Method of producing an endless follower, and product per se

Claim 1

Method of producing an entrainer for squeezing or dyeing textile fabric webs with the aid of a foulard which comprises inserting a spread-out endless textile web into an annular mold having an annular space bounded by an outer wall having a continuous surface and an inner wall having a continuous surface with said spread-out endless textile web disposed on said inner wall having a continuous surface, both the web and the annular mold having a periphery and a width corresponding to the periphery and width of the entrainer to be formed and thereafter filling the annular mold with a material that hardens to form a sponge to produce an entrainer having an endless textile web inlaid with an endless sponge web with the sides of said entrainer adjacent said walls having continuous surfaces, and with the surface of said sponge web being free of seams and joints, permiting said material to harden in said mold; removing the skins at both end surfaces of the hardened annular sponge; passing a cleansing medium through the sponge from one end surface to the other end surface to wash out unreacted materials; and removing the outer surface skin from said cleansed product to form said entrainer.