US3100925A

US3100925A - Apparatus for compressional finishing of fabrics

Info

Publication number: US3100925A
Application number: US73433A
Authority: US
Inventors: Messinger Lester Hubert
Original assignee: EI Du Pont de Nemours and Co
Current assignee: EIDP Inc
Priority date: 1960-12-02
Filing date: 1960-12-02
Publication date: 1963-08-20
Anticipated expiration: 1980-08-20
Also published as: BE611042A

Description

Aug. 20, 1963 L. H. MESSINGER APPARATUS FOR COMPRESSIONAL FINISHING OF FABRICS Filed Dec. 2. 1960 FIG.

INVENTOR LESTER HUBERT MESSINGER panying claims. r p Thefabove objects are accomplished by an'improved apparatus embodying features ofthe present invention,

United States Patent 3,1il0,925 APPARATUS FQR CGMPREESIONAL FINISHING 6F FABRICS Lester Hubert Messiuger, Newark, DeL, assignor to E. I. (in Pont de Nemours and Qompany, Wilmington, DeL, a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 2-, 1964 Ser. No. 73,433

3 Claims. (til. 26-18% 'lhis invention relates generally to the production of fabrics, and more particularly to novel process and apparatus improvements in the finishing of fabrics, especially I those fabrics which are constructed from a preponderance main rollers and card clothing belt engaging the fabric, illustrating the compacting action of the staples on the fabric.

FIGURE 4 is an oblique view of an alternative roll 5 configuration to be used when it is desired to achieve fabric compaction simultaneously in transverse and longibelt 6 shown enlarged in FIGURE 2. This belt is made varying degrees of tension. Recently, a new machine has been developed whereby the fabric is compressed or compacted in the warp direction by means of two rolls rotating at different speeds and a doctor blade tangentially located with respect to the faster moving roll. In this treatment of fabric all the compressional work is done in a short space between the nip of the doctor blade with the faster moving roll and the nip of the two rolls, which leads to relatively minor fabric improvements. However, this improvement is of value since the prior treatments of fabric under tension always led to changes in dimensions (shrinkage) of the fabric While in use due to the gradual relief of these tensions in home or commercial launderrugs.

The principal object of this invention is to provide an improved process and apparatus suitable for finishing all types of fabrics, woven and non-woven, and particularly synthetic fabrics, While held under compression. Another object is the processing of such fabrics through such wellknown wet finishing steps as scouring, heat setting, dyeing, and the like in a manner such that the finished fabric -is substantially free from internal tensions and is stabi lized to a superior degree when comparedto prior finishand advantages will be apparent from thefollowing de;

scription of the invention, the drawings, and the accom- Which generally comprises means for continuously feeding a fabric, whichis supported discontinuously at a'pluup of card clothing such as is used in normal carding equipment and consists essentially of wire staples 30 driven through a canvas and rubber belt 31. There are approximately 670 projecting wires in one square inch of this belting. At the point where the fabric 1 enters the bite between the shield 5 and belt 6, the back 31 of the belt 6 is against roll 7 and the ends of thewires 30- are spread apart (zone b, FIGURE 3) or divergent with respect to the direction of bel-t movement due to the flexing of the belt as it conforms to the radius of curvature of the roll 7. The shield 5 holds the fabric 1 against the belt 6 until it transfers from roll 7 to roll 8. As the belt 6 reverses its curvature, the wires 30 are now between the canvas rubber backing-31 and the roll 8, and this causes the wires to converge toward the free ends thereof and the longitudinal spacings between the free ends of the wires 30 are greatly reduced (Zone 0, FIGURE 3), resulting in longitudinal compression or compaction of the fabric. Simultaneous transverse and longitudinal compaction may be achieved byutilizing roll configurations of roll 8 and blows directlythrough the fabric before.

losing its throttling superheat. Belt 6 holds the fabric 1 on the st-cam roll 8 until the belt is taken off the fabric byro1l.9. The fabric 1 continues in contact with the steam nol1'8 until after it passes underroll 10, when it is lifted off and wound up without appreciable tension by contact with rubber roll 11. The machine is driven by the chain 41 at

sprockets

44, 43, and 42. V-

belt pulleys

47 and 48 are adjustable the conventional manner to control fabric hold-back; Roll 9 is driven faster than

rolls

7 and 13 through slip clutch 49 in order that the fabric pressure :on the steam roll 8 may be adjusted by has been obtained,

rality :of points, to a'ca'rd clothing belt having projections protruding above the surface thereof, While passing super-,1;

heated steam through the fabric held under compression. Preferably, the fabric is conducted over the-surface of i a foraminous metal drum, through which steam passes to permeate the fabric. The invention also comprises ap-pa' ratus for wet-finishing of fabrics which will be more fully described below by reference to the accompanying drawings in which: V

