US20100326595A2 - Heating system for hot coupling or laminating films or thin sheets - Google Patents
Heating system for hot coupling or laminating films or thin sheets Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20100326595A2 US20100326595A2 US12/602,950 US60295008A US2010326595A2 US 20100326595 A2 US20100326595 A2 US 20100326595A2 US 60295008 A US60295008 A US 60295008A US 2010326595 A2 US2010326595 A2 US 2010326595A2
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- heating system
- radiating
- internal face
- fuel
- films
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
Images
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
- B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
- B32B38/00—Ancillary operations in connection with laminating processes
- B32B38/0036—Heat treatment
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
- B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
- B32B37/00—Methods or apparatus for laminating, e.g. by curing or by ultrasonic bonding
- B32B37/06—Methods or apparatus for laminating, e.g. by curing or by ultrasonic bonding characterised by the heating method
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F23—COMBUSTION APPARATUS; COMBUSTION PROCESSES
- F23C—METHODS OR APPARATUS FOR COMBUSTION USING FLUID FUEL OR SOLID FUEL SUSPENDED IN A CARRIER GAS OR AIR
- F23C3/00—Combustion apparatus characterised by the shape of the combustion chamber
- F23C3/002—Combustion apparatus characterised by the shape of the combustion chamber the chamber having an elongated tubular form, e.g. for a radiant tube
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
- Y10T156/00—Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture
- Y10T156/17—Surface bonding means and/or assemblymeans with work feeding or handling means
- Y10T156/1702—For plural parts or plural areas of single part
- Y10T156/1712—Indefinite or running length work
Definitions
- the present invention refers to a heating system to be used in the plants, and in the corresponding processes, for hot coupling or laminating films of thin sheets.
- the present invention refers to a heating system to be used in the plants, and in the corresponding processes, for hot coupling or laminating plastic material films or thin sheets in order to obtain synthetic membranes.
- the present invention can also be advantageously exploited for hot coupling or laminating other materials such as, for instance, aluminium or paper sheets, bituminous membranes and the like.
- Synthetic membranes are specially required for roofing waterproofing, underground works, hydraulic works or swimming pools, packaging, protection membranes and floor coverings.
- Synthetic membranes in general, consist of two films of synthetic plastic material, such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride), PE (polyethylene), PP (polypropylene), TPO (thermoplastic olefins) and MTPO (modified thermoplastic olefins), with a possible intermediate reinforcement, such as polyester meshes or glass fibres layers, inserted therebetween.
- PVC polyvinyl chloride
- PE polyethylene
- PP polypropylene
- TPO thermoplastic olefins
- MTPO modified thermoplastic olefins
- Synthetic membranes or, in general, coupled films, i.e. two films of the same type joined together, can be manufactured according to the following principles:
- Synthetic membranes can be manufactured by conventional manufacturing processes such as casting, coating, extrusion and co-extrusion, calendering and spreading for coupling or laminating; the corresponding manufacturing plants require the construction of huge lines, possibly providing drying, gelling and cooling tunnels.
- this process provides for introducing pre-spread support stripes among the last cylinders of the calender or with an additional cylinder, or as a coverings support layer, with following expansion of the calendered middle layer below the expansion temperature;
- this process provides for determining the thickness of the spreading thick mass by conventional spreading machines with doctor knife (spreading blade); the support belt is made to pass under the blade, and this latter carries out the lamination of the spreading thick mass; this process needs covering fluid masses and following drying or gelling tunnels;
- this process provides for applying the covering as plastisol, on an additional cylinder;
- hot melt process this process provides for possible coupling through flat sheet die used as extrusion station; this process does not need drying or gelling tunnels downstream;
- this process provides for laminating different film- or leaf-shaped materials by operating with solvent-based adhesives, dispersions or by fusion.
- the heat generated by the heating system is efficiently directed towards the films or sheets to be heated, so that the temperature of said films or sheets can be strongly increased even in case of short exposure times of the films or sheets to the heating system.
- the heat generated by the heater group is directed almost exclusively towards the sheets or films to be heated.
- the other components of the production lines are not affected by said heat and the risk of suffering heat inducted damages and/or deformations is avoided; furthermore, the risk of workers to be injured is also avoided.
- the heating system according to the invention can have reduced dimensions, so that it can be easily introduced in existing production lines.
- FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of the heating system according to the invention applied to a calender cylinder;
- FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the fuel control group of the heating system of FIG. 1 ;
- FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing two heating systems according to the invention applied in parallel to a calender cylinder;
- FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the fuel control groups of the heating systems of FIG. 3 ;
- FIG. 5 is a lateral view showing the heater group of the heating system of FIG. 1 ;
- FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the heater group of FIG. 5 ;
- FIG. 7 is a rear view showing the non-radiating face of the heating system of FIG. 1 ;
- FIG. 8 is a front view showing the radiating face of the heating system of FIG. 1 ;
- FIG. 9 is a lateral view showing the heater group of the heating system of FIG. 1 ;
- FIG. 10 is a view of the non-radiating face of FIG. 7 showing the shaped profiles
- FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the insulating carter to be applied to the non-radiating face of the heating system of FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 1 a preferred embodiment of the heating system 1 according to the invention applied to the hot coupling or laminating of PVC or plastic material films dragged by a calender cylinder 2 or similar moving support is shown.
- Said heating system 1 comprises at least:
- FIG. 2 a second control group 50 for the fuel, shown in FIG. 2 .
- the heating system 1 can further comprises an insulating carter 60 in order to improve the heating system efficiency, as well as to protect both the other elements of the production line and the workers from the heat generated by the heater group 10 .
- Said heating system 1 can be fed with any kind of fuel, preferably a gaseous fuel such as methane LPG, town gas, and the like.
- a gaseous fuel such as methane LPG, town gas, and the like.
