CN112654740B

CN112654740B - Machine for continuously treating fabrics, in particular for controlling dimensional stability

Info

Publication number: CN112654740B
Application number: CN201980058792.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: L·萨尔瓦德
Original assignee: Salwald Co
Current assignee: Salwald Co
Priority date: 2018-09-13
Filing date: 2019-09-11
Publication date: 2023-08-25
Anticipated expiration: 2039-09-11
Also published as: EP3850140C0; ES2947448T3; CN112654740A; EP3850140A1; EP3850140B1; KR20210056360A; WO2020053910A1

Abstract

The subject of the present utility model is a machine for treating fabrics, which uses a gradual continuous process, the purpose of which is to obtain dimensional stability very close to zero. The machine comprises a first module (1) for immersing the fabric in water and relaxing it, a second module (2) for controlled drying of the fabric until it reaches a set point of humidity monitored by a probe (22), and a third module (3) essentially consisting of a drum designed to treat the fabric until it is completely dried. A dragging system equipped with control and regulation means makes it possible to feed the fabric excessively into the modules (1) and (2), to arrange the fabric with small folds and to move the fabric.

Description

Machine for continuously treating fabrics, in particular for controlling dimensional stability

Technical Field

The present utility model relates to a machine for industrial processing of fabrics, and more particularly to a machine for finishing treatments.

Background

In the textile industry, it is very important to address the so-called fabric shrinkage processing stage, the purpose of which is to stabilize the fabric dimensions and thus to be able to maintain its own dimensions throughout all continuous production processes.

Currently, optimal dimensional stability results are obtained with drum processing systems for fabrics.

The system requires inserting the fabric into a machine equipped with one or more slotted drums and is subjected to mechanical action resulting from the rotation of the drums, which alternately rotate clockwise and counter-clockwise. The drum may be equipped with protruding wings to increase the agitation of the fabric and the injection of hot air and steam for drying the fabric.

Thus, the drum system is a discontinuous processing system, although it has the advantage of ensuring a soft feel and bulking the fabric, with the disadvantage of low production and high costs, especially for those who must process many rolls per day. In addition, it was confirmed that during the treatment, the fabric entangled and formed a distinct fold.

To improve the softness and feel of the fabric, other machines known as tumblers (tumblers) are used which subject the fabric to mechanical actions of agitation and vibration, thereby compacting the fibers and thus obtaining a satisfactory shrinkage of the fabric.

The drum causes the fabric (whether wet or dry) to move at high speed with jets of air that maintain the fabric and cyclically transport the fabric between the ends of the particular ducts. The fabric may also be pushed against one or more protruding elements (preferably in a grid) during or at the end of its process inside the pipe. In this way, the drum makes it possible to grant the fabric good dimensional stability as well as softness and a bulky feel.

Industrial utility model patent No.1374887 describes a drum in which the fabric to be treated is subjected to a vibratory action obtained by a jet of hot air produced by a swinging nozzle and to an impact on a mesh-like object on which the fabric is thrown at high speed in a duct for pneumatic transport.

Patent No.202017000051242 describes a machine in which the fabric moves without being under tension due to the thrust exerted by the air directed onto the fabric from below upwards in a pneumatic conveying duct of inverted U form.

US4922567 describes a machine for continuously treating fabrics.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present utility model has been found and is: in order to obtain the best results for stabilizing the fabric, the following conditions must be ensured:

the fabric must be treated with a set and controlled value of humidity,

drying does not have to be carried out in a short time and at high processing temperatures,

during the processing of the fabric, all possible tensions have to be eliminated.

The scope of the present utility model is to create a range of machines for treating various types of fabrics which, by ensuring the conditions listed above, allow to obtain optimal dimensional stability of the fabric with a gradual continuous process, also good hand.

The present utility model achieves this range by means of a machine for continuously treating fabric comprising a first module for immersing the fabric in water and relaxing the fabric, a second module for controlled drying of the fabric to a point of reaching a set point humidity, and a third module consisting of a drum for treating the fabric to a point of complete drying.

The machine thus makes it possible to complete all the phases of the shrinkage treatment of the fabric in a stepwise continuous process, eliminating all the tensions to which the fabric is subjected during a discontinuous process. In practice, it is advantageous that the fabric in the machine is moved by means of motorized drums synchronized by means of a control unit which calculates and corrects each traction variation by means of the feedback given by the fabric during its passage through the processing module.

