US2571494A - Apparatus for the treatment of textiles - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 16, 1951 w. w. sPooNER APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT 0E TEXTILES original Filed Marc Inventor B A MW tlomeya Patented Oct. 16, 1951' APPARATUS Fon THE TREATMENT oF i TEXTILES William Wycliffe Spooner, Ilkley, vEngland Original application March 25, 1949, Serial No. 83,496. Divided and this application June 28,

1950, Serial N0. 170,777.

cember 5, 1947 3 Claims.

' The present invention relates to an improved apparatus for the treatment of woven textile webs, and is a division of application Serial No. 83,496, led March 25, 1949.

Normally woven textile fabric during weaving and until the time it is finished, whilst undergoing desizing, scouring, washing, dyeing, drying and other processes, is subjected to warp tension, the partial or complete compensation of which, as upon a stentering machine, inevitably imposes sever strain on the fabric with loss of strength and possible damage.

An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus which will release the strains on warp and weft existing in a Woven fabric web after weaving, and then set it to a desired width, with complete continuity, thus avoiding undesired markings on the fabric web as would inevitably occur where the web is subject to a series of processes spaced in time requiring the web to be hatched by rolling or lapping.

By this invention the woven fabric web is passed continuously from a desizing machine to a scray and from thence to a washing machine or a scouring, rinsing and washing machine wherein it is subject to impact on one or both sides by liquor streams, preferably directed on to the fabric web from nozzles disposed singly or in groups, the material then passing through squeeze rolls, whereupon it is either plaited up into a loose pile or passed to another scray. Thereafter the woven fabric web may be passed to a drying machine, Vor alternatively through a machine in which dye liquor is directed on to one or both sides of the continuously moving fabric web by nozzles, to another scray and thence to a drying machine. This drying machine may be of any known type through which fabric web can be conveyed with substantial absence of warp and weft tension, but preferably .includes a plurality of guide rollers, certain of which can be driven, and of these some will be driven at a different speed to others to assist in relieving warp tension. The drying is preferably effected by hot air or gas streams directed at high velocity from nozzles or groups of nozzles disposed on one or opposite sides of the web.

The nozzles for impacting the streams of liquor, air or gas upon the fabric web are preferably such as will transform potential energy of iluid under pressure in a. chamber to kinetic energy, and further the streams are preferably directed at an angle to the fabric web. Such streams may be directed either at an angle reversely to the direction of displacement of the In Great Britain Defabric web relatively thereto or in the same direction, 'and a convenient arrangement will be one where groups of nozzles are disposed directed at diifering angles so that there will be a tendency for the fabric web to be compressed longitudinally between separate groups of nozzles, thus minimizing length tension.

Finally, drying and setting of the fabric is effected by moistening the fabric with the application of steam and drying and setting it in a stenter. Owing to the fact that initial drying can be effected substantially in the absence of weft and Warp tension it is possible to shrink fabric to such an extent that it can be subjected to steam and may be fed to a stenter at a width less than its i'lnished stenter width. The fabric web may be fed into a stenter with a small amount of overfeed. In setting fabric the warp shrinks an amount compatible with the amount of overfeed such that no warp tension is introduced thereby and at the same time the fabric is pulled to width and set by the introduction of weft tension in the stenter.

The fabric is thus shrunk to such an extent that a final flnish dimensionally stable to washing and laundering shrinkage is obtained without the necessity for any mechanical process causing compression of the weftswith longitudinal shrinkage or other similar subsequent shrinking processes. y

The invention will be further described with reference tov the accompanying drawings, Ain which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of an apparatus embodying the present invention, and

Fig- 2 is a diagrammatic represesentation of a further form cf apparatus embodying the present invention.

In the drawings like reference numerals indicate like parts.

Fabric web I is passed through liquor treatment vats 2 by means of feed and guide rollers 3, I, 5 and 6. Liquor contained in the vat is dirccted under pressure by any suitable means, not shown, to nozzles 1 by which streams of liquor are directed on to the fabric web I. Preferably the streams of liquor are directed on to the fabric web approximately at right angles and the resulting battering into the centre of the fabric web aists in producing shrinkage and relaxation of the strains. After the impingement of streams of liquor the fabric web is passed between squeeze rolls 8 and passed on to scray 9.

In the drawings there is only shown one liquor treatment vat but the invention is not limited to the provision of only one liquor treatment vat. It will be understood that in such cases this merely represents the last vat in a series which are adapted, for example, firstly for desizing. washing, scouring, dyeing and subsequent washing or other processes.

From the scray I the fabric web is fed into a drying machine I0 through which it is passed by means of the rollers Il. Heated air for drying is delivered by means not shown to conduit I2 and thence into pressure chambers I3; nozzles I4 disposed on opposite sides of the fabric web direct streams of heated air on to the fabric web from the pressure chambers I3. Certain or all of the rollers II are driven mechanically by a prime mover, not shownI and the speeds of rotation of the rollers are not all equal but differ in order to loverfeed so as to assist in substantially reducing warp tension when in the drying machine.

