Method of dyeing continuous strips of textile fabric made of polyester fiber or mixtures of polyester with other fibers, and jigger for carrying out the method

A method for dyeing textile webs made of polyester fibers or blends of polyester fibers with other fibers in a dye bath in a jig that has a first lap roll, a dye bath, and a second lap roll spaced from the dye bath via a reeling-on gap, comprising the steps of:

• unwinding the web from one of the lap rolls of the jig;
• passing the web through the dye bath;
• raising the temperature of the textile web an additional amount just prior to winding it onto the lap roll acting as a reeling roll by blowing saturated steam onto the textile web directly in the reeling-on gap preceding that lap roll;
• winding the web immediately onto that lap roll acting as a reeling roll of the jig, the winding direction being reversible after the run-through of the length of the textile web;
• wherein the dyeing is carried out under atmospheric pressure without air inlet or exchange with the ambient atmosphere in such a way that the boiling temperature of the dye liquor, or a temperature immediately below the boiling temperature is maintained in the dye bath, and wherein a film former to increase the liquor-carrying capacity on the textile web of PES fibers is added to the dye liquor.

A jig for dyeing textile webs made of polyester fibers or blends of polyester fibers with other fibers in a dye bath, comprising:

• a sealable housing which is accessible for the exchange of batches, but which is otherwise sealed;
• two lap rolls rotationally mounted in the housing that can be bidirectionally driven, so that a textile web can be wound back and forth between them;
• at least one dye bath, through which the textile web passes during the winding;
• a heating device for keeping the dye bath at or just below the boiling temperature of the dye liquor, under essentially atmospheric pressure within the housing;
• additional steam-spray tubes, arranged to extend across the width of the textile web, at least some of said steam-spray tubes being arranged to face the lap side of the textile web in a reeling-on gap directly before the textile web is wound onto the respective reeling lap roll, subjecting that side of the textile web that faces the lap roll to the action of saturated steam wherein the tubes are oriented so that pockets of condensed steam do not form in the vicinity of the location where the steam strikes the web.