Patent ID: 7670677

Claim:
A latently crimpable conjugate fiber, comprising: a conjugate fiber that includes a first component comprising, as a thermal shrinkable component, a linear low-density polyethylene, the first component having a before-spinning melt index in a range of 1 g/10 min to 15 g/10 min, a ratio of a weight-average molecular weight (Mw) to a number average molecular weight (Mn) (a Q value) in range of 1.5 to 8 and a density in a range of 0.90 g/cm 3 to 0.93 g/cm 3 , and a second component that is formed from a thermal plastic polymer, the second component having an after-spinning melting point TF 2 that is higher than an after-spinning melting point TF 1 of the first component, wherein a surface of the first component is exposed with an exposed length viewed in cross section of not less than 20% relative to a peripheral length of the fiber, wherein the fiber has: (1) a monofilament dry heat shrinkage percentage of not less than 50%, which is determined according to JIS-L-1015 (dry heat shrinkage percentage) at a temperature of 100° C. under an initial tension of 0.018 mN/dtex (2 mg/d) for a time of 15 minutes; and (2) a monofilament dry heat shrinkage percentage of not less than 15%, which is determined according to JIS-L-1015 (dry heat shrinkage percentage) at a temperature of 100° C. under an initial tension of 0.450 mN/dtex (50 mg/d) for a time of 15 minutes.