Multi-component elastic yarn, textile fabrics and method of making and apparatus thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses a multi-component elastic yarn comprises two fiber rovings and two core filaments, wherein each core filaments is elastic, low-elastic or inelastic filaments or any combination thereof. The invention also discloses preparation method and apparatus. The multi-component elastic yarn of the present invention is featured by smooth surface, low hairiness, fiber does not falling off easily, high strength and good wearing resistance. The textile fabrics made from the present yarn have a smooth surface, low hairiness, good wearing resistance, high tensile and tear strength, soft and smooth hand feeling and high elastic recovery rate. The apparatus of the present invention has strong applicability, is easy to maintain and high cost-effective.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a multi-component yarn comprising providing a first fibrous roving and a second fibrous roving, and a first core filament and a second core filament; providing a ring-spinning machine comprising a pair of back rollers and a pair of front rollers; drawing the first fibrous roving and the second fibrous roving; passing the first fibrous roving and the second fibrous roving through a two-eyes roving guide, wherein the distance between centers of the two eyes is 3-12 mm; drafting the first and second fibrous roving by feeding the first and second roving into the pair of back rollers and passing drafted first and second fibrous roving through a nip of the pair of front rollers; drafting the first and second core filaments by feeding the first core filament into a first filament drafting drum and feeding the second core filament into a second filament drafting drum, wherein the first core filament is an elastic filament and is drafted by the first filament drafting drum at a draft ratio of 1.5-4.5, and the second core filament is an inelastic filament and is drafted by the second filament drafting drum at a draft ratio of greater than 1.0 and less than 1.3; twisting the first and second core filaments independently with the first and second fibrous roving to form a first yarn and a second yarn; and twisting the first and second yarn to form the multi-component yarn.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein weight percentage of said first and second core filament is 4%-50% of the component yarn.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein when the first and second core filaments range from 20-300 denier.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second fibrous roving are selected from the group consisting of natural fiber, synthetic fiber, artificially dyed fiber and a combination thereof.

5. An apparatus for manufacturing a multi-component yarn comprising a ring-spinning machine comprising two roving hangers located above a pair of back rollers for installing a first fibrous roving and a second fibrous roving; a two-eyes roving guide located at the back of the pair of back rollers where the first and second fibrous roving pass through and wherein the distance between the centers of the two eyes is 3 mm 12 mm; a first filament drafting drum and a second filament drafting drum located above the pair of back rollers, wherein the first filament drafting drum drafts a first core filament at a draft ratio of 1.5-4.5, and the second filament drafting drum drafts a second core filament at a draft ratio of greater than 1.0 and less than 1.3 wherein the first core filament is an elastic filament and the second core filament is an inelastic filament; and two filament guides located above a pair of front rollers for the first and second core filaments to pass through.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the distance between the centers of the two filament guides is 3-15 mm.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Embodiments of the present invention are described in more detail hereinafter with reference to the drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the multi-component elastic yarn of the present invention; and

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the ring-spinning apparatus of the present invention.

(4) 1multi-component yarn; 11the first yarn; 111the first core filament; 112the first fibrous roving; 12the second yarn; 121the second core filament; 122the second fibrous roving; 21font roller; 22middle roller; 23back roller; 3roving hanger; 4filament drafting drum; 5two-eyes roving guide; 6filament guide

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(5) In the following description, the present invention is set forth as preferred examples. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications, including additions and/or substitutions, may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Specific details may be omitted so as not to obscure the invention; however, the disclosure is written to enable one skilled in the art to practice the teachings herein without undue experimentation.

(6) As seen in FIG. 1, the multi-component elastic yarn of the present invention is formed by fibrous roving and core filaments. The two sets of fibrous roving comprise the first fibrous roving 112 and the second fibrous roving 122, and said core filaments comprise the first core filament 111 and the second core filament 121. The first fibrous roving 112 and the first core filament 111 twist together to form the first yarn 11, and the second fibrous roving 122 and the second core filament 121 twist together to form the second yarn 12. The first yarn 11 and the second yarn 12 further twist together to form composite yarn 1.

