GB2210910A

GB2210910A - Fabric treatment machine

Info

Publication number: GB2210910A
Application number: GB8821841A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Prior
Original assignee: SATCH ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS
Current assignee: SATCH ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS
Priority date: 1987-10-08
Filing date: 1988-09-16
Publication date: 1989-06-21
Anticipated expiration: 2008-09-16
Also published as: GB2210910B; GB8821841D0; GB8723591D0

Abstract

A fabric treatment machine has a pressure roller 11, which may be heated as by steam or electrically, acting against flexible belt means 12, such as a thick flexible belt 12 as used in fabric shrinking machines, trained over support rollers 13, 14 and the support rollers 13, 14 and/or pressure roller 11 are adjustable so as to adapt the machine to effect different treatments on a fabric. The machine can be adapted to shrink fabric, or selectively shrink as by using a profiled pressure roller, or schreiner. Rollers 13, 14 may be movable relative to each other to adjust belt slackness. They may be movable relative to roller 11 whereby to selectively apply pressure between roller 11 and, through belt 12, a support roller or rollers 13, 14 or between roller 11 and belt 12 at a position between rollers 13, 14. The pressure of roller 11 against the belt 11 may be adjusted by an air spring arrangement 27 acting on the end of a lever extension 28 of pivotable arm 21, 22 carrying the roller 11. <IMAGE>

Description

FABRIC TREATMENT MACHINE This invention relates to fabric treatment machines.

Machines are known in which fabric is shrunk by running in contact with a thick, flexible belt and a pressure roller, while subject to heating. The length of the fabric-contacting face of the belt changes as the face is stretched, over a roller or compressed around one. Such machines can also selectively shrink fabrics using a profiled pressure roller which leaves areas of the fabric unshrunk, which therefore pucker to provide interesting seersucker-like effects.

Machines of this general type are known which can be used to texture fabrics or soften them.

Other machines of similar type can apply a lustrous finish to fabrics using a schreiner roller.

At the present time, however, such machines are not capable of being readily applied even to different processing specifications for one type of prowess, let alone to performing; more than one kind of process adjustment of the machinery tends to be a time consuming affair requiring the attention of skilled technicians, who are not always available when a specification change needs to be made.

The present invention provides a machine which is so adapted.

The invention comprises a fabric treatment machine comprising a pressure roller acting against flexible belt means trained over support rollers, the support rollers and/or pressure roller being adjustable so as to adapt the machine to effect different treatments on a fabric.

Said support rollers may be movable, one with respect to another, whereby to adjust belt slackness.

Said support rollers may be relatively movable with respect to said pressure roller whereby to selectively apply pressure between the pressure roller and, through the belt means, a support roller or rollers, or between the pressure roller and the belt at a position spaced from the support rollers.

The belt may be a thick elastic belt of the type used in fabric shrinking machines.

The pressure of the pressure roller against the belt may be adjusted.

The pressure roller may be driven in rotation, and may be carried on an arm pivoted on a drive shaft, the roller being driven from the drive shaft by flexible drive means, such as a V-belt or a chain. This arrangement has the advantage that changes in the drive do not affect the pressure of the pressure roller on the fabric.

The machine may be adapted for selective shrinking of fabric by compressing a profiled roller as the pressure roller and may be adapted for schreinering by having a schreiner roller as the pressure roller acting on the fabric against the belt at a position spaced from the support rollers.

The pressure roller may be heated, as by steam or electrically.

Embodiments of fabric treatment machines according to the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which : Figure 1 is a side elevation of one machine; Figure 2 is a front elevation of the machine illustrated in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side elevation of part of the machine of Figure 1 in one configuration; Figure 4 is a side elevation like Figure 3 showing the machine in another configuration; and Figure 5 is a side elevation like Figure 3 .showing the machine in a further configuration.

The figures illustrate a fabric treatment machine comprising a pressure roller 11 acting against flexible belt means 12 trained over support rollers 13,14. The support rollers 13,14 and the pressure roller 11 are adjustable so as to adapt the machine to effect different treatments on a fabric.

Treatment essentially comprises passing a fabric 15 between the belt means 12 and the pressure roller 11, which latter is heatable as by steam or electricity in the usual ways of textile treatment rollers.

The support;rollers 13,14 are, however, mounted on a slide 16 which is movable on a support table 17 by means of a lead screw arrangement operated by a turning handle 18. One of the support rollers, roller 14, is also movable with respect to the other, roller 13, by means of a second lead screw arrangement mounted in the slide 16 and operated by a turning handle 19.

