Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1~58~8~i
~CKG~OUND OF TIIE INV NTION
The present invention relates to a method of rein-
forcincJ a fabric, ~herein a pattern of xeinforcing material
is applied as a fluid, e.g. as a liquid, emulsion, suspension
or fluidised powder, to a face of the fabric, preferably in
such a way that the reinforcing material does not penetra'e ;~
substantially through to the other face, and wherein the re~
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inforcing material is subsequently set or cured (e.g. poly-
merised, vulcanised or cross-linked) to form an elastomeric
or plastics material firmly adhering to and reinforcing the
fabric. The invention also relates to apparatus for applying
the pattern to the fabric and subsequently setting or curing
the material, the apparatus including a backing member for
supporting the other face of the fabric in order to enable
the pattern to be applied to the first face of the fabric,
and an arrangement for subsequently substantially setting or ~
curing the material applied to the fabric. ~ ;
British Patent Specification No. l 201 941 discloses
printing a plastic onto the underside of a top cloth in order
to form a substitute for an interlining. The resin is formed
-~ into a paste which is applied to the top cloth using an
apertured sheet or an apertured roller to whose interior the
paste is supplied. The sheet or roller has a precisely defined ;~
pattern of 1.2 to 3 mm diameter holes which print on the part
o the top cloth in questiOn reinforcing material of different
densities in order to represent the characteristics of different `~
types of interlining.
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~ It has been found that the method and apparatus ~ ~
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described in British P~tent Specification No. 1 201 941 is
not suitable for large scale produc~ion, mainly because the
very speciflc printing patterns which are required mean that
different printing or applying members are necessarv for
every different piece of a garment, and also for every
different garment size. In addition, British Patent -~
Specification No. 1 201 941 gives no details of the properties
of the material being printed onto the fabric, and it is
found in practice that the successful operation of the
apparatus depends upon the properties of the material being ;
applied, as well as on factors such as the printing pressure.
Furthermore, the specific printing patterns dis-
closed in British Patent Specification No. 1 201 941 are formed
by two intersecting series of parallel lines with relatively `
large circular spots at the intersections of the lines. The
, lines need not be strictIy at right angles, and in this case
`i the pattern with have some directional characteristics, for ~ -~
example will have different tensional properties and springiness
in different directions, but in general, the directional ~-~
characteristics of the reinforcing will be relatively small
compared with those imparted to a fabric by conventional - -
interlinings.
It is a general object of this invention to provide
a method and apparatus which can be used for the large scale
application of reinforcing material to fabrics, and also to ~-
improve the characteristics of the reinforcement itself. ~ ?~
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THE INVENTTON
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According to one feature of the invent~on, the reinforc-
ing material is applied to the fabric using an applying
member which has a configuration, corresponding to the
pattern to be applied to the fabric, extending substantially
over the whole of its ace, but which applying member co-
-operates with the material at spaced positions so as to
apply the pattern to at leas~ one limited, discrete area of
the fabric. In this way, the same applying member can be
used to apply the reinforcing ma~erial ~o any number of
different pieces, for instance cut pieces, of fabric, and
the fabric can be suitably oriented so that the pattern runs
in the correct direct~on with respect to for instance the :
weft of the fabric~ The applying member itself may be of any : -
suitable type, for instance a screen or even a mask
associated with a spraying head, but is preferably a print-
:: ing cylinder.
Tn accordance with this feature of the invention, ~he
apparatus may be arranged such that a large gap can be `-;
formed between the applying member and the backing member
so that the fabric can be drawn past the applying member
: without the pattern being applied to relevant areas of the
~ fabric, enabling the pattern to be applied to at least one
:~ other limited, discrete area of the fabric~
According to another alternative or complementary
~eature of the Invention, the reinforcing material is
applied to the fabric in the form of a pattern of
continuous or discontinuous parallel lines,:preferably
with no connections between the lines in a direction
transverse to the lines, which pattern extends
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substantially right across the fabric to which the reinforc-
ing material is being applied. Such a reinforcement is
highly directional and gives the fabric a different handle
in different directions, enabling the reinforced fabric to
have the characteristics of a fabric reinforced in a
traditional manner with the traditional interlining such as
what is known as "canvas", "canvas" interlining is a woven
fabric w~th a warp and weft of different yarns in such a
way as to have some elasticity in the weft direction but
substantially no elasticlty in the warp direction. The
normal arrangement is to sew or bond the "canvas" inter-
lining behind for instance the front panel (forepart) of a
jacket with its weft running horizontally. Using the
invention, the continuous or discontinuous lines can run
horizontally (that would be parallel to the weft direction
of the fabric of the top cloth), leaving the fabric supple
when bent about horizontal lines but making the fabriç very
springy when bent about vertical lines~ In addition, the
lines can be applied specifically to for instance the cuff
- 20 of a jacket or bottom of a trouser leg in order to make it
easy to fold the cuff or bottom for shortening Qr lengthening
the sleeves or legs, the fold line being between the lines of
reinforcing material.
