WO1996011793A1

WO1996011793A1 - Ecological process for making buttons for clothing

Info

Publication number: WO1996011793A1
Application number: PCT/IT1994/000188
Authority: WO
Inventors: Giuseppe Belotti
Original assignee: New Style S.P.A.
Priority date: 1994-10-17
Filing date: 1994-11-04
Publication date: 1996-04-25
Also published as: IT1271017B; DE4481274T1; ITMI942103A0; AU8115294A; ITMI942103A1; TW254885B

Abstract

Process for formation of buttons for articles of clothing by means of a mixture of recycled vegetable raw materials (34) especially paper in powder form and unsaturated polyester resins (33) in a liquid state to which are added recycled unsaturated polyester resins in powder form and various additives.

Description

ECOLOGICAL PROCESS FOR MAKING BUTTONS FOR CLOTHING

The invention concerns processes for producing buttons for articles of clothing.

Various well-known methods are followed for making these buttons according to the raw materials used for the work seeds, mother-of-pearl, horn, claw, bone, wood, metal, ceramic, stone, plastic materials.

Those most commonly used are seeds and plastics.

Seeds are taken as meaning the vegetable ivory consti- tuted by the seeds in the fruit of some palms.

The most common plastic materials adopted are casein types such as galalith, cellulose, metaerylates (such as plexiglas), polyesters, amines.

With the polyesters cylindrical rods of material are pro- duced to be cut into small disks; with the amines the buttons can be put straight into the press.

Paper is composed of cellulose fibers from woody vege¬ table essences. The raw materials may be a chemical cellulose paste made by mechanical fibrillation of the wood used, semi-chemical pastes and residue of finished paper after manufacture (trimmings and waste) or new and used white or printed paper (waste from cutters, trimmings, already used white or printed paper such as newspapers, books, bags of dif¬ ferent sizes).

Main purpose of the above invention is to product but¬ tons utilizing a vegetable raw material, reprocessed products especially paper left over from manufacture, from cutting, from trimming, already used paper, paper for pulping, residues from corozc palm seed, wood saw¬ dust and therefore ecological products. Subject of the invention is a process for making buttons for articles of clothing consisting in the creation of raw materials of vegetable origin and hermohardening plastics with addition, as required, of colouring matter, bleaches, stabilizers. The vegetable raw materials are used in powder form and the plastic materials in liquid form.

Additives are included in the mixture as required, these being plast icizers , elast icizers , phthalates, accelera¬ tors, catalysts, inhibitors. The vegetable raw materials are partially or entirely residual matter from paper, wood, corozo palm or other already used or recycled materials of a suitable kind. New white paper is added to these materials. Unsaturated polyester resins are used with advantage as plastic materials. Unsaturated polyester resins in powder form and there¬ fore residual matter from previous processes, are added to the mixture obtained as above. The powder is obtained by reducing the residues of unsaturated polyester resins to granules up to 2-3 mm. Said granules are. drawn into a ventilated self-grading^'mill and ground there after which a selector separates out the granules larger than 50 microns and returns them for regrinding. Particles smaller than 40 microns are drawn up by a cy¬ clone and transferred into a box.

The material finer than 8-10 microns that the cyclone cannot handle is sent to a cavity type filter and then decanted into another box.

To make the mixture two sizes of particles, namely 20-40 microns and 8-10 microns, are associated together. Basic composition of the mixture, by volume, is appro¬ ximately as follows: 50-70% thermohardening plastic material;

30-50% paper of the colour desired for the buttons;

2-4% addit ives .

Optimum composition, by volume, is as follows:

28% new unsaturated polyester resins, in liquid form; 26-28% residual polyester resin, in powder form;

42% residual paper and white paper, in powder form; 2-4% addit ives .

Pellets are made from the partially solidified mixture, subjected to a high vacuum to stabilize the ratio of li- quid to solidand in particular to vaporize the styrene solvent in the polyester resins.

The pellets are then stamped in presses made for the purpose before they become completely hardened. To delay complete hardening the pellets are put into refrigerated cells at about l°-5°C,for the time between their formation and their transfer to the press, to pre¬ vent the start of polymerization and therefore hardening. After moulding the product is finished substantially in the same way as is done by known methods. The characteristics described above permit execution of an optimum process as summarised below. A mixture is prepared consisting of residual paper in powder form, of white paper in powder form, of unsatu¬ rated polyester resins in liquid form.

A quantity of polyester resins in powder form is added to this mixture to reach the consistency of a paste. Residual material from previous processes can advanta¬ geously be added at this stage. The resulting paste is then passed through an extruder from which slices of material are produced. The slices, which may be made from pastes of different colours, are chosen and laid one on top of another, ac¬ cording to the chromatic effect desired, ill an "ingot" is formed .

The "ingot" is then put into an extruder and and is there transformed into cylindrical rods of different diameters according to the buttons to be made; the rods are then cut into pellets.

These pellet.s are subjected to a high vacuum to stabilize the ralationship between liquids and solids and especial¬ ly to vaporize the styrene solvent present in the liquid resins, after which the blanks go into a die forging pres to produce buttons of the required shaped.