FIGURE 1 is a perspective partly schematic view of a machine embodyingfeatures ofthis invention, with certain parts broken away.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged side view of the card cloth:

varying theslip torque of the clutch. The wind up roll 11 is, driven by the V-belt onpulleys 45fand '46. "Using a six-inch diameterfor rolls 7 andS, a warpwise compressionjor compactionin the fabric of approximately 36% As one illustration of the" process aspects of this invention, a suiting fabric produced from spun yarns composed of 80% aerylonitrile polymer fiber and 20% .wool

. and treated oaths above-described apparatus, achieved a ing belt showing its construction with the wire staples.

FIGURE 3 is a somewhat enlarged end view of the total reduction inlength-of the fabric of This 4 contrasted with n 6% reductionin length obtained 'when the same fabric'frintreated by theaarrangement of in: vention, was"vigorously steamedat atmospheric pressure ,for five minutes. The ,fabric treated on this apparatus had excellent stability to "subsequent washing and scouring-operations,-and had markedly improved cover-and H fullness. V The process of this invention may be applied to improve the properties of many types of fabrics such as woven, knitted, and non-woven fabrics. .The fabrics may be com- Roll 8 is a foraminous construction, preferably i the io llowing-exanipl posed of any synthetic or natural staple fibers and/ or con- 7 Typical examples of man-made fila-,

tinuous filaments. mentary materials include those made from polyamides such as poly(hexamethylene adipamide), poly(hexamethylene, sebacamid e), polycaproamide and copolyamides; polyesters and copolyesters, such as condensation composite filaments such as, for example, a sheath of polyamide around a core of polyester as described in the j copending application of Breen, S.N.' 621,443, filed November 9, 195 6, now abandoned, and two acrylonitrile polymers differing in ionizable group content spun as a sheath and core as described inthe copending application of Taylor, S.N. 771,677, filed November 3, 1958, now US. Patent S.N.' 3,038,237, and the like. Examples of cellulose derivative fibers include cellulose acetate, cellulose triacetate and regenerated cellulose. The natural fibers include cotton, wool, silk and the like. The fibers and filaments may be crimped or uncrimped, drawn or undr-awn,

and/ or bulked or unbulked. Two or more fibers or filaments may be blended together in making the fabrics to be processed. P-articularlygimproved resultsare obtained when applying the treatment'of thistinvention to fabrics composed either entirely of man-made filamentary material or-of a blend of at least 50% man-made filamentary;

material combined with lesser amounts of natural fibers and/ or cellulose'derivative fibers. The chief advantage of this invention is that it provides a. process and apparatus for the wetfinishin'g offabrics whichresults in fabrics that are preshrunk and are much more stable to use and laundering than the same fabrics finished by prior methods; 'In'addition, the resulting fabrics finished by this invention are more resilient and elastic 'Which causes less pucker in' seam sewing the fabrics, they haveta rnore pleasing'handthat is more com-- fortable to the wearerftheypossess less wrinkling, bagging, i mussing fuzzing, and they exhibit improved crease and shaperetention, whencompared to the same fabrics finished by conventional means. fAnother advantage of this invention'is that it relieves the tension normally present in commercially finished fabrics without the usual fiat'tenf 1 ing of the fabrics so that sthey resist changes in dimensions r on subsequent washing. l'he presentinvention also per-' 1 units liquids andfgases suchvas steam tobe forced through n I fthe fabric while-it is "heingcompressed or. compacted.

