US2071922A

US2071922A - Manufacture of pile fabrics

Info

Publication number: US2071922A
Application number: US735922A
Authority: US
Inventors: Drobile Albert William; Hiers Glen Sefton; Keen William Rollin
Original assignee: Collins and Aikman Corp
Current assignee: Collins and Aikman Corp
Priority date: 1934-07-19
Filing date: 1934-07-19
Publication date: 1937-02-23
Anticipated expiration: 1954-02-23

Description

Feb. 23, 1937. A. w. DROBILE 'ET A1. 2,6%,932

i MANUFACTURE OF PILE FABRICS Filed July 19, 1934i. shtsmei 1 Feb. 23, 1937. A W DROBlLE El- AL MANUFACTURE OF PILE FABRICS 4 sheets-*sheet 2 Filed Ju1y'l9, 1934 Feb. 23, 1937. A. w. DROBILE ET AL MANUFACTURE OF PILE FABRICS Filed July 19, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 ATTORNEY.

Feb. 23, 1937.

A. W. DROBILE AL MANUFACTURE OF PILE FABRICS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 19, 1934 ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 23, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MANUFACTURE 0F PILE FABRICS Delaware \Application July 19, 1934, Serial No.l 735,922

uniformly practiced as batch operations, regardt less of the quantity or volume of the product required, because the difficulties of continuous operations have been deemed insurmountable in commercial production due to the great differ-Y ences in the time involved in the various operations requisite for the conversion of fabric Woven Wholly or partially in the gray into finished saleable fabrics.

We have found that by saturating a continuous length of pile fabric bymovement thereof ataconstant rate in momentary contact with a vehicle containing a dyestuff having an exhaustion rate of not less than 2% during a contact period of fourteen-hundredths `(14/100) of a minute, the fabric, after subjection to pressure, as by mangling, for forcing the dyestuff-containing vehicle into the fabric and for removal of excess vehicle and dyestuff, will have entrained therein an amount of dyestuff unexhausted from the vehicle sufficient toH give a desired tinctorial effect, by the exhaustion of the dyestufi into and fixation thereof in the fabric fibres during the passage of the fabric through a fixing or` ageing atmosphere between the dyeing apparatus and the pile finishing apparatus, and hence the pile surface may be moved in contact with the pile finishing devices at the same rate at which it was moved in contact with dyestuff-containing vehicle. Thus dyeing and finishing of continuous,

connected lengths of pile fabric may be concurrently carried on as a continuous operation. y

The vehicle used is preferably-an aqueous liquid containing dyestuff in much greater'concentration than is permissible in kettle dyeing but insufficient in concentration to cause bronzing of the dye on the pile tips or subsequent crocking of the dye, and the dye bath is maintained at a constant concentration, temperature, p-H, and preferably level, with consequent constancy of the exhaustion rate of the dyestuff and entrainment thereof in the fabric, whose saturation is effected by one or more immersons in tensioned condition 'in the bath-and concurrent or subsequent passage of the fabric .through nip rolls. To avoid bronzing and crocking'and to supply material to the finishing apparatus at a rate compatible with the permissible speed of finishing operations, the immer-sion period should not be u less than three-hundredths (3/100) of a minute and should not exceed two (2) minutes with the bath at a constant temperature between 180 and 210 F. Longer periods of immersionftend to4 cause uneven dyeing and also cause concurrent immersion of excessive lengths of fabric which would be spoiled by any interruption in subsequent operations.

The dyestuff concentration, its rate of exhaustion, the bath temperature and the duration of immersion of the fabric therein must be maintained constant throughout a run to secure uniformity of shade or. colorv after the passage of the first few yards through the bath, andl such condition of the dye bath is maintained by' a uniform and continuous addition to the bathof a lrehabilitating mixture compensating for exhaustion, entrainment and evaporation therefrom.

A pile fabric may be run continuously through such a dye bath at a rate of from ten to eighteen yards per minute, and run throughv the pile iinishing. apparatus at substantially the same'rate with a production of fabrics of improved color and finish. The shade or color is uniform across the width and from end to end of the fabric,

and a uniform coloration is also secured from the tips to the bases of the pile tufts. Our process greatly decreases the amount of factory shrinkage as compared with kettle dyeing and batch finishing and substantially eliminates creasing, matting, streaking, spotting, after dyeing and other difficulties incident to batch or invtermittent production. I

The continuity of our process ofdyeing andI finishing renders it possible to match colors in the finished material without thediiiiculties incident to over-dyeing in a dye kettle during the period required for sampling, drying and conditioning a sample to regain its natural condition for color matching and subsequent unloading.

