CA1158034A - Unspun yarn - Google Patents
Unspun yarnInfo
- Publication number
- CA1158034A CA1158034A CA000382011A CA382011A CA1158034A CA 1158034 A CA1158034 A CA 1158034A CA 000382011 A CA000382011 A CA 000382011A CA 382011 A CA382011 A CA 382011A CA 1158034 A CA1158034 A CA 1158034A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- fibre assembly
- fibres
- cover
- thread
- fibre
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
- D04B—KNITTING
- D04B21/00—Warp knitting processes for the production of fabrics or articles not dependent on the use of particular machines; Fabrics or articles defined by such processes
- D04B21/20—Warp knitting processes for the production of fabrics or articles not dependent on the use of particular machines; Fabrics or articles defined by such processes specially adapted for knitting articles of particular configuration
- D04B21/202—Warp knitting processes for the production of fabrics or articles not dependent on the use of particular machines; Fabrics or articles defined by such processes specially adapted for knitting articles of particular configuration warp knitted yarns
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D02—YARNS; MECHANICAL FINISHING OF YARNS OR ROPES; WARPING OR BEAMING
- D02G—CRIMPING OR CURLING FIBRES, FILAMENTS, THREADS, OR YARNS; YARNS OR THREADS
- D02G3/00—Yarns or threads, e.g. fancy yarns; Processes or apparatus for the production thereof, not otherwise provided for
- D02G3/22—Yarns or threads characterised by constructional features, e.g. blending, filament/fibre
- D02G3/38—Threads in which fibres, filaments, or yarns are wound with other yarns or filaments, e.g. wrap yarns, i.e. strands of filaments or staple fibres are wrapped by a helically wound binder yarn
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Textile Engineering (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Yarns And Mechanical Finishing Of Yarns Or Ropes (AREA)
Abstract
TITLE: UNSPUN YARN
ABSTRACT:
An unspun yarn consists of a fibre assembly of substantially untwisted and parallel fibres partially enclosed by a stitched cover, without relative twist between cover and fibre assembly. The cover consists of one or more threads stitched around the fibre assembly and provides constraint and support for the fibre assembly in a direction parallel to the fibre length and at spaced. intervals in a direction at an angle to the fibre length.
ABSTRACT:
An unspun yarn consists of a fibre assembly of substantially untwisted and parallel fibres partially enclosed by a stitched cover, without relative twist between cover and fibre assembly. The cover consists of one or more threads stitched around the fibre assembly and provides constraint and support for the fibre assembly in a direction parallel to the fibre length and at spaced. intervals in a direction at an angle to the fibre length.
Description
1 158~4 The present invention relates to an unspun yarn and to a method of making such a yarn. The yarn o the present invention may be made from natural or man-made fibres or blends of such fibres.
The maJority of yarns produced at present are spun with real twist. In one method of manufacture, spun yarns are produced by firstly straightening and untangling fibres by a carding-type process, to produce a fla-t web of fibres which is then divided across its width into narrow ribbons which are passed between rubbing aprons to consolidate the fibres into a rounded and continuous structure. This con-solidated, continuous, structure is then twisted, drawn, and spun e.g. by a ring spinning or similar process, to form a spun yarn. The spinning process greatly increases the friction (and hence the cohesion) between the fibres, and a spun yarn is relatively strong in tension, whereas the unspun fibre structure will pull apart easily under tensile stress. However, since in a spun yarn the fibres are twisted together and consolidated, they form a rela-tively lean (i.e. thin and hard) structure, as opposed to the bulky ~i.e. full and soft) structure of the unspun fibres. Lightness of weight and softness of 'feel' are highly priæed in woollen garments, and a bulky structure in general provides better heat insulation than a lean 1 ~5~3~
~itructure, so ~han an unspun yaIrl has marked advanta~ec il only it is possible -to hold the ~ibres to~;ether in a manner whic}l ~ives the yarn an acceptable tensile stren~th.
Unspun y~lns are known in which the fibres have been further consoli~ated by additional rubbing to such a cleF,ree that the resultin6 yarn has sufficien-t tensile strength to permit hand-knit-tin~;. E~owever, this type of unspun ~Ja~n is very difficult to machine lcnit and even in hand_knittin~
requires very gentle handlin~;. Garments knitted from this type of yarn tend to stretch and sag badly in use, due -t;o poor cohesion between ths fibres.
Also known are yarns with a core of false_twisted or loosely twisted or untwisted fibres and B wrapping of threads or fibres wound helically around the out~ide of the core. q'-his type o~ yaxn structure is disclosed in U.S.
Patents Nos.307~7~6, 3367095, 4003194, U.K. Paten~s 46G9~iO
and 436151~ and German Patents Nos.1685881, 29~2131 and L~97776.
Ger~an ~atent 1~63765 a~d U.S.Patent 3~58987 disclo~e a variation of this type of yarn ~tructure, in which the wrappiIlg is formed from threads helically wound in opposil;e directions aro~md the core, and the wrappin~; threads are melted or ~;lued so that they ad~ere to each other at their cross-over points.
Ger~larl Patent 3002952 and U.S.Patent ~7326~4 disclose a furt~er va~iation of this type of yarn structure, in which the wrappin~, althou~h of helically wound threads, is _ ~ _ 0 ~ 4 discontinuous ~ irrebular -to ~ive a non-uniforln sur~ace finis~ to t~e yarn.
