CA1135038A - Machine for and method of producing treating or finishing a fabric - Google Patents
Machine for and method of producing treating or finishing a fabricInfo
- Publication number
- CA1135038A CA1135038A CA000361189A CA361189A CA1135038A CA 1135038 A CA1135038 A CA 1135038A CA 000361189 A CA000361189 A CA 000361189A CA 361189 A CA361189 A CA 361189A CA 1135038 A CA1135038 A CA 1135038A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- treatment
- fabric
- rollers
- belts
- roller
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
- 239000004744 fabric Substances 0.000 title claims abstract description 117
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 19
- 238000011282 treatment Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 84
- -1 polytetra-fluoroethylene Polymers 0.000 claims abstract description 6
- 239000004810 polytetrafluoroethylene Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 6
- 238000001816 cooling Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 4
- 239000002421 finishing Substances 0.000 claims description 32
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 claims description 24
- 239000011248 coating agent Substances 0.000 claims description 22
- 238000000576 coating method Methods 0.000 claims description 22
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 claims description 20
- 239000003365 glass fiber Substances 0.000 claims description 7
- 229920001343 polytetrafluoroethylene Polymers 0.000 claims description 5
- 239000003921 oil Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- 229920002379 silicone rubber Polymers 0.000 claims description 4
- 230000008093 supporting effect Effects 0.000 claims description 4
- 239000002783 friction material Substances 0.000 claims description 3
- 238000010073 coating (rubber) Methods 0.000 claims description 2
- 238000010438 heat treatment Methods 0.000 abstract description 3
- 229940058401 polytetrafluoroethylene Drugs 0.000 abstract 1
- 238000001035 drying Methods 0.000 description 6
- 238000001879 gelation Methods 0.000 description 4
- 239000004800 polyvinyl chloride Substances 0.000 description 4
- 229920000915 polyvinyl chloride Polymers 0.000 description 3
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000009998 heat setting Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000007246 mechanism Effects 0.000 description 2
- 239000004033 plastic Substances 0.000 description 2
- 229920003023 plastic Polymers 0.000 description 2
- 239000004945 silicone rubber Substances 0.000 description 2
- BTFMCMVEUCGQDX-UHFFFAOYSA-N 1-[10-[3-[4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperidinyl]propyl]-2-phenothiazinyl]ethanone Chemical compound C12=CC(C(=O)C)=CC=C2SC2=CC=CC=C2N1CCCN1CCC(CCO)CC1 BTFMCMVEUCGQDX-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 239000004677 Nylon Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000001154 acute effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000000853 adhesive Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000001070 adhesive effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000000712 assembly Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000000429 assembly Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229920001971 elastomer Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 238000005188 flotation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000003475 lamination Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000010985 leather Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229920001778 nylon Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 230000003287 optical effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229960004265 piperacetazine Drugs 0.000 description 1
- 229920000728 polyester Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 229920000136 polysorbate Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 229920002635 polyurethane Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 239000004814 polyurethane Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000001737 promoting effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000011347 resin Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229920005989 resin Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 238000007665 sagging Methods 0.000 description 1
- 244000104985 savin Species 0.000 description 1
- 235000001520 savin Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 239000002904 solvent Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910001220 stainless steel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000010935 stainless steel Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000004753 textile Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000009988 textile finishing Methods 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F26—DRYING
- F26B—DRYING SOLID MATERIALS OR OBJECTS BY REMOVING LIQUID THEREFROM
- F26B13/00—Machines and apparatus for drying fabrics, fibres, yarns, or other materials in long lengths, with progressive movement
- F26B13/10—Arrangements for feeding, heating or supporting materials; Controlling movement, tension or position of materials
- F26B13/14—Rollers, drums, cylinders; Arrangement of drives, supports, bearings, cleaning
- F26B13/18—Rollers, drums, cylinders; Arrangement of drives, supports, bearings, cleaning heated or cooled, e.g. from inside, the material being dried on the outside surface by conduction
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- D06C—FINISHING, DRESSING, TENTERING OR STRETCHING TEXTILE FABRICS
- D06C15/00—Calendering, pressing, ironing, glossing or glazing textile fabrics
- D06C15/06—Calendering, pressing, ironing, glossing or glazing textile fabrics between rollers and co-operating moving surfaces formed of flexible material, e.g. bands
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F26—DRYING
- F26B—DRYING SOLID MATERIALS OR OBJECTS BY REMOVING LIQUID THEREFROM
- F26B13/00—Machines and apparatus for drying fabrics, fibres, yarns, or other materials in long lengths, with progressive movement
- F26B13/06—Machines and apparatus for drying fabrics, fibres, yarns, or other materials in long lengths, with progressive movement with movement in a sinuous or zig-zag path
- F26B13/08—Machines and apparatus for drying fabrics, fibres, yarns, or other materials in long lengths, with progressive movement with movement in a sinuous or zig-zag path using rollers
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F26—DRYING
- F26B—DRYING SOLID MATERIALS OR OBJECTS BY REMOVING LIQUID THEREFROM
- F26B13/00—Machines and apparatus for drying fabrics, fibres, yarns, or other materials in long lengths, with progressive movement
- F26B13/10—Arrangements for feeding, heating or supporting materials; Controlling movement, tension or position of materials
- F26B13/101—Supporting materials without tension, e.g. on or between foraminous belts
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Textile Engineering (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Treatment Of Fiber Materials (AREA)
- Cephalosporin Compounds (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A machine for and method of producing, treating or finishing a fabric. The machine comprises heated and unheated treatment rollers. The rollers are placed adjacent each other to define nips therebetween. Guide rollers define two endless paths with the treatment rollers around which paths two polytetra-fluoroethylene coated endless belts run. These paths have a common section running through the nips of the treatment rollers. Fabric fed through the common section is held between the belts in a controlled manner whilst being successively heated and cooled.
