WO2004074567A1

WO2004074567A1 - Device for forming fabric folds in a machine for treating fabrics

Info

Publication number: WO2004074567A1
Application number: PCT/EP2004/001486
Authority: WO
Inventors: Daniele Basilico
Original assignee: Arioli S.P.A.
Priority date: 2003-02-18
Filing date: 2004-02-17
Publication date: 2004-09-02
Also published as: DE602004014903D1; EP1595018B1; ATE400686T1; HK1089798A1; ES2309500T3; CN1774536A; CN100365190C; EP1595018A1; ITTO20030118A1

Abstract

A device for forming fabric folds in a machine for treating fabrics, particularly a folded fabric steaming machine, comprising a fabric treatment chamber (1), equipped with an inlet (6) and an outlet (7) of the fabric and a chain conveyor (T) for advancing the fabric in said chamber (1). The conveyor comprises rods (20), whereon folds are formed and supported, which are mounted on the conveyor by means of arms (24). The device provides two shaped plates (30) whereon the arms (24) supporting the rods (20) slide. When the fabric advances, the arms (24) are overturned by lifting the rods (20), from a condition hung to the transport chains in the ascending tract (18) thereof, to a condition resting on rails (28) arranged above the active branches (16) of said chains.

Description

Title: "Device for forming fabric folds in a machine for treating fabrics" .

DESCRIPTION

Field of application

The present invention relates to a device for forming folds or loops in machines or equipment for treating folded fabrics .

Prior art

Such machines, wherein the fabric being treated is arranged so to form loops or folds in a vat, are known for example by US 4 754 621 and US 4 018 068. More particularly, but not exclusively, the invention is advantageously applied to machines or equipment for steaming printed fabrics .

The steaming operation serves to fix dyes to the fabric fibre in a stable way exploiting the action of the condensed humidity, combined to action of the environmental heat, so that the dye and all the receipt products being held in the thickener dry film on the material surface, diffuse from the surface layer in the fibre and fix therein.

Such a for treating (for example a machine for preparing, steaming, dyeing, finishing, ennobling and the like) folded fabrics generally comprises a treatment chamber wherein an endless (continuous) conveyor is supported for transferring the fabric to be treated from an inlet side of said chamber, where a roller for supporting and feeding the fabric operates, to an outlet side of the treatment chamber . Such a conveyor is composed of a couple of endless chains supported and moved close to the chamber longitudinal walls and the advancing and reversal branches thereof extend close to the chamber top and bottom respectively.

The fabric is held in folds in the treatment chamber by a plurality of rollers, called rods in the art and in the description below, whose ends are connected to opposite links of said chains. Generally such a conveyor is advanced in a continuous way to favour, close to the inlet side, the formation of successive fabric folds on successive rods and for the time being necessary to form said folded fabric in the treatment chamber .

A prior art drawback derives from the need to reserve a wide area at the fabric treatment chamber inlet for the fold formation. As a consequence, the useful capacity of said treatment chamber is considerably reduced with respect to the occupied area in the working plant.

Moreover, known fold formation systems proved to be scarcely reliable and undergoing frequent stops for the setup thereof, which is, besides, difficult and requires the whole production line to be stopped.

Summary of the invention

Aim of the present invention is to overcome some drawbacks found in prior art machines . This aim is achieved by a device according to claim 1. Further advantageous features are disclosed in the dependent claims.

The machine according to the invention comprises a treatment chamber housing therein a conveyor comprising a couple of endless chains and a plurality of rods supported by said chains, the chain branches extending in said chamber between an inlet side and an outlet side of the fabric. Each rod is hung on opposite links of said chains by means of couples of arms hinged to a chain link and to an end of said rod.

In the device according to the invention, fluid jet devices are used to form fabric folds, for example a so-called Armstrong nozzle (or steam nozzle) operating between a roller for feeding and supporting the fabric and the first rod downstream of said roller, in the conveyor shift direction. In general, said device is entrusted with the function of starting the fold formation, being then completed by itself through gravity.

A couple of straight rails, extending above and parallel to the conveyor active branches, are provided, and a couple of shaped plates which, interfering with the arms supporting the rods, allow the arms rotating around an axis parallel to said rods to be lifted in a position above the active branches of said chains, the rod ends resting on said rails.

Since the fold formation is fundamental both for saving space and for the machine operation, when treating (for example steaming) printed fabrics, it is necessary that fabrics are manipulated on the non-printed part (reverse side) to form the folds.

The distance between the first rod of the active branch and the Armstrong nozzle and the roller for supporting and feeding the fabric in the treatment chamber is such as to allow a fold to be formed only because of the fabric weight (open or spaced-edge fold) and the folds resting on the rods are driven towards the conveyor direction. The rods contact the reverse side of the printed fabric; at that moment, or just before, keeping on sliding under the plate, the chain drags the rods along the plate inside, accelerating the shift thereof and it re-hooks them to upper chains extending horizontally along the treatment chamber side walls. Thus, while the open fold being concerned is closed (i.e. edges are approached), a new open fold is formed in the area comprised between the roller for feeding the fabric and the beginning of the conveyor active branch.

