GB930546A - Apparatus for drawing-off and depositing strand materials - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus for drawing off and depositing a "strand" comprises a plurality of elements grouped to a support in substantially "helical" configuration a strand making a circuit thereof, at least one of the elements being adapted to rotate on its own axis which is at an angle to the direction of length of the strand when supported on said element so as to advance the strand lengthwise of itself in the said configuration, and a guide-member adapted to rotate in a circle about the axis of the helix in a plane perpendicular thereto and adapted to receive a strand from a source and guide it on to said elements. The term "strand" comprises monoor multi-filaments, tow, sliver, staple yarn, thread, rope, and ribbon, and "helical" is defined as non-contiguous coiling about an axis regardless of the configuration of the coils or variations in size between one coil and another. While being advanced in "helical" form the strand may be extended, heated or otherwise treated. In Figs. 1, 3, a frame 4 is rotatably mounted on a driven shaft 1, and has rotatably mounted on it a number of wormrollers 5. These are rotated at the same speed and in the same direction as the shaft 1 by a timing-belt 20 passing around a sprocket 19 on the shaft and sprockets 53 one for each roller, 61, 62 being idlers, the latter adjustable. Inside the shaft 1 is a tube 17 communicating by an offset aperture with a tube 33. A strand fed through the tube 17 is laid by the rotating tube 35 in a coil around the apparatus; as the rollers rotate the outermost 30 degrees of each groove is occupied by the strand which thus forms a helical coil which gradually descends and is finally deposited from the rollers. The rotation of the helix relatively to its axis may be modified by holding the frame stationary or causing it to rotate one way or the other by applying a snubbing-roll or belt or a magnet to one or more of the rollers. In modifications (a) the worm-rollers may rotate oppositely to shaft 1, (b) when the apparatus is used to coil filaments, these may be delivered to the tube 17 directly from a spinneret and may be stretched in the coiling-process; (c) the elements may vary in number, size, form and arrangement; thus the rollers may be tapered; the elements may yield coils which may be semi-circular, triangular, square, rhombic, or of elongated oval form; one element only need be threaded, the others being smooth; one element may be threaded over only part of its surface, or be slotted and be attached to the guide-member to co-operate with at least one other supporting element; one element may comprise a set of conveyer belts, gears or chains each moving in a vertical path, the set being clustered about a vertical axis about which it rotates while several such sets may rotate as a group about a central shaft; (d) the surface on which the coils are deposited may be rotated, oscillated, or otherwise moved to form a pattern of collected strands for further processing as in Specification 787,900; two apparatus each similar to that of Figs. 1 and 3, but each with only two elements may be arranged to form a batt of interleaved elongated coils, Fig. 10, not shown. In another form, Fig. 8, where the strand is stretched during the coiling a number of wormrolls such as 92 are splayed outwardly from the axis of the driving-shaft 81 from which they are oppositely-rotated by meshing bevels 87, 88. The strand passes centrally down the shaft 81 which it leaves by an offset aperture 84 to take, via guides 87, 88 a few turns around depending support pins 95 before being wrapped around the screw rolls. The upper parts of these tape to a smaller section which then remains constant until near the other end where the roll decreases in radius to an apex; the tapering at the apex slows or stops rotation of the strand about a vertical axis and prevents the strand slipping back into the drawing-zone, while the tapering at the top of the rolls permits several turns to be laid on the rolls without tension to prevent drawing and slipping in this zone. The taper angle in this zone is about one-half of the angle of splay of the rolls. The rolls may be conical or otherwise formed to vary the stretch imparted to the filament. The apparatus may be heated and wholly or partly encased so that the strand may be heat-set and such an apparatus may feed a similar apparatus for further drawing and so on. <FORM:0930546/IV(a)/1> <FORM:0930546/IV(a)/2> <FORM:0930546/IV(a)/3>