US2071347A

US2071347A - Multilaterally stretchable creped paper product

Info

Publication number: US2071347A
Application number: US558884A
Authority: US
Inventors: William C Kemp
Original assignee: Paper Service Co
Current assignee: Paper Service Co
Priority date: 1931-08-24
Filing date: 1931-08-24
Publication date: 1937-02-23
Anticipated expiration: 1954-02-23
Also published as: GB406342A; DE660825C

Description

Feb. 23, 1937. w, c, KEMP 2,071,347

MULTILATERAL-LY STRETCHABLE CREPED PAPER PRODUCT Filed Aug. 24, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet l A TTORNEYS Feb. 23, 1937. w, c, KE'MP v 2,071,347

MULTILATERALLY STRETCHAB LE CREPED PAPER PRODUCT Filed Aug. 24, 1931.

" 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 (mag I I I J N A TTORNEY."

Feb. 23, 1937.

w, c. KEMP MULTILATERALLY STRETCHABLE CREPED PAPER PRODUCT Filed Aug. 24, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS W. C. KEMP Feb. '23, 1937.

I MULTILATERALLY STRETCHABLE CREPED PAPER PRODUCT 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fi led Aug. 24 195i INVENTOR.

BY ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 23, 1937 UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE MULTILATERAILY STRETCHABLE (.JREPED PAPER PRODUCT William C. Keinp, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to The Paper Service Company, Lockland, Ohio,

a corporation of Ohio Application August 24,

21 Claims.

It is well known to crepe paper by running it through a water bath and then leading it to a creping cylinder into contact with which it is pressed by a pressure or back-up roll. As the right angles to the length of the web. The paper will be foreshortened longitudinally and by a like amount it will be stretchable longitudinally. It will not bestretchable transversely.

It has been realized that for a number of uses it would be highly desirable to produce a paper which was stretchable laterally as well as longitudinally. In circumstances where a multidirectional give to the web is required, this give is imperfectly realized in crepe paper. Proposals have been made looking toward the production of paper which is creped so as to have a longitudinal stretchability and is also formed with corrugations or other configurations designed to imparta lateral give. It has not generally been found possible to put into paper in this way, an amount of lateral stretch comparable to the longitudinal stretchability thereof, unless the eifective finished thickness of the web be greatly increased, because while the crinkles produced in the ordinary creping process, are sufficiently minute so as not to produce an unduly thick web, the corrugations employed in connection therewith usually warp the web out of'its general plane, and produce a result which has a much greater effective thickness,and obviously a surface which is a great deal less smooth. Consequently, creped and corrugated fabrics are not as suitable for joining to other fabrics or body materials as are plain creped papers.

The primary object of my invention is the provision of a web which is creped or crinkled as distinguished from corrugated, and in which a multi-lateral stretchability may be realized to the extent desired. It is also my object to provide a web in which the distinct directional grain of former webs is not apparent, and which has a leather-like texture. Still another object of my invention is the provision of a controlled multilateral stretchability in webs whereby said webs have peculiar advantages when joined to backing or body materials as will hereinafter be set forth.

Ina co-pending application entitled The art of producing multi-lateral stretchability in paper'webs or the like, Serial No. 626,059 filed July v creping corrugations of different angularity with 29, 1932 and Serial No. 720,256, flied April 12,

1934, I have claimed process and apparatus as 1931, Serial No. 558,884 (01. 154-55) described herein suitable for the manufacture of i the product of this case.

These and other objects which will be set forth hereinafter, or will be apparent to one skilled in the art, upon reading these specifications, I accomplish by that certain construction and arrangement of parts in my apparatus and product;

and in that process of which I'shall hereinafter describe exemplary embodiments, reference being had to the drawings which form a part hereof, and in which:-

Figure 1 is a plan view of an apparatus suitable for the practice of my invention, and Fig. 2 is an elevation thereof.

Figure 3 is an elevation of the first creping roll of my device taken along the lines A-A of Fig. 2.

