US1242327A

US1242327A - Waterproofing of fabrics.

Info

Publication number: US1242327A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ethel I Cuthbertson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1916-11-22
Filing date: 1916-11-22
Publication date: 1917-10-09
Anticipated expiration: 1934-10-09

Description

I. CUTHBERTSON, F VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CL

' wn'rnaraoorme or mim cs.

No Drawing.

5 British Columbia, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Waterproofing of Fabrics, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement win the water-proofing of fabric made from either animal or vegetable fiber, and the improvement is directed to the permeation of the fabric and the coating of its individual fibers with a Water-repelling material that .15 is adherent, flexible and enduring, and such that will leave the interstices of the fabric free to permit the passage through them ofexhalations from the pores of the body.

Acetate of aluminum is well known as having water-repellent properties and is commonly used in the water-proofing of fabrics, but this material being brittle, in use readily breaks away from the fibers of the fabric and either falls away as a 'fine dust or is washed away when exposed to a heavy shower so that the water-proof qualities of the fabric do not last and require renewal.

Attempts have been made to fix the acetate of aluminum to the fabric by dipping it after treatment with the acetate, into a soap solution, but while this treatment is to a certain extent advantageous, it is not entirely satisfactory.

The invention, which is the subject of this application, comprises the treatment of a fabric on the fibers of which a coating of aluminum acetate has been deposited and dried, with an emulsion of certainfats and waxes, which will combine'with' the acetate 40 of aluminum and form an insoluble metallic stearate or mineralized wax which is tough, flexible and adherent and practically impenetrable to moisture and insoluble.

The invention also comprises thecombination of certain oils and waxes in the production of a satisfactory emulsion, and the manner of applying the same by successive dippings whereby a more adherent and better water-repellent coating of the fibers is attained.

The particular materials and the process of treatment bywhich this result is attained is fully described in the following specification and is claimed generally and specifi- I cally in the appended claims. 7

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented @0139, I Application filed November 22,1916. Serial No. 132,860. i

The water-proofing process may be summarized as follows:

First,a fine film of a salt of a suitable metal, such as acetate of aluminum is deposited upon the fibers of the fabric. Second,'that coating is impregnated with an.;

emulsion of certain fats and oils which combine With the salt of a suitable metal to form a metallic stearate or mineralized wax.

Third,the water-repellent properties of the mlneralized wax so formed are supplemented by a further light deposit of a waterrepellent salt of a suitable metal, such as aluminum sulfate, which attacks and combines with the stearate and waxes should there be any not acted upon by the acetate oft aluminum, and where considered necessa this last coating is fixed by application to 1t of a solution of certain waxes in a volatile medium.

Although this summarized description may sound as if such successive accretions would make a considerable addition to the substance of the fabric, it must be borne in mnid that the films deposited from the solution are infinitesimally light, and one impregnates or permeates the other, sothat the .aggregatlon does not sensibly add to the .weight of the fabric, nor does it make any material change in its appearance.

The several solutions by which the treatment is conducted are numbered, 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Solution No. 1 from which the first coating of the water-repellent salt of a suitable base is deposited on the fibers of the fabric is a five per cent. solution of aluminum acetate.

Solution No. 2, by which the foregoing coating of aluminum acetate is toughened and rendered insoluble, is an emulsion of certain fats and waxes produced by mixing the following ingredients in substantially ithe proportions given andprepared as folows:

2 pounds of soap dissolved in two gallons (20 pounds) of boiling water.

1 ounce of caustic soda dissolved in 1 pint (20 ounces) of boiling water.

8 ounces of dextrin dissolved in 2 quarts (5 pounds) of Warm water.

.30 in thesblutlon from ten to eighteen hours 'accordingto weight and thickness, etc.

The solution of soap, and the solution of caustic soda are mixed with the melted waxes, oils and resin; the solutions being added in small. quantities while boiling, until the whole is thoroughly mixed together.

This mixture is allowed to cool to one hundred degrees-Fahrenheit and thirty gallons of water, at the same temperature, are added, the solution of dextrin being simultaneously added slowly 'and thoroughly mixed in the emulsion as reduced. This emulsion is then strained to remove any undissolved particles and is then ready for use.

Solution No. 3 is a three per cent. solution of aluminum sulfate at eighty degrees Fahrenheit.

Solution No. t consists ofone pound and a half of ceresin melted and mixed with one pound and a half of paraflin, the melted waxes being carefully mixed With twelve gallons of gasolene warmed to one hundred and twelve degrees Fahrenheit.

