FELT FOR INDUSTRIAL IRONING SYSTEM

Abstract

 A felt for an industrial ironing system includes: first and second batt layers; and a plurality of yarns extending parallel to each other in a first direction. The yarns are devoid of additional yarns interweaving in a perpendicular second direction.

Description

Related Application

[0001] The present application claims priority from and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/182,970, filed June 22, 2015, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety.

Background

[0002] A typical industrial system for ironing cloth (for example, bed sheets for hotels, cloth for tailored clothing, tablecloths, or the like) includes an enclosure that includes a base (also referred to as a "chest") that provides support from underneath. Two cylindrical rolls are positioned within semicircular recesses in the chest. The rolls are perforated and are hollow. Each of the rolls is covered with a felt that is wrapped around the circumference of the roll. A steam generation system is operatively associated with the chest, and a suction unit is fluidly connected to the cavities of the rolls.

[0003] In operation, the cloth to be ironed is fed between the chest and the rolls, with the rolls 16 rotating about their longitudinal axes to convey the cloth. Typically the nip between each felt and the underlying recess of the chest is sufficiently narrow that the cloth is pressed between these structures. Steam is generated in the steam generation system and released through the chest into the cloth. The suction unit draws the steam through the cloth and the felt and into the cavities of the rolls through the perforations in the rolls. The heat, steam and pressure help to remove wrinkles in the cloth. The steam exits the rolls 16 and is conveyed to a heat exchanger (not shown) for cooling and/or re-use.

Summary

[0004] As a first aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a felt for an industrial ironing system. The felt comprises: first and second batt layers; and a plurality of yarns extending parallel to each other in a first direction. The yarns are devoid of additional yarns interweaving in a perpendicular second direction.

[0005] In some embodiments, the yarns are aramid yarns included in density of between about 6 and 12 yarns per cm, and having a size of between about 30 and 300 tex.

[0006] As a second aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to an industrial ironing system, comprising: a base having a chest with at least one recess; a roll mounted at least partially within the recess, the roll defining a longitudinal axis, the longitudinal axis being parallel to a cross-machine direction; and a felt circumferentially surrounding the roll. The felt comprises: first and second batt layers; and a plurality of yarns extending substantially parallel to each other in a machine direction that is perpendicular to the cross-machine direction, the yarns being devoid of additional yarns interweaving in the cross-machine direction.

Brief Description of the Figures

[0007] 

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of an industrial ironing system according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the felt of the ironing system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side section view of the felt of FIG. 2 compared to a felt of a conventional ironing system.

Detailed Description of Embodiments of the Invention

[0008] The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Thicknesses and dimensions of some components may be exaggerated for clarity.

[0009] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

[0010] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein the expression "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0011] As used herein, the terms machine direction ("MD") and cross machine direction ("CMD") refer, respectively, to a direction normal to the longitudinal axes of the rolls in an industrial ironing system and a direction parallel to the longitudinal axes of the rolls in an industrial ironing system.

[0012] In addition, spatially relative terms, such as "under", "below", "lower", "over", "upper" and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as "under" or "beneath" other elements or features would then be oriented "over" the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term "under" can encompass both an orientation of over and under. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

[0013] Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity.

[0014] Referring now to the figures, a system for ironing cloth, designated broadly at 10, is shown in FIG. 1. The system 10 includes an enclosure 12 that includes a base 14 (also referred to as a "chest") that provides support from underneath. Two cylindrical rolls 16 are positioned within semicircular recesses 18 in the chest 14. The rolls 16 are perforated and are hollow. Each of the rolls 16 is covered with a felt 22 that is wrapped around the circumference of the roll 16, with an overlapping section 38 present at one end of the felt 22. A steam generation system 20 is operatively associated with the chest 14. A suction unit 24 is fluidly connected to the cavities of the rolls 16.

[0015] In operation, a cloth 30 to be ironed (for example, a bed sheet, cloth for tailored clothing, tablecloths, or the like) is fed between the chest 14 and the rolls 16, with the rolls 16 rotating about their longitudinal axes A to convey the cloth 30. Typically the nip between each felt 22 and the underlying recess 18 of the chest 14 is sufficiently narrow that the cloth 30 is pressed between these structures. Steam is generated in the steam generation system 20 and released through the chest 14 into the cloth 30. The suction unit 24 draws the steam through the cloth 30 and the felt 22 and into the cavities of the rolls 16 through the perforations in the rolls 16. The heat, steam and pressure help to remove wrinkles in the cloth 30. The steam exits the rolls 16 and is conveyed to a heat exchanger (not shown) for cooling and/or re-use.

[0016] Referring now to FIG. 2, the felt 22 is multi-layered and comprises at its core a base layer comprising a plurality of yarns 32. The yarns 32 extend parallel to each other in the machine direction as defined above. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the felt 22 has no yarns extending in the cross-machine direction that weave with the yarns 32. In FIGS. 2 and 3, the yarns 32 are shown as being arranged in a single layer, but in other embodiments the yarns 32 may be arranged in multiple layers, typically with a scrim or batt layer present between the layers of yarns.

