US2669788A - Machine for drying hosiery - Google Patents

Description

1954 H. s. DRUM ET AL MACHINE FOR DRYING HOISERY 2 Sheefs-Sheet 1 Filed June '7, 1950 ATTORNEYS.

H. S. DRUM ET AL MACHINE F0 Feb. 23, 1954 R DRYING HOISERY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 7, 1950 ATTORNEYS" Patented Feb. 23, 1954 MACHINE FOR DRYING HOSIERY Harry S. Drum, Abington, Hugo F. Liedtke,

Philadelphia, and Joseph Schmitz, Jr., Crestmont Farms, Pa., assignors to Smith, Drum & Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application June 7, 1950, Serial No. 166,666

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to material drying apparatus and more particularly to a novel machine for drying hosiery.

In the manufacture and handling of hosiery as heretofore practiced, there are two methods in present day use, both of which require two or more handlings of th stockings and the use of skilled operators.

In the first method the knitted stockings are preset on boards individually, removed from the boards and put into bundles of twelve and wrapped in muslin, after which a number of these bundles are put into a bag. These bags are now placed in a dyeing machine where they are dyed and a finish applied. When this operation is completed, they are removed from the dyeing machine and transferred to a mechanical extractor for extraction of excess liquid. Following this operation, the stockings are removed from the bags, the muslin wrapping taken off so that each stocking can be pulled onto a heated hosiery form for drying and re-shaping. In some hosiery plants the bundling and wrapping in muslin is dispensed with and the stockings drop into the dye bag in loose form.

In the second method, known as the Dunn" system, the stockings are hung in a conditioning chamber where they are exposed to steam to produce what is called a pro-setting. After removal from this cabinet the stockings are then prepared for dyeing in either of the two ways of the first method, after which the finished boarding operation is carried out on the same piece of apparatus as is used for pre-boarding referred to in the first method.

. Both of these methods have certain disadvantages which have plagued manufacturers since the introduction of nylon and synthetic fibres. These relatively new fibres produce a very sheer fabric which is very easily damaged by handling. Thus, in the first method described, there are two individual handlings, and in the second method there is the handling preparing for the re-setting operation and the finish boarding operation. Both of these operations must be carried out by skilled operators, and when the stockings are pulled on forms there is always the chance for variation in length due to one operator pulling the stocking down with greater force than another operator. Furthermore, in either of the foregoing methods constant supervision and labor are required because some of the finishing compound adheres to the forms on which the stocking is finish boarded. This requires the forms to be cleaned on an average of once every two or three hours because otherwise the crystalline nature of the finish as it bakes on the forms willcause damage to the inside of the stocking.

Some of the objects of the present invention are: to provide an improved machine for drying hosiery; to provide a hosiery drying machine in which th stockings in quantity or in bundle form are handled on a continuous basis; to provide a hosiery drying machine wherein means operate to direct the greater portion of the drying medium to the foot, hem, welt, or areas of greatest concentration of the fabric; to provide a hosiery drying machine comprising a cabinet or closed housing having a drying source therein and a conveyor traversing the cabinet for carrying a quantity of stockings into the path of the drying medium; to provide a hosiery drying machine which can be successfully operated by unskilled held instead of skilled help; to provide a hosiery machine which eliminates the pulling of stockings on individual forms, so that no drying forms are required and consequently the usual cleaning of such forms to get rid of finishing compounds is no longer necessary; to provide a hosiery drying machine in the operation of which skilled supervision of the workers is no longer required; to provide a hosiery machine which operates with less finishing compound than is necessary in present day machines; to provide a hosiery machine which reduces the damage ordinarily done to hosiery by the number of handlings; to provide a novel method of drying hosiery in stacked or bundled form; and to provide other objects as will become apparent as the description proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 represents a side elevation broken away of a hosiery dryer embodying one form of the present invention; Fig. 2 represents a vertical medial section of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 represents a section of line 33- of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 represents a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, one form of hosiery drying apparatus embodying the invention is shown wherein bundles or quantities of unboarded preset hosiery are placed upon areticulated conveyor l0 in order to travel through a transverse passage ll formed by a casing l2 and leading from the receiving side of the machine to the delivery side. Preferably, the width of the conveyor Ill and the passage H is such as to allow the hosiery to lie in flat extended position with the stocking welts at one side of the passage and the feet at the opposite side. The conveyor H3 projects from the ends of the casing 12 to travel around driving and driven pulleys l3 and i l, or the like, which are so laterally spaced with respect to the machine as to provide extensions respectively for loading and unloading purposes. As shown, the bottom of the casing I2 terminates at opposite ends respectively in areaate diverging ducts I5 and 15, which seat on the top of a suitable support such as the skeleton base [7. While as heretofore described the width of the passagell is such that the stockings lie flat transverse of the conveyor, the length of the passage Iil isgreatersthangits; width and, sovv dimensioned as to ensure most effective drying action during the travel of the stockings through the passage 1!.

