US2219356A

US2219356A - Manufacture of staple fiber products from continuous filaments

Info

Publication number: US2219356A
Application number: US155226A
Authority: US
Inventors: Dreyfus Henry; Pool William
Original assignee: Celanese Corp
Current assignee: Celanese Corp
Priority date: 1936-07-31
Filing date: 1937-07-23
Publication date: 1940-10-29
Anticipated expiration: 1957-10-29

Description

Oct. 29, 1940. H..DREYFUS ET AL MANUFACTURE OF STAPLE FIBER PRODUCTS FROM CONTINUOUS FILAMENTS Filed July 23, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet l H-DREYFUS W POOL INVENTanS mowers 0d. 29, 1940. DREYFUS ET AL 2,219,356

MANUFACTURE OF STAPLE FIBER PRODUCTS FROM CONTINUOUS FILAMENTS Filed July 23, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 H- DREYF-US w. POOL INVENTDRS ///,W

Patented Oct. 29, 1940 PATENT OFFICE MANUFACTURE OF STAPLE FIBER PROD- UCTS FROM CONTINUOUS FILAMENTS Henry Dreyfus, London,

and William Pool,

Spondon, near Derby, England, assignors to Celanese Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application July 23, 1937, Serial No. 155,226 In Great Britain July 31, 1936 32 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of staple fiber products from continuous filaments.

Though artificial filaments are produced in substantially continuous form, and though the bulk of such filaments have up to the present been absorbed by the textile industry as continuous filament yarns, many processes have been devised and proposals put forward for converting artificial filaments into staple fiber yarns so as 0 to form a product in which can be found some of the characteristics of artificial filaments together with properties ordinarily obtained only from fibers of naturally occurring products such as cotton or wool. either as relatively short lengths cut from hanks, or in substantially continuous lengths direct from the spinning machine, have been cut into fibers of definite short lengths, which fibers are then worked up into yarns by processes similar to those accorded to the naturally occurring fibers of similar lengths, with the advantage that apart from substantial uniformity of fiber length'no preliminary cleaning operation is necessary. In view, however, of the compact form in which the filaments are fed to the cutter, the fibers lie closely side by side in the form of bundles, and an opening operation is essential in order to separate fiber 1 from fiber and form the uniformly distributed mass necessary for subjection to the type of operation applied to cotton and other fibers.

The method just outlined involves a long series of operations in which the mass of fibers prepared by the opener is gradually converted into yarn. There have been suggested, however, processes for converting the continuous filaments directly or substantially directly into staple fiber yarns. Thus, with the idea of forming a fibrous product in the form of a sliver, slubbing, or roving in-. tended to be drafted to a finer count and twisted into yarn, it has been proposed to subject a bundle of continuous filaments to a c'ontinuous breaking operation employing nip rollers, all the filaments in turn being broken without the product losing its continuity. Such an operation gives,

Thus, artificial filaments supplied sure against a cutting surface between which and the filaments there is relative motion in the direction of movement of the filaments, the pressure being confined substantially to a point in the length of the bundle so as to effect cutting 5 of the filaments into fibers. This product again contains fibers having a range of different lengths, but, since the conversion in-this operation is effected by cutting, the physical porperties of the filaments are not substantially modified.

Proposals have been made which involve cutting a thick compact bundle of continuous filaments by knives, which may be set obliquely to the length of the bundle, while maintaining con- 15 tinuity of the bundle considered as a whole, the fibrous product thus obtained being essentially in a form that necessitates drafting by conventional operations in order to convert it into a yarn; moreover, as a result of the compact form in which the filaments are cut (and in this respect the cutting corresponds closely with the operation above described of converting continuous filaments into a mass of fibers requiring to beopened before they can be further processed), 25 such necessary drafting is difficult of accomplishment. Furthermore, many of the steps ordinarily applied in the spinning of cotton and wool fibers are necessary for the conversion of the product into yarn. I

The present invention has for its object to produce continuous staple fiber products containing cut fibers. of predetermined length directly from continuous filaments, e. g., cellulose acetate, viscose, cuprammonium, or natural silk filaments, 1

' or mixtures of two or more of these.

According to the invention a substantially twistless bundle bf associated continuous filaments is continuously converted into a staple fiber product by feeding forward the bundle, separat ing the filaments of the bundle from each other at the end of the bundle, cutting from such separated filaments a predetermined length to yield a group of fibers, and repeating these operations so as to obtain asuccession of groups of separated fibers, and, while the cut fibers are still separate assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group extend beyond, 1. e., overlap, the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an exl tent that upon subsequently compacting the fibers a coherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may be produced, and then compacting the fibers into the continuous staple fiber product.

