US2109894A - Apparatus for dyeing - Google Patents

Description

March 1, 1938. ABBOTT 2,109,894

APPARATUS FOR DYEING Original Filed June 25, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 O O O O O O O O O O O 0 9 O O O O O O 0 O O O O O Q 0 O O O 0 9 0 O O O 0 O O O 0 0 D O O O O O O O O O 0 O O frzveiz Zar;

Edward rZA 0Z A eljls',

March 1, 1938. E. J. ABBOTT- APPARATUS-FOR DYEING I Original Fil ed June 25, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Invent; v Edward J14 5&0ZZ, $5 434%,; Mw9l4m A l A7 a V 7/ Aug:

Patented Mar. 1, 1938 PATENT! OFFICE 2,169,894 APPARATUS FOR DYEING Edward J. Abbott, Wilton, N. 11., assignor to Abbott Machine Company, Wilton, N. 11., a corporation of New Hampshire Original application June 25, 1930, Serial No. 463,649. Divided and this application April 25, 1935, Serial No. 18,207

4 Claims. (01. 8-19) 6 This application is a division of my application Serial No. 463,649, filed June 25, 1930, now Patent No. 2,031,588, dated February 25, 1936. This invention pertains to the fluid treatment of textile materials, and relates more particularly to apparatus, to wit, a kettle or vat, for use m such fluid treatment, for example, as dyeing, bleaching, or preshrinking textile yarns, the principal object being toprovide a kettle or vat of improved construction by means of which the fluid treatment may be carried out in a highly eflicient and expeditious way with assurance of substantial uniformity of product and under improved conditions and ease of operation.

As respects certain aspects of the invention, the kettle or vat may be either of the open or closed type and may be used in carrying out any of the usual methods of dyeing or other fluid treatment of textiles or the like, but I have herein chosen to illustrate the invention as embodied, by way of example, in an open topped kettle or vat equipped for pressure dyeing or fluid treating yarns, slivers, etc., wound upon spools.

In order to equalize the velocity of flow of liquid at the inner and outer peripheries of the material wound on the spools, this invention provides a novel relation between the diameter of the spool barrel and the outer diameter of the materal w und thereon.

As illustrated, the kettle is of the double bottom type for use in pressure dyeing, and the dye liquor delivered axially downward by the pump impeller into the plenum space between the bottom members of the kettle is distributed by suitable directing means so as to prevent swirling and to insure even operation, the heating medium, usually steam, being also admitted to the plenum space in a manner which substantially prevents hammering and which makes use of the energy, of the steam to increase the velocity of the flowing dye liquor.

-To avoid the excess pressure of the dye liquor, particularly when but a.- few spools are in use, I have provided a pressure relief valve for the space between the kettle bottoms.

Other features of advantage and utility will be apparentfrom this specification and its drawings, wherein the invention is explained bya description of a preferred embodiment thereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a central sectional view' of one embodiment of my invention;

.Fig. 2 is a top plan view ofthe same;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section showing pressure'relief means which may be used when the kettle is not provided with its full complement of spools;

Fig. 4 is a top view to larger scale of a preferred form of drive shaft bearing; and

Fig, 5 is a small scale, diagrammatic section, at right angles to the section of Fig. 1, showing the arrangement of the inlet pipe.

While my invention may be of more general utility, I regard it as particularly desirable in its illustrated embodiment in apparatus for spool dyeing yarn or the like. Referring to Fig". 1, the numeral I designates a dye vat or kettle having a bottom 2 and a false bottom 3 spaced from the bottom 2 to provide a plenum chamber 4 between them. The false bottom 3 has a plurality of openings, each preferably. provided with a tubular bushing sleeve I I, the lower ends of the sleeves resting upon the bottom 2, while the upper end of each sleeve or bushing is provided with an annular seat-flange 1 adapted to support the lower end of a spool 6. The lower part of each bushing is provided with one or more elongate slots I2 permitting the flow of fluid from the plenum chamber upwardly and intothe hollow barrel of the spool resting upon the seat-flange l and thence outwardly through suitable perforations H in the spool barrel, so that liquid supplied under pressure to the plenum chamber flows out through the yarn or roving wound upon the spool barrels.

