US2376922A - Method of and apparatus for making pile fabrics - Google Patents

Description

W. H. KING May 29, 1945.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING FILE FABRICS Filed June 4, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 William JiJfiin y,

y 1945- w. H. KING 2,376,922

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING FILE FABRICS Filed June 4, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 llllllllllllilllllllllilillI (1H0: mum

Patented May 29, 1945 METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING PILE FABRICS i William H. King,-Troy, N. Y., assignor to Bohr- Manning Corporation, Troy, N. Y., a corpora.-v tion oi Massachusetts Application June 4, 1941, Serial No. 396,636 17 Claims. ('01. 117-33) The present invention relatesv to new and im-' proved methods of and apparatus for coating, and more particularly, for coating flexible sheet material with fibrous products such a flock, in the production of pile surfaces and pile-surfaced materials.

The primary object of the invention is to produce pile fabric wherein the fibres forming the pile are adhesively united to the backing sheet in an improved, oriented position and ma bond or increased strength.

A further object is to produce a pile-surfaced fabric, wherein the pile-forming particles or flock are more deeply embedded, in oriented position, in the adhesive and are, therefore, more securely held in place.

Another object of the invention i to secure the pile-forming particles or flock to the adhesive with,

their outer ends spaced from the backing layer substantially exactly the same distance, to provide a more uniform surface appearance.

Another object of the invention is to provide a greater density of pile on the surface of pile fabric, than can readily be done with prior methods.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method which makes it "possible to use a more viscous adhesive with certain types, of pile-forming material than can be used with prior methods.

Another object is to provide a novel method of applying pile-forming material to a backing sheet in pattern form.

A further object is to provide positive control of the depth of penetration of the fibres into the adhesive and to control depth of penetration in accordance with the holding power of the adhesive.

A further important object of the invention is to produce a pile fabric product wherein the tops of the pile-forming fibres are all .disposed in the same plane, equally spaced from the backing sheet, thereby giving the effect of a sheared pile fabric, such as velvet, without the necessity of employing a shearing operation. A

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description of the invention proceeds.

Pile surface materials have heretofore been made by depositing pile-forming particles such as fibre or flock upon adhesively coated foundation materials. The particles have been oriented and arranged in parallelism, normal to the plane of the foimdation material by mechanical agitation and by the use of electrostatic forces, or both. Examples of efficient electrostatic methods of depositing flock upon adhesively coated backing sheets may be found in the-patents to Meston 2,173,078, Wintermute 2,173,032 and Amstuz It has also been proposed to subject the backing sheet to a beating or vibrating action as the flock is deposited, to effect orientation of the fibres. With such mechanical agitation, however, only a relatively small proportion of the fibres are disposed in parallelism, normal to the lane of the backing sheet. Moreover, with such mechanical orientation, the adhesion between the fiock particles and the sheet is not sufiiciently strong for all purposes.

In order to properly secure the flock to the backing sheet, it is desirable that, the oriented I particles penetrate the adhesive to a substantial certain extent and that the adhesive have good wetting adhesive has a major effect upon these factors, since, if the viscosity is low, the penetration of the adhesive by the fibres will be better and the wetting property will be increased. However, with a l hesives, the first fibres that strike the adhesive will absorb a relatively larger quantity of the adhesive diluent or solvent than the adhesive solids, resulting in an increase of viscosity of the adhesive adjacent those particular fibres. The next fibres to be applied, therefore, encounter an adhesive layer of increased viscosity, with the'result that they do not penetrate as far as the first-mentioned ones. Moreover, the last-mentioned particles absorb the adhesive diluent or solvent, when adhesives of the type referred to are being used, thereby further increasing the viscosity of the adhesive layer. This action proceeds as additional fibres are deposited, with the result that the viscosityprogressively increases and the last fibres applied are only poorly secured. With the use of such adhesives, therefore, some oi the fibres are very well anchored and other are not. Under wearing conditions, the loosely adhered fibres tend todrag with them, by their affinity, some of the other fibres that are more securely anchored, so that a pile surface material is pro duced, having wearing quantities that are unsatisfactory for certain uses; 7

- The foregoing difficulties are particularly noticeable when latex adhesives are used, since the fibres tend to absorb water from'the latex and increase the viscosity of the adhesive quite rapidly.