By reason of the separated condition of the fibers of the groups and the arranging of the groups so that the forward ends of fibers of each group extend beyond or overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group, the fibers of the successive groups intermingle, to enable the groups to be compacted into a coherent product.

The bundle of associated continuous filaments to be converted into the staple fiber product may take the form of a band or thread of untwisted filaments or of a thread having a very low degree of twist, but in the latter case, the degree .of twist must be sufiiciently low to enable the component filaments to be separated one from the other. The expression substantially twistless used in connection with the bundle means that the bundle contains no twist or that if any twist is present in the bundle, it should be insufiicient to hinder free separation one from the other of the component filaments at the end of the bundle.

The regularity of the cross-section of the continuous staple fiber product may be enhanced by' ensuring that the fibers produced by cutting the separated filaments are so disposed that the ends of the fibers are distributed along the length of the product. Thus, groups of separated fibers may be cut from two or more bundles of continuous filaments and associated and compacted into a single continuous staple fiber product, or groups of separated filaments derived from one or more bundles may be cut so that the ends of the fibers formed from each group are staggered with respect to the ends of the fibers formed from the other groups, the groups of fibers so formed then being associated and compacted into a single continuous staple fiber product having fiber ends distributed at regular intervals along its length.. Again, the separated filaments of a bundle may be cut obliquely to their length so that the ends of the fibers of each group are progressively staggered lengthwise of the group, the

ends maintaining such staggered disposition whether or not the groups are associated with other groups cut from another bundle or other bundles) and forming a continuous product of regularly distributed fibers.

Further, a single bundle of continuous filaments may be divided into two or more groups of separated filaments,'each group being cut into a succession of separated fibers of predetermined length, which are assembled and compacted, in the manner referred to above, to form an individual continuous staple fiber product, In this way a number of continuous staple fiber products may be formed from a single bundle of continuous filaments. This procedure is advantageous for the production of continuous staple fiber products of fine count or denier, e. g'., 50, 100 or 150 denier.

By way of example the invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings of which- Fig. 1 is a part cross-sectional end elevation of a filament converting and yarn forming machine;

Figs. 2 and 3 show a detail of Fig. 1 on a larger scale;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of Fig. l with certain elements removed for clarity of illustration;

Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating the construction of the continuous staple fibre product formed in the apparatus illustrated in the preceding figures; and

Figs, 6 and 7 are part cross-sectional elevation and plan views respectively of a detail of Figs. 1 to 4.

Referring to Fig. 1 a bundle of substantially twistless continuous filaments 8 is withdrawn from a supply bobbin 9 by a pair of nip rollers Hi, the filaments passing from the supply bobbin to the rollers by way of guides II and through a gate tension device I2. The nip rollers l0 feed the filaments to an ejector nozzle [3 formed with a filament entrance hole H (see Figs. 4 and 6) and a fiat flared ejecting orifice I5, the nozzle being fed with compressed air from a supply pipe 16.

As indicated by arrows in Fig. 6 the air passes downwardly alonga conduit. l I and through a jet I8 to the orifice l5, the jet being formed with three diverging passages I 9 in order to spread the blast of air as it passes through and out of the orifice l5, the fiat flared shape of which assists in flattening and spreading out the current fanwise.

The passage of'the air from the jet ID to the orifice l 5 creates suction at the filament entrance hole ll with the result that the filaments are sucked through the hole and into the main air current which serves both to eject through the orifice I5 a length of the filaments longer than the length of the staple desired and to separate the filaments of the length one from the other in the form of a substantially fiat band during the ejection, any slight degree of twist in the bundle being freed under the influence of the air blast. The bundle of filaments should not contain a fin-. ish that prevents the air blast from separating the filaments, and for this reason it is desirable to employ unlubricated filaments.

On being ejected from the orifice IS the separated end portions of the filaments 8 extend across an endless permeable band 20 which is driven over the surface of a suction conduit 2| by a roller 22 engaging the inside of the band. The

band is kept taut by an idler roller 23 which is spring-urged into contact with the band, The suction conduit 2| is connected to a suction vessel 24 by a pipe 25.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 3 the conduit 2| is of flattened cross-section and is perforated at two

points

21, 28, two separate streams of air thus flowing into the conduit through the permeable band 20, as indicated by the arrows. On the ejection of the filaments 8 from the nozzle I5 the ends of the filaments are seized and held to the band by the suction due to the perforations 2 as shown clearly in Fig. 1.