Our invention is applicable to the manufacture of pile fabrics composed entirely of vegetable fibres, such as` cotton, or to the production of fabrics having a pile composed of animal fibre, such as mohair or wool, or partly of animal fibre and partly of vegetable fibre, and if desired, some of the'yarns, as for instance, the backing yarns, maybe dyed before weaving, Should the type of .tuft used or tightness of the backing be in sufcientv in themselves to prevent displacement of the pile tufts by the nip rolls or mangle, the pile may be more rmly anchored prior to dyeing by the permeation of the backing by aqueous rubber or other solidinable binder to form a layer within the backing, or by covering the bights of the pile loo ps by means of cover warps during Weaving.

5 The dyes used having the characteristics herei inbefore set forth may bedirect dyes, or neutral dyeing wool dyes, or other suitable dyestun's may be used.

When the fabric contains both vegetable fi bres and animal nbres, which nbres may be contained in the backingand pile respectively or may be both contained in the pile, and it is deh'sired to dye y both types of nbre simultaneously and continuously, the dye bath may contain a dyestun which will color uniformly the animal and vegetable fibres in so-called union effects. Or complementary dyestuffs may be used in the bath, one vof which has a greater aninity' for animal nbre than for vegetable nbre, and the other of which has a greater anlnity for vegetable nbre than for animal nbre. Appropriate selection may be made of direct dyestuifs having a greater afnnity for animal nbre than for vegetable nbre and of other direct dyestuifs having a greater ainnity for vegetable fibre lthan for animal nbre, and by proper combinations of such i' dyestuifs similar or contrasting effects may be simultaneously produced.

The several dyestuffs contained in the bath should be selected and so proportioned therein and in the rehabilitating liquor added that the rates of exhaustion of the different dyestun's are maintained substantially the same as one another and the concentration of each dyestuif is maintained substantially constant throughout the period of operation.

uble, and should have a high tinctorial value.

Examples of neutral dyeing wool dyestuif colors which have been successfully used in the produc- 50 tion oi commercially uniform'plush fabrics in accordance with our invention are Alizarine Astrol B (Color Index No. 1075), Acid Anthraquinone Violet 3R. (Color Index No. 1080), Kilton Fast Yellow 263C v(Color Index No. 636).

55A The wetting and `saturation of the fabric in dyingmay be facilitatedA by the use of any of the known penetrants such as sulphonated oils, sulphonated alcohols, or naphthalenes or glyco products.

60 In the selection of dyestuifs for the union dyeing of fabrics containing both animalnbre and vegetable nbre in accordance "with our process, it is desirable to avoid such dyestuifs as initially.

. impart a deep stain to one type of nbre for which,

65 howevenlthey' have little or no lasting aninity and require continued agitation and boiling to -1 leve-lout from the nbre by which it is initially absorbed and impart a tinctorial effect to the other nbre. For instance, colors having an ex- 70 cessive -initial aninity for and deep staining effectfon cotton, and little or no initial dyeing ef-' fect on wool, should be avoided for the dyeing of union fabrics.

uble thickener as to form substantially a paste Vin which the`dyestuff is so distributed as to secure uniform mechanical deposition on and subsequent uniform exhaustion into the fabric. Such vehicle may also contain salts capable of dissociation by heat or steam to release acid ca-A pable of reacting with the dyestuifs to promote exhaustion into land fixation of the dyestu' on the fabric nbres with which it contacts.

The dye-impregnated fabric passes, while still moist, to an ager having a wet steam compartment in which such moisture and temperature conditions are maintained as result in substantially complete exhaustion of the dyestuif from the entrained vehicle, the deposition of such dyestuff in and upon the fibres and the development and,setting of the dye; The substantially exhausted entrainedvehicle and any `thickener contained therein is then washed from the fabric in a continuous rinsing or washing operation which removes substantially all trace of free dyestuif. T'he fabric may then be aftertreated, as for instance, with acids or acidic materials, to improve the fastness of the dye, and, after rinsing, hydro-extraction, and wet tigering, if desired, is dried in a suitable continuous dryer. The dried fabric leaving the dryer passes continuously, and at substantially the same rate at which it' contcated with the dyestuff, through a range of synchronized pile nnishing apparatus preferably comprising sequentially arranged tigers, beaters,

shears, brushes, Ihumidifying apparatus, inspection and packaging apparatus.

