CA1085561A - Method of creating an embossed pattern effect on tufted carpet material - Google Patents

Abstract

THE METHOD OF CREATING AN EMBOSSED PATTERN EFFECT
ON TUFTED CARPET MATERIAL
Abstract of the Disclosure The method of creating an embossed pattern effect on tufted carpet material of the type having a woven or non-woven backing with a tufted pile upper face surface. The face surface yarns contain a substantial proportion of fibers made from a synthetic fibrous material which is destructible by selected latent solvent solutions in predetermin destructive concentrations when subsequently subjected to a steaming operation and the backing is made from different fibrous material substantially unaffected by the solvent solutions. The latent solvent solution for the synthetic fibrous material is applied to the tufted face surface yarns in the desired embossing pattern in a concentration less than the destuctive concentration of the solution and more than 40% of ?
destructive concentration and in a quantity to wet thoroughly the yarns i said desired embossing pattern for at least approximately 35% of the len?
of the portion projecting above the backing. The tufted face surface of the carpet material is then subjected to a steaming operation thereby causing the yarns which have been wetted by the solvent solution to shri?
and present the desired embossed pattern appearance. The solvent solutio preferably is applied in registry with other design elements.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Pile carpets presenting an embossed appearance were originally made by weaving a pile carpet material with loops of uniform height and thereafter cutting certain of the loops or pile yarns by hand in the desired design or pattern, or, alternatively, they were woven with pile yarns of different heights by means of specially equipped looms, such as Wilton Looms, with special Jacquard and pile wire mechanism. These methods and the equipment required were costly, slow and required specialized skills.
Various attempts have been made to create an embossed pattern effect on tufted pile carpet material by less expensive equipment and procedures. Thus, as shown in U.S.
Patent No. 2,723,937 of November 15, 1955, it has been proposed to apply adhesive to the pile of a carpet material and then subjecting the pile of the carpet to compacting by heated rollers in a desired design pattern. It has also been proposed, in Patent No. 3,567,548 cf March 2, 1971, to impart an embossed design appearance to carpet and other pile fabric material by printing the surface of the carpet in the desired pattern with a solvent material which may contain adhesive.
Thereafter the fabric is subjected to dry heat and to compact-ing and finally to re-lofting of the pile elements.
These prior attempts to obtain an embossed pattern effect in tufted carpet material by means of a solvent and/or adhesive have proven to be generally unsatisfactory and had many shortc~mings. Thus, where adhesive is employed in connection with compacting of the pile yarns to attain a sculptured or embossed effect, various chemicals such as cleaning fluids along with abrasion serve to release a certain proportion of the compacted pile yarns, thus destroying the desired embossed design appearance or destroying or spoiling the uniformly sculptured appearance thereof. Where an attempt was made to obtain the desired sculptured or embossed design appearance by means of solvents, it was difficult to obtain a uniformly embossed or aesthetically acceptable appearance, particularly at the desired depth of embossing to present the proper sculptured appearance.
It has also been proposed to treat the entire face surface of a tufted carpet material with a dilute solution of a solvent so as to impart the desired bonded finish to the face surface, as shown in Patent No. 3,053,609 of September 11, 1962. However, no patterned embossed effect is obtained by means of this procedure.
Materials other than carpet materials have also been treated with various solvents and adhesives to obtain various effects, but these various processes and treatments do not present the same problems as are encountered in creating an embossed pattern effect on tufted carpet material. Thus in Patent No. 2,110,866 of March 15, 1938, relatively lighter weight woven upholstery or decorative pile fabric having looped pile face surface yarns made of animal fibers such as wool or mohair are treated with a relatively dilute solvent paste to shrink the animal fibers while the other fibers are unaffected. However, the process disclosed in this patent cannot practically be employed to create a satisfactory em-bossed pattern effect on relatively heavier weight and higher pile tufted carpet material, particularly on most tufted carpet material in which the face yarns are made of synthetic material. Moreover, the solvent paste in this patent is not applied in registry with printed design elements. In Patent Nos. 705,977 of July 29, 1902 and 1,980,191 of November 13, 1934, a decorative pile fabric such as an upholstery fabric is treated wit`h a solvent material so as to completely 10855~