According to a further alternative or complementary
feature of the invention, the reinforcing material is
printed onto the fabric using a printing member having
blind grooves therein for forming the pattern, and the
material has a Brookefield viscosity, as defined here-
after,of between 13,000 and 20~000 centipoise. Using this
range of viscosity, it is fo~nd that the penetration into
~ç~5~986
the fabric can be controlled while printing rapidly us-
ing the printing member, and the operation can be carried
out as a normal commercial operationO
According to yet a further alternative or comple-
mentary feature of the invention~ a printing cylinder~may be
used as the applying member and a number of different
types of fabrics are printed using if desirable different
gaps between the applying member and the backing member
but the same reinforcing material forn~tlation9 applying
member and speed of applicationO The appreciation that
it is possible to use the same formulation throughout
as long as the gap was varied in accordance with the
fabric has enabled the process to be simplified and
cheapened to a very large extentO
Four different features of the invention have been
asserted. Each of the features can contribute individually
to providing an improvement over the prior art, and need
not necessarily be used in combination with the other
features, although it is preferred that all the features
be used. For instance, instead of using a printing
cylinder which has grooves extending for the whole of-
its length, the grooves could extend for say two fifths
of its length so that uncut cloth could be printed
across two fifths of its width, the pieces of garment
` subsequently b~ing cut from this cloth, although this
can make cutting difficult and is rather wasteful of
- ~ reinforcing material. In an even more wasteful method
which nevertheless has advantages over the prior art, the
whole width and length of the uncut cloth could be printed
-~ 30 with reinforcing material~
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As another instance3 the llnes of the pattern may in
some cases be interconnected by parts of the pattern which
extend transversely t.o the lines~ As a further instance,
any suitable printing member could be used to print onto
the fabric a pattern whose shape corresponded to the parts .
or panels to be cut out~ and on which the lines of the
patterns on the different parks or panels need not run
parallel to each otherO
Tn general terms~ the method of ~he inventlon can
be used on the uncut fabric or upon pieces (parts or
panels) whirh have been cut for a garment~ However, it is
; preferred to use the method on the cut pieces~
D 0~ CARMENT AND FABRICS
The invention is primarily applicable to men7s
and ~omen's outer garments-such as jackets and overcoats,
but may also be used for garments such as shirts where
the reinforcing material ca.n be applied to the collar,
cuff and button strip down the front, and for accessories
20 such as ties~ The invention is applicable to a wide
.: range of weights of fabric~ from shirt fabrics, through
. lightweight summer suiting to heavyweight overcoat
i cloth. The invention can also be applied to interlining
~ material~ such as felt for the chest~ collar and/or
.~ shoulder pads of a jacketn In the particular case where
an interlining is used, the reinforcing material could
be applied to the inside of the top cloth and the top cloth
be~.. bonded to the interlining using the reinforcing
material~ either during the initial setting or curing
stage or, if the reinforcing material has some residual
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thermoplastic properties, during a further heating stage.