Fig.9 is a plan view of a creping device embodying different supporting means for the diagonal knife, and Fig. 10 is an elevation thereof.

Fig. 11 is an elevation of still another supporting means.

Fig. 12 is a plan view, and Fig. 13 an elevation of a creping device employing a bent knife.

Figs. 14 and 15 arerespectively, plan and ele vational views of the same mechanism showing supportingmeans for the bent knife.

Fig. 16 is a partial sectional view showing the relationship of the roll and bent knife at any particular point.

Briefly, in the practice of my invention, I employ upon a desired web, a plurality of creping or Fig.- 4 is an elevation of the second creping roll crinkling operations, the net result of which is to v produce a plurality of sets of crinkles, which sets are non-coincident, and have different directions of primary stretchability, whereby a multi-lateral stretchability in the web is produced. I do this during the continuous travel of the web, and

without cutting or reversing it; and therefore, since; it is notpossible to crepe a web by the methods applicable to my invention, in a direction exactly parallel to its direction of. travel, and since'I desire' to have my different sets-of respect to the length of the paper web, an important feature of my invention is that one or more of the creping operations which I perform upon my web, result in the production of crinkles which are not at right angles to the direction of travel of the web. In the preferred practise of my invention, wherein with two creping operations, I can gain a maximum multi-lateral stretchability, I first crepe the paper in one operation, forming crinkles therein lying substantially at 45 degrees to the longitudinal axis of the paper, and I next subject the paper to a second creping operation, also producing crinkles lying at an angle of 45 degrees to the axis of the web, but in the opposite direction, whereby the two sets of crinkles cross each other at substantially right angles. In this. way, with two creping operations. I can secure a controlled stretchability which is truly multi-lateral, and which, although actually it has two directions of primary stretchability, is for all practical purposes substantially equally stretchable in all directions. It will be understood that the creping knife may lie at a greater or less angle than 45 degrees if desired.

My invention is not restricted to any particular creping operation. The type of creping operation per se which I prefer to use, however, is a creping operation in which the paper or other web is caused to adhere to thecreping cylinder or other surface, by means oi the positive adhesive action of a thermoplastic substance. In other words, I prefer to employ in the practice of my invention, the invention of William Wallace Rowe, as set forth in Reissue Patent No. 17,633, dated April 1, 1930; but I am not restricted to this. I prefer it because of several factors of some importance, among which are the character of crinkles which it produces, and the positive nature of the adhesion between the web and the creping means, which becomes of particular importance at the second creping or subsequent crepings.

I have illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, a creping cylinder I, upon the surface of which a film of bitumen or other heat plastic adhesive substance may be formed by means of transfer rolls 2, the outer one of which turns in a pan 3 of the said thermo-plastic adhesive. A web of paper or the like 4, is led into contact with the film of adhesive substance upon the surface of the cylinder I, so as to adhere thereto and be bound thereby to the surface of the cylinder, or the paper may be coated directly with the adhesive before being led to the cylinder. It may be pressed thereagainst by a pressure or back-up roll 5. The web is removed from the surface of the cylinder I continuously, by a knife or creping doctor 6. This doctor is set at an angle to the axis of the roll. Its characteristics and functions will be more fully described hereinafter. It is sufficient at this point to indicate that due to its angular relationship to the axis of the roll, and likewise to the direction .of travel of the web, it produces crinkles or corrugations in the web, which are at an angle to the major axisof said web, and in the embodiment shown, are substantially at an angle of 45 degrees thereto. The web as it leaves the cylinder I, is indicated at In, and is characterized by slanting or diagonal crinkles I.-

