Importance

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Abstract

An apparatus and method for shrink treating both woven and knitted textile fabrics with essentially equal effectiveness provides a fabric-elevating intake device, a shrinking unit, a calendering device and a cuttling device in sequence for shrink treatment of woven fabrics in conventional fashion. Knitted fabrics bypass the fabric wetting device in the intake device and are wetted only lightly by a steaming cylinder provided at the intake side of the shrinking unit. An auxiliary fabric spreading device having driven rolls is also provided at the intake side of the shrinking unit to insure that knitted fabric is opened to a smooth full-width flat form. A small diameter drying cylinder is provided for partially drying knitted fabric without passage through the calendering device and a conveyor transports the knitted fabric in a relaxed condition to a winding mechanism. Woven fabrics are wetted by both the wetting device and the steaming cylinder and, after the shrinking unit, are calendered and cuttled in conventional fashion. Thus, problems of overwetting, overdrying and elongation of knitted fabrics are avoided, while retaining the capability for full conventional shrink processing of woven fabrics.

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First Claim