destroy the fibers in the treated areas, and the destroyed fibers are then removed by brushing. The processes disclosed in these patents would not be applicable to tufted carpet material to produce the desired sculptured design effect and the complete destruction of the pile yarns in the treated areas would, for most purposes, destrcy the desired aesthe-tically appealing, embossed appearance.
In addition to the foregoing, plain, non-pile woven fabrics have also been treated in selected areas with various solvents to impart a crinkled or seersucker appearance to the fabric, as shown in U.S. Patent No. 3,505,000 of April 7, 1970 and British Patent 544,820, accepted April 29, 1942.
The treatment disclosed in these patents is quite unsuited for a tufted carpet material since a crinkled or seersucker effect would prevent the carpet from lying smoothly and evenly on the flooring and since it would not give the desired sculptured or embossed effect to the tufted pile face.
Of interest also is the paper entitled "Interactions of Nonaqueous Solvents with Textile Fibers" published in 3 parts in Textile Research Journal, Part I, Volume 42, pages 720-726 (1972), Part II, Volume 43, pages 176-183 (1973), and Part III, Volume 43, pages 316-325 (1973).
Among other things, this paper explains the mechanism causing both thermal and solvent shrinking of semicrystalline, oriented, thermoplastic fibers such as nylons and polyesters.
With respect to thermal shrinkage, the paper explains:
"The fundamental molecular event during thermal shrinkage is the input of thermal energy which results in a disruption of intermolecular cohesive forces, at least at a localized level. This localized 'melting' of the structure allows the development of chain mobility which is necessary for the relaxation 1~5561 and recrystallization process to occur."
With respect to chemical or solvent shrinkage, the paper states:
"In chemically induced shrinkage, the chemical energy which leads to the disruption of intermolecular cohesive forces is presumably generated by the forma-tion of solvated bonding sites. The formation and existence of these solvates within the polymer structure constitutes a major difference between thermal and solvant induced shrinkage. While crystallization can occur during thermal shrinkage at higher temperatures, the crystallization of sol-vated polymer chains requires the dissociation of the solvate and the exclusion of the solvent molecules.
It would be expected that this process is quite slow at room temperature and that therefore the predominant mechanism in solvent induced shrinkage is the dis-ruption of intermolecular forces and the release of residual orientational stresses."
The paper shows that with different solvents the zero shrinkage temperatures w~re different and the linear portions of the shrinkage curves occurred at different temperatures ranges. The temperature ranges on the shrinkage curves were also affected by the rate of heating. The information developed in this paper indicates the difficulty in providing a commercial system for chemical embossing whereby standard procedures can be used for obtaining the desired esthetically appealing uniform embossing with different synthetic fibers in different solvent systems.
Summary~ of the Invention As indicated above, attempts to attain the desired aesthetically appealing sculptured or embossed design lV85561 appearance in tufted carpet fabrics, particularly in such fabrics having a substantial proportion of synthetic fibrous material in the tufted face surface yarns, by means of a commercially acceptable, economical process has presented a number of practical difficulties. I have found that in order to obtain the desired sculptured or embossed design appearance, the embossing should be at a depth sufficient to be readily visible to the naked eye when viewing the carpet at any angle, and at the same time in the embossed areas there should be sufficient fiber yarn material to substantially conceal the backing. Also in the process of shrinking or embossing, the fiber and yarn identity should remain substan- -~
tially intact. In addition, while different design areas may be intentionally embossed to different depths to impart different appearances, it is important that the areas intended to have the same appearance should be of substantially uniform depth. The desired sculptured, embossed appearance is obtained when the pile yarns in the embossed pattern area are shrunken or diminished in height for approximately one-third to two-thirds of their height as compared with the surrounding pile yarns in the unembossed areas.
I have found that the desired results can be obtained by providing a tufted carpet material having face surface yarns containing a substantial proportion of fibers made from a synthetic, semicrystalline, oriented, thermoplastic fibrous material which is destructible by a selected latent solvent in aqueous or other medium solution in a predetermined destructive concentration when subsequently subjected to a steaming operation and having a backing made from a different fibrous material which is substantially unaffected by the solvent. The tufted carpet material is treated by applying to the tufted face surface yarns in the desired embossing pattern the latent solvent in solution with or without added dyes or pigments in a concentration less than the destructive concen-tration of the solution but more than 40~ thereof, preferably between 45% and 85% of the destructive concentration, and in a quantity to wet thoroughly the yarns in the desired embossing pattern for at least approximately 35~ or more of the length projecting above the backing. The latent solvent solution is preferably applied in registry with design elements printed on the face surface to form an over-all pattern. Thereafter the face surface of the carpet material is subjected to a steaming operation, thereby causing the yarns which have been wetted by the solvent solution to shrink and present the desired embossed pattern appearance. Finally, the carpet material is preferably washed and dried.
The resultant tufted carpet fabric material presents the desired appearance with an aesthetically pleasing sculptured, embossed pattern effect which can be readily viewed at any angle and in which similar areas present a uniformly sculptured, attractive appearance, with the fibers and yarns remaining substantially intact and with the backing substantially concealed from view.
Brief Description of the Drawing The single figure of the drawing diagrammatically illustrates the present process.
Description of the Preferred Embodiment My invention is particularly applicable to the forming of embossed pattern effects on tufted carpet material having face surface pile yarns made from a synthetic semicrystalline, oriented, thermoplastic material formed by tufting in asso-ciation with a backing made of a different material. In tufted carpets, the face surface pile fibers have a denier of at least 12 and usually between approximately 15 and 30 1~85561 denier and the tufted yarns have a denier of approximately 1,100 to 5,000. The yarns may be singles or plied and may be continuous filament or made from staple. The tufted face surface yarns have a weight of at least 15 oz. per square yard of carpet material and usually between 20 and 40 oz., and maybe as high as 80 oz.
In carrying out my invention, the preferred type of backing material is non-woven or woven from yarns, ribbons or fibers made of relatively inert fibrous material such as polyolefins or jute. The face surface pile yarns are pre-ferably made from, or contain a major proportion of fibers of a synthetic semicrystalline, oriented, thermoplastic fibrous material, which is destructible by a selected latent solvent in aqueous solution in a predetermined destructive concentration when subjected to subsequent steaming, and the fibers of the woven backing are substantially unaffected by the solvent.
I have found that when a selected latent solvent solution of this type is applied to the face surface pile yarns in the desired embossed design in aqueous solution of a concentration by weight less than the destructive concen-tration but in excess of approximately 40~ of the destructive concentration, preferably between 45% and 85% of the destructive concentration, the desired sculptured, embossed effect is obtained when the face surface fibers are subsequently subjected to a steaming operation. The effective concentra-tion of the solution of the solvent is the concentration of the solvent on the yarn just prior to steaming. Accordingly, the wetting and printing operations both before and after printing with the solvent)but prior to steaming must be taken into consideration in calculating the concentration of the solution of the solvent on the tufted pile yarns.

