Apparatus for forming fiber

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR MAKING FIBERS FROM HEAT SOFTENED MATERIAL COMPRISING: (A) A ROTARY CENTRIFUGE HAVING A BASE AND AN ANNULAR PERIPHERAL WALL HAVING A PLURALITY OF OPENINGS THEREIN, (B) STEAM JET MEANS COMPRISING AN ANNULAR STEAM NOZZLE FORPRODUCING AN ANNULAR STEAM JET OF HIGH KINETIC ENERGY ISSUING FROM A DISCHARGE OPENING ADJACENT ONE AXIAL EXTREMITY OF SAID NOZZLE AND MOVING IN A PREDETERMINED DIRECTION, (C) SAID STEAM NOZZLE HAVING AN INNER PERIPHERAL SURFACE HAVING AN INSIDE DIAMETER GREATER THAN THE OUTSIDE DIAMETER OF SAID PERIPHERAL WALL, (D) SAID STEAM JET MEANS MOUNTED CONCENTRICALLY WITH AND ADJACENT SAID PERIPHERAL WALL, (E) SUPPLEMENTAL GASEOUS MEANS FOR DIRECTING AN ANNULAR, HOT GASEOUS BLAST INTO CONTACT WITH THE INNER PERIPHERAL SURFACE OF SAID NOZZLE ADJACENT SAID DISCHARGE OPENING (F) SAID SUPPLEMENTAL GASEOUS BLAST BEING AT A TEMPERATURE SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN THE TEMPERATURE OF SAID STEAM JET AND MOVING GENERALLY IN THE SAME DIRECTION AS THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF SAID STEAM JET, (G) MEANS FOR UPPLYING HEAT SOFTENED MATERIAL TO SAID ROTARY CENTRIFUGE TO BE URGED OUTWARDLY BY CENTRIFUGAL FORCE THROUGH SAID PERIPHERAL WALL OPENINGS AS A PLURALITY OF FILAMENTS OF HEAT SOFTENED MATERIAL CENTRIFUGALLY MOVING IN A DIRECTION TRANSVERSE TO THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF SAID COMBINED STEAM JET AND SUPPLEMENTAL HOT GASEOUS BLAST, AND (H) SAID FILAMENTS MOVING INTO SAID COMBINED STEAM JET AND SUPPLEMENTAL HOT GASEOUS BLAST TO BE ATTENUATED INTO FINE FIBERS.