Nov. 8, 1955 J. A. TRUlTT 2,722,817
LIQUID TREATING APPARATUS Filed on. 29, 1952 INVENTOR. JOSEPH A. TRU/TT A ORNEY.
United States Patent LIQUID TREATING APPARATUS Joseph A. Truitt, West'Chester; Pa.-, assignor toAmerican Viscose Corporation,- Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application October-29, 1952, Serial No. 317,445"
6 Claims. (Cl. .68-19) The present invention" relates to themanufactureand production of synthetic filamentary materials and more particularly to novel apparatus for liquid treating such materials, yarns and the like in a uniform and" con trollable manner.
In the manufacture of various types of filamentary materials and yarns, it'is ordinarily customary to process aplurality of individual filaments simultaneously in the form of'a bundle such as ayarn or tow; In so' doing; however, it has oftentimes beenfound difiicult to properly treat and/or process the entire surface'areacf each" of the individual filaments properly and uniformly. Moreover, although various procedures and apparatus forprovidin'gfor uniform treatmentof the continuously advancing' filamentary material-orthe like have 'been devised and'employed in thepast, particular difficulty has been experiencedin lacing such apparatus in'a' ready and convenient manner.
I It is a principal object of the present" invention" to provideznovel apparatus for liquid treating filamentary materials,-:. yarns and the like 'ina thorough-and uniform manner.
It is' afurther objectof"thepresent invention to'provide' novel and improved liquid 7 treating apparatus through which the filamentarymaterial to he treated may be readily and conveniently laced.
Other objects a and' advantages 1 of Y the present invention will be apparent from 1 the following description;
In the drawing which is illustrative of the present im vention,
Figurel is a side elevational View" of preferred" embodiment of the present invention. with a portion 1 thereof shown insection;
Figure 2. is an: end view of i the embodiment shown in F igurez l with part I of the: trough' broken away;
Rigor-e134 is an -enlarged view in-perspective ofiawde tail offthe; apparatus shown in EigurenZ; and
Figure: 4 isl /a diagrammatic "rviewfiillustratingr at step' in thei simplified lacing-5 procedure which formst a: part of the present t invention. 4
In general, the improved.- filamentary material' liquid treating; apparatus =-inc1udesan elongated conduit; means for directing; a. treating; liquid through the. conduit in. a
given. direction and. at a. predetermined rate, 7 and; means for continuously passing a bundle of filamentary strands through the conduit in the same direction and'substantially'atthe same rate. It has beenfound thatrthe liquid treating; processmay be controlledwith" improved accuracy and uniformity in" such a manner.
The hereinafter described apparatus has" been found particularly: useful where; as showndnthe drawings the continuously-"advancing yarn or the likeis' withdrawn from a conventional thread-advancing device; is treated with l at suitableyarn lubricant;- orz-fihish', and? is? returned to theethread-advancing'; device, In thisway as will be moreapparenthereinafter; the zyarn may be treated, dried or processedninany,suitable manner as itprogresses along the periphery of thetthread-iadvancing device" Itisztobe 2,722,817 Patented Nov. 8,1955
understood, however, that'the apparatus of'thelpresent invention could'alsobe employedin any other conventionaltliquid treating operation without departing from the spirit or scope of'the present invention.
A preferredstructural embodiment of the present in vention is shown invFiguresl" through 3'of'the drawing As illustrated therein, the improvedliquid treating apparatus which is generally designated in theidrawing by the reference numeral'3 is preferably positioned beneath a suitableportion of the filamentary material processing apparatus so that the filamentarybundle 5 may be conveniently and directly conducted thereto. Accordingly, the liquid treating tank'or the like 6' is shown. in the drawing positioned beneath the thread-advancing device which is generallyv designated'by the" reference numeral 4 and which preferably comprises the drying drum 7Land the roll or the-like 7a canted thereto.-
The liquid treating conduitor'the like 8 which is preferably L-shaped as shown is mounted in any convenient manner on the bracket members or the like 9 and 10which' are secured'to' the bottomof the treat ing tank Gin-any suitable manner such as by the weld ing shown at 11: and extend'upwardly therefrom. The upright extremity 8a of the liquid' treating conduit 8 ispreferably externally threaded as;at 12 to'receive the internal threads ofthe sleeve member or. thelike 13 which as will be exp'lained 'mom' fully hereinafter. permits control 'andregulation of the fluid flow through the conduit. As wilI als ee explained more fully hereinafter; the treating liquid is preferably delivered; to the conduitsfrom' any suitable source'such as that shown diagrammatically at 14 through the conduit or'thelike 15.
It is'to be understood that although not'shown' in the drawing-a plurality ofsleves which-vary in length one from another could be also "used to 'provide' an increased range of" control=of thefltiid rate through the" conduits withoutdepartingfrom" the spirit or scope ofth'e present invention.
As best=shown=in Figure 310i thedrawing a substantial portion: of the upper half of the-conduit 8" preferably adjacent its other extremity is cutaway as at 16." The complementary h'alf 'round tubular casing, cover, or' the like: 17 which" is adapted 'to be clamped 'into position on the cutaway portion of the conduit by any suitable:conventional clamping members such as" the resilient: clip members 18 which cooperatewith the notched portions 18avof" the casing- 17 is preferably notched as at'19 and 20 to facilitate the delivery of the continuously advancing tow or yarn' 5'into' conduit S and itsremoval th'erefrom. Theguide support 'membersor the like 21' and" 22' are preferably located as shownat opposite extremities of theicasing 17 so as to=aid-incentering the yarnwithin the; conduits when the-casing'is properly positionedi'on its out away-portion: More specifically "each of the guide support" members" is" preferably recessed as shown to receive the guide inserts 23"which are formedfr'omnporcelain, glass, many other suitable wear'resistant material and which as will be more apparent hereinafter. are adapted to engage the continuously. advancing material. The resilienttclip members 24 whichsare. integral withthe opposite extremitiestoffeach of thetguidesupport members 21. and 22 andtwhich extendtthrough:thesnotches 25in the casing. 17 andupwardly aboutits outer periphery as shown normally; maintain the guide members; initheir proper position adjacent theopposite:extremities ofi'the casing.-.
As is best shown in'F-igure 3- of thedrawing 'whenthe half-round tubular casing; or cover- 17 isrproperly= positioned and secured-tot the conduit 8\ and the adjacent extremitiesof the casing and the enclosedportion of th'e conduit abutione; another, .the: cut? away portion of -the conduit preferably extends beyond the opposite extremity of the casing. In this way, though not shown on the drawing, any conventional means for extending or varying the length of the casing could be employed to control the immersion path of the continuously advancing yarn in the conduit.
It is to be understood that, although the conduit 8 is preferably cut away adjacent an extremity thereof as shown, a central portion of the conduit could instead be cut away to receive the casing 17 without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.
The overflow pipe or the like 26 preferably extends as shown in Figure l of the drawing upwardly through the aperture 27 and the conventional fluid seal 23 positioned on the bottom of the treating tank 6. The upper extremity of the overflow pipe is preferably externally threaded as at 29 to receive and cooperate with the interior threads of the adjusting sleeve member 30 positioned thereon. Though not shown on the drawing, the lower extremity of the overflow pipe 26 is preferably connected by any suitable means to a conventional fluid return system or the like.
As shown diagrammatically in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing the conventional adjustable yarn stripping device 31 is preferably positioned so as to contact the continuously advancing yarn or tow 5 as it proceeds between the discharge extremity of the liquid treating conduit 8 and the processing apparatus 4. In this way, as will be more apparent hereinafter, the yarn stripping device 31 serves a dual purpose in that it effectively removes excess treating liquid on the continuously advancing yarn and simultaneously reduces the yarn tension during the liquid treating operation so as to facilitate the separation of the individual filaments of the tow in the conduit 8.
In operation, the continuously advancing yarn or tow 5 which is to be processed in accordance with the improved liquid treating apparatus of the present invention is conducted, as is best shown in Figure l of the drawing, from the strand advancing and drying drum combination 7, 7a through the treating conduit or the like 8 and returned by way of the stripper device 31 to the processing apparatus. As shown in Figure 4 of the drawing in order to lace the apparatus, the casing 17 is temporarily removed from the cut away portion of the conduit 8 and a loop of the yarn 5 which is relatively resilient and/or pliable is preferably drawn downwardly from the threadadvancing and drier combination 7, 7a. The closed end of the loop is then passed through the notches 19 and 20 in the casing 17, successively through the recesses in the guide inserts 23 in the guide members 21 and 22, between the bars of the stripping device 31, and back to the thread-advancing device 4. The casing 17 is then again secured to the cut away portion of the treating conduit 8 by means of the conventional clamping members 18. The position of the sleeve on the upper extremity of the overflow pipe or conduit 26 is then adjusted to properly control the level of the treating liquid 1n the tank 6. Similarly the position of the sleeve 13 on the upper extremity 8a of the conduit 8 is then adjusted to control the velocity of the fluid therethrough and to maintain it at substantially the same velocity as the rate at which the continuously advancing yarn or tow travels through the conduit 8. When the rates of the flow of the treating liquid and of the yarn through the conduit 3 are properly adjusted in this way, and when the continuously advancing material is properly threaded through the stripper device 31 to reduce the yarn tension during the liquid treating operation, it has been found that the individual filaments of the yarn or tow then tend to separate one from another as best illustrated in Figure 3 as they proceed through the conduit 8.
While preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, the description is intended to be illustrat1ve only and it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
I claim:
1. Liquid treating apparatus for a continuously advancing filamentary material comprising an elongated tubular conduit, a substantial lateral portion of the conduit being cut away, means for continuously supplying the conduit with controlled amounts of the treating liquid, an elongate member of arcuate cross section, means for releasably clamping the member to the conduit where it is cut away to enclose the cut away portion of the conduit, and means including guide members positioned at opposite extremities of said elongate member and notches in the curvilinear end edges thereof for conducting the filamentary material into and out of the enclosed cut away portion of the conduit.
2. Liquid treating apparatus for continuously advancing filamentary material comprising an open trough-like container, an elongated tubular conduit which is generally positioned along the length thereof, a substantial longitudinal portion of the tubular conduit being cut away adjacent one extremity, means for supplying the conduit with controlled amounts of a treating liquid, means for controlling the level of the treating liquid in the trough-like container, an elongate member of arcuate cross section, means for releasably clamping the member to the conduit where it is cut away to enclose the cut away portion of the conduit, and means for conducting a filamentary material, into, through, and out of the enclosed cut away portion of the conduit.
3. Liquid treating apparatus for a continuously advancing filamentary material comprising an open troughlike container, an elongated tubular conduit which is generally positioned along the length thereof, a substantial portion of the tubular conduit being cut away adjacent one extremity, means for continuously supplying the conduit with controlled amounts of a treating liquid, means for controlling the level of the treating liquid in the trough-like container, an elongate member of arcuate cross section, clamping means for securing said member to the conduit to enclose its cut away portion, and means including guide members positioned at opposite extremities of the said elongate member and notches in the curvilinear end edges thereof for conducting the filamentary material into and out of the enclosed cut away portion of the conduit.
4. Liquid treating apparatus for a continuously advancing filamentary material comprising an open troughlike container, an elongated tubular conduit which is generally positioned along the length thereof, a substantial longitudinal portion of the tubular conduit being cut away adjacent one extremity, means for continuously supplying the conduit with controlled amounts of a treating liquid, an overflow pipe extending upwardly through the bottom of the container, an adjustable sleeve member positioned on the upper extremity of the overflow pipe, an elongate member of arcuate cross section, means for releasably clamping the member to the conduit where it is cut away to enclose the cut away portion of the conduit, and means for conducting the filamentary material into and out of the enclosed cut away portion of the conduit.
5. Liquid treating apparatus for a continuously advancing filamentary material comprising an open troughlike container, an elongated tubular conduit which, except for one extremity that extends upwardly out of the container, is generally positioned along the length thereof, substantially one half of the longitudinal portion of the tubular conduit adjacent its opposite extremity being cut away, an adjustable sleeve member positioned on the first-mentioned extremity of the conduit, means for continuously supplying the first-mentioned extremity of the conduit with a treating liquid, an overflow pipe extending upwardly through the bottom of the container,
an adjustable sleeve member positioned on the upper extremity of the overflow pipe, an elongate member of arcuate cross section, clamping means for releasably securing said elongate member to the conduit to enclose its cutaway portion, and means including guide members positioned at opposite extremities of said elongate member and notches in the curvilinear end edges thereof for conducting the filamentary material into and out of the enclosed cut away portion of the conduit.
6. Apparatus for processing a continuously advancing filamentary material comprising thread-advancing means, an elongated tubular conduit, a substantial lateral portion of the conduit being cut away, means for continuously supplying the conduit with controlled amounts of a treating liquid, means A for enclosing the cut away portion of the conduit, means for conducting the filamentary material from the thread-advancing means through an enclosed cut away portion of the conduit and back to the thread-advancing means, and means disposed along the path of the filamentary material from the conduit back to the thread-advancing means for applying tension to the filamentary material and for stripping excess liquid therefrom.
References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS