Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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A SYSTEM AND A METHOD FOR IN-LINE TREATMENT OF ONE OR MORE THREADS
FOR USE WITH THREAD CONSUMING DEVICE
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to the technical field of thread consuming
devices. In particular, the present invention relates to a system comprising a
treatment
unit to be used in association with such thread consuming device.
BACKGROUND
It has been suggested to provide thread consuming devices, such as embroidery
machines or the like, with in-line apparatuses designed to provide the thread
with a
certain treatment. Such in-line apparatuses could e.g. be used to colour the
thread,
whereby multiple colour nozzles could replace the current use of multiple pre-
coloured
threads when producing multi-coloured patterns using embroidery machines. In
prior art
systems where threads of different colours are used, one thread, having a
first specified
colour, is used for some stitches while another thread, having a second
specified colour,
is used for other stitches.
In order to eliminate the obvious drawbacks of the requirement of multiple
threads of different colours, the present applicant has filed several patent
applications on
the technique of in-line colouring of thread, such as W02016204687 and
W02016204686. The proposed solutions provide improvements in terms of colour
quality and also reduces the complexity of the thread consuming device.
However, in order to further improve the quality and efficiency of the in-line
colouring of threads it would be advantageous if the in-line colouring
apparatus could
be able to handle more than one thread simultaneously.
SUMMARY
An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a solution
overcoming the disadvantages of prior art. More specifically, the present
invention
provides a solution where the system for in-line treatment of a thread is
configured to
handle more than one thread simultaneously by dividing the nozzles into
different
dispensing zones that can be controlled individually.
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In a first aspect, a system for in-line treatment of one or more threads for
use
with a thread consuming device. The system comprises a treatment unit having a
plurality of nozzles being distributed in at least a first and a second
dispensing zone, the
dispensing zones can be separated in a direction being perpendicular to the
longitudinal
direction of the at least one thread, said thread being in motion in use, each
nozzle being
configured to dispense one or more coating substances at least onto the at
least one
thread when activated, and a control unit being configured to control
activation of each
dispensing zone of nozzles independently.
Some thread consuming devices needs to use a plurality of separate threads
simultaneously. A solution having separate systems for each thread is not
beneficial
since it would be both costly and space consuming. Hence, having a single
system that
is capable of treating a plurality of threads with coating substance
simultaneously has
several benefits. With the system described herein the plurality of threads
can for
example be applied with different coating substances (such as different
colour)
simultaneously.
The plurality of nozzles may be arranged in one or more nozzle arrays. In one
embodiment, the plurality of nozzles arranged in one nozzle array and wherein
the
nozzle array is arranged at an angle in relation to the direction of the at
least one thread.
The plurality of nozzles may be arranged in at least two nozzle arrays. The at
least two nozzle arrays may be parallel to each other.
The nozzle arrays may be arranged at an angle in relation to the direction of
the
at least one thread.
In one embodiment, at least a part of the nozzles of the first nozzle array
are
distributed in the first dispensing zone and at least a part of the nozzles of
the second
nozzle array are distributed in the second dispensing zone.
In one embodiment, all of the nozzles of the first nozzle array are
distributed in
the first dispensing zone and all of the nozzles of the second nozzle array
are distributed
in the second dispensing zone.
In one embodiment, the system is arranged for in-line treatment of at least a
first thread and a second thread, and wherein the control unit is configured
to control
activation of the nozzles of each dispensing zone independently such that the
first thread
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can be treated by the first dispensing zone, while the second thread can be
simultaneously treated by the second dispensing zone.
In one embodiment, the control unit is configured to control activation of
each
dispensing zone by transmitting trigger signals to the nozzles being arranged
in the
specific dispensing zone.
The control unit may be configured to activate the nozzles of one dispensing
zone individually.
The control unit may be configured to activate the nozzles of one dispensing
zone individually with a predetermined offset from receiving the trigger
signal.
In one embodiment, the first thread and a second thread are different from
each
other.
In one embodiment the nozzles are inkjet nozzles.
In one embodiment, the system further comprises a thread consuming device.
The thread consuming device may be an embroidery machine, a sewing machine, a
knitting machine, a weaving machine, a tufting machine, a thread winding
machine, and
or any combination thereof.
