Ppg Industries, Inc.

George T Salego

Herbert W Barch

Walter J Reese

Rudolph Blair

William H Retsch, Jr

David A Vorp

Anastasia Morfesis

The subject matter of this invention relates to a method and apparpatus for making mats of continuous glass fiber strands in which a heated calendering roll and continuous belt are used to compact the mat, expel excess noisture, melt, and/or cure resin previously distributed throughout the glass strand. The resin may be deposited in the mat in the form of a powdered resin or as continuous thread of material that is combined with the remaining strands that form the mat as the glass strands are projected onto the surface of a moving conveyor to form the mat.

Method and apparatus for manufacturing continuous fiber glass strand

A filamentary gathering apparatus, apparatus for forming filaments into a gathered bundle of filaments, and a method of forming gathered filaments into a bundle of filaments according to the present invention result in a reduced tendency of the filaments and/or gathered filaments to wrap around the gathering apparatus. The gathering apparatus is a cylindrically shaped gathering shoe having a height much smaller than the diameter of the shoe and having an annular recess providing for a peripheral groove in the shoe. The groove has a plurality of holes extending radially toward the center of the gathering shoe and up the side of the groove. The apparatus for forming filaments has a fiber forming means, an applicator, one or more rotating gathering shoes and a winder mechanism. The one or more rotatable gathering shoes have the groove with radially extending holes. The method of forming the bundle of filaments from a heat softenable, fiberizable material includes forming the filaments, applying a chemical treatment to the filaments, gathering the filaments into one or more strands by using one or more gathering shoes having the groove with radially extending holes and winding the one or more strands into a package.

Method and apparatus for forming a bundle of glass filaments

An applicator for use in applying chemical treatments to textile fibers is described which does not require the presence of a reservoir of the chemical treatment in close proximity to where the textile fibers are treated. The applicator has a rotating cylindrical roll which rotates continuously during application and is in rotatable horizontal attachment with a support means. The rotating cylindrical roll contacts the filaments at one portion one roll while at another portion on the roll a delivery means having a slot and cavity to which there is provided the chemical treatment is in fluid contact with the rotating applicator roll. The chemical treatment flows from the cavity through the slot and onto the rotating applicator roll to contact the textile filaments at another location on the roll. The chemical treatment is supplied to the cavity of the delivery means by a fluid control means which provides a continuous and controlled amount of the chemical treatment to the delivery means. In this manner, the precise amount of chemical treatment needed to treat the textile filaments can be applied to the cylindrical applicator roll to prevent waste of any chemical treatment. The applicator can also have a housing which surrounds the rotatable applicator roll and delivery means and provides an opening for fluid attachment between the delivery means and the fluid flow control means and also provides an opening through which a longitudinal portion of the rotatable applicating means can protrude to contact the textile filaments outside the housing. Also, in lieu of a housing, the applicator may simply have a collecting device located underneath the rotatable applicating roll and delivery means to catch any discarded chemical treatment.

Applicator for treating textile filaments with chemical treatments

Textile filaments are treated with chemical solutions during their manufacture and a longevous apparatus is provided to accomplish this treatment. The apparatus is a cylindrical sleeve engaged with a rotating engaging means for a substantial portion of the sleeve length and the sleeve and means are disposed to be contacted with the chemical solution contained by a receptacle. The peripheral surface of the sleeve is disposed in relation to the receptacle so that the sleeve comes in contact with the moving textile filaments. The sleeve can be a graphite, metallic or metallic coated noncorroding material. The sleeve can have a thickness ranging from a foil to a thickness which allows the sleeve to be coated with a metallic coating. The rotatable engaging means can be a noncorroding material such as stainless steel, a thermosetting polymer, graphite or rubber. The rotatable engaging means having mounted thereon the cylindrical sleeve for a substantial portion of length of the cylindrical sleeve can be horizontally disposed in the receptacle, where the receptacle has an opening at one end where the peripheral surface of the sleeve occupies the opening. This occupation can be arranged where the sleeve is adjacent to the opening or actually protruding through the opening. When the sleeve has a thickness of greater than 1.25 millimeters the sleeve can be coated with a metallic coating through a spray or sputtering process. The metallic coating is finished to a mat or a mirror finish. The sleeve is engaged upon the rotatable engaging means in such a manner that it can be easily removed from the engaging means.

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Brackenridge, PA, United States of America

George T Salego