TW202314076A - Discrete fiberfill clusters and methods of manufacturing same - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a discrete fiberfill cluster that is made up of a plurality of fibers that are randomly intermingled with one another. Within the plurality of fibers there are 25 to 3600 fibers having a denier of 0.2 to 12.0 and a length of 8 to 160 mm. The plurality of fibers are randomly and non-uniformly oriented with respect to one another. Within the discrete fiberfill cluster, there are: one or more relatively densely populated regions of fibers having a first degree of entanglement; and, proximate to at least one of the one or more relatively densely populated regions, one or more relatively less densely population regions of fibers having a second degree of entanglement that is less than the first degree of entanglement.

Description

Discrete fiber packing clusters and method of making the same

The present invention relates generally to fibrous filler clusters, articles comprising the clusters, methods of making the clusters. Fiber filler clusters are particularly useful in the textile field. Cross References to Related Applications

This application claims U.S. Provisional Application Nos. 63/211,792, filed June 17, 2021, U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/264,426, filed November 22, 2021, and April 5, 2022 Claimed benefit of US Provisional Application No. 63/362,484, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Attempts have been made to obtain down-like insulating and/or filling materials for textiles.

For example, US Patent No. 5,851,665 relates to a filler material comprising clusters of bonded crimped thermoplastic fibers, wherein the fibers are bonded at different locations in different clusters of the filler material. In order to fully develop the bulk of the fibers and obtain the final properties, US Patent No. 5,851,665 emphasizes that the fibers in the tufts are completely open without restrictions (such as entanglements) on the full formation of the fiber bulk (except for small bonding points) importance. Filling material is made from stacks of carded webs from continuous filaments in tows which, after bonding, are cut and separated into final tufts. A tow is a continuously manufactured large strand of fibrous filaments, without a defined twist, collected in loose, rope-like form, usually held together by crimping. Tows typically contain thousands of filaments. For example, the tow used in US Patent No. 5,851,665 has approximately 122,000 filaments and a total denier of 48.9 ktex (440,100 denier), which would produce tufts with high fiber density.

In general, existing efforts to develop insulation and/or filling materials with down-like qualities have most frequently produced insulation and/or filling materials that, in the applicant's assessment, are too heavy and dense to be considered down-like And/or cannot be properly utilized by conventional blowing equipment. For example, these materials may tend to clog conventional blowing equipment and/or prevent being fed or loaded into such equipment. Alternatively, when blowable, these materials are often completely incapable of simulating the desired down-like properties.

An exception is U.S. Patent No. 10,633,244, which relates to a blowable insulation or fill material consisting of a plurality of discrete, longitudinally elongated floes having about 2 to 4.5 cm in longitudinal length and formed from a plurality of fibers, the flocs include a relatively open enlarged middle portion and only a pair of relatively densely twisted tails extending from opposite longitudinal ends of the middle portion. The insulation/fill material of US Patent No. 10,633,244 can be used in typical existing garment fill blowing machines, and has down-like qualities, such as the feel, washability, filling ability and blowing efficiency of down insulation.

However, there remains a need for additional improved fibrous fill materials that can be blown on conventional blowing equipment and that have the desired down-like properties.

Although certain aspects of conventional art have been discussed to facilitate the disclosure of the present invention, applicants in no way disclaim these aspects of technology, and it is contemplated that the claimed invention may encompass one or more of the conventional aspects of technology discussed herein.

In this specification, where a document, act or item of knowledge is cited or discussed, such citation or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge, or any combination thereof, was publicly available, known to the public, part of the common general knowledge, or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory heading; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any of the problems to which this specification is concerned.

In short, the present invention satisfies the need for a blowable fibrous fill material having desired down-like properties.

The present invention addresses one or more of the problems and disadvantages of the techniques described above. However, it is anticipated that the present invention may prove helpful in solving other problems and deficiencies in many technical fields. Accordingly, the claimed invention should not be construed as limited to solving any particular problems or disadvantages discussed herein.

Applicants have surprisingly discovered that embodiments of the fibrous filler clusters of the present invention mimic the structure and properties of natural down.

In a first aspect, the invention provides a method of making at least one fibrous filler cluster. The method comprises obtaining a plurality of bundles (e.g. discrete bundles) of 25 to 3600 fibers having 0.2 to 12.0 dpf (deny per fiber/filament) and a length of 8 to 160 mm, the plurality of fibers lined up vertically. The method further comprises disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle such that they are three-dimensionally irregularly extended and mixed to form fiber packing clusters (eg, discrete fiber packing clusters).

In some embodiments, the discrete bundle consists essentially of a plurality of 25 to 3600 fibers. In some embodiments, the discrete bundle consists of a plurality of 25 to 3600 fibers.

In some embodiments, the disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle comprises disrupting the longitudinal alignment of only some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle such that the remainder of the bundle of the plurality of fibers remains The fibers are aligned longitudinally and mixed with the fibers extending irregularly three-dimensionally. In some such embodiments, the fibers extending irregularly in three dimensions form an outer region extending outwardly from the remainder of the bundle. In some such embodiments, the remainder of the bundle contains a higher density of fibers than the outer region.

In some embodiments, disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle comprises disrupting the longitudinal alignment of all of the plurality of fibers of the bundle such that none of the plurality of fibers remain longitudinally aligned together. In some such embodiments, disrupting the longitudinal arrangement of all of the plurality of fibers of the bundle forms at least one inner relatively densely distributed three-dimensional fiber region, and an outer three-dimensionally extending outward from the at least one inner relatively densely distributed region Relatively less densely distributed fibrous regions.

In some embodiments, disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle comprises mixing only some of the disrupted fibers such that some of the disrupted fibers form fiber packing clusters, and some of the disrupted fibers The fibers do not form fiber packing clusters.

In some embodiments, disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle comprises positioning the bundle between the joint sides of at least one pair of disrupting members such that the disrupting sides contact the bundle, and at least one The first disrupting member translates relative to the at least one second disrupting member along a path extending longitudinally along the longitudinal length of the fibers of the bundle and extending laterally along a lateral direction oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal direction . In some such embodiments, the distance between the failure sides remains substantially constant during the failure. In some such embodiments, the at least one first disruptive member translates along the arcuate path for at least a first portion of the time. In some such embodiments, the at least one first disruptive member translates along the elliptical path for at least a first portion of the time. In some such embodiments, the at least one first disruptive member translates along a random orbital pattern for at least a first portion of the time. In some such embodiments, at least one of the engagement sides comprises a substantially flat and smooth surface. In some such embodiments, at least one of the engagement sides comprises a substantially planar array of particles or protrusions. In some such embodiments, disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle comprises subjecting the bundle to at least one gas and/or liquid flow.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises, prior to the breaking, bonding together at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle at at least one point along the longitudinal direction of the bundle to form at least one bonded point. In some such embodiments, the bond point is formed by heating at least some of the plurality of fibers at the at least one point to adhere the fibers together at the at least one bond point. In some such embodiments, heating at least some of the plurality of fibers at the at least one point comprises contacting the plurality of fibers at the at least one point with a material having a temperature above the melting temperature of the fibers.

In some embodiments, disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle comprises entanglement of some of the disrupted fibers together. In some such embodiments, less than about 50% of the disrupted fibers are entangled with at least one other fiber. In some such embodiments, less than about 25% of the disrupted fibers are entangled with at least one other fiber.

In some embodiments, disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle comprises twisting some of the disrupted fibers together. In some such embodiments, less than about 50% of the disrupted fibers are twisted with at least one other fiber. In some such embodiments, less than about 25% of the disrupted fibers are twisted with at least one other fiber.

In some embodiments, the method comprises obtaining a plurality of bundles, each bundle having 25 to 3600 fibers, the fibers having a length of 0.2 to 12.0 dpf and 8 to 160 mm, the plurality of fibers of each bundle being aligned longitudinally together, and disrupt the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of each of the bundles such that they are three-dimensionally irregularly extended and mixed to form a plurality of discrete fiber packing clusters.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers of the bundle extend substantially linearly along its longitudinal length. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers of the bundle extend substantially parallel to each other along their longitudinal length. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers of the bundle are non-deformed linear fibers.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers of the bundle extend non-linearly along its longitudinal length. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers of the bundle extend irregularly along its longitudinal length. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers of the bundle are deformed linear fibers. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers of the bundle comprises about 50 to about 500 fibers. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers comprises about 80 to about 300 fibers.

In some embodiments, the bundle contains more fibers than the fiber filler tufts. In some embodiments, the fibrous filler tufts comprise at least one secondary fiber that is not part of the bundle. In some such embodiments, the at least one secondary fiber intermingles with the plurality of fibers of the fibrous packing tuft during the breaking.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers have a Deny of about 0.7 to about 1.7 dpf. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers have substantially the same denier. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers of the bundle have a longitudinal length of about 20 to about 50 mm. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers of the bundle have substantially the same longitudinal length. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers have substantially the same length.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers are synthetic polymer fibers. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers are fibers selected from the group consisting of polyamide, polyester, polypropylene, polylactic acid (also known as polylactide) (PLA), poly(butyl acrylate) (PBA ), acrylic, acrylate, acetate, polyolefin, nylon, rayon, lyocell, polyaramid, spandex, viscose, and modal fiber, or its combination. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers are polyester fibers. In some such embodiments, the polyester fibers are selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), poly(hexahydro-xylylene terephthalate), polyethylene terephthalate Butylene glycol (PBT) fibers, polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) fibers, copolyester fibers (eg, copolyester fibers comprising PET structural units), or combinations thereof. In some such embodiments, the polyester fibers are PET fibers.

In some embodiments, the fibers comprise recycled polymeric materials. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers comprise siliconized fibers. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers includes non-siliconized fibers. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers comprises solid fibers. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers comprise hollow fibers.

In some embodiments, the fibrous filler clusters define a length, width and thickness, and wherein the length and the width are greater than the thickness. In some such embodiments, the length is greater than the width.

In some embodiments, the fibrous filler clusters define a length, width, and thickness, and wherein the length is in the range of about 0.5 to about 6.5 cm (eg, about 0.90 to about 4 cm). In some embodiments, the fibrous filler clusters define a length, width, and thickness, and wherein the width is in the range of about 0.5 to about 6.5 cm (eg, about 0.70 to about 3 cm). In some embodiments, the fibrous filler clusters have a density of about 0.08 to about 0.70 mg/cm ³ (eg, about 0.10 to about 0.50 mg/cm ³ ). In some embodiments, the fibrous filler clusters define a substantially oval shape. In some embodiments, the fibrous filler clusters define a substantially spherical shape.

In some embodiments, the bundle is a length of filament yarn. In some such embodiments, obtaining the bundle comprises cutting the length from the filament yarn. In some embodiments, the filament yarn is a textured filament yarn. In some embodiments, the filament yarn is a flat filament yarn.

In some embodiments, the bundle is a length of mixed filament yarn. In some such embodiments, obtaining the bundle comprises cutting the length from the mixed filament yarn.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides a fibrous filler cluster (eg, a discrete fibrous filler cluster) prepareable according to the first aspect of the invention. The discrete fiber packing clusters include a plurality of intermixed fibers, the plurality of fibers includes 25 to 3600 fibers, and the fibers have a denier of 0.2 to 12.0 dpf and a length of 8 to 160 mm. The plurality of fibers forms: a bundle remainder comprising some or all of the plurality of fibers aligned longitudinally together; and an outer fiber region extending three-dimensionally outwardly from the bundle remainder comprising some random and non-uniform relative to each other The plurality of fibers oriented in the ground. The remainder of the bundle contains a higher density of fibers than the outer region.

In some embodiments, the discrete fiber packing clusters consist essentially of the plurality of fibers. In some embodiments, the discrete fiber packing clusters consist of the plurality of fibers. In some embodiments, the discrete clusters of fibrous filler consist essentially of the remainder of the bundle and the outer region. In some embodiments, the discrete clusters of fibrous filler consist of the remainder of the bundle and the outer region.

In some embodiments, the remainder of the bundle contains fewer fibers than the outer region. In some such embodiments, the remainder of the bundle contains at least 25% fewer fibers than the outer region. In some such embodiments, the remainder of the bundle contains at least 50% fewer fibers than the outer region. In some such embodiments, the remainder of the bundle contains at least 75% fewer fibers than the outer region.

In some embodiments, the remainder of the beam extends non-linearly along its length. In some embodiments, the remainder of the bundle is part of a length of filament yarn. In some such embodiments, the remainder of the bundle is part of a length of textured filament yarn. In some embodiments, the remainder of the bundle is part of a length of flat filament yarn.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers of the remainder of the bundle extend substantially parallel to each other along their longitudinal length. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers are non-deformed linear fibers. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers are deformed linear fibers. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers extend non-linearly along their longitudinal lengths. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers extend irregularly along their longitudinal lengths.

In some embodiments, some of the plurality of fibers of the outer region are entangled together, or are entangled with at least one fiber of the remainder of the bundle. In some such embodiments, less than about 50% of the plurality of fibers of the outer region are entangled together, or are entangled with at least one fiber of the remainder of the bundle. In some such embodiments, less than about 25% of the plurality of fibers of the outer region are entangled together, or are entangled with at least one fiber of the remainder of the bundle.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers of the outer region are twisted together, or with at least one fiber of the remainder of the bundle. In some such embodiments, less than about 50% of the plurality of fibers of the outer region are twisted together, or with at least one fiber of the remainder of the bundle. In some such embodiments, less than about 25% of the plurality of fibers of the outer region are twisted together, or with at least one fiber of the remainder of the bundle.

In some embodiments, the discrete fiber packing clusters comprise at least one bonding point, wherein at least some of the plurality of fibers are bonded together. In some such embodiments, the at least one bond point includes some fibers of the remaining portion and some fibers of the outer region. In some such embodiments, the at least one bond point includes only some fibers of the remaining portion and some fibers of the outer region.

In some embodiments, the fibrous filler clusters define a length, width and thickness, and wherein the length and the width are greater than the thickness. In some such embodiments, the length is greater than the width. In some embodiments, the fibrous filler clusters define a length, width, and thickness, and wherein the length is in the range of about 0.5 to about 6.5 cm (eg, about 0.90 to about 4 cm). In some embodiments, the fibrous filler clusters define a length, width, and thickness, and wherein the width is in the range of about 0.5 to about 6.5 cm (eg, about 0.70 to about 3 cm).

