US2750650A

US2750650A - Apparatus for maintaining the selvedge of a web of travelling fabric or the like uncurled

Info

Publication number: US2750650A
Application number: US345860A
Authority: US
Inventors: Kenneth S Laurie
Original assignee: John Dalglish and Sons Ltd
Current assignee: John Dalglish and Sons Ltd
Priority date: 1952-04-02
Filing date: 1953-03-31
Publication date: 1956-06-19
Anticipated expiration: 1973-06-19
Also published as: FR1074247A

Description

June 19, 1956 K. s. LAURIE 2,750,650

APPARATUS FOR MAINTAINING THE SELVEDGE OF A WEB OF TRAVELLING FABRIC OR THE LIKE UNCURLED Filed March 51, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor.-

6' Attorneys June 19, 1956 K. s. LAURIE 2,750,650

APPARATUS FOR MAINTAINING THE SELVEDGE OF A WEB OF TRAVELLING FABRIC OR THE LIKE UNCURLED Filed March :51, 1955 s Sheets-Sheet 2 June 19, 1956 K. s. LAURIE 2,750,650

APPARATUS FOR MAINTAINING THE] SELVEDGE OF A WEB OF TRAVELLING FABRIC OR THE LIKE UNCURLED Filed March 51, 1953 s Sheets-Sheet 3 B A jm M M JV/s Atto rneys United States Patent APPARATUS FOR MAINTAINING THE SELVEDGE OF A WEB OF TRAVELLING FABRIC OR THE LIKE UNCURLED Kenneth S. Laurie, Thornliebank, Glasgow, Scotland, as-

signor to John Dalglish & Sons Limited, Thornliebank, Glasgow, Great Britain, a British company Application March 31, 1953, Serial No. 345,860

Claims priority, application Great Britain April 2, 1952 21 Claims. (Cl. 26-57) This invention relates to apparatus for maintaining the selvedge of a web of travelling fabric or the like uncurled, especially prior to entry to a stenter, mangle or other textile finishing machine.

Certain types of fabric, particularly those of knitted construction, have a marked tendency during the movement in textile finishing processes, to roll inwards or curl on the selvedges. The curl may have ten or more turns and may contain three or four inches of fabric on each selvedge, or more in severe cases. This curl must be removed entirely before introducing the fabric to such machines, as for example, stenters, mangles and other finishing machines. As the curl is liable to spring back on release, the curl removal must take place immediately before the entry to the machine, so that the uncurled selvedge is gripped at once by the feeding device of the machine.

Scroll rollers at the entry to the machine have been found to remove a great part of the curl, but they cannot be relied on to take out the last few turns, so that a waste of fabric of half inch to one inch or more is liable to occur.

It hasalso been proposed to utilise transversely disposed travelling belts above and below the selvedge, but it has been difficult to adjust this apparatus so as to eliminate the curl without tending to grip the whole fabric, gathering it into the belts, and tending to displace it as a whole transversely of its direction of travel.

Prior to the incorporation of automatic guiding devices in textile finishing machines, the operation of uncurling devices, such as those of the belt or scroll types, was satisfactory as there was available in the material being introduced to the machine a certain amount of widthwise tension which resisted the dragging action of the uncurling devices. However, with the use of certain automatic guiding devices there is a complete absence of widthwise tension in the material and the uncurling devices in use heretofore have tended to gather the material sideways in a large bunch at each edge, thus destroying the uncurler action and completely upsetting the action of the automatic guiding device. This is more especially the case when the material is a knitted fabric which is liable to curl at the selvedges.

The term automatic guiding device used herein and in the claims is to be construed as embracing guiding devices for automatically guiding travelling bands or webs (hereinafter referred to simply as webs) in which each guiding member is adapted to engage the web along a narrow area adjacent its selvedge alone and to rotate on passage of the web, and movement of each selvedge of the web in a direction other than longitudinal progression is controlled by swinging movement of the guiding member according to the displacement of the selvedge from a predetermined path by means detecting such displacement, for example a light beam directed upon the field of a photo-electric cell and adapted to be intercepted by the selvedgeon displacement thereof, or a finger or spade engaging with the selvedge, air jets adapted to be masked by the selvedge, or similar means.