For the purposes of my invention, the synthetic semicrystalline, oriented, thermoplastic fibrous materials which are suitable for use in the face surface pile yarns are acrylic fibers, nylon fibers, and polyester fibers.
Where acrylic fibers are employed in the face surface pile yarns, I have found that a suitable latent solvent solution is an aqueous solution of ethylene carbonate. An acrylic fiber is defined as a manufacture~ fiber in which the fiber forming substance is any long-chain synthetic polymer com-posed of at least 85% by weight of acrylonitrile units(-CH2-CH- ) . A determination is first made of the CN
destructive concentration of such a solution for acrylic fibers which are subsequently treated with steam, and I have found that the destructive concentration in this case is approxi-mately 55% by weight of ethylene carbonate to the total weight of the solution. The desired sculptured, embossed effect is then obtained by an aqueous solution of ethylene carbonate hav-ing a concentration of less than the destructive concentration and more than 40~ of such concentration, preferably between 45%
and 85% of the destructive concentration. Thus, the desired amount of shrinkage and the desired embossed appearance are obtained with acrylic fibers if an aqueous solution is employed having approximately 22% to less than 55~ by weight of ethylene carbonate, preferably between 25% and 46.5~ by weight of the weight of the solution. Where the fibers to be embossed have been wetted as by dyeing prior to steaming and either before or after applying the solvent solution, a more concentrated aqueous solvent solution should be employed, so that the effective concentration on the fibers just prior to steaming falls within the indicated range.