In some embodiments, the fibrous filler clusters define a substantially oval shape. In some embodiments, the fibrous filler clusters define a substantially spherical shape. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers have a Deny of about 0.7 to about 1.7 dpf. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers have substantially the same denier. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers of the bundle have a longitudinal length of about 20 to about 50 mm. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers of the remainder of the bundle have substantially the same longitudinal length. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers have substantially the same length. In some embodiments, the fibrous filler clusters have a density of about 0.08 to 0.70 mg/cm ³ (eg, about 0.10 to about 0.50 mg/cm ³ ). In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers comprises about 50 to about 500 fibers. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers comprises about 80 to about 300 fibers.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers are synthetic polymer fibers. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers are fibers selected from the group consisting of polyamide, polyester, polypropylene, polylactic acid (also known as polylactide) (PLA), poly(butyl acrylate) (PBA ), acrylic, acrylate, acetate, polyolefin, nylon, rayon, lyocell, polyaramid, spandex, viscose, and modal fibers, or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers are polyester fibers. In some such embodiments, the polyester fibers are selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), poly(hexahydro-xylylene terephthalate), polyethylene terephthalate Butylene glycol (PBT) fibers, polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) fibers, copolyester fibers (eg, copolyester fibers comprising PET structural units), or combinations thereof. In some such embodiments, the polyester fibers are PET fibers. In some embodiments, the fibers comprise recycled polymeric materials.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers comprise siliconized fibers. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers includes non-siliconized fibers. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers comprises solid fibers. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers comprise hollow fibers.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers is a length of mixed filament yarn having at least one mixing nip portion wherein the plurality of fibers are entangled with one another. After breaking to form the fibrous filler clusters, the mixing nip portion may be referred to as a mixing nip portion, or alternatively as a bundle remainder.

In a third aspect, the present invention provides another fibrous filler cluster (eg, discrete fibrous filler cluster) that can be prepared according to the first aspect of the invention. The discrete fiber packing cluster comprises a plurality of fibers randomly mixed with each other, the plurality of fibers comprises 25 to 3600 fibers, the fibers have a denier of 0.2 to 12.0 dpf and a length of 8 to 160 mm. The plurality of fibers are randomly and non-uniformly oriented relative to each other. The plurality of fibers form: at least one inner relatively densely distributed fiber region; and an outer relatively less densely distributed fiber region three-dimensionally extending outward from the at least one inner relatively densely distributed region. The discrete fibrous filler clusters have a length of 0.5 to 6.5 cm (e.g., about 0.90 to 4 cm), a width of 0.5 to 6.5 cm (e.g., about 0.70 to 3 cm), and 0.08 to 0.70 mg/cm ³ (e.g., about 0.10 to 0.50 cm). mg/cm ³ ).

In some embodiments, the fibrous filler cluster consists essentially of the plurality of fibers. In some embodiments, the discrete fiber packing clusters consist of the plurality of fibers. In some embodiments, the fibrous filler tuft consists essentially of the remainder of the bundle and the outer region. In some embodiments, the discrete clusters of fibrous filler consist of the remainder of the bundle and the outer region.

In some embodiments, the inner region contains fewer fibers than the outer region. In some such embodiments, the inner region contains at least 25% less fibers than the outer region. In some such embodiments, the inner region contains at least 50% less fibers than the outer region.

In some embodiments, the outer region contains fewer fibers than the inner region. In some such embodiments, the outer region contains at least 25% less fibers than the inner region. In some such embodiments, the outer region contains at least 50% less fibers than the inner region.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers extend non-linearly along their length. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers are non-deformed fibers. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers are deformed fibers.

In some embodiments, some of the plurality of fibers are entangled together. In some such embodiments, less than about 50% of the plurality of fibers are entangled together. In some such embodiments, less than about 25% of the plurality of fibers are entangled together.

In some embodiments of the fibrous filler clusters of the present invention, less than 70% (e.g., less than 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69 or 70%) of the plurality of fibers entangled together.

In some embodiments, some of the plurality of fibers are twisted together. In some such embodiments, less than about 50% of the plurality of fibers are twisted together. In some such embodiments, less than about 25% of the plurality of fibers are twisted together.

In some embodiments, the fiber packing clusters comprise at least one bonding point where at least some of the plurality of fibers are bonded together. In some such embodiments, the at least one bond point includes some fibers of the inner region and some fibers of the outer region. In some such embodiments, the at least one bond point includes only some fibers of the inner portion and some fibers of the outer region.

In some embodiments, the fibrous filler clusters define a length, width and thickness, and wherein the length and the width are greater than the thickness. In some such embodiments, the length is greater than the width. In some embodiments, the fibrous filler clusters define a length, width and thickness, and wherein the length is in the range of about 0.5 to 6.5 cm (eg, about 0.90 to about 4 cm). In some embodiments, the fibrous filler clusters define a length, width and thickness, and wherein the width is in the range of about 0.5 to 6.5 cm (eg, about 0.70 to about 3 cm).

In some embodiments, the fibrous filler clusters define a substantially oval shape. In some embodiments, the fibrous filler clusters define a substantially spherical shape.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers have a Deny of about 0.7 to about 1.7. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers have substantially the same denier.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers of the bundle have a longitudinal length of about 20 to about 50 mm. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers have substantially the same longitudinal length. In some embodiments, the fibrous filler clusters have a density of about 0.10 to about 0.50 mg/cm ³ . In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers comprises about 50 to about 500 fibers. In some such embodiments, the plurality of fibers comprises from about 80 to about 300 fibers.

PET結構單元 In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers are synthetic polymer fibers. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers are fibers selected from the group consisting of polyamide, polyester, polypropylene, polylactic acid (also known as polylactide) (PLA), poly(butyl acrylate) (PBA ), acrylic, acrylate, acetate, polyolefin, nylon, rayon, lyocell, polyaramid, spandex, viscose, and modal fibers, or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers are polyester fibers. In some such embodiments, the polyester fibers are selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), poly(hexahydro-xylylene terephthalate), polyethylene terephthalate Butylene glycol (PBT) fibers, polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) fibers, copolyester fibers (eg, copolyester fibers comprising PET structural units), or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, copolyester fibers comprising PET structural units relate to fibers made from polymer chains comprising PET structural units as shown below and one or more (eg, one) other non-PET polyester structural units.

PET structure unit

In some such embodiments, the polyester fibers are PET fibers. In some embodiments, the fibers comprise recycled polymeric materials.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers comprise siliconized fibers. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers includes non-siliconized fibers. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers comprises solid fibers. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers comprise hollow fibers.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers is a length of mixed filament yarn having at least one mixing nip portion wherein the plurality of fibers are entangled with one another. In such embodiments, the mixing nip portion represents the at least one interior region of relatively densely distributed fibers.

In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides an insulating or filling material comprising a plurality of fibrous filler clusters according to the second and/or third aspects of the invention, which may be made from the first aspect of the invention.

In some embodiments, the insulating or filling material consists essentially of fibrous filler clusters according to the second and/or third aspects of the invention. In some embodiments, the insulating or filling material consists essentially of fibrous filler clusters according to the second aspect of the invention. In some embodiments, the insulating or filling material consists essentially of fibrous filler clusters according to the third aspect of the invention. In some embodiments, the insulating or filling material consists of fibrous filler clusters according to the second and/or third aspects of the present invention. In some embodiments, the insulating or filling material consists of fibrous filler clusters according to the second aspect of the invention. In some embodiments, the insulating or filling material consists of fibrous filler clusters according to the third aspect of the invention.

In some embodiments, the insulating or filling material comprises a plurality of first discrete fibrous filler clusters according to the second aspect of the present invention, and a plurality of second discrete fibrous filler clusters according to the third aspect of the present invention.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fiber-packing clusters includes a first fiber-packing cluster formed from fibers having a first length and a second fiber-packing cluster formed from fibers having a second length different from the first length. In some embodiments, the plurality of fiber tufts includes a first tuft formed from a first total number of fibers and a second tuft formed from a second total number of fibers different from the first total number of fibers. In some embodiments, the plurality of fiber filler clusters includes a first fiber filler cluster formed from fibers of a first synthetic material and a second fiber filler cluster formed from fibers of a second synthetic material different from the first synthetic material cluster. In some embodiments, the plurality of fiber-filling clusters includes a first fiber-filling cluster formed from fibers having a first denier and a second fiber forming from fibers having a second denier different from the first denier filler clusters.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fiber filler clusters includes fiber filler clusters of a first size and fiber filler clusters of a second size different from the first size. In some embodiments, the plurality of fiber filler clusters includes fiber filler clusters of a first three-dimensional shape and fiber filler clusters of a second three-dimensional shape different from the first three-dimensional shape. In some embodiments, the plurality of fiber-filler clusters includes fiber-filler clusters in a first density range and fiber-filler clusters in a second density range different from and not overlapping with the first density range cluster.

In a fifth aspect, the invention provides an article comprising a plurality of insulating or filling materials according to the fourth aspect of the invention. In some embodiments, the article is selected from footwear, outerwear, clothing, sleeping bags, and bedding.

Certain embodiments of the fibrous filler clusters, articles comprising the clusters, and methods of making the clusters disclosed herein have several features, no single one of which is solely responsible for their desirable properties. Without limiting the scope of the fibrous filler clusters, articles and methods as defined by the appended claims, their more salient features will now be briefly discussed. After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading the section of this specification entitled "Description of Embodiments," one will understand how the features of various specific examples disclosed herein provide several advantages over the prior art. For example, embodiments of the fibrous filler tufts of the present invention can be blown on conventional blowing equipment and emulate the properties of down. Incorporating specific examples of the fibrous filler clusters of the present invention into an article results in the resulting article having increased softness that is felt by the hand or skin compared to other prior attempts at synthetic down products. Articles comprising specific examples of the disclosed fibrous filler clusters may include improved filling capabilities, resulting in improved thermal performance, improved blow-off efficiency, and improved wash durability compared to other prior attempts at synthetic down products. This particular example of fiberfill tufts can also be configured for use by conventional blowing equipment without clogging or other loading issues commonly encountered with other synthetic down materials.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of various aspects of the invention when taken in conjunction with the appended claims and accompanying drawings.

Aspects of the invention and some of its features, advantages and details are explained more fully below with reference to non-limiting specific examples shown in the accompanying drawings. Descriptions of well-known materials, fabrication tools, processing techniques, etc. are omitted so as not to unnecessarily obscure the details of the present invention. It should be understood, however, that the description and the specific example(s), while indicating specific examples of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, not limitation. Various alternatives, modifications, additions and/or arrangements within the spirit and/or scope of the basic inventive concepts will be apparent to those with ordinary knowledge in the art to which the invention pertains from the disclosure herein.

In one aspect, the disclosure herein provides a method of preparing or manufacturing one or more clusters of fibrous filler, which surprisingly and/or unexpectedly Density and other properties are very close to down, while offering improved wash fastness compared to down.

As shown in Figure 1, the method may include obtaining a discrete bundle 10 having a plurality of 25 to 3600 fibers having a denier of 0.2 to 12.0 and a length of 8 to 160 mm, the plurality of fibers 12 being longitudinally lined up (i.e. along their length). The method further comprises disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers 12 of the bundle 10 such that they are three-dimensionally irregularly extended and mixed to form discrete fiber packing clusters 1 as shown in FIGS. 6 to 26 .

In some embodiments, obtaining the bundle comprises cutting the bundle 10 from the yarn or tow of the fibers 12 . For example, the yarn or tow may be coiled or otherwise comprised of a number of continuous bundles that are cut or otherwise separated from the yarn or tow. In this way, many bundles 10 can be formed from the yarn or tow.

In some embodiments, disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers 12 of the bundle 10 disrupts the longitudinal alignment of only some of the plurality of fibers 12 of the bundle 10 such that the longitudinal alignment of the bundle remainder 16 of the bundle 10 A plurality of fibers 12 are kept longitudinally aligned in the formed fiber tuft 1 , as shown for example in FIGS. 6 to 9 , 14 , 15 and 20 to 26 . In such embodiments, the disruption also disrupts the longitudinal alignment of some of the plurality of fibers 12 of the bundle 10 such that they intermingle with and extend irregularly three-dimensionally outwardly from the remaining portion 16 of the fibers 12, As shown in Figures 6 to 9, 14, 15 and 20 to 26. The fibers 12 extending three-dimensionally irregularly from the remainder 16 thus form an outer region 18 extending outwardly from the remainder 16 of the bundle. The remaining portion 16 of the bundle may contain a higher density of fibers 12 (ie more densely distributed fibers 12 or portions thereof) than the outer region.

In some other embodiments, disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers 12 of the bundle 10 comprises disrupting the longitudinal alignment of all of the plurality of fibers 12 of the bundle 10 such that substantially all of the plurality of fibers 12 are The fibers remain aligned longitudinally together in the formed fiber tuft 1 as shown in FIGS. 10 to 13 and 16 to 29 . In some such embodiments, disrupting the longitudinal arrangement of substantially all of the plurality of fibers 12 of the bundle 10 forms at least one inner relatively densely distributed three-dimensional fiber region 14, and from the at least one inner relatively densely distributed region 14 an outer relatively less densely distributed region 18 of fibers 16 extending three-dimensionally outward.

As shown in FIG. 4A , the plurality of fibers 12 of the bundle 10 may not be mechanically connected or bonded together. Rather, the fibers 12 of the bundle 10 can intermingle and the natural forces and/or alignment of the fibers 12 from the yarn or tow preparation or process can act to hold the fibers 12 of the bundle 10 12 arranged together.

In some other embodiments, the at least some of the fibers 12 of the bundle 10 may be bonded together at bonding points or regions 22 as shown in FIG. 4B . For example, the method may comprise, prior to the breaking, bonding at least some of the plurality of fibers 12 of the bundle 10 together at at least one point 22 along the longitudinal direction of the bundle 10/the fibers 12 to form At least one bonding point 22 . In some such embodiments, the bonding is performed by heating at least some of the plurality of fibers 12 at the at least one point such that the fibers adhere or bond together at the at least one bonding point. In some such embodiments, heating at least some of the plurality of fibers 12 at the at least one point comprises causing the plurality of fibers 12 to contact a material or member at the at least one point at a temperature above the melting temperature of the fibers 12 touch. The bonding point 22 can be formed by any acceptable means (eg, using hot metal, ultrasonic bonding, laser treatment, soldering iron, hot air jet, etc.). In some other embodiments, the bonding point 22 may be formed by glue, adhesive, or other materials used to connect or bond the fibers together. It should be noted that although a single bond point 22 is shown in the exemplary fiber bundle 10 in FIG. 4B , the fiber bundle 10 may include two or more bond points 22 . In some embodiments, the size of the bonding point 22 is 0.10 to 0.50 mm (eg, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25, 0.30, 0.35, 0.40, 0.45, or 0.50 mm), including any and all ranges and subranges therein.

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B , in some embodiments, disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers 12 of the bundle 10 comprises positioning the bundle 10 between the joint sides 32 of at least one pair of disrupting members 30, making the breaking sides 32 contact the bundle 10, and translating the at least one first breaking member 30 relative to the at least one second breaking member 30 along a path along the longitudinal length of the fibers 12 of the bundle 10 Extending longitudinally and extending laterally along a lateral direction oriented perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction. In some such embodiments, the distance between the failure sides 32 remains substantially constant during the failure. However, the failure sides 32 may move together or apart during the failure. In some such embodiments, at least one of the disruptive members 30 can translate along an arcuate path at least a portion of the time and/or along a linear or rectilinear path at least a portion of the time. In some such embodiments, at least one disruptive member 30 is translatable along an elliptical path at least a portion of the time. In some embodiments, at least one disruptive member 30 translates along a random orbital pattern at least a portion of the time.