Patented June 19, 1956 According to the present invention we provide apparatus for maintaining the selvedge of a web of travelling fabric or the like uncurled, especially prior to entry to a stenter, mangle or other finishing machine, comprising substantially rigid support means adapted to act on one face of the web in the region of the selvedge to resist transverse outward displacement of the web, and uncurling means adapted to act on the other face of the web in the region of the selvedge so as to tend to keep the selvedge open and uncurled. The uncurling means may comprise a travelling uncurling medium adapted continuously to move over the face of the web in the region of the selvedge and having an outward and a forward component of motion.

In textile finishing machines equipped with automatic guiding devices as hereinbefore defined there is a tendency for the selvedges of the web to recurl during passage thereof through the detection means and on to the guiding members of the guiding devices, and as a result the selvedges are often curled when engaged by the clips or pins of the stenter chains, or, as is more usual, by the pins of overfeed wheels in advance of the stenter chains.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate this disadvantage.

Thus the present invention is also apparatus for feeding a web of travelling material accurately and with smooth selvedges to a stenter or other textile finishing machine comprising the combination in advance of the entry end of the machine on each side thereof, of an automatic guiding device as hereinbefore defined, a main uncurler unit positioned to smooth out the curl at the selvedge prior to entry of the selvedge to said device, and an' auxiliary uncurler unit positioned to smooth out the curl at the selvedge as the selvedge leaves said device immediately prior to engagement of the selvedge by the pins or clips of the stenter, or the pins of the overfeed wheel where this is provided.

The main uncurler unit is located immediately in advance of the automatic guiding device and may comprise substantially rigid support means adapted to act on one face of the web in the region of the selvedge to resist transverse outward displacement of the web, and uncurling means adapted to act on the other face of the web in the region of the selvedge so as to tend to keep the selvedge open and uncurled. The uncurling means may comprise a travelling medium adapted continuously 'to' move over the face of the web in the region of the-sel vedge and having an outward and a forward component of motion.

The inner edge of the support means, that is the edge thereof nearest the central longitudinal axis of the web, is preferably abrupt to increase by friction the natural tendency of the support means to resist outward trans verse displacement of the web by the action of the travelling uncuring mediums.

Preferably the support means is somewhat curved td-" movement of .the guiding member thereat in accordance with displacement of one or both of the selvedges of the web from a predetermined path.

The auxiliary uncurlerunit is located as close as-possible to the point where the selvedge of web leaves the automatic guiding device and preferably comprises a .ro-.:

tating brush wheel whereof the bristles brush across the selvedge in an outwards direction over the surface of the.

web toward which the selvedge tends to curl. The brush may be of umbrella or frusto conical shape and is mounted for rotation about its axis which latter is so disposed that the bristles of the brush contact the web only when moving outwardly across the selvedge.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the acompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of apparatus for maintaining the selvedge of a web of travelling fabric uncurled prior to entry of the fabric to a stenter or other cloth finishing machine;

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing part of the apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, to a larger scale, of another part of the apparatus;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line IV--IV of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the part of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3.

Referring now to the drawings, the apparatus comprises a main uncurler unit, an electronic guiding device, and an auxiliary uncurler unit. The apparatus shown is duplicated, being provided at both sides in advance of the finishing machine accurately to feed the web of travelling fabric to the machine with both selvedges uncurled.

The path of the web is indicated by a chain-dotted line in Fig. 1 wherein the web is shown passing around a scroll roller 11 and a rubber-covered top entry roller 12 of an entry end frame to the main uncurler unit which is located as close as possible to the guiding member of the guiding device with the object of feeding the web to the member with the selvedge uncurled.

The main uncurler unit comprises a rigid support member 13 of wood, metal or other suitable material which presents an arched surface to the web to constrain the selvedge to follow an arcuate path thereover and to increase the cross-ways tension of the web. The support member has an abrupt inner edge 14 and as the web is fed to the machine without tension in the weft direction it will be clear that as the selvedges of the web pass over the support members on each side of the machine the web hangs between the two inner edges 14 and this in conjunction with the abruptness of said edges prevents the web being gathered in at the selvedges by the action of the uncurling means acting on the selvedges in opposition to the support members 13.