Brief description of the figures

Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description of an embodiment thereof made with reference to the attached drawings given only by way of indicative and non limiting example and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a machine for treating fabrics incorporating a fold formation device according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional enlarged-scale view of a detail of the machine of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are enlarged-scale views of the device according to the invention in successive operating steps.

Detailed description of the invention With reference to said drawings, a machine for treating folded fabrics, particularly for steaming printed fabrics, comprises a parallelepiped-shaped chamber 1, equipped with side or longitudinal walls 2, 3 a top 4 and a bottom 5. The chamber is equipped, at its front, with an inlet opening 6 for the fabric to be treated and, at its rear, with an outlet opening 7 for the treated fabric, both openings being located in the upper part of the chamber 1.

A roller 8 for supporting and feeding the fabric is supported in the chamber 1 in correspondence with the opening 6, while an idle roller 9 for supporting the fabric is located close to the outlet opening 7. Both rollers 8, 9 have an horizontal axis being perpendicular to the walls 2- 3.

Moreover, a conveyor T is supported in the chamber 1, comprising a couple of conventional endless chains 10, 11 used in the art and schematically indicated with dotted lines in the drawings.

The chain 10 is supported and dragged, close to the longitudinal wall 2, by means of respective sprocket wheels 12, 13, 14, 15, all with horizontal and perpendicular to the wall 2 axis. The wheel 12, supported close to the outlet opening 7, is a drive wheel. The upper active or advancing branch 16 of the chain 10 extends horizontally between the respective fabric inlet and outlet openings 6, 7, while the lower reversal branch 17 of the chain 10 is in an underlying position and it extends horizontally close to the bottom 5 of the chamber 1.

The front ascending branch of the chain 10 extending vertically in correspondence with the roller 8 for feeding the fabric is indicated with 18, and the rear vertical descending branch of . said chain is indicated with 19.

The chain 11 is identical to the chain 10 and it is similarly supported close to the longitudinal wall 3 of the chamber 1. All the elements corresponding to the chain 11 have the same reference numerals as those of the chain 10.

In the description below the terms "upstream" and "downstream" are to be considered with reference to the shift direction of chains 10, 11.

A plurality of horizontal rods 20 intended to support the folded fabric are located in the chamber 1, close to the top thereof. The ends of each rod 20 are connected to opposite links of the chains 10, 11. In particular (see figures 2 and 3) each rod 20 is supported at the opposite ends by pins 21, which are freely mounted on the ends 23 of arms 24, whose other ends are freely hinged in 25 in the opposite links of chains 10 and 11. Under normal conditions, each rod 20 is thus rotatingly constrained to chains 10, 11, capable of rotating in both directions.

During the steaming treatment, the printed fabric fed in the chamber 1 by the supporting roller 8 is supported in a folded arrangement F by the rods 20 passing through the upper branch 16 of chains 10, 11 which advance in a continuous way. At the end of said upper branch 16 the fabric is conventionally drawn and discharged from the steaming chamber through the opening 7. Along the successive branches 19 and 18 of chains 10, 11 the rods 20 move in a suspended condition and under this condition they are lifted along the front ascending branches 18 of said chains. Wheels 26 intended to engage respective upper rails 28 are mounted on the pins 21 of each rod 20. The upper rails 28 extend above the active branches 16 of chains 10 and 11, wherefrom they are spaced by a shorter tract than the length of the arms 24, and preferably they are equal to about half said length.

With particular reference to figures 5 and 6, in correspondence with the upper front sprocket wheels 15 and on the side thereof facing inwardly of the chamber 1, a couple of plates 30 are supported by conventional means, not shown for simplicity. The plates 30 are arranged horizontally and above the sprocket wheel 15 being concerned. The plates 30 are shaped according to a lower profile, having a starting rounded tract32, extending close to the ascending tracts 18 of chains 10 and 11 in correspondence with the transition area towards the active branch 16 of said chains. As it will be apparent from the following description, the rounded portion 32 of the plate 30 allows the rods 20 with the arms 24 to be arranged in enlarged position towards the front wall of the chamber 1 and the successive interrupted profile 31 causes said rods to overturn and accelerate.

Referring now to figure 3 the arms 24 are hinged to the opposite links of chains 10, 11 in correspondence with the pins 25 and they have on the opposite side of said links a control lever 34 equipped with a cylindrical crank 35 whose outer surface, sliding against the profile 32 and 31 of the plate 30, causes the pin 25 and, consequently, the arm 24 and the corresponding rod mounted thereon to rotate.

When advancing, the printed fabric 40 is fed in the chamber 1 by the supporting roller 8, it is supported in a folded arrangement F by the rods 20 passing through the conveyor upper branch 16, said conveyor being advanced in a continuous way in a conventional way. At the end of said upper branch 16 the fabric is drawn, always in a conventional way, and discharged from the steaming chamber through the opening 7. Along the successive branches 19 and 18 of the conveyor chains 10, 11 the rods move in a suspended condition and under this condition they are lifted along the front ascending branches 18 of said chains 10, 11.

