EP3161170B2 - Method and installation of hardening of a clothing wire for the processing of textile fibers - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for curing a clothing wire for the processing of textile fibers and a plant therefor, wherein the clothing wire has a series of teeth arranged in its longitudinal direction, and wherein the clothing wire for contact with at least one open flame through a heating area in a direction of passage is passed through, the heating area being followed by a quenching bath with a quenching liquid and a subsequent tempering device.
Clothing wires have a sawtooth profile and are pulled onto cylindrical drums or rollers to form a card. This gives the cards a toothed mantle surface, and the use of a clothing wire can be used, for example, to form a spool or doffer and can have a length of several kilometers. In order to provide sufficient strength and wear resistance of the trim wire, methods for hardening the trim wire are known, which are based in particular on flame hardening.
The hardening process preferably uses an open flame to form a heating area through which the clothing wire is guided in its longitudinal direction. Only the teeth should be hardened and the tooth root should have a high level of toughness, which can be achieved, for example, by soft annealing.

The heating area can be preceded by a rinsing chamber, which allows at least partial cleaning of the clothing wire. After passing through the heating zone, the clothing wire must be quenched, for which the clothing wire is fed into a quenching bath filled with a quenching liquid. The clothing wire can then be passed through a starting device and through a cooling device connected to the starting device.

The hardening of a trim wire over an open flame has proven to be particularly advantageous, but scaling can form on the surface of the trim wire, which should always be avoided. Difficulties can arise in particular when fitting the clothing wire onto a drum or roller if the surface of the clothing wire is scaled, since the helical fitting of the clothing wire onto the cylindrical roller must be very precise, and a wire guide device is used for the fitting, which can be used if the surface is scaled of the clothing wire cannot work without problems.

From the DE 10 2005 025 627 B3 a method for hardening a clothing wire is known, in which it is proposed to carry out the hardening process itself in the absence of oxygen. For this purpose, protective gas is to be introduced into the heating area, with only as much oxygen being added as is necessary for the reaction with a fuel gas to form the open flame. In order to feed in a protective gas while simultaneously feeding in a fuel-air mixture, a mixing device is proposed so that the fuel-air mixture burns in such a way that no unburned oxygen reaches the clothing wire. The atmosphere in the heating area should be kept free of oxygen, for which purpose the protective gas is also introduced into the heating area.
the U.S. 5,123,529 discloses a method and apparatus for manufacturing a clothing wire in which a continuous wire is unwound, teeth are stamped and cured in an open flame torch. This is followed by introduction into a quenching bath. The invention referred to herein involves the bending or fabricating of hardened protruding tooth tips.
In the DE 2330303 A discloses an inductive hardening process for a wire, in which a spiral-shaped quartz tube 4 is arranged between an annealing adapter 2 and a hardening adapter 8/9, through which the wire is guided. A protective gas is introduced through the quartz tube 4 in a countercurrent process, with an outlet zone 7 being arranged between the quartz tube 4 and the hardness adapter 8/9. The task of the quartz tube is to keep the wire heated very quickly by the annealing adapter so that the material can undergo a complete structural transformation.
document EP0216434B1 discloses an apparatus and a method for hardening wire, according to the invention the wire being cooled by means of film evaporation cooling by means of a non-turbulent flow of water. In the specification at column 6, lines 36-39 there is described a protective hood 7 which connects the oven unit to the cooling apparatus and which is hermetically sealed, for example by a water slot 8, to prevent the ingress of ambient air.

However, further tests have surprisingly shown that even without the introduction of protective gas into the heating area, scaling of the clothing wire at the outlet from the heating area can be avoided. The reason for this can be residues of cleaning agents, oils or other hydrocarbons that adhere to the surface of the clothing wire and burn in the open flame, thus preventing the clothing wire from reacting with oxygen. The finding is based in particular on the fact that the surface of the clothing wire is not scaled in the immediate outlet of the clothing wire from the heating area. However, after going through the entire process for hardening the clothing wire, scaling can still be seen on the surface of the clothing wire. This scaling suggests that the clothing wire, while still heated, came into contact with a reactant, which should be avoided.