- Substantially simultaneously wlththe sucking to the band 20 of the separated filament ends the supply of air to the nozzle I3 is momentarily stopped (in a manner to be described later) and a two-limbed deflecting member 30 (shown partly broken for convenience) disposed near the orifice l5 abovethe filaments descends and presses the filaments downwardly into engagement with the teeth of a multi-toothed cutting device 3| of the hair-clipper type positioned with its teeth projecting substantially normally to the path of the filaments between the orifice II and the band 20, one limb of the deflecting member lying to each side of the cutting device to ensure proper en gagement of the separated filaments with the teeth (see Fig. 4)

The cutting device 3| is then operated to sever the filaments into a group of staple fibers, and

the rearward end of the group thus formed is sucked away from the cutting device and on to the band by the air current flowing into the conduit through the perforations 28, the air current being in part concentrated on the teeth of the cutting device by a shield 29 arranged between the cutting device and the perforations 28. A

group of separated fibers is thus cut and laid on the surface of the moving band 28.

On operation of the cutting device 3i, a guiding member 32 normally disposed behind the continuous filaments as they proceed in a straight line from the nip rollers Ill to the nozzle I3 is moved forwardly (viz. to the right in Figs. 1 to 3) and in so moving deflects the filaments from the straight line and draws their cut ends clear of the teeth of the cutting device 3| to free the filaments for further forward movement under the influence of the air blast (see Fig. 3).

With the filaments drawn clear of the cutting device, the guide 32 is retracted to its normal inoperativeposition and the air blast is restarted to separate and eject the filaments over the band 28 again from the orifice l5. The ends of the separated filaments are again sucked to the band 20 in the manner shown in Fig. 1 and the sequence of operations described above is repeated.

The rate of progress of the filaments 8 from the orifice I5 is dependent on the rate of rotation of the nip rollers 80, and by adjusting such rotation, the staple length of the fiber groups laid on the band 20 can be regulated. With the filaments delivered at a constant rate to a cutting device working with a constant frequency, the fiber groups are substantially uniform in length.

Also, the rate of movement of the band 20 in the direction of'the length of the fiber groups is regulated in accordance with the rate of progress of the filaments 8 from the nozzle i5 so that as the fiber groups are collected on the band they are assembled in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group. The overlapping fiber groups are shown in Fig. 4, and diagrammatically in Fig. 5, the groups forming a continuous assembly 33 of fibers on the band 28.

The band 20 feeds the assembly 33 forwardly to a pair of endless travelling rubbing bands 3d driven by rollers 35. The upper rubbing band of the pair is reciprocated transversely with respect to the assembly 33 by crank and link mechanism 35 (to be described later) in order to roll and compact the assembly into a substantially cylindrical staple fiber product 3'! (Fig. 4) which is twisted into a yarn 38 and wound on a bobbin 39 by a ring spinning device 48.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 4 the cutting device 3! is disposed obliquely with respect to the separated filaments so that the cut ends of the filaments are progressively staggered lengthwise of each group (see Fig. 4) Such arrangement assists in intermingling fibers of successive groups with each other, and in evenly distributing the ends of the fibers along the length of the assembly 33 (and hence along the length of the ultimate yarn 38) and assists in constructing a product having substantially uniform strength throughout its length.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that since the cut groups are caused to overlap, the denier of the resultant product is greater than that of the initial filamentary bundle 8, the increase in denier depending on the degree to which the filaments overlap, more overlap giving a product of greater denier and vice versa.

The various elements of the machine described above are operated in the following manner:

A shaft 4! driven by a chain sprocket 42 carries a chain sprocket 43 (Figs. 1-3) which drives by a chain 44 the lower nip roller I!) at a predetermined speed, the upper roller being driven by frictional contact with the lower. While the nip rollers i0 feed the continuous filaments 8 to the nozzle l3 continuously and the filaments are separated and ejected from the nozzle to the band 28 intermittently, the ejecting and cutting operations are effected in such rapid succession that the small amount of slack formed in the filaments between the rollers and the nozzle due' to the continued feed of the filaments during the periods in which the compressed air supply is stopped is insignificant and is quickly taken up by the air blast when the air supply is restarted. The nip rollers I!) may, however, 'be driven intermittently in accordance with the timing of the air blasts.

The shaft 4| carries also four earns 45, 46, 41, 48, the cam 45v being positioned directly beneath the nozzle I3 and engaging a spring-urged valve controlling member 58 which on rotation of the cam is raised and lowered within the conduit ll to stop and start the fiow of air from the supply pipe l6 at the requisite intervals, in the manner apparent from Fig. 6.

