WO2008059469A2

WO2008059469A2 - An apparatus for mercerizing fabric goods and the method of mercerizing fabric goods using the same

Info

Publication number: WO2008059469A2
Application number: PCT/ID2008/000001
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hasan Eka Permana
Original assignee: Hasan Eka Permana
Priority date: 2008-02-14
Filing date: 2008-02-14
Publication date: 2008-05-22
Also published as: WO2008059469B1; WO2008059469A3

Abstract

It is provided an apparatus and a method to solve problems related to existing mercerizing system. An apparatus of stenter in continuous horizontal multilayer formation for wet treatment textile fabric comprises of a pairs of endless chain equipped with pins or clips (6) on the left and right side of stenter, fabric continuously feeding in open width form in longitudinal direction and it hold and transport the fabric held for all mercerizing steps, starting from alkali reaction/ swelling of cellulose timing zone to the end of process, final washing zone and set to the given value for fabric width and longitudinal direction, a number of spray (lla) and vacuum systems installed for all rapid dilution' wash off, characterized in that said endless chain is applied for all the mercerizing steps and configured flowing continuously to the top of horizontal multi-layer formation, in order to make an arrangement of a compact mercerizing apparatus.

Description

AN APPARATUS FOR MERCERIZING FABRIC GOODS AND THE METHOD OF MERCERIZING FABRIC GOODS USING THE SAME

Description

Field of Invention

This invention relates to an apparatus for mercerizing of one of the pretreatment state of textile fabric web of cotton, cotton blended, including alkali treatment for rayon, modified rayon and his family, in wet treatment on a continuous horizontal multilayer stenter, and the method of mercerizing said textile fabric using the same.

Background of Invention In general, this invention relates to an apparatus and a method in relation to the quality of the product of textile in finishing state. Particularly, this invention relates to an apparatus and a method for wet pretreatment process of mercerizing of textile woven, knitted fabric in open width by stenter using the horizontal multilayer formation in a continuous process.

The apparatus for mercerizing of textile web in pretreatment state particularly is well known for cotton, cotton blended. It means that it is related to the quality of the end product in finishing state. Commonly, there are several pretreatment processes, one of each other links and effect the end product quality.

Some of the textile pretreatment process, caustic treatments and mercerization have the purpose of altering the fiber structure of the cotton and improving its quality. By using the process, reactivity of cellulose is increased at the same time. Causticizing Process

In this process, the cotton is treated in the tensionless state, and allowed to shrink, in caustic soda 18-22° Be. The process can, therefore, be described as "tensionless mercerization" . According to the concentration of the caustic soda, the fabrics shrink by 10-15%, mainly weft-wise. The cloth becomes denser and the diameter of the fiber increases. As a result of increased crimping of the fiber, the cotton loses some of its gloss, but the tear resistance of the fabric increases. The affinity for dyes is also improved. Variations in the dye uptake are reduced, particularly in the case of fiber blends . The treatment also improves the covering of dead cotton in dyeing. The caustic concentration and the treatment time depend on the quality of the textile material. In the past, it was customary to use weak caustic solutions and long treatment times, but today the trend is towards the use of concentrations of the order of 28° Be and treatment time of 30-50 seconds.

In order to ensure that the caustic solution penetrates rapidly and evenly into the textile material, it is customary to add wetting agents that resist caustic solutions and electrolytes in the textile material. The simplest method of applying the caustic solution is by padding. Then, after an air passage of 30-50 seconds, the padded goods are washed.

The caustic treatment is followed by hot and cold rinses with water/in the full -width washing. Complete removal of the caustic solution trapped in the swollen cellulose requires several washing departments, each of which should be provided with squeeze rollers. Acidification is essential, particularly for heavy or closely-woven fabrics. Mercerizing Process

Mercerizing is the treatment of cotton under tension with caustic soda 28-32° Be. The process is named after the

Englishman Mercer, who studied the behavior of cotton in caustic soda in 1844. His observations were supplemented in

1890 by Lowe, who found that the luster of the goods could be improved by keeping them under tension during the swelling process. Otherwise, mercerization causes the same changes in quality as described above in connection with the caustic treatment .

The reason for the increased luster is that the crimped fiber becomes smooth. Its cross-section acquires a rounder shape. These changes cause higher and more uniform reflection of light and consequently resulting higher luster of the textile material.

