US3640064A

US3640064A - Novelty yarn

Info

Publication number: US3640064A
Application number: US4155A
Authority: US
Inventors: Clifford W Palm; William R Gibson
Original assignee: Celanese Corp
Current assignee: Celanese Corp
Priority date: 1970-01-19
Filing date: 1970-01-19
Publication date: 1972-02-08
Anticipated expiration: 1989-02-08

Abstract

A continuous filament slub yarn is described which comprises a substantially unbulked core yarn and an auxiliary yarn having slubbed and unslubbed portions along its linear length. The auxiliary yarn supplies the slubs in a random distribution and random size along the length of the yarn by looping upon itself and attaching to the core yarn by interlacing at least some of the auxiliary yarn filaments through the core yarn.

Description

I v United States Patent [151 3,640,064

Palm et al. 1 Feb. 8, 1972 [54] NOVELTY YARN References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [72] inventors: Clifford W. Palm, Denver, N.C.; William R. Gibson, Cumberland, Md. 557,020 10/1957 Belgium [73] Assignee: Celanese Corporation, New York, NY. 2,196 Great B [22] Filed: Jan. 19, 1 7 Primary Examiner-John Petrakes Attome -Thomas J. Mar an Ste hen D. M h and H r- 4 155 y g l p urp y e [2]] .No bert M. Adrian,.lr.

Related U.S. Application Data [60] Continuation-impart of Set. No. 3 5 9,8l4, Mar. 25, [571 ABSTRACT 1964, abandoned, which is a dmslon of Acontinuous filament slub yarn is described which comprises 81 L066 May 1959 a substantially unbulked core yarn and an auxiliary yarn hav- [52] U S Cl 57,144 57/l40 BY 57,140 J ing slubbed and unslubbed portions along its linear length. 51 in c|. ..I )02g 3/34, 602 3/36 The auxiliary Y Supplies the Slubs in a random distribution 58 Field of Search .57/34 B, 157 F, 1401, 144, and randem size along the length of the y y looping p itself and attaching to the core yam by interlacing at least some of the auxiliary yam filaments through the core yarn.

7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures NOVELTY YARN BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 359,814, filed Mar. 25, 1964, now abandoned, tion was a division of Ser. No. 811,066, filed May 5, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,144,747.

This invention relates to novelty slub bulk yarn, as well as to a process of and means for producing such yarn.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a heavy denier novelty slub bulk yarn which presents an unusual appearance and which can be employed in the manufacture of a variety of fabrics suitable for use as upholstery, draperies, clothing and the like.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a yarn of the aforesaid type which is composed of an unbulked core yarn surrounded and penetrated by a multitude of loops and curls formed in an auxiliary or slub yarn when subjected to a bulking operation.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a novel process of producing a higher denier novelty slub bulk yarn composed of an unbulked core yarn in combination with a bulked, slub-forming auxiliary yarn.

Concurrently, it is an object of the present invention to provide means for combining a core yarn and an auxiliary yarn in such a manner as to impart thereto the desired irregular slub distribution.

The foregoing and other objects and characteristics of the present invention will be more fully understood from a consideration of the following detailed description thereof when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention a novelty slub yarn is produced by an intermittent relieving of the tension of one of two multifilament yarns fed simultaneously into a fluid bulking jet, whereby the untensioned or auxiliary yarn is violently whipped about and the individual filaments thereof are formed into a multitude of loops and curls embracing and penetrating the second yarn or core which is always maintained under tension. Advantageously the resulting yarn has twist in it, which serves to stabilize its structure by preventing the looped filaments of the auxiliary yarn from separating from the core. The twist may be provided by taking up the product on a downtwister or by employing a core and/or auxiliary yarn which initially contain twist. Stability and strength are also imparted by the unbulked core.

