US1945250A - Pyroxylin sheet material - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 30, E. ALUNG 1,945,250

PYROXYLI N SHEET MATERIAL Filed Aug. 20, 1932 Invenibr; 5 villi/Q9, W W

Patented Jan. 30, 1934 PATENT GFFICE PYROXYLIN SHEET MATERIAL Guy E. Ailing, Athol, Mass, assignor to Athol Manufacturing Company, Athol, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application August 20, 1932. Serial No. 629,658

'7 Claims.

My invention relates to pyroxylin sheet material or web stock useful as a substitute for leather and other purposes as, for example, as a covering for wood heels of shoes and other irregular surfaces for which leather, celluloid, and fabric materials heretofore have been employed, the invention further relating to methods of making such material.

The pyroxylin sheet material, according to the invention, preferably has compounded therewith filler and color, and is treated to make it flaccid, as distinguished from sheet celluloid which is merely flexible, the degree of fiaccidity, if desired, and preferably, being such that the material may be crumpled without fracture similarly to soft leather or cloth. This material is further characterized in that, when treated with suitable mulling reagents, it may be stretched in all directions, permitting it to be applied to an irregular surface such as the lateral walls of a wood heel of a shoe. The material is further distinguished from celluloid in that it may be produced in indefinitely long lengths of Web stock, whereas celluloid may be produced only in relatively small sheets limited to the dimension of the block of this material from which the sheets are sliced. It is not necessary to polish the material as with celluloid, and further it is closer in appearance to leather than this latter material, and may be grained more satisfactorily to imitate the grain of leather by an embossing process. As compared with leather it will not scuff, and as compared with textile base materials finished to represent leather it will not ravel, and, as it stretches when mulled, it may be applied to an irregular surface without wrinkling.

The above described material will perhaps be best understood from the following description when read in the light of the accompanying drawing of one example of apparatus for practising one method of making one form of the material. 1

In the drawing:-

45 Fig. 1 is a schematic elevation of one form of apparatus for use in connection with the practice of one process of making pyroxylin web stock;

Fig. 2 is a diagram representing a step in the stripping operation; and

Fig. 3 is a schematic elevation of one form of apparatus for completing the stripping operation.

Referring to the drawing, the sheet material above described may be formed by coating 2. sur- 551 face, such as the upper surface of a web 1, with pyroxylin compound, and, after the coating isdried, stripping it from said web.

As an example of a suitable pyroxylin compound for use with this apparatus, but without limitation thereto, the same may consist of ni-' 5,. trated cotton, nitrated wood fiber, or other 111- trated cellulose material, dissolved in a suitable substance such as ethyl acetate, benzol, or ethyl alcohol, the solution containing a suitable plasticizer, preferably castor oil, or, if desired, other plasticizers such as di-butyl phthalate or similar suitable substances, rape-seed oil or other suit: able vegetable oils, suitable so-called processed oils, and the like, and also suitable filler and color.

As an example of the solvent, but without limita- 70 tion thereto, a mixture consisting of 30% ethyl. acetate, benzol, and 20% ethyl alcohol has been found satisfactory. As a satisfactory exam ple of the compound, but without limitation thereto, I may take 10 to 30 lbs. nitrated cotton 75 dissolved in to lbs. of the above mentioned solvent and mix it in a churn with 12 to 14 lbs. castor oil and 6 to '7 lbs. filler containing the desired amount of coloring pigment, the filler being of the kind commonly employed in the arts as, for example, whiting, barium sulphate, etc.

The combination of ethyl alcohol and ethyl acetate is preferably employed because together they make a better solvent than either used alone, whfle benzol is preferably employed to serve as a diluent for the solvent. In general the proportions of the particular example of solvent mentioned may be varied from 15% to 40% ethyl acetate, 50% to 26% benzol, and 35% to 40% ethyl alcohol. It will be understood however that other pyroxylin solvents such as amyl acetate, acetone, methyl acetone, and other homologs of amyl or ethyl acetate or mixtures thereof may e employed as a solvent, although solvents hav-- ing an ethyl alcohol base for economic reasons appear to be most satisfactory.

The flaccidity of the pyroxylin sheet or web may be controlled by varying the amount of plasticizer. For example] if a somewhat stiff product is required the castor oil in the above example may be as low as 3 lbs., or if extreme limp-.. nose or iiaccidity is desired may be as high as 24 lbs.

Conveniently the web 1, upon which the pyroxylin web or sheet is formed, consists of paper or textile material, preferablythe latter, treated to prevent the pyroxylin layer from adhering firmly to it. For this purpose the web maybe rubberized or may be sized with clay filler, glue, casein, starch, or a phenolic condensation prodsil uct (bakelite). The web 1 preferably is of such weave or structure that after treatment it is somewhat porous to facilitate the drying of the web or sheet of pyroxylin.

