Title of Invention

DEVICE FOR SIZING A FIBRE BUNDLE

Abstract

Device for sizing a fibre bundle (3) moved in a conveying direction (5) with at least one sizing compartment (2) for contacting the yarn of the bundle with sizing liquor (25), a feeding unit (1) preferably comprising three rollers (6, 7, 15) being connected upstream of the sizing compartment (2) and a sizing squeezer (27) being connected downstream, with means for pre-wetting the yarn of the bundle prior to contact with the sizing liquor (25) with a liquor diluted at least with respect thereto, in particular with water, and with a wetting agent squeezer (16) connected between the pre-wetting means and the sizing compartment (2), characterised in that the feeding unit (1) is designed multi-functionally, simultaneously as pre-wetting means (10, 14) and as wetting agent squeezer (7, 15, 16).

Full Text

FORM 2 THE PATENTS ACT 1970 [39 OF 1970] & THE PATENTS RULES, 2003 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION [See Section 10] "DEVICE FOR SIZING A FIBRE BUNDLE" MOENUS TEXTILMASCHINEN GMBH, of Heinrich-Hertz-Strasse 28, 07552 Gera, Germany, The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed: The invention relates to a device for sizing a fibre bundle moved in a conveying direction with at least one sizing compartment for contacting the yarn of the bundle with sizing liquor, a feeding unit being connected upstream of the sizing compartment and a sizing squeezer being connected downstream, with means for pre-wetting the yarn of the bundle prior to contact with the sizing liquor with a liquor diluted at least with respect thereto, in particular with, preferably hot water and with a wetting agent squeezer connected between the pre-wetting means and the sizing compartment. A device of this type is described in DE 42 34 279 A1. To be able to guide the fibre bundle, which consists of a large number of parallel individual threads, correctly through the compartment with the liquid wetting means and the sizing compartment, in particular through the squeezer, a longitudinal stress is exerted on the fiber bundle. For this purpose, a feeding unit is connected upstream of the first wetting compartment and opposes the tensile force exerted by the squeezer with a certain braking force in such a way that the fibre bundle is tensioned everywhere in the individual compartments in the longitudinal direction of the individual fibres. The known device requires a separate wetting compartment connected upstream of the feeding unit and downstream of a wetting agent squeezer. This entails corresponding production expenditure. A plant of the described type has an overall width - measured in the axial direction of the squeezer -of approximately 3 m. The middle region of the fibre bundle can therefore only be reached with difficulty from the machine side. As in the known device two or more units follow one another directly, the parts in the centre of the machine can also only be reached with difficulty from the intake or delivery of the machine even if the fibre bundle is supplied from above or below. -2- The object of the invention is to design a sizing device with pre-wetting compartment connected upstream so as to be compact and have good accessibility and, at the same time to reduce the production expenditure. The solution according to the invention consists for the device indicated at the outset in that the feeding unit is designed multi-functionally, simultaneously as pre-wetting means and as wetting agent squeezer. Some improvements to and further configurations of the invention will be described hereinafter and in the sub-claims. According to the invention, the pre-wetting means, including associated squeezer, are integrated in the feeding unit. A feeding unit, as is indicated, for example in the abovementioned DE 42 34 279 AI, has three rollers. According to the invention these three rollers assume not only the functions of a feeding unit but also those of a pre-wetting apparatus, including the associated squeezer. The feeding unit according to the invention therefore receives a multiple function, i.e. it is used (as is conventional) to allow the respective drawn-off fibre bundle, for example from the unwinding creel of warping rollers, to enter the sizing plant at a predetermined speed. In addition, according to the invention there is the further function, namely of pre-wetting the fibre bundle with water or the like before entry into the actual sizing compartment and of squeezing this pre-wetted fibre bundle so as little pre-wetting means as possible arrives in the sizing compartment, but the individual yarn remains moist. Surprisingly, the described multi-function of the feeding unit simultaneously allows a compact construction as the previously successive units in the yarn conveying direction, namely feeding unit, wetting trough and wetting agent squeezer, are combined into a single unit with double or multiple function of the individual parts thereof. As according to the invention the feeding unit comprises the pre-wetting -3- means and the relevant wetting agent squeezer no special space is required for the pre-wetting compartment, including squeezer. The combined feeding unit according to the invention can therefore be connected upstream of the sizing compartment, in the immediate spatial vicinity. Consequently an extremely compact construction, a so-called modular construction, of a sizing plant with pre-wetting compartment is produced. The fibre bundle can be supplied to the combined feeding unit according to the invention from below, so the middle region of the device is also accessible to an operator standing in the middle above the fibre intake. Generally hot water at a temperature of approximately 85°C is used during pre-wetting. The fibre bundle should be squeezed at approximately this temperature and conveyed into the sizing compartment. This is particularly easy in the compact modular construction according to the invention as the fibre bundle cools only slightly over the short distance, approximately 1m, between leaving the combined feeding unit and winding on to the first roller of the sizing compartment. A further reduction in the heat loss can be achieved if this region between combined feeding unit and entering of the sizing compartment is protected against heat loss by a covering or the like. According to a further invention the three rollers of the feeding unit can be associated with one another and pressed in pairs toward one another in such a way that a gusset which is open at the top is produced between the first two rollers in the conveying direction of the fibre bundle and the gap between the second and third rollers in the conveying direction can be used as a wetting agent squeezer. At least one of the rollers, preferably the second roller, can also immerse in wetting liquid in a pre-wetting trough. The fibre bundle is preferably guided via the top of the (horizontal) first roller of the feeding unit through the gusset between first and second roller. The gusset is preferably kept filled with the -4- wetting agent. The fibre bundle therefore runs in an orderly manner on the surface into the wetting liquid which has accumulated in the gusset. At the base of the gusset the fibre bundle runs through a (first) squeezing gap between the first and second roller along the surface of the second roller, preferably through a wetting agent trough, and further on the surface of the second roller into the (second) squeezing gap corresponding to the wetting agent squeezer between second and third roller. There the fibre bundle is squeezed until the individual yarn remains wetted but conveys the least possible amount of wetting agent into the sizing compartment. A combined feeding unit according to the invention therefore comprises a pre-wetting device with two wetting and two squeezing stations. Overall only three rollers are required for this