GB1433011A - Spinneret assembly and its use - Google Patents

Abstract

1433011 Spinneret assembly E I DU PONT DE NEMOURS & CO 19 April 1973 [24 April 1972] 19079/73 Heading B5B A spinneret assembly 24 for use in melt spinning synthetic filaments 15 includes a spinneret plate 11, means for directing one or more streams of inert gas to flow across the outer face of the spinneret plate to exclude ambient air, and deflecting means for deflecting ambient air currents flowing towards the outer face so that they join the stream or streams of inert gas at an angle less than 45 degrees, and preferably parallel to the inert gas streams. As shown the deflecting means comprises a spinneret plate retainer 14 having one or more lips 37, Fig. 3, surrounding the filament space, each lip having an inner surface and an outer surface meeting of an edge adjoining the filament space, the inner surface being opposed to the outer face of the spinneret plate 11 and the outer surface approaching said outer face at an angle of 45 degrees. The retainer is spaced apart from the spinneret plate to form a gap through which inert gas is introduced, and the lower surface of the retainer merges into the lower surface of the lip in a cyma curve. Assembly 24 is supported in cavity 1 of heated block 2 by screw 3. Hot inert gas is supplied through passage 4, and part flows through passages 30, 31, 32 into plate 11 and hence into retainer 74 and part flows through passages 30a, 31a and 32a into the opposite side of plate 11 and retainer 14a. Inert gas then flows along the lower surface of plate 11 from both retainers 14 and 14a towards filaments 15. The outer surface of block 2 is covered with insulations 20 except for the bottom portion of cavity 1 which is open to a conventional quenching chimney 21 having parallel wings 22 and a source 23 of cool quenching air. As seen in Fig. 3, plate 11 and retainer 14 are separated by metering plate 44 and distribution plate 45. Retainer 14 has several parallel longitudinal grooves comprising a manifold passage 34, a dissipater passage 47 and a shallow slot 48. Distribution plate 45 has a single large diameter aperture above the manifold passage 34, and a comb like edge with a plurality of slots 46, the U-shaped ends of which lie above the manifold passage 34. Figs. 7 and 8 (not shown) show the flow patterns of the resulting gas and air streams, using respectively a rectangular spinneret and a round spinneret with an annular filament array.