Abstract: A yarn is spun by dividing a traveling fiber assembly into a plurality of fiber sub-assemblies, causing the sub-assemblies to traverse different paths and then recombining them, wherein the paths are sufficiently proximate for fibers to continuously transfer from one or more of the sub-assemblies and be drawn onto or into another or other sub-assemblies. Also disclosed is a method for forming a yarn comprising twisting a plurality of fiber sub-assemblies together at a convergence point to form a fiber assembly being a yarn, and further including cyclically altering the relative twist propagation in and/or into the sub-assemblies upstream of the convergence point. Still further disclosed are alternative methods involving cyclic variation of paths traversed by the sub-assemblies, and cyclic alteration of the relative positions of the sub-assemblies. Apparatus is described for carrying out each method.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
July 29, 1996
Date of Patent:
January 11, 2000
Assignee:
Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation
Inventors:
Martin Willem Prins, Peter Ronald Lamb, Geoffrey Robert Stewart Naylor, Xiaoming Tao