The object of the invention is the further development of a method for hardening a clothing wire for the processing of textile fibers, which enables a scale-free surface of the clothing wire despite a simple structure of a plant for hardening the clothing wire. In particular, the time-consuming flushing of the heating area with an inert gas should be avoided.

This object is achieved based on a method for hardening a clothing wire according to the preamble of claims 1 and 5 with the respective characterizing features. Advantageous developments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.

The invention includes the technical teaching that the clothing wire moving in the wire running direction is flushed with a protective medium in a transition area between the contact area with the open flame and the inlet into the quenching liquid.

The invention is based on the idea that the clothing wire is flushed with a protective medium between the open flame and immersion in the quenching liquid to prevent the clothing wire from coming into contact with oxygen even after the clothing wire has passed through the heating area to avoid. Studies have shown that even after the clothing wire has left the heating area, the temperature of the clothing wire is still so high that a reaction of the material of the clothing wire with oxygen can also subsequently lead to scaling of the surface of the clothing wire. The scaling of the clothing wire does not take place in the heating area itself but only after it has left the heating area, which is effectively avoided by flushing the clothing wire with a protective medium according to the invention. If the clothing wire comes into contact with the quenching liquid in the quenching bath, the temperature of the clothing wire drops to such an extent that contact of the clothing wire with oxygen after it has passed through the quenching bath does not lead to further scaling. As a result, the method according to the invention for hardening a clothing wire makes it possible to provide a scaling-free clothing wire in a simple manner. In contrast to the prior art, a complex heating chamber or oven, within which the flames are generated and which, according to the invention, does not have to be kept free of oxygen, can be dispensed with.

According to the invention , the protective medium can be formed not by a gas but by the quenching liquid from the quenching bath. For this purpose, it can be provided that the quenching liquid for bridging the transfer area is fed against the wire running direction in the direction of the heating area and preferably essentially up to the heating area. According to the advantageous variant, the quenching liquid can bridge the transfer area without the quenching bath itself protruding towards the heating area.

For example, the quenching liquid can be conveyed from the quenching bath to the heating area with a flow movement in a flow direction, with the flow direction being opposite to the wire running direction of the clothing wire. For example, the bridging area can be formed by a wire running tube or by a wire running channel through which the quenching liquid runs counter to the wire running direction. The inlet opening for the entry of the clothing wire into the wire tube or the wire chute can reach up to the heating area, and the quenching liquid that runs out can be caught in a collecting device and fed back into the quenching bath. The flow in the quenching liquid ensures that it is not significantly heated by the hot, incoming clothing wire or by the flames due to their constant exchange.

The trim wire can be fed through the heating area in such a way that the tooth structure of the trim wire points in the direction of the open flame. The open flame in the heating area can be brought up to the clothing wire from above or below. If the transfer area has, for example, a wire running pipe through which the quenching liquid is guided to a pipe inlet opening, the open flame can burn upwards and the clothing wire is at a distance above the open flame. If the transfer area has a wire chute, the open flame can alternatively be directed downwards and brought up to the chute or even cover it slightly so that the clothing wire from the open flame runs directly into the wire chute filled with quenching liquid. In particular, this can cause an overlap be generated between the open flame and the wire run channel, which is preferably minimal, but the transition of the clothing wire from the open flame into the quenching liquid is made possible without the use of protective gas safely with the exclusion of oxygen.

Alternatively, the trim wire can also be arranged in the unwound direction, i.e. one side surface of the trim wire points towards the open flame, the opposite side surface away from it. Ultimately, the orientation of the teeth to the open flame is not essential to the invention, but it can be used to additionally influence the desired properties of the teeth or the tooth bases through the heat treatment. The open flame is preferably directed only at the teeth or tooth structure.