More particularly, a continuous, multifilament slub yarn is provided comprising a composite of a multifilament core yarn and a multifilarnent auxiliary yarn having slubbed and unslubbed portions along its linear length, said core yarn being substantially unslubbed and said auxiliary yarn having slubs of continuous filaments looped upon themselves with at least some of said auxiliary yarn filaments being interlaced through said core filaments, said slubs being randomly distributed along the linear length of said yarn and being random in size, said yarn having at least 200 slubs per 1,000 yards of yarn, at least 50 percent of said slubs having a denier ratio of yarn denier to slub denier of at least about 1.1 to less than 3.0 with the remainder having a denier ratio of at least 3.0, the spacing between slubs being greater than about 0.5 inch and not more than about 120 inches and the average slub length being less than 2 inches.

DETAILS OF THE INVENTION The yarns may comprise nylon, polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate, rayon, polymers and/or A jet of the type capable of being employed in this apparatus, and usually called an air jet, is fully disclosed in the copending application of Clifford W. Palm et al., Ser, No. 356,349, filed May 21, 1953, now U.S. Pat. No. 2,942,402, and since such jet per se forms no part of the present invention, no further detailed description thereof is deemed necessary herein.

In order to permit bulking of the auxiliary yarn it is necessary that at least intermittently it be supplied to the bulking jet more rapidly than it is taken away therefrom. The percent overfeed, i.e., 100 times the quotient of (feed rate minus withdrawal rate) divided by the withdrawal rate may range from about 10 to 600 percent or more, and preferably about 20 percent to 200-500 percent. The percent overfeed of course takes into consideration the slubs as well as the length of yarn between slubs. The product may be bulked between slubs, if desired, however, by suitable selection of the normal supply speed of the auxiliary yarn. Thus the normal percent overfeed may be about 20 to 25 percent, higher overfeeds reducing the yarn strength and producing a yarn in which the intermittent character of the bulking will be obscured; that portion of the total denier of each slub comprising auxiliary yarn on the average ranges from about 50 percent or less to about 90 percent or more and preferably about 65 percent to percent.

The core passes through the system at slightly in excess of 0 percent overfeed, e.g., it is supplied to the jet about 5 to 10 percent faster than it is withdrawn therefrom in order to accommodate the auxiliary yarn filaments which enter between, and thus distend, the core filaments.

The apparatus for forming the novel product comprises separate feeds for the auxiliary yarn and core, a bulking jet, a takeup mechanism, and means for intermittently varying, e.g., speeding up, the feed of the auxiliary yarn to the jet. The variation of the feed of the auxiliary yarn may be achieved by normally passing the yarn through a tension gate which is intermittently opened, by varying the speed of a positive feed device, by varying the path of the yarn from its supply to the jet, or the like. A suitable device for effecting this variation comprises a special rotatabledrive roll for feeding the auxiliary yarn to be bulked. The surface of the roll is divided into yam-engaging and nonengaging areas which are not uniform along the effective length of the roll. Means are provided to traverse the yarn along the length of said special roll to cause the yarn alternately to be engaged and disengaged, nonuniformly, by the yam-engaging surface. Thus, the nonengaging area may comprise one or more serpentine depressions in the roll surface, a plurality of spaced depressions preferably randomly cut out of the roll surface, or the like, the engaging areas may comprise high friction materials. Advantageously, the roll surface is provided with random cutouts and cooperates with a smooth-surfaced companion roll. When the yarn is gripped between the companion roll and the yam-engaging surface of the special roll the yarn is positively fed at predetermined speed. When the yarn passes between the companion roll and a depressed area of the special roll it is not positively fed but rather is pulled along rapidly by the action of the jet.

An apparatus which has given accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an apparatus designed for carrying out the process and producing the yarn according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the elements of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a short length of the product.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, it will be seen that the apparatus according to the present invention comprises a pair of pigtail guides 10 and 11 which are positioned for guiding a yarn 12 to serve as a core and an auxiliary yarn 13 taken, respectively, from a pair of bobbins or spools l4 and 15. The apparatus further includes a pair of

feed rolls

16 and 17, one or both of which may be positively driven by good results is shown in the A I A an any suitable means (not shown), for drawing the yarn 12 from bobbin 14. Following the pigtail guide 11 there is provided a traverse bar 18 which may be reciprocated longitudinally of itself by any suitable means (not shown) and is provided with a yarn guide loop or eye 19. A second pair of feed rolls and 21, one or both of which may be positively driven and the axes of rotation of which are substantially parallel to the direction of reciprocal movement of the traverse bar 18, is positioned adjacent the latter and adapted to draw the auxiliary yarn 13 from the spool 15.,

