Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The invention relates to an apparatus for applying designs to
moving strips of material, more particularly textiles and the like, in which
the design fluid, before being applied to the materialg is in the form of a
film arranged above the said material in the direction of the width thereof.
A mobile air nozzle, directed towards the said film is provided for the pur~
pose of affecting its uniformity.
An arrangement of this kind is known from German OS 23 61 ~17~ In
that case, use is made of a sloping run-off plate over which the design
fluid flows in a downward direction, falling from the bottom edge thereof
onto the moving strip of material. A noz~le directs air onto the film as it
flows down the sloping plate.
; In order to produce effective designs, an apparatus of this kind
requires a plurality of air jets which must all move separately, and is
therefore quite complex.
It is an object of the invention to provide an apparatus of the type
mentioned at the beginning hereof, by means o~ which effective designs may be
applied to the material with simple means.
According to the invention, this object is achie-ved by means of an
air nozzle in the form of a rotating tube which is arranged to move back and
forth across the width of the material. The rotary tube has air outlet aper-
tures distributed over its surface, and is connected to a supply of compressed
air.
Only on~ such tube is required, with one mounting and one drive.
~owever~ the said tube contributes in three ways in producing the design,
namely in that it rotates, in that it moves back and forth~ and in that the
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air-outlet apertures are distributed over its sur-face. ~he air emerglng
from these apertures can thus act in many ways upon the film of design fluid,
and effective designs are thus produced.
In one embodiment of the invention, a rotating roller is arranged
above the strip of material t~ith the axis of the roller in the direction of
- the width thereof. The roller dips into the design fluid located in a trough,
which is also arranged above the strip of material with its major axis in the
direction of the width thereof. The surface of the said roller picks up
design fluid from the said trough, and a scraper situated at right angles to
the strip of material remuves the design fluid from the said roller by means
of the upper longitudinal edge thereof. The fluid falls from the lower longi-
tudinal edge of the scraper onto the strip of material. The above mentioned
rotating tube is arranged above the said scraper.
Another embodiment of the invention comprises a device arranged
above the strip of material and producing a curtain of fluid extending across
the width of the material. In this embodiment, the tube is arranged at the
level of the curtain of fluid.
It is to be understood that the distance of the tube above the
scraper, or from the curtain of fluid is governed by the supply of compres~=ed
air available and by the design required.
In order to avoid an unnecessary consumption of compressed air, it
is desirable to provide a device which partially covers the tube, leaving
exposed only those air-outlet apertures which face the film of design fluid.
This device may be in the form of a slotted tube fitted to the
outside or inside of the design tube. The slot in this covering tube exposes
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all the outlet apertures in a segmental area along the length of the tube,
from which air can flow only towards the ~ïlm of fluid.
One important characteristic of the invention, -which greatly in-
creases the number of possible designs, is that the height of the location
from which the design fluid is allowed to fall freely onto the st~ip of
material~ is adjustable.
This characteristic has a surprising effect upon the operation of
the design apparatus. If the des~gn fluid has only a short distance to
travel, i.e. if i~ falls almost directly from the lower edge of the scraper
to the strip of material, the designs produced are sharply defined with
smooth cont~urs. As this distance increases, the designs become more~dif-
fuse~
Where a mechanism for applying the scraper is used, the height of
the said scraper, the tube, the roller and the trough above the strip of
material may be adjusted jointlyO
Where a device arranged above the strip of material is used to pro-
duce a curtain of fluid falling onto the entire width of the material~ the
height of this device, and that of the tube, may be adjusted jointly.
It iSJ of course, also possible to alter the height of the free-
fall of the fluid by altering the level of the moving strip of material.However7 it is usually simpler, from the struct~ral point of view, to adjust
the height of the design apparatus.
Designs may also be influenced by setting the rotating tube at
different distances from the film of design fluid, these distances being de-
termined experimentally. This adjustment~ like that of the height from which
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the fluid falls onto the material, depends upon the nature and viscosity of
the design fluid and, of course, upon the design required~
Examples nf embodiment of the invention are illustrated in the
drawing attached hereto, wherein:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus for the design-
dyeing of rugs in strip form;
Figures 2 and 3 show diagramma~ic side elevations of two different
examples of embodiment of the invention;
Figure 4 shows, to an enlarged scale, a partial cross section
through a special design of tube with air-outlet apertures;
Figures 5a to 5d show different designs on rug-strip produced by
~arying the height from which the fluid falls in the examples of embodiment
according to Figures 1 and 2.
The apparatus as shown in Figure 1 is intended for design-dyeing
a strip of rug 1 t~ravelling horizontally in the direction of arrow 9.
~rranged ~ransversely above strip 1 is a trough 2 containing dyeing fluid.