Furthermore, the proposed solution makes it possible to significantly improve the results that would be obtained by treating the fabric in a traditional drum, since the fabric is pre-dried with no traction still and with a controlled residual humidity, enabling the drum to function under optimal conditions. In fact, the tumbling treatment of the fabric with a set residual humidity level makes it possible to take into account, on the one hand, the time necessary for the drum to provide the hand, and, on the other hand, to not increase the level of inertia of the moving fabric, which would prevent the fabric from reaching its main purpose, i.e. near complete shrinkage of the fabric.

Drawings

These and other advantages of the utility model will be better understood from the description of the preferred embodiments, as outlined by way of example and not by way of limitation, in the accompanying drawings in which:

fig. 1 is a schematic view of a longitudinal section of a machine according to the utility model.

In this figure, identical or substantially identical components are provided with the same reference numerals.

Detailed Description

With reference to fig. 1, the machine according to the utility model is basically made up of a module 1 for soaking the fabric, a module 2 for controlled partial drying of the fabric and a module 3 consisting of a drum, which are connected together and equipped with a feeding system, so as to continuously treat the fabric 20. Preferably, the module 2 is a dryer.

The feeding system designed to introduce the fabric 20 into the machine preferably consists of an idle reel or drum 5 and a motorized reel or drum 25, the idle reel or drum 5 and the motorized reel or drum 25 cooperating with a set of stretching and tensioning rollers 18 so that the fabric 20 can be picked up from the trolley 4 and transferred to the inside of the module 1 of the machine in a wide and tensioned attitude.

Downstream of the drum 25, it may be useful to install a pair of photocells 21 to control the alignment of the fabric 20.

The module 1 for soaking fabrics essentially consists of a tank 7, the tank 7 being designed to contain a bath, equipped in a known manner with pipes with air inlet and outlet valves and a bath recirculation system (not illustrated in the figures). Preferably, a series of two or more nozzles 19 are arranged above the tank 7.

Near the area where the fabric 20 enters the slot 7, a slider 6 or equivalent means is mounted to promote a uniform and regular small fold.

Preferably, the tank 7 is equipped with a conveyor belt 8 in the form of a mesh, the conveyor belt 8 being designed to prevent folds formed in the fabric 20 from being excessively immersed in the bath. The conveyor belt 8 is also arranged in such a way as to facilitate the gradual extraction of the fabric from the tank 7.

In the vicinity of the area where the fabric 20 is lifted from the tank 7, a stylus 9 and a pair of pressure cylinders 10, 10' are mounted, preferably with adjustable pressure.

In order to introduce the fabric 20 into the module 2 and advance the fabric 20, the feeding system consists of: a motorized wheel or drum 26 that mates with the drum 10, which is also motorized; and a pair of opposed bands 11 and 11' for receiving the small folds of fabric 20.

Usefully, the belt 11 can be equipped with a needle chain or be replaced by a needle chain of known type, depending on the fabric to be treated.

The module 2 for controlled partial drying of fabrics consists of two opposite, rectilinear ventilation boxes 12 and 12', the ventilation boxes 12 and 12' being connected to a heating and air supply unit not illustrated in the figures. The ventilation boxes 12 and 12' constituting the row are preferably arranged in offset positions along the path of travel of the fabric inside the dryer.

A drum of known type, indicated schematically in the figures, is mounted downstream of the dryer to receive the fabric being treated therein.

Near the entrance of the drum there is a probe 22, the probe 22 being designed to detect the humidity or temperature of the fabric 20 leaving the dryer. Preferably, the probe 22 transmits the detected value to the machine control unit.

The drum basically comprises a duct 15, the duct 15 being designed for pneumatic transport of the fabric between two tanks 13 and 14, which are preferably equipped with a weighing system that alternately collects the fabric coming in and coming out of said duct 15. It is equipped in a known manner with an air supply duct which communicates with a ventilation and supply unit not shown in the figures.

In the example provided, the duct 15 is of the type equipped with two pairs of mobile shutters (shutters) 27 and 28 in the vicinity of the inlet, the mobile shutters 27 and 28 making it possible to move the fabric without tension, due only to the thrust provided by the air directed onto the fabric from below upwards, when the mobile shutters 27 and 28 are activated alternately, as described in patent No. 202017000051242.