The

feed rolls

16 and 17 are of conventional construction,

one being preferably made of rubber or of a rubber-covered rigid material, the other being made of steel. Of the

feed rolls

20 and 21. for a purpose which will become clear presently, only the roll 21 is of conventional construction, e.g., steel. Reference to FIG. 2 shows that the roll 20, which may be made of cork, neoprene or other material having a high coefficient of friction, is provided over its entire periphery with a plurality or recesses or cutouts 22, preferably randomly spaced. Although these are shown as being substantially rectangular in outline, it will be understood that both the shapes or outlines and the distribution of the recesses 22 in the surface of the roll 20, hereinafter referred to as a cut roll, may be varied at will.

Positioned at the discharge side of the pairs of feed rolls 16-17 and 20-21 is a yarn bulking, jet 23 which comprises a housing 24 having a yarn inlet tube 25 at its top and a yarn outlet passageway (not shown) at its bottom. Attached to the bottom of the housing 24 is a deflector plate 26 oriented at a predetermined angle to the yarn outlet path. The function of this plate will be more fully explained hereinafter. In the interior of the housing 24 is defined a chamber through which the yarn to be bulked is passed, and the housing is further provided with a fluid inlet nipple 27 communicating with the chamber and adapted to be connected to a line 28 leading from any suitable source of fluid under pressure, for example, compressed air or steam.

A pair of takeup or

delivery rolls

29 and 30 of conventional construction is arranged at the discharge side of the air jet 23 for drawing the yarn from the latter and feeding it via a pigtail guide 31 to a ringtail 32 by means of which the yarn is reciprocated along a takeup spool 33 while being wound thereon.

The auxiliary yarn 13, passes through the jet at the same time, but it is to be intermittently bulked. In order to accomplish this, the

feed rolls

20 and 21 are driven at a peripheral speed which is equal to or somewhat more than the driven peripheral speed of the

delivery rolls

29 and 30. Because the roll 20 is provided with the cutouts or recesses 22, the yarn 13 will be relieved of all tension whenever it passes between the

rolls

20 and 21 at a location corresponding to one of the recesses 22. it will be seen, therefore, that as the yarn 13 is traversed back and forth along the longitudinal dimension of the cut roll 20 by the traverse bar 18, it will first be gripped between the outer surface of the roll 21 and an uncut surface portion of the roll 20, thus being kept under tension, will then be relieved of tension when located within the confines of one of the recesses 22 asthe latter passes over the roll 21, will thereafter again be gripped and tensioned between the roll 21 and another uncut surface portion of the roll 20, and so on.

Consequently, whenever the yarn 13 is not under tension, the various filaments thereof in the bulking chamber of the jet 23 will be whipped about by the stream of compressed air in such a manner as to form a multitude of loops and curls around, over and through the unbulked and continually tensioned yarn 12. During this time the action of the jet 23 draws the yarn 13 off its spool 15 at a rate which may be many times, e.g., about 125 to 600 percent of, the normal rate, i.e., many times the peripheral speed of the roll 21. Thus, there is formed in the jet a single end of a new and composite yarn 34 which, as it leaves the jet 23 through the outlet passageway thereof, first impinges against the deflector plate 26, which may extend from the housing at an angle of about 15 to 75. Such impingement enhances and aids in the stabilizing of the loops and curls formed in the yarn, and the stability of the product yarn 34 may be still further enhanced by subjecting the yarn to a slight additional twist, whereby the core yarn and the slubforming auxiliary yarn become permanently affixed to one another.

As shown in FIG. 3, the product yarn 34 between slubs comprises a bundle 35 of core filaments and a bundle 36 of auxiliary yarn filaments. At the slub 37 the auxiliary yarn filaments are bulked and interlaced through the core filaments which stabilized the bulk. Because of the presence of the core it is possible to obtain bulking of several hundred percent in the slubs whereas in the absence of a core, whether bulked continuously or intermittently, about 50 percent or less bulking is a general maximum if reasonably strong yarn is to be produced.

