EP0334749A1 - Apparatus for carrying and treating textile materials - Google Patents

Abstract

a) The invention relates to an apparatus for carrying and treating textile materials. b) This apparatus is characterised in that it is composed of a circuit (1) for blowing a stream of liquid or gaseous driving fluid interacting via a blowing orifice (2) with a supporting channel (3), so as to make it possible to transport and spread out textile materials (6) contained in the latter, without resorting to other mechanical means. c) The invention is used in apparatuses for carrying and treating textile materials. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a device for transporting and processing textile materials more especially intended for dyeing machines.

Since the earliest times, the work of the dyeing plant has stood out for its very high consumption of running water, and for this reason has traditionally been established near rivers: rivers or streams.

The first attempts at industrialization did not make it possible to moderate this need notably, and the conventional dyeing machines have a consumption of approximately 400 liters of water to satisfy the dyeing and the finishing of approximately 1 kg of textile material and , reject a particularly "dirty" water and unfit to be reused without expensive treatment.

For several decades, the safeguarding of the environment has become one of the essential preoccupations of the governments of the developed countries and, to satisfy new standards which were imposed to them, the industrialists of the dyeing industry had to seek new means allowing to a large extent reduce the water consumption of their machines.

This research has led to the development of machines known as "Jets" or "Venturies" whose consumption on average of the order of 150 liters of water per kg of textile can be lowered for particularly sophisticated machines to values in the range of 80 - 1 kg. However, these machines have the drawback of requiring dyeing times of the order of more than six hours for a reagent on cotton, and consequently also being very expensive.

The object of the present invention is to remedy these drawbacks by proposing a device for the transport and treatment of textile materials more specifically intended for dyeing machines which makes it possible to reduce the aforementioned dyeing time to a value of the order of 3 H 30, while considerably reducing the manufacturing cost of the machine and the cost price per kg of dye.

According to the invention, this device is characterized in that it consists of a circuit for blowing a flow of liquid or gaseous or mixed entrainment fluid cooperating by a blowing orifice with a support channel so as to allow transport and development of textile materials contained therein without using other mechanical means.

This blowing circuit is provided with a conventional type fluid accelerator controlled by a motor placed in the casing of the machine (pump, fan ...) and can transport any fluid (water, emulsion, air / water, air , water vapor or water vapor saturated with chemical agent, etc.) depending on the operation to be carried out; similarly, this fluid can, as the case may be, be heated, cooled or atomized.

The device according to the invention can, consequently, be suitable for the implementation of very different treatments among which we can note: degreasing, desensing, dyes, rinsing, soaping, softening, fireproofing, drying, relaxation ...

The device according to the invention as described above is of course completely included in the casing of the machine; feed members known in themselves allow the introduction of the textile materials to be treated into the support channel; these bodies may for example be constituted by one or more motorized wheels intended to assist textile materials; one can for example use blade wheels of the type described in patent FR 82 14 615; it is always advantageous to provide several different types of feed members which will be used depending on the weight / m² of the materials to be treated, the quality and nature of the textile.

It should be noted that the feed members can, depending on the case, be located upstream or downstream of the blowing orifice relative to the direction of movement of the textile materials.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the blowing orifice is located at the lower part of the support channel, below the textile materials to be treated. This arrangement is essential in order to be able to 'counteract' the effect of gravity which would tend to cause the textile materials to fall towards the bottom of the support channel and allow them to be driven under optimal conditions.

In accordance with the invention, provision is also made to be able to vary the size of the blowing orifice, as well as the angle at which the flow of fluid is projected into the support channel onto the materials to be treated.

It is thus possible to modulate the characteristics of the drive flow as a function of the nature of the materials to be treated and of the treatment to be carried out.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the support channel widens in the direction of movement of the fluid flow and the transport of the textile materials.

This "hopper" shape of the support channel facilitates the flourishing and flattening of the textile, and consequently improves the effectiveness of the treatment.

According to the invention, by "optimizing" the characteristics (power, orientation, etc.) of the fluid flow, it was possible to obtain speeds of movement of the textile materials in the support channel ranging from 200 m / min in the case of heavy textiles up to 800 m / min in the case of very light textiles.

