EP3183385B1

EP3183385B1 - Apparatus for steam setting textile articles

Info

Publication number: EP3183385B1
Application number: EP15750995.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Giuseppe BENDINI; Roberto GARZETTI; Angelo Morano; Marco VANOGLIO
Original assignee: AUTOTEX ITALIA Srl
Current assignee: AUTOTEX ITALIA Srl
Priority date: 2014-08-19
Filing date: 2015-08-13
Publication date: 2018-10-10
Anticipated expiration: 2035-08-13
Also published as: CN107075768B; CN107075768A; TR201900157T4; WO2016026765A1; EP3183385A1

Description

The present invention relates to an apparatus for steam setting and finishing textile articles carried by forms movable along a working path, and more particularly relates to a steam setting apparatus comprising a steam chamber, or autoclave, for setting and finishing garments and underwear clothes such as hosiery, socks, tights and the like, by a steam treatment.

PRIOR ART

It is known that during the manufacturing and packing of textile articles, before the wholesale and retail, such as underwear clothes, it is necessary to perform a finishing step to set the dye and/or the shape of the article.
In particular, the setting is required to provide the textile article, for example a sock, with a required shape of the foot, of the heel and tip, beside the leg, generally performing the setting operation by a thermal treatment.
In particular, in the case of socks and the like each sock, lightly humidified, is boarded on a respective carrying form having the required shape, generally consisting of metal material, to be subjected to a thermal treatment in a steam chamber of an autoclave, or drying kiln. In the case of steam setting, use is made of autoclaves in metal material, in which a pressurised steam is fed.
Although autoclaves in metal material are configured to provide high mechanical strength and a consequent low deformability, such autoclaves involve some drawbacks due to high heat losses, involving high consume of thermal energy necessary to perform a setting and finishing step, both due to the extended starting time necessary to bring the heating chamber of the autoclave to a required working temperature, and the thermal energy necessary to balance the constant heat loss towards the ambient outside the autoclave.
To remedy to the heat losses, according to known prior art, the autoclaves have been provided with an outer insulating layer, or equipped with electrical resistances that only partially solve said drawbacks, while requiring more complex solutions and consequently higher manufacturing and maintenance costs.
It is further noted that the heat losses involve the development of a large quantity of water condensation inside the walls of the autoclave, in particular due to the high difference of temperature between the inside and the outside of the same autoclave.
Disadvantageously, a high formation of water condensation inside an autoclave, substantially reduce the efficiency of the setting because the textile articles, which are already wet at the insertion in the autoclave, remain excessively wet preventing a good setting of the shape.
Lastly, autoclaves or steam chambers of previously known types, comprising heavy wall members of metal material, involve increased difficulties and long times for opening and closing the steam chamber, and a reduced productivity.
An apparatus comprising a flat steam chamber for setting garments, particularly underwear clothes, socks, tights and the like, according to the preamble of claim 1 are known from WO2005/100670 and GB2138856 , while the use of thermally insulating means consisting of fibreglass panels positioned inside the metal wall members of a steam chamber, is known from FR1513148 .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The technical problem at the base of the present invention consists in providing an apparatus suitable for steam setting and finishing textile articles, such as garments, underwear clothes, socks, tights, hosiery and the like, having structural and functional features suitable to obviate the previously mentioned drawbacks, that is an apparatus suitable to eliminate or substantially reduce both the heat losses towards outside, and to prevent the formation of water condensation inside the steam chamber. The above problems have been solved by an apparatus suitable for steam setting finishing textile articles, as recited in claim 1.
More properly, according to the present invention, an apparatus has been provided suitable for steam setting and finishing textile articles carried by forms movable along a working path, comprising:

a first shell member and a second shell member, in which at least one of said shell members is movable in respect to the other shell member, said first and second shell members having facing surfaces defining a flat steam chamber;
actuation means for moving one or both shell members to open and close the steam chamber; and
a steam feeding conduit to feed a pressurised steam for setting and finishing the textile articles on the carrying form in the closed steam chamber;
characterised in that each of said first and second shell members is configured and made integrally with non-metal thermally insulating material.

Preferably, the insulating material consists of a non-metal material such as a mat or superimposed sheets of synthetic fibres and a matrix of a thermosetting resin, such as fibreglass material and an epoxy resin, or other suitable mouldable fibre reinforced thermosetting plastic materials.
A steam setting and finishing apparatus for textile articles according to the invention, advantageously is characterised by a very low thermal conductivity, and a reduced heat losses without jeopardising the mechanical strength and deformability of the shell members of the steam chamber, as well as providing a steam chamber having a lightened structure.
Advantageously the shell members of the steam chamber have a thermal conductivity equal to or lower than 5 W/mK, more properly in a range comprised between 5,00 W/mK and 0,20 W/mK at a gradient of temperature of 20°C.
The shell members 11, 12 of the apparatus according to present invention, besides the advantages previously mentioned, provide a steam chamber structurally simple, and are easy to be manufactured by moulding and to be used.