After partial drying in the'drying machine I l the fabric web is passed for nishing and setting in stenter I5. The fabric web may be moistened in the initial stage of processing in the stenter Il by the application of steam in a known manner. Thereafter it is dried and pulled to size with the application of w'eft tension. The fabric web is arranged to be overfed to the stenter so as to allow for warp shrinkage and substantially reduce the possibility of said shrinkage causing warp tension. After passing through the stenter the fabric web is plaited up into a loose pile I6 or otherwise collected in a known manner.

In the apparatus shown diagrammatically in Pig. 2y after being passed through liquor vat 2 and passed on to scray l as described in connection with the apparatus shown diagrammatically in Fig. l, the fabric web is fed into the drying machine fIl) in which it is completely dried. Heated air for drying is delivered, by means not shown, to conduit 32 and thence into pressure chambers Il having nozzles similar to those of the construction of Fig. 1. The maximum relaxation of strains in fibres is achieved by ensuring that the fabric web is completely dried. Thereafter in order to set the fabric web it is necessary to moisten the fabric web and to apply heat thereto. 'I'hus the fabric web is fed into a steamer I1 through which it is passed by means of rollers I8 and in which it is subjected to the application of steam in order to moisten the fabric web. Steam is delivered into conduit I! from any suitable source, not shown, and thence to pressure chambers 20 from which it is directed by means of nozzles, not shown, on to opposite i sides of the fabric web. As hereinbefore described with reference to the drying machine 30, the rollers Il are driven from an external prime mover, not shown, at differing speeds so as to compensate for alteration in warp lengths and the lower rollers may be arranged to overfeed so as substantially to reduce warp tension.

After passing through steamer I1, the fabric web is passed to a short range stenter 2 I in which it is merely dried and set, there being no initial stage wherein steam is applied to the fabric web as in the stenter I 5. The fabric web is effectively fully shrunk before it is passed to the stenter frame and consequently it is not normally necessary for the web to be overfed. Weft tension is applied to the fabric web in order to draw it out and set it to the required width. 'I'he web is stretched whilst in a plastic form at the entrance end of the stenter frame. One or more steam nozzles may be positioned at the entrance end in order to keep the fabric web hot and moist and prevent a drop in temperature. After the fabric web has been drawn out and set to the required width it is cooled as quickly as possible. When the fabric web comes into contact with normally cooled air any superfluous moisture is steamed off and in evaporating cools the fabric web. After passing through the stenter 2| the fabric web is either plaited up intcfa loose pile II or collected in any known manner.

The amount of moisture which is added to the fabric yweb by steaming is normally such as to raise the weight of the fabric web a little, for example 1% or 2% above its nnal conditioned weight. If it is desired to add more moisture to the fabric web this may be achieved by applying steam to one side only of lthe fabric web and allowing the steam to condense byl cooling the other side of the fabric web. Preferably the steam used in the steamer is circulated in an almost closedr circuit, fresh steam being added in order to allow for loss of steam through entrance and exit openings in the steamer, and in order to maintain the required temperature and prevent excessive condensation.

The accompanying drawings are not in any sense limiting but are merely diagrammatic representations of two forms of apparatus embodying the present invention. For instance, the fabric web need not be passed vertically through a drying machine but may be passed thiough any known form of drying machine by which the fabric can be passed substantially in the absence of weft and warp tension. Similarly the application of hot air or steam to the fabric web by means of nozzles, whilst being extremely beneicial and advantageous, is preferable but not absolutely essential.

I claim:

l. An apparatus for treating of woven webs of textile fabric consisting of a liquor treatment vat, means to guide the web through said vat, a drying machine, a scray interposed between said vat and said drying machine, means to convey said web through said drying machine substantially in the absence of warp and weft tension in said web, means to moisten said web, means to finally dry said web, and means to apply weft tension to said web when in said final drying means.

2. An apparatus for treating of woven webs of textile fabric consisting of a liquor treatment vat, means to guide the web through said vat, a drying machine, a scray interposed between said vat and said drying machine, means to convey said web through said drying machine substantially in the absence of warp and weft tension in said web, a plurality of nozzles in said drying machine disposed with their axes at an angle to the sides of said web, means for supplying hot air to said nozzles to direct streams of hot air at high velocity on to said web, means to moisten said web after it has passed through said drying machine, means to finally dry said web. and means to apply weft tension to said web when in said final drying means.

3. An apparatus for treating of woven webs of textile fabric consisting of a liquor treatment vat, means to guide the web through said vat, a drying machine, a scray interposed between said vat and said drying machine, means to convey said web through said drying machine substantially in the absence of warp and weft tension in said web, a plurality of nozzles in said drying machine disposed at an angle to the sides 6 of said web, means for supplying hot air to said REFERENCES CITED nozzlFs to dlrectlstreams 0f hot alf at hlgh The followingr references are of record in the veloclty on to said web, a steamer, means to me of this patent;

convey said web through said steamer substantially in the absence of warp and weft tension in 5 UN :I D STATES PAIEIITS said web, means in said steamer for applying Number Name Date steam to said web, means to finally dry said 2,109,469 Cohn et al' Ma'r- 1 1938 web, and means to apply weft tension to said 2251'127 Gessner July 29 1941 web when in said nal drying means. 2275278 Andrews """f" Mar 3 1942 10 2,325,545 Redman a July 2T, 1943 2,390,451 Morrill Dec. 4, 1945 WILLIAM WYCLIFFE SPOONER- 2,415,379 n Vieira Feb. 4, 1947

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