A vertical rod 5, anchored at its lower end to the bottom 2, projects upwardly and axially through-each bushing H and is provided with suitable means for clamping a spool 6 against the corresponding seat I, Preferably these rods 5 are reduced in diameter at their lower portions, providing shoulders at Hill which bear upon the lower ends of the corresponding bushing ll. Since the seat flange l of the bushing rests upon the upper surface of the false bottom 3, and the shoulder on rod 5 holds the lower end of the bushing against the bottom 2, the two bottom members are firmly clamped together and kept from spreading,--a very necessary feature in a wooden kettle. Such clamping means prefer-ably comprises a retaining cap 8 or the like, adapted to bear against the top .of the spool 6 and to close the upper end of the tubular spool barrel being held tightly against the upper end of the spool by a nut 5 engaging the'screw threaded upper end of the rod 5. As shown at the right of Fig. 1, the cap 8 for a selected one of the spools may carry an upward extension 6 adapted to project above the highest possible liquid level within the dye vat, such extension being closed at its upper end by a cap 8' held in place by a suitable clamping nut 5 engaging the corresponding rod 5. This arrangement permits such spool to be unclamped (without lowering the level of the hot dye liquor) for sampling purposes.

The false bottom 3 is provided with a large opening 3* preferably centrally located, and a vertically disposed hllow' column 20 is arranged to extend upwardly concentrically with this opening 3 from the false bottom 3 to a point above the top of the kettle. Preferably this column consists of a plurality of aligned sections, the lower section'which is within the kettle preferably being perforated, as indicated at 22, to serve as a strainer. The fluid within the dye kettle proper freely enters the column through these perforations and passes downwardly through the opening 3' into the plenum chamber 4. At the lower end of the column 20, I arrange a spider-like frame 23, which supports a suitable bearlng 24 in which a vertical drive shaft 25 is mounted. This shaft preferably extends downwardly below the bearing and carries a suitable pumpimpeller 26' at or near its lower end, such impeller preferably being arranged directly within the opening 3" in the false bottom, the opening, if desired, being furnished with a lining sleeve or bushing 21. The pump impeller 26 is preferably of the axial flow type, for example, a screw propeller, and the shaft 25 may be connected to any suitable (preferably reversible) driving means, for example, an electric motor 26 mounted upon the upper end of the column 2|.

A part 40 (conveniently a metal casting) is arranged directly below the column 20 between the false bottom 3 and the true bottom 2 of the kettle, and acts to brace the central part of the false bottom and to support'the weight of the column and parts carried thereby. This casting Ill preferably has a plurality of downwardly and outwardly curved ducts or passages ll having walls which tend to overcome any tendency of the liquid to swirl or take up a marked rotary motion within the plenum chamber. These pessages compel the liquid to enter the plenum.

chamber in a plurality ofindependent and substantially horizontal streams, such passages communicating at their upper ends with the opening 3* and at their lower ends with the plenum space 4.

A hollow frusto-conical portion of the part 40 is arranged directly below the center of the pump impeller 26" and deiines the lower walls of the passages 48*. A supply pipe II is arranged to deliver steam or-other hot fluid into the chamber in part II and from this chamber ducts l2 lead outwardly to the passages ll, so as to deliver the hot steam into the fluid flowing through said passages 9, thereby heating the fluid without substantial tenden y to produce hammer, and at the same time utilizing the kinetic energy of the steam. for increasing the velocity of the The bearing 24 above referred to is illustrated in detail in Fig. 4. This bearing preferably comis not iniuriously effected by the dye liquor, and

aioaees which leaves ample room between the bearing elements ill for axial movement of the liquid which is depended upon for lubrication of the shaft and bearing. In contrast to a plain bushing, this arrangement is less likely to be injured by dirt or grit which tends to collect between the shaft and bushing and to wear these parts,- and furthermore, the end of the grain provides a better bearing surface than the side of the grain, while the tendency of a plane wooden bushing to shrink and crack in hot liquids, alkalies, acids, etc., is avoided.

Preferably, although not necessarily, I proyidea sleeve 38 to enclose the drive shaft 25, said sleeve having a few openings 39 permitting entrance to fluid into the space about the shaft. This sleeve or guard prevents the rotating shaft from causing cavitation of'the liquid above the pump impeller, while the openings 39 permit sufficient liquid to enter the space about the shaft to afford adequate lubrication for the bearing.

Supply pipes I2 and 13 provided with the necessary controlling valves are arranged to deliver water dye liquor, or the like to a strainer S, from which the pipe P leads downwardly (preferably within the kettle) to a point closely adjacent to the upper surface of the false bottom 3.