The fabrlc can be constructed in any suitable manner,
for instance woven, knitted or feltedg and can be of any
suitable material~ such as wool, silk, cotton or mixtures
of natural and synthetic fibresn
ALIE~N DF RETNFORCINC MYTERIM A~ LIEn
The preferred pattern is a pattern of continuous or
discontlnuous parallel lines~ preferably with no
connections between the lines in a direction transverse
to the linesg and it is most convenient if the lines are
equi~spacedO
In general~ the configuration on the applying
member preferably includes lines about 1 millimetre wide,
and again preferably parallel lines with a spacing of
about 1 millimetre between the lines, so the pattern
printed includes lines of about 1 millimetre wide or
slightly wider, dependi~g upon the spread of the reinforc- :
ing material, and a spacing of about 1 millimetre, or
slightly less, between the linesD
In specific instances, such as at the collar of the
back panel of a jacket, the lines may extend at an angle
of less than 90~ to both the warp and the weft
direction of a woven fabricO Nonetheless i~ has been
found that for most parts of a garment, it is best to
have the lines extending parallel to the weft or nearly
parallel to the weft, and for this reason~ it is found
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preferable that the pattern should include parallel lines
which extend transverse to the direction of movement of
- 30 the fabric past the applying member; in the specific -
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case of a prlnti.ng cyl.inder, it is rel.atively s:LmpLe to
machine grooves running parallel to the cylinder axis9
though it would be feaslble ~o machine dlfferently
orientated l.ines,.for example diagonal. lines or circum-
ferential ].ines, on a printing cy].inder
The strength of the reinforcement or its clirectional~ ~:
ity can be modiEied by applying the pat~ern twice to the ~ ~
fabric, either on the same side or (particul.arl.y in the - ~.case of an interlining) on different sides; the fabric ~ ~ ?~
can be turned so that the two patterns run at 90 to each
other. In gcneral it is found ~hat printing patterns at ~.
90 to each o~her on different sides of an i.nterl.ining ` .~
- fabric give a better handle than printing such patterns :~;
both on one side~
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~ MASKING :
' For pieces such as the breast pocket on the front
panel of a jacket or for areas such as darts on jackets,
a mask such as a piece of Teflon :Eilm can be positioned
on the fabric, for instance using reference cuts on the . .. -~
fabricsO Teflon does not usualLy pick up the reinforcing
material, and can usually be reused without washing~
: AMOUNT OF REINFORCTNG MATER TAL APPLIED
.1 In general, for lighter weight and finer fabrics, ;
less reinforcing material or a thinner layer thereof is .;
wanted, and the amount of reinforcing material depends . .
upon facLors such as the density of the fabric, the ..
viscosity of the reinforcing material, the effective .
surface tension between the reinforcing material and the
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fibres of the fabric, and the pressure with which the
reinforcing materiaL is applied~
Tn general., it is however found that for a fabric,
preferably a woven fabric3 which may be used for instance
for a jacket or trousers~ the weight of the cured material
on the fabric is preferably between 15 and 60 g/m
(gms per square metre of the fabric), though ln specific
cases, such as for interlinin.gs, this figure may rise to
as much as 100 g/m ~
Broadly, the ratio of the weight of the cured material
. to the weight of the fabric ~as weighed without the reinforc-
ing material) is preferably between 705% and 20%~ or even
30%3 though for normal fabri~ such as woven fabrics,this
~ range is preferably between 9% and 16%~
:~ The amount of set or cured reinforcing material on
:~ the fabric can be represented as the weight of the material
:1
:~ per metre of line if the pattern includes lines, and it is
found that good results are obtained wlth a weight between
. 0.04 and 0.15 gms per metre of line, a preferred range being
. 20 0006 to 0.10 gms for a woven top cloth or even for felts7
. To achieve theæ ranges of weight, if the applying
~ member is a plate or cylinder having grooves therein, the
:. ~ grooves are preferably 0005 to 1 mm deep, or more ~;
` preferably 0025 to 0035 mm deep, though the actual amount of ~.
.;. reinforcing material transferred from the grooves to the
:.~ fabric depends upon the pressure of the printing and upon
the nature of the fabric itself.
