US2805465A - Composite yarns and fabrics - Google Patents

Description

Sept 10, 1957 H. MILLER COMPOSITE YARNS AND FABRICS 2 Sheets- Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 21, 1954 III pt 10, 1951 H. MILLER 2,805 4 5 COMPOSITE YARNS AND FABRICS Filed Dec. 21, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 15/7 7 I8 60\ 61 6/ gm @Y 4* L J 3 W J United States. Patent COMPOSITE YARNS AND FABRICS Hugh Miller, Meadville, Pa., assignor to American Viscose Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware The present invention relates to novel type composite artificial yarns and to fabrics produced therefrom. In particular, the invention relates to variegated artificial yarns and to fabrics produced therefrom.

In the past years many types of composite yarns have been introduced on the market. One type of composite yarn consists of two separate yarns of different composition which have been twisted or plied together to form a unitary yarn. Composite artificial yarns have also been perfected wherein one portion of the extruded yarn consists of one type of composition while the remaining portion consists of a different type composition. Such composite pattern, with respect to the artificial yarns, follows a uniform pattern throughout the yarn length, for instance, the entire one half of the yarn will consist of filaments of one material while the entire other half of the yarn consists of filaments of another material. There is no intermingling of the different materials from which the composite yarn is formed.

It is therefore one object of my invention to provide a novel type composite artificial yarn.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel type fabric formed of the novel composite yarns.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel type composite artificial yarn consisting of filaments of composite structure.

An additional object of my invention is to provide a novel type composite artificial yarn consisting of filaments of composite structure which filaments have a haphazard or non-uniform composite pattern lengthwise thereof.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a yarn having a uniformly variegated surface pattern and composed of filaments each of which contains uniformly colored sections, clear sections, and sections which are both clear and colored. These sections are of various lengths and are alternately spaced in random pattern lengthwise of the filaments.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from a study of the following description and the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a representation of a composite yarn of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a representation of three of the number of yarn filaments which make up the yarn of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view of yarn cross sections taken at different points along the length of the yarn of the present invention;

Figure 4 is atop fragmentary view of a fabric produced from the yarn shown in Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a perspective of a dual pump which is used in metering blending the spinning solution from which the yarn of the present invention is produced;

Figure 6 is a view taken from the drive side of the dual P p;

'Figure 7 is an exploded view of the dual pump showing its component parts;

Figure 8 is. a view of the assembly within the dual pump for combining separate liquid streams into one spinning solution from which the composite yarn is produced;

Figure 9 is an enlarged view of one of the labyrinths which may be positioned within the dual pump for further intermixing and blending of the combined streams; and

Figure 10 is an enlarged view of another type labyrinth which may be positioned within the dual pump assembly for still further intermixing and blending the combined streams.

Briefly, the composite yarn of the present invention comprises a plurality of composite filaments wherein each filament contains sections of difierent composition lengthwise of the filament. Each filament contains sections of one type of composition, sections of another type composition and sections formed of a combination of both types of compositions. The alternating pattern of the section of each filament is not uniform but is of a hodgepodge pattern. The lengths of the sections also vary. However, surprisingly enough, the yarn formed from these filaments has a uniformly variegated surface pattern.

The fabric of the present invention comprises a knitted or woven fabric made of the composite yarns described above which fabric exhibits a substantially uniform variegated effect.

The yarns of the present invention may be produced from yarn producing material of various composition. Typical examples of such yarns are the regenerated cellulose yarns as produced either by the wet or dry-spinning process. which has a color pattern of alternating blue and white areas and which has been formed by the dry-spinning process will be described for purposes of illustration. As seen in Figure 1, the acetate variegated yarn 1% has an exterior appearance of a substantially uniform pattern of alternating sections of colored areas 101, 101 and clear or bright areas 102, 102. These colored and bright areas appear as streaks lengthwise of the yarn. The yarn is spun or extruded directly through a single spinneretteplate such as is used in spinning commercial bright acetate yarn. No further processing is required with respect to effecting the variegated appearance of the yarn after it is collected from the spinning or yarn producing machine.

