Classifications

• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D01—NATURAL OR MAN-MADE THREADS OR FIBRES; SPINNING
  • D01D—MECHANICAL METHODS OR APPARATUS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL FILAMENTS, THREADS, FIBRES, BRISTLES OR RIBBONS
  • D01D5/00—Formation of filaments, threads, or the like
  • D01D5/253—Formation of filaments, threads, or the like with a non-circular cross section; Spinnerette packs therefor
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D01—NATURAL OR MAN-MADE THREADS OR FIBRES; SPINNING
  • D01D—MECHANICAL METHODS OR APPARATUS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL FILAMENTS, THREADS, FIBRES, BRISTLES OR RIBBONS
  • D01D5/00—Formation of filaments, threads, or the like
  • D01D5/24—Formation of filaments, threads, or the like with a hollow structure; Spinnerette packs therefor

Definitions

• This invention relates generally to synthetic polymeric fibrous materials. More specifically, this invention relates to hollow trilobal cross-section fibers.
• fiber as used herein includes fibers of extreme or in ⁇ definite length (i.e., filaments) and fibers of short length (i.e., staple) .
• fiber as used herein means a continuous strand of fibers.
• Trilobal fibers are known to provide cover superior to round cross-sections and it is known to make trilobal and pseudo-trilo- bal fibers (e.g., deltas, T-shapes) .
• Exemplary are U.S. Patent No. 3,981,948 to Phillips, U.S. Patent No. 3,194,002 to Raynolds et al., U.S. Patent No. 2,939,201 to Holland, U.S. Patent No. 4,492,731 to Bankar et al. and Japanese Kokai 42-22574.
• the present invention con ⁇ cerns a trilobal synthetic polymeric thermoplastic fiber having a single void extending approximately axially central, a total cross-section void area between greater than about 10 and 20 per- cent void, a modification ratio between about 2 and about 6, and an arm angle between about 5° and about 50°.
• Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional plan view of a fiber according to the present invention.
• Fig. 2 is a plan view of a spinneret useful to prepare the fiber of Fig. 1.
• Modification ratio means the ratio of the radius R 2 of the circumscribed circle to the radius Ri of the inscribed circle as shown in Fig. 1.
• arm angle is the angle formed by extension of sides of an arm as shown in Fig. 1.
• FIG. 1 Depicted in Fig. 1 is an enlarged view of fiber 10 which is rep ⁇ resentative of the present invention.
• Fiber 10 is trilobal having three (3) lobes, 11, 12 and 13 and axially extending, more or less central, void 15.
• fiber 10 preferably has a modification ratio of between about 2 to about 6, more preferably about 2.0 to about 3.5 and an arm-angle between about 5° and about 50°, preferably from 7° to 40°.
• the single approximately central void represents greater than about 10 to about 20 percent, pre ⁇ ferably 11 to 20 percent, in particular 12-20 and particularly preferably 12 to 15 percent, of the total fiber volume measured including the volume of the void.
• Fig. 2 illustrates a spinneret useful for preparing-the- fiber ' of * the present invention.
• Fibers of the present invention may be prepared from synthetic thermoplastic polymers which are melt spinnable.
• Exemplary polymers are polyamides such as poly(hexamethylene adipamide), polycaprolactam and polyamides of bis (4-aminocyclohexyl)methane and linear aliphatic dicarboxylic acids containing 9, 10 and 12 carbon atoms; copolyamides; polyester such as poly(ethylene)terephthalate and copolymers thereof; and poly- olefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene. Both heteroge ⁇ neous and homogeneous mixtures of such polymers may also be used.
• the fibers can be prepared by known methods of spinning fibers. Molten poly ⁇ mer is spun through spinneret orifices shaped to provide the de ⁇ sired void volume and fiber cross-sections under spinning condi- tions which give the desired denier. Specific spinning conditions and spinneret orifices, shapes and dimensions will vary depending upon the particular polymer and fiber product being spun.
• the spinning and quenching conditions are modified appropriately.
• the percent void can generally be increased by more rapid quenching of the molten fibers or by increasing the polymer melt viscosity.
• the present in- vention provides a carpet fiber having low streak potential with ⁇ out sacrificing wear qualities.
• the void-to-fiber ratio for hollow fibers is obtained by measur ⁇ ing the size of the hole within the fiber and comparing it to the size of the fiber as if no hole existed. This comparison is per- formed via computer analysis of the image of a fiber as projected on a television-type monitor.
• the yarn Before an image analysis is per ⁇ formed, the yarn must be dyed. If the yarn provided is bright or semi-dull, it is dyed with a disperse green stock solution, but the color is not particularly important. When the yarn must be dyed, it is placed in 400 ml of water with 50 ml of disperse green stock solution and 50 ml of disperse green additives and heated to approximately 95°C.
• a section of the sample approxi ⁇ mately 7 inches long is placed into the solution for five min ⁇ utes, then removed, washed with cold water, and dried.
• a Leitz TAS Plus Image Analyzer and associated equipment is used and operated according to the instructions.
• the analyzer integrates void area and total cross- sectional area. The ratio of these two integrals times 100 equals percent void.
