IL26125A - Three dimensional fabric and process of manufacture - Google Patents

Description

una w¾ Patents Form No. 3 PATENTS AN P DESIGNS ORDINANCE.

SPECIFICATION.

"THREE DIKENSIOKAJ, FABRIC AND PROCESS OF ΜΑ Π?ΑΟΤύΚΕ" '•nix*'1? ^w »-?&D-n ji ins" 1 / WEj' -¾ANESE CORPORATION, e c unaer the¾jiws of Delaware, United States of America of 522.. £tft.Aveme».. .ew..^ and do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement : - Docket 4124- 4244 ¾¾ΠΕ5 -DIMENSIONAL PABR.E0- Λ-Ν-Β-- This invention relates to a process for the embossing, quilting and other ornamentation of a fabric and articles of manufacture produced by this process. More particularly, the present invention relates to the preparation of a decorative article from the controlled union of a relatively less heat shrinkable face fabric with a substantially more heat shrinkable backing fabric.

In accordance with the invention, a wide variety of surface colorings contours, contrasts, and combinations of the same may be produced.

The present invention provides an efficient and inexpensive process of producing a decorative article with a puckered effect in selected portions thereof. The distinctly puckered effect is achieved by heat shrinking the partial laminate of two or more fabrics having different heat shrinkage characteristics, thus pulling the less shrinkable face fabric into a puckered effect in selected areas thereof.

Among the fabrics which are suitable for the practice of this invention are ninon greige goods, cotton greige goods, fabrics comprising fibers of polyesters such as polyethylene terephalate, polyamides such as nylon 66, vinylidene chloride homopolyners and copolymers with vinyl acetate or vinyl chloride, polyvinyl chloride, polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, cellulose esters such as cellulose acetate and cellulose xanthate and the like . Any of these materials or combinations thereof is suitable for the fabric sheets provided that one of the sheets is substantially shrinkable relative to the other sheet by the application of heat. A- differential heat shrinkage factor of 10-20 is sufficient to achieve the objects of this invention.

One preferred form contemplates using as the face fabric a fabric which shows no substantial heat shrinkage during the process of manufacture of the finished product of this invention. The substantially .non-shrinking face fabric may be, for example, any fabric which has- been pre-shrunk prior to its use in the process of manufacture of the present invention and will not undergo any further substantial heat shrinkage. Hence, according to one aspect of this invention, the substantially non-shrinkable face fabric and substantially heat shrinkable backing fabric may be made of the same or similar fabric material.

In order to simplify understanding of the invention, the process will be described in detail hereinafter generally in terms of the dry heat shrinkage method employing a substantially non-shrinking face fabric since this is the most important embodiment. However the process in other embodiments will be obvious therefrom to one skilled in the art.

The substantially non-shrinking face fabric is laminated in selected areas only, to the substantially shrinkable backing fabric, starting, for example, with depositing an adhesive on selected areas of a surface of the face fabric. The selection of the adhesive characteristics is an important aspect of the present invention. It is necessary to bond the face fabric to the substantially shrinkable backing fabric at a temperature lower than the heat shrinking temperature of the backing fabric. Also, the adhesive and cohesive strength of the adhesive has to be strong enough at elevated temperatures so that when the backing fabric is heat shrunk, it can pull the face fabric into a puckered configuration without breaking the bond. Accordingly in one embodiment of the invention heat shrinking of the backing fabric is per- formed after curing or cross-linking of the adhesive, the cohesive strength of the adhesive thereby being sufficient to prevent the backing fabric from pulling away from the face fabric upon heat shrinkage .

After the adhesive has been deposited on selected areas of the face fabric, it is laminated to the substantially shrinkable backing fabric at an elevated temperature but below the shrink point of the backing fabric.

At this temperature any solvent or water present in the adhesive is evaporated from the adhesive and the adhesive is rendered tacky. After the adhesive has become sufficiently cohesive by more or less prolonged curing or otherwise, the composite sandwich comprising the face fabric and backing fabric are heated to a sufficient temperature to heat shrink the backing fabric. This heat shrinking of the backing fabric results in a puckered effect in selected areas of the face fabric.

