Apparatus for take-up and storage of thread bundles

A flexible apparatus and method for producing synthetic fibers in either the form of a single thread bundle on a bobbin, or as a combined thread strand in a storage can, without rearranging the spinning plant. This is accomplished by extruding the threads, one bundle from each of a series of aligned spinnerets, downwardly through ducts carrying a stream of air, and mounting directly beneath the ducts, in alignment therewith, an elongated take-up machine. The take-up machine has a row of winding devices on one side and a row of combining rollers on the other. The thread bundle from each spinneret is directed through a duct arrangement either to one side or the other of the take-up machine. All spinnerets may feed one side, or the other, or the production can be mixed with some spinnerets feeding one side and some the other, depending upon whether the market demand is for filament yarns or staple fibers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to apparatus for the take-up and the storage of 
thread bundles, produced from high-polymer spinning materials. The threads 
emerge from a serial arrangement of spinnerets, are solidified by an air 
blast and drawn off continuously downwards, one bundle from each 
spinneret. The kind of storage depends upon the reprocessing of the thread 
bundles to the desired intermediate or end product. If filament yarn is to 
be produced from the thread bundles, the thread bundle extruded from each 
spinneret is usually drawn off by means of an arrangement of godets 
mounted on the take-up machine, moistened and/or treated with a liquid 
finish and wound up for storage. Starting from the bobbin, the thread 
bundle is then stretched and, for yarn production, possibly textured and 
drawtextured. 
If, however, the thread bundles are to be reprocessed to staple fibers or 
fiber yarn, it is customary to draw off first the single thread bundles 
separately and to apply a finish. After the take-up on the take-up 
machine, the direction of the bundles is changed from vertical to 
horizontal and they are combined with correspondingly treated fiber 
bundles to provide a thread strand which is drawn off laterally by rollers 
and deposited for storage in a can. Then, the thread strands are 
continuously drawn off upwards from a plurality of filled cans and 
combined to a thread tow which is stretched, crimped, dried and possibly 
heat-set. The two may be intermediately deposited in containers or cut 
direct to staple fibers which generally are pressed subsequently to bales 
from which, finally, the fiber yarn is spun. 
For the two process operations described above in principle differently 
designed units and combinations of units, i.e., production plants are 
employed, according to the present art. They include, as a rule, not only 
the spinning units, to which the high-polymer melt (coming direct from the 
polymerization stage or from molten chips by means of an extruder) is fed, 
but also blow ducts, spinning ducts and finally the special take-up 
machines having specific devices for storage depending on the end product. 
The storage devices may then be followed by reprocessing units. 
These specialized process operations require that a complete production 
plant be shut down every time there is no market demand for the one or the 
other product, i.e., for filament yarn or fiber yarn. And the market 
demand is exceedingly difficult to predict for certain man-made spinning 
materials, for instance, polyamide yarns for carpet manufacture. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The object of the present invention is to provide a process and an 
apparatus for its performance which permit flexibility in meeting specific 
production requirements in filament yarns or fiber yarns, using 
essentially the same equipment. 
This object is achieved starting from the process previously mentioned by 
taking-up the thread bundles as single bundles per spinneret on bobbins, 
and/or by depositing them as a combined thread strand from a plurality of 
spinnerets in cans. 
According to the basic concept of the invention, the thread bundles are 
taken up from the same spinning unit, possibly after a simple spinneret 
exchange, and passed to the appropriate storage. It is possible (a) to 
deposit the thread bundles of all spinnerets in the form of a thread 
strand for staple fiber and fiber yarn production in cans, or (b) to take 
up the thread bundles from all spinnerets for filament yarn production on 
bobbins, or (c) to combine the thread bundles partially to a thread strand 
and to take them up partially on bobbins. This results in a remarkable 
adaptability of the production plant to market requirements. 
The fibers in the thread bundles to be taken up and stored on bobbins may 
be oriented to a higher or lower degree with respect to the position of 
the macromolecules in the single fiber capillaries, depending upon the 
take-up speed rate. The thread bundles may also be completely oriented by 
providing a preliminary stretching between rollers. Also, it is possible 
first to stretch and then to texture the thread bundles before winding 
them on bobbins. Another possibility is to wind one or several thread 
bundles per spinning position, on one or several winding spindles. 