Any usual drain connection 14 may be arranged to lead from the bottom of the plenum chamber,

said drain being controlled by a valve of suitable.

The cap 3" at the upper end of the extension ll, (already described) is preferably disposed above the lower part of the opening 16 so that the cap 8 and the nut 5 are exposed above the surface of the fluid in the kettle during the dyeing operation.

The arrangement of inlet and outlet pipes just described is of great advantage in connection with the rinsing process, since for rinsing the material it is merely necessary to admit fresh water through the pipe P which enters through the strainer S and rising in the lower part ofthe kettle gradually displaces the warm and dirty or spent dye liquor in the kettle, such dirty or spent liquor flowing out through the outlet 16 and the pipe. II. When the water rises with sufficient rapidity to flll the outlet opening 16, the column of water in the pipe I5 (which extends to a point below the bottom of the-kettle) produces a suctioneflect which materially increases the velocity of flow through the .kettle, thus cutting down the time of the riming operation. This method of rinsing also substantially prevents the mixture of incoming clean water and the outflowing dirty water so'that the saving of water necessary, as well as in the time consumed in the operation is considerable.

As above noted the motor 26 is preferably supported'by the fixed column 2|, the latter being and removed therefrom without interference f from shafts or motor supports extending trans-z versely of the kettle top.

Preferably the upper portion of the column 2| terminates in a flange 20 adjacent the top of the kettle and an extension 2| of the column is secured to this flange in any desired manner, this extension forming the immediate support for the motor. Preferably this extension is provided at an intermediate point with a septum 11 having a central opening for the passage of the shaft 25, the edge of such opening having an upturned lip '18 forming a trap for grease which might pass downwardly from the motor. erably the shaft 25 is connected to the motor shaft proper by means of a coupling 19 which comprises radial flange members, such coupling being disposed within the extension member 2| and above the septum 11. Thus any grease flowing down the motor shaft will be thrown outwardly from the coupling '19 by centrifugal action and will accumulate in the upper part of the extension 2| and will be caught-by the septum and its upturned lip 18 so that the grease can not pass downwardly.

The motor is preferably of the air cooled type having an outer shell or casing 0 provided at its upper end with an inlet which may if desired be connected by a pipe '80 to a source of fresh air,for example, this pipe may extend to the outside of the building. Within this casing there i is arranged a fan F, preferably of centrifugal direction regardless of the direction of rotation necessary to ensure the proper fluid velocity of the motor. The air thus set into motion cools the motor and is then delivered from the lower part of the casing between the flange 8i and attaching flanges 82 by means of which the motor is secured to the extension 2|. These several flanges cause the air discharged from the casing to move outwardly and downwardly in a more or less conical or umbrella shaped stream which passes transversely across the open top of the kettle and thus entrains and carries away steam and vapor rising from the kettle top.

The motor is preferably of reversible type so that the pump impeller 26'may be turned in either direction at will, thus causing the dye liquor to flow radially of the spool, either inwardly or outwardly as may be preferred, it being noted that by placing. the impeller within the large opening 3 in the false bottom 3 the operation of the impeller, even at high speeds,

does not produce any substantial cavitation effeet, so that for any motor speed a substantially constant and predetermined pressure may .be maintained even though the dye liquor is at the boiling point.

size of the pump impeller 3. and with reference to the number of spools and the thickness of material wound therein as to maintain within the plenum chamber 4, the constant pressure through the material on thespools. If, however, for any reason the full complement of spools should not be used, and one or more of the seats I were to be completely closed in order to maintain the desired fluid flow through the spools on the other seats, it is'found that witha constant speed motor, the pressure in the plenum chamber would rise with accompanying rise in fluid velocity, and to avoid this condition I prefer, asyillustrated in Fig. 3',- to provide valve members 83 adapted to be associated with any vacant seat Iv for normally closing the opening through said seat. Preferably such valve mem- Prefis to be left vacant (that is, unprovided with a filled spool) the valve member 83 is slipped over the clamping rod 5 and -allowed to drop onto the hers 83 are cylindrical plugs of a diameter adaptseat, the weight of the valve member being such that if the pressure in the plenum chamber rises .beyond a predetermined amount, the valve will automatically rise in response to the pressure and allow some of the dye liquor to escape through the opening in seat 1. Preferably when using'such a valve plug 83, I clamp an empty spool on the seat which is closed by the plug, the barrel of the spool being of suflicient diameter to receive the plug freely without interfering with the rise and fall of the latter. I flnd the spool surrounding the plug to be advantageous since it breaks up the stream of fluid escaping from beneath the valve plug, which, if permitted to enter in a singlerapidly flowing stream, might cause snarling or injury to the stock on adjacent spools. c