3 - Although the backing member could for instance be
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spring-loading, there is preferably a predetermined gap .:
between the applying member and a backing member for
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supporting the other Eace of the fabric, and in general
the gap ls preferably between Ool and 0~5 mm wide, and
it has been found that with this range the reinforcing
material can be applied satisfactorily to most normal
fabrics~ a somewhat smaL].er range having a maximum of
: 004 mm Tn general. terms~ the greater the pressureg the
greater the penetration, and for very fine fabrics, such
as shirt fabrics, no pressure need be applied by the
applying member, the gap being very slightly greater than
the thickness of the fabric~
With the choice oE a suitable gap~ the same gap
can be used for a rela~lvel.y thick, open weave and for
relatively thin, close weave~ and it has been found
that a gap of about 0~15 mm can be used for a wide range
of fabrics 5 the thick fabrics being pressed stronglyJ
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i. thereby ensuring good penetration of the reinforcing
~:~ : material into the fabrics, and the thin fabrlcs having
less penetration of the reinforcing materialO
PEINTING SPEED
: If the applying member is a printing cylinder, a
maxi~um convenient printing speed is about 20 metres
per minute, and the printing cylinder preferably has -
an adjustable peripheral speed up to this maximum.
REINFORCING MATE~RIAL
.. In general, any suitable resin or elastomer may
. be used~ and any form or solution or dispersion and any
form of setting or curing.
30 However, the reinforcing material is preferably
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applied in a form which is disperslble in water, is preferably
heated for settin.g or curing9 and is preferably set or
cured below 150 to 160~ in under five minutes, the
preferred arrangement being ~o set or cure at 140 to 150C
lmmedi.ately or soon after applying the reinforcing material3
the appl.ication beln.g at room temperatureO
The preferred material ls a heat~curable polyacrylic-
~type resin~ io eO a resin whose monomers contain the acrylic
group~ such as acrylic acid itself~ acrylamide, acryl.o
: 10 nitrile~ or acrylates such as ethyl acrylate or butyl
acrylate
.:. Any suitable cross~linking agent can be added, the
preferred cross~linking agent being a melaminic agent if
the reinforcing material. comprises a polyacrylic~type
resinO The set or cured material should have a high degree
of cross-linklng9 and preferably should not be sticky or
tacky below 120C~ The set or cured material must be
.s resistant to dry cleaning fluid ~.
` If desired~ the material can be foamed, for instance
:~. 20 by bubbl.ing air into the material before supplying the
. material to the applying member; however3 foaming is not
preferredO
PENETRATT~N INT0 THE FABRTC
~; The strength of t.he reinforcing material is derivedfrom a combination of the cured or set reinforcing
~ material and the fabric fibres embedded therein, and in
:~ general3 the greater the penetration3 the greater the
reinforcement and the springness fo the fabricO With
l 30 very light, nearly translucent fabrics such as shirt
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fabrics, there should be vlrtuaLly no penetration, the
reinforcing material just adhering to the fine nap or
pile of the fabric. However, in general, a penetration
of 10 to 33% of ~he thickness of the fabric is found
most suitable.
~ As indicated above1 the penetration depends on
`~ factors such as the viscosity of the reinforcing material,
the type of fabrlc and ~he pressure of the applying
member.
. VISCOSTTY
For liquid borne reinforcing materials, the
viscosity as measured varies with the type of apparatus
used, and with the rate of deformation of the material
because the material has thixotropic properties5
However, it has been found that a useful indicatîon
is given in accordance with A~S~ToMo D 1824~61T, though
instead of the test conditions set out in the A~SoT~M~ ;-
standard, a Brookfield Model RVK viscometer is used with
spindle No 4 and a speed o 5 r p m and the temperature
is the temperature at which the reinforcing material is
to be applied. The term "Brookfield viscosity" as used
he~ein means the viscosity measured in this manner It
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has been found that the Brookfield viscosity should be
',J.~ broadly within the range of 10,000 to 25,000 centipoise,
,~ or in a narrower range of 13,000 to 20,000 centipoise. It
;~j has been found that operation within a range of 15,000 to
17,000 centipoise gives good results, the preferred
- Brookfield viscosity being about 16,000 centipoise. 17,000
centipoise can be used with very light pressure for very
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light fabrics and 15,000 centipoise used with heavy pressure
for heavy fabrics. Other viscometers may give markedly
different resultsO For instance~ a type VT OZ Haake visco~
meter with rotor NOr 1 and scale NoOl gave a viscosity of
3~500 centipoise for a reinEorcing material havlng a
Brookfield viscosity of 16~000 centipoise, and, using such
a Haake viscometer, a useful range was found to be 2,900 to
3,700 centipoise~ One polse is 1 cm 1 gm s 1.
