US2817947A - Preparation of textile strands comprising fibres having different characteristics - Google Patents

Description

P. M. STRANG PREPARATION OF TEXTILE STRANDS COMPRISING FIBRES HAVING DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS Filed Sept. 10, 1955 jizverziar MSZWW fa??? aw Dec. 31, 1957 United States Patent O f PREPARATION 'OF TEXTILE *S'IRAN DS COMPRIS- ING FIBRES' DIFFE'REN T TERISTICS Peter-AM; ,Strang Nee ham, Ma s Application September;l; 1953; Serial No.=379695 i 9 Claim a (CL-.Skel;

This invention wrela-tes to thepreparation ofi strand-like materials from textile' fibrg and more especially -to a novel method-of and apparatuszfor use in-v the prepara tion-of-textile strands whereiii fibres having different char acteristics'are combined:

The practiceof=combining-warious natural- 'fitr res, vfor instance, linen and wool, ;in-.the manufacture ofi textile materialsprobabl y goes back to a 'tiine b'effOre the beginning of 11 recorded history, and the-faot that fa'b'rics; made from blends-of different natural fi bresyhave characteristics different from fabriesmade solely-"fromom or theother of constituent fibres is well knowne Thusdt is' com-mon to blend thevarious fibres,- eitherinthe formation-of individual spun: yarns or bywthecombination of spun yarns of different materials inaa 'weaving 'process,-=forthe purpose-of obtaining in rthe completed fabric' some-definite property: suchfor example-was :wrin-klewesis'tanee, dimensional stabilityror i-durabilitypor to-(secure such esthetic properties aswfeel, drape-, surfaceatexture; color efiects, etc. Gustomarilysiinvthe preparation" of a-spun yarn comprising-- fibrestahavingudifierenticharacteristics, these diiferentrfibres aremixediirr thedesiredpercentages at an earlystage inthe=manufactureand thus a.-ra-ndorn intermingling of :thefibresoccurs :in thecrossrsection of anyqyarns spun from such'lamixture In recent yearsextensive 'textile-"studremhaveabeen made with referenceatothe-- effect:ogfi stresszapplied to textile materialsythe influence of' twist -inispunryarnupen its textile strength, flexibi1-ity,=letc:; ,and's'the behavior of blends of different (fibres .rcombined-rin-yarnl-or fabrics One such -study made; byeMilton Piattristrepontedgin the Textile Research "Journal; volumesflt), No. 1; published January 1950; whereiniit :is strewn mathematically that the centralfilaments; r fibresaof'ta Espum yarnrare-subjected to r greater. stram thani areatherouter fibres :When the yarn is longitudinally stretched rand izthat maximum theoretical 1strengthioftthenyarm(thatris wtossay the sum ofthe; strengthstvofzitssconstituentnfibres) islaneverv attaineds Thus, fromizthea standpoint Z of ioptimum strength, each yarn zshoulditheoreticallyicompriseiagcorea(wherein the helix. angle; of "thenfibres'; orefil'amentszis 5 relatively steep), consistingtof' fibresnorsfilaments seleetefiiprimarily for high *textile strengtlr; and :arcevering of fibres :forrning helices whose {pitch is: lessasteeps thanthat of= the=:fibres forming the core. Such'iaa;cored ryarnnisardesirable; not only a in 1 the interest of 1. optimum'rstrength;;hut:1also.' be.-

cause such azyarn makesait possibleatcremploy for covering materials rfibrehaying:desirableaesthetic eharacteristics such as; highsheen, brilliant: colors;etfeehzpleasantzfeel, etc., but which maywbeelackingrjiria tensile estrengtht or which-may be-aundulyr:expensiveabutewhilmbeeomespractical for use when:combinediiwi-thraestrong core yarn of: cheaper material.