- Said combustive agent is preferably combustive air, even if other combustive agents, such as oxygen, could be used for reaching higher temperatures.
- said two temperature detectors 20 are infra-red thermocouples.
- a heating system 1 according to the present invention can be applied as such or can be understood as a basic module for more complex arrangements.
- Two or more heating systems 1 according to the invention can be applied in parallel to one or more calender cylinders 2 , said heating systems comprising corresponding second control groups 50 for the fuel; only by way of non limiting example, FIG. 3 shown an arrangement comprising two heating systems 1 applied in parallel to a calender cylinder 2 of about 2 meters length, said two heating systems 1 comprising two corresponding second control groups 50 for the fuel shown in FIG. 4 .
- any other arrangement of two or more heating systems 1 according to the invention is deemed to fall within the scope of the present invention; other arrangements can include, for instance, applications in series, diagonally and so on.
- said heater group 10 of said heating system 1 is shown while radiating one of a set of three calender cylinders 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, said heater group 10 comprises an airtight chamber 11 , delimited by a radiating internal face 12 and a non-radiating external face 13 , and a burner 14 comprising at least one combustion head 15 ; said non-radiating external face 13 can be insulated by the insulating carter 60 accurately fitting said non-radiating external face 13 of said airtight chamber 11 .
- Said heater group 10 further comprises a first collector for the combustive agent and a second collector for the fuel, which are separated from each other; these and other burner components will be described more in detail further on with reference to FIG. 9 .
- Said heater group 10 is properly shaped so that, through said radiating internal face 12 of said airtight chamber 11 , it is able to give the heat necessary for reaching the hot coupling temperature of the PVC or plastic material films; said heat is released by the hot combustion fumes circulating inside said airtight chamber 11 and produced from the combustion of the fuel, fed to said burner 14 of said heater group 10 , by said at least one combustion head 15 .
- said hot combustion fumes represent an aeriform flow that is stably at temperature.
- Said heater group 10 is positioned in face of said calender cylinder 2 b and at a proper distance therefrom so to define, between said radiating internal face 12 and said calender cylinder 2 b , a heating volume 3 through which the at least two PVC or plastic material films pass; said heating volume 3 , as well as the corresponding radiation heating of the at least two PVC or plastic material films dragged by the calender cylinders 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, are optimised by making the radiating internal face 12 of said heater 10 to suitably fit both the size and the surface profile of said calender cylinder 2 b.
- said two temperature detectors 20 are provided for detecting the surface temperature of the moving film and said three connecting pipes 30 are connected to a suction plant of the combustion fumes; moreover, said first control group 40 for the combustive agent comprises a pressure regulator 41 , a pressure transmitter 42 and a fan 43 for adjusting the combustive agent flow-rate.
- Said suction plant is a forced suction plant that, through said three connecting pipes 30 , sucks the hot combustion fumes and puts said airtight chamber 11 under depression so to maintain the flames ignited and to create, therefore, a “hot combustion fumes loop” able to uniformly heat said radiating internal face 12 .
- said second control group 50 for the fuel comprises a pressure regulator 51 , a blocking valve 52 , an adjustment valve 53 and a pressure transmitter 54 for adjusting the fuel flow-rate, as it will be explained in detail hereinbelow; said second control group 50 for the fuel is connected to the heater group 10 through a stiff or flexible connection inserted into hole 55 of said second control group 50 for the fuel and into connection 143 of said heater group 10 visible in FIG. 1
- the arrows A, B and C denote the directions of the path through which two PVC films and a reinforcement sheet are dragged by the calender cylinders 2 a, 2 b, 2 c until obtaining a multilayer membrane; such a path, which is illustrated only by way of non limiting example, is described in detail hereinbelow with reference to FIG. 6 .
- a sheet of reinforcement 4 is dragged by the first cylinder 2 a , which is clockwise rotating according to arrow A, and joins the first film 5 ; by means of the anti clockwise movement (according to arrow B) of the second cylinder 2 b , they are dragged into the heating volume 3 .
- a second film 6 Upon exiting the radiation step, a second film 6 , dragged by the third cylinder 2 c clockwise rotating according to arrow C, joins the combination of reinforcement sheet 4 and first film 5 , on the side of said reinforcement sheet 4 ; therefore, the finished product, that is the multilayer membrane 7 is obtained.
- the reinforcement sheet 4 is optionally inserted between the two films to be coupled.
- heating system according to the invention can also be employed for coupling or laminating films or thin sheets of other materials, such as metallic or paper sheets, bituminous membranes and the like; non-limiting applications to further materials fall within the scope of the present invention.
- the above process does not involve neither the application of a compression force nor the use of any adhesive agents for obtaining the final multilayer membrane, contrary to the known conventional processes.
- FIG. 7 shows the non-radiating external face 13 of the airtight chamber 11 according to the present invention.
- FIG. 8 which shows the radiating internal face 12 of the airtight chamber 11 according to the present invention, it can be seen:
- FIG. 9 shows a section of the heater group 10 of the heating system 1 , it can be seen:
- a first burner collector 141 into which the combustive agent circulates
- a second burner collector 142 into which the fuel circulates
- At least one combustion head 15 At least one combustion head 15 ;
- connection 143 connecting the burner 14 to the second control group 50 for the fuel
- first burner collector 141 and said second burner collector 142 are separated from each other.
- Said at least one combustion head 15 thanks to the separation of said combustive agent and fuel collectors 141 and 142 , can mix the combustive agent ant the fuel only upon the flame formation; this fact gives an optimal combustive agent/fuel rate and also assures an absolute safety of the system, because the combustive agent and the fuel can not produce potentially explosive mixings inside the burner 14 .
