US3382979A

US3382979A - Adjustable woven filtering material having angularly disposed guide lines

Info

Publication number: US3382979A
Application number: US631380A
Authority: US
Inventors: Howard M Helland; Frank H Orbison
Original assignee: Appleton Mills
Current assignee: Appleton Mills
Priority date: 1967-04-17
Filing date: 1967-04-17
Publication date: 1968-05-14
Anticipated expiration: 1985-05-14
Also published as: GB1227393A; FR1572379A; SE361265B; DE1761196B2; DE1761196A1

Description

Filed April 17, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 14, 1968 HELLAND ET 3,382,979

ADJUSTABLE WOVEN FILTERING MATERIA ING ANGULARLY DISPOSED GUIDE LIN 6 /5 A! Q? A? will"!!! 'llllll lllllflfllll.

HOWARD M llaulvo [CR/1% H ORB/50M INVENTORSI May 14, 1968 M, HELLAND ET AL 3,382,979

ADJUSTABLE WOVEN FILTERING MATERIAL HAVING ANGULARLY DISPOSED GUIDE LINES Filed April 17, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 OHM mw; s 5; ma A mm; Mn

United States Patent O 3,382,979 ADJUSTABLE WOVEN FILTERING MATERIAL {IAVIglG ANGULARLY DISPOSED GUIDE INE Howard M. Helland and Frank H. Orbison, Appleton, Wis., assignors to Appleton Mills, Appleton, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Apr. 17, 1967, Ser. No. 631,380 11 Claims. (Cl. 21091) ABSTRACT OF DISCLOSURE A woven fabric, such as a papermakers felt, composed of a series of generally parallel warp yarns and a series of cross yarns which are disposed at an acute angle with respect to a line normal to the warp yarns and are freely adjustable with respect to a line normal to the warp yarns and are freely adjustable with respect to the warp yarns. The endless felt is provided with a pair of guide lines, with one of said guide lines extending transversely between the Side edges of the felt and the second guide line being disposed at an acute angle to the first guide line and located in alignment with the cross yarns. The transverse guide line is used to set up and maintain alignment of the felt on the papermaking machine, while the diagonal guide line provides an indication of the angularity of the cross yarns.

In a papermaking machine, the papermakers felt is utilized to pick up or receive a freshly laid web of Wet paper after it leaves the forming wire and conduct the paper web through the pressing operation where additional water is removed from the wet paper web. For effective operation, the highest possible rate of water drainage through the felt and the requisite surface smoothness of the paper being made must be provided and sustained over the longest possible period of time in order to produce the maximum useful felt'life. Purther, the papermakers felt must have a high degree of dimensional stability and the physical properties of the felt must be uniform throughout its dimensions so that the paper is uniform in quality and finish.

The copending patent application of Howard M. Helland, entitled Adjustable Woven Fabric, Ser. No. 631,- 381 filed Apr. 17, 1967, now abandoned in favor of continuation-in-part application Ser. No. 676,370, filed Sept. 27, 1967 discloses aniimproved papermakers felt in which the cross yarns are located at an acute angle with respect to the warp or longitudinal yarn, and can be adjusted in angula-rity when the felt is on the papermaking machine to vary the drainage rate of the felt and the finish characteristics of the paper. The adjustable felt of this type includes a series of generally parallel warp yarns which are disposed longitudinally of the direction of travel of the felt. A series of generally parallel cross yarns are interwoven with the warp yarns and are subsequently skewed or cocked to position the cross yarns at an acute angle up to 80 .with respect to a line normal to the warp yarns. Thereafter the felt is stabilized in the skewed position. After installation on the papermaking machine, the angularity of the cross yarns can be adjusted from the original skewed position to vary the drainage characteristics of the felt and the nature of the finish of the paper.

According to the present invention a pair of guide lines or markers are applied to the endless felt. One of the guide lines extends transversely between the side edges of the felt, while the second guide line is located at an acute angle with respect to the first guide line and is disposed in alignment with the angularity of the cross yarns.

An adjustable felt in which the cross yarns can be adjusted in angularity with respect to the warp yarns has distinct advantages in drainage, service life and finish characteristics of the paper. The present invention, by incorporating a pair of guide lines with the felt as installed on a papermaking machine, provides additional advantages to the papermaker.

