US3099514A

US3099514A - Color-printed flocked fabrics

Info

Publication number: US3099514A
Application number: US42616A
Authority: US
Inventors: Haber Hyman
Original assignee: Allied Textile Printers Inc
Current assignee: Allied Textile Printers Inc
Priority date: 1960-07-13
Filing date: 1960-07-13
Publication date: 1963-07-30
Anticipated expiration: 1980-07-30

Description

July 30, 1963 H. HABER COLOR-PRINTED FLOCKED FABRICS Filed July 13. 1960 INVEN TOR.

HYMAN HABEA E ATTORNEY United States Patent Jersey Filed July 13, 1960, Ser. No. 42,616 6 Claims. (Cl. 8-66) This invention relates to flocked fabrics having contrasting flocked and unflocked areas and more particularly to cellulosic flocked fabrics providing novel contrasting effects between the flocked or raised areas and the unflocked or depressed areas.

It is among the objects of the present invention to prowide a flocked cellulosic fabric having unusual striking contrasting effects between the flocked or raised areas and the unflocked or depressed areas.

It is another object of this invention to provide a process for producing such novel flocked fabrics.

In accordance with this invention a cellulosic fabric, dyed if desired to provide a cellulosic fabric base of any desired color, is impregnated with a thermosetting resin precondensate, the impregnated fabric then schreinered to produce a silk finish or subjected to friction calendering to produce a glazed finish, then cured, thereafter a flocking adhesive applied in a desired pattern, viscose, acetate, or cotton flock, or mixture of any two or all three of such flock applied, the flocked fabric dried and cured to set the flocking adhesive, excess flock removed, and thereafter the flocked fabric printed with a printing paste containing reactive or direct dyes, which dye or color the flock but have little or no effect on the resin finished unflocked areas. The resin finish produced by friction calendering or schreinering and subsequent curing of the resin is hereinafter referred to as a calender resin finish.

The fabric, after treatment as hereinabove described, may be given any conventional washing including a cold water Wash, drying and framing treatment; for example, it may be aged for a suitable period of time at an elevated temperature, say about 200 to 240 F., or steamed, then Washed with water with or without a subsequent wash with detergent and water, rinsed with water, dried, framed to finished width and tubed.

The finish imparted to the fabric in the unflocked areas by the calender resin finish resists penetration of the reactive or direct dyes employed in the printing of the fabric so that the unflccked areas retain little or none of the color applied during the printing operation and resist migration of the color from the flocked areas into the adjoining unflocked areas. A surprisingly sharp contrast is thus obtained between the flocked and unflocked areas due chiefly to the calender resin finish. In addition the calender resin finish being glossy, silk-like, or glazed presents an unusually pleasing contrast with the multi-colored printed flocked areas. The flocked areas are colored in brilliant hues, the outlines which are sharply delineated coinciding with the outline of the flocked areas, whereas the calender resin finished unflocked or depressed areas sharply contrast therewith since, as noted, they resist penetration thereinto by the dyestutf present inthe printing pastes employed in printing the flocked areas and have a silk or glaze finish contrasting with the fuzzy or fur-like appearance of the flocked areas.

The cellulosic fabric used as the base fabric may be any of the commercially available cellulosic fabrics, such as cotton, rayon including filament and/or spun yarns of rayon, and fabrics containing mixtures of these fibers alone or these fibers with other fibers including synthetic fibers in which the cellulosic content of the fabric is at 3,099,514 Patented July 30, 1963 least about say "50% by weight. White celluiosic fabric may be used as the starting material or cellulosic fabrics dyed in any desired color or colored design. The base fabric may, for example, be dyed with direct dyes, vat dyes, basic dyes, naphthols, indigisols, sulfur colors, etc. Examples of suitable fabrics are sateens, voiles and broadcloths.

The base fabric is impregnated with an aqueous solution of a thermosetting resin precondensate such as urea formaldehyde including dirnethylol urea and trirnethylol urea, melamine formaldehyde including di-, tri-, tetra-, and hexamethylol melamine, ethylene urea formaldehyde including dimethylol ethylene urea, ethylene urea triazine precondensates, or mixtures of two or more of these resins. The concentration of the resin precondensate in the aqueous solution applied to the fabric is not critical; dilute solutions may be used and the fabric passed therethrough a number of times, desirably with intervening drying to obtain the desired resin pick-up.