Apart from the improvement in the appearance of the cotton, its tear strength is promoted far more than by tensionless mercerization, but only at the cost of the elastic properties. The higher swelling capacity of mercerized cotton is a significant factor, particularly in dyeing. Vat dyes go more rapidly on to mercerized cotton and provide a higher color yield in the dyeing equilibrium. A dyeing on mercerized cotton appears far darker than a dyeing on un-mercerized material, although the dye content may be the same in both cases. Mercerization carried out after dyeing also increases the depth of the dyed shade .

The best degree of swelling and the highest luster are achieved by using a caustic soda concentration of 25-30° Be

(19-24% of NaOH) . Above and below these limits, the luster decreases. For dry textile material (mercerization in the grey) caustic soda solutions of 25-26° Be, and for wet mercerization (moist goods) concentrations of 28-30° Be are commonly used. Cotton is not tendered by mercerization, because the immersion time is very short, never longer than 50 seconds.

The lower the temperature, the better the swelling of cellulose in the caustic soda solution, and for this reason, the mercerizing temperature is 13-15°C. If a weaker mercerizing effect is acceptable, a temperature of 2O⁰C may be used. In any case, the temperature must be constant, because otherwise uneven results will be obtained in subsequent dyeing. It is necessary to cool the caustic soda solution, because mercerization is an exothermic process.

The intensity of the effect is indicated by the degree of mercerization, which is determined on the basis of the "untwisting number" of the fiber under the microscope, or the barium activity number. The degree of mercerization must be determined before the material undergoes any further finishing operation.

However, recently the increased luster of mercerized goods is no longer the main object of the mercerizing process, although it is highly desirable for certain types of textiles especially for fashion industries. Today, the main reasons for mercerizing are to achieve a lower dye consumption, to improve dye-ability of dead cotton and to increase strength properties .

Mercerization can be carried out after dyeing and printing, provided of course that the dyes are fast to mercerization. Piece-dyed and printed goods are seldom after- mercerized but colored woven goods are often subjected to this treatment .

As commonly available in the market, the following mercerizing machines belong to the existing standard equipment of textile finishing plant: 1. Roller mercerizing machine (chainless mercerizing machine as depicted in Figure 1 with roll to roll washing for neutralizing and final washing,

2 Combination roller, chain and roller mercerizing machine as depicted in Figure 2,

3. Chain mercerizing machine as depicted in Figure 3 with air passage for alkali swelling timing and further roll to roll washing for neutralizing and final washing,

4. Yarn mercerizing machine (not shown), and 5. Tubular knitt-mercerizer (not shown).

The first three types of machines are used for mercerizing woven fabrics. For tubular knitted goods, the roller mercerizing machine is used exclusively. The fourth, as the name implies, is used for mercerizing yarn. The textile material can be mercerized in the grey, or in the pretreated or even in the dyed form. Whether and at what point of the pretreatment the material is to be mercerized is a question for the finisher himself to decide. Generally speaking, woven fabrics are mercerized after de-sizing, but in some cases this is done after the boil-off and bleach.

As described above, the target of mercerization or lye treatment (alkali treatment) has the purpose to improve the fabric end product quality. Specifically, for this patent application, inventor develops an improved apparatus to solve the known problem, in order to optimize fabric quality due to many concept and machines for the mercerizing process in the market .

The purpose of using those apparatus as described above is to achieve a minimum shrinkage and to control the fabric width and longitudinal direction. As commonly known in this art, shrinkage triggered off by alkali impregnation process and follow to shrink before stabilizing, it means that during alkali dwell time for swelling of cellulose, there is a tendency of the fabric in this process shrinking on both side width and length wise. However it is more difficult to solve shrinking on width wise, and yet distortion occurs if it is set by the stabilizing process.

For the purpose of explanation of the existing systems, some of existing systems are depicted in figure 1 to 3. In this regard, former machines in the market equipped with the different system and constructed as follow: 1) Roller Mercerizing (Chainless mercerizing machine) as depicted in figure 1

In this machine, the goods are tensioned by a system of rubberized rollers (no stenter at all) , which are arranged in two rows, one above the other. In this system, impregnation section 1, stabilizing section 2, and washing section 3 are horizontally arranged without chain stenter. The goods run from one bottom roller to the following top roller direct, and in this stretched form they pass through both the caustic treatment 1 and stabilizing sections 2 to the washing section 3.

Dilution of the caustic solution begins in the stabilizing section 2. It is then diluted rapidly by a large, enclosed full -width washing section 3. In general, the main disadvantage of this roller mercerizing machine is the poor control of the weft tension through the process .

