VACUUM SPINNING

Abstract: Vacuum spun yarn may be produced that have strength and properties approaching that of ring spun yarn, and at speeds greatly in excess of production speeds for ring spun yarn. An elongated hollow shaft (15, 150) has a through-­ extending passageway (153, 154) from a first end to a second end thereof, with a portion of the shaft adjacent the first end perforated (16, 155-157). The perforation slant in the direc­ tion of the second end, and a spherical vacuum reservoir (162) is formed in the shaft. A diffuser in the form of a collar (164) having elongated slots (169, 170) corresponding to the perforations surrounds the shaft, surrounds the shaft. The shaft is rotated about an axis at a constant high speed so that free ends of fibers passing through the shaft will draw toward the shaft perforations and be caused to rotate with the shaft as the fibers move linearly along the axis of rotation. A core filament yarn (c), such as a full stretched textured yarn, may be fed into the shaft with the nipped sliver or roving fibers. Yarns may be produced having a spun-like appearance, a loop or Boucle effect, or a yarn having a core with real twists with fibers wrapped about the core to provide surface effects.

Description: Conventional spun yarns are normally made by ring spinning or open-end spinning. Whilst such methods produce good quality yarn, there are certain restrictions and complications associated therewith. For instance open-end spinning systems have rather restrictive limitations as to staple length, rotor speeds, twist directions, wrapper fibres, fibres per cross-sectional area and fibre bending modulus, stiffness, and other properties. U.S. Patent No. 4,322,944 (Straitr) discloses a method and apparatus for break spinning yarn in a spinning machine using a fibre ribbon which is not nipped during its passage through a rotatable elongated hollow shaft (3). The Straitr. method imparts a re-spinning twist to the fibre ribbon (14) in the hollow shaft (3) which encircles the fibre ribbon (14) and includes a plurality of ventilation openings (5) through which surface air and impurities are sucked away from the ribbon (14). The ventilation openings do not according to the disclosure of Straitr serve any further purpose in the manufacture of yarn. It is an object of the present invention to produce a fasciated yarn by passing a sliver of fibres through a rotatable hollow shaft which is perforated so that when suction is applied to the perforations, some of the fibres of the sliver are wrapped around a core of substantially parallel fibres. According to the present invention a method of spinning a fasciated yarn comprises the steps of: a) nipping a sliver of fibres (5) between two pairs of rollers (38, 40) which are spaced apart at such a distance that some of the fibres within the sliver (5) have free ends extending outwardly from a core of fibres of the sliver; b) transporting the sliver of fibres (5) at a substantially constant speed between the two pairs of rollers (38, 40) and axially in direction A of transportation of the sliver between said rollers through an elongated hollow shaft (15); c) maintaining the fibres of the core of the sliver substantially within the direction A. d) applying a suction force to the free ends (46) of the fibres outside the core of the nipped sliver(s) (Step a) so as to attract the free ends (46) towards the inner wall of a rotatable hollow shaft have a perforated wall whereby the said free ends (46) of the fibres are wrapped around the core. In contrast to the method disclosed by Straitr, the method of the present invention does not require the use of a second, re-spinning twist imparting element. It will therefore be appreciated that according to the present invention, an apparatus and method are provided which seek to eliminate a number of the restrictions associated with open-end spinning, and in general to provide for the production of spun yarn in a simple, uncomplicated manner. The yarns produced according to the present invention have somewhat different appearance and construction characteristics than conventional yarns, but definitely have a spun appearance. The basic apparatus according to the present invention comprises a hollow shaft with at least a portion of the entire circumference thereof perforated, and mounted for rotation about an axis coincident with the direction of movement of fibres to be spun into yarn. The fibres are fed into a first end of the hollow shaft, and the produced yarn is withdrawn from the second end of the hollow shaft. The shaft is caused to rotate at high speed, and a suction is applied to the exterior of the shaft to supply an attractive force to the free ends of the fibres interior of the shaft. Suction is applied to suck ambient air through a housing interior to act upon the interior of the shaft, imparting rotation to fibers within the shaft. Spun-type yarn produced according to the present invention may