US2517529A - Tufted dot fabric - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 1, 1950 INVENTOR. M 4, AN: 2:

Y QMQP Arm/mew Patented Aug. 1, 1950 TUFTED DOT FABRIC Leonard A. Stanley, Slatersville, B. 1., amino:- to t The Kendall Company, Boston, Mass.

ration of Massachusetts Application March 13, 1947, Serial No. 734,565

, 5'Clalms. (01. 28-80) This invention relates to tufted dot fabrics having novel properties of washfastness and to methods of making the same.

Fabrics of the type concerned have a woven fabric base, frequently of relatively open mesh weave such as a marquisette, the surface of which is dotted with spaced fiuffy tufts of projecting fibers, formed of slack-twisted fiber rovings anchored at intervals to the base fabric, usually by interweaving, and sheared to form the dot pattern. Such fabrics are ordinarily used for making curtains, often called fiuify dot curtains or puffy dot curtains," for which purpose light-weight plain or leno woven base fabrics are usually employed, such as marquisettes, scrims, lawns, voiles, organdies and the like.

In the manufacture ofsuch fabrics heretofore,

it has been the practice to apply starch or other stiflening, sizing or finishing agent to the base or ground fabric only, leaving the dot tufts untreated and in a soft, fiuffy, upstanding condition. This upstanding condition is produced by subjecting the dots, prior to finishing of the ground fabric, to a fluffing operation in which the dry. unsized fibers of the tufts are either mechanically brushed or blown with compressed air. Care is exercised to avoid the application of such stiffening agents to the tufted dots since, if that were done, it was found that the fibers of the dots were so stiffened and matted and stuck together and to the ground fabric by the hardened size that it was not possible to fiuif them into the required form of upstanding soft downy tufts.

These tufted dot fabrics, as heretofore produced, have been subject to a serious defect in that washing destroys the fiuffy character of the dots. After washing, the fibers of the dot tufts no longer stand up individually from the fabric in regular shaped, downy tufts, but are matted and. stuck together into hard irregular shaped pills. This pilling of the dot fibers is accentuated by starching, and if the fabric is ironed the pilled dots are permanently flattened 'onto the base fabric, in the form of stiff, paper-like masses of irregular outline. These physical changes in the dot tufts resulting from washing produce a startling and unpleasant change in the appearance of the fabric and largely destroy the ornamental value of the dots.

The object of this invention is to produce a novel tufted dot fabric wherein the dots remain in the form of soft, fluffy, uniform, upstanding tufts after washing and to provide a method for making such a fabric.

2 I have discovered that certain thermosetting resins, when properly incorporated with the dot tuft fibers and polymerized, have the surprising property of orienting the fibers wash-fast in the position they assume at the time of curing of the resins without, however, stiffening the fibers. Furthermore, I have discovered a method for applying these resins to the dot tufts during the manufacturing and finishing of the fabric whereby the natural tendency of these resins, as of other sizing agents, to mat and stick the tuft fibers to one another and to the base fabric is overcome and the condensation of the resin fixes the fibers wash-fast in the form of upstanding, soft, fiuffy tufts, substantially indistinguishable in appearance and feel from the unsized, nonwash-fast flufly dots of such fabrics as heretofore produced. I

The dot tufts of fabrics produced'according to this invention retain their original soft, fiufiy, upstanding condition despite repeated launderings, whether by normal hand, home machine or commercial machine laundering methods and whether the washed fabrics are dried smooth by pin framing or are ironed. The tufts also have increased resistance to stiffening and pilling by starch but the use of starch in laundering is preferably avoided and may be rendered unnecessary by incorporating a wash resistant stiffening agent in the ground fabric during manufacture.