The present invention is also directed to a plant for hardening a clothing wire for the processing of textile fibers with a series of teeth arranged in its longitudinal direction, wherein a heating area with an open flame is provided, through which the clothing wire can be guided in a wire running direction and wherein the heating area is followed by a quenching bath with a quenching liquid and a subsequent tempering device. According to the invention, a transfer area is arranged between the contact area with the open flame and the inlet into the quenching liquid, which transfer area is designed for flushing the clothing wire with a protective medium.

The transfer area can be formed by a protective chamber which is at least partially filled with a protective medium and is in particular flushed with it. For example, the protection chamber may be formed in a box shape or in a tubular shape.

The protective medium is formed by the quenching liquid from the quenching bath. In this case, the transfer area can have a wire running tube or a wire running channel, through which or through which the quenching liquid can be guided in the direction of the heating area. The wire running tube can be closed and end in a tube inlet opening into which the clothing wire runs and from which the quenching liquid runs out, for example into a collecting device. The wire run channel can, for example, be open at the top and the upper flame of the heating area can reach to the end, in particular with a slight overlap, over the wire run channel so that the clothing wire can run directly from the open flame into the quenching liquid.

In the heating area, the open flame can be brought up to the clothing wire from below or from above, depending on whether a wire running tube or a wire running channel is used. In particular when using a wire run channel to form the bridging area, the flame can be arranged above the clothing wire and burn down against the clothing wire.

Fig.1

eine schematische Ansicht eines nicht erfindungsgemäßen ersten Ausführungsbeispiels einer Anlage zum Härten eines Garniturdrahtes und zur Ausführung eines nicht erfindungsgemäßen Verfahrens;

Fig. 2

eine vergrößerte Ansicht des Erhitzungsbereiches und des sich anschließenden Überführungsbereiches mit einer Variante des Überführungsbereiches und;

Fig. 3

eine weitere vergrößerte Ansicht des Erhitzungsbereiches und des sich anschließenden Überführungsbereiches, wobei die offene Flamme oberhalb des Garniturdrahtes angeordnet ist.

Further measures improving the invention are presented in more detail below using preferred exemplary embodiments with the description of a preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention using the figures. It shows:

Fig.1

a schematic view of a first exemplary embodiment, not according to the invention , of a plant for hardening a clothing wire and for carrying out a method not according to the invention;

2

an enlarged view of the heating area and the subsequent transfer area with a variant of the transfer area and;

3

a further enlarged view of the heating area and the subsequent transfer area, wherein the open flame is arranged above the clothing wire.

figure 1 shows a schematic view of a first exemplary embodiment of a system 100 for carrying out the method for hardening a clothing wire 1 . If the hardened clothing wire 1 runs out of the system 100 again, it is wound up again on another reel 31 . Typically, one side surface of the trim wire 1 points downwards and the opposite side surface of the trim wire 1 points upwards. However, it can also make sense to arrange the teeth upside down in the direction of the burner mouth, as a result of which the clothing wire 1 has to be rotated by 90° after and in front of the reel 30, 31 along the wire running direction 20. The residual heat from the teeth can get into the tooth root, which can be used in the process to increase the toughness of the tooth root.

When the clothing wire 1 runs off the reel 30, it is first introduced into a rinsing chamber 25, which is used to clean the clothing wire 1. The clothing wire then exits the rinsing chamber 25 and enters a heating region 11 essentially formed by one or more flames 10 . The clothing wire 1 runs above the flames 10 through the heating area 11, for example at a distance of about 6 mm from a side surface to the burner mouth. Above the clothing wire 1 there is an exhaust hood 24 in order to suck off gases produced in the heating area 11 . the Flames 10 are generated by a plurality of burners that are attached to a bracket, not shown, and are fed with a fuel gas such as natural gas or propane gas. The burners are not encapsulated within the system 100 or arranged in a combustion chamber or an oven, but are freely accessible and are optionally additionally supplied with oxygen via the ambient air.

According to the invention, the heating area 11 is followed by a transfer area 15, which can be formed with a partition 28 at the front, with an inlet opening 18 then being introduced in the partition 28, to which a protective chamber 17 adjoins the partition 28 on the rear. The illustration shows the open flames 10 only schematically, it being possible for the open flames 10 and thus the heating area 11 to be present up to the partition wall 28 .

