Machine for treating folded printed fabrics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing machines for steaming printed fabrics fail to effectively fix dyes on the fabric, leading to dye transfer to other fabrics or fabric portions upon slight contact and generate turbulences causing undesired duplicates.
Innovation Solution
A machine with a vaporization chamber and a conveyor system that uses a unique steam delivery and intake mechanism with opposing steam flow directions and specially designed nozzles to minimize fabric distortion and enhance dye fixation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If steam is delivered into the vaporization chamber using conventional fans and scrolls, then steam circulation is promoted, but turbulences are generated causing excessive waving of folds and undesired duplicates on fabric
Solution Approach 1:
The vaporization chamber is divided into multiple operating sections, each with independent steam delivery and intake. This segmentation allows controlled steam flow in each section without generating chamber-wide turbulences that cause fabric waving.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of only delivering steam, the system introduces steam intake on the opposite side to steam delivery. This inverted approach creates a controlled flow pattern that prevents turbulences and fabric distortion while maintaining effective steam treatment.
2Reliability
If digitally printed fabrics are subjected to steaming treatment, then dyes are fixed to the fabric, but dye transfer to other fabrics or fabric portions occurs upon slight contact
Solution Approach 1:
The fabric undergoes steaming treatment with controlled steam flow before any contact with other fabrics occurs. The opposing steam flow system ensures complete and uniform dye fixation in advance, preventing subsequent dye transfer during handling or storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The steam flow parameters are optimized through the opposing flow system, creating ideal temperature and humidity conditions for complete dye fixation. This parameter control ensures dyes are firmly bound to fibers before any contact occurs.
3Productivity
If steam flow is promoted inside the vaporization chamber using fans and scrolls, then steam circulation is enhanced, but excessive waving of folds occurs resulting in undesired duplicates
Solution Approach 1:
The chamber is segmented into multiple operating sections with independent steam delivery and intake systems. This allows localized steam circulation without creating excessive chamber-wide air movements that would disturb fabric folds.
Solution Approach 2:
The opposing steam intake acts as a mediator that balances steam delivery, creating a controlled flow pattern that circulates steam effectively while preventing the turbulent air movements that cause fold waving.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Significantly reduces the risk of fabric duplicates and effectively fixes dyes on the fabric, preventing unwanted dye transfer and fabric waving during the steaming process.
Implementation Method 1
water vapour is delivered into the machine... fans and scrolls are usually arranged for promoting the steam flow inside the vaporization chamber
Implementation Method 2
the steaming operation is used for stably fixing dyes to the fibre of a fabric by exploiting the action of condensed humidity, combined with the action of environmental heat
Implementation Method 3
to cause the dye and all recipe products on the material surface to spread from the surface layer towards the inside of the fibre
Implementation Method 4
an endless (continuous) conveyor is supported for transferring the fabric to be treated from an inlet side of said chamber... to an outlet side of the treatment chamber
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
Machine for treating folded printed fabrics, adapted to feed a folded printed fabric (TXL) in a longitudinal direction (Y), said machine comprising: a vaporization chamber (100) having a first vertical side (110) and a second vertical side (120) parallel to the direction of motion of the fabric (TXL); a system (200) for creating and feeding folds of said fabric (TXL); a plurality of operating sections (300), wherein each operating section (300) is adapted to deliver steam on one side of said first and second vertical sides (110, 120), called delivery side, and to take in steam on the other side of said first and second vertical sides (110, 120), called intake side, so that said steam will flow in a substantially horizontal direction from said delivery side to said intake side, wherein the direction of the steam flow in each operating section (300) is opposite to the direction of the steam flow in an adjacent operating section.