Figure 2 shows three of the total number of filaments which make up the yarn of Figure 1. By filament, I mean the fine continuous thread which issues from one small hole of the many small holes in an ordinary spinnerette plate as mentioned above. partially colored, and non-colored sections of the individual filaments 104, 105, and 106 do not follow a uniform pattern, but on the contrary, assume a hodge-podge or non-uniform pattern. The individual filaments 104,

105, and 106 may have solid uniformly colored portions 107, 107 extending from a few inches up to twenty-five feet or more. These solid portions may then be follower by clear or bright portions 108, 1% of various lengths. The clear filament portions 108, 108 may in turn be followed by filament sections 109, 109 which are half clear and half colored longitudinally of the filament. This pattern described above is not necessarily followed throughout the filament length as the partially coolred portions 109, 109 may follow the solid, uniformly colored portions 107, 107 instead of the pattern mentioned above. In addition, as seen in Figure 2 the three filaments 104, 105, and 106, which were extruded through the same spinnerette plate, when compared with one another, do not necessarily agree in pattern. For instance, the uniformly colored section 107 of filament 104 may lie adjacent the partially colored section 109 of I filament which filament sections may then in turn lie adjacenta clear or brightfilament section 108 of fila- 0 ment 106.

Figure 3'shows cross sections of the yarn 100 (Figure l A variegated artificial cellulose acetate yarn.

The fully colored,v

l)- takenat spaced-apart points along the length of the yarn. When comparing yarn cross .sectionA .withyarn cross section B it is seen that the pigmented filaments do not appear in the same location within the two cross sections. The cross section pattern changes -.along-; the length of the yarn.

The amazing phenomenon which resultsfrom such a haphazard arrangement of the colored, partially colored, non-colored filament portions throughout the length of the yarn 100 is that the final yarn exhibits atsubstantially uniform variegated pattern of altemating...colored and non-colored sections around the yarn surface and lengthwise-of the yarn.

The uniformity of the variegated pattern ;with'respect to the alternating colored andnon-eolored portions-ofthe yarn is a statistical phenomenon resulting from the random arrangement of clear and colored-sections -.of the many adjacent individual filamentswhich make up the yarn. The variegation pattern may be made finer or larger by controlling the twist incorporated in thefinal yarn. The higher the twist incorporated in the -yarn. the finer or smaller will be the variegation pattern.

Figure v4 shows .a knit fabric 110 composed et -the variegated yarn of Figure 1. The fabric has a variegated pattern of alternating uniformly spaced areasof colored and non-colored areas 111, 111 and 112, 112 respectively whereby it exhibits an excellent salt and pepper effect. Woven fabrics may also be produced which exhibit the same effect.

Composite yarns of many types are possible in accordance with the present invention. For instance, a composite yarn of cellulose acetate filaments may be produced wherein certain portions of the yarn are receptive to one type of dye while other portions of the yarn are not receptive to the same dye. Composite viscose type rayon may also be produeed'by the wetspinm'ng process wherein the yarn contains'filaments each of which is formed of portions spun from aged and young viscose. Many other type combination yarns are possible wherein the composite yarn has the joint characteristics which are inherent with each component of the-composite yarn.

The composite yarns described above are produced from spinning solutions formedfrom the combining and intermixing or blending of separate solutions of different composition. These combined spinningsolutions are extruded through ordinary spinnerettes such as are used in producing commercial bright cellulose acetate yarn. The separate streams of difierent composition are combined and intermixed or blended by a dual pump which will now be described. It should be pointed out that the dual pump can be used for combining and intermixing separate streams of many and varied composition, however, for the purposes of the present invention the structure will be described with respect to the combining and intermixing of a clear cellulose acetate yarn spinning solution and a pigmented cellulose acetate stream for the production of yarn having a uniformly variegated surface pattern. The dual .pump is positioned in the main spinning solution supply line adjacent the spinnerette in a yarn spinning machine.

The dual pump comprises essentially a compact two stage metering pump assembly of the gear typein which its first stage is of low capacity for metering a secondary liquid stream such as .a pigment slurry into the second larger capacity stage together with a primary liquid stream with which the slurry is mingled but not completelyblendedi' The intermixed and blended combined streams discharged from the second stage is extruded through a "spinnerette to fabricate a yarn which gives novel color e ffects in a textile fabric. The driving gears of each stage are heyed to a common shaft extending through a plate, opposite sides of which serve as the housing for each stage. This construction simplifies the pumpdesign andmaintains aiconstantrratioflat all times between the primary and secondary stream. Since the stages .are operated .in series, metered mixing of the streams takes place between the stages. Various supplementary elements may be installed at this point to increase or decrease the effective blending.

