MXPA00005218A - Apparatus and process for interlacing, relaxing and/or thermal shrinkage fixation of filament yarns in a melt spinning process and filament yarns thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Filament yarn (50) is intermingled, relaxed or heat set at melt spinning by passing it through a chamber (80) supplied with at elevated temperature and pressure, e.g. steam. The gas escapes through the entry (83) and exit (84) holes for the yarn. The h are 01 to 1 mm<2>in section compared with the much larger section, e.g. 10 to 30 mm<2>, of the chamber Independent claims are also included for intermingling, relaxing or heat setting yarn at melt spinning with such an arrange and for an intermingled yarn which does not lose more than 50%of its intermingling points at a tension of 0.5 cN/dtex.

Description

DISPOSED TO INTERLOCK, RELAX AND / OR ENDURE BY HEAT THE FILAMENT THREAD IN A YARN PROCESS FUNDED, AS WELL AS THE ASSOCIATED PROCESSES AND THE FILAMENT THREAD MANUFACTURED BY THEM Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for interlacing, relaxing and / or heat hardening the filament yarn in a melt spinning process, as well as the associated processes. During the process of spinning the filament yarns, a meltable polymer melts and, in this condition, is drawn through the thin holes of the nozzle of a spinning plate. This results in a number of fused wires, which are solidified by cooling in a stream of air and, are stretched over a number of rollers with an increasing surface velocity, to form fine filaments. Later these are mixed to form a unitary thread and finally they are wound in the form of coils. The stretching of the filaments is carried out on the one hand, provided that the filaments are not yet solidified and that the polymer has not fully crystallized and still has some capacity to flow within the area of the cooling upward path of the first roller godet This is also referred to as stretch by turns. On the other hand, the filaments, once solidified, are mostly mechanically stretched as a result of an orientation effect obtained from the macromolecules of the polymer and the expansion and definite yarn resistance values that were adjusted are adjusted. The ratio between the stretch by turns and the mechanical stretch, depends on the speed of the spinning process. The lower the speed of the spinning process, the greater the degree of mechanical stretching required to obtain what we refer to as fully stretched yarn. In this situation, the stretch ratio can be up to 1: 4. Therefore, in order to facilitate the stretching process, at medium to low operating speeds (depending on the polymer used, for example, up to about 50 m / s), it may be necessary that the filaments in the area of the stretch zone, be heated to a temperature higher than the transition point to the second order glass. At high spinning speeds (depending on the polymer used, for example, up to about 85 m / s), the stretch ratio is substantially lower and, typically, the amounts up to only about 1: 1.3, are the result of such a treatment. additional heating can be performed away from it. After stretching, for example, stretching by turns and / or stretching, internal stresses remain in the filaments, which damage the stability of the shape of the yarn and can lead to the yarn shortening as the tension accumulates in the bobbin, obtaining as a result, that at least it becomes impossible to continue winding without any intervention. The forces that arise in this situation, can also lead to the destruction of the coil tubes. In order to avoid this harmful effect, in most cases, once the spinning process has been carried out, the yarn is subjected to a repeated heat treatment by means of which, among other things, it is shortened before the winding process, an effect that we refer to as relaxation contraction. Each filament yarn is also inclined to further shorten it, if it was subjected after manufacturing to temperatures higher than, say, 100 ° C or higher. We refer to this tendency towards longitudinal contraction, depending on the temperature treatment, such as boiling contraction (water at a temperature of 95 ° C to 100 ° C) or contraction by hot air (hot air at a temperature of 160 ° C). C up to 200 ° C), in which the downstream process industry will only tolerate a thread whose shrinkage values are within certain limits, for example, contraction in the boiling between 6% and 1 1%. This process, which we refer to as thermal shrinkage, can also be reduced by heating treatment of the yarn after stretching, indicated later in the present description as heat hardening. However, compared to relaxation, in this case it is required to try a higher temperature and / or longer treatment period. It has also been shown that, by increasing the spinning speed, the orientation of the macromolecules can also be increased so that the yarn already has conventional commercial thermal shrinkage values, without the additional heat hardening process. In such a case, the relaxation is sufficient to achieve adequate longitudinal stability of the yarn in the coil. In order to improve the cohesion of the individual filaments in the yarn, and therefore to improve what we refer to as yarn cohesion, the filaments are often provided with a medium of yarn cohesion and / or entanglement, being carried out the interlacing process as the final stage before the winding process, but in no case after the stretching process has been carried out. For the stretch you have to make a difference between this and what we refer to as a pre-stretching, pre-stretching process. This treatment serves only to provide a uniform distribution of the final preparation of the spin in the yarn and, a certain degree of cohesion of the filaments, in order to thereby suppress the separation and breaking of the individual filaments during the process of Subsequent stretching. The largest part of the applied interlacing process is canceled again by the stretching process.