US2160989A - Process of treating yarns and fabrics made therefrom - Google Patents

Description

June 6, 1939. H. RUBINSTEIN PROCESS OF TREATING YARNS AND FABRICS MADE THEREFROM Filed Nov. 5, 1938 NYENTOR.

Patented June 6, 1939 PATENT OFFICE PROCESS OF TREATING .YARNS AND FABRICS MADE THEREFROM Harry Rubinstein, Brooklyn, N. Y. Application November 5, 1938, Serial No. 238,984

12 Claims.

Heretofore it has been known in the carding and brushing of material that a nap was incidentally produced on the resulting strands. But this nap was eliminated in a substantial degree when the 10 strands were. twisted to form yarns. Generally these yarns were wound in skeins from which the yarn was later taken in any suitable manner for the knitting of garments or weaving of tex tiles.

15 In removing yarn from the skeins, the latter first required to be agitated to break up the matted condition of the yarn to avoid tangling and knotting thereof.

Subsequently the goods was brushed with a 20 rapidly revolving wire brush to raise a suitable nap. This napping. operation was frequently followed by the blowing of steam through the goods to raise the nap. Obviously this process was expensive as it .had to be performed on large 5 sections of textile material, and on knitted goods already formed into garments. Uniform results were diflicult to attain. Frequently the goods was damaged, 'the damage being approximately percent of the entire output of even the best 30 regulated plants.

Even highly fluify special yarns would lose a large part of their fuzziness or loft after dyeing and hence would require napping operations for the goods.

35 Of course the importance of providing goods with a proper nap resides in that the appearance of the goods is improved or various attractive effects provided, softness and warmth are at-- tained, and more important still, because the de- 40 sired goods can be manufactured with a lesser weight of yarn.

After a lifetime of experience in this art, I have discovered that the dlfiiculties above noted may be overcome by napping the goods while'it 45 is still in skeins according to the invention, with the result that the nap so produced persisted in the knitted and textile fabric and was even much greater than what could'be produced by napping such fab'ric directly, and that the napping ac-- 50 cording to the invention could'be' effected at decreased cost, and with increased uniformity, speed and reliability, so that occasional damage was eliminated. Further, an easier and more accurate control of the degree of nap was permitted.

s5 The character of yarn atfirst presented the main difficulty because of the tendency of the wire brush to wholly or partially break the yarn. With soft wooly yarns it seemed that such a method would be impossible even for a moment. I then discovered that if the brush wires Were-arranged 5 to beat against the skeins at an acute angle, that is, with a partial wiping effect, the yarn could be napped at relatively high speed. Since heretofore such brushes had been used with their wires bent to beat on knitted or textile fabrics 10 at an obtuse angle, my invention involved in a sense the reversal of the direction of rotation of such brushes.

To assure absolute safety and reliability, I found it preferable to round or bevel the wire points to avoid any possible tearing of the yarn.

An important advantage of the invention is that in napping the yarn, the matting of the skeins is eliminated, so that the separate working of the skeins to remove matted conditions is unnecessary.

Another advantage is that the wire brushes do not become clogged with removed nap, so that laborious cleaning'of the brushes is avoided.

'Another advantage of the invention is that the 'or knitted fabric.

Another advantage of the invention is that the nap is produced without the tearing off or loss of.fuzz as heretofore.

Another advantage of the invention is that the knitting or weaving of the yarn allows for the nap body-so as to produce a fabric of greater volume because the nap is in the weave and not only on the surface of the goods. Nevertheless, the goods may be steamed in'certain cases to train all the fuzz toward the face of the merchandise.

Another advantage of the invention is that standard machinery may be used with only minor 40 changes to practise the process.

It is thus an object of the invention to provide an improved process and apparatus that shall overcome the drawbacks and realize the advantages mentioned in the treatment of yarn or tion consists in the novel combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described in their preferred embodiments, pointed out in the subjoined claims, and illustrated in the annexed drawing, wherein like parts are designated by the same reference characters throughout the several views.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view in elevation of an apparatus according to the invention, with parts removed.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view in front elevation of the brush and skein.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a brush and its wires.

Fig. 4 is a view like that of Fig. 1 showing a modification of the invention.

Fig. 5 is a similar view of a further modification of the invention.

Fig. 6 is an edge view of a brush for combing yarn.

Figs. 7 and 8 are fragmentary sectional views of modified forms of wire brush.

Fig. 9 is a traverse sectional view of a brush according to a modification of the invention.

Figs. 10 and 11 illustrate further modifications of the invention.

The advantages of the invention as here outlined are best realized when all of its features and instrumentalities are combined in one and the same structure, but, useful devices may be produced embodying less than the whole.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, that the same may be incorporated in several different constructions. The accompanying drawing, therefore, is submitted merely as showing the preferred exemplification of the invention.

Generally described, this invention relates to the treatment of different yarns, as in skein form to produce a loft, nap or other fluffy or fuzzy condition by longitudinally brushing the yarn or skeins, preferably by means -of wire brushes, whose bristle wires desirably beat on the yarn at an acute angle of lead with'a partial wiping action to avoid tearing the yarn and to simultaneously comb or separate the yarns to break up the usual matted condition thereof. Thus there is a continuous beating and combing, the acute angle position of the bristle wires being feasible clue to the beating in which the wire points effectively raise a nap. Preferably the points of the bristle wires are rounded or beveled to prevent cutting into and tearing of the soft yarn. Desirably the yarn is treated under suitable tension to maintain its twist closed, although the bristle wires will readily slip out from between the strands due to the relative acute angle position of the wires. In course of this treatment the yarn or skein may be turned or otherwise acted upon to present all sides to the brush.

Referring in detail to the drawing, l0 denotes an apparatus for illustrating the process, and which may be considered as embodying a phase of the invention. The same may include any means for mounting, supporting or holding at one or more points a batch or skein of yarn, for instance, a pair of rollers ll, l2 which may have rough faces l3 or other means for gripping the skein M to avoid undesired slippage or to control the same. These rollers may be mounted on their respective shafts l5, l6. Coacting with the rollers is a brush means which is desirably in the form of a roller l'l having bristles l8 of wire or other suitable material at an angle so as to whip. or beat the skein I4 at an acute angle .of lead, the direction of rotation of the brush being indicated by the arrow l3. Brushing motion may be obtained by relative movement as by rotating the brush by any suitable drive such as a motor 20 having a pulley 2| connected by a belt 22 which engages a pulley 23 on the brush shaft 24.

The action of the roller brush is to cause a con- Adjustment of the tension on the skein t4 may be effected by movement of the idlers or rollers ll, l2 toward and away from each other, and a relative adjusting movement may be had between the brush and rollers to affect the tension and also the penetration of the brush into. the skein. Thus the roller ll may be mounted on a frame or arm 25 carried by a support 26 having a clamp 21 engageable in a slot 28 of the arm 25 whereby the latter may be angularly and longitudinally adjusted to set position.

For speed adjustment of the operation, any variable speed drive 29 may be interposed between the pulley 2| and the motor 20. While the rollers H, l2 may be idlers, one of them may be retarded by a friction clutch 30 at or in the shaft IS in any suitable manner. Then again, a motor 3| may operate a removable belt 32 through an adjustable speed reduction drive 33, with the belt rotating a pulley 34 and hence the roller l2 through the clutch 30. Thus it will be seen that infinite variation is possible, with the skein moving under the pull or tension of the brush at any low speed, by reason of the clutch 30 or motor 3|, or in opposition to the brush pull at various speeds. Preferably the skein may travel as indicated by the arrow 35 at a low speed to permit the bristle wires to readily leave the skein without catching or dragging the yarn.

It will be noted that the axis of the brush is preferably at right angles to the length of the skein, but it may also be at other angles thereto, as, for example, obliquely, with'a resultant harder brushing action. The wires l8 may have bends 36 as shown in Fig. 3, with their ends shaped or beveled as at 31 to permit the'wlres to wipingly penetrate the yarn and to avoid catching and tearing thereof.

In Fig. 4 is shown a modification 38- of the invention including carrier rollers 39, 40 for the skein M, a roller 4| being associated with the roller 39' to clamp the skein and avoid slippage thereof so that the movement of the skein may be properly controlled under positive drive or under pull of the brush II. In order to assure full penetration of the brush wires l8 into the skein, a backing 42 may be. provided including, for instance, a belt 43 mounted on-idlers or rollers 44 adapted to travel according to the peripheral speed of the rollers 39, 40, the latter being operated for; instance, as in Fig. 1.

