Crimping apparatus and process

Claim 1

THE PROCESS OF CRIMPING AND SIMILARLY TREATING A COMPACT MULTIFILAMENT YARN WHICH COMPRISES MOTIVATING THE YARN TO BE THUS TREATED INTO AND THROUGH A JET ZONE SUPPLIED WITH A HIGH VELOCITY HEATED FLUID, BRINGING SAID COMPACT YARN INTO INTIMATE CONTACT WITH THE HEATED FLUID IN A UNIFORM CROSS-SECTION PASSAGEWAY, THE EXIT END OF WHICH IS CONNECTED TO A DIVERGENT PASSAGEWAY WHEREIN THE FLUID EXPANDS RAPIDLY CAUSING SAID YARN TO OPEN AND DISENGAGE INTO A NON-COMPACT FLUID-POROUS MASS OF SEPARATED FILAMENTS, THE DIAMETER OF SAID MASS OF SEPARATED FILAMENTS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN THE DIAMETER OF THE COMPACT YARN FED TO THE JET, THEN DIRECTLY FEEDING SAID MASS OF SEPARATED FILAMENTS INTO A STUFFER BOX CRIMPER CHAMBER WHEREIN THE SEPARATED FILAMENTS ARE CAUSED TO INDIVIDUALLY BEND AND FOLD UPON THEMSELVES IN SAID CRIMP CHAMBER, EXHAUSTING AT LEAST A PORTION OF SAID HOT FLUID THROUGH EXHAUST PORTS LOCATED CLOSELY ADJACENT THE ENTRANCE OF SAID CRIMP CHAMBER, AND RETAINING AND PASSING THE REMAINDER OF SAID HEATED FLUID ADMIXED WITH THE YARN THROUGH THE LENGTH OF THE CRIMP CHAMBER AND EXHAUSTING SAID REMAINING PORTION OF SAID HEATED FLUID WITH THE INDIVIDUALLY SEPARATED AND CRIMPED FILAMENTS FROM THE END OF SAID CRIMP CHAMBER, FOLLOWED BY WITHDRAWING SAID CRIMPED FILAMENTS FROM THE STUFFER BOX CRIMPER AND REFORMING THEM INTO A YARN.

Claim 3

A DEVICE FOR THE CRIMPING AND LIKE TREATMENT OF ANY KIND OF FILAMENTARY YARN COMPRISED OF THE UNITARY COMBINATION OF A FLUID OPERATED JET AND STUFFER BOX CRIMPER, SAID DEVICE CONTAINING IN ITS STRUCTURE IN SERIES (1) A YARN ENTRANCE NOZZLE JET, (2) A STRAIGHT ENCLOSED CHAMBER, (3) A DIVERGENT ENCLOSED CHAMBER HAVING A DOWNSTREAM DIAMETER SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN ITS UPSTREAM DIAMETER, (4) A STUFFER BOX CRIMPER CHAMBER, (5) FLUID INLET MEANS CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SURROUNDING SAID YARN ENTRANCE NOZZLE JET, (6) LATERAL FLUID EXHAUST MEANS LOCATED ADJACENT THE INTERSECTION OF THE DOWNSTREAM END OF THE DIVERGENT ENCLOSED CHAMBER AND THE UPSTREAM END OF THE STUFFER BOX CHAMBER, AND (7) SAID STUFFER BOX CRIMPER CHAMBER TERMINATING IN A CLAPPER GATE MECHANISM WHEREBY A MULTIFILAMENT YARN IS MOTIVATED THROUGH THE ENTRANCE JET SECTION AND IS CAUSED TO BE SEPARATED INTO A LOOSE FILAMENTARY MASS IN THE DIVERGENT CHAMBER, WHICH SEPARATED FILAMENTS MAY THEN BE INDIVIDUALLY COMPRESSED AND FOLDED UPON THEMSELVES IN THE STUFFER BOX CRIMPER CHAMBER TO IMPART CRIMP TO THE INDIVIDUAL FILAMENTS AND THE CRIMPED FILAMENTS DISCHARGED FROM THE STUFFER BOX CRIMP CHAMBER AND REFORMED INTO A YARN BY TAKE-UP ROLLS AND WIND-UP MEANS POSITIONED BEYOND THE OUTLET END OF SAID STUFFER BOX CRIMPER CHAMBER.

Claim 4

A DEVICE FOR THE CRIMPING AND LIKE TREATMENT OF ANY KIND OF FILAMENTARY YARN COMPRISED OF THE UNITARY COMBINATION OF A FLUID OPERATED JET AND STUFFER BOX CRIMPER, SAID DEVICE CONTAINING IN ITS STRUCTURE IN SERIES (1) A YARN ENTRANCE NOZZLE JET, (2) A STRAIGHT ENCLOSED CHAMBER, (3) A DIVERGENT ENCLOSED CHAMBER HAVING A DOWNSTREAM DIAMETER SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN ITS UPSTREAM DIAMETER, (4) A STUFFER BOX CRIMPER CHAMBER, (5) FLUID INLET MEANS CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SURROUNDING SAID YARN ENTRANCE NOZZLE JET, (6) LATERAL FLUID EXHAUST MEANS LOCATED ADJACENT THE INTERSECTION OF THE DOWNSTREAM END OF THE DIVERGENT ENCLOSED CHAMBER AND THE UPSTREAM END OF THE STUFFER BOX CHAMBER, AND (7) SAID STUFFER BOX CRIMPER CHAMBER TERMINATING IN A CLAPPER GATE MECHANISM WHEREBY A MULTIFILAMENT YARN IS MOTIVATED THROUGH THE ENTRANCE JET SECTION AND IS CAUSED TO BE SEPARATED INTO A LOOSE FILAMENTARY MASS IN THE DIVERGENT CHAMBER, WHICH SEPARATED FILAMENTS MAY THEN BE INDIVIDUALLY COMPRESSED AND FOLDED UPON THEMSELVES IN THE STUFFER BOX CRIMPER CHAMBER TO IMPART CRIMP TO THE INDIVIDUAL FILAMENTS AND THE CRIMPED FILAMENTS DISCHARGED FROM THE STUFFER BOX CRIMP CHAMBER AND REFORMED INTO A YARN BY TAKE-UP ROLLS AND WIND-UP MEANS POSITIONED BEYOND THE OUTLET END OF SAID STUFFER BOX CRIMPER CHAMBER.