In a second aspect, a method for in-line treatment of at least one thread is
provided. The method comprises providing a treatment unit having a plurality
of
nozzles being distributed in at least a first and a second dispensing zone,
the dispensing
zones being separated in a direction being substantially perpendicular to the
longitudinal
direction of the at least one thread, said thread being in motion in use, each
nozzle being
configured to dispense one or more coating substances at least onto the at
least one
thread when activated, and providing a control unit being configured to
control
activation of each dispensing zone of nozzles independently.
Definitions
Thread consuming device is in this context any apparatus which in use
consumes thread. It may e.g. be an embroidery machine, weaving machine, sewing
machine, knitting machine, weaving machine, a tufting machine, a thread
winding
machine or any other thread consuming apparatus which may benefit from a
surface
treatment or coating or any other process involving subjecting the thread to a
substance,
such as dying.
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Treatment is in this context any process designed to cause a change of the
properties of a thread. Such processes include, but are not limited to,
colouring, wetting,
lubrication, cleaning, fixing, heating, curing, dying, etc.
Thread is in this context a flexible elongate member or substrate, being thin
in
.. width and height direction, and having a longitudinal extension being
significantly
greater than the longitudinal extension of any parts of the system described
herein, as
well as than its width and height dimensions. Typically, a thread may consist
of a
plurality of plies being bundled or twisted together. The term thread thus
includes a
yarn, wire, strand, filament, etc. made of various materials such as glass
fibre, wool,
cotton, synthetic materials such as polymers, metals, polyester, viscos, or
e.g. a mixture
of wool, cotton, polymer, or metal or any combination thereof
Within this specification, all references to upstream and/or downstream should
be interpreted as relative positions during normal operation of the thread
consuming
device, i.e. when the device is operating to treat an elongated substrate,
such as a thread,
continuously moving through the device in a normal operating direction. Hence,
an
upstream component is arranged such that a specific part of the thread passes
it before it
passes a downstream component.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the invention will be described in the following description of
the present invention; reference being made to the appended drawings which
illustrate
non-limiting examples of how the inventive concept can be reduced into
practice.
Fig. la is a schematic view of a system for in-line treatment of thread
according to an embodiment;
Fig. lb is a perspective view of a system having a thread consuming device and
a treatment unit according to an embodiment;
Fig. 2 is a schematic view of a treatment unit for use with a system according
to an embodiment;
Fig. 3 is a schematic view of a discharge device forming part of a treatment
unit;
Fig. 4a is a schematic top view of a part of a discharge device according to
an
embodiment;
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Fig. 4b is a schematic top view of a part of a discharge device according to
an
embodiment;
Fig. 5a is a schematic view of a part of a treatment unit according to an
embodiment;
5 Fig. 5b is a schematic view of a part of a treatment unit according to
an
embodiment;
Fig. Sc is a schematic view of a part of a treatment unit according to an
embodiment;
Fig. 5d is a schematic view of a part of a treatment unit according to an
embodiment;
Fig. 5e is a schematic view of a part of a treatment unit according to an
embodiment;
Fig. 5f is a schematic view of a part of a treatment unit according to an
embodiment;
Fig. 6a is a schematic view of a system according to an embodiment, and
Fig. 6b is a schematic view of a system according to an embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
An idea of the present invention is to provide a system and method for
distributing a coating substance onto a thread in a controlled manner, for use
in
association with a thread consumption device. Starting in Fig. la a schematic
view of
system 10 for in-line treatment of thread is shown. The system 10 comprises a
treatment
unit 100 for dispensing one or more coating substances onto at least one
thread. The
system 10 further comprises at least one thread consuming device 15, which may
e.g. be
.. in the form of one or several embroidery machine(s), a weaving machine(s),
a sewing
machine(s), knitting machine(s), a tufting machine(s), a thread winding
machine(s) etc.
The system thereby forms a thread consuming unit, including the at least one
thread
consuming device 15 and the treatment unit 100. It should be noted that more
than one
thread can be used in the thread consuming device(s).
It should be noted that several aspects of a system are described within this
specification, and they do not require the inclusion of the thread consuming
device 15.