In Fig. 5 is shown a modified apparatus 45 according to the invention, including rollers or idlers 4,6 for mounting the skein l4. A pair of like brushes ll, Ila may be arranged to operate on the skein, at one face thereof, but preferably one at an outer face thereof, and the other at an inner face thereof, so that the yarn is brushed simultaneously at opposite faces to produce the maximum fluffiness and avoid the need for turning the skein around as in the devices of Figs. 1 and 4 if such brushing is desired. These brushes may be arranged so as to exert a pull in opposite directions on the skeins, as by rotating in the same direction and acting on opposite runs of -engage the yarn in any position. The blunt or beveled ends of the wires help to avoid tearing the skein or by rotating in opposite directions and acting on one run of the skein. The arrangement shown provides for even brush pressure against the yarn without the need for clamping the skein and marring the nap thereof. If one of the brushes be operated at slightly higher speed than the other, the skein will move on its idlers 46 to a corresponding degree. Accordingly the belt 41 for the brush I1 is connected to a pulley 48 which is larger than the pulley 49 to which the belt 50 for the brush Ila is connected. Hence the travel of the skein may be easily controlled as by the pull at the arrows 5|, the direction of skein movement being shown by the arrow 52. Of course the members 46 may be operated in any manner hereinbefore suggested, if desired.

It will be perceived that the speed of brushing and the stiffness of the wires will vary with the softness and thickness of the yarn, and likewise the angle of the wires and the density of spacing thereof will have important effects so that many variable factors are introduced which must be specially solved for each particular yarn.

If desired, the wires l8 may be of irregular form or of polygonal cross section, for instance, square or triangular so as toincrease the brushing action on a skein within the body thereof. The wires l8 may be regarded as square.

With my invention not only is the yarn brushed to produce a permanent nap, but the usual matted condition of the yarn is corrected and the yarns thus directly separated by the wires for easy removal from the skein without tangling.

The tension on the yarn closes the twist thereof but in any case the angular wires l8 easily disthe yarn, especially due to the angular act on of the wires which aids penetration thereof into the skein between the yarns so as to comb the skein. Hence no cleaning of the brushes is necessary nor is the fuzz so loosened as to be lost in subsequent knitting or weaving.

The skein thus treated is then unwound and the yarn fed to a knitting'or weaving machine which operates under any required or lesser tension or throw consistent with the greater softness gaiufliness of the warn to produce goods of large Finally, the goods may have steam blown therethrough to further raise the nap or tra n the fuzz toward one face of the goods, but this step may be dispensed with.

- The invention is applicable to any kind of yarn of any twist or lack thereof. A batch and skein of yarn are regarded as the same within the scope of this invention.

In Fig. 6 is shown a brush 53 which may be used primarily for combing yarn, and includes a roller 54 having a peripheral facing of rubber or other suitable material from or through which extend any suitable bristles, wires or nails 55 of smooth contour and with rounded ends, whereby this. r brush is adapted for use on the most delicate fabrics, according to the invention. These elements 55 may engage the yarn at right angles but are preferably obliquely mounted as shown to provide an acute angle of lead with the yarn.

In Figs. 7 and 8 are shown modified forms of wire brushes wherein straight bristles are mounted in a yielding or rubber member and adjusted to an angle by relative movement between the member and a support therefor which engages the wire bristles. The latter may pass through the member initially at right angles thereto, and deflection is permitted by the yield or elasticity of the member. Thus the brush may take the form of a rotary brush 88 having a pair of cylindrical bands or superposed walls GI, 62 of rubber or the like, wire bristles 64 extending through the elements GI, 62 for angular adjustment by relative angular movement between the elements, after which the latter are fixedly interconnected or vulcanized togetherin any suitable manner. Alternatively, the device 55 may have a roller 66 having a cylindrical band or wall 61 of yielding material through which pass the wire bristles 68 whose inner ends are engageable in irregularities 69 such as cups or grooves in the surface of the roller, so that angular adjustment of the bristles is effected by relative angular movement between the element 61 and the roller 66 after which the same are adhesively or otherwise fixed in relation to each other in any suitable manner.

If desired, the elements 6|, 62 and 66, 51 may be relatively angularly settable, as by a set screw, in order to adjust the angle of the wire bristles to thus control the angle of lead. Of course the devices of Figs. 7 and 8 are applicable at any angle of lead whatsoever.

In Fig. 9 is shown a brush 10 having removable wire bristle units for ready andconvenient removal and replacement by other bristle units so that the roller may have wire bristles of any desired flexibility, length, angularity and spacing without requiring replacement of the roller itself. Accordingly, the roller H may have longitudinal bristle units 12 having any suitable backing I3, or as suggested in Figs. 6, 7 and 8, removably secured to the roller II in any feasible manner. For example, the roller H may have longitudinal spaced ridges 14, each having a longitudinal lip 15, all the lips facing in one angular direction to thus overlap and hold the backing 13 to resist the tendency for removal thereof with the angularity of the wire bristles being as shown, and the strips being additionally removably secured by any suitable means such as screws 16 spaced along the strips.

