Abstract: Tubular knit goods including natural fibers and synthetic elastomeric fibers are steam treated and then circularly expanded and heat-fixed while being transported vertically downwardly over a circular spreader in a heat fixing chamber. The goods build up a buffer or excess material reserve on the conical feed section of the circular spreader, either by using a greater transport velocity into the feed section than that out of the feed section and along the spreader, or by starting to feed the goods into the feed section for a time before starting to draw the goods out of the feed section and then transporting the goods to and from the feed section at the same velocity. The goods relax in the buffer. Transporting the goods vertically downwardly over the circular spreader during the heat-fixing uses gravity advantageously, and reduces tension in the goods.

Abstract: A circular spreader for spreading tubular textile goods includes a spreader arrangement with an inlet mandrel and an outlet mandrel at opposite ends thereof inside the tubular goods, an inlet support structure arranged around the inlet mandrel outside of the tubular goods with an inlet guide gap therebetween, and an outlet support structure arranged around the outlet mandrel outside of the tubular goods with an outlet guide gap therebetween. The mandrels and the support structures are magnetic, to magnetically repel each other across the guide gaps. The components may be permanent magnets or electromagnets, or have separate discrete magnets provided thereon. The spreader arrangement is supported by magnetic levitation relative to the support structures, without direct contact therebetween. The tubular goods pass through the guide gaps with low friction, no pressing force exerted thereon, and no impairment of the structure or quality thereof.

Abstract: A circular spreader for spreading tubular textile goods includes a spreader arrangement with an inlet mandrel and an outlet mandrel at opposite ends thereof inside the tubular goods, an inlet support structure arranged around the inlet mandrel outside of the tubular goods with an inlet guide gap therebetween, and an outlet support structure arranged around the outlet mandrel outside of the tubular goods with an outlet guide gap therebetween. The mandrels and the support structures are magnetic, to magnetically repel each other across the guide gaps. The components may be permanent magnets or electromagnets, or have separate discrete magnets provided thereon. The spreader arrangement is supported by magnetic levitation relative to the support structures, without direct contact therebetween. The tubular goods pass through the guide gaps with low friction, no pressing force exerted thereon, and no impairment of the structure or quality thereof.

Abstract: Tubular knit goods including natural fibers and synthetic elastomeric fibers are steam treated and then circularly expanded and heat-fixed while being transported vertically downwardly over a circular spreader in a heat fixing chamber. The goods build up a buffer or excess material reserve on the conical feed section of the circular spreader, either by using a greater transport velocity into the feed section than that out of the feed section and along the spreader, or by starting to feed the goods into the feed section for a time before starting to draw the goods out of the feed section and then transporting the goods to and from the feed section at the same velocity. The goods relax in the buffer. Transporting the goods vertically downwardly over the circular spreader during the heat-fixing uses gravity advantageously, and reduces tension in the goods.

Abstract: In a method and an apparatus for treating tubular knitted goods containing elastomeric fibers, the goods are effectively relaxed, expanded, and heat fixed or set in the desired expanded condition, while maintaining the tubular configuration of the goods and without cutting open and re-sewing the tubular configuration of the goods. The tubular knitted goods are continuously transported through a relaxing process followed by a heat fixing process and then a cooling process, while constantly maintaining the tubular structure of the goods. The goods are expanded in the radial or width direction by a tubular expander, and in the lengthwise direction by being transported between a feed roller arrangement and a draw-off roller arrangement operating at different transport velocities respectively. The temperature in the heat fixing chamber is preferably over 200.degree. C. and the transport velocity of the tubular knitted goods can be greater than 18 m/min.

Abstract: A mangle for circular knitted fabric has a circular spreader is combined with several mangling stations circularly arranged around the spreader for the removal of treatment liquor from tubular fabrics. In order to protect the fabric against excessive squeezing, an upper roller head is entirely avoided by confining the circular spreader in the horizontal direction exclusively by the mangling stations. The vertical support of the spreader is provided fully by the mangling stations if the mangling rollers are mounted in positions slanting to the vertical. If the mangling rollers are not mounted in slanted positions it is preferred that a lower roller head operated by a lifting mechanism assists the mangling rollers in supporting the spreader (8) vertically. In both instances an upper roller head becomes unnecessary.

Abstract: Tubular knitted fabric is circularly spread and simultaneously squeezed for removing treatment liquor. Spreader components are separated from squeezing components in order to relieve the spreader components from the squeezing forces. For this purpose, pairs (23) of squeezer rollers (23A, 23B) are mounted on brackets (24, 25) which are rigidly secured to the outer pipe section (19A) of the central carrier column (19). The brackets (24, 25) are so arranged that they do not interfere with the spaced struts or braces (20, 21) of the spreader rollers (12). Each pair of squeezer rollers (23) cooperates with a revolving single squeeze roller (26) that is radially adjustable by a power drive such as a piston cylinder device (27) relative to the central column (19) to thereby adjust the squeezing gap between the pair of squeezer rollers and the single squeeze roller and thus also the squeezing force.

Abstract: A tubular knitted fabric is guided over a first rotatably arranged system of squeezing roller pairs and is then squeezed out, during a simultaneous continuous pulling off of the fabric, by a second system of squeezing rollers cooperating with the first system. The creation of edge markings is thereby completely prevented. An apparatus for the squeezing out process has a first system of rotatably arranged squeezing roller pairs which is held inside of the tubular fabric front the outside thereof and which has an adjustable outer periphery and a second system of rotatably arranged squeezing rollers also held on the outside of the tubular fabric. The second system is adapted to the periphery of the first system of squeezing roller pairs. Both systems cooperate with each other.

