The invention relates to a fleece separation assembly with edge trimming suction and a method for automatic control using an electro-pneumatic system, the method allowing adjustment of the specific width of the fibre sliver which is precise and safe for the operator, during production without the need to stop the line. The invention finds application in manufacturing processes for needled non-woven fabrics.

Chinese Patent Application CN108818673A describes a device used for trimming and removing residues of non-woven fabric during production. The trimming device is comprised of support columns and a support rod. The upper ends of the support columns are equipped with a main trimming platform, and the left side of the upper end of the main trimming platform is permanently equipped with a sliding bar. The left side of the corresponding support column is connected to a support rack, and the upper end of the support rack is provided with a second motor. The support column is arranged on the upper end of the left side of the main trimming platform, and the upper end of the support column is provided with a rotating shaft.

Another Chinese Patent Application CN111910415A discloses a device comprising a workbench, a cutting motor permanently attached to the top of the workbench, a set of drive wheels movably connected to the outer part of the cutting engine, a cloth guide roller movably attached to the outer part of the drive wheel, a rotating shaft movably attached to the outer part of the drive wheel set, a drive plate movably attached to the outer part of the rotating shaft, and a drive block permanently attached to the outer part of the drive plate.

Another Chinese Patent Application CN113774648A describes an edge trimming machine comprising a main stand, an edge trimming device, and an active blade support devices. Two edge trimming devices are installed on two sides of the upper part of the frame of the main body, respectively. The active blade support devices are installed on the right lower side of the two edge trimming devices. Each edge trimming device comprises an edge trimming mechanism and a moving mechanism. The moving mechanisms are installed on the main frame of the main body. The edge trimming mechanisms are installed on the moving mechanisms, and the active blade support devices and the edge trimming devices are driven by motors. The rotation speed of the motors of the active blade support devices is equal to the speed of the motors of the edge trimming devices.

Chinese Utility Model Application CN212451869U discloses a device for trimming after needling, which comprises a mounting frame, a guide roller and a cutter, through grooves formed in two side walls of the mounting frame, rods threaded in the vertical direction located in internal cavities of the through grooves, two threaded rods connected by means of a belt, a motor attached to the upper surface of the wall of the mounting frame, and a cutter located on the lower surface of the wall of the mounting frame.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) Another Chinese Utility Model Application CN214193888U describes an edge trimming device for spunlace non-woven fabrics, comprised of a base, a support frame stationarily attached to the base, a transverse slide rail stationarily attached to the support frame of the slide block placed in a transverse slide rail in a slide system. A longitudinal slide rail is stationarily attached to the slide block, and a mounting cylinder is located in the longitudinal slide rail in the sliding mode.

Yet another Chinese Utility Model Application CN210856742U discloses an edge trimming device comprising a workbench and supporting legs fitted to the workbench, under the workbench, wherein the first support frame and the second support frame are symmetrically arranged on the upper surface of the workbench. The support frame I is provided with a hydraulic cylinder II. A pressing block is located on the free telescopic end of the second hydraulic cylinder. The pressing block is located on the workbench, in the area under the pressing block of the workbench, a pressing groove is formed, corresponding to the pressing block, an illuminating lamp is located on the second support frame, the first hydraulic cylinder is located on the second support frame. On the side, close to the second support frame of the workbench, a slide block connected to the first hydraulic actuator is provided in the workbench, and a lead screw matching the slide block is provided in the workbench.

The fleece, exiting the carding machine during the carding process, and as a result of centrifugal forces acting there, has very uneven edges - in some areas it is a cluster of fibres and is some areas it is thinned. There are two carding machines on the production line. Each of them outputs two fibre beds at a speed up to 300 m/min. These fleeces are joined together on a bulk conveyor. They are not perfectly overlayed, which causes a large unevenness of basis weight of the edges and unevenness of the fleece width. The difference of weight and width between the two edges of the non-woven fabric contributes to problems with rewinding and cutting the finished non-woven fabric. Precise trimming and suction of these uneven parts up to the point of alignment of the fleeces results in further troublefree processing of the finished fabric i.e.:

- obtaining a stable edge,

- a stable process of guiding the non-woven fabric through a water needling machine

- levelling wavy edges of non-woven fabric which may cause winding on the needling cylinders,

- the non-woven fabric does not have large deviations of thickness and weight on the edges which translates to even winding of the non-woven fabric on the winder without the parabolic effect.