The cam 46 bears on a. follower 5| supported by a pivoted bell-crank lever 52 carrying the twolimbed deflecting member 30, the relative setting of the

cams

45, 46 being such that immediately the cam 45 has raised the valve member 58 to stop the flow of air to the jet i8 (i. e., after the ejection of a length of filaments longer than the length of the staple desired), the cam 46 rocks the bell-crank lever 52 clockwise (as seen in Fig. 1) about its pivot to bring about the defiec tion of the ejected filaments into the teeth of the cutting device 3!. The shape of the cam 45 and/or the rate of rotation of the shaft 4! determines the length of the filaments elected at each operation of the nozzle i3 (and consequently the length of the cut group), a longer ejecting period resulting in a longer length and vice versa. The

perforations

21, 28 formed in the suction conduit 2! are arranged over a substantial portion of the width of the conduit in order to accommodate different lengths of fibers.

Immediately after the deflection of the filaments into the teeth of the cutting device 3!, the cam 41 rocks an associated bell-crank lever 53 which is connected to the cutting device 3| by an upright arm 55, the rocking of the lever 53 raising the arm 54 and so causing the arm to operate the cutting device. 7

With the filaments thus cut, the cam 48 pushes outwardly (viz. to the right in Fig. 1) a pivoted upright lever 55 to the end of which is fixed the guide 32, the consequent outward movement of which defiects the continuous filaments extending between the nip rollers i8 and the nozzle i 3 and draws the-cut ends of the filaments from the teeth of the cutting device 3| (see Fig. 3).

The cam 45 now releases the valve controlling member 50 to restart the supply of compressed air to the jet I8 and the filaments areagain separated and ejected from the nozzle i5, when the sequence of operations described above is repeated.

The shaft 4! carries a further chain sprocket 51 which drives through chain and sprocket gearing 58 a shaft 58 upon which is mounted the roller 22 which drives the band 20. The shaft 59 drives, in turn, through chain and sprocket gear-1 ing 60 a lower shaft BI upon which is mounted the foremost roller driving the lower rubbing band 34, the drive being transmittedfrom the lower to the upper roller 35 on the upper shaft 6| through gearing 52.

The shaft 4| drives through bevel and shaft which reciprocates the upper rubbing band 34. In order to allow of the reciprocation, the gearing 62 transmitting drive from the lower roller 35 to the upper roller is wide enough to allow of the reciprocation of the upper rubbing band while maintaining the drive thereto.

While apparatus for the treatment of one bundle of filaments only has been referred to in the foregoing description it will be understood that any number of such forms of apparatus could be disposed in side by side relation, in the manner indicated in Fig. 4, in order simultaneously to treat any desired number of continuous filament bundles. to produce a product having a denier sensibly greater than that of the initial bundle of continuous filaments 8, two or more adjacent products 31 may be associated on leaving the rubbing bands 34 and spun into one yarn by a common twisting device such as the ring spinning device illustrated in the drawings, or a cap, or fiyer spinning device.

When cutting and converting continuous.filaments of material such as cellulose acetate or other organic derivative of cellulose having a high di-electric strength and consequently liable to retain charges of static electricity, it is found that the gate tension device I2 in addition to subjecting the filaments to the desired tension electrifies the filaments and thus causes them.

to repel each other with the result that the filaments are given a desirable preliminary spreading prior to entering the ejector nozzle I3. Such preliminary spreading may be enhanced by lim-' iting the. opportunity for the static charge to leave the filaments prior to entering the nozzle, and for this reason at least the upper nip roller It! may with advantage be covered with rubber or other electrical insulating material. In order to prevent excessive wear on any one portion of the nip rollers I 0 the filaments 8 may be traversed to and fro along the length of the rollers.

Having described our invention what we desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Process for .the manufacture of staple fiber products, which consists in continuously converting a substantially twistless bundle of associated continuous filaments into a staple fiber product by feeding forward the bundle, separating the filaments of the bundle from each other at the end of the bundle so that the filaments assume a fan shape, cutting from such fan-shaped separated filaments a predetermined length to yield a group of fibers and remaating these operations so as to obtain a succession of groups of separated fibers, and, while the cut fibers are still separate, assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an extent that upon subsequently compacting the fibers a coherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may be produced, and then compacting the fibers into the continuous staple fiber product.