Where polyamide or nylon fibers are employed in the face surface pile yarns, I have found that a suitable latent solvent solution is an aqueous solution of zinc chloride or resorcinol. I have found that the destructive concentration in this case varies with the molecular structure of the nylon.
The type of nylon sold by E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. of Wilmington, Delaware under the name "Nylon 66" is destroyed when treated with an aqueous solution of resorcinol in the concen-tration of 42.5% by weight, while the type of nylon sold by Allied Chemical of New Jersey under the name "Nylon 6" is totally destroyed by an aqueous solution of zinc chloride at a concentra-tion of 55% by weight when followed by steaming in both cases.
"Nylon 66" is a poly(hexamethyleneadipamide) while "Nylon 6"
is a polycaprolactam. The desired sculptured, embossed effect is then obtained in both cases by an aqueous solution of solvent of less than the destructive concentration and more than 40% of such concentration, and preferably between 45% and 85%
of the destructive concentration. Thus, the desired amount of shrinkage and the desired embossed appearance are obtained with Nylon 6 fibers if an aqueous solution is employed having approximately 22% to less than 55% by weight of zinc chloride, preferably between 25% and 46.5% by weight of the weight of the solution. In the case of Nylon 66, the desired embossed appearance is obtained with an aqueous solution having approxi-mately 17~ to less than 42.5% by weight of resorcinol, prefer-ably between 19% and 36% by weight. As previously indicated, it is the effective concentration of the solution on the fibers just prior to steaming that counts. Accordingly, due allowance must be made for dilution of the solvent solution resulting from wetting of the fibers either before or after applying the solvent solution.
Where polyester fibers are employed in the face surface pile yarns, I have found that a suitable latent solvent solution 1085S6~
is an aqueous solution of phenol. A polyester fiber is a manufactured fiber in which the fiber forming substance is any long-chain synthetic polymer composed of at least 85~ by weight of an ester of a dihydric alcohol and terephthalic acid (p-HOOCC6H4COOH). In this case, the destructive concentration is approximately 97.5~ by weight of phenol to the total weight of the solution and the desired results are obtained when less than the destructive concentration and more than 40% of such concentration are employed, preferably between 45% and 85% of the destructive concentration. Thus, the desired amount of shrinkage of the fibers and the desired embossed appearance are obtained with polyester fibers if an aqueous solution is employed~
having approximately 39% to less than 97.5% by weight of phenol, preferably within a range of 44% and 83% by weight of the weight of the solution and optimum results are obtained where more than 60% by weight of phenol are used. Also, as indicated above, due allowance must be made for wetting of the fibers prior to steaming and either before or after applying the embossing solution.
The latent solvent solution is preferably applied to the face yarns of the carpet material in the desired embossing pattern by screen printing, and for this purpose conventional carpet fabric printing apparatus such as a Zimmer apparatus as shown in U.S. Patent No. 3,495,285 may be employed. The same apparatus may be used in printing the various ornamental designs in color on the face yarns of the fabric and the latent solvent may be applied with one of the dyes or separately in a separate sequential step on the printing apparatus. However, any conventional printing techniques, such as rotogravure, intaglio, 3~ flat or rotary screen printing may be employed in applying the dyes and in applying the latent solvent solution. When the latent solvent material is incorporated in a solution or ' ~ :

dispersion of the dye, then the above-indicated proportions by weight or the solvent should be in proportion to the weight of the total dye solution and to any other wetting of the embossed yarns prior to steaming.
Sufficient latent solvent solution is applied to the pile face yarns in the desired embossing pattern so as to wet thoroughly the yarns at least approximately 35% and pre-ferably between 60% and 100% of the length of theportion thereof which projects above the backing. When wetted in this fashion and thereafter steamed the desired uniform shrinkage of the treated yarns of approximately one-third to two-thirds of the length projecting above the backing is obtained. The thorough wetting for 35~ of the length of the yarn will result in some wetting of yarns deeper than this. The wetting of these yarns at a deeper point, plus the mechanical stresses set up during shrinking will give the desired total shrinkage of one-third to two-thirds of the yarn length.
The accompanying drawing illustrates diagrammatically the printing of a tufted pile carpet in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Carpet material of the type described above having tufted pile face yarns made of synthetic semicrystalline, oriented, thermoplastic fibers of the type described may initially be fed into a conventional dye tank 4 and dip-dyed so as to impart background color to the face yarns. Appropriate controls, such as the use of squeeze rolls, are used to control the amount of liquid pick-up from the dye tank. While the dyed carpet material is still in its wet state it is preferably fed on to subsequent printing stations.

Number 2 of the drawing designated the carpet.