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The processes and devices for interlacing, relaxation and heat hardening of the prior art are known, although these have no capacity for use, or at least, are not effective with respect to the three types of processing simultaneously or at least alternative and, in addition, are characterized in terms of devices that are either very elaborate or expensive and / or with a high energy consumption or treatment gas. In the case of yarns produced at medium to low spinning speeds, the prior art makes it possible to control the thermal shrinkage values that will be reached, due to the fact that the yarns are subjected, after the stretching process, to a Adjustable heat treatment by means of heat stretch godets. As already mentioned, increasing the spinning speed allows the orientation of the macromolecules in the yarn that will be increased, so that the yarn also presents a commercially conventional thermal contraction after the stretching process, even without the heat treatment. In this case, only the relaxation of the thread is required in order to avoid the contraction of the thread on the coil and the damage to it. In CH 623 61 1, a process is described by means of which the yarn, after the stretching process, is guided through one or more jets of steam, through godets without heat, emerging the steam coming from the openings that are in a treatment chamber opened on the side, placed approximately at right angles to the thread. The steam nozzles are fed with an overpressure of plus or minus 1.7 bar (g), but the steam is almost completely mitigated up to an atmospheric pressure at the outlet of the nozzles, resulting in the yarn being processed at a pressure atmospheric Therefore, the maximum temperatures of the yarn processing steam that can be achieved are only about 105 ° C. In addition to relaxation, during this process the interlacing process of the individual filaments of the yarn also takes place. US Patent No. 5,750,215 and US 5,558,826 similarly describe a relaxation and steam interlacing process, also mentioning the setting of heat hardening. Also in this case, according to the description, the yarn is treated under atmospheric pressure. However, before the winding process, there is still a certain distance of 2-3 m, for the yarn to run after the steam treatment, during which the yarn can undergo further relaxation (due to the "delay"). Therefore, there may be some doubt as to whether the described steam treatment is effective enough on its own. In addition to this, a first steam comparative processing of the yarn was carried out, to determine the stretch point in relation to the stretching zone between two pairs of godets, which can lead in a similar way to the detriment of the effect of the second steam treatment. The forecasts for the determination of the stretch point are incidental and contrary to DE 2204397, which is referred to by the fact that, from 3000 m / min, it is no longer possible to adjust a defined stretch point, and therefore it is no longer needed, or can not be supervised. In WO 98/23797 an additional device is described, in which, before being wound, many wires are conducted through a vapor chamber at atmospheric pressure. In the chamber, the steam does not directly hit the threads, and is released to the outer side part through the side openings. Only relaxation is achieved and no mention is made of heat hardening or interlacing process. In the North American Patent No. 5,634,249 and in the European Patent No. 0 703 306 which corresponds to is, an interlacing effect is described in a process of steam tilting, although this refers to the treatment of a thread already manufactured in a first stage of operation and only partially oriented. The operating speeds, at 584 and 800 m / min respectively, are correspondingly low. In view of the fact that in the proposed procedure, the interlacing process is carried out simultaneously and in the same place as the stretching, it is not understandable how an effective interlacing process takes place, with the high tensile stresses of the filament that prevails in this situation. DE 19546784 describes a type of steam chamber for the treatment of heat relaxation of the filament yarn, which makes use of a very special design in the geometry of the nozzles and by means of which, it is tried to obtain dynamically favorable conditions for a total condensation of the steam and, as a result of this, a good thermal transfer for the yarn. The yarn in this situation, moves partly through the same apertures of the nozzle through which the steam flows. Mention is made of a separate interlacing chamber in the input area of the device, in which, from the side, a jet of steam is applied to the thread. A wire conduction technique is also used, through a chamber subjected to hot steam, in particular at low to medium operating speeds, in order to heat the yarn for the purpose of facilitating the stretching. Corresponding devices are known, for example from US Patents 5,487,860, DE 2643787, DE 2204397 or DB 33 46 677.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object on which the present invention is based, is to provide a device having the capacity of a universal application for a melt spinning process of the type to which we refer in the preamble and for the corresponding processes, by means of the which, as required, the yarn is relaxed, entangled and by means of which an adjustment of thermal contraction can also be carried out effectively. In addition, the device must also have a simple design and be economical in its operation. This object is achieved in accordance with the present invention, by a device with the features of Claim 1, as well as by the processes described in Claims 13 and 14. Convenient embodiments and other developments are characterized in the sub-Claims. The device according to the present invention comprises a treatment chamber, which has the capacity to be filled with a gas under an essentially static and high temperature overpressure, and comprises an inlet and outlet opening for the passage of the wire, which is permeable to gas under pressure release and, through which, therefore, the gas can flow out under pressure release and in the opposite direction with respect to the wire path.

