EP1054083A1

EP1054083A1 - Device for coloring spinning yarn material

Info

Publication number: EP1054083A1
Application number: EP99119448A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Mitsuru Suetomi
Original assignee: Suetomi Engineering Co; Asahi Trading Co Ltd
Current assignee: Suetomi Engineering Co; Asahi Trading Co Ltd
Priority date: 1999-05-21
Filing date: 1999-09-30
Publication date: 2000-11-22
Also published as: JP2000328345A; JP3795255B2

Abstract

A spinning yarn material coloring device (10) which is applicable any spinning methods, which makes it possible to change colors in a short time with a small amount of cleaning polymer, and which eliminates the possibility of deterioration of coloring ink. Spinning yarn material supplied into a terminal end (3a) of a distributing pipe (3) is fed into a mixing block (30) through a metering pump (4). On the other hand, from a coloring ink tank (20), coloring ink is fed through a supply pipe (21) and metering pump (22) into the mixing block (30), and injected through a nozzle (40) into the spinning yarn material for mixing. The mixture is supplied to a spinning pack (5) for spinning.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a device for coloring material for spinning yarn by directly mixing ink into the spinning yarn material.
In order to obtain colored yarn, there are two methods, i.e. dyeing yarn or coloring yarn material and spinning. In the latter method, there are known the master batch method and the dope dyeing method. In the master batch method, as shown in Fig. 5, a mixture of material chips and color chips is fed from a hopper 1 into an extruder 2. The mixture heated and melted by the extruder 2 is supplied to spinning packs 5 through metering pumps 4 provided at ends of terminal pipes 3a of a distributing pipe 3 arranged in a tournament-like way, and spun through a spinnerette 6. Also, in the dope dyeing method, liquid ink is injected through an ink injection port 7 provided in the extruder 2.
As will be understood from Fig. 5, in either of the above dyeing methods, since the feed distance to the terminal ends of the distributing pipe 3 is long, coloring ink is heated for a long time and thus tends to deteriorate. To change color, a large amount of cleaning polymer is needed to remove colored molten polymer in the extruder 2 and the distributing pipe 3. Further a long time is wasted and cost burden is large.
Also, in the continuous polymerizing spinning method in which a molten polymer is directly supplied from a polymerizing device 8 of Fig. 5, no means for coloring the material has been developed.
An object of this invention is to provide a spinning yarn material coloring device which is applicable to either of the above methods, which makes it possible to change colors in a short time using a small amount of cleaning polymer, and which eliminates the deterioration of coloring ink.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to this invention, there is provided a spinning yarn material coloring device comprising a spinning yarn material supply means, a distributing pipe connected to the spinning yarn material supply means, a spinning pack, a mixing block connected to a terminal end of the distributing pipe and arranged directly upstream of the spinning pack, a means for supplying coloring ink to the mixing block, and a nozzle for injecting the coloring ink to mix it with spinning yarn material in the mixing block.
It is also preferable to provide a check valve between the coloring ink inlet port and the outlet port. Also, it is preferable to form a plurality of mutually reversed, helical passages downstream of the nozzle.
Other features and objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a material coloring device embodying this invention;
Fig. 2 is a front view, partially in vertical section, of the mixing block of the same;
Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the nozzle of the same;
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the mixer provided in the mixing block; and
Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing a conventional spinning yarn material coloring device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