be produced from a wide variety of types of fibers, such as cotton, polyester, rayon, acrylic, wool, mohair, etc., the spinning process not being as dependent upon bending modulus or stiffness of the composite fiber as is conventional open-end spinning. According to the invention, open-end type spun yarn can be formed with fever fibers per cross-sectional area, and the yarn will have real twist, either "Z" or "S" direction twist. Restrictions on the end use of open-end type spun yarn according to the invention would not be comparable to conventional open-end spun yarns, but rather would be more comparable to conventional ring spun yarns. According to one aspect of the method according to the present invention, a spun yarn is produced by the following steps: (a) nipping a sliver or roving so that some of the fibers within the fibers or roving have loose ends; (b) transporting the nipped sliver or roving in a linear direction A at a substantially constant linear speed; (c) feeding a core filament into the sliver or roving, after nipping, so that the core filament passes with the nipped sliver or roving in the direction A; and (d) while transporting the sliver or roving, and core filament, in direction A, rotating loose ends of fibers around the fiber mass, and the core filament, the ends being held substantially linearly stationary during rotation, to produce the desired yarn, with core filament. The core filament yarn preferably comprises a full stretched textured yarn, and preferably it is acted upon by putting it under tension, dragging it over a sharp edge of nonconductive material, and releasing the tension to develop crimp. According to another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided having the same steps (a) and (b) as set forth above, and including the following additional steps: (c) inserting a filament having controlled overfeed into association with the nipped sliver or roving while moving in direction A, at a point B; and (d) immediately after the point B, rotating loose ends of fibers of the nipped sliver or roving, while the ends are held substantially linearly stationary during rotation, to wrap the fiber ends around other fibers and the filament to produce a spun yarn having loop or Boucle effects. According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided having the same steps (a) and (b) as the embodiments described above, and comprising the further steps of: (c) feeding a filament yarn into operative association with the nipped sliver and roving as it moves in the linear direction A, while applying a force substantially in direction A effective to break up to about 20% of the fibers of the filament yarn; and (d) while transporting the sliver or roving in direction A, with free ends and with broken fibers, rotating loose ends of fibers and acting upon broken fibers so that the fiber ends are wrapped around the nipped sliver or roving, and the broken fibers interact with the nipped sliver or roving, to produce a yarn having a spun-like appearance. According to a still further aspect of the present invention, a method of spinning yarn is provided comprising the following steps: (a) Acting upon a sliver or roving to produce fibers, and so that essentially all of the fibers are fibers having short staple lengths and free ends. (b) Transporting the fibers in a linear direction A at a substantially constant linear speed. And, (c) while transporting the fibers, rotating the loose ends to provide a core formed of approximately 20-40% of the fibers, the core having real twist; and approximately 80-60% of the fibers wrapped about the core to provide surface effects, and simulating the appearance of a fully twisted yarn. A yarn produced according to this procedure does realistically simulate the appearance of a fully twisted yarn. It is the primary object of the present invention to provide for the simple, effective production of spun yarn. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of the detailed description of the invention, and from the appended claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a side schematic view of an exemplary system for producing vacuum-spun yarn according to the present invention; FIGURE 2 is a side detail cross-sectional view of an exemplary vacuum spinning device for the practice of the invention, the cross-section being taken along lines 2-2 of FIGURE 3; FIGURE 3 is another cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIGURE 2, taken along lines 3-3 thereof; FIGURE 4 schematically illustrates a conventional ring-spun yarn construction, while Fig. 5a and 5b schematically illustrates a construction of a yarns produced utilizing the apparatus of FIGURE 1; FIGURE 6 is a side schematic showing of exemplary apparatus for producing an open-end type vacuum spun yarn according to the invention, while FIGURE 5b schematically illustrates a construction of a yarn produced utilizing the apparatus of FIGURE 6; FIGURE 7 is an end view