Therefore, the device according to the present invention no longer includes, in particular, a nozzle through which a jet of the processing gas could be directed onto the wire with the purpose of interlacing it essentially transversely to its path direction. . Instead, the device according to the present invention results in an interlacing of the yarn or its filaments in its passage through the opening of the treatment chamber inlet and / or outlet, because the gas emerges at through these openings with pressure released in the same direction in the opposite direction to the thread path. It is surprising the interlacing effect that occurs in this situation, since the previous opinion was that the highest interlacing effect is achieved with an angle of impact of the gas on the 90 ° thread, and it was known that, as the angle decreases , the interlacing is greatly reduced in proportion. Therefore, in values close to 0 °, practically no more interlacing was expected. However, with the device according to the present invention, interlacing still occurs and specifically due to the fact that the yarn passes itself through (at least) one interlacing nozzle (in the form of the opening of the entrance and / or exit of the treatment chamber). With conventional interleaving nozzles, the amount of interleaving obtained depends directly on the applied gas pressure and, therefore, on the thrust with which the gas jet is applied to the wire.

The interlacing process carried out with the device according to the present invention is, in contrast, relatively independent of the applied gas pressure and exceeds its level even at those of conventional interleaving processes. The interlacing of the thread which is carried out, is also very easy. The result is that the yarn presents fewer cases of damage on its surface and, also presents lower thread / ceramic friction values than those of conventionally manufactured yarn. This means that this yarn can be used to have advantages in the additional processing steps. It was surprisingly discovered that, the yarn manufactured with the device according to the present invention, presented with a completely closed cohesion of the yarn in the water bath, did not exhibit openings, or practically none, during the whole length of the yarn. In contrast, yarns manufactured in the conventional manner have constrictions in the water bath in intervals of from 6 to 8 cm. Among these, the yarn opens in the form of a balloon in the individual filaments of the yarn. The good cohesion of the thread, such as can be achieved with the device according to the present invention, is of great advantage for further processing. As was discovered additionally and surprisingly, the process of interlacing and cohesion of the yarn, created with the device according to the present invention, is extraordinarily stable under tension. Therefore, the decrease in the number of knots per unit length, with the increase in tension, at least up to a specific yarn tension force of 0.5 cN / dtex, is at least one order of magnitude (one power of ten) less than that of the other filament yarn according to the prior art. The mentioned specific thread tension force of 0.5 cN / dtex, corresponds approximately to the load that occurs, for example, in the insertion of a weft in a loom and therefore, to the load that a thread undergoes in the majority of normal practices. The object of the present invention is, up to this point, also a tangled filament fabric, in which, as a feature according to Claim 16, the number of knots per unit length with a specific yarn tension force of 0.5 cN / dtex, decreases no more than 50%, but in particular, no more than 30%. This interlacing stability of the extraordinarily high filament yarn according to the present invention has a particularly convenient effect on the degree of efficiency in the preparation stage of the weaving machine. In the case of warping or folding, fewer machine stops can occur and less waste material is generated. This also results in the operation of the machine, which in general, is freer of operating problems. Insofar as the treatment chamber with the device according to the present invention has the capacity to be filled with a gas with an essentially static overpressure and with an increased temperature, the gas will advantageously be subjected to this pressure and at this temperature throughout its passage through the treatment chamber, which on the one hand results in better relaxation. On the other hand, the operation window is also substantially expanded, since adequate relaxation at low pressures in the treatment chamber is already possible. With respect to the adjustment of the heat hardening, a favorable dependence between the applied pressure and the duration of the processing has been demonstrated, obtaining as a result that the capacity of adjustment in a specific form of a desired contraction is still available. Preferably, the inlet and / or outlet openings of the treatment chamber are designed in the form of nozzles that more closely cover the wire, while the treatment chamber has a substantially longer cross section in relation thereto. This facilitates the creation of a larger static overpressure in the treatment chamber and also reduces the emergence of the treatment gas, which has a favorable effect on its consumption. For example, compared to conventional interleaving nozzles, this can be reduced to only about 1/3 to%. The interlacing effect is not deteriorated but, on the contrary, it is improved. The cross section of the inlet and / or outlet opening, also preferably rectangular, is a result of which the filaments of the yarn, when traveling through the treatment chamber, are pulled apart to form a flat strip. In this way, they offer a surface area for the gas in the treatment chamber and are heated more effectively by it. The expansion of the treatment chamber in the direction of the wire path (most of the time vertically) is a simple way to influence the treatment's temporal length. In order to achieve a suitably long period even at higher operating speeds, it is preferable if the expansion of the treatment chamber is substantially greater between its entrance and exit opening than the width (most often horizontal) between they. According to a further preferred embodiment, the treatment chamber has a feed opening for the treatment gas, the cross section of which is substantially greater than the cross section of its inlet and / or outlet openings. This ensures that the gas is not mitigated as soon as it flows into the treatment chamber, as is the case with conventional interlacing chambers, and therefore collides, with a higher velocity, on spinning in the jet form. Instead of this, a uniform flood is achieved in the treatment chamber and the formation of a highly static pressure within it. The pressure of the treatment gas does not essentially start to relax, until it flows out through the inlet and / or outlet opening. According to the above, it can be understood that the treatment chamber, apart from its inlet and outlet openings and the feed opening for the treatment gas, should be, as far as possible, completely closed. Additionally it can be understood that metal or ceramic can be considered as materials for the manufacture of the treatment chamber, the latter being considered for its favorable abrasion resistance properties. Of course, a metal provided with an abrasion resistance coating could also be suitable.

