Abstract: An apparatus for continuously thermally treating an elongate textile product such as a slide fastener stringer tape having oil includes a housing having a preheated chamber for preheating the textile product and a main heating chamber for heating the elongate textile product after it has been preheated to give off an oily smoke. Part of the oily heated air in the main heating chamber is discharged out of the housing through a heat exchanger which supplies heated air of lower temperature to the preheating chamber. To remove a tar deposit from the heat exchanger, the supply of cold air to the heat exchanger is cut off and the heat exchanger is heated by the heated air discharged from the main heating chamber. The tar deposit is then melted and collected by a tar collector. The main heating chamber has inlet and outlet slots for the elongate textile product, the inlet slot opening into the preheating chamber and the outlet slot opening into an outlet chamber communicating with the preheating chamber.

Abstract: An apparatus for continuously heating an elongated textile article comprises a box mounted within a heating chamber at its inlet and/or outlet so as to cover the same, and a pipe connected at one end to the box and leading to a point upstream of a heat source of a heated-air circulating system. The pipe draws the outside air entering into the box also the heated air leaking out of the heating chamber, and then discharges or releases the mixture upstream of the heat source. The thus discharged mixture of the outside air and the heated air is additionally heated as a recirculating heated air.

Abstract: An automatically openable lid for a receptacle structure has a safety device for preventing any accident in the presence of an obstacle in the range of opening and closing movements of the lid. The device includes a safety guard extending around a front surface of the lid and beyond a rear surface thereof. The guard is mounted on the lid in a semi-fixed manner such that the guard is normally kept immovable relative to the lid during the movement thereof and such that the guard is pivotally movable relative to the lid when the guard is hit by any obstacle during the movement of the lid. Responsive to the movement of the guard relative to the lid, a detecting means is operable to energize a brake for stopping the movement of the lid.