Method for the manufacture of a composite webbing

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION ORIGINAL

FOR OFFICE USE

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POLYTYPE AG

Route de la Glane 26, CH-1701 FREIBURG, SWITZERLAND

Schollkopf Ernst; Rimmele Walter; Stiwitz Roland and Vogel Konrad

GRIFFITH HACK & CO

YORK STREET

SYDNEY NSW 2000

Complete Specification for the invention entitled:

METHOD FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF A COMPOSITE WEBBING

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: GH&CO REF: 12293-D:DJH:RK

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- 2 The present invention relates to a method and equipment for the manufacture of a composite webbing, in which each side of a substrate web to be laminated and a laminating web are brought into contact and are stuck together by means of a layer of adhesive applied by an adhesive application device, under which conditions each of the webs involved in the procedure, before being brought into contact, is diverted from its supply direction, along with one of the other webs, by means of appropriate rollers and, up to the stage of the final fabrication of the composite webbing, is uninterruptedly supported by roller surfaces, and relates also to the equipment for implementation of the method.

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...: 1 0 These types of method for the manufacture of a composite webbing are already • · · ·

·....* known. Thus, the European Patent Specification EP-PS 0 109 924 discloses a method • ··

1,* in which a substrate web is coated on both sides with an adhesive. The substrate • ·

I ’ ·». web coated in this manner is then transferred by way of one of the two application rollers, which together form a first roller gap, to a second roller gap formed by one application roller and a first laminating roller. In the second roller gap, the • ;·· *ζ substrate web is stuck to a laminating web supplied by way of the first laminating • · · ·

*. I roller. Subsequently, the two webs which are stuck together are conveyed over the »»·· first laminating roller to a third roller gap which is formed by a second laminating • · · · roller and the first laminating roller. A second laminating web is supplied by way of the second laminating roller and, in a third roller gap, it is stuck to the two other • · · • · · ···* webs which have already been stuck together with adhesive, to form a webbing * ’ containing three layers.

With the use of this method, it is possible to utilise adhesives which are suitable for the production of many types of composite webbing and are compatible with the

5 different materials of which the substrate web and the laminating webs consist. It is also possible for the webs to be of different thicknesses. The thickness of the layers of adhesive can also be adapted to suit the particular requirements.

Since it is imperative that no wrinkling of the finished webbing should occur, it is necessary to control the tension of all the component webs. This control of the tension of the webs is in large measure dependent upon their exposure to the temperatures required for working with the adhesives.

Each operation of sticking together of two webs, which consist of different materials and are of different thicknesses, demands a specific adhesive which must be WOrked writh at a temperature which is characteristic for it and upon which its viscosity depends. With the previously-described method, it is not possible to laminate a substrate web on each side with laminating webs consisting of different materials and for which adhesives must be utilised that must be worked with at • · 99

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• 9 • · v/idely differing temperatures. By the time when the substrate web coated with adhesive has been stuck to the laminating webs, the two different adhesive working temperatures have become equalised so that, at the place where the sticking together with the laminating webs takes place, the temperatures prevailing are no longer optima., nd consequently the viscosities are also no longer optimal. This can have a deleterious effect on the quality of the composite webbing.

There is also no provision made in this prior art method for the application of a layer of adhesive to take place on the web which is most suitable from the point of view of the nature of the material and the surface structure of the web. The adhesive is always applied to the substrate web and this can have an influence on the quantity of adhesive to be applied.

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The present invention provides a method for the manufacture of a composite webbing, comprising the steps of bringing a substrate web and a laminating web into contact and sticking them together by means of a layer of adhesive applied by an adhesive application device, the laminating web and substrate web being conveyed by means of rollers along separate paths until prior to being adhered together, wherein the method further comprises the steps of ·.

prior to joining the laminating web and substrate web, feeding the laminating web into a first roller gap formed between a first counter roller and an application roller of the adhesive application device whereby an adhesive film is applied to the laminating web by the application roller in the first roller gap;

feeding the substrate web into a second roller gap formed between the first counter roller and a second counter roller, feeding the laminating web with the adhesive layer applied thereto into the second roller gap to join and adhere with the adhesive the substrate web and the,laminating web.

In_:one embodiment of the invention only one laminating web is coated with adhesive and this is then brought into contact with the substrate web and stuck onto it, and then the substrate web is coated with adhesive on its other side and then brought into contact with an uncoated laminating web and stuck onto it.

In an alternative embodiment, both laminating webs are coated with adhesive and brought into contact with a substrate web stuck to it at the same time.

It is an advantage of at least a preferred embodiment of the present invention, that it enables lamination of both sides of a substrate web with different types of laminating webs in such a way that the temperature and viscosity of the adhesives at the point of sticking together of the webs will preferably be optimal for the success of the operation.

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With this method it is possible to coat the laminating web with the adhesive, which is an advantage when, because of its surface structure, the laminating web is better suited for taking up the layer of adhesive.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the adhesive io heated in the application device to its optimal working temperature. When the laminating web has been coated with adhesive it is immediately stuck onto the substrate web. Because the coated laminating web, before sticking onto the substrate web, does not come into contact with any roller other than the counter roller, the temperature of the applied adhesive is not altered. The adhesive is in its optimal state with regard to temperature and viscosity for working with at the point of sticking together of the substrate and laminating webs.

