all the insulating material can be collected by the feed screw 2 and supplied to the upper housing portion 4a where it is effectively torn off from the screw by the fingers 10 of the tear¬ ing-off unit 6. Since the feed screw 2 extends into the upper housing portion 4a where it cooperates with the tearing-off unit 6 designed as described above, the risk that a plug of material is formed has been practically eliminated. The insulating material torn off by the tearing-off unit 6 is, because of the opening flange 13, thrown out substantially radially to the carding roller 11. Since the tearing-off unit 6 -and the carding roller 11 have the same direction of rotation P2 and P3, respectively, the pins 12 of the carding roller 11 move, in the transition between the upper housing portion 4a and the intermediate housing portion 4b, towards the insulating material and cut it into smaller flocks. The fibre insulating material is carded when moving towards the blowout unit 14 over a transport or carding distance- which could be'^'"made sufficiently long owing to the horizontal displacement of the lower housing portion relative to the other two housing portions 4a and 4b. The insulating material carded by the carding roller is, because of the opening flange 19, thrown out substantially radially to the vane-wheel-shaped element 15 and is supplied to the cells. Owing to the horizontal displacement of the lower housing portion 4c, the opening angle of the opening between the in¬ termediate housing portion 4b and the lower housing portion 4c could be made so large that, when passing the opening, the cells are allowed to be properly filled with carded insulating material. When, during rotation, the cells are facing the air inlet 17 and the air outlet 18 and consequently are positioned in the strong air current P5, the insulating material collected therein is blown out through the air outlet 18.

Claims

1. A device for treating and blowing fibre insul¬ ating material such as glass wool or rock wool, said device comprising a container (1) for insulating mater¬ ial, a housing (4) arranged adjacent said container and communicating therewith, and a feed screw (2) arranged in the lower portion of said container and adapted to supply insulating material from said con¬ tainer to said housing, said housing accommodating on the one hand a carding roller (11) adapted to re- ceive insulating material which is supplied to said housing by said feed screw, for carding the same and, on. the other hand, a blowout unit (14) positioned under said carding roller and adapted to blow carded material provided by said carding roller, out-of said housing, -c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that said feed screw (2) extends into said housing (4), and that it is enclosed by a tearing-off unit (6) disposed in said housing and having rods (7) which extend in parallel with said feed screw (2) and rotate around said feed screw in a direction of rotation (P2) opposed to the direction of rotation (Pi) of said feed screw, each rod (7) carrying a plurality of tearing-off fingers (10) extending substantially perpendicular to said rod, for tearing off insulating material from said feed screw (2) and throwing out torn-off insulating material towards said carding roller (11).

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c¬ t e r i s e d in that said carding roller (11) is arranged under said tearing-off unit (6), that the axis of said carding roller (11) extends in parallel with the axis of said feed screw (2) , and that said carding roller (11) is adapted to rotate in the same direction of rotation (P2, P3) as the rods (7) of said tearing-off unit (6).

3. A device as claimed in claim 2, c h a r a c¬ t e r i s e d in that said carding roller (11) is adapted to rotate at a speed which is 2-2.5 times the speed of rotation of the rods (7) of said tearing- off unit (6)^'.

4. A device as claimed in claim 2 or 3, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that said tearing-off unit (6) is adapted to throw out insulating material torn-off from said feed screw (2), substantially radial- ly to said carding roller (11).

5. A device as claimed in any one of claims 2-4, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that said tearing-off unit (6) is arranged in a substantially circular-cylind¬ rical upper housing portion (4a) whose axis coincides with the axis of said feed screw (2) and whose inner diameter slightly exceeds the outer diameter o'f -said •tearing-off unit (6) .

6. A device as claimed in any one of claims 2-5, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that said blowout unit is a per se known rotary vane feeder (14) having a vane-wheel-shaped element (15) whose axis extends in parallel with the axis of said carding roller (11) and which comprises substantially radial vanes (15a) forming between themselves cells for receiving carded insulating material from said carding roller (11), said element (15) being arranged to rotate in a direc¬ tion of rotation (P4) opposed to the direction of rotation (P3) of said carding roller (11) so as to conduct said cells one by one to a blowing-out position in which said insulating material is blown out.

.1. A device as claimed in claim 6, c h a r a c¬ t e r i s e d in that the diameter of said vane-wheel shaped element (15) is 2-2.5 times the diameter of the feed screw (2) .

8. A device as claimed in claim 6 or 7, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that said carding roller (11) is adapted to provide carded insulating material substantially radially to said vane-wheel shaped ele¬ ment (15) .

9. A device as claimed in claim 5 and any one of claims 6-8, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that said carding roller (11) is arranged in a substantially circular-cylindrical intermediate housing portion (4b) whose axis extends in parallel with the axis of said substantially circular-cylindrical upper hous- ing portion (4a) and whose inner diameter slightly exceeds the outer diameter of said carding roller (11).

10. A device as claimed in claim 9, c h a r a c¬ t e r i s e d in that said vane-wheel shaped element (15) is arranged in a substantially circular-cylindrical lower housing portion (4c) whose inner diameter equals the outer diameter„of sai element and whose axis extends in parallel with the axis of said upper housing portion (^'4a) and the axis of said intermediate housing portion (4b), but is offset a distance from the plane of these two axes.