The web is next led to a second creping cylinder 8. Because the web as it is scraped from the surface of the roll I by the diagonal doctor 6, and as it is removed in a direction substantially parallel with the plane of the knife, will be slightly displaced and will be tilted with respect to the horizontal,.approximately to an angle of 45 degreeait will be found advantageous to tilt the second creping cylinder 8 at such an angle that it may directly receive the paper web 4a. This is not unavoidable since by means of rolls or otherwise, it will be possible to tilt the web do back to the horizontal; but the tilting of the roll 8 as shown, may be resorted to when it is not desired to contact the faces of the web 4a with any instrumentalities between the two creping operations. A film of asphalt or other heat plastic substances may likewise be formed upon the sur face of the cylinder 8, by means of transfer rolls 9, but if these rolls follow the roll 8. their axes will also be tilted substantially 45 degrees to the horizontal. Hence, a different arrangement must be provided than in the case of the roll 2, and in this instance, I deliver my bituminous or other adhesive to the higher end of the rolls 9 by means of a pipe II). The heat plastic flows down the bite between the two rolls and the drippings are caught in a pan I I. The pan II may be provided with a conduit I2 leading to a pump I3, which forces the asphalt or other adhesive back through the pipe III. In some instances it may be possible to crepe the paper or other web upon the cylinder I, and to remove it therefrom with a resident film of the adhesive of such thickness as to render it unnecessary separately to apply bitumenor the like to the surface of the cylinder 8. In either event, the web may be pressed down upon the surface of the cylinder 8 by means of the back-up roll I4, and again removed therefrom by means of the creping knife or doctor blade I5. This knife is again set at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the longitudinal axis of the web, but in an opposite direction to the angularity of the knife 6. Since the roll 8 has its axis at substantially 45 degrees to the horizontal, the knife I5 may lie in a horizontal plane, and the now double creped web lb, may be removed therefrom substantially in the horizontal plane as shown.

In the process described, I have thus creped the paper twice, first in a direction to produce crinkles lying at an angle of 45 degrees to the major axis of the paper, and again to produce a second set of crinkles crossing the first and 1ying at an angle of 45 degrees to the said axis but in the opposite direction.

I have not particularly described the action of crinkling the paper, nor the details of the creping cylinder, back-up roll and the like. As indicated, I may employ one or more of a number of different creping processes, Including, of course, but without limitation, the water creping process; and the several processes which I may employ are susceptible of those features of control hitherto employed in creping operations.

Thus when employing asphalt or other heat plastic substance, as the creping adhesive, I may temper the film thereof to the required consistency as by controlling the temperature of my rolls I and 8, and/or of the back-up rolls 5 and I5, and the like.

No one has hitherto however, employed with a creping cylinder or other supporting creping surface any knife or doctor otherwise disposed than parallel to the axis of said roll or at right angles to the path of travel of a web on said surface; and the characteristics of non-parallel knives have not hitherto been investigated nor charted. The employment of such knives involves certain specific problems, a discussion of which is now in order, particularly as to cylindricat-surfaces. One of the problems involved is the securing of crinkles, the direction of which in Fig. 5, the line of cut upon the said unrolled surface would not be a straight line, but on the contrary, would correspond to thesinusoidal line 16. And if ll be taken as a representation of the paper going over the cylinder, then it .will be clear that a straight knife; comparable to the slice described, will not produce straight'crinkles extending diagonally across the sheet. 'The ideal condition would be to produce aknife which would contact the surface of the cylinder and. consequent- 'ly the sheet along the diagonal straight line 18. This condition can be obtained by the employment of an angularly disposed, hollowed out knife contacting, at its edge, the surface of the cylinder, but curved slightly at its ends to straighten the line of crepe. Such a knife might be'made andwould not fall without the spirit of my'invention; but it would be expensive and difficult to manufacture, diflicult to mount, and diflicult to use and repair. By the use of a straight knife, some of these disadvantages can be avoided. The same result can also, as set forth hereinafterybe advantageously attained by the use of a bent knife, in effect, wound about the surface of a, cylinder so as to be substantially helically disposed. V

It will next be noticed upon the diagram of Fig. 5, that changes of curvature of the line 16' are most marked near the edges of the diagram.

