US978883A - Apparatus for mercerizing textile fabrics. - Google Patents

Description

E. HEBERLEIN. APPARATUS FOR MBRGERIZING TEXTILE FABRICS. APPLICATION FILED 11mm, 1910.

978,883., Patented Dec. 20, 1910.

NVENTOR, www SES: f img-)RD HEBERLHN y To all whom it may concern:

UNTED STATES PATENT clarion.

EDUAVRD HEBERIJEINI', 0F WATTWIL, SWITZERLAD, ASSIGNOR T0 HEBERLEIN c C0.,

I Y 0F WATTWIL, SWITZERLAND, A FIRM.

APPARATUS FOR MERCERIZING TEXTILE FABRICS.

Be it known that I, EDUARD-HEBERLEIN, doctor oflphilosophy and manufacturer, a citizen of the Swiss Republic, and resident of Wattwil, canton of St. Gall, Switzerland," have invented' a new and useful Apparatus forv Mercerizing Textile Fabrics, of

which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

The present invention consists in an ap- 1paratus whereby fabrics of all. kinds may e mercerized uniformly and so as to pro- .duce goods of ne appearance witha minimum amount of'damage to the fabric.

It has already been proposed to mercerize textile fabrics by washing thefabric previously impregnated with alkali lye with- `out the employment of means for preventing l the shrinkage of the fabric, and by stretching the sald fabric transversely during the washing process. This mercerizing.

process has, however, not been-employed up to the present and no apparatus is known which would be capable of performingdt in a" satisfactory way,'because when this process is performed with the usual stretching devices, such as -tentering chains, tentering nippers and the like, the fabric suffers so much damage, in 'consequence of the forcible transverse stretching, that the process is not applicablefor li ht fabrics. I

v have now found-that this amaging effect upon the lgoods'in the said mercerlzing process arises from the fact that the fabric impregnated with alkali lye possesses avariable and so great an extensibility during the washing process that such a forcible transverse stretching, as has been produced by the means hitherto tried'in this process,

is not at all necessary, but that itis sufficient to lead the previously impregnated tissue or fabric, during the washing operation, over a certain number of arched rotatable rollers known per se as fabric distending means from Mycocks United States Letters 'Patent No. 687847, dated December 3d 1901, and which, as the result of their rotationlunder thepull of the fabric, push the shrunken fabric without undue strain from themiddle toward the ed es and thus bring it back to its original w1dth without exercising a forcible action.

The drawing illustrates one form of the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led February 8, 1910. Serial No. 542,740.

Batented.v Dec. 20, 1910..

The .fabric a (Fig. 1). passes througlrthe -trough b which is filled with soda lye and surrounded by a cooling jacket c. The fabric is first squeezed at ai, then passes again through the lye .in the trough b and is squeezed under powerful pressure by Ithe,

roller e. It then travels over a guide roller f and is afterward passed overseveral groupsof arched stretching rollers g disposed alternatelyat different heights and displaced with relation to one another, said rollers being mounted parallel to each other and arranged in groups. These rollers are arranged either wholly or in part within' a washing bath z, which serves to "wash the fabric at the same time. On leaving each group of said stretching rollers g the fabric .1s passed through a pair of squeezing rollers m and if necessary is also led by guideA rollers, such as o between the second and third groups of tentering rollers. i Each of the stretchin r rollers g, which are known per se by nited States Letters Patent 687847, consists of a number of roller elements (Figs. 2 and 3) slipped over an arched shaft and provided with annular ribs' of saw-tooth section; they are also coupled together so that they revolve together onl their shaft under the pull of the fabric.. In this way, owing to the divergent position of their roller elements relatively to the fabric,

the stretching rollers cause the fabric to stretch laterally,- uniformly on the whole width of the fabric, since the greater the distance of theroller elements from the lon'- gitudinal middle line ofthe web.- and therefore the more oblique their rotation to the longitudinal direction of the web, the more is the latter pushed from the said middle line toward the edges and Vtherefore stretched. Since this lateral stretching is effected in the washing bat-h la, and therefore during the washingprocess; at a particular moment of which' thefabric exhibits its greatest exten-l sibility, it is effected very easily and quickly and with little inju to the fabric. AThe number of the stretching rollers varies with the nature of the fabric and the ldegree of stretching required. The larger the total surface of contact between Ithe fabric and the stretching rollers, the more powerful is the effect. The greater the degree to which ifo,

the fabric is to be stretched the larger the support it should find oir-thc roller elements ot' the stretching rollers andv it is advisable to use a relatively large number of stretching rollers. The washing liquid employed for washing the fabric while being stretched in this way is preferably warm, andl the' alctual stretching-rollers g in thebath 7i aresubmerged in such a manner that the fabric does not emerge from the bathat or for the greater part of the time. during which the actual stretching operation is proceeding.'-

After leaving the last pair of squeezing rollers fm. the fabric is returnedto the washing bath for a final washing being led over guide rollers u in the tank. Thence it passes to the pairs of squeezing rollers p, p1 and is finally delivered into I/ or rolled up at 7.