With the use of such adhesives, it has been found that, when the fibres are wetted, they acquire such an attraction for each other that their wetted ends are drawn together more than their free dry ends, thereby producing a fanned or clumped effect and making it difiicult for subsequently applied fibres to reach the adhesive. As a result, some of the fibres are anchored in a laid-down condition, which is undesirable.

In order to avoid these difliculties, when certain types of adhesives are used, it has been the practice in the flocking art to use adhesives of higher viscosity than that which would give the best penetration by the fibres and anchorage thereof to the backing sheet. With such high viscosity adhesives, the fibres are initially oriented upon the surface of. the adhesive and attempts are then made to cause them to penetrate thereinto by the use of mechanical heaters and the like.

The foregoing difilculties' are particularly pronounced when latex is used as the adhesive, since latex passes from a fluid liquid to a condition of relatively high viscosity upon the loss of very little water, an amount that is insuflicient to properly wet enough of the fibres to provide a good fiocklayer, It is most desirable, however, to use latex as an adhesive medium, because of its economy and desirable final properties, and it is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a method of and apparatus for making latex, an entirely satisfactory adhesive for use in the flock coating art. I

When other types of adhesives are used, such as certain synthetic resin adhesives, however, the above-mentioned difllculties are not encountered,

and the direct deposition methods described in the above identified patents are satisfactory for many purposes.

In accordance with the present invention, flock particles are deposited in oriented relation upon a transfer apron having a thin layer of relatively weak adhesive associated therewith, sufiicient to hold, temporarily, the fiock particles in closely packed oriented relation thereon, in paralleism, normal to the surface of the apron. The free ends of the flock particles so supported are then tional conveying means into a hopper ll having a screen bottom l2, the hopper being mounted for agitation or vibration under the influence of a crank I3 carried by a continuously rotating shaft I4, driven by appropriate means, not shown. A feed belt l5, trained about and driven by suitable rollers I6, receives the sifted flock in an evenly distributed layer from the hopper and carries the same through an electrostatic field between upper electrodes l1 and lower electrodes l8, the latter being connected to a suitable source of current is and the former connected to ground at 20. A trough 2| at the end of the flight of the feed belt I5 receives any material not deposited by the electrostatic field.

A transfer apron 22, unwound from a roll supply 23, is trained over rollers 24 and through a pair of rollers 25, 26, the latter of which dips into an adhesive receptacle'2l and applies a coating of adhesive to' the apron. The apron is drawn, from the last guide roller 24 beneath additional guide rollers 28,29, by a roll through the electrostatic field, adjacent the upper electrode II. In the electrostatic field, the fiock particles are projected upon and are secured to the adhesively coated transfer apron 22, as is well understood in the electrostatic flocking art.- Flock particles not adequately secured to the apron may be removed by a light beater 3| and a suction device 32.

Beyond the upper roll 30, the transfer apron passes between the first pair of rollers 33, 34, over a supporting platform having a convex arcuate pressed, by mechanical pressure, into a layer of adhesive carried by a backing sheet, the last strength than the first-mentioned temporary adhesive. The apron and the backing sheet are then moved apart and the fiock particles stripped from the former are carried by the adhesive asso ciated with the latter. The sheet so produced is then subjected to the usual drying and curing steps to produce a finished product. I The invention will be understood more fully by. reference to the accompanying drawings, where-; in an illustrative embodiment of the invention is illustrated diagrammatically. Although the specific embodiment of the inven-f tion described below includes the electrostatic orientation and deposition of the pile-forming fibres upon a transfer surface, it must be under. stood that the invention is not confined to that type of orientation and deposition, since many of: the advantages of the invention are applicable to. gravity depositing and mechanical orienting methods.