The device according to the present invention is used with benefit in a cast spinning system with a stretch by turns and / or preliminary stretch line, as well as a winding device for the thread that is between these two positions. In particular, high spinning speeds, within the range of from 75 m / s, are preferable in this situation if no means are provided in the stretch line during yarn warming, since the effectiveness of the device in accordance with the present invention, in particular with respect to the effect of relaxation and heat hardening, is greater without said previous heating of the yarn. The device according to the present invention can also be placed, in the referred system, immediately in front of the winding station; for example, by making use of an additional trajectory, no additional treatment of the yarn is required or extra time is needed so that an additional shortening is possible. The device according to the present invention is preferably operated with steam and preferably with this steam, steam, such as the treatment gas, and must be designed with an absolute pressure of up to about 10 bar. The device according to the present invention can be used for the entire titration range, for example, from microfilament yarns through light titrations and even texture yarns and, in particular, BCF (carpet yarn) yarns, as well as as technical threads.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES The present invention is explained in more detail below, based on the modalities and in accordance with the following figures. These show: Figure 1. A schematic diagram of a system for the melt spinning process with a device according to the present invention; Figure 2. The treatment chamber of a device according to the present invention, in sections; Figure 3. Conventional treatment chambers according to the prior art, comparing a) and b), in each case in a vertical and horizontal section. Figure 4. In diagram form, some cross sections of the nozzle openings of the treatment chambers according to the present invention, and also for the purpose of comparison, this according to the prior art. Figure 5. Different geometries of the nozzle for the treatment chambers according to the present invention, in the section corresponding to from a) to d); Figure 6. In diagram form, the pressure dependency of the thermal contraction derived from a device according to the present invention, as well as, for purposes of comparison, the corresponding dependence according to the prior art; and Figure 7. In diagrammatic form, the relative interlacing as a function of the specific yarn stretching force, for a yarn manufactured with the device according to the present invention, as well as two yarns according to the prior art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION With the cast yarn system of Figure 1, a polymer having the ability to melt the yarn with a melter in the extruder (not shown), is first mixed with a relatively suitable viscosity and, led to the packing of spun 10 with the spinner plate 1 1. The mixed polymer is stretched by pressure by means of the spinner, according to the number of holes in the spinner plate 11, with the same number of mixing streams 20, by means of a flow of air conditioning (arrow), in which it is cooled, tied by means of an applicator for final preparation of the roll 30 and subsequently conducted through a preliminary interlacing device 40. Subsequently the yarn 50 is stretched by a first pair of unheated godets 60, which are twisted around several times, at a defined speed. A second pair of godets 70, in the same way twisted around several times and not heated, stretch the yarn, as they travel a specific amount. Preferably the godtes are provided with soft ceramic surfaces with a defined low roughness. Once the second pair of godets 70 is left, the yarn travels through a steam treatment chamber 80 and is subsequently wound by a conventional commercial wire feeder 90 at a speed that is less than the circumferential speed of the last pair of yarns. godets 70, by means of the relaxation contraction which takes place in chamber 80.

