Toray Industries, Inc.

Mikiya Takechi

Makoto Endo

Haruki Morikawa

Eiichi Yamamoto

Toshinori Kawamura

A heat treatment furnace for fiber for heat-treating a fiber bundle (yarn) formed of many continuous filaments in hot gas while running the yarn. The heat treatment furnace has a plurality of heat treatment chambers provided in a furnace body. The temperature in each individual heat treatment chamber is independently adjusted to a temperature which is different from the temperatures in the other heat treatment chambers. Thereby, the heat treatment furnace can be made small and is able to heat-treat fiber efficiently. This heat treatment furnace is useful, particularly, as a heat treatment furnace (an oxidizing heat treatment furnace, or a oxidizing furnace) for producing an oxidized fiber needed to produce a carbon fiber. A polyacrylonitrile-based fiber bundle (yarn), that is a precursor fiber bundle for producing an oxidized fiber, passes through a zigzag yarn path, and passes through the heat treatment furnaces, in each of which temperature is independently adjusted to a temperature that is different from the temperatures in the other furnaces. An oxidized fiber bundle (yarn) is thereby produced. The zigzag yarn path in the heat treatment chambers for the oxidizing heat treatment is established by a combination of a plurality of yarn guide rollers provided outside the furnace body. Each yarn guide roller has, on its peripheral surface, a yarn guide groove for guiding a yarn. The yarn guide grooves have a specific cross-sectional shape whereby the cross-sectional shape of the yarn to be supplied into the heat treatment chambers for the oxidizing heat treatment is adjusted into a flat generally rectangular shape. Heat accumulation in the yarn being heat-treated is thereby reduced.

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Ehime, Japan

Mikiya Takechi