US2262872A

US2262872A - Method of preparing textile materials

Info

Publication number: US2262872A
Application number: US211205A
Authority: US
Inventors: Whitehead William
Original assignee: Celanese Corp
Current assignee: Celanese Corp
Priority date: 1938-06-01
Filing date: 1938-06-01
Publication date: 1941-11-18
Anticipated expiration: 1958-11-18

Description

Nov. 18, 1941. w, WHITEHEAD 2,262,872

METHOD OF PREPARING TEXTILE MATERIALS Filed June 1, 1938 FILAMENTS FORMED ARE. OF DIFFERENT DENIERS FILAMENTS OF SMALLER DENIER ARE BROKEN INVENTOR vvnum'n Whifehead Y 1 My WW- ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 18, 1941 METHOD OF PREPARING TEXTILE MATERIALS William Whitehead, Cumberland, Md., assignor to Celanese Corporation of America, a. corporation of Delaware Application June 1, 1938, Serial No. 211,205

18 Claims. (CI. 1854) This invention relates to the manufacture of yarns, and particularly yarns of cellulose acetate or other organic derivative of cellulose, having the appearance of spun yarn or yarn made from staple fiber, and relates also to fabrics made from such yarns.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my application S. No. 205,990, filed May 4, 1938.

An object of the invention is the economic production of staplized yarn, i. e. one having the appearance of being composed of short lengths of fiber spun into a yarn and which is formed of continuous filaments which, after the filaments are grouped together to form a yarn, are subjected to an operation to break the continuity of some, but not all, of the filaments associated in the yarn, so that the resulting yarn has a number of broken ends which give it, when twisted, the appearance of a spun yarn. Another object of the invention is to reduce the number of steps formerly necessary to produce such a yarn. A still further object of the invention is the production of a more uniform and stronger staplized yarn which, therefore, may be knitted into circular knit fabrics with less presser marks, holes and other faults. A still further object of the invention is the product of a staplized yarn which knits into a fabric characterized by having softer hand. Other objects of the invention will appear from the following detailed description.

Imitation spun yarn, or staplized yarn, .has been made by processes where some filaments of a continuous filament yarn are broken to break the continuity of same. Such a process is described in U. S. Patent No. 2,098,980 to Sowter. Other methods have been employed wherein some of the filaments of the yarn are cut or torn to produce a similar effect. I have now found that a yarn having the appearance of a spun yarn may be produced more economically and at the same time stronger yet capable of being knitted into a softer fabric.

In accordance with my invention, I spin a yarn from a solution of a suitable organic derivative of cellulose in a solvent therefor by extruding the solution through a jet into a drying atmosphere or a precipitating medium, under such conditions that theresulting yarn contains at least two sizes of filaments. One method of accomplishing this is to have two jets in the same cabinet, one jet having fine holes and the other jet having coarser holes both fed by the same pump. Also two separate jets may be employed in the same cabinet, the jets having the same size holes but fed by separate pumps, where the debit of the pumps will produce different size filaments. The filaments from the two jets are led from the cabinet together and are wound on to the same bobbin. Another method of carrying my invention into eifect is to produce one end of fine filament yarn and one end of a coarser filament yarn in adjacent'cabinets and draw the same together by a feed roll and then wind them on to the same bobbin. Still another method of producing a yarn in accordance with the instant invention, although this method is less desirable as it requires an additional step, is the plying together of a fine filament yarn and a coarser filament yarn from suitable supply packages. The yarn containing different size filaments and While it contains little or no twist, say under 5 to 10 turns per inch and preferably about 1 or less turn per inch, is subjected to a staplizing action by stretching and breaking the finer denier filaments leaving the coarser filaments unbroken. This yarn may then be further twisted, doubled, etc. and woven, knitted or knotted into a fabric. This yarn may be the sole yarn in the fabric or it may be used in connection with other types of yarn.

This invention aims to produce a staplized yarn of cellulose acetate or other organic derivative of cellulose. Examples of other organic derivatives of cellulose are the cellulose esters such as cellulose fo-rmate, cellulose propionate and cellulose butyrate, and the cellulose ethers such as ethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose and benzyl cellulose. It is also applicable to yarns of regenerated or reconstituted cellulose, which yarns are formed by extruding a solution of suitable cellulosic material through a jet to form substantially continuous filaments.

