US2133435A

US2133435A - Textile thread and fabric

Info

Publication number: US2133435A
Application number: US106614A
Authority: US
Inventors: Dickle William Alexander; Moncrieff Robert Wighton
Original assignee: Celanese Corp
Current assignee: Celanese Corp
Priority date: 1932-05-17
Filing date: 1936-10-20
Publication date: 1938-10-18
Anticipated expiration: 1955-10-18

Description

Patented Oct. 18, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlca 2.1 3.435 'mx'rmn THREAD AND r'snmc William Alexander Dickie and Robert Wighton Moncrieff, Spondon, near Derby, England, as- .signors to Celaneee Corporation of America, a

corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Original applications May 17, 1932, Serial Nos. 611,922 and 611,924. Divided and this application October 20, 1936, Serial No. 100,614. In Great'Britain June 4, 1931 acclaim.

struction highly twisted yarns of natural silk inthe gummed state, the crepe efi'ects appearing more particularly when the fabric issubiected to scouring in an aqueous bath. The fabrics obtained by this process have long been highly valued on account of their pleasing-appearance and handle. The production of crepe fabrics in an analogous manner by the use of highly twisted yarns of cellulose acetate filaments has however been accompanied by very considerable difilculties. In many cases it is found that little or no crepe effect is obtained unless a very considep able degree of twist is imparted to the crpe .threads. Further, when this degree of twist is sufllcient to lead to the production of crepe effects comparable with those obtainable by means of natural silk, it is found that the strength of the resulting fabrics is frequently so low=as to render them commercially valueless.

We have now found that in utilizing highly twisted cellulose acetate yarns in the manufacture of crepe fabrics agreat improvement, particularly as regards the strength of the finished fabrics, may be effected by subjecting the yarn to the'action of water vapour or by wetting the at least part of the crepe twist is applied thereto.

For example a cellulose acetate yarn of about 100 denier and containing about 25 filaments may be twisted to 25 to 30 turns per inch or more and then subjected to the action of steam at about -105 C., i. e. under a pressure below or slightly above that of the atmosphere, or then wetted thoroughly with water. The so treated yarn is thereafter twisted to 60-70 turns per inch and utilized as the weft of a fabric, pairs of picks of right-hand twist alternating with pairs of picks of left-hand twist. The fabric may then be scoured andfinished, whereupon a fabric exhibiting excellent crepe efi'ectsand of very good propertiesasregards strength may be obtained.

Ifthe treatment with steam or water is omitted the resulting fabrics may exhibit a serious reduction in strength in the direction of the highly twisted yarns.

In the manufacture of the crepe threads in accordance with our invention, the requisite high degree of twist is thus applied in at least two stageswith intermediate treatment of the yarn with water vapour or with water'or other aqueous liquid. If desired the twisting may be accomplished in three or more stages, the yarn being wetted or treated with water vapour between any or all of the stages. Further, if desired, the yarn may be subjected, in addition, to water vapour treatment before twisting or. after the total amount of twist has been applied.

The degree of twist employed in the crpe threads may vary within wide limits. and according to the nature of the yarn and of the filaments contained therein. Thus, for instance,

a total twist of from 55 to or '70 turns per inch may be employed, though higher twist may be employed if desired, for example a twist of -85or more turns per inch. Yarn composed of fine filaments is advantageous in that it a'dsteamed or wetted, andthereupon an additional 55 turns per inch applied to give the necessary total twist. Again, if desired 40 turns per inch may first be applied and 25 turns per inch in the second stage. In an analogous manner when three or more stages are employed the twist may be divided between the .various stages in any desired manner. As indicated previously, however, in the case of yarn of about denier and containing about 25 filaments very good results may be obtained by applying about 25 turns perinch in the first stage.

In practice, it has been found particularly ad vantageous to apply in the first place a degree of twist of the order of that necessary to cause a close packing of the filamentsof the yarn and then to treat the latter with water vapour or water and thereafter toimp'art' the degree of twist necessary to give rise to crepe eflects of the desired character. In the case of 100 denier 26 filament yarn the desired close packing is secured by the application of about 25 turns per men. It will be appreciated that the exact degree of twist necessary to give the desired close packing of the filaments is dependent in any particular Thus for yarns of a given total denier the twist required to effect close packing is greater the smaller the number of filaments. Again, for yarns containing a given number of filaments the desirable first stage twist varies inversely as the diameter of the filaments or the square root of the filament denier. In general for yarns of between '70 and 1'70 denier and containing from to 70 filaments the degree of twist applied before the wetting operation will be between about 10 and turns per inch.