The technical problem is to provide a device for use on a production line for needled non-woven fabrics, which would allow obtaining a stable edge of the non-woven fabric at high movement speeds during production process, minimising the thickness and weight deviations, which would translate to uniform winding of the non-woven fabric on the winder without the parabolic effect and levelling wavy edges of the non-woven fabric which can cause winding on the needling cylinders, would allow returning the collected non-woven fabric to the production process. In addition, it should allow adjustment of the fleece width in a wide range, calibration of the operating width of the non-woven fabric for cutting, adapting to the final width according to the customers' needs. Surprisingly, the above problems were solved by the following invention. The present invention relates to a fleece separating assembly comprising a base and a pressure wheel, characterised in that a transverse shift electric actuator is mounted to the base and first linear bearing guides are mounted to the base, and a transverse shift electric actuator arm is mounted to the transverse shift plate, wherein the first linear bearings are mounted to the bottom surface of the transverse shift plate, forming a sliding connection of the transverse shift plate through the first linear bearing guides with the base, and the mounting point of the pneumatic actuator, the pneumatic actuator are mounted to the transverse shift plate, and the second linear guides are mounted to the top surface of the transverse shift plate, and a longitudinal shift plate is slidably mounted to the second linear guides through the second linear bearings, wherein the second linear bearings are mounted to the bottom of the longitudinal shift plate, and a suction handle, a fork constituting a pressure wheel handle are mounted to the upper surface of the plate, wherein the fork is mounted to the pneumatic actuator arm, wherein the suction handle comprises a suction cylinder, which comprises an elongated opening to create vacuum during suction, wherein the edge of the pressure wheel is circumferentially chamfered at an angle a.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the edge of the pressure wheel is circumferentially chamfered at an angle a=45°.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the pressure edge of the pressure wheel is flat.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the first linear guides are oriented perpendicularly to the second linear guides.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the pressure wheel is made of polyurethane.

In yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, a visual position marker is attached to the transverse shift plate.

The fleece separating assembly according to the invention is used in a production process in order to obtain the required width of the sliver after the needling process, which is different for each customer. Using the assembly has an effect of reducing waste in the process of trimming the finished product. In addition, the raw material, that is separated and sucked away prior to needling, has full-value and is reused in the production process. Using thick steel sheets along with linear bearings to the construction of the assembly according to the invention provides a durable, stable structure with very precise operation, which is essential while operating with linear speeds of about 300 m/min. The polyurethane bearing wheel with used herein fits to the conveyor very well, has a small rolling resistance, and thus effectively receives the proper sliver without the need for bottom support. The material characteristics of polyurethane provide safe operation without a risk of damage or excessive wear of the conveyor. Various types of polyurethane may be used, which would provide sufficient rigidity and hardness without damaging the processed fabric at the same time. For the latter reason, it is not preferred to use steel for the construction of the wheel. In addition, the device according to the invention has an extended shift range of the fleece separating assembly beyond the point of alignment of the fleece overlay, which allows: - adjustment of the fleece width in a wide range,

- calibration of the operating width of the non-woven fabric for cutting,

- optimising waste in the process of trimming the finished product,

- adapting to the final width according to the customers' needs,

- returning the uneven edge for reusing in the process.

The invention has been illustrated in a drawing, in which the following are presented: fig. 1 a is a three-dimensional view of the fleece separating assembly; fig. 1 b is a front view of the fleece separating assembly; fig. 2 is a base made of steel sheet to which a transverse shift electric actuator and linear bearing guides are mounted; fig. 3 is a transverse shift plate made of steel sheet on which the vertical shift linear bearing guides of the working element are mounted along with the mounting of the pneumatic and electric actuator; fig. 4 is a longitudinal shift plate made of steel sheet with linear bearings, a fork for the polyurethane wheel and a suction handle; fig. 5 is a polyurethane bearing wheel, with a diameter of R=300 mm with an edge chamfered at an angle a=45° and a flat edge holding the fleece to the conveyor, where fig. 5a shows a front view of the bearing wheel, and fig. 5b shows a side view of the bearing wheel; fig. 6 is a schematic method of assembling the separating assembly in a working position on a production line; fig. 7 is a diagram of a control board, where: 17 - gauges indicating the shift distance; 18, 18a - left side (along the X axis) shift buttons; 19, 19a - right side (along the X axis) shift buttons; 20, 20a - wheel 9 lifting (along the Y axis) buttons.