2. Process for the manufacture of staple fiber products, which consists in continuously converting a substantially twistless bundle of associated continuous filaments into a staple fiber product by feeding forward the bundle, subjecting the end of the bundle to the action of a gaseous .blast so as to separate the filaments of the bundle from each other for a length longer than the length of staple desired, cutting from such separated fila- Also, where, forany reason it is desired ments a predetermined length to yield a group of fibers and repeating these operations so as to obtain a succession of groups of separated fibers, and, while the cut fibers are still separate, assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an extent that upon subsequently compacting the fibers a coherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may be produced, and then compacting the fibers into the continuous staple fiber product.

3. Process for the manufacture of staple fiber products, which consists in continuously converting a substantially twistless bundle of associated continuous filaments into a staple fiber product by feeding forward the bundle, separating the filaments of the bundle from each other at the end of the bundle for a length longer than the length of staple desired so that the filaments assumea fan shape, seizing the free ends of the fan-shaped group of filaments, cutting from the seized filaments a predetermined length to yield a group of fibers and repeating these operations so as to obtain a succession of groups of separated fibers, and, while the cut fibers are still separate, assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an extent that upon subsequently compacting the fibers a coherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may be produced, and then compacting the fibers intothe continuous staple fiber product.

4. Process for the manufacture of staple fiber products, which consists in continuously convertting a substantially twistless bundle of associated continuous filaments intoa staple fiber product by feeding forward the bundle, subjecting the end of the bundle to the action of a gaseous blast so as to separate the filaments of the bundle from each other for a length longer than the length of staple desired, seizing the free ends of the filaments, cutting from the seized filaments a predetermined length to yield a group of fibers and repeating these operations so as to obtain a succession of groups of separated fibers, and, while the cut fibers are still separate, assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an extent that upon subsequently com- 'pacting the fibers a coherent continuous product by feeding forward the bundle, separating the filaments of the bundle from each other at the end of the bundle for a length longer than the length of staple desired, applying suction to the free ends of the separated filaments to seize them, cutting from the seized fiaments a predetermined length to yield a group of fiber and repeating these operations so as to obtain a succession of groups of separated fibers, and, while the cut fibers are still separate, assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an extent that upon subsequently compacting the fibers a coherent continuous product consisting of staple .ing a substantially twistless forward ends of fibers of each rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to j fiber may be produced, and then compacting the fibers into the continuous staple fiber product.

6. Process for the manufacture of staple fiber products, which consists in continuously convertbundle of associated continuous filaments into a staple fiber product by feeding forward the bundle, separating the filaments of the bundle from each other at the end of the bundle for a length longer than the length of staple desired, extending the separated filaments over a permeable support, passing a gaseous current through the supportso as to seize the free ends of the filaments and hold them to the support, cutting from the seized filaments a predetermined length to yield a group of fibers and repeating these operations so as to obtain a succession of groups of separated fibers, and, while the cut fibers are still separate, assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the group overlap the such an extent that upon subsequently compacting the fibers a coherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may be produced, and then compacting the fibers into the continuous staple fiber product.

7. Process for the manufacture of staple fiber products, which consists in continuously converting a substantially twistless bundle of associated continuous filaments into a staple. fiber product by feeding forward the bundle, dividing the filaments of the bundle into groups, separating the filaments of the respective groups from each other at the ends of the groups for a length longer than the staple desired and so that the filaments assume a fan shape, cutting from the end of each fan-shaped group a predetermined length of the separated filaments to yield a group of cut fibers from each group of continuous filaments, the cutting being efiectedin a manner such that the ends of the fibers cut from each group are staggered with respect to the ends of the fibers cut from the other groups, and repeating these operations to obtain from each group of continuous filaments a succession of cut groups of separated fibers, and, while the fibers of the cut groups are still separate, associating the successions of groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of the fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of the fibers of the preceding group and then compacting the associated groups into a single continuous staple fiber product.

21. Process for the manufacture of. staple fiber products, which consists in continuously converting a substantially twistless bundle of associated continuous filaments into staple fiber products by feeding forward the bundle, dividing the filaments of the bundle into groups, separating the filaments of the respective groups from each other at the ends of the groups fora length longer than the length of staple desired and sothat the filaments assume a fan shape, cutting from the end of each fan-shaped group a predetermined length of the separated filaments to yield a group of cut fibers from each group of continuous filaments, and repeating these operations to obtain from each group of filaments 'a-succession of groups oi! cut fibers, and, while the cut fibers are still separate, assembling the successions of groups of fibers cut from each group of filaments in such a manner that the forward ends of the fibers of each groupoverlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an extent that upon subsequently compacting the successions of groups coherent continuous products consisting of staple by feeding forward the fibers may be produced, and then compacting the successions of groups to form from each one an individual continuous staple fiber-product.