In one manner of practising the invention, a suitable length of the treated textile web 1 say, for example, a web 100 yds. in length, may be initially Wound to form a roll 3 and then be fed from said roll through a drier 5 and wound to form a roll 7. As the web moves from one roll to the other, the pyroxylin compound may be fed by gravity through the discharge pipe 9 of a tank 11 containing the compound to form a mass 13 of the compound on the upper side of the web behind a doctor knife 15, which latter operates upon the moving Web and compound to spread the latter over the web in a thin layer. This layer, in the form of apparatus shown, is dried by the passage of the web 1 through the drier.

After the web 1 has been completely run off the roll 3 to form the roll '7',the latter may be moved to the position shown by the roll 3 in Fig. 1, and the operation repeated to apply subsequent coatings of the pyroxylin, as many coatings being applied in this way as necessary to secure a layer of the desired thickness, and commonly the desired thickness will be secured with from 2 to 20 coatings. rrereramy, the final coatings are so compounded in respect to the color of the material', 'or absence of the same, as to give the finish'ed material the degree of gloss or dullness desired. 1, v

After the webl has been coated with the pyroxylin to the desired thickness, the resulting pyroxylin layer may be stripped therefrom. Conveniently, this may be done by making a cut through th'el'ayer on the lines A and B of Fig. 2, which enables the portion of the layer bounded by said lines to be lifted or stripped from the web 1. The' roll '7 of the coated web may then be mounted as shown in Fig. 3, and be fed from this roll to form a roll 1'7, the stripped end of the coatin'g" being led to a reel 19 which is rotated continuously to strip'a web or sheet 21 of the coating and wind it into a roll 23. Preferably, to facilitate the stripping operation, the layer of pyroxylin on the web 1 is acted upon by suitable scoring tools, conveniently in the form of scoring rolls 25 which cooperate with platen rolls 27 to form scored lines, at opposite sides of the coating, which are prolongations of the lines B of Fig. 2. The stripped textile sheet 1 may then be recoated for forming a second pyroxylin sheet 21 in the manner just described.

As has been hereinbefore mentioned, when the pyroxylin sheet material above described is to be applied to an irregular surface, such as to the lateral wallsof a Wood heel, it is first mulled, that is to say softened, by treating it with a suitable reagent. When mulled the material may be stretched in all directions permitting it to be applied Without stretching. As suitable examples o'f'mulling reagents I may employ water dilutions of'methyl alcohol or acetone, or water dilutions of other pyroxylin solvents. Dilute methyl alcohol however is preferably employed because it has the property of slightly swelling the material when it softens it, allowing the material to be slightly stretched without attenuation.

' When the material is to be embossed, say to grainit in imitation of certain leathers, the same may be done in the common manner by use of embossing rolls or an embossing press, best results ordinarily being secured when the rolls or press elements acting on the material are maintained at about 240 F.

It will be understood that wide deviations may be made from the above described process, apparatus, and materials Without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. The process of making material useful as a leather substitute and for other purposes which comprises spreading a layer of pyroxylin solution containing a plasticizer upon a substantially air pervious sheet to which it will not firmly adhere, drying the layer, and stripping the dried layer from said sheet.

2. The process of making material useful as a leather substitute and for other purposes which comprises spreading a layer of pyroxylin solution containing a plasticizer upon a substantially air pervious rubberized textile sheet, drying the layer, and stripping the dried layer from said sheet.

3. The process of making web stock in long lengths useful as a leather substitute and for other purposes which comprises spreadinga layer of pyroxyli-n compound containing a pyroxylin solvent, filler, color, and castor oil upon a moving substantially air pervious rubberized textile web, passing the coated web through adrier,- and stripping the coating from said web.

4. The process of making web stock m long lengths useful as a leather substitute and for other purposes which comprises spreading aplurality of superimposed coatings of pyroxylin compound containing a solution of nitrated cotton mixed with filler, color, and castor oil upon amoving substantially air pervious rubberized textile web, passing the latter through a drier for drying each coating prior to the application of the next coating, and finally stripping the resulting layer from said web.

5. Flaccid sheets of nitrocellulose compound useful for covering wood heels and other articles containing 10 to 30 pounds nitrated cotton or the like and 3 to 24 pounds castor oil or equivalent amount of other pl-asticizer, capable of being mulled to shape them to the heel or other article surface, and characterized by withstanding, without rupture or checking, warping and cracking of the wood heel or other article body to which they are applied.

6. Flaccid sheets of nitrocellulose compound useful for covering wood heels and other articles containing 10 to 30 pounds nitrated cotton or the like and 12 to 14 pounds oastor oil or equivalent amount of other plasticizer, capable of being mulled to shape them to the heel or other article surface, and characterized by withstanding, without rupture or checking, warping and cracking of the wood heel or other article body to which they are applied.

7. Flaccid sheets of nitrocellulose compound useful for covering wood heels and other articles containing 10 to 30 pounds nitrated cotton or the like, 6 to 7 pounds filler, and 12 to 14 pounds castor oil or equivalent-amount of other plasticiz-' er, capable of being mulled to shape them to the heel or other article surface, and characterized by withstanding, without rupture orchecking, warping and cracking of the wood heel or" other article body to which they are applied.

E. ALLING'.

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