All these helically_wrapped yarn structures have drawbacks, the most in~portant beinL~;. that the machiner~J
needed to manufac-ture these ~arns i9 both rela-tivel~
expensive and has a low production ra~e. Secondly, there is relative twist betwean the core and the wrapping, so that the wrappin~ tends to untwist if the ~arn is cut or snag~ed.
'~he variation disclosed in Garman Patent 1963~65 and U.~. Patent ~58987 partly overcomes this second draw_ back, but only by using a very complex and expensive manu facturing procqss and producing a stiffer, le~q flexible product.
A third drawback is that the relative twi~t between core a~d wrapplng tends to compact and consolidate the core, givin~ a relatively lea~ yarn.
U.S.Patent ~857230 discloses a yarnlike product made of a bundl8 of ~en~rally parPllel, u~twisted fibreq held to~ether by a series of spaced polymer rings each of which pas~es around the fibre bundle, locally compacting and com_ pressing the bundle, so that the product consa~ts of a series of bulky, unrestxained fibre bundles separated by the compressed araas formed by said rin~s. The polymer rings are not linked to~e-ther, so that if the rin~ spacin~
is ~reater t~,m the average fibre len~th, the tensile strength of the final product is dependant upon the co_ 03~
heqion of the fibres; ~Id if -the ring sp~ci~g is less than the avera~e fibre len~th, upon the s-tren~th of the bonds bat~een the ring~ and the fibres~
Ger~an Patent 2817064 discloF~e~ a fancg or decorative yarn consistin~ of a spun 'effect' yarn which is formed into re~ulax or irregular zig_~Gag patte~ns which are held in place by a ' core ' yarn which is chain-stitched in a straight line across the pattern~ In this yarn, the cQre yarn ~oes not support -the effect yarn over the whole length of the effect yarn, but simply secures the pattern in position. I~ other word~, the e~fec~ yarn must be suf~i-ciently cohesive ~o be self-supportin~, becau~e it is not constrained or supported by the core yarn over the major part of its length.
Q~ object of the present invention is the provision of an unspun yarn which xetains its bulky structure and 80~t 'feel~ bu~ whi.ah ~ay be ~andled and u~ed i~ the same m~nner, or ~ub~tantiall~ the ~me mt~ln~r 9 ~ a co~ventional BpUn yQrn. A further ob~ect o~ ~he pre~ent inventio~ is to provide a method of ~aking such an un~pun yarn which does not require the u~e of complex or expen~ive mac~inery.
The preserlt invention provides an unspun yar~n com_ prising a îibre a.qsembly of substantially untwisted a:nd parallel fibres, and a co~er made of stitching, said cover partially enclosing said fibre assembly without relative twist between said cover a~d said fibre assembly; said 1 ~58~4 cover comprisin~, one or more threads stitched aro~ t~3 1~ibre assembly so a~ -to provi~e constraint and support Lo the fibre ~ssembly bo~h in u direction parallel to the length of ~aid ibres and at spaced intervals in a direc-tion at ~n an~le to -the len~th of saicl fibres~
Preferably, the cons-traint and support pro~ided by the cover in a ~irection at an anEle to the fibre length i8 provided by a series of spaced bands each of which encircles the fibre assembly~ ~ach band may comprise two or more band se~rDents, each segment encirclin~ pa~t of the fibre assembly such that said se~ents in combination completely encircle the fibre assembly.
~ he fibres of the fibre assembly may be pure or b}ended natural or synthetic fibres. rrhe '4ubstanti~11y untwisted' fibres may be completely untwisted or they may have a sli~ht de~ree of twist or false twist, sufficien~
to permit the fibre assembly to be handled sasily up to ~he sta~e of applyin~ the cover, bu-t not suf~icient to si~nifi_ cantly reduce t~e bulk of the fibre as~emblyO For example, the known prior-art unwrapped unspun ~arn discussed abov~, could be used as the ~ibre asse~bly of the present inven-tion, as could the slubbings or rovings formed in the preparatory sta~es of conventional spinnin~ processe~.
Rovings have about one_half turn of t~JiSt per inch;
slubbin~s have less twist than rovin~s. Yreferably, however, the fibre assembly is completely untwisted e.3.
the slivers or tops formed in the early stages of cotlven_ tional spinning processes. '~he constraint and support 1 1580~Q
provided by the cover in a direction par~llel to the lerl~t~
of the fibres may be provided by thread por-tions extending parallel to the len~s-th of the fibre~ but m~y be provided by thread portions extending in o-ther directions.
As u~ed herein, the term 'thread' includes conven-tional threads and spun 7arn~ and also monofila~ent threa~.
~he or e~ch thread may be single or rnultiple strands.
~ he present invention further provides a method of makin~ an un5pun yarn comprisin~ the steps of: providing a fibre assembly of substantially untwisted and parallel fibres; feeding said fibre a~scmbly throu~h a stitch.
forming machine to ~titch one or more thread~ in an inter-loc~in~ stitch arouhd said fibre assembly to form a cover which partially encloses aaid fibre assembly without relative twist between said cover and said fibre assembly;
said cover pro~idin~ co~straint and ~upport for the fibre as~embly both in a direction par~llel to the lerl~t~ of said fibres and Rt ~paced interval~ in a direction a~ an angle to th~ lengt~ o~ B~id fib~e~O
A~ used herein, the term ' stitch-forming ~achine ' includes oYerlockin6 ~achine~ 7 blind-stitching machines, hosiery seamer machines, and similar machines.
By way of example only t a preferred embodiment of tile present invention is described in detail, with reference -to the accompanyin~ drawings, in which:-.1 is a plan view of a fibre assembl~ before the - 7~-1 ~803~
cover is applied;
Fi~ a view of one si~e of the fibre assembly of Fi~.1 with the thre~d cover applied;
Fi~s. 3 ~nd 4 are dia~rammatic Iepresentations of the thread arran~ements in a cover for~ned from a 2-thread stitch and a 3_thread stitch respectively; and FiS.5 is a flow-diagr~m s~lowin~ the principal sta~es of the method of the present invention.
EXample8 of quitable stitches ~`or forming the cover are Union Special stitches types 10~ (a one-thread chain stitch), 502, (a 2-thread overed~e atitch), and 504 (a 3_thread overadge stitch). ~he Union Special titch type nu~bers are as given in the Union Special Corpoxation Machine l~eference 1981. Stitch type 502 is illustrated in ~igs. 2 and 3.
Referrin~ to Figs.~-3 7 a fibre assembly 2 comprises a strip of substan~ially strai~lt~ par~llel fibres. ~he ~ibre assembly ~ is formed into ~ unspun yarn by encasin6 the fibre as~embly in a cover 3 made of stitched threads 4 & 5 (see Fi~s.2 and 3). 'rhe cover ~ is formed around the fibre as~embly 2 by feeding the fibre assembly 2 through an overlockin~ ~achine which i5 set-up to stitch a 2-thread overlock stitch. '~his stitch is fo~med from one thread 4 which extends along one side of the YibIe assembly and also forms half 6a of` each of a series o:~
spaced bunds 6 which encircle the fibre assembly at inter_ I 1$~0~
vals alon~ i-ts len~t~ he other thread 5 extend~ ~lon~
the opposite ~ide Or t~e fibre as~embly 2, and forms the other half 6b of each band 6.
Union Special ~titch type 504 is shown in Fig~4:-this ~titch is formed from three threads 7, 8, 9, each of which provides a serie~ of band se~ment~ 7a, 8a, 9a, respectively encircling approxirnately one_third of the fibre a~embly 2, ~nd al~o provides portions 7bl 8b, 9b, which extend parallel to the length of the fibres in the fibre asse~bly and provide threa spaced lon~itudinal linking elemen~s. '~he combination of each set of b~nd segm~nts 7a, 8a, 9a, co~pletely encircles the fibre assembly, For cl~ri~y in Figs.2, 3, and ~, the thread~ 4 and 5 (Fig3.2 & ~) and 7, ~, 9 (Fig.4) are shown as ~aving different thickne3se~, but i~ fact t~e threads may bs of the same or different thicknesses. q`he threads may con~
tra~t in colour wi~ the fibre a~8embly or may be of the ~me colour o~ m~y bc o~ a ~ine ~ono~ men~ t~ead whi~h i~ seml~tr~n~pa~t ~nd px~vides a ao~e~ which 13 allno~t invisible.
~ he type of stitch used to form the cover must be an interlockin~ stitch and must provide a series of bands spaced alon~ the len~th of the fibre assembly, each band encircling the fibre assembly, and at leas t one elelllent linkinK the bands together alon6 the length of the fibre assembly. Each band need not be formed as a single unbroken band:- instead, as shown in the preferred 1) 3 ~
embodiments~ each band may be formed from the cof~binat.ion of two or more b~nd se~wents~ each of which encircles par~ of the fibre assemblyO '~he band segm~nts forming each band may be aligned end_-to-end around the fibre assembly or mag be stag~ered alon~ the length of the fibre assembly BO -that the se~ments are spaced apart along the lengt~ of the fibre a~sembly.
~ ach band ~ay be perpendicular to the len~th~ o~ the fibres in tlle ~ibre assembly, but need not be;- a band a~
~n an~le greate~ or less ~han 90 to said fibre len~th is ~uite satislactory. Each band and each linkin~ element ma~
be formed from sin~le or multiple ~trand~. 'rhe bands con_ 8train and ~uppor~ the fibre assambly in a ~enerally trans-ver~e direction, without gr~atly compressin~ or compactin~
the fibre assembly, ~nd the linking element(~) prevent the fibres bein~ pulled apart under tensile stress, Indeed, since the ~ibre a8~embly itself has very low tensile stre~th, the stren~th o~ the lln~in~ element(~) forms a ma~or part o~ t~e tq~ tren~th o~ the fi~i~hed yarn, liowever, ths ~ibre a~o~bly ~ay be ~urthcr 5tren~th~ned by the addition of one or more reinforcing threads whlch are fed into the stitch-formin~ machine parallel to the fibre~
o~ the fibre a~sembly, and covered with the ~titched cover simultaneously with the fibre asse~blyO The reinforcin~
threads may be a different colour to t~e fibre assembly, so ~ha~ they also are ornamental.
~eferrin~ now to ~i~.5, one suitable layout of equipment for performing the present in~ention comprises a _ 10 _ ~ 15~
~uide trou~sh 10, ~our spaced pairs of driven pressure roller~ , a false-twistin~ unit 15, a modified over-locker type maehine '16, thread spool~ 17, and a :Eifth pair of driven pre~sure rollers 1~. ~rhe first four pairs of pressure rollers ~:re the ~ype noxmaily used in fibre drafting or dra~ing units, bu-t are run at a Inuch higher speed than in such uni~s (e.~ 2 ~etres/sec.~eed). ~he uppar roller of e~ch pair of pressure rollers 11, 12, 11~, 15, is rubbel~ faced to increase the frictional ~rip o~ the roller on the fibre a~sembly. 'rhe third pair of rollers 13 has a pressure b~and 19 ~riven by each roller.
