Tubular Textile LLC

William C Hardin, Jr

Ellie E Price

Robert Joseph Hughes

Michael S Leonard

Chris Bostian

A suction drum dryer, for knitted fabrics and the like, is provided with an adjustable width bellows mechanism for masking side margins of the drums not occupied by the fabric web. Ambient air draw into the suction drums is thus caused to flow substantially exclusively through the material to be processed. Significantly improved operating efficiencies are realized, as well as significantly higher production output from a given piece of equipment.

Suction drum system for processing web materials particularly knitted

A improved upper level de-twisting mechanism is provided to facilitate the handling of rope form fabric as it is drawn from a bulk container, typically in wet condition, and conveyed to a processing operation, such as spreading. The mechanism includes a rigid support positioned under a lifting roller and mounting a poteye through which the fabric is drawn. Three or more grooved guide rollers engage the lower flange of the poteye, supporting it for rotation about its axis. A reversible drive motor is mounted along side the poteye and drive belts are trained about the drive motor output and the grooved external contours of the poteye for controllably rotating the poteye. Resiliently biased arms, each carrying a fabric engaging roller, are mounted on the top flange of the poteye, such that rope form fabric, passing through the poteye, is grippingly engaged between the rollers for positive twist control over the fabric when the poteye is rotated is response to a twist sensing device arranged to sense the condition of the fabric as it is conveyed from the container.

Detwisting mechanism for fabric processing line

A distributing mechanism for depositing wet processed fabric in rope-form in a container. A tubular distributing guide is mounted for pivoting movement on a distributing ring rotatable about a vertical axis. Ribbed support rollers on the distributing ring are received in annular grooves in a concentric support ring, such that the distributing ring is mounted by the support ring, but is rotatable with respect thereto. The support ring itself is supported for rotation about a vertical axis. Both rings are driven by a common external drive motor, but at slightly different rotational speeds. A circular cam track, formed in the supporting ring, cooperates with a cam follower wheel carried by the distributing guide. As the distributing and supporting rings are rotated, the relative motion therebetween results in the follower wheel moving along the cam track, varying the angle at which the distributing guide is disposed, whereby fabric is deposited in neat, uniform layers within the container, for relatively easy and tension-free removal at a later time for subsequent processing.

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Lexington, NC, United States of America

William C Hardin, Jr