Fluid treatment of rectangularly piled polyacrylonitrile tow

Claim 1

THE METHOD OF CONTINUOUSLY REMOVING RESIDUAL SHRINKAGE FROM A TOW OF CONTINUOUS FILAMENTS CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF A THERMOPLASTIC POLYMER OF ACRYLONITRILE AND SAID FILAMENTS BEING CAPABLE OF BEING FURTHER SHRUNK, SAID METHOD COMPRISING CONTINUOUSLY INTRODUCING SAID TOW, IN A RELAXED STATE, DOWNWARDLY INTO THE INLET END OF A TREATING ZONE IN THE FORM OF A J-BOX; CAUSING A TRAVERSE MOTION TO BE APPLIED TO SAID TOW AS IT ENTER SAID INLET END OF SAID ZONE; DEPOSITING THE TOW IN A FOUR-SIDED PATTERN IN WHICH OPPOSITE SIDES ARE APPROXIMATELY PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER BY APPLYING A SPRAY OF AN INERT LIQUID TO THE SIDE OF SAID DOWNWARDLY, TRAVERSELY MOVING TOW AT FREQUENT, REGULAR INTERVALS AS THE TOW APPROACHES THE LIMIT OF ITS TRAVERSE MOTION, SAID SPRAY BEING APPLIED FIRST FROM ONE SIDE OF SAID INLET END AND THEN FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDE, AND SAID INERT LIQUID FROM THE SPRAY BEING AT A TEMPERATURE OF FROM ABOUT 99*C. TO ABOUT 110*C. AND BEING COLLECTED IN A BOTTOM PORTION OF SAID TREATING ZONE WHERE IT IS MAINTAINED AT SAID TEMPERATURE, AND MAINTAINING A PORTION OF SAID TOW IN SAID ZONE FOR A PERIOD OF AT LEAST 5 SECONDS WHILE CONTINUOUSLY INTRODUCING UNTREATED TOW AS ABOVE DESCRIBED INTO THE INLET END OF SAID TREATING ZONE AND CONTINUOUSLY WITHDRAWING TREATED TOW FROM THE OUTLET END OF SAID ZONE.

Claim 2

THE METHOD OF CONTINUOUSLY REMOVING RESIDUAL SHRINKAGE FROM A TOW OF CONTINUOUS FILAMENTS CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF A THERMOPLASTIC POLYMER OF ACRYLONITRILE AND SAID FILAMENTS BEING CAPABLE OF BEING FURTHER SHRUNK, SAID METHOD COMPRISING CONTINUOUSLY INTRODUCING SAID TOW, IN A RELAXED STATE, DOWNWARDLY INTO THE INLET END OF A TREATING ZONE IN THE FORM OF A J-BOX; CAUSING A TRAVERSE MOTION TO BE APPLIED TO SAID TOW AS IT ENTER SAID INLET END OF SAID ZONE; DEPOSITING THE TOW IN A FOUR-SIDED PATTERN IN WHICH OPPOSITE SIDES ARE APPROXIMATELY PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER BY APPLYING A SPRAY OF AN INERT LIQUID TO THE SIDE OF SAID DOWNWARDLY, TRAVERSELY MOVING TOW AT FREQUENT, REGULAR INTERVALS AS THE TOW APPROACHES THE LIMIT OF ITS TRAVERSE MOTION, SAID SPRAY BEING APPLIED FIRST FROM ONE SIDE OF SAID INLET END AND THEN FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDE, AND SAID INERT LIQUID FROM THE SPRAY BEING AT A TEMPERATURE OF FROM ABOUT 99*C. TO ABOUT 110*C. AND BEING COLLECTED IN A BOTTOM PORTION OF SAID TREATING ZONE WHERE IT IS MAINTAINED AT SAID TEMPERATURE, AND MAINTAINING A PORTION OF SAID TOW IN SAID ZONE FOR A PERIOD OF AT LEAST 5 SECONDS WHILE CONTINUOUSLY INTRODUCING UNTREATED TOW AS ABOVE DESCRIBED INTO THE INLET END OF SAID TREATING ZONE AND CONTINUOUSLY WITHDRAWING TREATED TOW FROM THE OUTLET END OF SAID ZONE.