Guide trou~hs ~0 are positioned between roller pairs 1~ ~nd 12 and 12 and 1~, to guide ~nd support the fibre assembly during its travel between ths rollers. For t~e sams purpose, ~uide rings ~1 axe positioned between roller pRirs 13 and 14, batween the false twistin~ unit 15 and ths overlocker 16, and between the last pair of rollers 1~ ~nd the yarn storage facilities (not shown)~
In u~e~ a fibre asse~bly to be made into the yarn o~
th~ pr~ent i~v~n~ion ~ d throu~ the ~irF,t ~our pair~
Or rollcrs 11_14 ~nd is draw~ out by ~aid rollers:_ between the first a~d secorld pairs of rollers 11 and 12, the thickness of the fibre as~,e~bly is reduced to one_hal~
of the initial thickness of the fibre assembly, and between the second and fourth pairs of rollers 12 and 14 the thick_ n-ss is reduced to one-twentyfifth of the initial thickness '~he amount of thickness reduction in the fibre asse~bly rnay be adjusted by altering the relative speeds of the pressure _ 1'1 ~
rollers, in known nlanner.
Xf an ornamental thread and/or reinforcin~ threa~(s) are to be a~ded -to the fibre asse~bly, the~e are added between the third and fourth pair~ of roller~ 13, 14.
r~he false_twistin~ unit 15 i~ not essential, but is preferred if a reinforcin~ thread i~ not added to the fibre as~embly, to strengthe~ the fibre assembly temporaril~, before it passes through the overlocker 16.
~ he overlocker 16 is a standard commercial overlockin~
maehine, modified by the removal of the pre~sure foot and of ~he tension apparatus: ins~ead of the machine itself bein~ equipped to feed the fibre asse~bly throu~h it, the fibre assembly is pulled through the overloc~er by the tension of the la~t pair~ of rollars 18. As the fibre as~embly is pu~bd ~hrou~h the overlockor, thread i~ stitc~led ~round the ~bre as~embly by the overlocker, which forms interlockin~ s~itches in known manner. ~hread for stitchin~ the oover around the fibre assembly is ~upplied from ~hree spo~ls 17 (for a ~-thread 3tit¢h).
~ he fibre assembly emer~es from the overlocker 1~ as a qtron~, encased, ~arn and ~fter leavin~ the final rollers 1~ i5 spooled oro~herwise stored~
~ he finished yarn may be used for any purpose for which conventional spun yarn may be used. Normally~ the cover remains on -the fibre assembly for the life of the yarn. However, i~ ~Jould be possible to make the cover thread~ of a material which is soluble in a solvent which - 12 _ 115~
does not d~n~a the fibre assett~bly or which ma~ be removed from th0 fibre a~sembly by other means (e.g. hea-tin~). In this case~ the unspun ya~ of the present inven-tion could be mado up into the de~ired for~ (e.K. I~nitted into a ~arment) and then the cover t~read5 removed to leave article consistin~ only of the fibre assembly.
The maJority of yarns produced at present are spun with real twist. In one method of manufacture, spun yarns are produced by firstly straightening and untangling fibres by a carding-type process, to produce a fla-t web of fibres which is then divided across its width into narrow ribbons which are passed between rubbing aprons to consolidate the fibres into a rounded and continuous structure. This con-solidated, continuous, structure is then twisted, drawn, and spun e.g. by a ring spinning or similar process, to form a spun yarn. The spinning process greatly increases the friction (and hence the cohesion) between the fibres, and a spun yarn is relatively strong in tension, whereas the unspun fibre structure will pull apart easily under tensile stress. However, since in a spun yarn the fibres are twisted together and consolidated, they form a rela-tively lean (i.e. thin and hard) structure, as opposed to the bulky ~i.e. full and soft) structure of the unspun fibres. Lightness of weight and softness of 'feel' are highly priæed in woollen garments, and a bulky structure in general provides better heat insulation than a lean 1 ~5~3~
~itructure, so ~han an unspun yaIrl has marked advanta~ec il only it is possible -to hold the ~ibres to~;ether in a manner whic}l ~ives the yarn an acceptable tensile stren~th.
Unspun y~lns are known in which the fibres have been further consoli~ated by additional rubbing to such a cleF,ree that the resultin6 yarn has sufficien-t tensile strength to permit hand-knit-tin~;. E~owever, this type of unspun ~Ja~n is very difficult to machine lcnit and even in hand_knittin~
requires very gentle handlin~;. Garments knitted from this type of yarn tend to stretch and sag badly in use, due -t;o poor cohesion between ths fibres.
Also known are yarns with a core of false_twisted or loosely twisted or untwisted fibres and B wrapping of threads or fibres wound helically around the out~ide of the core. q'-his type o~ yaxn structure is disclosed in U.S.
Patents Nos.307~7~6, 3367095, 4003194, U.K. Paten~s 46G9~iO
and 436151~ and German Patents Nos.1685881, 29~2131 and L~97776.