The uncurling means comprises a travelling belt 15 mounted about a pair of rollers 16 one of which is driven by belts 17 and 18 and

pulleys

19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 from the drive to the overfeed wheel 24, hereinafter referred to. The belt 15 is positioned to act on the selvedge after the latter has passed over the crest of the arched support member 13 and is moving in a downward direction. The lower run of the belt moves in an outward direction and has an outward and a forward component of motion. The direction of travel of the belt is preferably at an angle of or thereabouts forwardly of the transverse direction and the belt may travel at a speed approximating to, say, twice that of the speed of travel of the web.

The belt must be of suflicient length in its running direction to cover all possible variations of the web selvedge position and the speed of the belt and the angle of the belt relative to the direction of the web should be such that there is no longitudinal speed component relative to the web. The breadth of each belt must be sufficient to complete the taking out of the curl at the selvedge of the web.

The angle at which the belt is set is adjustable and thus the drive to the belt is such as to permit this adjustment and to maintain a constant ratio betwen the speeds of the belt and the web.

The selvedge of the web 10 on leaving the main uncurler unit in an uncurled condition engages the pins of the guide wheel or card clothing wheel 25 of the electronic guiding device. The pins are not shown but the path traced by the extremities thereof is indicated by the chain-dotted line 26. The wheel 25 is freely rotatable and is caused to rotate solely by the passage of the web therearound. The wheel 25 is mounted to pivot about a vertical axis which is intersected by the plane of the pins on the wheel to move the wheel periphery into the line into which it is desired to guide the web.

The vertical axis is co-incident with or adjacent the point at which the web becomes disengaged from the guide wheel and the latter is deflected about the vertical axis to restore the web to its predetermined line of run whenever it departs therefrom. The selvedge of the web passes through a detector head 27 between the main uncurler and the wheel 25 and any deviation of the web from its predetermined path is detected in the head, for example by a finger or spade maintained in contact with the selvedge by spring means. Deflection of the finger closes a switch which completes the circuit of a solenoid coil disposed about an armature controlling the operation of a pneumatic arrangement operating to deflect the guide wheel 25 about the vertical axis. The operation and control of the deflection of the guide wheel may be by mechanical, pneumatic, fluid or electrical means, or operation may be by one and control by another, but, as the precise control and operation of the deflection of the guide wheel forms no part of this invention, no further reference thereto is deemed necessary.

On leaving the guide wheel 25 the selvedge is engaged by the pins of the overfeed wheel 24. The pins of the overfeed wheel are not shown but the path traced by the extremities thereof is indicated by the chaindotted line 28. The paths of the pins of the guide wheel and overfeed wheel intersect during rotation of the wheels in the directions indicated by the arrows (Fig. l). The pins of the overfeed wheel move radially outwards and inwards during such rotation, the arrangement being such that they are fully out when receiving the web from the pins of the guide wheel and are withdrawn as they pass the web on the pins or other web-engaging means of the finishing machine in the region indicated at 29.

The auxiliary uncurler unit is located as close as possible to the point where the selvedge of the web 10 leaves the rotating wheel 25 of the guiding device to be engaged by the pins of the overfeed wheel 24.

The auxiliary uncurler unit comprises a small brush wheel 30 of umbrella or frusto-conical formation so mounted for rotation about its axis that during its rotary movement the bristles 31 thereof are in contact with the web in the region of the selvedge only during their movement in the outwards direction, that is over and beyond the web, the opposition to transverse outward movement of the web being provided in this instance by the pins of the rotating wheel 25 of the guiding device. The direction of rotation of the brush wheel 30 on the left hand side of the machine considered from the entry end is clockwise and the direction of rotation of the brush wheel at the right hand side of the machine is counterclockwise.

The moving uncurling means of the main uncurler unit and the brush wheel comprising the auxiliary uncurler unit both act on the face of the web towards which the selvedge tends to curl.

