US2554034A - Papermaker's felt - Google Patents

Description

May 22, 1.951 J. P. KOESTER ET Al. y 2,554,034

PAPERMAKERS FELT Filed Aug. 18, 1948 IO IO Illlllllllll consumar-: x

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lINVENTORS JOHN P. KOESTER HAROLD S, COMER FusJO4 BYWWMEf/LA F|G.l2 ATTORNEYS Patented May 22, 1951 PAPERMAKERS FELT' John. P; Koester; and Harold S. Comer, Piqua,

Ohio, assignors to The Orr Felt & Blanket Compan-y, Piqua, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application August 18, 1948', Serial No. 44,917

2 Claims.

This invention relates to Woven felts and particularly to felts that are used in the papermaking industry, and like industries. for supporting and carrying pulp-like materials;

Thereu .are numerous industries in which endless fab-ric belts or felts are used to pick up a wet pulp and support it while liquid is drained away from the pulp through the felt. These endless belts are corn-mon. to the papermaking industry, and are also used in the manufacture of various pulpboards and .asbestos boards and sheets.

The liferof these felts-is` extremely short, varying from afewhoursto afew days in an industry using highlyv abrasive pulp, such as asbestos pulp and asbestos cement pulp, to a few days to a few 'Weeks in the paperma-king industry, depending uponA thekind of paper or paper-board that is being produced. In anyy event, however, these endless felts must be replaced at regular intervals, depending upon their usage in various industries, and this involves a major expense in the operation of a papermaking or a boardmaking plant. Thus, it has been a constant endeavor to obtain better wearing qualities of the felts so that they will resist physical` abrasion and chemical action.

Itis com-mon practice to use anali-wool felt in many of the pulp-using industries since the high grade wools give thebest resistance to physical abrasionand areresistant to the various chemicalsl used in the pulp-using industries. However, there isa limit to the physical abrasion that woolcan take and yet it is highly` desirable-to have wool surfaces on felts that are used to obtain a surface finish on paperor various pulp-boards. Thus, the use of wool cannot be eliminated' in the pulp-using industries that make paper and pulp-boards;

Particularly in the industry of manufacture of asbestos cement boards there is an extremely severe physical abrasion problem ofthe feltsthat has not been satisfactorily overcome. While this industry involves a serious physical abrasion problem on the sur-faceof felts, yet the chemical problem isnot so acute.

Therefore; it is an object of this inventionv to provide a woven papermakers felt, or wet pulp handling felt wherein a non-wool non-felting yarn'is used? in either the warp or filling system of the `woven felt, and a yarn composed in its major part of wool is usedin the other system.

More particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide awet pulp handling` felt wherein the warp system` of the wovenfel-t is a cotton yarn and the 'filling systemv of the woven felt con- 2 sists of both a cotton yarn and a wool yarn that are laid in the lling system in a regular repeating pattern.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a wet pulp handling felt in `accordance with the foregoing object wherein the wool yarn forms the surface yarn of the felt on at least one side of the felt.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a wet pulp handling felt, or a papermakers felt, in accordance with the foregoing objects wherein the wool-containing'yarnisv substantially larger than the non-'wool non-.felting yarn.

These andl other objects of the invention will become apparent from the drawings and the following description.

In the drawings:

lFigure 1 is a plan View of a woven felt constructed according to this invention;

Figure 2 is a Weave diagram of the felt of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal edge View of the felt taken along line 3 3 of Figure 1;l

Figure 4 is a transverse edge View of the felt taken along line 5 4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a plan view of another weave of a felt constructed according to this invention;l

Figure 6 is a weave diagram of the felt of Figure 5;

Figure '7 is a longitudinalv cross-sectionaledge view taken along line -l of Figure 5;

Figure 8 is a transverse edge view of the felt taken along line 8 8 of Figure 5;

Figure 9 is a plan view of another Weave of a felt constructed according to this invention;

Figure 10v isA a weave diagram of' the felt of Figure 9;

Figure 1l is a longitudinal edge, View taken along line H-ll of Figure 9;

Figure 12 isa transverse edge .view taken along line |2-l2 of Figure 9.

Figure 13v is; a cross-sectional view taken along line lS-I- ofl Fig. 1 illustrating the condition of the fabric, after fulling;

Figure 14 is a cross-sectional view like; Fig.. 3, illustrating the condition ofA the; fabric after fulling;

Fig. 15 is a cross-sectionalview. like Fig. 4, illus= trating the condition of the fabric after fulling;

Fig. 16 is a cross-sectional view taken along line Iii-.4.6 of Fig. 5 illustrating the condition of the fabric after f'ulling;

Figs. '17 and A18 are like Figs; 7: andi 8. respec- 3 tively but illustrate the condition of the fabric after fulling.

The felt of this invention is what is known as a Woven felt that can be produced on conventional weaving machinery. In constructing endless felts or belts for handling of wet pulp, the yarn of which the felt is comp-osed is woven in a suitable pattern into a fabric having both warp yarn and iilling yarn systems. After the felt is woven it is suitably fulled or shrunk to size to compact the yarn and to give the felt satisfactory body and surface support for pulp fibers and yet provide for satisfactory drainage of liquid away from the pulp.