Ger~an ~atent 1~63765 a~d U.S.Patent 3~58987 disclo~e a variation of this type of yarn ~tructure, in which the wrappiIlg is formed from threads helically wound in opposil;e directions aro~md the core, and the wrappin~; threads are melted or ~;lued so that they ad~ere to each other at their cross-over points.
Ger~larl Patent 3002952 and U.S.Patent ~7326~4 disclose a furt~er va~iation of this type of yarn structure, in which the wrappin~, althou~h of helically wound threads, is _ ~ _ 0 ~ 4 discontinuous ~ irrebular -to ~ive a non-uniforln sur~ace finis~ to t~e yarn.
All these helically_wrapped yarn structures have drawbacks, the most in~portant beinL~;. that the machiner~J
needed to manufac-ture these ~arns i9 both rela-tivel~
expensive and has a low production ra~e. Secondly, there is relative twist betwean the core and the wrapping, so that the wrappin~ tends to untwist if the ~arn is cut or snag~ed.
'~he variation disclosed in Garman Patent 1963~65 and U.~. Patent ~58987 partly overcomes this second draw_ back, but only by using a very complex and expensive manu facturing procqss and producing a stiffer, le~q flexible product.
A third drawback is that the relative twi~t between core a~d wrapplng tends to compact and consolidate the core, givin~ a relatively lea~ yarn.
U.S.Patent ~857230 discloses a yarnlike product made of a bundl8 of ~en~rally parPllel, u~twisted fibreq held to~ether by a series of spaced polymer rings each of which pas~es around the fibre bundle, locally compacting and com_ pressing the bundle, so that the product consa~ts of a series of bulky, unrestxained fibre bundles separated by the compressed araas formed by said rin~s. The polymer rings are not linked to~e-ther, so that if the rin~ spacin~
is ~reater t~,m the average fibre len~th, the tensile strength of the final product is dependant upon the co_ 03~
heqion of the fibres; ~Id if -the ring sp~ci~g is less than the avera~e fibre len~th, upon the s-tren~th of the bonds bat~een the ring~ and the fibres~
Ger~an Patent 2817064 discloF~e~ a fancg or decorative yarn consistin~ of a spun 'effect' yarn which is formed into re~ulax or irregular zig_~Gag patte~ns which are held in place by a ' core ' yarn which is chain-stitched in a straight line across the pattern~ In this yarn, the cQre yarn ~oes not support -the effect yarn over the whole length of the effect yarn, but simply secures the pattern in position. I~ other word~, the e~fec~ yarn must be suf~i-ciently cohesive ~o be self-supportin~, becau~e it is not constrained or supported by the core yarn over the major part of its length.
Q~ object of the present invention is the provision of an unspun yarn which xetains its bulky structure and 80~t 'feel~ bu~ whi.ah ~ay be ~andled and u~ed i~ the same m~nner, or ~ub~tantiall~ the ~me mt~ln~r 9 ~ a co~ventional BpUn yQrn. A further ob~ect o~ ~he pre~ent inventio~ is to provide a method of ~aking such an un~pun yarn which does not require the u~e of complex or expen~ive mac~inery.
The preserlt invention provides an unspun yar~n com_ prising a îibre a.qsembly of substantially untwisted a:nd parallel fibres, and a co~er made of stitching, said cover partially enclosing said fibre assembly without relative twist between said cover a~d said fibre assembly; said 1 ~58~4 cover comprisin~, one or more threads stitched aro~ t~3 1~ibre assembly so a~ -to provi~e constraint and support Lo the fibre ~ssembly bo~h in u direction parallel to the length of ~aid ibres and at spaced intervals in a direc-tion at ~n an~le to -the len~th of saicl fibres~
Preferably, the cons-traint and support pro~ided by the cover in a ~irection at an anEle to the fibre length i8 provided by a series of spaced bands each of which encircles the fibre assembly~ ~ach band may comprise two or more band se~rDents, each segment encirclin~ pa~t of the fibre assembly such that said se~ents in combination completely encircle the fibre assembly.
~ he fibres of the fibre assembly may be pure or b}ended natural or synthetic fibres. rrhe '4ubstanti~11y untwisted' fibres may be completely untwisted or they may have a sli~ht de~ree of twist or false twist, sufficien~
to permit the fibre assembly to be handled sasily up to ~he sta~e of applyin~ the cover, bu-t not suf~icient to si~nifi_ cantly reduce t~e bulk of the fibre as~emblyO For example, the known prior-art unwrapped unspun ~arn discussed abov~, could be used as the ~ibre asse~bly of the present inven-tion, as could the slubbings or rovings formed in the preparatory sta~es of conventional spinnin~ processe~.
Rovings have about one_half turn of t~JiSt per inch;
slubbin~s have less twist than rovin~s. Yreferably, however, the fibre assembly is completely untwisted e.3.
the slivers or tops formed in the early stages of cotlven_ tional spinning processes. '~he constraint and support 1 1580~Q
provided by the cover in a direction par~llel to the lerl~t~
of the fibres may be provided by thread por-tions extending parallel to the len~s-th of the fibre~ but m~y be provided by thread portions extending in o-ther directions.
As u~ed herein, the term 'thread' includes conven-tional threads and spun 7arn~ and also monofila~ent threa~.
~he or e~ch thread may be single or rnultiple strands.