Depending on the fabric being processed and based on the shrinkage desired to be obtained, the drum can usefully be of the known type in which the air is moved under the effect of pure thrust without impact on the grid, of the type with a more pronounced air movement and with a subsequent thrust against the variable impact of the grid to obtain a stronger hand without in any case interfering with the shrinkage effect of the fabric, for example as described in the industrial patent No. 1374887.

The drum can in any case be of a different type but is designed to treat the fabric without being pulled until it is completely dry.

Downstream of the drum, a conveyor belt 24 is mounted, the conveyor belt 24 being driven by the motorized rollers 16 to transport the fabric to a cross-folder device 23.

The function is as follows.

Loading of the machine occurs in a known manner by sewing the head of the fabric 20 into the traversing fabric that completes the route from the trolley 4 through the modules 1, 2 and 3 of the machine to the cross-folder device 23.

The fabric 20 arranged folded in the trolley 4 is picked up using a feeding system comprising drums 5, 25 and introduced into the infusion module 1 through the rollers 18, the fabric 20 being stretched and tensioned over the whole length (including the selvedge) in the rollers 18.

After having intercepted the slide 6, which contributes to the formation of small folds in a uniform and regular manner, the fabric 20 reaches the mesh belt 8 and is introduced into the bath in the tank 7.

The fabric 20 will then be sprayed and carried by the mesh belt 8 until it reaches the synchronizing device or stylus 9.

Depending on the type of fabric to be treated, the machine enables the folding of the fabric 20 to float on the water or simply be transported by the belt 8 and be wetted exclusively by a series of nozzles 19 arranged above it.

The machine advantageously uses a mesh conveyor belt 8 to prevent folds in the fabric 20 from being excessively immersed in water and to enable the folds to be arranged uniformly.

Another purpose of the belt 8 is to carry the folds in a floating phase so that they can be gradually removed from the water and brought into contact with the synchronizing means 9.

During this last phase of the fabric route in the module 1, the fabric 20 starts to gradually run off excess water before reaching the pressure cylinders 10, 10'.

The stylus 9 can synchronize the speed of the belt 8 with the pressure cylinders 10, 10' and still place the fabric on the conveyor belt 11 of the dryer in full synchronization, feeding the fabric excessively by an operator set percentage.

The conveyor belts 11, 11' carry the fabric in a loose manner and thus to the grooves 13 of the drum without any tension.

The probe 22 may be of a type designed to directly detect the residual humidity of the fabric leaving the module 2, but preferably, for greater precision, the probe 22 is of a type designed to detect the temperature of the fabric leaving the module 2, due to the measurement limitations of the humidity detector. The value detected by the probe 22 is sent to a control unit which verifies, based on the fabric to be treated and the desired result, whether the value corresponds to the desired set point, so that the function of the drum can be optimized.

The fabric 20 enters the drum and then simply passes through the duct 15 as known by the thrust created by the direct air blown onto it from below and upwards, with small folds being alternately arranged in the grooves 13 and 14, with an effective but non-traumatic result on the fibres.

The change from one tank to the other is determined on the basis of the values detected by the weighing devices connected to the tanks 13 and 14, but the machine may also be provided with other types of sensors, for example weighing elements.

According to algorithms known to the skilled person, the speed of the fabric can be adjusted by varying the air flow inside the duct 15 based on the weight of the fabric, the type of fabric to be treated and the desired result.

Upon exiting the drum, the fabric 20 conveyed by the belt 24 is arranged in a folded manner in the trolley 17.

Thus, a control unit (not illustrated in the figures) equipped with a command interface enables setting of machine operating parameters and processing of data detected by sensors installed inside the machine, with appropriate corrective interventions.

In particular, for each type of fabric, the time and temperature of the treatment are set on the basis of the sample to obtain values of residual humidity that enable the drum to run under optimal conditions and obtain optimal results.

In the case of using the probe 22 for detecting the temperature of the fabric instead of the humidity for a machine with greater precision, weighing is performed on the test specimen of the fabric to determine the relationship between the temperature of the fabric and the residual humidity.

During the treatment of fabric 20, the control means can vary the advancing speed of the fabric passing inside modules 1 and 2, based on the values detected by probes 22, so as to command the fabric feeding system for the purpose of increasing or decreasing the fabric treatment time in the dryer and thus the slack in tank 7.

The movement of the belt 11 and/or chain is controlled by a control unit which synchronizes the speed with the rotation of the pressure cylinder 10 so that the fabric 20 is loosely arranged on the belt 11 and/or chain, overfed by an operator set percentage.