The brush wheel 30 is driven from the rotating wheel 25 of the guiding device by gearing mounted alongside the wheel 25. This gearing comprises two small shafts 32 and 33, the former of which is driven by a bevel pinion 34 from a bevel ring 35 mounted on the wheel 25 and drives the latter shaft through the medium of two

spur wheels

36 and 37, the latter shaft 33 carrying the brush at its end remote from the spur gears. This construction provides for the displacement of the second or brush-carrying shaft 33 from a position radial of the wheel 24.

The shaft carrying the brush wheel may alternatively be driven directly from the bevel ring and pinion and include an adjustable universal joint to allow the brush to be canted to the necessary position.

It is essential that friction be kept down to a minimum in each of these two drives as the wheel of the guiding device is caused to rotate solely by the passage of the web therearound The belt 15 of the main uncurler unit may be replaced by a revolving brush, a travelling brush band or other suitable uncurling medium, or any other known method such as blowing the curl out by compressed air may be used.

A bar member may be positioned immediately below the support member of the main uncurler unit and spaced slightly inwardly therefrom, the web being guided transversely below this bar member and over the support member. The bar member preferably has a curved or rounded edge where it contacts the web.

With the apparatus described and shown in the drawing the web is fed in with the curls at the selvedges uppermost. The scroll roller 11 removes part of each curl after the web has passed through the entry frame prior to the selvedges thereof entering between the support members and uncurling mediums of the main uncurlers.

It is sometimes desirable, however, to feed the web into the stenter or other finishing machine with the curls at the selvedge lowermost and in this event the relative positions of the support member and uncurling medium of the uncurling apparatus are interchanged, so that the upper face of the Web moves over the support member and the uncurling medium acts on the lower face of the web. A scroll roller is preferably provided also in this instance and the web passes thereover prior to entering between the support member and the uncurling medium.

The support member 13 may have both its upper and lower surfaces arched in the outward direction and thus be adapted for use with webs which are to be fed with the selvedge curl both uppermost and lowermost, without any adjustment except perhaps in the vertical direction.

The uncurling medium may be provided in duplicate for each support member, one below and one above the latter.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for maintaining the selvedge of a web of travelling fabric uncurled, especially prior to entry to a finishing machine such as a stenter, comprising in advance of the entry end of the machine on each side thereof substantially rigid support means presenting a curved surface towards the path of movement of the web and adapted to act on one face of the web in the region of each selvedge to constrain the selvedge to follow an arcuate path thereover and to resist transverse outward displacement of the web, and uncurling means adapted to act on the other face of the web in the region of each selvedge so as to tend to keep the selvedge open and uncurled.

2. Apparatus for feeding a web of travelling material accurately and with smooth selvedges to a textile finishing machine such as a stenter comprising the combination in advance of the entry end of the machine on each side thereof, of an automatic guiding device, a main uncurler unit positioned immediately in advance of said guiding device to smooth out the curl at the selvedge prior to entry of the selvedge to said device, and an auxiliary uncurler unit positioned to smooth out the curl at the selvedge as the selvedge leaves said device immediately prior to engagement of the selvedge by the selvedge engaging means of the macihne.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, in which the main uncurler unit comprises substantially rigid support means adapted to act on one face of the web in the region of the selvedge to resist transverse outward displacement of the web, and uncurling means adapted to act on the other face of the web in the region of the selvedge so as to tend to keep the selvedge open and uncurled.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which the inner edge of each support means, that is the edge thereof nearest the central longitudinal axis of the web, is abrupt to increase by friction the natural tendency of the support means to resist outward transverse displacement of the web by the action of the travelling uncurling medium.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, in which the support means is somewhat curved toward the path of movement of the web to constrain the selvedge to follow an arcuate path thereover.

6. Apparatus as claimed in, claim 5, in which the leading end of the support means terminates as close as possible to the automatic guiding device, without interfering with movement of the guiding member thereat in accordance with displacement of the selvedges of the web from a predetermined path.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6, in which the auxiliary uncurler unit is located as close as possible to the point where the selvedge of web leaves the automatic gliding device, and comprises a rotating brush wheel whereof the bristles brush across the selvedge in an outward direction over the surface of the web toward which the selvedge tends to curl.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, in which the brush is of frusto-conical shape and its axis is so disposed that the bristles contact the web only when moving outwardly across the selvedge.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the uncurling means is an endless travelling belt whereof the lower run moves in an outward direction over the face of the web in the region of the selvedge and has an outward and a forward component of motion.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9, in which means is provided to drive the belt at a speed so coordinated to the angle of the belt relative to the direction of movement of the web that there is no longitudinal speed component of the belt relative to the web.