Close to the upper ends of the front branches 18, the cranks 35 of the control levers 34 contact the curved edges 32 and the interrupted profile 31 of the plates 30 preventing the rods 20 from remaining in the suspending condition kept in the vertical tract and they cause the arms 24 to rotate in order to bring said rods 20 from a hung configuration to a suspended configuration.

With reference to figures 4 - 6 the operation of the device according to the invention during the fold formation is now described. While the conveyor 10 moves, the cranks 35 of the ascending rods 20a comes first into contact with the profile 32 of the plate 30; a rod 20b is immediately upwards of the upper rail 28 and it is held in this position by the profile 31 of the plate 30. In the area comprised between the roller 8 and the rod 20b the Armstrong nozzle 33 does not allow the fabric to slide, and an open fold Fi is formed, whose front edge 60 skims the rod 20c of which said edged is located downstream, with reference to the conveyor advancing direction. The rod following the above mentioned rod 20c and being held by the profile 31 of the plate 30 is indicated with 20a. Upon such an advancing, the following shifts simultaneously occur:

the rod 20a, because of the sliding of the corresponding cranks 35 along the profile 32 - 31 of the plate 30, moves in a substantially pendulous way around the connection point 25 of the arms 24 thereof with the chains 10, 11. The rod 20c thrusts before it the front edge 60 of the open fold, which it contacts on the fabric reverse side (non- printed side) . Keeping on advancing along the profile 31, the cranks 35 of the rod 20c start the rod rotation upwards bringing it in the position 20b at the rail 28 level, in an configuration approached at the end thereof being turned upwards .

At the end of these shifts, while the above-mentioned fold Fi is closed and supported by the rod 20b - 20d occupying now the initial position on the conveyor active branch, a new open fold has been formed between the roller 8 and the rod 20c, thus repeating the fold formation cycle.

Claims

1. Device for forming fabric folds in a machine for treating folded printed fabrics, said machine comprising

a fabric treatment chamber (1) , equipped with an inlet (6) and an outlet (7) of the fabric (40) ,

a conveyor (T) of the fabric in said chamber (1) , comprising a couple of endless chains (10, 11) close to the side walls (2, 3) of said chamber (1), each chain having an active or advancing branch (16) of the chains (10, 11) extending between said inlet (6) and said outlet (7) , and

a plurality of fabric supporting rods (20) , each rod having the ends thereof rotatingly supported by said chains (10, 11) ,

characterised in that it provides means (24, 30) for controlling the rotation of said rods (20) from an position hung to said chains (10, 11) moving vertically, to a position above said chains (10, 11) moving horizontally, co-operating with means (33) preventing the fabric from sliding for a time sufficient to the advancing of such an amount of fabric (60) as to cause the descent thereof by gravity so to form an open fold (Fi) between two consecutive rods (20) .

2. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that it provides a roller (8) for supporting and feeding the fabric supported in said chamber (1) in correspondence with the inlet opening (6) .

3. Device according to claim 2, characterised in that said means for preventing the fabric from sliding comprise a compressed fluid jet (33) close to said roller (8) for supporting and feeding the fabric.

4. Device according to claim 3, characterised in that said conveyor comprises two chains and in that each chain (10, 11) is supported by sprocket wheels (12, 13, 14, 15) having an horizontal axis, a wheel (15) thereof defining the transition from an ascending front branch (18) to an horizontal advancing branch (16) of the corresponding chain (10, 11) .

5. Device according to the preceding claims, characterised in that a wheel (26, 27) is mounted at the end of each rod (20), said wheel (26, 27) is suitable for engaging straight upper rails (28, 28a) extending above, and parallel to, active branches (16, 16a) of said chains (10, 11) .

6. Device according to the preceding claims, characterised in that said means (24, 31, 32) for controlling the rotation of said rods (20) comprise:

an arm (24) having the ends hinged to an end of said rod (20) and to a link of the corresponding chain (10, 11) respectively, and

a shaped plate (30, 30a) co-operating with said arm (24) to rotate said rods (20) from the hung position to the position above said chains (10, 11) .

7. Device according to claim 6, characterised in that said arms (24) comprise, from the opposite side of said links, a control lever (34) equipped with a cylindrical crank (35) which, sliding against the profile of said plate (30) , causes a pin (25) , connecting said control lever (34) to said arm (24) through said chain, and, consequently, the arm (24) and the corresponding rod (20) mounted thereon to rotate.

8. Device according to claim 6 or 7, characterised in that said plate (30) is shaped according to a lower profile having an initial rounded tract (32) extending close to the ascending tract (18) of each chain (10, 11) .

9. Device according to claim 8, characterised in that said lower profile (31) of said plate (30) comprises an interrupted profile following said rounded profile in the advancing direction of said conveyor, said interrupted profile being suitable for causing said arms (24) , on which the rods (20) are supported, to overturn.

10. Folded fabric steaming machine, characterised in that it incorporates a device for forming the folds in the fabric manufactured according to any of the claims from 1 to 9.