It is possible to draw two lines l9 and 20, parallel to the edges of the diagram between which lines the deviations of the sinusoidal curve i6,

- cylinder at the desired angle to the axis thereof there-across.

e and" 22.

and hollowed out so as to contact the surface of the cylinder at all points throughout the length of the knife, 'I keep the sheet so narrow with respect to the diameter of the cylinder that I secure substantially a straight diagonal creping This does not necessarily affect the length of the cylinder with reference to the width of the sheet being creped. It does affect, the width of the sheet being creped in its relationship to the diameter of the cylinder.

In Figure 3, I have indicated the cylinder i in elevation having the web I passing over it and being removed therefrom by the-diagonal knife I. The ends of this knife, if produced would ultimately contact the surface thereof above and below in a vertical plane passing through the axis of the cylinder approximately at the points 2| The width of the paper web should therefore, bekept narrower' than the horizontal distance between points 2i and 22, and its optimuiii' width is represented at- 2!, as determined by the diagram of Fig. 5." This does not mean,

however, that the paper web 4 need be'narrower' than the cylinder i, since the cylinder I could be shortened so as to be substantially equal to the distance-23, providing its diameter remains the; same. H

It is known that the character of creping which 75 may be accomplished on any given. machine,

. 3 while affected also by a number of other factors, is dependent in part upon the characteristicsof the creping knife. The creping knife is regularly not a sharp edged blade, since it isthei object not merely to lift the paper from the surface of the cylinder but to crinkle it in so doing. There is, therefore, a part to the knife which either contacts the cylinder or'is approached so closely to it as to engage'the paper properly, and

then a portion which extends away from the surface of the cylinder at a diflerent angle, so as to form with that surface a Vv shaped notch or groove, which has a distinct effect upon. the

crinkling. The angularity of this creping V may be controlled with the production of desired results.

angle to the axis of the creping roll and which is hollowed out upon one side as to contact the creping roll at all points throughout its length. It

In my creping apparatus as shown in Figures 1 and 2, I have a straight knife which is set at an' therefore, contacts the surface along a'complex Y curve. In ordinary creping operations, it is the practice to provide a knife, the plane of which .lies 2 at an angle, both-to a tangential plane at the line of contact between the knife and the cylinder, and to a plane determined by the axis of the cyiinder and a radius thereof, passing throug the said contacting point. If the same practice of tipping the knife were followed in my instance, while this would be within the scope of my invention, and would accomplish the'objec'ts thereof, the curve of the hollowed out portion of my knife would be complicated, and under some circumstancesthe strains von the knife mounting would be less uniform. I prefer therefore to keep my knife as is shown both in Figs. 3 and 4, in a position such that a. radius of the cylinder drawn from the axis thereof, to the point where the center of the knife touches the cylinder, would lie within the plane of the creping knife- Over the distance of the width 23 of the web 4, in Fig. 3, I therefore, se-

eure a relationship of my knife to the surface of my cylinder, such that while the angularitypf the plane of the knife to the cylindrical surface varies from point to point, yet for practical purposes and within the limits set forth, it is perpengreater thediameter of the cylinder with reference to its length, or the width of thepaper being the problems just discussed. The narrower the web in its relationto the'diameter of the cylinder, the more nearly a straight diagonal crepe is achieved. a

The web 4, as it is creped upon the cylinder I, 65'

receives the. diagonal creping 1. Ittakes up in length. whereby a certain degree of'lengthwise creped thereon, the easier becomes the solution of stretchability is secured, but also, since the line of, creping I is diagonal, it takesupwidthwise so that a degree of widthwise stretchability is pro,-

' duced in the web. I thus have realized a web which is stretchable both widthwise and lengthwise, and for certain purposes, such a web may have advantages over a web which isstretchable qlengthwise and scmewhatxstretchable along the idiago'nals butis not stretchable'widthwise at all.