In manufacturing endless felts or belts for handling of wet pulp, such as papermakers felts, it is essential that the felt shall provide for water drainage from the pulp during the service life of the felt, and will give to the paper or board that is being produced a desired surface finish. It is also highly desirable that the felts shall have a reasonable service life to prevent undue cost of replacement.

In the papermaking industry, woven felts in which both the warp yarn system and the filling yarn system are composed of all-wool yarns have been found to be satisfactory. However, there are certain conditions of high physical abrasion that is greater than can be withstood by wool yarns to give a reasonable service life or" the felt. While all-wool felts have been used in industries of high physical abrasi-on in the handling of wet pulp, yet their replacement has been often and their costhigh as a result.

It is therefore the purpose of this invention to produce a felt having a wool surface finish that will give a reasonable service life in those wet pulp handling industries in which high physical abrasion of the pulp on the felt is a serious problem. Such an industry is that of the manufacture of asbestos cement board.

Therefore, in this invention the felt is composed of woven warp and lling yarn systems wherein the systems are composed partly of a nonfltting yarn and partly of a wool yarn or a wool yarn mixed with other bers such as nylon, but wherein the wool comprises the major part of the yarn to maintain the surface finish charlacteristics that are given to a felt by the wool fibers.

More particularly, the felt of this invention is composed of woven warp and filling yarn systems wherein the warp system consists of a non- Wool non-felting yarn, preferably cotton, and the felting system is composed of a non-wool nonfelting yarn, preferably cotton, and a wool base yarn, or all-wool yarn, in which the two yarns in the filling system are laid in la regular repeating pattern so that the wool yarn, or wool base yarn, will provide the surface finish yarn on at least one side of the felt.

By constructing a felt in which the filling yarn system is composed at least in part of a wool yarn or la Wool base yarn, the characteristics of the wool fibers to give Isurface finish to the product are retained, and yet the strength characteristics of a non-wool non-felting yarn in the filling and warp yarn systems are obtained. Thus, the benefit of the wool yarn is retained and the benet of .a non-wool yarn is gained.

It is also understood that in the manufacture of the felts, the fulling characteristics of the wool yarn are retained in the felt of this invention, as is the napping characteristic of the wool yarn, so that in those felts that are desired to have a 4 napped surface to give a high surface finish to the product, the nap surface can be obtained in regular wool napping machines.

In Figures 1, 5 and 9 there are illustrated three different weaves of a woven felt in which the warp yarns are non-wool non-f'elting yarns and the filling yarn system is composed of a non-Wool nonfelting yarn and. a wool or wool base yarn.

In Figure 1 the Warp yarns I0 are non-Wool yarns, preferably are co-tton yarns since cotton imparts a high tensile strength to the finished pro-duct. In the Weave of the felt of Fig, 1 the Warp yarn system is an all-non-wool system.

The filling yarn system consists of the iWool or Wool-base yarns ll and the non-Wool yarns I2. The non-wool yarns l2 can be the same yarn that is used in the warp yarn system, or they can be of .a different composition to give to the lling yarn system the desired transverse strength.

The wool or wool-base yarns l l may be of wool yarn, or they may contain other bers to add to the characteristics of the wool bers, such as nylon fibers. Nylon fibers added to the wool yarn increase the abrasive resistence of the yarn, but a high percentage of nylon fibers cannot be used for the reason that an extremely high percentage of nylon fibers eliminates the fulling characteristics of the wool which must be retained to obtain the desired density of the finished felt.

The weave pattern of the Woven felt of Fig. 1 is shown in Fig. 2 wherein the corresponding rows of filling yarns are indicated by letters.

It will be noted that in Fig. 1 the wool or `woolbase yarns l l are woven through the warp yarns le in such a mannery that the wool yarns Il become surface yarns on the upper surface of the felt while the wool yarns l la are woven through the warp yarns IU so that they become surface yarns on the opposite side of the felt. A nonwool yarn I2 is woven through the warp yarns i0 between every other pair of wool yarns ll, lla.

In Fig. 5 there is illustrated another weave for a felt in which the warp yarn system consisting of the warp yarns 2i) is composed of non-wool yarns.

The filling yarn system of the felt of Fig. 5 is composed of the wool yarns 2l and the non-wool yarn 22. Figure 6 illustrates the Weave pattern of the felt shown in Fig. 5 and corresponding filling yarn rows are lettered With corresponding letters in the weave diagram of Fig. 6 and the felt of Fig. 5.

In the felt shown in Fig. 5 it will be noted that the weave is such that the wool or wool-base yarns form the surface yarns on the top of the felt. Thus, the back of the felt is composed substantially of all-non-wool yarn.

Fig. 9 illustrates another weave of a felt in which the warp yarn system consists of the nonwool yarns 3 and the filling yarn system consists of the wool Yyarns 3l and the non-wool yarns 32.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that there are many weaves that can be used to obtain the benefits of this invention of making the filling system partly of wool yarn or wool-base yarn and partly of a non-'wool yarn, such as cotton.

