USOO6378179B1 (12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 6,378,179 B1 Hirsch (45) Date of Patent: Apr. 30, 2002 (54) SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR 5,481,864 A * 1/1996 Wright ........................ 19/107 RECONSTITUTING FIBERS FROM 5,623,748 A 4/1997 Bacchio ....................... 28/101 RECYCLABLE WASTE MATERIAL 5,671,495 A * 9/1997 Chen - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 28/100 5,778.492. A * 7/1998 Thiessen et al. .............. 19/107 (76) Inventor: Gary F. Hirsch, 1144. Moore Rd., 6,037.282 A * 3/2000 Milding et al. ............. 442/408 Woodside, CA (US) 94.062 6,061,876. A 5/2000 Rowe ............................ 19/98 (*) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this sk cited- by examiner past isis."Sh i. adjusted under 35 Primary Examiner Amy B. Vanatta a -- y yS. (74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm Michael Hetherington; Woodside Intellectual Property Law Group (21) Appl. No.: 09/755,523 57 ABSTRACT (22) Filed: Jan. 5, 2001 (57) (51) Int. Cl. .................................................. D04H 1/06 E.rom recycled is provided waste fabric for structurallymaterial, including reconstituting cotton denimfibers (52) U.S. Cl. ............................. 28/103; 28/104; 28/107; waste, wherein the reconstituted fibers are incorporated into 28/100; 28/102; 442/408; 428/903.3; 1,2: a hydroentangled or needle punched product without binders or additives. A tearing line includes the application of Steam (58) Field of Search .......................... 28/100, 101, 102, and enzymes at a rate Sufficient to remove Surface additives 28/103, 104, 105, 107, 109, 112, 116, 165, from the fibers. The process completely opens the fibers and 166, 167, 171, 299, 143; 19/65 R, 66 R, eliminates fraying, twisting and nonconformities. A fiber 107, 161.1, 163, 65 A, 144, 296, 200, 98; finishing proceSS provides fibers which are Substantially 442/408; 428/903.3 uniform with respect to a desired characteristic Such as length, weight, type, or a desired blend thereof. The finishing (56) References Cited process also provides a fiber web characterized by a uniform U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS directional orientation of fibers, making the fibers more amenable to hydroentanglement. The resulting nonwoven 1889,615 A : 11/1932 Schorsch ....................... 19/89 product is characterized by high Strength, fiber integrity and 3,765,989 A : 10/1973 Burger . 28/102 high uniformity and can be cross lapped to thereby provide 4,300.267 A : 11/1981 Winch et al. ............... 19/80 R greatly increased Strength and absorbency. 4,879,170 A : 11/1989 Radwanski et al. ........... 28/104 5,369,861 A : 12/1994 Ball et al. ..................... 28/100 5,380,582 A : 1/1995 Neely, Jr. et al. ............. 28/112 5 Claims, 5 Drawing Sheets 2O1 Warm Mist with Lubricant From willow cleaner and condenser Fiber Balancing Blending 22 Line Needle Punch line 220 214 (optional) Hydroentangle U.S. Patent Apr. 30, 2002 Sheet 1 of 5 US 6,378,179 B1 100 102 106 Tearing Line To Hydroentanglement Web Forming Process Wet Laid Air Laid Dry Laid Foam Laid Figure 1 Prior Art U.S. Patent Apr. 30, 2002 Sheet 2 of 5 US 6,378,179 B1 OZZ zaun61-I U.S. Patent Apr. 30, 2002 Sheet 3 of 5 US 6,378,179 B1 909#709Z09009 U.S. Patent Apr. 30, 2002 Sheet 4 of 5 US 6,378,179 B1 JesuepuOO aw as we as was w x axe was as - A07 ZO? 00; U.S. Patent Apr. 30, 2002 Sheet 5 of 5 US 6,378,179 B1 809 /09 SSGOOud | eun61-I9 queuue|6uequeoupÁHJo US 6,378,179 B1 1 2 SYSTEMAND METHOD FOR Also, the yarn/fabric produced usually must be dyed to a RECONSTITUTING FIBERS FROM required color Since the large amount of carrier fibers RECYCLABLE WASTE MATERIAL required dilutes the color of the Scrap material being recycled. This problem is of particular importance when BACKGROUND recycling denim because it must be over coat dyed with The field of the invention relates generally to methods for indigo, the only accepted organic natural dye. Because most recycling fibers. In particular, the field of the invention of the cloth Scraps being recycled already have been dyed, relates to a System and method for providing Structurally it would be desirable to provide a recycling proceSS which reconstituted fibers from Surplus fabric material Such as is capable of using a high percentage of dyed fibers in the cotton denim, wherein the fibers are opened, cleaned and raw material mix. Products derived from Such recycled, Structurally engineered for delivery to a card without defects dyed fibers or yarns would not require any additional dyeing. Such as fiber bundles (neps) or unopened threads. The This advantageously would eliminate the many costs asso reconstituted fibers are then used without binders to produce ciated with dyeing yarns and fabrics. a finished nonwoven material having Structural properties Although non-biodegradable Synthetic fibers are enabling it to be croSS lapped and laminated, and exhibiting 15 available, their