- said shaped profiles 144 are suitably positioned, for instance forming a series of baffles, onto the inner walls of said airtight chamber 11 of said heater group 10 ; thanks to their shape and arrangement, said shaped profiles 144 help to prevent the hot combustion fumes from directly reaching the connecting pipes 30 and to uniformly address the hot combustion fumes along the whole length of the internal surface of the heater group 10 , thus allowing said hot combustion fumes to heat the radiating internal face 12 both uniformly and for a longer time.
- the hot combustion fumes produced from the combustion of the fuel by said at least one combustion head 15 generate an aeriform flow stably at temperature and directed towards the airtight chamber 11 ; said hot combustion fumes circulate inside said airtight chamber 11 and, thanks to said shaped profiles 144 , remain in contact with said radiating internal face 12 for a long time, said radiating internal face 12 being thus sufficiently heated for releasing the heat necessary for stably achieving the coupling temperature of the plastic films passing through the heating volume 3 .
- combustion heads 15 are linearly positioned; nevertheless, said combustion head 15 can be differently arranged, for instance on parallel rows, grouped together, and so on.
- the shaped profiles 144 besides allowing to uniformly address the hot combustion fumes along the whole length of the radiating internal face 12 , contribute to increase the mechanical strength of the system and to avoid deformation thereof.
- the insulating carter 60 is accurately fitted and fixed onto the non-radiating external face 13 of the airtight chamber 11 of the heater group 10 , with the purpose of thermally insulating it.
- Said insulating carter 60 is preferably made of stainless steel or similar material. Said carter is preferably coupled to an insulating jacket (not shown), preferably made of ceramic fibres or other insulating material; alternatively, the insulating carter 60 can be provided with a refrigerating system.
- Said insulating carter 60 is also provided with holes 161 , corresponding to the two holes 131 of the non-radiating external face 13 , and with holes 162 , corresponding to the three holes 132 of the non-radiating external face 13 .
- the airtight chamber 11 should be made of a material able to withstand very high temperature without suffering deformation or oxidation.
- airtight chamber 11 is homogeneously made with a single material, said material should have a high thermal conductivity and be capable of easily releasing heat, so that heat can be efficiently radiated from the internal radiating face 12 while said carter 60 provides insulation.
- the airtight chamber 11 has a composite structure and is made of two different materials for the internal face 12 and for the external face 13 ; more specifically, the non-radiating external face 13 could be made of a material able to withstand very high temperature and capable of insulating the external portion of said airtight chamber 11 .
- Metals are currently used for making the sole internal radiating face 12 or both the internal radiating face 12 and the external non-radiating face 13 , mainly for economical and practical reasons; nevertheless, ceramics or silicon carbide could be conveniently used.
- the internal radiating face 12 and the external non-radiating face 13 have to be coupled so as to assure airtight integrity of the chamber 11 , for instance by welding, melting, casting or the like.
- the heating system according to the invention manages to obtain combustion hot combustion fumes at very high temperatures, over 950° C. in case air is employed as combustive agent and even over 1500° C. in case oxygen is employed as combustive agent, as well as to maintain heating uniformity on the whole radiating internal face length; this is made possible by the combustion heads 15 , which are in a number proportional to the heater group length and which can generate big powers inside the quite little space of the airtight chamber 11 .
- a heating system has been actually realised for a plant producing membranes of about 2.1 meters width and of about 0.8-2.0 millimeters thickness; said heating system operates with a calender cylinder of 2.4 meters length and 0.5 meters diameter. Said calender cylinder advances at a speed of up to 15 meters per minute.
- Said heating systems consists of two heater groups, each of which is about 1.2 meters length with internal diameter fitted to the 0.5 meters diameter calender cylinder.
- each of said two heater groups has an internal volume of about 0.017 m 3 ; each of said two heater groups is equipped with a burner 14 comprising 34 combustion heads developing a rated power even higher than 100-120 kWh.
- the separation between the combustive agent and the fuel makes the stoichiometric calculation more precise; furthermore, said separation makes it possible to use automation advanced technologies allowing a wide modulation field of the power in the same linear burner, i.e. from about 5-10% to 100% of the total installed power.
- PLC Programmable Logic Controller
- Said PLC computer controls all the operations, from both a safety and a manufacturing process point of view.
- the power is controlled and adjusted by the PLC computer depending on calculation of the proportional-integral-derivative control algorithm; the PLC computer calculates the combustion composition on the basis of the signals coming from both the combustive agent pressure transmitters (e.g., 42 in FIG. 1 ) and from the fuel pressure transmitters (e.g., 54 in FIG. 2 ), as well as from a series of fixed parameters depending on the system, such as geometrical data and the like.
- the combustive agent pressure transmitters e.g., 42 in FIG. 1
- the fuel pressure transmitters e.g., 54 in FIG. 2
- the PLC computer once detected the values of both the combustive agent and the fuel pressures, given by the afore said pressure transmitters, calculates the stoichiometric rate between the combustive agent and the fuel and, consequently adjusting their flows through and inverter controlling the number of rounds of the combustive agent fan (e.g., 43 in FIG. 1 ) and a fuel servo-driven valve (e.g., 53 in FIG. 2 ).
- the system is able to modulate the power depending on the requirements of the production cycle.
- Each heater group is equipped with infra-red thermocouples (e.g., 20 in FIG. 11 ), which detect the material temperature and send a relevant signal to the PLC computer; the computer will then make to supply the power necessary to bring the material up to the proper temperature.
- infra-red thermocouples e.g., 20 in FIG. 11
- thermocouples such as thermocouples, connecting pipes, control groups, fans, pressure regulators, pressure transmitters, valves, ignition and flame detection electrodes, and so on
- thermocouples such as thermocouples, connecting pipes, control groups, fans, pressure regulators, pressure transmitters, valves, ignition and flame detection electrodes, and so on
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Thermal Sciences (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Laminated Bodies (AREA)
- Lining Or Joining Of Plastics Or The Like (AREA)
- Gas Burners (AREA)
Abstract
Description
- The present invention refers to a heating system to be used in the plants, and in the corresponding processes, for hot coupling or laminating films of thin sheets.
