US1665230A

US1665230A - Lace web and process of making the same

Info

Publication number: US1665230A
Application number: US82185A
Authority: US
Inventors: Spalding John
Original assignee: Albert T Otto & Sons
Current assignee: Albert T Otto & Sons
Priority date: 1926-01-19
Filing date: 1926-01-19
Publication date: 1928-04-10
Anticipated expiration: 1945-04-10
Also published as: GB264833A; FR627788A

Description

J. SPALDING LACE WEB AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Jan. 19, 1926 IAN/EN 70/? A TTOH/VEV Patented Apr. 10, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE.

'J'OHN SPALDING, OF STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO ALBERT T. OTTO-d6 SONS, 0] NEW YOEK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

mien wan AND rnocnss or MAKING Erna sum.

Application filed January 19, 1926. Serial No. 82,185.

In the manufacture of certain kinds of lace it is customary to form a large number of the bands or widths of the lace at the same time, and to accomplishthls by forming a wide ,web which includes a plurality of the bands or strips of the lace arranged side by side, and extending lengthwise of the web. The machine is so designed and operated that auxiliary threads are included which extend lengthwise of the web, and serve to connect together the adjacent edges of the bands or strlps.

As 'these threads are usually removed by drawing them out in broken sections, they are commonly called draw strings. They may be removed immediately after the knitting, braiding, weaving, or other formmg operation, but preferably not unt11 after the finishing operations such as 'bleachlng, dyeing, starching, stretching, etc. As those draw threads are ordinary removed by hand the labor involved adds materlally to the cost of the product, and the pulling or cutting of these threads or strings often breaks or cuts threads of the lace, so as to .Tuin or at least lower the value of the product.

The main object of my lnventlon is to facilitate the removal of these draw threads without hand work, without the necessity of drawing or cutting them, and without l ia bility of injury to the lace. I accomplish this result by making these draw strings or threads of a different material from the threads of the'lace and of such material that they may be destroyed in situ. I subject the draw strings to the action of a destroying agent, as distinguished from physically removing them by pulling them out. The destroying agent is preferably one which will convert the thread into liquid form or dissolve it. The dissolving may be a melting action, the forming of a physical or chemical solution, or other disintegration, so that it loses its physical characteristics as a thread, and loses all capability of holding the parts together.

By means of my invention I simplify the manufacture of lace, effect a great saving in cost, time and labor, and avoid the production of a large percentage of seconds.

In carrying out my invention I use in place of the ordina cotton draw strings, strings or threads w ichf may be destroyed by an agent which will not injuriously affect the threads going to make up the'lace. The manufacture may be carried on in the usual manner, and'the web of lace may be subjected to the, usual procedure which may in-' Merely as an example the draw strings may be made of cellulose acetate fibers which are soluble in acetone. Various other solvents'may be used, depending upon the character of the thread used, and'which will not affect the ordinary cottonthreads used in making the lace. Among such solvents are the following: acetone, methyl alcohol, amyl acetate, benzene, ethyl alcohol, methyl ethyl ketone, tetrachlorethane, methyl acetate, ethyl formate, acetic acid, ethyl acetyl acetate, furfurol, acetic ether, ether, diketone alcohol, benzilic alcohol, phenol, and spirit turpentine. I

When the webs of lace are woven with the soluble draw strings therein, the web is subjected to the usual procedure for finishing, and when dry is passed through an apparatus containing ,the suitable solvent or mixture of solvents to dissolve out the draw strings. The lace is now separated into bands or strips which pass through driers or washers to remove the excess solvent, and the bands or strips are reeled up.

To prevent undue shrinkage during the dissolving or drying, the Web or lace may be. placed in oneor more thicknesses between draw strings. When all of the draw strings have been dissolved, the lace, with or w thout the screens, is run into a suitable drier, and the excess solvent removed. The pressure of the screens on the lace web Wlll prevent undue shrinkage during this process.

In some instances the draw strings may be of a metal alloy with a very low melting oint, such that it will melt and drop out if the lace be passed through bolhngwater. It may also be of 9. meta which w1ll d1sintegrate or dissolve in the action of a dilute acid which will not affect the fibers of the lace. In some cases I might use a metal or metallic alloy for the threads, the composition being such as Wlll readily melt in a blast of hot air or inert gas and the particles be removed or blown away by the blast, or theymay be subjected to the action of a blast of hot oxygen which w1ll oxldlze them and remove the reaction products.

Althou h, as previously stated, I preferably employ a soluble organic fiber which will dissolve in an organic solvent, I consider. within my broad invention any material which may be removed by a destroying agent which will not injuriously afiect the fibers of the lace, and preferably the threads are of such kind that t ey may be converted into fluid form by the dissolving agent. By the term fluid form I include ordinary melting, as well as physical and chemical solution.

I do not wish to be limited to any particular design or type of lace, nor to any particular apparatus for removing the draw strings by the destroying agent. The construction shown in the accompanying drawing is given merely by way of example:

Fig. 1 is a face view of a web of lace 1n eluding four bands or strips.

Fig. 2 is a greatly magnified v1ew of the adjacent edges of two bands showing the draw strings, and

Fig. 3 is a vertical section showing n a very diagrammatic form an apparatus which may be employed.

In Fig. 1 I have shown four bands or strips of lace 10 which are made at the same time in forming the webmade up of these four strips or bands. Obviously, in practice, with narrow width lace there would be a very large number of such bands or strips, instead of merel four. as illustrated. Each band or strip 0 lace is shown as having a straight edge 11 and an edge 12 presenting a series of small s.

In Fig. 2 the ed e 11 is shown as terminating in a threa 13, while the adjacent edge 11 of the other band or strip includes an edge thread 14 which presents a series of loops. These two threads 13 and 14 which form permanent parts of the two bands or strips of lace, are connected together by a draw string 15 and a tie thread 16. In the ordinary construction the draw string 15 is pulled out when the web of lace is completed and the tie thread which is ordinarily of very much smaller size may be readily removed. In my improved construction, instead of making this draw string of cotton thread or other material analogous to that employed in forming the lace, I make this thread of a' material which may be destroyed by an agent which will not injuriously affect the threads of the lace. As soon as the draw string 15 is dissolvedor otherwise converted into fluid from, the tie thread 16 is liberated, and may be readily removed.

In Fig. 3 I have shown somewhat dia-.

grammatically an apparatus which may be employed particularly if the liquid which is used to dissolve out the draw string softens the starch or otherwise tends to shrink.

the lace. In the construction illustrated there is employed a tank20 having aplurality of rollers 21 and partitions 22, so arranged that the web of lace 23 fed from the roll 24 may pass up and down a plurality of times through the tank. If the tank is filled or nearly filled with a liquid solvent for the draw strings, it is preferable to provide brushes 25 which will act against the lace particularly along the lines of the draw strings. The parts 25, instead of being brushes, may be nozzles which direct streams of the solvent or other destroying agent in fluid form directly against the lace or the draw strings. The web of lace may pass from the tank 20 toa roller 26, thence around a steam drum 27 to a second roller 28, so that the lace may be thoroughly dried after leaving the tank 20 and before being delivered to reels or other devices for receiving the strips or bands ofulace which are now sepa rated one from another. In the tank 20 it will be noted that the middle partition subs divides the tank into two compartments. The solvent for the draw strings may be in the first compartment, and the liquid on the opposite side of the partition may serve to rinse or wash the lace free from any solvent which would adhere thereto.

To prevent shrinking I may employ a pair of screens or

belts

29 and 30 which may come together to receive the web therebetween at a pair of

drums

31, 32, and these two screens may continue with the web of lace and upon opposite sides thereof through the tank and around. the steam drum to a pair of

drums

33, 34. The screens are of such material and so grip the lace between them, that it is prevented from shrinking sideways or lengthwise, either while in the tanker while ben dried. The screen 29 may return direct y from the drum 33 to the drum 31, while the screen 30 may pass from the drum 34 around apair of idlers 35, 36 to the drum 32.

it will of course be evident that the tie threads 16 may also be of the same material.

If the tie threads be of cotton or other ordinary material which would not be affected by the solvent, they'should fall out when the bands or strips are separated, if the operation of the machine is perfect.

Having thus described my invention, what" I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The process of making lace strips, including forming a plurality of strips side by side and connected together by threads of a material which may be destroyed by an agent which will not injuriously aifect the threads of said strips.

2. The process of making lace strips, including forming a plurality of strips side by side and connected together by threads of a material which may be destroyed by an agent which will not injuriously affect the threads of said strips, and treating said connecting threads by said agent to free said strips from one another.

3. The process of making lace strips, including forming a lace web comprising a plurality of strips side by side and connected together by threads of a material Which is soluble in a liquid which will not dissolve the threads of the strips, and treating said web to said li uid so as to dissolve said connecting threa s and free said strips one from another.

4. The process of making lace strips, including forming a pluralit of strips side by side and connected toget er, the threads of the strips being of vegetable matter and the connecting threads being cellulose acetate.

5. The process of making lace strips, in-

cluding forming a plurality of strips side by side and connected together, the threads of the strips being of vegetable matter and the connecting threads being cellulose acetate, subjecting the strips while connected, to finishing operations, and thereafter subjecting them to the action of a solvent which will dissolve the cellulose acetate threads without dissolving the other threads.

6. A fabric web including a plurality of fiat sections each adapted to form a finished article of manufacture, said sections bein connected together by threads of a materia which may be converted to fluid form by an agent which will not injuriously aifect the threads forming such sections. v

7.'A lace web including a plurality of lace strips connected together by threads which may be converted into fluid form by an agent which will not injuriously affect the threads of said strips whereby said strips may be separated.

8. 'A lace web including a plurality of flat lace strips connected together edge to edge by draw strings, the draw strings being formed of cellulose acetate.

9. A lace web including a plurality of flat lace strips connected together edge to edge by draw strings, the draw strings being formed of a material soluble in a fluid which 'will not injuriously affect the threads of said strips.

10. The process which includes forming a plurality of pieces of fabric connected together by threads of a material which will not be afiected by washing, bleaching or other finishing operations on the fabric, but which may be destroyed by an agent which will not injuriously affect the threads of said fabric whereby the pieces of fabric may be separated by the destruction of the connecting threads after the finishing opera tions on the fabric.

11. The process which includes forming a plurality of pieces of fabric connected together by threads of a material which will not be affected by washing, bleaching or other finishing operations on the fabric, but which may be destroyed by an agent which will not injuriously affect the threads of said fabric, and thereafter treating the fabric with said agent to thereby destroy said connecting threads and free said pieces of fabric from one another.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York this 11th day of January, A. D. 1926.

JOHN SPALDI'NG.