US2147056A - Textile material - Google Patents

Description

Patented Feb. 14, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TEXTILE-MATERIAL Herbert Platt and Arthur Lyem, Cumberland, Md., assignors to Celanese Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Application January 21, 1937 Serial No. 121,596

9 Claims.

This invention relates to a new and improved process for the weighting of textile materials of whatsoever composition and more particularly to the weighting of textile materials containing organic derivatives of cellulose.

An object of the invention is to provide an The textile materials weighted according to this invention present considerable advantages over unweighted. materials. Thus, for example, there is a reduction in the tendency of woven fabrics to slip, and circular knitted fabrics to ladder and warp knitted fabrics to split, and an increase in the fullness or volume of the yarns, threads or fabrics resulting in improved handle or feel. Moreover, by the process of the present invention there is efiected an economy in the material used to produce a good result. Forfexample, in a woven fabric less ends and picks per inch will be needed to produce a good result than with unloaded materials. Furthermore, by-treating the fabrics in accordance with the instant invention, their resistance to various agents such as heat in ironing or finishing or aqueous treatments at high temperatures is increased, and their affinity for certain dyes is changed, especially in the case where synthetic fibres and filaments are employed.

Many methods have been devised, both here and abroad, for weighting fabrics made of or containing an organic derivative of cellulose. Most of the methods, however, have been commercially unsatisfactory. The difliculty with most of the processes has been that the application of the weighting metal solution to the fabric has been accompanied by swelling or gelling of the fabric. The main difiiculty on a commercial scale has, therefore, .been to handle the fabric in the gelled or swollen condition. Only a very slightvariation intension on the fabric in the gelled or swollen condition is required to produce creases, wrinkles or streakiness in the dyed fabric. Various types of machines and devices have been constructed to handle the fabric, but none has been entirely successful from a commercial standpoint. By employing this invention, fabrics con- 55 taining an organic derivative of cellulose are weighted to as high as or moreof weight increase without materially .swelling or gelling the organic derivative of cellulose. This invention permits of .the handling of said fabrics in the manner necessary for commercial production without producing defects such as creases, wrinkles, uneven stretching, etc. I

In accordance with this invention, we weight textile materials of any composition by treating them with a solution of a tin compound at an elevated temperature for a short period, treating them a second time in a similar bath at reduced temperature, then hydrolyzing, phosphating, I

silicating and/or otherwise converting the soluble compound of tin to an insoluble compound of tin. Also, in accordance with our imvention, we weight fabrics containing an organic derivative of cellulose with any suitable metallic weighting compound such as those containing tin, titanium,

zinc, antimony, etc. by treating the fabrics containing an organic derivative of cellulose for a short period in a heated bath containing a soluble compound of the weighting metal, then-treating said fabric in a second bath of said weighting metal at a reduced temperature, then hydrolyzing, phosphating, silicating or otherwise converting the soluble metal weighting compound to an insoluble compound of the metal.

The yarns, filaments, fibres or fabrics may be, made from pr contain any suitable organic derivative of cellulose, such as the organic esters of cellulose and cellulose ethers. Examples of the organic esters of cellulose are cellulose acetate, celulose formate, cellulose propionate and cellulose butyrate, while examples of cellulose ethers are ethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose and benzyl cellulose. Fibres, filaments or yarns made from yarns containing an organic derivative of cellulose may be employed with fibres, filaments or yarns of other textile materials to produce a fabricwhich may also be successfully treated in other types of mixtures of fibres, filaments or yarns may be employed.

This invention is also applicable to the weighting of yarns, filaments, fibres or fabrics made from or containing an organic derivative of cellulose ing of yarns, fibres, filaments r fabrics of other textile materials, for instance, cotton, regenerated or reconstituted cellulose made by the cuprammonium or viscose method, silk, wool and other vegetable or animal fibres.

In tin weighting of any textile material or the weighting of textile materials containing an organic derivative of cellulose by any weighting metal,the textile material is subjected to the treatment of a heated solution of the soluble weighting compound for, ashort period. The temperature of this solution is preferably between 30 and 70 C. for textile materials containing an organic derivative of cellulose and between 30 and 100C. for some of the other types of textile materials. Prior to hydrolyzing, phosphating or silicating the thus treated textile material, it is preferable to pretreat said textile material in a bath of a composition similar to the first bath and maintained at or below room temperature to reduce the temperature of the textile material prior to exposure of same to the air or other reacting agents. It is also preferable to so carry out the process that the textile material is exposed to as little air as possible between the heated bath and the cool or cold bath. The cool or cold bath may be of any suitable temperature belowv 25 C.