The engagement sides 32 of at least one of the breaching members 30 may be substantially flat and smooth surfaces. In some embodiments, the engagement side 32 may comprise a substantially planar array of particles or protrusions extending outward/inward towards the bundle 10 for picking up or grasping or otherwise contacting the bundle 10. The longitudinal alignment of the fibers 12 of the bundle 10 is disrupted by the fibers 12 . In some other embodiments (not shown), disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers 12 of the bundle 10 includes subjecting the bundle 10 to at least one gas and/or liquid flow. The disrupting method of disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers 12 of the bundle 10 (and thus rearranging the fibers 12) may comprise rubbing the bundle 10, grinding the bundle 10, grinding the bundle 10, polishing the bundle 10, Or subject the beam to gas and/or liquid flow, or a combination thereof.

It should be noted that this breaking method removes some of the one or more fibers 12 of the bundle 10 without entanglement of the fibers 12 into the fibrous packing tuft 1 . In other words, one or more fibers 12 of the bundle 10 may be destroyed without becoming entangled with other fibers forming the fibrous packing tuft 1 . Similarly, one or more fibers 12 that were separated from another bundle 10 during the breaking can be included (i.e., entangled) with the fibers 10 of the other bundle 10 and bonded to the fibrous packing cluster thus formed 1 in. Thus, the breaking method may comprise adding at least one additional fiber to the plurality of fibers 12 or removing/eliminating fibers from the plurality of fibers 12 .

The effect of this disruption is to entangle the plurality of fibers 12 together and form the fibrous packing cluster. As used herein, the terms "mixed" and the like refer to fibers that cross each other or extend past each other at least once (ie, mixed fibers cross one other fiber at least once). In some embodiments, the disruption also acts to entangle at least some of the disrupted fibers 12 together. The terms "entangled" and the like refer herein to fibers that cross each other and surround or entangle at least once (ie, entangled fibers cross at least once and surround or entangle at least one other fiber). In some such embodiments, less than about 50% of the disrupted fibers are entangled with at least one other fiber. In some such embodiments, less than about 25% of the disrupted fibers are entangled with at least one other fiber. In some embodiments, the disruption also acts to twist at least some of the disrupted fibers 12 together. The terms "twisting" and the like herein relate to fibers that cross each other and surround or wrap more than once (ie twist fibers cross and wrap or wrap at least one other fiber more than once). In some such embodiments, less than about 50% of the disrupted fibers 12 are twisted with at least one other fiber. In some such embodiments, less than about 25% of the disrupted fibers 12 are twisted with at least one other fiber.

As shown in Figure 3, the plurality of fibers 12 of the bundle 10 may extend substantially linearly along its longitudinal length. The plurality of fibers 12 of the bundle 10 may extend substantially parallel to each other along their longitudinal length. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers of the bundle are non-deformed linear fibers, as shown in FIG. 3 .

In some other embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, the plurality of fibers 12 of bundle 10 may extend non-linearly along its longitudinal length. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers of the bundle extend irregularly along its longitudinal length, as shown in FIG. 2 . For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the plurality of fibers 12 of the bundle may be deformed fibers. Texturing techniques are well known in the art and typically disrupt fiber/filament parallelization. Such techniques can be used, for example, to increase bulk without adding weight, which can make the resulting fibers appear lighter in weight, have improved hand (softness), appear more opaque, and/or have improved temperature insulating properties. Examples of texturing methods to which the fibers 12 in the bundle 10 and the discrete fibrous filler clusters 1 of the present invention may be subjected include crimping, looping, coiling, although any art-accepted texturing method may be employed. Creping, twisting followed by untwisting, and knitting followed by unknitting. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers 12 of the bundle 10 and/or the discrete fibrous filler clusters 1 formed therefrom comprise, based on the total weight of the plurality of fibers 12, from 0 to 100 wt% (e.g., 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 or 100 wt%) Modified fibers of , including any and all ranges and subranges therein.

In some embodiments (e.g., embodiments using filament yarns, such as mixed filament yarns), the present invention provides a method of making a fibrous filler cluster comprising: A bundle is obtained from a filament yarn, the bundle comprising a plurality of 25 to 3600 fibers having a denier of 0.2 to 12.0 and a length of 8 to 51 mm, the plurality of fibers being arranged longitudinally together, the fibers having a mixing nip section wherein the plurality of fibers are entangled with each other; and The bundle is subjected to a treatment to break the plurality of fibers adjacent the mixing nip portion to form at least one outer region of fibers extending three-dimensionally outwardly from the mixing nip portion to form the fiber packing cluster.

As used herein, fibers "aligned longitudinally together" refers to fibers extending in the same direction as one another, whether straight, twisted, etc. The term includes both textured and non-textured fibers, and likewise encompasses such fibers of filament yarns (including mixed filament yarns having nip portions therein). For example, the mixed filament yarn shown in Figures 27 and 33A and the bundle shown in Figure 29 both have fibers aligned longitudinally together.

Subjecting the bundle to disrupt the plurality of fibers comprises disrupting the parallelization/alignment of fibers adjacent to the nip portion in any manner such that the fibers are no longer longitudinally aligned and extend three-dimensionally outward from the nip. For example, in some embodiments, disrupting the plurality of fibers adjacent the nip includes subjecting the bundle to at least one flow of gas and/or liquid. In some embodiments, the breaking method may include rubbing the beam, grinding the beam, grinding the beam, polishing the beam, or using a gas and/or liquid (e.g., a stream of gas such as air, and/or a liquid, or using a gas and/or other treatment of the liquid) subjecting the bundle to treatment, or a combination thereof.

After reading the disclosure herein, one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains will be able to readily select equipment capable of disrupting the plurality of fibers (e.g., filaments) in the bundle, and it is contemplated that any and all such equipment may be used in the present invention. in the invented method. For example, non-limiting machines that may be used include fiber or fine openers such as Masias Maquinaria SL's (hereinafter referred to as "Masias") Opener AD-160-TP, OCTIR Fine Opener, Rolando Bale Opener, Masias Recycling openers, TGB openers - Garnett, Trützschler Bale openers), fiber ball forming machines (eg Bolcard or CMM ball fiber forming machines from Masias), etc.

In some embodiments, subjecting the bundle to a treatment to destroy the plurality of fibers adjacent the mixing nip portion comprises subjecting the bundle to: – opener processing; – garnet machine treatment; or – Air treatment.

In some embodiments, subjecting the tow to air treatment comprises subjecting the tow to air tumbling, which can occur in a variety of ways, including, for example, air tumbling in a tumbler, in a Lorch or modified Lorch machine, or in other equipment. Non-limiting examples of air tumbling include, for example, those described in WO 2017/058986 and US Patent Nos. 6,613,431, 4,618,531 and 4,794,038.

The plurality of fibers 12 may be crimped or uncrimped. Various crimps, including helical crimps and standard crimps, are known in the art, and it is contemplated that any desired crimp may be present where the fibers are crimped. The plurality of fibers 12 in the bundle 10 and/or the discrete fibrous filler clusters 1 formed therefrom may comprise, based on the total weight of the plurality of fibers 12, from 0 to 100 wt% (e.g., 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 or 100 wt%) of crimped fibers, Any and all ranges and subranges therein are included.

In some embodiments, the bundle 10 of the plurality of longitudinally aligned fibers 12 has a denier of 30 to 500 (e.g., 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 , 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67 , 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92 ,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,110,111,112,113,114,115,116,117 ,118,119,120,121,122,123,124,125,126,127,128,129,130,131,132,133,134,135,136,137,138,139,140,141,142 ,143,144,145,146,147,148,149,150,151,152,153,154,155,156,157,158,159,160,161,162,163,164,165,16,167 ,168,169,170,171,172,173,174,175,176,177,178,179,180,181,182,183,184,185,186,187,188,189,190,191,192 ,193,194,195,196,197,198,199,200,201,202,203,204,205,206,207,208,209,210,211,212,213,214,215,216,217 ,218,219,220,221,222,223,224,225,226,227,228,229,230,231,232,233,234,235,236,237,238,239,240,241,242 ,243,244,245,246,247,248,249,250,251,252,253,254,255,256,257,258,259,260,261,262,263,264,265,266,267 ,268,269,270,271,272,273,274,275,276,277,278,279,280,281,282,283,284,285,286,287,288,289,290,291,292 ,293,294,295,296,297,298,299,300,301,302,303,304,305,306,307,308,309,310,311,312,313,314,315,316,317 ,318,319,320,321,322,323,324,325,326,327,328,329,330,331,332,333,334,335,336,337,338,339,340,341,342 ,343,344,345,346,347,348,349,350,351,352,353,354,355,356,357,358,359,360,361,362,363,364,365,366,367 ,368,369,370,371,372,373,374,375,376,377,378,379,380,381,382,383,384,385,386,387,388,389,390,391,392 ,393,394,395,396,397,398,399,400,401,402,403,404,405,406,407,408,409,410,411,412,413,414,415,416,417 ,418,419,420,421,422,423,424,425,426,427,428,429,430,431,432,433,434,435,436,437,438,439,440,441,442 ,443,444,445,446,447,448,449,450,451,452,453,454,455,456,457,458,459,460,461,462,463,464,465,466,467 ,468,469,470,471,472,473,474,475,476,477,478,479,480,481,482,483,484,485,486,487,488,489,490,491,492 , 493, 494, 495, 496, 497, 498, 499 or 500 deniers), including all ranges and subranges therein. Denny is a unit of measurement defined as the weight (in grams) of 9000 meters of fiber or yarn. This is a common way of specifying fiber or yarn weight (or size). For example, a 1.0 denier polyester fiber typically has a diameter of about 10 microns (mm). Micro denier fibers are those having a denier of 1.0 or less, while coarse denier fibers have a denier greater than 1.0.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers 12 have a Deny of 0.2 to 12 (e.g., 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, 7.9, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8, 8.9, 9.0, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, 9.5, 9.6, 9.7, 9.8, 9.9, 10.0, 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, 10.5, 10.6, 10.7, 10.8, 10.9, 11.0, 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 11.4, 11.5, 11.6, 11.7, 11.8, 11.9, or 12.0 deniers), including any and all ranges and subranges therein (e.g., 0.2 to 10.0 deniers, 0.5 to 8.0 deniers, 0.6 to 5.0 deniers, 0.7 to 3.0 deniers, 0.7 to 1.7 Danny, etc.).

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers 12 have an average Deny of 0.2 to 12 (e.g., 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6 ,1.7,1.8,1.9,2.0,2.1,2.2,2.3,2.4,2.5,2.6,2.7,2.8,2.9,3.0,3.1,3.2,3.3,3.4,3.5,3.6,3.7,3.8,3.9,4.0,4.1 , 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6 , 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, 7.9, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8, 8.9, 9.0, 9.1 , 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, 9.5, 9.6, 9.7, 9.8, 9.9, 10.0, 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, 10.5, 10.6, 10.7, 10.8, 10.9, 11.0, 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 11.4, 11.5, 11.6 , 11.7, 11.8, 11.9 or 12.0 deniers), including any and all ranges and subranges therein (eg, 0.5 to 8.0 deniers, 0.6 to 5.0 deniers, 0.7 to 3.0 deniers, 0.7 to 1.7 deniers, etc.).

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers 12 in the bundle 10 and/or the discrete fiber filler clusters formed therefrom comprise, based on the total weight of the plurality of fibers 12: 0 to 100 wt % (e.g., 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 or 100 wt%) micro-denier polymer fibers 12 having a denier less than or equal to 1.0 (eg, 0.4 to 1.0 denier, such as 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, or 1.0 denier); and 0 to 100 wt% ( For example 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 , 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49 , 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74 , 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 or 100 wt%) coarse denier polymer fibers 12 having a denier greater than 1.0 (eg, 1.1 to 15.0 denier, such as 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, 7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 8.5, 9.0, 9.5, 10.0, 10.5, 11.0, 11.5, 12.0, 12.5, 13.0, 13.5, 14.0, 14.5, or 15.0 denier).

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers 12 of bundle 10 have a Deny of about 0.7 to about 1.7. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers 12 of bundle 10 have substantially the same denier. In some other embodiments, the plurality of fibers 12 of bundle 10 have at least two different deniers.

In some embodiments, the bundle 10 and/or the discrete fiber packing clusters made therefrom can comprise from 25 to 3600 individual fibers (e.g., 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190, 200, 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 270, 280, 290, 300, 310, 320, 330, 340, 350, 360, 370, 380, 390, 400, 410, 420, 430, 440, 450, 460, 470, 480, 490, 500, 510, 520, 530, 540, 550, 560, 570, 580, 590, 600, 610, 620, 630, 640, 650, 660, 670, 680, 690, 700, 710, 720, 730, 740, 750, 760, 770, 780, 790, 800, 810, 820, 830, 840, 850, 860, 870, 880, 890, 900, 910, 920, 930, 940, 950, 960, 970, 980, 990, 1000, 1010, 1020, 1030, 1040, 1050, 1060, 1070, 1080, 1090, 1100, 1110, 1120, 1130, 1140, 1150, 1160, 1170, 1180, 1190, 1200, 1210, 1220, 1230, 1240, 1250, 1260, 1270, 1280, 1290, 1300, 1310, 1320, 1330, 1340, 1350, 1 360, 1370, 1380, 1390, 1400, 1410, 1420, 1430, 1440, 1450, 1460, 1470, 1480, 1490, 1500, 1510, 1520, 1530, 1540, 1550, 1560, 1570, 1580, 1590, 1600, 1 610、 1620, 1630, 1640, 1650, 1660, 1670, 1680, 1690, 1700, 1710, 1720, 1730, 1740, 1750, 1760, 1770, 1780, 1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1 860, 1870, 1880, 1890, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020, 2030, 2040, 2050, 2060, 2070, 2080, 2090, 2100, 2 110、 2120, 2130, 2140, 2150, 2160, 2170, 2180, 2190, 2200, 2210, 2220, 2230, 2240, 2250, 2260, 2270, 2280, 2290, 2300, 2310, 2320, 2330, 2340, 2350, 2 360, 2370, 2380, 2390, 2400, 2410, 2420, 2430, 2440, 2450, 2460, 2470, 2480, 2490, 2500, 2510, 2520, 2530, 2540, 2550, 2560, 2570, 2580, 2590, 2600, 2 610、 2620, 2630, 2640, 2650, 2660, 2670, 2680, 2690, 2700, 2710, 2720, 2730, 2740, 2750, 2760, 2770, 2780, 2790, 2800, 2810, 2820, 2830, 2840, 2850, 2 860, 2870, 2880, 2890, 2900, 2910, 2920, 2930, 2940, 2950, 2960, 2970, 2980, 2990, 3000, 3010, 3020, 3030, 3040, 3050, 3060, 3070, 3080, 3090, 3100, 3 110、 3120, 3130, 3140, 3150, 3160, 3170, 3180, 3190, 3200, 3210, 3220, 3230, 3240, 3250, 3260, 3270, 3280, 3290, 3300, 3310, 3320, 3330, 3340, 3350, 3 360, 3370, 3380, 3390, 3400, 3410, 3420, 3430, 3440, 3450, 3460, 3470, 3480, 3490, 3500, 3510, 3520, 3530, 3540, 3550, 3560, 3570, 3580, 3590, or 3600 fibers ) , including any and all ranges and subranges therein (eg, 50 to 500 fibers, 80 to 300 fibers, etc.).

