Method for enriching a textile fiber bundle intended for a spinning line, electrospinning station, enriched yarn and use thereof

Abstract

A method for enriching a textile fiber bundle for a weaving machine involves moving a textile fiber bundle along a bundle running direction, providing a first electrospinning station for producing solid nanofibers by an electrospinning device, depositing, the solid fibers on the textile fiber bundle to obtain an enriched textile fiber bundle, and moving the enriched textile fiber bundle towards a work station. An electrospinning station for enriching a textile fiber bundle has an electrospinning device having a reserve for containing an electrospinnable enrichment solution, an emitter electrode, and a collector electrode, facing and spaced apart from the emitter electrode, so that, by effect of a generated electric field, formation and transport of solid nanofibers on the textile fiber bundle take place. A yarn is composed of an enriched textile fiber bundle having textile fibers enriched with solid nanofibers obtained by electrospinning and interwoven with the textile fibers.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for enriching a textile fiber bundle for a weaving machine, said method comprising steps of:
 a) moving the textile fiber bundle, optionally the textile fiber bundle being a sliver, a roving or a thread, along a bundle running direction;   b) providing a first electrospinning station, suitable for producing solid nanofibers by an electrospinning device;   c) by the first electrospinning station, depositing the solid nanofibers on the textile fiber bundle to obtain an enriched textile fiber bundle, the enriched textile fiber bundle being enriched with the solid nanofibers deposited as a result of electrospinning on a first side of the textile fiber bundle; and   d) moving the enriched textile fiber bundle towards a work station downstream of the first electrospinning station in the bundle running direction, the work station optionally being a winding station for winding the enriched textile fiber bundle onto an enriched bobbin, or towards the weaving machine.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising a step of providing a weaving machine, wherein in step b) the first electrospinning station is positioned upstream of the weaving machine, or downstream of the weaving machine, or on the weaving machine, in the bundle running direction. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein step c) comprises a step of:
 c10) winding the textile fiber bundle around one or more bundle winding rollers, wherein guide means are configured to guide the textile fiber bundle to form coils in a helical shape around multiple bundle winding rollers, such that in an electrospinning space region, resulting between at least two rollers of said bundle winding rollers, multiple coils of a same textile fiber bundle are formed, spaced apart from each other along a direction parallel to a roller rotation axis.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein step c) comprises the operating a step of:
 c1) winding the textile fiber bundle around one or more bundle winding rollers, wherein each of the one or more bundle winding rollers comprises protuberances or depressions for guiding the textile fiber bundle to be wound around the one or more bundle winding rollers in coils spaced apart from one another along a roller rotation axis.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein, in step c1), the one or more bundle winding rollers comprise a first group of rollers and a second group of rollers, spaced apart from the first group of rollers, and wherein step c1) comprises steps of:
 c11) winding the textile fiber bundle first around the first group of rollers so as to expose the first side of the textile fiber bundle to the solid nanofibers coming from the electrospinning device; and   c12) after step c and downstream of the first group of rollers in the bundle running direction, winding the textile fiber bundle around the second group of rollers so as to expose a second side of the textile fiber bundle to the solid nanofibers coming from the electrospinning device, said second side being at least partly free from the solid nanofibers deposited as a result of electrospinning on the first side during passage of the textile fiber bundle on the first group of rollers.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising steps of:
 b1) providing a second electrospinning station, arranged downstream of the first electrospinning station in the bundle running direction; and   b2) providing a bundle conveying station and, by said bundle conveying station, rotating the enriched textile fiber bundle an at from outlet the first electrospinning station so as to expose a second side of the enriched textile fiber bundle for receiving the solid nanofibers, said second side being at least partly free from the solid nanofibers deposited as a result of electrospinning in the first electrospinning station.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein step c) is performed by an electrospinning station with a needleless electrospinning device. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the weaving machine is one of a carding machine, a combing machine, a drawing frame, a lap drawing frame, a roving frame, or a spinning frame. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the textile fiber bundle is a roving or a thread. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein, in step b2), the bundle conveying station comprises a guide, optionally the guide being a bent sheet, which slidably supportingly receives the textile fiber bundle on a curved guide surface of said guide for rotating the enriched textile fiber bundle at the outlet from the first electrospinning station so as to expose the second side of the enriched textile fiber bundle. 
     