Thus, according to the utility model, the machine makes it possible to obtain a shrinkage and dimensional stability of the treated fabric very close to zero both in width (weft) and in length (warp), since the fabric can be treated step by means of a humidity treatment and with preset controllable values of drying time and processing temperature without being subjected to any tension.

While the utility model has been illustrated with reference to a preferred construction, the utility model is intended to be extended to cover devices that provide the same utility by way of equivalents.

Claims

1. A machine for continuously treating a fabric (20), the machine comprising:

-a first module (1) for receiving and relaxing said fabric (20) arranged in small folds, equipped with a bath-containing tank (7);

-a second module (2) for the controlled drying of the fabric (20) arranged in small folds, equipped with ventilation means (12, 12') and with probes (22) for detecting the value of the residual humidity and/or temperature of the fabric leaving the second module (2);

-a third module (3) comprising a duct (15), said duct (15) being equipped with means for pneumatically conveying said fabric (20) between the openings of said duct (15) until said fabric is dry;

-a dragging system for dragging the fabric (20) between the first module (1), the second module (2) and the third module (3), capable of overfeeding the fabric into the first module (1) and the second module (2) to arrange the fabric with small folds and to move the fabric, the dragging system consisting of at least one conveyor belt (11) and at least one pair of motorized reels or drums (25) and (26) arranged at the inlet of the first module (1) and the second module (2), respectively;

means for controlling and regulating the speed of the dragging system, intended to vary the advancing speed of the fabric (20) inside the first module (1) and the second module (2) on the basis of the value detected by the probe (22),

in the vicinity of the pick-up area of the fabric (20) of the tank (7) of the first module (1), there is a pair of pressure cylinders (10, 10') with adjustable pressure, and

the means for controlling and regulating the speed of the dragging system comprise a feeler pin (9), the feeler pin (9) being able to synchronize the speed of the conveyor belt (11) of the second module (2) with the pressurizing cylinders (10, 10') and to arrange the fabric on the conveyor belt (11) of the second module (2) so as to overfeed the fabric by an operator-set percentage.

2. Machine for the continuous treatment of fabrics (20) according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that: the dragging system of the fabric (20) comprises a conveyor belt (8) capable of moving the fabric with small folds to the first module (1).

3. Machine for continuously treating fabrics (20) according to claim 2, characterized by the fact that: the conveyor belt (8) of the first module (1) is of the mesh type and is configured to house the fabric (20) and facilitate the gradual extraction from the tank (7).

4. Machine for the continuous treatment of fabrics (20) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the fact that: the second module (2) is equipped with the folded conveyor belt (11') for housing the fabric (20) opposite to the conveyor belt (11) of the second module (2).

5. Machine for the continuous treatment of fabrics (20) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the fact that: the conveyor belt (11) of the second module (2) is equipped with a needle chain or is replaced by a needle chain of a known type.

6. Machine for the continuous treatment of fabrics (20) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the fact that: the tank (7) is equipped with two or more nozzles (19) arranged above the tank.

7. Machine for the continuous treatment of fabrics (20) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the fact that: the first module (1) is equipped with a slider (6) able to promote the formation of small folds in the fabric entering the slot (7).

8. Machine for the continuous treatment of fabrics (20) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the fact that: a widening and tightening roller set (18) and a pair of photocells (21) for alignment control of the fabric (20) are mounted at the inlet of the first module (1).

9. Machine for the continuous treatment of fabrics (20) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the fact that: the third module (3) consists of a drum of known type in which the duct (15) has the form of an inverted U and is equipped in the vicinity of the openings of two pairs of movable shutters (27) and (28), the two pairs of movable shutters (27) and (28) being able to move the fabric (20) by the sole action of the force of the air directed onto the fabric (20) from below upwards.

10. Machine for the continuous treatment of fabrics (20) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the fact that: the third module (3) consists of a drum capable of treating the fabric in the duct (15) for pneumatic transport without traction, so as to subject the fabric to the action of a jet of hot air and to the impact of an impact obstacle onto which the fabric is emitted at high speed.

11. Machine for the continuous treatment of fabrics (20) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the fact that: a control unit equipped with command interfaces enables setting of the functional parameters of the machine and refinement of the data detected by the sensors to take the most appropriate corrective intervention and control the operating temperature for the dragging system of the fabric in the first (1), second (2) and third (3) modules.