The textile materials are preferably treated in ahot bath and cool or cold bath containing the soluble weighting compound at a concentration between 20 and 38 B. The duration of the treatment in a hot bath is preferably from 0.5 to 4 minutes, while the treatment in the cool or cold bath is of a duration sufiicient to reduce I minutes. The textile materials may be given,

1, 2 or any number of passages through the hot and cold baths of the soluble weighting compound with or without converting the weighting chloride of 30 to 35. B. maintained at about 22 0. there is imparted to the fabric from 18 to 22% of weight increase. Where, however, the

fabric is of regenerated cellulose and the conoentrations of the hot and cold baths are between 30 and 35 B., the weight increaseis from 20 to 30%. In the case ofa silk fabric there'is imparted between 20 and 25% weight increase ,when the concentrations of the baths are betw en 20 and 30 B., and in the case of a cotton f bric a to weight increase is effected when the concentrations of the baths are between and 35 B. From thesepercentages the weight increase of fabrics formed from mixed textile materials may readily be calculated. One passage of a cellulose acetatefabric through the heated and cooled baths of the soluble weighting metal compound, hydrolyzing, phosphating, and

silicating produces about weight increase, while a second passage raises the weight increase The hydrolyzing of the soluble weighting compound may be accomplishedby flushing the textile material with cold or warm water. It is preferable in the case of tin weighting to flush the textile material, for example, by means of sprays, with a hard water maintained at about or below 20 C. The phosphating operation may be accomplished byimmersion of the textile material for from 15 to 45 minutes in a bath of sodium or other alkaline dior tri-phosphate. The concentration of the phosphating solution is preferably from 5.to 7 B. After the phosphating operation, it is preferable to wash the textile 'material prior to a second passage" through the soluble ,veighting metal compound or prior to silicating. The silicating treatment preferably consists in immersing the textile material for from 15 to 45 minutes in 'a solution ofsodium or potassium silicate maintained at 55 C.'and having a concentration of from 1.5 to 3.5 B. The textile material after being treated in the bath containing a soluble weighting metal compound may be either phosphated or silicated or both. The textile material may be.,phosphated and then silicated or' silicated only.

Yarns, fibres, filaments or fabrics may be treated with the soluble 'weighting metal compound by placing the textile material in bags or baskets and dipping the same in a bath of the soluble weighting compound. Yarns or threads may be treated in the weighting'baths by hank-dipping methods, or as yarns or threads continuously travelling through the baths, either as a single yarn or thread or as bundles, bands or ribbons of the yarns or threads. Fabrics are preferably treated by a continuous process wherein the fabric in open width is drawn through the baths of the soluble weighting metal solution for a short period at elevated temperature and then through a bath or baths to convert the soluble weighting metal compound to the insoluble or relatively insoluble state. The weighting baths are preferably so arranged that between the heated weighting bath and the cool or cold weighting bath the fabric is exposed to as little .air as possible. Furthermore, when employing the hydrolyzing step, the fabricshould' be flushed with water as soon as possible after leaving the cool or cold weighting. bath.

As one method of carrying out the invention, fabric in roll form may be supported'at one end of a series of tanks. The first tank may, for instance, be 10 feet long, 4 to 8 inches deep and rubber lined; This tank is provided with means to maintain the fabric submerged in the same, and with means to maintain the desired temperature and concentration of the solution therein. The fabric is drawn through and over the edge of the tank into a second'tank. The second tank may be, for instance, 2' feet long, rubber lined and'provided with means for maintaining the temperature and, concentration of the solution. From the second tank the fabric may pass over a roller and between a pair of nip rollers into a water spray. From the water spray and further wash the fabric may be drawn through tanks in a circuitous manner equipped in a second tank (which is the cold weighting tank) for 0.5 minute, under the water spray for two minutes, in the third tank (which is the phosphating or silicatlng bath) for 30 minutes and in the fourth tank, if desired, for asimilar period of time. After being removed from the last tank the fabric may be centrifuged, tenter' dried, ironed or otherwise dried and then rerolled. Obviously, tanks of any length or construction may be employed depending upon the speed of the fabrics being drawn through the same.

As an illustration of the invention but without being limited thereto, the following example is given:

Example A fabric consisting of cellulose acetate is treated for 1 minute at a speed of 3 to 5 yards per minute ina bath 30 times its weight of stannic chloride having a concentration of 33 B., and at a temperature of from 45 to 55 C. fabric is then treated with a cold bath maintained at about to 20 C. of the same compound and' concentration for 0.33 minute. It is found that this treatment in a cold bath prevents loss in hydrolyzing and in effect adds 3 to 20% more weighting to the fabric and greatly increases the evenness with which the weighting compound is placed in or on the fabric. The fabric is then passed through nip rollers, sprayed with cold hard water to hydrolyze the tin. The fabric'after further Washing is then immersed in a phosphating bath containing di-sodium phosphate of 6.5 B. for 20 minutes at 50 C. and then washed. The fabric after phosphating is immersed for 30 minutes at 55 C. in a 25 B. solution of sodium silicate and washed. The fabric is then tenter dried. The fabric is found to be evenly weighted 'to a weight increase of about 25%. The strength of the fabric is equal to that of the fabric before treatment and there are present no wrinkles due to stretching, or unevenness of dye aflinity due to the uneven stretching in handling of gelled or swollen yards.