~ he present invention further provides a method of makin~ an un5pun yarn comprisin~ the steps of: providing a fibre assembly of substantially untwisted and parallel fibres; feeding said fibre a~scmbly throu~h a stitch.
forming machine to ~titch one or more thread~ in an inter-loc~in~ stitch arouhd said fibre assembly to form a cover which partially encloses aaid fibre assembly without relative twist between said cover and said fibre assembly;
said cover pro~idin~ co~straint and ~upport for the fibre as~embly both in a direction par~llel to the lerl~t~ of said fibres and Rt ~paced interval~ in a direction a~ an angle to th~ lengt~ o~ B~id fib~e~O
A~ used herein, the term ' stitch-forming ~achine ' includes oYerlockin6 ~achine~ 7 blind-stitching machines, hosiery seamer machines, and similar machines.
By way of example only t a preferred embodiment of tile present invention is described in detail, with reference -to the accompanyin~ drawings, in which:-.1 is a plan view of a fibre assembl~ before the - 7~-1 ~803~
cover is applied;
Fi~ a view of one si~e of the fibre assembly of Fi~.1 with the thre~d cover applied;
Fi~s. 3 ~nd 4 are dia~rammatic Iepresentations of the thread arran~ements in a cover for~ned from a 2-thread stitch and a 3_thread stitch respectively; and FiS.5 is a flow-diagr~m s~lowin~ the principal sta~es of the method of the present invention.
EXample8 of quitable stitches ~`or forming the cover are Union Special stitches types 10~ (a one-thread chain stitch), 502, (a 2-thread overed~e atitch), and 504 (a 3_thread overadge stitch). ~he Union Special titch type nu~bers are as given in the Union Special Corpoxation Machine l~eference 1981. Stitch type 502 is illustrated in ~igs. 2 and 3.
Referrin~ to Figs.~-3 7 a fibre assembly 2 comprises a strip of substan~ially strai~lt~ par~llel fibres. ~he ~ibre assembly ~ is formed into ~ unspun yarn by encasin6 the fibre as~embly in a cover 3 made of stitched threads 4 & 5 (see Fi~s.2 and 3). 'rhe cover ~ is formed around the fibre as~embly 2 by feeding the fibre assembly 2 through an overlockin~ ~achine which i5 set-up to stitch a 2-thread overlock stitch. '~his stitch is fo~med from one thread 4 which extends along one side of the YibIe assembly and also forms half 6a of` each of a series o:~
spaced bunds 6 which encircle the fibre assembly at inter_ I 1$~0~
vals alon~ i-ts len~t~ he other thread 5 extend~ ~lon~
the opposite ~ide Or t~e fibre as~embly 2, and forms the other half 6b of each band 6.
Union Special ~titch type 504 is shown in Fig~4:-this ~titch is formed from three threads 7, 8, 9, each of which provides a serie~ of band se~ment~ 7a, 8a, 9a, respectively encircling approxirnately one_third of the fibre a~embly 2, ~nd al~o provides portions 7bl 8b, 9b, which extend parallel to the length of the fibres in the fibre asse~bly and provide threa spaced lon~itudinal linking elemen~s. '~he combination of each set of b~nd segm~nts 7a, 8a, 9a, co~pletely encircles the fibre assembly, For cl~ri~y in Figs.2, 3, and ~, the thread~ 4 and 5 (Fig3.2 & ~) and 7, ~, 9 (Fig.4) are shown as ~aving different thickne3se~, but i~ fact t~e threads may bs of the same or different thicknesses. q`he threads may con~
tra~t in colour wi~ the fibre a~8embly or may be of the ~me colour o~ m~y bc o~ a ~ine ~ono~ men~ t~ead whi~h i~ seml~tr~n~pa~t ~nd px~vides a ao~e~ which 13 allno~t invisible.
~ he type of stitch used to form the cover must be an interlockin~ stitch and must provide a series of bands spaced alon~ the len~th of the fibre assembly, each band encircling the fibre assembly, and at leas t one elelllent linkinK the bands together alon6 the length of the fibre assembly. Each band need not be formed as a single unbroken band:- instead, as shown in the preferred 1) 3 ~
embodiments~ each band may be formed from the cof~binat.ion of two or more b~nd se~wents~ each of which encircles par~ of the fibre assemblyO '~he band segm~nts forming each band may be aligned end_-to-end around the fibre assembly or mag be stag~ered alon~ the length of the fibre assembly BO -that the se~ments are spaced apart along the lengt~ of the fibre a~sembly.
~ ach band ~ay be perpendicular to the len~th~ o~ the fibres in tlle ~ibre assembly, but need not be;- a band a~
~n an~le greate~ or less ~han 90 to said fibre len~th is ~uite satislactory. Each band and each linkin~ element ma~
be formed from sin~le or multiple ~trand~. 'rhe bands con_ 8train and ~uppor~ the fibre assambly in a ~enerally trans-ver~e direction, without gr~atly compressin~ or compactin~
the fibre assembly, ~nd the linking element(~) prevent the fibres bein~ pulled apart under tensile stress, Indeed, since the ~ibre a8~embly itself has very low tensile stre~th, the stren~th o~ the lln~in~ element(~) forms a ma~or part o~ t~e tq~ tren~th o~ the fi~i~hed yarn, liowever, ths ~ibre a~o~bly ~ay be ~urthcr 5tren~th~ned by the addition of one or more reinforcing threads whlch are fed into the stitch-formin~ machine parallel to the fibre~
o~ the fibre a~sembly, and covered with the ~titched cover simultaneously with the fibre asse~blyO The reinforcin~
threads may be a different colour to t~e fibre assembly, so ~ha~ they also are ornamental.