In the drawings: I Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of an apparatus capable of performing the method of the invention, and

Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 are greately enlargedrfragmentary diagrammatic sections taken on lines upper surface, and then between a second pair of rollers 36, 31.

A sheet of backing material 40, drawn from a roll supply 4|, passes over rollers 42 and through an adhesive coating apparatus comprising a roller 43 and a doctor blade 44, so that one surface of the sheet is coated with an adhesive, of a type described below in connection with a specific example of the method. The sheet is trained for movement under a power driven guide roll 45 and then between the first pinch rolls 33, 34 and the second pinch rolls 36, 31, in superimposed relation to the free ends of the flock particles on the apron 22, the apronbeing supported by the arcuate platform 35.

A'backing-up, pressure-applying blanket 46 is trained about rollers 34, 31, 49 with one of its flights directly behind and above the coated backing sheet 40. The degree of pressure applied by the blanket 46 to the backing sheet and by the backing sheet to the fiock particles on the transfer apron may be controlled by adjustably mounted idler rollers 50, 5| which control the tension in the blanket.

The backing sheet 40 and the flock particles embedded in the adhesive coating thereon move away from'the transfer apron, with the result that the fiock particles are stripped from the latter. The sheet is led upwardly to and carried by the upper surface of an endless conveyor 55, trained about guide rollers 56 and a driven roller 51. The backing sheet moves with the conveyor 55 for a sufiicient time to permit the adhesive to dry somewhat, whereupon the sheet is delivered to further drying and curing means, not shown.

The transfer apron 22 is guided over rollers 60, 6|, past a scraper blade 62 and a rotating brush 63, which effectively clean the surface of the apron, the matter removed being received in a trough 64 which may be connected to suction removing means. The apron next passes over a positively driven roll 65, an idler "and is wound up in a roll 61, which may eventually be removed and re-used.

Instead of using a long, discontinuous transfer.

apron 22, adapted to be unwound from the roll 23 and rewound into the roll 61, it is entirely feasible to employ a continuous-endless apron. In such case, one flight of the apron passes directly from theroller 86 through appropriate tension rollers, not shown, to the roller 24, the apron being cleaned by the blade 63 and the brush 33 before it receives its next coating of adhesive. Instead of using a transfer apron or belt, the invention contemplates the employment of a relatively large transfer cylinder or drum which may itself constitute one of the electrodes for the electrostatic field or which may have its periphery arranged to revolve through the space between a pair of fixed, arcuate electrodes, so

that, in any event, theflbres are deposited on the periphery of the cylinder which has previously been coated with a relatively weak adhesive. The particles in this case may be transferred to the backing sheet by means similar to that shown in Figure 1, the periphery of the drum constituting the equivalent of the arcuate apron supporting platform 35. I

The adhesively coated, final'backing sheet 40 may be brought into contact with the free upper ends of the flock secured to the transfer apron 23 immediately upon the entrance of the sheet and the apron between the bite of the rollers 33, 34, or, on the other hand, the contact between the adhesive on the backing sheet and the flock layer can be made to take place at a point be tween the first rollers 33, 34 and the second rollers 36, 31, so as to provide a more gradual penetration of the fibres into the adhesive. In-v fact, the latter procedure is preferred and thesec- 0nd pair of rollers 36, 31 are carefully set so as to assure the proper depth of final penetration of the fibres into the adhesive layer on the permanent backing sheet. The backing-up blanket 46 which forces the coatedheet 43 onto the flock particles is desired as a means for accurately controlling the pressure between the two and as a means for preventing wrinkles and the like in the sheet. In many cases, particularly when a relatively heavy permanent backing sheet is used, the blanket 46 may be eliminated.

