Process and apparatus for improved conditioning of melt-spun material
AssigneeInvista North America S.A.R.L.
InventorsSteven Wayne Smith, Geoffrey David Hietpas, Richard Terry Wood
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus and process for applying finish to an expanded filament array in a quench system with air directed inward to the filament bundle. The applicator may be used inside or proximate quench zones in a radial, pneumatic, or cross-flow quench system. The apparatus includes a spinneret, a quench zone located below said spinneret, wherein cooling gas is directed inward to an expanded filament array inside said quench zone, and an applicator inside or below said quench zone, wherein the applicator contacts the filament and delivers the finish to the expanded filament array.
Claims26
A melt spinning apparatus for spinning continuous polymeric filaments comprising:
- (a) a spinneret having a plurality of capillaries;
- (b) a polymer delivery source which is arranged to communicate with said spinneret and deliver molten polymer therethrough to produce a continuously moving array of molten polymeric filaments corresponding to the arrangement of capillaries in the spinneret;
- (c) a quench zone positioned below said spinneret and arranged to receive and cool the array of molten filaments as they move therethrough by passing a cooling gas inward with respect to the array of moving filaments;
- and
- (d) a finish applicator positioned inside or below the quench zone to apply an amount of finishing liquid to the array, wherein said finish applicator comprises
- (i) a base plate having a peripheral edge which corresponds to the cross-section of the array of moving molten filaments;
- and
- (ii) a body portion having a top and bottom concentric therewith and connected to said base plate, wherein said bottom corresponds in shape to the shape defined by the peripheral edge of the base plate, and the surface formed by a plurality of lines drawn between said top and said bottom tapers outwardly with respect to the direction of movement of the filament array.
A melt spinning apparatus for spinning continuous polymeric filaments, comprising a finish applicator to apply an amount of finishing liquid to an array of filaments, positioned inside or below a quench zone that is arranged to receive a stream of cooling gas directed radially inward, wherein said finish applicator comprises
- (i) a base plate having a peripheral edge which corresponds to the cross-section of the array of moving molten filaments;
- and
- (ii) a body portion having a top and bottom concentric therewith and connected to said base plate, wherein said bottom corresponds in shape to the shape defined by the peripheral edge of the base plate, and the surface formed by a plurality of lines drawn between said top and said bottom tapers outwardly with respect to the direction of movement of the filament array.
An applicator for applying finish to a moving expanded polymeric filament array comprising a base plate having a peripheral edge which corresponds to the cross-section of the filament array and a body portion having a top and bottom concentric therewith and connected to said base plate, wherein said bottom corresponds in shape to the shape defined by the peripheral edge of the base plate, and the surface formed by a plurality of lines drawn between said top and said bottom tapers outwardly with respect to the direction of movement of the filament array.
A melt spinning process for spinning continuous polymeric filaments, comprising:
- passing a polymeric melt through a spinneret to form an array of polymeric filaments;
- passing the filament array to a quench zone and providing a cooling gas directed inward toward said array to cool the filaments;
- passing said filaments over a finish applicator positioned in or below said quench zone and arranged to contact the filaments and to deliver finish to the filaments.
A process for applying finish to an expanded array of polymeric filaments, comprising contacting said filaments with a wetted tapered surface of a finish applicator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.