The efficiency and reliability of the process of manufacture is controlled to a large extent by the type of adhesive and the process employed. Various present preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1A is a partially diagrammatic illustration of an apparatus used in the first phase of producing an article of the present invention; Figure IB is a partially diagrammatic illustration of an apparatus used in the second phase of producing an ar-ticle according to the present invention, this apparatus used in conjunction with the apparatus of Figure 1A; Figure 2 is a partially diagrammatic illustration of an alternative form of an apparatus for producing an article according to the present Invention; Figure 3 is a developed plan view of the apparatus of Figure 1A taken along the line 3-3 in Figure 1A; Figure 4 is an isometric view of an article produced according to the present invention; and Figure 5 is a sectional view of the article of Figure 4 taken along line 5-5 in Figure 4. 4 The basic principles of the process utilized in the present invention may be understood by reference to Figures 1A and IB. A face fabric 10, e.g. a fabric heat shrunk prior to use in the process, from a supply 'foil 11 is passed through a nip 12 between rolls 13 and 14. Roll 13 is a gravure or engraved roll which is inked in any suitable manner as by adhesive 15 applied by doctor blade 16. In the present example, the adhesive is a polyurethane-type adhesive as will be later described herein. The adhesive will generally be colorless or non-color-contrasting with the face fabric although for special effects a color-contrasting adhesive can be used.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 1A, the roll 14 is a smooth-surfaced cylinder which may be made of rubber or metal or metal coated with rubber or otherwise suitably constructed. Roll 14 is caused to be rotated at a speed synchronized with that of roll 13.

The surface of roll 13 contains engraved or otherwise produced recesses 17* Each of the recesses 17 is inked in any suitable manner by adhesive 15 which is temporarily retained in the recesses by adhesive or capillary action or otherwise. As face fabric 10 is fed through nip 12 between rolls 13 and 14, those recesses 17 which are inked are gradually brought into compressive contact with the face fabric 10 thereby depositing the adhesive 15 onto the surface of the face fabric. In this specific example the engraving of the roller 17 was 0.020 inches deep. Obviously, the depth of the engraving can be varied according to the character of the face fabric and the viscosity of the adhesive.

- - It will generally be desired to control these factors to prevent strike thru and to apply the adhesive to the surface of the fabric so that there is a sufficient quantity thereon to grab the shrinkable backing fabric 20. The viscosity of the adhesive may be adjusted by means of a thickening agent by conventional techniques. One of the advantages of using an adhesive of higher viscosity is that there is a reduction in lateral migration of the adhesive thereby producing relatively sharp-edged, well defined patterns.

As is clearly indicated in Figure 3 * the recesses 17 of the printing roll 13 are arranged in the desired pattern. Also, as shown in Figure 3j the printing roll 13 imprints the pattern onto the face fabric 10 as it comes in contact with the roll. In this example the pattern has a generally square grid-like configuration corresponding to the pattern shown in Figures 3 and 4.

After face fabric 10, having the desired pattern printed on a surface, passes between rolls 13 and 14, the fabric 10 is fed onto heated roll 18. As face fabric 10 is fed onto heated roll 18 it is laminated to a substantially heat shrinkable backing fabric 20, e.g., ninon fabric, fed from a supply roll 21 to an overlay roll 19 which rolls the backing fabric 20 onto the face fabric 10, the roll 19 applying sufficient pressure to cause adhesion between face fabric 10 and backing fabric 20.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 1A, the heated roll l8 is a smooth-surfaced drum which may be formed of steel, aluminum or the like. The heating of roll 18 may be accomplished by steam, electrically, or one of many other techniques well known in the art. The heating of roll 18 results in evaporation of solvent in the adhesive composition as face fabric 10 is bonded to shrinkable backing fabric 20 in those areas where the face fabric is coated with adhesive 15. The temperature of the heated roll l8 is preferably kept below the shrink temperature of shrinkable fabric 20 but, if possible, above or near the solvent boiling point. In this example, using a heat shrinkable ninon fabric, the surface temperature of roll 20 was about 200eF. The removal of the solvent renders the adhesive tacky.

The roll 21 is a smooth-surfaced cylinder which may be made of metal or rubber or metal coated with rubber. A release coating such as "Teflon" , silicon compounds or other well recognized release coating composition is preferably deposited on roll 21 to avoid any possible adhesion of adhesive to the roll.

After the face fabric has been laminated to the substantially shrinkable backing fabric 20 at a temperature below the shrink point of fabric 20, the composite sandwich article 22 is fed onto a wind-up roll 23 with the aid of guide roll 24 which is a smooth-surfaced cylinder, also preferably coated with a release coating.

The composite sandwich 22 comprising fabric 10 and fabric 20 is removed and stored on the wind-up roll 23 at room temperature for not less than about 48 hours. This allows the polyurethane adhesive to cure or cross-link.

