US3906596A

US3906596A - Combined sieve drum and tentering apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3906596A
Application number: US331471A
Authority: US
Inventors: Heinz Fleissner
Original assignee: Vepa AG
Current assignee: Vepa AG
Priority date: 1972-02-10
Filing date: 1973-02-12
Publication date: 1975-09-23
Anticipated expiration: 1992-09-23
Also published as: FR2171449B3; GB1399666A; BE795189A; FR2171449A1

Abstract

An apparatus for treating textile material comprising a sieve drum device operatively associated with a tentering device, wherein the textile material is heated up uniformly over its width on at least one sieve drum means and is held stretched to the desired width by said tentering device. The tentering device has tentering means disposed in a housing which is separate from the sieve drum device and is arranged behind the sieve drum device at a distance therefrom. The textile material is surrounded, on its way to the tentering means, by duct means which is heat-insulated and is arranged between the sieve drum device and the tentering device.

Description

Uited States Patent 1 1 1 1 3,906,596 Fleissner Sept. 23, 1975 1541 COMBINED SIEVE DRUM AND TENTERING 3,758,960 9/1973 McCreary et al 34/158 x APPARATUS FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1 lnvemorl Heinz Fleissner, Frankfurt am Main, 2,006,065 8/1971 Germany 26/60 Germ ny 964,934 7/1964 United Kingdom 139/291 R [73] Assignee: Vepa AG, Switzerland OTHER PUBLICATIONS [22] Filed: Feb. 12, 1973 Textured Yarn Technology/Vol, 2 Stretch Yarn Ma- [211 App]. No: 331,471 chines, Monsanto Company, 1967, pp. 6466.

Woodhouse, Thomas, The Finishing of Jute & Lmen Fabrics, Manchester, Emmot & Co. Ltd., 1916, pp. [30] Foreign Application Priority Data 1 Feb. 23, 1972 Germany 2208375 Feb. 10, 1972 Germany 2206254 primary Examiner ROben Mackcy Feb. 10, 1972 Germany 2208375 Attorney, Agent, or p c i & 11i

[52] US. Cl. 26/60; 26/57 A; 26/59;

34/115; 34/158; 68/DIG, 5 [57] ABSTRACT [51] Int. Cl. D06C 3/02; DO6C 3/06 An apparatus for treating textile material comprising a [58] Field of Search 68/DIG. 5; 26/59, 60, 57 A; sieve drum device operatively associated with a tenter 34/115, 158, 23, 68; 139/291 R ing device, wherein the textile material is heated up uniformly over its width on at least one sieve drum [56] References Cited means and is held stretched to the desired width by UN E S S PATENTS said tentering device. The tentering device has tenter- 1392 939 0/192, Hathaway l39/291R ing means disposed in a housing which is separate 1:749:584 3/1930 26/60 X from the sieve drum device and is arranged behind the 2,076,773 4/1937 Hatter 139/29] R sieve drum device at a distance therefrom. The textile 2,896,335 7/1959 D l 34/63 material is surrounded, on its way to the tentering 3,021,607 2/1962 Fleissner 26/60 UX means, by duct means which is heat-insulated and is 3,440,736 4/1969 Fleissner et al /l arranged between the sieve drum device and the tent- 3,503,134 3/1970 Fleissner 26/60 X ering i 3,515,174 6/1970 Herkenberg... 139/291 R 3,605,280 9/1971 Fleissner 34/158 X 13 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures US Patent Sept. 23,1975 Sheet'10 f2 3,906,596

Sept. 23,1975 Sheet 2 of 2 3,906,596

" US Pat nt COMBINED SIEVE DRUM AND TENTERING APPARATUS This invention relates to an apparatus for treating textile material which includes a sieve drum device and a subsequent tentering device, wherein the material which has been heated up uniformly over its width on the sieve drum or sieve drums is held stretched to the desired width.

