Manufacturing process of wool-Tencel wool fabric and the resulting wool fabric

Abstract

This invention discloses a manufacturing process for wool-Tencel woolen fabric, comprising the following sequential steps: 70S wool fibers are opened, cleaned, dried, and carded into slivers. These slivers are then roving and spinning to create wool yarn. The wool yarn is then woven with Lyocell yarn to form a grey fabric. After shrinking, the grey fabric is dyed using a two-bath dyeing method, first with acidic dyes and then with alkaline dyes to sequentially color the Lyocell and wool fibers. The fabric is then dehydrated, finished with auxiliaries, dried, stretched, steamed, and then napped. After resting and wet winding, it is dried and stretched again. Finally, it is ironed, sheared, inspected, and wound into storage. A wool spinning wheel for detecting the properties of the slivers is installed between the carding and roving processes. This invention also discloses wool-Tencel woolen fabric manufactured using this process. The spinning wheel for sampling slivers in this invention's process is intuitive, fast, and convenient. The fabric manufactured by this invention is warm, soft, and smooth.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a manufacturing process for wool Tencel woolen fabric and the woolen fabric made from it. Background Technology

[0002] Wool fibers possess excellent natural properties such as moisture absorption, breathability, warmth, elasticity, and softness, and have a long history of application in the apparel industry. While clothing made from wool fibers offers good warmth, it lacks the soft and smooth texture of a fabric.

[0003] Tencel is a man-made fiber fabric, actually a type of Tencel fiber, also known as lyocell fiber. It is made from cellulose, a very natural plant material, through artificial decomposition and synthesis. It is generally produced from coniferous trees and is manufactured using a wet spinning process. Tencel possesses the breathability of cotton and the strength of synthetic fibers, is wrinkle-resistant, easy to wash and care for, comfortable, breathable, has good drape, and is relatively durable. Fabrics combining wool and Tencel fibers are rare in current technology. Nie Jianbin's paper, "Development of Wool and Tencel Woolen Products," published in the fifth issue of "Wool Textile Technology" in 2007, developed two types of wool / Tencel carded woolen products based on research into the properties of Tencel: wool / Tencel pile women's overcoat wool and short-pile women's overcoat wool. The paper explored the spinning, weaving, dyeing, and finishing processes of these products and analyzed their performance. However, it did not provide a solution on how to achieve the same level of warmth, softness, smoothness, and shininess and straightness in wool and Tencel fabrics.

[0004] The existing technology for making yarn from wool is as follows: After the raw wool fibers are opened and impurities are removed by an opening machine, they are placed in a washing machine to wash away lanolin and dirt with a cleaning solution containing detergent. After drying, they are placed in a drying room for dyeing. Then, the wool tops are made. The wool fibers can be broken down into individual strips by the densely arranged combing needles on the carding machine. The carded strips are then drawn out and stretched into yarn. The yarn rotates around the axis and is wound into roving by the machine (currently, the roving process is generally completed by a roving machine, but in some less technologically developed areas, a spinning wheel is still used to complete this process). The yarn is then wound into a spool. Finally, several strands of roving are twisted together to make strong and durable wool yarn.

[0005] The spinning wheel first appeared in my country in 121 AD. It was a machine for producing silk threads or yarns, capable of using different materials such as cotton, fiber, and silk to produce different types of threads. The earliest record of the spinning wheel appears in the Western Han Dynasty, when textile technology was already relatively mature. During the Han Dynasty, textile technology flourished, and foot-operated and hand-cranked spinning wheels emerged. The spinning wheel spun fibers into threads, a process similar to modern roving. Modern industrial production uses roving machines to achieve this process. Although the spinning wheel is now largely obsolete, replaced by roving machines, it still retains some unique characteristics. If these characteristics could be utilized in modern industrial production, they might yield unexpected benefits. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the defects in the prior art and provide a manufacturing process for wool Tencel fabric, which produces a fabric with warm, soft and smooth surface properties.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution of this invention is to design a manufacturing process for wool-Tencel woolen fabric, comprising the following sequential process steps: 70S wool fibers are opened, cleaned, dried, and combed into strips, then roving and spinning are used to make wool yarn. The wool yarn and Lyocell yarn are then woven into a grey fabric. The grey fabric is shrunk and then dyed in a dyeing vat using a two-bath dyeing method. First, acid dyes are used, followed by alkaline dyes, to dye the Lyocell and wool fibers sequentially. The fabric is then removed from the vat, dehydrated, and finishing agents are added. It is then dried and stretched, steamed, and then napped. After standing and wet rolling, it is dried and stretched again. Finally, it is ironed, sheared, inspected, rolled, and stored.