(7) Said fiber roving comprises fibers, which includes, but are not limited to, natural fibers, synthetic fibers, artificially dyed fibers, or any combination thereof. The types of fibers of the fiber roving are not critical in the present composite yarn. Any general textile fibers in the art that can be spun may be used.

(8) The first and second core filaments are independently made of elastic, low-elastic or inelastic filaments or any combination thereof. The core filaments are preferably spandex, polyamides, polyesters, polyolefins or a combination thereof, modified polymers or copolymers. In one embodiment, the core filaments can be pre-processed to produce a compound core filament comprises elastic filaments, low-elastic filaments, inelastic filaments or any combination thereof.

(9) The weight percentage of the core filaments to the composite yarn is not critical to the present invention. The weight percentage of the core filaments ranges 4% to 50% of the total weight of the composite yarn. The liner mass density of the core filaments is not critical to the present invention. The core filaments of the present invention ranges 20 denier to 300 denier. When the core filament is low-elastic or inelastic, the draft ratio of the low-elastic or inelastic core filament ranges 1.0 to 1.3; when the core filament is elastic, the draft ratio of the elastic core filament ranges 1.5-4.5. When one of the two core filaments are elastic filaments combine with low-elastic or inelastic filaments, the draft ratio of the elastic filaments must be greater than that of low-elastic or inelastic filaments.

(10) The liner mass density of the composite yarn of the present invention is not critical. The liner mass density of the present composite yarn ranges Ne6 to Ne60, and preferably ranges from Ne8 to Ne30.

(11) The liner mass density of roving in the fibrous roving is not critical to the present composite yarn. The liner mass density of the roving ranges from 0.2 g/m to 1.5 g/m and preferably ranges from 0.4 g/m to 1.0 g/m.

(12) As shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus for manufacturing a multi-component elastic yarn according to the present invention is based on a ring spinning machine. The apparatus comprises: two roving hangers 3 located above the back roller for installing the first and second of fiber roving; a two-eyes roving guide 5 located at the back of back roller 23 for passing the first and second fiber rovings through; two filament drafting drums 4 located above the back roller for installing the first and second core filaments; and two filament guides 6 located above the front roller for passing the first and second core filaments through. In one embodiment, the two-eye roving guide is adjustable, and the distance between the centers of the two eyes can be adjustable from 3 mm to 12 mm. The filament drafting drum is an active filament unwinder with tension control. Each filament guide is adjustable, and the distance between the centers of the two filament guides ranges 3 mm to 15 mm.

(13) The apparatus for manufacturing a multi-component yarn of the present invention is operated as follows:

(14) Installing two sets of fiber roving onto roving hangers 3; installing two sets of core filaments on filament drafting drums 4, and then start the machine. The two sets of fibrous roving are fed into the back roller 23 through two-eyes roving guide 5 for drafting, drafted fibrous roving then exits back roller 23 and feed into middle roller 22 and front roller 21 for further drafting and exit through nip of front roller 21. Adjusting the two filament guides 6 such that the first and second of core filaments are independently positioned on top of the first or second fiber roving: as the first fibrous roving exits from the nip of the front roller, the first fibrous will twist with the first core filament that is moving laterally at the same time, so as to form the first yarn. As the front roller rotates, the first yarn meets the second yarn soon and twist together, forming a multi-component elastic yarn.

(15) The positions of the two eyes of the two-eyes roving guide are adjusted to ensure the two fibrous roving are fed in parallel during drafting and the distance between the centers of the two fibrous roving is kept within 3 mm to 12 mm. When the two sets of core filaments are low-elastic or inelastic filaments, the distance between the centers of the two fibrous roving guide can be adjusted and shifts to the larger range.

