Abstract: A process for making packer elements for use in sealing an area between surfaces in a wellbore and packer elements formed from that process. The process includes extruding an elastomeric material to form a tubular structure and machining the outer surface of the tubular structure to provide a desired surface geometry. The tubular structure may be machined to provide a contoured surface geometry. The tubular structure with a contoured surface geometry may be machined to form a plurality of packer elements, which are separated by cutting the tubular structure.

Abstract: A process for making packer elements for use in sealing an area between surfaces in a wellbore and packer elements formed from that process. The process includes extruding an elastomeric material to form a tubular structure and machining the outer surface of the tubular structure to provide a desired surface geometry. The tubular structure may be machined to provide a contoured surface geometry. The tubular structure with a contoured surface geometry may be machined to form a plurality of packer elements, which are separated by cutting the tubular structure.

Abstract: According to the present invention there is also provided an apparatus for estimating the fiber fineness of a known mass of fibers, the apparatus including: an image capturing device for capturing either i) all of the fibers selected for testing or ii) a fraction thereof, in one or more images; a computer capable of automatically determining the total length of fiber or fibers in the or each image; and a means for estimating the fiber fineness of the fibers using the total fiber length in the image(s).

Abstract: A vapor phase heater includes a plurality of elongated hollow heater tracks. A vapor generator having a vapor generation chamber is in fluid communication with the interior of each track. At least one heat input tube extends through the vapor generation chamber wherein a vaporized fluid is supplied to the heat input tubes. A vapor flow connector communicates with the vapor generator and the interior of each track so as to provide conduits for vapor produced in the vapor generator to pass into each track.

Abstract: A vapour phase heater includes a plurality of elongated hollow heater tracks. A vapour generator having a vapour generation chamber is in fluid communication with the interior of each track. At least one heat input tube extends through the vapour generation chamber wherein a vapourized fluid is supplied to the heat input tubes. A vapour flow connector communicates with the vapour generator and the interior of each track so as to provide conduits for vapour produced in the vapour generator to pass into each track.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for producing a combined textile yarn comprising two yarn components that are false twisted to different twist levels and then combined to form a combined textile yarn. The yarn components may be twisted in the same or opposing directions, and may be drawn simultaneously with twisting to differing draw ratios before being combined.

Abstract: A textile machine for texturing textile yarns by false twisting, heating and cooling the false twisted yarns, has yarn feeding devices, a heating device with a heated surface, a cooling zone and a false twisting device. The feeding devices are operable to feed a yarn along a longitudinal yarn path in contact with the heated surface, through the cooling zone and the false twisting device. In such a machine, to provide that the surge speed is higher than would be the case with a conventional contact heater arrangement or guided non-contact heaters, to allow processing at these higher speeds without detriment to the yarn properties, and to minimize the temperature settings and hence the power consumption of the heater, the heated surface is substantially flat along the longitudinal yarn path, and the yarn path in the cooling zone extends in a direction different from that of the longitudinal yarn path.

Abstract: In a yarn false twist texturing process in which yarn is passed through heating and cooling zones to a false twist device, the yarn is passed in a helical path around a cylinder at opposed ends of which yarn guides are disposed to provide the helical path, preferably through the cooling zone. In order to raise the surge speed at which the process becomes unstable, at least one of the yarn guides is positionally adjustable relative to another guide and/or a third guide is located between the other two so as to increase the helix angle of the yarn path and the effective angle of wrap around a cylindrical cooling device on which the guides are mounted. The cooling cylinder may be a tube to which suction is applied to draw fumes from the yarn as it passes over a port in the tube and to draw ambient air into the tube to assist the cooling effect. The non-abrupt changes in direction of the yarn path allows the twist to run back through the cooling and heating zones.

Abstract: In a textile yarn texturing machine, a cooling arrangement for the heated false-twisted yarn is provided by a tube having a guide at the inlet end and a guide on the diametrically opposed side of the tube at the outlet end to guide the yarn in a helical path around the outer surface of the tube. The yarn makes one-half turn around the tube during its travel from the inlet end to the outlet end. Holes on the yarn path in the first part of the tube are connected to a suction device for fume extraction, and a cooling fluid may be passed through the tube to enhance cooling. The tube may form the second part of the cooling arrangement and is preferably inclined downwardly from a horizontally disposed first part towards the false twist device. The cooling arrangement or at least the first part is aligned with the preferably horizontally disposed heater located above the operator's aisle of the machine.