- In particular, but not exclusively, the present invention refers to a heating system to be used in the plants, and in the corresponding processes, for hot coupling or laminating plastic material films or thin sheets in order to obtain synthetic membranes.
- The present invention can also be advantageously exploited for hot coupling or laminating other materials such as, for instance, aluminium or paper sheets, bituminous membranes and the like.
- Synthetic membranes are specially required for roofing waterproofing, underground works, hydraulic works or swimming pools, packaging, protection membranes and floor coverings.
- Synthetic membranes, in general, consist of two films of synthetic plastic material, such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride), PE (polyethylene), PP (polypropylene), TPO (thermoplastic olefins) and MTPO (modified thermoplastic olefins), with a possible intermediate reinforcement, such as polyester meshes or glass fibres layers, inserted therebetween.
- Synthetic membranes or, in general, coupled films, i.e. two films of the same type joined together, can be manufactured according to the following principles:
-
- physical (e.g., compression through rotating cylinders, thus obtaining steady and porosity-free couplings):
- chemical (e.g., application on a film, called support film, of an adhesive, and then another film, by a continuous process); or
- physico-chemical (e.g., compression through rotating cylinders of pre-impregnated and pre-heated films).
- Synthetic membranes can be manufactured by conventional manufacturing processes such as casting, coating, extrusion and co-extrusion, calendering and spreading for coupling or laminating; the corresponding manufacturing plants require the construction of huge lines, possibly providing drying, gelling and cooling tunnels.
- Examples of conventional manufacturing processes can be:
- calender coupling: this process provides for introducing pre-spread support stripes among the last cylinders of the calender or with an additional cylinder, or as a coverings support layer, with following expansion of the calendered middle layer below the expansion temperature;
- spreading: this process provides for determining the thickness of the spreading thick mass by conventional spreading machines with doctor knife (spreading blade); the support belt is made to pass under the blade, and this latter carries out the lamination of the spreading thick mass; this process needs covering fluid masses and following drying or gelling tunnels;
- cylinder couples—spreader: this process allows to reach high spreading rates and higher thicknesses; this process needs covering fluid masses and following drying or gelling tunnels;
- fusion cylinders spreading: this process provides for applying the covering as plastisol, on an additional cylinder;
- “hot melt” process: this process provides for possible coupling through flat sheet die used as extrusion station; this process does not need drying or gelling tunnels downstream;
- lamination: this process provides for laminating different film- or leaf-shaped materials by operating with solvent-based adhesives, dispersions or by fusion.
- All the aforesaid processes show the drawback of not being able to reach the high temperature necessary for the coupling, when operating with certain plastic materials such as PVC, since the heat dispersion during the coupling step of the two films occurs in a very rapid way, also due to the water cooling of the calenders.
- It is an object of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks of the above-mentioned known methods, by providing a heating system allowing to reach in short time, as well as to maintain with time, the temperatures necessary for hot coupling or laminating at least two films or thins sheets.
- It is a further object of the present invention to overcome the difficulties residing in coupling a reinforcement with at least one film according to the known methods, by providing a heating system allowing to obtain a multilayer reinforced membrane.
- It is a further object of the present invention to obtain a size reduction of the heating system, by providing a heating system that can be arranged in an existing production line without the need of substantial modifications.
- It is a further object of the present invention to provide a heating system complying with the safety requirements.
- Moreover, it is still an object of the present invention to provide a heating system allowing to obtain the final product, e.g. a synthetic membrane, with a single manufacturing step and without needing complementary tools, such as additional cylinders, spreading blades and relevant drying furnaces.
- These and other objects are achieved by a heating system as claimed in the appended claims.
- Thanks to the structure of the claimed heating system—including a chamber comprising a radiating face and a non-radiating face—the heat generated by the heating system is efficiently directed towards the films or sheets to be heated, so that the temperature of said films or sheets can be strongly increased even in case of short exposure times of the films or sheets to the heating system.
- Thanks to the claimed heating system, nothwithstanding the fact that the reinforcement remains unchanged even at very high temperatures, multilayer reinforced membrane are easily obtained, contrary, for instance, to the co-extrusion processes.
- It is to bb noted that, according to the invention, the heat generated by the heater group is directed almost exclusively towards the sheets or films to be heated.
- As a consequence, the other components of the production lines are not affected by said heat and the risk of suffering heat inducted damages and/or deformations is avoided; furthermore, the risk of workers to be injured is also avoided.
- Thanks to its high efficiency, the heating system according to the invention can have reduced dimensions, so that it can be easily introduced in existing production lines.
- The heating system for hot coupling or laminating at least two films or thin sheets according to the invention will be now disclosed with reference to the appended drawings, given only by way of non limiting example, in which:
-
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of the heating system according to the invention applied to a calender cylinder; -
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the fuel control group of the heating system ofFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing two heating systems according to the invention applied in parallel to a calender cylinder; -
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the fuel control groups of the heating systems ofFIG. 3 ; -
FIG. 5 is a lateral view showing the heater group of the heating system ofFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the heater group ofFIG. 5 ; -
FIG. 7 is a rear view showing the non-radiating face of the heating system ofFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 8 is a front view showing the radiating face of the heating system ofFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 9 is a lateral view showing the heater group of the heating system ofFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 10 is a view of the non-radiating face ofFIG. 7 showing the shaped profiles; -
FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the insulating carter to be applied to the non-radiating face of the heating system ofFIG. 1 . - With reference to
FIG. 1 , a preferred embodiment of theheating system 1 according to the invention applied to the hot coupling or laminating of PVC or plastic material films dragged by acalender cylinder 2 or similar moving support is shown. - Said
heating system 1 comprises at least: - a
heater group 10. - two
temperature detectors 20, - three connecting
pipes 30, - a
first control group 40 for the combustive agent, and - a
second control group 50 for the fuel, shown inFIG. 2 . - The
heating system 1 according to the invention can further comprises aninsulating carter 60 in order to improve the heating system efficiency, as well as to protect both the other elements of the production line and the workers from the heat generated by theheater group 10. - Said
heating system 1 can be fed with any kind of fuel, preferably a gaseous fuel such as methane LPG, town gas, and the like. - Said combustive agent is preferably combustive air, even if other combustive agents, such as oxygen, could be used for reaching higher temperatures.