My next step, as illustrated in Fig. 1, is to carry the web 4a, to a new creping point and produce in it a series of diagonal crinkles extending in the other direction. The web is again foreshortened lengthwise and taken up widthwise, and is given stretch in those directions hitherto lacking in it. I now have a web which is stretchable in all directions and which yet is a true creped web and not a corrugated or a creped-and-corrugated web. It is, therefore, relatively thin and -it has a much higher degree of flexibility than the ordinary creped web. The ordinary creped web, while being highly flexible in a direction transverse to the creping, is actually stiflened by the crinkles of With the creping process in connection with which my preferred embodiment has been described, I

can secure a, fine and velvety character of crepe, which has a more uniform and more velvety ap- I pearance than ordinary creped paper, because it' lacks the obvious striation produced by the single creping. Depending upon the amount of stretch left in the sheet after the different crepings, the residual stretch in all directions may be readily controlled. In any event,useful stretchability is realized in all directions. The lines of maximum linear stretchability for each creping are of course, lines perpendicular to. the direction of the crepes produced in the several operations, and in the product 4b of Fig. 1, the maximum stretchability will be along lines extending in both directions, at an angle of 45 degrees to the major axis of the paper. This particular feature is of unusual importance in the making of composite products. Such products are made by .uniting a creped web to another web, body, pad, or the like of backing substance. A wide variety of composite products may be made in this way, to all of which my invention is adapted. Where, my new creped paper is to be joined to a backing substance of textile fabric, the relationship is produced which is illustrated in Fig. 8. Here a web of textile material, such for example, as burlap, is indicated at 24. It has warp and woof threads respectively parallel and perpendicular to the edges thereof. Since the warp and woof threads are relatively inelastic, the stretchability or yielding property in the textile fabric is realized along the diagonal, i. e., the bias, and is produced largely by a variation in the angularity of the warp and woof threads. I now Join a web of my new creped paper 25 to the textilematerial 24. When the paper has been creped by means of the thermoplastic adhesive substance, and a resident film thereof remains upon the surface of the paper, the uniting may be accomplished by means of this resident film. It will be noticed however, that when the webs are joined together, the lines of maximum stretchability in the textile fabric will coincide exactly with the lines of the primary stretchability in the creped paper web. The same directions along the bias of the textile material, and by otherwise stretching and straining it, to disrupt the paper so that sifting of a powdered substance would occur therethrough, by any series of operations which I have been able to perform, which operations at the same time, did not break the strands of the burlap.

In Figures 6 and 7, Ihave illustrated a modification ofmy apparatus. Here a web of paper 26 is shown led from a storage roll 21 to a creping surface which comprises an endless metallic band 28, passing over rolls 29 and 30. A film of bitumen or other thermo-plastic adhesive, (if such a creping process is to be followed) may be applied to the surface of the belt or band 28, by means of pickup rolls 3 I, one of which turns in a pan of adhesive 32, or the bitumen may be applied directly to paper. If a water-creping step be used, the paper will of course be led through a suitable bath. The web 26 will preferably again be pressed into contact with the creping surface by a back-up roll 33. A support 34-is located beneath that portion of the belt 28, which lies between the two cylinders, so as to provide means holding the hand against the creping knife. Where it is desired to control the characteristics of the adhesive, as by temperature control, the supporting member 34 may be made in the form of a chest'into which steam or water, or other heating or cooling fluids may be admitted by a pipe 35. A creping knife 38 removes the paper web from the surface of the belt 28, at a point where the belt is fully supported by the member 34. The knife 36 in this instance, is a straight knife contacting a plain surface, and

certain of those problems which are incidental to the employment of diagonal knives upon cylinders, do not arise here, as will be obvious. The web 26a. now having been diagonally creped, is lifted away from the knife 36, preferably by an idler roll 31, and is transferred to the surface of a second belt 38, also passing over

cylinders

39 and 40. The direction of travel of. the belt 38 will usually be in the same direction as that of the belt 28, since the web after its removal from the belt 28, and its passage beyond the knife 36, is carried back into a horizontal plane. The canting of the web noted in connection with the device of Figures 1 and 2 is due to the combinedefl'ect of the diagonal knife and the fact that the web travels away from the cylinder at approximately right angles to the tangential Plane at the point of removal. The coating of adhesive applied to the first belt 23 may be used to cement the web 26a to the belt 38, or additional thermo-plastic material may be applied to said belt by pick-up rolls 4|, and a pan 42, of the adhesive; The usual back-up, or pressure roll 43, will be employed with the belt 38, and another supporting member 44 will back the belt up against the diagonal creping knife 45, from which the idler 48 lifts the now completed web 25b,