Abstract: In a textile machine, a yarn heating arrangement incorporates a channel whose bottom surface is heated and a door which closes the channel and on whose inner surface are mounted yarn guides providing a yarn path adjacent the heated surface when the door is closed and the yarn guides are disposed within the channel. The length of the heated yarn path, or the proximity of the yarn to the heated bottom surface of the channel is adjustable to vary the level of heating of the yarn, and the door can be opened for cleaning and threading. A pivotal elongate yarn guide prior to the heater or pivotal elongate cooling track after the heater allow variation of the point of yarn inlet to or yarn outlet from the heater.

Abstract: A false twist apparatus, for processing primarily fine denier yarns at low level twist levels with consistency and good process control, comprises a roller mounted for rotation about its longitudinal axis and input and output guides, to guide the yarn in a helical path around the roller, mounted on a guide support extending adjacent the roller. One of the guides is positionally adjustable on the support in a direction parallel with the roller axis to alter the helix angle of the yarn around the roller and the twist level. For S and Z twist, two drive spindles are provided symmetrically disposed on opposed sides of the support, the roller being secured on the appropriate spindle and the output guide being moved to the appropriate side of the support.

Abstract: Apparatus for false twisting yarns is of the type comprising three rotatable shafts, each shaft having a plurality of discs thereon. The shafts are mounted on a base member and two shafts are pivotal about axes which with the axis of the third shaft are at the apices of an equilateral triangle. The third shaft, and spindles providing pivots for the movable arms which carry the other shafts, each have a respective first drive pulley thereon and a primary drive belt passes around the three pulleys. The spindles each also have second drive pulley thereon and each movable shaft has a third drive pulley thereon, a second drive belt passing around each respective pair of second and third drive pulleys. A cam mounted on the third shaft has two like operating portions into contact with which a respective follower part of each movable shaft is biassed. Movement of the shafts may be made without alteration of the tension in, or reverse bending of, the belts.

Abstract: A yarn entangling jet has a yarn passageway extending therethrough and an air inlet passageway communicating with an outlet portion of the yarn passageway adjacent the junction with an inlet portion thereof. The outlet portion is preferably of triangular cross-section, comprising a base wall opposite the air inlet passageway and two converging side walls. The inlet portion has one wall coplanar with the base wall and an inlet surface which converges towards the base wall in the direction towards the junction with the outlet portion. An inlet yarn guide is positioned to ensure that the yarn approaches the base wall at the desired angle less than 180.degree.. The jet is in two parts secured together with a threading slot therebetween at one side of the yarn passageway spaced from the base wall towards the apex of the outlet portion.

Abstract: A package mounting apparatus for a textile machine comprises a cradle having a pair of arms between which a package is supported. One part of one cradle arm is biassed by a spring away from the other arm but is retained during package build in a package retaining arm position. The retaining force is provided by the vibration damping means being located between the cradle arms and the mounting arms of the machine. When the package is completed, the cradle is moved to a park position using the spine of the cradle as a handle, at which position brake means are actuated to stop rotation of the package. A stop device is then released manually to allow further pivoting of the cradle, whereby the damping means become disengaged from the mounting arm so as to allow outward movement of the movable arm part and the release of the package, which drops onto supports provided on the cradle arms and is subsequently removed.

Abstract: Apparatus for twisting a running yarn in a textile machine comprises first and second pulleys mounted for rotation about parallel axes and an endless belt passing around their aligned peripheries so as to provide two runs each of which is twisted through 180.degree. and crosses the other run to form a nip region therewith through which the yarn is guided by yarn guides. One pulley, which may be of larger diameter than the other driven pulley, is mounted on a pivoted arm to tension the belt and/or allow for the use of differing sized belts or differing sized pulleys to alter the crossing angle of the belt and the twist level applied to the yarn.

Abstract: Friction false twist device is of the class comprising three parallel equiangularly spaced shafts each having a set of equally axially spaced friction discs, the discs of the sets being arranged so that they overlap substantially when viewed axially and a strand passing through the centre of the device follows a zig-zag spiralling path from one disc rim to the next. The improvement comprises having one set of discs as a datum set with its shaft fixed to a support member with a flat reference surface from which the shaft projects. The two other shafts are carried on respective pivotal arms each with a flat undersurface seated on the flat reference surface of the support and the distance between the shaft axis and a pivot axis of the arm is the same for both shafts. The pivot axes of the two arms are equally spaced from each other and from the shaft axis of the datum set of discs, so that the distances between the latter axis and the axes of the two other shafts can be adjusted while keeping equal spacings.