This invention regards a machine for the industrial processing of fabric, and more specifically for finishing treatments .

In the textile industry great importance is given to processing phases for the so-called shrinkage of the fabric, aimed at making the fabric dimensionally stable and therefore capable of maintaining its own dimensions during all the successive production processes.

Currently the best results in terms of dimensional stability are obtained with the drum processing system for fabric.

This system calls for the fabric to be inserted into a machine equipped with one or more slotted drums and be subjected to the mechanical action generated by the rotation of the drum, which alternatively rotates clockwise and counterclockwise. The drums may be equipped with protruding wings to increase the agitation of the fabric and jets of hot air and steam for the drying of the fabric.

The drum system is therefore a discontinuous processing system that, although it has the advantage of guaranteeing a soft hand and puffs ups the fabric, has the disadvantage of being unproductive and costly, above all for those who must process significant volumes on a daily basis. Moreover, it can be confirmed that during the treatment the fabric is tangled and forms marked folds.

To improve the softness and the hand of the fabric, other machines called tumblers are used, which subject the fabric to a mechanical action of agitation and vibration that compacts the fibers, resulting therefore in a satisfactory shrinkage of the fabric.

Tumblers cause the fabric, whether wet or dry, to be moved at high speed using jets of air that sustain it and transport it cyclically between the extremes of a special duct. The fabric may also be pushed, during its course inside the duct or at the end of it, against one or more protruding elements, preferably gridded. In this way the tumblers make it possible to grant the fabric a good dimensional stability, as well as softness and a fluffy hand .

The patent for industrial invention N.1374887 describes a tumbler in which the fabric to be treated is subjected to the action of vibration obtained with jets of hot hair produced by oscillating nozzles and the impact against gridded objects on which it is tossed at high speed in a duct for pneumatic transport.

The patent for the utility model N.202017000051242 describes a machine in which the fabric is moved, without undergoing tensions, thanks to the thrust exercised by the air directed onto it from below upwards inside a duct for pneumatic transport in the form of an inverted U.

US4922567 describes a machine for the continuous treatment of fabric.

It was discovered, and forms the object of this invention, that in order to obtain the best results for the stabilization of the fabric, it is necessary that the following conditions be guaranteed:

- the fabric must be treated with set and controlled values of humidity,

- the drying must not occur in a short time, nor with high processing temperatures,

- during the processing of the fabric it is necessary to eliminate all possible tensions.

The scope of this invention is that of creating a machine for the treatment of various types of fabric that, having guaranteed the conditions listed above, makes it possible to obtain, with a gradual and continuous process, an optimal dimensional stability of the fabric as well as a good hand. The invention obtains this scope by means of a machine for the continuous treatment of fabric that comprises a first module for the soaking and relaxing of the fabric in water, a second module for the controlled drying of the fabric, to the point of reaching a set value of humidity, and a third module consisting of a tumbler to treat the fabric to the point of being completely dry, as described in Claim 1, which is here intended to be referred to herein.

Further advantageous characteristics are the subject of the dependent claims.

Therefore, the machine makes it possible, with a gradual and continuous process, to finalize all phases of the shrink treatment of the fabric, eliminating all the tensions that the fabric is subjected to during discontinuous processes. Indeed, advantageously the fabric inside the machine is moved by means of motorized cylinders synchronized by means of a control unit that calculates and corrects every variation of pulling by means of the feedback given by the fabric during its course through the treatment modules.

Moreover, the solution proposed enables the appreciable improvement of the results that would be obtained with the treatment of the fabric in a traditional tumbler, as the pre-drying of the fabric, still in absence of pulling and with controlled residual humidity, makes it possible for the tumbler to function under optimal conditions. Indeed, the tumbling treatment of a fabric with a set degree of residual humidity makes it possible to respect, on one hand, the time necessary for the tumbler to provide the hand, and on the other not to add that level of inertia to the fabric in movement that would prevent it from reaching its primary objective, namely the near-total shrinkage of the fabric. These and further advantages of the invention will better be understood from the description of a preferred embodiment, as outlined by way of example and not of limitation, illustrated in the attached drawing, where:

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of the longitudinal cross-section of a machine according to the invention.

