US2175492A - Manufacture and use of metallic leaf - Google Patents

Description

0a, 10, '1939. FT 2,175,492

MANUFACTURE AND USEOF METALLIC LEAF Original Fild Sept. 18, 1934 11271012 2 0; 2a; 67 as fifior nv Patented Oct. 10, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LEA Donald D. Swift, Hartford, Conn., assignor to M. Swift & Sons,

Incorporated, Hartford,

Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application September 18, 1934, Serial No. 744,476 Renewed March 4, 1939 3 Claims.

This application is a continuation in part of United States Patent No. 1,974,883 granted Sept. 25, 1934, for Manufacture of gold leaf carrier.

My present invention relates to an improved 5 gold or metallic sheet or ribbon, for use in the imprinting of ornamentation of leather, cloth, or other surfaces.

It is customary to utilize gold or metallic sheets or ribbons for stamping, embossing, and ornalO menting compressible surfaces such as leather, cloth, and the like, in order to reduce the number of operations required, to facilitate the application of the metal to delicate material, and to place the metal and the sizing therefor in a sales 5 package that does not require excessive care and attention. The metal ribbons now in use include a carrier strip of paper having a coating of beeswax, on which a layer of metal is placed, a sizing coat of varnish or the like being placed on the layer of metal.

It has been found that the ribbons of this type, while suitable for good leather and other material capable of forming a satisfactory base for the metal, do not produce satisfactory results on leathers of poorer grade that are course, porous,

or resilient, or on imitation leathers that are impregnated with pigments or fillers susceptible to heat, or on fabrics that have resilient threads or that do not properly set off the thin metal. It is the principal object of my invention to improve the metal sheet or ribbon so as to produce a more perfect imprinting or ornamentation upon such materials, as Well as the better materials.

To this end, I have devised a novel method of manufacture of a novel metal sheet or ribbon, which may be used in place of the present type, but which includes additional matter to coact with the material to beimprinted or ornamented so as to overcome the deficiencies of the material and to enhance the appearance and the life of the imprinting or ornamentation.

I have found it advisable to have this additional matter of substantially the same color as the metal it is to be used with, thus intensifying the color of the metal in the finished work. The

additional matter may be of natural color, or

may be artificially colored in any well-known manner. I have termed the loading of the sizing with a colored comminuted material, pigmentpriming.

Moreover, the layer of metal is at present formed by beating a square of the metal, or by preparing a base to receive electrolytically deposited metal. The beating of the metal squares is expensive; the use of electrolytically deposited metal has also been relatively expensive, as it has heretofore been found necessary to deposit the metal, for example gold, on a silver strip, which silver strip is dissolved in a chemical solution, the gold then being picked up in film form 5 on a Waxed paper to affect the transfer.

It is further object of my invention to electrolytically deposit metal on a metal base strip, and thus form a metal sheet or ribbon, the metal strip forming the base of the sheet or ribbon. This method of forming the sheet or ribbon eliminates the expense of forming the silver backing strips, of the chemicals and of reclaiming the dissolved silver. Moreover, there is an elimination of working time needed for the dissolving, and there is a great saving of gold or other metal, as the transfer operation requires a heavier metal film than is necessary for a direct electrolytic deposit.

The use of a metal base sheet or ribbon provides a more effective arrangement for imprinting; the present imprinting includes an initial metal impressing operation, the backing then being removed and a subsequent burnishing operation utilized to obtain the desired mirror-like finish. It is an additional object of my invention to complete the imprinting operation in one operation by utilizing a metal base sheet or ribbon as the metal base provides the desired mirrorlike finish obtained by metal-to-metal stamping, in one stamping operation.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in View, the invention consists of a novel method of manufacture of metal sheets and ribbons, a novel product, and a novel method of applying the metal sheets and ribbons, as more fully disclosed in the detailed description following, in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, and as more specifically defined in the claims appended thereto.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a metal sheet or ribbon made in accordance with the invention, and

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a modified con- 45 struction therefor.

In manufacturing the novel product, a base strip 1 of metal, preferably aluminum, is provided with a coating 2 of a releasable adherent and burnishing material such as beeswax; a layer 5 3 of gold or other metal is electrolytically deposited on this coating, or is spread on the coating if in leaf form, and a final coat 4 consists of an intimate mixture of sizing 5, such as French varnish, and filler material 6, the most suitable 55 material being a comminuted material, such as a metallic oxide, of the same general color as the metal, yellow ochre for example being preferred for XXD gold leaf.