Figure 2 shows the structure of the treatment chamber. This figure shows a longitudinally extended treatment chamber 81, practically closed on the outside with the exception of an inlet and outlet opening for spinning 50, which is provided with the treatment gas at a defined overpressure through a connection nipple or feed opening 82, respectively. The cross section in which the connection nozzle 82 opens in the treatment chamber is noticeably large, resulting in the said pressure drop not occurring in this area and, the treatment chamber 81 presents essentially the same semi-pressure. static since it also belongs to the connection or feed inlet nozzle 82. For the purpose of distinction, both the inlet opening 83 and the outlet opening 84, are designed as nozzles that keep the yarn 50 in closed form, being its cross section only slightly more complaint of the thread. The guide elements of the thread 85 and 86 guide the wire precisely in the axis of the openings 83 and 84, which are flush with each other, through the chamber 81. A front cover 87 of the chamber 81 can be removed to insert the travel yarn 50. Figure 3 shows in a) and b), for comparison purposes, the main distribution of two conventional interleaving nozzles according to the prior art. , showing in each case, a vertical section in the upper part of the figure and, also in each case, a horizontal section in the lower part of the figure. Figure 3a) shows a nozzle with two gas openings for each wire in an open deflection plate technique, while Figure 3b) shows a design with a wire cut and an open wire entry and exit. With these known interleaving nozzles, the interlacing of the yarn is carried out by the impact of a gas flow on the yarn as it passes, a situation in which the angle between the gas openings 88 and the yarn can be between 45 ° and 90 °. If necessary, the conventional chambers are open, in order to obtain a strong gas flow having the capacity to form at the outlet of the gas openings 88, as can be seen in Figure 3. Therefore, in these chambers there is an essentially environmental pressure within the area of the yarn. When comparing Figures 2 and 3, it will be clearly appreciated that the present invention is based on an interlacing mechanism substantially different from that of the prior art. In the present invention, the entanglement process is not carried out by means of a gas flow which collides transversely on the yarn, but is derived from the gas flow which emerges together with the yarn or contrary to it and its path direction, out of the narrow nozzle openings 83 and 84 of the chamber 81 according to the present invention. Figure 4 shows a representation of the size of the length versus the size of the width of the surfaces of said openings of the nozzle 83/84, which have particularly proven their value in a treatment chamber designed according to the present invention , of the type according to Figure 2. For comparison with those of this Figure 2, the conventional shock surfaces of the gas openings 68 of the conventional interleaving nozzles according to Figure 3 are shown, which are notoriously a little longer. The type of nozzle designations indicated in Figure 4 correspond, incidentally and as indicated below, to the previous representations: Z = Fig. 2, G = Fig. 3a), and 0 = Fig. 3b) . The cross section of the nozzle openings 83, 84, available for the gas to emerge, of the nozzle type Z according to the present invention, is still further reduced by the cross section of the yarn. Due, substantially less hot gas is required for the operation of a treatment chamber according to the present invention, than with conventional technology, as a result of which the economy of the interlacing process is substantially improved. Figure 5 shows preferred geometries for the design of the nozzle openings 83 and 84, where a variety of different geometries are possible for the inlet nozzle 83 and for the outlet nozzle 84 and, therefore, can be achieved a number of different effects. For example, by using the nozzle shapes according to Figure 5 d) at the inlet and outlet, a very good sealing of the chamber can be achieved, with very little gas consumption. A nozzle forms funtion a) at the inlet and c) at the outlet, produces a good gas supply effect and a favorable wire tension at the inlet and outlet of the chamber. With a nozzle according to example b) at the entrance and according to example c) at the exit, a superior interlacing effect can be achieved by pre-entanglement at the entrance opening and by the final interlacing at the opening of exit. These are just some examples; Different nozzle shapes and melts are equally acceptable. As can also be seen in Figure 4, the cross section of the inlet and / or outlet opening preferably measures between 0.1 mm2 and 1 mm2. As Figure 4 further shows, the openings of the nozzles are also preferably rectangular, with a lateral proportion preferably between 1: 5 and 1: 10, and with a length preferably between 0.5 mm and 2.5 mm and, with a width preferably between 0.2 and 0.5 mm. Compared with the cross sections of the nozzle, the treatment chamber 81 has a substantially larger cross section, preferably between 10 mm 2 and 30 mm 2. The expansion between the inlet opening 83 and the outlet opening 84 is again substantially greater than the width perpendicular thereto and the equivalences are preferably between 30 mm and 150 mm. The cross section of the feed opening 82 is preferably between 100 mm2 and 200 mm2. Based on Table 1 below, it will be possible to appreciate in greater detail the advantages that can be achieved with the present invention.