As already indicated, the device according to the invention can allow the implementation of dyeing operations but also of other treatments using various liquid or gaseous drive fluids.

In particular, this device can allow, when operating without liquid, that is to say from a mixture of steam and hot air, to subject the textile materials to a relaxation treatment generally called "tumbling" by professionals, in order to guarantee their subsequent dimensional stability and, therefore, to make them non-shrink.

To allow the implementation of such a treatment and according to another characteristic of the invention, the device is provided, downstream of the support channel in the direction of movement of the textured materials. the, a relaxation member consisting of a plate that they strike at the outlet of the support channel before falling back under the effect of their gravity.

This operation by which the meshes of the textile materials are compressed then released, constitutes an essential treatment to guarantee the quality of the loops, the velvets and all the fabrics requiring a good dimensional stability with the subsequent washings.

It should also be noted that, before undergoing the aforementioned relaxation treatment or any other treatment, the textile materials must be gathered and tied up so as to form a large loop capable of rotating continuously in the casing of the machine to undergo the chosen treatment there.

Depending on the nature of the installations and the drive fluid used, the device according to the invention can work in a closed circuit, in an open circuit, or in an open or closed branch circuit. In the first case, the blowing circuit and the support channel are of course part of the same closed circuit for the flow of drive fluid.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the blowing circuit is provided with at least one orifice for introducing treatment products into the flow of drive fluid and / or at least one heat exchanger capable of heating or to cool it; these various elements can advantageously be connected to deviations of the blowing circuit which may or may not be connected by means of valves specially provided for this purpose.

This feature increases to a large extent the possibilities of using the device according to the invention.

In addition to the abovementioned advantages with regard to the consumption of water and the time necessary to implement the chosen treatment, in particular the dyeing operation, it should be mentioned that the device according to the invention allows, when it is intended for the implementation of dyeing operations, to reduce to a large extent the quantity of dye to be used (of the order of 1 kg for 2.5 liters of bath), and to carry out the operations dyeing and fixing of dyes by spraying at high or low temperature (high temperature from 100 to 140 ° C, low temperature below 100 ° c) by achieving significant thermal savings for both heating and cooling.

In addition, the device according to the invention makes it possible to load the dyeing machine more, since the volume of water saved can be replaced by textile material to be treated.

• -la figure 1 est une vue de dessus du dis­positif qui fait l'objet de l'invention ;
• - les figures 2a et 2b représentent schéma­tiquement deux variantes de machines de traitement mu­nies d'un dispositif conforme à l'invention ;
• - les figures 3, 4 et 5 sont des schémas re­présentant différentes configurations possibles du circuit de soufflage ;
• - la figure 6 est un schéma conforme aux fi­gures 3, 4 et 5 représentant un circuit de soufflage muni de plusieurs dérivations destinées à être ou non branchées.

The characteristics of the device which is the subject of the invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

• FIG. 1 is a top view of the device which is the subject of the invention;
• - Figures 2a and 2b schematically represent two variants of processing machines provided with a device according to the invention;
• - Figures 3, 4 and 5 are diagrams showing different possible configurations of the blowing circuit;
• - Figure 6 is a diagram according to Figures 3, 4 and 5 showing a blowing circuit provided with several branches intended to be or not connected.

According to Figures 1 and 2a, the device consists schematically of a blowing circuit 1 comprising a blowing orifice 2 of adjustable diameter by which it projects according to arrow A a flow of liquid or gaseous entraining fluid in a support channel 3 which gradually widens in the direction of arrow A.

According to FIG. 2a, leaving the blowing circuit 1, the flow A is projected at an angle α adjustable to the lower part of textile materials gathered in a loop 6 which move along a path 31 defined for this purpose in the internal part of the casing 30 of the machine. This movement is controlled by motorized feed wheels 4, 5, 5 ′ mounted in the casing 30 upstream from the orifice 2 relative to the direction of movement B of the materials 6.