The invention contemplates applyingflock in pattern form and thi may be readily accom plished by printing, stencilling, or otherwise applying to the transfer apron, a weak adhesive layer according to a predetermined design. In

such case, the flock will be applied to the transfer apron only over the area covered by the design and the flock so deposited will be transferred to the permanent backing in the same manner, so

that the design will appear on the finished prodnot. In the alternative, the adhesive on the backing sheet 40 may be applied by printing,

stencilling, or the like in any desired pattern or design, in which case the continuously and evenly coated apron 23 will apply the pile-forming material only to those portions of the permanent backing which have been adhesively coated, with the result that the pile surface in the finished product will follow the desired pattern or design. This method is preferred in some cases, since it results in a saving of the amount of final adv hesive employed and produces a finished product wherein the nonflock coated portions of the finished product are not adhesively coated.

Many types of rubber cement and latex ad- .fibres used in making pile fabrics.

hesives may beused for the permanent backing sheet, in accordance with the present invention. The following example is satisfactory:

Adhesive example Formula II Formula #2 Parts Parts Rubber us 60% latex 100 i 100 Zinc oxide"-.. 2 5 Sulfur l l. 1 Zinc dlbutyldlthlocarbamatc. I i{inapthyl-p-phenylenedlamlne. l l Zinc salt of 2-mercaptobenmthiazole l. 5 Dgaentamcthylene-thluram tetrasul- 25 0' I ascin (as 25% NH: rel.).--.. ,4 4 Water (total) I. 57 59.75

. The above formula maybe prepared-by methods well known inthe latex compounding art.

Usually the pigments are-ground with an equal weight of water in a ball mill until good dispersion is obtained. 'The casein solution is'flrst added to the rubber latex after which the dis-' persed pigments are stirred in. After the fibres are embedded in the above adhsivathe. water can be evaporated by suspending the'flnished' material in air at 180 F. ior 15 minutes. 'After the material is dry, it can be vulcanized and in the case where the above formula #l is used, it can be cured for 30 minutes at 220 E; where the above formula #2 is used, it canbe cured for 10 minutes at 260 F. to give satisfactory results.

While my process and apparatus have peculiar advantages for the use of rubber latex in anchoring the fibres to the backing, but they are not limited to latex, but maybe used with a wide a variety of adhesives.

Temporary adhesive Example 1 I Per cent Glycerine s. 70 Alcohol 25 Water 5 -The method of preparing this-mixture is well known to those skilled in the art. The alcohol merely serves to dilute the mixture so that a very thin film can be applied to the surface of apron 22, and the water is present to reduce flre-hazard, in theevent that'someof the alcohol does not evaporate beforefthe coating reaches the electrostatic field.

Temporary adhesive Exam e" A very light coating of glyceri'ne.

' Temporary adhesiveE'rampZeB Grind in a ball mill parts of bentonite clay in a mixture of 75 parts alcohol and parts glycerine. After this is thoroughly dispersed, pour in a mixture of 50 parts water with 10 parts alcohol. This gives a mixture that has properfer apron by means of a doctor blade. time should be allowed so that the alcohol can evaporate before the apron enters the electro-- This mixture is coated onto the.

ties that will enable it to be coated onto a trans- Enough static field. transfer apron which may or may not have been previously prepared by coating with a mixture of casein,- -water28% NHa--glycerine and whiting. A heavier coating of Example 3 is required than of Examples 1 or 2. The transfer apron has to be re-coated each time it is used.

A specific example in accordance with the method of the present invention will now be described, wherein the method and apparatuslof the present application have been employed in the manufacture of automobile body, side-wall material, consistingof a fabric backing coated with a. latex adhesive on which is deposited oriented rayon fibres. 2, three denier rayon fibres I0, .030" long and dyed green properly. processed by the supplier are placed in the hopper and are sifted through the vibrating screen in a thinly, uniformly and evenly distributed layer on the rubberized-fabric, endlessv feed belt [5, which is travelling-at the rate of about 50 feet per minute. It isunderstood, of course, that this speed can be varied more orless depending upon the'density of the flock desired. The feed belt isv run much faster than the transfer apron, so that the fiock can be thinly distributed thereon; with the resultthat the orientation of the fibres is improvedand the deposition of a dense pile 'coaton the transfer apron is facilitated.