* Visual evaluation of compaction of yarn in water bath = > 0-5 0 = very open yarn, small and irregularly interlaced 3 = relatively regular knots, open yarn between them 5 = full yarn and continuously closed ** Evaluation of the yarn surface, by means of REM < a - c a = inequality in the capillary surface, without damage b = without miniature inequalities, cases of frequent damage to the surface of the yarn c = some microreservoirs, hardly with any damage *** The yarn can not be rewound The basic operating medium in Examples 1 to 18, according to Table 1, is as follows: The melt-spun polymer granulation of an intrinsic viscosity suitable for the spinning process in a textile yarn is mixed in a known manner in a striker, driven by means of a spinning pump to the spinner, stretched by pressure through fine openings. The emerging filaments are cooled, a spin oil is added and collected by a godet roller at the speed of the spinning process. The yarn is stretched to obtain an FDY (Fully Stretched Thread), by means of a stretching roller which rotates faster. Later, but in the same cycle of operation, the yarn is conducted through a treatment chamber in which steam is introduced in each case and finally is wound.

Examples 1 to 5 and 8 are methods of operation performed through known means, which make use of a conventional commercial treatment chamber or an interlacing nozzle, respectively designated 0, as used in the form conventional operation with compressed air, but which was operated by means of steam in these examples. This corresponds approximately to what is shown in Figure 3 b). Example 6 uses a treatment chamber (nozzle) especially suitable for operation with a hot gas medium, designated with G, in a design similar to that of Figure 3 a). In this situation, the stretching with cooling godets is carried out in the same way. A stable coil structure is derived. The steam consumption is relatively high, corresponding to the opening of the indicated nozzle and, any influence on thermal contraction is possible only for an insignificant degree (see Figure 6, explained in more detail below). The yarn manufactured in this way is also known by the designation "H4S". In Example 7, the structure corresponds to that of Example 6, but additionally, between the godet rollers, a steam treatment nozzle is introduced into the stretch field. The treatment length in the steam nozzle is 49 mm, and the pressure is 1.5 bar (g). For the relaxation process, the same interleaving nozzle (G) is operated with steam, as in Example 6. This method of operation basically corresponds to that described in US Patent No. 5,750,215, mentioned in the background. The yarn manufactured in this way can not be wound to form larger coils, since it contracts additionally on the winding coil, which compresses it, and makes it possible to remove the bobbin from the bobbin case. Once the yarn has already gone through the heat treatment in the stretch zone, which is close to the relaxation by heating, the result is that it is not possible to carry out sufficient relaxation in the subsequent relaxation treatment, and the yarn is shrinks in the bobbin as a result of which both the yarn and the bobbin are damaged. However, using this technique, small quantities of yarn can be collected and checked for uniformity in the stretching force (CV in%), which results in 2.5%. In comparison, without steam stretching, a value of 1.7% of this value is derived. Examples 9 to 18 are techniques according to the concept of the present invention, which make use of a treatment chamber with the designation Z, according to Figure 2 approximately. With the chamber according to the present invention, the yarn is treated for the specified time at the specified gas pressure, for example, overpressure. The yarn treated in this way is wound according to the defined yarn tension. The yarn manufactured according to the present invention has been given the designation "H5S". As can easily be seen from the figures in Table 1, the technique according to the present invention has substantial advantages compared to that of the prior art.

