NATURAL FIBRES" Technical field of the invention

The object of the present invention is a process and a machine for making a fabric with hair of natural fibres and, in particular, for ironing and lustering the hair of fabrics with wool hair.

With the wording "fabric with hair of natural fibres" it is meant a fabric consisting of a resistant support (knit fabric) on which hair of natural fibres such as wool, camel hair, mohair, alpaca and the like, is applied. By way of example, an application of a fabric with hair of natural fibres occurs in the fur industry. Background art It is known that the ironing and lustering of fabrics having hair of natural fibres is made by using machines provided with metal rollers of cylindrical shape which are driven into rotation and put in contact with the hair to be processed. The rubbing of the outer surface of the roller onto the hair produces a lustering action that improves the appearance of the produced fabric.

Disadvantageously, the rollers used in the machines presently known do not provide an action sufficiently suited for the obtainment of a quality product. In particular, it has been noted above all that- the fabric made with the above machines has a tendency in use to loose significant amounts of hair and to remain therefore irreparably damaged. Moreover, the glossiness and softness of the fabric' s hair so treated result insufficient to meet a medium-high quality standard typical, for example, in the fur trade. It is also known to prevent such detachment of the hair by applying in advance onto the resistant support glues or adhesives which retain the hair thereon more strongly, however, this approach increases the complexity of fabrication besides implying a chemical contamination of the fabric thus made.

Moreover, a poor lustering of the hair is sometimes improved by further treating the hair with suitable chemical agents, such as silicone-based products. This, on the other hand, is cause for a further chemical contamination of the fabric thus made. Disclosure of the invention In this context, the technical task on which the present invention is based is to propose a process and a machine able to overcome the above indicated drawbacks of the prior art .

In particular, one object of the present invention is to provide a process and a machine for making a fabric with hair of natural fibres which allow the obtainment of a fabric having optimal softness and glossiness and able to meet medium-high quality standards.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a process and a machine for making a fabric with hair of natural fibres which allow the obtainment of the fabric in a very simple way.

It is also an object of the present invention to propose a process and a machine for making a fabric exhibiting hair of natural fibres which allow the obtainment of a fabric exhibiting a low, or mostly absent, chemical contamination. The indicated technical task and the specified objects are substantially achieved by a process and a machine for making a fabric with hair of natural fibres comprising, respectively, the technical characteristics set forth in the appended claims 1 and 5 and/or in one or more of the claims depending thereon.

Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly from the indicative, and thus non-limiting, preferred, but non-exclusive, embodiment of a process and a machine for making a fabric with hair of natural fibres, reference being made to what is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a portion of the machine according to the present invention; and Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a component of the machine according to the present invention.

With reference to Fig. 1, numeral 1 indicates on the whole a work station for treating the fabric having hair of natural fibres according to the present invention. The work station 1 is implemented in a machine further comprising a station for supplying the fabric to be treated, a station for the exit of the treated hair, and one or more intermediate collection stations for taking up any variation of the work station's 1 output. The supply, exit and collection stations are substantially known and, therefore, are not shown in the figures.

In greater detail, and reference being made to Fig. 1, the work station 1 comprises a metal roller 2 rotating about its longitudinal axis "X" and being preferably motor- driven.

A knit type fabric 100 having a resistant support 101 and being coated on one side with a hair-coating, especially hair of natural fibres, is partially wound on the roller 2. The fabric 100 is fed as a continuous ribbon developing along a preset path between the supply station and the exit station of the machine, by means of a plurality of rollers possibly motor-driven and of transmission rollers (not shown as being known) . The fabric 100 is wound on the roller 2 so as to allow the latter to enter in contact with the hair-coating 102, and is made to advance along a feed direction indicated by "A" in Fig. 1.

The work station 1 also comprises a reinforcement band 3 which is made to advance along a closed path determined by a plurality of transmission rollers 4 (at least one of which is motor-driven) .

The reinforcement band 3 exhibits a plurality of branches 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, each of which extends between two consecutive transmission rollers 4 and is disposed so as to have one of said branches, the branch 3a, laid in proximity of the roller 2 and facing the same roller 2. The said branch 3a facing roller 2 is disposed at a distance from roller 2 sufficient to allow the interposition of fabric 100 between the branch 3a and the roller 2, so as to cause the branch 3a to keep the fabric 100 pressed against the roller 2.

Advantageously, provision may also be made for using suitable thrust means 5 acting on the fabric 100 to keep it pressed against the roller 2. In the embodiment being shown, the thrust means 5 are of pneumatic type and comprise a delivery mouth 6 in communication with a source of pressurize air to receive a flow of pressurized air oriented toward the branch 3a and roller 2 in order to direct the air flow against the branch 3a. In this way, the thrust exerted by the flow of pressurized air against the branch 3a of the reinforcement band 3 generates a thrust that presses the same branch 3a, and thus the fabric 100 abutting thereto, against the roller 2. In a preferred embodiment, the thrust means 5 may comprise a cylinder-piston system pneumatically or hydraulically- operated.

The piston is oriented so as to be in contact with the same branch 3a of the reinforcement band 3 thereby pressing it, along with fabric 100 abutting thereto, against the roller 2.

The reinforcement band 3 and thrust means 5 define, as a whole, counteracting means operatively associated with the roller 2 and acting on the fabric 100 wound up on roller 2 to keep the fabric 100 firmly pressed, with a preset force, against the same roller 2. According to embodiments not shown, the thrust means 5 may be differently constructed, for example they may comprise an elastic means and/or hydraulic or pneumatic thrust systems . Preferably, moreover, the roller 2 is provided inside with heating means (not shown) such as electrical resistances, able to rise the temperature of roller 2. These heating means are housed within suitable cavities in the roller 2 and operated by a control device such as an inverter, for example.