The diillculties attendant upon the employment of a straight or plane knife hollowed out to conform to the surface of a cylinder at an angle to the axis thereof, may be obviated in great measure 'by the employment of a knife which follows the curvature of the roll. Such a knife I will refer to as abent knife, by which I mean that the knife does not lie in a single plane, but instead is curved to conform it bodily to the shape of the roll along a line which, if projected upon a plane, would be a sinusoidal line. A strip of metal, such as steel,

will serve very well for such a knife, and may be bent about the surface of a cylinder at substantially 45 degrees (or any other desired angle) to the axisthereof. In the employment of this type members 60. The helically disposed knife 55 may ,of creping apparatus, I provide'for use in combination with a cylinder of suitable diameter, a band or strip of spring steel, say, of .an inch thick and 1 and /2 in. to 2 in. wide. These dimensions are exemplary but not limiting. Thestrip or band may be wound about the surface of a cylinder through whatever arc the desired angle and the face of the cylinder determine. The effective are about which the knife passes will vary with these and other factors. Thus if a cylinder be chosen with a face equal to its diameter, and the knife be disposed at what has been termed a 45 degree angle, then the tangential points at which the knife leaves the surface of the cylinder in crossing its face will be situated about 115- apart. If the cylinder is shorter than its diameter, or if the angle of the knife be varied, the interspacing of these points will likewise vary. The knife or blade may be visualized as leaving the face of the cylinder tangentially, and will be held atits ends. It is preferred to anchor the forward end of the belt and to tension the rearward end of the belt by means of a spring, turnbuckle, or the like.

Certain advantages are inherent in this form of construction in addition to its relatively low cost. Amongthese are the fact that a constant angle along the edge of the band or strip will form a creping V of constant angularity across the face of the cylinder, which is not entirely true ofany flat plane knife. Again the strip or band in being wrapped helically about the cylinder, assumes a configuration which, if projected upon a plane, would be sinusoidaL; but which, as it exists upon the surface of the cylinder, makes with-lines in that surface parallel to the axis of the roll substantially a constant angle 45 degrees or otherwise, as may be desired. For-this reason paper creped on such' cylinder and knife will have a diagonal crepe which, as respects the web, is a straight rather than a sinusoidal crepe. Yet again, the bent knife offers features of adjustmentwhich are particularly convenient in use and obviate certain problems in connection withthe supporting of other kinds of knives. The holding of a knife down upon a creping surface by tension is also, I believe, a complete novelty.

I have illustrated in Figs. 12 and 13 a diagrammatic assembly of devices suitable for the making of my product. I have shown a pair of interspaced cylinders 5| and 52 which are creping cylinders, and which, if desired, may be equipped with means for forming upon their surfaces a film of thermoplastic substance for the creping step. A pressure or back-up roll 53 presses a web of paper 54 down upon the surface of cylinder 5!, until it is removed by the helical knife 55, which is wrapped as shown, about the surface of the cylinder 5| at a desired 'angularity to the axis of said cylinder. The web 54a will thus be creped and will be characterized by diagonal crinkles as shown. It may next be led to cylinder 52 and pressed into contact with the surface thereof by a pressure or 5 back-up roll 56. It is removed from the surface of this cylinder by a helical knife 51, which, however, is at an angle to the axis of cylinder 52, but oppositely inclined as shown. Thus the double-creped web 54b is formed with crossing sets of creping crinkles.

I have shown in Figs. 14 and 15 a view of the cylinder 5| with attending mechanism. The cylinder is journaled in suitable bearings 58 upon a housing or base 59. The back-up roll 53 may 5 likewise be adiustably journaled in supporting be held at the entering end by a bolt 6| held in a bracket-62 on the frame or housing. At

' its other end it. may be tensioned against a rod 63, or other suitable support, by a spring 64.