The transverse guide line, which for felts of conventional construction extends normal to the side edges of the felt, and is aligned with the cross-machine yarns, enables the papermaker to properly set up the machine and maintain the desired alignment of the felt on the rolls during the papermaking operation.

If the felt is allowed to skew or how while operating on the paper machine, the operating characteristics of the conventionally designed felt are adversely affected. The transverse guide line enables the papermaker to visually determine whether the felt is skewed or bowed, and by proper adjustment of the rolls, the felt can thereby be maintained in its designed configuration.

The diagonal or cross yarn guide line of the invention provides a visual indication to the papermaker of the angular disposition of the cross yarns of the adjustable woven felt and thereby enables the papermaker to more readily adjust the angularity of the cross yarns to the desired value for the particular operation. For example, by adjusting the angularity of the cross yarns with respect to the warp yarns when the felt is on the papermaking machine, the relative size of the openings or passageways between the yarns can be altered to thereby vary the permeability and drainage characteristics of the felt as desired. The cross yarns may also be adjusted to compensate for the gradual closing up of the felt due to the accumulation of fines or other contaminants from the paper in the woven structure as well as structural compaction due to the continuous application of pressure. In both cases, the diagonal guide line provides a continual visual indication of the angularity of the cross yarns and correspondingly indicates the degree of openness of the felt structure.

In other instances the angularity of the cross yarns may be adjusted while the felt is on the papermaking machine to vary the finish characteristics of the paper. Adjusting the cross yarns varies the degree of openness of the felt structure and thereby will correspondingly change the finish characteristics of the paper. Again, the diagonal guide line enables the papermaker to see the angular disposition of the cross yarns and aids him in setting the angularity to a predetermined value designed for a given paper finish.

The papermaker may also wish to adjust the angularity of the cross yarns of the felt to open up the woven felt structure and recondition and clean the felt during the time that the felt is outside of the nip, and with the use of the diagonal guide line the papermaker can readily determine when the felt is in the maximum open condition.

As a further advantage, the transverse guide line and the diagonal guide line cooperate to provide a more exaggerated indication of bowing of the felt on the machine and this aids the operator in maintaining the felt in the designed configuration for the particular operation.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the course of the following description.

The drawings illustrate the best mode presently contemplated of carrying out the invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the papermakers felt showing the orientation of the warp yarns and the cross yarns;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a typical press section of a papermaking machine employing the felt of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the felt as supported on the paperrnaking machine with the cross yarns positioned at an angle of about 45 with respect to a line normal to the warp yarns;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view showing the fiber orientation of the felt of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing the cross yarns adjusted to an angle of about 0 with respect to a line normal to the warp yarns; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view showing the fiber orientation of the felt of FIG. 5.

FIG. 1 illustrates a woven fabric which is particularly adaptable for use as a papermakers felt. The fabric or felt 1 comprises a series of generally parallel warp yarns or strands 2 and a series of generally parallel cross yarns or strands 3 which are disposed at an acute angle with respect to the warp yarns. The cross yarns 3 are interwoven with the warp yarns 2 and are freely adjustable in angularity with respect to the warp yarns.

The yarns or strands 2 and 3 can be formed of any fibrous, monofilament or multifilament material. For example, the strands 2 and 3 may be composed of animal fiber such as wool; vegetable fibers such as cotton; mineral fibers such as glass; synthetic fibers such as Dacron, Orion or nylon; or metal fibers such as steel wire. De pending on the nature of the fabric and its ultimate use, mixtures or blends of the above fibers can also be employed. When the invention is utilized as the papermakers felt, wool fibers, synthetic fibers or blends thereof are comm-only used.

The felt or fabric 1 can be fabricated in the manner described in the copending application of Howard M. Helland, Ser. No. 631,381 filed Apr. 17, 1967, and now abandoned in favor of continuation-in-part application Ser. No. 676,370, filed Sept. 27, 1967. The felt 1 is either woven in endless form, or alternately, a straight length of felt can be hand spliced by conventional techniques to provide the endless form. Following splicing, or if the felt is woven in endless form, the felt is cocked or skewed, resulting in the cross yarns being moved to an acute angle with respect to the warp yarns, as shown in FIG. 1, and the cocking correspondingly brings the warp yarns closer together with the effect that the overall width of the felt is decreased. The felt can be cocked either manually or by positioning the felt over a pair of spaced stretch rolls. While trained over stretch rolls, one side of the felt is urged in one direction while the other side is urged in the opposite direction to thereby cock or skew the cross yarns. The manner of cocking the felt is not critical to the invention and any method can be employed which will adjust the angularity of the cross yarns with respect to the warp yarns to the desired degree.

As disclosed in the aforementioned application of Howard M. Helland, the cross yarns are cocked or skewed at an angle up to 80 with respect to a line normal to the warp yarns 2 and in most cases the cross yarns are skewed to an angle of to 70, with an angle of about to 60 being preferred. In the uncooked state the openings or spaces between the strands 2 or 3 are generally rectangular in shape, while after cocking the openings between the strands have an elongated, parallelogram shape as shown in FIG. 2.

After cocking, the felt is stabilized according to conventional procedures. Various methods may be used to stabilize the felt and the procedures to be employed are generally determined by the composition of the felt and the ultimate use of the felt in the papermaking process. Stabilization, for example, can be carried on by needling, heat setting, chemical setting or by heat and moisture fulling.

The cocked and stabilized felt can be installed on a press of a typical papermaking machine as shown in FIG. 2. The endless felt 1 is supported for movement on a series of rolls 4, '5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. After the felt 1 leaves the roll 9, a wet web of newly formed paper 10 is transferred from the Fourdrinier wire, not shown, to the upper surface of the felt and the felt and wet web of paper 10 pass between a pair of press rolls 11 and 12 where the roll pressure serves to extract water from the paper web. The partially dried paper sheet is then transferred from the felt to a second web, not shown, which carries the partially dried paper web to further drying means.

The felt I can be adjusted while on the papermaking machine to vary the angularity of the skewed or cocked cross yarns and thereby correspondingly vary the drainage rate of the felt and finish characteristics of the paper. To provide for an adjustment of angularity of the cross yarns of the felt, the ends of the shaft 13 of roll 6 are journaled within bearing blocks 14 which are pivotally connected to nuts 15 and jack screws 16 are threaded with the nut 15. By rotation of the jack screws 16, the axis of the roll can be varied in angularity. The angular adjustment of roll 6 has the effect of causing warp yarns to travel successively greater distance in each revolution of endless travel of the felt with a resultant reorientation of the cross yarns 3 relative to warp yarns 2. When the desired degree of angular adjustment has been achieved, the adjustable roll 6 is returned to its Original position and the new angularity of the cross yarns is maintained until further adjustment. An adjustable roll is provided on all standard paper machines to maintain the felt in its designed configuration, and the adjustable roll can also be utilized to adjust the angularity of the cross yarns with respect to the warp yarns while the felt is on the machine.

IIl'ZtCCOl'dZlHCfi with the invention, a guide line or marker 17 is applied to the felt 1 and extends transverse to the side edges of the felt. In addition to the guide line 17, a second guide line 18 is applied to the felt and extends in alignment with the cross yarns. The guide line 17, which is not located in alignment with either the warp yarns or the cross yarns, can be applied to the felt with a conventional dye, while guide line 18, which is located in alignment with the cross yarns, can be Woven into the felt during the weaving process or can be applied to the felt with dye as in the manner of guide line 17.

While it is preferred that the guide line 18 intersect the guide line 17 adjacent the side edge of the felt, as shown in FIG. 3, the guide line 18 can also intersect the guide line 17 along the mid portion of the length of the guide line 17, or the guide line 18 can be spaced from the guide line 17. If the guide line 18 is spaced from the guide line 17, the two guide lines should, however, be located in the same portion of the felt so both will be visible to the operator at the same instant during endless travel of the felt.

It is also contemplated that one of the guide lines can be one color, while the other guide line can be a different and contrasting color. This color distinction would enable the papermaker to instantly recognize which of the guide lines was the normal guide line 17 and which was the cross yarn guide line 18, regardless of the angular disposition of the two guide lines.

