GB632516A - Improvements in or relating to an apparatus for preshrinking a web of fabric - Google Patents

Abstract

632,516. Shrinking fabrics. MUNSING- WEAR, Inc. March 31, 1947, No. 8617. Convention date, May 13, 1940. [Class 42 (i)] Apparatus for pre-shrinking a web of knitted fabric comprises a steam chamber through which the fabric is passed, a pair of endless elastic belts having adjacent runs between which the fabric is fed after steaming and means for positively driving the receiving ends of the belts relatively faster than the discharge ends. Drying means is preferably provided after the fabric has emerged from between the belts. The fabric is withdrawn from a roll 6, on a core 7, and supported on an idler roll 5 in a standard 4, and passes through a steam chamber 29. It is then received between the belts 21, 22, running over the rolls 9, 16, and 11, 17 respectively, and having adjacent runs 23, 24 in fabric-feeding contact. The rolls 9, 11 are positively driven at a greater peripheral speed than the rolls 16, 17 so that the belts 21, 22 contract as they enter the runs 23, 24. After emerging from the belts, the fabric passes through a drying chamber 41, and over a roll 46 driven at the same surface speed as the roll 16 by a chain 47, and is collected in a roll 42 rotating in contact with the roll 46. The differential peripheral speed of the rolls 9, 11 and 16, 17 may be obtained by making the former of greater diameter than the latter and driving them all at the same speed, or by the arrangement shown in Fig. 2 in which each pair of rolls is geared together, and a chain 36 drives sprocket 37 on the shaft 19 of the rotor 17 from a sprocket 38 which is mounted on the main drive shaft 31 of the apparatus. A gear 34 on the shaft 31 meshes with an intermediate gear 33 carried on a pivoted arm 32, a change-gear 35 removably secured to the shaft 13 of the roll 11 meshing with the gear 33 and permitting the speed of the rolls 9 and 11 to be varied. The rollers 25, 26, 27 and 28 may idle in contact with the belts 21, 22, or they may be positively-driven from the rolls 9 and 11 through a belt or chain drive at successively decreasing speeds, in order to render the contraction of the belts more gradual. They may be staggered, as shown, or arranged in opposed pairs.