9. Process for the manufacture of staple fiber products, which consists in continuously converting a substantially twistless bundle of associated continuous filaments into a staple fiber product by feeding forward the bundle, separating the filaments at the end of the bundle into the form of a fiat band for a length longer than the length of staple desired and so that the filaments assume a fan shape, cutting froni gsjuch fan-shaped separated filaments a predetermined length to yield a group of fibers and repeating these operations so as to obtain a succession of groups of separated fibers, and, while the cut fibers are still separate, assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an extend that upon subsequently separated filaments obliquely across the width of the bundle to yield a group of separated, staggered fibers of predetermined length, and repeating these operations so as to obtain a succession of such groups of fibers, and, while the cut fibers are still separate, assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each'group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an extent that upon subsequently compacting the fibers a coherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may be produced, and then compacting the fibers into the continuous staple fiber product. 4

11. Process for the manufacture of staple fiber products which consists in continuously converting a substantially twistless bundle of associated continuous filaments into a staple fiber product by feeding forward the bundle, separating the filaments of the bundle from each other at the end of the bundle for a length longer than the length of staple desired and so thatthe filaments assume a fan shape, cutting from such fanshaped separated filaments a predetermined length to yield a group of fibers and repeating these operations so as to obtain a succession of fibers are still separate, assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends coherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may be produced, and then rubbing the assembled groups of fibers so as to roll and compact theminto the continuous staple fiber product.

12. Process for the manufacture of staple fiber products, which consists in continuously converting a. substantially twistless bundle of associated continuous filaments into a staple fiber product bundle. separating the groups 'of separated fibers, and, while the out i filaments of the bundle from each other at the end of the bundle for a length longer than the length of staple desired and so that the filaments assume a fan shape, cutting from such fanshaped separated filaments a predetermined length to yield a group of fibers and repeating these operations so as to obtain a succession of groups of separated fibers, and, while the cut fibers are still separate, assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an extent that upon subsequently compacting the fibers a coherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may be produced, and then compacting the fibers into the continuous staple fiber product, and twisting theproduct into yarn.

13. Process for the manufacture of staple fiber products, which consists in continuously converting a substantially twistless bundle of associated continuous filaments of artificial material into a staple fiber product by feeding forward the bundle, separating the filaments of the bundle from each other at the end of the bundle so that the filaments assume a fan shape, cutting from such fan-shaped separated filaments a predetermined length to yield a group of fibers and repeating these operations so as to obtain a succession of groups of separated fibers, and, while the cut fibers are still separated, assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers 'of 'the preceding group to such an extent that upon subsequently compacting the fibers a coherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may be produced, and then compacting the fibers into the continuous staple fiber product.

14. Process for the manufacture of staple fiber products, which consists in continuously convert-.

ing a substantially twistless bundle of assoicated continuous filaments of cellulose acetate into a staple fiber product by feeding forward the bundle, separating the filaments. of the bundle from each other at the end of the bundle so that the filaments assume a fan shape, cutting from such fan-shaped separated filaments a predetermined length to yield a group of fibers and repeating these operations so as to obtain a succession of groups of separated fibers, and, while the cut fibers are still separate, assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends offibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an extent that upon subsequently compacting the fibers a coherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may be produced, and then compacting the fibers into the continuous staple fiber product.

15. Process for the manufacture of staple fiber products, which consists in continuously converting a substantially twistless bundle of associated continuous filaments of cellulose acetate into a staple fiber product by feeding forward the bundle, separating the filaments of the bundle from each other-at the end of the bundle for a length longer than the length of staple desired and so that the filaments assume a fan shape, cutting from such fan-shaped separated filaments a predetermined length to yield a group of fibers and repeating these operations so as to obtain a succession of groups of separated fibers, and, while the cut fibers are still separate, assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an extent that upon subsequently compacting the fibers acoherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may be produced, and then compacting the fibers into the continuous staple fiber product, and twisting the product into yarn.

16. Process for the manufacture of staple fiber products, which consists in continuously converting a substantially twistless bundle of associated continuous filaments of cellulose acetate into a staple fiber product by feeding forward the bundle, electrifying the bundle to cause mutual repulsion and spreading of the filaments, separating the spreading filaments of the bundle from each other at the end of the bundle for a length longer than the length of staple desired, cutting from such separated filaments a predetermined length toyield a group of fibers and repeating these operations so as to obtain a succession of groups of separated fibers, and, while the cut fibers are still separate,-assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an extent that upon subsequently compacting the fibers a coherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may be produced, and then compacting the fibers into the continuous staple fiber product.