As will be further understood from the following, for all embodiments the
system for in-
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line treatment of thread requires a treatment unit 100, to be used with a
thread
consuming device 15.
Now turning to Fig. lb the thread consuming device 15 is exemplified as an
embroidery machine, here illustrated as a single-head embroidery machine,
being
equipped with a treatment unit 100. The embroidery machine 15 comprises a
moveable
stage 2b carrying the fabric to be embroidered. During operation the moveable
stage 2b
is controlled to rapidly change its position in the X and Y direction (i.e. in
this case the
horizontal plane, but it could also be in the vertical plane).
The treatment unit 100 allows the embroidery machine 15 to operate without
.. the provision of uniquely pre-coloured threads, as is required for
conventional
embroidery machines. Instead, the treatment unit 100 provides in-line
colouring of a
thread 20 in accordance with predetermined colouring patterns, such that a
coloured
embroidery can be produced. The treatment unit thus replaces individual thread
reels as
is present in prior art systems.
As is shown in Fig. lb the only connection between the treatment unit 100 and
the embroidery machine 15 is the thread 20, as well as electrical connections
(not
shown). The treatment unit 100 is thus provided as a stand-alone unit having
no
mechanical connection with the moveable stage 2b. In an optional embodiment,
the
stand-alone treatment unit 100 is mounted to the thread consuming device 15
via a
suspension arrangement for reducing the transmission of vibrations to the
treatment unit
100.
The system 10 described herein is capable of treating one or more threads 20a-
c with coating substances using only one treatment unit 100. If plurality of
threads are
used in the system 10, different coating substance may be dispensed onto the
different
threads 20a-c at the same time. Additionally, or alternatively, the coating
substance may
be dispensed in different patterns for the different threads 20a-c.
The various components of the treatment unit 100 configured to treat one or
more threads are shown in Fig. 2. In the following the system will be
described for the
use of two threads, however it should be understood that the system could be
adapted
for a single thread or more than two threads.
The majority, or all, of the components described for the system 10 may be
arranged inside a housing.
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Each thread 20a-b is arranged to pass through a respective thread reel 120a-b.
Immediately downstream the thread reels 120a-b, thread feeders 130a-b are
arranged ¨
one thread feeder 130a-b for each thread 20a-b. The thread feeder 130 may be
configured to pull the thread forward through the treatment unit 100. The
thread feeder
130 is not described further herein, but for a more general understanding each
thread
feeder 130 receives and forwards its respective thread 20a-b. For this, the
thread feeders
130 may be controlled by a control unit 190 described further below. After the
threads
10a-b have passed its respective thread feeder 130, each thread 20a-b engages
with a
respective thread guiding device 140a-b. Each thread guiding device 140a-b,
which may
e.g. be in the form of one or more guiding rollers or other suitable means, is
ensuring
that its thread 20a-b is aligned with one or more treatment nozzles forming
part of at
least one discharge device 150. Both the threads 20a-b then pass through the
common
discharge device 150.
The discharge device 150 is configured to discharge treatment substance, such
as a colouring substance, onto the thread 20 as it passes the discharge device
150. For
this the nozzles are arranged preferably in the longitudinal direction of the
thread 20 as
will be further explained in relation to Figs. 3-5.
The discharge device 150, or parts of the discharge device 150 such as the
print
head(s) 151a-d (as shown for example in Fig. 3), may be moveable by means of a
drive
unit (not shown). Having a drive unit will make it possible to arrange the
discharge
device 150, or parts of the discharge device 150, in different operating
states in order to
perform different tasks, such as for example a first state of dispensing a
coating
substance to a thread and a second state of performing a cleaning session, or
other
maintenance or idling.
Downstream the discharge device 150 the threads 20a-b are separated onto a
respective thread guiding device 160a-b. The second thread guiding devices
160a-b are
cooperating with the respective first thread guiding devices 140a-b such that
the
position of the respective threads 20a-b are correct during its travel along
the discharge
device 150. The second thread guiding device 160 may e.g. be in the form of
one or
more guiding rollers, although it may also be designed to induce a rotation of
the thread
20 along its longitudinal axis.
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The system 10 may further comprise one common, or two separate, or any
number of thread speed sensor(s) (not shown) configured to measure the speed
of the
threads 20a-b passing through the system 10.
