GB825236A - Method and apparatus for curling thermoplastic or hygroscopic yarn or thermoplastic and hygroscopic yarn - Google Patents

Abstract

825,236. Curling yarns. DAVID & DAVID Inc. Dec. 14, 1956 [Dec. 22, 1955], No. 38206/56. Class 120(3) Yarn of thermoplastic and/or hygroscopic material e.g. cellulose acetate or polyvinylidine chloride, which may have been preshrunk, is curled by winding it around and progressively along the length of a stationary mandrel having a non- circular peripheral contour for resisting tightening of the yarn coils thereon; softening the yarn, as by heating and/or wetting e.g. by application of wet steam; setting the curled yarn as by cooling and/or drying. The yarn is softened on the mandrel and may be set at the same stage or subsequently e.g. when accumulated on a storage device or in passing directly to a sewing machine to be sewed on to dolls' heads as artificial hair therefor. In operating the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, yarn 60 is led through a hollow shaft 14 and a tube 36 in a collar 30 to emerge at 62 and is wound around a non-circular tapered portion 48 of a member 46: shaft 14 is rotated by pulley 26 and belt 28, thereby rotating the tube 36 to wind yarn continuously on portion 48 and a mandrel 58 comprised by rods 54 disposed in grooves 52 and cavities 50 in member 46 which is stationary relative to shaft 14. The coiled yarn is fed along the mandrel by pressure of incoming coils and/or by external feeding means such as opposed rollers, Fig. 7 (not shown), and is guided on to a rod 70 having one end inserted into a tapered channel 82 in an adaptor 80 secured to one of rods 54, Fig. 1, a spherical end or stop 76, intermediate part comprising a helix and the whole length forming a storage device 12. The yarn is softened by subjection to a mixture of steam and water vapour at 200‹F. in a steam chamber 84. Fig. 8 shows a mandrel 58<SP>1</SP> formed by one or more rods and bowed at 66 to dip into a receptacle 68 of liquid for softening the yarn and extended to traverse a heating chamber 75 when the yarn is set by drying or to enable air drying prior to transfer to a storage device. The rod, as at 12, may be straight and depend vertically from the mandrel, Fig. 9 (not shown).