DESCRIPTION "SOFTENING AND SWELLING MACHINE FOR WOVEN AND KNITTED FABRICS"

This invention relates to "softening and swelling machine for woven and knitted fabrics". It is the mechanical softening and swelling machine used in the processes of eliminating the tension formed during the production of woven and knitted fabrics, softening, giving volume by swelling, and adjusting the size from width/length and weight in grams.

On softening and swelling machines being used today, the logic is to give motion to fabric through air effect inside an air tunnel. The fabric is beaten to specially formed surfaces or grids with the push strength of the air. Here, the purpose is to give softness and volume to fabric. In the configuration of another machine used for the same purpose, fabric is rolled inside a drum and it is beaten to fins inside the drum, and softened. In both applications, the process is supported by blowing hot air and steam on the fabric. In our invention machine, the fabric passed through the processes of dyeing, washing and mangling is also treated with the pre-drying process added to system as required and brought to the ideal humidity values for softening and swelling processes or the dried fabric is brought to the ideal humidity values by being passed through steaming unit added to the system for the softening and swelling processes as required. The fabric to be processed, which is sewed with the guide fabric inside machine, is passed through helical expander located in the inlet of mechanical beating unit and stacked in j-box inside the cabin by expanding its width and opening the rolls at its edges. The fabric is then pulled up vertically at desired flow rate by speed-adjustable pull cylinder located on first beating line. In the meantime, all of the beaters or the selected beaters, for which special designed rotation speed and rotation directions can be adjusted and which are located on both sides of the fabric with their horizontal axis offset of each other, subject the fabric to mechanical and continuous impact from both sides or from one desired side. The upper surfaces of these drums can be used as helical wound to increase the expanding feature. Therefore, the fabric is softened and swollen, and weight in grams is adjusted by bringing it closer to the desired values for width and length sizes. Then the fabric received from first pull cylinder is passed through second pull cylinder running synchronously and goes down vertically by taking the advantage of gravity. In the meantime, it is subjected to the same beating processes again. During these processes, it is prepared by being heated using one of the methods of air, steam, boiling oil at the temperature and the amount required by the process or with the method of direct gas firing in the unit of circulation air preparation. It is sent inside cabin directed from special blow channels and nozzles by flow rate adjusted circulation fan at the flow rate again required by the process. The used air absorbed from cabin is cleaned by the use of

special filters. It proceeds with its circulation inside the cabin by adjusting its temperature. The fabric pulled from j-box at the outlet of cabin comes to dedusting unit by opening its rolls again with the use of an expander cylinder. The residues, clips and dusts at both sides of the fabric are absorbed through high-vacuum dedusting channels located here and collected in the filters in the dust collecting chamber. While the fabric stacked in inlet j-box of natural cooling and folding mechanism from the outlet of dedusting unit is pulled up vertically by the help of puller cylinder, it is cooled by being brought into contact with ambient air and transffered to trolley by the help of folding mechanism.

On the machines working with the logic of giving motion to fabric through air effect inside an air tunnel, transmission of the fabric by air results in high costs. The risk of break formation on the fabric is also very high. On the machines wherein the processes of swelling and softening are performed by rolling the fabric inside a drum and beating it to the fins inside the drum, the process becomes harder and the production capacity decreases since the fabric cannot work continuously. In our invention, since the fabric to be processed is transmitted inside the machine by means of pull cylinders, the power consumption is minimized. Because that the fabric is expanded during the beating process, formation of breaks is prevented. As the fabric contacts circulation air in continuously expanded position, duration of drying process is shorter than the equivalent ones. In Figure 1, the detailed view of our invention, softening and swelling machine, In Figure 2, the upper view are given, and the reference numbers of the parts been used and their description are as follows;

1) fabric being processed

2) inlet pull cylinder

3) inlet expander cylinder

4) mechanical beating and softening cabin 5) inlet j-box of cabin

6) guide cylinder

7) eliptical beating-expander drum

8) 1 ^st pull cylinder of cabin

9) 2 ^nd pull cylinder of cabin 10) expander cylinder of dedusting system

11) pull cylinder of dedusting system

12) pull cylinder of natural cooling unit

13) fabric shaking apparatus

14) dedusting unit

15) dedusting channels

16) natural cooling unit

17) processed fabric 18) dedusting filter chamber

19) air conditioning unit

20) outlet j -box of cabin

21) j-box of natural cooling unit

The fabric being processed (1), for which the humidity value is adjusted, is delivered to the inlet j-box of cabin (5) inside the mechanical beating and softening cabin (4), wherein the desired air characteristics are adjusted through air conditioning unit (19), by being pulled through inlet pull cylinder (2) and by expanding its width and length through inlet expander cylinder (3). The fabric being processed (1) inside inlet j-box of cabin passes through the elliptical beating- expander drums (7), while being pulled by speed adjustable 1 ^st pull cylinder of cabin (8). In the meantime, depending on the type of fabric being processed and the characteristics desired to be given, elliptical beating-expander drums (7) at desired number are active. The elliptical beating- expander drum, for which the rotation speeds and directions can be adjusted, performs beating and expanding processes to both sides or one desired side of the fabric being processed (1). While the fabric being processed (1), which passes through the 2 ^nd pull cylinder of cabin compatible with the 1 ^st pull cylinder of cabin (8), goes down vertically, it passes through the eliptical beating- expander drums at desired number, direction and speed and arrives to outlet j-box of cabin (20) by means of guide cylinder (6). As the fabric being processed (1) is pulled by pull cylinder of dedusting unit (11) in order to be passed through dedusting unit (14), its width and the rolls at its edges are expanded by expander cylinder of dedusting system (10). While the fabric being processed (1) passes inside dedusting unit (14), unwanted particles on the fabric, such as clips and dusts, are absorbed by means of dedusting chanells around (15) it. These collected particles are filtered inside dedusting filter chamber (18). After collecting some amount of fabric being processed (1), which passes through dedusting unit (14), in j-box of natural cooling unit (21) located inside natural cooling unit (16), this fabric is pulled by pull cylinder of natural cooling unit (12) and cools down by contacting ambient air. Then the processed fabric (17) released from natural cooling unit (16) by means of pull cylinder of natural cooling unit (12) is removed by fabric shaking apparatus (13) for being folded.

Our invention can be used for all woven and knitted fabrics to be softened and swollen in textile production facilities.