This successive heating and cooling of the fabric when it is sandwiched between the endless belts avoids distortion and marking of the fabric during subsequent processing.
A machine for and method of producing, treating or finishing a fabric. The machine comprises heated and unheated treatment rollers. The rollers are placed adjacent each other to define nips therebetween. Guide rollers define two endless paths with the treatment rollers around which paths two polytetra-fluoroethylene coated endless belts run. These paths have a common section running through the nips of the treatment rollers. Fabric fed through the common section is held between the belts in a controlled manner whilst being successively heated and cooled.
This successive heating and cooling of the fabric when it is sandwiched between the endless belts avoids distortion and marking of the fabric during subsequent processing.
Description
~3~03~
_MACHINE FOR AND METHOD OF
PROD~CING TREATING OR FINISHING A FABRIC
The present invention relates to a machine for producing, treating or finishing fabrics in the piece.
At the present time, in a textile finishing process, it is usually necessary as the final step, or one of the final steps, to dry the fabric. This is generally done by feeding the fabric progressively through a drying oven.
Extreme care must be taken in handling the fabric at this time since any distortion produced in the fabric may be permanently set into the fabric by the drying process.
For example, if the fabric is subjected to undue stress in the lengthwise direction of the fabric this results in neck-ing which in turn results in a reduction of the width of the fabric. To prevent, or at least reduce the risk of, this happening the material is held on both longitudinal edges at relatively closely spaced points as it passes through the oven. Such a machine, which is called a stenter, is complicated and expensive.
In other processes such as the coating of fabrics, for example, with a gellable or curable synthetic plastics material, it is also necessary to pass the material through a drying gelling or curing oven. Here the fabric to be , '~
li35038 coated is, in one method, passed under a bath of the coat-ing material and a precisely settable gap between a knife and a roller supporting the coated material controls the thickness of the coating. Thereafter the material is passed through the oven to gell or cure the coating material.
In such a machine there are also difficulties in support-ing the fabric without distortion in its passage through the oven. Although the fabric can be coated on both sides the additional w~ight thus placed on the fabric may result in an unacceptable sagging of the material in the oven bringing the material close to or actually in contact with the oven with possibly disastrous consequences. These problems can to some extent be offset by reducing the un-supported travel of the coated material through the oven, but this also reduces the heat which can be imparted to the material and may result in additional passes through the machine being required with consequent increase in process times and expense. These problems may also be offset by employing archback flotation ovens, but such machines are complicated and expensive to produce and operate.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fabric production treatment, or finishing machine comprising a plurality of guides disposed to pro-vide two endless paths each having a common section passing over a heatable curved treatment surface, two endless belts disposed for movement around respective endless paths, and means for feeding in a fabric to be treated on the treatment surface so that the fabric is received between the belts during its passage over the surface, the arrangement being such that fabric can be success-ively heated and cooled whilst sandwiched between the belts.
A preferred embodiment of the invention may include any one or more of the following advantageous features:-(a) The curved treatment surface is constituted bythe surface of a heatable treatment roller.
(b) An unheated treatment roller is disposed down-stream of the heatable roller of (a) and lying on the common section.
~c) The heatable treatment roller of (a) and the unheated treatment roller of (b) are arranged relative to one another to define a nip there-between lying on the common section.
(d) Two heatable treatment rollers are disposed adjacent one another to define a nip lying on the common section.
(e) An unheated treatment roller lies downstream - of the heatable rollers of ~d) on the common section.
(f) There are three pairs of treatment rollérs.
il3S038 (g) Two of the three pairs of treatment rollers of (f) are heatable.
(h) The or each heatable curved treatment surface is oil or steam heated.
(i) The or each heatable curved treatment surface is electrically heated.
(j) The means for feeding in a fabric comprises a take-off roller.
(k) The endless belts are coated with a low friction material.
(1) The belts have a woven glass fibre base with a silicon rubber coating.
(m) The belts have a woven glass fibre base with polytetrafluoroethylene coating.
(n) Apparatus is provided for coating the fabric before entry into the treatment rollers.
(o) A reel-up roller is provided to receive the fabric after leaving the common section.
(p) One or the treatment roller is directly driven and any other treatment rollers are directly driven from that directly driven treatment roller.
(q) The reel-up roller of (o) is directly driven or indirectly driven from the driven treat-ment roller of (p).
(r) One or both of the belts may be in the form of a lattice.
(s) Where there are two rollers defining a nip, the nip is fixed and has a dimension less than the sum of the thicknesses of the two end-less belts and the fabric passing therethrough in operation of the machine.
(t) Where there are two rollers defining a nip one of the rollers defining the nip is fixed and the other is movable and can be pressured to squeese the belts and fabric passing therethrough during operation of the machine.
(u) Where there are two rollers defining a nip, the nip is nominally fixed but one of the rollers defining the nip is movable so that it can adjust to varying thicknesses of belt and fabric passing therethrough during operation of the machineO
(v) The belts are tensioned to squeeze the fabric il35038 during opera-tion of the machine.