and 2| communicating respectively with the aforesaid two ducts l5 and It, while the top of the casing I2 is formed with two lengthwise arranged inlets 22 and 23, which are alined respec- Forheating air and circulating it through the bundleof stockings, tWo heating coils 24 and 2 5aremounted respectively above the two casing inlets 2'2 and 23, and housed transversely: re-

spectively of two inverted funnel: shaped conduits: The upper end of the conduit 25 is in communication with the discharge ofa blower 28', the suction side of which communicates with a" chamber 30 formed'between; an enclosing housmg 3-1 and the conduit 29'. The duct 15 discharges into the lower end of the chamber 39 to form a return for the air for res-circulation. An inlet 32 is provided to the chamber as and has avalve 33 therein for controlling the fresh air supply. The blower 28 is driven by a suitable electric motor 34 mounted in proper axial rela-- tion.

Inorder to diffuse and distributethe air on its Way to the heating coils 24 adistributor plate- 35 is mounted transverselyacross the conduit 2'6 a'djacent'to the discharge-from theblower, and isprovided with air passages 35'; preferably laterally spaced apart to form a central baffle suitably spaced therefrom, in parallel relation,

there is a perforated distributor'plate' 31 through which the air passesto enter aportion' of the con-- duit 26 definedby'a transversely disposed diffuser screen 38, located above and suitably spaced The bottom of the casing i2 isformed with two lengthwise arrangedv outlets 2i heretofore in. use. By reasonof the continuous feeding" of, hosiery the production of; the finished hosiery is about double present day methods, while unskilled help can replace the usual skilled help. Since the stockings during the drying operation are: handled in bundle form instead of individually, the necessity of pulling the stockings onto forms individually is eliminated so that no drying forms are required. Consequently,

1 there isno cleaning of forms to get rid of finishing compounds; which means no supervision is required for this operation. Also, approximately fifty." percent: less finishing compounds are refrom thecoils24. Thus; the-air discharged from the blower 28 travels successively: through a series of conduit portions each successively of increased volumeuntil the maximum is reached at: the heatingcoil Hi. After this air circulates through thebundle or stack of stockings on the'conveyor',

itleavesby way of the duct i5 to rise in the cham--- ber 3'0 and return to: the suction side of the:

blower 28. It is preferable to provide; an aper tured baiile 4'0 in the return.

' Since the-conduit 21 is a duplicate ofthe con duit 26, it will not bespecifically" described, but generally includes a blower 41 at the upper end of the conduit driven by amotor 42- to discharge air into thesuccession of increased volume conduit portions formed by a distributor plate 43- withpassages i l, perforated platev45; and screen 451 The discharged air from; this conduit 21 traverses. the. bundle; of' stockings 1 and; discharges.

quired. because it all remains on the stockings. Furthermore, less damage is done to the goods because of less handling and because the stockings are not subjectedtothe possibility of damage from the sides clinging, to the forms.

Because the drying operation produced bythe present method and apparatus is done inbundles, uniformity in preset foot sizes and lengthof" hosiery and texture'offabric is-produced; whereas in the standard boarding or post preboarding operation which consists in pulling the damp g stocking over a form made principally of metal,

irregular result is necessarily producedinheel length, overall length and texture of the knitted fabric. Also, by the present invention there is a complete elimination of anyfinger scratches across the wales of the knitted fabric which is usually produced in the boarding" operation. To applicants knowledge there is noother method, of drying stockings known orused" in" the finishing operation of hosiery known as boarding or" pressing, that will produce this uniformity now." obtained by the method and apparatus of this invention.

We claim: I

A hosiery drying machine, comprising the: combination of a housing, a casingin said housing forming a closed end transverse passage having two upper spaced air inlets and two l'owerspaced air outlets respectively alined with said inlets; saidpassage havinga width to receive a stock'- ing disposed fiat transversely of said passage with the leg portion thereof juxtaposedte thecasing' between said inlets and the welt andffbot'p'or 'tionsrespectively alined with saidinlets; conduits: for airrespectively communicating with sai d' inlets, heating coils respectively on said conduits, blower means for delivering; air to." said heating coils; and return": circulation conduits leading-respectively from said" outl ts to said blower means:

HARRY S. DRUIVL. :E-IUCKJ 'LIEDTKE. JOSEPH, SGHNHTZ, JRZ. References Cited" in the file of this patent 1 UJXFITEID STATES PATENTS Number Name. Date:-

675,068: Sargent May28; 1901' 1,112,329 Schwartz etal. Sept; 29, 1914' 1,489,223 Reumaniret al Apr; 1, 1924; 1,513,639 Schwartz Oct. 28, 1924-, 1,547,294 Braemer July 23, 1925 ,804,558 Haas May 12,1931-v 1,942,828 Parkes Jan. 9, 1934 1,963,343 Winkelmnller June. 19,.1934 1,965,229 Galson; July 3,, 1934' 1,966,405 Galson et a1.. Jul'y 10.193 1 2,113.8,fi'18 Hyde etal. Aug..8.,,.l9,39 2333,1611 Dunn M -.I Ioy. 2. 19.43,

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