BRIEF DEDCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

This and further features and advantages of the invention, will be more clearly described with reference to a preferential and not limitative embodiment, and to the enclosed drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of an apparatus according to the present invention, in an open condition;
Figure 2 is a front view according to line 2-2 of figure 1;
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view with the apparatus in a closed condition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to figures 1 to 3, the apparatus 10 according to present invention, comprises a first shell member 11 and a second shell member 12 having inner facing surfaces 13 and 14, and peripheral side edges provided with gaskets 15, 16 to sealingly close the steam chamber 18 in the advanced condition of the shell members 11 and 12, as shown in figure 3.
More particularly, according to the example of figures 1 to 3, the apparatus comprises a first shell member 11 and a second shell member 12 both movably supported and operatively connected to actuation means, not shown, to move said shell members 11, 12 between a retracted or open condition shown in figure 1 and an advanced or closed condition shown in figure 3, in which the facing surfaces 13 and 14 of the shell members 11, 12 define a flat steam chamber 18 for setting and finishing textile articles carried by shaped forms 19.
To this purpose, a pressurised steam for example at a pressure of 3 bar, may be fed into the closed steam chamber 18 by a steam feeding conduit 20, while the steam from the steam chamber 18 may be discharged and recirculated to a steam generator through an outlet conduit 21.
In the example shown, the steam chamber 18 is provided by the movable shell members 11 and 12; in alternative one only of the shell members 11 and 12 could be movably supported and operatively connected to an actuator, to be moved between an open and closed condition of the steam chamber 18.
With reference again to the figures, in an apparatus according to the present invention, the forms 19 for carrying the textile articles are connected to an advancing mechanism 22, consisting for example in a drive chain movable along a working path; the forms 19 carrying the textile articles, such as an hosiery, garments, socks and tights to be processed, are moved into and out the steam chamber 18 where a pressurised steam is injected, staying for a required time length sufficient to set the textile articles.
According to the invention, in respect to the known prior art, each of the shell members 11 and 12 is now manufactured or made integrally with a non-metal thermally insulating material, configured as single moulded piece.
The thermally insulating material may consists of a fibre reinforced thermosetting plastic material, such as a mat or superimposed sheets of artificial fibres and a matrix of a thermosetting resin, for example a mat of fibres of glass and a matrix consisting of an epoxy resin, usually known as "fibreglass"; obviously any other thermally insulating non-metal thermosetting plastic material may be suitably used for the intended use, provided that the thermally insulating material has a low specific weight, for example ranging between 1,5 and 3 g/cm³, good mechanical properties and a very low thermal conductivity equal to or lower than 5 W/mK, at a differential temperature of 20°C, and more properly selecting a thermo-insulating non-metallic material having a thermal conductivity ranging between 5 W/mK and 0,20 W/mK, at 20°C.
Good results have been obtained by the use of fibreglass material; therefore, by providing each shell member 11 and 12 configured integrally with a non-metal thermally insulating material, according to present invention, it is possible to set and finishing textile articles on respective carrying forms, while are sequentially moved into a steam chamber 18, where the thermal treatment is performed by maintaining a high thermal insulation, in respect to the outer environment, reducing at the same time the water condensation on the inner surfaces 13 and 14 of both shell members 11, 12.
The high thermal insulation of the steam chamber 18, beside assuring a smaller heat dissipation during the setting and finishing process, allows also a substantial reduction of the starting time required to heat the steam chamber 18 to the working temperature, consequently providing a further saving of energy.
The reduced starting time and formation of water condensation on the inner walls of the shell members 11, 12 make the setting and finishing process more efficient.
Furthermore, the use of shell members 11, 12 fabricated entirely by an artificial fibres and a thermosetting resin, substantially reduce any corrosion risk, assuring also an insignificant absorption of moisture and a prolonged working life, being substantially irrelevant, over the time, the deterioration of the physical properties.
Summarising, the advantages resulting from a steam setting apparatus according to the invention, in which each of the shell members defining the steam chamber is integrally made by a non-metal thermally insulating material, compared to a prior art steam setting apparatus, consist in a substantial reduction of thermal losses and thermal energy for setting the textile articles, improving the working of the same apparatus.

Claims

An apparatus (10) suitable for steam setting and finishing, in a steam chamber (18), textile articles carried by forms (19) movable along a working path (22), comprising:
first and second shell members (11, 12) having facing surfaces (13, 14) defining a flat steam chamber (18);

at least one of the shell members (11, 12) being movable between a retracted position and an advanced position in respect to the other shell member;

actuation means for moving at least one of said shell members (11, 12) between the retracted position and the advanced position to open and close the steam chamber (18) respectively; and

a steam feeding conduit (20) to feed a pressurised steam for setting and finishing the textile articles on the carrying forms (19) in the closed steam chamber (18);

characterised in that

each of said first and second shell members (11, 12) is configured and made integrally with a non-metal thermally insulating material.
The apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that the shell members (11, 12) consist of a fibre material and a matrix of a thermosetting resin.
The apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that each of the shell members (11, 12) consist of fibre reinforced thermosetting plastic material.
The apparatus according to anyone of claims 1 to 3 characterised in that the shell members (11, 12) are manufactured by a thermally insulating material having a thermal conductivity equal to or lower than 5 W/mK, at 20°C.
The apparatus according to anyone of claims 1 to 4 characterised in that the shell members (11, 12) are manufactured by a thermally insulating material having a thermal conductivity ranging between 5,00 W/mK and 0,20 W/mK, at 20°C.
The apparatus according to claim 1, characterised by comprising an outlet conduit (21) for discharging the steam from the closed steam chamber (18).