(w) Those parts of the machine supporting the endless belts are can-tilevered to facilitate removal and replacement of the belts.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of producing, treating or finish-ing a fabric including the steps of sandwiching a fabric between two belts of material, passing the sandwich so formed over a heated curved treatment surface so as to heat it, cooling the sandwich to cool the fabric, and then removing the fabric from between the two belts.
The invention also comprises a fabric produced, treated or finished on the above defined machine or by the above defined method.
In order that the invention may be more clearly under-stood, one embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Figure 1 shows a diagrammatic side elevational viewof a fabric coating machine, and Figure 2 shows a side elevational view of a fabric treatment machine.
1~3~038 Referring to Figure 1 , the machine comprises six treatment rollers 1 to 6 arranged in two rows with the rollers of one row adjacent but staggered relative to the rollers in the other row, such that a total of five nips are formed therebetween. Six guide rollers 7 to 12 are disposed around the array of treatment rollers. A first, upper, endless belt 13 is guided by the guide rollers 7, 8 and 9 and runs through the five nips formed by the treatment rollers 1 to 6. A second, lower, endless belt 14 is guided by the guide rollers 9, 10, 11 and 12 and also runs through -the five nips formed by the treatment rollers 1 to 6. Both endless belts 13 and 14 comprise a woven glass fibre base coated with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or other similar low friction material. An alterna-tive belt, for example, comprises a woven glass fibre basecoated with silicone rubber~ The type of belt chosen is chosen in dependence upon the fabric being produced, trea-ted or finished and upon the nature of the process itself.
In some processes, for example, it has been found advan-tageous to employ silicone rubber coated glass fibre woven belts where the coating is very thin on one side, but approximately 15 X 10 3 inches thick on the other side.
Again, if desired, the surface of the belt could be dimpled or otherwise specially formed.
There are two further rollers, respectively referenced 15 and 16. Roller 15 is a lead in roller from which the fabric 17 to be treated is supplied and roller 16 is a reel-up roller on which the treated fabric is taken up.
The guide rollers 7 and 12 are disposed in relation to the first roller 1 of the treatment roller array, such that the belts 13 and 14 form an acute "V" shape and the lead in roller 15 is disposed in relation to the rollers 1, 7 and 12 such that the fabric 17 to be treated enters the array equidistantly spaced from the belts 13 and 14~
A double sided coating apparatus 18 is disposed for coating the fabric leaving the roller 15. The coating material may, for example, be polyvinyl chloride (P~VDCJ )~
Four (referenced 1, 2, 4 and 5) of the six treatment rollers are heated and the remaining two 3 and 6 are cold.
The heated rollers are preferably electrically heated, but steam or other means may be used as desired. When steam or other heating medium is used rotatable joints are re-quired for conducting steam from outside the treatment rollers 1, 2, 4 and 5 to the interior of the rollers~ For example, the heating medium could be electrically heated oil.
The rollers are preferably of stainless steel but may be made of any other suitable material. The rollers 1 to 6 are drivably connected together and one treatmen-t roller is itself directly driven, this drive being transmitted to the other rollers by the drive connection. The five nips between the treatment rollers 1 to 6 are precisely adjusted 11;~503~
usually to a dimension lessthan the thickness of the finished fabric to be treated and the two belts 13 and 14.
In operation of the machine, the fabric is drawn through the treatment rollers by the rotation of the treatment rollers -themselves. As it is drawn off the roller 15, the fabric 17 is coated by the apparatus 18, and as the coated fabric reaches the first treatment roller 1 it is clasped between the two PTFE belts 13 and 14. The belts 13 and 14 and fabric 17 move in synchronism through the treatment roller array and are heated as they do so thus promoting gelation of the coat-ing. After gela-tion, the fabric is cooled by being passed, still between the belts 13 and 14, over the cold rollers 3 and 6. There will be a tendency for the cold rollers 3 and 6 to pick up heat from the fabric and in order to maintain the rollers at the required low temperature (i.e. unheated) cooling of these rollers may be necessary.
At the guide roller 9 the belts 13 and 14 again follow their separate paths and the coated fabric passes to the reel-up roller 16~ This roller 16 may be driven independ-ently or from a drive take-off from the treatment rollers.
Because of the nature of the belts 13 and 14 and the fact that the coating has been cooled there is no damaging adhesion be-tween the belts and fabric at the roller 9 il3S038 or betweel~ adjacent turns of the fabric on the roller 16.
Figure 2 is a more detailed drawing of a modi-fied version of the machine shown in Figure 1. As com-pared with the machine of Figure 1, the machine of Figure 2 comprises only four treatment rollers 201, 202, 204 and 205 arranged in relation to one another to define t~ree nips therebetween. Eight quide rollers 208 to 212 and 230 to 232 are disposed around the array of treatment rollers~ A first, upper, endless bel* 213 is guided by the guide rollers 231, 230, 208 and 209 and runs through the three nips formed by the treatment rollersO A second, lower, endless belt 214 is guided ~ythe guide rollers 209, 232, 210, 211 and 212 and also runs through the three nips.
Both endless belts 213, 214 are of similar construction and material to the belts 13 and 14 of the machine of Figure 1.
