US1306649A - weinheim - Google Patents

Description

E. WEINHEIM.

MANUFACTURE OF SUBSTITUTE HlDE LEATHER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 20. 1918.

1 306,649. Patented June 10, 1919.

2 SHEETS*SHEET1.

IN VEN TOR. [mil Wmizez'ziz BY /aw/ his ATTORNEY E. WEINHEIM. MANUFACTURE OF SUBSTITUTE HIDE LEATHER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 20. 1918.

1 ,306,649. Patented June 10, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR. 117m! lfiu'zzh @1222 ATTORNEY.

EHIL WEINHEIH, OBJN'EW YORK, N. Y.

MANUFACTURE 01! sunsn'ru'm Ema-warm Specification of Letter-l Patent. Patented June 10, 1919,

Application filed Kay 20, 1918. Serial 1T0. 285,445.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I EMIL WEINHEIM, a citizen of the United tates, and a resident of New York city, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Manufacture of Substitute Hide-Leather, set forth in the following specification.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for deeply impregnating, by a continuous operation, a strip of textile fabric.

It applies particularl to the impregnating of such a strip with a eatherfying dope, that is, with a dope capable of converting the fabric into substitute leather, and also referably int-o substitute hide leather. n this latter connection the invention is particularly applicable to converting a strip of nontenacious fabric such as cotton batting into substitute hide leather.

Broadly it is my object to provide a suitable process and apparatus for making a substitute hide leather solely out of an artificial fabric and a leatherfying dope, with the dope completely permeating the entire cross section of the finished product, in contradistinction to merely forming a coating thereon.

A. further object of the invention is to make possible the uniform application of leatherfying dope to the surface of a moving strip of fabric having little tensile strength. To this end I propose first to apply the dope to an endless carrier moving in contact with the moving strip and to apply heavy pressure and heat through the endless carrier to the layer of dope and the strip of fabric moving in contact therewith. By this arrangement of endless carrier I also'propose to regulate the temperature of the same at different localities so as to effect the spreading of the dope and the cleaning off of any undesired adhering dope in the most efficient manner. In practising the invention I propose to use a pair of adjustably spaced steam-heated compression rollers or drums, one or both of which is each enveloped by an endless apron of impervious material, prefera'bly sheet zinc. 'I prefer to,- apply' the leatherfying dope to the moving apron at a locality'where the same is relatively cool and to the outer surface of the said apron. The object of this is to improve the distribution of the a plied dope and partially to congeal the sur ace of the applied layer next to the surface of the apron in order to facilitate the clearlng of the impregnated stripof textile fabric from the apron after,the dope has 4 been forced into the body of said strlp.

It is further an object of my invention to effect a further congealing of the surface of the impregnated strip immediately after the initial impregnation. It is a further object to continue the forcing of the dope into the body of the strip after the initial surface congealing, an advantage being the ready employment of pressure between surfaces to which the congealed surfaces of the treated strip do not so readily adhere or, in other words, more readily free themselves in the continuous practice of my process, an essential feature of which is its continuousness, that is, so that a strip of untreated batting enters my apparatus and leaves the same substantially a finished substitute hide leather.

The above and further objects and features of my invention will better be understood by reference to the illustrative embodiment of m apparatus shown in the accompanying rawmgs, which form a part hereof, in which like characters designate corresponding parts in the several figures, and to which drawings the following specication is directed. Both the drawings and tive of the invention, to which the claims are directed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation, partly in vertical section and partly in elevation, of an apparatus for practising my invention; Fig. 2 1s a similar view of a modification for effecting initial steps in thepraotice of my process with the strip movin vertically; and Fig. 3 is a sectional view t rough line IIIIII of Fig. 2, with parts shown in plan.