; The viscosity can be controlled by ~he amount of
inert liquid~ such as water, added, or by adding a thickener
; such as a cured acrylic~type resinO Although a certain
amount of viscosity is required to prevent undue penetration9
it is found that if the material is too viscous, too much
of the material will remain on the surface of the fabric
and is tacky even when m~ch filler is added3 in addition,
there may be difficulties in for instance cleaning non-
printing areas of the applying memberO
The actual tackiness of the reinforcing material can
be controlled by an inert filler such as a mineral like
talc or titanium dioxide~ or, less preferably, powdered -
asbestos aluminaj the filler also controls the amount the
reinforcing material spreads when applied to the fabric,
that is to say the stability of the im~pression on the
fabric. The filler preferably has over 90% w/w of its
particles coarser than l/u particle size and 50% thereof
coarser than 5/u particle size as very fine powders do
not alter the tackiness and spread appreciably, whilst
the larger particle sizes impart more springness but
suppress the tackiness.
The admixture of a fine filler having substantially
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l~S~36
all its particles below a particle size of l/u7 for
instance pigment grade titanium dioxide~ is found to
be beneficial~ apparen~ly increasing the rigidity of
the set or cured reinforcing materialO The preferred
amount of Eine il1er is 005 to 1% w/w of th~ fluid
reinforcing material~ or3 if the coarser filler is also
present, 5% to 100% of the weight of the coarser filler,
preferably about 10%~
APPLICATION OF FLOCK OR POW~ER
~` Any suitable short fibre or particulate material,
such as flock or powder, can be applied to the reinforc~
ing material before the reinforcing material has been
~i cured or set. The short fibre or particulate material -
can reduce tackiness, or increase the apparent thickness
of the fabric~ or glve the fabrlc a softer handleO
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v EXAMrLE I
The following is an example of a reinforcing
i 20 material form~lation which can be used in the practice
~ of the invention. The parts and percentages are by
,$~ weight The material had a Brookfield viscosity, as
~ ~ defined hereinbefore,of 16,000 centipoise, the mea~urement
i being done at 20C:
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water 20
talc, 8% <1 u, 9~ 1-2 u, 29% 2-5 u, 40% 5-10 u,
14~ 10-20 u/ ~bout 0.~ ~20 u (5~I, MTIZO* gr~de
talc supp~icd by TalcoGrafi~e Val Chisone S.p.A.,
o Pinerolo, Italy) 11
titanium dioxicle, pigment grade, particle size
less than 1 u, namely about 0.3 to 0.4 u
(Tioxide*R-~D4, supplied by Chimica St~ola, S.n.c.
of Turin, containing 91% titanium dioxide, balance
compounds of aluminum, zinc and silicon,
specific gravity 4.0) 1
45:55 acrylic-type resin: water emulsion
(Fiberfix HF resin manufactured by A.I.C. S.p.A.
(Approvvigionamenti Industriali Chimici S.p.A. ---
of Turin) - "Fiberfix" is a Trade Mark)** 76 ;~;~
melaminic cross-linking agent containing 60% of
trimethoxy-trimethylol-melamine (Melasin 80
manufactured by A.I.C. S.p.A. - "Melasin" is
Trade Mark) 3.5
thickener in the form of an aqueous emulsion
containing 28~ of a cured (cross-linked)
copolymer of methacrylic acid and ethyl acrylate
(Thickener 56 manufactured by A.I.C. S.p.A.) 7.5 `~
10% oxalic acid: water solution (accelerator) - 0.7 f '
ammonia, to adjust pH to 8 3
** This resin had a molecular weight of 40 to 80
million, and is formed by polymerization in aqueous emulsion
of 83% butyl acrylate, 12% acrylonitrile and 5% of a cross-
linking agent consisting of an acrylic monomer carrying
methylol groups. The emulsifying system is an anionic
emulsifying system consisting of a mixture of alkylarylpoly- -
glycolates, fatty alcohols condensed with ethylene oxide,
and sulphonated surfactants.