[0017] The yarns 32 may be formed of a variety of forms, including monofilaments, multifilaments, spunbond yarns, staple yarns, and twisted combinations thereof, and with a variety of materials, such as aramid, polyester, polyamide, polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), and the like. The yarn sizes may also vary; typically the yarns are between about 30 and 300 tex. Yarn spacing may also vary; in a typical felt, the spacing between the yarns 32 creates a yarn density of between about 6 and 12 yarns per cm. In particular, the yarn material, size and spacing should be selected so that the overall felt 22 has a tensile strength in the machine direction of at least 300N/cm, and/or has an elongation resistance of less than 0.26 percent in operation, and an overall elongation of 25 percent to failure.

[0018] The felt 22 also includes batt layers 34, 36 that overlie and underlie the yarns 32. The batt layers 34, 36 are typically formed of a variety of materials, such as aramid, polyester, polyamide, PPS, and the like, and combinations thereof, although other materials may also be employed. Although the batt layers 34, 36 are shown as single layers, either or both of the batt layers 34, 36 may include multiple layers, which may be formed of the same or different materials. Ordinarily, the batt layers 34, 36 are applied to the yarns 32 by a needling process.

[0019] FIG. 3 shows a comparison of the felt 22 with a conventional felt 22'. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the conventional felt 22' includes batt layers 34', 36' and a woven fabric 32' serving as a base layer that comprises MD yarns 32M interwoven with CMD yarns 32C. As shown in FIG. 3, the MD yarns 32M follow a sinuous or crimped path in interweaving with the CMD yarns 32C. The crimping of the MD yarns 32M effectively creates some slack in the MD yarns 32M, such that, when the conventional felt 22' is placed under tension in the machine direction (which occurs during operation as the rolls 16 rotate relative to the chest 14), the conventional felt 22' tends to elongate in the machine direction.

[0020] In contrast, the yarns 32 of the felt 22 have no crimping because they do not interweave with other yarns. As such, when placed under tension in the machine direction during operation, the yarns 32 have little to no slack, and thus resist lengthening (i.e., have low elongation) considerably more than the MD yarns 32M of the conventional felt 22'. If a felt stretches too much, it may become necessary to cut back the overlapping section 38 with some frequency, during which operations cease. The felt 22 may provide sufficient elongation resistance to prevent elongation during operation that would require cutting of the overlapping section 38. Also, because the felt 22 has no CMD yarns, the overall weight of a felt with similar or improved elongation resistance can be lower. Further, the absence of CMD yarns within a woven fabric (i.e., the use of only MD yarns) can reduce the cost of the felt significantly, as the weaving process can be omitted.

[0021] In one embodiment, a felt 22 includes yarns 32 formed of aramid included in a density of 200g/m², and batt layers 34, 36 formed of aramid and having a thickness of 4.7 mm, thereby providing a felt having an overall density of 800g/m².

[0022] The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting thereof. Although exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the claims. The invention is defined by the following claims, with equivalents of the claims to be included therein.

Claims

1. A felt for an industrial ironing system, comprising:

first and second batt layers; and

a plurality of yarns extending parallel to each other in a first direction, the yarns being devoid of additional yarns interweaving in a perpendicular second direction.

2. The felt defined in Claim 1, wherein the first and second batt layers have thickness of between about 4 and 15 mm, preferably 5 and 13 mm; more preferably 6 and 11 mm; more preferably 7 and 9 mm.

3. The felt defined in either Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the plurality of yarns are included in the felt at a density of between about 6 and 12 yarns per cm.

4. The felt defined in any of the preceding claims, wherein the felt has an elongation resistance of less than 0.26 percent.

5. The felt defined in any of the preceding claims, wherein the felt has an elongation at failure of less than 25 percent.

6. The felt defined in any of the preceding claims, in combination with a roll of an industrial ironing system.

7. The felt defined in any of the preceding claims, wherein the yarns are aramid yarns included in density of between about 6 and 12 yarns per cm, and having a size of between about 30 and 300 tex.

8. An industrial ironing system, comprising:

a base having a chest with at least one recess;

a roll mounted at least partially within the recess, the roll defining a longitudinal axis, the longitudinal axis being parallel to a cross-machine direction; and a felt circumferentially surrounding the roll as defined in Claim 1.

9. The system defined in Claim 8, wherein the first and second batt layers have thickness of between about 4 and 15 mm, preferably 5 and 13 mm; more preferably 6 and 11 mm; more preferably 7 and 9 mm.

10. The system defined in either Claim 8 or Claim 9, wherein the plurality of yarns are included in the felt at a density of between about 6 and 12 yarns per cm.

11. The system defined in any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the felt has an elongation resistance of less than 0.26 percent.

12. The system defined in any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the felt has an elongation at failure of less than 25 percent.

13. The system defined in any one of claims 8 to 12, further comprising a steam generation source operatively associated with the chest, and a suction unit fluidly connected with the roll.

14. The system defined in any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein the yarns are aramid yarns included in density of between about 6 and 12 yarns per cm, and having a size of between about 30 and 300 tex.

Drawing