Transfer arrangement for guiding the paper web from the press section of a paper machine to it's drying section

Claim 1

In a paper making machine including a press section followed in the machine direction by a drying section including a lower row of drying cylinders and an upper row of drying cylinders and a drying wire passing over said drying cylinders, said drying section not including a lead-in drying cylinder, transfer apparatus for guiding a paper web from the press section to the drying section, comprising: a smoothing press including a smoothing nip formed between upper and lower smoothing press rolls to which the paper web is passed from the press section, said smoothing press being situated between the press and drying sections with said lower smoothing press roll being situated at a position which is normally occupied by a lead-in drying cylinder of a conventional drying section substantially in the upper row of drying cylinders; first guide roll means for guiding said drying wire of the drying section over an elongated angular sector of said lower smoothing press roll, said elongated angular sector having a size sufficiently large that the web is transferred onto said drying wire, said drying wire carrying the web as a closed draw to said drying section onto a first one of said drying cylinders and between drying cylinders of said lower and upper rows of the drying section; and said upper and lower smoothing press rolls are smooth-faced press rolls, said lower smoothing press roll having a substantially larger diameter than that of said upper smoothing press roll, and wherein no fabric passes through said smoothing nip so that the web is in direct contact with the faces of said smoothing press rolls.