In some embodiments, discrete bundles 10 include about 25 to 3600 fibers 12 . In some embodiments, discrete bundles 10 contain from about 50 to about 500 fibers. In some embodiments, discrete bundles 10 contain from about 80 to about 300 fibers. As mentioned above, due to the nature or mechanics of the failure method, the fibrous packing cluster 1 formed from the bundle 10 may comprise a number of fibers 12 more than the bundle 10 forming the fibrous packing cluster 1, or more fibers 12 than the fiber packing cluster 1 formed. The bundle 10 has a few fibers 12 missing.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers 12 of the bundle 10 and/or the fibrous filler clusters 1 formed therefrom have a length of 8 to 160 mm (e.g., 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159 or 160 mm), including any and all ranges therein and Subranges (eg 8 to 75 mm, 15 to 115 mm, 20 to 50 mm, etc.). In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers 12 of bundle 10 and/or tufts 1 formed therefrom have a longitudinal length of about 20 to about 50 mm. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers 12 of bundle 10 and/or tufts 1 formed therefrom have substantially the same longitudinal length.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers comprises polymeric fibers.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers comprises synthetic polymer fibers. The selection of suitable polymeric materials for the polymeric fibers in the clusters of discrete fibrous fillers 1 of the present invention is within the purview of one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains, and it is contemplated that any such material may be used in embodiments of the present invention middle. However, in certain embodiments, the non-exclusive polymers that can be used for the polymer fibers are selected from nylon, polyester, polypropylene, polylactic acid (PLA), polybutyl acrylate (PBA), polyamide (such as nylon nylon/polyamide 6.6, polyamide 6, polyamide 4, polyamide 11, and polyamide 6.10, etc.), acrylic, acetate, polyolefin, rayon, lyocell, polyaramid, Elastane, viscose, modal, biopolymer fibers such as polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), poly(hydroxybutyrate-covalerate) (PHBV), and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the fiber comprises poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), poly(hexahydro-xylylene terephthalate), poly(butylene terephthalate) ) (PBT), poly-1,4-cyclohexylene dimethylene (PCDT), polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT), and copolyesters such as terephthalate copolyesters, wherein at least 30 mol% (e.g. at least 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84 or 85 mol%) of the ester units are ethylene terephthalate or hexahydro-xylylene terephthalate units.

In some embodiments, the fibers 12 comprise virgin polymeric material. In some embodiments, the fibers 12 comprise recycled polymeric materials, such as post consumer recycled (PCR) polymeric materials.

In the fibers of the plurality of fibers 12, 0 to 100 wt% (for example 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 , 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 , 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65 , 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90 , 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 or 100 wt%) can be siliconized, including any and all ranges and subranges therein (eg, 0%, 50%, 100%, etc.).

Siliconization techniques are well known in the art. The term "siliconized" means that the fibers are coated with a silicon-containing composition (eg, polysiloxane). Siliconization techniques are well known in the art and are described, for example, in US Patent No. 3,454,422. The silicon-containing composition can be applied using any method known in the art, such as spraying, mixing, dipping, padding, and the like. A silicon-containing (eg, polysiloxane) composition, which may include organosiloxanes or polysiloxanes, is bonded to the outer portion of the fiber. In some embodiments, the silicone coating is a polysiloxane, such as methylhydrogenpolysiloxane, modified methylhydrogenpolysiloxane, polydimethylsiloxane, or amine Modified dimethylpolysiloxane. As is known in the art, the silicon-containing composition may be applied directly to the fiber, or may be diluted with a solvent as a solution or emulsion, such as an aqueous emulsion of polysiloxane, prior to application. After treatment, the coating can be allowed to dry and/or cure. As known in the art, catalysts can be used to accelerate the curing of the silicon-containing composition (e.g., polysiloxane containing Si-H bonds), and for convenience, the catalyst can be added to the silicon-containing composition emulsion , and the resulting combination is used to treat the synthetic fibers. Suitable catalysts include iron, cobalt, manganese, lead, zinc and tin salts of carboxylic acids such as acetates, octanoates, naphthenates and oleates. In some embodiments, after siliconization, the fibers can be dried to remove residual solvent, and then optionally heated to between 65° and 200°C for curing.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers 12 of the bundle 10 and/or the discrete fibrous filler clusters 1 formed therefrom comprise, based on the total weight of the plurality of fibers 12, from 0 to 100 wt% (e.g., 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 or 100 wt%) polymer fibers containing one or more additives (e.g., aerogels, as described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2018-0313001; microcapsules, as described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2020-0141029, etc.), Any and all ranges and subranges therein are included.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers comprises, based on the total weight of the plurality of fibers, 0 to 100 wt % (eg, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 , 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 , 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60 , 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85 , 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 or 100 wt %) fibers doped with desired chemicals, including any and all of them Ranges and subranges. As used herein, the term "doped" refers to the presence of one or more desired dopants (which may also be referred to as chemicals) that have been incorporated into the fiber (eg, within the polymer matrix of the polymer fiber). In some embodiments, the dopants/chemicals are uniformly dispersed within the fiber matrix.

Desired fiber surface chemistries are known in the art. While embodiments of the invention include fibers having surface chemicals applied to their surfaces, such as siliconization as described above, the plurality of fibers may also (and/or alternatively) be formed to include the desired chemical therein. substance. For example, in some embodiments, the plurality of fibers have been doped with durable water repellency (DWR) and/or polysiloxane chemistries. This can be done, for example, by adding desired chemicals to the liquid polymer during melt spinning after the liquid polymer passes through the spinneret and before forming fibers, and/or by making one of the plurality of fibers form or multiple polymer functionalizations.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers are doped with DWR chemistry and thus have certain desirable performance attributes. For example, in some embodiments, DWR-doped fibers have surfaces that remain dry and/or have a high coefficient of friction ideal for the fiber clusters, but also have low water absorption of less than 150 wt% for hygrothermal performance. efficiency and/or improved wash resistance.

Binder fibers are well known in the art and typically have a bonding temperature that is lower than the softening temperature of one or more of the other polymeric fiber components in the product (eg, fiberfill). In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers 12 of the bundle 10 and/or the discrete fibrous filler clusters 1 formed therefrom contain no binder fibers (i.e., no binder fibers), or contain less than 5 wt% binder fibers (eg, less than 5 wt. , 4, 3, 2 or 1 wt%).

The fibers used in the plurality of fibers 12 may have any desired cross-sectional shape (eg, circular or otherwise).

The plurality of fibers 12 may comprise, based on the total weight of the plurality of fibers 12, 0 to 100 wt% (such as 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 or 100 wt %) of solid fibers, including any and all ranges and subranges therein. The plurality of fibers 12 may comprise, based on the total weight of the plurality of fibers 12, 0 to 100 wt% (such as 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 or 100 wt %), including any and all ranges and subranges therein. In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers 23 comprise easily splittable fibers.

Embodiments of the fibrous packing clusters of the present invention are blowable using conventional equipment, or simply "blown". "Blownable" is a term commonly used in the textile industry, and those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains will readily understand what "blownable using conventional equipment" means. The term "blowable" refers to materials that are readily processed by conventional blowing (or "blow-injection") equipment and injected as insulation therefrom into articles such as pockets, channels or barriers of clothing, bedding, sleeping bags, etc. board) capabilities. For example, the lightweight, discrete structure of down and specific instances of the inventive fiberfill clusters make them well suited for blowing using conventional equipment, whereas many other fiberfill materials would clump, stick to each other, clog conventional equipment, or cause other processing Difficult and therefore not blowable. Determining whether a material is blowable or not is well within the capabilities of those skilled in the textile industry, and if questions of blowability exist, they are readily answered by testing the material on conventional equipment. Conventional blowing equipment is described, for example, in US Patent No. 6,329,051. According to the disclosure of U.S. Patent No. 6,329,051, traditional equipment for blow molding generally includes a blow molding system with a function for material uptake (for example by a metering system, which can be obtained from, for example, a tank (such as a mixing tank) A device (such as a pipe) that receives material). Blowable materials can be readily used in devices for material uptake without clogging or causing other problems, such as excessive antistatic properties. Next, the material is blown to its intended destination via nozzles. It is well known in the art that a material is not "conventional blowable" (or "blowable") if it cannot be processed on the conventional blow molding equipment used for the article.

The fibrous filler clusters 1 may generally at least form regular or irregular shapes. It has been found that the configuration of the longitudinal alignment destruction method (such as the amount of time of the destruction, the mechanism of the destruction, and the mode of the destruction) and the configuration of the bundle 10 (such as the number of fibers 12, the number of fibers 12 texture/non-texture and the length of the fibers 12) may affect the shape of the tufts 1 after formation. For example, as shown in Figures 6 to 26, the fibrous filler tufts 1 may have an elongated shape, such as oval or elliptical. In some embodiments, the fibrous filler clusters 1 can have a substantially spherical shape.

In some embodiments, the fiber filler clusters 1 can define a length L1, a width W1 and a thickness T1. Since the fibrous packing clusters 1 are formed by protruding or elongated fibers 12, the fibers can be defined by their furthest length, and by the average length of the fibers 12, or an approximation of the average length of the fibers. Dimensions of packing cluster 1. For example, the size of the fibrous packing clusters 1 can be measured by ignoring 3, 5, 10 or 15 fibers 12 extending to the furthest extent along a particular dimension or direction.

In some embodiments, the length L1 and the width W1 may be greater than the thickness T1, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 . In some such embodiments, the length L1 may be greater than the width W1, as also shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 . In some embodiments, the discrete fiber filler clusters 1 may have a diameter of 0.5 cm to 6.5 cm (eg, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4 or 6.5 cm), including Any and all ranges and subranges (eg 0.90 to 4 cm).

In some specific examples, the fiber filler cluster 1 may have a thickness of 0.5 cm to 6.5 cm (eg, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 2.0 ,2.1,2.2,2.3,2.4,2.5,2.6,2.7,2.8,2.9,3.0,3.1,3.2,3.3,3.4,3.5,3.6,3.7,3.8,3.9,4.0,4.1,4.2,4.3,4.4,4.5 , 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4 or 6.5 cm), including any and all ranges and subranges (eg 0.70 to 3 cm).

In some embodiments, the fiber filler clusters may have a diameter of 0.70 to 4 cm (e.g., 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 , 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9 or 4.0 cm), including any and all of them Ranges and subranges. In some embodiments, the fibrous filler tufts 1 can define a length L1 ranging from about 0.90 to about 4 cm. In some embodiments, the fibrous filler tufts 1 can define a width L1 ranging from about 0.70 to about 3 cm.

In some specific examples, the fiber packing cluster 1 of the present invention may have a thickness of 0.125 to 12 cm ³ (for example, 0.125, 0.15, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, 7.9, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8, 8.9, 9.0, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, 9.5, 9.6, 9.7, 9.8, 9.9, 10.0, 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, 10.5, 10.6, 10.7, 10.8, 10.9, 11.0, 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 11.4, 11.5, 11.6, 11.7, 11.8, 11.9 or 12.0 cm ³ ), including any and all ranges and subranges therein (eg, 0.80 to 12 cm ³ ).

In some embodiments, the discrete fibrous filler clusters of the present invention can have from 0.2 to 3 mg (e.g., 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6 , 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9 or 3.0 mg), including any and all ranges and subranges therein.

In some embodiments, the discrete fibrous filler clusters of the present invention may have a concentration of 0.08 cm to 0.70 mg/cm ⁽ e.g., 0.08, 0.09, 0.10, 0.11, 0.12, 0.13, 0.14, 0.15, 0.16, 0.17, 0.18, 0.19, 0.20 , 0.21, 0.22, 0.23, 0.24, 0.25, 0.26, 0.27, 0.28, 0.29, 0.30, 0.31, 0.32, 0.33, 0.34, 0.35, 0.36, 0.37, 0.38, 0.39, 0.40, 0.41, 0.42, 0.43, 0.44, 0.45 or 0.70 mg/cm ³ ), including any and all ranges and subranges therein (eg, 0.10 to 0.50 mg/cm ³ ).

As shown in Figures 6-9, 14, 15 and 20-26, in one aspect disclosed herein, there is provided a discrete fibrous packing cluster 1 of the present invention comprising the remaining portion 16 and the outer region 18. As mentioned above, the remaining portion 16 of the tufts 1 is part of the bundle 10 of fibers 12 after some of its fibers 12 have been destroyed or removed from the bundle 10 (via the breaking method). As such, the remainder 16 is the remainder of the bundle 10 itself. It should be noted, however, that the shape, size and/or configuration of the bundle 10 can be modified by the breaking method to form the remaining portion 16 . For example, the breaking method may bend or shape the beam 10 into non-linear shapes, such as the various non-linear shapes shown in FIGS. 6-9, 14, 15 and 20-26. In some embodiments, however, remaining portion 16 may extend substantially linearly (along its longitudinal length). As another example, the breaking method may act to spread the bundle 10 such that its fibers 12 are less tightly packed or closely positioned/spaced than a pre-broken bundle 10 . For example, as shown in Figures 7 and 8, the method of destruction may function to substantially expand the bundle 10, such as compared with the other tufts 1 shown in Figures 6 and 9, wherein the method of destruction may function to only slightly Expand the bundle 10.

Also shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, 14, 15 and 20 to 26 and as described above, the breaking method breaks at least some of the plurality of fibers 12 of the bundle 10 so that they extend three-dimensionally from the remaining portion 16 to form the outer Section or Area 18. The disrupted fibers 12 forming the outer region 18 are intermixed (and possibly entangled and twisted to some extent) and/or with the fibers 12 of the remainder 16 to form the discrete fibrous packing clusters 1, and such that they remain together as a single discrete unit during their use (and eg washing). As shown in Figures 6 to 9, 14, 15 and 20 to 26, the outer region 18 substantially has a less dense distribution of fibers 12 than the remainder 16 of the bundle (i.e. the remainder 16 of the bundle is denser than the outer region 18). distributed with fibers 12). It has been surprisingly and/or unexpectedly found that the combination of the bundle remainder 16 and the outer region 18 forms a discrete fibrous filling that is very close to down in terms of blowability, size, weight and/or density, and other properties. Cluster 1, while providing improved in-use and wash fastness compared to down.

As shown in FIG. 6 , in some embodiments, the remaining portion 16 may be substantially longer, such as at least about 75% of the length of the fibrous filler tuft 1 . In some other embodiments, as shown in FIG. 9 , the remaining portion 16 may be substantially shorter, such as less than about 75% of the length of the fibrous filler tuft 1 . In some other embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 , the remaining portion 16 may be about 25% to about 75% of the length of the fiber filler tuft 1 .