In the drawing, the liquid used for washing the fabric'is contained in avat z' divided b v partitions o, fw, that extend quite or .partly down tio the bottom, to enable the `fabric to be washed by stages; or a number of separate tanks or .'ats can also be used for the saine purpose. Or the vat may be omitted entirely and its placebe taken by a number of spraying pipesv discharging powerful `iets of water against the fabric passing over the stretching rollers g. In all cases it is important that the fabric impregnated with soda lve should be subjected to the action of water from the commencementof its transition on to the parallel mounted arched stretching rollers,v or immediately thereafter, and also during the Whole' period of its course over the same. that is to say throughout the entire stretching process; the lateral stretching 'will thus be effected siiiiultaneonsliwvith the washing, and under more favorable conditions for protecting the fabritl from injury. The, compartment 4 of the vat i, from whence the fabric'passes to the pair of squeezing rollers 7i is fed' with pure 'ater by the inlet tube l7', while the adjacent compartment 3, containing the third set of stretching rollers,.is fed with dilute l v e from 4, compartment A2, containing the `second group of stretching rollers being fed with less dilute lye front 3 and compartment l. containing the first group of stretching.

rollersbeing fed with still less dilute lye from ly means of this graduated or methodical system of washing the alkali impregnated fabric b v stages on the countercurrent principle, an economical recovery of the mercerizing lye is insured.

What I claim is:

1. In an apparatus for mercerizing textile fabrics` the combination of a tank' for containingalkali l ve, and of means for passing the fabric through said tank in a trailsverselyunstietched.condition with a washing device for washing the fabric after passing through the said tank 'comprising a tank for containing vthe washing'liquid provided with arched rotatable stretching rollers, arranged within the saidtaiik to be immersed in the i-'asliing liquid and consisting of a number of roller elements slipped over 'an arched shaft and provided with annular ribs of saw tooth section, and with means for causing the' fabric to .pass over the stretching rollers while passing through the said washing device, for the purpose of causing the/fabric passing through the Washing device to be pushed Without undue strain from the' middleof the fabric toward the edges, in consequence of the rotation of the' rollers under the' pull of the fabric, and of thus stretching the fabric to its original width without the exercise of forcible action.

Q. In an apparatus for mercerizirg textile fabrics, the combination of a tank for containing alkali lye, and-of means for passing the fabric through said tankv ina transversely unstretched .condition with a washing device for'washinnlthe fabric after passing through the sai' tank, comprising a tank for containing the washing liquid provided. with arched rotatable stretching rollers, disposed alternatelyat different heights and displaced relatively to. one another within the said tank to be immersed in the Washing liquid and consisting of a number of roller` elements slipped over an arched shaft and rovided with annular ribs of saw tooth section, and'with means for causing the fabric to pass'over t-he rollers while passing through the said washing device for the purpose A of causing the fabric passing through the washing device to be puslie without undue strain from the middle of the fabric toward the edges, in consequence of the rotation of thei'ollers undei the pull of the fabric, and of thus stretching' the fabric toits original width without the exercise of forcible action. l

In an apparatus for mercerizing textile fabrics, the combination of a tank for containing alkali lye, and of means for passing the fabric through said tank ina transversely unstretched condition with a washing device. for washing the fabric after passing through the said tank, comprising a tank dividedinto compartments provided with arched rotatable stretching rollers, disposed alternately at different heights and displaced relatively to one/ another and arranged in groups with-in the different compart-inents of the tank to be immersed in the washing liquid and consisting of a number of roller elements slipped over an arched shafty and provided with annular ribs of saw tooth section, with means for causing 4the fabric to pass over the stretching rollers while passing through the said washing device and with means for causing the washing liquid to flow inthe reverse direction ofthe travel of the fabric, for the purpose of causing the to be pushed. Without undue strain from the my lnume this 25th day of J unuary 1910, in

middle of thef fabric toward tfhe edges,1 in the presence ofl two subscribing Witnesses.

conse uence o the rotation o the rol ersl w 1 1 T undef1 the 13u11 of the fabric, and of thus LDUALD HEBERLEIA' stretching the fabric to its original Width Witnesses:

without the exercise of forcible action. RANDALL ATKINSON,

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed l v A. PHILLIPS.

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