Apparatus for forming a cross-oriented film

Claim 1

An apparatus for forming a seamless cross-oriented film comprising: tubular-film-producing means for forming a thermoplastic synthetic resin tubular film; means for maintaining the temperature of said tubular film below the melting point yet above the secondary transition temperature thereof, disposed downstream of said producing means; twist-preventing means, in contact with said film for pressing and feeding said tubular film in the film-forming direction, disposed at an axial position of said apparatus substantially coincident with said temperature maintaining means and which includes a fixed mandrel adapted to be disposed within said tubular film and in contact therewith and at least three feed rolls provided, within at least one plane disposed at an axial position corresponding to that of said fixed mandrel, externally of said tubular film and in contact therewith so that said tubular film may not undergo slip with respect to any cross-orientation force created by means of drawing and lateral rotation operations; cross-orientation means, disposed immediately downstream of said twist-preventing means, for continuously rotating said tubular film, relative to the film-forming direction or laterally thereof while said film is moving in said film-forming direction, at a peripheral speed of at least twice as fast as the feed speed of said twist-preventing means; and a take-up device, disposed downstream of said cross-orientation means, for imparting a drawing speed, of at least twice as fast as the feeding speed of said twist-preventing means, to said cross-orientation means so as to thereby successively flatten said tubular film into two layers, said take-up device including guide rolls and nip rolls.

Claim 2

An apparatus for forming a seamless cross-oriented film comprising: tubular-film-producing means for forming a thermoplastic synthetic resin tubular film; means for maintaining the temperature of said tubular film below the melting point yet above the secondary transition temperature thereof, disposed downstream of said producing means; twist-preventing means, in contact with said film for pressing and feeding said tubular film in the film-forming direction, disposed at an axial position of said apparatus substantially coincident with said temperature maintaining means and which includes a fixed mandrel adapted to be disposed within said tubular film and in contact therewith and at least three feed rolls provided, within at least one plane disposed at an axial position corresponding to that of said fixed mandrel, externally of said tubular film and in contact therewith so that said tubular film may not undergo slip with respect to any cross-orientation force created by means of drawing and lateral rotation operations; cross-orientation means, disposed immediately downstream of said twist-preventing means, for continuously rotating said tubular film, relative to the film-forming direction or laterally thereof while said film is moving in said film-forming direction, at a peripheral speed of at least twice as fast as the feed speed of said twist-preventing means; and a take-up device, disposed downstream of said cross-orientation means, for imparting a drawing speed, of at least twice as fast as the feeding speed of said twist-preventing means, to said cross-orientation means so as to thereby successively flatten said tubular film into two layers, said take-up device including guide rolls and nip rolls.