US2613039A - Apparatus for drawing filaments - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 7, 1952 H. E. HOLCOMB 2,613,039

APPARATUS FOR DRAWING FILAMENTS Filed 001;. 22. 1947 I N V EN TOR. //,4ae y 5. 6 04 (d/"6 47T02WEK I Patented Oct. 7, 1952 1 a.

"Harry E. Holcomb, S tratford,Connaassignor to ,Johns-Manville CorporationlNew York, a corporationpf New York v p The instant invention relates to improved methods and apparatus for drawing filaments and accumulating them in aplurality of layers on adrum or similar collecting device. The invention is particularly adapted for the produc-,

:tion of glass filaments from a body of molten glass, and the following discussionwill be directed to such operations. It will be understood, however, that the invention is not limited thereto and that it may be employed in the production of other drawn filaments. l

,. Heretofore a conventional method. of drawing and accumulating glass filaments has employed a cylindrical drawing drum rotated at a relatively high speed. Thefilaments are drawn out from.

a,.,plurality of orifices in a glass melting furnace, preferably located abovethe drum and attached to the drum and wound thereon. In order that a coherent body or mat of the filaments will be obtained which can be handled. and further processed, thesuccessive layers on the drum are laid in intercrossed relationship. This is effected in the conventional operation by reciprocating the furnace parallel to the axis of the drum during the winding operation, the rate of reciproca tion relative to the rate of winding depending upon the particular angularity desired, though usually the angle between the filaments is re1ativelyacute. The mat produced in this manner may be worked in various ways; for example, it may be stretched in a direction substantiallyperpendicular to the lay of,the filaments whereby it is expanded or opened up, similar to that of a. lazy tongs, and the open mat then converted into. products of various types.

The principal object of the inventioniis the provision of an improved method and apparatus for the production and collection of filaments of the type referred to which will produce a mat having the desirable characteristics of the mats made by the prior processes, but without the undesirable characteristics resulting from the mode of operation, particularly the reciprocation of the furnace.

In the prior operations, as the furnace travels from one end of the drum to the other to lay the filaments in spiral formation, there is. a perceptible pause at each end of its. travel tolpermit the change of direction. Duringthis pause the filaments accumulate at the edges of the drum. In the period required to build upthe mat to commercial thickness,usually several hours, the ends of the filamentary body on the drum become substantially thicker than the center. Y It has been found for example, that inthe production of a mat thick the mat mayrea'ch a thickness of or greater over a distance of approximately 9- from each edge. As a result approximately 18 of the width of the mat is unusable if a productof uniform characteristics is desired. A. specific 'objectof the invention is the provision of a methodx-and apparatus which willproduce'a mat' of uniform, usable thickness throughoutits width. l i H Another object of the invention is the provision of a method and apparatus of the typereferred to which will increase the capacity of the equipment, reduce filament. breakage, particularly through the elimination of vibration caused by the reciprocating furnaca provide a more even distribution of the filaments acrossethe drum, produce a matwith little or no tying inof filaments and which will provide lower manufacturing costs both through. permitting greater recovery of usable material and through a substan* tial reduction inthe laborrequired. i

The prior apparatus is inherently jerky and irregular inoperation which leads to filament breakage; necessitating the close attention of an operator.) To replace the broken filaments he ordinarily employs a glass rod, the end of which isplaced against the moltenv stream of glass issuing from the furnace orifice, and then lowered to stringout afilament which the operator places against themat on the .drum to be picked up so. that the drawing of the filament from the orificeis resumed. Dueto the reciprocation ofthe furnace, the operator, in his attemptto contact theorifice with the glass rod, often breaks other filaments and adds to' his difiiculties as well as further detracting from the uniform characteristics of.the mat. The jerkiness and irregularityiin operation also tends to cause entanglement of the filaments on the drum, this being a primary. cause of difiiculties heretofore encountered in the later operation of expanding the mat.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an apparatusandmethod in which the above difficulties are overcome. The glassffurnace isstationary and the traverse of the fila ments axially of the drum is obtained through oscillation of the drum.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus including a drawing drum mounted for oscillation on an axis extending at right angles to the axial dimension of thedrum and means for oscillating the drum at a con trolled rate relatively to the rotation of the drum,

-My inventionlwillbe more fully understood and further objects and advantages thereof will be Referring now to the drawings, there is showna glass melting furnace or a kiln supported 1 by suitable means (not shown) in stationary position above a filament winding or drawing drum.