of the collector roll of the apparatus of FIGURE 6; FIGURE 8a is a side cross-sectional view of another, preferred, embodiment of a vacuum spinning apparatus utilizable in the practice of the method of the present invention; and FIGURE 8b is a side view of the apparatus of FIGURE 8a, shown in schematic cooperation with the vacuum source and feed rollers; FIGURE 9 is a schematic view illustrating the apparatus utilizable in the feeding of a core filament yarn so as to produce another variation of yarn in the practice of the present invention; FIGURE 10 is a side schematic view of another exemplary apparatus for developing crimp in an inserted core filament yarn before feed of the yarn to the vacuum spinning assembly; FIGURE 11 is a front schematic view taken generally along lines 11-11 of FIGURE 10; and FIGURE 12 is a side schematic view of yet another form of exemplary apparatus for practicing another method according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Two different embodiments of apparatus for producing vacuum spun yarn according to the present invention are illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 6, by general reference numerals 10 and 12, respectively. The apparatus 10 produces a yarn similar to conventional ring-spun yarn, while the apparatus 12 produces an open-end type spun yarn, which yarn - however - has properties similar to both conventional ring-spun and open-end spun yarns. A major component of each of the systems 10, 12 is the vacuum spinning apparatus 14, which is shown most clearly in FIGURES 2 and 3. The apparatus 14 comprises as the main component thereof a hollow shaft 15. At least a portion of the entire circumference of the hollow shaft 15 is perforated. Preferably the central portion of the shaft has perforations 16 formed therein. The shaft is mounted for rotation about on axis, that axis being coincident with the linear direction of feed A of fibers to be produced into yarn. The shaft should be dimensioned so that it allows the fibers to pass therethrough, and allows enough air to be drawn through with the fibers to allow proper vacuum-attraction of fibers to the interior surface 17 thereof. The shaft 15 perforated central portion is encompassed by a housing 19. Rotation of the shaft about its axis may be provided by bearings associated with housing end walls 20, 21, and/or further bearings 22, 23 receiving the ends of shaft 15 extending outwardly from the end walls 20, 21. The shaft 15 is mounted for free rotation. A vacuum is applied to the housing 19 interior, to an exterior portion of the shaft 15, so as to act upon yarn fibers within the hollow interior of the shaft 15. This is preferably accomplished by providing a vacuum conduit 27 in operative communication with one portion of the housing 19 interior, and is connected up to a conventional vacuum source 28, such as a vacuum pump. Connected to the interior of the housing opposite the conduit 27 (i.e. on the opposite side of shaft 15) is a conduit 29 which is in operative communication with the ambient air, or other source of supply of gas. Connected to the shaft (preferably integral therewith) are a plurality of radially extending vanes 31. These vanes 31 extend to a radial point just short of the interior surface of the housing 19. When a vacuum is applied to conduit 27, air is drawn through conduit 29, acts upon the vanes 31 effecting rotation of the shaft 15, and is withdrawn through conduit 27. While this is taking place, air is also being withdrawn from the interior of shaft 15, and fibers are being attracted to the interior surface 17 of shaft 15. For the arrangement illustrated in FIGURE 3, rotation is in the direction of arrows B, however the structure could be arranged so that rotation were in the opposite direction. The apparatus 14 provides a simple, effective structure for producing spun yarn. It is simple and easy to maintain, may be easily rotated at high speed, and may be formed of lightweight, durable materials. Associated with the vacuum spinning device 14 and the apparatus 10 is a draft system, generally indicated by reference numeral 33 in FIGURE 1. A sliver or roving S from a bin 34 is drawn by feed roll sets 35, 36, 37, and passed through the nip of front feed roll set 38. The nip of the front feed roll set 38 is in-line with the axis of rotation of shaft 15. The draft system 33 acts upon the fibers of the sliver or roving S so that approximately 75-90% of the fibers within the mass are nipped and held tight. The remaining approximately 25-10% of the fibers have loose ends. A set of delivery rolls 40 is mounted on the opposite side of apparatus 14 as the draft system 33, the nip of the roller set 40 also being in alignment with the axis of rotation of shaft 15. The delivery roll set 40 draws the formed yarn Y out from the apparatus 14, and eventually the yarn Y is taken up on conventional take-up roller means 41. When the fibers are passed into the hollow interior of