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US 4,233,012 AGranted
Bias stretching apparatus for imitation-leather
AssigneeCompo Industries, Inc.
InventorsCharles M. Willwerth, John P. Silvia
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A diagonal bias-stretching device and a method of enhancing surface grain of imitation-leather material with such device, which device comprises a reciprocating roller moving between lateral positions on either side of a line of advance of an imitation-leather material, to provide for alternating diagonal stretching and relaxing of the material as it moves under tension in the line of advance.
Claims10
An apparatus for the diagonal bias-stretching under tension of a moving sheet material, which apparatus comprises:
- (a) a source of a laminate sheet material, which sheet material comprises a base layer and a polymeric layer which has a surface design thereon;
- (b) means to advance continuously the sheet material under tension longitudinally from the source along a longitudinal line of advance;
- (c) a reciprocating-roller means disposed in the line of advance of the sheet material and in nonsliding contact with the base layer of the sheet material along a line of contact generally perpendicular to the line of advance;
- (d) at least one retaining-roller means disposed in the line of advance of the sheet material and generally parallel to the reciprocating roller, the roller disposed in a controlled, spaced-apart, aligned relationship, either ahead or behind the reciprocating roller, the roller being in nonsliding contact with one surface of the laminate sheet material along a contact line generally perpendicular to the line of advance;
- and
- (e) means to reciprocate the reciprocating-roller means in a direction generally perpendicular to the line of the advance, and between positions of the roller from one to the other side of the line of advance, while the first roller means retains the laminate sheet material in a line of contact in the longitudinal line of advance, thereby rapidly and alternately stretching and relaxing, in a controlled, biased, diagonal direction, the sheet laminate material as it advances under tension between the reciprocating roller and the first roller.
3 more elements
An apparatus for the diagonal-bias-stretching under tension of a continuously moving laminate material containing a grain-design effect thereon, which apparatus comprises:
- (a) a source of laminate material which comprises a fibrous woven base sheet, a coated polymeric layer and a discontinuous polymeric layer to define a raised surface-design effect thereon;
- (b) a driving roller to unwind the laminate material from a source and to advance the unwound material continuously under tension from the source along a longitudinal line of advance through a series of rollers;
- (c) at least one elastomer-coated, smooth-surface, reciprocating roller disposed in the line of advance of the sheet material whose surface is in contact with the base layer of the sheet material along a line of contact generally perpendicular to the continuously moving line;
- (d) a first pair of elastomer-coated nip rollers on one side and a second pair of elastomer-coated nip rollers on the other side of the reciprocating roller, and spaced apart from the reciprocating roller a controlled distance, the first and second pair of nip rollers disposed in the line of advance of the sheet material and generally parallel to the reciprocating roller, and having a line of contact with the material just before or just after the reciprocating roller, which is generally perpendicular to the line of advance;
- (e) a hold-back roller with braking means upstream of the first pair of nip rollers, and adapted to provide controlled tension between the first pair of nip rollers and the line of contact of the material with the reciprocating roller;
- (f) the drive roller providing controlled tension between the second pair of nip rollers and the line of contact of the material leaving the reciprocating roller;
- (g) a wind-up roller whereby material processed through the apparatus is wound up after processing;
- (h) means to reciprocate the reciprocating roller in a direction generally normal to the line of advance between positions from either side of the line of advance, while the first and second pair of nip rollers retain the material in the line of advance, to provide for diagonal bias-stretching of the material as it moves along the line of advance;
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- (i) means to control the frequency of movement of the reciprocating roller and the length of the stroke of the reciprocating roller, thereby providing an apparatus which stretches and relaxes the laminate material as it advances under tension to enhance the surface-design effect thereon and to improve the hand of the material.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.