As shown in Figures 10 to 13 and 16 to 29, in one aspect disclosed herein, the discrete fiber packing cluster 1 of the present invention does not include a remaining portion 16, but includes at least one relatively densely distributed fiber 16 inside of the fiber 16 region 14, and an outer relatively less densely distributed region 18 of fibers 12 extending three-dimensionally outwardly from the at least one inner relatively densely distributed region. The fibers 12 of the inner relatively densely distributed region 14 extend randomly/non-uniformly and are randomly/non-uniformly mixed with each other, and thus are not aligned together along their longitudinal length (i.e. arranged together), as shown in Figures 10 to 13 and 16 to 29. The breaking method thereby removes or breaks all of the longitudinal alignment of the fibers 12 of the bundle 10 and causes the fibers 12 to intermix (and possibly entangle and twist to some extent) such that the discrete fiber packing clusters 1 is formed with the inner relatively densely distributed region 14 and the outer relatively less densely distributed region, as shown in FIGS. 10 to 13 and 16 to 29. The fibers 12 of the inner relatively densely distributed region 14 and the outer relatively less densely distributed region 18 are intermingled (and possibly entangled and twisted to some extent) to form the discrete fiber packing clusters 1, in It is held together as a single discrete unit during use (and eg washing).

As shown in FIG. 10 , in some embodiments, the discrete fibrous filler clusters 1 may include a gradual transition between the inner relatively densely populated region 14 and the outer relatively less densely populated region 18 . Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 11 to 13 , in some embodiments, the discrete fibrous filler clusters 1 may include a more defined or identifiable gap between the inner relatively densely distributed region 14 and the outer relatively less densely distributed region 18 . changes or boundaries.

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 , in some embodiments, the inner relatively densely distributed region 14 and the outer relatively less densely distributed region 18 may have approximately the same dimensions (e.g., three-dimensional dimensions such as length, width, and/or or thickness). Conversely, as shown in FIG. 13 , in some embodiments, the inner relatively densely distributed region 14 may have significantly smaller dimensions (e.g., three-dimensional dimensions, such as length, width, etc.) than the outer relatively less densely distributed region 18. and/or thickness).

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 11 , the inner relatively densely populated region 14 may be slightly more densely populated (eg, less than about 50% denser) than the outer relatively less densely populated region 18 . Conversely, as shown in FIG. 12 , in some embodiments, the inner relatively densely populated region 14 can be substantially more densely distributed (eg, greater than about 50 percent denser) than the outer relatively less densely populated region 18 . distributed).

In some embodiments, the present invention provides a fiber packing cluster comprising: a plurality of fibers comprising 25 to 3600 fibers having a denier of 0.2 to 12.0 and a length of 8 to 76 mm, the A plurality of fibers are cut from the filament yarn (eg mixed filament yarn), wherein the plurality of fibers form: a mixing nip portion, wherein the plurality of fibers are entangled with each other; and at least one outwardly from the mixing nip portion A three-dimensionally extending outer fiber region, wherein the plurality of fibers are randomly and non-uniformly oriented relative to each other, and wherein the mixing nip portion has a higher fiber density than the at least one outer region. Such a specific example may correspond to, for example, the second or third aspect of the present invention, wherein the mixing nip portion represents the rest of the fiber bundle or the at least one relatively densely distributed fiber region, respectively.

A filament is a single long linear continuous textile fiber/strand. Unlike staple fibers, which are of finite length, filaments are of variable length and can extend for yards or miles (or, for example, when used in yarn, the entire length of the yarn). In some embodiments, the filaments range in length from 5 inches to several miles, including any and all ranges and subranges therein. For example, in some embodiments, the filament can be at least 5 inches in length (e.g., at least 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 inches in length , 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43 , 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68 , 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93 , 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 or 100 inches, or any range or subrange therein). In some embodiments, the filaments can be at least 1 foot in length (e.g., at least 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190, 200, 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 270, 280, 290, 300, 310, 320, 330, 340, 350, 360, 370, 380, 390, 400, 410, 420, 430, 440, 450, 460, 470, 480, 490, 500, 510, 520, 530, 540, 550, 560, 570, 580, 590, 600, 610, 620, 630, 640, 650, 660, 670, 680, 690, 700, 710, 720, 730, 740, or 1000 feet, or any range or subrange therein).

Filament yarns are yarns consisting of a plurality of continuous filaments, either twisted or untwisted.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fibers are cut from mixed filament yarns, as described, for example, in "The effects of intermingling process parameters and number of filaments on intermingled" by Baykal et al., The Journal of The Textile Institute , 2013.

Blended filament yarns are generally formed by subjecting the filament yarn (or its pre-yarn form, such as a plurality of longitudinally aligned filaments) to an air blending process that uses jets of air to form intermittent blending nip sections (in the Also referred to herein as a "nip" or "nip section"), which are knot-like entanglement nodes in the yarn, imparting cohesion between the filaments. In another embodiment of blended yarns, the nip is formed, for example, by pulsed laser light (as opposed to air jets), which forms a molten nip with fibers bonded to each other (from at least partially melted fibers in the nip). ) instead of the entanglement nip. Specific examples of such hybrid yarns are also useful in the present invention. In some such embodiments, bonded and/or at least partially fused fibers are present only in one or more nip portions of the inventive tufts.

Figure 27 is an enlarged photograph of a portion of a textured hybrid filament yarn 100 having a plurality of intermittent nips 42 equally spaced throughout the yarn. The depicted filament yarn 100 has 99 nips per meter, which equates to about 1 nip per 10.1 mm of yarn length. The nips are separated from each other by opening portions 44 .

In some embodiments of the invention, the filament yarn has evenly spaced nips at a frequency of 13 to 125 nips per meter (e.g., 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, or 125 nips), including any and all ranges and subranges therein.

FIG. 28 is a simplified schematic diagram showing a loose bundle 48 of flat filament yarns composed of a plurality of filaments 12 subjected to air mixing to form a mixed filament yarn 100 having an open portion 44 spaced evenly spaced intermittent nips 42, wherein the nips and open portions are formed by the plurality of filaments 12.

In the embodiment of mixed filament yarns (and also in the fibrous filler clusters of the present invention), the nips have an entangled structure that imparts inter-filament cohesion to the yarn. Miao et al., "Air interlaced yarn structure and properties", Textile Research Journal , 65, 433-440, 1995, have analyzed and discussed the structure of some specific examples of roll gaps. Of course, in the case of producing a mixed filament yarn using, for example, a pulsed laser, the nip does not have an entangled structure but a structure in which a plurality of filaments adhere to each other.

In some embodiments, the roll gap has a range of 0.1 mm to 8 mm (e.g., 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, 7.9 or 8.0 mm), including any and all ranges and subranges therein (e.g. 0.4 to 3 mm, 0.5 to 2.5 mm, etc.).

FIG. 29 is an enlarged photograph of an embodiment of a cut portion (“bundle”) of mixed filament yarn 140 having a single nip 42 . This cut portion, which may be referred to as a bundle, is treated to break up the plurality of fibers 12 adjacent the nip portion to form the fibrous packing clusters of the present invention.

FIG. 30 is an enlarged photograph of an embodiment of a fibrous filler cluster 160 of the present invention having a single nip 42 . FIG. 31 is an enlarged photograph of another embodiment of a fibrous filler tuft 180 of the present invention having a single nip 42 . Notably, while the tuft embodiment of Figure 4 has a nip at the center of the bundle, the bundle embodiment of Figure 5 has a nip at the outside of the bundle. The nip can be located anywhere along the length of the bundle. Also as shown, the fibrous filler clusters of the present invention are discrete clusters, meaning that they are individually separate and distinct clusters.

In embodiments of the present invention, portions of the filament yarn lengths are cut to have one or two nips per portion, so that the resulting fibrous filler tufts also have one or two nips. In a preferred embodiment, the sections are cut to have a single nip, so that the resulting cluster of fibrous filler has a single nip.

FIG. 32 is an enlarged photograph of an embodiment of a fibrous filler cluster 200 of the present invention having two nips 42 .

Figure 33 is an enlarged photograph of a mixed filament yarn (left) and a plurality of fiber filler clusters formed therefrom according to an embodiment of the invention. Figures 33B and 33C are enlarged photographs of the fibrous filler clusters in Figure 33A. The yarn shown in Figure 33A is a 300 denier mixed filament yarn consisting of a plurality of fibers (specifically 288 filaments each having a denier of 1.04) (by winding the nip portion air jet formation). The yarn was cut into bundles of equal length which were treated to break the plurality of fibers adjacent to the mixing nip portion in each bundle to form the tufts shown.

As discussed herein, after cutting the filament yarn into one or more bundles, such as bundle 140 shown in FIG. One or more bundles are treated to break the plurality of fibers adjacent the nip to form at least one outer fiber region extending three-dimensionally outwardly from the nip. In the at least one outer fiber region, the plurality of fibers are randomly and non-uniformly oriented relative to each other. The nip portion has a higher fiber density than the at least one outer region. Referring to FIG. 30 , two outer fiber regions extend three-dimensionally outwardly from the nip 46 . Figure 34 is a diagram showing the process of cutting mixed filament yarns to form bundles that are broken to form fiber filler clusters 24 having two outer fiber regions extending three-dimensionally outward from the nip (indicated by dashed lines) .

Figure 35 is a diagram of an embodiment of a tuft of the present invention from a bundle cut at the end away from the nip.

As noted above, in some embodiments of the invention, the fibrous filler tufts are formed from mixed filament yarns. For example, in some embodiments, the fiber-fill tuft is formed from textured mixed filament yarns, and thus the plurality of fibers in the tuft are textured. In other embodiments, the fiber-fill tuft is formed from non-textured mixed filament yarns, and thus the plurality of fibers in the tuft are non-textured.

In some embodiments of the fibrous filler clusters of the present invention, the plurality of fibers in the mixing nip portion extend non-linearly along their longitudinal length due to fiber entanglement in the nip. It is due to the entanglement in the nip and the destruction of the fibers after the bundle is cut that the nip has a higher fiber density than the at least one outer region.

In some embodiments, the present invention provides a plurality of fibrous filler clusters as described herein.

In some embodiments of the plurality of fiber filler clusters, at least 90% (e.g., at least 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, or 99.5%) of the fiber filler clusters have the same or within ±10% of the average fiber count (e.g., ±10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1% of the average fiber count in the plurality of fiber packing clusters) Same amount of fiber. In some embodiments of the plurality of fiber-filler clusters, 100% of the clusters have the same number of fibers therein, or have the same number of fibers within ±10% of the average fiber number.

In some embodiments of the plurality of fiber-filler clusters, at least 90% (e.g., at least 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, or 99.5%) of the fiber-filler clusters are therein fibers of the same length. In some embodiments of the plurality of fiber-filler clusters, 100% of the clusters have fibers of the same length therein.

In some embodiments of the plurality of fiber-filler clusters, at least 90% (e.g., at least 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, or 99.5%) of the fiber-filler clusters are therein There is only one bundle remainder (or nip).

In another aspect disclosed herein, there is provided an insulating or filling material comprising a plurality of fibrous filler clusters of the present invention. The insulating or filling material may be formed from a plurality of discrete fiber filler clusters 1 having the remaining portion 16 and the outer region 18 and/or the plurality of discrete fiber filler clusters 1 having the inner region 14 and the outer region 18 (for example comprising , consisting essentially of, or consisting of).

In some embodiments, the insulating or filling material is formed from (eg, includes, consists essentially of, or consists of) a plurality of discrete fibrous filler clusters 1 having the remainder 16 and the outer region 18 . In some embodiments, the insulating or filling material is formed from (eg, includes, consists essentially of, or consists of) a plurality of discrete fibrous filler clusters 1 having the inner region 16 and the outer region 18 .

In some embodiments, the plurality of fiber filler clusters 1 of the insulating or filling material may include a first fiber filler cluster 1 formed of fibers 12 having a first length and a fiber filler cluster 1 having a second length different from the first length The fibers 12 form the second fiber packing cluster 1. In some embodiments, the plurality of fiber filler tufts 1 of the insulating or filling material may include a first tuft 1 formed from a first total number of fibers 12 and a second total number of fibers different from the first total number of fibers 12 formed the second cluster.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fiber filler clusters 1 of the insulating or filling material may include a first fiber filler cluster 1 formed from fibers 12 of a first synthetic material and a second fiber filler cluster 1 formed of a fiber 12 different from the first synthetic material. Fibers 12 of synthetic material form a second fiber packing cluster 1 . Similarly, in some embodiments, the plurality of fiber filler clusters 1 of the insulating or filling material may include a first fiber filler cluster 1 formed of fibers 12 having a first denier and a fiber filler cluster 1 of fibers having a denier different from the first denier. The second fiber packing cluster 1 formed by the second denier fibers 12.

In some embodiments, the plurality of fiber filler clusters 1 of the insulating or filling material may include fiber filler clusters 1 of a first size and fiber filler clusters 1 of a second size different from the first size. Similarly, in some embodiments, the plurality of fiber filler clusters 1 of the insulating or filling material may include fiber filler clusters 1 of a first three-dimensional shape and fiber filler clusters of a second three-dimensional shape different from the first three-dimensional shape 1. In some embodiments, the plurality of fiber filler clusters 1 of the insulating or filling material may include fiber filler clusters 1 in a first density range and in a range different from and not overlapping with the first density range. The fiber packing tufts in the second density range 1.

In another aspect disclosed herein, an article comprising the insulating or filling material (ie, the plurality of discrete fibrous filler clusters 1 ) is provided. In some embodiments, the article is selected from footwear, outerwear, clothing, sleeping bags, and bedding. In some embodiments, the article is furniture (eg, bedding, such as a comforter or comforter, pillows, cushions, upholstered chairs, etc.). project

Non-limiting specific examples of the invention are described in the following items.

Item 1: A method of making at least one discrete fibrous filler cluster, the method comprising: obtaining a plurality of discrete bundles of 25 to 3600 fibers having a denier of 0.2 to 12.0 and a length of 8 to 160 mm, the plurality of fibers being aligned longitudinally together; and The longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle is disrupted such that they are three-dimensionally irregularly extended and mixed to form discrete fiber packing clusters.

Item 2: The method of item 1, wherein disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle comprises disrupting the longitudinal alignment of only some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle such that the bundle of the plurality of fibers of the bundle The remainder remains aligned longitudinally together and mixed with the fibers extending irregularly in three dimensions.

Item 3: The method of item 2, wherein the fibers extending irregularly in three dimensions form an outer region extending outwardly from the remainder of the bundle.

Item 4: The method of item 3, wherein the remainder of the bundle comprises a higher density of fibers than the outer region.

Item 5: The method of item 1, wherein disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle comprises disrupting the longitudinal alignment of all of the plurality of fibers of the bundle such that none of the plurality of fibers remain longitudinally aligned together.

Item 6: The method of item 5, wherein destroying the longitudinal arrangement of all the plurality of fibers of the bundle forms at least one relatively densely distributed three-dimensional fiber region inside, and extends three-dimensionally outward from the at least one relatively densely distributed inner region The outer relatively less densely distributed fiber region of .