2) Combination roller system for swelling of cellulose timing, chain and roller mercerizing machine as depicted in figure 2. In this machine, the goods are tensioned by a system of rubberized rollers, which are arranged in two rows, one above the other. In the figure 2, the chain is to include 1/3 of swelling time and full stabilizing of maximum cloth content approximately 24 m. In this machine, swelling time begins at impregnation section 1 where the goods run from one bottom roller to the following top roller direct to reach the stabilizing section 2 in stretched form. In this stretched form they pass through both the impregnation section 1 and stabilizing sections 2 (chain stenter) to reach washing section 3 of roller. From this workflow, the goods is still not well stretched, in this regard the effect chain stenter is just to re-stretch the goods when they come to washing section 3. In this case, the goods still need further stretching in order to achieve good result. So, the main disadvantage of the roller mercerizing machine is the poor control of the weft tension during swelling time and washing. After impregnation with caustic soda, the fabric runs over draw-off rollers into the tensioning section, where it can also be stretched warp-wise by drawing it off at increased speed. Either pins or clips of flat stenter in stabilizing section 2 are used to re-stretch the weft which is shrunk during impregnation. However fabric after being shrunk on draw-off roller, during stretching on the stenter the different density still occur due to the fabric normally move from both edge zone first instead of the middle part, as mentioned by Benninger AG in US Patent 4,924,545 dated on 15 May 1990.

3) Air passage swelling of cellulose-timing chain mercerizing machine and washing machine as depicted in figure 3.

This machine essentially consist of the impregnating section 1 with the draw-off rollers air passage for alkali treatment swelling time of cellulose, chain stenter in stabilizing section 2 for weft-wise tension treating small part of alkali timing and full stabilizing, and rinsing, neutralizing, and after-rinsing in washing section 3. In this system, impregnation begins at section 1 and the chain is to include small part of swelling time and full stabilizing with cloth, contain maximum approximately 32 m. After impregnation with caustic soda, the fabric runs over draw-off rollers of at point 1 into the tensioning section of point 2, where it can also be stretched warp-wise by drawing it off at increased speed. Either pins or clip of flat stenter in stabilizing section 2 are used to re-stretch the weft. However, due to the fabric shrinking on draw-off roller, the different density will occur as a result of the fabric normally moves from both edge zone first instead of the middle part as mentioned by Benninger AG in US Patent 4,924,545 dated of 15 May 1990.

As described above, it could be seen in the figures of these machines that the disadvantage of existing systems is the flat stenter in existing systems only handle small part of alkali dwell swelling timing and full stabilizing. Most of the alkali dwell swelling timing handled by rollers system.

Other disadvantage of the existing chain mercerizing machine is that it requires a large floor space, because it can only process one length of cloth at one time.

On the above cases, most of the alkali timing or those swelling of cellulose are done on roller system. Though there are machines equipped with the tentering, but only small part is done on stenter, most alkali timing is done on roller systems .

Another disadvantage of the existing mercerizing machines, those using roller systems, in general their stenter has one length of cloth at one time, so that it require a relatively large floor space. Starting from alkali impregnation, swelling of cellulose timing, stabilization washing, hot water washing, neutralization, final washing, all of these treatment are done in lateral moving. That is why that machines it self needs around 69 m in length of floor space. In this case higher investment needed, especially if higher production with new equipment require, higher building investment created. Further disadvantage of the existing stenter is that they have a limited length stenter for stretching the shrunk fabric during alkali treatment swelling of cellulose timing in roller system. But full stabilizing is done on the stenter for re- stretching, and further washing done on the roller system. During stretching, different density could be occurred due to the fabric normally move from both edge zone first instead of the middle part .

From the above mentioned points of view, a new generation of mercerizing machines and method is needed to solve a known art, i.e. shrinkage triggered off by alkali impregnation process . Inventor proposes a concept of a method and an apparatus of mercerizing the textile fabric with a higher consistent quality, a higher production capacity and a lower investment in general .

Brief Description of the Invention

Related to the known problem, inventor proposes an apparatus of stenter with the construction in a continuous horizontal multilayer formation. With this invention, all the mercerizing process, starting from alkali reaction timing/swelling of cellulose timing, stabilizing, hot water washing, neutralization, final hot and cold washing, they all could be done in one unit of stenter with a full continuous horizontal multilayer formation. In order to solve problems related to existing mercerizing system, the inventor propose an invention of an apparatus of stenter in continuous horizontal multilayer formation for wet treatment textile fabric comprises of : - a pairs of endless chain equipped with pins or clips on the left and right side of stenter, in which the fabric continuously fed in open width form in longitudinal direction to hold in weft wise and transport the fabric for all mercerizing steps, starting from alkali reaction/swelling of cellulose timing zone to the end of process, final washing zone and also set the fabric a the given value of width and longitudinal direction,