The cross-linking of the polyurethane adhesive (reaction of a polyester with reactive hydroxyl groups and a polyisocyanate)allows the adhesive to develop sufficient high temperature adhesion and cohesiveness to be able to pull the face fabric 10 into a puckered effect upon heat shrinking of the backing fabric 20 without the backing fabric 20 pulling away from the adhesive bonding areas.

Any suitable polyurethane adhesive, as known in the art, may be used herein. A typical adhesive composition that can be employed is set forth below. In each instance the parts are by weight unless otherwise indicated.

Example 1 A solution A was prepared containing 33$ Goodyear "Vitel 207" (a polyester resin), 33. # methyl ethyl ketone and 33.5$ toluol.

A separate solution B was prepared containing the followin : Parts by Weight Goodyear #Vitel 207 - 89.2 DuPont #RC-805 (isocyanate solution) 7· 3 Rohm & Haas #Paraplex U-1 8 (reactive polyester plasticizer) ■ 1.0 DuPont #Hylene TM (tolylene Dlisocyanate) 1.0 Metal and Thermet #Thermolite T-12 ^dibutyl dilaurate tin catalyst) 0.5 Dimethyl Sulfoxide 1.0 Solution A and B are mixed and the viscosity may be adjusted from 5 to 50, 000 cps., by means of a silica thickening agent such as Cab-O-Sil. The viscosity is important in relation to the character of the fabric.

Referring now to Figure IB, after the adhesive has cross-linked sufficiently the composite sandwich 22, is fed onto heated roll 25 with the aid of guide rull 26.

The surface of the roll 25 is sufficiently hot to cause substantial shrinkage of the backing fabric 20. Preferably the surface temperature of roll 25 is maintained at about 300 to 350°P. The heated roll is a drum which may be formed of steel, aluminum, or the like preferably with a quite smooth surface for accommodating slippage of the fabric due to shrinkage. The heating may be accomplished by steam, electrically or one of many other techniques well known in the art.

As illustrated in Figure IB, as the backing fabric is heat shrunk this causes the backing fabric to pull the face fabric into a puckered configuration in selected areas 27, that is, those areas free from adhesive will generally pucker above those selected areas of the face fabric 10 which are bonded to the backing fabric 20. The cohesion between the face fabric 10 and the backing fabric 20 is of sufficient strength so that the backing fabric will not pull away in the areas where the fabrics are bonded.

After the backing fabric 20 has been heat shrunk, the finished puckered article 28 is fed onto a wind-up roll 29 with the aid of idler 30. The wind-up of the finished article 28 should not be taut as it may result in the puckered effect being pulled out because the fabric when hot is somewhat elastic. The speeds of rolls 29 and 30 are therefore preferably less than that of roll 26 by a factor of 20 or by an amount representing the shrinkage factor of the "back fabric. Automatic tension control apparatus will, of course, be utilized in the apparatus wherever desirable. t\ Attractively decorated fabric material may thus be produced by the apparatus of Figures 1A and IB, for example, the decorative material of Figure 4.

As will be seen in Figure 4, the decorated articles of this invention may comprise a substantially non-shrinkable fabric 10 bonded in selected areas 30 to a heat shrunk fabric 20. These selected areas correspond to the areas of the face fabric 10 printed with adhesive 15. The unprinted areas 31 (areas free of adhesive) correspond to the puckered portions-27 of the decorative article. The puckered areas 27 lie above the printed areas 30, as illustrated in Figure 5 · There are practically no consequential limitations on the pattern of decoration. producible by applicant's process whereas many limitations would exist with respect to a contoured three dimensional fabric produced on a multiple-needle sewing machine. Also such a sewing process is relatively expensive due to the slow speed of operation.

It should be noted, however, that the adhesive pattern in preferred embodiments of the invention is designed to avoid large unbroken areas of adhesive, for example, any area greater than one centimeter square is preferably broken by lines or areas not having adhesive. Large unbroken adhesive areas tend to be stiff and to create stress and unwanted wrinkling.

Turning now to Figure 2, there is illustrated a one-pass bonding and shrinking process for producing the articles of the present invention. The process as shown in Figure 2 avoids having to wait for the adhesive to crosslink or cure.

The adhesive employed in the process illustrated is preferably a latex adhesive. For example, water based acrylic latexes which cross-link at moderately elevated temperature are particularly suitable. As an example of a latex adhesive which can be employed is B. F. Goodrich Hycar 2600 x 84 and Rohm & Haas E-32.

