US2016383A - Finishing of fabrics - Google Patents

Description

A. MELLOR ET AL FINISHINGOF FABRICS Oct. 8, 1935-- Filed May 13, 1951 mm v M. mmm m LAE 0 r n M y n T B LN AR Patented Oct. 8, 19 35 FINISHING F FABRICS Albert Mellor and Ralph James Mann, Spondon, near Derby, England, assignors to Celanese Corporatlon of America, a corporation of Delaware Application May 13, 1931, Serial No. 537,006 I In Great Britain July 12, 1930 I1 Claims.

This invention relates to the finishing of fabrics, and in particular to the drying and stretching of fabrics. r

Woven fabrics contract in width in securing,

; washing, and like processes and in ,order to restore them to their woven width, it is usual to subject them, after they have been more or less dried, to the stretching operation generally known as stentering. Thus the fabrics may be partially dried by passing them over a series of steam heated hollow drums, and then-passed to the stenteringmachine, where they are stretched to their original width.

The devices on the stentering machine for stretching the fabric usually consist of two travelling rows of clips which grip the fabric at its selvedges and pass along guides which cause the distance between the two rows of clips to increase, thereby pulling the fabric in the direction of its width.

In some cases it so happens that if the fabric is not wholly dried when it passes oif the,heated rollers, pressure marks are made on the selvedges of the fabric by the clips of the travelling chains of the stentering machine. This is seen more particularly in fabrics containingcellulose acetate, on which the clips leave glazed marks should the selvedge of the fabrics not be thoroughly dry.

The object of the present invention is to anable fabrics, and particularly fabrics made of or containing cellulose acetate or other cellulose derivatives, to pass through the above mentioned operations without there being any possibility of glazed clip marks being made on the fabric.

According to the invention special provision is made for the drying of the fabric selvedges during the drying of the fabric on heated drums or like devices, the selvedges being dried by the application of adrying atmosphere to the selvedges so that the stenter clips engage dry parts of the fabric when it proceeds from the drying drums or the like to the stentering machine.

The drying atmosphere to be directed on tothe selvedges may be drawn through a fan and passed through a heating device, being led thence through ducts to impinge on the selvedge. The two ducts may be supplied from a single blower, or separate blowers may be provided to supply the drying atmosphere to the two ducts. The 0 ducts may be shaped to follow the periphery of one or more drums, so that the selvedge drying is effectively carried out with a low quantity of drying atmosphere. This atmosphere (usually ducts supplying heated atmosphere to the selvedges can be moved across the width of the drying drums so as to accommodate various widths of fabric.

The invention will now be described in detail 5 with reference to the accompanying drawing, but it isto be understood that this description is given by way of example only and is in no respect limitative.

Fig. ,1 is aside elevation in part section on the line l-l of Fig. 2 of thefabric-dryingapparatus according to the invention g Fig. 2 isa front elevation of the drying machine shown in 'Fig. l.

Afabric 3 is batched on a roller 4 and led from the roller4 to a series of steam heated drums 5 mounted on shafts 6 carried by a frame 1. The rate at which the drums rotate and the temperature to which they are raised is regulated so that the fabric-is not quite dried on leaving the drums.

The selvedges 8, S of the fabric, however, are completely dried by directing a current of heated air on to each selvedge throughya slot-like ori- I steam jacket 16 which is supplied with steam through a pipe I! and valve l8. The steam, in heating the air passing through the chamber l5, condenses in the jacket l6 and is drained away by a drain IS. The air is supplied to the chamber l5 by means of a fan 20 drivenby an electric motor 2|, the air entering the chamber by openings 22 screened with wire gauze as shown in Fig. 2.

