GB1588274A

GB1588274A - Liquid treatment of fabrics

Info

Publication number: GB1588274A
Application number: GB3469177A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Armstrong World Industries Inc
Current assignee: Armstrong World Industries Inc
Priority date: 1976-08-19
Filing date: 1977-08-18
Publication date: 1981-04-23
Also published as: AU2710377A; FR2362230A1; DE2731713A1; BE857615A; FR2362230B1; DE2731713B2

Description

(54) LIQUID TREATMENT OF FABRICS (71) We, ARMSTRONG WORLD INDUS TRIES INC formerly ARMSTRONG CORK COMPANY, a Corporation organized according to the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States of America, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17604, United States of America, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The invention is directed to a method of liquid treating a fabric and, more particularly, to a method for washing the face fibers only of a carpet, and to an apparatus for carrying out the method.

The present invention provides a method for the liquid treatment of one side of a fabric having a front surface to be liquid treated and a back surface which is not to be substantially wetted with the liquid, which comprises moving the fabric, and (a) spraying the front surface of the moving fabric with a liquid to wet the front surface of the fabric without substantially wetting the back surface thereof; and (b) extracting at least a portion of the liquid from the moving fabric by a vacuum extraction means to reduce the liquid content to about 12% A spraying step is advantageously carried out while the fabric is moving around a roller with the face surface of the fabric facing outward from the roller so that the fabric is curved and its face is opened up to receive the liquid.

The invention also provides apparatus for carrying out the method, which apparatus comprises: (a) means for moving the fabric through the apparatus (b) spraying means for wetting the front surface of the fabric with a liquid without substantially wetting the back surface thereof and (c) vacuum extraction means for removing a portion of the liquid from the fabric, the spraying means and the vacuum extraction means being so positioned that when fabric is being moved through the apparatus they are adjacent to the front surface of the fabric, and the vacuum extraction means being downstream from the spraying means.

The invention is particularly suitable for use in washing carpet wherein the liquid is sprayed on the carpet face fibers to wet and wash only the face fibers and not wet the scrim or backing of the carpet.

The advantage of the method herein is in not only the conservation of water, but in a tremendous energy saving in that there is a great reduction in energy needed to dry carpets which are washed in the normal manner. Carpets which are washed in the normal manner contain a substantial amount of water in their backing which must be removed from the carpet. The technique herein never places the water in the backing so, therefore, there is no need to use a large amount of energy to extract water from the back of the carpet.

The invention herein is capable of use for many different liquid treatment operations on a fabric. One may simply be interested in using the method to carry out the washing of one side of a fabric. The method could also be utilized for treatment of a fabric to provide it with certain characteristics. For example, fabric could be treated with a liquid which would tend to make it water proof or soil resistant.

Further, the inventive method could be utilized to dye or color the fabric.

The fabric being treated is normally a material of some thickness which need not be wetted or which would not normally wet completely through when passed through the spray chamber. The invention herein is not particularly applicable to fabrics such as used for clothing. However, it could well be utilized with, for example, heavy upholstery fabric or carpeting. It is particularly useful with carpeting which has a face fiber varying from about 1/16 inch to 2 inches in length. Face fiber is normally used in cojunction with a backing, which could be simply jute or some synthetic, non-woven material or could extend to a combination backing which is a combination of jute and a layer of foam which is upwards to inch in thickness. The invention herein is particularly useful with carpeting which has a foam backing.

The invention herein was specifically designed for the washing of the face fibers of a carpet structure without the wetting of the foam on the back of the carpet. With conventional techniques utilizing wash tanks, the foam becomes saturated with the liquid. Heavy squeezing must be utilized to get a large amount of the wash water out of the carpet.

The carpet then must be subjected to extensive drying to dry the water not only from the face fiber of the carpet, but the heavy foam backing.

Utilizing the inventive method described herein and comparing it to a conventional foam backed carpet product, there may be secured a 40% saving in fuel usage when after the liquid treatment and vacuum extraction one dries a carpet to an acceptable dry level of 2-3% of moisture based on dry weight.

The inventive method herein is directed to a technique for the liquid treatment of one side of a fabric having a front surface which is to be liquid treated and a back surface which is not to be wetted, or at least saturated, with the liquid. The invention is particularly applicable to a carpet wherein the front surface of the fabric is the face yarns of the carpet and the back surface of the fabric is the carpet back.

There will be a substantially impermeable barrier in the carpet structure. The liquid is applied to the front surface of the fabric through the use of conventional spray nozzles which normally operate under high pressure, low volume circumstances. The liquid will wet the front surface of the carpet without any substantial wetting of the back surface of the carpet. Particularly with a foam backing or a secondary backing on the carpet, the impermeable barrier will be between those backings and the face yarns. Vacuum extraction means are then utilized to remove excess liquid from the fabric. Normally, the spraying and vacuum operation is carried out in two liquid treatment steps to secure, with carpet particularly, a good washing of the carpet. Also, the carpet is normally, but not necessarily, passed around the surface of a roll with the face side of the carpet extending outward.When the carpet is in this configuration, it is treated with the liquid spray treatment. The roll provides the advantage of opening up the face yams to permit good penetration of the washing liquid into the face fibers of the carpet face yarns.