Rollers 204 and 205 can be adjusted by means of respective adjustment mechanisms 235 and 236 so that the dimensions of the nips can be adjusted. Guide rollers 208 and 232 are mounted on adjustment mechanisms 250 and 251 to permit adjustment of the rollers 208 and 232 to tension respective belts 213 and 214.
A lead in roller 215 is provided on a support 237 from which the fabric 217 to be treated is supplied and a reel-up 113S~31~
roller 216 is provided on a support 238 on which the treated fabric is taken up The suppor~ 237 and 238 are themselves connected to a main support 239 to which the main frame of the machine 240 is also connected. The sup-port for the various rollers is cantilevered to facili-tate removal and replacement of the endless belts 213 and 214.
A belt sensing unit 241 is associated with the guide rollers 230 and 231 and a belt sensing unit 242 is assoc-iated with the guide rollers 211 and 212. The rollrs 230 and 231 are moun-ted in a bracket 243 which is itself moun-ted for pivotal movement about a pivot 244. The rollers 230 and 231, bracket 243 and belt sensing unit 241 together form a tracking assembly for the belt 213~ Guide rollers 211 and 212 are mounted in a bracket 245 which is itself mounted for pivotal movement about a pivot 246. These rollers 211 and 212 and bracket 245 form together with the sensing unit 242 a belt tracking assembly for the belt 214.
The sensing units 241 and 242 may be optical (for example comprising a photoelectric cell) or mechanical (for example working on an air jet). The tracking assemblies serve to keep the belts 213 and 214 in position by continuously sensing and correcting any tendency of the belts to stray from their desired paths.
i~3~038 Treatment rollers 201, 202 and 204 are heated and roller 205 is unheated. The treatment rollers are substantially of the same construction and material as those of the machine of Figure 1. In particular the heated rollers may be electrically steam or oil heated.
The treatmen-t rollers are also driven in the same way as those of the machine of Figure 1.
The machine is operated in the same manner as the machine of Figure 1, the fabric being produced, treated or finished being successively heated and cooled and, although a coating head has not been described, one could clearly be added if desired.
The above described machines and method may be employed for the gelation of PVC plies where the lead in is almost ideal or for general PVC gelation use. One or both sides can be gelled in one pass and heavier coated fabric weights can be accornmodated than hitherto.
Energy savin~ as compared to conventional processes could 4 be 40/50% ~ the cost of the machine may well only be one half of that of a conventional drying oven. Less space ~up to 75%) is also required for the machine.
The method and machines described may also be used for fabric to fabric lamination with adhesive, with the energy, cost and space saving mentioned above. They may also be used for heat setting of fabrics such as nylon and polyester, or heat setting of natural fabrics, resin curing after drying in conventional finishing, or simply to dry a fabric. When simple drying is the object one or both of the belts may be in the form of a lattice.
With the above described method and machine, the fabric being treated is positively held whilst being heated and cooled. Marking off faults associated with drawing off the fabric from a hot drum whilst the fabric itself is still hot can therefore be avoided.
It will be appreciated that the above embodiment has been described by way of example only and that many varia-tions are possible without departing from the scope of the invention claimed. For example, in any use of the des-cribed machine of Figure 1 not involving fabric coating, the coating apparatus 18 would clearly not be necessary and could be dispensed with. Where fabrics are to be coat-ed with a solvent or aqueous coating, the upper endless belt 13 of the machine of Figure 1 preferably follows the alternative path shown in the drawing by a dashed line.
For this purpose, the guide roller 7 would be replaced by a differently disposed guide roller 30. Again, instead of having coating apparatus 18~ coating apparatus 40 could be provided for coa-ting the upper surface of the i~;350~8 bottom belt as shown in dashed outline in the drawing.
Although the nips between the rollers of the two described machines are adjustable, once adjusted, they are fixed at a gap dimension slightly less than the thickness of belts plus fabric. Other ways of pressur- -ing the fabric passing through the machine could however be employed. One roller of a nip could be fixed and the other pressured to squeeze the fabric. Both rollers of the nip could be tied to a nominal minimum nip gap, but one could be movable to accommodate variations in the thickness of the fabric and belt. If desired, the fabric could be squeezed simply by tensioning the endless belts appropriately.
It should be understood that the word fabric has been used in the specification in its broadest sense and includes in addition to textile sheet material of the woven, non-woven or knitted types other types of sheet material shuch as synthetic plastics, for example, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyurethane; leather, felt, rubber and paper or combinations thereof.
_MACHINE FOR AND METHOD OF
PROD~CING TREATING OR FINISHING A FABRIC
The present invention relates to a machine for producing, treating or finishing fabrics in the piece.
At the present time, in a textile finishing process, it is usually necessary as the final step, or one of the final steps, to dry the fabric. This is generally done by feeding the fabric progressively through a drying oven.
Extreme care must be taken in handling the fabric at this time since any distortion produced in the fabric may be permanently set into the fabric by the drying process.
For example, if the fabric is subjected to undue stress in the lengthwise direction of the fabric this results in neck-ing which in turn results in a reduction of the width of the fabric. To prevent, or at least reduce the risk of, this happening the material is held on both longitudinal edges at relatively closely spaced points as it passes through the oven. Such a machine, which is called a stenter, is complicated and expensive.
