US2293154A - Apparatus for treatment of fibers - Google Patents

Description

`Au8 18, 1942- v L. E. LovEQrT 2,293,154

APPARATUS FOR TREATMENT OF FIBERS Filed ont. 21, 1959 fa. Z

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INVENT OR.

ATTORNEY.

iiber. i nately treat theber with an acidydesulphurizing agent, or bleaching agentwith water as awash.

train. I

Patented Aug. 1s, 1942 UNITED ,If-fertili"rE-s"4 orifice j APPARATUS Fon. TREATMENT on FIBEns o l Louis E. Lovottrcievelana Heights, ohio Appiioatioo ootobor 21, 1939, serial No. 390.639

i' y(cita-"9) o! liquid. fromstaple bers-moving along a con- 4 Claims. My invention relates to the ,textile industry and more` particularly to apparatus for the in a continuous tion is not necessarily limited to the treatment` of fibers artificially produced but may also be adapted for use in' processing natural staple bers. n :n o. I In the manufacture of staple fibers from. artificial threads or laments itis necessary thatthe fiber ybe treated with certain liquids, for example with acids, water, andbleaching andv de- 4sulphurizing agents. It may be necessary and desirable to, subject the fiber to an acid bath and then to wash out the acid with water in `another bath before the fiber is subjected to the` treatmentl of another liquid usedin processing the It mayftherefore be necessary to alter- It has been found that a thorough lloodingA of the bers with the appropriate solution'results in a better treatment of the ber than thel mere application of .the solution to the surface ofl the ber by spraying or otherwise.. j y

Itis an object of my invention to provide apparatus for the treatment of textile iibers with liquid in a continuous system of manufacture. Another object is to provide apparatus for the treatment of a continuouslymoving bed of :staple fibers with different'liquids. i Another object is the provision of a system` of separate compartments. in lwhich `the several treating processes. occur andthrough which the staple iibers progressively move in continuous lAnother object is the provison. of `apparatus for' thesuccessive treatment of staple iibers and the' like with several treating liquidswithout mut'ilatingordegradingthe bers. I o Another object is vthe provi sion .of., a4v `system for they successive treatmentv ora-bed of f, staple bers bypassing them througlfifliquidA baths on a continuous conveyor and/in, Which'nthe. liquid bathsmare separated from'eachiother.

Another object is the provision for' the removal y ,ofliquid from a matted layerofwstaplesmoving veyor at a distance from' the bottom of the conveyor. n

.Another object is the provision of a compart- `nient system for the separate treatment by liquids -of a continuously moving bed or band of loose staple iibers. o I i i Another object is the provisionof'animproved apparatus furthe separation of liquids used in i successively treating a `of material.l l

continuous iiow or train Other-objects and a' fuller understanding 7'of my invention may be had by referring to the fol# lowing-description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 represents a cross-sectional view Y taken lengthwise of my appar'atusfand'is largely diagrammatical-in nature;

Figure 2 is a plan'view of the lefthand'half of the apparatus shown in Figure 1, and

" Figure 3 is an enlarged view,par.tially diagrammatical in nature,` of a portion of my 'apparatus and illustrates the action of 'the floating roller on the Vbedlofl staples and the squeezerollers between which the staples pass at an elevation above the conveyor; C f

Referring to Figure 1, I show a continuous conveyor, denoted generally by the reference character II, which yis of the endless belt type. The conveyor belt is constructed of woven wire so woven as to support a. bed of'staple bers and `at the same time vto permit liquid .to drain through the conveyor belt.` The conveyor belt may'also be constructedgof solid sheets of material perforated with a plurality of `openings to permit `liquid to drain therethrough and at the same time supporting thebed of staple iibers on.

the conveyor. 'The conveyor belt has a bottom `portion I2 .with raised sides I3 extendingl longitudinally along` the longitudinal edges lof the bottom portion I2; The side portions I3 -are preferably `Woven as a part of the belt andare ilexible soas to bendiaround the end pulleys as the :belt moves in its travel. The conveyor belt is adapted vtosupport and' convey a relatively thick bed of loose staple fibers deposited upon the bot- 1 tom portion I2 intermediate the side `'portions I3.

along a conveyor without pressing:ths-fibers Therefis thus affordedfineffect, a supporting ipanwithout vend walls which can support lthe vfibers during'pro'cessing and which permits liquid to drain through'the' bottom of the "pang Suitable end pulleys I4-Isupport the conveyor belt .and

fuponrotation move .the upper level of the -con- .veyor beltn continuous ytravel from the left hand end of the View of Figure 1 toward the right hand' end. Travel of the upper level of the conveyor belt" toward the right of Figure 1. is referred to herein as forward travel and movement of :dbers upon the top of the conveyor toward the right in Figure l is referred to as a conveying of the fibers forward. Either or both of the pulleys I4 may be connected to a source of power. In the diagrammatical view .of figure 1 I have illustrated the pulley I4 on .the right end being driven by the driving means shown diagrammatically by the dot and dash line 33.

Four spaced supporting rolls I5 are used for supporting the upper level of theconveyor belt and maintaining it in' alignment. Three spaced supporting rollers I6 are positioned under the lower level ofthe conveyor belt as a means of support. 'I'he rollers I5 and I6 arenot driven but merely rotate with movement of the conveyor belt. A catch basin |1 is-positioned under the conveyor for receiving liquids dripping through the perforate conveyor belt. The catch basin I1 is divided up into portions for catching different types of liquidxwhich drain through different portions of the conveyor. The peaked portions I3 are disposed -to mark the division between the portions ofthe catch basin and the respective liquids ow into the said portions of the catch basin I1. An outlet I8 is positioned at the bottom of the sumpof each portion of the catch basin I1. Liquid flowing out the outlets I3 is conducted to the respective fluid system for each type of liquid and after being replenished or regenerated ma'y be used againfor treatment.

An elongated bed `44 of staple fibers is deposited upon the upper portion of the conveyor belt in-` termediate the raised sides I3 and this elongated bed 44 is continuously moved forward upon operation of the conveyor. A filament spinning apparatus shown diagrammatically by the reference character 31 produces a bundle of filaments 43 which are moved forward by the rolls 38 driven by the common power source 33. A suitable cutting mechanism 39,. driven by the common power source 33, cuts the filaments 43 in to suitable staple length, for example one and one-quarter to six inches long, and distributes the cut staples upon the conveyor in the form of a loose bed of staple bers indicated as the bed 44. The raised sides confine the bed 44 to the conveyor belt and permit a relatively thick bed, for example three or four inches deep, of staple bers to be formed and moved upon the conveyor.

The bed of staples 44 is treated by several liquids during its course of travel along the conveyor. In the illustration of the drawing, the application of three different liquids is shown by way of example. Three pans or liquid c ontainers 34 are positioned above the conveyor belt at three different locations along the length of the conveyor. The respective liquid for each container 34 is fed into the top of the conveyor by means of the respective inlet pipes 35. The

inlet pipes 35 are in communication with a source of the appropriate liquid, including the liquid drained out through the outlets I8 of tlie catch basin I1. A plurality of small openings 36 in the bottom of the containers 34 sprinkle the `liquid over an extended area above the conveyor belt.

` The liquid falls down upon the bedof staples 44 and floods the staples so that the staples are completely immersed in the liquid or solution and thereby become' thoroughly saturated with the liquid. 'I'he staples upon being flooded in the bath of liquid and partially floating therein form a relatively thick; expanded and puffed-up layer of staples. The swollen mass of staples holds a considerable amount of the liquid and excess liquid passing through the bed 44 is drained off l through the openings in the conveyor belt. This and to confine each liquid to its respective local position along the conveyor. It is desirable to i separate each bath so that the liquids are not confused but rather are distinctly separated in liquid bath is confined but through which the elongated` bed of staples moves in a continuous manner.-

Four rollers 2| are disposed transversely of the conveyor and intermediate the raised sides I3 of the conveyor belt. By reason of the fact that external force is not applied to these rollers they are termed floating rollers. The four floating rollers 2| are spaced from each other to define three separate divisions or compartments4 along the length of the conveyor. Each floating roller 2| is journaled upon the ends of arms 22 which in turn are journaled upon shafts 26, the arms 22 having bearings 25 which freely ride upon a shaft 26. A suitable driving belt 24 rotates the floating rollers 2| with the shafts 26. The arrangement of the floating Irollers 2| upon the arms 22 is such that the rollers freely ride upon the top of the bed 44 of staple fibers and merely the weight of the rollers 2| is effective in comf pressing the bed of staples moving under the rollers 2|. For example, the weight of each roller may be five or six pounds and it may be said that the downward force lof the floating rollers is relatively slight. 'Ihe belt 24 driven by the'shafts 26 and in turn powered by the common power source 33 is ratioed to rotate the floating rollers 2| at a speed relative to the speed of the conveyor. 'I'he counter-clockwise rotation of the rollers 2| permits the bers to pass freely under the rollers on the conveyor bottom I2.

By reason of the free riding arrangement -of the floating rollers 2| and the slight pressure exerted by their own Weight the rollers 2| in cooperation with the bed of bers 44 act as a dam to yond the limits of the local liquid bath.. At the same time, however, the floating rollers 2| permit the bed of staples 44 to pass between the rollers 2| and the conveyor bottom I2. Since the conveyor belt is of woven Wire orv of a perforated sheet it is'important that the bed 44 is not pressed with any appreciable force against the bottom of the conveyor belt as this tends to mutilate or degrade the staples. By the very nature of the conveyor belt having openings for drain'- age it cannot have a smooth continuous surface. If considerable pressure were exerted upon the bed 44 to forcethe staples down upon the bottom of the conveyor belt the staples would be forced into the openings of the'perforate conveyor belt and consequently torn vor injured during movement ofthe apparatus. By having'. the floating rollers merely ride upon the top of the bed 44 Without application of additional force the rollers 2| act as an effective dam against longituof cotton-`batting.""`

sure as to mutilate or v igagija'tle the staple fibers.

The slightfcompressionzoff'the rollers 2l does,

however; partially matthe bedl of staple's. This partially ,matted bed of "stapleshas sufcient body that it may be handled as" acontin'uous strip in the further steps of` processing. Roughly,`the f partially matted bed may `bej"descrbed as having wetted band or strip- At the terminus of. each liquid bath voompartl nient vthere is positioned apair of mating squeeze *rollsy 21 and.28. Thelower squeeze roll v21 is c suitably `supported and journaled upon, a support' 2,8 and it driven bythe shaft 28 powered by( the common driviefsr l3- The upper. ,squeeze ro l l.,28`is 'gearedwto the lowerroll 21 jbyuthe gear drive shownrdiagrammatically by thegreference character 28s, .The squeeze rolls 2'! I 28" are``tlierefore,arranged to move andl squeeze material interposedtherebetween.4 The x upper' squeezerouzs `is.suitably,supported by a bearing housingndcontaining a coil spring 3| y a` .dapted. to ejxertga downward force upon the Isqueeze roll 28. A suitable adjustment mechamsm-82 is provided for adjusting the compression of the coilv spring 8l and thereby the force of the roll 28 upon the roll 2|. The external arcuate surfaces of the mating rolls 21 and 28 are smooth and continuous. Considerable force may be applied upon the staples to compress. the same without mutilating or degrading the staples as there is no tearing action as would result from staples catching on a rough or perforated sur'- face.

The elongated bed of staple bers moving along the conveyor upon being partially matted under the floating rollers 2| is carried upwardly ata distance from the bottom of the conveyor and passes between the squeeze rolls 21 and 28. Since l the squeezing is not done upon the relatively rough bottom of the conveyor belt the excess liquid may be. squeezed from the bed of staples without a mutilation or degradationfof the staples being squeezed. The slightly matted bed of staples upon passing through the squeeze rolls 21 and 28 is almost completely extracted and then again moves downwardly and resumes its place at a forward position uponithe continuous conveyor to move forward through the next suc, cesslve steps of the manufacturing process. It is tobe `seen in the' largev view of Figure 3 thatthe bed 44, while flooded with liquid in one of the compartments of `the :apparatus is relatively thick. Upon passing under the floating roll 2l the bed is partially matted and reduced in thickness and` a restriction is placed,

upon longitudinal flow of the `liquid along the conveyor. The bed of' staples 44 then'moves upwardly away from the conveyor and is there squeezed between the rolls 21 and 28 wherethe excess liquid is squeezed out and the bed is matted more completely and still further lreduced in thickness. 'I'he matted bed then moves down to its place upon the conveyor at a longiltudinal distance from where it left the conveyor and moves forward into the next liquid bath Where it again becomes thick and expanded upon being wetted by the liquid of 'the next successive bath. The leaving of a longitudinal space 3 rolls from v forward into the inext successive compartment. Itis thereforeto be seen that the 'apparatus whicl1.`Ihave` invented incorporates-all lof `the advantages of wet treatments in separatescompartmentsY with alltl'ie ad- -vantages of a' fcontinu'ous conveyor system',I the same being accomplishedin a-mannerto avoid injury tothe staples,beingprocessed., Utilization of the apparatus lgreatly incszreases eiliciency ,of the treatment given tostaple fibers andrgives fa result heretofore impossible v with lthe `previous apparatus known; -fj

All of the driven partaof the apparatus are 'driven in unison to giveagsmootnandregulated ilow of materialr1 1thrniglithe rapparatusw-I have illustrated in thedrawing the.` severalpants being driven-byjacommon,source of power 33 ples from, thelastflset ;of, squeeze' rolls', 21; rand shown diagrammatically yby; the "referencefzcharacter 4l from ,whenqefl 1sdelivered out, through the outlet 42,.,to the-place of storage' shipment,

or further processingu Although! hayeidescribedfiny. vention with a y certain degree .ofparticularity,

that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the' details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an apparatus for the treatment of con- 'tinuously conveyed liber by thesuccessive subjection of the fiber to different baths of liquid, the combination of V a continuous conveyor for conveying said liber along a course, said conveyor having a bottom and integral sides to support and to coniine the iiber in its movement upon the conveyor, a plurality of liquid feed means forlflooding a plurality of portions, respectively, of said conveyor to treat the fiber thereon, a plurality of spaced rotatable rollers disposed transversely of said conveyor and positioned at a terminus ofeach of said portions of the conveyor, positioning means for maintaining said rollers in spaced relationship, said positioning means being adapted to permit said rollers `to freely ride orf said fibers moving along the conveyor, said portions of the conveyor intermediate of'the rollers being open to hold the fiber without compression, and driving means for rotating said rollers to aid the movement of said fibers under the rollers on the conveyor, the relationship of the conveyor, rollers,`liquid feed means, positioning means,A and driving means, being such that the said portions of the conveyor intermediate said sides form separate flooded com.- partments, the liquid therein being dammed against flow longitudinal of the conveyor and the fiber moving therethrough is conveyed by said bottom -and sides of the conveyor from one comon the conveyor unoccupied by fibers at each set of squeeze rolls aids in preventing longitudinal flow of liquid between the flooded compartpartment to another undisturbed by movement of the conveyor sides relative to the conveyor bottom and moved between the conveyor and rollers without mutilation or degradation of the fibers.

,f 2. In an apparatus `for the treatment of staples with liquid, the combination of a continuous conveyor having a. bottom portion and raised side wall portions integrally formed therewith lto form a Ithree-walled compartment for saidstaples and liquid, said conveyor being formed to itlxisaunderstood permit seepage of liquid therethrough and to permit said side Wall portions to iiex with said bottom in its continuous course, a pair of spaced `flow of liquid lengthwise of the conveyor to constitute end walls for said three-walled compartment. a

3. In an apparatus for the treatment of a bed *of staples with liquid, the combination of a woven conveyor having a. bottom portion and integrally formed side portions constituting a continuous channel in which said staples and liquid are contained and moved in a forward direction,

av roller positioned Lforwardly in saidv channel of theconveyor intermediate ofthe said side portions,` said` roller being'positioned over said bottom portion of the conveyor and adapted to compress the bed lof staples `and to limit the forward movement of liquid beyond 4said roller, and driv- /ing means for movingzsaid `conveyor and rotatj, ing4v saidroller in unison to :forwardlyv advance the bed of staples therebetween.

4. In an apparatusfor the treatment of stai ples with liquid, the combination of a foraminate conveyor .belt having a bottom wall and side Walls integrally formed therein to form an elongated container, said conveyor belt being adapted to continuously convey and to contain said staples` in a layer through said treatment, liquid supply means for flooding a portion of said conveyor belt intermediate of said side walls to treat the bers thereon, the foraminate conveyor belt permitting excess liquid to seep therethrough, two spaced rollers positioned between said side walls at opposite ends of said flooded portion t0 form end walls for said flooded portion of the conveyor, freely swingable arms having journal bearings provided at the free ends thereof for said rollers, said swingable arms securing said rollers in said spaced relationship longitudinally of the conveyor belt and permitting said rollers to freely ride on said layer of staples, the said rollers partially compressing said layer, the said rollers and the partially compressed layer limiting the longitudinal'flow of liquid beyond said ilooded portion of the conveyor belt, and driving means for moving'said conveyor belt and rotating said rollers in unison to move said layer betweenv the conveyor and the rollers at substantially the same speed.

LOUIS E. LOVE'I'I'.

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