Any number of filaments may be built up into a yarn, say from 20 to 200 or more. These filaments may be of two different sizes or may be of three or more sizes, it being understood that the finer the filament the more readily it is reduced a spinning one end of 85 denier 25 filament yarn from one jet and of denier 40 filament yarn from another jet in the same cabinet, and

The yarn containing two or more sizes of filan ments as it issues from a spinning device or taken from a package may have the'finer 411a:

ments broken by leading the same through two" sets of nip rollers, the forward'set ifeithe set from which the yarn issues;-'bingdriven -under slightly'greater speed than the rear set. These two sets of nip rollers maybe spaced-from l inch to or more inches apart and the spacing thereof will determine the length of fiber-into which the smaller denier-or weaker filamentsare; broken. Afterthe yarn leaves the forward nip ;rollers it mayhave twist inserted thereinor it maybe wound into a package and then twisted upona separate device, ,Also, the-yarn thus produced'may be doubled with a similar yarn, a continuous filament yarn, or a yarn-formed-ofstaple fiber. If desired, some drafting of the yarn may be accomplished by subjecting the yarn prior to its entrance into the nip rollers :to the softening action of a solvent. vapor, 'steamor other medium which will allow. the larger denier tor stronger. filaments :to stretch while the smaller denier or weaker filaments are broken and drafted during the stretching of the'larger filaments.

The continuous filament yarnsmay-be staplized by any suitablemethod. In place of themethod described above, which requires stretching of the filaments to the breaking point, it may be staplized, for instance, by abrading rolls with little or no stretching or drafting; In thismodifi'cation the first "pair of I rolls which the yarn encounters does not form'a truenip. The lower rollfof the pair is milled,'=i. e'.- has a rough surface andthe top rollis comparatively light and bears-down on the yarn with only a ver y light self-lead: The second pair 1 of i'rolls -whi'ch the yarn encounters forms a definite-nip under relatively high load and controls the linear speed of the yarn. The second pair of rolls pulls the yarn forward at a linear speed greaterftha'n the peripheralspeed 0f the milled roll 'of the first p'air. Inasmuch as this first pair of rolls -is travellingat asur'face speed less-thanthat-of the yarn and the top roll does not form a positive nip the yarn slips forward and is broken in places, 'which are variably spaced, on this pair of abradingrolls. The lower denier filaments break more readily than the coarser filaments;

. v The yarns prior to or afterthe operation which breaks the smaller denier or weaker filaments may be subjected to any of the processes now employed to change the physical "or chemical nature thereof; For instance-the yarns may be treated and boiled in water to produce a delustered yarn; they may have sizes-"and lubricants applied thereto, they may have dyes and fugitivetints applied thereto, or they may be otherwise modified. The basic yarn may beof high, medium or low luster, the luster being modifiedjfor example, by the incorporation of pig ments, by treatment with boiling soap solution orother aqueous liquors or by any other method.

Similarly the yarns doubled with the. yarns of the preseri'tinverition may be of noi n'i'al luster 'ing them in admixture with other yarns.

or the luster may be suitably modified. The association of lustrous and non-lustrous yarns or filaments may take place before or after the breaking of constituent filaments.

The yarns or mixed yarns of the invention may be woven, knitted or otherwise made up into fabrics consisting solely of said yarns or contain- For example, the yarns may be introduced into the weft or warp, or both, to produce a woven fabric having the appearance of one constituted wholly of staple fiber yarn or having pattern "efie'cts with or without differential luster.

The invention is particularly applicable to knitted uent of the fabric. Knitted fabrics made of yarns produced in accordance with this invention are exceptionally well suited for ladies underwear fabri'csas they have the appearance of being made of staple-lengthfiber and yet they are extremely: soft and, have high covering power.

As :an'illustration of this invention, but without being limited thereto, the following examples are given:. e I

Example I A 25%;solution of cellulose acetate dissolved in acetoneis extrude'd'through suitable spinning jets to" produce a yarn. This yarn is formed of one end of an denier 20' filament yarn spun from 'onejet'andan end of 85 denier' lfl'filament yarn spun'from'a'nother jet 'in the same cabinet. These ends are drawn together at the feed roll and wound on to thesame bobbin producing a yarn of 1'70v denier 60 filaments and contains about 1 turn per inch of twist; The yarn is then placed on a s'taplizing device and passed .to the two sets of rollers, the abradin'g rollsor the first pair of rolls which the yarn encounters being spaced.- about 5" fromthe second pair of rolls, which travels at a higher speedthan the, first set of rolls, in such a manner thatthe .finer fila'f ments are bruised orabraded and thereby broken into 6.' lengths, whilethe coarser filaments remain substantially continuous. This yarn is then given between 5 and 10 turns per-inch twist, and a fabricknitted therefrom by-a" circular knitting operation. The yarn runs exceptionally well-in circular knitting machinesandthe total faults per yard are below 0.08. i I