In other processes such as the coating of fabrics, for example, with a gellable or curable synthetic plastics material, it is also necessary to pass the material through a drying gelling or curing oven. Here the fabric to be , '~
li35038 coated is, in one method, passed under a bath of the coat-ing material and a precisely settable gap between a knife and a roller supporting the coated material controls the thickness of the coating. Thereafter the material is passed through the oven to gell or cure the coating material.
In such a machine there are also difficulties in support-ing the fabric without distortion in its passage through the oven. Although the fabric can be coated on both sides the additional w~ight thus placed on the fabric may result in an unacceptable sagging of the material in the oven bringing the material close to or actually in contact with the oven with possibly disastrous consequences. These problems can to some extent be offset by reducing the un-supported travel of the coated material through the oven, but this also reduces the heat which can be imparted to the material and may result in additional passes through the machine being required with consequent increase in process times and expense. These problems may also be offset by employing archback flotation ovens, but such machines are complicated and expensive to produce and operate.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fabric production treatment, or finishing machine comprising a plurality of guides disposed to pro-vide two endless paths each having a common section passing over a heatable curved treatment surface, two endless belts disposed for movement around respective endless paths, and means for feeding in a fabric to be treated on the treatment surface so that the fabric is received between the belts during its passage over the surface, the arrangement being such that fabric can be success-ively heated and cooled whilst sandwiched between the belts.
A preferred embodiment of the invention may include any one or more of the following advantageous features:-(a) The curved treatment surface is constituted bythe surface of a heatable treatment roller.
(b) An unheated treatment roller is disposed down-stream of the heatable roller of (a) and lying on the common section.
~c) The heatable treatment roller of (a) and the unheated treatment roller of (b) are arranged relative to one another to define a nip there-between lying on the common section.
(d) Two heatable treatment rollers are disposed adjacent one another to define a nip lying on the common section.
(e) An unheated treatment roller lies downstream - of the heatable rollers of ~d) on the common section.
(f) There are three pairs of treatment rollérs.
il3S038 (g) Two of the three pairs of treatment rollers of (f) are heatable.
(h) The or each heatable curved treatment surface is oil or steam heated.
(i) The or each heatable curved treatment surface is electrically heated.
(j) The means for feeding in a fabric comprises a take-off roller.
(k) The endless belts are coated with a low friction material.
(1) The belts have a woven glass fibre base with a silicon rubber coating.
(m) The belts have a woven glass fibre base with polytetrafluoroethylene coating.
(n) Apparatus is provided for coating the fabric before entry into the treatment rollers.
(o) A reel-up roller is provided to receive the fabric after leaving the common section.
(p) One or the treatment roller is directly driven and any other treatment rollers are directly driven from that directly driven treatment roller.
(q) The reel-up roller of (o) is directly driven or indirectly driven from the driven treat-ment roller of (p).
(r) One or both of the belts may be in the form of a lattice.
(s) Where there are two rollers defining a nip, the nip is fixed and has a dimension less than the sum of the thicknesses of the two end-less belts and the fabric passing therethrough in operation of the machine.
(t) Where there are two rollers defining a nip one of the rollers defining the nip is fixed and the other is movable and can be pressured to squeese the belts and fabric passing therethrough during operation of the machine.
(u) Where there are two rollers defining a nip, the nip is nominally fixed but one of the rollers defining the nip is movable so that it can adjust to varying thicknesses of belt and fabric passing therethrough during operation of the machineO
(v) The belts are tensioned to squeeze the fabric il35038 during opera-tion of the machine.
(w) Those parts of the machine supporting the endless belts are can-tilevered to facilitate removal and replacement of the belts.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of producing, treating or finish-ing a fabric including the steps of sandwiching a fabric between two belts of material, passing the sandwich so formed over a heated curved treatment surface so as to heat it, cooling the sandwich to cool the fabric, and then removing the fabric from between the two belts.
The invention also comprises a fabric produced, treated or finished on the above defined machine or by the above defined method.
In order that the invention may be more clearly under-stood, one embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Figure 1 shows a diagrammatic side elevational viewof a fabric coating machine, and Figure 2 shows a side elevational view of a fabric treatment machine.
1~3~038 Referring to Figure 1 , the machine comprises six treatment rollers 1 to 6 arranged in two rows with the rollers of one row adjacent but staggered relative to the rollers in the other row, such that a total of five nips are formed therebetween. Six guide rollers 7 to 12 are disposed around the array of treatment rollers. A first, upper, endless belt 13 is guided by the guide rollers 7, 8 and 9 and runs through the five nips formed by the treatment rollers 1 to 6. A second, lower, endless belt 14 is guided by the guide rollers 9, 10, 11 and 12 and also runs through -the five nips formed by the treatment rollers 1 to 6. Both endless belts 13 and 14 comprise a woven glass fibre base coated with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or other similar low friction material. An alterna-tive belt, for example, comprises a woven glass fibre basecoated with silicone rubber~ The type of belt chosen is chosen in dependence upon the fabric being produced, trea-ted or finished and upon the nature of the process itself.
In some processes, for example, it has been found advan-tageous to employ silicone rubber coated glass fibre woven belts where the coating is very thin on one side, but approximately 15 X 10 3 inches thick on the other side.
Again, if desired, the surface of the belt could be dimpled or otherwise specially formed.
There are two further rollers, respectively referenced 15 and 16. Roller 15 is a lead in roller from which the fabric 17 to be treated is supplied and roller 16 is a reel-up roller on which the treated fabric is taken up.