The thermosetting resins which I have found capable of imparting this remarkable washability quality to the tufted dots of such fabrics are the water-soluble monomers or water-soluble low polymers of the methylol ureas, the watersoluble methylol melamines and the water-soluble low-molecular-weight-alkyl ethers of said methylol ureas and said methylol melamines, when condensed to a water insoluble condition in association with the dot tuft fibers. Any of these resins, or mixtures thereof, applied to the dot tuft fibers to the extent of about 2% resin solids based on fiber weight and polymerized or condensed to a water-insoluble state produces an appreciable improvement in washfastness of the dot tufts, the extent of washability increasing with larger amounts of the resin. Preferably, the amount of the resin applied to the tufts is between 5% and 15%, as Ihave found that an amount of the resin within this range, when properly. applied as hereinafter described, is sufllcient to impart full washability to the dot tufts. The exact amount of resin which it is most desirable to employ within these limits depends largely upon the nature of the fabric and or spiked effect on the tufts due to matting to-' gether and stiffening of the fiber ends, this being particularly the case with the melamine resins. This tendency, however, can be mitigated by including withthe resin a cationic softener, for example a higher aliphatic quaternary -ammonium halide.

The thermosetting'resin may be applied in the form of a dispersion in a liquid carrier, preferably aqueous, which is used to impregnate the.

dot tufts only, or both the tufts and the ground fabric. The dispersion should include an acid catalyst which accelerates polymerization of the' resin. This catalyst may be either a naturally acidic substance such as zinc chloride solution, or one, such as iii-ammonium hydrogen phosphate, that by thermodissociation produces an acidic material.

The fiuid resin composition with which the tufts are impregnated has a natural tendency to stick the'flbers of the tufts together and to the base fabric, as is the case with starch and other sizes. I have discovered, however, that this tendency can be overcome by subjecting the dot tufts, after impregnation with the resin but before polymerization of the resin, to a fluffing operation such as that used heretofore in fiufling the dots prior to sizing of the ground fabric, in which flufiing is produced by blasting the dots with a jet of compressed air or by mechanical brushing of the tuft fibers, the compressed air blast treatment being preferred as more effective and less likely to cause removal of the resin from the tufts. Preferably, this fluftlng operation is preceded by a partial drying of the fabric which is insuflicien't to substantially polymerize the resin.

After impregnation and fiufllng of the dot tufts, the fabric is exposed to elevated tempera- I ture for a period sufficient to dry the fabric and cause substantially complete polymerization of the resin, forming a water-insoluble condensation product. The temperature may for example be from 300 to 400 F. and the time of exposure from /2 to 3 minutes, depending on the temperature, the type and weight of fabric, the type and amount of catalyst present and the amount of moisture in the fabric.

Where, as is usual with light-weight curtain fabrics, it is desirable to apply a stiffening size to the ground fabric, the ground fabric is impregnated with the size without impregnating the tufts by the usual back-starching operation in which the back, untufted surface of the fabric only is contacted with the stiffening composition, so that the composition is absorbed into the groundfabric but not to any substantial extent into the tufts. Such back-starching operation may precede or follow the impregnation of the dot tufts, or the tufts and ground fabric, with the washability imparting thermosetting resin. While the ground size may or may not be washresistant, I preferably use a wash-resistant stiifening agent, such as certain styrene, vinyl or acrylate resins, to obviate the use of starch in laundering.

The initial steps'in the finishing of the fabric, after clipping of the woven-in rovings to form the tufted dots, may be conventional and will ordinarily include bleaching and drying and may also include mercerizing or dyeing or both.

Although the thermosetting, washability-imparting resin may be applied the dot tufts i only, I prefer, where the ground fabric is of lightweight, to app y the resin both to the tufts and to the ground fabric, since I have found that the formed of any of the usual natural or regenerresins which are operative to effect washability of the dot tufts also have a desirable dimensional stabilizing efiect on such ground fabrics when condensed therein which reduces shrinkage thereof in laundering. In addition, these thermosetting resin condensation products have a tendency to increase the wash-fastness of stiffening finishes applied to the ground fabric. 'lhese effects on the ground fabric are substantial with the preferred range of proportions of resin to fiber weight for imparting washability to the tufts.

The entire fabric may be impregnated with the fluid resin composition in any suitable manner as by padding, spraying, etc., so controlled that the fabric absorbs the amount of fiuid required to yield the desired amount of resin solids on drying. I preferably employ for this purpose a conventional type of padder. Impregnation of the dot tufts only may be accomplished, for example, by contacting the dot tufts only with a film of the resin composition on the surface of a rotating applicator roller.

