Continuous processing device for forming bamboo fiber and method thereof

Abstract

A continuous processing device for forming bamboo fiber includes a machine rail, a cart guide rail, a cart, and a clamp for clamping a bamboo strip. The cart and the clamp are connected through a connecting plate. The machine rail is formed with a slot along a path of the machine rail. The machine rail includes a head linear rail section, a conical spiral rail section and a tail linear rail section arranged in sequence. The cart guide rail includes a head linear guide rail section, a conical spiral guide rail section and a tail linear guide rail section arranged in sequence. A continuous processing method for forming bamboo fiber using the continuous processing device is disclosed.

Claims

1. A continuous processing device for forming bamboo fiber, comprising a bracket, a machine rail for receiving a bamboo strip and having two ends open and hollow, a cart guide rail, a cart, and a clamp for clamping the bamboo strip, the machine rail and the cart guide rail being mounted on the bracket respectively, the cart being slidably disposed on the cart guide rail, the clamp being located in the machine rail, the cart and the clamp being connected through a connecting plate, the machine rail being formed with a slot along a path of the machine rail, the connecting plate being inserted through the slot; the machine rail including a head linear rail section, a conical spiral rail section and a tail linear rail section arranged in sequence, the conical spiral rail section having a helix angle of 10-30 degrees, the cart guide rail including a head linear guide rail section, a conical spiral guide rail section and a tail linear guide rail section arranged in sequence, the head linear rail section being arranged in parallel with the head linear guide rail section, the conical spiral rail section and the conical spiral guide rail section being arranged around a same central axis, the tail linear rail section being arranged in parallel with the tail linear guide rail section.

2. The continuous processing device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a pick-and-place section for picking and placing the bamboo strip, two ends of the pick-and-place section being connected to the head linear rail section and the tail linear rail section, respectively.

3. The continuous processing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cart is formed with a groove, two sides of the groove are symmetrically provided with at least one pair of pulleys, the cart guide rail has a T-shaped cross-section, and two ends of a transverse portion of the cart guide rail cooperate with the pulleys at the two sides of the groove.

4. The continuous processing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conical spiral rail section has a radius of 80-800 mm and 5-15 rail loops.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the continuous processing device for forming bamboo fiber according to the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the assembly of the cart guide rail and the cart according to the present invention (including a partial section);

(4) FIG. 3 is a top view of the cart according to the present invention; and

(5) FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the cart connected with the clamp according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(6) Please refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, a continuous processing device for forming bamboo fiber in accordance with the present invention includes a bracket (not shown), a machine rail 1 for receiving a bamboo strip and having two ends open and hollow, a cart guide rail 2, a cart 3, and a clamp 4 for clamping the bamboo strip. The machine rail 1 and the cart guide rail 2 are mounted on the bracket, respectively. The cart 3 is slidably disposed on the cart guide rail 2. The clamp 4 is located in the machine rail 1. The cart 3 and the clamp 4 are connected through a connecting plate 5. The machine rail 1 is formed with a slot 11 along the path of the machine rail 1. The connecting plate 5 is inserted through the slot 11. When the cart 3 is running, the connecting plate 5 is driven by the cart 3 to move along the slot 11 so as to drive the clamp 4 to move along the path of the machine rail 1 within the machine rail 1, so that the bamboo strip clamped and locked on the clamp 4 can move along the path of the machine rail 1.

(7) The machine rail 1 includes ahead linear rail section 12, a conical spiral rail section 13, and a tail linear rail section 14 arranged in sequence. The helix angle of the conical spiral rail section 13 is controlled at 10-30 degrees. The cart guide rail 2 includes ahead linear guide rail section 21, a conical spiral guide rail section 22, and a tail linear guide rail section 23 arranged in sequence. The head linear rail section 12 is arranged in parallel with the head linear guide rail section 21. The conical spiral rail section 13 and the conical spiral guide rail section 22 are arranged around the same central axis. The tail linear rail section 14 is arranged in parallel with the tail linear guide rail section 23. The cooperation of the machine rail 1 and the cart guide rail 2 can ensure that the cart 3 always drives the clamp 4 in the machine rail 1 to move when the cart 3 runs on the cart guide rail 2. It should be noted that the bamboo strip in the machine rail 1 is gradually delaminated and cracked by various forces. In order to obtain better fiber, the conical spiral rail section 13 is provided. The two ends of the machine rail 1 are open, that is, the head end of the head linear rail section 12 and the tail end of the tail linear rail section 14 are open.