- a number of spray systems installed for all rapid dilution wash off, where in said spray located above the fabric for spraying said dilution liquid to the surface said fabric, and

- a number of vacuum system installed for rapid dilution wash off by vacuum suction of said dilution liquid, where in said vacuum located below the fabric for re-circulation and recovery, and

- a reservoir system divided into several compartment according to the number of spray-vacuum member for supplying the dilution liquid to be sprayed to the fabric and collecting by vacuum member the excess of said dilution liquid back to circulate and recover said dilution liquid in said reservoir system,- characterized in that said endless chain is applied for all mercerizing steps and configured flowing continuously to the top of horizontal multi-layer formation, in order to make an arrangement of a compact mercerizing apparatus.

Due to the compact apparatus construction of this invention, i.e the design of continuous tentering in multilayer formation, this apparatus has a big quantity of cloth contains, but less floor space needed. Instead of floor space could be saved, then investment cost might be reduced, and competitive end product prices could be obtained due to cost and quality oriented. Beside of such a simple construction of horizontal multilayer, formation, the apparatus of this invention uses chain stenter without combination of roller system that provides the idea for continuous horizontal multi-layer construction which will be mentioned in detail bellow. Chain stenter in horizontal multilayer formation is capable to control the given set value of fabric width and longitudinal direction for all mercerizing steps, and rapid dilution washing at the same period as mentioned before by spray and vacuum system to produce consistent and higher quality end product.

The present invention also relates to a method of mercerizing of textile fabric of cotton blends and lye treatment on rayon, modified rayon and his family in open width form processed in wet treatment by an apparatus of stenter in continuous horizontal multilayer formation comprises of:

- impregnating the fabric with aqueous solution of alkali hydroxide by rapid system in short period after immersion the fabric with alkali hydroxide solution, directly feeding the fabric into the entry zone of the apparatus provided with endless chain which holding the fabric with given set value for width and longitudinal direction, - continuously passing the fabric to dwelling/swelling of cellulose timing zone,

- continuously passing the fabric to stabilizing zone,

- continuously passing the fabric to hot water washing zone, continuously passing the fabric to neutralization zone, - continuously passing the fabric to final washing zone, and

- passing the fabric to exit zone at a given set value; characterized in that said rapid dilution of all treatment process after lapsing the swelling time are done at continuous tentering apparatus of multilayer construction using a group of spray and vacuum installed in the apparatus for rapid washing system through spray-suction of the dilution liquid and for re-circulation and recovery of said dilution liquid.

Therefore the said textile fabric could be treated continuously in one unit of full chain tentering machine starting from swelling to the end of the final washing in continuous horizontal multilayer formation.

Brief description of the drawing

Brief and other objects and features of existing and present invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with one preferred embodiment with references to the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1, it is shown schematically the existing roller mercerizing (chainless mercerizing machine) ;

Figure 2, it is shown schematically the existing of combination roller for swelling of cellulose timing, chain flat stenter and roller mercerizing machine;

Figure 3, it is shown schematically the existing air passage for swelling of cellulose timing, chain flat stenter mercerizing and washing machine; Figure 4, it is shown schematically apparatus of this invention, showing all mercerizing process according to this invention;

Figure 5, it is shown the top view of apparatus of this invention; Figure 6, it is shown the detailed impregnation section and entry part of stabilizing section according to this invention; Figure 7, it is shown schematically the construction of horizontal multi layer formation according to this invention; and

Figure 8, it is shown schematically the reservoir system for dilution liquid according to this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to figures as shown, the present invention relates to the apparatus and method of wet treatment for mercerizing of textile fabric of cotton, cotton blends and lye treatment on rayon, modified rayon and his family in open width form with a continuous process of multi layer stenter. It is to be noted that like parts are designated by like reference numerals through out several views of the accompanying figures.

Referring to figure 1, it is shown that in this machine, the goods (fabric) are tensioned by a system of rubberized rollers, which are arranged in two rows, one above the other. The goods run from one bottom roller to the following top roller direct, and in this stretched condition they are passing through both the caustic treatment 1 and stabilizing sections 2. In this system, swelling time will take place at impregnation (caustic treatment) section 1, then passing through stabilizing section 2 towards the final washing section 3. This kind of mercerizing apparatus is already disclosed in US Patent 4,226,598 of Schiffer, Patent US 3,449,060 of Schenck, Patent US 4,068,501 of Aronoff et al . , and Patent US 4,112,532 of Catallo.

Dilution of the caustic solution begins in the stabilizing section 2. It is then diluted rapidly by a large, enclosed full -width washing section 3. By this construction, the main disadvantage of the roller mercerizing machine is the poor control of the weft tension.

