Method and apparatus for the compressive shrinking of textile fabrics

Claim 1

IN THE TREATMENT OF WOVEN TEXTILE FABRICS EACH HAVING A FACE SURFACE WHICH IS RAISED, AS BY THE PRESENCE OF RECURRING FLOATS OF EITHER THE WARP OR WEFT YARNS, OR BY A PILE, TO EFFECT LENGTHWISE COMPRESSIVE SHRINKING OF SAID FABRICS WITHOUT SUBJECTING SAID FACE SURFACES TO AN IRONING OR POLISHING ACTION, THE METHOD WHICH COMPRISES SIMULTANEOUSLY BUT SEPARATELY FEEDING A PAIR OF WEBS OF SAID FABRIC IN AN ENDWISE DIRECTION, CONDITIONING SAID MOVING WEBS BY THE ACTION OF ADDED MOISTURE TO RENDER PLASTIC THE FIBERS THEREOF, SUPERIMPOSING SAID WEBS FACE-TO-FACE SO AS TO FORM A CONTINUOUS TWO-PLY SHEET, SUBJECTING SAID SHEET TO COMPRESSIVE LENGTHWISE SHRINKING BY CONFINING THE SAME UNDER PRESSURE BETWEEN A RIGID MOVING HEATED SMOOTH SURFACE, AND THE SURFACE OF A MOVING, RELATIVELY THICK, RESILIENT, NONPOROUS FLEXIBLE BELT WHICH MOVES AT A SOMEWHAT LESS LINEAR SPEED THAN THAT OF SAID HEATED SMOOTH SURFACE, AND SEPARATING SAID WEBS AND SEPARATELY DRYING SAME.