'I'he desired tinct'orial effect of the dye upon the fabric may be adjusted relatively to the rate oi movement of the fabric in contact with the dye bath and through the pile finishing apparatus by-f (a)l Varying the concentration of the dye-stun in the dye vehicle;

(b) Varying the: number of passes or duration of .the immersion. of the -fabric in the dyestuff vehicle; j A i (c) Selectionl of dyestuifs of varying or different solubilities and r'ates of exhaustion;

(d) Varying the c aracter and concentration of thechemical assis or wetting'agents used;

(e) Varying the pI-I of the dyestufl-containing vehicle; 4

(f) Varying the degree and duration of the pressure to which the fabric. saturated with dye vehicle is subjected by the mangles or nip rolls (a) Varying the temperature of the dye bath;

(h) Varying the ageing time and conditions.

The sequence of steps and the characteristic will'further appear from the yfollowing description and the accompanying drawings in which- Figs. lato 1f illustrate diagrammatically the contiguous sections of a range through which lengths of `pile fabricconnected by the stitching together of their'ends to form a continuous strip are fed continuously atal constant rate through range dyeing and nnishing equipment operated in synchronism to effect the movement of the fabric continuously ata constant rateof from ten to features andv advantages of our improvements eighteen yards per minute and the production of Y and the excess from the fabric;

Fig. 3` is a detail illustrating diagrammatically through a modified method and apparatus for impregnating the fabric with dyestuff Fig. 4k is a furtherdetail illustrating diagrammatically a further method and apparatus for impregnating the fabric with dyestuif; and

Fig. 5 is a further detail illustrating diagram matically a. further method of and apparatus for -impregnating the fabricwith dyestuff dispersedin a thickened vehicle.

As an exampldby way of illustration only of the steps followed in a preferred practice of our invention, we have illustrated in Figs. la to 1f of vthe drawings the continuous feeding of a pile fabric A from a source of supply I to a dyeing apparatus 2 in which the fabric passes downwardly over guide rolls 3 and 4 into a trough 5 containing a bath of dyestuff dispersed in an ltain the dye bath substantially constant in itsl tinctorial values The pipe 1,is connected with a receptacle 9 providedwith an overflow pipe 'I0 for maintaining a constant level and pressure in the receptacle 9 which is supplied with the rehabili-v ltating dye liquor from a mixing tank II. (The overow through the pipe III- may be collected in a tank I2 and returned to the mixing tank II by a pump I3 and pipe I4. Preferably, the bath in. the trough 5 is maintained at a constant temperature in the range from 180 `to 210 and the pH value of the dye bath iscontrolled to maintain a constant exhaustion rate of the dyestuff of not less than 2% nor more than 15% in a contact period of fourteen-hundredths (14/ 100) of a minute. In dyeing without the use of acidic assists,

this may involve a pH range up to ten on the alkaline side and vdown'to six on the acid side. In acid dyeing, the pH value may vary from about 6 down to 4, depending upon the desired rate of exhaustion, temperature and period of contact or immersion. Asa illustration of control utilized,

ture of the bath is maintained constant at about 200 F. andgwith a pH value of approidmately 9 to maintain "an initial exhaustion rate of 2.34%

is forced down to the bases of the pile tufts and into and through the backing or ground of the fabric by the squeezing action of the rolls I6, I1, I8 and I9. Any excess dye liquor expressed by `-the pressure of the rollers is vreturned to the dye trough 5. The repeated saturation of the fabric with the dyestuff -containing vehicle and the pressure applied thereto by the rollers I6, I1, I8 and I9 causes the entrained dyestuif-containing vehicle to thoroughly penetrate into-the interstices of the fabric and the pores of the fibres.y 'Ihe period of immersion of the fabric and the affinity of the dyestuff for its vehicle are such that the `dyestuiif is not completely exhausted into the fabric on leaving the nip rollers. The fabric while still damp with'its entrained dye liquor is passed to an ager comprising a chamber containing wet steam through which the fabric is passed back` and forth until the substantially complete exhaustion of the dyestuff from the entrained dye liquor and the setting of the dyestuff in and upon the fibres of the fabric is finished.

The temperature and saturation of thc steam are passing from the washer '2l is removed by suction applied to the fabric ,as it passies over the mouth of the hydro-extractor 22.