As seen in the drawings, Figure 5, the dual pump blender 1 comprises an-inlet plate 2 through which a colored spinning solution such as a pigmented cellulose acetate stream is introduced to the dualpump assembly. The pigmented stream is introduced. into plateZ through conduit 3. A meteringunit 4 comprising gears 5 and 6 and housed in centerplate 7 (see Figure 7) ispositioned adjacent the inner face of the inlet plate 2 for metering the pigmented-stream fed thereinto'fi'om inlet plate 2 into and through conduit 1-1 and inlet connection 12 which leads into the top of a second plate 13 positioned opposite plate 2. Gear 6 of metering assembly 4 is slidingly keyed to a shaft 8 within the pump assembly which shaft abuts on-the inner face of inlet plate 2. A-clear yarnspinning'solution, such as a clear cellulose acetate stream, is alsointroduced into the'top portion of plate 13 through a drilled port 14 in the outer face of plate 13 (see Figure 6).

The pigmented stream and a clear stream-are initially combinedby the-assembly shown in'Figure 8. As seen in Figure 8, the inlet connection 12, in the-top ofthe plate 13, through which the pigmented stream flows into plate 13 terminates ina tube portion 15 of smaller diameter-than the remaining portion of the connection'which tube portion extends downwardly for a distance within plate 13. -A-metalsleeve 16 is positioned over-thetube 15- and welded or otherwiseseeured to the inlet spout 12 whereby an annular channel isformed between the peripheryof-thetube 15 and the inner wall of the sleeve 16. A drilled port 17 inthewall of-s leeve 16 lines up with the inlet port 14- in plate --13 ;described above. Through these ports the clearstream ofspinning solution'flows to the channel described above toflow downwardly around the metal tube 15. Asmallspring loaded conical valve 18 is seated withinthemouth of the metal tube'15. As the pressure builds up-within the pigmented stream in tube 15, the valve 18 is forced open and the pigmented stream passes from the-mouth of tube 15 to be combined with the clear stream of spinning solution flowing down around the mouth oftubelS. The combined streams-then pass through the drilled-intake port 20 located in the lower portion of the inner face of'plate 1-3 (Figure ;7).

Metering assembly 21'housed in centerplate 22 which is positioned adjacent the inner face of plate'13 and port ZG-comprisesgears 23 -arid 24, the latter being slidingly" keyed to the shaft 8. The meteringassembly 21 is of larger'capacity than the metering assembly 4 and meters the combinedstreamsfedthereto-intoand through a 'discharge plate 25 from whichthe combined streams are discharged through the drilled hole 26 in the outerface portion of the plate 25. The metering assembly 21,-in addition-to metering'the-combined streams, also intermixes the streams to a certain degree as it bites off and squeezes portions of the combined streams during thepumping operation. Inlet plate 13 is maintained in spaced apart relationship with discharge plate 25 by spacing collar 27 positionedover pin 27. V se.mbly;4 adjacent therewith are spaced from the discharge plate 25 by spacing plate '28. The Whole pump assembly is secured together by tie screws 29, 29. V

As mentioned above,- the shaft 8 within the 'dualpump assembly drives both gear assemblies '4 and 21 at-the same rate of speed. The revolutions per minute of the meter ing gears of each assembly are also the same since the gears are of the sarnepitch diameter. The shaft '8 ,is fitted through gears 24 and 6, and through drilled holes 30, 30 i th plate 12 n 2. ,Th sha t s ,dr

by drive gear '31 (Figure 5) which is connected to the Y shaftfi at a point externally of the pump assembly.. Shaft pins 40 and 41 (Figure 7) inserted within the drilled Inlet plate 2 and the metering asholes 4?. and 43 of shaft 8 slidingly lock gears 6 and 24 of metering assemblies 4 and 21 to the shaft 8 through suitable keyways fashioned in the walls of the gear bores.