[0008] Between the carding and roving processes, a wool spinning wheel is installed to test the properties of the sliver. Because wool and lyocell have different properties, dyeing requires a two-bath process. Utilizing wool's acid resistance, acidic dyes are first used to color the lyocell, followed by alkaline dyes to color the wool. The technical challenge here is to ensure that the wool and lyocell have the same dyeing effect, avoiding uneven or patchy dyeing. Applying the spinning wheel to industrial textiles as a device for sampling and testing the properties of wool slivers is cost-effective, easy to operate, and allows for manual operation, with fingers directly contacting the fibers or slivers. This provides a more direct and faster way to sample and test whether the slivers meet the requirements for roving. Unlike roving, which requires waiting for a portion of the roving to be produced before testing (and then waiting for the test results), and whose frequent start-stop cycles are detrimental to the equipment, the spinning wheel can be stopped at any time.

[0009] A further technical solution is that the wool strip passes through the thread inlet hole in the middle of the flywheel axle of the wool spinning machine, and is then hung on two rows of vertically arranged hooks on the flywheel hook frame fixed on the flywheel axle. The wool strip then winds around an I-shaped spindle mounted on the flywheel axle above the drive wheel, which is rotatably mounted on a support. Continuous spinning is achieved by stepping on a pedal. The wool spinning machine includes a base, with a support leg fixedly connected to the base. A pedal shaft is rotatably mounted on the support leg, and a pedal is fixedly connected to the pedal shaft. The pedal is hinged to a vertically arranged drive shaft. One end of a crankshaft is rotatably connected to the drive shaft, and the other end of the crankshaft is fixedly connected to the axle of a drive wheel. A bracket is fixedly connected to the base, and the drive wheel is rotatably mounted on the bracket. A flywheel is rotatably mounted on the bracket above the drive wheel. Both the flywheel and the drive wheel have annular grooves. A conveyor belt adapted to the grooves and wound around the flywheel and the drive wheel is provided. An I-shaped spindle is fitted on the axle of the flywheel. A yarn inlet hole is provided in the middle of the axle of the flywheel. A fly hook frame is also fixed on the axle of the flywheel, and the fly hook frame has two rows of vertically arranged fly hooks for hanging yarn.

[0010] A further technical solution is to have a torsion spring wound around the pedal shaft, with one end of the torsion spring fixedly connected to the support leg and the other end fixedly connected to the pedal shaft. This way, the pedal automatically resets after each use, allowing the spinning wheel to operate continuously simply by the user's foot pressing on it.

[0011] A further technical solution is that the wool spinning wheel is also equipped with a threading hook that matches the thread inlet hole;

[0012] One end of the wire is tied to the spool, and the other end of the wire is hung on the hook and then passed through the wire inlet of the flywheel.

[0013] A further technical solution involves clamping the sliver using a pinch clamp located on one side of the frame. This pinch clamp includes two elastic clips, one end of which is hinged to the frame and located beside the yarn inlet, while the other end abuts against another elastic clip positioned opposite it. The frame also features a pinch clamp for holding the sliver, with two elastic clips, one end of which is hinged to the frame and located beside the yarn inlet, while the other end abuts against another elastic clip positioned opposite it. To avoid the problem of grease or dirt buildup on the wool sliver surface from human contact, elastic clips are used instead of human fingers. This design has both advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage is that it's less intuitive than direct human contact for detecting sliver properties (e.g., whether it's prone to knotting or pilling; inspection can only be done after a certain amount of yarn has been spun, the foot is no longer on the pedal, and the spindle and yarn are removed). However, compared to a roving frame, it still has the advantage of being able to start and stop at any time.