The invention will now be described in greater detail by way of example with reference to the drawing which shows schematically one form of apparatus in accordance with the invention.

Referring to the drawing, the fabric or carpeting 1 of conventional structure is passed along rolls 2, 4, and 6. The side of the fabric to be treated, or the face fiber yarn side of the carpet, faces upwardly away from the surface of rolls 2 and 6. Spray nozzles 8 adjacent the upper surface of roll 2 direct a high pressure, low volume washing liquid against the face of the fabric 1. The nozzles may be conventional Model 32 Broughton oscillator nozzles or Model 3715 Broughton shower nozzles. These nozzles direct the washing liquid at the face of the fabric and dispense liquid at about 70 pounds per square inch with a flow of 1.5 gallons per minute of liquid per nozzle. It is obvious that the thickness of the material being treated or the thickness of the material to be washed must control the amount of liquid deposited and the pressure at which the liquid is supplied.The guiding principle is that one must deposit sufficient liquid to carry out the desired treatment at a pressure sufficient to penetrate that area that is being treated. The liquid must be so directed against the fabric that one does not saturate the back of the fabric with liquid, and thus require the extraction of this excess liquid from the back of the fabric. Similar nozzles 10 are utilized adjacent roll 6 to repeat the washing operation so that it is carried out, with carpeting, preferably, in two steps.

Immediately after the nozzles 8 and 10, there is positioned vacuum means 12 and 14.

The vacuum means may be single or dual slot vacuum structures which are placed very close to the face of the fabric while on or off the rolls 2 and 6. These operate with a vacuum in the range of 15 inches of mercury. The vacuum nozzles may be positioned adjacent the fabric while it is flat after it has left the rolls 2 and 6, or it may be positioned against the fabric while it is still on the periphery of the rolls 2 and 6.

Utilizing the conventional nozzle structures above described and the vacuum means above described against a carpet product having a foam back of .18 inches of thickness with a face fiber acrylic yarn of .28 inches and face fiber weight of 35 ounces per square yard, the carpet was satisfactorily washed and it left the above-described treatment apparatus with a 12% moisture in the carpet. Comparing this with the most advanced wash tank system now being utilized, the same type of carpet would have 35% moisture after washing. It is obvious that there has been a substantial reduction in water content in the washed carpet and, therefore, substantially less energy will be needed to take the carpet to an acceptable dry state of 2-3% moisture.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A method for the liquid treatment of one side of a fabric having a front surface to be liquid treated and a back surface which is not to be substantially wetted with the liquid, which comprises moving the fabric, and (a) spraying the front surface of the moving fabric with a liquid to wet the front surface of the fabric without substantially wetting the back surface thereof; and (b) extracting at least a portion of the liquid from the moving fabric by a vacuum extraction means to reduce the liquid content to about 12%.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the spraying and extracting steps are repeated to cause two liquid treatment steps to be