A plurality of printing stations may be provided so as to impart the desired multicolored pattern to the carpet.

the number of printing stations will depend upon the complexity of the pattern and the number of different colors desired. For purposes of illustration, three printing stations have been shown in the drawing at 6, 8 and 10. In the first printing step 6, the carpet may be printed in conventional fashion with a decorative pattern component using a conventional printing ink containing a carpet dye of the desired color. The carpet may then pass on to a second printing stage 8, at which another portion of the pattern is printed on the carpet. Finally, the carpet passes on to printing stage 10, where the embossing step may take place. Here the printing ink may contain both a dye and a solvent of the type indicated above for the respective fibers or simply a solvent alone. The solvent, of course, should be of the proper type as indicated above for the particular fiber in the tufted face yarns and the concentration of the solvent by weight should also be such that the concentration of the solvent solution on the embossed yarns just prior to steaming falls within the indicated proportions to the total weight of the solution for the indicated fiber and solvent.
It will be appreciated that the sequence of dye and solvent printing stages may be varied and, furthermore, several separate solvent printing steps may be provided. However, the design elements and embossing solution should all be applied in registry with each other to provide a homogeneous pattern.
After all of the printing, dyeing and solvent application operations have been performed, the carpet fabric then passes to a steam chamber 12 in which steam at a temper-ature range of approximately 212 to 220F. is applied to the carpet. The steam serves to develop, or set, the dye on the fibers. More important, it causes a shrinking or embossed or 1085~

sculptured effect on the synthetic pile yarns which have been treated with the latent solvent solution. When a latent solvent solution of uniform concentration is applied to the fibers, they will shrink uniformly to substantially the same degree. Within the indicated preferred concentrations of the solvent solutions by weight, the degree of shrinking will be between one-third to two-thirds of the length of the fibers projecting above the backing.
Thereafter, the carpet passes on to a conventional wash tank 14, through which the carpet passes to remove the residual printing ink and any other residual chemicals which may remain in the carpet. Thereafter the carpet passes through a conventional drying stage 16 which evaporates the water from the carpet in the usual manner.
The carpet treated in this fashion has a good hand and the loft of the carpet pile is maintained. The embossed ~-areas present a pleasing sculptured appearance, with the solvent-treated fibers being uniformly shrunken so as to be clear-ly visible fromany angle. The Various px~nted and embossed design components are also in proper register.
While specific solvents have been mentioned above in connection with the acrylic, nylon and polyester fibrous materials, it should be understood that other solvents in solution may also be employed, Thus, in connection with acrylic fibrous material, propylene carbonate in solution may be employed. In connection with polyester fibrous materials, resorcinol may be employed in solution. In each case, however, in order to obtain the desired embossing or shrinking effect, the effective concentra-tion of the solvent on the treated fibers at the time that the steam is applied should be at least 40% of the destructive concentration and preferably between 45% and 85~ by weight.

10~5561 The term solvent as used herein is intended to indicate the active chemical embossing agent which is used for embossing the tufted yarns in aqueous or other vehicle solution.
As used herein, the term "destructive concentration"
means the minimum concentration of the solvent in solution which will cause the destruction of the fiber when subsequently treated with steam. In this application, the destructive concentrations have been given in terms of percent by weight of the solvent in the solution.
In applying the solvent solution to the tufted pile yarns or fibers, I have found that the viscosity should be such as to prevent substantial bleeding or lateral flowing of the solution and yet it should not be so viscous as to prevent effective wetting of at least approximately 35% of the length of the fibers projecting above the backing. I have found that in flat screen printing a viscosity of between approximately 1000 cps and 8000 cps provides satisfactory results, the specific viscosity depending on the carpet construction and design para-meters. Viscosity was measured on a brookfield Model RVF Visco-meter with ~4 spindle at 20 rpm.
The following are typical examples of creating an em-bossed pattern effect on various types of tufted carpet material.
Exàmple 1 On a Zimmer machine, a tufted pile carpet material having a non-woven polypropylene backing with tufted face surface acrylic yarns with the fibers having a denier of 15 and the yarns having a denier of 5200 and a face fiber weight of 3S oz. per square yard of carpet material is fed into a dye bath 4 con-taining an a~ueous solution of basic yellow 11 dye. The carpet then passes on to the first printing stage 6, where a design component is printed on the face surface yarns with an a~ueous solution of basic blue 3 dye having a modified locust bean gum 10855~

