Abstract: A method and apparatus for piecing lap sheets in a textile machine, such as a comber or ribbon lap machine. The machine is stopped when a lap roll EL is nearly emptied. A pressing member 53 at a rest position C1 is moved to an operating position C2, and a breaking comb 32 is moved from a rest position A1 to an operating position A2 so that the lap sheet LP2 is broken. A full lap FL is then rolled onto a pair of feed rollers 10 and 11. A suction pipe 43 is then moved to an operating position B1, so as to engage with an end S1 of a new lap sheet LP1 from the full lap roll FL. The suction pipe 43 is then moved to a position B3 located at a distance from a nip line N1 longer the length of the lap sheet LP1 from the nip line N1 to its edge, causing the ends of the old and new lap sheets to be superimposed. A reverse rotation of the feed rollers 10 and 11 then occurs, so that the fibers of the new lap sheet LP1 at the superimposed portion are stretched.

Abstract: A method for forming a coating film with a relief pattern, which comprises coating an undercoating material on a substrate surface to form a cured undercoating film, coating an intermediate coating material partly on the undercoating film in a desired pattern, drying it to such an extent that the amount of the solvent in the formed intermediate coating film is within a range of from 1 to 50% by weight, then overcoating a top coating material comprising, as binders, a polyester resin and an aminoplast resin cross-linking agent having a surface tension of at least 40 dyn/cm over the entire surface, followed by baking and curing to form a top coating film with the relief pattern.