EP1046739B1 - Method and device for setting tubular fabrics - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a method for fixing as well as width fixing of tubular goods by targeted spreading of the hose and subsequent Heat treatment with a steam-air mixture.

For the fiber fixation of a web-shaped product, at least in the artificial fibers are partially incorporated, is by DE-A-16 35 339 under suction Screening drum device is known, the web-shaped goods by means of a direct upstream stenter fed and spread within the device is delivered to the screening drum. In this way, only sheet-like Goods webs are treated.

Tubular goods, on the other hand, need less for fiber fixation be heat treated, but rather for relaxation, stabilization of the Mesh structure. The used for a knitted or knitted tube Yarns experience considerable friction during the manufacture of the hose, which Let tension arise in the knitted fabric. It is therefore common to have one Steam hose, with saturated steam at about 100 ° C. A procedure this type is known from DE-A-28 29 008. By steaming the Hose held in the expanded condition by a spreader. in the After steaming, the tube is passed through a calender to a to achieve final stabilization of the spread state. A permanent one Edge marking cannot be avoided when calendering.

A similar treatment of tubular goods is known from US-A-3 585 696, after which the saturated steam generated in a sump by the between two Tubular goods held in endless belts and suctioned off at the top. The tubular goods are fed to the damper via a spreader that works with Distance to the damper is arranged and only pre-stretches the hose. The In any case, the elastic state remains in the case of elastic goods when they are handed over to the Damper not received.

From DE-A-16 35 348 is also known over the length of the Treatment process a knitted tubular fabric over several in a row arranged spreader to move while doing the steam or a steam-air mixture alternately through the inflated tube from the inside out and then blow across. Aside from this very elaborate and therefore In the end, expensive treatment does not guarantee edge mark-free Failure of the tubular goods, since the treatment continues throughout the treatment Spreader is guided. The spreader bars and other device parts disclosed there become hot and hot in the course of the treatment lead to irreversible markings along the length of the treatment. In the The same script is also proposed, only one of these the web to use inflating spreader, of which the spread and pre-damped Goods are first placed on an endless belt, which the goods then only in one drying sieve drum device transported. This procedure alone ensures because of the interposed endless belt none to a desired width fixed tubular goods.

DE-A-16 35 363 is only a short vertically oriented spreader known, but in the heating chamber any desired temperature and any desired Atmospheric condition can be generated. A mark-free fixation a desired web width together with a fixation of each used Fiber is not possible with it. The goods are also here throughout Treatment with spreader elements kept wide, depending on the used Temperature leads to permanent markings.

In the jersey industry, an artificial elastic fiber is increasingly being used Spandex (e.g. Lycra) used in certain z. B. Cotton items one to obtain higher elasticity of the knitted fabric. The use of spandex has that Disadvantage that the web edge of the cut hose is even stronger tends to roll up as is the case with cotton anyway. The continues Spandex fiber when cutting the hose and also when cutting for the Tailoring back from the cut edge, which means that the goods in Cut edge area becomes unusable. Such goods must be fixed in the hose.

The dry goods are fixed in fibers, the chemical fibers are fixed in known manner in a dryer at elevated temperature. The temperature is allowed only be so high that neither the cotton nor the elastane fiber suffers. Are Fiber fixing temperatures of the usual 185 - 210 ° C cannot be used because the Cotton becomes brittle and hard and the spandex fiber even melts. The goods then gets a hard, rough grip at these temperatures. Lower temperatures but bring a poorer permanent fiber fixing effect.

The invention has for its object a method and a suitable device to find with a satisfactory fiber fixation of a z. B. Cotton tubular fabric mixed with an elastane fiber can be achieved.

The invention lies on the basis of the previously known method of the type mentioned above to solve the task in that a z. B. cotton and anyway artificial elastic fibers like elastane knitted tube after a preferably edge-free spreading in ambient temperature immediately then, after delivery from the spreader, a fiber fixation treatment is subjected to a temperature of 160 to 230 ° C, the treating gas is heated air into which water vapor is sprayed.

The fixing temperature should preferably be 210 ° C. Despite this high temperature No damage to the fibers was found in the heat treatment device become. The steam acts as fiber protection for both the cotton and the Elastane. The goods are fixed to the desired width and have one silky smooth handle after the fixing process. The goods structure is permanently fixed, the cut edge area can be used without further ado without the fibers jumping in or roll up the edge areas.

In addition to the pre-fixation, this fixation has several other advantages. For one, gets better levelness when dyeing later. The tendency to pilling during the Dyeing and dye consumption are reduced. Of course, too Wrinkling during later bleaching or dyeing due to the twisting effect of the elastane-containing goods due to the formation of system rings, prevented.

It is also important that this steam-air mixture reaches the fiber quickly. To the flow, as is usual on the sieve drum, is particularly suitable. The use of a screen drum after a spreader is for shrinking one Tubular goods by DE-A-19 36 111 but also for drying by the aforementioned DE-A-16 35 348 known. In the present invention, however, should be in a steam atmosphere a particularly expanded tubular goods essentially unchanged held by the suction and so the fibers are also fixed.