thickener mixed therewith. From printing stage 6, the carpet is then fed to printing stage 8, where a further design component is imprinted on the face surface yarns form an aqueous solution of basic orange 21 dye and a suitable thickener such as a modified locust bean gum.
From printing stage 8, the carpet is fed to printing stage 10, where the wet face surface yarns are imprinted with a thickened aqueous solution of ethylene carbonate with the ethylene carbonate comprising 55% by weight of the solution.
The effective concentration of ethylene carbonate solution on the treated fibers represents 67.5~ of the destructive con-centration, due to the dilution resulting from the prior wetting of the fibers. The successive printing stages, including the printing of the solvent solution, are conducted so that the design elements are in registry with each other.
When the carpet then passes through the steam chamber 12, the latent solvent solution is activated and the portions of the face surface yarns which have been imprinted therewith shrink, producing the desired sculptured, embossed effect. Thereafter, the carpet is washed, cleaned and dried.
A subsequent measurement of the tufted pile fibers shows that those fibers treated with the latent solvent solution are approximately 50% of the length of the untreated fibers.
The carpet treated in this fashion presented an attractive sculptured, embossed appearance with the printed and embossed elements of the design being in the desired registry and with the embossed portions being of uniform depth and visible from any angle. Also the embossed fibers and yarns are substantially intact and effectively cover the backing material.

10~5561 Example 2 On a Zimmer machine a tufted pile carpet material having a woven polypropylene backing with tufted face surface yarns of Nylon 66 with a fiber denier of 15 and a yarn denier of 2600 and having a face surface weight of approximately 28 oz.
per square yard is passed through an embossing stage wherein a design element is imprinted on the face surface yarns with a solvent solution of the following formulation:
MaterialPercent by Weight Acid Black 107 dye 1.03 Ethanol 10.30 Water 66.92 Cellosize~ QP 100M (thickener) 0.72 (Hydroxyethyl cellulose) Antifoam agent 1.03 (2-Ethylhexanol) Resorcinol 20.00 Various design elements can be printed in registry with each other.
The effective concentration of resorcinol solution on the treated fibers represents approximately 47.0~ of the destructive concentration due to the prior wetting of the fibers.
When the carpet then passes through the steam chamber 12 the latent solvent solution is activated and the portions of the face surface yarn which have been imprinted therewith shrink producing the desired sculptured, embossed effect. Thereafter, the carpet is washed, cleaned and dried.
Example 3 A tufted pile carpet material similar to that used in Example 2 but having face surface pile yarns made of Nylon 6 instead of Nylon 66 is made. The fiber denier is 15 with a yarn denier of 3375 for a face weight of 24 oz. per s~uare yard. No pre-wetting or background dyeing is carried out and on the dry carpet face a design element is imprinted on the face surface yarns with an embossing solvent solution having the following formulation:
Material Percent by Weight Acid Black 107 dye 0.75 Ethanol 8.75 Water 54.5 Cellosize ~ QP lOOM (Thickener) 0.5 (Hydroxyethyl cellulose) Antifoam agent 0.5 (2-Ethylhexanol) Zinc Chloride 35.0 The effective concentration of the zinc chloride in the solution on the treated fibers is substantially 63.5% of the destructive concentration.
Finally, the carpet is steamed, washed, cleaned and dried. All of the design elements and embossed areas are in registry with each other and the embossed areas present a pleasing sculptured appearance with the solvent treated fibers being uniformly shrunken so as to be clearly visible from any angle.
Example 4 A tufted pile carpet similar to that used in Example

2 was prepared, but having face surface pile yarns of polyester rather than nylon. The carpet was 5/64" gauge, 1/8" pile, had 12 denier fibers and had a fiber weight of 28 oz. per square yard. It was printed in a design with a solution of 80 parts by weight of phenol and 20 parts by weight of water. The effective concentration of phenol in solution on the treated fibers is substantially 82~ of the destructive concentration.

After steam treatment, a pronounced embossed effect was obtained with little or no loss of fiber identity in the embossed areas.

1~85~61 The various examples may be repeated using other sol-vents with the effective concentration of the solvent solutions at or just prior to steam treatment of the face surface yarns being at least 40% of the destructive concentration and prefer-ably between 45% and 85% thereof.