     
         11 . An electrospinning station for enriching a textile fiber bundle, comprising:
 an electrospinning device comprising:
 a reserve suitable for containing an electrospinnable enrichment solution, said electrospinnable enrichment solution being suitable for forming solid nanofibers as a result of electrospinning, said solid nanofibers being deposited on the textile fiber bundle as a result of electrospinning, 
 an emitter electrode, suitable for being arranged on a first side of the textile fiber bundle; and 
 a collector electrode, facing and spaced apart from the emitter electrode and suitable for being arranged on a second side of the textile fiber bundle, opposite the first side, 
   so that, due to an electric field generated between the emitter electrode and the collector electrode, the solid nanofibers are formed starting from the electrospinnable enrichment solution and transported on the textile fiber bundle, with consequent deposition of the solid nanofibers on the textile fiber bundle in order to obtain an enriched textile fiber bundle.   
     
     
         12 . The electrospinning station of  claim 11 , wherein said electrospinning station comprises one or more bundle winding rollers, wherein each bundle winding roller of the one or more bundle winding rollers is rotatable about its own roller rotation axis for guiding the textile fiber bundle to be wound around the one or more bundle winding rollers in coils about the roller rotation axis, said one or more bundle winding rollers being arranged between the emitter electrode and the collector electrode so that, as a result of electrospinning, the solid nanofibers are deposited onto a first side of the textile fiber bundle wound around the one or more bundle winding rollers. 
     
     
         13 . The electrospinning station of  claim 12 , further comprising guide means configured to guide the textile fiber bundle to form coils in a helical shape around multiple bundle winding rollers, such that in a electrospinning space region, resulting between at least two rollers of said bundle winding rollers, multiple coils of a same textile fiber bundle are formed, spaced apart from each other along a direction parallel to the roller rotation axis. 
     
     
         14 . The electrospinning station of  claim 12 , wherein each of the one or more bundle winding rollers comprises protuberances or depressions for guiding the textile fiber bundle to be wound around the one or more bundle winding rollers in coils spaced apart from one another along the roller rotation axis. 
     
     
         15 . The electrospinning station of  claim 12 , wherein the one or more bundle winding rollers comprise a first group of rollers and a second group of rollers, spaced apart from the first group of rollers,
 wherein the first group of rollers is arranged so as to expose the first side of the textile fiber bundle to the solid nanofibers coming from the electrospinning device;   and wherein the second group of rollers is arranged downstream of the first group of rollers in a bundle running direction so as to receive the textile fiber bundle already enriched on the first side and so as to expose the second side of the textile fiber bundle to the solid nanofibers coming from the electrospinning device.   
     
     
         16 . The electrospinning station of  claim 15 , wherein the second group of rollers comprises one or more second group rollers, each rotatable about its own roller rotation axis in an opposite direction to a rotation direction of the first group of rollers. 
     
     
         17 . The electrospinning station of  claim 15 , further comprising an idler roller arranged between the first group of rollers and the second group of rollers in the bundle running direction, said idler roller being out of alignment with respect to the first group of rollers and the second group of rollers. 
     
     
         18 . The electrospinning station of  claim 15 , wherein the first group of rollers comprises a first group first roller and a first group second roller and wherein the second group of rollers comprises a second group first roller and a second group second roller,
 wherein the first group first roller and the first group second roller are each rotatable about their own roller rotation axis and both in a same first rotation direction,   and wherein the second group first roller and the second group second roller are each rotatable about their own roller rotation axis and both in a same second rotation direction opposite the first rotation direction.   
     
     
         19 . The electrospinning station of  claim 15 , comprising a textile fiber bundle, movable along the bundle running direction and arranged around the first group of rollers and the second group of rollers, the textile fiber bundle forming a first helical shape around the first group of rollers and a second helical shape around the second group of rollers. 
     
     
         20 . The electrospinning station of  claim 15 , further comprising a chamber containing the electrospinning device, and suction means configured to suction any residual textile fibers inside the chamber. 
     
     
         21 . A yarn or textile composed of an enriched textile fiber bundle obtained by the method of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         22 . A yarn composed of an enriched textile fiber bundle comprising textile fibers enriched with solid nanofibers obtained by electrospinning and interwoven with the textile fibers. 
     
     
         23 . The yarn of  claim 22 ,
 wherein the textile fibers are natural textile fibers, optionally the natural textile fibers being cotton, linen or wool.   
     
     
         24 . The yarn of  claim 22 , comprising silver ions embedded with the solid nanofibers interwoven with the textile fibers. 
     
     
         25 . A method for creating a fiber by weaving, wherein the fiber is created using the yarn of  claim 22 . 
     
     
         26 . The electrospinning station of  claim 17 , wherein said idler roller is rotatable about an idler roller rotation axis out of alignment with respect to the roller rotation axes of the first group of rollers and the second group of rollers.