Referring to the figure 2 and 3, it is shown schematically the existing chain mercerizing range, the flat stenter is limited in cloth contains because it can only process one length of cloth at one time. Due to its constraint, they need chainless system before and after said stenter. With the above mentioned construction, a disadvantage of said construction is that, it requires a large floor space and mostly the fabric shrunk on the roller system during alkali impregnation timing for dwelling of cellulose, thus the fabric could not be well stretched. In this case the flat stenter works to re-stretch the weft. However the fabric after re-stretching could be shrunk on the further draw-off roller, because during re-stretching, fabrics normally move from both edge of fabric contained in the machine first instead of the middle part, thus different density of fabric contained in the machine may occur as mentioned by Benninger AG in U.S. Patent 4.924.545 dated of 15 May 1990. Referring to Figure 2, it is shown schematically that, in this machine, the using of flat stenter for re-stretching and stabilizing is limited in length. In this machine, the goods are tensioned by a system of rubberized rollers, which are arranged in two rows , one above the other . The goods run from one bottom roller to the following top roller direct during swelling time. And in this stretched form, they pass through both the caustic treatment 1 and stabilizing sections 2 which consist of partly roller and chain stenter. This kind of construction is already disclosed in US Patent 4, 924 , 545 of Machau, Patent US 1,159,729 of Steven, Patent US 2,239,636 of Weiss, Patent US 2,613,521 of Walmsley, Patent US 2,613,522of Heffelfinger, Patent US 2,769,685 of Cowles et al . , and Patent US 4,731,893 of Tanaka . Dilution of the caustic solution begins in the stabilizing section 2. It is then diluted rapidly by a large, enclosed full-width washing section 3. Due to the construction, the main disadvantage of this roller mercerizing machine is the poor control of the weft tension, where tentering occurs after the goods passing a part of caustic section 1, and going through the tentering in the stabilizing section 2. In this apparatus, the flat stenter only handle small part of alkali dwell swelling timing and full stabilizing. Most of the alkali dwell swelling timing is handled by rollers system. Thus, there is a possibility that the fabric tend to be shrunk again when passing to the rollers during the washing .

In contrast, as inventor already proposed in this invention, the advantage of full chain mercerizing machines is that they permit exact adjustment and control of the tension in both warp and weft directions in all steps. Whenever the fabric width changes, the machine must be re-adjustment.

Referring to Figure 3, it is shown that in this machine, flat stenter handles a small part of swelling of cellulose process. Re-stretching and stabilizing of cellulose are done in the tentering part of the machine. This machine consists essentially of the impregnating section 1 with the draw-off rollers air passage for alkali dwell timing swelling of cellulose timing, a stenter for weft-wise tension is used in small part of alkali timing, but full stabilizing in the stabilizing section 2, then rinsing, neutralizing, and after- rinsing section 3 are run in the roller system.

After impregnation with caustic soda, the fabric runs over draw-off rollers into the tensioning section 2, where it can also be stretched warp-wise by drawing it off at increased speed. Either pins of flat stenter or clips of flat stenters are used to re-stretch the fabric weft-wise after shrinking on draw-off roller. However different density is still occurred due to the fabric normally moves from both edge first instead of the middle part in the washing section 3. This system is already mentioned by Benninger AG in US patent 4,924,545 dated of 15 May 1990.

As shown in Figure 3, in this machine, the flat stenter only handle small part of alkali dwell swelling timing and full stabilizing. Most of the alkali dwell swelling timing is handled by rollers system. Instead of having less control of the tension in weft direction, such a long construction of the machine also provides a disadvantage. It requires a large floor space, because it can only process one length of cloth at one time.

To anticipate drawbacks of existing mercerizing design, tentering designed in horizontal multi-layer formation of this invention is provided to solve the problem. As inventor proposes in this invention, the advantage of full chain mercerizing machines is that they permit exact adjustment and control of the tension in both warp and weft directions in all steps. Whenever the fabric width changes, the machine must be re-adjustment . In addition the apparatus of this invention also has a shorter length comparing with the existing one.

Referring to the Figure 4 and 7 , it is shown the illustration of the construction and functional of this invention. From the side view, it is illustrated the construction of the chain stenter with a continuous multilayer formation in 9 (nine) layers. It could be increased up to 11 (eleven) or more layers if higher production speed required.