the shaft 15, free ends of the fibers are attracted to the interior surface 17 by the vacuum while the basic fiber mass is being transported in the linear direction A. Fiber ends attracted to the interior surface 17 are held substantially linearly stationary while they rotate with the shaft 15, and thus such fibers become wrapped around the main fiber mass. The shaft 15 is rotated at about 1.5-6.0 rpm/inch of fibers drawn through the shaft in order to provide sufficient wrapping to provide the desired strength to the yarn Y produced. Yarn Y produced according to the invention of FIGURES 1 through 3 is illustrated schematically in FIGURE 5a. This yarn Y can be compared to conventional ring-spun yarn illustrated in FIGURE 4, the yarn of FIGURE 4 having a beardy look with actual full diameter twists around the yarn. Yarn Y according to the invention, however, includes a central mass 45 with some fibers 46 wrapped therearound in a linear direction, while other fibers 47 have a reverse fold wrap. If necessary, the yarn Y may be steamed in order to better secure and set the wrapped fibers 46, 47. This may be accomplished by passing it through a conventional steaming apparatus 48 prior to being taken up by rollers 41, or steaming may be practiced as an entirely different step after take up. Fabric produced from yarn Y (55% polyester fibers and 45% wool fibers) has been found to have very uniform dyeability. The apparatus 12 of FIGURE 6 includes, in place of the draft system 33 of apparatus 10, a conventional combing roll assembly 50, and a collector roll assembly 51. The combing roll assembly 50 forms individual fibers from the sliver or roving S, and passes them through air throat 52 to the collector roll assembly 51. The collector roll 53 of the collector roll assembly 51 is illustrated more clearly in FIGURE 7, and includes means defining a groove 54 therein. Also, means are provided defining a plurality of perforations 55 in the groove 54. The collector roll assembly 51 includes a housing portion 57 in which no vacuum is applied, and another portion 58 in which vacuum is applied from source 28 so that air is pulled from the exterior of the roller 53 through perforations 55 to the interior of the roller 53, ultimately being passed through conduit 59 to vacuum source 28. The fibers in throat 52 are entrained in a balanced air flow, air entering air intake 60, and also being pulled through combing roller 53 perforations 55 by the vacuum source 28, so that the fibers in air throat 52 are generally parallel. Typical staple length would be 1/2-6 inches. The fibers collect on roll 53 side-by-side, and build up in fiber layers depending upon the speed of roll 53. Approximately 3/8 of the roll 53 is subjected to the vacuum source 28, while the other 5/8 is not. The fibers are released by the roll 53 on the upside of roller assembly 51 into air throat 62, under the influence of the vacuum applied to the interior of the housing 19 of the vacuum spinning device 14. When the mass of free fibers pass through air throat 62 into the hollow interior of shaft 15, they are attracted to the interior surface 17 of shaft 15, and rotate therewith as they are being conveyed in the direction A. This rotation fully controls the fibers, so they do not have the same type of entanglement that is present in conventional open-end spinning processes. The yarn Y' is produced. The fiber mass of core 45' (see FIGURE 5b) has real twist, which may be in either the "Z" direction or the "S" direction, and the fiber mass or core typically includes 20-40% of the fibers while 80-60% of the fibers are in wrapping 47'. The yarn Y' has significant surface effects and simulates the appearance of fully twisted yarn. The yarn Y' withdrawn from apparatus 14 by delivery rolls 38 is taken up by a conventional dog or grooved type take-up roll 64, onto a package 65. The yarn Y' may be formed from a wide variety of fibers, bending modulus, stiffness, and other properties of the fiber type not being as critical as in conventional open-end spinning; and the yarn Y' say be spun with fewer fibers per cross-sectional area. Yarn Y' also may be produced by running short staple length fibers (e.g. 1½ inch cotton/polyester fibers) on a 4 inch worsted roll setting between the rolls 38, 40. Again, the core 45' (see FIGURE 5b) will have approximately 20-40% of the fibers and the core will have real twist, and approximately 80-60% of the fibers will be wrapped about the core to provide surface effects and simulate the appearance of a fully twisted yarn. For example, for the yarn Y' illustrated in FIGURE 5b, the turns per inch in the sheath wrapped fibers 47' could be 10 "Z", while the turns per inch in the core yarn 45' could be 10 "Z". Note, however, that the number of fibers that are transformed into the core versus the number of wrapper fibers are variable and depend upon: staple length versus roll setting between rolls 38 and 40; vacuum pressure and nozzle