Should it bede'sired to perform any other iini ismng operations on the fabric while it is sun wet, these.. may be performed after the fabric has left the first hydro-extractor 22. For instance, fabric may beI moth-proofed or aftertreated in the tank 23, have excess moisture removed by the hydro-extractor 2 2' and napped' or the pile opened up while damp by passage vthrough the wet tigering machine 24. s

When these operations, if performed, are completed, the fabric may be passed through adewing machine 25 and then dried to substantially its original area in the tenter drier 25 ln which the fabric is stretched to substantially its original width by tenter chains 26 having thereon hooks 26' and by which the'fabric is carried back and forth through the dryer while under tension in fourteen-hundredths (11i/100) of a minute,\` warpwise and weftwise,

and for such time of immersion the rate of move- -j`ournalled roller I8 and is then again squeezed betweenthe, rubber covered nip rollerslIIand I8 and between therollers I8 and I9.

, In passing through the bath and the rollers, thef` fabric is maintained'in tension longitudinally or warp-wise and transversely or weft-wise.

In passing through the dye bath, the fabric Ay is thoroughly saturated with the dye liquor which The dried fabric delivered from the dryer is fed past the beater 21, through the brushing machine 28, dry tigerlng machine 29, and beater 30 toA prepare the pilegfor shearing by the shear /3I., after-,which the sheared plush is beaten and 'brushed in the brushing machine 32 and may be pressed by a steam press 33.

The fabric is now ready for he restoration of its normal moisture content, which may be supplied thereto by a. humidifier or conditioning machine 34 before the passage of the fabric to an inspection table 35 from which it passes to a rollf up and packaging machine 36.

While the fabric moves continuously and at a ...substantially constant rate from y'one unit to the next, it is preferable that thereshould be a certain amount of slack between the different units and to provide such slack `the fabric may be pleated -by` folders 31.upon traveling conveyors 38 or delivered iritov J-boxes 39 conveniently positioned between some of or all of the machines.

As illustrated in-Flg. 3, the pipe 'l may deliver the dye liquor into a pool enclosed by the contacting

rollers

5a, 5b, 5c and 5d.' With thisv therefrom by the passage of the fabric betweenl the rollers 5a.' and 5c,.around the roller 5c, and between the

rollers

5c and 5d. The fabric/is then again saturated by passage through the pool and the dye liquor squeezed thereinto and any excess expelled therefrom by passage of the fabric between the

rollers

5b and 5d.

'As illustrated 'in Fig. 4, the tube fl may discharge the dye liquor through a perforated section la onto the face of the fabric immediately in advance of the passage of the fabricbetween the rubber'covered squeeze rolls I6' and I1 by which the dye liquor is forced into the fabric and any excess squeezed therefrom.

As illustrated in Fig. 5, the dyestuif-,containing vehicle may have the viscosity of, or be so thickened as to form, paste which is delivered through suitable pipes 'l' to the pool formed between the contacting rolls 39 and 4B and between thecontacting rolls 4| and 42. through the first pool of paste, then between the

rolls

39 and 40, then through the second pool of paste, and then between the rolls 4l and 42. The dyestuff-containing paste vehicle is thereby uniforrnly `distributed over and forced into` the fabric, which absorbs the dyestuff' from the paste vehicle during the passage 'of the fabric thrcugh the ager. g

By each of these methods ofi applying the dyestuff to the fabric and exhausting dyestuff .into the fabric after it has left the pool of. dyestuffcontaining vehicle, the fabric may be dyed at a rate compatible with and permitting its finishing in a continuous operation during which the fabric is held in a tensioned .condition during the performance thereon of operations tending to cause` shrinkage.

When the manufacture of pile fabric requires the dyeing of both animal and vegetable fibres, or of cotton fibres alone, it is preferable th'at direct dyes or neutral wool dyes, or combinations thereof, be used in the practice of our process, but Where the cotton fibres are dyed prior to Weaving and only Wool or mohair fibres require dyeing,

, acid dyeing Wool dyes may be used in the practice of our process by maintaining constant the acidity, temperature and volume or level of the bath as Well as the concentration and rate'of exhaustion of the dyestuif.