In preparing the completed sheet of XXD gold leaf, for example, the base is first coated with wax, one way of coating comprising spreading liquid wax obtained by dissolving beeswax in carbon tetra-chloride or a similar solvent; the waxed carrier then receives the metallic leaf or the electrolytically deposited metal, and the pigment primed sizing is then applied to the metal. either manually, or by running the sheet over a sizing roller. Preferably, the pigment, such as yellow ochre should be concentrated at the outer surface, and it may therefore be desirable, in certain instances, to apply the sizing and then the pigment; in practice, however, a thorough mixture has been found satisfactory.

The resulting novel sheet or strip is smooth and pliable, non-sticky, can be handled without loss of gold or metal, may be made in any width or length, and contains all the ingredients necessary for perfect imprinting and ornamentation.

Although diiferent fillers may be used, such as other clays and metallic oxides in comminuted form with natural or artificial color, a yellow ochre having a suitable tinge has been found very satisfactory for gold, as it improves the applica tion of the gold and compensates for deficiencies of the material to which the gold is applied. Certain grades of titanium oxide have also been found satisfactory. The yellow ochre, because it is comminuted, fills up all pores and interstices in coarse material, cooperates with the sizing to matte material having resilient threads or material that is coarse grained, forms a smooth, even surface for the gold, and has sufiicient opaqueness to serve as a backing and thus enhance the final appearance of the imprinted or burnished metal. Moreover, the fine yellow ochre has a heat insulating effect and also mixes with and apparently absorbs surface material which has a tendency to melt or run when sub- 1 jected to the impressing or burnishing of the heated imprinting dies. This useful effect increases the latitude of heating for the die, thus producing better burnishing, and opens up a wide range of artificial leathers and other composition material that have low melting point pigments and fillers. It has been found possible to obtain satisfactory gold applications, because of the yellow ochre, with die temperatures as low as 140 F. and as high as 300 F., the present range being from 160 F. to 250 F.

The advantageous results produced by the novel strip or sheet thus include a better effect because the base for receiving the metal is im proved, the metal is backed, a higher burnishing temperature may be used, and a clearer cleancut impression is obtained, a more permanent effect because deficiencies in the material are compensated for and the material is matted to prevent breaking up of the imprinted metal layer, and an increase in the available materials to which metal can be advantageously applied because the filler has an insulating and an absorbing eifect.

Moreover, the comminuted filler being of the same general color as the metal, builds up the background so as to remedy and to compensate for thinness of the metal, thus eliminating rejections and seconds.

The metal strip base is sometimes difiicult to wind, as it has a certain amount of resilience and is easily bent and twisted in handling. It is therefore advantageous to use a flexible backing l of paper or the like, see Fig. 2, thus eliminating winding troubles. The paper backing may be applied to the metal base strip in any desired manner, as by glueing, or by forming the metal strip directly on the paper backing by electrolytic deposit or the like.

The use of a metal base greatly simplifies the imprinting operation, as a single impression or stamping provides the mirrorlike finish on the metal layer as the result of the burnishing effect obtained by the metal-to-metal contact of the aluminum strip on the metal. The cost of imprinting is thus greatly reduced.

While I have described a specific metal sheet or ribbon construction, and specific methods of forming and of using the same, it is evident that the materials used for the base strip, the metal, the filler, and the releasable composition and sizing, may be changed to other materials having similar physical and chemical characteristics, and that the method of formation of the metal sheet or ribbon, and of its use, may be changed to suit these changes in characteristics, within the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a metal sheet or ribbon, a base strip of aluminum, a coat of releasable composition thereon, a layer of metal on said coat, and sizing on said layer containing a substantial amount of comminuted material of substantially the same color as the color of the metal, and a flexible paper support in direct contact with said aluminum base strip.

2. In a metal sheet or ribbon, a base strip of aluminum, a coat of wax thereon, a layer of gold on said coat and sizing on said layer containing a substantial amount of comminuted yellow ochre, and a paper backing in direct contact with said aluminum base strip.

3. In a metal sheet or ribbon, a base strip of aluminum, a coat of wax thereon, a layer of gold on said coat and sizing on said layer containing a substantial amount of comminuted titanium oxide, and a paper backing in direct contact with said aluminum base strip.

DONALD D. SWIFT.

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