US1608766A - Oilcloth - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 30 1926. 1,608,766

A. B. BUCHANAN OILCLOTH Filed April 9, 1925 Jnucnfoi;

Patented Nov. 30, 1926.

UNITED STATES ANDREW RBU'GHANAN, OI PEEKSKILL, NEW YORK..'

OILCLOTH.

Application filed April 9. 1925. Serial No. 21,943.

This invention relates to oil cloth and to a process of making oil cloth'and has particular reference to improvements in the ground for the waterproof coating or coatings.

Heretofore in the manufacture of oil cloth it has been the common practice to employ as the ground a cotton cloth knownin trade as, for instance, 52"+l8 x 48-385 cloth, which means a cotton cloth 52 inches wide and having 48 threads to the inch, both longitudinally and transversely, and running 3.85 yards to the pound. In recent years lighter grades of cloth having as low as 40 threads to the inch and running as high as 5.25 to 5.50 yards to the pound have been used for the purpose of cheapening the product, but the use of such cloth is undesirable for several reasons, among which may be mentioned the cost of filling it and the stiffness of the oil cloth product.

The first step in the manufacture of oil cloth from cotton fabric is to fill it. With a .closely woven cotton cloth the quantity of filling material deposited in the mesh and fibers is relatively small and the cloth remains relatively flexible, but with a loosely woven cloth the ratio of filling material to fiber in the filled cloth is relatively large, and it is still and has a tendency to crack. Vhen low grade fillersare used,' as is usually the case when a loosely woven cloth is used, this stiffness is pronounced. The filling of loosely woven cloth withhigh grade flexible fillers is not practical because this would more than otl'set the saving incident to the use of loosely woven cloth instead of closely woven cloth. and besides the more loosely woven is the cloth the greater is the quantity of filler required. Even when a loosely woven cloth is filled with high grade fillers the product is somewhat stiff.

It has been proposed to use paper as the ground for oil cloth and also to make composite fabrics comprising a waterproof coating upon a backing of cloth and paper glued together.

I have found that oil cloth of suitable strength, flexibility, and other properties characteristic of high grade oil cloth and oilcloth wall coverings maybe madeat a relatively low cost-of production by using as the ground afabric formed by filling the mesh of cotton cloth with celulose fiber such as paper pulp.

count mesh cotton cloth than is practicable in the presentway of manufacturing light weight table, carriage and enamelled oilcloth or oil-cloth wall covering. Further the base of this invention requires fewer coats for finishing than the oil-cloth bases heretofore used. Oil-cloth and oil-cloth wall covering at the present time requires atleast four coats and shows the mesh of the cotton cloth even then, while the base made by this process finished with one coat is 'perfectlv free from this defect. a

My invention is particularly designed to make use of inexpensive cotton cloth such as cheese cloth or tobacco cloth running as low as say 10 threads to the inch, and-the invent1on will be described in this connection, it being understood however that the use of better grades of cloth running up to say threadsto the inch is not precluded. The

feature of my invention to be described hereinafter, namely filling the mesh of the cloth with cellulose fiber, not only makes possible the use of light wei ht inexpensive cloth with the production 0 a high grade, flexible product, but has other advantages as will appear hereinafter, regardless ofthe grade of cloth employed.

The cloth maybe filled and coated with cellulose fiber in any suitable manner. The following two methods, both of which have been used successfully will serve as illustrations. The most effective, inexpensive and preferred method as follows:

In the manufacture of paper according to the usual method, the paper pulp is gathered upon an endless wire net or screen forming a sheet of loose wet fiber or pulp which is carried 'to' rollers. By feeding the cotton cloth onto the wet sheet of pulp and passing the pol and cloth together through the rollers, te pulp is forced into the meshof the cloth and thoroughly fills them, producing. a composite fabric in which the cloth and the paper fiber are firmly bonded together and the mesh of the cloth completely filled, One-surface of the fabric is similar to the surface of paper, the

cloth being completely covered, while on the opposite surface the'cloth is visible, but-the mesh is filled with .the paper fiber,

Another method of forming a composite fabric suitable for use in the preparation of oil cloth in accordance with my invention is to pass a sheet of the cloth and a sheet liu In both cases above referred to the cloth may, if desired, be. filled and coated. with paper. fiberv from. both sides. Other methods of making the composite fabric probably may be devised. For instance, the

cloth, may be passed through a body of paper pulp andthe cloth thus coated and filled with the pulp passed through rolls.