The combination of a sieve drum machine with a tentering frame is conventional. This combination is considered advantageous, because the sieve drum is the only heat treatment system on which web-shaped mate rial can be treated rapidly and completely uniformly over its width at any desired temperature. On this drum device, the material cannot be held in its width. This machine has the disadvantage that it is impossible to ensure that the material leaves the sieve drum device always with an exact width. Although it is possible to extend a tentering unit about the last sieve drum or about several sieve drums, such a system is relatively complicated in its construction and thus expensive to manufacture.

Therefore, it has been suggested to dispose an apparatus customary in this special field, namely a tenter frame means, at the outlet of the sieve drum device and to pass the textile material after discharge from the sieve drum device directly into the tentering frame means. From a constructional viewpoint, the problem of producing such an apparatus can be solved, though with increased expenditure. However, difficulties are encountered in its operation. It is unavoidable that the operator now and then must interfere with the operation of the tentering device particularly in the mounting of the web material on the pins and must assist in the pinning of the material, which otherwise takes place automatically, by manually performing this step. However, this is difficult to do in a device of the aforementioned type, since the pinning assemblies are hard to reach, on the other hand, and a temperature of up to 250C. is ambient therein, on the other hand. Therefore. in order to eliminate disturbances, the device would have to be cooled down, which results in a considerable heat loss and furthermore in a time loss disadvantageous for the production of the material to be treated.

This invention is based on the problem of overcomingthe deficiencies of such a system. The apparatus of the invention is satisfactorily operable at all times; the material which is at least heated up on a sieve drum must cool down only to a slight extent until the material is pinned to the tentering means; and an auxiliary adjustment by hand is made possible at any time without resulting in appreciable heat loss and time consumption.

According to the invention, this problem is solved by providing that the tentering means is arranged in a housing separate from that of the sieve drum means and the housing has a transitionally wide spacing from the sieve drum means, and is disposed behind the sieve drum means; and that, furthermore, the textile material, on its way to the pinning station of the tenter means, is surrounded by a duct which is heat-insulated, if possible, and extends below or above the transitional zone. This construction makes it possible for an operator to monitor the pinning operation and, if necessary, interfere therewith (i.e. regulate or adjust), without having to enter the treatment atmosphere proper, there being no need for cooling the sieve drum means or the tentering frame means. A short-term manual intervention is possible at any time. even during the operation of this apparatus.

This concept accomplishing the above-mentioned task can be constructed in an advantageous manner. A tentering device is conventional which is subdivided into a heating section and a treatment section. Advantageously, the air fed to the sieve drum device is now withdrawn, as hot air, from the tentering device via air conduits. The waste air of the hot air circulated in the tentering device/after passing over the web material held in the chains, is fed to the sieve drum device as fresh air.

It is particularly advantageous to extend the air conduits into theoutlet zone of the duct leading into the tentering device, so that the hot air branched off from the tentering device flows through the duct, circum venting the pinning area, counter-currently to the traveling material entering the tentering device, thus pre venting the material from being cooled down or permitting the material to'be cooled only slightly, in order to then be available for the sieve drum as hot feed air. These measures make it possible to utilize the heating energy economically, as if the tentering device and the sieve drum device were a single machine. However, at the same time, the provision is obtained that a quiet atmosphere exists in the zone of the pinning section of the tentering device, which can be tolerated by an operator assisting in the operation. For in this area, only the material will be moving, while the surrounding air will exhibit a high turbulence: only in the section directly following the air jet blowing portion of the tentering device. The airjet blowing portion can be ofa relatively short length, since a slight cooling of the material will occur only on the way from the discharge end of the sieve drum "via the duct to the location where the material is placed on the pins; thus, the heating efficiency need only be minor. Besides, the material will pass through the tentering frame also in a uniformly heated condition, since the material has been uniformly heated on the sieve drum device and a nonuniform cooling over its width during transition to the tentering device is no longer permitted.