The protective chamber 17 is filled with a protective medium 16, for example nitrogen. The protective medium 16 can be continuously tracked into the protective chamber 17 via a supply line and exit again from the inlet opening 18 . A quenching bath 12, which is filled with a quenching liquid 13, follows the transfer area 15 in the wire travel direction 20, and the quenching bath 12 is followed by a tempering device 14. Finally, after passing through the tempering device 14, the clothing wire 1 ends in a cooling device 26, from which the hardened Trimming wire 1 cools off again, so that the trimming wire 1 can be wound up again on another reel 31 .

Between the heating area 11 and the quenching bath 12 there is a transfer area 15 which is provided in order to create a distance between the heating area 11 and the quenching bath 12 . In particular, this is intended to prevent the quenching liquid 13 of the quenching bath 12 from being heated by the open flame 10 . The transfer area 15 is formed by the protective chamber 17, which is flushed with the protective medium 16, so that the clothing wire 1 does not come into contact with oxygen after it has left the open flame 10 and until it has entered the quenching bath 12. This prevents scaling, and the protective medium 16 flowing out of the inlet opening 18 also prevents oxygen from reaching the clothing wire 1 .

Above the section of the open flame 10, the clothing wire 1 cannot come into contact with oxygen as a result of contact with the open flame 10 either, since residual oxygen burns with substances adhering to the surface of the clothing wire 1, which prevents the clothing wire 1 from scaling . The configuration of a transfer region 15 with a protective gas atmosphere consequently provides a system 100 in a simple manner according to the prior art , which enables a scaling-free hardening of a clothing wire 1 of an all-steel clothing for the processing of textile fibers. It is therefore no longer necessary to flush a heating or curing chamber with nitrogen under overpressure, which makes the process considerably cheaper in terms of operating costs and easier to retrofit.

figure 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of the system 100 according to the invention in the heating area 11 with the subsequent quenching bath 12. The open flames 10 are located below the clothing wire 1, which has a toothed structure 21, which can also be directed downwards, i.e. in the direction of the open flame 10 , as shown in the extracted, enlarged view. Alternatively, the trim wire 1 can also be arranged in the unwound direction, ie one side face of the trim wire shows towards the flame 10, the opposite side face away from it.

The transfer area 15 adjoins the heating area 11 and creates a distance between the heating area 11 and the quenching bath 12 formed in the wire running direction 20 . In order to avoid contact of the clothing wire 1 with oxygen, a wire running tube 22 is led out of the quenching bath 12 , through which the quenching liquid 13 runs in a flow direction 19 . The direction of flow 19 is opposite to the wire running direction 20 and the clothing wire 1 runs into the wire running tube 22 via a tube inlet opening 29 , while quenching liquid 13 runs out of the tube inlet opening 29 into a collecting device 27 . The quenching liquid 13 can be pumped back into the quenching bath 12 via a pump 32 .

The wire running tube 22 is brought so far up to the heating area 11 that the outflowing quenching liquid 13 enables a direct transfer of the clothing wire 1 from the area of the open flames 10 into the quenching liquid 13 . This avoids any contact with oxygen, and the clothing wire 1 can run out of the heating area 11 without scale formation and be quenched in the quenching bath 12 in order to then enter the tempering device 14 .

Finally shows figure 3 the design of a further exemplary embodiment of the transfer area 15, through which a distance is created between the quenching bath 12 and the heating area 11 with the open flame 10, without the clothing wire 1 being able to come into contact with oxygen. The heating area 11 has open flames 10 which burn upside down from top to bottom. The clothing wire 1 can be guided through the heating area 11 in such a way that the tooth structure 21 is directed towards the open flames 10, as shown in the extracted, enlarged view. Alternatively, the clothing wire 1 can also be arranged here in the unwound direction, ie one side surface of the clothing wire shows the flame 10, the opposite side surface away from this.