Cellulose acetate threads formed by spinning a suitable, solution'pf cellulose acetate through jetsis-f'ormedfrom one end of denier- 20 fila-; mentyarn and one endof 6,0denien20 filament yarn 'spuniin adjacent cabinetsand adrawnatoe gether at the feed 1 011 i and. wound" .on fto the same. bobbin with. aftwistof about 0-.fi -turn per inch. ;l This yarn is passedfthrough the staplizing device similar to the yarn of ExamplesL :The yarn is then'twi'sted to fr0m'.5 to :10 turns per inch and knitted by circular knitting into a fab'ric.1- .The yarn :runs. exceptionally well in ciiicular-knitting -.machines and the zfabriciproducedz contains 'no'thin places or slub holes..-arid has substantially no faults." q .7 I

The above examples are; merelylillustrative of yarns'that may be producedcin' accordance with this: invention. Where. three sizes: of filaments are: 'employedin building up the; same yarn, for. instance, :all' of the smaller-denier on-weakest filamentsiwill: be ibroken aandta ipartvof the ime-:

I dium' sized filaments may be "broken 'whil'e the coarser filaments will be substantially continuous. Although this invention is applicable to yarns having two or more sizes of filaments regardless of how they are formed, I have found it preferable to spin the yarn from one cabinet having at least two jets therein, each jet having different size holes. This arrangement allows for the use of standard jets in the production of yarn without the necessity of reaming out a part of the holes of a standard jet.

One arrangement for carrying out my invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawing.

The drawing shows a spinning cell I containing two

jets

2 and 3 from which bundles of filaments 4 and. 5, each bundle containing filaments of a denier different than the other, are extruded in a downward directionand are withdrawn from the cell through an opening 6. The bundles of

filaments

4 and 5 are led from opening 6 over a draw roller 7 and through pairs of

rollers

8, 8 and 9, 9, each pair of which are operated at different speeds and in such a manner as to break only the filaments of smaller denier. The combined bundles of filaments, now containing staple fibers, are passed through a guide II on to a suitable collecting device 12.

.It is to be understood that the foregoing de tailed description is merely given by way of illustration and that many variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention.

7 Having described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Process for the manufacture of staplized yarn, which comprises producing from a solution of cellulosic material a yarn of substantially continuous filaments of at least two different deniers and, while retaining said filaments in association as a yarn, dividing the filaments of smaller denier into short lengths and leaving the heavier filaments in substantially continuous form.

2. Process for the manufacture of staplized yarn, which comprises producing from a solution of an organic derivative of cellulose material a yarn of substantially continuous filaments of at least two different deniers and, while retaining said filaments in association as a yarn, dividing the filaments of smaller denier into short lengths and leaving the heavier filaments in substantially continuous form.

3. Process for the manufacture of staplized yarn, which comprises producing from a solution of cellulose acetate material a yarn of substantially continuous filaments of at least two different deniers and, while retaining said filaments in association as a yarn, dividing the filaments of smaller denier into short lengths and leaving the heavier filaments in substantially continuous form.

4. Process for the manufacture of staplized yarn, which comprises producing a yarn from a solution of cellulosic materials having substantially continuous filaments of at least two different. deniers and subjecting the yarn to a strain whereby the smaller denier filaments are broken and the heavier filaments are left in substantially continuous lengths.

5. Process for the manufacture of staplized yarn, which comprises producing a yarn from a solution of an organic derivative of cellulose material having substantially continuous filaments of at least two different deniers and subjecting the yarn to a strain whereby the smaller denier solution of cellulosic material having substantially continuous filaments of at least two different deniers and subjecting the yarn to a controlled abrading action whereby the smaller denier filaments are broken and theheavier filaments are left in substantially continuous lengths. 8. Process for the manufacture of 'staplized yarn, which comprises producing .a yarn from a solution of an organic derivative of cellulose material having substantially continuous filaments of at least two different deniers and subjecting the yarn to a controlled abrading action whereby the smaller denier filaments are broken and the heavier filaments are left in substantially con tinuous lengths.

