Patents Examined by N. Edwards
  • Nanostructures, their applications and method for making them
    Patent number: 6586093
    Abstract: The invention concerns a method for producing nanostructures under controlled atmosphere, from compounds having a hexagonal crystalline shape, subjected to a focused laser bombardment of a gas. The invention is characterized in that it consists in using a compacted compound sample and in carrying out the process under a residual gas pressure between 1 and 3.104 Pa.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2003
    Assignee: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (C.N.R.S.)
    Inventors: Thomas Laude, Bernard Jouffrey, Alain Marraud
  • Method for producing hollow rayon fibers
    Patent number: 6582644
    Abstract: Disclosed is a simple and safe method for producing hollow rayon fibers, which are light and heat-insulating. The fibers, having a cross section of FIG. 1, are produced by forming a cellulose layer with a mixed crystalline structure of cellulose II and IV through selective saponification of a portion of cellulose acetate fibers with the use of alkali, followed by dissolving a portion which remains unsaponified, with the use of an organic solvent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2003
    Assignee: SK Chemicals Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ik Soo Kim, Jong Soo Ahn, Byoung Hak Kim
  • Textile effect yarns and method for producing same
    Patent number: 6582816
    Abstract: A process for combining dyed or melt pigmented textile denier accent yarns in small yarn sizes, into a small building block carpet denier bundle to achieve a face yarn bundle having a wide range of special color effects and appearance, not attainable by manufacture of multi-colored carpets from carpet denier fibers alone. The carpet denier singles yarns are drawn, textured and air-jet entangled. At least one textile denier singles yarns, which is preferably a yarn having some degree of orientation, is then entangled with the carpet denier singles yarn, and the bundle is then wound up. The final yarn bundle may contain one or more fiber types, as well as at least one anti-static filament. The two types of singles yarn, i.e., the carpet denier and textile denier types, optionally have the same or different fiber cross-sections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2003
    Assignee: Prisma Fibers, Inc.
    Inventors: Lawrence E. Rasnick, Jr., Arnold L. Belcher, Jr.
  • Yarn and method for manufacturing a yarn containing super absorbent fibers
    Patent number: 6576338
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a yarn containing superabsorbent fibers of polyacrylate, wherein said superabsorbent fibers are blended with supporting fibers of a material stronger than that of the superabsorbent fibers so as to form a sliver from a blend of said fibers. The sliver is spun into a yarn by using an open end spinning method, wherein the fibers of the sliver are individualized. Subsequently the fibers are fed in an air flow to a rotating spinning space, from where the yarn is spun.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2003
    Assignee: Vepetex B.V.
    Inventors: Johannes Adrianus Geradus Maria Meijer, Ludovicus Bernardus Wilhelmus Maria Van Kimmenade
  • Polyester-staple fibres and method for the production thereof
    Patent number: 6576339
    Abstract: Polyester staple fibres consisting of a polyester, from 0.1 to 2.0% by weight of an incompatible, thermoplastic, amorphous, polymeric additive having a glass transition temperature of from 90 to 170° C. and a ratio of its melt viscosity to that of the polyester component of from 1:1 to 10:1, and from 0 to 5.0% by weight of conventional additives, where the polymeric additive is present in the staple fibres in the form of fibrils having a mean diameter of ≦80 nm. Process for the production of these staple fibres by mixing with shearing of the polyester and of the polymeric additive and, optionally, of the conventional additives, spinning at a spinning take-off speed of <2500 m/min to give spun filaments, which are combined to form tows and stretched in a separate fibre stretching stage, crimped, dried and chopped to give staple fibres.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2003
    Assignee: Lurgi Zimmer AG
    Inventors: Ingo Cordes, Dietmar Wandel, Helmut Schwind, Wolfgang Janas, Werner Ude
  • Poly(trimethylene terephthalate) multifilament yarn
    Patent number: 6572967
    Abstract: The present invention provides a yarn suitable for stretch clothing, which yarn is a polytrimethylene terephthalte multifilamentary yarn having an intrinsic viscosity in a range from 0.7 to 1.1 dl/g, a single-filament size in a range from 3.3 to 8.9 dtex, an elongation at break in a range from 36 to 60% and the fluctuation value of yarn size (U %) is 1.2% or less and a false-twist textured yarn thereof. The multifilamentary yarn is produced under the conditions in that a distance between the adjacent spinning orifices is 5 mm or more, a spinning temperature is in a range from 255 to 275° C., a surface temperature of a spinneret is 255° C. or higher, and a product of a discharge linear speed V of molten polymer and the intrinsic viscosity [&eegr;] is in a range from 5 to 12 (m/min)(dl/g).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2003
    Assignee: Asahi Kasei Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takao Abe, Yoichiro Azuma, Tadashi Koyanagi
  • Polyester fibers having substantially uniform primary and secondary crimps
    Patent number: 6572966
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for producing polyester fibers having uniform primary and secondary crimps. The method includes the steps of advancing fibers into a stuffer box having an upper doctor blade and a lower doctor blade, positioning the upper doctor blade and the lower doctor blade such that the doctor blade gap is broad enough to permit the formation of secondary crimps and yet is narrow enough to maintain primary and secondary crimp uniformity, and then applying a longitudinal force against the advancing fibers to impart uniform primary and secondary crimps. The polyester fibers crimped according to the disclosed method have substantially uniform primary and secondary crimps, and are further characterized by tensile factor that is about the same as the tensile factor possessed by an otherwise identical uncrimped polyester fiber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2003
    Assignee: Wellman, Inc.