The amount of resin-forming solids deposited on the fabric will depend on the fabric treated. In general, the amount of resin solids is from about 2% to about 15% to 20% based on the dry weight of the fabric. To obtain such deposit of the resin-forming solids on the fabric, an aqueous solution containing from about 2% to about 20% to 25% by weight of the thermosetting resin preconden-sate is employed for impregnating the fabric.

The aqueous solution of ther-mosetting resin precondensate contains a suitable catalyst or accelerator such as magnesium chloride, amine hydrochloride, di-ammonium phosphate, ammonium thiocyanate and Zinc chloride in small amount say 0.1% to 3% or 4% by weight based on the weight of the bath. It may also contain usual additives such as softeners and preservatives.

After the fabric has been impregnated with the solution of thermosetting resin precondensate which may be effected in any known manner, for example, by padding the fabric is calendered and thereafter heat-dried to effect curing of the resin.

Friction calendering may be carried out in any conventional type of calender at a temperature of from 275 to 350 F. under pressure of from 6 to 10 tons to produce a glazed surface. The schreinering is effected by passing the fabric through a schreiner calender at a temperature of 275 to 350 F. under a pressure of from 25 to 35 tons to produce a silk-like surface. The calendering steps are important because they are instrumental in imparting a resin finish to the fabric upon subsequent curing which resists staining or penetration by the dyes in the printing paste applied to the flocked areas and minimizes, if not completely preventing, migration of :dye from the printed flock to contiguous areas. Hence the calender resin finish results in sharply contrasting effects between the raised flocked areas and the resin-finished unflocked depressed areas.

The drying and curing may be carried out at temperatures of from about 250 to about 350 F., with a residence time in the dryer of from about 2 or 3 minutes to 15 minutes or longer. The higher temperatures are employed with the shorter residence times within the range above given, and the lower temperatures with the longer residence times.

The cured resin-impregnated fabric has then applied thereto :a flocking adhesive which may be any of the adhesives employed in the flocking art effective to securely bond the flock to the calender resin finished cellulosic base. Polyurethane adhesives have been found eminently satisfactory. The adhesive is applied by a printing or en'gnaved roller, by stencilling, screen printing, or otherwise, to selected areas of the calender resin 3 finished fabric to form the desired flocked design upon subsequent application of the flock.

The printing paste applied containing the reactive or direct dye contains from 0.3% to 10%, preferably about 5%, of the dye; from 40% to 50%, preferably about 45% thickener such as a gum or cellulosic thickener or sodium alginate solution; a small amount, from about 1% to 4%, sodium bicarbonate when the printing paste contains a reactive dye; and the rest water.

The reactive dyes used in practicing this invention are the cellulosic reactive dyes which combine chemically with the molecules of the cellulosic flock, i.e., rayon, cotton or mixtures of such flock. One type of reactive dyes are those having the chemical formula in which DYE is a chromophor, such as an 2120, anthraquinone or phthalocyanine structure with the sulfo groups (S and X is a chlorine atom or an inactive radical which may contain a solubilizin'g group. Examples of such reactive dyes are disclosed, for example, in United States Patents 2,892,670; 2,892,828; 2,892,829; and 2,892,831, all granted lune 30, 1959. Reactive dyes are sold, tfor example, by Ciba Co., Inc., under its trade name Cibacrons, by Imperial Chemical Industries Limited under its trade name Procions, by Carbic Color and Chemical Company under its trade name Remazols, by Geigy under its trade name Drimarines, and by Sandoz under its trade name Reactones.

Instead of the reactive dyes or along with such dyes, direct dyes may be used which react with the cellulose of the flock to form a color-fast reaction product, but will not appreciably strain or penetrate the calender resin finished unflocked areas to an extent that the dye cannot be readily removed, for example, by washing with a detergent or soap solution. The direct dyes comprise the sodium or calcium salts of sulfonic acids of azo compounds such as Durofast Red 6BLL (Pr. 428) and Pontamine Black E Double (Pr. 5 81).

