Spun yarn, and method and apparatus for the manufacture thereof

#The present invention relates to a spun yarn and a method and apparatus for the manufacture thereof.

#Spun yarns, which are those made up of synthetic or natural staple fibers, are easily recognized as yarns possessing fiber ends protruding from the surface of the yarn. They are further recognized as being either twisted or fasciated in structure. A twisted yarn, typically manufactured by ring spinning, possesses torque or twist liveliness. A twisted yarn that has twist liveliness, when held by both ends, will spontaneously curl around itself. A close examination of the yarn reveals that the fibers are held together in a helical pattern.

#Fasciated yarns are recognized as yarns without twist liveliness and are typically manufactured by open-end rotor spinning or air jet spinning. A close examination of these yarns reveals a longitudinally well-ordered bundle of fibers that are in substantially parallel alignment with the bundle being wrapped by fibers that wind around surface of the bundle.

#FIG. 1 is an illustration of a yarn that has been prepared by passage through only a first torque jet followed by a second torque jet of the opposite direction.

#FIG. 2 is an illustration of a yarn that has been prepared by passage through an interlace jet only.

#FIG. 3 is an illustration of a yarn that has been prepared by passage through a torque jet followed by an interlace jet.

#The present invention provides a novel yarn structure, and a method and apparatus to produce same by the use of a novel combination of air jet entanglement devices, some or all of which may be conventional air jet entanglement devices.

#A fiber is a cylindrical-shaped unit of matter characterized by a length at least 100 times its diameter or width that is capable of being spun into a yarn, or made into a fabric, by various methods such as weaving, knitting, braiding, felting and twisting. For processing on textile machinery, a fiber of the correct length (such as about 1˜8 inches) is needed. A staple fiber has the correct length for such purpose because it is either a natural fiber, and inherently has a useful length, or it is a discontinuous length of a continuous synthetic filament that has been cut to the correct length. A continuous filament may thus be thought of as a fiber of an indefinite or extreme length, which is distinguished from a staple fiber in respect of its having not been cut to machine length.

#A yarn is a continuous strand of textile fibers and/or filaments in a form in which the fibers and/or filaments are consolidated, and thus sufficiently intermingled that the yarn has an integrity and unity of construction suitable for knitting, weaving, or otherwise intertwining, to form a fabric. A sliver is a bundle of fibers in which the fibers are not consolidated, and thus do not have an integrity and unity of construction suitable for operations such as knitting or weaving, but is a common feed stock from which a fiber, and ultimately a yarn, is prepared.