The direction of travel of the paper web 54 is as shown by the arrow in Fig. 14. There will be a tendency in the paper, as it is pushed by the cylinder against the helical knife 55, to displace this knife inthe direction of the arrow.' The tendency will beleast at the entering end and will increase toward the leaving end, where the knife is less able'to resist it due to its resilient 'come desirable to provide means to resist the displacement of the helical knife or even to displace the knife in a direction opposite to the displacement tending to be produced, by the paper and/or other factors. If the knife be displaced forwardly out of true helical shape, it will be tilted forwardly so that-the back end of the knife will be raised slightly from the surface of the cylinder. This can be taken advantage of in reducing friction, since under these. conditions only the forward edge of the knife bears against the cylinder, and in controlling the creping V, as will hereinafter be more fully set forth. It also effectively concentrates the tensioning pressure of the knife against the forward edge thereof where it is needed. Finally, the lifting of the rearward side of the knife enables it to be engaged by supporting devices where this is desirable. v

As one form of supporting device suitable to the practice of my invention I have shown a chan- -nel beam 65, which may be either straight or curved, supported by

standards

66 and 51 on the frame or housing, so that the channel follows the general direction, but not necessarily the curvature of the helical knife 55. I next provide certain supporting means running between the beam and the knife. If the beam should not sufficiently follow the curvature of the knife to permit the adequate support thereof throughout its length, a curved beam or one or more straight beams directed at different angles may be employed, as will be obvious.- The supports may comprise any sort of expansible compression members interposed between the blade 55 and the support 65, or its equivalent. Preferably these members should be disposed behind the knife insofar as is possible; but they may approach the knife at quite widely varying angles and still have the supporting effect desired. I have thus shown members comprising a jaw 68 adapted to engage the knife and a threaded member 59. A second threaded member In is hinged as at H to the beam 65.

A nut I2 with right and 1 left hand threads, engages the threaded members, whereby the effective length of the entire thrust or compression device may be adjusted to suit requirements. The supporting member 68 may be bifurcated as shown; and adapted to shape giving the required stiffness.

knife maybe used, if desired, or devices which glave no adjustment butsimply abut the knife or ade.

' The normal disposition of the helical knife against the cylinder is shown in Fig. 16 in dotted lines. .When the knifeis displaced forwardly, as hereinabove indicated, instead of lying flat against the cylindrical surface, it will tilt as shown in solid lines in Fig. 16. In general the angularity of the creping V (V in Fig. 16) may be amxed by grinding a certain desired angularity upon the front edge face 55a. of the knife. This angularity will be constant on the bar, strip, or blade as made, and will likewise be constant with reference to. the surface of the cylinder when the knife is wrapped helically thereabout. It will also be clear that a certain adjustment of angularity may be secured by displacing the knife 55 more or less forwardly as desired, thereby tilting it to a greater or less extent.

Modifications may be made in my invention without departing from the spirit thereof. The mechanism may be widely varied to suit individual conditions, and the particular creping process employed to produce the crinkles may diil'er in different operations, and also may change from stage to stage in my process. Again,

the particular arrangement of parts is not inflexible. The individual parts may also be varied. As an example, but without limitation, I may substitute for the tables 34 and 44 of Figures 6 and 7, means beneath the

bands

28 and 38 to support the diagonal knives, which means travel with said bands and are anti-frictional. (Such means may comprise, as shown in Figures 9 and 10, a series of relatively narrow supporting rollers l1 arranged in echelon, their upper edges contacting the band substantially beneath the line of contact of the knife ll.

Again, as shown in Fig. 11, I may employ some form of traveling support beneath the belt 28. The advantages of traveling or moving supports over the solid support 34, for example, of Figure '7, reside primarily in the elimination of friction. A 40 form of traveling support which may be employed by me to good advantage may comprise a chainllke structure 48 traveling over two or more supporting sprockets 48, and having a series of transverse members iii of channel shape, or other Over the horizontal path of travel of these members, their upper flat surfaces are made to come together to form a substantially solid supporting table for the belt or band 28. Intermediate supporting 55 members Il may be employed beneath the table, if required, and may comprise supporting rolls, rails, or other devices. In some instances the table itself may be used as the creping surface.

