Systems and methods to provide color enhanced yarns

Abstract

Systems and methods for producing BCF yarns include providing at least one color enhancement method for enhancing the color and/or hue of at least one of the N bundles of filaments. The color enhancement methods include tacking one or more of the bundles of spun filaments prior to and/or during drawing, texturizing one or more bundles of spun filaments individually from the other bundles of spun filaments, providing intermediate tacking of at least one bundle of texturized filaments and feeding the tacked and texturized filaments to a mixing cam for positioning tacked and texturized bundles relative one to the other before reaching the final tacking device, or combinations thereof.

1 - 51 . (canceled) 
     
     
         52 . A yarn comprising two or more bundles of spun filaments, wherein said bundles comprise individual tack points, where the filaments of the respective bundle are tacked together. 
     
     
         53 . The yarn of  claim 52 , wherein said bundles of filaments further comprise a common tack point where the filaments of said two or more bundles are tacked together, wherein the position of the bundles relative to each other is varied at consecutive common tacking points. 
     
     
         54 . The yarn of  claim 53 , wherein said two or more bundles along their length comprise one or more individual tacks in between said common tacks. 
     
     
         55 . The yarn of  claim 54 , wherein said two or more bundles of spun filaments have been texturized separately. 
     
     
         56 . The yarn of  claim 55 , wherein the filaments of at least one of the bundles of spun filaments has a different color, hue, and/or dyability characteristic as compared to the color, hue, and/or dyability characteristic of another of the bundles of spun filaments. 
     
     
         57 - 60 . (canceled) 
     
     
         61 . The yarn of  claim 56 , wherein a first bundle of the two or more bundles of spun filaments comprises tacks of between 6 and 155 millimeters. 
     
     
         62 . The yarn of  claim 61 , wherein a second bund of the two or more bundles of spun filaments comprises tacks of between 6 and 155 millimeters. 
     
     
         63 . The yarn of  claim 62 , wherein the length between consecutive tacks on each bundle is between 5 and 50 millimeters. 
     
     
         64 . The yarn of  claim 63 , wherein the bundles are tacked together at lengths of between 12 and 80 millimeters. 
     
     
         65 . A length of yarn comprising two or more bundles of spun filaments, wherein:
 a first bundle of the two or more bundles comprises individual tack points of between 6 and 155 millimeters along the length;   a second bundle of the two or more bundles comprises individual tack points of between 6 and 155 millimeters along the length;   consecutive tacks of the two or more bundles along the length of the yarn are between 5 and 50 millimeters; and   the yarn is tacked along the length at between 12 and 80 millimeters.   
     
     
         66 . The length of yarn of  claim 65 , wherein the position of the bundles relative to each other is varied at consecutive common tacking points. 
     
     
         67 . The length of yarn of  claim 65 , wherein the first bundle comprises a first polymer, the second bundle comprises a second polymer, and the dyability characteristics of the first polymer and the second polymer are different. 
     
     
         68 . The length of yarn of  claim 65 , wherein the first bundle comprises a first polymer, the second bundle comprises a second polymer, and the dyability characteristics of the first bundle and the second bundle are different. 
     
     
         69 . The length of yarn of  claim 65 , wherein the first and second bundles comprise a polymer, and the dyability characteristics of the first bundle and the second bundle are different. 
     
     
         70 . The length of yarn of  claim 65 , wherein:
 in a first section of the length a first average denier per filament of the spun filaments of the first bundle is the same as a first average denier per filament of the spun filaments of the second bundle; and   in a second section of the length a second average denier per filament of the spun filaments of the first bundle is greater than a second average denier per filament of the spun filaments of the second bundle.   
     
     
         71 . The length of yarn of  claim 69 , wherein a first sum is the areas of radial cross-sections of all filaments in the yarn in the first section, and a second sum is the areas of radial cross-sections of all filaments in the yarn at the second section, and wherein the first sum varies from the second sum by ±5% or less. 
     
     
         72 . The length of yarn of  claim 70 , wherein the number of filaments in the first bundle is between 24 and 360, and wherein each filament of the first bundle of filaments has a denier per filament of between 2 and 40 DPF. 
     
     
         73 . The length of yarn of  claim 72 , wherein each filament in the first bundle of filaments is solution dyed. 
     
     
         74 . The length of yarn of  claim 73 , wherein the first bundle of filaments is texturized to a first bundle bulk of 5% to 20%. 
     
     
         75 . The length of yarn of  claim 74 , wherein the second bundle of filaments is texturized to a second bundle bulk of 5% to 20%, and wherein the first bundle bulk is different from the second bundle bulk.