EP1959049B1 - Tunnel finisher - Google Patents

Abstract

Tunnel finisher comprises an arrangement of steam injectors, each comprising two steam pipes that have a series of steam nozzles and are heated by a heating pipe.

Description

The invention relates to a tunnel finisher according to the preamble of claim 1.

Such tunnel finishers serve for the continuous finishing of garments. The garments are continuously fed into the tunnel finisher by hanging on a conveyor system, treated with steam, then finished and then returned to the tunnel finisher with the conveyor system. With such a treatment, unwanted surface changes of the garments resulting, for example, in sewing or packaging can be eliminated.

The steam treatment of the garments takes place in steam modules of the tunnel finisher. The steam module consists of both sides of the garments arranged steam nozzle rows, by means of which the garments are sprayed on both sides with steam. By steaming the garments are made relaxed and supple to solve existing tensions.

The steam used for this purpose must be heated to a predetermined temperature in order to achieve the mentioned desired effects in the steam treatment.

In known tunnel finishers steam modules are provided with steam nozzle rows, each with a steam nozzle row a heating pipe to the Heating is assigned. Although such an arrangement ensures a uniform heating of the steam to be sprayed on the garments, but is structurally relatively expensive.

Furthermore, there is a general problem with the steaming of garments in tunnel finishers in that the type of spray with steam must be selected depending on the nature of the garments in order to ensure a consistently high quality of treatment. While non-sensitive garments can be sprayed in a directional manner, sensitive materials such as velvet or velours must be steamed as gently as possible so that steam spraying does not leave unwanted marks on the garments.

The DE 20 2006 007 364 U1 relates to a device for treating garments with a conveyor unit for supplying the garments to a treatment chamber in which spray registers are provided for applying steam to the garments. For steam supply a control unit for controlling the vapor pressure is provided in a central steam supply line. From the central steam supply branch off further steam supply lines to the Sprühgistem, wherein in these steam supply apertures are provided for the distribution of steam on the spray registers.

The DE 14 60 373 A1 relates to a method for cleaning large-area textile fabrics. In this method, a fabric is continuously blown along the entire width with high-tension water vapor, solvent vapor or a mixture of such vapors, which also compressed air corresponding temperature can be mixed, blown from the back or tangentially from the front to a strong transverse curvature Fabric web blown on. The steam jet releases the dirt accumulated in the tissue.

The DE 36 27 940 A1 concerns a tunnel finisher. This consists of a damping chamber with a downstream drying chamber, a transport system that supplies the dispensed at a dispensing station garments to the entrance of the damping chamber and supplies the smoothed garments at the exit of the drying chamber of a receiving station. In order to significantly improve here the finish result in terms of heavily depressed garments, especially made of natural fiber fabrics pressed clothes, the damping chamber is preceded by a moistening chamber.

The invention has for its object to provide a tunnel finisher of the type mentioned, with which a high processing quality is achieved in a compact, cost-effective design.

To solve this problem, the features of claim 1 are provided. Advantageous embodiments and expedient developments of the invention are described in the subclaims.

The tunnel finisher according to the invention comprises at least one steam module consisting of an arrangement Dampfsprüheinheiten. Each Dampfsprüheinheit has two steam pipes, each with a steam nozzle row. This is a heating pipe assigned to their heating.

As in the tunnel finisher according to the invention unlike in known systems in a Dampfsprüheinheit not each steam pipe a heating pipe but a heating pipe are assigned two steam pipes, the heating power of the heating pipes is used more efficiently, whereby a considerable energy saving is achieved in the operation of the tunnel finisher according to the invention. Furthermore, the design effort of the steam module is also reduced, because a heating pipe is not assigned to one but two steam pipes. This leads to a reduction in the number of heating pipes required and thus to a reduction in the production costs of the tunnel finisher.

Finally, it is advantageous that, due to the reduction in the number of heating pipes in the steam module of the tunnel finisher according to the invention, an increased number of steam nozzle rows can be used. This allows flexible use of the tunnel finisher. In particular, by a control unit depending on the application all steam nozzle rows or only a part of the steam nozzle rows can be activated. With such a control, it is advantageously possible to adapt the steam spray to different textures of the garments to be treated. For this purpose, the steam nozzles of the individual steam nozzle rows can be assigned different apertures, through which the steam nozzles spray steam in the direction of the garments. This assignment can be done easily and quickly by placing cover plates on the front walls of the steam injection units, in which the apertures are incorporated.