After impregnation of the entire fabric or of the dots only with the thermosetting resin composition it is preferred to partially dry the fabric by passage over hot cans or through a heated tenter frame, the time-temperature relation being adjusted so that a substantial part of the liquid of the impregnating resin composition is removed without causing substantial resin polymerization.

I have found that thorough fiufling of the dots after their impregnation with the thermosetting resin and prior to condensation of the resin is critical to'the production of afiuffy dot product since the impregnation mats and sticks the fibers together and to the ground fabric, and if the resin is polymerized in that condition of the fibers they are thereby oriented wash-fast in the matted and flattened state and not in the desired fluffy condition.

The aforesaid preferred partial drying of the resin-impregnated dots prior to fiufling allows optimum orientation of the moist tuft fibers in the desired soft, fiuify upstanding position. The appearance of the finished product before and after washing is dependent upon the processing at this stage, as the degree of fiufliness thereafter obtained is largely governed by this tuftfiber separation and flufiing prior to the curing of the resin incorporated therewith.

After fiufling of the resin-impregnated dots, whether or not preceded by partial drying, the fabric is subjected to heating sufficient to completely dry the fabric and polymerize the resin, for example by passing over a tenter frame or through a curing oven heated between 300 and 400 F. i

A fabric conforming to the invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawing in which the ground is indicated by the numeral ill, the resin-treated tufts by the numeral i2. Asv previously indicated the ground itself may or may not be impregnated with the fluid resin composition.

The wash-fast orientation effect of the thermosetting resins on the dot tuft fibers is substantiaily independent of the character of the fibers. Hence the tufts (and ground fabric) may be ated cellulose fibers including cotton, linen, viscose rayon, cuprammonium rayon and the like, or mixtures of such fibers. Normally, however, the fabric and tufts are formed wholly of cotton fibers. Although the invention is not limited to light weight tufted dot fabrics of the type commonly employed for curtains, the benefits of the invention are greatest when applied thereto, since the dot tufts of the lighter fabrics are more seriously altered in laundering than are those of heavier fabrics when not rendered washable in accordance with this invention.

1 Tufted dot curtain fabrics finished in accordance with this invention have been found to retain the original soft, fluffy, symmetrical form and appearance of the dot tufts substantially unchanged after laundering by any of the following procedures. Furthermore, where the dot tuft fibers carry as much as 5% by weight of the water-insoluble condensation product of the thermosetting resins above set forth, they retain their desirable characteristics, even after as many as four of the following laundering procedures. These procedures are representative of normal practice for the laundering of light fabrics which do not require starching.

1. A three minute wash by alternately dipping and squeezing by hand in Ivory Flake soap suds at 105 F., followed by two one-minute rinses in plain water and pin framedrying or ironing. This is a normal hand laundering method for curtain fabrics.

2. Five minutes of turbulent washing in Lux soap suds at 140 F. in a Maytag washing machine, followed by wringing through a mechanical mangle, rinsing in plain water for one minute at 100 F, re-wringing and re-rinsing for one minute, finally wringing and pin frame drying or ironing. This is a typical home machine launderin; of curtain fabrics.

3. Twelve minutes of turbulent washing in Oxydol soap suds at 100 F. in a Bendix washing machine followed by three rinses and three spinnings to total forty minutes for the complete wash, then drying, dampening and ironing. This represents the most violent home machine laundering to which curtain fabrics are likely to be subjected.

4. A ten minute soaping with 0.35% Color Suds followed by three separate four minute rinses, all at 90 F. and in a Blanket Wheel," then centrifugal extraction and pin frame drying. This is a representative. commercial curtain laundering procedure.

In marked contrast to the washability of my tufted dot fabrics, conventionally finished tufted dot fabrics, in which the dots are left unfinished or unsized, when subjected to even a single launderin by any of the foregoing procedures, exhibit a very marked loss of shape and flufliness of the tufts, due to matting and pilling or flattening of the tuft fibers, producing a most undesirable change in the appearance of the fabric.

