US1846845A - Process and apparatus for coloring textile webs - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 23, 932.

F. W. CLARK PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR COLORING TEXTILE WEBS Filed April 11, 1950 m uuKuuw .530 2302-0 s K W ,Tmr L nW K H mm F w Patented Feb. 23, 1-932 "UNITED STATES;

PATENT; OFFICE FRANK W. CLARK, OF SANFORD, MAINE, ASSIGNOR TO SANFORD MILLS, OF SANFORD,

MAINE, A. CORPORATION OF MAINE PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR COLORING TEXTILE WEBB Application filed April 11,

to webs of air porous material and particularly to textile fabrics in a manner somewhat analogous to that of marblingrwherein a mutable design of color is floated on the surface of' a liquid carrier and is taken off the surface by the web of material.

In t e decoration of paper and other similar and smooth and dense materials, satisfactory results are obtained by the application of the color thereto as a coating and it is the object of the present invention-to render this type of process and apparatus effective in im- -'pregnatlng the material with the color so that it is dyed or colored throughout its substance. The invention renders it possible .to

color, impregnate, or dye air porous or tex tile fabrics of any degree of thickness from ordinary plain goods to high pile plush or pile goods.

,The object of the invention is further to provide in the process and apparatus for the removal of excess carrier liquid or .water taken up by the web of material as it laps the color film off the surface of the carrier without disturbing the design imparted to the face of the material or blurring its outlines.

The object of the invention is further to secure thedesired results by the application of suction throughout a transverse zone of the web to the back of the web after the contact of the color film therewith whereby the color is drawn into the material thoroughly impregnating it and whereby simultaneously any excess carrier liquid is removed from the material.

The general type of process and apparatus in which the invention is embodied is now a part of the prior art and therefore needs no extended description here. In its'broad aspects a carrier body of water, preferably" a gravity flowing stream in a trough, is employed with the stream moving slowly enough to maintain its upper surface perfectly smooth and unrippled. Color fluids of desired hues are prepared and gently laid onto the surface ofthe carrier so that they float thereon and are dispersed thereon in the required design. In an application of John 1930.- Serial No. 443,565.

C. Senior, Serial No. 443,622, filed concurfluids and a method of controlling their dispersion on the surface of the carrier liquid suitable for impregnating or dyeing textile fabrics. After the color design is formed' floating on the surface of the carrier liquid, it is carried thereby to a position where the Web of material is brought barely into touching contact with the carrier surface while moving in the same direction so that the web laps off from the surface of the carrier the color film. Immediatelyafter the color film is thus taken by the web, the present invention comes into play and the color is drawn into the web of material thoroughly impregnating it and, at the same time, the excess carrier liquid is. removed through the back of the web. Thus air porous or textile fab rics of all types may be colored or dyed successfully, rapidly, and economicall in a mutable design such as of the wellown marbleized character.

The nature and objects of the invention will appear more fully from the accompanying description and drawings and will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

The drawlngs illustrate chiefly in diagrammatic form one type of apparatus embodying the invention and for carrying out the process of the invention, but as this type of apparatus is now old in the art, it is only necessary to illustrate and describe it and its operation sufliciently to disclose the present invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partially broken away, of the apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a detail of one form of means for guiding the web into lapping contact with and applying suction to the the color film web.

into the tank from a suitable supply pipe 3' and passes through a strainer 4 and over a dam 5 which determines the level of the top Fig. 3 is a detail of another form of means .rently herewith, there-are disclosed color surface of the carrier liquid and thence dissi may be fed to or laid upon the surface the li uid carrier inany variety and by any suita le means and but one suchmeans is here illustrated. A smooth inclined plate or baflie 7 extends across the tank near the upstream end and is mounted, as indicated at 8, to be vertically adjustable and, as indicated at 9, to be angularly adjustable. Preferably this plate is mounted at such an inclination to the surface of the water or carrier liquid that color flowing therefrom will flow gently off the plate and merge onto the surface of the water and be traveling at about the same speed as the water. The lower edge of the plate is preferably sharpened and located just to clear the upper surface of the water carrier.