Since the gears 23 and 24 of metering assembly 21 are of greater width than the gears 5 and 6 of assembly 4, the assembly 21, is, of course, capable of metering and pumping a greater volume of liquid than the assembly 4. Both assemblies, of course, continuously meter definite amounts by volume of liquid. A portion of the total amount of the combined streams drawn by assembly 21 consists of a definite and constant amount of a colored spinning solution such as apigmented acetate stream which is continuously being metered by the smaller assembly 4. The balance of the combined streams as demanded and drawn by the larger pump assembly 21 will, therefore, necessarily consist of a definite and constant amount of the clear stream of spinning solution. With such an arrangement it is seen that the ratio of the amounts of the clear stream to the colored stream in the combined streams will always be constant. To adjust or change this ratio, gears 5 and 6 of gear assembly 4 may be replaced with gears of greater or lesser width whereby the assembly 4 will meter more or less pigmented acetate as desired.

it" it is desired to intermix or blend the combined streams to a further degree, a labyrinth cylinder 6!) (Figure 9) may be inserted within the plate 13 at a point immediately below the stream combining assembly of Figure 8. The upper end of the labyrinth 60 supports the conical valve 13 while a small spring 61 presses the labyrinth 6% into contact with the valve. The labyrinth so has right and left hand threads 62, 62 and 63, 63 respectively which form intercommunicating channels 64, 64 wherein the clear and pigmented streams are blended or intermixed as they pass theret'nrough. The intermixed streams then pass through port 2%) of plate 13 into the metering assembly 21.

If more complete or a finer degree of intermixing is desired, a second labyringth 76 (Figure 10) of different design than the labyrinth 63 may be inserted within the discharge port 26 of plate to further mix or blend the already blended streams as they are discharged from the metering assembly 1. The labyrinth 7 has a series of rings 71, 71 which have notches '72, '72 therein through which the combined streams are further mixed and blended as they are forced therethrough.

The physical appearance of the intermixed streams being discharged from the dual pump assembly is that of stone marble. Pigment streaks occur in random fashion throughout the mass of spinning solution. The spinning solution of marble pattern is nerette by which the filaments are formed which make up the final composite yarn.

To review the operation, the pigmented stream is introduced into the inlet plate 2, through metering unit 4, through conduit 11, and into the plate 13 wherein, as described above, the pigmented stream is combined with the clear stream entering plate 13 through port 14. The combined streams then pass from plate 13 by way of port 29 into the inlet side of metering assembly 21 which also mixes as it meters the combined streams upwardly through plate 25 and out through discharge port 26. If desired, the streams may be further blended to a controlled degree with the use of one or both of the labyrinths fed directly to the spinand depending upon the degree of intermixing desired.

it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

i claim:

1. A continuous composite artifical yarn having a uniformly variegated surface pattern and comprising a plurality of filaments wherein each filament comprises alternating longitudinal sections of different composition, said alternating sections comprising sections of one composition entirely, sections of a difierent composition entirely and sections of the two compositions combined, said filament sections being non-uniform in their alternation pattern and length whereby a cross section of the yarn taken at any one point along the yarn length will show a random disposition of the two compositions throughout the cross section.

2. A continuous composite artifical yarn according to claim 1 wherein the difierent compositions of the filament sections comprise difierent regenerated cellulose acetate compositions.

3. A continuous composite artifical yarn according to claim 1 wherein the different compositions of the filament sections comprise difierent regenerated cellulose compositions of the viscose rayon type.

4. A composite continuous artificial yarn having a uniformly variegated surface pattern and comprising a plurality of composite filaments wherein each filament consists of alternating longitudinal sections of one colored material entirely, sections of another colored material entirely and sections of the colored materials in combined form, said sections being non-uniform in their alternan'on pattern and length whereby a cross section of the yarn taken at any point along the yarn will show a random disposition of the difierent colored materials throughout the cross section.

5. A continuous composite variegated artifical yarn according to claim 4 wherein the different colored materials comprise clear cellulose acetate and colored cellulose acetate.

6. A continuous composite variegated artifical yarn according to claim 5 wherein the colored acetate material comprises cellulose acetate material having a blue pigment matter incorporated therein.

7. A fabric which exhibits a uniform salt and pepper surface efiect comprising continuous variegated artifical yarns formed of two difierent colored materials wherein each filament in the yarn each consists of alternating longitudinal sections of one colored material entirely, sections of the other colored material entirely'and sections of the colored materials in combined form, said sections being non-uniform in their alternation pattern and length whereby a cross section of the yarn taken at any point along the yarn length will show a random disposition of the different colored materials throughout the cross section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,614,288 Chavannes Oct. 21, 1952

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