US3518846A - Device for carrying looped textiles - Google Patents

Description

July 7, 1970 R. VOGEL ET AL 3,518,846

DEVICE FOR CARRYING LOOPED TEXTILES Filed July 25, 1968 FIG 1.

. "ml F IG. 2. Azmam ENTOR' United States Patent 3,518,846 DEVICE FOR CARRYING LOOPED TEXTILES Robert Vogel, Dusseldorf-Heerdt, and Alfred Korsch, Krefeld, Germany, assignors to Gerber & Co., G.m.b.H., Krefeld, Germany, a corporation of Germany Filed July 25, 1968, Ser. No. 747,521 Int. Cl. D06f 37/00 US. Cl. 68-5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device for carrying textiles in a looped position through a chamber, comprising a center vertical column, a chamber enclosing the column, a plurality of rod means radially extending from the column and adapted to rotate about the column in an essentially horizontal plane, inlet means attached to the chamber and adapted to feed textiles onto the rod means, and exit means attached to the chamber and adapted to remove the textiles. The textiles are removed after the textiles have traveled at least 180 around the column from the direction of the inlet.

THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to devices for processing textiles in a looped position, such as steamers, dyers, dryers, and the like. This invention is particularly useful when processing textiles of substantial width, especially in excess of 18 inches.

Prior art devices for treating suspended loops of textiles have been constructed wherein endless chains are caused to move about a path whereupon the goods are placed on rods or other extensions, carried by the rods and thereafter removed. Substantial difiiculty has arisen, however, in operating these types of devices with wide textile goods, particularly since complicated mechanisms must be devised to permit the change in direction of the means for carrying the rods. It has been proposed in the past to support the rods on both ends, but this has caused a great difficulty in properly constructing reversing wheels to maintain level support for the rods. Otherwise, the goods would fold or bunch together, thereby causing incomplete or unequal treatment of the goods.

In a later development, the prior art has devised a means whereby the carrier rods are supported only on one end and the chain carrying the rods is guided around two reversing wheels. Even this design, however, has met with some ditficulty due to the expense in manufacturing a proper chain to support the great weight of the textiles on the rods while still permitting smooth movement of the rods to avoid the aforementioned bunching and sliding of the textile.

It has now been discovered that a particularly simple and efficient device for carrying looped textiles through a chamber can be made in the following manner. Basically, the invention encompasses the use of a single column which supports at its top a wheel in which the various rods are radially mounted out from the center of the column. By this construction, the rods may be substantially and securely mounted since there is no need for these rods to change from one support or track to another. Moreover, steam or other vapors which are being employed to treat the textiles as they pass through the device are much more effectively circulated due to the uniform shape and construction of the chamber.

Other embodiments of the invention will become apparent on a further reading of the disclosure, particularly with reference to the drawings, in which:

3,518,846 Patented July 7, 1970 FIG. 1 represents a schematic drawing of an embodiment of the present invention from the side; and

FIG. 2 is a top view of the device shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, a vertical central column 12 is positioned within a chamber having outside Walls 10 and roof 11. Mounted on the column 12 are a plurality of radially extending rods 14 which are adapted to carry the textile 2 in a looped position about the central column 12 in the direction as shown in FIG. 2 by arrows 16. The individual rods 14 are attached to a wheel 18 which is mounted on the central column 12 and which is adapted to support the rods 14. The rods are rotated in the direction shown in FIG. 2 by arrow 16 by a motor 20, shown in FIG. 1, which, through steam seal 21, 1'0- tates gear 22 about which cable 23 is afiixed to rotate the cylinder 12. In a preferred embodiment, the motor 20 can be located below the false floor 11a which acts as a sealant from the atmosphere contained in the chamber.

The textile 2 is introduced into the device by means of an inlet means attached to the chamber itself. As shown in FIG. 1, the textile 2 enters an inlet 24 and passes around pulleys 25 and 25a along to a roll 26 to contact the first rod 14a. Positioned between the roll 26 and the rod receiving the textile 14a is a blower 28 which causes the textile 2 to bellow or extend in back of the rod 14a as it rotates about the column 12. Then, as the next rod 14 contacts the textile 2 coming from roll 26, a new loop is formed continuously and uniformly.