In the figure, equal or essentially equal components are marked by the same references.

With reference to Figure 1, the machine according to the invention is essentially made of a module 1 for the soaking of the fabric, a module 2 for the controlled and partial drying of the fabric, and by a tumbler 3, connected together and equipped with a feeding system for the continuous treatment of a fabric 20.

The feeding system designed to introduce the fabric 20 into the machine is preferably made up of an idle reel or cylinder 5 and a motorized reel or cylinder 25 that, cooperating with a system of stretching and tautening rollers 18, making it possible to pick up the fabric 20 from a transporting trolley 4, and convey it to the inside of module 1 of the machine in a wide and taut position.

Downstream of the cylinder 25 it may be useful to install a pair of photocells 21 to control the alignment of the fabric 20.

The module for the soaking of the fabric 1 consists essentially of a tank 7 designed to contain the bath, equipped in a known way with ducts with intake and draining valves and a bath recirculation system, not illustrated in the figure. Preferably a series of two or more spray nozzles 19 is arranged above the tank 7.

A slide 6, or equivalent means, is installed in proximity to the zone where the fabric 20 enters the tank 7, to facilitate the formation of uniform and regular small folds. Preferably, the tank 7 is equipped with a conveyor belt 8, of a mesh type, designed to prevent the folds formed in the fabric 20 from being immersed excessively in the bath. The conveyor belt 8 is also configured in such a way as to favor a gradual extraction of the fabric from the tank 7.

In proximity to the zone where the fabric 20 is lifted from the tank 7, a feeler pin 9 and a pair of pressing cylinders 10, 10' are installed, preferably with pressure that can be regulated .

To introduce and advance the fabric 20 inside the module 2, the feed system consists of a motorized wheel or cylinder 26, that cooperates with the cylinder 10, which is also motorized, and a pair of opposing belts 11 and 11', to contain the small folds of the fabric 20.

Usefully, depending on the fabric to be treated, the belt 11 can be equipped with a pin chain or replaced with a known type of pin chain. Module 2 for the controlled and partial drying of the fabric consists of two opposing lines of ventilation boxes 12 and 12', connected to a heating and air supply unit, not illustrated in the figure. The ventilation boxes that make up rows 12 and 12' are preferably arranged in offset positions along the course that the fabric follows inside the dryer 2.

A tumbler 3 of a known type, schematically indicated in the figure, is installed downstream from the dryer 2 to receive the fabric treated therein.

In proximity to the entrance to the tumbler 3 there is a probe 22 designed to detect the degree of humidity or the temperature of the fabric 20 exiting the dryer 2. Preferably the probe 22 transmits the values detected to a machine control unit .

The tumbler 3 essentially comprises a duct 15 designed for the pneumatic transport of the fabric between two tanks 13 and 14, preferably equipped with a weighing system, which alternately collects the fabric incoming and outgoing from said duct 15. It is equipped in a known way with air supply ducts, in communication with a ventilation and supply unit not illustrated in the figure.

In the example provided, the duct 15 is of the type equipped, in proximity to the entrances, with two pairs of mobile shutters 27 and 28 that, when activated alternately, make it possible to move the fabric, without tensions, due only to the thrust provided by the air directed onto it from below upwards, as described in the patent for the utility model N.202017000051242.

Depending on the fabric being processed, and based on the shrinkage one wishes to obtain, the tumbler 3 can usefully be of the known type with movement of the air in pure thrust, with no impact on the grids, of the type with more marked air movement and consequential thrust of variable impact against the grids to obtain more intense hands, without in any case interfering with the shrinkage effect of the fabric, for example as described in the patent for industrial invention N. 1374887.

The tumbler 3 may in any case be of a different type but designed to treat the fabric, in absence of pulling, until totally dry.

Downstream from the tumbler 3 there is a conveyor belt installed 24, driven by motorized rollers 16, for the transport of the fabric to the crosslapper device 23.

The functioning takes place as follows .

The loading of the machine occurs, in a known way, by sewing the head of the fabric 20 to a drawing-in machine cloth that completes the course through modules 1, 2, and 3 of the machine, from the trolley 4 to the crosslapper device 23.