Moreover, one common, or two separate, light detection system(s) (not shown)
may be arranged downstream the discharge device 150 along the travel direction
of the
threads 20a-b. The light detection system(s) is arranged to illuminate the
threads 20a-b
in order to receive light which is reflected from the threads 20a-b when the
threads 20a-
b are illuminated. The information gathered from the light detection signal
may for
example be used to determine the position of the threads in relation to the
nozzles 152a-
f, the width of each thread and/or properties of each thread. This information
can in turn
for example be used to detect nozzle(s) that are in need of maintenance, that
the position
of the nozzle(s) needs to be altered and/or detect variations in the coating
substance.
Additionally or alternatively, the light detection system(s) may be used to
determine
different properties of the threads that have been applied with one or several
coating
substances.
The threads 20a-b are then fed forward to pass one or more fixation units 170
which are provided in order to fixate the treatment substance to the thread
20a-b. The
fixation unit may be common for both threads, or provided as two separate
units having
one for each thread 20a-b. The fixation unit 170 preferably comprises heating
means,
such as a hot air supply or heated elements, or an UV light source such that
the
treatment substance, e.g. a colouring substance, is cured or fixated onto the
thread 20.
As is shown in Fig. 2 the fixation unit 170 may either be arranged
horizontally,
vertically, or at an angle between horizontally and vertically.
Before exiting the housing the threads 20a-b may pass a cleaning unit 180,
such as an ultrasonic bath, where unwanted particles are removed from the
threads 20a-
b. The cleaning unit may be common for both threads, or provided as two
separate units
having one for each thread 20a-b. As the treatment substance is fixated onto
the threads
20a-b, the cleaning unit 180 will leave the treatment substance unaffected.
The treatment unit 100 may further comprise a lubrication unit (not shown).
The lubrication unit may be common for both threads, or provided as two
separate units
having one for each thread 20a-b. Additional thread buffers and feeders (not
shown)
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may also be included in the treatment unit 100, arranged at various positions
in the
thread path.
The threads 20a-b preferably exits the treatment unit 100 through an aperture
or similar, whereby the threads 20a-b are forwarded to an associated thread
consuming
device, such as an embroidery machine 15 as is shown in Figs. la-b.
A control unit 190 with associated electronics, such as power electronics,
communication modules, memories, etc. is also provided. The control unit 190
is
connected to the thread feeders 130a-b, the discharge device 150, and the
fixation unit
170 for allowing control of the operation of these components. Further, the
control unit
190 is configured to controlling operation of the entire treatment unit 100
including the
cleaning unit 180, the lubrication unit, a disruption of the threads 20a-b,
the thread
speed at various position along the treatment unit 100, the thread buffers,
etc. The
control unit 190 may also be configured to receive control signals from one or
more
components of the treatment unit 100, e.g. control signals for triggering
specific control,
or other information relating to e.g. thread consumption by the embroidery
machine 15.
The control unit 190 may be implemented by any commercially available CPU
("Central Processing Unit"), DSP ("digital signal processor") or any other
electronic
programmable logic device, or a combination of such processors or other
electronic
programmable logic device. The control unit 190 may be implemented using
instructions that enable hardware functionality, for example, by using
executable
computer program instructions in a general-purpose or special-purpose
processor that
may be stored on a computer readable storage medium (disk, memory etc.) to be
executed by such a processor. The storage medium is preferably in operative
communication with the control unit 190.
In one embodiment, a user interface is also provided, preferably via a display
arranged at the front end of the housing. The display allows a user to
interact with the
control unit 190 and is thus connected thereto, so that the control parameters
of the
thread feeder 130, the discharge device 150, the fixation unit 170, etc. may
be set
depending on process specifications. The display may also preferably be used
for
alerting the user of critical situations, whereby the display may be used for
the control
unit 190 to issue alarms or the like.
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It should be noted that the components described above may not necessarily be
included in the stand-alone treatment unit 100, but instead the components of
the
treatment unit 100 may be separated into several units, Preferably, the stand-
alone unit
includes at least the at least one discharge device 150. In one embodiment the
5 components are not provided as a stand-alone unit, but is integrated with
the thread
consuming device 15.