9. Process for the manufacture of staplized yarn, which comprises producing a yarn from a solution of cellulose acetate material having substantially continuous filaments of at least two different deniers and subjecting'the yarn to a controlled abrading action whereby the smaller denier filaments are broken and the heavier filaments are left in substantially continuous lengths. l

10. Process for the manufacture of staplized yarn, which comprises extruding a solution of cellulosic material through two jets having holes of different sizes and located in the same cabinet, associating the extruded material to form a yarn of substantially continuous filaments of at least two different deniers and, while retaining said filaments in association as a yarn, dividing the filaments of smaller denier into short lengths and leaving the heavier filaments in substantially continuous form.

11. Process for the manufacture of staplized yarn, which comprises extruding a solution of an organic derivative of cellulose material through two jets having holes of different sizes and located in the same cabinet, associating the extruded material to form a yarn of substantially continuous filaments of at least two different deniers and, while retaining said filaments in association as a yarn, dividing the filaments of smaller denier into short lengths and leaving the heavier filaments in substantially continuous form.

12. Process for the manufacture of staplized yarn, which comprises extruding a solution of cellulose acetate material through two jets having holes of different sizes and located in the same cabinet, associating the extruded material to form a yarn of substantially continuous filaments of at least two different deniers and, while retaining said filaments in association as a yarn, dividing the filaments of smaller denier into short lengths and leaving the heavier filaments in substantially continuous form.

13. Process for the manufacture of staplized yarn, which comprises spinning a solution of an organic derivative of cellulose into a yarn of substantially continuous filaments, spinning a second solution of an organicderivative of cellulose into 'form. t

a second yarn of substantially continuousffilaments having a heavier denier than the first yarn, drawing theytwo:yarns' together to form a 'u'rntaryyarn and; whileretaining said two yarns together as a unitarytyarn, dividing the filaments ofsmaller denier into shortlengths and leaving the heavier filamentstin substantially continuous 14. Process for thenmanufacture of "staplized yarn, which comprises (spinning a solution of cellulose acetate into ta yarn of substantially *continuous filaments, spinninga secondsolution of cellulose acetate into a second yarn of substantially: continuous filaments having a heavier denierthan the firsttyarn,=drawin the two. yarns together to forma unitary yarn and, while retaining said two yarns together as a unitary yarn, dividing the filaments of smaller denier into short lengths and leavingtherhe'avier filaments in substantially continuous form. 7

15. Process for the manufacture. of staplized yarn, which comprises spinning a solution of an organic derivative ofcellulose into a yarn of substantially continuous filaments, spinning a second solution of an organic derivative of cellulose into a second yarn of substantially continuous filaments having a heavier denier than the first yarn, twisting the two yarns together with a twist of about one turn per inch to form a unitary yarn and, while retaining said twoyarns together as a unitary yarn, dividing thefilaments of smaller denier into short lengths and leaving the heavier filaments in substantially continuous form.

16. Process for the manufacture of staplized yarn, which comprises spinning a solution of cellulose acetateinto a yarn of substantiallycontinuous filaments; spinning a second solution of cellulose acetate, into a 'secondyarn of substantially continuous filaments having a heavier denier than the first yarn, twisting the two yarns together with a twist of about one turn per inch to form a unitary yarn and, while retaining said two yarns together as a unitary yarn, dividing-the filaments of smaller denier into short lengths and leaving the heavier filaments in substantially continuous form. I

'17. Process for the manufacture of staplized yarn, which comprises spinning a solution of an organic derivative of cellulose into a yarn of I substantially continuous filaments, spinning a second solution of an organic derivative of cellulose into a second yarn of substantially continuous filaments having a heavier denier than the first yarn, twisting the. two yarns together with a twist of about one turn per inch to form a unitary yarn and, while retaining said .two yarns together as a unitary yarn, dividing the filaments of smaller denier into short lengths and leaving the heavier filaments in substantially vtwo yarns together as a unitaryyarn, dividing the filaments of smaller denier into short lengths and leaving the heavier filaments in substantially continuous form by passing said unitary yarn through the nlps of rotary surfaces moving at different rates of speed. WILLIAM .WHITEHEAD.