For a fiuller understanding of the nature and objects of this invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURES 1 and 1a together show a diagrammatic layout of the equipment for practicing the process of the present invention; FIGURE 1 runs from left to right and FIGURE 1a from right to left; while in FIGURE 1a the Web is shown as having been reversed, i.e., the flocked sunface is on the underside, it will be appreciated that this is for illustrative purposes only and the web need not be reversed between the flock removal and flock printing steps;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary vertical section on a greatly enlarged scale taken through a fabric embodying this invention.

In the drawing, 10 indicates a roll of cellulosic fabric 11 of the type hereinabove disclosed. Fabric 11 is unwound from roll 10 and fed through a bath 12 of aqueous thermosetting resin precondensate where the fabric is impregnated with the precondensate solution. The impregnated fabric passes from bath 12 through squeeze rolls 13 into and through calender 14 which may be either a sohreinering calender or a friction calender, then into and through the drying and curing oven 15 where the resin in the calendered fabric is cured. From the curing oven 15 the fabric is fed through a flocking adhesive applioator 17. This applicator consists of a container 18 for the flocking adhesive having rotating therein a feed roll 19 arranged to transfer the adhesive from the container 18 to the applicator roll 20 having raised areas 21 or depressed areas thereon torming the desired design. The

flocking adhesive is thus applied in the desired design, i.e., to selected areas of the cellulosic fabric.

From the flocking adhesive applicator 17, the fabric having the adhesive applied in selected areas passes to a flocking station 22 where cellulosic flock is applied by flocking equipment such, for example, as a conventional electrostatic flocker or, as shown in the drawing, from a hopper 23 provided with a screen at its base through which the flock 24 is discharged continuously onto the moving web passing therebeneath.

From the flocking station 22 the web having the flock applied thereto passes to a drying oven 25 where the flocking adhesive is set. The temperature to which the calender resin finished cellulosic fabric is heated in this drying oven will, of course, depend on the particular adhesive used and the rate of movement of the web through the oven. In general, heating of the flocked web to a temperature of from 200 to 300 F. for from 3 to 5 minutes will firmly bond the cellulosic flock to the underlying calender resin finished fabric in those areas containing the flocking adhesive.

The flocked web then passes into and through a flock remover 27 comprising a chamber 28. The flocked web passes through the approximate median of chamber 28 and while passing therethrough is held along the edges by rollers 29, 30 engaging the web on the opposite sides thereof and holding it taut as it passes through chamber 28. Air or other inert gas is blown by a blower into chamber 28, the current of gas entering through conduit 31 and passing through and around the side edges of the flocked fabric. Excess flock, including all flock applied to the areas of the fabric base to which no adhesive had been applied, is thus removed from the fabric, the current of gas carrying the flock being exhausted through conduit 32 which communicates with a suitable separator, such as a filter bag, for separating the flock from the gas.

From the chamber 28 the cellulosic flocked calender resin finished fabric passes to a printing station 33 where it is printed with the desired pattern in one or more colors employing a printing paste containing as the color constituent a reactive or direct dyestuti which will react with the cellulose flock but is resisted by the calender resin finished fabric. Since the printing paste employed is resisted by the calender resin finished areas, it is not necessary to take any extra precautions to make sure that the printing paste is applied only to the flocked areas. Printing can be accomplished by conventional printing equipment involving, for example, printing paste container 36, feed roller 37 for receiving the printing paste from container 3d and applying the same to an applicator roller 38 having the desired depressed or raised design areas 39 thereon and which applies the printing paste in such design to the flocked areas of the :fabric.

One or multiple stage printing may be utilized to apply a pattern in one or more colors on the flocked areas. While the drawing shows two separate printing units, each supplied with a diflerent color paste, any desired number of such units can, of course, be used, or the flocked fabric printed in one press which is designed to apply one or more colored patterns to the flocked areas.