Claims (17)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. The method of creating an embossed pattern effect on a tufted carpet material which consists essentially of:
first providing a carpet material having a backing with a tufted pile upper face surface, said face surface yarns containing a substantial proportion of fibers made from a synthetic semicrystalline, oriented, thermoplastic fibrous material selected from the group consisting of acrylic, nylon and polyester material and which is destructible by a selected latent solvent solution in a predetermined destructive concen-tration when subjected to subsequent steaming and said backing being made from different material substantially unaffected by said solvent solution, the fibers in said tufted face surface yarns having a denier of at least 12 and the yarns having a denier of at least 1100 and the face surface yarn having a weight of at least 15 ounces per square yarn of carpet material;
applying to the tufted face surface yarns in the desired embossing pattern the preselected latent solvent solu-tion for the synthetic fibrous material in a concentration such that the effective concentration on said yarns at the time of the hereinafter mentioned steam treatment is less than the destructive concentration of said solution and more than approximately 40% by weight of the destructive concentration in a quantity to wet thoroughly said yarns in said pattern for at least approximately 35% of the length of the portion pro-jecting above the backing;
and thereafter subjecting the tufted face surface yarns of the carpet material to steam at a temperature of approximately 212°F. to 220°F., thereby causing the yarns in the tufted face surface which have been wetted by the solvent solution to shrink and present the desired embossed pattern appearance while leaving the yarns substantially intact.

2. The method of creating an embossed pattern effect on tufted carpet material, as set forth in claim 1 in which the preferred concentration of the latent solvent solution is at least 45% and no more than 85% of the destructive concen-tration.

3. The method of creating an embossed pattern effect on tufted carpet material, as set forth in claim 1, in which a substantial proportion of the fibers in the face surface yarns are made of acrylic fibers and the latent solvent solution is an aqueous solution of ethylene carbonate having an effective concentration of the ethylene carbonate at the time of steam treatment of between approximately 25% and 46.5% by weight.

4. The method of creating an embossed pattern effect on tufted carpet material, as set forth in claim 1, in which a substantial proportion of the fibers in the face surface yarns are made of Nylon 6 and the latent solvent solu-tion is an aqueous solution of zinc chloride having an effective concentration of the zinc chloride at the time of steam treat-ment of preferably between 25% and 46.5% by weight.

5. The method of creating an embossed pattern effect on tufted carpet material, as set forth in claim 1, in which a substantial proportion of the fibers and face surface yarns are made of Nylon 66 and the latent solvent solution is an aqueous solution of resorcinol having an effective concentration of the resorcinol at the time of steam treatment of preferably between 19% and 36% by weight.

6. The method of creating an embossed pattern effect on tufted carpet material, as set forth in claim 1, in which a substantial portion of the fibers in the face surface yarn are made of a polyester material and the latent solvent solution is an aqueous solution of phenol having effective concentration of the phenol at the time of steam treatment of preferably between 60% and 83% by weight.

7. The method of creating an embossed pattern effect on tufted carpet material, as set forth in claim 1, in which design elements are also imprinted on said face surface yarns in sequence in registry with each other and with the embossing pattern in registry with the design elements.

8. The method of creating an embossed pattern effect on tufted carpet material as set forth in claim 1 in which the latent solvent solution is applied so as to wet thoroughly the said yarns for between 60% and 100% of the length of the portion projecting above the backing.

9. The method of creating an embossed pattern effect on tufted carpet material as set forth in claim 1 in which the viscosity of the preselected latent solvent solution is between 1000 and 8000 cps.

10. A process according to claim 1 wherein the fibrous material selected is acrylic.

11. A process according to claim 1 for imparting a sculptured design to the pile surface of a polyamide fabric which consists of applying to substantially less than 11 of its surface area, a printing composition containing resorcinol in an amount varying between about 17% and 42.5% by weight.

12. A process according to claim 11 wherein the polyamide is nylon 66.

13. A process according to claim 11 wherein the resorcinol is present in an amount varying between about 19%
and 36% by weight.

14. A process according to claim 13 wherein the resorcinol is present in the printing composition, in an amount equal to about 20% by weight.

15. A process according to claim 11 wherein the printing composition contains a color component sufficient to produce a visible color upon embossing.

16. A process according to claim 15 wherein the color component is an acid dye.

17. A process according to claim 1 for imparting a sculptured design to the pile surface of a polyamide fabric which consists of applying to substantially less than all of its surface area, a printing composition containing resorcinol in an amount which is less than the destructive concentration of said resorcinol and more than approximately 40% by weight of the destructive concentration of said resorcinol.