configuration; nozzle rotation speed and orifice size; spinning speed of the yarn; and fiber characteristics such as stiffness, friction properties, diameter, etc. The preferred vacuum spinning apparatus 114 is illustrated in FIGURES 8a amd 8b. The primary component thereof comprises an elongated hollow shaft 150 having a first end 151 and a second end 152. A through-extending passageway, having a first section 153 and a second section 154, is provided in the shaft 150, extending from the first end 151 to the second end 152 thereof. At least a portion of the entire circumference of the shaft 150 is perforated. Preferably the perforations are provided by four perforations equally spaced around the circumference of the exterior of the shaft 150, and indicated by reference numerals 155-157 in FIGURE 8a. Perforations preferably are in a common plane P which is perpendicular to the axis A-A of rotation of the shaft 150. Also, the perforations 155-157 preferably slant in the direction of the second end from the through-extending passageway portion 153 (see perforations 155, 157 in FIGURE 8a in particular). This disposition of the perforations 155-157 at an acute angle with respect to the axis A-A allows air that is sucked into the passageway portion 153 by the vacuum source 160 to flow more uniformly from exteriorly of the shaft 150 to the source 160, with commensurate desirable results for the yarn being produced. While perforations 155-157 may be disposed at other locations along the length of the shaft 150, and need not be four in number (i.e. there may be more, but preferably not less than three), the desired results can be achieved by disposing the perforations 155-157 adjacent the first end 151 of the shaft 150. A vacuum reservoir 162 is provided within the shaft 150. The vacuum reservoir 162 as illustrated in the drawing comprises a spherical reservoir having a diameter roughly about twice the diameter of the passageway portion 153, and in communication with the passageway portions 153, 154 at the opposite ends thereof, and in communication with the perforations 155-157 around the periphery thereof. The reservoir need not be spherical, although that is a desirable configuration. Alternatively, the reservoir could be cylindrical with spherical sections at the ends thereof, or of like configuration. The vacuum reservoir provides for bettor air flow within the shaft 150, ultimately resulting in better wrapping of the fiber ends, and the production of a higher quality yarn. In the utilization of the apparatus 114, it is desirable to concentrate the air flow adjacent the first end 151 of the shaft 150. To this end, it is desirable to make the passageway section 153 of significantly larger size than the passageway 154. The passageway 153 extends from the end 151 to the vacuum reservoir 162, while the section 154 extends from the vacuum reservoir 162 to the second end 152. As exemplary, but non-limiting, examples of dimensions, the diameter of the section 153 may be 1/8 inch, the diameter of the section 154 1/16 inch, and the diameter of the spherical vacuum reservoir 162 about one-quarter inch. In order to even further facilitate the wrapping action, it is desirable to provide a diffuser 164. The diffuser 164 comprises a sleeve or collar which fits around the external periphery of the shaft 150. Preferably a ring-shaped space 165 is provided between the internal surface 166 of the collar 164, and the external periphery 167 of the shift 150. The collar 164 includes a plurality of elongated slots formed therein, elongated in the dimension of the axis A-A. Preferably a slot is provided in association and communication with each of the perforations 155-157; for instance see slots 169 and 170 in FIGURE 8a which cooperate with perforations 155 and 157, respectively, and slot 171 in FIG. 8b. The slots (e.g. 169, 170) and the space 165 assist in providing desired air flow characteristics to improve the quality of the yarn produced utilizing the apparatus 114. The collar 164 is preferably mounted on the shaft 150 so that the alignment of the slots (e.g. 169-170) with respect to the perforations 155-157 can be changed. For instance the collar 164 is mounted so that a first end surface 174 engages surfaces 175 of the shaft 150, and so that the second end surface 176 thereof engages another raised surface 177 of the shaft 150. There is frictional engagement between the surfaces 174, 175 and 176, 177, however the frictional engagement is not too great to prevent relative rotation between the collar 164 and the shaft 150 as the collar 164 is grasped manually, or with a tool, and the rotation effected. By misaligning the slots (e.g. 169-170) and the perforations 155-157, "effects" may be introduced into the yarn Y. Roller sets 38, 40, comprise means for passing textile fibers into and through the passage sections 153, 154, and preferably the nips of the rollers 38, 40 are aligned with each other and with the axis A-A. Means are