[0014] The present invention also provides a technical solution for manufacturing wool-Tencel fabric using the aforementioned manufacturing process.

[0015] The advantages and beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: applying the spinning wheel to industrial textiles as a device for sampling and inspecting the properties of wool tops is small in size and easy to operate. Since it is operated manually, the fingers directly contact the fibers or tops, making it more intuitive and faster to sample and inspect whether the tops meet the requirements of roving frame spinning. Unlike roving frames, which require waiting for the roving frame to produce a portion of roving before inspection (and waiting for the inspection results), and where frequent start-stop of the roving frame is not conducive to the equipment, the spinning wheel can be stopped at any time.

[0016] To avoid the problem of grease or dirt being produced on the surface of the wool top by human hands and fingers, elastic clips are installed to replace human hands and fingers. This setting has both advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage is that it is not as intuitive as direct human contact in detecting the properties of the top (for example, whether it is prone to knotting or pilling, etc., it is only possible to check after a certain amount of yarn has been spun, the foot is stopped and the pedal is removed, and the yarn is taken out). However, compared with the roving frame, it still has the advantage of being able to start and stop at any time.

[0017] The fabric manufactured by this invention has the characteristics of being warm, soft, and smooth. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a spinning wheel in a first embodiment of the manufacturing process of a wool Tencel fabric of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 The main view;

[0020] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 Side view;

[0021] Figure 4 yes Figure 3 A magnified view of the upper-middle section;

[0022] Figure 5 yes Figure 1 Enlarged schematic diagram of the middle hook frame section;

[0023] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the spinning wheel and recycling bracket in Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 7 yes Figure 6 A partially enlarged schematic diagram of the middle pedal shaft and pedal section;

[0025] Figure 8 yes Figure 6 A partially enlarged schematic diagram of the pedal shaft and pedal section after the torsion spring changes position and direction.

[0026] In the diagram: 1. Base; 2. Support leg; 3. Pedal shaft; 4. Pedal; 5. Drive shaft; 6. Crankshaft; 7. Drive wheel; 8. Bracket; 9. Flywheel; 10. Trough; 11. Conveyor belt; 12. Spindle; 13. Thread inlet; 14. Fly hook bracket; 15. Fly hook; 16. Wire; 17. Hook; 18. Torsion spring; 19. Recycling bracket; 20. Recycling spindle. Detailed Implementation

[0027] The specific embodiments of the present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples. The following examples are only used to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0028] Example 1:

[0029] like Figures 1 to 5 As shown (for ease of illustration), Figure 3 (Wires not shown) This invention relates to a manufacturing process for wool-Tencel woolen fabric. It uses 70S wool and Lyocell fibers to form yarns and weave them into a greige fabric. (Specifically, the raw 70S wool fibers are opened, cleaned, dried, and combed into slivers. The rovings and yarns are then used to make wool yarn, which is then woven with Lyocell yarn to form the greige fabric.) After the greige fabric is shrunk, it enters a dyeing vat. Due to the different properties of wool and Lyocell, a two-bath dyeing process is required. Utilizing the acid resistance of wool, the Lyocell is first dyed with an acidic dye, and then with an alkaline dye. The process involves dyeing the wool, and the technical challenge here is to ensure that the wool and Lyocell dye the same color, without any uneven or patchy dyeing. After dyeing, the wool is removed from the dyeing vat, dehydrated, and then finished with finishing agents. It is then dried, stretched, steamed, and enters the napping process. During each napping pass, the changes in the fabric's feel and pile must be observed. After napping, the wool is brushed wet to align the direction of the fibers. Then, it is left to stand for 8 hours and wet-rolled to make the fibers more even. It is dried and stretched again, and finally, it is ironed, calendered, and sheared to make the fibers shinier and straighter. After the finished product passes inspection, it is rolled up and put into storage.