Referring to Figure 2, a substantially non-shrinkable fabric 40 from a supply roll (not shown) is passed through a nip 4l between rolls 42 and 43. Roll 42 contains engraved recesses 46 which are inked with latex adhesive 44 applied by doctor blade 45. The roller 43 is a smooth-surfaced cylinder as previously described in connection with Figure 1A. As the fabric 40 passes through nip 4l, between rolls 42 and 43i adhesive is deposited on the surface of fabric 40 in the desired pattern when recesses 46 come in compression contact with fabric 40.

After the fabric 40 has been fed between rolls 42 and 43, fabric 40 is fed to a heated roll 47 which may' be a drum made of steel, aluminum or the like. The roll 47 may be heated in any conventional manner as previously described. As the face fabric 40 is fed onto roll 47 it is laminated to a substantially shrinkable backing fabric 48 fed from a supply roll (not shown) to an overlay roll 49 covered with a release coating composition. The surface temperature of the heated roll 47 may be maintained at a temperature between about 200° -212eF. in the illustrated embodiment. At these temperatures water present in the latex adhesive is driven off but the temperature is low enough not to heat shrink backing fabric 48.

The laminated sandwich 50, comprising face fabric 40 and backing fabric 48 is fed from heated roll 47 to another heated roll 51 with the aid of guide roll 2 which may be constructed of the same material as roll 43. The laminated sandwich 50* fe to heated roll 1 is substantially dry, the water having been removed from the adhesive. The surface temperature of heated roll 51 Is maintained at about 250°F. which may cause the backing fabric 48 to commence shrinking thereby bringing about partial puckering of selected areas of face fabric 40. At this step the last vestige of water is driven from the adhesive and a sufficiently strong bond exists to resist stresses due to shrinking and puckering.

The speed of roll 51 is slower than that of roll 50. This will prevent taut feeding to roll 51 which may pull out the puckered effect. Both rolls 50 and 51 are preferably smooth surfaced as roll 25 to accommodate shrinkage.

After the fabrics 40 and 48 have been thoroughly dried by heated roll 51 they are fed over idlers 53 and 54 to heated roll 55 which may be a drum constructed as the other heated rolls. The surface temperature of heated roll 55 is in the illustrated embodiment about 350°F.

At this temperature final shrinkage of backing fabric 48 will occur and the puckered effect on the selected areas of the face fabric 40 will be complete. Also at this temperature the latex adhesive will be further cured.

Ultimate complete curing is important in the finiehed product to impart dry-cleanabllity and/or launderability. The finished decorative article 56iis fed from heated roll 55 to a take-up roll (not shown) with the aid of roll 57.

There is obtained from the process illustrated in Figure 2 a decorative article as may also be represented by the article of Figure 4.

The process illustrated in Figure 2 can also be successfully carried out by omitting heated roll 51. The primary function of this roll is to drive off any remaining water in the adhesive before final shrinking. Therefore, if desired, heated roll 7 can be employed to completely drive off the water in the latex adhesive . Also the final shrinking may be carried out in an oven.

Example 2 Two sheets of woven fabric having 72 ends per inch and 68 picks per inch are manufactured with yarn of continuous filament polyester (polyethylene terephthalate ) of 70 denier and filaments, twisted 18 turns per inch.

One of these woven polyester fabric sheets is heated to 350°F. in contact with a hot metal surface for 10 seconds. The entire fabric shrinks to an extent wherein less than 4 residual shrinkage remains .

The pre-shrunk or heat-stabilized polyester sheet is printed in a floral design corresponding to the roller design with an adhesive having the following composition.

Parts by weight epoxy resins (Shell Chemical Co. #1003) 60 parts, solids, in a 70 solution Polyamide cure, parts solids in a 70$ 40 • solution Pigment, e.g. Ti02 solids 100 Total solids 200 The printed fabric is then laminated to the unshrunk sheet by passage through a pair of squeeze rolls and the adhesive is set.

The fabric pattern laminate produced as above is next heated to 00°F. with the unshrunk fabric side in contact with a metal surface for seconds. The unshrunk fabric shrinks approximately 15$ of its original length thereby causing the pre-shrunk ' fabric to pucker up and create a quilt-like surface effect conforming to the floral design used in the printing step. The design has sharp definition and is pleasing in appearance.

There are many modifications and variations of the processes which may be achieved without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, additional decorative effect can be provided on the substantially non-shrinkable face fabric by using a colored adhesive of sufficient viscosity to penetrate through the face fabric, or the face fabric may be translucent. It is thereby possible to produce in one process a contoured article which has a decorative color scheme conforming in whole or in part to the pattern printed on the face fabric. Variants of the puckered decorative pattern may also be made by calendering or ironing the pucker either as a part of the puckering process or separately.