Item 7: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle comprises mixing only some of the disrupted fibers such that some of the disrupted fibers form a fibrous filler clusters, and some of these disrupted fibers did not form fiber-pack clusters.

Item 8: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle comprises positioning the bundle between the joint sides of at least one pair of disrupting members such that the disrupting laterally contacting the bundle, and translating at least one first breaking member relative to at least one second breaking member along a path extending longitudinally along the longitudinal direction of the fibers of the bundle and oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal direction Lateral extension in the lateral direction.

Item 9: The method of item 8, wherein the distance between the failure sides remains substantially constant during the failure.

Item 10: The method of item 8 or 9, wherein: the at least one first disruptive member is translated along the arcuate path for at least a first portion of the time; and/or the at least one first disruptive member is translated along the elliptical path for at least a first portion of the time; and/or the at least one first disruptive member is translated along a random orbital pattern for at least a first portion of the time; and/or at least one of the joint sides comprises a substantially flat and smooth surface; and/or At least one of the engaging sides comprises a substantially planar array of particles or protrusions.

Item 11: The method of any one of items 8 to 10, wherein the disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle comprises subjecting the bundle to at least one gas and/or liquid flow.

Item 12: The method of any one of items 8 to 11, wherein the discrete bundle is obtained from a filament yarn and is a bundle comprising a plurality of 25 to 3600 fibers having a denier of 0.2 to 12.0 and 8 to 76 mm in length, the plurality of fibers are longitudinally aligned together, the fibers have a mixing nip portion, wherein the plurality of fibers are entangled with each other; and wherein the disrupting the longitudinal alignment disrupts the adjacent mixing nip portion a plurality of fibers forming at least one outer fiber region extending three-dimensionally outwardly from the mixing nip portion, wherein the plurality of fibers are randomly and non-uniformly oriented relative to each other after the breaking and corresponding to the plurality of fibers The mixing nip portion of the remainder of the bundle has a higher fiber density than the at least one outer region.

Item 13: The method of Item 12, wherein the disrupting the longitudinal alignment comprises subjecting the bundle to: Fiber opening machine processing; Garnet processing; or air treatment.

Item 14: The method of item 13, wherein subjecting the bundle to air treatment comprises subjecting the bundle to air tumbling.

Item 15: The method of any one of items 12 to 14, wherein:

the plurality of fibers forming the fibrous filler tuft is from a section of mixed filament yarn, and the mixing nip portion of the tuft corresponds to the mixing nip portion of the mixed filament yarn;

the plurality of fibers in the mixing nip portion extend non-linearly along their longitudinal length; and

There are no fibers bonded together within the cluster.

Item 16: The method of any one of items 1 to 14, further comprising, prior to the breaking, bonding at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle at at least one point along the longitudinal direction of the bundle to together to form at least one bond point.

Item 17: The method of item 16, wherein the bonding point is formed by heating at least some of the plurality of fibers at the at least one point to adhere the fibers together at the at least one bonding point.

Item 18: The method of item 17, wherein heating at least some of the plurality of fibers at the at least one point comprises contacting the plurality of fibers at the at least one point with a material at a temperature above a melting temperature of the fibers.

Item 19: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle comprises entanglement of some of the disrupted fibers together.

Item 20: The method according to item 19, wherein less than about 50% (eg, less than about 25%) of the disrupted fibers are entangled with at least one other fiber.

Item 21: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle comprises twisting some of the disrupted fibers together.

Item 22: The method according to item 21, wherein less than about 50% (eg, less than about 25%) of the disrupted fibers are twisted with at least one other fiber.

Item 23: The method of any of the preceding items, comprising: obtaining a plurality of discrete bundles, each bundle having 25 to 3600 fibers, the fibers having a denier of 0.2 to 12.0 and a length of 8 to 160 mm, the plurality of fibers of each bundle being aligned longitudinally together; and The longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of each of the bundles is disrupted such that they are three-dimensionally irregularly extended and mixed to form a plurality of discrete fiber packing clusters.

Item 24: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein prior to the breaking, the plurality of fibers of the bundle extend substantially linearly along its longitudinal length.

Item 25: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the plurality of fibers of the bundle extend substantially parallel to each other along their longitudinal length.

Item 26: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the plurality of fibers of the bundle are non-textured fibers.

Item 27: The method of item 26, wherein the bundle is a non-textured mixed filament yarn.

Item 28: The method of any one of items 1 to 23, wherein the plurality of fibers of the bundle extend non-linearly along its longitudinal length.

Item 29: The method of any one of items 1 to 23 and 28, wherein the plurality of fibers of the bundle extend irregularly along its longitudinal length.

Item 30: The method of any one of items 1-25, 28, and 29, wherein the plurality of fibers of the bundle are textured fibers.

Item 31: The method of item 30, wherein the bundle is a textured mixed filament yarn.

Item 32: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the plurality of fibers of the bundle comprises about 50 to about 500 fibers.

Item 33: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the plurality of fibers comprises about 80 to about 300 fibers.

Item 34: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the bundles contain more fibers than the fibrous filler clusters.

Item 35: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the fiber filler clusters comprise at least one secondary fiber that is not part of the bundle.

Item 36: The method of item 35, wherein the at least one secondary fiber is mixed with the plurality of fibers of the fibrous packing tuft during the breaking.

Item 37: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the plurality of fibers have a Deny of about 0.7 to about 1.7.

Item 38: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the plurality of fibers have substantially the same denier.

Item 39: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the plurality of fibers of the bundle have a longitudinal length of about 20 to about 50 mm.

Item 40: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the plurality of fibers of the bundle are doped with a durable water repellant or polysiloxane chemical.

Item 41: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the plurality of fibers have substantially the same length.

Item 42: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the plurality of fibers are synthetic polymer fibers.

Item 43: The method of any one of the preceding items, wherein the plurality of fibers are fibers selected from the group consisting of polyamide, polyester, polypropylene, polylactic acid, poly(butyl acrylate), acrylic, acrylate , acetate, polyolefin, nylon, rayon, lyocell, polyaramid, spandex, viscose fiber, and modal fiber, or combinations thereof.

Item 44: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the plurality of fibers are polyester fibers.

Item 45: The method of Item 44, wherein the polyester fibers are selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), poly(hexahydro-xylylene terephthalate), polyethylene terephthalate Butylene dicarboxylate (PBT) fibers, polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) fibers, copolyester fibers (eg, copolyester fibers comprising PET structural units), or combinations thereof.

Item 46: The method of Item 44, wherein the polyester fibers are PET fibers.

Item 47: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the fibers comprise recycled polymeric material.

Item 48: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the plurality of fibers comprises siliconized fibers.

Item 49: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the plurality of fibers comprises non-siliconized fibers.

Item 50: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the plurality of fibers comprises solid fibers.

Item 51: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the plurality of fibers comprise hollow fibers.

Item 52: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the fibrous filler clusters define a length, width, and thickness, and wherein the length and the width are greater than the thickness.

Item 53: The method of item 52, wherein the length is greater than the width.

Item 54: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the fibrous filler clusters define a length, width, and thickness, and wherein the length is in the range of about 0.90 to about 4 cm.

Item 55: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the fibrous filler clusters define a length, width, and thickness, and wherein the width is in the range of about 0.70 to about 3 cm.

Item 56: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the fibrous filler clusters have a density of about 0.08 to 0.70 mg/cm ³ (eg, about 0.10 to about 0.50 mg/cm ³ ).

Item 57: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the fibrous filler clusters define a substantially ovoid shape.

Item 58: The method of any one of items 1 to 51 and 54 to 57, wherein the fibrous filler clusters define a substantially spherical shape.

Item 59: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the bundle is a length of filament yarn.

Item 60: The method of Item 59, wherein obtaining the bundle comprises cutting the length from the filament yarn.

Item 61: The method of Item 59 or 60, wherein the filament yarn is a textured filament yarn.

Item 62: The method of Item 59 or 60, wherein the filament yarn is a flat filament yarn.

Item 63: A cluster of discrete fibrous packing comprising: a plurality of intermixed fibers comprising 25 to 3600 fibers having a denier of 0.2 to 12.0 and a length of 8 to 160 mm, wherein the plurality of fibers form: a bundle remainder comprising some of the plurality of fibers arranged longitudinally together; and an outer fiber region extending three-dimensionally outwardly from the remainder of the bundle, comprising some of the plurality of fibers randomly and non-uniformly oriented relative to each other, and The remainder of the tow contains a higher density of fibers than the outer region.

Item 64: The discrete fiber packing cluster of item 63, wherein the remainder of the bundle contains fewer fibers than the outer region.

Item 65: The discrete fiber packing cluster of item 63 or 64, wherein the remainder of the bundle contains at least 25% (eg, at least 50% or at least 75%) less fibers than the outer region.

Item 66: The discrete fiber filler cluster of any one of items 63 to 65, wherein the plurality of fibers are from a length of mixed filament yarn, and the remainder of the bundle of the discrete fiber filler clusters corresponds to Mixed nip section of the line.

Item 67: The discrete fiber packing cluster of item 66, wherein the plurality of fibers in the remainder of the bundle are entangled with each other.

Item 68: The cluster of discrete fibrous packing of any one of items 63 to 67, wherein the remainder of the bundle extends non-linearly along its length.

Item 69: The cluster of discrete fibrous fillers of any one of items 63 to 68, wherein the remainder of the bundle is part of a length of filament yarn.

Item 70: The cluster of discrete fiber fillers of item 69, wherein the remainder of the bundle is part of a length of textured filament yarn.

Item 71: The cluster of discrete fiber fillers of item 69, wherein the remainder of the bundle is part of a length of textured filament yarn.

Item 72: The discrete fibrous packing cluster of any one of items 63 to 71, wherein the plurality of fibers of the remainder of the bundle extend substantially parallel to each other along their longitudinal length.

Item 73: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 63 to 72, wherein the plurality of fibers are non-deformed linear fibers.

Item 74: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 63 to 72, wherein the plurality of fibers are deformed linear fibers.

Item 75: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 63 to 74, wherein the plurality of fibers extend non-linearly along their longitudinal length.

Item 76: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 63 to 75, wherein the plurality of fibers extend irregularly along their longitudinal length.

Item 77: The discrete fibrous packing cluster of any one of items 63 to 76, wherein some of the plurality of fibers in the outer region are entangled together, or are entangled with at least one fiber in the remainder of the bundle.

Item 78: The discrete fibrous packing cluster of item 77, wherein less than about 50% of the plurality of fibers of the outer region are entangled together, or are entangled with at least one fiber of the remainder of the bundle.

Item 79: The discrete fibrous packing cluster of item 77, wherein less than about 25% of the plurality of fibers of the outer region are entangled together, or are entangled with at least one fiber of the remainder of the bundle.

Item 80: The discrete fibrous packing cluster of any of the preceding items, wherein at least some of the plurality of fibers of the outer region are twisted together or with at least one fiber of the remainder of the bundle.

Item 81: The cluster of discrete fiber packing of item 80, wherein less than about 50% of the plurality of fibers of the outer region are twisted together or with at least one fiber of the remainder of the bundle.

Item 82: The discrete fiber packing tuft of item 80, wherein less than about 25% of the plurality of fibers of the outer region are twisted together or with at least one fiber of the remainder of the bundle.

Item 83: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 63 to 82, comprising at least one bonding point, wherein at least some of the plurality of fibers are bonded together.

Item 84: The discrete fiber packing cluster of item 83, wherein the at least one bond point includes some fibers of the remaining portion and some fibers of the outer region.

Item 85: The discrete fibrous packing cluster of item 83 or 84, wherein the at least one bond point includes only some fibers of the remainder of the bundle and some fibers of the outer region.

Item 86: The discrete fibrous filler clusters of any one of items 63 to 85, wherein the fibrous filler clusters define a length, a width, and a thickness, and wherein the length and the width are greater than the thickness.

Item 87: The discrete fibrous packing clusters of item 86, wherein the length is greater than the width.

Item 88: The discrete fibrous filler clusters of any of the preceding items, wherein the fibrous filler clusters define a length, width, and thickness, and wherein the length is in the range of about 0.90 to about 4 cm.

Item 89: The discrete fibrous filler clusters of any of the preceding items, wherein the fibrous filler clusters define a length, width, and thickness, and wherein the width is in the range of about 0.70 to about 3 cm.

Item 90: The discrete fibrous filler clusters of any of the preceding items, wherein the fibrous filler clusters define a substantially ovoid shape.

Item 91: The discrete fibrous filler clusters of any one of items 63 to 85 and 88 to 90, wherein the fibrous filler clusters define a substantially spherical shape.

Item 92: The cluster of discrete fiber fillers of any one of items 63 to 91, wherein the plurality of fibers have a Deny of about 0.7 to about 1.7.

Item 93: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 63 to 92, wherein the plurality of fibers have substantially the same denier.

Item 94: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 63 to 93, wherein the plurality of fibers of the bundle have a longitudinal length of about 20 to about 50 mm.

Item 95: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 63 to 94, wherein the plurality of fibers of the remainder of the bundle have substantially the same longitudinal length.

Item 96: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 63 to 95, wherein the plurality of fibers have substantially the same denier.

Item 97: The discrete fibrous filler clusters of any one of items 63 to 96, wherein the fibrous filler clusters have a density of about 0.08 to 0.70 mg/cm ³ (eg, about 0.10 to about 0.50 mg/cm ³ ).

Item 98: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 63 to 97, wherein the plurality of fibers comprises about 50 to about 500 fibers.

Item 99: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 63 to 98, wherein the plurality of fibers comprises about 80 to about 300 fibers.

Item 100: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 63 to 99, wherein the plurality of fibers are synthetic polymer fibers.

Item 101: The cluster of discrete fiber fillers of any one of items 63 to 100, wherein the plurality of fibers are fibers selected from the group consisting of polyamide, polyester, polypropylene, polylactic acid, poly(butyl acrylate), Acrylic, acrylate, acetate, polyolefin, nylon, rayon, lyocell, aramid, spandex, viscose, and modal fibers, or combinations thereof.

Item 102: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 63 to 101, wherein the plurality of fibers are polyester fibers.

Item 103: The cluster of discrete fiber fillers of item 102, wherein the polyester fibers are selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), poly(hexahydro-xylylene terephthalate), Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) fibers, polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) fibers, copolyester fibers (eg, copolyester fibers comprising PET structural units), or combinations thereof.

Item 104: The cluster of discrete fiber fillers of item 102, wherein the polyester fibers are PET fibers.

Item 105: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any of items 63 to 104, wherein the fibers comprise recycled polymeric material.

Item 106: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 63 to 105, wherein the plurality of fibers comprises siliconized fibers.

Item 107: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 63 to 106, wherein the plurality of fibers comprises siliconized fibers.

Item 108: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 63 to 107, wherein the plurality of fibers comprises solid fibers.

Item 109: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 63 to 108, wherein the plurality of fibers comprise hollow fibers.