The tentering device utilized in the abovedescribed arrangement has been known for a long time, and is now being employed in practice in large numbers. The constructions thereof are of a great variety of types. Most frequently encountered are nozzle tentering frames wherein the heated air is applied by means of nozzles to both sides of the material. In any event, this device serves for the heat treatment of web-shaped material which must be held or tensioned at a specific width during this heating step. After the heat treatment, the material, which has been thermosoled (i.e. disperse dyed and heat-fixed) or thermofixed, for example, must be cooled in the tentering or holding means, so that the dimensions of the material and thus the fiber condition obtained during the heat treatment are set.

It is customary to conduct the tensioning chains of the tentering means, for this purpose, through a cooling zone consisting of one or more cooling compartments or a hood inverted over the material, by means of which, in a concentrated manner and with the aid of a fan, ambient air is blown onto both sides of the material. Such a cooling device does not only occupy a large amount of space at the outlet of the tentering frame, it also extends the length of the frame by a considerable degree. Furthermore, the cooling effect of this arrangement is unsatisfactory. 7

Therefore, in a further development of the basic idea of this invention, it is suggested to construct the cooling device from a sieve drum under a suction draft, around which the tentering means including the tensioning chains and mounting pins are wrapped. In a suitable manner, the guiding device at the end of the tenter frame, which is necessary anyway in such a frame for turning the chains of the tentering means, is constructed as a sieve drum under a suction draft, so that the sieve drum can advantageously be wrapped about by the material by more than about 180. Due to the high throughflow effect possible with the aid of a sieve drum, the cooling efficiency, in spite of small dimensions of the cooling unit, is entirely sifficient for any speed at which a tenter frame is operated. As is known, the degree of efficiency of a throughflow treatment on a sieve drum is unsurpassed, since, with small external dimensions of the device, the treatment is carried out very intensively.

The tentering device of the apparatus of this invention can be fashioned as a simple tenter frame. However, it is particularly advantageous to form the tentering device of sieve drum tenter frames.

Such 'a' machine arrangement is advantageous especially in case the material is to be held in the tentering device not only in its width over the brief fixing period, but also during the heating to the fixing temperature. Thus, the drying unit and the fixing device can advantageously be separated from each other, although the machine arrangement per se is a unit. Thus, an apparatus has been found which operates in an economically optimal manner and causes low initial investment costs. By subdividing the arrangement into two machines, an adjustment of the efficiency is more readily obtainable. Also, a clear temperature separation can be effected between the drying unit and the fixing device.

It is certainly also advantageous to guide the tentering chains likewise about the sieve drum device, as has already been suggested. However, in such a case, the dryer and the fixing unit should also be disposed separately from each other, in order to be able to operate at accurate fixing periods, especially in the fixing unit.

Additional details of the arrangement and construction of the invention can be seen from the description of the apparatus shown as embodiments in the accompanying drawings; wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an apparatus including a sieve drum device arranged with a normal tenter frame;

FIG. 2 shows an apparatus having a sieve drum de vice with a sieve drum tenter frame as the tentering or tensioning means; and

FIG. 3 shows an apparatus having a sieve drum device and a tentering device arranged so that the material is held in its width in the drying section and in the fixing compartment.

The drawing in FIG. 1, shows an apparatus consisting of a sieve drum device 1 and a tenter frame device 2. The sieve drum device 1, as in conventional sieve drum devices, is formed of several sieve drums l rotatably disposed in a treatment chamber; from above and below the drums, air is fed and is uniformly distributed via perforated plates 3. The air is heated by means of heating units 4. The air flows through the sieve drums by the effect of fans 5 arranged at the front side of each drum in a fan chamber.

