US1513369A - Fabric-drying machine - Google Patents

Description

0a. 28,1924. 1,513,369 E. CADGENE a r AL FABRIC DRYING MACHINE Filed June 29. 1923 3 Sheeis-Shaat 1 INVEN OR [fin EST 0706;44:-

GEORGE .DUPONTZ I I u: g,

' ATTORNEYS @cico 28 E. CADGENE ET AL.

FABRIC DRYING MACHINE Filed June 29 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ERA Es T 640 037W: GEO/PGE D UFO/VT ATTORNEYS ct. 28, 1924. 151339 E. cApGNE ET AL 'FABR'IC DRYING MACHINE Filed June 29. 1923 :3 Sheets-Sheet s INVENTO [IF/VEST C'floa N: era/m5 DUPONT ATTORNEYS Passes Oct. 2a, 1924.

ERNEST CADGENE, OF ENG-LEWOOD CLIFFS, AND GEORGE DUPONT, OF IPAT'EBSON,

NEW JERSEY.

FABRIC-DRYING MACHINE.

Application filed June 29, 1923. Serial No. 648,517.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST GADGiJNE, a citizen of France, residing at Englewood Cliffs, county of Bergen, and State of New .Jersey, and I, GEORGE DUPONT, a citizen of France, residing at Paterson, county of Passaic, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fabric-Drying Machines, lowing is a specification.

In the dyeing of silk and other fabrics it is the common practice to pass the goods directly from the dyeing machines to a drying machine, which for most classes of goods is usually some form of a tentering machine which framesfithe goods under tensionto the required width. Because of the desire to obtain the maximum crpey effect in the finished product, materials such as georgette, crepe de chine are not passed directly to a tentering machine but are first dried in such a manner as to eliminate as much as possible, tension upon the goods during the drying thereof so as to allow a maximum shrinkage and thereby secure the fullest possible extent of the crpey effect.

-Three methods and forms of apparatus have been commonly used to accomplish the drying of the goods, one of which consists in the provision of a plurality of wooden rods or strips placed within a large drying box and over which rods or strips the goods are suspended to form a plurality of vertically extending loops, there being no relative movement between the goods and rods. This form is objectionable because of the fact that with certain shades or colors, transverse stripes are formed in the goods by the continuous contact of each rod with the same section of the fabric during the entire drying thereof.

Another form consists in the rovision of a number of horizontally exten ing endless belts usually of wire mesh arranged one above the other in staggered cascade formation and the upper runs of adjacent belts travelling in opposite directions so that the goods which are passed onto the top belt from the dyeing machine will fall. to the next lower belt and in this manner will be carried through the machine. There is no of which the folrelative movement between the goods and the belts and consequently if the goods when falling upon either of the upper belts should fall into a crease, there is a sufficient drying of the goods in these upper runs to produce a stripe in the goods.

The remaining form consists in passing the goods in substantially vertically extending reaches around upper and lower rollers of small diameter, all of which rollers are positively driven and while this last form overcomes the objectionable formation of stripes in the goods, it is subject to the objection that the goods are placed under a tension which diminishes the crpey effect.

It is therefore the object of this invention to provide a method for drying crepefabrics which will overcome the difficulties and objectionable features noted above as present in the prior art.

Another object is to provide'a machine for carrying out our improved method by means of which the goods are kept continuously in-relative movement with respect to the means for supporting them within the dry box, while at the same time eliminating or reducing to a neglible quantity the tension upon the goods.

For the accomplishment of these and such further objects as will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which this appertains, the invention consists in the method for drying the goods and in the combination con-- struction and arrangement of parts of an apparatus for carrying out the method as hereinafter disclosed and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, but it will be understood that such changes, variations and modifications may be resorted to as fall within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

In the drawings:

t Fig. 1 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section showing a machine embodying our invention and adapted to carry out the method.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3

Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a central longitudinal vertical section of a modified form of a machine and Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic chart showing is a section on the line 33 of a typical saturation curve for the goods as they pass through the drying box, and by means of which the required diameters of the driving rolls shown in Fig. 4 may be ascertained.

After a considerable period of experimentation we have found that in order to overcome the difliculties of the prior art methods and machines, it is necessary in the first place to devise a method of drying the goods by means of which there is at all times a relative movement between the goods and the supporting means therefor, as they pass through the drying box, so as to avoid objectionable striping of the goods, and

in the second placeto entirely eliminate tension on the goods or to reduce the tension to a negligible quantity in order that the maximum crpey efi'ect may be maintained.