[0030] A wool spinning machine for detecting sliver properties is installed between the carding and roving processes. The wool spinning machine includes a base 1, with a support leg 2 fixedly connected to the base 1. A pedal shaft 3 is rotatably mounted on the support leg 2, and a pedal 4 is fixedly connected to the pedal shaft 3. The pedal 4 is hinged to a vertically arranged drive shaft 5. One end of a crankshaft 6 is rotatably connected to the drive shaft 5, and the other end of the crankshaft 6 is fixedly connected to the axle of a drive wheel 7. A bracket 8 is fixedly connected to the base 1. The drive wheel 7 is rotatably mounted on the bracket 8. A flywheel 9 is rotatably mounted on the bracket 8 above the drive wheel 7. Both the flywheel 9 and the drive wheel 7 are provided with annular grooves 10. A conveyor belt 11 is adapted to the grooves 10 and wound around the flywheel 9 and the drive wheel 7. An I-shaped spindle 12 is fitted on the axle of the flywheel 9. A yarn inlet hole 13 is provided in the middle of the axle of the flywheel 9. A fly hook frame 14 is also fixedly mounted on the axle of the flywheel 9. The fly hook frame 14 has two rows of vertically arranged fly hooks 15 for hanging yarn. A torsion spring is wound around the pedal shaft 3. One end of the torsion spring is fixedly connected to the support leg 2, and the other end is fixedly connected to the pedal shaft 3. The wool spinning machine is also equipped with a threading hook that matches the thread inlet hole 13. One end of the wire 16 is attached to the spool, and the other end of the wire 16 is hung on the fly hook 15 and passes through the thread inlet hole 13 of the flywheel 9. A clip for holding the strip is also provided on one side of the frame. The clip includes two elastic clips. One end of the elastic clip is hinged to the frame and located next to the thread inlet hole 13, and the other end abuts against another elastic clip arranged opposite to it.

[0031] The wool-Tencel fabric is manufactured using the aforementioned manufacturing process.

[0032] The working principle of a spinning wheel is as follows:

[0033] One end of the wire is tied to the spool, and the other end is hung on the fly hook and passed through the wire inlet of the flywheel. The wire (which is wound around the spool) is pulled out of the wire inlet of the flywheel using the wire hook. The yarn to be spun is connected to the wire. After stepping on the pedal, the crankshaft is turned, which in turn drives the large wheel (i.e., the drive wheel) below to turn. The wool strip is brought close to the wire, and the fibers on the wool strip are slowly wound into the wire. The fingers are pulled back, and after winding in a section, the fingers are pulled back again. The fingers must not be released before winding in a section. The above process is repeated so that the strip gradually becomes yarn and is wound on the spindle.

[0034] Spinning machines are used to spin yarn (when using a spinning machine, it's important to ensure the yarn is securely held in place to prevent tangling; otherwise, more yarn will get caught, leading to pilling and knots). After a period of time, the machine is stopped to comb the yarn and distribute the hooked segments evenly. During this process, it's possible to check for pilling and knots after the sliver has been spun into yarn. If too many pills or knots are present (assuming a skilled worker is using the machine), the sliver is considered substandard. Before roving, a random inspection is performed using a spinning machine. The quality of the wool sliver is judged by the process of spinning the sliver into yarn. Because it's manual, with direct contact with the fiber or sliver, this method of random inspection is more intuitive and faster than waiting for the roving machine to produce a portion of roving before testing (and waiting for the test results). Frequent starting and stopping of the roving machine is also detrimental to the equipment, while the spinning machine can be stopped at any time. This allows the spinning machine to be reused and even applied in industrial textiles.