The method of this invention is directly holding in weft wise the fabric in open width and to be set to a given value and control the width and longitudinal direction and continuously feeding the fabric to the tentering immediately after immersion and rapid impregnation of alkali hydroxine solution hy spray-vacuum 5 before fabric shrink further. Next, continuously transporting the fabric in the same apparatus for alkali dwell timing/swelling of cellulose, following by weak lye washes for stabilizing at point 8, hot water washes, neutralization and final washes in one running on the stenter at point 9. Due to the width and longitudinal direction is easily set, precise control for the width on alkali dwell swelling timing and stabilizing processes could be achieved.

All treatment processes are done in tentering, and air passage (figure 3) or chainless system for alkali swelling is not needed in the apparatus of the invention. Comparing with existing mercerizing apparatus as shown in Figure 1, 2 and 3, it could be seen that the existing apparatus could not control the fabric width precisely. The width control could be achieved well using stenter by stretching the fabric at a given set value by pin or clip.

Referring to figure 5, it is shown schematically the top view of the mercerizer according to this invention. In this figure it is shown padder/mangle 33a impregnate the fabric goods through liquid box 4 before entering the mercerizer of this invention. Also clip or pin 6 of the stenter stretch the fabric goods firstly at point 6.1. During the treatment, the fabric goods run on the stenter to right hand side (arrow) towards the exit point 6.2. In figure 6, it is shown the schematically the impregnation section 1 in this invention. In this section the fabric goods come into section and it is directly impregnated by Hidroxine solution at point 4 and squeezed by padder/mangle 33a, then rapid impregnation by spray-vacuum 5 before entering mercerizing apparatus of this invention. Swelling time for cellulose start at 7.1 and it is directly held in weft wise by clip or pin 6 of the stenter at a given set value then transferred to further treatment. In case of imperfect stabilization, for example if the content of NaoH in the fabric is still above 5°Baume, this case could be solved by the further hot water washing without error on mercerizing effect. The fabric width and longitudinal direction still under control by the tentering in multilayer formation due to the length of the chain is long enough to hold the fabric. Existing machine process the treatment on roll to roll washing or chainless system which could not control fabric width continuously, resulting in the fabric will be shrunk further. Especially for open width knitted fabric and fabric containing 5-12% spandex/lycra, apparatus and method of this invention particularly suitable. For this particular material, without precise controlling the whole process on width and longitudinal direction is the most difficult item for mercerizing or lye treatment. It means that the fabric should be guided by tentering from beginning to the end of the process. In this invention, inventor avoids chainless system on air passage or roll to roll of conventional washing which could not control fabric width. Referring to figure 7 and 4, it is shown schematically the treatment scheme of mercerizing according to this invention. The fabric in open width form after passing conventional alkaline immersion zones 1 of figure 4, it is squeezed by padding mangles 33 and 33a. Feeding and directly guiding the fabric in open width form into the chain stenter 6 in said multilayer formation with the given set value for fabric width and longitudinal direction. Then it is continuously transported for alkali dwell swelling of cellulose timing process started as shown on 7.1 for around 30-50 second, and it is ended on 7.2 and starting the boil weak lye washing on 8.1 by means of spray vacuum, liquid spray

(S) above the fabric and vacuum (V) suction bellow and it is ended at 8.6 to get the fabric stabilized, in this case lye solution in the fabric should be bellow 5° Baume. Further boil water washing could be carried out by using of the spray vacuum started on 9.1 to 9.6 to reduce the PH to minimum value, and then it is followed by acid neutralization on 10.1 and 10.2 by spray vacuum and final hot and cold washing on 11.1 and 11.2 respectively by spray-vacuum member in open width form.

In addition, fabric on both edge sides on pin plate would require more spray for wash off purpose, greater quantity of weak lye or water or acid should be applied, left and right sides of stenter are attached as follows:

On Stabilizing zone : Spray nozzles 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d

On washing zone : Spray nozzles 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d

On neutralizing zone : Spray nozzles 10a, 10b On final washing zone : Spray nozzles 11a

All above treatment process is done in tentering apparatus as shown in figure 4. From the figure 4, it is illustrated the construction and functional of the machine, by controlling the fabric width and in longitudinal direction from beginning to end of process. In this invention there is no other air passage or chainless system for alkali dwell/swelling of cellulose timing and conventional washing for final wash off which could not control the fabric width.

Figure 8, it is shown schematically the reservoir system 14 provided with a steam heater 15 and control valve 16 for dilution liquid according to this invention. It is another further advantage of this invention. It is provided in the apparatus of the invention, a reservoir system 14 to be used for supplying and collecting the dilution liquid and at the same time this system also might be used for heating, recirculation and recovery the excessive dilution liquid. This reservoir system 14 is divided into several compartments (8.0T, 8.1T-8.6T, 9.1T-9.6T, 10.1T-10.2T, and 11.1T-11-2T) according to the number spray-vacuum (S-V) system as already- provided.