Referring to Figsl to 3 of the drawing which illustrate a suitable apparatus for carrying out such a method, the numeral 10 indicates the uprights ofa framework which uprights are connected by the horizontally extending upper and lower members 11 and 12 and the intermediate upper plate and roller supporting members 13 and 1% respectively.

Rotatably mounted in suitable bearings secured to the roller supporting member 14, are a plurality of horizontally, extending rollers 15,: a number of which (preferable three) at the entrance end of the machine indicated by the numeral 15 are driven by variable speed change mechanism to be hereinafter described and the remainder of which are driven at a constant speed from the main shaft 16 by means of thebevel gears 17. The main shaft 16 is rotatably mounted upon the roller supporting member 14, as by means of the brackets 17 The variable change speed mechanism for the rollers 15 may consist of any well known type of change speed transmission and as shown, a pair of o posed cone shaped pulleys 18 are mounte upon each of the shafts 19, each of which is in vertical alient with its corresponding roller 15. Shafts 19 are rotatably mounted in suitable bearings upon the upper horizontal member 11 and are driven from the main shaft 16 by means of the belts 20, 21, 22 or other suitable driving means. A pair of cone pulleys 23 similar to the pulleys 18 are mounted upon each of the shafts of rollers 15 and a belt 25 having a plurality of cleats 26 secured to the inner face thereof is trained about the coopcrating pairs of pulleys 18 and 23, the side faces of the cleats 26 being tapered at an inclination corresponding to the inclination of the cones. A. lever 27 pivotally mounted as at 28 is provided for each change speed device and has means to engage a groove provided in the hubs of the pulleys according to the well known construction of devices of this character. When the lever is moved towards the left in Fig. 2 the distance between/ the lower cone pulleys 23 will be decreased and the" distance between the upper pulleys increased, thereby increasing the speed of the rollers 15 in a manner which will be obvious.

Secured to and extending between each of the lower members 12 and the upper plate member 13, is a plate 30 upon the inner face of which are secured a plurality of pairs of vertically extending angle irons arranged in opposed spaced relationship to form guide ways 31 for the free floating rollers 32, the guide ways 31 being arranged to cause the axis of rollers 32 to be located in a vertical plane midway between the axis of the adjacent top rollers. Rollers 32 may be constructed of thin aluminum tubing or of any other suitable light material and should be as light in weight as possible to avoid to the greatest extent placing any tension upon the goods G which as clearly shown in the drawings are trained about the upper rollers so as to form vertically extending loops in the bottom of which the rollers 32 are placed. The ends of rollers 32 extend loosely into the guide ways 31 and have free rotary and vertical movement therein and are prevented from moving longitudinally by the plates 30. lit will be understood that the entire apparatus will be enclosed in a suitable dry box heated by steam or in any other desirable manner.

The necessity for providing the change speed mechanism for the rollers 15 will be apparent by refer to the curve Al3 shown in Fig. 5 in which the ordinates represent the saturation of the goods and the abscissae the length of travel of the goods through the machine. Assuming that the origin represents the pointof entrance of the goods into the machine and the numerals l, 2, 3, etc. represent the length of material between the entrance point and the first, second, third, etc., rollers, the value of the ordinates of thecurve A-B at the corresponding points represents the amount of moisture content or saturation of the goods. It will thus be seen that there is a greater loss of moisture between the entrance point and the first roller and that the loss of moisture will vary until it approaches a nearly constant amount towards the delivery end of the machine, consequently there will be a greater degree of shrinkage of the goods at is passes between the first few rollers than at the delivery end. Because of this shrinkage it becomes necessary to feed the goods faster at the front end of the machine and as the cunt of moisture lost will vary with the nature of the goods and the variation of other conditions it becomes desirable to provide a change speed mechanism as shown. e there will be a variation of till the amount of goods passing over the first roller and the last roller 15, due to the I shrinkage of the goods between these two points, thisvariation will not be very great as will be evident by referring to the curve A B, and it will be compensated for by the free mounting of the rollers 32 which will gradually be caused to rise in the guide ways 31. I'he rising of the rollers 32 will' be so slow, however, that they will not approach the tops of the guideways until the machine has been in operation for quite a long period and Whenever it becomes necessary the loops may be lengthened by hand until the rollers 32 are again situated adj acent the bottom of the guide ways 31.