Item 110: A cluster of discrete fiber packing comprising: a plurality of fibers randomly mixed with each other, the plurality of fibers comprising 25 to 3600 fibers, the fibers having a denier of 0.2 to 12.0 and a length of 8 to 160 mm, wherein The plurality of fibers are randomly and non-uniformly oriented relative to each other, wherein the plurality of fibers form: at least one inner relatively densely distributed fiber region; Too densely distributed fiber regions, and wherein the discrete fiber filler clusters have a length of 0.5 cm to 6.5 cm, a width of 0.5 cm to 6.5 cm, and a density of 0.08 mg/cm ³ to 0.70 mg/cm ³ .

Item 111: The discrete fiber packing cluster of item 110, wherein the inner region comprises fewer fibers than the outer region (eg, at least 25% or at least 50% fewer fibers than the outer region).

Item 112: The discrete fiber packing cluster of item 110, wherein the outer region comprises fewer fibers than the inner region (eg, at least 25% or at least 50% fewer fibers than the inner region).

Item 113: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any of items 111 to 112, wherein the plurality of fibers extend non-linearly along their length.

Item 114: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 110 to 113, wherein the plurality of fibers are non-deformed linear fibers.

Item 115: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 110 to 113, wherein the plurality of fibers are deformed linear fibers.

Item 116: The discrete fiber filler cluster of any one of items 110 to 115, wherein the plurality of fibers are from a length of mixed filament yarn, and the at least one inner relatively densely distributed fiber region of the discrete fiber filler cluster corresponds to From the blending nip portion of the blended filament yarn.

Item 117: The discrete fiber packing cluster of item 116, wherein the plurality of fibers in the at least one inner relatively densely distributed fiber region are entangled with each other.

Item 118: The discrete fiber packing clusters of item 116 or item 117, wherein no fibers in the clusters are bonded together.

Item 119: The method of any of the preceding items, wherein the plurality of fibers of the bundle are doped with a durable water repellent or polysiloxane chemical.

Item 120: The discrete fiber packing clusters of any of items 110 to 119, wherein some of the plurality of fibers are entangled together.

Item 121: The discrete fiber packing clusters of item 120, wherein less than about 50% of the plurality of fibers are entangled together.

Item 122: The discrete fiber packing clusters of item 120, wherein less than about 25% of the plurality of fibers are entangled together.

Item 123: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any of items 110 to 122, wherein some of the plurality of fibers are twisted together.

Item 124: The discrete fiber packing cluster of item 123, wherein less than about 50% of the plurality of fibers are twisted together.

Item 125: The discrete fiber packing clusters of item 123, wherein less than about 25% of the plurality of fibers are twisted together.

Item 126: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any of items 110 to 117 or 119 to 125, comprising at least one bonding point, wherein at least some of the plurality of fibers are bonded together.

Item 127: The discrete fiber packing cluster of item 126, wherein the at least one bond point includes some fibers of the inner region and some fibers of the outer region.

Item 128: The discrete fiber packing cluster of item 126 or item 127, wherein the at least one bond point includes only some fibers of the inner portion and some fibers of the outer region.

Item 129: The discrete fibrous filler clusters of any one of items 110 to 128, wherein the fibrous filler clusters define a length, a width, and a thickness, and wherein the length and the width are greater than the thickness.

Item 130: The discrete fibrous filler clusters of item 129, wherein the length is greater than the width.

Item 131: The discrete fibrous filler clusters of any one of items 110 to 130, wherein the fibrous filler clusters define a length, width, and thickness, and wherein the length is in the range of about 0.90 to about 4 cm.

Item 132: The discrete fibrous filler clusters of any one of items 110 to 131, wherein the fibrous filler clusters define a length, width, and thickness, and wherein the width is in the range of about 0.70 to about 3 cm.

Item 133: The discrete fibrous filler clusters of any one of claims 110 to 132, wherein the fibrous filler clusters define a substantially ovoid shape.

Item 134: The discrete fibrous filler clusters of any of items 110 to 128 and 131 to 132, wherein the fibrous filler clusters define a substantially spherical shape.

Item 135: The cluster of discrete fiber fillers of any one of items 110 to 134, wherein the plurality of fibers have a Deny of about 0.7 to about 1.7.

Item 136: The cluster of discrete fiber fillers of any one of items 110 to 135, wherein the plurality of fibers have substantially the same denier.

Item 137: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 110 to 136, wherein the plurality of fibers of the bundle have a longitudinal length of about 20 to about 50 mm.

Item 138: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 110 to 137, wherein the plurality of fibers have substantially the same longitudinal length.

Item 139: The discrete fibrous filler clusters of any one of items 110 to 138, wherein the fibrous filler clusters have a density of about 0.10 to 0.50 mg/cm ³ .

Item 140: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 110 to 139, wherein the plurality of fibers comprises about 50 to about 500 fibers.

Item 141: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 110 to 140, wherein the plurality of fibers comprises about 80 to about 300 fibers.

Item 142: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 110 to 141, wherein the plurality of fibers are synthetic polymer fibers.

Item 143: The cluster of discrete fiber fillers of any one of items 110 to 142, wherein the plurality of fibers are fibers selected from the group consisting of polyamide, polyester, polypropylene, polylactic acid, poly(butyl acrylate), Acrylic, acrylate, acetate, polyolefin, nylon, rayon, lyocell, aramid, spandex, viscose, and modal fibers, or combinations thereof.

Item 144: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 110 to 143, wherein the plurality of fibers are polyester fibers.

Item 145: The cluster of discrete fiber fillers of item 144, wherein the polyester fibers are selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), poly(hexahydro-xylylene terephthalate), Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) fibers, polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) fibers, copolyester fibers (eg, copolyester fibers comprising PET structural units), or combinations thereof.

Item 146: The cluster of discrete fiber fillers of item 144, wherein the polyester fibers are PET fibers.

Item 147: The cluster of discrete fiber fillers of any of items 110 to 146, wherein the fibers comprise recycled polymeric material.

Item 148: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 110 to 147, wherein the plurality of fibers comprises siliconized fibers.

Item 149: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 110 to 148, wherein the plurality of fibers comprises non-siliconized fibers.

Item 150: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 110 to 149, wherein the plurality of fibers comprises solid fibers.

Item 151: The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of items 110 to 150, wherein the plurality of fibers comprise hollow fibers.

Item 152: An insulating or filling material comprising a plurality of discrete clusters of fibrous filler according to any one of items 63 to 151.

Item 153: The insulating or filling material of item 152, comprising a plurality of first discrete fiber filler clusters of any one of items 63 to 109, and a plurality of second discrete fibers of any one of items 110 to 151 filler clusters.

Item 154: The insulating or filling material of item 152, consisting of a plurality of discrete fibrous filler clusters of any of items 63-109.

Item 155: The insulating or filling material of item 152, consisting of a plurality of discrete clusters of fibrous filler of any of items 110-151.

Item 156: The insulating or filling material of any one of items 152 to 155, wherein the plurality of fiber-fill clusters includes a first fiber-fill cluster formed of fibers having a first length and fibers having a length different from the first length. Fibers of a second length form a second fibrous packing cluster.

Item 157: The insulating or filling material of any one of items 152 to 156, wherein the plurality of fiber tufts includes a first tuft formed from a first total number of fibers and a second total number of fibers different from the first total number The second cluster formed by the fibers of interest.

Item 158: The insulating or filling material of any one of items 152 to 157, wherein the plurality of fibrous filler clusters includes a first fibrous filler cluster formed from fibers of a first synthetic material and a material having a material different from that of the first synthetic material. Fibers of the second synthetic material form a second fibrous filler cluster.

Item 159: The insulating or filling material of any one of items 152 to 158, wherein the plurality of fiber filler clusters comprises a first fiber filler cluster formed of fibers having a first denier and a fiber filler cluster of fibers having a denier different from the first denier The second denier fibers form second fiber filler clusters.

Item 160: The insulation or filling material of any one of items 152 to 159, wherein the plurality of fiber filler clusters comprises fiber filler clusters of a first size and fiber filler clusters of a second size different from the first size.

Item 161: The insulating or filling material of any one of items 152 to 160, wherein the plurality of fiber filler clusters comprises fiber filler clusters of a first three-dimensional shape and fiber filler clusters of a second three-dimensional shape different from the first three-dimensional shape cluster.

Item 162: The insulating or filling material of any one of items 152 to 161, wherein the plurality of fiber filler clusters includes fiber filler clusters in a first density range and fiber filler clusters in a density range different from and not related to the first density range. Clusters of fibrous filler in a second density range overlapping one density range.

Item 163: An article comprising a plurality of discrete fibrous filler clusters according to any one of items 63-151 or the insulating or filling material according to any one of items 152-162.

Item 164: The article of item 163, wherein the article is selected from the group consisting of footwear, outerwear, clothing, sleeping bags and bedding.

The invention will now be illustrated without limiting the invention by reference to certain specific examples described in the following examples. Example

The invention will now be illustrated without limiting the invention by reference to certain specific examples described in the following examples. Example 1

Comparative tests were performed on each specific example of the discrete fiber filler clusters and down clusters (1000 fill power (FP) goose down and 550 FP duck down) of the present invention. The discrete fibrous filler clusters of the present invention are prepared by obtaining a substantially parallel (i.e., longitudinally aligned/aligned) 136-filament stretch-textured polyester yarn or tow having Denier per filament (dpf) of about 1.10 (the bundle thus has a total denier of about 150). The yarn is cut to provide a plurality of 1", 2" and 4" long longitudinally aligned fiber bundles. Further, other clusters of discrete fiber fillers of the present invention are obtained by obtaining substantially parallel alignment (i.e. longitudinal alignment/alignment) 96 filaments of stretch-textured polyester yarn or tow, the polyester yarn or tow has a single filament denier (denier per filament, dpf) of about 2.08 (the bundle has about 200 Total Deny). The discrete fiber packing clusters of the present invention are then broken between two breaking members to form a plurality of the discrete fiber packing clusters. The 1" 1.1 dpf fiber bundle clusters, and the 2" 1.1 dpf fiber bundle clusters were tested Tufts, the length, width, height and volume of the 4" 1.1 dpf tuft tufts and the 2" 2.08 dpf tuft tufts. The down tufts were also tested. The results for each tuft type were averaged and reported in Table I below Table I : Comparison of Real Down and Synthetic Down Clusters average Length (cm) Width (cm) height (cm) Volume (cm ³ ) 1,000 FP Goose Down Feather 2.73 2.80 1.40 10.70 4” 1.1 dpf Synthetic Cluster 2.48 1.91 1.78 8.43 550 FP duck down 1.87 2.03 1.33 5.05 2” 1.1 dpf synthetic cluster 1.84 2.10 1.40 5.41 1” 1.1 dpf synthetic cluster 1.14 1.00 1.00 1.14 2” 2.08 Synthetic Cluster 2.25 2.18 1.82 8.93 Example 2

Gravimetric and volumetric tests (on single clusters and groups of 10 clusters) were performed on samples from Example 1 . The results are listed in Table II below. Weight (g) measurements for "1 Plume (g)" and density measurements for "Density (g/cm ³ )" are average measurements of a single plume based on the average of ten tested plumes. Table II : the weight and the volume of embodiment 1 synthetic down tuft samples 10 plume (g) 1 plume (g) Density (g/cm ³ ) 1,000 FP Goose Down Feather 0.0181 0.0018 0.000168 4” 1.1 dpf Synthetic Cluster 0.0184 0.0018 0.000213 550 FP duck down 0.0081 0.0008 0.000158 2” 1.1 dpf synthetic cluster 0.0097 0.0010 0.000185 1” 1.1 dpf synthetic cluster 0.0040 0.0004 0.000352 2” 2.08 dpf Synthetic Cluster 0.0109 0.0011 0.000123

It should be noted that, as shown in Table II, the 4" 1.1 dpf synthetic tufts are about 27% denser compared to the 1,000 FP goose down feathers and the 2" 1.1 dpf synthetic tufts are about 27% denser compared to the 550 FP goose down feathers. 17%, and the 2” 2.08 dpf synthetic tuft is about 17% less dense than the 1,000 FP goose down feather.

As will be readily understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, the properties tested in these examples can vary significantly depending on the fibers that make up the discrete fibrous packing clusters, and the foregoing examples are not limiting.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprise" (and any form of inclusion, such as "comprises" and "comprising"), "have" (and any form of having, such as " has" and "having"), "include" (and any form of inclusion, such as "includes" and "including"), "contain" ( and any form of containing, such as "contains" and "containing (containing)") and any other grammatical variants thereof, are open linking verbs. Thus, a method or article of manufacture that "comprises", "has", "includes" or "contains" one or more steps or elements possesses those one or more steps or elements , but not limited to having only those one or more steps or elements. Likewise, a step of a method or an element of an article of manufacture that "comprises", "has", "includes" or "contains" one or more features possesses those one or more features , but not limited to having only those one or more features.

As used herein, the terms "comprising", "has", "inlcuding", "containing" and other grammatical variants encompass the terms "consisting of" and "Consisting essentially of (consisting essentially of)".

The phrase "consisting essentially of" or its grammatical variants when used herein should be read as specifying said features, integers, steps or components, but not excluding the addition of one or more additional features, integers, steps , component or group thereof, but only if said additional feature, integer, step, component or group thereof does not materially alter the basic and novel characteristics of the claimed composition or method.

Approximate language, as used herein throughout the disclosure, may be used to modify a quantitative representation of any permissible variation without resulting in a change in its associated basic function. Accordingly, a value modified by a term or terms, such as "about" or "substantially," is not to be limited to the precise value specified. For example, these terms may refer to less than or equal to ±5%, such as less than or equal to ±2%, such as less than or equal to ±1%, such as less than or equal to ±0.5%, such as less than or equal to ±0.2%, such as less than or equal to ± 0.1%, such as less than or equal to ±0.05%. In some cases, the approximate language may correspond to the precision of the instrument used to measure the value.

All documents cited in this specification are herein incorporated by reference as if each individual document was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference as if fully set forth.

Unless expressly stated otherwise, subject matter incorporated by reference is not considered to be a substitute for any claims limitation in scope.

Where one or more ranges are referred to in this specification, each range is intended to be a shorthand format for presenting information, where the range is understood to encompass each discrete point within the range, as it is referred to herein Exactly the same. .

