GB1026382A - Improvements relating to the fluid treatment of textile fibres - Google Patents

Abstract

1,026,382. Drying apparatus. F. SMITH & CO. (WHITWORTH) Ltd. Jan. 8, 1963 [Jan. 10, 1962], No. 900/62. Heading F4G. [Also in Division D1] In apparatus for drying unspun textile fibres such as fleeces, slivers (e.g. in the form of tops), or loose natural or synthetic fibres with hot air, the fibres are fed to a treatment chamber preferably by a reciprocating ram 9 so that they become packed between the feed-in means and the chamber wall 2 and are advanced through the chamber by the feeding in of further fibres. The fibres may be heated by hot air passing through perforations in the wall 2 of the chamber or they may be heat treated by conduction through unbroken chamber walls. The space surrounding wall 2 is divided into section by walls 39, 42 (Fig. 8, not shown); in addition the space is divided segmentally along its length. In each segment air is circulated by a fan 44 (Fig. 8, not shown) through the packed fibres via heating tubes 49. The direction of flow of air in adjacent segments is opposed. Fresh air is pumped into the system via a tube 47 (Fig. 8) and passes via valves 45 from segment to segment while used air is exhausted from a tube 46. In all forms the treatment chamber, which is preferably of circular or rectangular cross-section, has diverging walls adjacent its inlet end to minimize the springing back of fibres while at the exit end the walls may converge to cause greater resistance to the movement of the fibres and therefore increase the density of the fibre mass. The resistance to fibre movement may be made adjustable by providing hinged doors at the exit of the chamber so that the size of the outlet may be adjusted; alternatively the exit end of the chamber may be covered by a valve-like flap adjustably weighted by gravity means or by springs.