The transfer apron,,wound up int roll 233is is 1301: kraft paper which has =previo ly been treated as follows. A mixture of the following:

speed of about 10 feet per minute. The transfer apron can be runat speeds of from 2 feet to 50 feetper minute or more. speeds faster than 10 feet per minute may require longer electrodes along the distance of travel of the web in 'order to acquire sufficient density of fibres on the transfer apron. The distance from the coating rollers 25 and 26 to the sets of electrodes I l and I8 is about 22 feet.

The electrostatic field used in this particular instance is about'59" long in the direction of the travel of the web. Forty thousand volts are used with a 25 cycle alternating current. The

distance between the'electrodes l1 and I8 is approximately It is understood, of-course, in other cases that different voltages, current frequencies and electrode spacings can be used and satisfactory results obtained. Also D. C. and

Referring to Figures 1 and pulsating D. C. current can be used. In this particular instance, very good flock deposition has been obtained if the atmosphere in the electrostatic field is maintained'at a relative humidity of 40' to 50% at a temperature of 70 to 80 F. The feed belt passes into this electrostatic field facing upwardly travelling along the lower electrode. The transfer apron, with the temporary adhesive, facing downwardly, passes into and Per ceht Casein 8 Water 42 28% NH3 2 Glycerine Whiting 28 is applied in a thin layer to the paper ,by means of a doctor knife-or a pair of squeeze rollers. 140 pounds of wet weight of this formula, ap-

When

tion of a light coating of formaldehyde such as 10 solution in water. water, the paper apron is rolled up into roll 23. from which it is unwound and drawn through coating rollers 25, 26 where it receivesa coating 22' (Fig. 2) of the temporary adhesive-made as follows:

Per cent (Zilycerineu; 70 Alcohol. 25 Water v 15 Five pounds wet weight of this material will coat about 100 yardsof transfer apron.60" wide.

a In its further passage over idler rollers, evaporation of the liquid adhesive diluent takes place so that upon arrival at the electrostatic field, an extremely thin film of temporary adhesive is plied in two approximately even coats, will cover about 1,150 yards of the paper 60" wide.

it has dried, the casein is fixed by an applica- After evaporating the same plane.

through the electrostatic field next to the upper electrode and the fiock particles on feed belt are electrostatically"charged, oriented and deposited on the transfer apron 22, to produce an oriented layer of flock, as shown in Figure 3. The upper ends Illa of the fibres III, which eventually become the tops of the fibres in the finished product,all project through the thin coat of adhesive 22' and contact the apron 22, with the result that these ends are exactly aligned and lie in the Any minute irregularity that may exist through inadvertence in the length of the fibers, will show at their opposite ends lob.

,After the transfer apron passes through the' electrostatic field, it is directed upwardly around idler roller 29 past the light beater 3| and then around thepower-driven roller 30 between the lower nip roller 33 and the upper roller 34. It is drawn over the supporting platform 35 and through the second nip rollers 36, 31. The supporting platform having the arcuate surface can be made of any suitable material such as wood or metal having a smooth upper surface. To get a smoother and more frictionless surface, it may even be waxed although this is not necessary. The length of this arcuate surface of the platform is approximately 33 and the radius of curvature of the upper'surface is approxi mately 13' 2 although these dimensions are not critical. disposed as closely as possible to the bite of the rollers 33, 34 and 36, 31. The distance from the coating electrodes to nip rollers 33, 34' is approximately 22 feet, although this distance is not critical. The amount of flock deposited .on the transfer apron amounts to approximately three lar instance is a 61" drill dyed brown having a present on the surface of the paper. The transfer apron used in this particular example is ap- 1" to each side of the fabric to be coated. and

' proximately wide, so that it extends about weight of 1.76 yards per pound with a count of 68 x 40. The fabric as it is obtainedfrom the cloth mills, being 61" wide, is given a filler or size treatment consisting of applying, by means of a doctor blade or coating rollers, a size which is made by the same formula given in the Adhesive example, formula 2. If a thinner size is However, any

