Staple fibers produced by a bulked continuous filament process and fiber clusters made from such fibers

Abstract

The present invention relates to surface modified staple fiber, and more particularly, polyester fiberfill and fiber clusters which are made by a completely coupled bulked continuous filament (BCF) process.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A surface modified staple fiber, said fiber being characterized by a three-dimensional curvilinear random primary crimp.  
     
     
         2 . The surface modified staple fiber of  claim 1 , wherein the fiber is of 2 to 20 dtex and has a cut length of 10-100 mm, and further wherein the fiber is characterized by a secondary crimp with a frequency of more than 6 crimps per 10 cm length.  
     
     
         3 . A fiber according to  claim 1 , wherein the fiber is surface modified with a silicone polymer such as polydimethyl siloxane with % Si from 0.02 to 1.0% per weight of the fiber.  
     
     
         4 . The fiber according to  claim 1 , wherein the fiber is surface modified with segmented copolymers of polyalkyleneoxide and other polymers or polyethylene or polyalkylene polymers, wherein the weight percent of the surface modifier is about 0.1 to about 1.2% per weight of the fiber.  
     
     
         5 . Blends of a fiber according to  claim 1 , with at least one other fibers, including a binder fiber, whereby the fiber of  claim 1  comprises at least 70% of the weight of the blend.  
     
     
         6 . Pillows, quilts, furniture cushions, sleeping bags, apparel and similar articles filled with a fiber according to  claim 1 .  
     
     
         7 . Non-woven articles produced from the fiber according to claims  1  or  4 .  
     
     
         8 . A fiber cluster having a random distribution and entanglement of the fibers within each cluster, characterized in that the fiber clusters comprise a plurality of surface modified staple fibers, wherein the fibers are characterized by a three-dimensional curvilinear random primary crimp.  
     
     
         9 . The fiber cluster of  claim 8 , wherein the fiber is of 2 to 20 dtex and has a cut length of 10-100 mm, and further wherein the fiber is characterized by a secondary crimp with a frequency of more than 6 crimps per 10 cm length, and wherein the fiber clusters have an average diameter of about 2 mm to about 15 mm.  
     
     
         10 . A fiber cluster according to  claim 8 , wherein the fibers are surface modified with a silicone polymer such as polydimethyl siloxane with %Si from 0.02 to 1.0% per weight of the fibers.  
     
     
         11 . A fiber cluster according to  claim 8 , wherein the fibers are surface modified with segmented copolymers of polyalkyleneoxide and other polymers or polyethylene or polyalkylene polymers, wherein the weight percent of the surface modifier is about 0.1 to about 1.2% per weight of the fiber.  
     
     
         12 . A fiber cluster according to  claim 8 , wherein at least 50% by weight of the fiber cluster has a cross-section such that the maximum dimensions of each fiber cluster is not more than twice the minimum dimension.  
     
     
         13 . A fiber cluster according to  claim 9 , further comprising a fiber other than the staple fiber of  claim 9 , wherein the other fiber comprises up to 30%, by weight, of the total fibers in the cluster.  
     
     
         14 . Pillows, quilts, furniture cushions, sleeping bags, apparel and similar articles filled with fiber clusters according to  claim 8 .  
     
     
         15 . A process for producing a staple fiber characterized by a three-dimensional curvilinear random primary crimp, comprising the steps of: 
 (a) spinning a synthetic polymer from a melt of the polymer and cooling the polymer to produce solidified continuous filaments;    (b) drawing the solidified filaments as the solidified filaments are advanced by heated rolls;    (c) jet bulking the filaments with heated dry fluid at a temperature that is above the second order transition temperature of the synthetic polymer;    (d) cooling the filaments to a temperature below the second order transition temperature of the synthetic polymer;    (e) cutting the filaments on-line to produce staple fibers;    (f) applying a surface modifier to the fibers to produce surface modified fibers; and    (g) curing the surface modified fibers.    
     
     
         16 . The process according to  claim 15 , wherein step (e) is performed before step (f).  
     
     
         17 . The process according to  claim 15 , wherein step (f) is performed before step (e) so that the surface modifier is applied to the filaments, and the surface modified filaments are cut to produce surface modified staple fibers.  
     
     
         18 . The process according to  claim 15 , wherein the cured fibers are baled for later processing or are used directly in a coupled process to produce fiber clusters, non-wovens or similar products.  
     
     
         19 . The process according to  claim 15 , wherein the fibers are rolled into fiber clusters in cluster forming equipment.  
     
     
         20 . A surface modified staple fiber made by the process of  claim 15.