From the printing station the fabric passes through an ager or heating chamber 40 where it is heated to a temperature of from 215 to 220 F. for from 9 to 10 minutes. This causes the reaction between the dyestulf applied to the cellulosic flock and the flock to go to completion. Thereafter the thus treated fabric is washed in washer 41 with a warm soap solution, desirably at a temperature of to R, which solution contains a suitable cationic surface active agent such, for example, as a soap solution containing pyrolidone (Textragin A).

The washed fabric is then dried in dryer 42 and batched, for example, by rolling to form rolls 43 of predetermined lengths.

It will be appreciated that the showing in the drawing is schematic; that the fabric may be rolled after passage through drying oven 25 and then unrolled for passage through flock remover 27. Similarly the fabric may be batched upon leaving flock remover 27 and later printed as hereinabove described when convenient. In other Words, the treatment of the base need not be continuous but may be interrupted to suit plant design or for other reasons.

The following example is illustrative of a preferred embodiment of the invention. It will be appreciated the invention is not limited to this example.

Example I In this example the resin solution employed for impregnating the fabric had the following formulation:

Percent Urea formaldehyde resin (Rhonite R1) 11 Su-lfonate softener (Velvatol D46) 1.5 Catalyst (amine hydrochloride) .1 Water 87.4

The percentage value of the resin is the percentage of resin solids present in the solution.

The printing paste employed had the following formula:

Percent Cibracron Brilliant Red 3B 4 Sodium n-nitrobenzene sulfonate (Ludigol) 1.5 Urea 15 Sodium bicarbonate 2 Sodium 'alginate 20 Emulsion 40 Water 17.5

The emulsion used in the printing paste formulation consisted of Percent A preservative (Dowicide A) tetrahydrate of sodium O-phenylphenate 0.1 Sodium talginate 1.5 Hydrocarbon oil-aliphatic (Varsol #2) 60.4 Protein emulsifying agent 5 Water 33 The percentage values of the preservative, sodium alginate and emulsifying agent represent the solids content of these constituents.

Mercerized cotton sateen was passed through the resin solution leaving the solution with a wet pick-up of 80% and then friction calendered at 300 F. under 8 tons of pressure. The thus treated cotton sateen was then cured in a dry atmosphere at 310 -F. for 2 /2 minutes. A glazed finish was thus produced. A polyurethane adhesive was printed on the surface of the fabric in a design and rayon flock (average particle size of about mm.) was applied to the fabric. The flocked fabric was cured at 300 F. for about four minutes and then the excess flock removed. The goods were then framed and printed with a printing paste formulated as hereinabove described. The printed goods were dried at 220 F., then aged for 15 minutes at 220 F., washed at 60-80 F., then at 160490 F. with water containing a detergent, rinsed with water at 50-80 F. and dried at 300 F. for five minutes. The dried goods were framed to finished width and tnbed.

The process results in a novel colored flocked fabric shown in FIGURE 2 involving a cellulosic base 46 provided with a calender resin finish 47 having a glazed or silk like surface. Securely bonded to the calender resin finish 47 are the adhesive areas 48 which bond the flocking 49 to the underlying fabric 46 having the calender resin finish 47. Reactive or direct dye 50 colors the flocking 49 in a desired design pattern, sharply delineated with respect to the depressed, nnflocked areas 52.

The calender resin finish 47 imparts desirable wrinkle and crease resistance to the fabric, a silk-like or glazed finish which contrasts pleasingly with the fuzzy or furlike appearance of the flock, and also the ability to re- 6 sist the reactive or direct dyes printed in designs on the flock. Without the calender resin finish the printing colors applied to the flock tend to migrate and spread through the base fabric. Surprisingly the application of the calender resin finish to the cellulosic fabric actually improves the intensity of the color in the flocked areas and the sharp delineation obtained between the printed flocked areas and the unflocleed areas. The calender resin finish results in a sharp differentiation between the unflocked and flocked areas and gives to the observer the impression that the reactive or direct dye is concentrated in the flock to the substantially complete exclusion of the unflocked areas. This explains the surprising improvement in color intensity of the flock and striking color contrast between the flocked and unflocked areas.

