US2115218A - Fiber treatment - Google Patents

Description

D 1938- I H. L. (SIEVER 2,115,218

m IIHHM I Filed Dec. 20. 1933 a, MNVENTOR.

Patented Apr. 26, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT. oFFI E FIBER TREATMENT Hughes L. Siever, Keyser, W. Va. I Application December 20, 1933, Serial No. 703,241

'9 Claims (01. 19-66) The invention relates to the application of liquids to textile fibers and particularly cotton in the course of its manufacture into yarn, either for conditioning it for such manufacture or for imparting color or some other property thereto. Current methods of applying liquids to textile fibers involve the use of spraying devices and the like, and are subject to the objection that the surfaces of the apparatus wherein the textile is being worked or being handled, become wetted' by'the liquid and this not only interferes with the manufacture process, slowing down production, but also represents'a waste of the liquid amounting in some cases to a substantial loss.

This invention provides a practical way to apply the treating liquid so that there is no contactthereof with the textile apparatus and so that the waste referred to is avoided and better and closer regulation made possible and other advantages also obtained as will presently become apparent.

According to this invention the treating liquid, which is by preference a light mineral oil of lubricating property or a liquid not too quickly drying, is delivered to an applicator device of suitable form and transferred therefrom to the cotton by the wiping action of the latter there on as it advances into, through or from a textile machine. Preferably the oil or liquid is wiped off by the advancing cotton as the latter converges into a trumpet or other condensing instrument and by that part only of the cotton which is presently-to form the interior part or core of the resultant delivery. Thus disposed the liquid is immediately enveloped or wrapped up in thelarger mass of unwetted fibers where it remains until by further workings or other-' wise it has become'spread out in andv taken up by them, imparting to them the desired propertie's. .The amount thus applied is gauged according to the amount of stock and the ultimate liquid percentage desired for each fiber, and in consequence there is no excess or external wetness, to wet the machinery at any stage of man'- ufacture and hence no difliculty in maintaining an exactly constant percentage of. liquid in the pr, uct. Though not limited to oil the invention is peculiarly related thereto, since so far' as I am aware in no other way can slowly or non- 0 vaporizing liquids 'be so efflciently applied to permeate textile fabrics.

Practically all animal and vegetable fibers are hygroscopic and according to' their own indi viduai characteristics 'will absorb their normal I amouni of moisture, under'certain humid conditions. Since this invention primarily concerns cotton, this fiber will serve to illustrate the point in view. Normally, cotton fiber contains approximately 8% of water. When in this ap-' proximate condition, it is considered ideal for 5 manufacturing purposes. Due to its hygroscopic nature it is difficult to maintain this'moisture. Just as the fiber will absorb moisture under normal conditions, so will it give it up under abnormal conditions. 10

For the purpose of manufacturing the raw cotton into spun yarn through all the processes in a. cot n manufacturing plant, it: is desirable to keep t e fibers at or near the normal contentof moisture, because in this state the staple is soft, 15 pliable, and'the minimum friction results. If it becomes dry the fibres become brittle, break, flare out and are uncontrollable. .In dry'climates nature does not provide a constant humid condition and artificial means must be used to 20 humidity the plants. The variations in climatic changes are so pronounced from day to day, that even' the best artificial systems of humidifying are not capable or dependable to assure thebest manufacturing conditions. Therefore, from a manufacturing standpoint, humidification may be considered nothing more or less than lubrication, inasmuch as it provides a; condition of working the fibers into yarn and since the object of this invention is to-facilitate the machining of these 30 delicate fibers, the problem of lubrication falls within this scope. V Humidity refers to the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere.- Absolute humidity. means the actual density of water vapor regardless of 35 its temperature'or whether or not the air is saturated. Relative humidity is the ratio of the weight of vapor actually existing at the same temperature. Saturated air has a relative humidity of 100%. 0"

To maintain a relative humidity in rooms and large cotton mills, and particularly at the point the fiber is actually throwing oil! its moisture, as in the drawing, intermediate roving frames, spinning frames,'is almost impossible and fiuc- 45 tuations in the moisture contentare constant and will vary throughout the mill in spite ofall natural and artificial humidity. It is an object of this invention to displace the necessity and expense of humidiflcation, by a satisfactory and suitable fixed lubricant, capable of remaining with the fiber throughout all the manufacturing pirocesses, thus eliminating artificial humidificae" I am aware that certain methods are in 5 for oiling the stock prior to the carding process,-

but the carding process being such a close, effective combing system composed'of approximately 500 square feet of metallic wire,'will not permit suificient amounts of a fixed lubricant to be applied until the stock has passed the cards.

Cotton manufacturers claim little or no humidity is required up to the point of converting the stock into the first sli'ver, because prior to this point manufacturing is a matter of cleaning the fiber, by, rough shaking, tumbling, beating and picking, whereas, the drier the stock the better it cleans, therefore, humidity or lubrication is not considered essential and is avoided more or less.

Up to the first sliver the fibers are more or less in a criss-eross formation, but from the sliver on the manufacturing is a problem of parallelism of individual fibers, while thereafter, the

- processes of drawing the fibers parallel causes spreading by permeation,.throughout the mass.

of cotton, by contact in drawing the fibers parallel to each other through successive steps until 7 spun into yarn. The object of placing the liquid in the center of the first sliver is necessary to insure permeation to start equally in all directions and to enclose the liquid constantly or alternately but centrally to efiect the best distribution in subsequent drawing processes. I have found that by this method static electricity ispractically eliminated and proper lubrication is provided, thus the expense of artificial humidification-is not'- essential.