In the example shown, the light textiles pass directly from the wheel 4 into the support channel 3 as shown in dotted lines, while the heavier textiles come to wrap around the wheel 5 before passing between the latter and the wheel 5 ′ which is driven at the same speed. These last two wheels are preferably constituted by blade wheels as described in patent FR 82 14 615 so as to prevent any risk of tangling and any friction of the loop 6 on the surface of the wheels such as to cause damage. of the textile material under the effect of the friction thus generated. The above-mentioned configuration of the drive wheels is, of course, indicated only by way of example and cannot in any way be considered to be limiting of the invention.

According to the figure, the fabric 6 leaving the drive wheels 4, 5, 5 ′ arrives in a cham bre bre 7 in which it is stored before being "called" in the support channel 3 under the effect of the flow A projected by the orifice 2 whose section is rectangular in FIG. 1 with the possibility of variants this orifice 2 acts as a nozzle to drive textile materials at high speed by lifting them and at the same time cause them to flourish and flatten out thanks to the special hopper shape of channel 3, so as to greatly facilitate the treatment of these materials.

At the outlet of channel 3, the textile materials strike a relaxation plate 32 at the level of which they are compressed before relaxing and falling according to arrow C to the lower part of the casing 30 of the machine, under the effect of their own weight.

This plate 32 allows, in the absence of liquid in the path 31 of the loop 6, and when the flow A is constituted by a mixture of steam and hot air, to subject the textiles to a treatment called "tumbling" tending to make them non-shrink.

When the machine is intended for another treatment and as shown diagrammatically in FIG. 2a, a pipe 8 associated with an opening 9 allows the introduction into the system, according to arrow D, of various treating products (dyes, degreasers, primers. ..). As will be described in more detail in the remainder of this description, the pipe 8 can, if necessary, cooperate with additional members not shown in FIG. 2a (pump, heat exchanger, etc.) and the introduction of the products. contractors can be carried out in open circuit or in closed circuit with recycling.

Generally, the treating product comes together at the bottom of the housing 30 in the path 31 to form a treatment bath 33 of the textile material 6 folded in accordion.

In all cases, the casing 30 is provided with a valve 34 for discharging saturated air so as to guarantee the safety of the system.

According to a variant of the invention shown in FIG. 2b, the wheels 40, 40 ′, 50, three in number which control the movement of the loop 6 of textile material along the path 31 defined for this purpose in the casing 30 ( arrow B), are no longer upstream, but downstream of the orifice 2 of the blowing circuit 1 in the direction B. These wheels, which also consist of blade wheels driven at corresponding speeds, guarantee a drive optimal tissue 6 without risk of slipping.

This configuration can be advantageously adopted for dyeing a loop 6 folded in a bath 33 provided at the lower part of the casing 30 of the machine, but of course excludes any possibility of "tumbling" treatment.

It should be mentioned that, depending on the case, a dyeing operation requires temperatures set by the programmer, which can vary between around 15 and 140 ° C. Consequently, the processing machines according to the invention must be provided with heat exchangers and their casing must be capable of withstanding the pressure and high temperatures.

According to Figures 3 to 5, the system can adapt to different geometries from the closed circuit to the open circuit. In all cases, the blowing orifice 2 of the blowing circuit 1 is connected to the discharge of a fluid accelerator 10 shown diagrammatically which is driven by a motor 11 located inside the casing 30 of the machine. This accelerator can be of any configuration (pump, fan ...) without departing from the scope of the invention.

According to FIG. 3, the fluid accelerator 10 as well as the fluid blowing circuit 1 opening through the blowing orifice in the support channel 3 constitute a closed circuit totally included inside a casing 12 located in the machine housing. The fluid leaving along arrow E of the support channel 3 is brought directly into the blowing circuit 1 by a connector 13.

According to FIG. 4, the blowing circuit 1 as well as the support channel 3 are indeed located inside an envelope 12, but the fluid accelerator 10 and the motor 11 are located outside of this envelope, and connected to circuit 1 by a connector 14. However, this is a system equivalent to that shown in FIG. 3, given that all of the drive fluid leaving the support channel 3 according to arrow E is taken up inside the envelope 12 ′ and brought back into circuit 1.

FIG. 5 represents a system which is also equivalent to that shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, but which again operates without an envelope, the drive fluid exiting along the arrow E from the support channel 3 is entirely brought back into the system.

FIG. 6 represents a system of the same type as that shown in FIG. 4, but comprising bypasses such as to allow the addition of complementary products to the flow of drive fluid, or even the implementation of other treatments.