The guide rollers 7 and 12 are disposed in relation to the first roller 1 of the treatment roller array, such that the belts 13 and 14 form an acute "V" shape and the lead in roller 15 is disposed in relation to the rollers 1, 7 and 12 such that the fabric 17 to be treated enters the array equidistantly spaced from the belts 13 and 14~
A double sided coating apparatus 18 is disposed for coating the fabric leaving the roller 15. The coating material may, for example, be polyvinyl chloride (P~VDCJ )~
Four (referenced 1, 2, 4 and 5) of the six treatment rollers are heated and the remaining two 3 and 6 are cold.
The heated rollers are preferably electrically heated, but steam or other means may be used as desired. When steam or other heating medium is used rotatable joints are re-quired for conducting steam from outside the treatment rollers 1, 2, 4 and 5 to the interior of the rollers~ For example, the heating medium could be electrically heated oil.
The rollers are preferably of stainless steel but may be made of any other suitable material. The rollers 1 to 6 are drivably connected together and one treatmen-t roller is itself directly driven, this drive being transmitted to the other rollers by the drive connection. The five nips between the treatment rollers 1 to 6 are precisely adjusted 11;~503~
usually to a dimension lessthan the thickness of the finished fabric to be treated and the two belts 13 and 14.
In operation of the machine, the fabric is drawn through the treatment rollers by the rotation of the treatment rollers -themselves. As it is drawn off the roller 15, the fabric 17 is coated by the apparatus 18, and as the coated fabric reaches the first treatment roller 1 it is clasped between the two PTFE belts 13 and 14. The belts 13 and 14 and fabric 17 move in synchronism through the treatment roller array and are heated as they do so thus promoting gelation of the coat-ing. After gela-tion, the fabric is cooled by being passed, still between the belts 13 and 14, over the cold rollers 3 and 6. There will be a tendency for the cold rollers 3 and 6 to pick up heat from the fabric and in order to maintain the rollers at the required low temperature (i.e. unheated) cooling of these rollers may be necessary.
At the guide roller 9 the belts 13 and 14 again follow their separate paths and the coated fabric passes to the reel-up roller 16~ This roller 16 may be driven independ-ently or from a drive take-off from the treatment rollers.
Because of the nature of the belts 13 and 14 and the fact that the coating has been cooled there is no damaging adhesion be-tween the belts and fabric at the roller 9 il3S038 or betweel~ adjacent turns of the fabric on the roller 16.
Figure 2 is a more detailed drawing of a modi-fied version of the machine shown in Figure 1. As com-pared with the machine of Figure 1, the machine of Figure 2 comprises only four treatment rollers 201, 202, 204 and 205 arranged in relation to one another to define t~ree nips therebetween. Eight quide rollers 208 to 212 and 230 to 232 are disposed around the array of treatment rollers~ A first, upper, endless bel* 213 is guided by the guide rollers 231, 230, 208 and 209 and runs through the three nips formed by the treatment rollersO A second, lower, endless belt 214 is guided ~ythe guide rollers 209, 232, 210, 211 and 212 and also runs through the three nips.
Both endless belts 213, 214 are of similar construction and material to the belts 13 and 14 of the machine of Figure 1.
Rollers 204 and 205 can be adjusted by means of respective adjustment mechanisms 235 and 236 so that the dimensions of the nips can be adjusted. Guide rollers 208 and 232 are mounted on adjustment mechanisms 250 and 251 to permit adjustment of the rollers 208 and 232 to tension respective belts 213 and 214.
A lead in roller 215 is provided on a support 237 from which the fabric 217 to be treated is supplied and a reel-up 113S~31~
roller 216 is provided on a support 238 on which the treated fabric is taken up The suppor~ 237 and 238 are themselves connected to a main support 239 to which the main frame of the machine 240 is also connected. The sup-port for the various rollers is cantilevered to facili-tate removal and replacement of the endless belts 213 and 214.
A belt sensing unit 241 is associated with the guide rollers 230 and 231 and a belt sensing unit 242 is assoc-iated with the guide rollers 211 and 212. The rollrs 230 and 231 are moun-ted in a bracket 243 which is itself moun-ted for pivotal movement about a pivot 244. The rollers 230 and 231, bracket 243 and belt sensing unit 241 together form a tracking assembly for the belt 213~ Guide rollers 211 and 212 are mounted in a bracket 245 which is itself mounted for pivotal movement about a pivot 246. These rollers 211 and 212 and bracket 245 form together with the sensing unit 242 a belt tracking assembly for the belt 214.
The sensing units 241 and 242 may be optical (for example comprising a photoelectric cell) or mechanical (for example working on an air jet). The tracking assemblies serve to keep the belts 213 and 214 in position by continuously sensing and correcting any tendency of the belts to stray from their desired paths.
i~3~038 Treatment rollers 201, 202 and 204 are heated and roller 205 is unheated. The treatment rollers are substantially of the same construction and material as those of the machine of Figure 1. In particular the heated rollers may be electrically steam or oil heated.
The treatmen-t rollers are also driven in the same way as those of the machine of Figure 1.
The machine is operated in the same manner as the machine of Figure 1, the fabric being produced, treated or finished being successively heated and cooled and, although a coating head has not been described, one could clearly be added if desired.
