U.S. patent number 3,795,031 [Application Number 05/089,438] was granted by the patent office on 1974-03-05 for process for the continuous shrinkage of random webs.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Vepa AG. Invention is credited to Heinz Fleissner.
United States Patent |
3,795,031 |
Fleissner |
March 5, 1974 |
PROCESS FOR THE CONTINUOUS SHRINKAGE OF RANDOM WEBS
Abstract
A process for the shrinkage of random webs which includes the
steps of drawing-in a web of textile material to be treated, freely
guiding the web of textile material over a distance which is at
least equal to the width of the untreated web of textile material
and which is substantially vertical, pleating the width of the web
of textile material to form a wave-like fleece, conveying the
pleated wave-like fleece over the conveying surface of at least one
sieve means and passing a heated fluid processing medium through
the conveying surface and through said fleece and thereafter
removing the treated fleece from the conveying surface of said
sieve means. Drawing-in the web is effected to provide overfeeding
in the length of the web onto the seive means.
Inventors: |
Fleissner; Heinz (Egelsbach,
DT) |
Assignee: |
Vepa AG (Basel,
CH)
|
Family
ID: |
25756506 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/089,438 |
Filed: |
November 13, 1970 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
|
880350 |
Nov 26, 1969 |
3713219 |
Jan 30, 1973 |
|
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Nov 28, 1968 [DT] |
|
|
1811380 |
Aug 4, 1969 [DT] |
|
|
1939993 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
26/18.5; 34/115;
68/903 |
Current CPC
Class: |
D04H
1/06 (20130101); D04H 1/46 (20130101); Y10S
68/903 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
D04H
1/00 (20060101); D04H 1/06 (20060101); D06c
029/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;26/18.5,63 ;34/115
;68/DIG.5 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,004,909 |
|
Sep 1965 |
|
GB |
|
1,323,405 |
|
Feb 1963 |
|
FR |
|
1,480,200 |
|
Apr 1967 |
|
FR |
|
6,602,895 |
|
Jun 1967 |
|
NL |
|
Primary Examiner: Mackey; Robert R.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Craig and Antonelli
Parent Case Text
This is a division of application Ser. No. 880,350, filed Nov. 26,
1969, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,219 granted Jan. 30, 1973.
Claims
I claim:
1. A process for the production of webs of textile material by
shrinking a continuous random web of textile material on a sieve
means through which a heated fluid processing medium is passed,
which comprises drawing-in the web of textile material to be
treated, freely guiding the web of textile material over a distance
which is at least equal to the width of the untreated web of
textile material and which is substantially vertical, pleating the
width of the web of textile material to form a wave-like random
web, conveying the pleated wave-like random web to the conveying
surface of at least one sieve means, passing a heated fluid
processing medium through said conveying surface and through said
random web, said web being drawn in at a rate sufficient to provide
overfeeding in the length of the random web to the conveying
surface of said sieve means, and thereafter removing the random web
from the conveying surface of said sieve means.
2. The process of claim 1, wherein the processing medium is a fluid
selected from the group consisting of a treatment liquor and a
gas.
3. The process of claim 1, wherein the sieve means is in a
treatment chamber containing said processing medium and the
continuous random web is fed through the processing medium at least
until the web is heated up to the shrinking temperature.
4. The process of claim 1, wherein the random web is formed
wave-like from the middle of the untreated web towards the outer
edges thereof, as viewed in the direction of travel of the web
before entering the processing medium for the shrinking stage of
the process.
5. The process of claim 1, wherein the web of textile material to
be treated is drawn in by roller means, and then freely guided to
pleating means for providing overfeeding in the width of the web of
textile material, said roller means being disposed substantially
vertically above said pleating means.
6. The process of claim 1, wherein the sieve means includes at
least one sieve drum means subjected to a suction draft and said
processing medium is drawn through said random web.
7. The process of claim 1, wherein said web is composed of at least
two fiber types, one of said fiber types shrinking more under the
influence of heat than the other.