According to this figure, the support channel 3 thus that the blowing circuit 1 are located in a casing 12₂, while the fluid accelerator 10 and its drive motor are located outside of the latter and the discharge of the accelerator 10 is connected to the channel l by a complementary pipe 14 so as to allow the blowing of the drive fluid in the support channel 3 according to arrow A.

In the casing 12₂, there also emerge an exhaust pipe 15 of the drive fluid to the outside, the opening of which is controlled by a valve 16, as well as a branch pipe 17 comprising a heat exchanger 18 and whose two orifices 19 and 20 are respectively fitted with valves 19 ′ and 20 ′. The branch pipe 17 also comprises a first external fluid inlet orifice 21, a second external fluid inlet orifice 22 and an external product inlet orifice 23; these different orifices are respectively fitted with valves 21 ′, 22 ′ and 23 ′.

• A) Le clapet 20′ est ouvert et les clapets 21′, 19′, 23′, 22′ et 16 sont fermés. Le système tra­vaille en circuit fermé dérivé sans chauffage ni re­froidissement et sans apport de produit complémentai­re.
• B) Les clapets 20′, 21′, 19′ et 23′ sont fermés et les clapets 22′ et 16 sont ouverts. Le sys­tème travaille en circuit ouvert dérivé sans chauffage ni refroidissement et sans apport de produit complé­mentaire.
• C) Les clapets 21′, 23′, 22′ et 16 sont fer­més et les clapets 20′ et 19′ sont ouverts ou partiel­lement ouverts. Le système travaille en circuit ouvert avec chauffage ou refroidissement et sans apport de produit extérieur.
• D) Les clapets 21′ et 22′ sont fermés, les clapets 20′ et 19′ sont ouverts suivant la chauffe de­mandée et le clapet 23′ est ouvert suivant la quantité de produit à introduire. Le système travaille en cir­cuit fermé avec chauffage ou refroidissement et apport de produit extérieur.
• E) Les clapets 20′ ou 19′, voire 20′ et 19′ peuvent être partiellement ouverts ; le clapet 21′ est ouvert suivant la chauffe demandée ; le clapet 16 est ouvert proportionnellement au clapet 21′ ; les clapets 23′ et 22′ sont fermés. Le système travaille en cir­cuit semi-ouvert avec chauffage ou refroidissement sans apport de produit extérieur.
• F) Les clapets 20′ ou 19′, voire 20′ et 19′ peuvent être partiellement ouverts ; le clapet 21′ est ouvert suivant la chauffe désirée ; le clapet 16 est ouvert proportionnellement au clapet 21′ ; le clapet 23′ est ouvert suivant la quantité de produit à intro­duire ; le clapet 22′ est fermé. Le système travaille en circuit semi-ouvert avec chauffage ou refroidisse­ment et apport de produit extérieur.
• G) Les clapets 21′ et 19′ sont fermés ; le clapet 20′ est ouvert ; les clapets 22′ et 16 sont ou­verts suivant la quantité de fluide neuf désirée ; le clapet 23′ est fermé. Le système travaille en circuit semi-ouvert, sans chauffage ni refroidissement et sans apport de produit extérieur.
• H) Les clapets 21′ et 19′ sont fermés ; le clapet 20′ est ouvert ; les clapets 22′ et 16 sont ou­verts suivant la quantité de fluide neuf à introduire; le clapet 23′ est ouvert en fonction de la quantité de produit à introduire. Le système travaille en circuit ouvert sans chauffage ni refroidissement mais avec ap­ port de produit.
• I) Les clapets 20′, 21′, 19′ sont fermés ; les clapets 22′ et 16 sont ouverts ; le clapet 23′ est ouvert suivant la quantité de produit à introduire. Le système travaille en circuit ouvert sans chauffage ni refroidissement et avec apport de produit.
• J) Les clapets 21′, 19′, 22′ et 16 sont fer­més ; le clapet 20′ est ouvert ; le clapet 23′ est ou­vert suivant la quantité de produit à introduire. Le système travaille en circuit fermé sans chauffage ni refroidissement mais avec apport de produit extérieur.