(8) In the present invention, in order to facilitate the bamboo strip to enter the machine rail 1 and to take out the bamboo fiber, the continuous processing device further comprises a pick-and-place section 6 for picking and placing the bamboo strip. Two ends of the pick-and-place section 6 are connected to the head linear rail section 12 and the tail linear rail section 14, respectively. The cart 3 is formed with a groove 31. Two sides of the groove 31 are symmetrically provided with at least one pair of pulleys 32. The cart guide rail 2 has a T-shaped cross-section, that is, the cart guide rail 2 has a transverse portion 201 and a vertical portion 202. Two ends of the transverse portion 201 of the cart guide rail 2 cooperate with the pulleys 32 at the two sides of the groove 31 so as to slide the cart 3 on the cart guide rail 2. The conical spiral rail section has a radius of 80-800mm and 5-15 rail loops.

(9) Referring to FIG. 1, a continuous processing method for forming bamboo fiber in accordance with the present invention is implemented based on the aforesaid continuous processing device. The continuous processing method includes the following specific operations.

(10) Fresh bamboo grown for 0.5-1.5 years is used; the bamboo is sawed into bamboo segments of 0.8-3 m in length, and each of the bamboo segments is divided into 4-8 parts to obtain bamboo strips of 2-4 cm in width. The bamboo strips are performed with a heat treatment and ready for use

(11) The heat-treated bamboo strip is placed on the head linear rail section 12 and secured by the clamp 4. The cart 3 is installed on the head linear rail section 12 and actuated. The cart 3 moves along the cart guide rail 2 and pulls the bamboo strip into the head linear rail section 12 and continues to pull the bamboo strip to move along the machine rail 1. The bamboo strip is stretched, crushed, bent and twisted while in motion, so that the bamboo strip is greatly destroyed by geometric nonlinear distortion. During this process, intricate and even cracks appear in the fiber and base structure of the bamboo. As the cracks continue to expand, the fiber and base structure are separated out into large bundles from the bamboo. By pulling the cart 3, bamboo fiber (cellulosic) is eventually produced from the tail linear rail section 14. When the cart 3 is moved to the tail linear guide rail section 23, the cart 3 is removed and the bamboo fiber is taken out. After that, the cart 3 is re-installed on the head linear rail section 12 for the next round of fiber-producing operation. This cycle is continued in order to achieve the purpose of continuous production of bamboo fiber.

(12) Any one of the following three methods may be used for heat treatment, i.e. (a) Steaming: Place the bamboo strips of fixed length and width in a sealed steamer. The bamboo strips are placed on a suspended a wire mesh with high-pressure steam to flow up and down for 3-5 minutes, ensuring that the bamboo strips are thoroughly heated. (b) Roasting: Place the bamboo strips of fixed length and width in a charcoal oven and roast for 2-3 minutes. The bamboo strips are continuously flipped during the roasting process so that every part of the bamboo strips is heated evenly. The bamboo strips may be taken out when the green parts of the bamboo strips turn white. (c) Boiling: Place the bamboo strips of fixed length and width in a steam bath. Heat the water to a temperature of 70-95 C. and keep the bamboo strips in the water for 5-15 minutes at the constant temperature and then take out the bamboo strips.

(13) The fresh bamboo may be selected from one of Omei Mountain Bamboo, Green Bamboo, Weaver's Bamboo or Moso Bamboo. The head end of the head linear rail section and the tail end of the tail linear rail section are enlarged to facilitate the placement of the bamboo strip on the machine rail 1 and easy removal of the processed fiber from the rail. The conical spiral rail section has a radius of 80-800 mm and 5-15 rail loops. The actual number of rail loops is mainly dependent on the objective. The more loops there are, the softer the bamboo fiber.

(14) From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present invention provides a mechanical and physical processing method. Fully utilizing its anisotropic and non-uniform characteristics, bamboo is first heated to change its nature and compelled to move along a fixed rail. The pressure from the machine rail 1 forces the bamboo to be stretched, crushed, twisted and bent, causing it to be greatly destroyed by geometric nonlinear distortion. Cracks appear in the fiber and base structure of the bamboo during the process. As the cracks continue to expand, the fiber and base structure are separated out into large bundles from the bamboo. Furthermore, result of evaluation shows that the bamboo fiber (bundle) obtained from the processing method of the present invention is highly elastic and resilient.

(15) Therefore, a continuous processing device for forming bamboo fiber of the present invention has a relatively simple structure and is easy to operate and use. The processing method of the present invention performed by using the continuous processing device has simple processing process, high efficiency and no pollution. The bamboo fiber (bundle) obtained from the processing method of the present invention is highly elastic and resilient. In other words, the present invention can rapidly effectively continuously prepare a large quantity of high-quality bamboo fiber, thereby greatly saving the production time of the bamboo fiber, improving the production efficiency, reducing the production cost, and increasing the application of bamboo fiber.

(16) Although particular embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.