In this case, the assignment of the steam nozzles of the steam nozzle rows can be easily varied to different aperture openings by replacing the cover plates on the Dampfsprüheinheiten.

Particularly advantageously, the cover plates aperture openings with two different characteristics. A first type of apertures is designed such that these apertures are completely open, so that the sprayed from the associated steam nozzle steam passes through the aperture unhindered. In this case, with the steam nozzles, a direct, that is directed Dampfbesprühung the garments. A second type of aperture is formed such that the respective aperture is covered with a preferably integrally formed with the cover plate grid structure. In this case, the vapor sprayed from a steam nozzle penetrates only partially through the gaps in the lattice structure, the Steam jet is fanned out so that thereby takes place an indirect Dampfbesprühung the garments. Such indirect steam spraying of the garments is advantageous in the delicate garments made of velvet, suede or the like, since these steam treatments avoid undesirable marks in the form of streaking.

The apertures of the cover plates are generally formed so that each type of aperture is associated with all the steam nozzles of a steam nozzle row. By selective activation of certain steam nozzle rows, which are associated with different apertures, then the type of Dampfbesprühung can be easily specified.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the tunnel finisher has a steam control in the form of a steam chamber temperature control. With this steam control, the temperature of the steam pipes is specified as a function of the amount of steam in the steam furnaces. The steam supplied to the steam pipes is controlled by valves. Depending on the amount of steam supplied, the temperature of the steam pipes is adjusted. For Tempraturmessung temperature sensors are provided in the individual steam pipes. By specifying the heat outputs of the heating pipes, the temperature of the steam pipes and thus also the temperature of the vapor sprayed over the steam nozzles on the garments to be treated steam can be controlled. As a result, the moisture of the steam for a high-quality treatment of the garments can be specified.

Figur 1:

Schematische Darstellung eines Tunnelfinishers.

Figur 2:

Querschnitt durch ein Dampfmodul für den Tunnelfinisher gemäß Figur 1.

Figur 3:

Draufsicht auf eine Dampfsprüheinheit als Komponente des Dampfmoduls gemäß Figur 2.

Figur 4:

Querschnitt durch die Anordnung gemäß Figur 3.

Figur 5:

Anordnung gemäß Figur 3 mit auf die Dampfsprüheinheit aufgesetzter Abdeckplatte.

Figur 6:

Querschnitt durch die Anordnung gemäß Figur 5.

The invention will be explained below with reference to the drawings. Show it:

FIG. 1:

Schematic representation of a tunnel finisher.

FIG. 2:

Section through a steam module for the tunnel finisher according to FIG. 1 ,

FIG. 3:

Top view of a Dampfsprüheinheit as a component of the steam module according to FIG. 2 ,

FIG. 4:

Cross section through the arrangement according to FIG. 3 ,

FIG. 5:

Arrangement according to FIG. 3 with attached to the Dampfsprüheinheit cover plate.

FIG. 6:

Cross section through the arrangement according to FIG. 5 ,

FIG. 1 schematically shows a tunnel finisher 1. The tunnel finisher 1 are supplied by means of a conveyor system 2 continuously hanging on ironing garments 3. In the tunnel finisher 1, the garments 3 are continuously treated. For this purpose, the garments 3 are transported in a conveying direction F and introduced into the tunnel finisher 1. There, the garments 3 are first applied with steam and then dried. Then the garments 3 are carried out again by means of the conveyor system 2 from the tunnel finisher 1.

The steam treatment of the garments 3 takes place in one or more steam modules 4 of the tunnel finisher 1. Such a steam module 4 is shown schematically in FIG FIG. 2 shown in a partial view. The steam module 4 has two wall elements 5, which extend over the inner sides of the lateral outer walls of the tunnel finisher 1. The arranged in vertical planes wall elements 5 are arranged at a distance from each other, so that between them a channel 6 remains, through which the garments 3 guided on the conveyor system 2 in the conveying direction F are moved.

In the wall elements 5 are steam nozzles 7. In each wall element 5 an arrangement of steam nozzle rows is provided, each steam nozzle row consists of an array of vertically spaced-apart steam nozzles 7 in the vertical direction. In the conveying direction F several steam nozzle rows are arranged one behind the other.

The FIGS. 3 and 4 show a Dampfsprüheinheit 10 for the steam module 4 according to FIG. 2 , The steam injection unit 10 comprises two steam pipes 8, which are arranged on both sides of a heating pipe 9. Each of the wall elements 5 of the steam module 4 is constructed of a plurality of such arrangements. These individual arrangements are arranged one behind the other in the conveying direction (x-direction) of the garments 3.