8. The process of claim 1, wherein said sieve means is immersed in
a treatment chamber containing a liquid processing medium and the
random web is passed through the liquid processing medium to the
conveying surface of said sieve means.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a process for the production of
felts, particularly synthetic leather, by shrinking a continuous
random web consisting essentially of at least two fiber types, one
fiber type shrinking more under the influence of heat than the
other. The continuous random web is advantageously needled before
shrinkage and heated shock-like to the fixing and shrinking
temperature by means of a processing medium, according to
co-pending patent application Ser. No. 850,549 filed Aug. 15, 1969,
now abandoned.
The parent application describes a process and an apparatus for the
production of felts departing from a continuous random web wherein
the continuous random web is heated shock-like to the shrinking
temperature. The continuous random web is overfed in width and
preferably in length to the processing medium. Overfeeding in width
is necessary in order to safeguard a perfect and uniform shrinking
in width of the fleece. Even if the fleece is fed freely to the
processing medium, i.e., without any overfeed in its width, the
high degree of shrinkage which can amount to 50 percent, causes a
curve formation, i.e., shrinkage is more pronounced at the edges
than in the middle of the fleece. Therefore, it has been suggested
to feed the material to the processing medium in waves. This will
ensure an essentially more uniform shrinking of the material.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to avoid the prior art
disadvantages in the process for the production of felts.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved
process for producing a uniform shrinkage of the material during
the treatment process.
Tests have shown that the uniformity of shrinkage can be noticeably
improved if the fleece is corrugated, i.e., pleated before being
fed to the processing medium and if the continuous random web is
guided freely before being pleated over a distance that is
substantially equal to or even larger than the width of the
untreated fleece. If the free distance between the pair of inlet
rollers and the pleating unit is too short, the holding effect of
the inlet rollers will adversely effect the uniformity of
shrinkage. Only if the distance is equal to or larger than the
width of the untreated fleece do the inlet rollers no longer affect
the pleating process in any adverse way.
Furthermore, it is also desirable to guide the continuous random
web freely through the processing medium, especially if this medium
is a liquor, at least until the material is heated-up to the fixing
and/or respective shrinking temperature. The appropriate apparatus
for achieving this result should comprise a container for the
processing medium and guiding elements for the transport of the
felt through the processing medium, as well as an inlet unit
permitting the variation in the overfeed both in the width and in
the length. It is particularly advantageous if the inlet unit
comprises two pairs of rollers, the second pair of said rollers --
viewed in the direction of material passage -- being provided with
engaging disks or toroids, and if the distance between these two
pairs of rollers is equal to or larger than the width of the
untreated fleece. Especially with a shrinking bowl, it is of
advantage to install the two pairs of rollers vertically or almost
vertically above one another.
The device for the desired overfeeding in the width, i.e., the
device consisting of a pair of sectional rollers with toroids or
slip-on disks, has already been suggested. It has been found that
particularly with very large fleeces and wet fleeces above all,
that said fleeces are exposed to such a strong frictional force
while they pass through the slit of the sectional rollers, that the
wave-formation is rather uneven. As a result the outer portions of
the material length cannot keep up with the shrinkage in width,
i.e., the fleece becomes thinner in the middle and near the middle,
and also that the fleece becomes thinner at the points of maximum
distortion, i.e., at each "wave crest" because the material which
is fed from the sides during the wave-formation, does not suffice.
All of this adversely effects the subsequent shrinking process and
the uniformity of the produced felt because the unequal density of
the untreated fleece results in a corresponding unequal density of
the produced felt.
In order to achieve a uniform shrinking it is therefore suggested
to start pleating in the middle of the material length, viewed in
the direction of material passage, and to allow the two side
portions of the fleece to keep up with the shrinkage in width by
leaving them without any pressure. The center pleat is then
preserved while the two side portions of the fleece are provided
with one further pleat each. In this case, too, the remaining side
portions can keep up with the shrinkage in width. This is continued
until the material length is pleated over its entire width. Thus
the material width then corresponds to exactly or almost exactly to
the width which the fleece is to have after shrinkage. The
overfeeding in width of a fleece to be shrunk, according to the
present invention ensures that, if the ratio of overfeed in width
is exact, each portion of the untreated fleece can shrink
tensionless during the subsequent shrinking process. Thus a felt is
produced which has a uniformity and a density unattained up to
now.