These,advantagesaofuthe cored yarmhave lOngfibEfil'l recognized; but'nthetpreparatielr reared Marina ar quisit fin ness lexrbi nyldeeaaasl dinet p a's. b eerattead d with aration o manvrrtert difficulty; 1fieretcfor a-sue kser dayamaah y asera imes been made by wrapping the selected'covering-fibre about a preformed core, but this method requires that thc core first be prepared, and usually wound upon a. suitable support to form a supply package, and that thiscore then be drawn througha spindle carrying the-covering material, also previously formed and woundupon. a support. One undesirable--characteristic of a cored yarn so made is that it has a strong tendency to kink and twist and heretofore theonly practical wayto avoid-such aresult was toapply more-thanonecovering, with adjacent covering layers-wound in oppositedirections, all of which increases the expense of preparation of-tlie cored yarn and substantially-limits thefineness of yarns whichrnay be prepared in this manner; Moreover, the core and covering material as-so,assembledaredistinct and independentand are-onlyunitedfrictionally, so that whenthe combinediyarn-isveXposed -to tensile-or other stress the core and covering cannotailways be depended uponvto act as a unit;

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel cored strand-and aflmethodiof and apparatus'for use in therpreparationiofsuchza strand (rovingot yarn), whereinthe constituent 'fibresor filaments areso concatenated that the strand nearly approximates the theoretical in tensile strength, and whereincovering fibres or filaments, selected to provide a strand having'the desired external characteristics, encase a core consisting of fibres having different characteristicslfrom:the covering fibres buttin which :the core and covering are so intermingied at'an intermediate Zone. that 1116260136 and'covering act substantially as a unitlwhen the .strand orvyarn issubjected to applied external stress;

A further. object-isrto provide-a novel method of an apparatus for use in the preparation: of I textile vstrand material by the suspension of fibres of differentchgaracteristics in a fluid medium and thespinningaofxsuch fibres while so-suspended to-forrn a strand (rovingoryarn) in which fibres of one tof -said characters predominate at the central portion of-the strand, whilefibres: of a. different character predominate at the periphery oftheyarn;

Other and further objects and advantages ofthe inventionwill be pointedout;in=therfollowing more detaileo description and :by referencezto the accompanying i-drawings, wherein:

Fig. lis a diagrammatic vertical section, partly. broken away, illustrative of one fOIIILOf apparatus useful inthe practice, of the :present invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation, to verylarge scale, illustrating ayarn such asis made by the practice-of the present invention;

Fig, 3 is a section onthe line -3t 3iof Fig. 2; and,

Fig. 4 is aview, generallysirnilarzto, .Fig. 1, but illustrating a modified apparatus for usein-the practice ofta modified method.

Referring to thedrawings, numeral 1 designates a receptacleof any, suitable dimensions containing a body W of liquid, usually Water, in; which aresuspended fibres or filaments F designed to @form-the outer surface of the strandto be made, and which hereafter may. be referred to, for convenience, asthe ,covereforming fibres. As here illustrated, although without limiting intent; the second receptacle 2 is arranged Within-ti e receptacle 1, the receptacle 2 also containing a body of liquid, for example water, in which are suspended-the fibres orfilaments? which difier in characteristics from the-fibres E, and which are designed to form the core or'intetior portion ofthe strand to be made and which,forconvenienae, may hereaftenbe referred to as thez coreforrningfibresi The receptacle r, 1 is provided witna .downwardiy..direetfidnutlet con u t 3 h; is. join d: a v its delivering g ndttcaa horizontalcpipe orntubeid Thfi l'QCfiPi'fi-QQeZ filSQahifiSQfl downwardly directed conduit which terminates at the point 6, in concentric relation to the pipe 4. Thus fluid discharged from the receptacle 2 through the outlet member 5 is delivered as a solid stream at the axial portion of the tube 4, while fluid delivered from conduit 3 forms an annular stream coaxial with said solid stream.

The tube or pipe 4 is of any desired length and at 15 joins a coaxial, rotary tube or pipe 7 provided with a pulley 8 designated toreceive a belt (not shown), whereby the pipe 7 may be rotated about its horizontal axis rela tively to the stationary pipe 4. No details of the for supporting the pipes 4 and 7 are here shown, nor is any attempt made to show the requisite leal-z-tight connection between the pipes 4and 7, these features being well within the province of a skilled mechanic and being of a non-inventive nature. The rotary pipe section 7 terminates at the point 9 and near its terminal is preferably provided with discharge apertures 10 through which the fluid contents of the pipe may be delivered radially. Any suitable means, not here shown, may be provided for receiving water so discharged. As an example, but without limiting intent, the fluid head in the receptacles 1 and 2 may be so maintained as to provide a velocity of flow in pipes 4 and 7 of the order from two to ten feet per second, and good results have been obtained by the use of pipes 4 and 7 having an internal diameter of approximately /8 inch.

In the operation of this apparatus and assuming that receptacles 1 and 2 contain the desired head of water (it being understood that this head will be maintained so that the water level in each receptacle will remain constant), and assuming that the respective receptacles have been supplied with discrete fibrous elements F and F respectively, and assuming that pipe 7 is being rotated at a constant speed, water will flow from the two receptacles 1 and 2 into the pipe 4, the water from the receptacle 2 entering the pipe 4 at the point 6 as above noted at the axial portion of the pipe 4.

In accordance with a principle more fully set forth in a copending application for Letters Patent Serial No. 305,208, filed August 19, 1952, by Lawrence M. Keeler, now U. S. Patent No. 2,698,972, for Method of Assembling Fibres Hydraulically, the fibres F and P which enter the pipe 4 at the region 13, and which at this time may individually be wavy or curly, tend gradually to approach the axis of the pipe 4 as the stream of water flows along said pipe from left to right, as viewed in Fig. 1, and ultimately and before they reach the point and, as shown at the region 14 of the pipe, become individually substantially straight and located near the axis of thepipe. Since the fibres F are initially delivered near the axis of the pipe 4, these fibres tend to become aligned near the axis of the pipe sooner than the fibres F which are delivered into the peripheral portion of the pipe 4 and thus in the region 14 of the pipe 4 the straightened fibres F lie close to the axis of the pipe while the cover-forming fibres F form a more or less distinct annular layer surrounding the fibres F3. However, it should be noted that because the fibres are suspended in a flowing stream and because the fibres are neither absolutely uniform in size or length or in initial degree of curl, there is no absolute line of demarcation between the fibres F which form the core and the fibres F which form the covering. As the stream of water with the suspended fibres passes the point 15 and into the rotating portion 7 of the pipe, the stream of water begins to rotate, first slowly and then more rapidly by reason of the friction between the stream and the inner surface of the pipe (as more fully pointed out in the copending application for Letters Patent Serial No. 370,099, filed by Peter M. Strang July 24, 1953, now U. S. Patent No. 2,700,866, for Method of Concatenating Fibrous Elements), thereby causing the fibres F and P which have become substantially straight and parallel, to become twisted about each other or spun so that as they approach the delivery end 9 of the pipe they form a roving or yarn sufficiently self-sustaining so that it may be wound to form the package P, this package preferably being formed upon a core 12 as the package is rotated by the driven friction drum 11. Since, when the fibres enter the rotating portion 7 of the pipe, the core-forming fibres F are nearer the axis of the stream than are the cover-forming fibres F, the twisting or spinning action of the rotating body of water forms a yarn having a core C (Fig. 2) which is predominantly of the fibres F and a covering K which is predominantly of the fibres F. However, for the reason above noted, some of the core-forming fibres will trail into the cover portion during the spinning operation while some of the covering fibres will be caught into the core portion, and thus the core and covering are interlocked in an intermediate zone between the core proper and the covering proper, so that core and covering form a unitary structure in which the core and covering contribute to resist the effects of externally applied stresses. Thus there is formed a yarn having a core of any desired type of fibre, for example fibre which is highly resistant to tensile stress, and a covering comprising any selected type of fibre, for example a fibre which imparts a fine appearance to the completed strand or yarn. It may be noted that by varying the head of water in the receptacles 1 and 2 the relative velocities of the streams passing through the delivery member 3 and the delivery member 5 may be varied and thus, or by varying the concentration of fibre in the two receptacles, the relative amounts of core and covering fibres in a completed strand may be varied. It is also obvious that by changing the velocity of the rotating pipe 7 the twists per inch in the completed strand may be varied at will.