The treatmentofthis invention achieves best results on 'heavyfabrics not tightly constructed. V; 7

. The-process and apparatus, of this invention, being capable of. i

continuous .use, may be arsed ion. finishing c alender'ing napping,zshearing, heat setting, a scouring,

' f This example illustrates the treatment of awoven fabric 7 a I made from-yarn which'was'ia blend of 18.5% by'weight v of 6 denier polyester staple fiber, 36.5% by weight orf 3 V denierpiolyester staple. fiber, and 45% of70s wool. The

polyester fiberused was polyethylene terephthalate. The

woven fabric was mapped in the griege with two passes on the face and one pass on the back on a Gessner Rotary Napper, cropped on a Curtis-Marble single-blade shear, beck scoured at the boil for 1 hour and then dried.- At this point, the fabric was cutinto two e ual pieces and each piece was given a different finishing treatment. Samp le A was finished on the special apparatus pictured in FEGURE 1 and sample B was given a conventional wet finishing treatment. 7 r 7 After each of the-fabrics was subjected to the respective finishing treatments, both fabrics were given the same final finishing treatment, as (follows: l) Napped-fiaceonly on a Gessner Rotary Napper. (-2) Brushed and sheared-on a Curtis-Marble singleblade shear.

(3) Heat set--at 330 F. for leminute exposure, dry

width, with 4% foverieed in filling direction. (4) Rotary pressed-at 300 F. (5 Semidecatedfor 3 minutes with steam ute with vacuum.

Each of the two sample fabrics was subjected to cer-' tain tests (for measurement of fabric properties, and the results given in Table I show the superior properties of and l, min-i those iabrics finished by this invention in comparison with conventionallyfinished fabrics. I 7 It has been found that particularly desirable results are 7 obtained when fabrics arefirst subjected to the compressional treatment of this invention, followed by the impact oscillatory treatment described invmy cope-nding application U.S. Ser No. 5,523, filed January 29, 1960,

' now U.S. Patent No. 3,064,459. This sequenceot treatrnents for a fabric greatly improves the stability of the fabric to'resist changes in shape and dimensions during conventional washing, laundering and drying cycles.

Table I Wrinkle Crease' Bagging Mussiness Fuzzing retention 'ww s s t s s Norm-1, no change from original; 2, slight change from original s v 3, borderline objectionable; 4, objectionable; 5, 'unwearable.

. tiona ble in any testa r alone pi more: advantageously in conjunc f tionnvntlh ther types of finishing treatments, such as Anot r llustrationfj'of the processiaspects of yentiomaswell as its .utility and. advantagesisgiven by since they, did not exceed .ljiclai-rnz These-fign'resindicate that the sample A fabrics were superior to-the sample B conventionally finished fabrics the rating boarderline objec- -In accordance with the patent statutes, I have se t forth "afdetailed description of preferred, embodiments ofmy invention. "It will be obvious that modifications and other embodiments may be made by those skilled in -the art without departing iromlthespirit of the invention "or the scopeof theiollo-wing 1. An im-provedlappanatus for-treatment of a. fabric to increase its resistance to shrinkage, its cover, and its fullness; comprising in combination, a first means .ior "continuously moving afabric having a-given iwidth and agiventhickness from a first location to a 'second location,

a" seeond means positioned between the first and second locations engaging the fabric evenly throughout itsthiclc 5 ness at a substantially. uniformly distributed plurality of points'in a first Zone, a third means cooperating with said secondpmeans to apply a sufficient force through saidsecond means to said fabricat each of said points' in said I i first zone and evenly throughout the thickness of the fabric me direction inthe planeof the fabric suchthat the spa'c=-' 7 ing betweenlsaid points is reduced and the thickness of the fabric isincreased without pleating to produce a'co mpression and compaction of the fabric in at least one direction;

a fourth means for maintaining elevated conditions of temperature and humidity in said zone during application of said force to said fabric, a fifth means cooperating with said third means to terminate application of said force to said fabric, a sixth meansfor releasing engagement of said second means with said fabric, in which said second means comprises an endless belt, said belt provided with an operative surface in which are secured a plurality of even ly distributed flexibly-mounted projecting fabric-penetrating elements, each having a fabric penetrating end and supported to move in a path which converges with the path of movement of said fabric in said first Zone and causes engagement of said elements with said fabric at said plurality of points, in which said third means comprises an element with a cylindrical surface in engagement With said endless belt to change the direction of movement thereof in a curved path such that the flexiblymounted elements converge to move the fabric-penetrating ends towards each other and compress the fabric surrounding 'said flexibly-mounted elements, in which said fourth means comprises a steam chamber located in said element with the cylindrical surface and a plurality of steam escape passages connecting said chamber with said cylindrical surface. i