(16) After the two fibrous roving have been drafted properly, the drafted fibrous roving exits from the nip of the front roller at the same time the positions of the two filament guides are adjusted such that the two filaments are independently positioned on top of the perspective fibrous roving. The distance between the two filament guides is adjusted between 3 mm to 15 mm. When the two filaments are low-elastic or inelastic filaments, the distance between the centers of the two filament guides shifts to the larger range.

(17) The multi-component yarn of the present invention is constructed by twisting a single strand of fibrous roving and a single strand of core filament in a spinning triangle area to form a single yarn (the first yarn). The single yarn is further twisted with another yarn (the second yarn) constructed with another strand of fibrous silver and another strand of core filament. As the fiber roving is drafted to cylindrical yarns before twisting with the core filament, ends of the fibrous roving can be easily twisted into the yarns. Moreover, the core filaments which move forward laterally are twisted with the corresponding fibrous roving in a screw-like manner and the two core filaments can produce a certain grip effect when twisted with the two fibrous rovings independently, as a result, the fibers in the resultant composite yarn do not fall off easily and the fiber utilization is high, resulting in low hairiness and high strength in the composite yarn.

(18) The multi-component elastic yarn of the present invention is suitable for all types of textile fabrics or can become a part of all types of textile fabrics; therefore, according to some embodiments of the invention, the new multi-component elastic yarn can be preferably woven into denim fabrics. The percentage of the present multi-component yarn in the textile fabric is not critical; generally the present multi-component yarn shall be at least 15% of the textile fabric, and preferably at least 20%.

WORKING EXAMPLES

Example 1

(19) The warp is Ne10 pure cotton slub yarn (the roving is quantified as 0.9 g/m), the weft is Ne16 multi-component elastic yarn of the present invention, wherein the two fibrous rovings are made of pure cotton, and the roving is quantified as 0.6 g/m. The two core filaments are elastic filaments (quantity: 40 denier) and non-elastic filaments (quantity: 75 denier) respectively. The draft ratio of the elastic filaments and the non-elastic filaments is 3 and 1, respectively. A denim fabric is produced, and the fabric weight is 11 ounces per square yard. According to ASTM D3107, the weft elongation of the denim fabric is 33%, and the weft elastic recovery rate of the fabric is 87%. The fabric has a smooth surface, low hairiness, high weft tensile and tear strength, and soft and smooth hand feeling.

Example 2

(20) The warp is Ne7 pure cotton slub yarn (the roving is quantified as 0.9 g/m), the weft is Ne10 the multi-component elastic yarn of the present invention, wherein the two fibrous rovings are made of pure cotton, and the roving is quantified as 0.9 g/m. The two core filaments are elastic filaments (quantity: 40 denier) and non-elastic filaments (quantity: 75 denier) respectively. The draft ratio of the elastic filaments and the non-elastic filaments is 3 and 1, respectively. A denim fabric is produced, and the fabric weight is 14 ounces per square yard. According to ASTM D3107, the weft elongation of the denim fabric is 20%, and the weft elastic recovery rate of the fabric is 92%. The fabric has a smooth surface, low hairiness, high weft tensile and tear strength, and soft and smooth hand feeling.

Example 3

(21) The warp is Ne10 pure cotton slub yarn (the roving is quantified as 0.9 g/m), the weft is Ne10 the multi-component elastic yarn of the present invention, the two fiber roving are pure cotton, and the roving is quantified as 0.9 g/m. The two core filaments are elastic filaments (quantity: 70 denier) and non-elastic filaments (quantity: 75 denier) respectively. The draft ratio of the elastic filaments and the non-elastic filaments is 2 and 1, respectively. A denim fabric is produced, and the fabric weight is 14 ounces per square yard. According to ASTM D3107, the weft elongation of the denim fabric is 23%, and the weft elastic recovery rate of the fabric is 88%. The fabric has a smooth surface, low hairiness, high weft tensile and tear strength, and soft and smooth hand feeling.

(22) The foregoing description of the present invention has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to the practitioner skilled in the art.

(23) The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with various modifications that are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalence.