Abstract: A self-texturing hollow fiber that exhibits a desirable tendency to coil rather than to bend sharply or zig-zag. In one embodiment the invention is a hollow polymer filament having a generally cylindrical cross-section. The filament is further defined by a cylindrical wall formed of at least two generally C-shaped sections, each section including first and second ends separated by an intermediate portion in which no two points along the cross-section of the wall corresponding to the intermediate portion share the same width. In another aspect, the invention is a coiled bilateral hollow polymeric filament in which the two component polymers are identical except for their degree of orientation. The filament is further defined by a non-linear wall formed of at least two non-linear sections.

Abstract: A self-texturing hollow fiber that exhibits a desirable tendency to coil rather than to bend sharply or zig-zag. In one embodiment the invention is a hollow polymer filament having a generally cylindrical cross-section. The filament is further defined by a cylindrical wall formed of at least two generally C-shaped sections, each section including first and second ends separated by an intermediate portion in which no two points along the cross-section of the wall corresponding to the intermediate portion share the same width. In another aspect, the invention is a coiled bilateral hollow polymeric filament in which the two component polymers are identical except for their degree of orientation. The filament is further defined by a non-linear wall formed of at least two non-linear sections.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for producing self-texturing hollow fiber that exhibits a desirable tendency to coil rather than to bend sharply or zig-zag. In one embodiment the invention is a spinneret for the production of hollow filament having first and second curved slots where each slot is defined by a first end having a first width and a second end having a second width and where the first and second ends are separated by an intermediate portion possessing a non-uniform width. In another embodiment the invention is a method for of producing generally cylindrical hollow filaments comprising extruding a polymer melt through a spinneret having first and second curved slots where each slot has a first end having a first width and a second end having a second width and where the first and second ends are separated by a intermediate portion possessing a non-uniform width along the continuum defined by the distance between the first end and the second end.