The process according to the present invention is also advantageous
for the shrinking of hosiery and knitted goods as well as of
special fabrics such as fabrics of texturized man-made synthetic
fibers (e.g. Helanca). One form of construction of the apparatus
for carrying out the present process includes a feeding unit which
is installed at the feed end of a sieve drum apparatus containing
at least one sieve, preferably one sieve drum means which is
subject to suction draft. The feeding unit makes it possible to
vary the overfeed in length of the material to be shrunk and to
overfeed in width progressively from the middle of the material
length towards the edges.
Here it is imaginable that the fabric is formed wave-like by means
of several pairs of rollers which have a greater number of disks or
toroids in the middle than at the sides. The space which is free of
disks or toroids has to safeguard the wave-formation of the
material without any diagonal distortion of the material.
Another form of construction of the present invention provides for
a feeding in the width by means of cylinders which are arranged
above and beneath the material length and provided with disks or
toroids for the formation of the material length, the further
transport of the already wave-like formed material length being
safeguarded by means of stationary or moveable guiding elements
which are profilated accordingly. The degree of the profilation
should be chosen in accordance with the respective product.
A third form of construction provides for an overfeeding in width
by the sole means of two guiding elements which are installed at a
certain predetermined distance from each other and are either
stationary or moveable in the direction of material passage,
through which the material length is led. These guiding elements
are provided with a corrugated profilation which, as viewed in the
direction of material passage, is more pronounced in the middle
than it is at the sides of the guiding elements.
If the material is shrunk by means of hot water instead of hot air
or hot steam, it is expedient to arrange the pleating rollers
together with the preceding feed rollers vertically above one
another, or to arrange the stationary or moveable guiding elements
between which the material is shaped wave-like, vertically above
one another.
The pleating unit is preferably arranged directly in front of the
bowl in which the main shrinking of the material is effected. It
has been found that the fleece to be shrunk should dwell in the
processing medium for about 30 seconds if an absolutely uniform
shrinkage is to be achieved. If the temperatures in the first bowl
are so high that the material is completely shrunk in said bowl, it
is expedient to install the pleating unit at the feed end of the
first wash bowl. If, however, the first few bowls serve only for
washing-out or rinsing the textile material and if the material is
shrunk in the last bowl, the pleating unit is arranged in front of
the last bowl.
In order to obtain an appropriate dwelling time and to smooth the
felt at the same time, it is suggested to lead the felt over
several rollers through the processing medium, especially if this
medium is a treatment liquor. At least one of these rollers should
be permeable, e.g., perforated and subject to suction draft, that
is penetrated by the processing medium from the outside to the
inside thereof. This form of construction of the device is
particularly advantageous if the pleating unit for the overfeeding
in the width is at the same time provided with guiding elements for
the variable overfeeding in length.
As shrinkage of the fleece differs depending on the proportion and
the type of shrinking fibers contained in the fleece, it is
advantageous to mount the first guiding rollers so that they are
vertically displaceable with said textile material and to make use
of this vertically displaceable motion for the automatic control of
the differential speed between the inlet, that is, the pleating
rollers and the rollers which are installed in the medium
container.
If the shrinking medium is hot air, that is, hot steam instead of
hot water, it is advantageous to use a device with a heat-insulated
housing in which at least one sieve drum which is subject to a
suction draft and possibly an additional sieve drum which serves as
the inlet drum, are accommodated. In such a device the sieve drum,
that is, the perforated inlet drum is to be preceded by a pair of
pleating rollers which are in their turn preceded by a conveyor
belt instead of by another pair of rollers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will become more fully understood by
reference to the accompanying drawings which are given by way of
illustration only and are not limitative of the present invention
and wherein:
FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal section of a shrinking bowl;
FIG. 2 shows the same shrinking bowl as FIG. 1 but viewed from
above;
FIG. 3 shows a longitudinal section of another shrinking bowl;
FIG. 4 shows the shrinking bowl according to FIG. 3, with another
type of pleating unit;
FIG. 5 shows the pleating unit according to FIG. 4 viewed from the
front side;
FIG. 6 shows a longitudinal section of a fixing apparatus operating
with hot air, that is, hot steam;
FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 show different embodiments of pleating rollers
employed by the subject invention;
FIG. 10 shows the arrangement of the forming elements of the
pleating means which are in the form of slide projections;
FIG. 11 shows a construction of the pleating means wherein guiding
elements are provided subsequent to the forming elements; and
FIG. 12 shows an embodiment similar to that shown in FIG. 11
wherein the forming elements are rotatable and the guiding elements
are stationary.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The apparatus shown in the drawings 1 to 3 consist of a housing 1
which is filled with a treatment liquor and in which sieve drums 2
are accommodated. On thse sieve drums the fleece is heated up
shock-like by means of the processing medium which is drawn through
the material. The feeding unit comprises a pair of drawing-in
rollers 3 and a pair of pleating rollers 4. In this case the free
space between the two pairs of rollers 3 and 4 is larger than the
width of the untreated fleece 5.