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BRTEF DESCRIPTTON OF THE ~RAWINGS
The invention will be further described, by way of
example~ with reference to the accompanying drawings, in
whicho~
Figure l is an end view of an apparatus in
accordance with the invention;
Figure 2 is a vertical section along the line II-II
of Figure l;
Figure 3 Is a schematic side view, showing a
modification of the apparatus; ;
Fig~res 4 to 8 illustrate pieces of fabric which
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~ have been reinforced in accordance with the invention;
;, and
~! Figure 9 illustrates a different pattern of
3 reinforcing material which can be used in accordance
! with the invention.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF_APP~RATUS
~; The apparatus includes a roll stand l, a feeding
1 20 device 2 for feeding the fabric through the roll stand
, l and a heater 3 for curing the reinforcing material
applied to the fabric.
: .
The heater 3 is not shown in Figures l and 2,
bNt is indicated in Figure 3.
As shown in Figures l and 2, the roll stand l
mount~ printing roll means comprising an applying
member in the form of a rotary printing cylinder 4
and a backing member in the orm of a pressure roll 5.
An adjustable speed motor drive 6 is provided for driv-
ing the printing cylinder 4~ As an examp~e, the printing
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cylinder may be 60 cm long and have a diameter of 20 cm,
the motor drive 6 being adjustable to give a maximum cylinder :~
speed of 22 rOpOmO~ i.ec a maximum peripheral speed of 14
met~es per mlnuteJ As an example of the printing
conflguration on the prlnting cylinder 4, the printing
cylinder 4 can be machined with a pattern of blind
longitudinal grooves 7 (indicated in Figure 1) which
extends all the way round its periphery and for substan~ially
the whole o lts printing length (leaving smooth end
portions), the grooves may be 0030 mm or 0035 mm deep,
be of rectangular cross~section, have a width of 1 mm and
have a spacing of 1 mm between the groovesO
:~ The pressure roll 5 is mounted on mGvable mounting
means in the form of two small pedestals 8 which are
carried on a cross-beam 9 which is guided for strictly
vertical motion by two guide sleeves 10 which are fixed ~:
to the cross-beam 9 and which slide on cylindrical guide
columns 11 flxed to the roll stand 1
A double-acting pneumatic ram 12 is connected to
~ 20 the cross-beam 9 in order to ac~ as a device for rapidly
~ lowering the pressure roll 5 from the prin~ing cylinder
~j : 4 and for returning the pressure roll 5 to a prin~ing
positionO Two adjustable abutments are provided for
.
limiting the upwards travel of the cross-be~m 9 and
`I pressure roll 5, and therefore defining the roll gap,
these abutments being manually adjustable to provide a
, roll gap of bètween 0.1 mm and 0.4 or 005 mm~
.~ The adjustable abutments can be of any suitable
typeg but in the apparatus illustrated, each is in the
form of a gear pinion 13 screwed onto a screw-threaded
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upper end 14 of the respective guide colu~n 11 and forming
a stop for an abutment member 15 on the upper end of the
guide sleeve 10~ A further gear pinion 16 meshes with each
respective pinion 13y the plnion 16 being axially fixed but
the respective axial lengths of the pinions 13 and 16 being -~
such that the pinions remain in mesh as the pinion 13 is
screwed up and downu Each-pinion 16 is fixed to a vertical
shaft 17~ and the two shafts 17 are coupled by a cross-shaft
18 and two sets of bevel gears 19~ The left-hand shaft 17
(as seen in Flgure 1~ is connected to a hand~wheel 20 by
means of a bevel gear 21 and a short horizontal shaft 22 so
that rotation of the hand~wheel 20 causes the abutment
pinions 13 to rotate and move up and down the guide columns
11 ~ '
The pneumatic ram 12 can be connected to a manual
control, in which case the operator judges by eye where -
the reinforcing material should be printed~ or to~an
automatic control actuated by the passage of the fabric
through the roll stand. The arrangement is such th~t when ~-
the cross~beam 9 is withdrawn~ there is a sufficiently
large gap between the pressure roll 5 and the printing ~ '
cylinder 4 to prevent the fabric having~the reinorcing
- material printed thereon~
A solutiong emulsion or suspension of the reinforc~
ing material is supplied to a reservoir 31 which is
retalned by aductor blade 32~ ensuring that the grooves
7 in the printing cylinder 4 are filled with reinforcing
material and wiping clean the lands between~the grooves.