The above described machines and method may be employed for the gelation of PVC plies where the lead in is almost ideal or for general PVC gelation use. One or both sides can be gelled in one pass and heavier coated fabric weights can be accornmodated than hitherto.
Energy savin~ as compared to conventional processes could 4 be 40/50% ~ the cost of the machine may well only be one half of that of a conventional drying oven. Less space ~up to 75%) is also required for the machine.
The method and machines described may also be used for fabric to fabric lamination with adhesive, with the energy, cost and space saving mentioned above. They may also be used for heat setting of fabrics such as nylon and polyester, or heat setting of natural fabrics, resin curing after drying in conventional finishing, or simply to dry a fabric. When simple drying is the object one or both of the belts may be in the form of a lattice.
With the above described method and machine, the fabric being treated is positively held whilst being heated and cooled. Marking off faults associated with drawing off the fabric from a hot drum whilst the fabric itself is still hot can therefore be avoided.
It will be appreciated that the above embodiment has been described by way of example only and that many varia-tions are possible without departing from the scope of the invention claimed. For example, in any use of the des-cribed machine of Figure 1 not involving fabric coating, the coating apparatus 18 would clearly not be necessary and could be dispensed with. Where fabrics are to be coat-ed with a solvent or aqueous coating, the upper endless belt 13 of the machine of Figure 1 preferably follows the alternative path shown in the drawing by a dashed line.
For this purpose, the guide roller 7 would be replaced by a differently disposed guide roller 30. Again, instead of having coating apparatus 18~ coating apparatus 40 could be provided for coa-ting the upper surface of the i~;350~8 bottom belt as shown in dashed outline in the drawing.
Although the nips between the rollers of the two described machines are adjustable, once adjusted, they are fixed at a gap dimension slightly less than the thickness of belts plus fabric. Other ways of pressur- -ing the fabric passing through the machine could however be employed. One roller of a nip could be fixed and the other pressured to squeeze the fabric. Both rollers of the nip could be tied to a nominal minimum nip gap, but one could be movable to accommodate variations in the thickness of the fabric and belt. If desired, the fabric could be squeezed simply by tensioning the endless belts appropriately.
It should be understood that the word fabric has been used in the specification in its broadest sense and includes in addition to textile sheet material of the woven, non-woven or knitted types other types of sheet material shuch as synthetic plastics, for example, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyurethane; leather, felt, rubber and paper or combinations thereof.
Claims (27)
1. A fabric production, treatment or finishing machine comprising a plurality of guide rollers disposed to provide two endless paths each having a common section passing over a heatable curved treatment surface, two endless belts disposed for movement around respective endless paths, and means for feeding in a fabric to be treated on the treatment surface so that the fabric is received between the belts during its passage over the surface, the arrangement being such that fabric can be successively heated and cooled whilst sandwiched between the belts.
2. A fabric production, treatment or finishing machine as claimed in Claim 1, in which the curved treatment sur-face is constituted by the surface of a heatable treatment roller.
3. A fabric production, treatment or finishing machine as claimed in Claim 2, in which there is an unheated treat-ment roller disposed downstream of the heatable roller and lying on the common section.
4. A fabric production, treatment or finishing machine as claimed in Claim 3, in which the heatable and unheated rollers are arranged relative to one another to define a nip therebetween lying on the common section.
5. A fabric production, treatment or finishing machine as claimed in Claim 1, in which there are two heatable rollers disposed adjacent each other to define a nip lying on the common section.
6. A fabric production, treatment or finishing machine as claimed in claim 5, in which there is an unheated roller lying downstream of the heatable rollers on the common section.
7. A fabric production, treatment or finishing machine as claimed in claim 2, in which there are three pairs of treat-ment rollers.
8. A fabric production, treatment or finishing machine as claimed in claim 7, in which two of the three pairs of rollers are heatable.
9. A fabric production, treatment or finishing machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the or each heatable curved treatment surface is oil or steam heated.
10. A fabric production, treatment or finishing machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the means for feeding in a fabric comprises a take-off roller.
11. A fabric production, treatment or finishing machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the endless belts are coated with a low friction material.
12. A fabric production, treatment or finishing machine as claimed in claim 11, in which the belts have a woven glass fibre base with a silicon rubber coating.
13. A fabric production, treatment or finishing machine as claimed in claim 11, in which the belts have a woven glass fibre base with polytetrafluoroethylene coating.
14. A fabric production, treatment or finishing machine as claimed in claim 2, in which apparatus is provided for coating the fabric before entry into the treatment rollers.
15. A fabric production, treatment or finishing machine as claimed in claim 1, in which a reel-up roller is provided to receive the fabric after leaving the common section.
16. A fabric production, treatment or finishing machine as claimed in claim 2, in which one or more of the treatment roller is directly driven and any other treatment rollers are indirectly driven from that directly driven treatment roller.
17. A fabric production, treatment or finishing machine as claimed in claim 16, in which the reel-up roller is directly driven or indirectly driven from the driven treatment roller.
18. A fabric production, treatment or finishing machine as claimed in claim 1, in which one or both belts may be in the form of a lattice.
19. A fabric production, treatment or finishing machine as claimed in claim 5 or 6, in which the nip is fixed and has a dimension less than the sum of the thicknesses of the two end-less belts and the fabric passing therethrough in operation of the machine.