also provided for mounting the shaft 150 for rotation about the axis A-A, and for effecting continuous, relatively high-speed rotation thereof. The means for mounting the shaft 50 for rotation preferably comprise bearing means adjacent the first and second ends 151, 152 thereof. For instance a first bearing means 180 surrounds the first end 151 of the shaft 150, providing relative rotation between it and a front wall 181 of an air impervious cylindrical housing 182, and a second bearing 183 is mounted adjacent the second end 152 of the shaft 150, allowing relative rotation between the shaft 150 and the rear wall 184 of the housing 182. Preferably the housing 182 is transparent. The bearings 180, 183 may be of any conventional type that will not allow much air flow through them, and are not dried out, or otherwise damaged, by air flow. The housing 182 is stationarily mounted on a table, or other structure which is affixed to the ground. Rotation of the shaft 150 is effected by a motor acting upon the shaft via pulleys and a belt. Pulley 192 preferably is integral with the shaft 150, and another pulley is integral with the motor output shaft. The motor thus rotates the shaft 150 at a constant desired speed, which speed may be varied by varying the speed of the motor. FIGURE 9 schematically illustrates an apparatus useful for core spinning. Structures in this embodiment comparable to structures in the FIGURE 1 embodiment are illustrated by the same reference numeral only preceded by a "2". The vacuum spinning apparatus is preferably the apparatus 114 illustrated in FIGURES 8a and 8b. In this embodiment, a core filament C is fed by a set of rolls 70 to feed rolls 238 to travel with the sliver or roving S generally in the linear direction A. If desired, a force may be applied to the filament yarn C generally in direction A so as to cause up to about 20% of the fibers of the core C to be broken. This may be accomplished by putting a predetermined draft between the rolls 240, 238. The broken fibers react inside vacuum spinning apparatus 114 as spun fibers, lending a spun-like appearance to the yarn YY being produced. Illustrated in FIGURES 10 and 11 is other exemplary apparatus for producing a core spun yarn, and in this embodiment crimp is developed in the core filament yarn so as to provide good interaction between the core fibers and the nipped sliver roving fibers S. With reference to FIGURES 10 and 11, a full stretch textured yarn CC is removed from a supply 72, and is held in tension between roller sets 73, 74. Between the roller sets 73, 74 it is passed over a sharp edge 75 of a nonconductive material (such as a plastic wedge). Crimp is developed in the filament yarn CC after it passes over edge 75 and the tension is released between rolls 74 and 338. (In the FIGURES 10 and 11 embodiments structures comparable to those in the FIGURE 1 embodiment are illustrated by the same reference numeral only preceded by a "3".) This crimp developing step causes the individual fibers of the yarn CC to repel each other (see FIGURE 11) to form a separated, wide mass of fibers, and when the separated fibers of the yarn CC are then combined with the nipped sliver fibers S, good interaction therebetween is provided, and when the fibers are subjected to the vacuum spinning in vacuum spinner 114, a unique yarn YYY is produced. Such yarn YYY can have the best properties of 100% staple fibers and textured yarn, with predominantly spun fibers on the outside of the yarn formation. Exemplary yarns that may be produced are as follows: Count Component Description % Content 1/20's sliver 35 Grs./Yd. 55% Poly/45% Wool 62% (34% Poly/28% Wool) core 150/34 T-242T F.S. Polyester 38% 1/27's sliver 35 Grs./Yd. 100% Wool 76% core 70/34 T-242T F.S. Polyester 24% 1/20's sliver 35 Grs./Yd. 100% Wool 62% core 150/34 T-242T F.S. Polyester 38% 1/30's sliver 35 Grs./Yd. 100% Wool 44% core 150/34 7-242T F.S. Polyester 56% FIGURE 12 illustrates exemplary apparatus for practicing yet another method according to the invention. In this embodiment, structures comparable to those in the FIGURE 1 embodiment are illustrated by the same reference numeral only preceded by a "4". In this embodiment, a continuous filament yarn F is passed directly to a point B at the entrance to the vacuum spinning assembly 114 hollow shaft (i.e. shaft end 51 in FIGURE 8a). Controlled overfeed of the yarn F is provided by the roller set 80, the overfeed being controlled to achieve a desired loop or Boucle effect in the yarn YYYY ultimately produced. It will thus be seen that according to the present invention various methods of producing yarn, and various yarns produced thereby, are provided which allow the production of a wide variety of yarns, many having unique characteristics, effects, properties, or appearance. The filament yarns introduced (e.g. C, CC, F) may be multi-color yarns (such as Solution Dyed Rayon), to provide a unique multi-color effect for styling purposes.