In the most complete form of my apparatus shown, five groups of apparatus A, B, C, D and E are embodied. The group A is mechanism for feeding a strip 1 of cotton batt preferably as it is delivered from a standard batting or garnetting machine. An endless apron 2, moving in the direction of the arrows, preferably terminates about a heated, suitably driven drum 3, and from the apron 2 a strip 1 slides over a smooth surface table 4, from which it feeds directly into the dope impregnating apparatus fol- \elops the drum 6 and is carried rearwardly over an idler 9, which may be adjustable to adjust the tension in the apron 8. trough 10 in fluid communication with one or more tanks 11 overlies the apron 8 and contains a suitable leatherfying dope 12, preferably such as has been described in my Patent No. 1,263,171, granted Apr. 16, 1918. The discharge mouth of the trough 10 is preferably controllable by the valve 13 to regulate the delivery of the dope 12 upon the outer surface of the apron 8. A doctor blade 14, which may be of any suitable commercial construction and mounting, serves to spread the dope 12 over the outer surface of the apron 8 uniformly at a locality where the apron is relativel cool and flat. scraper 15 is also preferably provided for cleaning the outer surface of the apron 8 after the dope has been pressed into the batt 1. A sponger or wiper 16 may also be provided for cleaning the apron 8. This sponger may comprise a felt roll rolling in contact with the apron 8 and also in contact with a feeder roll 17 working in a trough 18 of suitable cleaning fluid such as alcohol. A second scraper 19 is also preferably provided at a locality near where the apron 8 leaves the batt 1.

A similar apron 20 envelops the upper drum 5 and is held suitably tensed by an adjustable idler 21. A dope applying tank 22 serves to distribute a controllable layer of dope upon the outer surface of the apron 20, the control being effected by the valve 23. A suitable doctor blade 24 aids the dis trihution of the dope. This apron may also be provided with cleaners in the form of one or more scrapers 25 and 26, and a sponger 27.

The group C also comprises a pair of adjustable steam-heated compression rollers 28 and 29, enveloped respectively by endless aprons 30 and 31. It is preferable that apron 30 be arranged similarly to the previously describeda-pron 20 and has a cooperating dope tank 32,, corresponding to the tank 22. Both the aprons 30 and 31 may likewise be provided with cleaners and the apron 30 has a doctor blade 33. The apron 31 extends rearwardly to serve as a carrier for the batt 1, which is preferably exposed at the locality 34 where both surfaces may be acted upon by dry conditioned air. It is preferable that the upper surface be left exposed also throughout theextent of the upper lap of the a mu 31 and be subjected to a blast of cool ry conditioned air, preferably blown from a perforated blower pipe 35. After passing from between the heated compression rollers 28 and 29 the fabric progresses upon an endless apron 36, which is associated with a cooperating apron 37, in connection with heated compression rollers 38 and 39, which may be exactly similar to the corresponding parts of the group (J. In fact, all the elements of group D are intended to be duplications of those of group C, the dope tank 40 being the same as the dope tank 32.

After passing from between the compression rollers 38 and 39, the fabric, which has progressively been compressed, is carried by an apron 41 in associatlon with compression rollers 42 and 43 outwardly to any apparatus suitable for completing the curing or storage of the fabric.

As is the case with all the compression rollers, those of group E are preferably micrometrically adjustable in their separation and are suitably heated.

As has been set forth previously, the dope 12 in tank 11 is a body filling dope and preferably that described in my Patent No. 1,263,171, or a suitable dope may be compounded as follows:

20 pounds nitro-cellulose, in alcohol solution li-pounds color pigment, and 3% pounds oil (preferably castor oil).

The dope in tank 22 is preferably of the same character so that the dope applied by the apron 8 penetrates the fabric 1 from the nether surface and the dope applied by the apron 20 penetrates the fabric from its upper surface, the objective being to effect a deep enough penetration from both sides to cause a meeting and a mingling of the two impregnations in the interior of the fabric. v

In the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 the upper surface of the fabric 1 is intended to be the finished side or that which simulates the hair side of the substitute hide leather. A partial congealing of the body filling dope is effected between the group B and the group G along the upper surface of the fabric 1. This renders the fabric in condition for the application of a preliminary surface dope from tank 32, which is applied by the apron 30. A suitable composition for this dope is preferably medium in consistency, as against the soft body filling dope. A suitable composition may be compounded as follows:

21 pounds of nitro-cellulose in alcohol solution, 1% pounds color pigment, and 2;} pounds oil (preferably castor oil).

This preliminary surface coating is con gealed by the conditioned air blower 44 intermediate groups G and D so that the surface of' fabric 1 is ready for the application of a hard surface finishing do e from tank 40, to be applied by the apron 3 A suitable composition for this hard finishing dope is as follows:

23 pounds nitro-cellulose in alcohol solution, 1% pounds color pigment, and 1;} pounds oil (preferably casor oil).

7 After receiving the finishing surface coating from apron 37 the fabric is carried over aprons 41 through the final compression rolls 42 and 43, which effect the final reduction in thickness.

The preliminary impregnation to be accomplished by group B in the apparatus of Fig. 1 may be modified, if desired.. Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate a suitable modification in which the process is conducted with a downward vertical movement of the textile fabric 1. In this modification a suitable endless carrier 50, at its delivery end working over a' steam-heated drum 51, delivers the fabric 1 in a downward direction between a pair of horizontal micrometrically adjustable heated compression rollers 52 and 53, enveloped respectively by the endless sheet metal aprons 54 and 55, the upper laps 56 and 57 of which preferably incline upwardly approximately 45, the far loops of which are carried over suitable adjustable idlers 58 and 59, it being understood that suitable driving 4 mechanism for these rollers and aprons is provided. Two separated vertically posi: tioned partitions 60 and 61 are arranged at right angles to the downwardly directed strip 1 and, in a sense, straddle the width of said strip. These partitions may be crossstayed in a suitable manner as by bridge pieces 62 and 63, arranged-parallel to the upper laps 56 and 57 of the aprons 54 and 55. These end partitions are shaped along their edges to fit the profile contour of the upper surfaces of the aprons 56 and 57, and toether therewith to form a tank for containmg any suitable impregnating dope '64. After passing downwardly between the rollers 52 and 53 the fabric 1 partially compressed, may be drawn through suitable power driven steam- heated rollers 65 and 66,

which preferably have a well-known mi-' crometer adjustment. From these rollers the treated fabric may be conveyed by the conveyer 67 to apparatus for further treatment, as for example to apparatus represented by groups C, D and E- of Fig. 1.

The endless aprons 54 and 55 are convensient for the application of suitable cleaners such as the scrapers 7.0 and 71 and spongers 72 and 73, so that each apron may be effectively cleaned and be in the proper condidition to receive a coating of dope 64, which is carried down and pressed into the fabric ,1. Likewise the fabric 1,pa ssing through the dope 64 between the partitions 60 and 61,

receives an initial impregnation before passing between the rollers 52 and 53. A decided wedging action takes place so that, within the body of the do 0 64, a circulation somewhat asrepresente by the arrows 74 and. 7 5, takes place. v

The provision of the endless aprons in combination with the heated compression rollers is important, particularly becausethe application of dope directly to a heated compression roller is unsatisfactory, partly because it is impracticable to maintain different temperatures for different progressive localities on a compression roller. However, by the use of the endless metallic apron the distantly extending loop of the apron may be maintained at any desirable cool temperature, while that part of the apron actually serving to force dope into the fabric may be at the desired high temperature. The extensive surface of the apron also facilitates the application and working of suitable cleaning devices which could not have sufiicient space to accomplish theirfunctioning against a roller itself.

What is claimed and what is desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is 1. Apparatus for impregnating a textile fabric in a continuous process comprising a pair of opposed compression rollers; oneor two endless sheet-metal aprons each enveloping one of said rollers and passing between the said rollers; a second guide roller for each said apron for operatively .holding each said apron extended at a distance from its enveloped compression roller; means for applying a fabric impregnating dope to the outer surface of oneofsaid aprons to the exclusion of its inner surface; means for feeding a strip of fabric against roller; an endless impervious apron looped about said roller and having a substantially flat portion out of contact withsaid roller;

means for treating the outer surface of saidapron apart from said roller in connection with the therefrom of means for feeding a strip of said fabric against said outer surface of said apron.

3. In apparatus for impregnating a textile fabric in a continuous process, a driven roller; an endless impervious apron looped about said roller and having a substantially flat portion out of contact with said roller; means for applying a covering of fabric imapplication thereto or removal abric impregnating dope; and

pregnating dope to the outer surface of saidleatherfying dope to a strip of fabric comprising, a heated drum; an endless apron looped about said drum; means for holding a portion ofz'said apron away from said drum wherebylls aid apron maybe continuously heated-and cooled; and "means for May, 1918.

covering the outer surface of said apron to with said dope.

6. The process of manufacturing substitute hide leather comprising continuously forcing a leatherfying do e inwardly and substantially simultaneous y from the oppo- 26 site surfaces of a strip of'matted fibers in a confined space and under the influence of heat; then exposing both said surfaces to the action of cool conditioned air to effect partial surface-congealing; and again sub- 80'j Jecting said strip to heat and pressure in a confined space to continue the penetration of said dope after its surfaces have become less adhesive by the said congealing.

In testimony whereof I have slgned my :5 name to this specification, this 14th day of EMIL WEINHEIM.

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