A squeezing unit 6 is disposed at the outlet end of the apparatus.
The squeezing unit 6 is preceded by guiding rollers 7 and by
vertically displaceable roller 8. The pair of pleating rollers 4 is
provided with adjustable slip-on disks 9 which are adapted to
engage each other. It is desirable if the disks in the middle of
the rollers are installed at a shorter distance from each other
than those at the sides. However, it is also possible to vary the
diameter of the disks, i.e., to arrange disks with larger diameters
in the middle and disks with smaller diameters at the two sides The
pleating rollers can also be provided with turned toroids instead
of the disks 9. In the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sieve
drum sides are open so that the liquor that flows into the sieve
drum can flow into two side compartments 10 from where it is pumped
back into the bowl by means of pumps (which are not shown in the
drawing) and flange-mounted pump motors 11.
The bowl shown in FIG. 3 is of a similar design as the bowl shown
in FIGS. 1 and 2. In this case, however, the free shrinking
distance 12 is longer and there is a subsequent vertically
displaceable guiding roller 13, the vertical motion of which can be
used for the control of the differential speed between the pair of
pleating rollers 4 and the sieve drum 2. Thus, the speed difference
depends on the degree of shrinkage of the felt.
In order to prolong the free shrinking distance 12, the section of
the container 1 which is to accommodate the sieve drum 2 is mounted
in a frame 14.
In the form of construction according to FIG. 4 the pleating unit
consists of the four pairs of rollers, 21-25 with slip-on disks. As
shown in FIG. 5, the disks of the pair of rollers 21 are only
provided at the middle of the shrinking-bowl feed end, the discs of
rollers 25 are provided over the whole width of the fleece which is
at this point already fully corrugated.
The form of construction according to FIG. 6 is provided with a
heat-insulated housing 15 in which suction sieve drums 16 are
accommodated. At the feed end there is an inlet sieve drum 17 which
is preceded by the pair of pleating rollers 4.
In this device the pleating rollers 4 are preceded by a conveyor
belt 18 instead of a pair of intake rollers. By means of this pair
of pleating rollers 4 the untreated fleece is overfed in width to
the sieve drum 17. Overfeeding in length is safeguarded by the
speed difference that prevails between the sieve drum 17 and the
subsequent sieve drum 16.
The sieve drums 16 and 17 are subject to suction draft. The drum
section which is not covered by the material is screened against
the suction draft by mean of a stationary baffle plate 19 which is
installed in the drum interior. At the outlet end of the device
there is installed a roller 20.
FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 show different arrangements of the slip-on disks
9. In FIG. 7, the disks 9 are arranged closer together at the
center of the roller core 4' and in FIG. 8, the disks at the center
have larger diameters. Disks with varying diameters are shown in
FIG. 9.
FIG. 10 illustrates pleating means including a plurality of slide
projections 26 which are supported on each side of the textile
material to be pleated.
In FIGS. 11 and 12 there are shown those embodiments of the
pleating unit wherein guiding elements are provided after the
forming elements. In FIG. 11, guiding elements 27 are movable in
the direction of material support and in FIG. 12 the guiding
elements 28 are stationary.
The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the
same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be
regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention,
and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in
the art are intended to be included herein.
* * * * *