2. An improved machine for continuous treatment of a fabric to increase its resistance to shrinkage and enhance its cover and fullness characteristics comprising in combination, a supporting frame structure, drive means mounted in said structure to engage and move a running length of fabric through a given path from a starting position to a final position, a fabric compaction and heat treating assembly mounted in said structure inoperative association with said given path of fabric movement, said assembly comprising an endless belt member mounted in said frame structure for movement through a path of movement a portion of which at a given location substantially coincides with a portion of the given path of movement of said fabric length, a drive means for said belt member, said belt member comprishig a backingelement and a plurality of elongated flexiblynnounted elements, proje'cting from one surface thereof, said flexibly-mounted elements being of substantially equallength and each pro; vided With a fabricapenetrating portion at the projecting end thereof, said belt member so positioned and moved with respect to said fabric thatas said belt member ap preaches said fabric at the location of substantial coinci-' dence of their paths of movement, said flexibly mounted elements penetrate said fabric to positively engage it evenly throughout its thickness at a plurality of points, said assembly further comprising an elongated cylindrical element mounted transversely to the direction of fabric and belt movement in said supporting frame structure and in engagement with said belt member in said given location of coinciding paths of said fabric and belt member to deflect and guide the belt member 'a curved path such that theside of said belt member carrying'saidflexiblythe action of said elongated cylindrical element, which decrease in spacing causes a continuous compaction and increase in thickness of said moving fabric engaged by said fabric penetrating portions of said flexibly-mounted elements in said given location, said elongated cylindrical element comprising an exterior surface, an interior cham her, an inletfor the reception of steam under pressure,

given Width and a given thickness from a first location to a second location, a second means positioned between the first and second locations engaging the fabric evenly throughout its thickness at a substantially uniformly distributed plurality of points in a first zone, a third means cooperating with said second means to apply a sufiioieut force through said second means to said fabric at each of said points in said first zone and evenly throughout the thickness of the fabric in a direction in the plane of the fabric such that the spacing between said points is reduced and the thickness of the fabric is increased without pleating to produce a compression and compaction of thefabric simultaneously in the direction of its width and longitudinally, a fourth means for maintaining elevated conditions of temperature and humidity in said zone during application of said force to said fabric, in which said second means comprises an endless belt, said belt provided with an operative surface in which are mounted projecting elements moves through a co'noavely curved path so that the spacing between said ends of said flexibly-mounted elements isydecrea'sed due to flexing of the belt member onwhich the; elements are mounted by secured a plurality of evenlyjdistributed flexibly-mounted projecting fabric-penetrating elements, each having a 40 fabric penetrating end and supported to move in a path which converges with the path of movement of said fabric in said first zone' and causes engagement of said elements with said'fabric at said plurality ofpoints in which said third'means comprises an element with a cylindrical surface in engagement with said endless belt to change the direction of movement thereof in a curved path such that thefleXibly-mounted elements converge to move the fabric-penetrating ends towardseach other and compress the fabric surrounding said flexibly-mounted elements, in 'which said fourth means comprises a steam chamber located in said element with the cylindrical surface and a plurality of steam escape passages connecting said chamber with said cylindrical surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent t v, UN TED STATES PATENTS i Wood-head June 14 1938 ,535,734 cleaved 136 ,26, 195.0, p ,FOREIGNPATENTS 453,187, Great Britain Sept. 7, 1936' g 1 by said elongated cylindrical

Claims

1. AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR TREATMENT OF A FABRIC TO INCREASE ITS RESISTANCE TO SHRINKAGE, ITS COVER, AND ITS FULLNESS, COMPRISING IN COMBINATION, A FIRST MEANS FOR CONTINUOUSLY MOVING A FABRIC HAVING A GIVEN WIDTH AND A GIVEN THICKNESS FROM A FIRST LOCATION TO A SECOND LOCATION, A SECOND MEANS POSITIONED BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND LOCATIONS ENGAGING THE FABRIC EVENLY THROUGHOUT ITS THICKNESS AT A SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY DISTRIBUTED PLURALITY OF POINTS IN A FIRST ZONE, A THIRD MEANS COOPERATING WITH SAID SECOND MEANS TO APPLY A SUFFICIENT FORCE THROUGH SAID SECOND MEANS TO SAID FABRIC AT EACH OF SAID POINTS IN SAID