If desired, though not essential3 a hood 33 can be
provided over the printing cylinder 4, and the hood 33
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31~58~86
,
can cover washing devices (not shown) for washing the
pr~nting cylinder 4 on shut-down. Likewise, though not
essential9 the pressure rolL 5 can be mounted within a
ba~h 34 of washing liquLd, for continuously washing the
pressure roll 5 during the operation of the apparatus, a
wiper blade 35 bears against the pressure roll 5, to remove
any washing liquid adhering to the pressure roll 5~
The pressure roll 5 is driven from ~he printing
cylinder 4 by a gear train 36 only part of which is
illustrated in Figure 1 and which is only illustrated
schematically in Flgure 20 The gear train 36 is arranged
l ~ to remain in mesh at all positions of the pressure roll
; 5 so that the pressure roll 5 continues to rotate even
when it is loweredO
` In Figure 2, the feeding device 2 is a stationary
feed table~ ~or passing the fabric3 and in particular
pieces of cut fabric, through by hand, a small receiving
table 41 being indicated i.n Figure 2. The ~abric can then
be carried by hand and in~,erted into the heater 3 in any
suitable manner! However, for larger scale production,
the feeding device 2 illustrated schematically in Figure
3 i5 used, the feeding device 2 being in th~ form of a
conveyor belt which passes over the top of the pressure
roll 5 and is drlven by the pressure roll 5, the conveyor
- belt passing through a washing bath 420 In this case,
the belt covers the surface of the pressure roll S, and
is raised by the pressure roll 5 when the pressure roll 5
~j is raised. It is not necessary to have any bath 34 for
cleaning the pressure roll 50
~ 30 Figures 2 and 3 illustrate an arrangement for
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preventing the fabric tending to cling to the printing
cylinder 4~ Four rollers 43 extend across the wi~th of
the printing cylinder 49 and guide a number of loops of
` filamentary material 44 past the printing cylinder 4 so
that they leave the surface of the printing cylinder 4
` shortly a~ter the position at which the periphery of the
-~ printing cylinder 4 is closest to the pressure roll 5,
thereby ensuring that the fabric is detached from the
printing cylinder 4~ There may be four loops o the
filamentary material 44~ their lateral position being
fixed by means of shallow annular grooves in the rollers
43 The filamentary material 44 may be 0.12 mm diameter
~: nylon monofilaments, which have been found not to mark the
j abric appreciably~ even when the roll gap was only
'i 0~
~ The heater 3 is shown in Figure 3 as being provided
'1~ with a feeding device 45, but the heater 3 can be of any
1 :
suitable type. For instance, the heater 3 can be a simple
radiant heater which heats the reinforcing material to
140 to 150C ~or three to five minutes, though if the
reinforcing material cure-s or sets at a lower temperature
or at the ambient temperature, the dimensions and hence
the through-put time, of the heater 3 can be corres-
pondingly reduced. If the reinforcing material is self
-curing or self setting at the ambien~ temperature, it y
is still desirable to incorp~rate a heating step, to
. . .
hasten the setting or curing. ~ -
. DET_ILE~ DESCRIPTION OF REINFORCED _ RI~5
In Figures 4 to 6, the pa~tern of reinforcing
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material is shown on a larger scale than the piece of
fabric itsel~
Figure 4 illustrates the right-hand back panel 51
of a jacket which has been reinforced using the apparatus
of Figuresl and 2. The panel was cut before being fed
through the roll stand 1~ and was turned so that its
warp direction was at about 12 to the longltudinal
direction through the roll stand~ For most of its
passage through the roll stand 1, ~he pressure roll 5
was withdrawn, but the pressure roll 5 was brought up
for a brief moment in order to print parallel lines 52
of reinforcing material at the collar of the panel 41
It will be seen that the lines 52 run a~ about 12 to
the weft direction (indicated at 53), though this
angle could be increased to say 30 if desired~
;I The lines 52 at the collar are not primarily for
altering the handle of the fabric3 but assist the
`, tensile properties of the fabric in this area.
It will be appreciated that the lines 52 of
! 20 reinforcing material can run strictly parallel to the
weft direction 53 in other pieces or panels, and this
would be the most usual direction.
