“Yarn Texturizing Apparatus and Method” in Patent Application Approval Process (USPTO 20160298270)

Politics & Government Week

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Politics & Government Week -- A patent application by the inventors BEAVERS, LARRY ALDON (Chatsworth, GA); PLEMMONS, JOE (Blue Ridge, GA), filed on April 8, 2016, was made available online on October 20, 2016, according to news reporting originating from Washington, D.C., by VerticalNews correspondents.

This patent application is assigned to Columbia Insurance Company.

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: "Twisted, plied yarns can be used to form carpet products. In known high-speed processes for producing such twisted, plied yarns, individual yarns are fed from a creel under tension to a twist block that alternately imparts 'S' and 'Z' twists to the individual yarns, which ply together to form twisted yarns. Typically, in these processes, to lock the twists in place, a single jet of air is used to cause entanglement between the individual yarns. However, the activation of this entanglement air must be timed to exactly coincide with the passage of a small segment of 'zero-twist' yarn positioned between sequential twists and twist reversal points. Otherwise, as is often the case, the segment of yarn passes through the device without being tacked. Such skips in tacking reduce the quality of the final carpet product while also reducing efficiency.

"Therefore, there is a need in the pertinent art for a means to add additional tack to yarn between twist reversals. There is a further need for means to add tack within the twist strand to minimize the rolling effect of the yarn as it is taken off in subsequent processes. There is still a further need for improving the quality of carpet products that make use of twisted, plied yarns."

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent application, VerticalNews journalists also obtained the inventors' summary information for this patent application: "It is to be understood that this summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure. This summary is exemplary and not restrictive, and it is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of the disclosure nor delineate the scope thereof. The sole purpose of this summary is to explain and exemplify certain concepts of the disclosure as an introduction to the following complete and extensive detailed description.

"Disclosed herein, in one aspect, is an apparatus and method for yarn texturizing. The yarn texturizing apparatus texturizes a plurality of yarns. The yarn texturizing apparatus has a yarn path extending between a yarn inlet port and a yarn outlet port.

"In one aspect, the yarn texturing apparatus can have a tack assembly, a nip roller, a jet box assembly, and a pull roller assembly. In this aspect, the tack assembly can be configured to receive at least one bundle of yarns. In this aspect, each bundle of yarns can comprise at least two yarns from the plurality of yarns. In a further aspect, the tack assembly can also comprise conventional means for imparting a plurality of twists to each bundle of yarns that pass through the tack assembly. It is contemplated that the plurality of twists can comprise one type of twist repeated sequentially, or, optionally, the plurality of twists can comprise at least two different types of twists that are repeated sequentially as desired. In an exemplary aspect, it is contemplated that at least two different twists of the plurality of twists can comprise a S-twist and a Z-twist. In a further aspect, it is contemplated that the tack assembly can also comprise conventional means for placing a first tack point onto each bundle of yarns at a point corresponding to a twist reversal between the at least two different twists.

"The nip roller can be positioned downstream of the tack assembly along the yarn path and can be configured to pull the at least one bundle of yarns through the tack assembly at a selectively adjustable speed.

"The jet box assembly can be positioned downstream of the nip roller. The jet box assembly can be configured to place a plurality of additional tack points onto each bundle of yarns as the at least one bundle of yarns passes through the jet box assembly. In one exemplary aspect, the plurality of additional tack points can be placed intermittently along the plurality of twists of each bundle of yarns. In an additional aspect, the pull roller assembly can be positioned downstream of the jet box assembly along the yarn path and can be configured to pull the at least one bundle of yarns through the jet box assembly at a selectively adjustable speed.

"In an additional aspect, the yarn texturing apparatus can further comprise at least one elongate body positioned upstream of the tack assembly. In one aspect, the at least one elongate body can have an inner surface that defines a bore that extends from a first end of the elongate body to an opposed second end of the elongate body. The elongate body can also, optionally, define a plurality of conduits disposed therein. In this aspect, each conduit of the plurality of conduits can be configured to guide a single yarn of the plurality of yarns along the yarn path. In this aspect, it is contemplated that the tack assembly can be configured to receive the at least one bundle of yarns from the plurality of yarns emerging from the plurality of conduits.

"Additional advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

"The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate aspects and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the methods and systems.

"FIG. 1A depicts a schematic drawing of an exemplary yarn texturizing apparatus as described herein. FIG. 1B is an isolated schematic drawing of an exemplary elongate body of the yarn texturing apparatus of FIG. 1A.

"FIG. 2 depicts a perspective view of an exemplary yarn texturizing apparatus as described herein.

"FIG. 3 depicts a partially exploded perspective view of an exemplary nip roller of the yarn texturizing apparatus as described herein.

"FIG. 4A depicts a perspective view of the exterior area of an exemplary jet box assembly of the yarn texturizing apparatus as described herein. FIG. 4B depicts a perspective view of the interior area of an exemplary jet box assembly of a yarn texturizing apparatus as described herein.

"FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an exemplary pull roller as disclosed herein.

"FIG. 6A depicts a drawing of an exemplary bundle of yarn that has a first tack point imparted at a twist reversal after the bundle of yarn passes through a roto-jet assembly.

"FIG. 6B depicts a drawing of an exemplary bundle of yarn that has a missed tack point at the twist reversal as the bundle of yarn passes through the roto-jet assembly.

"FIG. 6C depicts a drawing of an exemplary bundle of yarn that has a plurality of additional tack points imparted to the bundle of yarn after the bundle of yarn passes through a jet box assembly."

URL and more information on this patent application, see: BEAVERS, LARRY ALDON; PLEMMONS, JOE. Yarn Texturizing Apparatus and Method. Filed April 8, 2016 and posted October 20, 2016. Patent URL: http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.html&r=4079&p=82&f=G&l=50&d=PG01&S1=20161013.PD.&OS=PD/20161013&RS=PD/20161013

Keywords for this news article include: Columbia Insurance Company.