The aforementioned device offers multiple possibilities of use which are shown schematically below:

• A) The valve 20 ′ is open and the valves 21 ′, 19 ′, 23 ′, 22 ′ and 16 are closed. The system works in a derivative closed circuit without heating or cooling and without the addition of additional product.
• B) The valves 20 ′, 21 ′, 19 ′ and 23 ′ are closed and the valves 22 ′ and 16 are open. The system works in a derivative open circuit without heating or cooling and without the addition of additional product.
• C) The valves 21 ′, 23 ′, 22 ′ and 16 are closed and the valves 20 ′ and 19 ′ are open or partially open. The system works in open circuit with heating or cooling and without addition of external product.
• D) The valves 21 ′ and 22 ′ are closed, the valves 20 ′ and 19 ′ are open according to the heating required and the valve 23 ′ is open according to the quantity of product to be introduced. The system works in a closed circuit with heating or cooling and supply of external product.
• E) The valves 20 ′ or 19 ′, or even 20 ′ and 19 ′ can be partially opened; the valve 21 ′ is open according to the required heating; the valve 16 is open in proportion to the valve 21 ′; the flaps 23 ′ and 22 ′ are closed. The system works in a semi-open circuit with heating or cooling without the addition of external product.
• F) The valves 20 ′ or 19 ′, or even 20 ′ and 19 ′ can be partially opened; the valve 21 ′ is opened according to the desired heating; the valve 16 is open in proportion to the valve 21 ′; the valve 23 ′ is open according to the quantity of product to be introduced; the valve 22 ′ is closed. The system works in a semi-open circuit with heating or cooling and supply of external product.
• G) The valves 21 ′ and 19 ′ are closed; the valve 20 ′ is open; the valves 22 ′ and 16 are open according to the quantity of new fluid desired; the valve 23 ′ is closed. The system works in a semi-open circuit, without heating or cooling and without the addition of external product.
• H) The valves 21 ′ and 19 ′ are closed; the valve 20 ′ is open; the valves 22 ′ and 16 are open according to the quantity of new fluid to be introduced; the valve 23 ′ is open depending on the quantity of product to be introduced. The system works in open circuit without heating or cooling but with ap product port.
• I) The valves 20 ′, 21 ′, 19 ′ are closed; the valves 22 ′ and 16 are open; the valve 23 ′ is open according to the quantity of product to be introduced. The system works in open circuit without heating or cooling and with the addition of product.
• J) The valves 21 ′, 19 ′, 22 ′ and 16 are closed; the valve 20 ′ is open; the valve 23 ′ is open according to the quantity of product to be introduced. The system works in a closed circuit without heating or cooling but with the addition of external product.

Of course, the above description should only be considered as an example, and the device according to the invention could have a significantly different configuration without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (11)

1) Device for transporting and treating textile materials more specifically intended for dyeing machines, characterized in that it consists of a blowing circuit (1) of a flow of liquid or gaseous entraining fluid cooperating through a blowing orifice (2) with a support channel (3) so as to allow the transport and development of textile materials (6) contained therein without using other mechanical means. 2) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises members (4, 5, 5 ′) for supplying the support channel with textile materials (6). 3) Device according to any one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the blowing orifice (2) is located at the lower part of the support channel (3) below the textile materials (6) to be treated. 4) Device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the blowing orifice (2) has a variable size. 5) Device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the angle (α) along which the fluid flow is blown into the support channel (3) is variable. 6) Device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the support channel (3) widens in the direction of movement of the fluid flow and the transport of textile materials (6). 7) Device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it comprises a relaxation member (32). 8) Device according to any one of the re Vendications 1 to 7, characterized in that the blowing circuit (1) and the support channel (3) are part of a closed circuit for the flow of drive fluid. 9) Device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the blowing circuit (1) comprises at least one orifice (23) for introducing treatment products into the flow of drive fluid. 10) Device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the blowing circuit (1) is provided with at least one heat exchanger (18) capable of heating or cooling the flow of fluid training. 11) Device according to any one of claims 9 and 10, characterized in that the orifice (s) (23) for introducing treatment products and / or the heat exchanger (s) (18) are connected in branch on the circuit blowing (1).

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