Apparatus for spreading a moving web of textile material

Claim 1

In apparatus for treating a flat web of textile material having opposite edges, means for moving said web from a treatment and storage zone upwardly through a spreading station, and means downstream from said station for turning said web transversely to follow a path back to said zone, the improvement comprising sensing means for sensing movement of either one of said edges of said web from a preselected position toward the other of said edges; means mounting said sensing means downstream from said turning means; web shifting means mounted at said spreading station, said shifting means comprising a first nozzle unit overlying a part of said web and a second nozzle unit independent of said first nozzle unit and overlying the remainder of said web, one of said nozzle units having fluid passages for directing a stream of fluid obliquely onto said web in a direction toward one edge thereof and the other of said nozzle units having fluid passages for directing a stream of fluid obliquely onto said web in a direction toward the other edge thereof; means for delivering fluid to a selected one or both of said nozzle units for discharge through the respective fluid passages; and control means responsive to the sensing of movement of either one or both of said edges from said position toward the other to operate said delivering means to deliver fluid to the nozzle unit associated with said one or both of said edges, whereby said one or both of said edges may be returned to its or their preselected position or positions.