US1515556A

US1515556A - Manufacture of artificial silk and the like

Info

Publication number: US1515556A
Application number: US528345A
Authority: US
Inventors: Dreaper William Porter
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1922-01-10
Filing date: 1922-01-10
Publication date: 1924-11-11
Anticipated expiration: 1941-11-11

Description

Nov. 11 1924.

w.' P;- DREAPER MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL SILK AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 10, 1922 Fig.1.

I/VI/A'A/TOR 1 7&2 Wa er Patented-Nov. 11,- 1924 ILLIAM PORTER DREAPER, oF'LoNnoN, ENGLAND.

MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL SILK AND THE LIKE.

Application filed mam 10, 1922. Serial no. 528,345.

To all whom it may canoe m1.

Be it known that; I, WVILLIAM 'PORTER DREAPER, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Lon'don,-England, have invented new and useful Improvements in the Manufacture of Artificial Silk and the like, of' which the following is a specification.

In the ordinary process of finishing'artifi'cial silk the skeins are first dried in a stretched condition and then wetted out and treated chemically and then dried a second time by hanging on rods and subjecting them to a very gent current of heatedair in a stove. The object of thus using a'gentle current of air is to prevent the skeins from gettin entangled or the filaments broken, The filaments then preserve to a great extent'the straightness which is given them during the drying under tension in the first .process. They therefore have little covermg power, i n fact their covering power is greatly inferior to'that of natural silk.

This invention largely overcomes this difficulty and the filaments are made to assume a crinkled or irregular form which prevents them coming so closely together in the strand of filaments and this gives increased" covering power to the final product without any appreciable ,loss in brilliancy. Incidentally the yarn is softer and more like natural silk in appearance.

For this purpose, according to the present invention, the freshly precipitated filaments in a plastic or semi-colloidal condition, either with or without a preliminary drying, are loosely supported in a final drying operation in a moist condition in the form of a skein on two or more supports in such a manner as to have a limited-freedom of motion, and are then acted upon by a strong current of heated air, whereby the individual filaments are kept in movement relatively to each other during the time the fiber colloid is being dehydrated by the action of the heated air, and at the same time an excessive amount of motion, ,such as would cause the filaments to become entangled, is prevented. f

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 illustrates one form of apparatus 'for supporting and drying the skein.-

Fig. 2 shows a different form of skein drying apparatus with the supporting rods.

Fig. 3 shows a wheel for supporting the skein.

largeto prevent the filaments rods K B towards the end of the drying period or at means for adjusting rods A B supporting the skel Fig. 4 shows a revolvable frame for supporting the skein.

This improvement may be effected in several ways so far as the means'taken to secure this relative movement is concerned. Thus, for instance, when the yarn is already finished except fora final drying operation, the skeins may be placed on a frame,

which are arranged one above the other at a suitable distance apart in an air conduit C and pass through t e interior of the skein D.

While in this position the skein is subjected,

to a strong blast -of,,heated air which is made to pass'right through the skein and thuskeep the convolutions of the strand and the individual filaments which make up the strand, in a constant state of movement relatively to each other. In this way the filaments are prevented during the drying process from becoming attached together in places, this movement being relatively violent as compared with'that which they would receive in an ordinary drying stove where movement of the skeins is avoided as far as-possible. This treatment therefore ensures that the individual filaments shall be constantly'moving as compared with adjacent filaments will dry ina more crinkled condition and so occupy loosely twisted strand.

Alternatively when the strands are being dried on a stretchingframe tinder tension it is possible to obtain something like the same result by carefully caring together the supporting rods A B etwee-n which the skein; is supported, e. g., by a sprocket chain E and wheels F F, Fig. 2, in such'a manner that from time to time the rods may be turned and withthem the'skein, and thus the sticking together of the filaments may be obviated. The diameterof the supporting rods or frames should be sufliciently from winding round them. Or else and preferably the may be brought closer together some other stage of the the required brightness This may be effected as shown in Fig. 2, by

drying, 1. e., when actuating one or more screws G connecting bearings'I-I in which there are arrangedthe The loosely held skeins are then subject d-while still on the frame to astrong blast of, air,

- -y supported loosely on the rods A B, Fig. 1,

filaments, and in addition that the a larger space in the has ,been obtained.

rod L of suitable diameter during the time the skein holder is slowly revolved. The blast of air which in this case may provide the necessary movement to the skein may either be delivered from a central pipe M placed just under the skein winder and act on the inner side of the skein or it may be directed against the outer side of the skein means of a pipe M. Or the external b blast may be provided by the current of air in an air conduit such as C, Fig. 1. By this means the skein in a slowly revolving condition is subjected to the necessary change of position and movement which gives the desired result. Owing to its penetrating nature the air blast is specially suitable for effecting this continuous change in the relative positions of adjacent filaments but any other movement which will produce the same efiect may be used.

A number of skeins whether they be on rods or on a skein holder may be simultaneously treated in a long and suitably constructed chamber such as C, along which the air blast is driven in required force. The

temperature of the air "is preferably be-- tween 25 and 30 C. In this way the air once used may be passed again through the chamber and ,re-used until it is saturated with aqueous vapor or otherwise. It is found necessary to free the air from suspended matter or dust as this settles on the filaments under the conditions of treatment and tends to discolor the same. This preliminary treatment of the air is effected by known means.

here the skein is alreadly dry it is possible to obtain a beneficial efiect by keeping the skein in a state of movement similar to that described after it has been steamed'or even sprayed with a fine water spray in order to slightly damp the same.

The relative motion of the filaments may he obtained by other means, for example, by whirling the frameN carrying the skein, (Fig. 4), on a shaft 0, the line joining the two rods P P supporting the skein being preferably inclined as shown relatively to a radiusvfrom the axis of the shaft 0.

By one of the means 1ndicated or, equivalent ones the filaments in the strands of artificial silk are kept in relative movement to one another, and under this treatment the filaments also tend to lose their strai ht condition and become more or less crink ed with advantage to their covering power in mass.

What I claim as new is:

1. A recess of treating artificial silk and like artificial filaments arranged in the form.

of a skein, consisting in first subjecting the filaments in a hydrated plastic condition to a preliminar drying under tension, then supporting t e skein in a moist condition loosely but with a limited freedom of motion in a plurality of places around its periphery, and finally subjecting the filaments while so supported to drying in conjunction with movement of the filaments relatively to v each other, this being efi'ected by means of heated air moving relatively thereto at a high velocity.

2. A like artlficial filaments arranged in the form of a skein, consisting in first subjecting the filaments in a hydrated plastic condition to a preliminary drying under tension and then supporting the skein in a moist condition loosely but with a limited freedom of motion in a plurality of places around its periphery, and finally subjecting the filaments while so Supported to drying in conjunction with movement of the filaments relatively to each other, this being efiected by means of heated air movin relatively to the filaments at a high velocity and by moving the skein in a direction longitudinally of the filaments.

3. In the manufacture of artificial silk and like artificial filaments,the process consisting of a preliminar drying of the filaments, a moistening of t e same and a final drying wherein the filaments in skein form and in a moist condition are suspended in such a manner as to have only a limited freedom of motion under the action of a strong current of hot air which is caused to act on the filaments during the time of dehydration.

4. In the process of manufacturing of artificial silk,..and like artificial filaments, a final drying operation wherein the filaments in skein form and in a moist condition aresus ended in such a manner as to have only a limited freedom of motion under the action of a strong current of hot air which is caused to act on the filaments during the time of dehydration.

' LIA-M PORTER DREAPER.

itnesses:

(30mm) NOLD,

amen Ronmson.

rocess of treating artificial silk and