The lower portion of roller 3 is immersed in the dyeing fluid in the trough
2 and ~arries away dyeing fluid on its surface, as it rotates upon a shaft
5 situated at right angles to the material in the direction of arrow 4~
The fluid is removed from the surface of the roller by a scraper 6 sloping
downwardly towards the material 1. The said fluid flowing over the surface
of the scraper in the form of a film 22 is initially distributed unifDrmly
over the width of the material. The uniformity of this film is interfered
with, in a manner to be described hereinafter, after which ;t falls from
lower edge 7 of scraper 6, in the form on a non-unifoIm cur-tain 8, onto
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material 1.
The uniformity of the film of dyeing fluid is broken up by means
of a tube 11 which has one end 12 closed and is mounted in bearings 13 on
each side of scraper 6~ End 14 of tube 11 engages with a dri-ve 16 which is
connected to a motor 15 This drive not only rotates the said tube, but
also causes it to move back and forth in ~he direction of arrow 18. A flex~
ible tube connects end 1~ o-f tube 11 with a pwnp 20 which supplies compressed
air to the interior thereof.
~ ir-outlet apertures are distributed over the surface of tube 11,
either uniformly or in a pattern. Jets 23 of compressed air emerge from
these apertures 21 and impinge upon uniform film 22 of dyeing fluid~ thus
destroying the uniformity thereof.
In the ex~nple of embodiment illustrated in Figure 1, which is re-
produced again diagrammatically in Figures 2 and 3, air-jets 23 impinge upon
film 22 while the latter is flowing over scraper 6. This removes the film
~rom certain areas and produces pools of film in other locations~ thus re-
placing the original even film 22 with an uneven film 24 (Figure 1) which
flows over the lower part of scraper 6 and falls, from the lower edge thereof
in the form of a non-uniform curtain 8, onto width 1 of material, where it
forms an irregular pattern 25.
The design produced on the material may be influenced by varying
the movements in the direction of arrows 1~, 18~ distance 32 between tube 11
and scraper 6 (Figure 4), the air pressure in tube l1, and the size of air-
outlet ape~rutres 21.
While in the embodiment according to Figures 1, 2 and 4 the tube
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ll is disposed above the scraper 6~ Figure 3 shows an embodiment, according
to which the tube ll is disposed at the height of the curtain of the dyeing
fluid 29 falling from the lower edge 7 of the scraper 6. ~t the point of
leaving the lower edge 7 the curtain 29 is still unlform. It will be rendered
irregular during its fall by means of air jets 23 as a result of which it
- impinges on the width o-f rug 1 in the form of a non-uniform curtain ~. hny
fluid particles blown off by the air jets 23 may be retained by a wall 26
extending across the width 1. A lower trough 27 is provided through which
the fl~id~co~lected from the wall 26 is carried off and returned to the pro-
cess via a pipe ~8.
Figure 4 shows a covering means in the form of a slotted pipe 30
enclosing the tube ll which is provided with apertures 21~ The pipe 30 has
on the surface facing the film of fluid 22 an open segment 31 from which air
jets 23 emanate. In the remaining circumferential area of the (outer~ pipe,
or covering device 30 the air-outlet apertures 21 are covered so that the
è~it of air is restricted to the segment (31) which serve-s to limit the
amount of air used. The pipe 30 may simultaneously ser~e to accommodate
the tube 11.
The modus operandi of the pattern apparatus may be ~idely varied.
It is feasible to arrange in series a plurality of the illustrated pattern
de~ices holding either the same or different pattern fluids. In the case of
a series-connected train of pattern devices, it is feasible to carry out
between the individual applications of patterns any pre- or post-treatment
desired, for e~ample an impregnation of the material by means of wetting
agents or thickeners5 ground dyeing, adapted to be applied by means of a
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foulard, or by a scraper applicator or the like The patterrl fluids may
either be appli~d to the strip either wet on wet or dry, or tc a dried strip.
The -free-fall height of the dyeing fluid has a considerable effect
upon the desig~ produced on the material. For this reason, the height of the
whol~ design apparatus above material 1 may be adjusted in the direction of
arrows 33 in Figure 1. This alters the height ~rom which the dyeing fluid
passes in free fall from the lower edge of scraper 6 onto material 1, as in-
dicated by reference Numeral 34 in Figure 2.
The effects of this adjustment may be gathered from Figures 5a to
5d, -the relevant operating conditions being as follows:
velocity of rughst~ip 1 10 m/min.
rotational velocity of roller 3 39 r.p~m.
rotational velocity of tube 11 33 "
movement of tube ll in the direction of arrow 18 65 strokes/min.
stroke of tube ll 110 mm
air pressure in tube ll 60 mg
viscosity of dyeing flwid 800~cP.
In the e~ample illustrated in Figure 5a, the free-fall height was
34.0 mm, i.e. strip 1 moved almost immediately beneath the lower edge of
scraper 6 and the free-fall height was practically nil. me resulting de-
signs are sharply defined with smooth contours.
In the example illustrated in Figure 5b, the free-fall height was
34.70 mm, in Figure 5c ~50 mm, and in 5d 600 mm. The sharp outline of the
designs is lost since, on its way to the material, the dyeing fluid scatters
to an increasing extent as the height increases.