Example 1 Fleece separating assembly

The structure of the fleece separating assembly is comprised of four basic elements. A telescopic transverse shift electric actuator 2 and first linear bearing guides 3a are mounted to a base 1 made of steel sheet. In addition, the actuator 2 is mounted to the base 1 by means of a mounting 15, which simultaneously constitutes a guiding support of the actuator 2 arm. A transverse shift plate 4 is movably attached to the fist linear bearing guides 3a by means of the first linear bearings 5a which are mounted to the bottom of the transverse shift plate 4 (fig. 2). Movement of the plate 4 relative to the base 1 is possible by means of the electric actuator 2 mounted to the plate 4 (the attachment point is indicated as 7 in fig. 1 ). Second linear shift guides 3b are mounted on the upper surface of the transverse shift plate 4. In addition, a pneumatic actuator 12 and mounting point 6 of the pneumatic actuator are mounted to the transverse shift plate 4 (fig. 1 , fig. 3). Also mounted to the transverse shift plate 4 is a visual position marker 14 which has a form of an antenna, which allows the operator to observe the position of the assembly from a distance. The pneumatic actuator 12 is a telescopic pneumatic actuator with a double-ended piston rod with limited stroke up to 50 mm with a built-in magnet which provides signals to the reed sensors about the position of the piston rod (in what position it is located). A longitudinal shift plate 8, made of steel sheet, is slidably attached to the second linear bearing guides 3b through the second linear bearings 5b. The second linear bearings 5b are mounted to the bottom surface of the longitudinal shift plate 8. This design of the assembly enables the movement of the fork 9 with the pressure bearing wheel 11 in the X-Y plane. The fork 9 is permanently attached to the longitudinal shift plate. The fork 9, which is a handling element for the pressure bearing wheel 11 , is mounted to the longitudinal shift plate 8 (fig. 4). Said fork 9 is made of a steel flat bar. Its structure is welded together with an internal spacer. The whole structure is permanently welded to the plate 8. There are three openings in the fork, one for mounting the actuator 12 and two for axially mounting the polyurethane wheel 11. A suction handle 10, to which a suction cylinder 13 is attached, is also mounted to the longitudinal shift plate 8. The suction handle 10 is made of a steel angle bar at the end of which openings for mounting the suction cylinder 13 are located. It is permanently connected with the longitudinal shift plate 8, such that its position is always appropriate when the width is changed. The inlet surface of the cylinder 13 is parallel to the side surface of the wheel 11 . Inside the suction cylinder 13, a bean-shaped elongated opening 21 is milled parallel to the long axis of the cylinder 13. It is intended to focus the suction vacuum at the point where the polyurethane wheel 11 puts pressure the sliver, such that the proper sliver is not pulled (not damaged) and the unwanted edge of the sliver is sucked away. The length of the opening 21 and the cylinder 13 is determined by the operating range of the separator along the X axis. The opening 21 is minimally larger than the maximum width of the side sliver that is sucked away. This is necessary in order to completely suck away the unwanted edge of the sliver (so that there is no raw material left on the edge of the conveyor). When the fleece separating assembly is not in the maximum position, part of the opening remains outside the conveyor and is sucking in air, which has no impact on the suction efficiency. The opening 21 in the cylinder 13 is located parallelly to the conveyor belt and perpendicularly to the side surface of the polyurethane wheel 11. The wheel 11 (fig. 5) is made of polyurethane. The edge 11 b of the wheel 11 is circumferentially chamfered at an angle a=45° (fig. 5), wherein the edge 11 a of the wheel 11 itself is flat in order to hold the fleece to the conveyor. These features are clearly visible in fig. 5. The angle a=45° is most effective, because the fleece is separating precisely at the edge of the flattening. The remaining width of the wheel 11 is distanced from the sliver in such a way that it does not interfere with the whole process by e.g. an additional point of contact (or pressure) which could shift the width. The wheel 11 has a diameter R=300 mm. It is possible to use a wheel 11 with a different diameter depending on the need. However, the main determinant of its size is the height of the sliver. A larger diameter of the wheel 11 forces a proportional change of the dimensions of the fork 9 and the entire plate 8 along with the suction system, the main element of which is the cylinder 13.