An embodiment of this invention is described with reference to Figs. 1 through 4. As shown in Fig. 1, a coloring ink mixing device 10 that constitutes the feature of this invention is provided in each terminal pipe 3a of a distributing pipe 3. To the mixing device 10, a spinning pack 5 is connected. A means for supplying molten polymer to the distributing pipe 3 may be an extruder or a polymerizing device.
The coloring ink mixing device 10 comprises a mixing block 30 for mixing coloring ink injected from a coloring ink tank 20 through an ink supply pipe 21 and a metering pump 22 provided in the supply pipe 21 into a molten polymer supplied from the terminal pipe 3a of the distributing pipe 3 through a metering pump 4. For the metering pumps 4 and 22, gear pumps may be used. Also, the metering pump 4 may be provided downstream of the mixing block 30.
As shown in Fig. 2, the mixing block 30 is provided with a supply port 31 for molten polymer of the yarn material. The supply port 31 communicates with a cylindrical mixing chamber 32 in which a nozzle 40 and a mixer 50 are provided. As shown in Fig. 3, a cylindrical body 40a of the nozzle 40 is formed with a large-diameter hole 41, a medium-diameter hole 42 and a small-diameter hole 43. The large-diameter hole 41 communicates with an ink injection port 44 provided at one end of the nozzle 40.
The small-diameter hole 43 is a blind hole, and the nozzle body 40a has a plurality of (four in the embodiment) ink ejection holes 45 extending radially from near inner end of the hole 43 and inclined toward a conical tip 40b of the body 40a. On the outer surface of the body 40a, corresponding to the respective ejection holes 45, shallow longitudinal grooves 46a are provided to extend axially from the position of the supply port 31. Each longitudinal groove 46a is bifurcated from the position of the ejection hole 45 into branch grooves 46b slightly inclined relative to the axis and extending to the base of the conical tip 40b.
Also, on a shoulder 42a between the small-diameter hole 43 and the medium-diameter hole 42, one end of a coil spring 47 abuts. Its other end presses a ball 48 against an inner end 44a of a small-diameter portion of the ink injection hole 44 to form a check valve.
Spaced a predetermined distance from the conical tip portion 40b of the nozzle 40, the mixer 50 is mounted. Preferably, as shown in Fig. 4, it may be a known static mixer having a plurality of (three in the embodiment) helically twisted elements 51 displaced 90° from each other with the adjacent elements 51 twisted in the opposite directions to each other.
In operation, when coloring ink supplied from the metering pump 22 of the ink supply pipe 21 is injected into the injection port 44 of the nozzle 40, it fills the holes 41, 42, 43 of the nozzle 40 while pushing open the ball. On the other hand, molten polymer is continuously supplied through the supply port 31 of the mixing block 30, fills the mixing chamber 32, and flows along the longitudinal grooves 46a and the branch grooves 46b provided in the body 40a and the tip 40b of the nozzle 40, respectively, toward the mixer 50. The coloring ink is ejected in every direction through the ejection holes 45, and mixed with the molten polymer flowing in the grooves 46a.
That is, the coloring ink is divided uniformly and mixed into the molten polymer flowing in the mixing chamber 32. The mixture passes the helical passages formed by the elements 51 of the mixer 50. While passing through the adjacent helical passages offset 90 ° from each other, the mixture is reversed and well kneaded, so that the coloring ink is dispersed uniformly in the molten polymer. The mixture is supplied through a discharge port 33 to the spinning pack 5.
If spinning with a special spotted pattern is desired, it is possible to unevenly mix coloring ink by reducing the number of ejection holes 45 of the nozzle 40 to one, omitting the mixer 50 or reducing the number of the elements 51. Also, coloring ink of the same color may be supplied to all the mixing blocks 30, or ink of different colors may be supplied.
Further, this invention is applicable to not only synthetic fiber but to semi-synthetic fiber and recycled fiber.
According to this invention, immediately before the spinning pack provided at the terminal end of the distributing pipe, the mixing block is provided, and coloring ink is injected into molten polymer in the mixing block for mixing. Thus there is no possibility of deterioration of ink. Also, there is no necessity to clean the extruder and distributing pipe for color change. Only the mixing block and the spinning pack have to be cleaned. Thus, loss of cleaning polymer is minimum, and working time is short, so that cost reduction is large.
Also, it is possible to spin yarn with different colors simultaneously. Together with greater workability, it is suitable for many-type, small-quantity production. Further, besides uniform coloring, coloring into a spotty pattern is also possible. Thus it is possible to get new unique spinning yarn. Besides, it is applicable not only to spinning using an extruder but to continuous polymerization spinning method.

Claims

A spinning yarn material coloring device comprising a spinning yarn material supply means, a distributing pipe connected to said spinning yarn material supply means, a spinning pack, a mixing block connected to a terminal end of said distributing pipe and arranged directly upstream of said spinning pack, a means for supplying coloring ink to said mixing block, and a nozzle for injecting the coloring ink to mix it with spinning yarn material in said mixing block.
The spinning yarn material coloring device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said nozzle has an inlet port for coloring ink, and at least one outlet port for coloring ink, and wherein a check valve is provided between said inlet port and said outlet port.
The spinning yarn material coloring device as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein downstream of said nozzle, a static mixer having a plurality of mutually reversed, helical passages is provided.