- Preferably, said two
temperature detectors 20 are infra-red thermocouples. - A
heating system 1 according to the present invention can be applied as such or can be understood as a basic module for more complex arrangements. - Two or
more heating systems 1 according to the invention can be applied in parallel to one or morecalender cylinders 2, said heating systems comprising correspondingsecond control groups 50 for the fuel; only by way of non limiting example,FIG. 3 shown an arrangement comprising twoheating systems 1 applied in parallel to acalender cylinder 2 of about 2 meters length, said twoheating systems 1 comprising two correspondingsecond control groups 50 for the fuel shown inFIG. 4 . - Any other arrangement of two or
more heating systems 1 according to the invention is deemed to fall within the scope of the present invention; other arrangements can include, for instance, applications in series, diagonally and so on. - Making now reference to
FIG. 5 , in which saidheater group 10 of saidheating system 1 is shown while radiating one of a set of threecalender cylinders heater group 10 comprises anairtight chamber 11, delimited by a radiatinginternal face 12 and a non-radiatingexternal face 13, and aburner 14 comprising at least onecombustion head 15; said non-radiatingexternal face 13 can be insulated by theinsulating carter 60 accurately fitting said non-radiatingexternal face 13 of saidairtight chamber 11. - Said
heater group 10 further comprises a first collector for the combustive agent and a second collector for the fuel, which are separated from each other; these and other burner components will be described more in detail further on with reference toFIG. 9 . - Said
heater group 10 is properly shaped so that, through said radiatinginternal face 12 of saidairtight chamber 11, it is able to give the heat necessary for reaching the hot coupling temperature of the PVC or plastic material films; said heat is released by the hot combustion fumes circulating inside saidairtight chamber 11 and produced from the combustion of the fuel, fed to saidburner 14 of saidheater group 10, by said at least onecombustion head 15. - It is worthy to note that said hot combustion fumes represent an aeriform flow that is stably at temperature.
- Said
heater group 10 is positioned in face of saidcalender cylinder 2 b and at a proper distance therefrom so to define, between said radiatinginternal face 12 and saidcalender cylinder 2 b, aheating volume 3 through which the at least two PVC or plastic material films pass; saidheating volume 3, as well as the corresponding radiation heating of the at least two PVC or plastic material films dragged by thecalender cylinders internal face 12 of saidheater 10 to suitably fit both the size and the surface profile of saidcalender cylinder 2 b. - Referring again to
FIG. 1 . said twotemperature detectors 20 are provided for detecting the surface temperature of the moving film and said three connectingpipes 30 are connected to a suction plant of the combustion fumes; moreover, saidfirst control group 40 for the combustive agent comprises apressure regulator 41, apressure transmitter 42 and afan 43 for adjusting the combustive agent flow-rate. - Said suction plant is a forced suction plant that, through said three connecting
pipes 30, sucks the hot combustion fumes and puts saidairtight chamber 11 under depression so to maintain the flames ignited and to create, therefore, a “hot combustion fumes loop” able to uniformly heat said radiatinginternal face 12. - Referring again to
FIG. 2 , saidsecond control group 50 for the fuel comprises apressure regulator 51, ablocking valve 52, anadjustment valve 53 and apressure transmitter 54 for adjusting the fuel flow-rate, as it will be explained in detail hereinbelow; saidsecond control group 50 for the fuel is connected to theheater group 10 through a stiff or flexible connection inserted intohole 55 of saidsecond control group 50 for the fuel and intoconnection 143 of saidheater group 10 visible inFIG. 1 - Referring again to
FIG. 5 , the arrows A, B and C denote the directions of the path through which two PVC films and a reinforcement sheet are dragged by thecalender cylinders FIG. 6 . - A sheet of reinforcement 4 is dragged by the
first cylinder 2 a, which is clockwise rotating according to arrow A, and joins thefirst film 5; by means of the anti clockwise movement (according to arrow B) of thesecond cylinder 2 b, they are dragged into theheating volume 3. - When the combination of reinforcement sheet 4 and
first film 5 arrives in front of the radiatinginternal face 12 of theheating group 10, it is heated by the heat radiated therefrom; this way, said reinforcement sheet 4 results to be fastened to saidfirst film 5. - Upon exiting the radiation step, a
second film 6, dragged by the third cylinder 2 c clockwise rotating according to arrow C, joins the combination of reinforcement sheet 4 andfirst film 5, on the side of said reinforcement sheet 4; therefore, the finished product, that is the multilayer membrane 7 is obtained. - It is believed, without intending to be bound by this assumption, that the heat stored by the combination of reinforcement sheet 4 and
first film 5 in the radiation step is enough also for fastening of said third film 7 to said combination of reinforcement sheet 4 andfirst film 5. The example illustrated hereinabove provides tow PVC films, but other plastic material, such as polyethylene and polypropylene, can be suitably used to obtain multilayer membranes, while polyester meshed or glass fibres layers can be used as the internal reinforcement sheet. - The preferred embodiment illustrated hereinabove is not limiting in terms of scope of the invention; in fact, the reinforcement sheet 4 is optionally inserted between the two films to be coupled.
- Furthermore, the heating system according to the invention can also be employed for coupling or laminating films or thin sheets of other materials, such as metallic or paper sheets, bituminous membranes and the like; non-limiting applications to further materials fall within the scope of the present invention.