Finally, the thread bundles from each spinning position (spinneret) may be 
deposited in small cans. 
The apparatus of the invention comprises spinnerets aligned in one or 
several parallel rows, blow ducts arranged in a row below the spinnerets, 
and, connected to the blow ducts, spinning ducts which end just above an 
elongated take-up machine aligned and centered with respect to the row of 
spinnerets. The apparatus is characterized in that the take-up machine is 
equipped, on the one side, with a row of winding devices and, on the other 
side, with a row of two combining rollers, and is mounted approximately 
with its longitudinal center line below the center of the spinning line, 
and the spinning ducts are designed to follow the thread path to both 
sides of the take-up machine. 
A feature of the apparatus according to the invention is the double-sided 
design of the take-up machine, its one side being designed for the take-up 
and the storage of thread on bobbins and its other side for the take-up 
and storage in the can piler. Either side may be operated separately or 
jointly with the other depending upon the desired intermediate or end 
product. If it is intended to wind on bobbins and to deliver into cans at 
the same time, the quantitative proportions are variable by regulating the 
distribution of the thread bundles to the respective sides of the take-up 
machine. 
The term `spinning line` is defined as the imaginary connecting line 
between the centers of the blow duct outlet openings or the equivalent 
imaginary connecting line between the centers of the spinnerets. 
Since the thread bundles, as they are drawn off to the one or the other 
side of the take-up machine, are diverted laterally from the vertical, the 
design of the spinning duct must take into account the variable thread 
path. For this purpose, it is proposed in one embodiment of the apparatus 
that the side walls of the spinning ducts diverge outwardly towards the 
lower end, thus corresponding to the split thread path. Also, that the 
lower ends of the spinning ducts, except for two lateral passage openings 
for the thread bundles, be closed by end plates. This spinning duct is 
broad enough to cover both branches of the thread path. 
To facilitate handling the threads during the start-up procedure for 
spinning, it is advisable to provide flaps, slide valves or the like, in 
the end plates for enlarging the passage openings. 
If the thread bundles all pass to the one side of the take-up machine, it 
is advantageous in this embodiment to avoid a large central dead space 
which might cause thread disturbing effects during start of spinning and 
during operation. This is accomplished by providing at the lower end of 
each spinning duct a hinged flap covering the width of the duct and 
projecting upwards into the duct. The flap may be rested against the one 
or the other of the diverging side walls to control the flow of air. 
In a further embodiment of the apparatus, it is proposed that the spinning 
ducts at their lower ends split into branch pipes in an inverted Y 
configuration. With this arrangement, the upper part of the spinning duct 
is common to both thread path directions whereas, in the lower part, a 
pipe leg is provided for each of the two thread paths. 
With this embodiment, too, it is advantageous to provide a hinged flap at 
the branch covering the duct width and projecting upwards into the 
spinning duct, which may rest against the one or the other of the side 
walls of the upper part of the spinning duct to block air flow. 
In a further embodiment of the invention, each of the spinning ducts are 
hinged to the lower end of the corresponding blow duct as a swing pipe. In 
this embodiment, the thread path within each spinning duct may lead only 
to the one or the other side of the take-up machine. In the prior 
embodiments, however, the thread path may lead simultaneously to both 
sides of the take-up machine. 
The deflection required for the diversion of the threads out of the 
vertical path may be provided thread guides disposed in the thread path 
between the spinnerets and the take-up machine. Suitably, these thread 
guides are arranged at the lower end of the blow duct. It is feasible to 
do without thread guides providing the air flow conditions in the blow 
duct are selected so that the thread adopts a free course without any 
contact occurring with the walls of the blow duct or the spinning duct.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
In the upper half of FIG. 1, one spinning position of a series of 
multiposition spinning manifolds 1 is shown. The high-polymer melt coming 
either from the end reactor of a polymerization and polycondensation plant 
or from a melting extruder, is passed through the tube 2 to the spinning 
manifold and distributed through pipe-lines (not shown) to the individual 
spinning positions. In each spinning position a spinning pump 4, 
positively connected to a drive 3, conveys the melt to a spinneret block 5 
from which the spinning melt emerges downwards through one or several 
spinnerets (not shown) in the shape of a plurality of single threads. The 
spinnerets are aligned in a row, each producing a bundle of threads. The 
course of the thread bundles, the so-called thread path 6, is marked in 
FIG. 1 by broken lines and in the FIGS. 4 through 8 by dash-dotted lines. 