FIG. 3 shows a plan view of a section of the Dampfsprüheinheit 10th FIG. 4 shows the arrangement in a cross-sectional view.

The heating pipe 9 consists essentially of a square tube whose longitudinal axis extends in the vertical (z-direction). The two identically formed steam pipes 8 of the steam spraying unit 10 essentially consist of square pipes in whose channel walls 6 facing front walls the steam nozzle rows forming steam nozzles 7 are mounted. The steam pipes 8, like the heating pipe 9, consist of highly thermally conductive metallic materials.

Like from the FIGS. 3 and 4 As can be seen, the steam pipes 8 of the steam injection unit 10 are in each case provided with a side wall on opposite side walls of the heating pipe 9, so that the steam pipes 8 are in thermal contact with the heating pipe 9. Through the heating pipe 9 hot steam is performed as a heating medium. Due to the thermal contact with the heating pipe 9, the steam pipes 8 are heated, so that from the steam nozzles 7 correspondingly heated steam is emitted. Thus, only one heating pipe 9 serves to heat both adjacent steam pipes 8.

How out FIG. 3 it can be seen, each steam pipe 8 a steam nozzle row with in the vertical direction equidistantly behind the other arranged steam nozzles 7. The steam nozzles 7 of the steam nozzle rows of the two steam pipes 8 are arranged mirror-symmetrically to the plane of symmetry of the heating pipe 9 extending perpendicularly. The individual nozzles of the steam nozzle row of a steam pipe 8 are identical.

The steam nozzles 7 are mounted in the channel 6 facing the front walls of the steam pipes 8. The front ends of the steam nozzles 7 are slightly above the front walls of the steam pipes 8.

The front walls of the steam pipes 8 are flush with the front wall of the heating pipe 9, as from FIG. 4 it can be seen, that is, the front walls of the steam pipes 8 and the heating pipes 9 of a Dampfsprüheinheit 10 extend in a plane. These form the front wall of the steam spray unit 10.

In order to avoid direct contact of the garments 3 with the steam nozzles 7 when guiding the garments 3 in the channel of the steam module 4, a cover plate 11 is placed on the front wall of the steam spraying unit 10. This is in the FIGS. 5 and 6 shown. It shows FIG. 5 in a partial view a plan view of the Dampfsprüheinheit 10 with the cover plate 11 placed thereon. FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of this arrangement.

Each cover plate 11 extends over the entire front wall of the Dampfsprüheinheit 10, that is, it covers the front walls of the steam pipes 8 and 9 of the heating pipe completely. The cover plate 11 has a flat front surface and covers the nozzles of the steam pipes 8, so that they can not come into contact with the garments in the channel 6.

The cover plate 11 is fixed with a fastening means 11 a, in particular a screw on the heating pipe 9 of the steam spray unit 10.

In the cover plate 11 apertures 12a, 12b are incorporated, wherein in each case placed on a steam injection unit 10 cover plate 11 is a steam nozzle 7 behind such an aperture 12a, 12b. The apertures 12a, 12b each have an identical size. Each aperture 12a, 12b is elliptical.

Like from the FIGS. 5 and 6 As can be seen, the apertures 12a, which are associated with the steam nozzle row of the left steam pipe 8, each formed identically, but differ from the apertures 12b, which are associated with the steam nozzle row of the right steam pipe 8.

The apertures 12a associated with the left steam pipe 8 are formed by bores in the cover plate 11, that is to say the apertures 12a are completely open. The steam emitted by a steam nozzle 7 lying behind such an aperture 12a thus passes unhindered through this aperture 12a. With the guided through this aperture 12a vapor thus takes place a direct Dampfbesprühung the garments. 3

The apertures 12b associated with the right-hand steam tube 8 are each provided with grid structures which are formed integrally with the cover plate 11. The interspaces between the lattice structures form perforations of the respective orifice 12b, through which the vapor which is emitted by the steam nozzle 7 located behind it is guided. Upon passage of the steam through this grid structure, this is thus fanned out diffusely. With the guided through this aperture 12b steam thus takes place an indirect Dampfbesprühung the garments. 3

Each wall element 5 of the steam module 4 according to FIG. 2 consists of a series arrangement of the elements according to the FIGS. 5 and 6 in the conveying direction (x-direction).

The steam nozzles 7 of the left and right steam pipes 8 of a steam injection unit 10 are symmetrical to the axis of symmetry of the steam injection unit 10, that is, associated pairs of steam nozzles 7 of both steam pipes 8 are each at the same height.