In Fig. 3 a discharge device 150 is shown, forming part of the treatment unit
100 as described above. The direction of movement of the thread(s) 20a-b in
use is
indicated by the solid arrow in Fig 3. As will soon be described in more
detail, the
10 discharge device 150 comprises a plurality of nozzles 152a-f arranged at
different
longitudinal positions (for example spaced by a distance dl) along the thread
20 which
passes by the treatment unit 100 during use.
Each nozzle 152a-f is arranged to dispense a coating substance, such as ink,
onto the thread 20 when the nozzle is activated. The coating substance is
absorbed by
the thread 20, e.g. at different circumferential positions of the thread 20
when the thread
twists about its longitudinal axis. The relative position of two adjacently
dispensed
droplets of coating substance may be selected such that the droplets will
overlap.
The treatment unit 100 comprises one or more discharge devices 150. Each
discharge device 150 is preferably formed as a series of ink-jet print heads
151a-d, each
20 print head 151a-d having one or more nozzle arrays. Each nozzle array
typically
comprises hundreds or thousands of nozzles. For illustrative purpose only six
nozzles
152a-f are shown for one print head 151a-d; it should however be realized that
each
nozzle array may be provided with hundreds or thousands of nozzles 152 each.
As an
example, each print head 151a-d may be associated with a single colour; in the
shown
example, the discharge device 150 has four print heads 151a-d, each print head
151a-d
being associated with a specific colour according to the CMYK standard.
However,
other colouring models may be used as well.
The exact configuration of the treatment unit 100 may vary. For example, the
treatment unit 100 is provided with a single discharge device 150 having a
plurality of
print heads 151a-d. Each print head 151a-d is in turn provided with a
plurality of
nozzles 152a-f.
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In another embodiment the treatment unit 100 is provided with several
discharge devices 150, arranged either in series or in parallel. Each
discharge device
150 is then provided with a plurality of print heads 151a-d. If serially
arranged, the
upstream discharge device 150 may have print heads 151a-d being associated
with one
or more colours of a specific colour standard, while the downstream discharge
device
150 has print heads 151a¨d being associated with other colours of the same
colour
standard. If arranged in parallel, each discharge device 150 may have print
heads 151a-d
being associated with all colours of a specific colour standard, but with
different threads
20. For such embodiment, two separate threads 20 can be treated simultaneously
and in
parallel. Combinations of parallel/serial configurations are of course also
possible.
In a yet further embodiment, the discharge device 150 is only having a single
print head 151a-d; dynamic colouring of the thread 20 would then require
several
discharge devices 150 of the treatment unit 100.
Each nozzle 152a-f may dispense a coating substance having a colour
according to the CMYK colour model, where the primary colours are Cyan,
Magenta,
Yellow, and Black. It may thus be possible to dispense a wide variety of
colours onto
the thread by activating nozzles 152a-f such that the total colouring
substance of a
specific length of the thread 20 will be a mix of the colouring substances
dispensed by
the nozzles 152a-f. As explained earlier, this is preferably achieved by
having several
print heads 151a-d arranged in series, whereby the nozzles 152a-f of a
specific print
head 151a-d are dedicated to a single colour.
In another embodiment, each nozzle 152a-f dispenses a coating substance
having a colour comprising a mix of two or more primary colours of the CMYK
colour
model.
The control unit 190 is configured to control the activation of the nozzles
152a-
f such as the coating substance is emitted onto the thread 20 as it passes
through the
treatment unit 100, and especially pass the discharge device 150. By such
configuration
very precise colouring of the thread 20 is possible e.g. in order to provide
advanced
embroidery patterns, visually extremely sophisticated by means of the
colouring
provided by the treatment unit 100.
For a colouring operation the control unit 190 receives one or more input
signals specifying the desired colour and/or colouring effect. The colour
input
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preferably includes information regarding the exact colour, as well as the
longitudinal
start and stop positions of the thread 20 for that particular colour. The
longitudinal start
and stop position could be represented by specific time values if the thread
speed is
determined.