use implicates Serious environmental as well greater uniformity, Strength, and higher absorption charac as cost concerns. The Synthetic fibers lack the ability to teristics than was previously possible. retain dyes as efficiently as natural fibers, and they do not Increasing expenses associated with obtaining raw mate bond well with other fibers because of their slick Surfaces. rials and constantly increasing consumption of textile prod Furthermore, the resulting fabrics do not have the texture, ucts provide a strong economic incentive for developing quality, or acceptance level of premium natural fibers. methods for recycling Surplus or unused textile material Therefore, what is needed is a method of recycling natural which would otherwise go to waste to be burned or buried. or Synthetic fibers which can be needle punched and/or Large amounts of cloth Scrap, clippings, and loose Sample provided for hydroentanglement to produce a Superior fin Scraps are created at “cut and Sew' plants where garments ished nonwoven product. What is also needed is a new are manufactured. These Scraps are waste material that 25 method to effectively and efficiently recycle cloth Scraps into comprise approximately 15-30% of all types of fabric Substantially Virgin like fibers which can be needle punched manufactured for use in garments. Unless recycled into and/or hydroentangled to produce a Superior fabric and insulating materials or nonwoven matting, these cloth Scraps garments using a minimum amount of carrier fibers. and clippings become waste and are Sent to landfills. Pres Recycled fiberS also can comprise Synthetic fibers, plant ently over 200 million pounds of cotton denim Scrap mate fibers, regenerated cellulose fibers, pulp fibers or the like. rial are burned or buried in landfills annually. Such Conventional methods for mechanical recycling of fibers reclaimed fibers are of importance in providing a founda from nonwoven and textile material are well known. tional material for nonwoven fabric technologies that can be U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,864 describes a conventional process designed to replace traditional woven textiles. 35 for recycling cloth Scraps to produce a yarn from the fibers In the past, Surplus or recycled denim material was contained in the cloth. The process includes moistening the rejected as a base for producing fibers for a finished non cloth Scraps and maintaining the moisture conditioning at a woven product. Cotton denim is one of the toughest fabrics level of at least 10 per cent throughout the process. The produced and is typically woven So tightly that its fibers process of maintaining fibers in a moist State throughout the cannot adequately be opened or regenerated for reuse. 40 Shredding proceSS has disadvantages. The Web of moist Conventional recycling methods cannot open Surplus denim fibers weighs more and the fibers tend to progressively fiberS Sufficiently for reuse in a hydroentangled product. agglutinate and clog the cutting pins of the cylinders in the Conventional methods leave So many unopened threads and tearing line. This tends to slow the proceSS and makes the neps that a web containing Such unopened fibers would be machines run hotter. The progressive agglutination of the unsuitable for hydroentanglement. Conventional processes 45 fiberS also reduces the cutting action and prevents fibers for opening denim result in fibers which are too short for from being fully opened. hydroentanglement. Such fibers could only be used in con The inability to open the moisture laden fibers results in junction with binders for rough material Such as carpet a finished nonwoven product which comprises typically underlayment. weak, Soft and bulky yarn. A web of material comprising New fabric formation techniques and advanced finishing 50 Such unopened fiberS does not have uniform density and is processes are being used to accomplish fiber to fabric not Suitable for hydroentanglement, nor for the production manipulation to provide a final product comprising non of a strong nonwoven material which would be be capable woven material. One method for producing a nonwoven of use for a wide variety of applications. material is accomplished by hydroentangling or Spunlacing Conventionally, Surplus fibers, particularly cotton, are a fiber web. Conventional methods of fiber processing form 55 opened from a bale and cleaned on air carding machines the fiber web, which can be dry laid or wet laid after which which act to Separate the fibers, ideally to a single fiber State. the fibers are hydroentangled by means of a plurality of fine In order to open the fibers, it is necessary to extract at least water jets under high pressure. Some of the Surface additives Such as Starches, binders, or Conventional methods of recycling cloth Scraps involve other materials which alter the Surface properties of the the use of high percentages of Virgin (non-waste) carrier 60 fibers and prevent fibers from being easily opened.