• Fiber cross sections are magnified (200X) to determine the arm angle. Two tangent straight lines are drawn for each arm and the angle formed from the two straight lines is measured. The re ⁇ ported arm angle represents the average of ten measurements.
• Streak potential is evaluated by visual comparison. Results are reported as vivid streaking , moderate streaking or essentially streak free.
• Static compression testing is performed using a standard static compression apparatus with air pressure adjusted to 50 psi
• Vetterman drum testing is done with a metal drum having an inter ⁇ nal diameter of 730 mm, an internal depth of 270 mm, an effective depth of 240 mm, and a thickness of the curved surfaces of 8 mm.
• This drum is used at a speed of 16 revolutions per minute, and the direction of rotation is reversed every five minutes with approximately a one second stationary time between changes of direction. The revolutions of the drum are counted, and specimens are held in place by adjustable retaining segments. Loose pile fibers are continuously extracted by a vacuum cleaner.
• a round steel ball is situated inside the drum. The steel ball is 120 mm in diameter and weighs 6800 grams. The ball is fitted with 14 rubber studs located to be equally spaced on the ball's surface (118 mm apart) .
• Tetrapod wear testing is performed according to ASTM standard 0 method D5251-92 using 500,000 revolutions. Results are reported as the percent of original pile height retained after 500,000 revolutions.
• a spinneret having 440 filament capillaries arranged rectangu- 0 larly in 7 rows and 62 to 64 capillaries per row is used to make hollow trilobal fibers.
• the capillaries are formed generally ac ⁇ cording to Fig. 2 with appropriate design for the desired arm angle, percent void and modification ratio and are offset with respect to the capillaries of each next adjacent row. 5
• the staple fiber is spun via conventional known methods into spun, plied heatset carpet yarn.
• the melt temperature is 265°C. Throughout is 1000 gm/min.
• Quench flow is 200 ft./min (60.8 m/min) .
• the draw ratio is 3.0.
• the carpet yarn is then tufted into a primary backing using con ⁇ ventional tufting methods to make 1/8 gauge (3.17 mm), 11.3 stitches per inch (4.45 stitches/cm) carpet having a pile height of 0.375 inch (0.95 cm) and a pile weight of 40 ounces per square yard (1.35 kg/m 2 ) . Samples of this carpet are evaluated for percent void, arm angle, streak potential, and pile height recov ⁇ ery. The results are reported in the Table.
• a spinneret has 440 filament capillaries arranged rectangularly in 7 rows and 62 to 64 capillaries per row.
• the capillaries are formed to make a hollow trilobal fiber within the scope of
• the staple fiber is spun via conventional known methods into spun, plied heatset carpet yarn.
• the melt temperature is 265°C.
• Throughput is 1000 gm/min.
• Quench flow is 200 ft./min (60.8 m/min) .
• the draw ratio is 3.0.
• the carpet yarn is then tufted into a primary backing using con ⁇ ventional tufting methods to make 1/8 gauge (3.17 mm), 11.3 stitches per inch carpet (4.45 stitches/cm) having a pile height of 0.375" (0.95 cm) and a pile weight of 40 ounces per square yard (1.35 kg/m 2 ) .
• Samples of this carpet are evaluated for percent void, arm angle, streak potential, and pile height recov ⁇ ery. The results are presented in the Table.
• a spinneret has 440 filament capillaries arranged rectangularly in 7 rows and 62 to 64 capillaries per row.
• the capillaries are formed to make solid trilobal fibers with the modification ratio set out in the Table.
• the capillaries are offset with respect to the capillaries of each next adjacent row.
• the staple- fiber is spun via conventional known • methods into spun, plied heatset carpet yarn.
• the melt temperature is 265°C.
• Throughput is 1000 gm/min.
• Quench flow is 200 ft./min (60.8 m/min) .
• the draw ratio is 3.0.
• the carpet yarn is then tufted into a primary backing using con- 5 ventional tufting methods to make 1/8 gauge (3.17 mm),
• the capillaries 15 are formed to provide arm angle and modification ratio set forth in the Table.
• the capillaries are offset with respect to the cap ⁇ illaries of each next adjacent row.
• the staple fiber is spun via conventional known methods into spun, plied heatset carpet yarn.
• the melt 25 temperature is 265°C.
• Throughput is 1000 gm/min.
• Quench flow is 200 ft./min (60.8 m/min). The draw ratio is 3.0.
• the carpet yarn is then tufted into a primary backing using con ⁇ ventional tufting methods to make 1/8 gauge (3.17 mm),

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Spinning Methods And Devices For Manufacturing Artificial Fibers (AREA)
• Artificial Filaments (AREA)

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Publications (1)

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Cited By (7)

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Citations (6)

• 1993
  • 1993-10-14 CA CA 2108382 patent/CA2108382A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1993-12-02 JP JP6513736A patent/JPH07506405A/ja active Pending
  • 1993-12-02 EP EP94901939A patent/EP0625219B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1993-12-02 WO PCT/EP1993/003375 patent/WO1994013869A1/en active IP Right Grant
  • 1993-12-02 DE DE69317043T patent/DE69317043T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related

Patent Citations (6)

Non-Patent Citations (3)

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