While, as above noted, it is very desirable, under most circumstances, that the core and covering be firmly united as by the intercalation of fibres constituting the core and covering at the intermediate portion of the strand, the present invention, in its broader aspects, is applicable to the formation of a strand wherein the core is preformed, so that its constituent fibres and filaments do not intermingle to any appreciable extent with the fibres or filaments which form the covering. Apparatus for use in making such strands is illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 4, wherein the numeral 21 designates a receptacle similar to the receptacle 1 above described and which is designed to contain a body W of water or other liquid in which the covering fibres F are suspended. This receptacle 21 has a delivery conduit 23, leading into the receiving end of a horizontal stationary pipe 24 (similar to the pipe 4 of Fig. 1) and which terminates in coaxial relation to a rotating pipe 7 similar to that previously described. In this arrangement, the second receptacle 25, which also contains a body of liquid, is arranged to one side of the receptacle 21 and has an outlet or delivery portion 27 which merges with delivery conduit 23 of the receptacle 21 in coaxial relation with pipe 24, so that liquid flowing from the receptacle 25 enters the delivery portion 27 of conduit 23 and merges at 28 with the liquid flowing from receptacle 21. As illustrated, a rotary support 29 carries a mass M of core strand material G which may be a synthetic filament, without twist, if desired, or which may be of spun yarn. This strand material G is drawn off from the package or mass M and passes around a guide pulley 30 and then extends through the delivery member 27 and into the pipe 24 in coaxial relation to the latter, and thence extends axially through the rotary pipe 7 and is eventually wound to form a yarn package. At the region B of the pipe 24, the fibres F (from the receptacle 21) enter the pipe 24 and tend to move toward the axis of the pipe and thus toward the portion G of the strand G which is at the axis of the pipe 24. Gradually these fibres become straight as they move to the right along the pipe 24. and as they enter the rotating pipe 7, these fibres are gradually twisted about the strand G so as to form a cover for the latter. However, it should be noted that because the discrete fibres F are freely suspended in the liquid and are not su te l' Qr afihzt ihfi i until. heate s-subhea in -'the as asfltha otat 'quisl, they ahw ittl se an anply w stina o nusfz oameteo s-strand; .h r e covered strand sulting .fl'fifihihik-RWFQQQA. r hszpresent method is substantially devoid of any tendency to twist or ,:flificfingirommost covered yarns-rmade in ccordance with custornary rmethods,andemherein a single covering ply is employed.

While-as-l:tereinabevedescribed; and "as illustratedg the yarn or strand resulting from'the praetiee of thp present inventiomhas but-a-single--coveringlayer, it is ;manife st that bye simplemodificationof-theapparatus hereindi sclosed (wherebymore thantwo receptacles containing fibres of diiferent kinds would be employed), all delivering into the same pipe in coaxial relation, it would become possible to make a strand having a core of one material, and two or more covering layers, each of ,a difierent material, but all firmly joined together.

While certain desirable methods of procedure have herein been described by way of example, and while apparatus for use in the practice of such methods has been illustrated, it is to be understood that the invention is broadly inclusive of any and all modifications of apparatus and/or method steps, and any differences in sequence of method steps which are equivalent to the method or apparatus disclosed and claimed.

I claim:

1. That method of forming a textile strand having a core consisting predominantly of fibrous elements which have certain characteristics, and a covering consisting predominantly of fibrous elements having other characteristics, said method comprising disposing the core-forming elements at the axis of a cylindrical stream of flowing liquid, causing the cover-forming fibrous elements, while suspended in said stream, to approach the axially located core-forming elements from all sides while arranging themselves substantially parallel to the axis of the stream, and rotating a portion of the stream about its own axis thereby to twine the cover-forming elements about the core-forming elements.

2. That method of forming a textile strand according to claim 1, wherein the core-forming fibrous elements are first suspended in a body of liquid and then the latter is delivered into said cylindrical stream at the axis of the latter while moving in the direction of flow of the latter, thereby to dispose the core-forming fibrous elements closely adjacent to the axis of the stream before they are approached by the cover-forming fibrous elements.

3. That method of forming a textile strand according to claim 1, wherein the core-forming and cover-forming fibrous elements are first suspended in separate bodies of liquid, and liquid from the two bodies is mingled to form said stream, the liquid from the body which carries the core-forming elements being so guided as to form the central portion of said stream, and the liquid from the body which contains the cover-forming elements being so guided as to constitute the peripheral portion of the stream.