The spreader (s) for the tubular goods are outside the heat treatment device arranged and the dispensing end of the spreader extends into the Heat treatment device in which the tubular goods are held in this width. For this purpose, the drain end of the spreader should be fitted with a first screen drum Advantage to be assigned tangentially.

A device of the type according to the invention is shown as an example in the drawing. The figure shows a section along a conventional sieve drum construction with two screening drums and two one above the other assigned to the first screening drum Expanders.

A screen drum device basically consists of an approximately rectangular, heat-insulated housing 1, which is divided into a treatment room 2 and a fan room by an intermediate wall (not shown in this section). In the treatment room 2 there are two sieve drums 3, 3 'and concentrically rotatable about each of these in the fan room. With two screening drums, the fabric can be flowed through from both sides. The fan draws the inside of the drums 3, 3 '. Heating units, which consist of pipes through which heating medium flows, are arranged above and below the fan. Above and below the screening drums 3, 3 ^' 2 storage ceilings 4 are arranged in the treatment room, which provide for the traffic jam and thus for the uniform distribution over the working width of the air flowing in from the fan in front of the drums 3, 3'. The sieve drums are each covered in the area not covered by the textile material 5 by an inner cover 6 held stationary on the axis against the suction draft.

In the sieve drum device, tubular fabric 5 should be given the width 7, 8 predetermined Dimensions are fixed. For this are the first, upward running drum 3 two spreader 7, 8 assigned such that the discharge end 9 tangential to the Top of the sieve drum 3 is aligned. The two spreader bars 7, 8 are outside the sieve drum device 1 and arranged one above the other. So that are the Changing the width setting necessary units 10 accessible from the outside. Two tubes 5 can be fed one above the other to the screening drum and there be treated. Of the spreader 7, 8 depending on the working width of the device 1 also several can be arranged side by side.

With the heating units not shown in this section, the treatment air be heated to the necessary temperature. For fixing the tubular goods a temperature of 180 - 230, preferably 210 ° C is necessary. So with this Temperature no damage to the cotton fiber and no melting of the elastane fiber occurs, the fixing process with a correspondingly heated steam-air mixture carried out. For this, steam is sprayed into the treatment room. This The fact is indicated by arrows 11. The steam can be fed into the Fan room or at another suitable location. The generated overheated steam-air mixture prevents the even at this high fixing temperature Damage to the fibers. Furthermore, the treatment on the screen drum is very good effective quickly and can also lead to the desired goal for a short time.

Claims (11)

1. Method of fixing, as well as width-fixing, tubular fabric by appropriately spreading-out the tube and subsequently effecting hot treatment with a mixture of steam and air, characterised in that a tube, which has been knitted from, for example, cotton and in any case synthetic resilient fibres, such as elasthan fibre, is subjected to a fibre-fixing treatment at a temperature of 160 to 230° C after a spreading-out process, preferably free of edge markings, in ambient temperature directly subsequent to being discharged from the spreader, the treating gas being heated-up air, into which steam is sprayed.
2. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the mixture of air and steam has a temperature of 180 to 220° C.
3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the highly heated mixture of air and steam for fibre-fixing purposes is conducted transversely through the tube.
4. Method according to claim 3, characterised in that, during the air-and-steam fixing process, the tube is kept spread-out on a sieve drum, which is subject to suction, just as it was prior to the heat treatment, and transported.
5. Method according to claim 4, characterised in that the tube is alternately traversed at least once.
6. Apparatus for fixing, as well as width-fixing, tubular fabric by appropriately spreading-out the tube and subsequently effecting hot-air treatment with a mixture of steam and air, a tube, which has been knitted from, for example, cotton and in any case synthetic resilient fibres, such as elasthan fibre, being subjected to a fibre-fixing treatment at a temperature of 160 to 230° C after a spreading-out process, preferably free of edge markings, in ambient temperature directly subsequent to being discharged from the spreader, and the treating gas being heated-up air, into which steam is sprayed, said apparatus having a spreader which is suitable for tubular fabric and is followed by a heat treating unit using steam, characterised in that at least one spreader (7, 8) is disposed externally of the heat treating apparatus (1), and the discharge end (9) of the spreader (7, 8) extends into the heat treatment apparatus.
7. Apparatus according to claim 6, characterised in that the spreader (7, 8) is disposed directly upstream of a sieve drum apparatus (1).
8. Apparatus according to claim 7, characterised in that the spreader (7, 8) is tangentially associated with the sieve drum (3).
9. Apparatus according to claim 8, characterised in that the sieve drum (3), associated with the spreader (7, 8), rotates upwardly.
10. Apparatus according to claims 7 to 9, characterised in that a second contrarotating sieve drum (3') is disposed downstream of the first sieve drum (3).
11. Apparatus according to one of claims 6 - 10, characterised in that a steam supply aperture (arrow 11) is directed into the housing of the heat treating apparatus.

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