However, the heights of the nozzles of various steam spraying units 10 are offset so that the garments are treated over a large area and evenly with steam.

By means of a control unit, not shown, the steam nozzle rows of the steam pipes 8 can be activated individually or together to adapt the steam treatment to the respective textures of the garments 3. In the present case, the steam nozzle rows of the left and right steam pipe 8 each a Dampfsprüheinheit 10 can be activated individually or together.

Appropriately, in the treatment of insensitive garments 3, the steam nozzle rows are activated, the steam nozzles 7 are associated with the first aperture 12a, so that with the steam nozzle rows direct Dampfbesprühung the garments 3 is performed.

For the treatment of sensitive, for example, velvet or velor existing garments 3, however, the steam nozzle rows are activated, the steam nozzles 7 are associated with the second aperture 12b, so that with the steam nozzle rows an indirect Dampfbesprühung the garments 3 is performed.

The cover plates 11 are interchangeably arranged and fixed to the Dampfsprüheinheiten 8. By replacing cover plates 11 with optionally different apertures 12a, 12b, the type of steam spray can be easily varied.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

(1)

tunnel finisher

(2)

conveyor system

(3)

clothing

(4)

steam module

(5)

wall element

(6)

channel

(7)

frother

(8th)

steam pipe

(9)

heating pipe

(10)

steam spraying

(11)

cover

(11a)

fastener

(12a)

aperture

(12b)

aperture

Claims (16)

1. Tunnel finisher (1) with at least one steam module (4) consisting of an arrangement of steam spray units (10), characterised in that each steam spray unit (10) comprises a heating pipe (9) as well as two steam pipes (8) each with a respective row of steam nozzles, wherein a heating pipe (9) is associated with these two steam pipes (9) for heating thereof.
2. Tunnel finisher according to claim 1, characterised in that the steam pipe (8) of a steam spray unit (10) is disposed in thermal contact with the associated heating pipe (9).
3. Tunnel finisher according to claim 2, characterised in that the steam pipes (8) of a steam spray unit (10) are formed as a four-sided pipe.
4. Tunnel finisher according to claim 3, characterised in that the heating pipe (9) of a steam spray unit (10) is constructed as a four-sided pipe, wherein a respective steam pipe (8) bears against opposite side walls of the heating pipe (9).
5. Tunnel finisher according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that steam as heating medium is fed to the heating pipes (9).
6. Tunnel finisher according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterised in that a series arrangement of steam nozzles (7) arranged in succession in the longitudinal direction of the steam pipe (8) is mounted in the front wall of a steam pipe (8) for formation of a steam nozzle row.
7. Tunnel finisher according to claim 6, characterised in that the steam nozzle rows of the steam pipe (8) of a steam spray unit (10) are activatable selectably individually or together.
8. Tunnel finisher according to any one of claims 4 to 7, characterised in that the steam module (6) has two wall elements (5), which extend over the inner sides of the lateral outer walls of the tunnel finisher (1) and are arranged in vertical planes at a spacing from one another so that a channel (6) remains therebetween and that the front walls, which face the channel (6), of the steam pipe (8) of a steam spray unit (10) are flush with a front wall, which faces the channel (6), of the associated heating pipe (9).
9. Tunnel finisher according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that a cover plate (11) is placeable on the front wall of a steam spray unit (10).
10. Tunnel finisher according to claim 9, characterised in that the cover plate (11) extends over the entire front walls of the steam pipe (8) and the heating pipe (9) of a steam spray unit (10).
11. Tunnel finisher according to one of claims 9 and 10, characterised in that the cover plate (11) has screen openings (12a, 12b) wherein when the cover plate (11) is placed on the front wall of the steam spray unit (10) a respective steam nozzle (7) of the steam pipe (8) behind a screen opening (12a, 12b) is freed.
12. Tunnel finisher according to claim 11, characterised in that the screen openings (12a) are completely open.
13. Tunnel finisher according to claim 11, characterised in that the screen openings (12b) are covered by grid structures.
14. Tunnel finisher according to claim 13, characterised in that the grid structures are formed integrally with the cover plate (11).
15. Tunnel finisher according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterised in that this comprises a steam chamber temperature control.
16. Tunnel finisher according to claim 15, characterised in that the temperature of the steam pipe (8) of the steam spray unit (10) is presettable in dependence on the amount of steam, which is fed to the steam pipes (8), by the steam chamber temperature control.

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