The normal guide line 17 aids the papermaker in determing whether the felt is in the desired configuration on the rolls. In the event the guide line 18 shows a skew or how, the papermaker can adjust the roll 6 to bring the felt back to the desired configuration. The guide line 13 serves as an indication of the disposition of the cross yarns 3 and the papermaker can readily adjust the angularity of the cross yarns to the desired value by viewing the guide line 19. For example, FIG. 3 shows the felt 1 installed on the papermaking machine and running in what would be a normal condition for the particular felt. In this instance, the guide line 17 is positioned normal to the side edges of the felt and to the warp yarns 2, while the guide line 18 is located at an angle of about 45 with respect to the guide line 17, in alignment with cross yarns 3, as shown in FIG. 4, which illustrates the fiber orientation. By adjusting the roll 6 to the position shown in FIG. 5, the cross yarns 3 and guideline 18 will be moved to a position normal to the side edges of the felt, and in this position the felt will have its most open structure. Adjusting the angularity of the cross yarns from the position of FIG. 3 to the position of FIG. 5 will correspondingly move the warp yarns further apart and increase the overall width of the felt. In the open position of FIG. 5, the guide line 17 is disposed at an acute angle with respect to the side edges of the felt, but the guide lines 17 and 18 have the same angular relationship to each other as in the position of FIG. 3.

Conversely, by adjusting the angularity of the roll 6 in the opposite direction from that shown in FIG. 5, the cross yarns and guide line 18 will be moved to an angle greater than 45 with respect to a line normal to the side edges of the felt, and the guide line 17 will extend at an acute angle with respect to the side edges of the felt.

While the above description was directed particularly to the use of the fabric of the invention as a papermaker felt, it is contemplated that the invention can be used in any application for filtering fluids where it is desirable to adjust the angularity of the cross yarns with respect to the warp yarns.

Various modes of carrying out the invention are contemplated as being within the scope of the following claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as the invention.

We claim:

1. An apparatus of the class described, comprising a web formed of a series of generally parallel first strands and a series of generally parallel second strands interconnected with the first strands, said second strands being located at an acute angle up to 80 with respect to a line normal to said first strands and being freely adjustable with respect to said first strands, a first guide line applied to the web and extending from One edge of the web toward the opposite edge thereof, and a second guide line applied to the web and extending from one edge of the web toward the opposite edge of the web and being disposed in general alignment with the second strands, said second guide line being disposed at an acute angle with respect to the first guide line.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said second guide line intersects said first guide line.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said second guide line intersects said first guide line adjacent the side edge of the web.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said web is ende 1 less and said first strands are disposed longitudinally of the web.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said edges are longitudinal side edges of the endless web.

6. An apparatus for filtering fluids, comprising an endless web, web supporting means for supporting the web in endless travel, said web including a series of generally parallel spaced first strands disposed longitudinally of the direction of travel of the web and including a series of generally parallel spaced second strands, said second strands being interwoven with said first strands and being freely adjustable in a-ngularity with respect to said first strands, said second strands being disposed at an acute angle up to with respect to a line normal to said first strands, adjusting means for adjusting the angularity of the second strands with respect to the first strands when the web is supported for endless travel, a first guide line applied to said web and extending across said web and extending at an acute angle to both said first strands and said second strands, and a second guide line applied to the web and disposed in general alignment with said second strands.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said second guide line is a different color than said first guide line.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the guide lines are disposed at an angle of about 45 to each other.

9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the first guide line is disposed at about to the side edges of the web during normal operation of said web.

10. A papermakers felt, comprising a series of generally parallel warp yarns, a series of generally parallel cross yarns engaged with said respect to said being freely adjustable in angularity with respect to said warp yarns, said warp yarns and cross yarns defining a plurality of openings therebetween, said cross yarns being located at an angle up to 8-0 with respect to a line normal to said warp yarns and being adjustable with respect to the warp yarns to thereby vary the effective size of said openings and vary the drainage rate of the felt and the finish characteristics of the paper, a first guide element disposed on a surface of the felt and extending across the felt between opposite side edges thereof, and a second guide element disposed on said surface of the felt and extending across the felt and disposed in general alignment with said cross yarns, said second guide element being disposed at an acute angle to said first guide element.

11. The paperrnakers felt of claim 10, wherein said felt is in endless form and said first guide element is disposed at an angle of about 90 to the side edges of the felt during normal operation of said felt on a papermaking machine.

No references cited.

SAMIH N. ZAHARNA, Primary Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,387,979

Howard M. Helland et al.

May 14, 1968 It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

M Column 6, line 32, "respect to said" should read warp yarns and Signed and sealed this 14th day of October 1969.

(SEAL) Attest:

WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR.

Edward M. Fletcher, Jr.

Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents