US 4,455,931 AGranted

Apparatus and method for processing raw fiber stock

AssigneeGaston County Dyeing Machine Company

InventorsGraham F. Clifford, Mack W. Spurrier

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Abstract

Apparatus and method for compressing raw fiber stock into a perforated basket for dyeing in a radial-flow dyeing machine. A hollow container is provided by a perforated cylinder section stacked separably on an imperforate section for loading fiber stock into the common interior. A piston movable under force of water pressure is located in the imperforate section to compress the loaded fiber stack into the perforated section. A closure plate is movable with the piston and is attachable to the perforated section following fiber compression to close the perforate section with compressed fiber therewithin, such that the perforated housing may be removed and used as a dyeing basket. A central core element is secured to the closure plate and is movable therewith to maintain an open center in the dyeing basket for use of the basket in a radial dyeing machine.

Claims32

Dependent claims

An apparatus for compressing raw fiber stock in preparation for subsequent wet processing comprising a hollow container for receiving and containing fiber stock, said container having an imperforate section and a perforate section detachably joined together, said imperforate section having an open end at the juncture with said perforate section and having a closed opposite end, said perforate section having an open end at the juncture with said imperforate section to define a common interior for receipt and compression therein of raw fiber stock, said perforate section having an opening remote from said imperforate section for introduction therethrough of raw fiber stock into said container interior, a removable end cover mountable on said perforate section in covering relation over said opening, piston means reciprocably movable in said imperforate section toward and away from said perforate section between a fiber-loading position withdrawn within said perforate section and a fiber compressing position at said perforate section for compressing the fiber stock in said housing into said perforate section, closure means attachable across the open end of said perforate section at said imperforate section upon completion of compression of fiber by said piston means into said perforate section, said closure means being attachable to said perforate section independently of said imperforate section, whereby said perforate section with compressed fiber stock therewithin and with said end cover and closure means attached thereto may be separated as a unit from said imperforate section for use as a fiber-containing basket in a subsequent textile wet processing operation.

A method of compressing raw fiber stock in preparation for subsequent wet processing thereof, said method using a hollow container having an imperforate section and a perforate section detachably joined to form a common interior and with piston means reciprocably movable in the imperforate section toward and away from the perforate section, said method comprising joining said imperforate section and perforate section together, loading wet raw fiber stock into the common interior of the hollow container through an opening in the perforate section remote from said imperforate section, closing said opening, moving said piston means in said imperforate section toward said perforate section to compress the raw fiber stock into the perforate section while expelling liquid therefrom through the perforations of the perforate section, attaching closure means across the open end of the perforate section at the imperforate section to retain said compressed fiber stock in said perforate section, and removing said perforate section from said imperforate section with said closure means remaining attached to said perforate section for subsequent wet treatment of the compressed fiber stock while in said perforate section.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.