    Inventors: Vladimir Y. Raskin, Edwin Starke Farley, Jr., Frederick Lee Travelute, III, Mendel Lyde Poston, Jr.
  • Highly dispersible reinforcing polymeric fibers
    Patent number: 6569525
    Abstract: Synthetic polymer reinforcing fibers provide dispersability and strength in matrix materials such as concrete, masonry, shotcrete, and asphalt. The individual fiber bodies, substantially free of stress fractures and substantially non-fibrillatable, have generally quadrilateral cross-sectional profiles along their elongated lengths.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2003
    Assignee: W. R. Grace & Co.-Conn.
    Inventors: Klaus-Alexander Rieder, Neal S. Berke, Michael B. Macklin, Anandakumar Ranganathan
  • Carbon fiber bundle
    Patent number: 6569523
    Abstract: The carbon fiber precursor fiber bundle of the present invention is an acrylonitrile-based fiber bundle wherein the ratio of the length and width of the fiber cross section of a monofilament (length/width) is 1.05 to 1.6, and the amount of Si measured by ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma) atomic emission spectrometry is in the range of 500 to 4,000 ppm. This type of carbon fiber precursor fiber bundle has a high compactness, and the carbonizing processing ability is good. Furthermore, for the carbon fiber bundle which is to obtained hereafter, the resin impregnating ability and tow spreading ability are good, the strength increases, and it has bulkiness. Furthermore, the carbon fiber precursor fiber bundle of the present invention is an acrylonitrile-based fiber bundle wherein the liquid content ratio HW is 40 wt. % or more and less than 60 wt. %.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2003
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Katsuhiko Ikeda, Masakazu Hoshino, Takayoshi Yamamoto, Aritaka Shimotashiro, Toshihiro Makishima, Masashi Okamoto
  • Highly dispersible reinforcing polymeric fibers
    Patent number: 6569526
    Abstract: Synthetic polymer reinforcing fibers provide dispersability and strength in matrix materials such as concrete, masonry, shotcrete, and asphalt. The individual fiber bodies, substantially free of stress fractures and substantially non-fibrillatable, have generally quadrilateral cross-sectional profiles along their elongated lengths. Preferred fibers and matrix materials having such fibers demonstrate excellent finishability in addition to dispersion and toughness properties.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2003
    Assignee: W. R. Grace & Co.-Conn.
    Inventors: Klaus-Alexander Rieder, Neal S. Berke, Michael B. Macklin, Anandakumar Ranganathan, Salah Altoubat
  • Multifilament textile yarns with hollow section, method for making same, and textile surfaces obtained from said yarns
    Patent number: 6565972
    Abstract: The invention concerns a multifilament textile yarn whereof the filaments or staples have a hollow section, a method for making said hollow yarn, and textile surfaces obtained from said yarns. More particularly, it concerns a method for making multifilament yarns comprising hollow filaments obtained by melt-drawing of a polyamide composition having a yarn count less than 10 dtex for each staple and whereof the staples with hollow section have a central hollow surface representing at least 5% of the total surface in said staple transfer section. The invention is characterized in that the yarn has an USTER coefficient (U %) less than 3% and a number of staple with arc-shaped section less than 30% of the total number of staples with hollow section. The flat yarns, twisted and textured are used in particular for mixing textile surfaces, such as woven or knitted fabric.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2003
    Assignee: Nylstar
    Inventors: Vincent Pellerin, Walter Roggenstein, Uwe Schaffner
  • Fine carbon fiber and method for producing the same
    Patent number: 6565971
    Abstract: A fine carbon fiber having a multilayer structure having stacked cylindrical carbon sheets and a center axis having a hollow structure. The fine carbon fiber has an outer diameter of 2 to 300 nm and an aspect ratio of 10 to 15,000, and at least one cylindrical carbon sheet layer among the multiple layers is folded at an end part of the carbon fiber and continued to another cylindrical carbon sheet. The folded and continued cylindrical carbon sheets form a cylindrical structure opened at the end part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2003
    Assignee: Showa Denko Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshio Morita, Hitoshi Inoue, Yutaka Suhara
  • Reduced shrinkage in metallocene isotactic polypropylene fibers
    Patent number: 6565970
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for the production of polypropylene fibers resulting in improved shrinkage percentages and to polypropylene fibers themselves having improved shrinkage percentages. The method includes providing a polypropylene polymer with a melt flow index of no more than about 25 grams per 10 minutes. This polymer should include isotactic polypropylene produced by the polymerization of propylene in the presence of an isospecific metallocene catalyst. The polymer is then heated to a molten state and extruded to form a fiber preform. The preform is spun and subsequently drawn at a take-away speed and a drawing speed providing a draw ratio of no more than about 3, and more preferably no more than about 2.5, to produce a continuous polypropylene fiber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2003
    Assignee: Fina Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Mohan Gownder, Jay Nguyen
  • Splittable elastane yarns
    Patent number: 6562456
    Abstract: An elastane multifilament yarn havig two to six individual filaments which, when being unwound from a bobbin, is splittable into individual filaments, is produced by a process wherein multihole spinning jets are deployed in the spinning head of a conventional dry spinning apparatus, laminarizing the spinning gas flow to prevent entanglement of the individual filaments and passing the resulting yarn through a thread guide with one opening per individual filament.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2003
    Assignee: Bayer Faser GmbH
    Inventors: Ben Bruner, James F. Heslep, Hans-Josef Behrens, Konrad Schmitz, Karlheinz Wolf
  • Substrate fiber of a dry friction material and manufacturing method thereof, and a dry friction material
    Patent number: 6558793
    Abstract: A substrate fiber for a dry friction material includes a trunk portion extending in the axial direction of the fiber and divergent portions slightly diverged from a part of the trunk portion and having small diameters. The diameter of the trunk portion is from about 10 to 20 &mgr;m and the length of the trunk portion is from about 0.5 to 5 mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2003
    Assignees: Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha, Aisin Kako Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Naoki Odani, Masaaki Kobayashi, Kenji Kakihara, Tunehisa Kawade
  • Method of supporting plant growth using polymer fibers as a soil substitute
    Patent number: 6555219
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a soil substitute useful in supporting plant growth. More particularly, the present invention relates to biodegradable and non-biodegradable polymer fibers for use in plant cultivation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2003
    Assignee: E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
    Inventor: Leonard Edward Kosinski
  • Composite fiber having favorable post-treatment processibility and method for producing the same
    Patent number: 6555220
    Abstract: The present invention provides a polytrimethylene terephthalate composite fiber characterized in that the composite fiber is a plurality of single filament which comprises two kinds of polyester components laminated to each other in a side-by-side manner or an eccentric sheath-core manner, at least one polyester component is polytrimethylene terephthalate and the composite fiber satisfies the following conditions: the content of trimethylene terephthalate cyclic dimer in polytrimethylene terephthalate is 2.5 wt % or less, the fiber-fiber dynamic friction coefficient is from 0.2 to 0.4, the degree of intermingling is from 2 to 60 point/m and/or the number of twists is from 2 to 60 T/m and the fiber size fluctuation U% is 1.5% or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2003
    Assignee: Asahi Kasei Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tadashi Koyanagi, Takao Abe, Teruhiko Matsuo, Yousei Mitsumori
  • High-wet-bulk cellulosic fibers
    Patent number: 6551706
    Abstract: The present invention provides cellulosic fibers having high wet bulk and methods for their preparation. In one embodiment, the invention provides cellulosic fibers catalytically crosslinked with glyoxal and, optionally, a glycol. In another embodiment, cellulosic fibers are crosslinked with a combination of glyoxal and a glyoxal-derived resin selected from the group consisting of a glyoxal/polyol condensate, a cyclic urea/glyoxal/polyol condensate, a cyclic urea/glyoxal condensate, and mixtures thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2003
    Assignee: Weyerhaeuser Company
    Inventors: Richard A. Jewell, John A. Westland
  • Bicomponent effect yarns and fabrics thereof
    Patent number: 6548429
    Abstract: A synthetic polymer yarn comprising a bicomponent yarn and a second yarn combined to form a single yarn is disclosed. The bicomponent yarn is made up from a first component and a second component each comprised of a fiber-forming polymer and each having different shrinkages from the other to effectuate a bulking effect. This differential shrinkage may be obtained, for example, by using different polymers or similar polymers having different relative viscosities. The synthetic polymer yarn of the present invention has advantageously exhibited an improved visual effect, including a stratified effect, which improves the visual composition of products produced using the yarn. Moreover, the fabrics produced from the yarn have improved hand and stretch and recovery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2003
    Assignee: E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
    Inventors: Boyd M. Lintecum, Richard T Shoemaker, C Reed Anderson, Jr.
  • Stretchable fibers of polymers, spinnerets useful to form the fibers, and articles produced therefrom
    Patent number: 6548166
    Abstract: A stretchable synthetic polymer fiber comprising an axial core formed from an elastomeric polymer, and two or more wings attached to the core and formed from a non-elastomeric polymer, wherein preferably at least one of the wings is mechanically locked with the axial core. The fibers can be used to form garments, such as hosiery. A spinneret pack for producing such fibers is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2003
    Assignee: E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
    Inventors: Garret D. Figuly, Anthony J. Soroka, Marc B. Goldfinger, Rakesh H. Mehta, H. Vaughn Samuelson, Gregory P. Weeks