The textile material 6 is discharged from the sieve drum device, which is heated uniformly to the treatment temperature at least by the last sieve drum, is not discharged from the sieve drum device 1 at the usual material outlet denoted by 7, but rather, with the material outlet 7 being closed, via a heat-insulated duct 8 leaving space between the sieve drum device and the tentering device for operating personnel. Then the material is fed to the inlet section 9 of the tentering device 2. In this inlet section, the material is pinned, with the air of the customary pinning-in elements 10, to the tenter frame chains 2 and then conveyed into the heating section 11 and brought to the desired width. Shielding members 19 separate the pinning-in zone from the heating section. The hinges at the tenter frame necessary for tensioning the material to the desired width are denoted by 12. The portion wherein the tentering means extend in parallel to each other follows the heating section and is denoted by 13. Means (not shown) are provided for supplying heated air to section 11.

At the outlet of the tenter frame device, a sieve drum 14 is provided in place of a customary guide roller for the tentering (and mounting) means; the inner chamber of this sieve drum is under a suction draft due to a fan 15 arranged at one end face. The tentering means is extended about the sieve drum and is held displaceably in the axial direction of the drum. The material 6 is guided around the sieve drum while still being held in the tentering means and is thus exposed to an intensive through-flow of cold ambient air. The consequence thereof is an instantaneous cooling of the material and thus a setting of the condition of the fiber forming the material. After the material has traveled in contact with the sieve drum for more than about it is detached from the tentering means with the aid of a pinning-out roller and passed on to a subsequent machine for further treatment.

The hot air conducted to the heating section 11 for heating the material to the treatment temperature is fed, via pipes or the like 16, after blowing on the material held in the chains of the tentering means, to the outlet section of the duct 8 and blown into the duct 8 counter-currently to the arriving material 6. Thus, the duct 8 is maintained at the treatment temperature and an excessive cooling of the material during its conveyance to the tentering device is avoided. The hot air flowing to the sieve drum simultaneously serves as the fresh air necessary for the treatment, which, however, has now been heated. A good energy balance is the consequence of this feature.

In order to be able to intervene, during the pinning of the material into the tentering device, in the operation of the apparatus without any great expenditure in time or energy, a flap 17 is provided in the pinning-in zone of the tentering device 2; this flap has a window or is produced in its entirety from a transparent material. In case of a disturbance of the automatically effected pinning operation, it is merely necessary to pivot the flap 17 about the joint 18, whereupon the pinning elements are immediately accessible, without having to cool the tenter frame.

FIG. 2 shows an arrangement of a sieve drum device 1 and a sieve drum tenter frame 2. In this apparatus, it is advantageous to effect the drying and fixing operations separately from each other, namely toconduct the drying steponly in the sieve drum device 1 and. to conduct'the heatingto the fixing temperature and the fixing proper on-the sieve drum tenter frame 2 (which includessieve drum l9); in-contrast thereto, in the arrangement of FIG. I, the heating totthe fixing temperature could also be effected inthe sieve drum device. By the exact separation of the drying unit from the fixing unit, accurate temperature conditions can now be maintained,-.and the fixing times can be optimally adjusted.

The same advantages exist in the arrangement of FIG. 3, wherein the drying means in the form of a sieve drum tentering device 1 is likewise separated from the fixing means 2 (also in the form of a sieve drum tentering means). However, in this apparatus, the tentering chains are wrapped about both heat treatment units, each including a sieve drum under a suction draft.

Between the drying unit and the fixing unit, in the duct 8 connecting the two devices or in the inlet section of the tentering means according to FlG. 2, elements can be provided which compensate for a possible skew or bow in the material. Such elements can be, for example, an endless belt disposed underneath the material in parallel thereto which, depending on the orientation of the material between the chains, can be driven at a lower or higher speed.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus comprising a sieve drum device having a treatment chamber and at least one sieve drum means disposed in said treatment chamber, said sieve drum device being operatively associated with a tentering device, wherein a textile material which has been heated up uniformly over its width by passing heated air therethrough on said at least one sieve drum means within the treatment chamber of said drum device is subsequently held stretched to the desired width by said tentering device, the tentering device including a housing which is separate from the sieve drum device and which is arranged behind the sieve drum device at a distance therefrom, a tentering means disposed in said housing, and a pinning-in means for pinning the textile material to said tentering means, said pinning-in means being located near said tentering means in a pinning-in zone within said housing; means for transporting said textile material from said sieve drum device to said tentering means; duct means for surrounding the textile material on its way to said tentering means via said means for transporting said textile material, said duct means being heat-insulated and being arranged to 1 extend from the sieve drum device to the tentering means so that the duct means, the sieve drum device, and the housing of said tentering device define a space therebetween for operating personnel; an access opening in the housing leading to said pinningin zone, and means for sealing said opening during operation of said pinning-in means and for permitting operating personnel access to said pinning-in means during a disturbance of the pinning operation.

2. The apparatus of claim ll, wherein the means for sealing said opening is a flap vacating the pinning-in zone.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the flap has a window which is made of a transparent material.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tentering device includes sieve drum means with a tentering chain extending therearound.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein control means for compensating for skewing or bowing of the textile material are provided in front. of the sieve drum means of the tentering device. I

6. The apparatus of claims, whereinsaid control means'corn'prise means associated with and underneath the textile'mat'erialin paralleltherewith 7,: An apparatus comprising a sieve drum device operatively associated with a'tentering device; wherein a textile material which has been heated up uniformily overits'width by passing heated air therethrough on at least one sieve drum means within said drum device is subsequently held stretched to the desired width by said tentering device, the tentering device including a housing which is separate from the sieve drum device and which is arranged behind the sieve drum device at a distance therefrom and a tentering means disposed in said housing; means for transporting said textile material from said sieve drum device to said tentering means and duct means for surrounding the textile material on its way to said tentering means, said duct means being heat'insulated and being arranged between the sieve drum device and the tentering device, said tentering device including a heating section and a treatment section, and air conduits extending from the heating section to the duct means which communicates with the sieve drum device for introducing heated air from said heating section into said duct means and into said sieve drum device.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the air conduits are extended into an outlet zone of the duct means which enters the tentering device.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the mouth of each of the air conduits is oriented eountercurrently to the material exiting from the duct.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said tentering device includes a pinning-in zone and shielding members located within said housing and the pinning-in zone is separated from the heating zone by said shielding members.

11. An apparatus comprising a sieve drum device operatively associated with a tentering device, wherein a textile material which has been heated up uniformily over its width by passing heated air therethrough on at least one sieve drum means within said drum device is subsequently held stretched to the desired width by said tentering device, the tentering device including a housing which is separate from the sieve drum device and which is arranged behind the sieve drum device at a distance therefrom and a tentering means disposed in said housing, said tentering means including two laterally displaceable rows of tentering chains and a heatinsulated chamber within said housing for heat treat ment of said textile material, said tentering chains ex tending linearly through said heat-insulated chamber and then subsequently outside said heat-insulated chamber, a cooling unit outside of said heat-insulated chamber for quench-fixing the textile material held along its edges in its desired width by said tentering chains, the cooling unit comprising a sieve drum under a suction draft around which said tentering chains are wrapped before returning to said heat-insulated chamber, and means for separating said cooled textile material from said tentering chains outside of said heatinsulated chamber.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the sieve drum of said cooling unit is looped around by the matethrough said heat-insulated chamber and then subsequently outside said heat-insulated chamber, a cooling unit for quench-fixing the textile material held along its edges in its desired Width by said tentering chains, said cooling unit comprising the sieve drum device having a sieve drum under a suction draft around which said tentering chains are wrapped before returning to said heat-insulated chamber, and means for separating said cooled textile material from said tentering chains located outside of said heat-insulated chamber.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising a sieve drum device having a treatment chamber and at least one sieve drum means disposed in said treatment chamber, said sieve drum device being operatively associated with a tentering device, wherein a textile material which has been heated up uniformly over its width by passing heated air therethrough on said at least one sieve drum means within the treatment chamber of said drum device is subsequently held stretched to the desired width by said tentering device, the tentering device including a housing which is separate from the sieve drum device and which is arranged behind the sieve drum device at a distance therefrom, a tentering means disposed in said housing, and a pinning-in means for pinning the textile material to said tentering means, said pinning-in means being located near said tentering means in a pinning-in zone within said housing; means for transporting said textile material from said sieve drum device to said tentering means; duct means for surrounding the textile material on its way to said tentering means via said means for transporting said textile material, said duct means being heat-insulated and being arranged to extend from the sieve drum device to the tentering means so that the duct means, the sieve drum device, and the housing of said tentering device define a space therebetween for operating personnel; an access opening in the housing leading to said pinning-in zone, and means for sealing said opening during operation of said pinning-in means and for permitting operating personnel access to said pinning-in means during a disturbance of the pinning operation.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the means for sealing said opening is a flap vacating the pinning-in zone.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein control means for compensating for skewing or bowing of the textile material are provided in front of the sieve drum means of the tentering device.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said control means comprise means associated with and underneath the textile material in parallel therewith.