Fig. 2 shows the roller 2 in detail.

Advantageously, the electrical resistances can be powered differently, depending on their position on the roller. For example, in a particular embodiment, provision is made that the resistances on the two ends of the roller 2 will have a power higher that those disposed in the middle. The roller 2 comprises a cylindrical body having an outer cylindrical surface 2a and at least one recess 7 having a prevalent direction of longitudinal development with respect to the axis of rotation "X" of roller 2.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the recess 7 may have a prevalent direction of spiral development with respect to the outer surface 2a of roller 2. The recess 7 develops over a preponderant portion of roller 2 and, in particular, along the whole portion of the roller 2 intended to enter in contact with the fabric 100. The recess 7 is delimited by a side wall 7a defined by an abutment formed for example with a milling operation on the cylindrical body, and by a bottom wall 7b. The recess 7 results therefore embedded with respect to the external profile of the cylindrical body of roller 2. Advantageously, steadily housed inside the recess 7 is a comb 8 comprising a basement 8a in which a plurality of projections or dents 8b are made to face away therefrom. The comb 8 is preferably made fully from a metal. The basement 8a has a shape suited for being inserted and fixed inside the recess 7, and is disposed so as to have the dents 8b facing away from the axis of roller 2, that is, in such a way that the dents 8b face the fabric 100 wound over the roller 2.

The dents 8b are formed on a surface 8c of basement 8a that defines, upon completion of assembly of comb 8, the said bottom wall 7b of recess 7. Such surface 8c is preferably flat. Each dent 8b may have a truncated-cone shape, being tapered for facing away from said surface 8c of basement 8a which defines said bottom wall 7b.

In a preferred embodiment, the dents 8b may have a prismatic configuration with a rhomboidal, hexagonal, pentagonal, or octagonal base.

Moreover, the dents 8b have a height, measured in a direction facing away from surface 8c, lower than the depth of recess 7, and preferably lower than a minimum depth of recess 7 (as measured in correspondence of said side wall 7a) .

The dents 8b are also disposed along one or more rows on roller 2, each row exhibiting a plurality of dents 8b. According to the illustrated embodiment, the roller 2 is provided with three recesses 7 equidistantly spaced apart throughout the angular development of roller 2, and each comb 8 exhibits five rows of dents 8b, the rows being advantageously parallel to each other.

According to a first preferred embodiment of the invention, the roller 2 has a dimension, as measured along the axis "X", equal to 180 cm; the diameter of the roller is 94 cm; the minimum depth "P" of the recess, as measured in correspondence of side wall 7a, is 14 mm; the height of dents 8b is 2 mm for fabrics with hair's height below 25 mm, and 4-5 mm for fabrics with hair's height exceeding 25 mm. According to a second preferred embodiment of the invention, the roller 2 has a dimension, as measured along the axis "X", equal to 240 cm; the diameter of the roller is 95 cm; the minimum depth "P" of the recess, as measured in correspondence of side wall 7a, is 14 mm; the height of dents 8b is 2.8 mm for fabrics with hair's height below 25 mm, and 4-5 mm for fabrics with hair's height exceeding 25 mm. In use, the fabric 100 is partially wound over the roller 2 so that the hair-coating 102 will enter in contact with the outer cylindrical surface 2a of roller 2, while the support 101 is intended for entering in contact with the branch 3a of the reinforcement band 3. The fabric 100 is made to advance along the feed direction "A" and the roller 2 is driven into a continuous rotation according to a direction of rotation which is either concordant or discordant, depending on the type of finishing to be made, with respect to the advancement of the fabric 100. The reinforcement band 3 is also driven in such a way that the branch 3a in contact with the fabric 100 will have the same direction of movement as that of fabric 100 and, preferably, the same tangential velocity. The thrust means 5 are then activated to exert a thrust toward the branch 3a of the reinforcement band 3 which is thus pushed toward the roller 2 by pressing the fabric 100 against the same roller 2.

Advantageously, the thrust generated by the thrust means 5, whether they are of piston-cylinder, or compressed air- delivery type, is such as to allow the hair-coating 102 of fabric 100 to fit within the recesses 7 and to enter in contact with the dents 8b of combs 8. In this circumstance, the thrust is able to prevent any contact between the dents 8b and the support 101 of fabric 100. During the step of working the fabric 100, the roller 2 is heated until it takes up a preset surface temperature in every single portion of the same roller 2.

Preferably, however, the surface temperature of roller 2 shall not exceed 250-270 ⁰ C in case of a fabric 100 having wool hair.

The present invention achieves the proposed objects by overcoming the drawbacks of the prior art.

The presence of dents within the recess makes it possible to obtain a combing effect of the fabric' s hair-coating, which is thus oriented uniformly in a single direction as imposed by the roller's direction of rotation. The efficacy of the combing action is improved by the disposition of the dents into rows parallel to the roller's axis of rotation.

Besides, the action of the combs removes at once those hairs which are insufficiently anchored to the fabric's support, thereby eliminating further irksome losses of tufts of hair during the use of the fabric.

Moreover, the ensured absence of contact between the dents and the resistant support of the fabric avoids both the risks of damages to the same support, and the risks of tearing off substantial tufts of hair that would cause irreparable damages to the treated fabric.

The heating of the roller, moreover, improves significantly the glossiness of the hair, by making it suited for its introduction in a commercial sector of medium-high standard such as the fur trade.

Finally, in all the operating steps of the process according to the invention, no chemical substance is required, either for the combing of the hair or the realization of the desired glossiness, with evident advantages in terms of low chemical contamination, if any, of the worked fabric.