20. A fabric production, treatment or finishing machine as claimed in claim 5 or 6, in which one of the rollers defining the nip is fixed and the other is movable and can be pressured to squeeze the belts and fabric passing therethrough during opera-tion of the machine.
21. A fabric production, treatment or finishing machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the belts are tensioned to squeeze the fabric during operation of the machine.
22. A fabric production, treatment or finishing machine as claimed in claim 1, in which those parts of the machine sup-porting the endless belts are cantilevered to facilitate removal and replacement of the belts.
23. A method of producing, treating or finishing a fabric including the steps of sandwiching a fabric between two belts of material, passing the sandwich so formed over a heated curved treatment surface so as to heat it, cooling the sandwich to cool the fabric, and then removing the fabric from between the two belts.
24. A method of producing, treating or finishing a fabric as claimed in claim 23, in which the heated, curved, treatment surface is constituted by the surface of a roller which defines a nip with another roller through which the belts fabric sandwich is passed.
25. A method of producing, treating or finishing a fabric as claimed in claim 23 or 24, in which the sandwich is cooled by passing it over an unheated roller.
26. A fabric production treatment, or finishing machine comprising a plurality of treatment rollers, including a pair of adjacent heated rollers, an unheated roller downstream of the heated rollers, a plurality of guide rollers disposed in relation to the treatment rollers to provide two endless paths each having a common section passing between adjacent heated treatment rollers, two endless belts disposed for movement around respective endless paths, and means for feeding in a fabric to be treated to the treatment rollers so that the fabric is received between the belts during its passage through the treatment rollers.
27. A method of producing, treating or finishing a fabric including the steps of sandwiching a fabric between two belts of material, passing the sandwich so formed through the nip formed between two heated rollers so as to heat it, subsequently passing the sandwich over at least one cold roller and then removing the fabric from between the two belts.
Applications Claiming Priority (4)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB7934763 | 1979-10-06 | ||
| GB7934763 | 1979-10-06 | ||
| GB7936077 | 1979-10-17 | ||
| GB7936077 | 1979-10-17 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1135038A true CA1135038A (en) | 1982-11-09 |
Family
ID=26273120
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000361189A Expired CA1135038A (en) | 1979-10-06 | 1980-09-29 | Machine for and method of producing treating or finishing a fabric |
Country Status (12)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| AU (1) | AU6294480A (en) |
| BR (1) | BR8006392A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1135038A (en) |
| DE (1) | DE3037406A1 (en) |
| DK (1) | DK419380A (en) |
| FI (1) | FI803114A (en) |
| FR (1) | FR2472625A1 (en) |
| IT (1) | IT1128579B (en) |
| NL (1) | NL8005481A (en) |
| NO (1) | NO802943L (en) |
| SE (1) | SE8006891L (en) |
| ZW (1) | ZW22480A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE102020132786A1 (en) * | 2020-12-09 | 2022-06-09 | Mewa Textil-Service Ag & Co. Management Ohg | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR TREATMENT AND DRYING OF TEXTILE SHEET STRUCTURES |
| CN113124672A (en) * | 2021-04-13 | 2021-07-16 | 福州外语外贸学院 | Textile cloth is dried and is leveled folding integrated device |
Family Cites Families (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB190928510A (en) * | 1909-12-07 | 1910-12-07 | Fred Oates | Improvements in Machinery for the Pressing or Finishing of Textile, Fabrics, Hosiery and such like Goods. |
| BE512462A (en) * | 1952-06-10 | |||
| GB865659A (en) * | 1957-07-26 | 1961-04-19 | British Cotton Ind Res Assoc | Improvements in or relating to the printing of fabrics |
| FR1314555A (en) * | 1961-12-01 | 1963-01-11 | Improvements to textile calenders |
-
1980
- 1980-09-29 ZW ZW224/80A patent/ZW22480A1/en unknown
- 1980-09-29 CA CA000361189A patent/CA1135038A/en not_active Expired
- 1980-09-30 FI FI803114A patent/FI803114A/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 1980-10-02 SE SE8006891A patent/SE8006891L/en unknown
- 1980-10-03 DE DE19803037406 patent/DE3037406A1/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1980-10-03 IT IT49814/80A patent/IT1128579B/en active
- 1980-10-03 BR BR8006392A patent/BR8006392A/en unknown
- 1980-10-03 NL NL8005481A patent/NL8005481A/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 1980-10-03 AU AU62944/80A patent/AU6294480A/en not_active Abandoned
- 1980-10-03 NO NO802943A patent/NO802943L/en unknown
- 1980-10-03 DK DK419380A patent/DK419380A/en unknown
- 1980-10-06 FR FR8021336A patent/FR2472625A1/en not_active Withdrawn
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| DK419380A (en) | 1981-04-07 |
| FR2472625A1 (en) | 1981-07-03 |
| AU6294480A (en) | 1981-04-16 |
| DE3037406A1 (en) | 1981-04-09 |
| NO802943L (en) | 1981-04-07 |
| ZW22480A1 (en) | 1981-04-01 |
| SE8006891L (en) | 1981-04-07 |
| FI803114A (en) | 1981-04-07 |
| IT1128579B (en) | 1986-05-28 |
| IT8049814A0 (en) | 1980-10-03 |
| BR8006392A (en) | 1981-04-14 |
| NL8005481A (en) | 1981-04-08 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry | ||
| MKEX | Expiry |
Effective date: 19991109 |