~eferrin~ now to ~i~.5, one suitable layout of equipment for performing the present in~ention comprises a _ 10 _ ~ 15~
~uide trou~sh 10, ~our spaced pairs of driven pressure roller~ , a false-twistin~ unit 15, a modified over-locker type maehine '16, thread spool~ 17, and a :Eifth pair of driven pre~sure rollers 1~. ~rhe first four pairs of pressure rollers ~:re the ~ype noxmaily used in fibre drafting or dra~ing units, bu-t are run at a Inuch higher speed than in such uni~s (e.~ 2 ~etres/sec.~eed). ~he uppar roller of e~ch pair of pressure rollers 11, 12, 11~, 15, is rubbel~ faced to increase the frictional ~rip o~ the roller on the fibre a~sembly. 'rhe third pair of rollers 13 has a pressure b~and 19 ~riven by each roller.
Guide trou~hs ~0 are positioned between roller pairs 1~ ~nd 12 and 12 and 1~, to guide ~nd support the fibre assembly during its travel between ths rollers. For t~e sams purpose, ~uide rings ~1 axe positioned between roller pRirs 13 and 14, batween the false twistin~ unit 15 and ths overlocker 16, and between the last pair of rollers 1~ ~nd the yarn storage facilities (not shown)~
In u~e~ a fibre asse~bly to be made into the yarn o~
th~ pr~ent i~v~n~ion ~ d throu~ the ~irF,t ~our pair~
Or rollcrs 11_14 ~nd is draw~ out by ~aid rollers:_ between the first a~d secorld pairs of rollers 11 and 12, the thickness of the fibre as~,e~bly is reduced to one_hal~
of the initial thickness of the fibre assembly, and between the second and fourth pairs of rollers 12 and 14 the thick_ n-ss is reduced to one-twentyfifth of the initial thickness '~he amount of thickness reduction in the fibre asse~bly rnay be adjusted by altering the relative speeds of the pressure _ 1'1 ~
rollers, in known nlanner.
Xf an ornamental thread and/or reinforcin~ threa~(s) are to be a~ded -to the fibre asse~bly, the~e are added between the third and fourth pair~ of roller~ 13, 14.
r~he false_twistin~ unit 15 i~ not essential, but is preferred if a reinforcin~ thread i~ not added to the fibre as~embly, to strengthe~ the fibre assembly temporaril~, before it passes through the overlocker 16.
~ he overlocker 16 is a standard commercial overlockin~
maehine, modified by the removal of the pre~sure foot and of ~he tension apparatus: ins~ead of the machine itself bein~ equipped to feed the fibre asse~bly throu~h it, the fibre assembly is pulled through the overloc~er by the tension of the la~t pair~ of rollars 18. As the fibre as~embly is pu~bd ~hrou~h the overlockor, thread i~ stitc~led ~round the ~bre as~embly by the overlocker, which forms interlockin~ s~itches in known manner. ~hread for stitchin~ the oover around the fibre assembly is ~upplied from ~hree spo~ls 17 (for a ~-thread 3tit¢h).
~ he fibre assembly emer~es from the overlocker 1~ as a qtron~, encased, ~arn and ~fter leavin~ the final rollers 1~ i5 spooled oro~herwise stored~
~ he finished yarn may be used for any purpose for which conventional spun yarn may be used. Normally~ the cover remains on -the fibre assembly for the life of the yarn. However, i~ ~Jould be possible to make the cover thread~ of a material which is soluble in a solvent which - 12 _ 115~
does not d~n~a the fibre assett~bly or which ma~ be removed from th0 fibre a~sembly by other means (e.g. hea-tin~). In this case~ the unspun ya~ of the present inven-tion could be mado up into the de~ired for~ (e.K. I~nitted into a ~arment) and then the cover t~read5 removed to leave article consistin~ only of the fibre assembly.
Claims (30)
1. An unspun yarn comprising a fibre assembly of substantially untwisted and parallel fibres, and a cover made of stitching, said cover partially enclosing said fibre assembly without relative twist between said cover and said fibre assembly; said cover comprising one or more threads stitched around the fibre assembly in an interlocking stitch so as to provide constraint and support for the fibre assembly both in a direction parallel to the length of said fibres and at spaced intervals in a direction at an angle to the length of said fibres.
2. The unspun yarn as claimed in Claim 1 wherein said constraint and support provided by the cover in a direction parallel to the length of the fibres is provided by thread portions extending substantially parallel to the length of said fibres.
3. The unspun yarn as claim in Claim 1 wherein said constraint and support provided by the cover in a direction at an angle to the length of the fibres is provided by a series of spaced bands each of which encircles the fibre assembly.
4. The unspun yarn as claimed in Claim 3 wherein each band comprises two or more band segments, each segment encircling part of the fibre assembly such that said segments in combination completely encircle the fibre assembly.
5. The unspun yarn as claimed in Claim 4 wherein said cover is made of two threads, and each thread provides: a series of spaced band segments each encircling half of the fibre assembly, and portions extending substantially parallel to the length of said fibres and linking said band segments of said series.
6. The unspun yarn as claimed in Claim 4 wherein said cover is made of three threads, and each thread provides:
a series of spaced band segments each encircling one-third of the fibre assembly, and portions extending substantially parallel to the length of said fibres and linking said band segments of said series.
a series of spaced band segments each encircling one-third of the fibre assembly, and portions extending substantially parallel to the length of said fibres and linking said band segments of said series.
