Strand annealers

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR ANNEALING TOW, COMPRISING AN ELONGATED CHAMBER HAVING ONE END ENCLOSED BY AN ARCUATED PORTION, A DIVIDING PLATE MOUNTED IN THE CHAMBER AND EXTENDING ALONG THE MAJOR PLANE OF THE ELONGATED CHAMBBER TO DIVIDE THE CHAMBER INTO A PAIR OF PARALLEL SUBCHAMBERS HAVING SIMILAR CROSS-SECTIONAL DIMENSIONS SUBSTANTIALLY LESSER THAN THE LONGITUDINAL DIMENSIONS OF THE SUBCHAMBERS, SAID PLATE TERMINATING AT A POINT SPACED FROM THE ARCUATED PORTION, SAID CHAMBER AND PLATE HAVING THEREIN ALIGNED APERTURES LYING IN A SINGLE PLANE TRANSVERSELY OF SAID MAJOR PLANE FOR DVANCING A TOW THROUGH SAID CHAMBER, SAID APERTURES BEING ADPATED TO ADMIT AMBIENT AIR TO REACH THE LOWER PORTION OF THE TOW AND SPACED AT APPROXIMATELY THE MIDPOINT OF THE CHAMBER TO PROVIDE AS EXTENDED PATH BETWEEN SEPARATE SECTIONS OF THE TOW, AND MEANS FOR FORCING AN ANNEALING FLUID SEQUENTIALLY THROUGH ONE OF THE SUB-CHAMBERS IN ONE DIRECTION, THENCE THROUGH THE OTHER SUB-CHAMBER IN THE OTHER DIRECTION TO IMPART A DIFFERENTIAL SHRINKAGE CHARACTERISTIC TO THE TOW.