Fig. 4a-b illustrates a respective top view of a print head 151a. The print
head
151a has a planar surface on which the nozzles 152 are arranged. As mentioned
earlier,
the total number of nozzles 152 of a single print head can be up to several
thousands,
provided on a print head 151a in the size of a couple of centimeters. In the
shown
example, a far less number of nozzles 152 are shown. The nozzles 152 can be
distributed in one or more nozzle arrays 153a-b. In Fig. 4a, the nozzles 152
are
distributed in two parallel arrays 153a-b. The arrays 153a-b are aligned with
each other,
such that nozzles 152 of one array 153a-b are arranged adjacent a nozzle 152
of the
other array 153a-b.
Fig 4b shows a similar example, however there is a longitudinal offset between
the two arrays 153a-b.
The system 10 described herein is capable of treating one or more threads 20a-
c with coating substances using only one treatment unit 100. If plurality of
threads are
used in the system 10, different coating substance may be dispensed onto the
different
threads 20a-c at the same time. Additionally, or alternatively, the coating
substance may
be dispensed in different patterns for the different threads 20a-c.
The dispensing coating substance onto a plurality of threads is preferably
achieved by arranging the nozzles of the discharge device 150 into several
dispensing
zones 154a-c that can be controlled independently. Some exemplified
embodiments will
now be described with reference to Figs. 5a-f. In Figs. 5a- f, the print head
151a is
arranged to dispense coating substance onto at least two threads 20a-b and in
Fig. 5d, a
situation having three threads 20a-c is shown.
It should be noted that the following also is applicable for a higher number
of
threads such as four, five, etc.. In a preferred embodiment, the threads 20a-c
are parallel
with each other. Moreover, all threads 20a-c used in the system may be of the
same
thickness or be of different thickness. Additionally, all threads 20a-c used
in the system
may be of the same type, or being of a different types having different
properties.
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Fig. 5a shows a print head 151a having two nozzle arrays 153a-b. In this
embodiment, the nozzle arrays 153a-b are arranged in parallel with each other.
The
nozzles 152a-f of the nozzle arrays 153a-b are arranged in two dispensing
zones 154a-b.
The dispensing zones 154a-b are separated in a direction that is perpendicular
to the
longitudinal direction of the threads 20a-b. In this embodiment, the nozzles
of the first
nozzle array 153a are distributed in the first dispensing zone 154a and the
nozzles of the
second nozzle array 153b are distributed in the second dispensing zone 154b.
In the
illustrative example, all nozzles 152a-f of each nozzle array are part of the
same
dispensing zone 153a-b. However, as is illustrated in Figs. 5b-c, not all
nozzles 152a-f
of the same array 153a-b must be of the same dispensing zone 154a-b. In this
example,
the first dispensing zone 154a is configured to dispense coating substance
onto the first
thread 20a and the second dispensing zone 154b is configured to dispense
coating
substance onto the second thread 20b.
In Fig. 5a, the print head 151a is arranged in the direction of the length of
the
threads 20a-b. The nozzle arrays 153a-b are aligned with the direction of the
length of
the threads 20a-b.
It should be noted that the print head 151a shown in Fig. 5a also could be
defined as having ten nozzle arrays comprising two nozzles each. With this
definition,
the nozzle arrays are perpendicular with the length of the thread 20a,b. This
situation is
illustrated in Fig. 5f.
Fig. 5b shows a print head 151a having one single nozzle array 153a. The
nozzles 152a-f of the nozzle arrays 153a-b are arranged in three dispensing
zones 154a-
c. In this embodiment, the nozzles that are covering, i.e. is able to dispense
coating onto,
the first thread 20a are distributed in the first dispensing zone 154a and the
nozzles that
are covering the second thread 20b are distributed in the second dispensing
zone 154b.
Here, an intermediate dispensing zone 154c is arranged for nozzle(s) that are
not
covering any of the threads 20a-b.
In Fig. 5b, the print head 151a, and thus its nozzle array 153a, is arranged
such
that it is tilted compared to the length of the threads 20a-b. The nozzle
array 153a is
thus arranged at an angle in relation to the length of the parallel threads
20a-b. The
angle is either larger or smaller than 0 degrees. The nozzle array is inclined
relative to
the direction of the thread in order to be able to simultaneously treat more
than one
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thread using a single nozzle array. The higher angle that is between the
nozzle array and
the threads, the more threads will be possible to colour with one nozzle
array. The trade-
off with a higher angle is that fewer nozzles per nozzle array can be utilised
to colour
each thread 20a-b.