The extreme ends of this arc are a s'raoaa ing, I :find that it is preferable to scour and bleach the fabric before the dyeing and sizing steps are performed. This cloth is then calendered before or after the size treatment to give a smooth coating, although I prefer to calender the cloth after the size coating has-been applied. The vcloth by this time has shrunk in width to approximately 58". j

This coated cloth 40 is unrolled, from roll 4| and is drawn through the adhesive coating apparatus, where the adhesive made up as pre-. viously described in the Adhesive example, formula 2, is applied to the cloth by means of a doctor blade. In this particular instance, we desire to deposit on the cloth a latex film of .012" thickness. Therefore, the doctor blade is set .012" from the surface of the cloth. This will apply a coating 40' of latexto the cloth amounting to five ounces of dry compounded rubber from latex per square yard. This latex coated cloth then passes around and is pulled by power-driven roller 45 and passes around nip roller 34 and is pressed against the flock formation on transfer apron 22 by the endless belt 46 which is made of rubberized cloth and is approximately 60" .wide. I maintain enough tension on the belt 46 to force the ends "lb of the fibres l into the latex to the required depth without crushing or disturbing the orientation of the fibres (Fig. 4). In this particular instance, the space between nip rollers 33 and 34 is such that the distance'between the'surface of the transfer apron 22 and the surface of the supporting belt 46 is /2". The space between the nip rollers 36 and 31 is maintained so that the distance between the surfaces of the transfer apron 22 and the supporting belt 46 is .040". Since the thickness of the backing 40 is .013" and the thickness of the latex film is .012" and the length of the fibres to be deposited is .030", a total of .053", the fibres III are gradually forced into the adhesive 40' between the nip rollers until they substantially touch the surface of the fabric 40. Since the thickness of the fabric is .013" and the length ofthe fibre is .030" amounting to .043", itwill be seen that the fibres in passing between nip rollers 36 and 31 are bent .003". This is not enough to crush the fibres or disturb their orientation, but will force them through the total thickness of the adhesive film 40'. It is found that these fibres penetrate the adhesive film to the depth of '.011" with .019" of the fibres remaining exposed above the surface of the adhesive. If some of the fibres are inadvertently shorter than the standard length, they will not be pressed as deeply into the adhesive 40', but their top ends Illa will still be exactly aligned with the other, standard length fibres.

The purpose of the arcuate surface or platform 35 is to force the transfer apron upward and create an arc in the transfer apron 22, supporting belt 46 and backing sheet 40, so that tension can be placed on the sheet 40, holding it firmly against the fibres H) on the transfer apron.

same rate of speed as the transfer apron 22, that is, feetperminute. v

Although it 46 can be driven at a synchronous speed th transfer apron 22, it has been found in actual practice that enough power to drive it is obtained through its contact with the backing sheet 40, which, in turn, is-in frictional contact with the flock coated transfer apron 22. g

In this process, the fibres l0 are more securely attached by the adhesive film 40' to the fabric 40," so that when this fabric is separated from the transfer apron 22, as shown in Figure 5, the flock is so securely anchored by this permanent adhesive film that it is entirely pulled loose from the temporary adhesive film 22' on the transfer apron.

After the fiock coated cloth leaves the nip rollers 36 and 31, it is fed for a distance of approximately 3 feet in a slack condition and then on to supporting the belt 65 which is trained around rollers 66, and driven at the same speed as the backing sheet and transfer-apron. The temperature around belt 55 is at room temperature and the coated fabric is supported thereon for a distance of approximately 20 feet, at which point coated fabric is festooned and passed through a drying room. The cloth remains in the drying room, which is maintained at a temperature of 180 F., for 15 minutes, whereupon it passes into a vulcanizing chamber, where it re mains for 10 minutes at a temperature of 260 F. The material is then cooled, taken down and rolled up.

The final vulcanized fabric has gradually shrunk to a. width of 55" and the total weight of the fabric plus the rubber plus the fibre amounts to 14 ounces per square yard. The weight of the cloth in the finished product is 6 oz./sq. yd. The weight of the flock in the finished product is 3 oz./sq. yd. The weight of adhesive (dry compounded rubber from latex) is 5 oz./sq. yd.