Figures 3 to 5 illustrate the different positions these rollers 13,14 can adopt in relation to the pressure roller 11. Figure 3 shows a position suitable for shrinking and selective shrinking, in which the pressure roller 11 is pressed against the roller 14, through the fabric and the belt, with a relatively high pressure. Figure 4 shows a position appropriate to texturising or softening the fabric. In this Figure 4 position, the roller 14 has been moved towards the pressure roller 11 so that the belt 12 is slackened somewhat, and the pressure of the roller 11 against the roller 13 has been relieved somewhat.

Figure 5 illustrates the schreinering position, in which both the rollers 13 and 14 have been moved relatively to the roller 11 so that the latter no longer acts against the roller 14 but in fact presses down on the free run of the belt 12 at a position spaced from the rollers 13,14. The pressure of the roller 11 against the belt is further relieved in this mode of operation.

The belt 12 is of thick, resilient, flexible material such as rubber as commonly used in fabric shrinking machines.

The pressure roller 11 is carried at the ends of a pair of arms 21,22 pivoted about a drive shaft 23.

The latter carries a V-pulley 24 which drives the roller 11 in rotation via a V-belt 25 trained around a drive pulley 26 for the roller 11.

The pressure of the roller 11 against the belt 12, whether against the roller 14 or not, is controlled by an air spring arrangement 27 acting on the end of a lever 28 extension of each of the arms 21,22. The air spring arrangement acts independently on each side of the roller 11 and individual valves 21a,22a are provided by which the mains air pressure admitted to the air springs can be controlled.

It is found that with the controls7 which comprise essentially the turning handles 18 and 19 and the valves 21a,22a, the machine can readily and quickly be set up to carry out any one or other of the processes referred to. The control settings can be noted for repeat setting, while the machine can be readily adjusted to new specifications finding the optimum control settings required for producing any desired effect quickly and easily by trial and error. Such trial and error setting is required for conventional machinery in any event, but such machinery has such difficult setting procedures that trial and error setting takes a long time and involves considerable fabric utilisation.

As examples of typical operating conditions may be given the following for shrinking, pressures of the order of 4.5 tonnes/metre; for selective shrinking, similar or reduced pressures, depending on the profile of the roller; for texturing, pressures of the order of 3 tonnes/metre; for schreinering, pressures of the order of 1 tonne/metre.

The pressure roller can be heated with steam to temperatures of 140 C, or with electricity to higher temperatures such as; 2000C according to the requirements of the fabric being processed.

Claims

1. A fabric treatment machine comprising a pressure roller acting against flexible belt means trained over support rollers, the support rollers and/or pressure roller being adjustable so as to adapt the machine to effect different treatments on a fabric.

2. A fabric treatment machine according to claim 1, in which said support rollers are movable, one with respect to another, whereby to adjust belt slackness.

3. A fabric treatment machine according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which said support rollers are relatively movable with respect to said pressure roller whereby to selectively apply pressure between the pressure roller and, through the belt means, a support roller or rollers, or between the pressure roller and the belt at a position spaced from the support rollers.

4. A fabric treatment machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which the belt is a thick elastic belt of the type used in fabric shrinking machines.

5. A fabric treatment machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, in which the pressure of the pressure roller against the belt is adjustable.

6. A fabric treatment machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, in which the pressure roller is driven in rotation.

7. A fabric treatment machine according to claim 6, in which the pressure roller is carried on an arm pivoted on a drive shaft, the roller being driven from the drive shaft by flexible drive means, such as a V-belt or chain.

8. A fabric treatment machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7, adapted for selective shrinking of fabric by comprising a profiled roller as the pressure roller.

9. A fabric treatment machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7, adapted for schreinering by having a schreiner roller as the pressure roller acting on the fabric against the belt at a position spaced from the support rollers.

10. A fabric treatment machine according to any one of claims 1 to 9, in which the pressure roller is heated.

11. A fabric treatment machine according to claim 10, in which the pressure roller is heated by steam.

12. A fabric treatment machine according to claim 10, in which the pressure roller is heated electrically.

13. A fabric treatment machine according to any one of claims 1 to 12, in which roller pressure is applied pneumatically.

14. A fabric treatment machine according to claim 13, in which roller pressure is applied by air spring means acting on a.lever extension to a pressure roller support arm.

15. A fabric treatment machine substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.