Patent ID: 9580842
Date: 2017-02-28
CPC Classifications: B32B,D01H,D02G,D04H

Claim:
1. An apparatus for producing a yarn product, comprising: a feeding component having at least one feeding element for providing a drafting component with at least one continuous precursor feeding material in a substantially flat, minimally twisted state; wherein said drafting component has a least one drafting element for converting said at least one continuous precursor feeding material into a collection of minimally twisted wool-like structures; wherein said feeding component receives at least one spool of a starting material for delivery to said at least one feeding element; wherein said feeding component provides a passive process for maintaining the feeding material in said substantially flat configuration, with a minimum twist that is no more than about double the twist of the starting material; a spinning component coupled to the drafting component for receiving the collection of minimally twisted wool-like structures to sufficiently spin and twist the structures to form a twisted yarn; wherein said feeding component, said drafting component and said spinning component are integrated into a single unit for providing a continuous operation; wherein the spinning component is configured to provide a twisted yarn with a twist count within a predetermined twist count range; and wherein the starting material is selected from a group of starting materials consisting of filamentary materials and fibrous materials to facilitate producing the yarn product.