Vacuum stripper

Claim 2

A vacuum stripper for removing excessive moisture from previously quenched, extruded thermoplastic yarn ends comprising a vacuum source, a manifold communicating with said vacuum source, and a plurality of vacuum tubes disposed above and below the path of movement of said yarn ends and communicating with said manifold, said vacuum tubes having openings over which said yarn ends pass tangentially for removing the moisture therefrom, said vacuum tubes being arranged to permit said yarn ends to pass without diverting their path of movement.

Claim 3

The vacuum stripper as defined in claim 1, wherein said vacuum tubes include a groove for each yarn end for guiding the yarn ends over the openings of said vacuum tubes, and the number of openings in said vacuum tubes correspond to the number of grooves therein.

Claim 4

A vacuum stripper for removing excess moisture from a yarn end passing between a pair of spaced machine elements, comprising a vacuum source, vacuum tube means disposed between said machine elements, a vacuum opening in said tube means over which said yarn end is passed, said yarn end contacting the marginal edges of the tube defining said opening and said tube means being positioned relatively to said machine elements to establish a substantially straight yarn end path between those elements whereby drag on said yarn is reduced over that of conventional strippers.

Claim 5

A vacuum stripper for removing excess moisture from a yarn end passing between a pair of spaced machine elements, comprising a vacuum source, vacuum tube means disposed between said machine elements, a vacuum opening in said tube means over which said yarn end is passed, said yarn end contacting the marginal edges of the tube defining said opening and said tube means being positioned relatively to said machine elements to establish a substantially straight yarn end path between those elements whereby drag on said yarn is reduced over that of conventional strippers.

Claim 6

A vacuum stripper as clAimed in claim 3 wherein said tube means comprises at least two spaced tube elements each having vacuum openings therein over which said yarn end is passed.

Claim 7

A vacuum stripper as claimed in claim 4 wherein said tube means comprises at least one tube element on each side of said yarn end path.

Claim 8

A vacuum stripper as claimed in claim 3 wherein said tube means comprises at least one tube element having a plurality of vacuum openings therein and guide means associated therewith for guiding each of a plurality of yarn ends to a corresponding one of said openings.

Claim 9

A vacuum stripper as claimed in claim 6 wherein said tube element has an axially extending groove formed in its inner surface and said guide means are constituted by transverse grooves in the outer surface of the tube, the bases of said transverse grooves intersect the axial groove to form said vacuum openings.

Claim 10

A vacuum stripper as claimed in claim 7 wherein portions of the base of said transverse grooves on opposite sides of said openings are mutually inclined so that the marginal edges of said openings are raised and the contact area of said yarn with said marginal edges is small whereby drag on said yarn ends is reduced.

Claim 11

A vacuum stripper for removing excess moisture from a plurality of yarn ends passing between spaced machine elements comprising a vacuum source, a header connected to said source, a plurality of spaced vacuum tubes between said elements, extending from said header transversely of said yarn ends and at least one such tube on each side of a straight yarn path between said machine elements, each of said tubes having a plurality of vacuum openings in its surface and each having guide means associated therewith for guiding each yarn end to a corresponding one of the openings in each tube whereby the yarn ends pass over the openings contacting the marginal edges defining said openings and follow a substantially straight path between said machine elements.

Claim 12

A vacuum stripper for removing excess moisture from a plurality of yarn ends passing between spaced machine elements comprising a vacuum source, a header connected to said source, a plurality of spaced vacuum tubes between said elements, extending from said header transversely of said yarn ends and at least one such tube on each side of a straight yarn path between said machine elements, each of said tubes having a plurality of vacuum openings in its surface and each having guide means associated therewith for guiding each yarn end to a corresponding one of the openings in each tube whereby the yarn ends pass over the openings contacting the marginal edges defining said openings and follow a substantially straight path between said machine elements.