purpose, in other words no more rollers than in any feeding unit. In principle, in addition to the conventional feeding unit only means for loading the fibre bundle with the wetting liquid, in other words in particular the supply of liquid to the gusset of the first and second roller and the wetting agent trough, are required. The compactness of the combined feeding unit according to the invention in conjunction with the sizing compartment connected downstream is further improved if the second and third roller of the feeding unit are arranged substantially vertically above one another, i.e. with roller axes arranged substantially vertically above one another. After running off the third roller the fibre bundle can be transferred over a minimum distance to the surface of the first roller of the sizing compartment. Some details of the invention will be described by reference to the schematic diagram of an embodiment. -5- The device according to the invention comprises a combined feeding unit designated overall by 1 and a sizing compartment designated overall by 2. A fibre bundle 3 to be sized, for example yarn chain, arrives via a guide roller 4 in the conveying direction 5 from below in the feeding unit 1. The fibre bundle 3 is wound onto the upper side of the first roller 6 of the feeding unit 1 and arrives there in a gusset 9 formed between the first and second roller 6, 7 above a first squeezing gap 8 or in a first wetting agent supply 10 which has accumulated in the gusset 9. The level 11 of the wetting agent supply 10 can be kept stable with the aid of a pump 12. The pump 12 can deliver from a wetting agent trough into which the second roller 7 immerses. The axes of the rollers are mounted horizontally, as is conventional. The fibre bundle 3 is moistened in the first wetting agent supply 10 and subsequently squeezed in the first squeezing gap 8. It runs further on the surface of the second roller 7 through the second wetting agent supply 14 contained in the wetting agent trough 13. The fibre bundle 3 immersed in the wetting agent trough 13 is conveyed further via the surface of the second roller 7 to the wetting agent squeezing gap 16 (wetting agent squeezer) formed between the second roller 7 and the third roller 15 of the feeding unit 1. There the previously twice wetted fibre bundle 3 is squeezed to a small extent conventional in wetting apparatus. In one embodiment the squeezing force in the first squeezing gap 8 is approximately 10 kN, and approximately 100 kN in the wetting agent squeezer 16. The fibre bundle 3 dehydrated in the wetting agent squeezer 16, but preferably still heated by the immersion in the hot wetting agent, runs, preferably on the shortest possible free section 17, from the surface of the third roller 15 to the surface of the first roller 18 of the sizing compartment 2. If, despite the only short section 17, the risk of excessive cooling of the fibre bundle 3 should exist, a thermally insulating covering 19 can be provided on the section. -6- The sizing compartment 2 connected downstream of the combined feeding unit 1 according to the invention can be designed in the conventional manner. In the embodiment the fibre bundle 3 initially runs through a first sizing supply 20 which is banked up in the gusset 21 above a first squeezing gap 22, between the first roller 18 and the second roller 23. The fibre bundle 3 then arrives on the surface of the second roller 23 through a sizing liquor 25 banked up in the trough 24 and finally via the surface of the second roller through a second squeezing gap 27 (sizing squeezer) provided between the second roller 23 and the third roller 26. The third roller 26 can also immerse into the sizing liquid 25. The squeezing force in the squeezing gap 22 between the first roller 18 and the second roller 23 can be approximately 10 kN, the squeezing force between the second roller 23 and the third roller 26 in the sizing squeezer 27 can be approximately 50 kN. In the embodiment the squeezing forces of the rollers may be adjusted with the aid of pressure means, for example compressed air cylinders 28 and 29 shown schematically to an extent. In both cases the second roller 7 or 23 can be driven while the other two rollers loosely rotate. A device for sizing a fibre bundle using at least one sizing compartment for contacting the yarn with sizing liquor, preceded by a feeding unit and followed by a sizing squeezer is described. To pre-wet the fibre bundle with water or the like prior to entry into the sizing liquor and after pre-wetting but before sizing to be able to squeeze it without additional units in principle being required, the feeding unit is designed in multi-function simultaneously as a pre-wetting means and wetting agent squeezer. -7- List of Reference Numerals 1 = Feeding unit 2 = Sizing compartment 3 = fibre bundle 4 = Reversing roller 5 = Conveying direction 6 = First roller (1) 7 = Second roller (1) 8 = First squeezing gap (1) 9 = Gusset (8) 10 = First wetting agent supply reservoir (1) 11 = Level (10) 12 = Pump 13 = Wetting agent trough 14 = Second wetting agent supply (1) 15 = Third roller (81) 16 = Wetting agent squeezer 17 = Free section 18 = First roller (2) 19 = Cover (17) 20 = First sizing agent reservoir (2) 21 = Gusset 22 = First squeezing gap (2) 23 = Second roller (2) 24 = Trough 25 = Sizing liquor (2) 26 = Third roller (2) 27 = Sizing squeezer (2) 28 = Compressed air cylinder (1) 29 = Compressed air cylinder (2) -8- WE CLAIM: 1. Device for sizing a fibre bundle (3) moved in a conveying direction (5) with at least one sizing compartment (2) for contacting the yarn of the bundle with sizing liquor (25), a feeding unit (1) preferably comprising three rollers (6, 7, 15) being connected upstream of the sizing compartment (2) and a sizing squeezer (27) being connected downstream, with means for pre-wetting the yarn of the bundle prior to contact with the sizing liquor (25) with a liquor diluted at least with respect thereto, in particular with water, and with a wetting agent squeezer (16) connected between the pre-wetting means and the sizing compartment (2), characterised in that the feeding unit (1) is designed multi-functionally, simultaneously as pre-wetting means (10, 14) and as wetting agent squeezer (7, 15, 16). 2. Device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the feeding unit (1) consisting of three rollers (6, 7, 15) accumulates a first wetting agent supply (10) in a gusset (9) above a first squeezing gap (8) between its first and second rollers (6, 7) in the conveying direction (5) of the fibre bundle (3) and with at least one of its rollers, in particular the second roller (7), being immersed in a second wetting agent supply (14), and the path of the fibre bundle (3) following the first wetting agent supply (10) leads through a first squeezing gap (8) and then along the surface of the second roller (7) through the second wetting agent supply (14) through a wetting agent squeezer (16) J the wetting agent squeezer. 3. Device as claimed in claims 1 or 2, wherein the second roller (7) and the third roller (15) of the feeding unit (1) are arranged with their axes substantially vertically above one another. -9- 4. Device as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fibre bundle (3) is guided via a free section (17) from the surface of the third roller (15) of the feeding unit (1) to the surface of the first roller (18) of the sizing compartment (2), and in that the length of the free section (17) is minimised between the course of the fibre bundle (3) from the third roller (15) of the feeding unit (1) and the first roller (18) of the sizing compartment (2) by compact construction. 5. Device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the free section (17) is protected against heat loss by a covering (19). Dated this the 18th day of December, 2000 [RITUSHKA NEGI] OF REMFRY 8B SA&AR ATTORNEY FOR THE APPLICANT^] -10-