[2. type employed in th production of continuous glass filaments and,-hence will not be desoribed in detail. It; includes an orifice plate having one or more rows of orifices M, the rows extending substantially parallel to the axis of the drum. The molten glass exudes from the orifices in fine streams, the streams;being drawn out and attached to the drum whereby, uponrotation of the drum, a filament is continuously drawn'from each of the orifices. Glass furnace I0 is made longer than the conventional furnace so that its orifice plate overlies the greater portion of the length of drawingdrum 12. For example, where the length of the drum is such as to accommodate a mat of fibers 5 in width, the distance between the orifices at the opposite ends of thelplate may bersay Drawing drum I2 i also of generally conventional type and is mounted to rotate with a shaft 16' supported for rotation inframe members l8 at'oppositeends of the drum. The shaft is driven torotate the. drum in the direction indicatedby the arrow (see Fig. 2) by a motor 20 and suitable drive means such as chain sprocket drive, illustrated at 22, operatively connecting the motor and shaft or through a variable speed drive, as desired.

In accordance with the instant invention drum i2 is mounted for oscillatory movement onan axis extending at substantially right angles to the axial dimension of the drum whereby successive layers of the filamentswill be wound on the drum in crossing relationship to the filaments of the next previous layers. The oscillation of the drum hence serves the same function as the reciprocation of the furnace in the standard apparatus and the mat has similar desirable properties to that. previously. obtained. The. mechanism for oscillating the drum.may take. diiferent forms, one example being shown in the drawings and hereinafter described. This mechanism includes a platform 2d supporting. the members. ['8' which carry thedrum; Platform 24 is supported. on a plurality of rockers 26, two being shown, :the rockers including centrally located, semi-circular seats 28 for rockingumovement on a pivot member 38. The latter suitably consists of a cylindrical shaft lying in a recess. in the foundation or floor .3l and extending at substantially right angles to the axial dimension of the drum. Alternatively shaft 3% may be fixedly connected to rockers 2G and rock in the. recess or other bearing seat. i

In the illustrated embodiment platform 26 supports motor and the drive means, previously mentioned, operatively connecting the motor and shaft is. The platform also supports a-rotatable cam 32 adapted for cooperation with a cam'fol-j lower 34 mounted in relatively fixed position from the foundation or floor. The follower may be of Furnace I0 is suitably of any'conventional' plete rotation of the cam whereby the oscillatory any suitable type but preferably comprises a roller mounted for free rotation on shaft 35 supported in bearings in brackets 37. Cam 32 is contoured to rockthe drum at a preferably uniform speed from the position shown in dot and dash lines (see Fig. 1) through the full line position to the position shown in dotted lines. The return rocking or oscillation of the drum to the position shown in dot and dash lines is caused by compression springs 39,1ater described in more detail, and preferably mounted to press upwardly on corners of the platform at the opposite end from the cam. The springs yieldably urge this end of the platform upwardly to hold the cam in operative .contact with the follower through the commovement of the drum in both directions is under cam control. Cam 32 is preferably also driven-from motor 28 through drum shaft IS, a reduction gear box 36 and chain drive 38 connecting shaftlfi and the gear box. 1 i 1 Compression springs 39-are carried by mount.- ings' 40, each suitably consisting. of a rod 42 pivoted to platform 24 and extending into a pit in the foundation or floor. The lower end.v of rod 42' projects through a plate t8 anchored in the foundation. A retainer plate 5! is affixed to the rod adjacent its opposite end, plates 46 and 5B confining the compression spring 39 between them. l i Springs 54, somewhat weaker than springs. 39, so that they will not counter-balance the: latter, are preferably provided 'at th opp'osite-endof the platform from springs 39 to serve as safety anchors and to additionally.v cushiontheoperaition to preventsudden jerks or stops. ineither direction of oscillation of the drum. The mount-,-

lugs for springs 56. may be the same as those for spr s 39.