Abstract: Circular spreaders for tubular textile goods make it necessary to keep the spreader arms in a desired spread-out condition so that an unintended reduction in the diameter of the circular spreader is prevented. Such unintended reduction could be caused by operational vibrations or by impacts to which the spreader may be exposed during operation. For this purpose the spreader is equipped with a locking mechanism which, on the one hand, permits a continuous adjustment or a stepwise adjustment of the circular spreader to a maximum spread diameter and which, on the other hand, prevents a reduction of the once adjusted spreader diameter. A ratchet mechanism is provided for this purpose.

Abstract: Tubular fabric that is being expanded radially outwardly by a so-called circular expander, has a tendency to develop a reduced pressure inside the volume of the tubular fabric, whereby the operation of the expander is hindered. To avoid the formation of reduced pressure, the expander is equipped with at least one air blower nozzle for introducing pressurized air into the space enclosed by the tubular fabric. The air blower nozzle is movable toward and away from the tubular fabric and preferably can stretch the fabric slightly to improve the passage of air through the fabric, which is sufficient permeable to pressurized air.

Abstract: A spreader for tubular fabric has a divided central carrier to which struts or support arms are pivoted for carrying longitudinal guide rods, e.g., in parallelogram type fashion. The two sections of the central spreader carrier telescope relative to each other against the force of a spring which presses the two sections of the spreader against upper and lower sets of position determining roller pairs. Support rollers are inserted between the positioning determining roller sets at the upper and lower ends of the spreader. The operation or action of the struts or support arms enables the adjustment of the spreader even in its working position while fabric is running over the spreader. This is possible by changing the axial length of the spreader by an externally arranged lifting mehcanism for raising and lowering at least one of the position determining roller sets. Raising one roller set decreases the spreader diameter while lowering at least one roller set increases the spreader diameter.

Abstract: Tubular textile fabric passes through a singeing apparatus preferably vertically upwardly. A guide path including a circular spreader guides the tubular fabric past gas operated singeing nozzles which are position adjustable in parallel to the longitudinal travel direction and radially thereto. The circular spreader forms a conical zone in the tubular fabric and the singeing nozzles are located around the conical zone so that an axial position adjustment of the nozzles changes the spacing between the nozzles and the fabric and a radial adjustment of the nozzles centers the nozzles relative to the fabric. The conical zone may taper in a direction opposite to the travel direction or in the travel direction of the fabric. The taper and its direction is determined by the diameter and the location of fabric guide rings forming part of the spreader. Cooling devices are located downstream of the singeing nozzles as viewed in the travel direction of the fabric.

Abstract: A tubular textile fabric is advanced through a treatment range having one or several cylindrical expanders. An inlet roller guides the tubular fabric to the expander in a flat shape, whereupon the expander expands the tubular fabric into a substantially cylindrical shape which is again flattened as it moves toward and over an outlet or discharge roller. In the inlet zone between the inlet roller and the expander and in the outlet zone between the expander and the outlet roller, where the fabric changes from the flat form into the expanded form of said cylindrical shape and vice versa, the fabric is exposed to different stretching forces or differing drafts due to differences in the distances that different portions of the fabric must travel while passing through these zones. These different stretching forces or drafts in the inlet zone are effective in the feed advance direction and are compensated by corresponding stretching forces or drafts in the outlet zone.

Abstract: This invention relates to an improvement in an externally held cylindrical expander for tubular ware with a central support for radially adjustable, spreading rest means and sector-shaped longitudinal elements borne by said rest means, in particular for the treatment of the tubular ware with liquid treatment means, the longitudinal elements extending between bodies tapering in the longitudinal direction, mounted between the ends of the support, and acting as entry and exit means, the improvement comprising: (a) rollers with axes of rotation transverse to the ware transport direction T mounted on the outsides of the individual longitudinal elements in transverse planes of the expander, (b) the rollers located in a common transverse plane covering the gaps between rollers located in an adjoining transverse plane, (c) the rollers from adjoining transverse planes mounted on one longitudinal element overlap by their ends at the center of the longitudinal element, (d) the other ends of the rollers project beyond th

Abstract: This invention relates to an improvement in chainless mercerizing equipment for the selective processing of flat textiles and hose ware using a mercerizing dye padder provided with rollers, the material being guided over mercerizing rollers through a bath of a treatment liquid and the excess treatment liquid being forced out of the material by a subsequent pair of rollers, and the material then being washed, the improvement comprising (a) selective feed path means preceding the dye padder from a common site, said paths including different expander means for flat textiles and hose ware, (b) a clear space for moving in and out a batching or cuttling means for the flat textiles and means for guiding the material to the batching or cuttling means, and (c) an air passage means spanning the clear space and acting as a development path for the hose ware, followed by a treatment means provided with at least one circular expander and bounding the clear space, and a subsequent cuttling means.

Abstract: This invention relates to an improvement in an externally held cylindrical spreading means for tubular fabric, particularly for the treatment of the fabric with a fluid treating agent, with a central carrier for radially displaceable supports and segment-like guide elements carried by the supports, body means at each end of the central carrier, each of the body means being tapered in the longitudinal direction, and the guide elements extending in the longitudinal direction of the spreading means between the body means, the improvement comprising that the spreading means includes a pair of threaded sleeves mounted on opposite threads on the central carrier, radially-extending means with external magnetic pole means non-rotatably connected to the central carrier, and means for applying an external magnetic force on the magnetic pole means whereby the central carrier may be rotated.