While several aspects and embodiments of the invention have been described and depicted herein, those skilled in the art can implement alternative aspects and embodiments to achieve the same purpose. Accordingly, the disclosure and appended claims are intended to cover all such further and alternative aspects and embodiments as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

none

The present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, wherein like numerals indicate like elements, and:

[ Fig. 1 ] shows a fiber bundle for forming discrete fiber tufts according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[ Fig. 2 ] An enlarged view showing a part of a deformed fiber bundle according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[ Fig. 3 ] An enlarged view showing a part of a linear fiber bundle according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[ FIG. 4A ] shows a non-bonded fiber bundle for forming discrete fiber tufts according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[ FIG. 4B ] shows a bonded fiber bundle for forming discrete fiber tufts according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[ FIGS. 5A and 5B ] show a breaking member of a discrete fiber tuft manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[ Fig. 6 ] A plan view showing an exemplary embodiment of a discrete fiber tuft having a remainder of a fiber bundle according to the present invention;

[ Fig. 7 ] A top view showing another exemplary embodiment of a discrete fiber tuft having a remaining portion of a fiber bundle according to the present invention;

[ Fig. 8 ] A top view showing another exemplary embodiment of a discrete fiber tuft having a remaining portion of a fiber bundle according to the present invention;

[ Fig. 9 ] A top view showing another exemplary embodiment of a discrete fiber tuft having a remaining portion of a fiber bundle according to the present invention;

[ FIG. 10 ] A top view showing an exemplary embodiment of a discrete fiber tuft having an internal mixed fiber region according to the present invention;

[ FIG. 11 ] A top view showing another exemplary embodiment of a discrete fiber tuft having an internal mixed fiber region according to the present invention;

[ FIG. 12 ] A top view showing another exemplary embodiment of a discrete fiber tuft having an internal mixed fiber region according to the present invention;

[ FIG. 13 ] A top view showing another exemplary embodiment of discrete fiber tufts with internal mixed fiber regions according to the present invention;

[ FIG. 14 ] is a photograph of a top view of an embodiment of a discrete fiber tuft according to the present invention;

[FIG. 15] is a side view photograph of an embodiment of the discrete fiber tufts of FIG. 12;

[ FIG. 16 ] is a photograph of a top view of another embodiment of a discrete fiber tuft according to the present invention;

[ FIG. 17 ] is a photograph of a top view of another embodiment of a discrete fiber tuft according to the present invention;

[ FIG. 18 ] is a photograph of a top view of another embodiment of a discrete fiber tuft according to the present invention;

[ FIG. 19 ] is a photograph of a top view of another embodiment of a discrete fiber tuft according to the present invention;

[ FIG. 20 ] is a photograph of a top view of a plurality of exemplary discrete fiber tufts according to the present invention;

[ FIG. 21 ] is a photograph of a front elevation view of an embodiment of a plurality of exemplary discrete fiber tufts of FIG. 20 ;

[ FIG. 22 ] is a photograph of a top view of a plurality of exemplary discrete fiber tufts according to the present invention;

[ FIG. 23 ] is a photograph of a top view of a plurality of exemplary discrete fiber tufts according to the present invention;

[ FIG. 24 ] is a photograph of a top view of a plurality of exemplary discrete fiber tufts joined to each other according to the present invention;

[ FIG. 25 ] is a photograph of a top view of a plurality of exemplary discrete fiber tufts according to the present invention; and

[ Fig. 26 ] is a photograph of a top view of a plurality of exemplary discrete fiber tufts bonded to each other according to the present invention.

[ Fig. 27 ] is an enlarged photograph of a part of the mixed filament yarn.

[ Fig. 28 ] is a simplified schematic view showing the arrangement of filaments before and after forming a mixed filament yarn.

[Fig. 29] An enlarged photograph of a cut portion or "bundle" of mixed filament yarn.

[ Fig. 30 ] An enlarged photograph of a specific example of the fibrous filler cluster of the present invention.

[ Fig. 31 ] An enlarged photograph of a specific example of the fibrous filler cluster of the present invention.

[ Fig. 32 ] An enlarged photograph of a specific example of the fibrous filler cluster of the present invention.

[ Fig. 33 ] is an enlarged photograph of a mixed filament yarn (left) and a plurality of fiber filler clusters formed therefrom according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figures 33B and 33C are enlarged photographs of the fibrous filler clusters in Figure 33A.

[ Fig. 34 ] is a diagram showing a process of cutting a mixed filament yarn to form a bundle which is broken to form a specific example of the fiber filler cluster of the present invention.

[ Fig. 35 ] is a simplified diagram of a specific example of the fibrous filler cluster of the present invention.

10: Discrete Beam

12: Fiber

Claims (59)

A method of making at least one discrete fibrous filler cluster, the method comprising: obtaining a plurality of discrete bundles of 25 to 3600 fibers having a denier of 0.2 to 12.0 and a length of 8 to 160 mm, the plurality of fibers being aligned longitudinally together; and The longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle is disrupted such that they are three-dimensionally irregularly extended and mixed to form discrete fiber packing clusters. The method of claim 1, wherein disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle comprises disrupting the longitudinal alignment of only some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle such that the remainder of the bundle of the plurality of fibers The fibers are kept longitudinally aligned and mixed with the fibers extending irregularly three-dimensionally. The method of claim 2, wherein the fibers extending irregularly in three dimensions form an outer region extending outwardly from the remainder of the bundle. The method of claim 3, wherein the remainder of the bundle comprises a higher density of fibers than the outer region. The method of claim 1, wherein disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle comprises disrupting the longitudinal alignment of all of the plurality of fibers of the bundle such that none of the plurality of fibers remain longitudinally aligned together . The method of claim 5, wherein the longitudinal arrangement of all the plurality of fibers that destroy the bundle forms at least one inner relatively densely distributed three-dimensional fiber region, and an outer three-dimensionally extending outward from the at least one inner relatively densely distributed region Relatively less densely distributed fibrous regions. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle comprises mixing only some of the disrupted fibers such that some of the disrupted fibers form fiber packing clusters, And some of these disrupted fibers did not form fibrous packing clusters. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the disrupting the longitudinal arrangement of at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle comprises positioning the bundle between the joint sides of at least one pair of disrupting members such that the disrupting sides are in contact The bundle, and translating the at least one first disrupting member relative to the at least one second disrupting member along a path extending longitudinally along the longitudinal direction of the fibers of the bundle and along sides oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal direction Extend sideways in the direction. The method of claim 8, wherein the distance between the breaching sides remains substantially constant during the breaching. The method of claim 8 or 9, wherein: the at least one first disruptive member is translated along the arcuate path for at least a first portion of the time; and/or the at least one first disruptive member is translated along the elliptical path for at least a first portion of the time; and/or the at least one first disruptive member is translated along a random orbital pattern for at least a first portion of the time; and/or at least one of the joint sides comprises a substantially flat and smooth surface; and/or At least one of the engaging sides comprises a substantially planar array of particles or protrusions. The method of any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle comprises subjecting the bundle to at least one gas and/or liquid flow. The method of any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the discrete bundles are obtained from filament yarns and are bundles comprising a plurality of 25 to 3600 fibers having a denier of 0.2 to 12.0 and 8 to 76 mm in length, the plurality of fibers are longitudinally aligned together, the fibers have a mixing nip portion, wherein the plurality of fibers are entangled with each other; and wherein the disruption of the longitudinal alignment disrupts the plurality of fibers adjacent to the mixing nip portion fibers, thereby forming at least one outer fiber region extending three-dimensionally outwardly from the mixing nip portion, wherein after the breaking, the plurality of fibers are randomly and non-uniformly oriented relative to each other, and corresponding to the bundle of the plurality of fibers The remainder of the mixing nip portion has a higher fiber density than the at least one outer region. The method of claim 12, wherein the disrupting the longitudinal alignment comprises subjecting the bundle to: – opener processing; – garnet machine treatment; or – Air treatment. The method of claim 13, wherein subjecting the bundle to air treatment comprises subjecting the bundle to air tumbling. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein: the plurality of fibers forming the fibrous filler tuft is from a section of mixed filament yarn, and the mixing nip portion of the tuft corresponds to the mixing nip portion of the mixed filament yarn; the plurality of fibers in the mixing nip portion extend non-linearly along their longitudinal length; and There are no fibers bonded together within the cluster. The method of any one of claims 1 to 14, further comprising, prior to the breaking, bonding at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle together at at least one point along the longitudinal direction of the bundle to At least one bond point is formed. The method of claim 16, wherein the bonding point is formed by heating at least some of the plurality of fibers at the at least one point to adhere the fibers together at the at least one bonding point. The method of claim 17, wherein heating at least some of the plurality of fibers at the at least one point comprises contacting the plurality of fibers at the at least one point with a material having a temperature above a melting temperature of the fibers. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein disrupting the longitudinal alignment of at least some of the plurality of fibers of the bundle comprises entangling some of the disrupted fibers together. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, which is used to prepare the fibrous filler cluster according to any one of claims 21 to 55. A discrete fiber packing cluster comprising: a plurality of intermixed fibers comprising 25 to 3600 fibers having a denier of 0.2 to 12.0 and a length of 8 to 160 mm, wherein the plurality of fibers form: a bundle remainder comprising some of the plurality of fibers arranged longitudinally together; and an outer fiber region extending three-dimensionally outwardly from the remainder of the bundle, comprising some of the plurality of fibers randomly and non-uniformly oriented relative to each other, and Wherein the remainder of the bundle contains a higher density of fibers than the outer region. 21. The discrete fiber packing cluster of claim 21, wherein the remainder of the bundle comprises fewer fibers than the outer region (eg, at least 25%, at least 50%, or at least 75% fewer fibers than the outer region). The discrete fiber filler cluster of claim 21 or 22, wherein the plurality of fibers are from a section of mixed filament yarn, and the remaining portion of the bundle of the discrete fiber filler clusters corresponds to a mixing nip portion from the mixed filament yarn . 23. The cluster of discrete fibrous packings of claim 23, wherein the plurality of fibers in the remainder of the bundle are entangled with each other. 24. The cluster of discrete fibrous packing according to any one of claims 21 to 24, wherein the remainder of the bundle extends non-linearly along its length. 4. The cluster of discrete fibrous fillers as claimed in any one of claims 21 to 25, wherein the remainder of the bundle is part of a length of filament yarn. 26. The cluster of discrete fibrous fillers of claim 26, wherein the remainder of the bundle is part of a length of textured filament yarn. 26. The cluster of discrete fibrous fillers of claim 26, wherein the remainder of the bundle is part of a length of flat filament yarn. 4. The cluster of discrete fibrous packings of any one of claims 21 to 28, wherein the plurality of fibers of the remainder of the bundle extend substantially parallel to each other along their longitudinal length. 9. The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of claims 21 to 29, wherein the plurality of fibers are non-deformed linear fibers. 9. The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of claims 21 to 29, wherein the plurality of fibers are deformed linear fibers. The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of claims 21 to 31, wherein the plurality of fibers: extends non-linearly along its longitudinal length; and/or Extends irregularly along its longitudinal length. 4. The cluster of discrete fibrous packing of any one of claims 21 to 32, wherein some of the plurality of fibers in the outer region are entangled together, or are entangled with at least one fiber in the remainder of the bundle. The discrete fibrous packing cluster of claim 33, wherein less than about 50% (e.g., less than about 25%) of the plurality of fibers of the outer region are entangled together or with at least one fiber of the remainder of the bundle together. 4. The cluster of discrete fibrous packing of any one of claims 21 to 34, wherein at least some of the plurality of fibers of the outer region are twisted together, or are twisted together with at least one fiber of the remainder of the bundle. The discrete fiber packing tuft of claim 35, wherein less than about 50% (e.g., less than about 25%) of the plurality of fibers of the outer region are twisted together, or with at least one fiber of the remainder of the bundle together. 4. The discrete fibrous packing cluster of any one of claims 21 to 36, comprising at least one bonding point wherein at least some of the plurality of fibers are bonded together. 37. The discrete fiber packing cluster of claim 37, wherein the at least one bond point includes some fibers of the remaining portion and some fibers of the outer region. 37. The discrete fiber packing cluster of claim 37 or 38, wherein the at least one bond point includes only some fibers of the remainder of the bundle and some fibers of the outer region. The discrete fibrous filler clusters of any one of claims 21 to 39, wherein the fibrous filler clusters define a length, width, and thickness, and wherein: the length and width and the width are greater than the thickness; and/or The length is greater than the width. The discrete fibrous filler clusters of any one of claims 21 to 40, wherein the fibrous filler clusters define a length, width, and thickness, and wherein: The length is in the range of about 0.5 to about 6.5 cm; and/or The width is in the range of about 0.5 to about 6.5 cm. 41. The discrete fibrous filler clusters of any one of claims 21 to 41, wherein the fibrous filler clusters define a substantially oval shape. 41. The discrete fibrous filler clusters of any one of claims 21 to 41, wherein the fibrous filler clusters define a substantially spherical shape. 8. The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of claims 21 to 43, wherein the plurality of fibers have a Deny of about 0.7 to about 1.7. 9. The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of claims 21 to 44, wherein the plurality of fibers of the bundle have a longitudinal length of about 20 to about 50 mm. The discrete fibrous filler clusters of any one of claims 21 to 45, wherein the fibrous filler clusters have a density of about 0.08 to 0.70 mg/cm ³ (eg, about 0.10 to about 0.50 mg/cm ³ ). 8. The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of claims 21 to 46, wherein the plurality of fibers comprises about 50 to about 500 fibers. The cluster of discrete fibrous fillers according to any one of claims 21 to 47, wherein the plurality of fibers are fibers selected from the group consisting of: polyamide, polyester, polypropylene, polylactic acid, poly(butyl acrylate), acrylic , acrylate, acetate, polyolefin, nylon, rayon, lyocell, polyaramid, spandex, viscose fiber, and modal fiber, or combinations thereof. 48. The cluster of discrete fibrous fillers of any one of claims 21 to 48, wherein the plurality of fibers are polyester fibers. The discrete fiber packing cluster of claim 49, wherein the polyester fibers are selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), poly(hexahydro-xylylene terephthalate), polypara Butylene phthalate (PBT) fibers, polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) fibers, copolyester fibers (eg, copolyester fibers comprising PET structural units), or combinations thereof. The discrete fiber packing cluster of claim 49, wherein the polyester fibers are PET fibers. 6. The cluster of discrete fibrous fillers as claimed in any one of claims 21 to 51, wherein the fibers comprise recycled polymeric material. 9. The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of claims 21 to 52, wherein the plurality of fibers comprise siliconized fibers. 9. The discrete fiber packing cluster of any one of claims 21 to 53, wherein the plurality of fibers comprises solid fibers. 9. The cluster of discrete fibrous fillers of any one of claims 21 to 54, wherein the plurality of fibers of the bundle are doped with a durable water repellant or polysiloxane chemistry. A discrete fiber packing cluster comprising: a plurality of fibers randomly mixed with each other, the plurality of fibers comprising 25 to 3600 fibers having a denier of 0.2 to 12.0 and a length of 8 to 160 mm, wherein the plurality of The fibers are randomly and non-uniformly oriented with respect to each other, wherein the plurality of fibers form: at least one inner relatively densely packed region of fibers; and an outer relatively less densely packed region extending three-dimensionally outward from the at least one inner relatively densely packed region and wherein the discrete fiber filler clusters have a length of 0.5 cm to 6.5 cm, a width of 0.5 cm to 6.5 cm, and a density of 0.08 mg/cm ³ to 0.70 mg/cm ³ . An insulating or filling material comprising a plurality of discrete clusters of fibrous filler according to any one of claims 21 to 56. An article comprising a plurality of discrete fibrous filler clusters according to any one of claims 21 to 56 or the insulating or filling material according to claim 57. The article of claim 58, wherein the article is selected from the group consisting of footwear, outerwear, clothing, sleeping bags and bedding.

Images