The fleece separating assembly according to the above structure is mounted through the base plate on a production line (to a device on a production line) in such a way that the shift axes of the wheel 9 in X-Y plane correspond to: the transverse movement relative to the fleece feeding direction on the conveyor - the movement of the transverse shift plate 4 along the X axis, and the movement along the Y axis (the up-down direction, i.e. lifting and lowering of the longitudinal shift plate 8). Example 2 The method for controlling the fleece separating assembly

The control system for the fleece separating assembly, described in Example 1 , comprises control buttons with built-in diodes, a reed sensor, an encoder, and relays (electromagnetic relays with four changeover contacts). All signals from the devices enter and exit the control box (shown schematically in fig. 7), mounted in a place with free access for the production line operator. A schematic connection of the separating assembly, the method of arranging it on a production line, and the connection to the control box are shown in fig. 6.

Inside the control box (fig. 7) a DIN rail is located with bar connectors and relays mounted to it. A display, three control buttons, and three signalling diodes for each side are located on the outside of the box.

Before the start of production, suction blowers are attached. They operate with constant efficiency, which allows effective suction of the raw material in a full operating range of the separating assembly and with every product. The connection between the separating assembly and the suction system is facilitated by transmission pipes, and at the separating assembly itself, a transition to a Spiro type pipe is present, said pipe is connected to the suction cylinder 13 by means of a port. Using a Spiro pipe is determined by the need for a flexible connection resulting from a possibility of changing the suction width.

The shift of the wheel 9 is realised in several steps. The basic position of the assembly according to the invention is the wheel 9 lowered on the conveyor. Two buttons 20 and 20a are used to lower the wheel 9. At this point, on the control box (fig. 7), a diode located in the buttons 20 and 20a is active, signalling the lowering of the wheel 9 and a possibility of lifting it. While being located in the lower position, there is no possibility of shifting it. Its lifting is realised by means of a solenoid valve and a pneumatic actuator 6. The solenoid valve, not forming a structural element of the assembly according to the invention, is located on a wall, next to the fleece separating assembly. When the pneumatic actuator 6 is actuated and is in the upper position, the reed sensor mounted thereon provides a signal for permission to shift. The above system for lifting and detecting of reaching the upper position protects the conveyor from damage.

When the reed sensor detects the upper position of the wheel 9, buttons which allow shifting to the left and to the right along the X axis (fig. 7), 18, 18a, 19, and 19a, respectively, are activated. The shift is realised by means of an electric linear actuator 2. By including an encoder in the actuator 2, it is possible to control the position of the wheel 9 with an accuracy of one hundredth of a centimetre. The distance is indicated on gauges based on impulses received from encoders. The current position of the separator is displayed on the gauges 17 mounted on the control box. In addition, a security measure has been applied which blocks the possibility of using two shift buttons (18, 18a, 19, 19a, 20, 20a) simultaneously. Table 1 illustrates the use of the assembly according to the invention in processing of fleece with different material composition.

Table 1. The table shows a difference of fleece width before using the fleece separating assembly and after using it on products with different material composition.

Differences in fleece width before using the system ranged from 1 .8% to 2.1% and after using the device they decreased and are in a range of 0.3% to 0.6%.

Table 2. Showing the range of width adjustment before and after using the fleece separating assembly

Using the separator provides a possibility of adjusting the width of the fleece bed in a range of 0 cm to 37 cm, whereas without using the device, it is practically impossible to adjust the width and adapt the final width of the product to the customer's expectations. The adjustment values given in the table are non-adjustable and impossible to change without the device.

Table 3. Showing production waste in a form of edge trimming measured in cm and kg. waste and keeping it on a constant level - the trimming is always 7 cm wide and weights the same. The lack of adjustment caused a variable width of the trimming and waste that had variable weight. For a stable winding process, 7 cm trimming is sufficient.

List of indications:

1 - steel sheet base,

2 - transverse shift electrical actuator,

3a, 3b - linear bearing guides, first and second, respectively, 4 - transverse shift plate,

5a, 5b - linear bearings, first and second, respectively,

6 - point for mounting the pneumatic actuator to the transverse shift plate,

7 - point for mounting the transverse shift actuator to the transverse shift plate,

8 - longitudinal shift plate, 9 - fork, 10 - suction handle,

11 - polyurethane bearing wheel,

12 - pneumatic actuator,

13 - suction cylinder, 14 - visual position marker,

15 - point for mounting the transverse shift electric actuator to the base,

16 - mounting of the piston rod of the pneumatic actuator to the fork,

17 - shift distance gauges,

18, 18a - left shift (along the X axis) buttons, 19, 19a - right shift (along the X axis) buttons,

20, 20a - wheel 9 lifting (along the Y axis) buttons,

21 - elongated opening of the suction cylinder.