7. The unspun yarn as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said cover is formed from one thread.
8. The unspun yarn as claimed in claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3 wherein the or each thread forming the cover is a single strand of thread.
9. The unspun yarn as claimed in claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3 wherein the or each thread forming the cover is formed of multiple strands of thread.
10. The unspun yarn as claimed in claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3 wherein the or each thread forming the cover is a mono-filament.
11. The unspun yarn as claimed in claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3 wherein the fibres of said fibre assembly are completely untwisted.
12. The unspun yarn as claimed in claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3 wherein the fibres of said fibre assembly have a slight false twist.
13. The unspun yarn as claimed in claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3 wherein the fibres of said fibre assembly have a slight true twist.
14. The unspun yarn as claimed in claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3 further comprising one or more reinforcing threads extending parallel to the length of said fibres and encased in the cover with the fibre assembly.
15. The unspun yarn as claimed in claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3 wherein the cover is coloured differently to the fibre assembly, for decorative effect.
16. A method of making an unspun yarn comprising the steps of: providing a fibre assembly of substantially untwisted and parallel fibres; feeding said fibre assembly through a stitch-forming machine to stitch one or more threads in an interlocking stitch around said fibre assembly to form a cover which partially encloses said fibre assembly without relative twist between said cover and said fibre assembly; said cover providing constraint and support for the fibre assembly both in a direction parallel to the length of said fibres and at spaced intervals in a direction at an angle to the length of said fibres.
17. The method as claimed in claim 16 wherein the fibre assembly is reduced in thickness before entering the stitch-forming machine.
18. The method as claimed in claim 16 wherein the fibre assembly is given a false twist before entering the stitch-forming machine.
19. The method as claimed in claim 16, claim 17 or claim 18 wherein one or more reinforcing threads extending parallel to the length of the fibres in the fibre assembly is or are added to the fibre assembly before the fibre assembly enters the stitch-forming machine.
20. The method as claimed in claim 16, claim 17 or claim 18 wherein said stitch-forming machine is one of the following:
an overlocking machine, a blind-stitching machine, a hosiery seamer machine.
an overlocking machine, a blind-stitching machine, a hosiery seamer machine.
21. The method as claimed in claim 16, claim 17 or claim 18 wherein said constraint and support provided by the cover in a direction parallel to the length of the fibres is provided by thread portions extending substantially parallel to the length of said fibres.
22. The method as claimed in claim 16 wherein said constraint and support provided by the cover in a direction at an angle to the length of the fibres is provided by a series of spaced bands each of which encircles the fibre assembly.
23. The method as claimed in Claim 22 wherein each band comprises two or more band segments, each segment encircling part of the fibre assembly such that said segments in combination completely encircle the fibre assembly.
24. The method as claimed in claim 16, claim 17 or claim 18 wherein the cover is formed from one of the following Union Special stitches: type 101, type 502, type 504.
25. The method as claimed in claim 16, claim 17 or claim 18 wherein the or each thread is a monofilament.
26. The method as claimed in claim 16, claim 17 or claim 18 wherein the or each thread is a single strand of thread.
27. The method as claimed in claim 16, claim 17 or claim 18 wherein the or each thread is multiple strands of thread.
28. The method as claimed in claim 16, claim 17 or claim 18 wherein the fibres of said fibre assembly are completely untwisted.
29. The method as claimed in claim 16, claim 17 or claim 18 wherein the fibres of said fibre assembly have a slight false twist.
30. The method as claimed in claim 16, claim 17 or claim 18 wherein the fibres of said fibre assembly have a slight true twist.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| NZ19439180A NZ194391A (en) | 1980-07-13 | 1980-07-13 | Unsprun fibres supported by interlock knit cover |
| NZ194391 | 1980-07-18 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1158034A true CA1158034A (en) | 1983-12-06 |
Family
ID=19919242
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000382011A Expired CA1158034A (en) | 1980-07-13 | 1981-07-17 | Unspun yarn |
Country Status (6)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| JP (1) | JPS5777338A (en) |
| AU (1) | AU540602B2 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1158034A (en) |
| DE (1) | DE3127593A1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB2080847B (en) |
| NZ (1) | NZ194391A (en) |
Families Citing this family (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE3144813C2 (en) * | 1981-11-11 | 1987-02-05 | Akzo Gmbh, 5600 Wuppertal | Hollow fiber bundles and process for their manufacture |
-
1980
- 1980-07-13 NZ NZ19439180A patent/NZ194391A/en unknown
-
1981
- 1981-06-30 AU AU72404/81A patent/AU540602B2/en not_active Ceased
- 1981-07-02 GB GB8120413A patent/GB2080847B/en not_active Expired
- 1981-07-08 JP JP10682681A patent/JPS5777338A/en active Pending
- 1981-07-13 DE DE19813127593 patent/DE3127593A1/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1981-07-17 CA CA000382011A patent/CA1158034A/en not_active Expired
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB2080847B (en) | 1983-10-12 |
| GB2080847A (en) | 1982-02-10 |
| JPS5777338A (en) | 1982-05-14 |
| DE3127593A1 (en) | 1982-05-13 |
| AU540602B2 (en) | 1984-11-29 |
| NZ194391A (en) | 1983-07-15 |
| AU7240481A (en) | 1982-01-21 |
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| Date | Code | Title | Description |
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| MKEX | Expiry |