The operation window is substantially enlarged, since, with the technique according to the present invention, the operation is already possible at low vapor pressures, thanks to which the relaxation of the yarn was adapted, compared with the known technique ( Examples 5 and 10). The boiling shrinkage of the yarn manufactured according to the present invention can be adjusted by the possibility of adjustment over a wide range of the vapor pressure and the duration of the treatment, which is not possible with the technique according to the comparison examples (see Examples 3, 4, 15 and 16 respectively). In the diagram of Figure 6, this dependence is even more clearly shown, for example the influence of vapor pressure on boiling contraction, with the PET example (titration 84 f 36 dtex), since in said diagram of Figure 6 the steeper lower line represents the dependence on the technique according to the present invention and, the flatter upper dotted line represents the dependence on the conventional technique. With the technique according to the present invention, the interlacing process results in a relative independence of the gas pressure value, but nevertheless, it is of the order of magnitude found in conventional devices, with substantially higher gas consumption.

The yarn manufactured according to the present invention has consistently lower yarn / ceramic friction values compared to the yarn manufactured according to the prior art.

These values are reproduced faithfully in Table 1 and, were measured with a F meter from Rothschild-Messinstrumente, Zurich, Switzerland. The reason for these favorable friction values is probably that the yarn manufactured according to the present invention presents fewer cases of damage on the surface of the yarn, which could be clearly identified when the cross section of the yarn was examined under a SEM (Electron Scanning Microscope) at a magnification of approximately 2000 times, and which may be attributable to the interlacing gas jet that is directed in the same direction as the wire path. One method of yarn testing known worldwide is, in particular, the examination of the cohesion of the yarn in a water bath. In this situation, the amount of interlacing points is counted, in a piece of yarn with defined length, resting on the water surface. The method has advantages compared to the different automatic methods, because it provides an impression of the nature of the interlacing points. Within the context of the test method, it was surprisingly found that the yarn manufactured according to the present invention has a consistently closed yarn composition, which shows no, or practically none, over the entire length of the yarn. In contrast to this, conventionally manufactured yarns show constrictions at intervals of from 6 to 8 cm, and between them the yarn opens in the form of a balloon within the individual capillaries of the yarn. Good cohesion of the yarn, such as that obtained with the technique according to the present invention, is of great advantage during further processing.

The spinning of Examples, 3, 6, 8, 11 and 12, was also introduced into a chain made of transparent trilobal gauze PET 22 dtex f, by means of a projectile of flexible fibrous duct in the weft form. In the evaluation that follows, the spinning tissue properties were derived.

As can be seen in Table 2, with respect to the air pressure for the fabric of the yarn manufactured in accordance with the present invention, up to 45% less compressed air is required for the insertion of the yarn into the flexible fibrous conduit . Both types of yarn, manufactured in accordance with the present invention, show markedly fewer flaws during the weaving process, which are identifiable from the lower number of yarn interruptions. The processing medium used in the described examples is steam. However, the technique is not limited to steam; compressed air is also acceptable, with which the influence on thermal contraction is somewhat less due to a more deficient value of heat transfer.

The device according to the present invention can also be used as an interlacing device, with the advantage that energy is saved, thanks to the lower consumption of compressed air, compared to the prior art. Figure 7 also shows in a diagram, the stability of the interlacing process and the cohesion of the yarn respectively (referred to as the entanglement stability or also known as knot strength), of an "H5S" yarn manufactured in accordance with the present invention. In comparison, the same dependency is also represented for the other two "Standard" and "H4S" yarns, manufactured according to the prior art, the "H4S" yarn being manufactured with the use of a steam operated treatment chamber in accordance with the prior art. with Figure 3 a), and the "Standard" yarn manufactured using a treatment chamber according to Figure 3 b), operated by compressed air. The three yarns had the titre 1 10 dtex f 24 and, in the initial state (0.05 cN / dtex), approximately the same amount of interlacing was specified, approximately 20 knots per meter. Figure 7 shows the "relative interlacing", as a percentage of the interlacing in only a specific low thread tension force, against this specific wire tension force in cN / dtex (Centinewton / decitex). The measured values entered in Figure 7 were determined with an interlace measurement device, designated as "Itemat Lab Tsi", from Akzo NobelFaser AG (Enka technica Division), Heinsberg, Germany. With this device, the number of interlacing nodes per unit length is initially determined, in the wire path only with low wire tension and, subsequently, it is determined directly with an increased wire tension. The yarn "H5S" according to the present invention, unexpectedly shows a large amount and knots practically constant at a specific yarn tension strength of up to 0.5 cN / dtex. The number of knots is reduced in the range shown, only approximately 10%. In contrast, in the two comparison yarns, the number of knots with the same range of tension strength is approximately 80% or more. Therefore, the yarns according to the present invention show a reduction which is not greater than 50% and, in particular, not even more than 30% in the number of knots per unit length, in a tension force of Specific yarn up to 0.5 cN / dtex.