- As it can be appreciated, the above process does not involve neither the application of a compression force nor the use of any adhesive agents for obtaining the final multilayer membrane, contrary to the known conventional processes.
- With reference to
FIG. 7 , which shows the non-radiatingexternal face 13 of theairtight chamber 11 according to the present invention, it can be seen: - two
holes 131 for the corresponding tubes containing thetemperature detectors 20 for the remote detection of the temperature of the moving plastic films, said tubes passing through both the non-radiatingexternal face 13 and the radiatinginternal face 12; - three
holes 132 for the corresponding three connectingpipes 30 connected to a suction plant of the combustion fumes; and - the ignition and
flame detection electrode 17. - With reference to
FIG. 8 , which shows the radiatinginternal face 12 of theairtight chamber 11 according to the present invention, it can be seen: - two
holes 121 for the corresponding tubes containing thetemperature detectors 20 for the remote detection of the temperature of the moving plastic films, said tubes passing through both the non-radiatingexternal fact 13 and the radiatinginternal face 12; and - the ignition and
flame detection electrode 17. - With reference to
FIG. 9 , which shows a section of theheater group 10 of theheating system 1, it can be seen: - a
first burner collector 141, into which the combustive agent circulates; - a
second burner collector 142, into which the fuel circulates; - at least one
combustion head 15; - a
connection 143 connecting theburner 14 to thesecond control group 50 for the fuel; and - shaped profiles 144.
- It is to be noticed that said
first burner collector 141 and saidsecond burner collector 142 are separated from each other. - Said at least one
combustion head 15, thanks to the separation of said combustive agent andfuel collectors burner 14. - With reference to
FIG. 10 , it can be seen that said shapedprofiles 144 are suitably positioned, for instance forming a series of baffles, onto the inner walls of saidairtight chamber 11 of saidheater group 10; thanks to their shape and arrangement, said shapedprofiles 144 help to prevent the hot combustion fumes from directly reaching the connectingpipes 30 and to uniformly address the hot combustion fumes along the whole length of the internal surface of theheater group 10, thus allowing said hot combustion fumes to heat the radiatinginternal face 12 both uniformly and for a longer time. - More in detail, the hot combustion fumes produced from the combustion of the fuel by said at least one
combustion head 15 generate an aeriform flow stably at temperature and directed towards theairtight chamber 11; said hot combustion fumes circulate inside saidairtight chamber 11 and, thanks to said shapedprofiles 144, remain in contact with said radiatinginternal face 12 for a long time, said radiatinginternal face 12 being thus sufficiently heated for releasing the heat necessary for stably achieving the coupling temperature of the plastic films passing through theheating volume 3. - Always with reference to
FIG. 10 , it can be seen that said combustion heads 15 are linearly positioned; nevertheless, saidcombustion head 15 can be differently arranged, for instance on parallel rows, grouped together, and so on. - It is worthy to note that the fact that the hot combustion fumes developed from the combustion heads 15 are airtight confined with respect to the
heating volume 3 as well as to the external environment assured a uniform heat distribution and a high safety level. - It is also worthy to note that the shaped
profiles 144, besides allowing to uniformly address the hot combustion fumes along the whole length of the radiatinginternal face 12, contribute to increase the mechanical strength of the system and to avoid deformation thereof. - With reference to
FIG. 11 , the insulatingcarter 60 is accurately fitted and fixed onto the non-radiatingexternal face 13 of theairtight chamber 11 of theheater group 10, with the purpose of thermally insulating it. - Said insulating
carter 60 is preferably made of stainless steel or similar material. Said carter is preferably coupled to an insulating jacket (not shown), preferably made of ceramic fibres or other insulating material; alternatively, the insulatingcarter 60 can be provided with a refrigerating system. - Said insulating
carter 60 is also provided withholes 161, corresponding to the twoholes 131 of the non-radiatingexternal face 13, and withholes 162, corresponding to the threeholes 132 of the non-radiatingexternal face 13. - It is to be noted that the
airtight chamber 11 should be made of a material able to withstand very high temperature without suffering deformation or oxidation. - Moreover, if—as in the illustrated embodiment—
airtight chamber 11 is homogeneously made with a single material, said material should have a high thermal conductivity and be capable of easily releasing heat, so that heat can be efficiently radiated from theinternal radiating face 12 while saidcarter 60 provides insulation. - Nevertheless, since heat has to be released exclusively from the
internal radiating face 12, according to an alternative embodiment of the invention, theairtight chamber 11 has a composite structure and is made of two different materials for theinternal face 12 and for theexternal face 13; more specifically, the non-radiatingexternal face 13 could be made of a material able to withstand very high temperature and capable of insulating the external portion of saidairtight chamber 11. - Metals are currently used for making the sole
internal radiating face 12 or both theinternal radiating face 12 and the externalnon-radiating face 13, mainly for economical and practical reasons; nevertheless, ceramics or silicon carbide could be conveniently used. - According to this alternative embodiment, the
internal radiating face 12 and the externalnon-radiating face 13 have to be coupled so as to assure airtight integrity of thechamber 11, for instance by welding, melting, casting or the like. - The heating system according to the invention manages to obtain combustion hot combustion fumes at very high temperatures, over 950° C. in case air is employed as combustive agent and even over 1500° C. in case oxygen is employed as combustive agent, as well as to maintain heating uniformity on the whole radiating internal face length; this is made possible by the combustion heads 15, which are in a number proportional to the heater group length and which can generate big powers inside the quite little space of the
airtight chamber 11. - By way of non limiting example, it is reported that a heating system has been actually realised for a plant producing membranes of about 2.1 meters width and of about 0.8-2.0 millimeters thickness; said heating system operates with a calender cylinder of 2.4 meters length and 0.5 meters diameter. Said calender cylinder advances at a speed of up to 15 meters per minute.