In order to provide a further means-for compensating for the shrinkage of the goods .between the front and last rollers 15, and

to obviate the necessity for readjusting the length of the loops, we may employ a construction such as shown in Fig. 4:, in which each of the rollers 15' is rotated at a constant speed but are of progressively de-v creasing diameters proportional to the values of the ordinates of the curve A B at the corresponding points, the values of vertically extend' which ordinates and the corresponding diameters being computed from a curve plotted to represent the average conditions.

It willbe understood that if desired all of the rollers may be made of different diameters to compensate for the shrinkage or that instead of making the rollers 15 of different diameters, the can be made 'of the same diameter and .t e driving gear ratios made proportional to the variations of the shrink Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The method of drying crepe fabrics which consists in passing the fabrics through a drying box, maintaining relative movement between the fabric and the means for supporting it, while maintaining a minimum tension upon the oods.

2. The method of ing crepe fabrics which consists in passi the fabric through a drying box in a series of substantially loops, supporting the upper ends of said oops while maintalning relative movement between the fabric at said upper ends and the supporting means therefor, and maintaining the fabric at lower ends of said loops in spaced relationshipv at a minimum tension.

3. The method of drying crepe fabrics which consists in passing the fabric'through a drying box, supporting the fabric, to form a series of spaced substantially vertically extending loops, while maintaining relative movement between the fabric and the supporting means for said loops and feeding the fabric through the box at sp intervals and at speeds proportional to the rate I of shrinkage of the fabric between such intervals.

4. Ina machine for drying crepe fabric, a drying box, means for supporting the fabric in a plurality of substantiall vertically extending loops comprising a p urality of spaced upper driven rolls to support the upper ends of the loops and feed the fabric through the drying box and a lurality of lower rolls suspended for ree direct vertical movement.- 4

5. In a machine for drying crepe fabrics, a drying box, means for feeding the fabric and supporting it in its travel through the machine, said means consisting of upper rolls and relatively smaller rolls to support the fabric in a plurality of substantially vertically extending spaced loops and to cause relative movement between the fabric and said means without producing any appreciabl'e tension upon the fabric.

6. In machine for drying crepe fabrics,

a drying box, a plurality of upper driven rolls about which the fabric is trained to form a plurality of spaced substantially vertically extending loops, alower roll of extremely light weight laid within the bight of each of said loops, and means to hold said lower rollers in spaced relationship.

7. -In a machine for drying crepe fabrics, a drying box, means to support the fabric within the box, means-to continuously drive said supporting means and cause relative movement between the fabric and said supporting means and means to cause said freely mounted to permit the adrying box, a plurality of upper rolls about which the fabric is trained to form a plurality of substantially vertically extending loops, means to drive the rolls at the entrance end of the box at variable speeds to compensate for'variable shrinkage of the material in its passage through, v

the machine and means suspended for free vertical movement to engage the fabric at the lower ends of said 100 to permit variation of the lengths of sad loops to compensate for'shrinkage of said fabric.

9. In a machine for drying crepe fabrics,

a drying box, a plurality of upper rolls about which the fabric is trained to form a plurality of vertically extending loops, means to drive a plurality of said rollers at an equal speed, means to drive the re maining rollers at a ditierent speed to compensate for the shrinkage of the fabric and means to engage ,the fabric at the lower ends of sa'id'floo s to hold said loops in spaced relationship, said last named means being mounted for free vertical movement to permit the len ths of said loops to vary whereby an additional compensation for shrinkage of the fabric is provided 10. In a machine for drying ere e fabrics a dryin box, a plurality of drlven rolls about w ich the fabric is adapted to be trained to form a plurality of substantially verticall extending loops, means to drive said rol means to vary the speed of the driving means for certain of said rolls to compensate for shrinkage of the material during the drying thereof and a roller suspended for free vertical movement engaged wit the lower end of each of said loops to hold the loops in spaced relationship neraeee while pertting free shrinkage of? the fabric,-

11, In a machine for dryin crepe fabrics,-

about which the fabric is trained means to drive certain of said rollers at the same speed of rotation, and means to drive the remaining rollers at difierent speeds, the diameters of said certain rollers being proportioned to the varying shrinkage of the" fabric in its travel through the machine,

In testimony whereof We have aifixed our signatures.

. DR. ERNEST GADGENE.

GEORGE DUPONT.

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