Art of producing polyacrylonitrile filamentary materials

Claim 1

THE METHOD OF PRODUCING A FILAMENTARY MATERIAL FROM A SOLUTION, FIBER-FORMABLE, ACRYLONITRILE POLYMERIZATION PRODUCT CONTAINING AN AVERAGE OF AT LEAST 70% BY WEIGHT OF COMBINED ACRYLONTRILE, SAID METHOD COMPRISING WET-SPINNING A SOLUTION OF THE SAI D ACRYLONTRILE POLYMERIZATION PRODUCT TO FORM A GELLED, FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; CONTINOUSLY STREACHING THE RESULTING GELLED, FILAMENTARY MATERIAL IN THE PRESENCE OF MOISTURE AND AT A TEMPRATURE WITHIN THE RANGE OF FROM ABOUT 60*C. TO ABOUT 130*. C., THE AMOUNT OF THE APPLIED STREACH BEING SUCH THAT THE DENIER OF THE DRIED AND RELAXED FILAMENTARY MATERIAL IS HIGHER THAN THE DENIER OF THE FINAL PRODUCT; CONTINUOUSLY DRYING THE STRETCHED, GELLED, FILAMENTARY MATERIAL TO OBTAIN A DRIED MATERIAL WHICH IS CAPABLE OF FURTHER LINEAR SHRINKAGE; CONTINUOUSLY HEATING THE DRIED, STRETCHED, FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, WHILE IT IS RELAXED AND CAPABLE OF CONTACTING LINEARLY, AT A TEMPERATURE HIGHER THAN THE TEMPERATURE AT WHICH IT WAS DRIED, SAID HIGHER TEMPERATURE AND THE TIME OF HEATING THEREAT BEING SUCH THAT NO SUBSTANTIAL DECOMPOSITION OF THE FILAMENTARY MATERIAL OCCURS; AND CONTINUOUSLY HOT-STRETCHING THE DRIED AND RELAXED FILAMENTARY MATERIAL AT LEAST 20% OF ITS LENGTH IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO SAID STRETCHING, THE TOTAL STRETCH APPLIED TO THE GELLED FILAMENTARY MATERIAL AND TO THE DRIED AND RELAXED FILAMENTARY MATERIAL BEING FROM 5 TO 24 TIMES THAT OF THE ORIGINAL LENGTH OF THE GELLED FILAMENTARY MATERIAL.

Claim 2

THE METHOD OF PRODUCING A FILAMENTARY MATERIAL FROM A SOLUTION, FIBER-FORMABLE, ACRYLONITRILE POLYMERIZATION PRODUCT CONTAINING AN AVERAGE OF AT LEAST 70% BY WEIGHT OF COMBINED ACRYLONTRILE, SAID METHOD COMPRISING WET-SPINNING A SOLUTION OF THE SAI D ACRYLONTRILE POLYMERIZATION PRODUCT TO FORM A GELLED, FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; CONTINOUSLY STREACHING THE RESULTING GELLED, FILAMENTARY MATERIAL IN THE PRESENCE OF MOISTURE AND AT A TEMPRATURE WITHIN THE RANGE OF FROM ABOUT 60*C. TO ABOUT 130*. C., THE AMOUNT OF THE APPLIED STREACH BEING SUCH THAT THE DENIER OF THE DRIED AND RELAXED FILAMENTARY MATERIAL IS HIGHER THAN THE DENIER OF THE FINAL PRODUCT; CONTINUOUSLY DRYING THE STRETCHED, GELLED, FILAMENTARY MATERIAL TO OBTAIN A DRIED MATERIAL WHICH IS CAPABLE OF FURTHER LINEAR SHRINKAGE; CONTINUOUSLY HEATING THE DRIED, STRETCHED, FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, WHILE IT IS RELAXED AND CAPABLE OF CONTACTING LINEARLY, AT A TEMPERATURE HIGHER THAN THE TEMPERATURE AT WHICH IT WAS DRIED, SAID HIGHER TEMPERATURE AND THE TIME OF HEATING THEREAT BEING SUCH THAT NO SUBSTANTIAL DECOMPOSITION OF THE FILAMENTARY MATERIAL OCCURS; AND CONTINUOUSLY HOT-STRETCHING THE DRIED AND RELAXED FILAMENTARY MATERIAL AT LEAST 20% OF ITS LENGTH IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO SAID STRETCHING, THE TOTAL STRETCH APPLIED TO THE GELLED FILAMENTARY MATERIAL AND TO THE DRIED AND RELAXED FILAMENTARY MATERIAL BEING FROM 5 TO 24 TIMES THAT OF THE ORIGINAL LENGTH OF THE GELLED FILAMENTARY MATERIAL.