The length of the nozzle array may preferably be at least as long as the
distance
it takes for the thread 20 to rotate one 180 revolution around itself, and
more preferably
at least as long as the distance it takes for the thread 20 to rotate a 360
revolution
around itself. For this, means may be provided to induce a rotation of the
thread as it
passes the treatment unit.
Fig. 5c illustrates a print head 151a similar to that of Fig. 5a, with the
difference that the print head 151a, and thus its parallel nozzle arrays 153a-
b, are
arranged with an angle compared to the parallel threads 20a-b and that not all
nozzles
152a-f of the same array 153a-b are part of the same dispensing zones 154a-b.
Having
both nozzle arrays inclined relative to the direction of the thread allows
nozzles of both
the nozzle arrays to dispense coating onto both threads 20a-b. The higher
angle that is
between the nozzle arrays and the threads, the more threads will be possible
to colour
with each nozzle array. The trade-off with a higher angle is that fewer
nozzles per
nozzle array can be utilised to colour each thread 20a-b.
Fig. 5d illustrates a print head 151a similar to that of Fig. 5a, with the
difference that the print head comprises three parallel nozzle arrays 153a-c
and three
dispensing zones 154a-c. Moreover, in Fig. 5d the print head 151a is arranged
to
dispense coating substance onto at least three parallel threads 20a-c.
Fig. 5e illustrates a print head 151a similar to that of Fig. 5a, with the
difference that the nozzles are distributed in six different dispensing zones
154a-f. Each
nozzle array 153a, 153b comprises different sections of nozzles comprising
different
coating substance, such as different colour, as illustrated by the patterned
filled nozzles
in Fig. 5e. Each section of nozzles having different coating substances are
seen as one
dispensing zone 154a-f. Each nozzle array 153a, 153b may thus comprise
different
colours, with different colours for each dispensing zone 154a-f. Although Fig.
5e
.. illustrates a print head 151 comprising two identical nozzle arrays, it
should be noted
that the nozzle arrays does not need to be identical with each other.
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Fig. 5f illustrates a print head 151a similar to that of Fig. 5a having two
dispensing zones 154a-b each covering one thread 20a-b. Here, the threads 20a-
b are
shown having different thickness. Depending on the thickness, or width, of the
thread
20a-b different number of nozzles will cover the thread 20a-b. It should be
noted that
5 the size of the nozzles of Figs. 3-5 are made large in relation to the
thickness and/or
width of the thread 20a, 20b only for illustrative purposes.
In addition to the components described with reference to Fig. 2, the system
10
may comprise one or more encoders (not shown). In one embodiment the number of
threads 20a-b in the system 10 and the number of encoders are the same, hence
one
10 encoder is provided for each thread 20a-b. The individual encoders are
arranged to
trigger dispensing signals to the individual nozzles of a dispensing zone. In
yet one
embodiment, one single encoder is provided for all threads 20a-b. The one
encoder is
thus configured to trigger dispensing signals to the individual nozzles of a
dispensing
zone and/or to trigger to all dispensing zones.
15 The encoder may comprise or being in communication with a wheel such
as a
pulley or a guiding roller. The encoder may for example be a rotary encoder or
a shaft
encoder.
The control unit 190 is configured to control activation and deactivation of
each dispensing zone 154a-c of nozzles 152a-f independently. For this, the
control unit
190 may be configured to transmit trigger signals to the nozzles 152a-f being
arranged
in a specific dispensing zone 154a-c. Additionally, or alternatively, if the
nozzles
arranged in one nozzle array 153a-c are distributed into one single dispensing
zone
154a-c, the control unit 190 may be configured to transmit trigger signals to
the
individual nozzle array 153a-c in order to activate or deactivate the nozzles
of that
array, and thus that dispensing zone.
The control unit 190 may further be configured to control the activation and
deactivation of the nozzles 152a-f individually in each dispensing zone 154a-b
by
transmitting trigger signals to the nozzles 152a-f being arranged in the
specific
dispensing zone 154a-c.
The control unit 190 may further be configured to activate the nozzles of one
dispensing zone 154a-c individually using a predetermined offset from
receiving the
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trigger signal. The offset may for example be a specific time, length and or a
combination of both.
