Patent GB-1465799-A (GB)
Title: Apparatus for the compressive shrinking of sheet material
IPC: D06C21/00
Filed: 1974-10-10
Abstract: 1465799 Shrinking fabrics MORRISON MACHINE CO 10 Oct 1974 [24 Oct 1973] 43957/74 Heading D1S Apparatus for the compressive shrinking of fabric comprises drive rollers 16, 18 supported between spaced apart side rollers 34, 36 of a frame, idler roller assemblies 20, 22 supported between the walls 34, 36, endless belts or blankets 12, 14 passing around the roller 16 and the assembly 20 and the roller 18 and the assembly 22, respectively, a door 48 movable between a closed and open position with respect to an opening 46 in the wall 36, and cantilever support means cantileverly supporting the rollers 16, 18 and the assemblies 20, 22 on the wall 34 when the door 48 is moved to its open position. As shown in Fig. 1, guide bars 24, 26 are located within the confines of the blankets 12, 14 of rubber or rubber-like material and external tension roller assemblies 28, 30 are provided. The frame is carried by wheels (40), Fig. 3 (not shown), running on tracks (44) on a surface (42). The rollers 16, 18, Fig. 5, have end portions 54, 56 and 58. 60, respectively, the roller 16 being driven by a chain drive received by a sprocket 62 on the portion 54 and the roller 18 being driven therefrom through engaged gears 68, 70. The portions 54, 58 are journalled in bearings 86, 72 on the wall 34 and the portion 58 being journalled in an additional bearing 74 on a bracket 78 secured to the wall 34. The portions 56, 60 are journalled in bearings 88, 80 removably secured to the door 48 and extend through openings 84, 92 in the door. When it is required to remove the blankets 12, 14 from the rollers 16, 18, the bearings 88, 80 are removed and the door 48 is pivotally opened about hinges 50, 52, Fig. 15, to expose the free end portions 56, 60. To provide a second point of support for cantilevering the roller 16, a hook 93, Fig. 14, screwed into the portion 58, is rotated through 180 from its hanging position to engage the portion 54. To facilitate removal of the blankets 12, 14, the rollers 16, 18 are separated by the dropping of the portion 60 upon, removal of the bearing 80 and the slight lifting of the roller 16 to latch the hook 93 in place. The assembly 20 comprises a wedge-shaped bar 96, Fig. 13, carrying along its lower surface rollers 98 and which terminates in end blocks 100, 102, Fig. 4, carrying bearings 106', 108 for the main idler roller 110. Similarly, the assembly 22 comprises a bar 112 carrying rollers 114 and terminating in blocks 116, 118 carrying bearings 124, 126 for the main idler roller 112. The block 116 is secured to a bracket 130 on the wall 34 and the block 118 is supported on a shelf 134 secured to the door 48. The assembly 20 is supported on the assembly 22 by thin spacer blocks 136, 138 sandwiched between blocks 100, 116 and 102, 108, respectively. A pin 140 extends upwardly from the shelf 134 between bifurcated legs of the blocks 118, 102 to properly align the assemblies. The assembly 20 can be lifted by hydraulic cylinders 142, 144 on the wall 34 and the door 48, respectively. During the removal of the blankets 12, 14, prior to opening the door 48, the assembly 20 is lifted, the spacers 136, 138 are removed, a thicker spacer 150, Fig. 11, is placed between the blocks 100, 116, and a collar 152 is placed about the blocks 100, 116 and the spacer 150. Thereafter, the door 48 is opened. The bar 26, Fig. 7, is secured to a bracket 154 on the wall 34 and rests on a shelf 160 on the door 48. A pin 162 on the shelf 160 aligns bifurcated ends 158, 170 of the bars 26, 24, respectively, and a pin 172 secured to the bracket 154 aligns the ends 29, 168. During the removal of the blankets 12, 14, prior to opening the door 48, the pin 162 is removed from the shelf 160 and the bar 24 is slid out of an opening 174, Fig. 15, in the door 48. Thereafter, the door 48 is opened and the bar 26 remains cantilevered with respect to the wall 34. The tension roller 28, Fig. 6, is mounted in bearings 180, 186 carried by pistons 182, 188 of hydraulic cylinders 184, 190 to raise and lower the roller 28 to impart a selected tension on the blanket 12. The cylinder 190 is carried within a carriage 192 rotatable about a pivot 194 on the wall 34 by a rotary motor 196 to laterally displace the end 176 of the roller 28 with respect to the end 178. A sensor 198, Fig. 4, emitting an air jet stream, senses any lateral deviation of the blanket 12 and controls the motor 196 to rotate the carriage 192 and the end 176 to return the blanket 12 to its properly centred position. A duplicate structure is provided for the roller 30 and cooperates with a sensor 200.