- Said heating systems consists of two heater groups, each of which is about 1.2 meters length with internal diameter fitted to the 0.5 meters diameter calender cylinder.
- The airtight chamber of each of said two heater groups has an internal volume of about 0.017 m 3; each of said two heater groups is equipped with a
burner 14 comprising 34 combustion heads developing a rated power even higher than 100-120 kWh. - As anticipated above, the separation between the combustive agent and the fuel makes the stoichiometric calculation more precise; furthermore, said separation makes it possible to use automation advanced technologies allowing a wide modulation field of the power in the same linear burner, i.e. from about 5-10% to 100% of the total installed power.
- A combustion process using a Programmable Logic Controller (hereinafter simply PLC) computer for industrial automation is now illustrated by way of non limiting example, in confirmation of the above.
- Said PLC computer controls all the operations, from both a safety and a manufacturing process point of view.
- The power is controlled and adjusted by the PLC computer depending on calculation of the proportional-integral-derivative control algorithm; the PLC computer calculates the combustion composition on the basis of the signals coming from both the combustive agent pressure transmitters (e.g., 42 in
FIG. 1 ) and from the fuel pressure transmitters (e.g., 54 inFIG. 2 ), as well as from a series of fixed parameters depending on the system, such as geometrical data and the like. - The PLC computer, once detected the values of both the combustive agent and the fuel pressures, given by the afore said pressure transmitters, calculates the stoichiometric rate between the combustive agent and the fuel and, consequently adjusting their flows through and inverter controlling the number of rounds of the combustive agent fan (e.g., 43 in
FIG. 1 ) and a fuel servo-driven valve (e.g., 53 inFIG. 2 ). - Thanks to the aforesaid PLC computer, the system is able to modulate the power depending on the requirements of the production cycle.
- Each heater group is equipped with infra-red thermocouples (e.g., 20 in
FIG. 11 ), which detect the material temperature and send a relevant signal to the PLC computer; the computer will then make to supply the power necessary to bring the material up to the proper temperature. - It will be evident from the above to the person skilled in the art that the capability of developing such a high power in a such reduced volume is a distinguishing feature of the invention.
- Considering the high advancement speed of the calender cylinder, it will be also evident that only thanks to the high efficiency of the claimed heating system it is possible to induce a temperature increase of up to 100° C., in the few seconds during which said films pass in front of the radiating face of the heater group.
- Referring to the above description, the safety elements provided for by both the type of installation and the laws in force as well as the required control equipment are not described in detail, since they are of the know kind and they are not inherently remarkable for the specific features of the invention.
- The number and the type of the components described in the appended drawing, such as thermocouples, connecting pipes, control groups, fans, pressure regulators, pressure transmitters, valves, ignition and flame detection electrodes, and so on, are only intended to illustrate the preferred embodiment of the present invention; therefore, they do not have to be understand as anyhow limiting or binding the present invention, and any other equivalent arrangement is deemed to fall within the scope of the present invention.
Claims (19)
Applications Claiming Priority (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
ITTO2007A000390 | 2007-06-05 | ||
ITTO2007A0390 | 2007-06-05 | ||
IT000390A ITTO20070390A1 (en) | 2007-06-05 | 2007-06-05 | HEATING SYSTEM FOR THE HOT CONNECTION OR LAMINATION OF PVC FILM (POLYVINYL CHLORIDE) OR PLASTIC MATERIAL |
PCT/IB2008/052181 WO2008149295A1 (en) | 2007-06-05 | 2008-06-04 | Heating system for hot coupling or laminating films or thin sheets |
Publications (3)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20100147461A1 US20100147461A1 (en) | 2010-06-17 |
US20100326595A2 true US20100326595A2 (en) | 2010-12-30 |
US8551282B2 US8551282B2 (en) | 2013-10-08 |
Family
ID=39798025
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US12/602,950 Active 2029-02-12 US8551282B2 (en) | 2007-06-05 | 2008-06-04 | Heating system for hot coupling or laminating films or thin sheets |
Country Status (7)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US8551282B2 (en) |
EP (1) | EP2164701B1 (en) |
BR (1) | BRPI0812396A2 (en) |
CA (1) | CA2690115C (en) |
IT (1) | ITTO20070390A1 (en) |
MX (1) | MX2009013142A (en) |
WO (1) | WO2008149295A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN102072489B (en) * | 2011-02-25 | 2012-07-04 | 凯明企业有限公司 | Combustor |
Citations (9)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2224370A (en) * | 1937-02-19 | 1940-12-10 | Addressograph Multigraph | Art of laminating materials |
US2898973A (en) * | 1955-07-28 | 1959-08-11 | Kalamazoo Vegets Le Parchment | Apparatus and method of bonding paper having thermoplastic coating |
US3042568A (en) * | 1960-02-23 | 1962-07-03 | Ludowici J C & Son Ltd | Method and apparatus for the manufacture of laminated fabric belting |
US3210227A (en) * | 1961-06-01 | 1965-10-05 | Us Rubber Co | Method of laminating thermoplastic sheets by gas jet heating |
US3368932A (en) * | 1964-05-08 | 1968-02-13 | Weill Norman | Apparatus for laminating two fabrics to foam in one single operation |
US3633891A (en) * | 1970-05-06 | 1972-01-11 | Robert F Heran | Method and apparatus for heating annular workpieces |
US3931450A (en) * | 1974-10-10 | 1976-01-06 | Basf Wyandotte Corporation | Polyurethane foam composite |