In treating fabrics composed of animal fiber, such as woolensor silks to render them water-proof, the fabric is first thoroughly cleansed and dried.

It is then immersed in solution No. 1 at a temperature of from seventy to eighty degrees Fahrenheit and is allowed to remain When removed from the solution it is centrifuged lightly and dried at from one hundred and forty-five to one hundred and sixty degrees Fahrenheit, preferably with circulation of air. I

The fabric is then immersed for from five to ten minutes in solution No. 2, with thorough agitation, and after removal from the solution is lightly centrifuged and partially dried.

It is then immersed in solution N0. 3'at eighty degrees Fahrenheit and after removal is copiously rinsed in warm fresh water, is centrifuged and dried in a temperature of from one hundred and fifty to one hundred and sixty degrees Fahrenheit.

It is then immersed and vigorously agitated for ten minutes in solution No. 4 and is centrifuged and dried at from one hundred and thirty to one hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit and may be pressed hot.

A fabric made of vegetable fiber, such cotton, is first thoroughly cleansed and dried and is immersed for from three to five hours with frequent agitation in solu tion No. 1 at from seventy to eighty degrees naaaaa'z The fabric is then centrifuged and dried and is redipped in solution N0. 2.

After the moisture is drained from it, .it is redipped in solution No. 3.

The fabric is then rinsed well in warm water and is dried at a temperature of from one hundred and fifty to one hundred and sixty degrees Fahrenheit, or is calendered between hot rollers.

Fabrics so treated have thorough waterproof qualities which are not impaired by wear, and the material may be either wet or dry cleaned without detriment to its waterproof character. in its texture and appearance and retains its porosity.

The fabric is unchanged I am aware that acetateof aluminum has heretofore been used per se, and in conjunction with other materials for water-proofing fabrics, and that alum has also been simlv larly used, but believe that the application of the compounds in the proportions and having water-repellent properties, and the. permeation of the material of this film with an emulsion of wax.

2. A fabric water-proofing treatment, comprising the deposit on the individual" fibers of the fabric of a fine film of a salt of a suitable metal having water-repellent properties and the permeation of the material of the film with an emulsion of wax that will combine with the salt of a suitable metal and form a mineralized wax.

3. A fabric water-proofing treatment, comprising the deposit on the individual fibers of the fabric of successive films of acetate of aluminum and an emulsion of wax.

4. A fabric water-proofing treatment, comprising the deposit on the individual fibers of the fabric of a fine film of acetate of aluminum and the conversion of that acetate of aluminum into mineralized wax by impregnation of it with an emulsion of vegetable and mineral waxes.

5. A fabric water-proofing treatment, comprising the deposit on the individual fibers of the fabric of a fine film of a salt of a suitable metal having water-repellent properties and the permeation of the material of the film with an emulsion of wax, oil and resin that will combine with the acetate of aluminum and form a mineralized wax.

6. A fabric water-proofing treatment, comprising the deposit on the individual fibers of the fabric of a fine film of a salt of a suitable metal having water-repellent properties and the permeation of that film with an emulsion of soap, linseed oil, yellow wax,

ceresin, resin, gasolene and caustic soda.

7. A fabric water-proofing treatment, comprising the deposit on the individual fibers of the fabric of a fine film of a salt of a suitable metal having water-repellent' properties and the permeation of that with an emulsion of soap, dextrin, raw linseed oil, yellow wax, ceresin, resin, gasolene and canstic soda.

8. A process of treating fabric to render the same water-proof which comprises depositing a fihn of a salt of a suitable metal on the fibers of the fabric, second acting on the same with an emulsion to convert the same into mineralized wax, third depositing on the film of mineralized wax a film of the water-repellant salt of a suitable metal.

9. The process of waterroofing fabric which includes treating the fabric to a bath of a solution of aluminum acetate and after draining and drying subjecting it to a bath of an emulsion of wax.

10. The process of water-proofing fabric which comprises immersing the fabric in a solution of aluminum acetate and after draining and drying the fabric immersing it in a water-diluted emulsion of wax and oil, and after partial drying immersing it in a solution of aluminum sulfate.

12. The process of waterproofing fabric which comprises immersing the fabric in a solution of aluminum acetate and after drying immersing it in a water diluted emulsion of wax and oil, then after partial drying immersing the fabric in a solution of aluminum sulfate and after copious rinsing and drying immersing it in a solution ,of Waxes in a volatile medium.

In testimony whereof I aflix m si ature;

ETHEL I. CUTHB R SON.