The whole assembly of duct ll, heater IS, IS, fan 20 and motor 2| is slidably mounted on carrier frame-work 23 having cross bars 24 extending across the width of the drums 5. In order that the selvedge-drying devices may be positioned in accordance with the width of the fabric 3 being dried, a spindle 25 is provided in connection with each device, the screw threads of the spindle engaging a nut 26 on the fan and heater assembly. A suitable wheel 21 is provided at each end of the machine for the operationof the spindle 25 'whereby the fan and heater assembly is moved along the carrier, running on 66 wheels 28 provided for the purpose. The traverse of each nut 26 is limited by a stop 29 .which forms an end bearing for each of the spindles 25.

The dried fabric is passed from the drums i to a stenter where the now completely dried selvedges 8, 9 are gripped by the clips of a pair of travelling chains which are guided away from each other to stretch the fabric to the required width.

The travelling chains are traversed along the races at a speed corresponding to the speed at which the fabric 3 is passing over the drums 5 of the drier. The fabric on being released by the clips is batched on to another piece roller.

During stentering the fabric may be subjected to the action of a drying or conditioning atmosphere.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: v s

1. Drying apparatus for preparing damp fabric for engagement by the selvedge-gripping devices of a stentering machine comprising, in combination, drying drums over which the fabric is caused to pass and means for directing a drying atmosphere against the selvedges only of the fabric so as to complete the drying of said selvedges whilst the remainder of the fabric remains damp.

2. In fabric drying apparatus, the combination with drying drums around which the fabric is passed, of means for directing a narrow stream of drying atmosphere onto each of the selvedges of the fabric whereby when the fabric is discharged from the drying apparatus only the selvedges of the fabric are completely dried.

3. In fabric drying apparatus, the combination with drying drums around which the fabric is passed, of means shaped to follow the periphery of at least one of said drying drums for directing a narrow stream of drying atmosphere onto each of the selvedges of the fabric.

4. In fabric drying apparatus, the combination with drying drums around which the fabric is passed, of means shaped to follow the peripheries of a plurality of said drying drums for directing anarrow stream of drying atmosphere onto each of the selvedges of the fabric.

5. In fabric drying apparatus, the combina tion with drying' drums around which the fabric is passed, of ducts shaped to follow the periphery of at least one of said drying drums for directing a narrow'stream of drying atmosphere onto each vices of the stentering machine.

of the selvedges of the fabric and means for moving at least one of said ducts whereby said apparatus is enabled to accommodate fabrics of different widths.

6. Method of treating damp fabric, which com- 5 prises completely drying the selvedges only of the fabric and then passing the fabric to a stentering machine, the drying of the selvedgespreventing damage to the fabric by the selvedgegripping devices of the stentering machine. 10 7. Method of treating damp fabric, which comprises completely drying the selvedges only of the fabric by directing a drying atmosphere against them, and then passing the fabric to a stentering machine, the drying of the selvedges preventing'us damage to the fabric by the selvedge-grlpp t de- 8. Method of treating damp fabric, which comprises partially drying said fabric by ,the uniform V application of heat thereto and completely dry- 20 ing the selvedges only thereof and then passing the fabric to astentering machine, the drying of the selvedges preventing damage to the fabric by the selvedge-gripping devices of the stentering machine. 25

9. Method of treating damp fabric, which comprises partially drying said fabric by the uniform application of heat thereto and completely drying the selvedges only thereof by the local application to them of a drying atmosphere and 30 then passing the fabric to a stentering machine, the drying of the selvedges preventing damage to the fabric by the selvedge-gripplng devices of the stentering machine. 7

10. Method of treating wet fabric containing 85 cellulose acetate, which comprises subjecting the fabric to a drying operation in which only the selvedges of the fabric are completely dried and then passing the fabric to a: stentering machine, the drying of the selvedges preventing damage to 40 the fabric by the selvedge-gripping devices of the stentering machine.

11. Method of treating wet fabric, which comprises subjecting the fabric to a drying operationydirecting a narrow stream ofdrying atmosphere on to the selvedges of said fabric so that the said selvedges only arecompletely dried and then passing the fabric to a stentering machine, the drying of the selvedges preventing damage to the fabric by the selvedge-gripping devices of the stentering machine. i

- ALBERT MELLOR.

RALPH JAMES MANN.

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