In choosing between various dyestuifs for the practice of our process to produce a fabric of desired shade or color, there should be selected readily soluble dyestuffs having a high' tinctorial -value at minimumconcentration and which will disperse as true solutions or colloidal solutions -in an aqueous vehicle instead o-f being merely (b) The direct color Pontamine Fast Yellow The fabric A passes NN'L (Color Index No. 814) 'has been successfullyused with the direct color Diamine Fast Brown R (no Color Index number).

(c) Neutral dyeing wool color, such as Alazarine Astrol B (blue) (Color Index No. 1075) has been successfully used with Kiton Fast Yellow 2 GC (Color Index No. 636), also a neutral dyeing Wool color.

By rate or exhaustion or exhaustion rate, as used in the foregoing description.; and the appended claims, We refer to the ratio between- (a) The weight of dyestuff which' may be fixed in a given time of immersion on a given weight of textile from a dye bath of given concentration, temperature and pH, and

(b) The weight of fdyestuff fixed on a similar tnlantity, quality and condition of textile when immersed in a dye bath under similar/conditions temperature and at the pH employed and concentration required to produce the same shade in the commonly used methods of dyeing with such dyestuif (for example in kettle dyeing with wool colors a pH equivalent to a concentration of .2 of 1% by-weight of commercial sulphuric acid and in kettle dyeing with direct or substantive color as'pI-I equivalent to substantial neutrality) until practical exhaustion of the dyestuff has been reached. l

Having described our invention, we claim:

` 1. In the manufacture of pile fabric, the steps whichinclude moving the pile fabric at a constant rate through a bath of dyestuil'` containing vehicle, entraining in the fabric a portionv of such vehicle containing unexhausted dyestuif, ex-

h'au'sting the dyestuff from the vehicle and fixing l the dyestuff on the fibers -of the fabric in transit to.pile finishing apparatus, and moving the fabric las a continuous web between and in contact with pile finishing devices in range.

2. In the manufacture of pile fabric, thesteps which include moving the pile fabric at a constant rate While contacting a dyestu-containing vedyestuff-contalning vehicle, squeezing saidv dyestuff-containing vehicle into said fabric and ex- .pressing the excess dyestuff-containing vehicle therefrom, the vehicle retained in said fabric containing unexhausted dyestuff, exhausting dyestuff from the vehicle into the fabric after said squeezing, washing the residual vehicle and uniixed dyestuff from the fabric, and nishing the pile of thev fabric during movement thereof at substantially the rate at which it moved in contact with the dyestuff-,containing vehicle supply.-

4. In the manufacture of," pile fabric, the steps which include saturating a fabric with -a dyeof the fabric at a substantially constant rate,

, forcing into the fabric a portion of the dyestuffcontaining) vehicle, and expressing the remainder of such `vehicle from the fabric, 'exhausting the dyestuif from the retained vehicle into the fabric while maintaining the fabric moist, removing the exhausted vehicle from the fabric, and shearrate while momentarily contacting a supply of stuff-containing vehicle during the movement to. f

"steps which consist in maintaining in the verate of the dyestuif ing the pile of the fabric during movement thereof at substantially the rate of movementl thereof during saturation.

5. In the manufacture of pile fabric, the steps which include saturating the pile fabric with a dyestuff-containing vehicle during movementof the fabric at a substantially constantrate, forcing a portion of such saturating vehicle into`the pores of the fabric fibres and expressing a portion of such vehicle from the fabric by pressure, exhausting dyestuif from the retained vehicle into the fabric and fixing it thereon while maintaining said fabric damp, removing the exhausted vehicle from the fabric, drying the fabric, and tigering and shearing the pile while moving the fabric ata rate substantially the -same as its rate of movement during saturation.

6. In the manufacture of pile fabric, the steps which consist in maintaining substantially con- `stant the exhaustion rate in a dye bath containfabric such vehicle containing unexhausted dye-l stuff, forcing into the fabric a portion of such entrained vehicle, and expressing the remainder of such vehicle from the fabric, exhausting dyestuff from the retained vehicle into the fabric in an atmosphere of vwet steam, removing the exhausted vehicle and any free dyestuif from the fabric, drying to reduce the moisture content below normal the fabric finishing the pile .of the fabric during the movement thereof at a rate substantially the same asits rate of movement during saturation, reconditioning the fabric uniformly by humidiflcation and rolling up the fabric.

7. In the process set forth in claim 1, the step which consists in maintaining the exhaustion constant.

I8. In the process set forth in claim 1, the steps ltaining vehicle, and also maintaining substantially constant the concentration of dyestuif inl such vehicle and the rate of exhaustion of the dyestuif from the vehicle supply, and in maintaining substantially Lconstant the temperature and pH of said supply of dyestuif-containing vehicle.