Colors suitable for the dyeing and impregnation of the porous or textile web and of the required variety of hues are fed onto the inclined plate 7 from a plurality of receptacles, one for'each color. For example, a series of fixedly mounted tanks, one of which is shown at 10, is mounted on a latform 11 above the tank 2. A conduit 12 leads from each tank into the vicinity of theplate 7 and the flow from the tank therethrough is controlled by a suitable valve 13. Another row of transversely movable color receptacles, one of which is indicated at 14, is mounted to slide transversely on the platform 15 extending transversely above the tank 2. From each of these. receptacles also leads a conduit 16 into the vicinity of the plate 7 and the flow of color therethrough is also controlled by a .valve 17.. The colors flow from the co'nduits 12 in streams down the inclined plate and blend or coalesce with colors from the conduits 16 as these conduits are moved transversely back and forth acrossthe tank. Thus the color film made up of a variegated design controlled as desired flows oflf from the inclined plate 7 onto the surface of the liquid or water carrier 1. Other means, as already pointed out and as known in the art, may be employed for varying the character of the design ofthe color film and such means form no part of the present invention. In any event, the surface of the carrier liquid before it approaches the downstream end of the tank 2 is covered with a film of colors presenting the desired mutable' design.

The web of air porous material such as the' textile, for example, plain .cloth or pile, fabric, is fed from a suitable supply, not shown, through tension and smoothing bars 18 above the tank overan idler 19, thence down around and past the means for guiding the web into lapping contact with the color film and the means for applying suction to the back of the web, thence up and around an idler 20, thence to suitable means for feeding or drawing the web through the apparatus suchas the power driven serrated roll 21 and thence out of the machine for further finishe and- 2,.a non-rotatable hollow cylinder 22 is supported at its ends in blocks 23 adjustably mounted, as by screws 24, in the frame 25. This frame is shown as of general vU-shape pivoted at its ends 26 to-the tank and at its center supported in the revoluble hook 27 adjustably mounted by the screw 28 on the tank. This is shown simply as an illustration of.a means for accurately adjusting the cylinder 22 with respect to the surface of the water carrier 1 and as a means for enabling the entire frame to be released and swung upward about its pivots 26 when it is desire to thread or unthread the web or have access thereto. When the partsare in working position, the cylinder 22 is positioned so as to color film and a suitable source of vacuum or suction 30 is connected bya flexible pipe 31 to one end of the hollow cylinder.

The web is drawn around the cylinder 22' at approximately the same speed as the travel of the water carrier, although there may be a slight differential in the speed with the corresponding change in the color design. The

web laps the color film 015? from the surface of the liquid or water carrier and immediately the vacuum produced in the hollow cylinder acting through the slot 29 against the back of the web sucks the color into and through the fabric, causing it thoroughly to penetrate and dye the fabric and, at the same time, removes any excess of the liquid or water carrier from the web.

In some cases it may be desirable that the cylinder which thus guides the web into lapping contact with the color filrn be rotatable to assist in the ready progression of the web through the apparatus. A variation of the construction for this purpose is shown in Fig. 3. In this case the hollow cylinder 32 is provided at its ends with journals 33 mounted in bearing blocks 34 adjustable by the set screws 35 in the pivoted frame 25. In

this case it is necessary that the means for producing suction at the back of the web be separate from the cylinder and for that purpose a suction box 36 is shown mounted just above the cylinder at the back of the web having a slot 37 opening against the back of the web and connected at one end by a pipe 38 to a suitable vacuum source. Again it will be seen that after the web has lapped up the color onto its face, it immediately passes the which a color film floating on the surface of slot 37 and the suction applied through this slot draws the color into the web, causing it thoroughly to penetrate and dye the web and at the same time removing any excess of the liquid or water carrier.

In each case, therefore, suction is applied through a transverse zone of the web'to the back of the web after the contact of the color fihn therewith both to draw the color into the web and to remove excess carrier liquid.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

1. In the process of decorating an air porous web with a mutable design of color in a travelling liquid carrier is brought into lapping contact with the travelling web and taken oif thereby, the step of applying suction through a transverse zone of the web to the e back of the web after the contact of the color film therewith to remove excess carrier liquid and to draw the color into the 'web.

2. In the process of dyeing atextile web' material wherein a color film is floated on the surface of a travelling liquid carrier, means for guiding the travelling web of material into lapping contact with said carrier sur-' face to take off the color design therefrom, and means for applying suction throughout a transverse zone of the web to the back of the web after the contact of the color therewith to remove excess carrier liquid and to draw the color into the web.

4. In an apparatus for imparting a mutable design of color to a web of air porous ma* terial wherein a color film is floated on the surface of a travelling liquid carrier, 21 hollow guide extending transversely of and just above the surface of the travelling liquid carrier for guiding the travelling web of material into lapping contact with the carrier surface to take off the color design therefrom, the said guide opening from its interior to a transverse zone of the back of the web the face of which has contacted with the color film, and means for applying suction to the interior of the hollow guide to remove excess carrier liquid from-the web and to draw the color into the web.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

' FRANK w, CLARK.

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