as in the usual paper-making process.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is. an edge View of a fabric filled and coated with paper fiber on one side only and finished with a waterproof coating;

-- and Fig. 2 is an edge view of a fabric'in which the cloth is filled and coated with paper fiber on both sides and finished, on one side with a waterproof coating. 1

Fabric prepared as described is particularly suited for use as a ground for oil cloth. It is strong and flexible and combines the desirable characteristics of cloth and paper, that is, it is strong and flexible and at the same time smooth and compact. The coating material maybe applied directly on the fabric or it may be first sized in order to prevent the coating composition from penetrating into it. In either case, due to the compact structure of the fabric, it does not absorb a sufficient amount of the sizing material or the coating composition to make it stifi. Also, due to the smoothness of the fabric and to the fact that the coating composition does not appreciably penetrate f into the fabric, a minimum quantity of coating compositionqis required. The coat ing of the fabric, either directly on the fabric or after sizing, is carried out in the usual way, that is, in the same way that filled cloth is coated. For instance, it is first given one or more priming coats of a relatively heavy bodied coating composition containing for example heavy boiled oil, glue, gum, pigments, etc, and then one or more finishing .coats of, for instance, a' paint-like composition of a drying oil and a pigment and then a coat of a flexible, clear or colored varnish or enamel. It may of course be colored or printed with designs, calendered and finished in the usual way- It is noted that in accordance with my invention the usual filling of the cloth with compositions such as glue or drying oils or both, and pigments, etc., is avoided.

T he filling of the mesh of the cloth with the cellulose fiber may be said to take the place paper pulp.

respect to' manufacture, and in that it gives a smoother surface and a more flexible structure.

While the backing which is used for the manufacture of oil-cloth according to this invention. has been described asmade from F cotton cloth filled with paper pulp, inasmuch as cotton. cloth. is the most desirable on account. of its low cost, it is obvious that textile fabricsmade of any other fibrous material than cotton may be used in place of cotton cloth. The essential feature of the backing is a textile fabric filled with 1. Oil cloth consisting of a backing composed of cloth. filled and coated withpaper pulp. and a waterproof. coating over the paper f coating,

' 2. Oil cloth consisting of a backing and a waterproof coating. on one side of the backing, said backing consisting of cloth, the mesh of which is filled with cellulose fiber. p, i

3. Oil cloth consisting ofabacking and a waterproof coating on one side of. the backing, said backing consisting of cloth filled and coated on both sides with paper pulp.

4. Oil cloth consisting of a backing and a waterproof coating on one side of the backing, said backing consisting of cloth running. as-low as 10 threads to the inch, the

mesh of which is filled with paper pulp.

5. Oilscloth consisting of a bacln'ng. and a water-proof'coating, said backing consisting of tobacco cloth filled and coated with paper pulp, the water-proof coating being over the paper coating.

6, Method of making oil-cloth which comprises pressing a sheet of loose wet paper pulp into the mesh of cotton cloth-and coating'the resultingfabric with a water-proof composition.

7-. Method of making oil-cloth which comprises pressing a sheet of soft fibrous paper 7 into the mesh of cotton cloth and coating the resulting fabric with a water-proof composition.

8. Method of malnngjoil cloth which comprises filling and coating cloth with paper pulp and coating the resulting fabric with a water-proof composition.

9. Oil-cloth comprising a backing which.

consists of cloth filled and coated with paper with paper pulp, sizing the paper coating and applying a Water-proof coating on the resulting fabric.

12. Method of making oil-cloth which comprises filling and coating cotton cloth with soft fibrous paper, the two being joined by an adhesive, and coating the resulting fabric With a Water-proof composition.

13. Method of making oil-cloth which 10 comprises applying a coating of adhesive to cotton cloth and to a sheet of soft fibrous paper, pressing the paper sheet into the mesh of the cotton cloth and applying a Waterproof coating on the resulting fabric.

14. Oil-cloth consisting of a sized backing composed of cotton cloth filled and coated with paper pulp, and a Water-proof coating over the paper coating.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

ANDREW B. BUCHANAN.

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