In one embodiment, the first thread 20a-b is arranged with a trigger for
activation of the nozzles 152a-f being distributed in the first dispensing
zone 154a and
the second thread 20b is arranged with a trigger for activation of the nozzles
152a-f
being distributed in the second dispensing zone 154b.
Each thread 20a-b may have its own trigger for activation of the nozzles of
its
dispensing zone, i.e. the nozzles that are arranged in a dispensing zone
covering the
thread 20a-b. In one embodiment, all dispensing zones are arranged with a
common
trigger.
The control unit 190 may further be configured to alter the size of the
dispensing zones 154a-c. Moreover, the control unit 190 may be configured to
alter
which nozzles that are to be distributed in the dispensing zones 154a-c. These
alternations may be based on for example the thickness of the threads, the
density of the
threads, the number of threads to be treated, the properties of the coating
substance,
calibration results and/or based on the number of active nozzles.
The control unit 190 may further be configured to alter the angle of the print
head(s) 151a, or its nozzle arrays 153a-c, in relation to the treads 20a-c to
be treated.
The control unit 190 may be configured to alter the angle based on the
thickness of the
threads, the density of the threads, the number of threads to be treated, the
properties of
the coating substance and/or based on the number of active nozzles.
In the above, reference is made to one or more threads 20a-c. In one
embodiment, all threads arranged through the system 10 are in need of in-line
treatment.
In yet one embodiment, when several threads are used, it is sufficient if one
of the
threads are in need of in-line treatment (such as a thread that is not pre-
coloured). The
system 10 is thus configured to handle both uniquely pre-threated threads and
threads
that are in need of in-line treatment at the same time. For example, an
embroidery
machine could combine an in-line treated thread with a pre-threated thread to
create a
specific pattern on a substrate. Such a pre-treated thread could for example
be a
metallic, thick, thin, neon-coloured thread.
The control unit 190 may thus be configured to determine if the thread shall
be
treated or not when passing through the discharge device 150. However, it
should be
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17
noted that not all threads needs to pass though the treatment unit 100. This
is for
example the case when a thread does not need to be treated with a coating
substance.
Although the present invention has been mainly described with reference to a
system comprising one treatment unit 100 and one thread consuming device 15,
it
.. should be understood by a person skilled in the art that the inventive
features could be
applied to other systems as well. Figs. 6a-b illustrates two example of such
alternative
systems.
In Fig. 6a, the system 10 comprises a first and a second treatment unit 100a,
100b as well as a first and a second thread consuming device 15a-b. Each
treatment unit
100a, 100b is controlling and performing the operations on each thread
consuming
device 15a-b. It should be noted that the first and second treatment unit
100a, although
being separated may share one or more components. In one embodiment, the
control
unit 190 is arranged as a separate unit from the first and second treatment
unit 100a,
100b and one control unit 190 is thus configured to control the operation of
both
treatment units 100a, 100b and correspondingly the operation of both thread
consuming
devices 15a-b.
In Fig. 6b, the system 10 comprises one treatment unit 100a and a first and a
second thread consuming device 15a-b. In this embodiment, one treatment unit
100a is
configured to control and perform the operation of the two thread consuming
devices
.. 15a-b.
It should be noted that although only two treatment units and two thread
consuming devices are shown in Fig. 6a, and only one treatment unit and two
thread
consuming devices are shown in Fig. 6b, it should be understood that any
reasonable
number of treatment units and/or thread consuming devices could be present in
the
system 10.
Although the present invention has been described above with reference to
specific embodiments, it is not intended to be limited to the specific form
set forth
herein. Rather, the invention is limited only by the accompanying claims.
In the claims, the term "comprises/comprising" does not exclude the presence
of other elements or steps. Additionally, although individual features may be
included
in different claims, these may possibly advantageously be combined, and the
inclusion
in different claims does not imply that a combination of features is not
feasible and/or
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advantageous. In addition, singular references do not exclude a plurality. The
terms "a",
"an", "first", "second" etc do not preclude a plurality. Reference signs in
the claims are
provided merely as a clarifying example and shall not be construed as limiting
the scope
of the claims in any way.
