Apparatus for finishing cellulose-containing textile materials

Claim 1

In an apparatus for continuously impregnating a sheet-like expandible porous textile web by applying thereto a controlled amount of a treatment bath which completely penetrates through the textile web and substantially drying the impregnated textile web, comprising textile web infeed means for controlling the infeed of the textile web to be impregnated and dried and continuously moving in a predetermined direction of travel, at least one applicator device arranged downstream of the infeed means in the direction of travel of the textile web for applying a low-viscosity treatment bath having a viscosity below about 7 centipoise to the textile web at one face thereof for the substantially complete and uniform penetration of the applied treatment bath throughout said textile web, means located intermediate said web infeed means and said applicator device for engaging said material web and transversely expanding the same so as to deliver the material web essentially withouT creases and folds to said applicator device, said applicator device comprising at least one rotatable kiss roll having an axis of rotation, a vat for the treatment bath within which there is rotatably mounted said kiss roll with a portion of the surface of the kiss roll located above the level of the treatment bath in said vat, a doctor blade disposed to engage the surface of said kiss roll beneath the level of said treatment bath at a location counteracting the formation of air bubbles and the accumulation of fiber material at the surface of the kiss roll, means for selectively rotating said kiss roll in either of both rotational directions at a controllable rotational speed as a function of the speed of travel of the textile web in order to control the amount of treatment bath applied to the textile web, at least one pair of guide rolls for guiding said textile web over said kiss roll with a predetermined and controllable looping angle externally of the level of the treatment bath, each guide roll being arranged to one respective side of the axis of rotation of said kiss roll, at least one detector device for determining the weight per unit area including the liquid content of said textile web, control means operatively connected with said detector device and said kiss roll for regulating the rotational speed of the kiss roll as a function of the detected weight per unit area including the liquid content of said textile web ascertained by said detector device in order to ensure that the kiss roll applies a substantially constant amount of a non-squeezable excess of treatment bath to said textile web, dryer means arranged downstream of the kiss roll with respect to the direction of travel of the textile web for adjusting the damp textile web following contact with the kiss roll to a drying action sufficient to substantially dry the textile material to an extent so as to contain a residual moisture content which is less than 10 percent based upon the dry fabric weight.