The fabric 20, arranged in folds in the trolley 4, is picked up using the feed system consisting of cylinders 5, 25 and introduced in the soaking module 1 passing through the cylinders 18, where it is stretched and tautened for its entire length, including the selvage.

After having intercepted the slide 6, which facilitates the formation of small folds in a uniform and regular fashion, the fabric 20 reaches a mesh belt 8 and is introduced into the bath in the tank 7.

The fabric 20 will then be sprinkled and accompanied by the mesh belt 8 until it reaches the synchronism device or feeler pin 9.

Depending on the type of fabric to be treated, the machine allows the folds of the fabric 20 to float on the water or simply be transported by the belt 8 and wet exclusively by a series of spray nozzles 19 arranged above it.

The machine advantageously uses the mesh conveyor belt 8 to prevent the folds in the fabric 20 from being excessively immersed in the water and to be able to arrange them evenly. Another purpose of the belt 8 is to accompany the folds during the floating phase to be able to then gradually remove them from the water and bring them into contact with the synchronism device 9.

During this last stage of its course in module 1, the fabric 20 begins to gradually lose the excess water before reaching the pressing cylinders 10, 10'. The feeler pin 9 makes it possible to synchronize the speed of the belt 8 with the pressing cylinders 10, 10' and, still in perfect synchronism, arrange the fabric onto the conveyor belt 11 of the dryer 2, overfeeding it by a percentage set by the operator.

The conveyor belts 11, 11' accompany the fabric in a loose fashion, so with no tension whatsoever, to the rocker 13 of the tumbler 3.

The probe 22 may be of the type designed to directly detect the degree of residual humidity of the fabric exiting module 2, but preferably, for greater precision due to the limits of measurement of the humidity detectors, the probe 22 is of the type designed to detect the temperature at which the fabric exits module 2. The value detected by the probe 22 is sent to the control unit that, based on the fabric to be treated and the results required, verifies if this value corresponds to an ideal and set value that makes it possible to optimize the function of the tumbler 3.

The fabric 20 that enters the tumbler 3, then passes through, as is known, the duct 15 only thanks to the thrust created by the direct air blown onto it from below upwards and is alternately arranged in small folds in the collection basins 13 and 14 with effective, but not traumatic, results on the fibers.

The change from one basin to the other is determined according to the values detected by the weighing devices connected to the basins 13 and 14, but the machine may also provide other types of sensors, for example loading cells. The speed of the fabric can be regulated by varying the air flow inside the duct 15, according to algorithms known by the sector technician, based on the weight of the fabric, the type of fabric to be treated, and the results required. Upon exiting the tumbler 3 the fabric 20, transported by the belt 24, is arranged in folds in a trolley 17.

The control unit, not illustrated in the figure, equipped with a command interface, therefore allows the setting of the machine operating parameters and the processing of the data detected by the sensors installed inside the machine and makes the suitable corrective interventions.

In particular, for each type of fabric the time and temperatures of the treatment are set, based on a sample, to obtain the value of residual humidity that enables the tumbler 3 to perform under optimal conditions and obtain the best results.

In the case in which, for greater precision, the machine makes use of a probe 22 that detects the temperature of the fabric and not the humidity, the weighing of the test sample of the fabric is performed to determine the relationship between the temperature and the residual humidity of the fabric . During the treatment of the fabric 20, the control device, based on the values detected by the probe 22, may therefore vary the speed of advancement of the fabric passing inside modules 1 and 2, commanding the fabric feed system for the purpose of increasing or reducing the treatment times of the fabric in the dryer 2 and, as a consequence, relaxation in the tank 7.

The movement of the belt and/or chain 11 is governed by the control unit that synchronizes the speed with the rotation of the pressing cylinders 10 so that the fabric 20 is arranged on the belt and/or chain 11 loosely, overfed at a percentage set by the operator.

According to the invention, the machine therefore makes it possible to obtain a shrinkage of the treated fabric and a dimensional stability very near zero, both in width (weft) and in length (warp) , as the fabric can be treated gradually, by humidity treatment and without being subject to any tension, with pre-set and controllable values of the drying times and processing temperatures.

Although the invention was illustrated with reference to a preferred construction, it is intended as being extended to cover the devices that, by means of equivalents, provide the same utility.