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. foam on the back of the carpet. With conventional techniques utilizing wash tanks, the foam becomes saturated with the liquid. Heavy squeezing must be utilized to get a large amount of the wash water out of the carpet. The carpet then must be subjected to extensive drying to dry the water not only from the face fiber of the carpet, but the heavy foam backing. Utilizing the inventive method described herein and comparing it to a conventional foam backed carpet product, there may be secured a 40% saving in fuel usage when after the liquid treatment and vacuum extraction one dries a carpet to an acceptable dry level of 2-3% of moisture based on dry weight. The inventive method herein is directed to a technique for the liquid treatment of one side of a fabric having a front surface which is to be liquid treated and a back surface which is not to be wetted, or at least saturated, with the liquid. The invention is particularly applicable to a carpet wherein the front surface of the fabric is the face yarns of the carpet and the back surface of the fabric is the carpet back. There will be a substantially impermeable barrier in the carpet structure. The liquid is applied to the front surface of the fabric through the use of conventional spray nozzles which normally operate under high pressure, low volume circumstances. The liquid will wet the front surface of the carpet without any substantial wetting of the back surface of the carpet. Particularly with a foam backing or a secondary backing on the carpet, the impermeable barrier will be between those backings and the face yarns. Vacuum extraction means are then utilized to remove excess liquid from the fabric. Normally, the spraying and vacuum operation is carried out in two liquid treatment steps to secure, with carpet particularly, a good washing of the carpet. Also, the carpet is normally, but not necessarily, passed around the surface of a roll with the face side of the carpet extending outward.When the carpet is in this configuration, it is treated with the liquid spray treatment. The roll provides the advantage of opening up the face yams to permit good penetration of the washing liquid into the face fibers of the carpet face yarns. The invention will now be described in greater detail by way of example with reference to the drawing which shows schematically one form of apparatus in accordance with the invention. Referring to the drawing, the fabric or carpeting 1 of conventional structure is passed along rolls 2, 4, and 6. The side of the fabric to be treated, or the face fiber yarn side of the carpet, faces upwardly away from the surface of rolls 2 and 6. Spray nozzles 8 adjacent the upper surface of roll 2 direct a high pressure, low volume washing liquid against the face of the fabric 1. The nozzles may be conventional Model 32 Broughton oscillator nozzles or Model 3715 Broughton shower nozzles. These nozzles direct the washing liquid at the face of the fabric and dispense liquid at about 70 pounds per square inch with a flow of 1.5 gallons per minute of liquid per nozzle. It is obvious that the thickness of the material being treated or the thickness of the material to be washed must control the amount of liquid deposited and the pressure at which the liquid is supplied.The guiding principle is that one must deposit sufficient liquid to carry out the desired treatment at a pressure sufficient to penetrate that area that is being treated. The liquid must be so directed against the fabric that one does not saturate the back of the fabric with liquid, and thus require the extraction of this excess liquid from the back of the fabric. Similar nozzles 10 are utilized adjacent roll 6 to repeat the washing operation so that it is carried out, with carpeting, preferably, in two steps. Immediately after the nozzles 8 and 10, there is positioned vacuum means 12 and 14. The vacuum means may be single or dual slot vacuum structures which are placed very close to the face of the fabric while on or off the rolls 2 and 6. These operate with a vacuum in the range of 15 inches of mercury. The vacuum nozzles may be positioned adjacent the fabric while it is flat after it has left the rolls 2 and 6, or it may be positioned against the fabric while it is still on the periphery of the rolls 2 and 6. Utilizing the conventional nozzle structures above described and the vacuum means above described against a carpet product having a foam back of .18 inches of thickness with a face fiber acrylic yarn of .28 inches and face fiber weight of 35 ounces per square yard, the carpet was satisfactorily washed and it left the above-described treatment apparatus with a 12% moisture in the carpet. Comparing this with the most advanced wash tank system now being utilized, the same type of carpet would have 35% moisture after washing. It is obvious that there has been a substantial reduction in water content in the washed carpet and, therefore, substantially less energy will be needed to take the carpet to an acceptable dry state of 2-3% moisture. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A method for the liquid treatment of one side of a fabric having a front surface to be liquid treated and a back surface which is not to be substantially wetted with the liquid, which comprises moving the fabric, and (a) spraying the front surface of the moving fabric with a liquid to wet the front surface of the fabric without substantially wetting the back surface thereof; and (b) extracting at least a portion of the liquid from the moving fabric by a vacuum extraction means to reduce the liquid content to about 12%.

carried out.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the spraying step is carried out with the fabric carried face surface outward on the surface of a roll to open up the face surface of the fabric during the spraying step.

4. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the extraction step is carried out with the fabric carried face surface outward on the surface of a roll to open up the face surface of the fabric during the extraction step.

5. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the fabric is a carpet and the front surface of the fabric is the face yarns of the carpet and the back surface of the fabric is the carpet backing and the spraying step is carried out to only wet out completely the face yarns of the carpet.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5 wherein the carpet has a foam backing.

7. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein after the or the last vacuum extraction step the fabric is dried to reduce the liquid content to 2-3%.

8. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein the liquid treatment is washing.

9. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the liquid is water.

10. A method as claimed in claim 1, carried out substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawing.

11. An apparatus for the liquid treatment of one side of a fabric having a front surface to be liquid treated and a back surface which is not to be substantially wetted with the liquid, (a) means for moving the fabric through the apparatus (b) spraying means for wetting the front surface of the fabric with a liquid without substantially wetting the back surface thereof and (c) vacuum extraction means for removing a portion of the liquid from the fabric, the spraying means and the vacuum extraction means being so positioned that when fabric is being moved through the apparatus they are adjacent to the front surface of the fabric, and the vacuum extraction means being downstream from the spraying means.

12. Apparatus as claimed in Icaim 11 wherein two sequential spraying means and vacuum extraction means are positioned to cause two liquid treatments of the fabric to be carried out.

13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 11 or claim 12 wherein a roll is used to carry the fabric with the face surface of the fabric positioned outwardly from the surface of the roll to open up the face surface of the fabric adjacent the spraying means.

14. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 13 wherein the vacuum extraction means is positioned adjacent to the fabric when said fabric is carried on the surface of the roll.

15. Apparatus as claimed in claim 11, substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated by the drawing.