Figure 5 illustrates the sleeve 54 of a jacket,
~ the weft direction again being indicated as 53. In this~ case, lines 55 of reinforcing material have been printed~
on the cuff~ extending nearly parallel to the weft
, direction 53. For making ~p the jacket, and also for
:~l lengthening or shortening the sleeve, the fabric oE the~' jacket can be folded between the lines 55 or reinforcing
material, the lines 55 thereby providing a good guide
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for making the folds.
Figure 5 also illustrates that the lines need not
be continuous and need not be equi-spaced, in particular
to allow the fabric to retain more of its natural suppleness. -
The discontinuities between the lines 55 are distributed so
that they do not line up in any direction save that aligned
~` with the lines themselves. In this manner, the reinforcement
; has strong uni~irectional characteristics, oriented parallel
to the lines 55.
Figure 6 illustrates the left-hand front panel 56
of a jacket which has been reinforced using the apparatus ;~
of Figures 1 and 2. The panel 56 need not have been cut
prior to feeding it through the roll stand 1, and the lines
57 of reinforcing material extend parallel to the weft
direction 53. If desired, a shaped mask can be placed
i on the fabric to leave blank an area 58 which serves to
'' form a dart.
~ Figure 7 illustrates the piece 59 of fabric which
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;~ is used to form the breast pocket of a jacket. A shaped
~ 20 mask is used to leave blank wide strips which correspond
; ~ to fold lines and sewing lines, facilitating folding and
sewing. The lines 60 of the reinforclng material are shown
extending parallel to the weft direction 53. Using a large
i masking sheet, a large number of the r~ieces 59 can be printed
with reinfGrc;ng material prior to cutting the fabric, and ~;
it is found that wo different sizes of breast pockets are
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sufficient for the whole range of sizes of jacket.
, Pigure % illustrates the strip 60 of fabric which
1 is used to form the belt or waist-band of a pair of
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~L~f~8986 : '
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trousers, A pattern of parallel lines 62 is applied along
the length of the strip 61~ leaving the marglnal portions
6~ blank, and the lines 6~ preferably extend at approxim
ately 45 to the weft direction 53 as such an orientation
of the lines allows the bottom edge of the strip 6~ to
1i stretch slightly more than the top edge (to suit the shape
`, of the waist) while somewhat increasing the strength
'if of the strip 6ql`in the longitudinal direGtion and resist-
ing any tendency for the top of the strip to curl over~
The blank marginal portions 63lienable the edges of the
, strip to be sewn and folded without difficultyO
f The pattern can be applied to the strip 6a in
various ways. For instance~ the printing cylinder 4 as
, described above can be used3 turning the strip 6d at 45
,,~ to the axis of the printing cylinder 4 and masking the
marginal portion 63~ Alternatively3 the lines can be
( incised at 45 to the circumferential direction of the
i~ printing cylinder 4, either along substantially the
full length of the printing cylinder 4 ~when a mask
must be used) or alon~ a length corresponding to the
tjf wid~h of the patterned part of the strip 6~.
Figure 9 illustrates a pattern of reinforcing
i material which can be used at special positions, for
'i instance on the strip 61 instead of the p~rallel lines
illustrated in Figure 8 or on the collar strip of a
jacket~ when extra strength is required, enabling `
l the usual tapes to be omitted. The parallel lines 6
`l are interconnected by parts 6f5 which extend
transversely of the lines 64, the parts 6~ being
~ 30 distributed so that they do not line up in any direction
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save that aligned with the lines ~4 themselves, in this -
manner~ thie reinforcement has relatively st~ong unidirec~ional
characteristics3 oriented parallel to the lines 64~ The
pattern of Figure 9 can be incised on the printing cylinder
4g though al-terna~ively the pattern could be applied to the
. fabric using a silk screer-O
'~ In general~ the reinforcement imparted to the fabric ~-
can be increased by increasing the width of the lines
~ relative to that of the spaces therebetween, and in the
`~ 10 specific case of Figure 99 the reinforcement can also be ~:
increased by increasing the length (as measured parallel
.~ to the lines 6~) of the parts 65 relative to that of the ~-
~, ~ spaces therebetweenO
i1' EXAMPLES 2 T0 13
In all~the following Examples~ the reinforcing
material used was as set out in Example 15 and the
1~ apparatus used was as set out in Figures 1 and 2 of the:
5` ~ drawingsO All parts are by weight unless stated
otherwise.
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