Immediately following the area of the open flames 10 , the clothing wire 1 runs into the quenching liquid 13 , which runs through a wire run channel 23 . The clothing wire 1 runs into the wire running channel 23, which is designed to be open at the top, that is, in the direction of the open flames 10. It can thereby be achieved that the open flames 10 reach as far as the quenching liquid 13 or even slightly cover it. The clothing wire 1 runs in the wire running direction 20 from the open flames 10 into the quenching liquid 13, so that any contact with oxygen is avoided.

The quenching liquid 13 runs out of the quenching bath 12 into the wire run channel 23 and encloses the clothing wire 1 completely. At the end of the wire run channel 23, the quenching liquid 13 overflows and reaches a collecting device 27, from which the quenching liquid 13 can be pumped back into the quenching bath 12 via a pump 32.
As a result of the quenching liquid 13 running out of the quenching bath 12 , the quenching liquid 13 assumes a flow in a flow direction 19 which is opposite to the wire running direction 20 . Due to the constant exchange of the quenching liquid 13 in the wire running channel 23, the quenching liquid 13 in the wire running channel 23 does not heat up significantly either through contact with the hot clothing wire 1 or through contact with the open flame 10. As a result, a transfer area 15 can be formed in a simple manner, which enables a distance between the open flames 10 and the quenching bath 12 without the clothing wire 1 being able to come into contact with oxygen.
The implementation of the invention is not limited to the preferred exemplary embodiments indicated above. Rather, a number of variants are conceivable which make use of the solution shown even in the case of fundamentally different designs.

Reference sign

100

attachment

1

trim wire

10

open flame

11

heating area

12

quench bath

13

quenching fluid

14

starting device

15

transfer area

16

protective medium

17

shelter

18

inlet opening

19

flow direction

20

wire direction

21

tooth structure

22

wire run pipe

23

wire channel

24

extractor hood

25

washing chamber

26

cooling device

27

collection device

28

partition wall

29

pipe inlet opening

30

reel

31

reel

32

pump

Claims (7)

1. Method for hardening a clothing wire (1) for treating textile fibres, wherein the clothing wire (1) includes a sequence of teeth disposed in the longitudinal direction thereof, and wherein, in a wire running direction (20), the clothing wire (1) is guided through a heating area (11) for contacting at least one open flame (10), wherein the heating area (11) is followed by a quenching bath (12) with a quenching liquid (13), and a subsequent annealing device (14), characterized in that, in a transfer area (15) between the contacting area with the open flame (10) and the entry into the quenching liquid (13), a protecting medium (16) is flowing around the clothing wire (1) moving in the wire running direction (20), wherein the protecting medium (16) is formed by the quenching liquid (13).
2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, for bridging the transfer area (15), the quenching liquid (13) is guided against the wire running direction (20) in the direction towards the heating area (11), and preferably essentially as far as close to the heating area (11).
3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the quenching liquid (13) is guided with a flow movement in a flow direction (19) from the quenching bath (12) close to the heating area (11), wherein the flow direction (19) of the wire running direction (20) of the clothing wire (1) is opposite thereto.
4. The method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one open flame (10) in the heating area (11) is guided from the top close to the clothing wire (1).
5. An installation (100) for hardening a clothing wire (1) for treating textile fibres with a sequence of teeth disposed in the longitudinal direction thereof, wherein a heating area (11) with an open flame (10) is provided, through which the clothing wire (1) is guidable in a wire running direction (20), and wherein the heating area (11) is followed by a quenching bath (12) with a quenching liquid (13), and a subsequent annealing device (14), characterized in that a transfer area (15) is disposed between the contacting area with the open flame (10) and the entry into the quenching liquid (13), which area is formed for a protecting medium (16) to flow around the clothing wire (1), wherein the protecting medium (16) is formed by the quenching liquid (13).
6. The installation according to claim 5, characterized in that the transfer area (15) includes a wire running tube (22) or a wire running conduit (23), through which the quenching liquid (13) is guidable in the direction of the heating area (11).
7. The installation (100) according to any of the claims 5 to 6, characterized in that, in the heating area (11), the at least one open flame (10) from the bottom or from the top is guided close to the clothing wire (1).

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