4. That method of forming a textile strand according to claim 1, wherein the core-forming and cover-forming fibrous elements are first distributed and suspended in separate bodies of liquid, respectively, the liquid from the body which carries the cover-forming elements being drawn off in the form of an annular stream, and the liquid from the body which carries core-forming fibrous elements being drawn ofi in such a way as to fill the central space within said annular stream, and rotating the composite stream thereby formed so as to intertwist the core-forming fibrous elements and to twine the coverforming elements about the twisted core-forming elements.

5. That method of forming a textile strand according to claim 1, wherein the core portion of the strand is first formed by concatinating the core-forming fibrous 6 elemen s a ormw tssl esustaini rand nd ransi a' .l esusta-mingr trand; nth

nobody. h :llql lw. l it being passed through an elongate conduit of circular transverse section and under a pressure head such as to produce a uniform velocity of flow of from two to ten feet per second in said conduit, the liquid from the body, in which the core-forming fibres are suspended, forming the center of said stream and the liquid in which fibres of another kind are suspended, forming the peripheral portion of said stream, the flow of the stream through the conduit causing all of the suspended fibres to migrate toward the axis of the stream and to arrange themselves substantially parallel to said axis, and rotating that portion of the stream which is adjacent to the delivery end of the conduit, thereby to cause the fibres as they enter the rotating portion of the stream to be intertwined to form a self-sustaining strand.

7. Apparatus for use in the manufacture of composite textile strands wherein fibrous elements of at least two diverse kinds are incorporated, and wherein fibrous elements of one kind are predominant at the core portion of the strand and fibrous elements of another kind are predominant in the outer portion of the strand, said apparatus comprising receptacles for holding bodies of liquid in which the several kinds of fibres, respectively, are suspended, means for drawing off liquid from the receptacle containing the cover-forming fibrous elements in the form of an annular stream and for drawing off liquid containing core-forming elements and for delivering it into the center of said annular stream thereby forming a composite stream wherein the core-forming fibrous elements are located predominantly adjacent to the axis of the stream and the cover-forming fibrous elements are located predominantly nearer the periphery of the stream, and means for rotating a portion of the com posite stream thereby to twine the cover-forming elements about the core-forming elements.

8. Apparatus for use in the manufacture of composite textile strands wherein fibrous elements of at least two diverse kinds are incorporated, and wherein fibrous elements of one kind are predominant at the core portion of the strand and fibrous elements of another kind are predominant in the outer portion of the strand, said apparatus comprising an elongate, horizontal pipe of circular, transverse section having a terminal portion which is rotatable about its axis, means for rotating said terminal portion, a receptacle corresponding to each type of fibre to be used, each receptacle being designed to hold a body of liquid having suspended therein one of the several types of fibre to be employed, and means for drawing liquid from the several receptacles simultaneously, and for delivering it into the receiving end of said pipe in such relation that liquid from one of the receptacles is delivered as a solid stream substantially at the axis of the pipe, and liquid from another receptacle is delivered in an annular stream coaxial with the solid stream, and means for rotating the rotary portion of the pipe thereby to cause the liquid therein to rotate about the axis of the pipe so as to entwine the fibrous elements to form a strand.

9. Apparatus for use in the manufacture of composite, textile strands wherein fibrous elements of at least two diverse kinds are incorporated, and wherein fibrous elements of one kind are predominant at the core portion of the strand and fibrous elements of another kind are predominant in the outer portion of the strand, said apparatus comprising an elongate, substantially horizontal pipe of circular, transverse section and of the order of /8" in diameter and having a terminal portion which is rotatable about its own axis, two receptacles for holding liquid, said receptacles having delivery conduits which are arranged coaxially with and which open into the receiving end of the pipe, each of said receptacles containing a body of liquid, the liquid in one receptacle having suspended therein discrete fibrous elements designed to form the covering of the strand, means for guiding a preformed self-sustaining core strand down through the liquid in the other receptacle and in coaxial relation with the horizontal pipe, and means for turning the rotary portion of the pipe thereby to wrap the suspended fibrous elements about the core strand.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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