US998237A - Treatment of fibrous materials. - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM AIFRED DICKINSON, OF MITCHAM. ENGLAND.

TREATMENT OF FIBItOUS MATERIALS.

No Drawing.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I. \VILLIAM Armani) Drcmxsox, bedding mamtfacturer. residing at Grove Mills. Mitcham. in the. county of Surrey. England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements iii 'lreatment of Fibrous Materials; andl do hereby declare the following to be a full. clear. and exact description of the invention. such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of horse hair and other animal hair substitutes from coir and similar vegetable husks or fibers, and has for its objects the special treatment of the fiber whtZ-reby a curled and springy product is obtained that has an alniost exactly similar coloring and like physical properties as hair but which can be produced commercially at a crmsiderabl)"lesser cost than that at. which curled and manufactured hair can be sold. .\t-,the present time such substitutes a'e now produced in the curled state and while readily answering their purpose for bedding 'and similar applications they do-not have a sui'licient "'life if constantly used. nor is their appearance all that can be desired, the mass of curled libeisappcariti even when dyed and varnished to be of a dull and lifeless colorinstead of lustrous and permanently resilient.

Now, according to this invent-ion, the fiber, after being unbaled, is spread out and goes through a process of selecting or hand picking. the selected fibers being placed in a vat and allowed to boil for one hour in a solution of alkali consisting of:80 pounds of caustic soda to 1570 gallons of water. This treatment has the ett'ect of depriving the fiber of its/resinous and gummy properties. and leaving it in a"cleanscd, tractable, and tougher condition, the process.entirely removing thetemlency of the fiber to snap. Tho fiber remains in the vat foat least six hours after boilinm After re'moval from the alkali \:t the fiber is'allowed -to remain 1 .Y I on a, draining board and chill. 1'1 he fiber is now ready for bleaching, aiid'dyeing,

The fiber to be bleached 'is taken warm l from the alkzli -'at ;and its superfluous moisture ren'ulved ina liydroextractor, from tt'hen ce it" is placed in a chlorinating'vessel.

amt/subjected ,while waifin and moist to the action of chlorin -iza meansibe n g proyided for "frequently sti'i'ring the mass 'o't' fibers Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 20. 1911. Serial No. 603,758.

Patented July 18, 191.1.

until the reddish color has disappeared from i the exterior when the gas is dra n tilt and the l fibers extracted and washed in a weak solution from the alkali bath before referred to. Only a small proportion of any batch of fibers are bleached, the remainder of the batch being ready after they have been removed from the alkali wit and cooled to be placed in the dyeing vat. About 500 lbs. of fiber -an be dyed at a time in any one tank and this quantity is allowed to soak in a cold solution of :100 lbs. copperas (sulfate of iron). 35 lbs. sumac. 30 lbs. logwood, and the contents of the tank brought gradually to the boiling point. I

If the fiber is cleansed it. will. require to boil for two hours, if uncleansed it must be left to soak for six hours at least before boiling. The fiber so treated is now pnlled up from the vat and drained. w

After one treatment the same bath may be usedag-ain for another 500 lbs-of fiber if 5 replenished with :75 lbs. copper-as, lbs. lsumac, 20 lbs. logwood. The fibers from l't'he bleaching vessel and the dyed fibers are now mixed in the proportion of about one of bleached fiber to ten of dyedt fiber, and in this state are wetand in clumps. These clumps require to be dried and teased out.

The drying consists in passing the fibers through a hydroextractor and then plat-inc the fiber in a screw feeding trough, hot air being forced into the trough against the action of the screw. The fiber is now almost dry, but the action of the screw feed is insulticient to break up the clumps of fiber. This is effected by feeding the' tiber on to a series of shaking trays thatopen the clumps and by placing steam pipes beneath the trays the, fiber is completely dried and loosened when it is ready for the process of polishing. This process consists of hath made up as fol]ows:--7O lbs. of glue; H lbs. acetic acid. 11 lbs. 10 oks. of nigrosin (appmximately (b ll llSfl These ingrcdicnts are mixed with 100 gallons of water in which is poured 1; lbs. oleic acid, {,thcavhole being brought to boiling point I and the bleached and the dyed fibers mixed, )laced in the bath where they remain for a i l sliort while and are stirred at in rvals of' y say once per minute. They are tale-u from i the bath and left on a drying board so that. I the superfluous polish will drain away into the bath. One. half tonof fiber can be steepingthe dried and loosened fiber into a i treated in this manner at a timeand agita- 'tlon 1S absolutely necessary as ndicated to.

acter but av finer tooth than the preceding.

one, the final operation of this machine being that of brushing the fibers so that the product leaves the machine with an external lustrousfinish. The bleached fibers during this latter process are deprived of some of their coatin 'j V1110 them a ravish a z: 1% s g ,P pearance as a result of part of the varnish not adhering or being brushed oft in the carding machine, and the admixture of the bleachedwith the dyed fibers gives the whole mass of fiber after such treatment an appearance exactly similar to horse hair Whose color is approximately made up of gray and black or dark hair.

After the fibers are card d they are twisted in a rope which is afterward made up into 5 cwt. (five hundredweight) hanks and the hanks are then steeped into water and baked for some hours. This has. the result of imparting a permanent curl to the fibers when they are shaken out from the dry hanksythe material being then ready for the market.

In order to render the fibers non-inflammable there may be added to the first dye batl1:-Sodium borate 25 lbs. (commercial borax). Sulfate of ammonia 25 lbs. (pure crystals). This quantity is suflicient to treat the first hatchet six hundredweights. A second quantity may be treated in the same bath by reinforcing the solution with :So dium borate 15 lbs. Sulfate of ammonia I am aware that the recipe asses? 15 lbs. And a third quantity by the addition of:Sodium borate 10 lbs. Sulfate of ammonia 10 lbs. The bleached fiber may be in like manner made n.oninfiammable by dipping in a clean bath containing in. solution the above ingredients.

for the varnish is old in connection with fiber polishing and to such I do not lay any claim, but

What I do claim is 1. A process for making. artificial hair,

which consists in first treating vegetable husks or fibers with an alkaline solution'to remove resinous matter and to toughen the fibers, then bleaching one portion of the fibers and dyeing the remaining portion, then mixing together and drying the bleached and the dyed fibers, then treating the mixed fibers with polishing material, and then carding and brushing the fibers to remove superfluous polishing material and to give the fibers a lustrous finish.

2. A process'tor making artificial hair} which consists in first treating vegetable husks or fibers with an alkaline solution to remove resinous matter and to toughen the fibers, then bleaching one portion of the fibers and dyeing the remaining portion, then mixin together and drying the bleached anc the dyed fibers, then treating the mixed fibers with polishing material, then cardin and brushing the fibers to re- ,move super uous polishing material and to give the fibers a lustrous finish, then twisting the carded fibers into ropes, then steeping the ropes in water, then drying the ropes to give the fibers a permanent set, and finally loosening up the dried and twisted fibers.

I In testimony whereof I afiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM ALFRED DICKINSON.

Witnesses:

H. D. Jameson, L. E. Bomm.