The twisting of the yarns may be eflected in any convenient manner. It has been found advantageous however, particularly when applying the second or subsequent stage of twist, to utilize twisting devices of the type in which the yarn is twisted as it is drawn all from a rotating package and to prevent the applied twist running back to the bobbin. This result may very conveniently be attained by means of the device described in U. S. Patent No. 1,784,581.

The crepe effects obtained appear to be dependent chiefly upon the degree of twist imparted after the steam or water treatment and are to some extent independent of the degree of twist applied before the steam or water treatment particularly if the said degree of twist is not much below that required to effect close packing of the filaments. It has in fact been found that the character or extent of the crepe effects finally obtained in the fabricsmay be controlled to some extent by varying the proportion of twist applied after a steaming or wetting treatment. The amount of twist imparted in the final stage or stages following packing of the filaments into a firm thread will thus depend to a certain extent on the denier of the yarns and on the type of crpe efiect to be produced. In general a good figure is obtained on the fabrics by the use of a' total twist of 60-65 to upwards of 85 turns per inch.

In the treatment of the yarns in accordance with the present invention, the steam maybe employed under any desired pressure and at any desired temperature, for example at pressures below or slightly above that of the atmosphere, and at temperatures corresponding to the boiling point of water at those pressures. The steam may be saturated or wet. Very good results may be obtained for instance by using steam at pressures up to 5 lbs. per square inch below or above atmospheric pressure, though higher pressures, for example 10-20 lbs. per square inch or more, may be used if desired. Water may be applied to the yarns at a temperature of 80 C. up to or even above the boiling point.

The yarns may be steamed or treated with hot water in the course of one of the twisting operations utilized to apply the requisite twist to the yarn. Conveniently the yarn may be passed through a suitable chamber which may for instance take the form of a tube supplied with steam of the desired temperature. If desired the steam may be applied to the yarn at the point at which the twist is actually applied. For this purpose, in the case of using a twisting machine of the type in which twist is applied as the yarn is drawn off from a bobbin or like package, the thread guide immediately above the bobbin from which the yarn is drawn ofi may be mounted at the point of entry of the yarn into the tube or like chamber in which the steam is applied, or the thread guide may actually be within the said tube or like chamber. Preferably the steam is applied only in the minimum quantity necessary to secure the desired effect on the yarn in order that escape of steam and the consequent likelihood of troubles arising from the rusting of machinery and the like may be avoided as far as possible.

If desired hygroscopic or deliquescent substances or wetting agents 1. e. agents facilitating the wetting of solids by water, may be applied to or incorporated in the yarns prior to a twisting operation or a steaming or wetting treatment. As examples of such wetting agents may be mentioned soaps of organic or inorganic bases with higher fatty acids, for example alkali metal, ammonium or ethanolamine soaps, sulphonated oils, sulphonic acids of alkyl naphthalenes for example butyl naphthalene sulphonic acid, and sulphonic acids or sulphuric esters of higher aliphatic alcohols or of mineral oils, tar oils and v the like. Mention may also be made of wetting agents of a basic character, for example the higher poly-amines of the aliphatic series and basic derivatives of the higher fatty acids, for instance oleyl derivatives of aliphatic diamines or other higher fatty acid derivatives of this character.

Such hygroscopic or deliquescent substances or wetting agents may be applied to the yarns, or if desired may be incorporated in spinning solutions from which the yarns are prepared. For example, cellulose acetate solutions containing hygroscopic substances, for instance sodium or potassium acetate or calcium or magnesium chloride or nitrate may be spun into filaments and the latter formed into yarns and treated in accordance with the invention.

Such wetting agents may be applied in conjunction with the hot water used for a wetting treatment. I

After the operation of steaming or wetting with hot water the yarn may be allowed to stand for a time. In order to obtain a thread capable of giving rise to crepe effects, further twist is applied to the yarn directly or after subjecting the yarn to a drying operation in order to remove a part or the whole of any moisture content.

However, after the twisting operation effected while the thread. is under the influence of steam or hot water, i. e. at a stage when the twist in the thread is insufficient to impart crping power to the thread, the thread is per se useful and moreover the process of producing such a thread is novel, 1. e. the process which consists in applying to the thread while under the influence of steam or hot water a twist insufficient to impart crping power thereto. The purpose of the present divisional application is to claim the production of these threads having a twist lower than a crping twist by this novel process.