In the operation of the apparatus described above .and in carrying out the method of the instant invention, the filaments, say 500 or more in number and in one or more rows, are drawn from the orifice plate of the furnace and corinectedto the drawin drum in any conventional manner. Motor Zii'is operated to drive the drum at the desired speed to secure filaments of the required diameter and, at the same time the drum is oscillated on shaft 28 through the-action of cam 32 on cam follower 34'. The relative rate of oscillation to drumrevolution may be'adjusted asdesired by proper selection of the gear reduc-' tion ratio of. gear box 36 to obtain a predetermined angularity of the filaments on the drum; For example, it has been found that successful operation can be obtained with the drum driven at approximately 200 R. P. M. and the cam at, say, 2' R. P. M., whereby the drum will make revolutions. for each complete oscillation. A mat produced in this manner will have thefilaments of adjacent layersintercrossing at relatively acute angles'to one anothe'nsimilarly as themats'produced by the present commercial equipment. The method and apparatus of the instant invention eliminate the difficulties of the prior operations. ,The furnace is stationary at all times whereby bre'akageofthe filaments is re-' duced to a minimum. Furthermore, in the event of breakage; the. operator can readily replace the filament with little danger of injury to adjacent filaments. The filaments are laid smoothly on the drum, the possibility of entangle-inent'being' greatly minimized as the oscillatory movement of the drum issmooth and uniform and the drum is free from vibration. There are no pauses or dwells in the oscillatory movement and, hence, the mat is of uniform thickness throughout. Due to the fewer filament breakages and the ease of replacing the filaments which do break, the cost of operation is greatly reduced. Also, manufacturing costs per unit of usable material are lowered by reason of the fact that the entire mat is in usable condition.

Having thus described 'my invention in rather full detail, it will be understood that these details need not be strictly adhered to but that various changes and modifications may suggest themselves to one skilled in the art, all falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the subjoined claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a device for drawing a multiplicity of filaments lying in substantially a single plane and winding them on a drum to form successive layers, a shaft supporting said drum, first means for rotating the shaft, and second means for rocking the shaft in predetermined, timed relationship to the rotation of theshaft to wind the filaments on the drum with filaments of successive layers in intercrossed relationship.

2. In a device for drawing a multiplicity of filaments lying in substantially a single plane and winding them on a drum to form successive layers, a rockable shaft supporting the drum, means for rotating the shaft, cam means for rocking the shaft to wind the filaments on the drum with filaments of successive layers in intercrossed relationship, and means for rotating the cam in predetermined, timed relationship to the shaft. 3. In a device for drawing a multiplicity of filaments lying in substantially a single plane and winding them on a drum to form successive layers, a shaft supporting the drum, means mounting the shaft for rocking movement on an axis extending at right angles to thev shaft, a cam and follower for rocking the mounting means, and means for rotating the cam in predetermined, timed relationship to the rotation of the shaft.

4. In a device for drawing a multiplicity of filaments lying in substantially a single plane and winding them on a drum to form successive layers, a shaft supporting the drum and means for mounting the shaft for rocking movement on an axis at right angles to the shaft, said means comprising a platform, means supporting the shaft from the platform, a pivotal mounting for the platform and means for rocking the platform on the pivotal mounting including a cam and follower, spring means to maintain the cam and follower in operative contact and means for rotating the cam in predetermined, timed relationship to the rotation of the shaft.

5. In a device for drawing a plurality of filaments lying in substantially a single plane and winding them on a, drum to form successive layers, a shaft supporting the drum, means REFERENCES, CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,552,038 Comstock Sept. 1, 1925 1,663,853 Newville Mar. 2'7, 1928 1,950,219 Blum Mar. '6, 1934 1,968,693 Kroger et al July 31, 1934 2,135,072 Forster Nov. 1, 1938 2,195,859 Gent Apr. 2, 1940 2,234,986 Slayter et a1 Mar. 18, 1941 2,363,205

Smith Nov. 21, 1944

Images