In Fig. 10 is shown a device for merely combing" yarn, according to the invention. The same may include a frame 11 on which 8.1;? mounted the skein carrying idler spools II, which may be analogous to the rollers I I, I2. Also mounted on the frame 11 is a wing nut clamp device 19 of any conventional type settable up and down along the frame and toward and away from the plane of the spools 18, this clamp carrying an idler brush 80, whose engagement with the skein is thus adjusted. The brush 80 includes wire bristles 8| whose purpose is primarily to beat out the matted condition of the skein by separating the yarns. The skein is moved by the pull on a single yarn thereof caused by the bobbin of a knitting or weaving machine, the skein causing rotation of the elements," and 80.

In Fig. 11 is shown a spool 82 freely rotatably mounted on the frame 83 and having wires 84 so that this spool can be substituted for one of the at an acute angle to the yarn batch to wipingly penetrate the latter and separate the yarns thereof. I

2. The herein described method, including wire-brushing a skein of yarn lengthwise thereof to raise a substantial nap thereon, with the wire bristles held at an acute angle to the skein in the direction of brushing at the region of contact with the yarn, and then removing yarn from the skein and constructing therefrom-a fabric having said substantial nap.

3. The herein described method including longitudinally wire-brushing a batch of yarn with the wire bristles being at an acute angle of lead to the yarn, pressing the wire bristles into the yarn batch and tensioning the latter while performing the brushing operation.

4. The herein described method comprising brushing a batch of yarn with wire bristles having beveled ends and being maintained at an acute angle to the yarn for wipingly penetrating the same along the wire bristles and the beveled ends thereof, forcing the wire bristles into the yarn batch and tensioning the yarn in course of the brushing.

5. The herein described method including wire-brushing a batch of yarn at different faces thereof with the wire bristles held at an acute angle for partially wipingly engaging the yarn to provide a nap on the yarn and to separate the yarns.

6. The herein described method including brushing a batch of yarn with Wire bristles of angular shape held at an acute angleto the yarn for partially wipingly engaging and separating the yarn to thus raise a nap on the outer and inner surfaces of the yarn batch.

7. The herein described method including longitudinally wire-brushing a batch of yarn by continuously beating and brushing the yarn batch to cause the ends of the wire bristles to raise a nap on the yarn and to cause the wire bristles to comb and rub the yarn with the bristle wires being at an acute angle to the yarn to partially wipingly engage the yarn, to thus produce yarn adapted to be formed into a nap bearing fabric. 8. The herein described method including longitudinally wire-brushing a batch of yarn by continuously beating and brushing the yarn batch to cause the ends of the wire bristles to raise a nap on the yarn and to cause the wire bristles to comb and rub the yarn with the bristle wires being at an acute angle to the yarn to partially wipingly engage the yarn, to thus produce yarn adapted to be formed into a nap bearing fabric,

the wire bristles having relativelyblunt ends to avoid tearing the yarn.

9. The herein described method including longitudinally wire-brushing a batch of yarn by continuously beating and brushing the yarn batch to cause the ends of the wire bristles to raise a nap on the yarn and to cause the wire bristles to comb and rub the yarn with the bristle wires being at an acute angle to the yarn to partially wipingly engage the yarn, to thus produce yarn adapted to be formed into a nap bearing fabric, and then forming the yarn into a fabric of such relatively loosev texture as to maintain the yarn in its fluify condition.

10. The herein'described method including longitudinally wire-brushing a batch of yarn by continuously beating and brushing the yarn batch to cause the ends of the wire bristles to raise a nap on the yarn and to cause the wire bristles to comb and rub the yarn with the bristle wires being at an acute angle to the yarn to partially wipingly engage the yarn, to thus produce yarn adapted to be formed into a nap bearing fabric, and then forming the yarn into a fabric of such relatively loose texture as to maintain the yarn in its fluffy condition, and finally blowing a gaseous fluid through the fabric to train the nap between the yarn toward one face of the fabric.

11. The herein described method including longitudinally wire-brushing a batch of yarn by continuously beating and brushing the yarn batch to cause the ends of the wire bristles to raise a nap on the yarn and to cause the wire ing so related to the parts of the skein that are i being brushed that the brushing at one face creates a pull on the yarn that at least partially counterbalances the pull caused by brushing on the other face, the brushing being effected by rotary wire brushes having bristles engaging the yarn at an acute angle and serving to beat the yarn and then to enter the same in course of engaging the yarn.

HARRY RUBINSTEIN.

Images