US5173222A (en) * | 1990-06-07 | 1992-12-22 | Mckay Australia Limited | Repairing rail ties |
US5620554A (en) * | 1994-05-17 | 1997-04-15 | Carlisle Corporation | Apparatus for making a composite roofing product |
Family Cites Families (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
NL279157A (en) * | 1961-06-01 | |||
AT308378B (en) * | 1967-01-09 | 1973-07-10 | Koepp Ag | Device for laminating polyurethane foam sheets |
GB1289219A (en) * | 1970-08-18 | 1972-09-13 |
-
2007
- 2007-06-05 IT IT000390A patent/ITTO20070390A1/en unknown
-
2008
- 2008-06-04 CA CA2690115A patent/CA2690115C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 2008-06-04 US US12/602,950 patent/US8551282B2/en active Active
- 2008-06-04 BR BRPI0812396-9A2A patent/BRPI0812396A2/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 2008-06-04 EP EP08763185.9A patent/EP2164701B1/en not_active Not-in-force
- 2008-06-04 MX MX2009013142A patent/MX2009013142A/en active IP Right Grant
- 2008-06-04 WO PCT/IB2008/052181 patent/WO2008149295A1/en active Application Filing
Patent Citations (9)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2224370A (en) * | 1937-02-19 | 1940-12-10 | Addressograph Multigraph | Art of laminating materials |
US2898973A (en) * | 1955-07-28 | 1959-08-11 | Kalamazoo Vegets Le Parchment | Apparatus and method of bonding paper having thermoplastic coating |
US3042568A (en) * | 1960-02-23 | 1962-07-03 | Ludowici J C & Son Ltd | Method and apparatus for the manufacture of laminated fabric belting |
US3210227A (en) * | 1961-06-01 | 1965-10-05 | Us Rubber Co | Method of laminating thermoplastic sheets by gas jet heating |
US3368932A (en) * | 1964-05-08 | 1968-02-13 | Weill Norman | Apparatus for laminating two fabrics to foam in one single operation |
US3633891A (en) * | 1970-05-06 | 1972-01-11 | Robert F Heran | Method and apparatus for heating annular workpieces |
US3931450A (en) * | 1974-10-10 | 1976-01-06 | Basf Wyandotte Corporation | Polyurethane foam composite |
US5173222A (en) * | 1990-06-07 | 1992-12-22 | Mckay Australia Limited | Repairing rail ties |
US5620554A (en) * | 1994-05-17 | 1997-04-15 | Carlisle Corporation | Apparatus for making a composite roofing product |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
ITTO20070390A1 (en) | 2008-12-06 |
CA2690115A1 (en) | 2008-12-11 |
US8551282B2 (en) | 2013-10-08 |
US20100147461A1 (en) | 2010-06-17 |
MX2009013142A (en) | 2010-01-25 |
EP2164701B1 (en) | 2016-02-10 |
EP2164701A1 (en) | 2010-03-24 |
BRPI0812396A2 (en) | 2014-12-02 |
CA2690115C (en) | 2015-04-28 |
WO2008149295A4 (en) | 2009-02-26 |
WO2008149295A1 (en) | 2008-12-11 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
CA2529412C (en) | Fusion process for conduit | |
US20230302739A1 (en) | Method for welding parts made of thermoplastic material | |
CN204187977U (en) | Continous way graphitizable high temperature stove | |
CA2689928C (en) | Method and device for melting a thermoplastic plastic material, in particular for welding plastic parts | |
US8551282B2 (en) | Heating system for hot coupling or laminating films or thin sheets | |
EP3208064B1 (en) | Thermoregulation system of rotating metal cylinders in plants for the extrusion and conversion/transformation of plastic films by means of infrared heaters | |
EP3060379A1 (en) | Method and device for applying protective sheeting of polymer material to a pipeline | |
US10981338B2 (en) | Method of controlling air temperature for making seals | |
US3783062A (en) | Method for flame bonding by use of high velocity,high temperature direct flame | |
US4021287A (en) | Apparatus for flame bonding by use of high velocity, high temperature direct flame | |
CN105352996B (en) | A kind of model test method of test underground coal-field fire overlying strata temperature change | |
WO2003006870A1 (en) | Insulating material with carbon dioxide-filled space | |
GB2477850A (en) | Curing a component using a fluid heat transfer blanket in an autoclave | |
JP5774435B2 (en) | Heat collection system | |
CN109611827B (en) | Temperature self-regulating flameless combustion device | |
CN114437464A (en) | Preparation method of ablation-resistant low-thermal-conductivity composite material | |
CN207224778U (en) | Waterproof roll manufacture device | |
KR102215724B1 (en) | Apparatus and method for manufacturing semi-combustible insulation materials | |
ITTO20080898A1 (en) | PROCEDURE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF PREFABRICATED MANTS, PLANT FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROCEDURE AND MANUAL OBTAINED WITH SUCH PROCEDURE. | |
US20120305164A1 (en) | Method and device for melting a thermoplastic by supplying | |
EP1990176B1 (en) | Expandable melt feed line | |
KR101641478B1 (en) | Device for manufacturing of insulation material with standard display | |
KR101648338B1 (en) | Waterproof system for caisson using air tube | |
JP2016188727A (en) | Heat medium type radiation drying machine and its control method | |
CN203083161U (en) | Solar heater |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: S.A.T. ENGINEERING S.A.S. DI FRANCESCO D'URSI & C. Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:D'URSI, FRANCESCO;REEL/FRAME:023856/0625 Effective date: 20091210 |
|
STCF | Information on status: patent grant |
Free format text: PATENTED CASE |
|
CC | Certificate of correction | ||
REMI | Maintenance fee reminder mailed | ||
FEPP | Fee payment procedure |
Free format text: SURCHARGE FOR LATE PAYMENT, SMALL ENTITY (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: M2554) |
|
MAFP | Maintenance fee payment |
Free format text: PAYMENT OF MAINTENANCE FEE, 4TH YR, SMALL ENTITY (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: M2551) Year of fee payment: 4 |
|
MAFP | Maintenance fee payment |
Free format text: PAYMENT OF MAINTENANCE FEE, 8TH YR, SMALL ENTITY (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: M2552); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: SMALL ENTITY Year of fee payment: 8 |