While I prefer to incorporate from 5% to 15% by weight of the thermosetting resin condensation product with the dot tufts, the scope of my invention is not limited to this preferred range of resin concentration. For example, while washability is decreased when the dots contain less than 5% by weight resin, even when they contain as little as 2% resin they exhibit distinctly improved washability when compared with conventional unfinished dot tufts. Furthermore, I have found that using over 15% resin, although it does the dotted face either up or down produces neither unsymmetrical dots nor undesirable flattening of the dot tufts, whereas ironing accentuates the adverse effects of laundering on unfinished tufts.

I claim:

1. A washable tufted dot fabric having a woven ground and a plurality of spaced groups of fibers anchored to the ground fabric and individually upstanding therefrom in the form of soft, flufiy tufts forming a pattern of raised dots on the fabric ground, said tuft fibers being rendered resistant to matting and flattening in laundering by carrying at least about 2% by weight of a waterinsoluble condensation product of a thermosetting resin selected from the group consisting of the Water-soluble monomers and water-soluble low polymers of the methylol ureas, the watersoluble methylol melamines and the water-soluble low-molecular-weight-alkyl ethers of said methylol ureas and said methylol melamines.

2. A washable tufted dot fabric having a woven ground and a plurality of spaced groups of fibers anchored to the ground fabric and individually upstanding therefrom in the form of soft, fiuify tufts forming a pattern of raised dots on the fabric ground, said tuft fibers being oriented substantially wash-fast in said upstanding fluffy condition by carrying from about 5% to about 15% by weight of a water-insoluble condensation product of a thermosetting resin selected from the group consisting of the water-soluble monomers and water-soluble low polymers of the methylol ureas, the water-soluble methylol melamines and the water-soluble low molecuar weightalkyl ethers of said methylol ureas and said methylol melamines.

3. A washable tufted dot fabric having a lightweight, size-stiffened, woven ground fabric and a plurality of spaced groups of fibers anchored to the ground fabric and individually upstanding therefrom in the form of soft, fluffy tufts forming a pattern of raised dots on the fabric ground, said tuft fibers being essentially free of stiffening size and being rendered resistant to matting and flattening in laundering by carrying at least about 2% by weight of a water-dnsoluble condensation product of a thermosetting resin. selected from the group consisting of the water-soluble monomers and water-soluble low polymers of the methylol ureas, the water-soluble methylol melamines and the water-soluble low-molecularweight alkyl ethers of said methylol dress and said methylol melamines.

4. A washable tufted dot fabric having 9, lightweight, size-stiffened, woven ground fabric and a plurality of spaced groups of fibers anchored to the ground fabric and individually upstanding therefrom in the form of soft, fluffy tufts forming I a pattern of raised .dots on the'fabric ground,

said tuft fibers being essentially free of stiffening not materially improve washability under normal 7 size and being oriented substantially washfast in said upstanding fluiiy condition by carrying from about 5% to about 15% by weight of a waterinsoiuble condensation product of a thermosetting resin selected from the group consisting of the water-soluble monomers and water-soluble 10w polymers of the methylol ureas, the water.- soluble 'methylol melamines and the water-solubie low-moiecular-weight alkylethers or said methylol ureas and said methyiol melamines.

5. A washable tufted dot fabric having a lightweight, size-stiflened, woven ground fabric and a plurality of spaced groups of fibers essentially free of stiflening size anchored to the ground fabricand individually upstanding therefrom in the form of soft iiufly tufts forming a pattern or raised dots on the fabric ground, said tuft fibers being oriented substantially washfast in said upstanding flufly condition and said ground fabric being rendered resistant to shrinkage in laundering by carrying from about 5% to about 15% by weight or a water-insoluble condensation product of a thermosetting resin selected from the ureas, the water-soluble methylol melamines and the water-soluble iow-molecular-weight alkyi ethers of said methyiol ureas and said methyiol melamines.

LEONARD A. STANLEY.

REFERENCES crrsn The following references are of record in the file of this patent; I UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,110,118 Robertson Mar. 1,1938 2,128,516 Graham Aug. 30, 1938 2,155,127 Graham Apr. 18, 1939 2,160,825 Cheney June 6, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 497,647 Great Britain Dec. 22, 1938

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