In Figs. 1 and 9 there is illustrated a method of placing a relatively large volume of Wool in the filling yarn system wherein the wool or wool-base yarns ll, Ha of Fig. 1 and the wool or woolbase yarns 3| of Fig. 9 are 'substantially larger in size than the non-wool yarns in the warp and iilling systems of the particular weaves. By this arin the filling yarn systems of the felts.

filling yarn give Way at the same time, whereas in the felt of this invention the :all-wool yarn may be abraded away without greatly affecting the non-wool yarns of the warp and filling systems that give the felt its tensile strength in both directions.

When speaking of all-non-vvool yarns in this invention, preferably cotton yarn is to be Ico-nsidered, but other non-wool yarns are not to be eliminated from consideration as being within the scope of the invention. Also, when speaking of wool-baise yarns or wool-containing yarns, 'wool shall be considered the major part of the yarn which may be blended with other non-Wool yarns, such as nylon and others to give certain specific added qualities to the Wool or wool-base yarn.

The invention has been described with reference to the use of non-wool yarns, or cotton yarns It has previously been considered impractical to use other than all-wool yarns in a felt for the reason that the non-wool yarns or cotton yarns do not have the fulling characteristics of all-wool yarn. The woven felts are Woven with a relatively loose weave and thereafter fulled or shrunk to size to give to the felt the proper degree of compactness and body. As for example, felts are shrunk as much as 50% from the size of the original woven fabric. Thus, a felt Woven 2004 wide will be fulled or shrunk to approximately 100 in width.

However, this applicant has discovered that by properly combining wool yarns and non-Wool yarns or cotton yarns in the filling yarn system of felts, the fulling characteristics of the wool yarns can be advantageously retained, and yet obtain the advantage of the strength of the non- Wool or cotton yarns. It has been discovered that when the filling yarn system contains both a Wool yarn and a non-wool or cotton yarn, that the wool yarn will full or shrink in exactly the same manner as would be expected. But the cotton yarn, or non-wool yarn, which does not have the same fulling characteristics as the wool yarn, will merely loop across the warp yarns, but

without causing any tangling of the non-wool fill yarns with the non-Wool warp yarns. Also, the loops of the non-wool fill yarns will still remain below the surface of the fulled wool ll yarns so that a satisfactory Wool surface can be obtained on the felt. Thus, the felts can have a filling yarn system in which a substantially nonfulling yarn and a fulling yarn are used.

In Figs. 13 and 15 there is illustrated the condition of the woven fabric after fulling. It will be noted in Fig. 15 that the warp yarns I0 have been drawn closer together by the shrinking of the fill wool yarn II which has also increased in size due to the fulling or shrinking characteristic of the wool yarn. The upper surface is, therefore, substantially all-wool. The lower surface of the woven felt is also all-wool since the pattern repeats itself at the ll Wool yarn I Ia, shown in Fig. 1, but in reverse as compared to the pattern of the ll wool yarns I I.

In Fig. 13 there is illustrated the eiect of the fulling or shrinking of the Wool ll yarns on the non-wool or cotton ll yarns. Here, the cotton fill yarn I2 is caused to loop over the Warp yarns .I0 because it doesk not full or shrink to the same extent as the wool yarns I I or IIa. Thus, the fill yarn I2 makes a pattern such as that shown in Fig. 13, but the surface of the yarn I2 is still below the surface of the adjacent wool yarns II, Ila.

In Figs. 16, 17 and 18 there is illustrated the Vresult of fulling or Yshrinking of the felt carrying the weave shown in Fig. 5. In this instance, the wool yarns are all on the top of the felt and the non-wool and the cotton yarns constitute the Vback of the felt, thus giving a cotton-backed felt. However, the looping effect of the non-wool or cotton yarns 22 is clearly shown in Fig. 16.

While specific forms of the invention are disclosed herein, yet modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and those modifications that fall within the scope of the appended claims are intended to be included herein.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A Woven fulled wet pulp handling felt consisting of warp and filling textile yarn systems, said warp system consisting of all non-felting textile yarn and said filling system consisting of a non-felting textile yarn and a yarn composed in its major part of wool and substantially larger in size than the non-felting textile yarn and laid in a regular repeating pattern with the wool yarn of the filling system comprising at least 50% of the yarn of the lling system and with both yarns of the filling system extending through the felt to both faces thereof.

2. A woven fulled wet pulp handling felt consisting of warp and filling textile yarn systems, said Warp system consisting of all cotton yarn and said filling system consisting of a cotton yarn and a yarn composed in its major part of wool and substantially larger in size than the cotton yarn and laid in a regular repeating pattern with the wool yarn of the filling system comprising at least 50% o'f the yarn of the filling system and with both yarns of the filling system extending through the felt to both faces thereof.

JOHN P. KOESTER. HAROLD S. COMER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain of 1885 Great Britain of 18,80 Great Britain Nov. 27, 1924 Number Number

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