While the effect above described can be brought about in various kinds of textile machines, it is illustrated for the purpose of this disclosure as produced by treatment of cotton in an ordinary cotton card.-

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. ,1 is a general elevation, partly sectioned.

Fig. 2 a larger section of the trumpet and aplicator, and

Fig. 3 a section on line III-Ill of Fig. 2. The card fleece delivered by the doffer combl is gathered into a trumpet 2anddrawn therethrough bythe calender-rolls 3 from whence it is taken upwards by the coiler head 4, as a card silver 5, and coiled into the sliver can 6, all in the usual manner. The applicator in this case is a slender tube'l the delivery end of which is bent .or directed inwards parallel to the path of the fiber and towards or into the mouth or entrance of the trumpet 2' and about on its central axis or so as to have contact only with that part of the gathering'fieece whichforms the center of the sliver.

Preferably the open end of the tube is well within the trumpet as indicated. so that the fibers wipe it with some pressure. It is supplied with the liquid through ,a." glass sight tube 8 from a constant level recep- Y tacle or float chamber 9, the latter being connected to a larger supply source. By means of the. needle valve III, which constitutes a dripregulator and in virtue of the constant af-. forded thereto by the float-controlled supply, the

liquid fiow into the tube can be nicely regulated to any predetermined number of drops per minute, observable in the sight tube. Thus a'constant supply is maintained in and at. the end of the tube which'is constantly being wiped off by the fibers as they move into the trumpet. Those fibers which immediately contact with the wetted end of the tube are more or less soaked and ove loaded with the oil, but the immediate squeezir i h efiect of the trumpet and calender rolls 3. which is followed also by that of the coiler-head rolls tends to distribute such'oil, thus immediately starting its outward permeation into the surrounding fibers. The progress or rate of permeation thereafter depends to some extent on the nature of the treating liquid, but with the percentage needed for normal working requirements with any liquid, there is no danger that the surfaces of the textile machine or of the sliver cans or other holders will become wetted or appreci- The invention further consists in and compre-' hends the principle of internally applying treating liquids, in the manner described or otherwise,

when such liquids are dyeing or coloring media, because the internal application of a dye to a of coloring a. yarn during its manufacture and affords a notable saving of labor, dye and ap paratus as compared to existing practice. When the treating liquid is a dye, it is best if it is oily ably soiled with the liquid. Final distribution of j sliver, as I have discovered, is an excellent way or s1owdrying, because it is thus best distributed to the rest of the fibers, for the production of a uniform color. When applied at the card, the ultimate shade or color is achieved when complete distribution of the liquid, has occurred as the result of the evening processes carried out as usual in the drawing frames, 61' in the slubbers.

The treating liquid whether a dye or not, can be applied at other stages of manufacture than the card and at successive stages if desired and if more liquid is required than can be delivered in one point. Obviously it can be applied'in any textile-working machine where fibers converge in a-fieece, lap, sliver or roving form into a condensing or gathering instrument and emerge therefrom as a compound delivery or in a compound state; In all such cases whether it be comber, draw or roving frame an applicator tube similar to that shown herein can-be availed of for locally'wetting those fibers which make the center of thecompound delivery and this will in general be found to be the most practical form of application.

When many machines are at work it is desirable that each .of them be equipped with its own the present case or its equivalent'and also with drip regulator device suchas the needle valve in exact regulation of supply may thus be made 'at each machine affording maximum economy and uniformity of." product. I claim- I v 1. The method of treating textile fibers which comprises delivering liquid constantly to an applicator, conducting a fleece or band of the fibers over such applicator in wiping contact therewith and folding such band so that the wetted portion is in the interior.

2. The method of applying a treating fluid to textile fibers whichcomprises moving the fibers through a condensing instrument, depressing the central portion of the fibers by means of a fixed applicator through which the fluid flows and whereby the fluid is wiped from the applicator by the moving fibers and deposited in the central portion of the fibers.

3. The method of applying a coloring fiuid to textile fibers which comprises delivering the fluid to an applicator, conducting a fleece or band of the fibers past such applicator in wiping contact therewith and folding such fleece or band so that the colored portion is on the interior.

4. In apparatus for treating textile fibers, the combination of a fiber conducting trumpet, means for passing the fibers through the trumpet, an applicator tube extending into the fibers and wiped thereby and having its outlet inside the trumpet entrance, and means for supplying liquid to said tube.

5. In apparatus for treating textile fibers, the' combinationof a fiber condensing instrument, an applicator tube having an open delivery end extending into the fibers and wiped thereby, said delivery end being disposed within the condensing instrument. Y

.- That method of treatingtextile fibers which comprises delivering a liquid to an applicator and conducting said mass of fibers past said applicator in wiping contact therewith and folding said mass of fibers so that the applied fiuid is on the interior of the mass.

7. The method of applying a treating fluid to a web of textile fibers as it emerges from a carding machine which comprises forming the web into a sliver and causing the treating fluid to drip onto the mass from above the mass as it is being condensed and before it reaches sliver stage.

8. In a machine for treating textile fibers having means for advancing the fibers in mass formation, the combination with a tubular applicator having its discharge outlet located so as to be embedded within and substantially surrounded by the advancing mass of fibers, a liquid supply source adapted to deliver liquid through said outlet insolid as distinguished from atomized form and means for regulatingsuch delivery relative to the speed of the advancing fibers to confine the immediate moistening action to the interior of the mass. 4

9., In a machine for processing textile fibers having means for advancing the fibers in mass formation as distinguished from sliver or strand form, the combination with an applicator having its discharge outlet located substantially in the path of and wiped by the advancing mass of fibers, a liquid supply source adapted to deliver liquid through said applicator, and means for regulating such delivery relative to the speed of the advancing fibers.

IIUGHES; L. IEVEB;.

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