- method and apparatus, coming within the scope Figure 4 illustrates quite clearly how these fibres '0 are forced throu h the adhesive layer 40' to the surface of the fabric 40. It is understood that the adhesively coated fabric travels at the of the appended claims andtheir equivalents.-

I claim:

1. The method of forming pile-surfaced material which comprises coating a transfer surface with a relatively weak adhesive, depositing on said coating a layer of pile-forming material in oriented relation with the particles thereof substantially normal to said surface, coating a backing sheet with a stronger adhesive, bringing the coated surface of the latter sheet into contact with the pile-forming material on the transfer surface, and transferring the pile-forming material from the transfer surface to the sheet while maintained in oriented position.

2. The method of forming pile-surfaced material which comprises applying to one surface of an elongated apron a thin coating of a relatively weak adhesive, depositing on the coated surface of the apron a layer of closely packed pile-forming fibres in oriented relation with the fibres substantially normal to said surface, applying a relatively thick coat of a stronger adhesive to one surface of a backing sheet, bringing the coated surface of the latter sheet into contact with the free ends of the fibres on the apron and embedding said ends in the thick coat of stronger adhesive, and stripping the pile-forming material from the apron and transferring the same to the 6 V j backing sheet while the fibres are maintained oriented position. i

3. The method of forming pile-surfaced ma- 3 terial which comprises continuously moving an 5 layer of pile-forming material, such as flock, upon asvaess backing sheet to cause the oriented fibres to penetrate the adhesive thereon, and thereby trans: ferring the fibres to the backing sheet.

8. The method of forming pile-surfaced material which comprises depositing on a transfer apron having a coating of relatively weak adhesive thereon, a layer of closely packed pile-forming material such as fiock with the fibres thereof oriented and disposed substantially normal to the apron, moving said apron along an arcuate, convex path, coating a backing sheet with a layer of relatively strong adhesive, moving the backing sheet along a path following the arcuate path of strong adhesive into contact with the fibres on an adhesive coated apron in oriented position with the individual particles disposed in substantially normal relation to the apron. coating a backing sheet with a coating of a stronger adhesive than the adhesive on the apron, con-. tinuously moving the sheet and the apron alongi converging paths to cause the pile-forming par-,

static field and thereby causing the flock to be deposited in oriented relation upon the adhesive coating on the apron, coating a backing sheet;

with a stronger adhesive, conducting the aproni and the sheet into such proximity that the coating on the sheet contacts the oriented flock on the apron, and separating the apron and the sheet, thereby causing the flock to be transferred from the former to the latter.

ing a transfer surface with a thin layer of relatively weak adhesive, conducting the transfer surface and the belt through an electrostatic field:

with the transfer surface moving at a slower the belt during such movement, whereby the fibres in oriented position are transferred to the backing sheet. a

9. The method of. forming pile-surfaced material which comprises coating a transfer apron with a thin coating of a relatively weak adhesive,

depositing on said coating a layerof closely packed pile-forming material in oriented relation with the fibres thereof substantially normal to said surface, coatinga backing'sheet with a relatively thick layer of a stronger adhesive dispersed in a medium containing water, bringing the coated surface of the latter sheet into contact with the pile-forming material on the apron,

and transferring said material from the apron to the sheet while maintained in oriented .position.

I 10. The method of forming pile-surfaced material which comprises coating a transfer apron with a thin coating of a relatively weak glycer-t ine adhesive, depositing on said coating a layer of closely packed pile-forming material in oriented relation with the bres thereof substantially normal to said surfacegeoating a backing sheet with a relatively thick layer of a stronger, rubber latex adhesive, bringing the coated-surface of the latter sheet into contact with the pile-forming material on the apron, and transferring said material from the apron to the sheet while maintained in oriented position.