Documents:

abstract1.jpg

in-pct-2000-00747-mum-assignment(13-09-2005).pdf

in-pct-2000-00747-mum-cancelled pages(5-05-2004).pdf

in-pct-2000-00747-mum-claims(granted)-(05-03-2004).doc

in-pct-2000-00747-mum-claims(granted)-(5-03-2004).pdf

in-pct-2000-00747-mum-correspondence(20-08-2007).pdf

in-pct-2000-00747-mum-correspondence(ipo)(25-08-2004).pdf

in-pct-2000-00747-mum-drawing-(5-03-2004).pdf

in-pct-2000-00747-mum-form 1(22-08-2007).pdf

in-pct-2000-00747-mum-form 13(22-08-2007).pdf

in-pct-2000-00747-mum-form 2(granted)-(05-03-2004).doc

in-pct-2000-00747-mum-form 2(granted)-(5-03-2004).pdf

in-pct-2000-00747-mum-form 3(18-12-2000).pdf

in-pct-2000-00747-mum-form 3(30-04-2004).pdf

in-pct-2000-00747-mum-form 5(18-12-2000).pdf

in-pct-2000-00747-mum-form 6(15-11-2005).pdf

in-pct-2000-00747-mum-form-pct-ipea-409(5-05-2004).pdf

in-pct-2000-00747-mum-form-pct-isa-210(5-05-2004).pdf

in-pct-2000-00747-mum-petition under rule 123(6-05-2003).pdf

in-pct-2000-00747-mum-petition under rule 138(5-05-2004).pdf

in-pct-2000-00747-mum-power of authority(17-08-2005).pdf

in-pct-2000-00747-mum-power of authority(6-07-2001).pdf