The article of the present invention is particularly useful as a light weight decorative material such as for clothing, draperies and in other applications where decoration is desired. Also the article may be advantageously used for insulation purposes by, for example, securing the backing fabric to an insulation material such as a polyurethane foam or by adding filler such as foam or batting between two woven fabrics. Thus, the article of r the present invention also may be used for bed covers, clothing lining, etc.

While the apparatus and process illustrated in Figures IA, IB and 2 contemplates depositing adhesive directly on the face fabric, it is also possible to produce a decorative article with a puckered effect by printing the adhesive on the substantially shrinkable backing fabric. The adhesive when applied to the face fabric or backing fabric may also be applied by silk screening, spraying or other technique.

Also, the process of the present invention can be employed to reduce a decorative effect on both sides of a heat shrunk fabric. The heat shrinkable fabric in such case could be sandwiched between two substantially non-shrinkable face fabrics. This three layer article can be produced either simultaneously or in two stages by impressing the desired pattern with adhesive on both sides of a heat shrinkable fabric and laminating to each side a substantially non-shrinkable fabric. The shrinkable fabric sandwiched between the face fabrics is then heat shrunk as described above. The simultaneous printing of a pattern on both sides of a fabric can be accomplished by passing the fabric between two rolls each engraved with the desired pattern or by striking through from one side .

Variations in the decorative article of this invention can further be achieved by varying the degree to which the backing fabric is heat shrunk thereby varying the degree of puckering.

Other variations in the decorative effect can be achieved by using fabrics which will substantially heat shrink in one direction but not in the other. Thus, for example, a face fabric may be used containing fibers which will heat shrink in one direction whereas the backing fabric employed may contain fibers which heat shrink in a direction different from the fibers of the face fabric. This -also will result in an interesting decorative effect.

In addition to the adhesives employed above, numerous other adhesives may be employed within the spirit of the invention. Almost any dye or pigment may be used to impart a desired color to the adhesive. The solvents used with the adhesive may also be varied, depending upon the consistency and requirements of the adhesive .

While certain preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is to be understood that the invention may be otherwise embodied and practiced within the spirit of this disclosure and within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (12)

1. HAVING NOW particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention and in what manner the same is to "be performed>( we declare that what we claim is t < r' 1.

2. The process of producing a decorative article which comprises depositing an adhesive on selected areas of a surface of a relatively lessrffirinkable fabric, laminating the fabric to a substantially backing fabric "at a temperature below the shrink point of the fabric, forming a strong cohesion between- the relatively less shrinkable fabric and the substantially more shrinkable backing fabric and heating the laminated article to a temperature above the shrink point of the substantially more shrinkable backing fabric. \ 2.

3. A process according to. claim 1 wherein the relatively less shrinkable fabric is substantially non- shrinkable . • 3· Process as in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the adhesive is cross-linked prior to heat shrinkage of ■ · the laminated'; article.

4. Process as in any of claims 1-3 wherein any solvent present in the adhesive is removed by bonding the respective fabrics at a temperature below the shrink point of the heat shrinkable backing fabric .

5. · Process as in any of claims 1-4 wherein the backing fabric is heat shrunk at a temperature between about 300° and 350°F.

6. Process as in any of the preceding claims ' wherein the face fabric is bonded to the backing fabric only at adhesive coated portions of the face fabric, the portions being divided to have continuous areas no greater than approximately one centimeter square .

7. Process as in any of the preceding claims wherein the adhesive is a polyurethane .

8. Process as in any of claims 1-6 wherein the adhesive is a latex adhesive.

9. · Process as in any of the preceding claims wherein the backing. fabric is preshrunk by heating at a temperature at about 250°F. and subsequently at a temperature of about 350°F.

10. Process as in any of the preceding claims wherein two shrinkable fabrics are bonded on each surface of the shrinkable fabric thereby sandwiching the shrinkable fabric between two substantially non-shrinkable fabrics .

11. A decorative article comprising a substantially non-shrinkable face fabric embossed in a predetermined pattern with an adhesive material and a backing fabric comprising a heat shrunk material adhered to the surface of the face fabric at least at the adhesive coated portions thereof, the, backing fabric being heat shrunk after lamination to the face fabric .

12. Article as in claim 11 wherein selected areas of the face fabric which are free of the adhesive are puckered above areas of the face fabric coated with the adhesive . 13'· Process of producing a decorative article substantially as herein described. l .. Decorative fabric articles substantially as herein described. Dated this Eleventh day of «Taly 1966 Age t for Applicants,