METHOD FOR PRODUCING AN INSULATION PANEL

Abstract

A method for producing an insulation panel, including a cover layer and a layer of insulating material located thereon, between which the layer of insulating material is located. The insulating material is produced by metering at least two components of a reactive mixture, mixing and feeding them to an inlet of a distributor. The reactive mixture is guided in the distributor along a flow path to at least five nozzle openings and discharged. The reactive mixture is applied from each nozzle opening in a free jet onto the upper side of the cover layer which moves in a conveying direction relative to the distributor. The impact points of the jet of reactive mixture on the cover layer lie substantially on a line which extends transversely to the conveying direction. The distance of the two laterally outermost impact points is at least 70% of the width.

Claims

1. A method for producing an insulation panel of predetermined width, comprising at least one cover layer and a layer of insulating material located thereon, preferably comprising two cover layers, between which the layer of insulating material is located, wherein the insulating material is produced by metering at least two components of a reactive mixture, mixing the same and feeding them to an inlet of a distributor, wherein the reactive mixture being guided in the distributor along a flow path to a number of nozzle openings and being discharged via the nozzle openings, wherein the reactive mixture being applied to the upper side of the at least one cover layer which moves in a conveying direction relative to the distributor, wherein the reactive mixture is discharged via at least five nozzle openings, wherein the reactive mixture is applied from each nozzle opening in a free jet onto the upper side of the cover layer, wherein the impact points of the jet of reactive mixture on the cover layer lie substantially on a line which extends transversely to the conveying direction, and wherein the distance of the two laterally outermost impact points is at least 70% of the width, wherein the age of the reactive mixture in each jet discharged from the nozzle opening differs from an arithmetic mean value over all the jets by at most 0.5 seconds when intersecting a plane perpendicular to the conveying direction, wherein the distributor has a volume flow specific surface area which is at most 2.0 cm.sup.2/(cm.sup.3/s) (quotient of the surface area in contact with reactive mixture and the volume flow of reactive mixture passing through the distributor).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein all impact points on the cover layer lie in a section which extends over a maximum of 200 mm, preferably over a maximum of 100 mm, in the conveying direction.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reactive mixture is guided in the distributor from the inlet to the nozzle openings over a maximum length of 150 mm.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the exit velocity of the reactive mixture from the nozzle openings is between 1.5 m/s and 5.0 m/s.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the residence time of the reactive mixture in the distributor is at most 0.15 seconds.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein all the jets of the reactive mixture impinge on the cover layer in a direction transverse to the conveying direction at substantially equal distances.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein a tolerance range of 20% of the distance from the adjacent jets applies to all jets of the reactive mixture.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the two laterally outermost nozzle openings discharge the reactive mixture in two directions which together define a plane, the two directions intersecting at an angle between 90 and 180.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the width of the distributor in the direction transverse to the conveying direction is at most 25% of the width of the insulation panel to be produced, preferably at most 15% of the width of the insulation panel.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the distributor is arranged in a stationary position and the cover layer is moving.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0030] In the drawing:

[0031] FIG. 1 shows schematically a perspective view of a distributor (i.e. a distributor element) with which reactive mixture is applied to a cover layer in order to produce an insulation panel,

[0032] FIG. 2 shows the section through the distributor with depicted flow path to one of the nozzle openings,

[0033] FIG. 3 shows the top view of the distributor with the jets of reactive mixture emerging from it,

[0034] FIG. 4 shows the front view of the distributor and

[0035] FIG. 5 shows the side view of the distributor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0036] FIG. 1 shows schematically an installation used to produce an insulating panel 1 (insulating panel as a foam composite element) by applying a layer of insulating material 3 in the form of a polyurethane reactive mixture 4 to a cover layer 2. The insulating panel 1 has a width B.

[0037] Here, the cover layer 2 moves below a stationary distributor 6, from which the reactive mixture 4 is discharged, in a conveying direction F at constant speed.

[0038] As can be seen in synopsis with the other figures, the polyurethane reactive mixture 4 is discharged from the distributor 6 in the form of a number of jets 10, i.e. the reactive mixture 4 is ejected through nozzle openings 8 in the distributor 6 so that it reaches the cover layer 2 as a free jet following the shape of a flight parabola, as can best be seen in FIG. 1, where it contacts the upper side 9 of the cover layer 2 at a corresponding number of impact points 11.

[0039] In the shown embodiment, eleven jets 10 are provided, whereby the number of jets 10 is, according to the invention, at least five; seven and nine jets 10 have also proved to be particularly effective; it is also essential that the mentioned impact points 11 of the respective jets 10 of reactive mixture 4 on the cover layer 2 lie essentially on a line 12 which runs transversely to the conveying direction F, which is designated with Q. It is further provided that the distance a (see FIG. 1) of the two laterally outermost impact points 11 and 11 is at least 70% of the width B.

[0040] The fact that the jets 10 reach the cover layer 2 essentially along line 12 is specified by the fact that the said impact points 11 are intended to be located within a section 13 (see FIG. 1), which preferably extends over a maximum of 100 mm in conveying direction F.

[0041] The width By (see FIG. 4) of the distributor 6, i.e. its extension in the direction Q horizontally and transversely to the conveying direction F (and thus also the width of the region of the distributor 6 provided with nozzle openings 8), is preferably at most 25% of the width B of the insulating panel to be produced, particularly preferably at most 15% of the width B.

[0042] The individual jets 10 should reach the upper side 9 of the cover layer 2 as equidistantly as possible in direction Q. FIG. 1 illustrates that for this purpose, it is intended that said impact point 11 should lie within a tolerance range T, preferably at a maximum of 20% of the distance b from the adjacent jet 10, on the basis of an equidistant spacing of the individual jets 10.

[0043] Accordingly, eleven jets 10 are discharged from the distributor 6 in the shown embodiment, which reach the cover layer 2 moving continuously in horizontal direction and are then transported further in the form of eleven strands.

[0044] Details of distributor 6 can be found in the other FIGS. 2 to 5.

[0045] FIG. 2 shows the section through the distributor, whereby the section runs exactly through the central one of a total of eleven flow paths 7. From this it can be seen that the distributor 6 has an inlet 5 by which it is fed with the reactive mixture 4 from a mixer (not shown). The reactive mixture 4 is then conveyed along a flow path 7 in order to reach a nozzle opening 8, through which it is ejected as jet 10 in the manner described. To prevent caking, the flow path 7 is preferably at most 150 mm long.

[0046] The plan view according to FIG. 3 shows that the two outermost nozzle openings 8 and 8 are arranged so that the direction of ejection from them includes an angle a of between 90 and 180. The lines drawn therefore indicate the longitudinal axes of the two outermost nozzles 8 and 8.

[0047] As further shown in the figures, the nozzle openings 8 spray the reactive mixture 4 in conveying direction F, i.e. with the movement of the cover layer 2, which moves at a constant speed under the stationary distributor 6 in conveying direction F.

[0048] As can be seen from FIGS. 3 to 5 regarding the arrangement and orientation of the individual nozzle openings 8, the individual nozzle openings or nozzles are arranged at very different angles to the horizontal. The outer nozzle openings are arranged at a much smaller angle to the horizontal. The workmanlike design ensures the above-mentioned aim of placing the impact points 11 next to each other in transverse direction Q along line 12 at given operating parameters.

[0049] With the proposed design it is achieved that the reactive mixture 4 is finally applied as a very homogeneous layer 3 to the cover layer 2, so that the quality of the insulating panel to be produced can be optimized.

[0050] While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the inventive principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.