[0035] Example 2:

[0036] The difference from Embodiment 1 is that, as Figures 6 to 8 As shown, pedal 4 is located at the middle of pedal shaft 3. Hooks 17 are provided on both the support leg and the pedal shaft (two hooks are provided on the pedal shaft, located on opposite sides of the pedal). One end of a torsion spring 18 is hooked onto the hook on the support leg, and the other end of the torsion spring is wound around the pedal shaft and hooked onto the hook on the pedal shaft. A yarn recovery spindle 20 is provided on one side of the spinning wheel, and the yarn recovery spindle is rotatably mounted on a yarn recovery bracket 19.

[0037] The working principle is as follows:

[0038] For yarn made from qualified slivers, after stopping the spinning machine, the torsion spring is removed and placed on the other end of the pedal shaft, which is then attached to a hook and a support leg (the support leg here refers to the one near the hook on the other end of the pedal shaft {this support leg also has a hook}). After changing the direction of the torsion spring, the pedal is pressed again to make the drive wheel rotate in the opposite direction, thus releasing the yarn already wound on the spindle onto the recovery spindle of the recovery bracket. Since checking the quality of the spun yarn (the absence of knots and pills indicates good sliver quality) requires checking the yarn while releasing it, the recovery is performed simultaneously. If there are too many pills and knots in the yarn, the corresponding recovery spindle will not be recovered.

[0039] The yarn spun from slivers that are not handled by humans (referring to yarn wound on I-beam spindles) is simultaneously wound onto the roving frame spindles during the unwinding inspection. This allows for simultaneous inspection and reuse, avoiding waste of slivers due to random sampling and improving efficiency and saving time by allowing inspection during reuse. Wool yarn on the wool spinning machine can be reused when the sliver is essentially free of defects, avoiding waste caused by random sampling.

[0040] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that for those skilled in the art, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the technical principles of the present invention, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. The manufacturing process of wool-Tencel woolen fabric, characterized in that, The process includes the following steps performed sequentially: 70S wool fibers are opened, cleaned, dried, and combed into slivers. These slivers are then woven into rovings and yarns to produce wool yarn. The wool yarn is then combined with Lyocell yarn. The fabric is woven into greige fabric; after shrinking, the greige fabric is dyed in a dyeing vat using a two-bath dyeing method; acid dyes are used first, followed by alkaline dyes to dye the Lyocell and wool fibers in sequence; then the fabric is removed from the vat and dehydrated; finishing agents are added; the fabric is dried and stretched; the fabric is steamed and then napped; after being left to stand and wet-rolled, it is dried and stretched again; finally, it is ironed, calendered, and sheared; then the finished product is inspected, rolled, and stored. A wool spinning machine for testing the properties of slivers is located between the carding process and the roving process.

2. The manufacturing process of the wool-Tencel fleece fabric according to claim 1, characterized in that, After the wool strip passes through the thread inlet hole in the middle of the flywheel axle of the wool spinning machine, it is hung on the flywheel axle and fixed on the flywheel hook frame with two rows of vertically arranged fly hooks. Then it is wound around the I-shaped spindle on the flywheel axle located above the drive wheel and mounted on the support. Continuous spinning is achieved by stepping on the pedal.

3. The manufacturing process of wool-Tencel fleece fabric according to claim 2, characterized in that, The pedal is mounted on a pedal shaft, and a torsion spring is wound around the pedal shaft. One end of the torsion spring is fixedly connected to the support leg, and the other end is fixedly connected to the pedal shaft. The wool spinning wheel is also equipped with a threading hook that matches the thread inlet hole. One end of the wire is tied to the spool, and the other end of the wire is hung on the hook and then passed through the wire inlet of the flywheel.

4. The manufacturing process of the wool-Tencel fleece fabric according to claim 3, characterized in that, The strip is held in place by a clamping device on one side of the frame. The clamping device includes two elastic clips. One end of the elastic clip is hinged to the frame and located next to the wire inlet hole, while the other end is abutted against another elastic clip.

5. Wool Tencel fabric, characterized in that, It is manufactured using the manufacturing process described in claim 1 or 4.

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