US2295857A - Apparatus for making plisse crepe - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 15, 1942. T. MccoNNr-:LL

APPARATUS FOR MAKING PLISS CREPE Filed Jan. 51,' 1940 .NNJMU @INN/0 @im dimer-1, 0106. n. N NN Patented Sept. 15, 1942 APPARATUS FOR MAKING PLISS CBEPE Thomas McConnell, deceased, late of Northampton, Mass.. by

Northampton,

Hugh McConnell, executor, Mass., asslgnor to Hampton Company, EasthamptomMass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application January 31, 1940, Serialo. 316,562 z claims.' (ci. ca -1s) The present invention relates to improvements ln a method and apparatus for producing pliss crepe by the method disclosed in the application of Thomas' McConnell, Serial No. 112,007, filed November 2l, 1936. One object of the invention is to improve the manner of applying the mercerizing paste to the fabric so that greater uniformity in the design will be" secured throughout the width of the sheetand so that the use of a backing fabric may be avoided. Another object is to improve the manner of handling'the fabric during the period of shrinkage so that fabrics of different characteristicsmay severally be given the exact shrinkage times necessary for the desired operation of the mercerizing agent.

In the operation of making pliss crepe described` in the McConnell application referred to, the mercerizing paste was transferred to the cloth from the intaglio portions of an engraved roll While the back of the fabric was covered with a web of clothknown as the back gray. The

back gray itself bore against the rubber blanket and served the purpose of preventing transfer of the mercerizing paste to the blanket itself. In accordance with the present invention the back gray is eliminated and the bad effects which would be secured by allowing the mercerizing paste which passes through the cloth onto the blanket to come into contact with the back side of the web as the endless blanket returns again l to the printing roll are avoided by washing the contacts with the be supplied by spraying the back side of the cloth after printing, but it is preferable to have the cloth predampened by the process described in the patent to Thomas McConnell 2,117,491, May 17, 1938. 'For light fabric the amount of moisture contained in the web by this predampening is generally enough without the second spray.

The fabric thus treated is, in accordance with the prior method, allowed to ripple into a J-box and is then rippled onto a continuously advancing conveyor. As long as a definite grade of fabric is being treated this is perfectly satisfactory, but it has been found that by using two superposed continuously moving conveyors, and by adjusting the point at which the material startslo ripple onto the higher one the time of shrinking can be varied so that fabrics of different grades can very readily be given the exact shrinkage time necessary without changing the speed of the conveyor. f

It has also been found that superior results in the printing process will be achieved if the fabric covered roll bearing the rubber blanket and serving as the ultimate backing for the printing process in the prior application referred to is replaced by a rubber covered roll. This is for the reason that the fabric covering of the roll tends to become hard near its ends producing irregularity in the printing between the marginal portions and the central portions. The rubber covered roll on the contrary bears evenly throughout its length and does not tend to become hard.

The invention will now be described in connection with the accompanying diagrammatic drawing, which shows the process up to the end of the shrinking period only; it being understood that the process from this point on may be conducted in accordance with the teaching of the prior application referred to above.

A cloth web I is supplied on a roll 2 mounted in any suitable way. The web is guided over rolls 3 to a roll 4 having a rubber covering 5 throughout its length. As the cloth passes around this roll it meets an engraved roll 6 which carries the mercerizing paste. The latter is supplied to the roll by a small roll 1 dipping into a tank 8, and the surface of the roll is cleaned by a doctor blade 9 leaving the paste in the intaglio portions of the roll. As stated above, the web is preferably dampened in accordance with the process described in the McConnell Patent 2,117,491 prior to being placed in the machine, and this moisture is supplied to the paste from the body of the web causing the latter to be drawn through the web toward the back side thereof.

Were the cloth to be placed directly against the rubber covering 5 a small amount of the mercerizing paste would pass through the interstices of the cloth and accumulate upon the roll surface. This accumulation would ultimately become transferred to the back side of the cloth out of registry with the pattern printed on the front side and av lack of sharpness of the design would result. To prevent this accumulation the process described in the earlier application made use of a web of cloth, generally called the`back gray, which absorbed this surplus material but which had to be removed from the machine for washing. In accordance with the presentinvention, a rubber blanket I is passed around suitable guide rolls II which conduct it to a roll I2 againstv which rotating wet brushes i3 bear. Suitable doctor blades or felts Il are pressed against the rubber blanket after it reaches the roll I2 to remove the bulk of the surface mois ture, and an air blast I5 further assists in this removal. The blanket is then guided by additional rolls I I through slots in the end of a closed chamber I6, a current of dry air being circulated through this chamber to remove the residual moisture from the blanket. The blanket, which is in endless form, then returns to the roll I3.

The cloth, with the pattern of mercerizing paste printed thereon, then passes over various guide rolls I'I toa rippling conveyor IB. This conveyor is driven in any suitable way at a constant speed, which in accordance with the present invention need not be changed for different grades of cloth. The material after passing the conveyor I8 goes over guide rolls I9 and is again rippled onto .the surface of a constantly moving conveyor 20. The conveyor 2li can be considered as representing a xed time allowed for shrinkage in all cases, while the conveyor i8 represents a variable additional time serving to control the total amount of shrinkage permitted. To accomplish this a plurality of guide rollers 2| are located above the conveyor 'I8 at linter-1 vals along its length so that the web may be led over any one of them. It'will easily be seen that if the guide roll chosen is toward the delivery end of the conveyor I8 a very short additional shrinkage time will be given by this conveyor whereas if the roll at the other end is chosen the full period required for the rippling may be varied.

accept? tionl or if for' any reason it is not desired to use a predampened web to supply this moisture.

After leaving the conveyor 2t the web receives a neutralizing treatment in acid and is then washed and dried without the exertion of any restraint upon the shrinkage of the fabric. All this is described in the prior application referred to. The dried fabric may be brought to a definite width in the usual form of tenter frame.

What is claimed is:

i. In an apparatus for making pliss crepe and including mechanism for imprinting upon one side of a moist web a mercerizing agent in a predetermined pattern; means for receiving the printed web and supporting it without warpwise or weftwise tension to permit shrinkage of the web, said means comprising a pair of superposed conveyors having their upper surfaces running in opposite directions and traveling at a lower rate of speed than the advancing web, means to feedv the web from the first conveyor to the second without warpwise or weftwise tension, and a plurality of guide rolls positioned to direct the leading end of the web into contact with the uppermost conveyor at one of a number of points along the length of the conveyor whereby the total travel of the web on the conveyors can be varied without changing the speed of the conveyors.

2. In an apparatus for making pliss crepe and including mechanism for printing upon one side of a moist web a hydroscopic shrinking agent in a predetermined pattern; mechanism for receiving the printed web and supporting it with-- out warpwise or weftwise tension to permit shrinking of the web, said mechanism including a constant speed conveyor, and means for varying the initial point of deposit on said constant speed conveyor whereby the total length of linear travel, and consequently vthe shrinking period,

v HUGH MccoNNnLL, Executor under the will of Thomas McConnell,

Deceased.

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