Apparatus and method for pre-shrinking a wet fabric prior to drying

Abstract

An apparatus and method for pre-shrinking a wet fabric prior to drying. The apparatus includes, among other components, a balloon extractor station and a hydro-sizer compression station. The balloon extractor station removes some water from the wet fabric. The hydro-sizer compression station is operatively connected to, and disposed downstream of, the balloon extractor station, and compresses the wet fabric in a lengthwise direction, and in so doing, pre-shrinks the wet fabric prior to drying. The method includes, among other steps, extracting some water from the wet fabric so as to form a hydro-extracted and wet fabric, compressing lengthwise the hydro-extracted and wet fabric so as to form a compacted and wet fabric that is now pre-shrunk prior to drying, and drying the compacted and wet fabric so as to form a compacted and dry fabric.

The invention claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for pre-shrinking a wet fabric prior to drying, comprising the steps of:
 a) entering the wet fabric into a balloon extractor station via an entry system station so as to form an entered and wet fabric;   b) extracting some water from the wet fabric via a balloon extractor station so as to form a hydro-extracted and wet fabric;   c) washing the hydro-extracted and wet fabric via a knit washer station so as to form a washed, hydro-extracted, and wet fabric;   d) applying one of chemical softeners and chemical lubricants to the washed, hydro-extracted, and wet fabric via a twin balloon pad station so as to form a chemically applied, washed, hydro-extracted, and wet fabric;   e) removing excess of the one of the chemical softeners and the chemical lubricants from the chemically applied, washed, hydro-extracted, and wet fabric via the twin balloon pad station so as to form an excess chemically removed, washed, hydro-extracted, and wet fabric;   f) compressing lengthwise the excess chemically removed, washed, hydro-extracted, and wet fabric via a hydro-sizer compression station so as to form a compacted, hydro-extracted, and wet fabric that is now pre-shrunk prior to drying;   g) drying the compacted, hydro-extracted, and wet fabric so as to form a compacted and dry fabric; and   h) folding the compacted and dry fabric via a folding station so as to form a folded, compacted, and dry fabric.