The distribution of the slubs along the product yarn 34 is, of course, completely irregular due to the random distribution of the recesses 22 in the surface of the cut roll 20, and in con junction with the reciprocating traverse bar 18. The use of the cut roll enables the formation of slubs ranging in length from as low as 0.375 inch to as high as 2 inches with intervening nonslubbed portions ranging in length from as low as 0.50 inch to as high as 120.25 inches.

In a representative run with the illustrated apparatus, employing a cellulose acetate auxiliary yarn of 104 filaments united with 5.5 Z turns per inch into a 200 denier yarn and a high tenacity cellulose acetate core of 40 filaments united with 2.5 Z turns per inch into a 48 denier yarn and taking up the product at 94 feet per minute with 2 turns per inch, both rolls 17 and 21 operating at 10 percent overfeeds, there is obtained the product described in the table.

TABLE Length unslubbed Length Unslubbed portion portion, subsequent Slub Denie (273 denier) inches slub, inches denier ratio As can be seen on analysis of the above table, the yarn of the present invention has randomly distributed slubs of random slub size wherein the distance between slubs varies from a low of 0.5 inch to about inches and there are more than 200 slubs per 1,000 yards of yarn. More particularly, the illustrated yarn has in excess of 2,000 slubs per 1,000 yards of yarn as can be calculated by dividing the average slub length plus the average distance between slubs into the yarn length. The

denier ratio of yarn denier to the slub denier is obtained by dividing the yarn denier into the slub denier. An examination of the above table will indicate that more than 50 percent of the slubs have a denier ratio between 1.1 and 3.0. The illustrated yarn in fact has about 61.5 percent of the slubs within this range. The remaining slubs have a ratio higher than 3.0. The average slub length is less than 2 inches. Most of the slubs are an inch or more in length. This, of course, can be varied as desired, as described herein.

it is to be understood that the foregoing detailed description is given merely by way of illustration and that many variations may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit thereof.

What is claimed is:

l. A continuous, multifilament slub yam comprising a composite of a multifilament core yarn and a multifilament auxiliary yarn having slubbed and unslubbed portions along its linear length, said core yarn being substantially unslubbed and said auxiliary yarn having slubs of continuous filaments looped upon themselves with at least some of said auxiliary yarn filaments being interlaced through said core filaments, said slubs being randomly distributed along the linear length of said yarn and being random in size, said yarn having at least 200 slubs per l,000 yards of yarn, at least 50 percent of said slubs having a denier ratio of yarn denier to slub denier of at least about 1.1 to less than 3.0 with the remainder having a denier ratio of at least 3.0, the spacing between slubs being greater than about 0.5 inch and not more than about inches and the average slub length being less than 2 inches.

2. The slub yarn of claim 1 wherein the slubs vary in length from about 0.375 to about 2.0 inches.

3. The slub yarn of claim 1 wherein the average slub length is more than 1 inch.

4. The slub yarn of claim 1 wherein the average distance between slubs is 14 to 15 inches.

5. The slub yarn of claim 1 wherein at least one of said core yarn and auxiliary yarn is cellulose acetate.

6. The slub yarn of claim 1 wherein the core yarn and the auxiliary yarn both contain an individual twist.

7. The slub yarn of claim 1 wherein the auxiliary and core yarn are twisted together.

Claims

1. A continuous, multifilament slub yarn comprising a composite of a multifilament core yarn and a multifilament auxiliary yarn having slubbed and unslubbed portions along its linear length, said core yarn being substantially unslubbed and said auxiliary yarn having slubs of continuous filaments looped upon themselves with at least some of said auxiliary yarn filaments being interlaced through said core filaments, said slubs being randomly distributed along the linear length of said yarn and being random in size, said yarn having at least 200 slubs per 1,000 yards of yarn, at least 50 percent of said slubs having a denier ratio of yarn denier to slub denier of at least about 1.1 to less than 3.0 with the remainder having a denier ratio of at least 3.0, the spacing between slubs being greater than about 0.5 inch and not more than about 120 inches and the average slub length being less than 2 inches.