11. The method of forming a sheet of pile-surric, but without shearing the pile and wherein the s'peedthan the belt and thereby causing the flock to 'be deposited in closely packed and oriented ,relation upon the adhesive coating on the transfer surface, coating the backing sheet with aj relatively thick layer of a stronger adhesive, con-- ducting the transfer surface and the coated backing sheet at the same rate of speed into such proximity that the free ends of the oriented flock on the transfer surface penetrate the adhesive on the sheet, and then separating the sheet from the transfer surface, thereby causing the flock to .be stripped from the transfer surface and transferred to the sheet.

'7. The method of forming pile-surfaced material which comprises depositing upon a continface to follow an arcuate path with the coated outer ends of the pile-forming fibres all lie in the same plane which comprises coating a moving transfer surface with a relatively weak adhesive, depositing on said coating, in oriented relation, a closely packed body of pile-forming fibres cut to substantially the same length with the axes of the fibres substantially normal to the transfer surface and with the ends of the fibres substantially in contact with the surface and lying in a common plane, coating a backing sheet with a relatively thick layer of a stronger adhesive, bringing the coated surface of the latter sheet into contact with the outer ends of the pileforming fibres on the transfer surface and causing said ends to penetrate the relatively'thick layer 5 of adhesive, and stripping the fibres so secured to uously moving transfer surface having a rela- 1 tively weak coating of adhesive thereon, a closely packed layer of pile-forming material in oriented l relation with the fibres thereof substantially nor- 1 mal to said surface, causing the transfer sur- 5 forming fibres in closely packed oriented relasecuring to said surface a layer of the pile-form-' ing material in closely packed, oriented relation with the fibres substantially normal to the surface, means for moving the transfer surface along a convex arcuate path, mean for guiding the backing sheet having a coating of relatively strong adhesive thereon along a path following said arcuate path of movement and with the strong adhesive in contact with the fibres, and means for moving the sheet away from the transfer surface to strip the pile-forming material thereform.

14. An apparatus for forming pile-surfaced material comprising a transfer surface having a coating of relatively weak adhesive thereon, electrostatic means for depositing on said surface a single layer of pile-forming fibres in oriented relation, and means for continuously and progressively moving an adhesively coated backing sheet into transferring relation to the free ends of the oriented pile-forming fibres, to strip the same from said transfer surface and to secure the same to the sheet in oriented relation.

15. An apparatus for forming pile-surfaced material comprising means for producing an electrostatic field, means for delivering comminuted flock to the field, means for continuously moving an adhesively coated transfer apron through the field in position to receive the flock in oriented relation by electrostatic deposition,

means for continuously moving the apron along a predetermined path outside of the electrostatic field, means for moving a coated backing sheet, means outside of the electrostatic field for guiding said sheet to bring the adhesive coating thereon into contact with the fiock on the apron, and means for continuously separating the apron and the backing sheet to strip the flock from the former and to transfer the same in oriented position to the latter.

16. The method of forming pile-surfaced material which comprises coating a transfer surface with a relativelyweak adhesive, depositing on said coating a layer of pile-forming fibres such as flock, embedding only one end of each of a substantial proportion of the fibres in said relatively weak adhesive, coating a backing sheet with a substantially stronger adhesive thanthe first-mentioned adhesive, bringing the coated surface of the backing sheet into contact with the fibres on the transfer surface to embed one end only of each of a substantial proportion of the fibres in the latter adhesive, separating the sheet and the surface and thereby transferring the fibres from the surface to the sheet.

1'7. The method of forming pile-surfaced material which comprises coating a continuously moving transfer surface with a relatively weak adhesive, depositing on said coating a layer of pile-forming fibres such as flock, embedding one end only of each of a substantial proportion of the fibres in said relatively weak adhesive, coating a continuously moving backing sheet with a substantially stronger adhesive than the firstmentioned adhesive, continuously bringing the coated surface of the backing sheet into contact with the fibres on the transfer surface to embed one end only of each of a substantial proportion of the fibres in the latter adhesive, and continuously separating the sheet and the surface andas thereby transferring the particles from this-lurface to the sheet.

WILLIAM H. KING.

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