Steam seal for textile production

A sealing device for a steam chest useful in the manufacture of textile materials, said sealing device comprising a plurality of expansion chambers located along a curvilinear material path.

A sealing device for inhibiting the passage of a gas therethrough while allowing passage of a textile material therethrough, said device comprising:

• an upper frame and a lower frame which together comprise a structure having a top closure, a bottom closure, mutually opposing side closures connecting said top and bottom closures and two mutually opposing ends, each end having an opening defining, respectively, an inlet and an outlet for said textile material, an interior space defined by said closures and said ends, a plurality of rollers within said interior space, said rollers having parallel longitudinal axes disposed horizontally and perpendicular to said side closures, a first plurality of expansion chambers in said upper frame within said interior space comprising parallel grooves extending parallel to the longitudinal axes of the rollers and disposed along a curve uniformly spaced from and partially surrounding a first one of said rollers so as to form a curvilinear labyrinth seal, and a second plurality of expansion chambers in said lower frame within said interior space comprising parallel grooves extending parallel to the longitudinal axes of the rollers and disposed along a curve uniformly spaced from and partially surrounding a second one of said rollers adjacent to said first one of said rollers so as to form a curvilinear labyrinth seal.

A method for introducing a continuous length of textile material into or removing it from a vessel containing a gas under elevated pressure which comprises passing the textile material through a sealing device comprising a curvilinear labyrinth seal.

A sealing device for a steam chest useful in the manufacture of textile materials, said sealing device comprising a first frame and a second frame which together form a structure having an inlet and an outlet, a first roller and a second roller within said structure, a first plurality of expansion chambers disposed within said structure and partial surrounding said first roller, and a second plurality of expansion chambers disposed within said structure and partially surrounding said second roller.

A sealing device for reducing the leakage of a gas from a vessel containing said gas under elevated pressure, said sealing device comprising a curvilinear labyrinth seal.