In their descent, the threads are exposed to conditioned air blowing 
across the path 6 of the threads, and thereby causing them more rapidly to 
solidify and cool. The air blast is fed to the blow duct 7 from a pressure 
chamber 8, which is limited at the top and the bottom by floor ceilings 9 
and 10, respectively, passing through opening 11 under volume control 12. 
The air enters the thread area 14 of the blow duct 7 through directing 
vanes 13 and leaves the duct, after passing through the thread bundle, by 
a door 14' from where it flows as exhaust air into the spinning room 47. 
The reference number 48 designates a suction unit for vapours accumulating 
during the spinning procedure. The threads are shifted, owing to the air 
blast and depending on the blast intensity, to a greater or lesser extent 
out of their vertical line of fall. The degree of displacement depends, 
apart from the blast intensity, upon the tractive force with which the 
threads are drawn off downwards. Since these factors are maintained as 
constant as possible, the thread bundle rests so to speak on an air 
cushion. The shape, which the thread bundle assumes in the longitudinal 
direction, depends substantially upon the distribution of intensity of the 
air blast, referred to as the air blast profile. The conditions are chosen 
in practice so that the threads leave the lower end of blow duct opening 
15 (also the beginning of the spinning duct 16) approximately at its 
center. 
The spinning ducts 16 for each spinneret pass through the floor ceiling 10 
and end above the elongated take-up machine designated, in general, by 17. 
The position of the thread paths 6 and 6' in the spinning duct depends 
upon to which of the two sides of the take-up machine 17 the threads are 
drawn off. In the example according to FIG. 1 the devices for the take-up 
and the storage in the form of the can piler are on the left side, opposed 
to the direction of blast, whereas the devices for the take-up and the 
storage on bobbins are arranged on the right side of the take-up machine, 
in the direction of blast. This arrangement, however, is not imperative 
and may be just as well reversed providing the take-up machine 17 is 
aligned with and centered with respect to the spinnerets in the spinning 
line. 
To illustrate the devices for producing thread strands and a thread tow, 
respectively, reference is made to the left lower half of FIG. 1 in 
connection with FIGS. 2 and 3. The devices for producing thread strands 
include a roll 18 for finishing the thread bundle, a preceding diverting 
thread guide 19, and combining rollers 20 serving to change the direction 
of the thread bundles and to combine them to a thread strand 21. Instead 
of the combining rollers 20, stationary or rotating pins or a row of pins 
may also be provided. The thread strand 21 is then drawn off by the roller 
frame 22, passed to a pair of reels 23 and delivered by the latter into 
the can 24 (FIG. 2). An additional finish may be applied by means of a 
roller 25 prior to depositing the thread strand. 
The drawing-off from, and the depositing in cans may take place, as shown 
in FIGS. 2 and 3, in two directions, in which case two thread strands 21 
and 21' are formed. The arrangement is mirror-symmetrical, as illustrated 
in FIGS. 2 and 3. The dimension T shown on FIG. 2 between two neighboring 
thread paths 6 is the gauge of the spinning section and indicates the 
distance between the single spinning positions, the blow ducts and the 
spinning ducts, as well as the corresponding devices on the take-up 
machine 17. The number of the spinning positions which are allotted to one 
can piler, may be definitely prefixed, that is, divided in halves or 
unequally, but it may also be variable in that the total of the combining 
rollers 20 and 20' may be variable with respect to their position and 
direction of rotation so that they divert the thread strand into the 
opposite direction to the position 20" marked in FIG. 2 by broken lines. 
The same applies analogously to other means of diverting and combination 
not illustrated in the figures, but mentioned above. 
The devices for the winding of the thread bundles include rolls 26 for the 
moistening and oiling of the thread bundles, (which rolls may be preceded 
by diverting thread guides 27) and one or several draw-off godets 28, as 
well as winding devices, marked in general by the reference number 29, by 
means of which the thread bundles are cross-wound into bobbins 30. Such 
winding devices may comprise a winding spindle driven directly by motor 
power or indirectly through friction pulley. It is also possible to 
provide several winding devices for each spinning position. Each winding 
device may wind up one or several thread bundles. The thread bundles may 
also be drawn off directly by the bobbins themselves. In this case, no 
draw-off godets need be provided. 