Since certain changes in carrying out the process and certain modifications in the colored flocked fabrics which embody the invention may be made without departing from the scope of this invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A flocked fabric consisting of a cellulosic fabric base having a calender resin finish on the surface thereof, and having cellulosic flock firmly bonded to sm'd calender resin finish in selected design areas, which cellulosic flock is printed with a printing paste containing a dye from the group consisting of relative dyes and direct dyes, the tin-flocked areas of said calender resin finish being substantially free of said dye and contrasting in color with the color of the said printed flocked selected design areas.

2. A flocked fabric consisting 10f a cellulosic fabric base having a calender resin finish made by impregnating said base with a thermosetting resin precondensate of the group consisting of urea formaldehyde resins, melamine formaldehyde resins, ethylene urea tniazine resins, and mixtures thereof, followed by calendering under pressure and curing said resin and having bonded to said calender resin finish in selected design areas forming an ornamental design a cellulosic flock print colored with a printing paste containing a dye from the group consisting of reactive and direct dyes producing flocked areas printed in different colors contrasting with the unfiocked calender resin finished areas.

3. A process of producing a flocked fabric which comprises impregnating a cellulosic fabric with an aqueous solution of a thermosetting resin precondensate, calendering the thus impregnated fabric, curing the resin in the calendered fabric to produce a calender resin finish fabric, applying a flocking adhesive to the calender resin finish fabric in selected areas, applying cellulosic flock to the resultant fabric, setting the flocking adhesive to firmly bond to the selected areas of the calender resin finish fabric the cellulosic flock, removing the flock from the areas of said fabric to which no adhesive had been applied and printing the flocked areas with a printing paste containing a dye from the group consisting of reactive dyes and direct dyes.

4. A process of producing a flocked fabric which comprises impregnating a cellulosic fabric with an aqueous solution of a thennosetting resin precondensate from the group consisting of urea formaldehyde resins, melamine formaldehyde resins, ethylene urea triazine resins, and mixtures thereof, friction calendering the thus impregnated fabric, curing the resin in the calendered fabric to produce a calender resin finish fabric, applying a flocking adhesive to the calender resin finish fabric in selected areas, applying cellulosic flock to the resultant fabric, setting the flocking adhesive to firmly bond to the selected areas of the calender resin finish fabric the cellulosic flock, removing the flock from the areas of said fabric to which no adhesive had been applied and printing the flocked areas with a printing paste containing a dye from '2 the group consisting of reactive dyes and direct dyes to produce a colored pattern on said flocked areas.

5. A process of producing a flocked fabric which comprises impregnating a cellulosic fabric with an aqueous solution of a thermosetting resin precondensate from the group consisting of urea formaldehyde resins, melamine formaldehyde nesins, ethylene urea triazine resins, and mixtures thereof, schreiner calendering the thus impregnated fabric, curing the resin in the calendered fabric to produce a calender resin finish fabric, applying a flocking adhesive to the calender resin finish fabric in selected areas, applying cellulosic flock to the resultant fabric, setting the flocking adhesive to firmly bond to the selected areas of the calender resin finish fabric the cellulosic flock, removing the flock from the areas of said fabric to which no adhesive had been applied and printing the flocked areas with a printing paste containing a dye from the group consisting of reactive dyes and direct dyes to produce a multi-col ored pattern on said flocked areas.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,561,513 Horb ack et a1. July 24, 1951 2,718,207 Garrison Sept. 20, 1955 2,733,998 Russell et al Feb. 7, 1956 2,881,087 Schwartz et a1. Apr. 7, 1957 2,900,270 Klein Aug. 18, 1959 2,981,588 Haber Apr. 25, 1961 OTHER REFERENCES Fowler, I.S.D.C., May 1958, pp. 372-381. CasWell, Arn. Dyest. Rep., May 18, 1959, pp. 39-40, 50.

Claims

6. A FLOCKED FABRIC CONSISTING OF A CELLULOSIC FABRIC BASE HAVING A CALENDER RESIN FINISH ON THE SURFACE THEREOF, AND HAVING RAYON FLOCK FIRMLY BONDED TO SAID CALENDER RESIN FINISH IN SELECTED DESIGN AREAS, WHICH RAYON FLOCK IS PRINTED WITH A PRINTING PASTE CONTAINING A REACTIVE DYE.