In accordance with the basic concepts of this invention, it has been found that the textile should he removed from the device after it has been carried in a looped position for at least around the column from the direction of the inlet means. It is believed that a turn of at least 180 is necessary to properly effect treatment of the textile within the device. In a preferred embodiment, which is shown in the drawings, the textile is withdrawn after it has traveled approximately 270 about the column from the direction of the inlet means. This is accomplished, as shown in the figures by passing the textile 2 over a discharge roller 30 and a reversing roller 31. In this manner, the textile 2 is capable of passing under the textile being introduced into the device (or over it should it be desirable).

By the use of a 270 rotation of the textile around the column, the crossing of the incoming web of material and the out going web of material is seen to make the most efficient use of the space within the chamber. The blower 28 shown in the FIG. 1, which has a primary function of causing the formation of loops, additionally suplies the major share of the required vapor or gas within the chamber, thereby causing an initial direct contact of the gas or vapor with the textile.

Should more circulation be desirable, this is readily attainable in the present invention due to the central design and unity of construction. A blower 32 may be run by a fan 33 to circulate vapor or gas through the top of the column 12 and about the textiles as they pass through the device. This last feature is particularly important when very light woven goods are geing processed, for the reason that the flow of vapor or gas through the column and out the top as shown by arrow 34 causes the flow of the gas or vapor downward, and pressure is exerted upon the bottoms of the loops of textile 2 which prevents the sticking of the loops to one another. As in the case of very light woven goods, steaming devices or other treating machines with parallel suspension loops have been unable to avoid sticking during the operation thereof.

In the case where extraordinarily heavy goods are processed, it is possible to increase the support of the rods 14 by use of a track 34 as shown in FIG. I which accepts a wheel 35 mounted on the ends of the rods 14 such that the wheels rotate freely and support the rods 14.

In another embodiment, it is possible to incrementally rotate the rod means to thereby intermittently alter the position of the textiles. Such may be accomplished as shown in FIG. 2 by the addition of spindle means 37 which radially extend from each of the rods 14 and engage a plurality of pin means 36 mounted on a circular wall 38, whereby the rod means are rotated by incremental rotation of the spindle means 37 when contacting pins 36 to cause an intermittent shift in the position of the textile 2 as it is looped about the rods 14.

In yet another embodiment, it is desirable to cause the textile to enter the device in a manner such that the texand said inlet means to place said textile in a looped position for travel on said rod means; and

wherein said chamber further contains track means adapted to support the end of said rod means furthest from said column.

2. The device of claim 2 which further includes means for incrementally rotating said rod means to thereby intermittently alter the position of said textiles thereon, saidmeans for. incrementally rotating said rod means includes a spindle means radially extending from each of said rod means and adapted to engage a plurality of pin means, whereby said rod means rotate an incremental amount as each pin means is contacted by said spindle means.

tile enters tangent to an imaginary circle 40 which has I I its axis 41 concentric with the axis of the column 35. This tangential inlet, with the imaginary circle, allows for proper lining up of the looped textile so that uniform and consecutive loops are formed while minimizing variation in the treatment of the textile as it passes through 1. A device for carrying textiles in a looped position through a chamber, comprising:

a central vertical column;

a chamber enclosing said column;

a plurality of rod means mounted on and radially extending from saidcolumn and adapted to rotate about said column in an essentially horizontal plane;

drive means for rotating said rod means;

inlet means attached to said chamber and adapted to feed said textile onto said rod means;

exit means attached to said chamber and adapted to remove said textile from said rod means at a point wherein said textile has traveled at least 180 around said column from the direction of said inlet means;

loop forming means cooperating with said rod means 3. The device of claim 11 wherein said loop forming means includes blower means positioned interiorly of said chamber and adapted to direct said textile in a downward direction from said rod means, whereby said textile is formed in a looped position.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein said inlet means is adapted to feed said textile onto said rod means such that said textile enters tangential to an imaginary circle having its axis concentric with the axis of said column, said inlet means including roll means positioned to receive said textile and align said textile with each rod means such that said rod means contacts said textile at a point where said rod means is perpendicular to the direction of travel of said textile.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein said column further includes means for circulating gases Within said chamber, said means for circulating gases being adapted to direct said gases downward towards the bottom of said loops.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,205,539 6/1940 Owen 34157 WILLIAM I. PRICE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 34-157

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