Claims: A method of spinning a fasciated yarn comprising the steps of: a) nipping a sliver (S) of fibres between two pairs of rollers (38, 40) which are spaced apart at such a distance that some of the fibres within the sliver (S) are not nipped but have free ends (46) extending outwardly from a core of fibres of the sliver (S); b) transporting the sliver of fibres (S) at a substantially constant speed between the two pairs of rollers (38, 40) and axially in direction A of transportation of the sliver between said rollers through an elongated hollow shaft (15); c) maintaining the fibres of the core of the sliver substantially within the direction A and d) applying a suction force to the free ends (46) of the fibres outside the core of the nipped sliver (S) (Step a) so as to attract the free ends (46) towards the inner wall of the rotatable hollow shaft having a perforated wall whereby the said free ends (46) of the fibres are wrapped around the core to produce the yarn. A method according to claim 1, characterised in that the core comprises a fully stretched textured yarn; and including the steps of: (e) placing the fully stretched textured yarn under tension; and (f) while the fully stretched textured yarn is under tension, effecting the development of crimp by passing the tensioned yarn over a member (75) and subsequently releasing the said tension in the yarn between rolls (74, 338), so that individual fibres of the yarn are repelled relative to each other and that step (c) is carried out so as to form an integrated mixture of nipped fibres of the sliver S and separated continuous fibres of the core filament. A method according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein after steps a) and b), the method is characterised by inserting a filament F (Fig. 12) having a controlled overfeed in association with the nipped sliver S during transportation in the direction A at point B prior to application of the suction force of step (d) and g) and after passing point B rotating loose ends of fibres of the nipped sliver, to wrap the fibre ends around other fibres and the filament to produce a spun yarn having loop or boucle effects. A method according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein after steps a) and b), the method is characterised by: h) feeding a filament yarn into operative association with the nipped sliver as it moves in the direction A, while applying a force substantially in direction A effective to break up to about 20% of the fibres of the filament yarn; and k) while transporting the sliver in direction A, with free ends and with broken fibres, rotating loose ends of fibres and acting upon broken fibres so that their fibre ends are wrapped around the nipped sliver and the broken fibres interact with the nipped sliver to produce a yarn having a spun-like appearance. A fasciated yarn having a spun-like appearance and produced according to the method claimed in claim 4, characterised in that up to 20% of the fibres of the sliver S are broken and in that the free ends of the sliver and the said broken fibres are wrapped around the core of the sliver. A fasciated yarn having loop or Boucle effects when made in accordance with the method of claim 3. A fasciated yarn produced according to any one of claims 1 or 2. An apparatus for forming fasciated yarn, in accordance with the method claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising: an elongated hollow shaft (15) with an internal passageway (17) extending there through from a first to a second end thereof; means (28) for rotating said shaft (15) about a longitudinal axis thereof, means for passing a sliver of textile fibres (S) generally axially in direction A through the internal passageway (17) of said shaft (15) with the sliver S entering the passageway (17) through the first end thereof and means for withdrawing formed yarn from the second end thereof; the shaft having at least a portion of the circumferential wall perforated (16), means 27 for applying suction to perforations (16) formed in the shaft so that at least the free ends (46) of some of the fibres of the sliver S passing through said shaft 15 are drawn outwardly away from the core of the sliver S and toward the shaft perforations (16) and thereby caused to rotate with said shaft 15 during movement of said sliver of fibres S through the hollow shaft between the first and second ends thereof characterised in that the means for passing the sliver through the shaft 15 comprises two pairs of rollers (38, 40) which are at a distance so that some of the fibres within the sliver are not nipped and have free ends, and in that said means for rotating said shaft 15 about its axis comprises: a plurality of radially extending blades 31 attached to the perforated portion of the shaft a housing 19 containing said blades and the perforated portion of the shaft said means 27 for applying suction to the exterior of said shaft 15 applying suction to the interior of said housing; and means 29 for permitting the entry of ambient air to said housing 19 under the influence of said means 27 for applying a suction, the air acting on said blades 31 and effecting rotation of said shaft. Apparatus according to claim 8 characterised by a collector roll assembly 53 including a collector roll 53 and in that the collector roll 53 has a groove 54 with those portions thereof forming the groove 54 perforated 55, and means 59 for connecting the perforation to the suction source 27. Apparatus according to claim 8 characterised in that the distance apart of the pairs of rollers (38, 40) is such that 20% of the fibres are broken.

Inventors: BRADLEY, DANNY R., MORRISON, ELBERT FLEMING, REECE, D.C.
Applicants: BURLINGTON INDUSTRIES, INC.
Application year: 1985
Main classification: D01H1
IPC codes: D01H4, D02G3, D02G1, D01H1