The term weighting is used in the appended claims in the ordinary technical signification in which it is employed in connection with natural silk. That is to say, to denote the operation of increasing the weight and volume of the material under treatment; it does not include the production of such relatively small increases in weight as may be associated with processes of dyeing, such as, for example, those effected with the aid of mordants.

It is to be understood that the foregoing detailed description is given merely by way of illustration and that many variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Having described our invention, what we desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a process for weighting textile material without substantially swelling or gelling the material, the steps of impregnating the material with a solution of a soluble weighting metal compound at a temperature above 45 C. and cooling the impregnated material in a solution of the same weighting metal compound maintained at a temperature below 25 0., and subsequently fixing the metal in said textile material as an insoluble compound.

2. Process forweighting textile material con- The Y taining organic derivatives of cellulose Without substantially swelling or gelling the material, which comprises impregnating the material with a solution of a soluble weighting metal'compound at a temperature above 45v C., cooling the impregnated material in a solution of the same weighting metal compound maintained at a temperature below 25 C., and subsequently fixing the metal in said textile-material as an insoluble compound.

3. Process for weighting textile material containing cellulose acetate without substantially swelling or gelling the. material, which comprises impregnating the material with a solution of a soluble weighting metal compound at a temperature above 45 0., cooling the impregnated material in a solution of the same weighting metal compound maintained at a temperature below 25 C. and subsequently fixing the metal in said textile material as an insoluble compound. g

4. Process for weighting'textile material containing organic derivatives of cellulose without substantially swelling or gelling the material, which comprises impregnating the material with a solution of a soluble weighting metal compound at a temperature above 45 0., cooling the impregnated material in a solution of the same weighting metal compound maintained at a temperature below 25 C., and subsequently fixing the metal in said textile material as an insoluble compound by treatment with cold water and a solution of a compound selected from the group consisting of alkaline phosphates and alkaline silicates.

5. Process for weighting textile material containing cellulose acetate without substantially swelling or gelling the material, which comprises impregnating the material with a solution of a soluble weighting metal compound at a temperature above 45 C., cooling the impregnated material in a solution of the same weighting metal compound maintained .at a temperature below 25 C., and subsequently fixing the metal in said textile material as an insoluble compound by treatment with cold water and a solution of a compound selected from the group consisting of alkaline phosphates and alkaline silicates.

6. Process for weighting textile materials containing organic derivatives of cellulose without substantially swelling or gelling the material, which comprises impregnating the material with a solution oftin chloride by treating the material with a solution of tin chloride of 20 to 28 Baum at a temperature above 45 C. for from swelling or gelling the material, which comprises impregnating the material with a solution of tin chloride by treating the material with a solution of tin chloride of 20 to 38 Baum at a temperature above 45 C. for from /2 to 4- minutes, cooling the impregnated material by treating the same from A to 1 /2 minutes with a solution of tin chloride maintained at a temperature below 25 C and subsequently fixing the metal in said material as an insoluble compound.

8. Process for weighting textile materials containing organic derivatives of cellulose without to 4 minutes, cooling the impregnated material by treating the same from A; to 1 /2 minutes with a solution of tin chloride maintained at a temperature below 25 0., and subsequently fixing the metal in said material as an insoluble compound by treatment with cold water and a solution of a compound selected from the group consisting of alkaline phosphates and alkaline silicates.

9. Process for weighting textile materials containing cellulose acetate without substantially Patent No. 2,1i .7,056.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

HERBERT PLAT'I', ET AL,

swelling or gelling the material, which comprises impregnating the material with a solution of tin chloride by treating the material with a solution of tin chloride of to 38 Baum at a temperature above C. for from /2 to 4 minutes, cooling the impregnated material by treating the same from $4; to 1 /2 minutes with a solution of tin chloride maintained at a temperature be- .low 25 C. and subsequently fixing the metal in said material as an insoluble compound by treatment with cold water and a solution of a compound selected from the group consisting of alkaline phosphates and alkaline silicates.

HERBERT PhA'I'r. ARTHUR LYEM.

February 1h, 1959s It is hereby certified that error appears inthe printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Pagerl, second colunln, line 8, for the word 'or read of; page 2, first co1mnn,- line 59, for "chloride of to B." read composition and strength; page 3, second column, line 51 claini 6, for "28" read 38; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office Signed and sealed this 1 th day r April, A D. 19590 (Seal) Henry Van Arsdale Acting Commissioner of Patentso