For the purpose of controlling the concentration of liquid to be supplied to respective spray member (S) , every compartment of reservoir 14 should be connected to spray- vacuum system respectively. For example, spray-vacuum member 8.1 should be connected to compartment 8.1T and so on. Thus, by this arrangement, each spray-vacuum system for every process step in this mercerizing apparatus will provide the dilution liquid to the fabric with concentration decreasing from compartment 8.1T towards the compartment 11.2T. At compartment 8.6T, the concentration is expected less than 5° Baume . The dilution liquid from any reservoir compartment will be sprayed to the surface of fabric at respective spray position according to the progress of the process. Then, the exessive liquid after penetrating the fiber will be sucked by its respective vacuum system which is flowing the liquid to its compartment for the circulation. Accordingly, the controlling of dilution liquid will give the effect the recirculation and recovery taken place at compartment 8.0T in the counter flow of reservoir system 14.

The next, in controlling the liquid concentration in this reservoir system, every compartment is provided with overflow slot allowing fresh water being supplied to its respective compartment. The compartment 8.1T is provided with Baume controller that is automatically capable of giving signal when the concentration changed, so the water supplied at compartment 11.2T could be stopped by control valve 16. The similar mechanism also applies to the process of washing at point 9.1 to point 9.6 to reduce the pH value to a minimum value where the compartment is still filled with overflow liquid. Then finally acid neutralization is conducted by using compartment 10.1T-10.2T, and final hot and cold washing from compartment 11.1T-11.2T through spray-vacuum system. In addition to compartment 11.1T-11.2T, they are provided with pH control to check the final pH value in the fabric. All spray-vacuum system and reservoir system is integrated in the apparatus of this invention in one novel mercerizing apparatus of this invention.

Embodiment of Invention For example, as an illustration:

The designed apparatus of this invention have around 42 meters of the fabric contained in the machine for 50 second for the alkali dwell time/swelling of cellulose with the assumption of 50 meters/minute machine speed for 50 second full mercerizing, to minimize or solve the shrinkage problem during alkali dwell swelling timing.

As an embodiment of this invention, in the apparatus of continuous horizontal multilayer formation according to this invention, the cloth contained on the stenter in multilayer formation is the main key factor. For example, cloth contained could be designed up to 84 meters or more, 5 layer = 42 meters including 6 meters entry and 6 meters after last mangle 33a for swelling of cellulose timing zone designed for 50 meters per minute production speed for 50 second full mercerizing. In this case timing calculated started from the outlet of the final impregnation section 1, 2 (two) layer = 12 meters for stabilizing, 2 (two) layer = 12 meters for boil water washing zone, 6 meters exit for neutralization and final washing process . All rapid dilution process is done on the tentering during transport and rapid dilution using a group of around 16 (sixth teen) sets of spray-vacuum system, spray above the fabric (S) and vacuum (V) bellow in circulation system and counter flow system 14 for caustic recovery purpose.

From this example it could be seen that the construction of mercerizing apparatus of the invention will take a space length about 24 meters that is much shorter than existing apparatus taking the space length of at least 69 meters.

Claims

1. An apparatus of continuous stenter in horizontal multilayer formation for wet treatment textile fabric comprises of :

- a pairs of endless chain equipped with pins or clips on the left and right side of stenter, the fabric continuously is fed in open width form in longitudinal direction and it hold in weft wise and transport the fabric for all mercerizing steps, starting from alkali reaction/swelling of cellulose timing zone to the end of process on final washing zone and set to a given value for fabric width and longitudinal direction,

- a number of spray systems installed for rapid dilution wash off located above the fabric for spraying said dilution liquid to said fabric,

- a number of vacuum systems installed for rapid dilution wash off by vacuum suction of said dilution liquid, located below the fabric for re-circulation and recovery, and - a reservoir system divided into several compartments according to the number of spray-vacuum member for supplying the dilution liquid to be sprayed to the fabric and collecting by vacuum member the excess of said dilution liquid back to circulate and recover said dilution liquid in said reservoir system; characterized in that said endless chain is applied for all mercerizing steps and configured flowing to the top of horizontal multi-layer formation, in order to make an arrangement of a compact mercerizing apparatus.

2. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein said endless chains are arranged in continuously extending in a form of flowing from bottom side to the top side with the horizontal range of about 6-7 meters in length for each layer.

3. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein said apparatus of continuous chain tentering in horizontal multilayer formation with a certain cloth contained which is an important factor for full chain mercerizer supported on the stenter.

4. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein said rapid dilution for all mercerizing steps done on the apparatus during fabric in running on the tenter condition is achieved by means of spray- vacuum member in a group of 16 sets or more, depend on machine speed designed.

5. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein said rapid dilution by spray-vacuum member completed using a liquid supplied from a reservoir system divided into several compartments for recirculation and recovery of said liquid.

6. Apparatus of claim 5, wherein said compartment are connected to certain spray-vacuum member according to the progress of the process.

7. Apparatus of claim 5, wherein said compartment is provided with a liquid quantity flow control to automatically stop overflow when the concentration in the compartment 8.1T reach a certain concentration level.

8. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein said compartment is provided with a control valve to supply fresh water to said collecting reservoir and all compartments when the concentration in the compartment 8.1T reach a certain level.

9. Apparatus of claim 4, wherein spray (S) member is positioned above the fabric over the width, vacuum (V) member is positioned bellow the fabric over the width for a circulation and counter flow system of weak lye recovery.

10. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein said tentering apparatus for treating the fabric has a total horizontal length around 24-27 meters.

11. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein said tentering apparatus for treating the fabric is capable to precisely control the given width and longitudinal direction of fabric during the treatment starting from timing zone to final washing zone using pin or clip on the left and right side.

12. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein said tentering apparatus to treat the fabric is capable to process all type of fabric especially for open width knitted fabric and fabric containing 5-12% spandex/lycra .

13. Apparatus of claim 11, wherein said means of controlling the given set value could be used to control the width and longitudinal direction of said textile fabric immediately after alkali immersion/impregnating step before fabric shrunk triggered off by alkali impregnation process.

14. Apparatus of claim 13, wherein said means of controlling the fabric width could be used to produce various different mercerizing effect, quality and deep silky luster with a various end product appearances for a certain fabric, preferably knitted cotton, blended cotton and fabric containing spandex.

15. A method of mercerizing the textile fabric of cotton blends or lye treatment of rayon, modified rayon and his family in open width form processed in wet treatment using an apparatus of continuous stenter in horizontal multilayer formation comprises of:

- impregnating the fabric with aqueous solution of alkali hydroxide by rapid system in short period after immersion said fabric with alkali hydroxide solution, - directly feeding continuously said fabric into the entry- zone of the apparatus which has pin or clip of endless chain holding weft wise said fabric with a given set value for width and longitudinal direction, - continuously passing said fabric to dwelling/swelling of cellulose timing zone,

- continuously passing said fabric to stabilizing zone,

- continuously passing said fabric to hot water washing zone,

- continuously passing said fabric to neutralization zone, - continuously passing said fabric to final washing zone, and

- passing said fabric to the exit zone at a given set value; wherein said rapid dilution of all treatment processes are done at a continuous tentering apparatus of multilayer construction using a group of spray and vacuum installed in the apparatus for rapid washing system through spray-suction of the dilution liquid and for re-circulating and recovery.

16. The method of mercerizing or lye treatment the textile fabric of claim 15, where in said fabric during the treatment is controllable to a given set value of width and to be kept in said given set value after rapid soda lye immersion or starting from alkali dwell/swelling of cellulose timing impregnation followed by weak lye washing for stabilizing, boil water washing, neutralization and final washing.

17. The method of mercerizing or lye treatment the textile fabric of claim 15, where in said treatment specifically control the width and longitudinal direction of said textile fabric immediately after alkali immersion/impregnating step before fabric shrunk triggered off by alkali impregnation process .

18. The method of mercerizing or lye treatment the textile fabric of claim 17, where in said treatment specifically suitable for open width knitted fabric and fabric containing spandex/lycra, through controlling the width and longitudinal direction of said fabric for all mercerizing steps.

19. The method of mercerizing or lye treatment the textile fabric of claim 15, where in said fabric is processed on continuous tentering which is flowing from the bottom layer to the top layer and exit in the final washing zone at a given set value.

20. The method of mercerizing or lye treatment the textile fabric of claim 15, where in said alkali hydroxide is sodium hydroxide, sodium hydrate, caustic soda or soda lye.

21. The method of mercerizing or lye treatment the fabric of claim 15, where in the fabric is treated continuously in one unit of full chain tentering apparatus starting from swelling to the end of the final washing in continuous horizontal multilayer formation at a given set value.

22. The method of mercerizing or lye treatment the fabric of claim 18, where in the fabric after being processed continuously using full chain tentering apparatus has an increased end product quality.