17. Process for the manufacture of staple fiber products, which consists in continuously converting a substantially twistless bundle of associated continuous filaments into a staple fiber product by feeding forward the, bundle, separating the filaments of the bundle from each other at the end of the bundle into the form of a flat fanshaped band, cutting from such fan-shaped band of separated filaments a predetermined length to yield a group of fibers and repeating these operations so as to obtain a succession of groups of separated fibers, and, while the cut fibers are still separate, assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an extent that upon.subsequently compacting the fibers a coherentcontinuous product consisting of staple fiber may be produced, and then compacting the fibers into the continuous staple fiber product.

18. Apparatus for the manufacture of staple fiber products, comprising means for feeding forward a bundle of continuous filaments, means for separating the filaments of thebundle from each other at the end of the bundle in such a manner that they assume a fan shape, a cutting device adapted to cut from the fan-shaped group of separated filaments a succession of groups of separated fibers of predetermined length, means for assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ,ends of fibers of the preceding group to such n extent that upon subsequently compacting t e fibers a coherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may .be produced, and means for compacting the fibers into a continuous staple fiber product.

19. Apparatus for the manufacture of staple fiber products, comprising means for feeding forward a bundle of continuous filaments, an ejector nozzle adapted to receive the end of the bundle and to apply thereto a gaseous blast so as both to separate the filaments at the end of the bundle from each other over a length longer than the length of the staple desired and to forward the filaments, a cutting device disposed in or near the path of the blast produced by the nozzle and adapted to cut from the separated filaments a succession of groups of separated fibers ofpredetermined length, means for assembling thegroups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an extent that upon subsequently compacting the fibers a coherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may be produced, and means for compacting the fibers into a continuous staple fiber product.

20. Apparatus for the manufacture of staple fiber products, comprising means for feeding forward a bundle of continuous filaments, means for separating the filaments of the bundle from each other at the end of the bundle for a length longer than the length of staple desired and in such a manner that they assume a fan shape, means for seizing the ends of the fan-shaped group of separated filaments, a cutting device adapted to cut from the seized filaments a succession of groups of separated fibers 'of predetermined length, means for assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an extent I that upon subsequently compacting the fibers a coherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may be produced, and means for compacting the fibers into a continuous staple fiber product.

21. Apparatus for the manufacture of staple fiber products, comprising means for feeding forward a bundle of continuous filaments, an ejector nozzle adapted to receive the end of the bundle and to apply thereto a gaseous blast so as both to separate the filaments at the end of the bundle from each other over a length longer than the length of the staple desired and to forward the filaments, means for seizing the ends of the separated filaments, a cutting device adapted to cut from the seized filaments a succession of groups of separated. fibers of predetermined length, means for assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an extent that upon subsequently compacting the fibers a coherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may be produced, and means for compacting the fibers into a continuous staple fiber product.

22. Apparatus for the manufacture of staple fiber products, comprising means for feeding forward a bundle of continuous filaments, an ejector nozzle adapted to receive the end of the bundle and to apply thereto a gaseous blast so as both to separate the filaments at the end of the bundle from each other over a length longer than the length of the staple desired and to forward .the filaments, a permeable support, means for sucking a current of air through the support so as to seize and hold to the support the free ends of the separated filaments, a cutting device comprising a pair of multi-toothed co-operating members, said cutting device being adapted to cut from the seized filaments a succession of groups of, fibers of predetermined length, means for moving the support in the direction 01' the length of the flbergroups so as to carry the last received group forward to some extent before the succeeding group is received, rubbing bands adapted to receive the fiber groups from the support and to compact the fibers into a coherent its periphery,

continuous product, and a twisting device adapted to twist into yarn and wind the product. 23. Apparatus for the manufacture of staple fiber products, comprising means for feeding forward a bundle of continuous filaments, an ejector nozzle having a flat, flared ejecting orifice, said nozzle being adapted to receive the end of the'bundle and to apply thereto a gaseous blast so as both to separate the filaments at the end of the bundle from each other into the form of a flat band and to forward the filaments from the orifice, a cutting device adapted to cut from the separated filaments a succession of groups of separated fibers of predetermined length, means for assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an extent that upon subsequently compacting the fibers a coherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may be produced, and means for compacting the fibers into a continuous staple fiber product.