`1o. In the process set forth in amm 1, the

hiclel bath a dyestuff having a primary afnity for animal libre and a dyestuff havinga primary affinity for vegetable fibre, arid maintaining the rates of exhaustion of said dyestuffs from the vehicle substantially uniform.

11. In `the manufacture of pile fabrics con- I taining animal and vegetable bers according to claim 1, the steps which include maintaining from the bath'substantially substantially constant rate through a dye bath having a substantially constant pH approximating neutrality, .maintaining such' bath at-a suhstantially constant temperature and maintaining in such bath dyestuifs having exhaustion rates for animal fibre and for vegetable fibre of not les than 2% in fourteen-hundredths of a minute.

13. In the manufacture of pile fabric, the steps which include saturating the pile and backing yarns of the fabric by passage of the fabric at a substantially constant rate through a dye liquor of constant temperature and constant dyestuif concentration for a. period of immersion of not less than three-hundredths 'of a minute or in excess of two minutes, said dye liquor containing dyestuff having an exhaustion rate of not lessl than 2% in fourteen-hundredths of a minute, removing from the fabric substantially all of the excess liquor, and exhausting from the fabric retained liquor after the removal of the excess liquor suflicient dyestuff to give the fibres a desiwired shade upon fixation of the dyestuif there- 14. In the manufacture of pile fabric, the steps which include saturating a pile fabric by movement thereof at a substantially constant rate in. contact with the dye liquor containing adyestuif having a rate of exhaustion of at least 2% in fourteen-hundredths of a minute of contact and requiring more than two minutes for substantially completeexhaustin of the actual dyeing constituent thereof, retaining in the fabric after emersionfrom the bath dye liquor containing unexhausted dyestuff, and substantially exhausting the dyestuff from retained dye liquor during passage of the fabric from the dye bath to a pile finishing device.

15. In the manufacture of pile fabric which has been woven wholly or partly in the grey, the continuous steps which include moving the pile fabric at a constant rate while contacting a dyestuff containing vehicle for a time insuflicient to completely iix the dye entrained by said contact, passing the fabric into a steaming atmosphere to more completely x the dye, washing the residual vehicle and unxed dyestuif from the fabric, vdrying the fabric and rolling up the fabric.

16. In the. manufacture of pile fabric which has been woven wholly or partly in the grey, the contlnuous steps which include moving the pile fabric at a constant rate while contacting a dyestuff containing vehicle for a time insufficient to completely fix the dye entrained by said contact,forc ing the dyestuff containing vehicle uniformly into fthe fabric and removing excess vehicle and dyestui, passing the fabric into a steaming atmosphere to more completely x the dye, washing the fabric to remove unxed dye. thickener, and

the continuous steps which include moving the pile fabric at a constant rate while contacting a to completely nx the dye entrained by said contact, forcing the dyestuif vehicle uniformly into the fabric and Aremoving excess'vehicle and dyestuff, passing the fabric into a steaming atmosphere to more completely x the dye, washing the dyestuff containing vehicle for a. time insuflicient fabric to remove vunflxed dye, thickener or dye vehicle which may be in the fabric, extracting the waterfrom the pile fabric-which has been incorporated therein' as a result of the washing, drying from the pile fabric which has been incorporated normal and rolling up the fabric.

stuff containing vehicle for a time insufficient to completely fix the dye entrained by said contact, forcing the dyestuff vehicle uniformly into the fabric and removing excess vehicle and dyestuff, passing the fabric into a steaming atmosphere to more completely fix the dye, washingv the fabric to remove unxed dye, thickener or dye vehiclewhich may be in the fabric, extracting the water from the pile fabric whicli'has been incorporated therein as a result of the washing, subjecting this still damp fabric to a wet tigering operation to nap the pile and then drying the fabric toreduce the moisture content below normal and rolling up the fabric.

19. In the manufacture of pile fabric which has been woven wholly or partly in the grey, the continuous steps which include moving the pilelfabric at a. constant rate while contacting a 4vdyestuif containing vehicle for a time insufficient to completely fix the dye entrained by said contact, forcing the dyestuff vehicle uniformly into the fabric and removing excess vvehicle and flyestuif,y

passing the fabric into a steaming atmosphere to more completely iix the dye, washing the fabric to remove unxed dye, thickener or dye vehicle which may be in the fabric, extracting the water therein as a result of the washing, after treating the fabric, extracting the surplus liquid incorporated in the fabric in the aftertreatment, subjecting the still damp fabric to a wet tigering operaforcing the dyestuff vehicle uniformly into the` tion -to nap the pile, drying the fabric to reduce the moisture content below normal and rolling up the fabric'.