During the time interval between formation of the blanks and molding, said blanks are kept in refrigerators at a temperature of 1°-5°C to prevent the start of polymeriza- tion and consequent hardening of the material.

After molding the blanks are given the usual mechanical processing to achieve the desired finish. The invention offers evident advantages.

Buttons so made, essentially consisting of recycled raw ma¬ terials, especially paper, respect the biological balance of the planet since, though utilizing vegetable materials like those used for the best buttons on the market, no trees have to be cut down for the purpose.

In view of the enormous consumption of buttons throughout the world, something like 30-40 billion per year, the in¬ vention makes a considerable contribution to the general health of the earth, assuring real symbiosis between in¬ dustry and nature, between economic and ecological needs. All this is done while obtaining structural qualities resistent to washing, to the stresses of wear, to iron¬ ing, and aesthetic results even better than buttons made with present techniques, providing original colours and shapes, low specific gravity.

Characteristics and purposes of the invention will be made still clearer from the following example of its execution illustrated by a diagrammat ically drawn figure. Fig. 1 A typical installation for realization of the process subject of the invention. The mill 11 receives the material 30 consisting of gra¬ nules,up to 2-3 mm in size, of unsaturated polyester resin. A selector separates out the granules bigger than 50 mi- crons which fall into the mill's grinding compartment. The material smaller than 40 microns is drawn up by the cyclone 12 and transferred to the container 31. The finest particles, smaller than 8-10 microns, which the cyclone 12 cannot deal with, are transferred to the cavity type filter 13 and decanted into the container 32. Liquid unsaturated polyester resins 33 are then put into the mixer 14 together with a mixture 34 of residual recycled paper and white new paper, both in powder form, colour¬ ing if desired, and bleaches, stabilizers and various additives 35 such as plast ic izers , e last icizers , ec- celerators, catalysts, inhibitors, thus obtaining a semisolid mass.

This mass is dried with the powder obtained from asso¬ ciation of the products that collect in containers 31 and 32 where granule sizes are respectively less than 8-10 microns and 40 microns. The paste obtained is put into the extruder 15 where it is transformed into slices 36.

The slices are laid one on top nf another in a special container and are assoc iated , aceording to the colours it is desired to have for the buttons, ill an "ingot" 37 is formed .

The "ingot" is placed in the extruder 16 which forms it into cylindrical rods 38 of various diameters according to the sizes of the buttons to be made. These rods pass into the cutter 17. The pellets 39 obtained are placed in the trolleys 18 fitted with trays and are then given high vacuum treat¬ ment in the chamber 20.

This treatment serves to stabilize the ratio between li¬ quids and solids. But in particular it vaporizes the styrene present in the polyester resin.

Outside the high vacuum chamber the pellets 40 are pressed in the press 21 to make blanks. The blanks are then processed in the ordinary way to produce finished buttons. In the interval of time between cutting the pellets and the start of pressing, and therefore before and after the high vacuum treatment, the pellets are kept in the refrigerator 19 at temperatures between 1° and 5^CC so that cold will prevent the start of polymerization of the material and therefore hardening of the pellets

Claims

CLA IMS

1. Process for making buttons for clothing character¬ ized in that a mixture is formed of vegetable and ther- mohardening plastic raw materials to which colouring matter, bleaches and stabilizers are added as required.

2. Process as in claim 1, characterized in that the vegetable raw materials are used in powder form while the plastic materials are used in liquid form.

3. Process as in claim I, characterized in that additives are added to the mixture as the case requires, these being piast ic izers , elasti- cizers, phthalates, accelerators, catalysts, inhibitors.

4. Process as in claim 1, characterized in that the vegetable raw materials are residual from other processes, recycled material generally.

5. Process as in claim 1, characterized in that new white paper is added to the residual raw materials of a vegetable nature.

6. Process as in claim 1, characterized in that the vegetable raw materials are partially or entirely constituted of residues of paper.

7. Process as in claim 1, characterized in that the vegetable raw materials are partially or entirely constituted of residues of wood, especially sawdust.

8. Process as in claim 1, characterized in that the vegetable raw materials are partially or entirely constituted of residues of coro- zo pal .

9. Process as in claim I, characterized in that the plastic materials are unsatu¬ rated polyester resins.

10. Process as in claim 1, characterized in that powder of solid products obtained from unsaturated polyester resins is added to the mixture.

11. Process as in claim 10, characterized in that the solid products obtained from unsaturated polyester resins are residues and waste from previous production processes.

12. Process as in claim 10, characterized in that the solid products ( 30) ,obtained from unsaturated polyester resins, are reduced to gra¬ nules of 2-3 mm drawn into and ground by a self-gra¬ ding ventilated mill ( 11) with a selector that separates out the granules larger than 50 microns and regrinds them in the grinding chamber, a cyclone ( 12) then drawing up the particles smaller than 40 microns and transferring them to a container (31), the material finer than 8-10 microns, that the cyclone ( 12) cannot deal with, being then transferred to a cavity type filter ( 13) and decan¬ ted into another container (32), the mixture being com- posed of an association of two granule sizes, of 20-40 and of 8-10 microns respectively.