Claims (17)

R E I V I N D I C A C I O N S Having described the present invention, it is considered as a novelty and, therefore, the content of the following CLAIMS is claimed as property.

1. A device for interlocking, relaxing and / or heat hardening the filament yarn (50) in a melt spinning process, with a treatment chamber (80), further characterized in that the treatment chamber (80, 81), can be filled with a gas under an essentially static overpressure and increased temperature and, because it has an inlet opening (83) and an outlet opening (84) for the yarn passage (50), which is permeable by the gas under relaxation by Pressure.

2. A device as described in Claim 1, further characterized in that the entrance opening (83) and / or the exit opening (84) of the treatment chamber (80, 81), are designed as nozzles surrounding closed form to the yarn, with a cross section preferably between 0.1 mm2 and 1 mm2, and because the treatment chamber (80, 81) has in contrast, a substantially larger cross section, preferably between 10 mm2 and 30 mm23.

A device as described in Claim 1 or 2, further characterized in that the inlet opening (83) and / or the outlet opening (84) have a rectangular cross section with a proportion between the dices preferably between 1: 5 and 1: 10, with a length preferably between 0.5 mm and 2.5 mm and a width preferably between 0.2 and 0.5 mm.

4. A device as described in any of claims 1 to 3, further characterized by the expansion of the treatment chamber (80, 81) between its input opening (83) and its exit opening (84). , is substantially greater than its width perpendicular to it, and is preferably between 30 mm and 150 mm.

5. A device as described in any of claims 1 to 4, further characterized in that the treatment chamber (80, 81) has a feed opening (82) for a gas under high pressure and at an increased temperature, and wherein the cross section of this feed opening (82) is substantially greater than the cross section of the inlet opening (83) and / or outlet opening (84), and is preferably equal to between 100 mm2 and 200 mm2.

6. A device as described in 5, further characterized in that the treatment chamber (80, 81), apart from its input opening (83), its outlet opening (84) and its feed opening (82), It is completely closed.

7. A device as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, further characterized in that the treatment chamber is made of metal or a covered metal resistant to abrasion.

8. A device as described in any of claims 1 to 6, further characterized in that the treatment chamber is made of a ceramic material.

9. A device as described in any of the Claims 1 to 8, further characterized in that it is distributed in a system (10-90) for the manufacture of filament spinning by melt spinning polymer masses between a length of stretch by turns and / or stretch length ( 60, 70), and a winding device (90) for spinning (50).

10. A device as described in Claim 9, further characterized in that only mechanical means are provided in the stretch length by turns and / or stretch length (60, 70) for the stretching and / or stretching of the yarn (50). .

1 1. A device as described in any of the Claims 9 or 10, further characterized in that it is placed in the referred system, directly on the front of the winding station (90).

12. A device as described in any of the Claims 1 to 11, further characterized in that it is operated with steam, such as gas, under an absolute pressure of between 1.5 and 10 bar.

13. A process for interlacing filament yarn (50) in a melt spinning process, making use of a device (80) with a nozzle, through which a gas, under overpressure, flows with at least substantial relaxation, further characterized in that the yarn (50) is also moved through the nozzle (83, 84), in or against the flow direction of the gas.

14. A process for the relaxation and / or heat hardening of the filament yarn (50) in a spinning casting process, further characterized in that the yarn (50) is subjected, in a device (80) designed for this purpose and on a specified length, with a hot gas under an approximately constant overpressure.

15. A process as described in any of Claims 13 or 14, further characterized in that the device (80) is used, an apparatus according to any one of Claims 1 to 12.

16. An interlaced filament yarn with a specified number of knots per unit length, further characterized in that the number of knots per unit length with a specified yarn tension strength of up to 0.5 cN / dtex, does not decrease more than 50%.

17. An interlaced filament yarn as described in Claim 16, further characterized in that the number of knots per unit length with a specific yarn tension strength of up to 0.5 cN / dtex, does not decrease more than 30%. SUMMARY The device (80) described can be used universally for the interlacing, relaxation and / or heat hardening of the filament yarn (50), in a melt spinning process. This comprises a treatment chamber (80, 81), which has the capacity to be filled with a gas under essentially static overpressure and increased temperature, and has an inlet opening (83) and an outlet opening (84), designed preferably in the form of nozzles, for the passage of the wire (50), through which the gas can flow under pressure release, respectively or against the direction of the wire path (50). (Figure 2)