If desired, a variable speed motor may be used instead of the single speed motor above referred to and in such' case the relief or safety valves may or may not be employed as desired. If a multi-speed motor is employed, I find that a standard alternating current three-phase motor wound to i give different speeds provides the requisite change in pump velocity for different conditions, and such motors are relatively inexspool and thus prevents abnormal difference in the velocity of the fluid at the. outerand inner peripheral surfaces of the material wound on the spool. Thus a spool which is forty inches long between its heads, and has heads ten and onehalf inches in diameter, with a barrel six inches in external diameter is found in practice to 'ensure a velocity of radial flow not more than greater at the inner periphery of the material.

than at the outer periphery. This is highly important since it is desirable to maintain as high a velocity as is permissible in. order'to cut down the time of the operation while at the same time to avoid a velocity which will cause blowing and tangling of the material. In other words, by the employment of a spool of this type, the thickness of the material which may be wound on,

the spool is kept within the predetermined min-' imum limits desirable for the best results. Moreover, by the employment of spools which limit the thickness of material as stated, it is possible to circulate the liquid with considerably less than the customary pressure, and in much larger volume. For example, in a flve hundred pound, fiettle holding six or seven hundred gallons, the

quid may be circulated at the rate of one thousand gallons per minute at approximately three pounds pressure and with a power consumption of from eight to ten horse powerrper kettle, whereas with the usual arrangement, a.

circulation of from two to four hundred gallons per minute requires the expenditure of from ten to fifteen horse power. Not only is the present arrangement economical of power but by reason of thelarge volume ofliquid which is circulated, a very unusual uniformity of product is obtained.

While the apparatus described is particularly useful in dyeing or bleaching material wound upon spools, I find it also of great utility in the preshrinking treatment of certain types of yarn. In dealing with some kinds of yarn, for example, mohair or coarse wool, it is found that when the yarn is wet, the longer fibers shrink more than the shorter ones, giving the yarn a cockled or boucl appearance. When such yarn is woven or otherwise used it has little ultimate strength since all of the fibers do not come into action at the same time to carry the stress, and it has been customary as a preliminary step in the dyeing operation to wind such yarn upon a stretcher or reel, immerse it in 'hot water, and then expose it to warm air to dry and set the fibers, after which the material may be dyed without cockling. The same results may readily beobtained by the use of the apparatus above described by winding the yarn under heavy tension on the perforated spool, which is then placed in the kettle, and subjected to the action of hot water and then dried. The heavy tension necessary for this setting operation would make so dense a mass that it could not be uniformly dyed on the spools in this form, although the hot water may be circulated to an extent sufiicient to set the yarn. After drying, the yarn is then rewound but under less tension upon a spool of the same kind and may be restored to the dye kettle for the dyeing operation.

Doubtless other uses of the improved apparatus will occur to those familiar with the textile arts, it being understood that various changes in relative arrangement, size, proportion of parts, and substitution of equivalents may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

chamber, and means for normally closing any of such openings as may be idle, the closing means being arranged to move and uncover its respective opening when the pressure in the plenum chamber rises above a predetermined point.

2. Apparatus of the class described comprising a receptacle for dye liquor, said receptacle having spaced bottom members providing a plenum chamber between them, the upper of said bottom members having a plurality of openings, each provided with an annular seat for the reception of the lower end of a perforated hollow spool barrel, means for forcing liquid into the plenum chamber, and a slidable valve plug for closing any of said openings as may be idle, the valve plug being arranged to lift and permit escape of fluid from the plenum chamber when the pressure therein rises abnormally.

3. Apparatus of the class described comprising a kettle having a plurality of annular spool supporting seats, means for clamping a spool to each seat, such spools having hollow perforated 'barrels, means for delivering fluid at predeterto maintain the desired velocity of flow through the material wound on the spools when all of the seats are occupied-by filled spools, and weighted plugs adapted to be inserted within the barrels of any suchspools as may be empty to close the opening in the corresponding seat, said plugs being adapted to rise in response to abnormal pressure in the plenum chamber thereby automatically maintaining such pressure substantially constant.

EDWARD J. ABBOTT.

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