In the claims which follow applicant intends 60 the terms crinkles" or creping crinkles to be understood as covering and as limited to the type of rugosities which are formed in a web by the process of crowding the web back on itself, and as distinct from and not including corrugations, 55 pleats, or folds otherwise produced in a web.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A multi-laterally stretchable web charac- 70 terized by a plurality of sets of superposed substantially oppositely and diagonally arranged creping crinkles.

2. A multi-laterally stretchable web characterized by superposed sets or creping crinkles so 75 arranged as to produce lines of normal stretchability substantially at degrees to the longitudinal axis of said web.

3. A composite product comprising a paper web having diagonally disposed gatherings therein and a backing, said backing having stretchability in a plurality of directions, said web and said backing being adhesively joined together.

4. A composite product comprising a woven textile fabric having warp and woof threads running substantially parallel with the lateral and longitudinal axes thereof, adhesively joined to a creped web characterized by superposed substantially oppositely disposed diagonal sets of creping crinkles.

5. A composite product comprising a textile material of indefinite length, having warp and woof threads substantially parallel to the lateral and longitudinal axes of said material, adhesively joined to a multi-laterally stretchable web of paper characterized by superposed sets of creping crinkles so arranged as to give lines of normal stretchability substantially coincident with the bias lines of said material.

6. A crepedweb characterized by a continuous set of creping crinkles disposed at an angle to the minor axis of said web, said angle being less than 90, said web joined to a backing substance.

'7. A web characterized by a series of creping crinkles lying at an angle to an axis of said web, said angle being less than 90.

8. A creped web characterized by a set of creping crinkles lying at an angle of substantially 45 to the longitudinal and lateral axes of said web.

9. A multi-laterally stretchable web characterized by a plurality of crossing sets of creping crinkles.

10. A multi-laterally stretchable web of paper characterized by a plurality of superposed and oppositely disposed sets of crinkles, each set lying at an angle to an axis of said web, said angle being less than 90 in each instance, said web having a continuous coating within and without the crinkles of a coating substance.

11. A multi-laterally stretchable web characterized by superposed sets of creping crinkles so arranged as to produce lines of normal stretchability substantially at 45 to the longitudinal axis of said web, said web having a continuous coating within and without the crinkles of a waterproof substance.

12. A multi-laterally stretchable web characterized by superposed sets of creping crinkles so arranged as to produce lines of normal stretchability substantially at'45" to the longitudinal axis of said web, said web having a continuous coating within and without the crinkles of an adhesive substance and joined thereby to a backing substance.

13. A composite product comprising a creped web characterized by superposed, substantially oppositely disposed diagonal sets of creping crinkles adhesively joined to a reinforcing structure of crossed strands.

14. A creped paper product characterized by a set of creping crinkles running at an angle to the predominant grain direction of said paper, said angle being less than 90.

15. A composite product comprising a crinkled paper web characterized by universal stretchability cemented'to a backing material stretchable in a plurality of directions, said webs having coincident directions of primary stretchability.

16. A multi-laterally stretchable web characterized by a plurality of sets of superposed subranged as to produce lines of normal stretchability substantially at 45 to the longitudinal axis of said web.

18. A multi-laterally stretchable web characterized by crossing sets of gatherings, neither set of which is parallel with the minor axis of the web.

19. A composite product comprising a gathered universally stretchable web and a backing substance, saidv backing substance having major stretchability in one onmore directions, and said web characterized by primary stretchability normal to the lines of gatherings therein in the same directions, said web and said substance being adhesively joined together.

20. A crepecl web, stretchable in all directions and characterized by a relatively fine-grained surface texture which has substantially an identical appearance as viewed from any angle.

21. A composite product comprising a paper web having diagonally disposed gatherings therein adhesively joined to a reinforcing structure of crossed strands.

. WILIJAM- C. KEMP.