20. In the manufacture of a pile fabric which* has been woven wholly or partly in the grey, the

'continuous steps which include moving the pile fabric at a constant rate while contacting a dyestuff containing vehicle for a time insuiiicient to completely iix the dye entrained by said contact,

fabric and removing excess vehicle and dyestuif, passing -the fabric into a steaming atmosphere to more completely x the dye, washing the fabric to remove unfixed dye, thickener or dye vehicle 21. In the manufacture of af pile yfabric `which has been woven wholly or partly in the grey, the

continuous steps which include moving` the pile fabric at a constant rate while contactingifa dyestuif containing vehicle for a time finsuiiillient to completely fix the dye entrained by said-contact, forcing the dyestuif vehicle uniformly into the fabric and removing excess 'vehicle and dyestuff, passing the fabric into 'a steaming annosphere to more completely fix the dye, washing the fabric to remove uniixed dye, thickenernor dye vehicle which may be inthe fabric, extracting the water from the pile fabric which has Lbeen incorporated therein as a resultofpassing'- through .the

washer, mothprooiin'g `the -ffabric 1n a liquid bath,

extracting the surplusiiquid incorporated in the fabric by the mothproofer, subjecting the still damp fabric to a wet tigering operation to nap the pile, uniformly rewetting the fabric, drying the fabric to reduce the moisture content below normal and rolling up the fabric.

t 22. In the manufacture of pile fabric which has been `Woven wholly or' partly in the grey, the continuous steps which include moving the pile fabric at a constant rate while contacting a dyestuff vehicle for a time insuflicient to completely nx the dyeentrained by saidcontact, passing the fabric into asteaming atmosphere to more completely fix the dy washing the fabric to remove uniixed dye, Kthickener or dye vehicle, drying the fabric to reduce the moisture content below normal, applying finishing operations to the pile and reconditioning the fabric by humidiiicati'on and rolling up the fabric. y

23. In the manufacture of pile fabric which' has been woven wholly or partly in the grey, the. continuous steps which include moving the pile fabric at a constant rate while contacting a dyestuff vehicle for a time insufficient to completely fix the dye entrained by said contact, forcing the dyestuff containing vehicle uniformlyfinto the fabricvand removing excess vehicle and dyestu', passing the fabric into a steaming atmosphere to more completely iix the dye, washing the fabric,

gto' remove unfixed dye, thickener or dye vehicle which may be in the fabric, drying the fabric to reduce the moisture content below normal, applying finishing operations to the pile, reconditioning the fabric by humidification and rolling up the fabric. .v

24. In the manufacture of v'pile fabric which has been woven wholly or partly in the grey, the con"- tinuous steps which include moving the pile fabric at a constant rate while contacting a dyestuff vehicle for a time insuflicient to completely x the @iiye entrained by said contact, passing the fabric into a steaming atmosphere to more completely iix the dye, washing the fabric to remove uniixed dye, thickener or dye vehicle, drying the fabric to reduce the moisture content below normal and reconditioning the fabric by humidiiication and rolling up the fabric.

25. In the manufacture of pile fabric which has been woven wholly or partly in the grey, the continuous steps which include moving` the pile fabric at a constant rate while contacting a dyestuft` vehicle for a vtime insuiilcient to completely x the dye entrained by said contact, forcing the dyestuif containing vehicleuniformly into thefabric .and removing excess vehicle and dyestuif, passing the fabric into a steaming atmosphere to more completely nx the dy washing the fabric to remove uniixed dye, thickener or 'dye vehicle which may be in the fabric, drying the fabric to reduce the moisture content below normal, reconditioning the fabric by humidication rolling up the fabric.