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Features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments thereof, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 a diagrammatic representation of the equipment with which one laminating web and one side of the substrate web is coated with adhesive, and

Fig. 2 a diagrammatic representation of the equipment with which the two laminating webs are coated with adhesive and then stuck onto the substrate web.

A substrate web 1, as shown in Fig. 1, is fed into a roller.gap 2 which is formed between a first counter roller 3 and a second counter roller 4. The second counter roller 4 is mounted in a fixed position on the walls of a machine (not depicted) so that it can be driven in rotation. The first counter roller 3 is mounted in a bearing unit 5 so that it can be driven in rotation, The bearing units 5 are mounted adjustably on the machine walls so that the first counter roller 3 can be moved towards, or away from, the second counter roller 4. An adhesive application device 6 and 7, which can be regulated in a known manner, is associated with each of the counter rollers 3 and 4 respectively, so that an accurately metered film of adhesive 8 or 9 can be produced.

A laminating web 10 is passed over a deflecting roller 11 into a roller gap 12 formed between the first counter roller 3 and the application roller 14 of the adhesive application device 6. In the roller gap 12, the laminating web is coated with a film 8 of the adhesive delivered by the application roller 13. The laminating web which is coated in this way is passed around the counter roller 3 and brought into contact with, and stuck onto, the substrate web 1 in the roller gap 2.

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The second counter roller 4 receives the metered film 9 of adhesive produced in the adhesive application device 7 and transfers it onto the substrate web 1 in the roller gap 2. The substrate web, which is now stuck on one side onto the laminating web 10 and coated on the other side with the film 9 of adhesive, is passed around the second counter roller 4 to enter the roller gap 14 formed between the second counter roller 4 and a first laminating roller 15. The substrate web 1, which is laminated on one side and coated with a film of adhesive on the other side, is now passed around the first laminating roller 15 and is fed into a roller gap 16 formed between the first laminating roller 15 and a second laminating roller 17.

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...j 1 0 A second laminating web 18 is passed around the second laminating roller 17 and • 9 ft ·

·....* fed into the roller gap 16 and stuck onto the substrate web 1 coated with the film ft ft ft

i.i .’ 9 of adhesive. The finished composite webbing 19 which emerges from the roller ft ft i *··· gap 16 is then conveyed away to a spooling device, for example.

The first laminating roller 15 and the second laminating roller are mounted to be ft *Ι··*Ιζ5 rotatable on the rocker arm 20 which can pivot around the axis of the deflection ft ft ft ft

*..* i roller 11. The roller gap 14 can be adjusted by pivoting of the rocker arm 20.

.... Whereas the first laminating roller 15 is mounted in a fixed position on the rocker ft ft ft ft arm 20, the second laminating roller 17 is mounted so that its position on the rocker arm 20 can be adjusted, in such a manner that the second laminating roller 17 can ft ft ft ⁷ ft ft ft ••’20 be moved in relation to the first laminating roller 15 and thus the width of the roller * * gap 16 can be regulated.

An analogous arrangement for the manufacture of a composite webbing to that shown in Fig. 1 is depicted in Fig. 2. Here too the substrate web 1 is fed into the roller gap 2 and there, in accordance with the procedure described for Fig. 1, it is

5 brought into contact with, and stuck onto, a laminating web 10 coated with a film of adhesive.

The second laminating web 18 is fed into a roller gap 21 formed between the second counter roller 4 and an application roller 22 of the adhesive application device 7. The second laminating web 18 receives a film 9 of adhesive delivered by the application roller 22, is passed around the second counter roller 4 into the roller gap

2 where it is brought into contact with, and stuck onto, the substrate web 1. The two-sided lamination of the substrate web 1 with the laminating webs 10 and 18 respectively takes place simultaneously in the roller gap 2.

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The finished composite webbing 19 is then conveyed away over the second counter roller 4, through the roller gap 14, over the first laminating roller 15 and through the roller gap 16.

For both the methods depicted in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, both the counter rollers 3 and 4 and both the laminating rollers 15 and 17 can be driven in a controlled manner on the one hand so that it is possible to make independent corrections of the speed of the traction exerted upon the substrate web 1 and the laminating webs 10 and 18 respectively and, on the other hand, said rollers can be individually heated or cooled in order to ensure optimal temperature conditions for each laminating procedure.

The application rollers 13 and 22 can also be driven at controlled speeds and can • · ’ * * * _t be heated and cooled, so that, with variations of the speed of said rollers, the films *2*0 8 and 9 of adhesive respectively involved, can be triturated and spread between the application rollers 13 and 22 and the counter rollers 3 and 4.

Because of the reciprocal adjustability of the rollers which form the roller gaps 2, 12, 21, 14 and 16, it is possible, by appropriate adjustment of the corresponding roller gaps, to achieve the currently optimal contact pressure for the webs involved.

The rollers which are directly involved in the procedure for manufacturing the composite webbing can be easily removed and replaced, so that rollers with the most widely differing surface textures can be utilised for various web materials and adhesives. Thus, along with the optimal choice of materials for the rollers, it is also possible to utilise different surface textures such as grid patterns, grooving or the like.

It is also possible to shut down one of the two adhesive applica'?n devices 6 or 7, so that tbs substrate web 1 has a laminating web stuck onto one aide of it.

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