24. Apparatus for the manufacture of staple fiber products, comprising means for feeding forward a bundle of continuous filaments, an ejecto-r nozzle adapted. to receive the end of the bundle and to apply thereto a gaseous blast so as both to separate the filaments at the end of the bundle from each other over a length longer than the length of the staple desired and to for- -ward the filaments, means for interrupting and cutting device disposed near the path of the blast produced by the nozzle and adapted to cut from the separated filaments a succession of groups of separated fibers of predetermined length, means for assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an extent that upon subsequently compacting the fibers a coherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may be produced, and means for compacting the fibers into a continuous staple fiber product.

25. Apparatus for the manufacture of staple fiber products, comprising means for feeding forward a bundle of continuous filaments, means for separating the filaments of the bundle from each other at the end of the bundle for a length longer than the length of staple desired, suction means for seizing the ends of the separated filaments, a cutting device adapted to cut from the seized filaments a succession of groups of separated fibers of predetermined length, means for assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding groupto such an extent that upon subsequently compacting the fibers a coherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may OB produced, and means for compacting the fibers into a continuous staple fiber product.

26. Apparatus according to claim 25, comprising a suction conduit disposed near the cutting device and formed with perforations at points in an endless permeable band contacting with the surface of the conduit, said conduit being disposed in a manner such that air flowing through the perforations sucks to the band the ends of the separated filaments prior to and during cutting, and the freshly cut end of each group of filaments after cutting, and means for moving the band across the surface of the conduitin the direction of the length of the forward to some extent before the succeeding group is received.

27. Apparatus for the manufacture of staple fiber products, comprising means for feeding forward a bundle of continuous filaments, means for separating the filaments of the bundle from each other at the end of the bundle in such a manner that they assume a fan shape, a cutting device adapted to cut from the fan-shaped group of separated filaments a succession of groups of separated fibers of predetermined length, said cutting device being disposed so as to cut the separated filaments obliquely across the width of the bundle, means for assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an extent that upon subsequently-compacting the fibers a coherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may be produced and means for compacting the fibers into a continuous staple fiber product.

' 28. Apparatus for the manufacture of staple fiber products, comprising means for feeding forward a bundle of continuous filaments, means for separating the filaments of the bundle from each other at the end of the bundle, a cutting device comprising a pair of multi-toothed cooperating members having a relative longitudinal movement, said cutting device being adapted to cut from the separated filaments a succession of groups of separated fibers of predetermined length, means for assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an extent that upon subsequently compacting the fibers a coherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may be produced, and means for compacting the fibers into a continuous staple fiber product.

29. Apparatus for the manufacture of staple fiber products, comprising means for feeding forward a bundle of continuous filaments, means for separating the filaments of the bundle from each other at the end of the bundle in such a manner that they assume a fan shape, a cutting device disposed out of the path of the filaments, means for bringing the end portions of the fan-shaped group of separated filaments into engagement with the cutting device at intervals so as to form from the continuous filaments a succession of groups of separated fibers of predetermined length, means for assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an extent that upon subsequently compacting the fibers a coherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may be produced,

fiber groups so'as to carry the last received group and means for compacting the fibers into a continuous staple fiber product;

30. Apparatus for the manufacture of staple fiber products, comprising means for feeding forward a bundle of continuous filaments, means for separating the filaments of the bundle from each other at the end of thebundle in such a manner that they assume a fan shape, a cutting device adapted to cut from the fan-shaped group of separated filaments a succession of groups of separated fibers of predetermined length, means for assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an extent that upon subsequently compacting the fibers a coherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may be produced, means for compacting the fibers into a continuous staple fiber product, and means for twisting the product into yarn.

31. Apparatus for the manufacture of staple fiber products, comprising means for feeding forward a bundle of continuous filaments, a gate tension device adapted to engage thebundle so as to electrify the component filaments thereof and cause mutual repulsion and spreading of the filaments, means for separating the spreading filaments from each other at the end of the 32. Apparatus for the manufacture of staple,

fiber products, comprising-means for feeding forward a bundle of continuous filaments, means for separating the filaments of the bundle from each other at the end of the bundle in such a manner that they assume a fan shape, a cutting device adapted to cut from the fan-shaped group of separated filaments a succession of groups of separated fibers of predetermined length, means for drawingthe filaments clear of the cutting device after the cutting of each group of fibers, means for assembling the groups of fibers in such a manner that the forward ends of fibers of each group overlap the rearward ends of fibers of the preceding group to such an extent that upon subsequently compacting the fibers a coherent continuous product consisting of staple fiber may be produced, and means for compacting the fibers into a continuous staple fiber product.

- HENRY DREYFUSJ WILLIAM POOL.