We have further found that hot water may be applied in the form of a fine spray. Thus for instance during the twisting operation, a very fine spray of heated water may be applied to the yarn. Such spray of water may be applied in restricted quantities so as to avoid as far as possible any rusting of the machinery. The spray may for instance be applied in a closed chamber, for example a chamber of tubular form through which the yarn 'is passed. The apparatus previously referred to as suitable for use in applying steam may be employed if desired.

If desired lubricants may be applied to the yarns which are to receive the twist, especially while the yarns have no twist or at any rate only a low degree of twist. Such lubricant, for example, olive oil or castor oil or oleic acid, assists the filaments to slide easily over each other so that they may more readily take up their proper position in the yarn, particularly during the early stages of twisting, prior and up to the point at which close packing is reached. Such lubricant may be permitted to remain in the yarns throughout the twisting, when it may be removed after incorporation of the yarns in fabrics.

The invention is of particular value in connection with the production of fabrics with the aid of yarns consisting of cellulose acetate filaments. Yarns comprising filaments of other organic derivatives of cellulose may be employed in an analogous manner. As examples of such cellulose derivatives may be mentioned cellulose formate, propionate or butyrate or other cellulose esters of organic acids, or methyl, ethyl or benzyl cellulose or other cellulose ethers. If desired yarns consisting of or comprising filaments of other materials may be employed, for example filaments of silk, cotton, or of artificial silk of the regenerated cellulose type. The yarns may also be composed of filaments of two or more different kinds whether in respect of material or denier or both. Thus there may be used threads containing both filaments of cellulose esters or ethers and filaments of natural silk -or regenerated cellulose artificial silk, or threads containing cellulose ester or ether filaments of two or more different deniers, or threads containing filaments of one cellulose derivative e. g. an ester in admixture with filaments of another cellulose derivative e. g. an ester of different ester content or an ether. Further the yarns may consist, wholly or in part, of staple fibre", i. e. relatively short lengths of filaments.

The threads may be incorporated in the fabrics in any suitable manner, for example the weft alone may be wholly or partially composed of such threads or the warp may also contain them. They may be disposed inthe fabrics in any convenient manner, for example pairs of threads of left-hand twist may alternate with pairs of threads of right-hand twist.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. Process for the manufacture of textile threads, whichconsists in twisting the thread to a degree lower than a creping twist and applying a hot aqueous fluid to the thread during the actual insertion of said twist, the total twist applied to the thread being insuflicient to impart creping power thereto.

2. Process for the manufacture of textile threads, which consists in twisting the thread to a degreelower than a creping twist and applying steam to the thread during the actual insertion of said twist, the total twist applied to the thread being insuiiieient to impart creping power thereto.

3. Process for the manufacture of textile threads, which consists in applying twist to a thread to a degree lower than a creping twist and steaming the thread during the actual insertion of said twist, the total twist applied to the thread being insumcient to impart creping power thereto.

4. Process for the manufacture of textile threads, which consists in applying twist .to a thread to a degree lower than a creping twist whilst the thread is under the influence of wet steam, the total twist applied being insufiicient to impart creping power to the thread.

5 Process for the manufacture of textile threads, which consists in applying twist to a thread of cellulose acetate filaments to a degree lower than a creping twist and steaming the thread at the point at which said twist is actually applied, the total twist applied being insufilcient to impart creping power to the thread. 6. Process for the manufacture of textile threads, which consists in twisting a thread composed of artificial cellulosic filaments to a degree lower than a creping twist and applying a hot aqueous fluid to the thread during the actual insertion of said twist, the total twist applied to the thread being insufilcient to impart creping power thereto.

'7. Process for the manufacture of textile threads, which consists in twisting a thread composed of artificial cellulosic filaments to a degree lowerthan a creping twist and applying steam to the thread during the actual insertionof said twist, the total twist applied to the thread being insufficient to impart creping power thereto.

8. Process for the manufacture of textile threads, which consists in twisting a thread composed of artificial cellulosic filaments to a degree lower than a creping twist and applying wet steam to the thread during the actual insertion of said twist, the total twist applied to the thread being insufiicient to impart creping power thereto.

9. Process for the manufacture of textile threads, which consists in twisting a thread composed of cellulose acetate filaments to a degree lower than a creping twistand applying a hot aqueous fluid to the thread during the actual insertion of said twist, the total twistapplied to the thread being insuflicient to impart creping power thereto.

10. Process for the manufacture of textile threads, which consists in twisting a thread composed of cellulose acetate filaments to a degree lower than a creping twist and applying wet steam to the thread during the actual insertion of said twist, the total twist applied to the thread being insufficient to impart creping power thereto.

WILLIAM ALEXANDER DICKIE. ROBERT WIGHTON MONCRIEFF.