Abstract: Apparatus for opening a textile gathered in rope form includes a spreading device and a centering device, downstream of the spreading device, including two cylinders, maintained with their axes parallel but pivotable in a common plane parallel to the general, desired direction of advance of the textile, between two extreme positions inclined on opposite sides of the said direction. The pivoting of the cylinders is controlled through a sensor which senses a displacement of the textile from the desired direction and acts to return the textile to this direction. If the recall action of the cylinders in either extreme position is insufficient, a respective control device is activated which pivots a spreading cylinder of the spreading device out of its normal working position, in which it is parallel to the other spreading cylinder, into one of two extreme positions to exert a further recall action on the textile.

Abstract: Apparatus for untwisting a textile length which has become gathered and twisted into rope-like form includes a rotatable guide through which the textile is passed in a manner such as to be constrained for rotation therewith. The guide is rotatable by a reversible drive. Twist detecting means comprising two mutually axially-displaceable rifled rollers, are arranged to control the drive such as to rotate the guide in a sense dependent on the detected sense of twisting of the textile. To avoid the need for conventional bearings in the mounting of the guide, opposite ends of the guide are provided with respective annular tracks engaged by respective groups of rollers rotatably carried on a support structure. One of the track-engaging rollers is driven from the drive to cause rotation of the guide.

Abstract: A system for opening fabrics in rope-form comprises a combination of a spreader device, and a centering device downstream of the spreader device a distance of 250 to 750 mm. The spreader device comprises two double spirally scored spreader rolls rotatably driven in the opposite direction to the fabric feed direction. The centering device comprises a pair of parallel centering rolls with means to vary their inclination to the direction of movement of the fabric, as needed.