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 10, in which the direction of travel of each belt is at an angle in the region of 30 forwardly of the transverse direction and the belt travels at a speed equal to twice that of the speed of travel of the web.

12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 11, in which the belt is of sufficient length in its running direction to cover all possible variations of the web selvedge position.

13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 12, in which the angle at which the belt is set is adjustable and the drive to the belt is such as to permit this adjustment and to maintain a constant ratio between the speeds of the belt and the web.

14. Apparatus as claimed in claim 13, including an overfeed wheel, means driving the overfeed wheel, and belt and pulley means transmitting drive from said driving means to the endless travelling belt.

15. Apparatus as claimed in claim 14, in which a bar member is positioned immediately below the support means and spaced slightly inwardly therefrom, the web extending in the transverse direction below the bar member and over the support means.

16. Apparatus as claimed in claim 15, in which the bar member has a rounded edge where it contacts the web.

17. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the uncurling means is a revolving brush the periphery of which moves over the face of the web in the region of the selvcdges and has an outward and a forward component of motion.

18. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the uncurling means is a travelling brush band which moves over the face of the web in region of the selvedge and has an outward and a forward component of motion.

19. Apparatus for feeding a web of travelling material accurately and with smooth selvedges to a textile finishing machine such as a stenter comprising the combination in advance of the entry end of the machine on each side thereof, of an automatic guiding device, a main uncurler unit positioned immediately in advance of said guiding device to smooth out the curl at the selvedge prior to entry of the selvedge to said device, a brush wheel located close to the point where the selvedge of the web leaves the guiding device and driven from the guiding member of the guiding device by gearing mounted therealongside, the positioning of the brush and the direction of brush rotation being such that the bristles brush across the selvedge in an outwards direction over the surface of the web towards which the selvedge tends to re-curl.

20. Apparatus as claimed in claim 19, in which said gearing comprises two small shafts, one of which is driven by a bevel pinion from a bevel ring mounted on the guiding member and drives the other through the medium of two spur wheels, said other shaft carrying the brush at its end remote from the spur gears, whereby the second or brush-carrying shaft can be displaced from a position radial of the drum.

21. Apparatus as claimed in claim 19, in which said gearing comprises a shaft carrying the brush wheel and driven directly by a pinion from a bevel ring mounted on the guiding member, said shaft including an adjustable universal joint to allow the brush to be canted to the necessary position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,128,377 Richardson Aug. 30, 1938 2,321,010 Cohn June 8, 1943 2,467,281 Walter et a1 Apr. 12, 1949 2,481,369 Turner Sept. 6, 1949 2,510,313 Houth et a1 June 6, 1950 2,650,413 Pope et a1 Sept. 1, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 483,078 Germany Sept. 25, 1929

Claims

1. APPARATUS FOR MAINTAINING THE SELVEDGE OF A WEB OF TRAVELLING FABRIC UNCURLED, ESPECIALLY PRIOR TO ENTRY TO A FINISHING MACHINE SUCH AS A STENTER, COMPRISING IN ADVANCE OF THE ENTRY END OF THE MACHINE ON EACH SIDE THEREOF SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID SUPPORT MEANS PRESENTING A CURVED SURFACE TOWARDS THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF THE WEB AND ADAPTED TO ACT ON ONE FACE OF THE WEV IN THE REGION OF EACH SELVEDGE TO CONSTRAIN THE SELVEDGE TO FOLLOW AN ARCUATE PATH THEREOVER, AND TO RESIST TRANSVERSE OUTWARD DISPLACEMENT OF THE WEB, AND UNCURLING MEANS ADAPTED TO ACT ON THE OTHER FACE OF THE WEB IN THE REGION OF EACH SELVEDGE SO AS TO TEND TO KEEP THE SELVEDGE OPEN AND UNCURLED.