The production from the spinneret block 5 may be distributed so that the 
total capacity is directed to one side of the take-up machine 17 to 
produce thread strands or alternately to the other side to produce 
bobbins. Or the spinning material produced may be provided and a portion 
passed to the one side of the take-up machine 17 for making thread strands 
and another portion to the other side for making bobbins. In this way, 
high flexibility of the plant is ensured. 
As shown in FIG. 1, the alternative guidance of the thread bundles to the 
right or left side of the take-up machine 17 is achieved with the help of 
a common spinning duct 16, the side walls 31 and 32 of which diverge from 
each other towards the lower end to provide thread-path straddling. The 
lower end of the spinning duct 16 is partially closed by the end plate 33 
leaving passage openings 34 on either side for the thread bundles. 
Flaps or slide valves (not shown) may be installed in the end plate 33 to 
enlarge openings 34 at the beginning of the spinning operation. 
The bringing-down of the thread end during starting of spinning is 
achieved, as a rule, through gravity. The starting of spinning may be 
facilitated by providing a down current of air in the spinning duct 16. 
This is very easily achieved providing the spinning room 47 has a higher 
static pressure than the take-up room, i.e., the room in which the take-up 
machine 17 is set up. Hence air flows from the spinning room and blast air 
from the thread area 14 of the blow duct 7 through the spinning duct 16 
and emerges from the passage openings 34. During the stringing-up of the 
threads, the flaps or slide valves in plate 33 are closed so that only the 
passage openings 34 remain, with a cross section large enough for the 
passage of the thread bundles. During this operation exchange of large 
volumes of air between the mentioned rooms of different static pressures 
is undesirable. 
The spinning duct 16 shown in FIG. 1 has a comparatively large central dead 
space between the thread paths 6 and 6' which also may have disturbing 
effects during starting of spinning, and during operation. The embodiments 
shown in FIGS. 4 through 8 avoid the formation of a larger central dead 
space. 
In the spinning duct 16 shown in FIG. 4 at the lower end, the flap 35, 
covering the duct width and projecting upwards, is hinged at 36. The 
actuation of the flap 35 is easily effected from the take-up room with the 
help of a lever 37. Depending on its position the flap 35 shuts off the 
dead spaces 38 or 38' and thereby facilitates the starting of spinning by 
preventing disturbing air turbulences. 
The same effect is achieved by the embodiment shown in FIG. 5. In this 
case, the spinning duct 39 branches at its lower end into pipes 40 and 41 
to form an inverted Y configuration fork, a flap 43 projecting upwards is 
hinged at 42. The flap 43 in this embodiment is suitably actuated (not 
shown) from the spinning room. 
Finally, the spinning duct may consist, as shown in FIG. 6, of a single 
comparatively narrow swing pipe which is hinged at 45, at the lower end of 
the blow duct 7. With this moving embodiment, care must be taken that a 
tight seal of the spinning duct is achieved where it passes through the 
floor-ceilings. 
The thread path between spinneret and take-up machine may be stabilized by 
interposed thread guides. In the examples of embodiments shown in FIGS. 7 
and 8, the thread guides 46 and 46', respectively are arranged at the 
lower end of the blow duct 7, directly before the diverting of the thread 
bundle to the one or the other thread path in the spinning duct. Depending 
upon whether thread path is led to the one or the other side of the 
take-up machine 17, the thread guide is mounted on the one or the other 
side of the thread path as it is evident from the FIGS. 7 and 8. The 
thread guide 46, 46' may be constructed in different ways. By way of 
example, it may be made from metal, glass, ceramic and other material. It 
may also be used for moistening and finishing of the thread bundles by 
making it hollow and providing outlet openings for liquid. In the 
embodiment shown, it consists of a smooth bar. For the spinning of several 
thread bundles it may be composed of several sections to form a slotted 
thread guide. 
It is to be understood that the embodiment of the invention which has been 
described is merely illustrative of one application of the principles of 
the invention. Numerous modifications may be made to the disclosed 
embodiment without departing from the true spirit and scope of the 
invention.