13. Process as in claim I, characterized in that the vegetable raw materials are residues of paper in powder form and of new white paper also in powder form while the plastic materials are un¬ saturated polyester resins both liquid and powdered.

14. Process as in claim 1, characterized in that the basic composition, by volume, of the mixture is subs antually as follows: 50-70% of ther ohardening plastic material;

30-50% of paper of the colours desired for the buttons; 2-4% additives.

15. Process as in claim 1, characterized in that optimum composition of the mixture by volume is as follows:

28% of new unsaturated polyester resins, in liquid form; 26-28% powdered polyester resins, possibly obtained from residual material; 42% residues of paper and new white paper in po der form; 2-4% additives.

16. Process as in claim 1, characterized in that the vegetable raw materials are powdered residues of paper and powdered new white paper, in that the thermohardening plastic materials are unsat¬ urated polyester resins in liquid and in powder form and in that pellets are obtained from the partially solidi- fied material, said pellets being then subjected to a high vacuum in order to stabilize the ratio of liquids to solids and especially to determine vaporization of the volatile substances and particularly of the styrene solvent in the polyester resins.

17. Process as in claim 1, characterized in that the vegetable raw materials are residues of paper in powder form and of new white paper in powder form, in that the thermohardening plastic ma¬ terials are unsaturated polyester resins in liquid and in powder form and in that the pellets obtained from the partially solidified mixture are submitted to pres¬ sing in a special press before they become hardened and for this purpose are kept, during the period between their formation and transfer to the press, in a refrigerator at about 1-5°C to prevent the onset of polymerization and therefore the hardening of the product.

18. Process as in claim I, - I I - characterized in that the vegetable raw materials are residues of paper in powder form and of white paper in powder form (34) while the plastic materials are un¬ saturated polyester resins in a liquid state (33) and unsaturated polyester resins in powder form (31,32) which may even consist of residual and waste material, in that preparation is made, in a mixer ( 14), of a mix¬ ture of powdered residues of paper, of powdered new white paper (34), of liquid unsaturated polyester re- sins (33) and various additives (35), in that said semi- solid mixture receives powdered polyester resins (31,32) until a paste is formed, that said paste is put through an extruder ( 15) to produce slices (36) of material, said slices (36), obtained from pastes of different colours, being chosen and associated together by laying one on top of another, according to the chromatic effects it is desired to obtain, until an ingot-type mass (37) is formed and when said mass (37) is put through an extruder ( 16) it is transformed into cylindrical rods (38) of differ- ent diameters according to the buttons to be produced, said bars then being cut by a cutter ( 17) into pellets (39), said pellets (39) then being placed in a vacuum chamber (20) and subjected to a high vacuum to stabilize the ratio between liquids and solids and especially to vaporize volatile substances particularly the styrene solvent present in the liquid resins, the pellets being then placed in a press (21) where they are pressed to give them the forms (41) corresponding to those of the buttons it is desired to produce, while in the interval of time between formation of the pellets (40) and their entry into the press, said pellets (40) are kept in re^¬ frigeration cells ( 19) at 1°-5°C so that the low temperature shall prevent the onset of polymerization and hardening of the product .

19. Buttons for clothing characterized in that they are made from a mixture of vegetable raw materials and thermohardening plastics with addition, as the case may be, of colouring product bleaches, stabilizers and additives, again-. as the ca may be, of plas icizers , elast ic izers , phthalates, ac¬ celerators, catalysts, inhibitors.

20. Buttons for clothing as in claim 19 characterized in that the vegetable raw materials are residual material from other processes and recycling generally.

21. Buttons for clothing as in claim 19 characterized in that new white paper is added to the residues of vegetable raw materials.

22. Buttons for clothing as in claim 19 characterized in that the vegetable raw materials are partially or entirely composed of residues of paper.

23. Buttons for clothing as in claim 19 characterized in that the vegetable raw materials are partially or entirely composed of wood residues, espe¬ cially sawdust .

24. Buttons for clothing as in claim 19, characterized in that the vegetable raw materials con¬ sist, partially or entirely, of corozo palm residues.

25. Buttons for clothing as in claim 19, characterized in that the plastic materials are unsatu¬ rated polyester resins.

26. Buttons for clothing as in claim 19 characterized in that unsaturated plastic materials in powder form are added to the mixture.

27. Buttons for clothing as in claim 19 characterized in that basic composition of the mixture, by volume, is substantially as follows:

50-70% thermohardening plastic materials; 30-50% paper of the colours desired for the buttons. 2-4% additives .

28. Buttons for clothing as in claim 19 characterized in that optimum composition of the mixture, by volume, is as follows: 28% new unsaturated polyester resins in liquid form; 26-28% residues of polyester resins in powder form; 42% residues of paper and of naw white paper in powder form; 2-4% addit ives .

29. Buttons for clothing obtained by means of the pro¬ cess described in claims from 1 to 18.