7. An apparatus comprising a sieve drum device operatively associated with a tentering device, wherein a textile material which has been heated up uniformily over its width by passing heated air therethrough on at least one sieve drum means within said drum device is subsequently held stretched to the desired width by said tentering device, the tentering device including a housing which is separate from the sieve drum device and which is arranged behind the sieve drum device at a distance therefrom and a tentering means disposed in said housing; means for transporting saiD textile material from said sieve drum device to said tentering means and duct means for surrounding the textile material on its way to said tentering means, said duct means being heat-insulated and being arranged between the sieve drum device and the tentering device, said tentering device including a heating section and a treatment section, and air conduits extending from the heating section to the duct means which communicates with the sieve drum device for introducing heated air from said heating section into said duct means and into said sieve drum device.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the mouth of each of the air conduits is oriented countercurrently to the material exiting from the duct.

11. An apparatus comprising a sieve drum device operatively associated with a tentering device, wherein a textile material which has been heated up uniformily over its width by passing heated air therethrough on at least one sieve drum means within said drum device is subsequently held stretched to the desired width by said tentering device, the tentering device including a housing which is separate from the sieve drum device and which is arranged behind the sieve drum device at a distance therefrom and a tentering means disposed in said housing, said tentering means including two laterally displaceable rows of tentering chains and a heat-insulated chamber within said housing for heat treatment of said textile material, said tentering chains extending linearly through said heat-insulated chamber and then subsequently outside said heat-insulated chamber, a cooling unit outside of said heat-insulated chamber for quench-fixing the textile material held along its edges in its desired width by said tentering chains, the cooling unit comprising a sieve drum under a suction draft around which said tentering chains are wrapped before returning to said heat-insulated chamber, and means for separating said cooled textile material from said tentering chains outside of said heat-insulated chamber.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the sieve drum of said cooling unit is looped around by the material held between the tentering chains with an angle of more than 180* .

13. An apparatus comprising a sieve drum device operatively associated with a tentering device, wherein a textile material is held stretched to a desired width by said tentering device, the tentering device including a housing and a tentering means disposed in said housing, said tentering means including two laterally displaceable rows of tentering chains and a heatinsulated chamber within said housing for heat treatment of said textile material, said tentering chains extending linearly through said heat-insulated chamber and then subsequently outside said heat-insulated chamber, a cooling unit for quench-fixing the textile material held along its edges in its desired width by said tentering chains, said cooling unit comprising the sieve drum device having a sieve drum under a suction draft around which said tentering chains are wrapped before returning to said heat-insulated chamber, and means for separating said cooled textile material from said tentering chains located outside of said heat-insulated chamber.