26. In the manufacture of pile fabric, the steps vwhich include moving a pile fabric at a substantially constant rate while momentarily contacting a supply of dye-stuff-containing vehicle, en-

, training a portion of .'said vehicle in said fabric,

squeezing said entrained dye-stuff-containing vehicle into said fabric after it has ceased to contact said supply, expressing the excess dye-stuif- 'containing vehicle therefrom, the vehicle retained in said .fabric :containing unexhausted dyestuff, exhausting dyestufl? from the vehicle into the fabric by passing said fabric whileiitsi-,pile is still wet with the `'vehicle and flattened .from the and squeezing continuously through a heated humid atmosphere at a rate substantially the same as its rate of movement through said supply,

straightening any mussed pile before the drying thereof, setting the straightened pile by drying the fabric under tension to a point below the normal moisture contet of the fibres thereof.

-and restoring normal moisture content tov the fabric.

27. In the manufacture of pile fabric, the steps which include moving a pile fabric at a substantially constant rate through a bath of dye-stuifcontaining vehicle and entraining a portion of the vehicle therein, maintaining substantially constant the tinctorial value of said bath and the duration of immersion of sequential sections of fabric therein, squeezing 'the dye-stuif-contain- Aing vehicle into the sequential sections of fabric pile before the setting thereof in flattened l condition, and setting the erected pile by drying thefabric while tensioned.

28.v In the manufacture of `pile fabric, the steps .which include moving aweb `of such fabric into and out of a bath of vehicle containing dyestuff p having an exhaustion rate of not less than 2% during a contact period of 14/100 of a minute and which vehicle, is entrained in the emergent fabric without complete exhaustion therefrom of contained dyestuff, forcing the vehicle and dyestuff into the fabric by pressure tending to lay the pile in the same direction, exhausting dyestuff from the entrained vehicle into the fabric by passage thereof through hot vapor While the fabric is still moist from the vehicle, washing any unexhausted dyestuff from the fabric, and drying the fabric.

29. In the manufactureof fabric as set forth in claim 28, the further step of straightening any mussed pile betweenithe nal exhaustion of the dyestuff and the drying of the fabric.

30.` In the manufacture of fabric as set forth in claim 28, the step which includes drying the fabric below the normal moisture content of the fibres f the fabric, and. humiduying the dried,

fabric to normal moisture content of the fibres. 31. In the manufacture of fabric as set forthv in claim 28, the step which includes drying the Y fabric under tension and while stretched-"teapproximately its original width.,

32. In the manufacture of pile fabric, the steps which include moving a web containing tufts of resilient pile fibres into and out of a dyebath maintained at a substantially constant tinctorial value and having a temperature tending to plasticize the pile fibres, and at a rate entraining in the fabric unexhausted dyestuff, squeezing the dyestuif vinto the fabric by vpressure tending to similarly lay the plasticized pile fibres, exhausting dyestuff into the fabric by contact with heated vapor, straightening and erecting the plasticized pile fibres, dehydrating the fabric sufrlciently to restore resilience to thev pile bres, and shearing the erected pile bres.

33. In the manufacture of pile fabric, the steps which include passing a pile fabric as a substantially, taut lo`op through a dye-bath maintained at a. substantially constant tinctorial value, squeezing into the emergent fabric dyestuff entrained therein, exhausting dyestu into the fabric in transit after squeezing, washing unexhausted dyestuff from the fabric before the drying thereof, erecting the wet pile, the fabric being kept substantially free from pressure conj tacting laminations permitting migration of dyestuff from one section to another during the foregoing steps, drying the erected pile to a humidifying the dried pile..

34. In the manufacture of pile fabric, the steps which include moving apile fabric at a constant rate through a bath of dyestuif containing vehicle and moving such fabric at substantially the same rate in contact with pile finishing devices, the dyeing and the nishing of the fabric beirig carried on as a continuous sequence of operation while maintainingin the vehicle bath a dyestuif having constantly an exhaustion rate from not less than 2% and not in excess of 15% in fourteen hundredths of a minute contact with the pile fabric. Y y

35. In the manufacture of pile fabric, the steps which include moving a pile'fabric at a substantially constant rate through a bath of dyestuff containingA vehicle and entraining a portion of the vehicle therein, forcing the entrained dyestuff ,vehicle intor` said fabric, removing the excess4 dyestuff vehicle therefrom, the vehicle retained in said fabric containing unexhausted dyestuff, exhausting the dyestuif from the vehicle intothe fabric in transit to pile nishing apparatus and moving thev fabric in contact with pile finishing devices in` range.

- WILLIAM ROLIIN KEEN. f

GLEN SEFI'ON BIERS. v ALBERT WILLIAM.DRQB1LE.

.point below lits normal moisture content, and A i