Apparatus for packaging a plurality of fibers or strands

An apparatus for producing and collecting a plurality of strands, comprising:

• a. a means for forming a plurality of continuous fibers from a supported supply,
• b. applicating means mounted beneath the supply means to treat the continuous fibers with a chemical composition,
• c. gathering means mounted beneath the applicating means to gather the plurality of fibers from the forming means into more than one strand,
• d. a rotatable winder to attenuate the continuous fibers and to collect the more than one strand,
• e. a traversing guide having more than one slot, the slots are located linearly with one behind the previous slot after the first slot, where the linear slots are perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the winder and where each slot receives one strand, and where the slots extend into the guide and terminate with a curved end with sufficient depth to retain the strands during traversing and where the slots behind the first slot open to the peripheral surface of the guide through chambers that are arranged so the strands remain in the slots at the end of the chambers during traversing of the guide,
• f. reciprocating means to which the traversing guide is nearly horizontally attached for reciprocation parallel to the axis of rotation of the rotating winder,
• g. engaging means to engage the reciprocating means to start the traversing movement of the traversing guide and to disengage the reciprocating means to stop the traversing movement of the guide,
• h. a drive means to effect the reciprocating movement of the traversing guide when engaged through the engaging means to the reciprocating means,
• i. an adjustable contact means around each end of the reciprocating stroke of the traversing guide positioned so that the traversing guide passage by the contact means around the end of each stroke so that strands passing to or from the traversing guide are contacted by the contact means to apply tension to the strands being wound on the winder.