US2233609A - Patterned fabric and process for producing same - Google Patents

Description

Patented Mar. 4, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PATTERNED FABRIC AND PROCESS FOR PRODUCING SAME Georg Heberlein, Wattwil, Wanne, and Albert Bodmer, Wattwil, Speerweg, Switzerland, assignors to Heberlein Patent Corporation, New York, N. Y., a. corporation of New York No Drawing. Application June 10, 1937, Serial No. 147,480. I In Germany July 21, 1936 3 Claims.

This invention relates to novel patterned fabrics having portions treated to render them translucent or transparent and other portions treated to render them opaque and to processes of producing the same.

In accordance with the invention the strands in portions of a fabric are printed and the strands in other portions are parchmentized, that is stiffened and rendered translucent or transparent, this operation being effected in a manner such that the unprinted portions of the fabric and the printed portions are stiifened to about the same extent.

Various other features, objects and characteristics of my invention will become apparent from the following detailed description.

The invention resides in the novel fabric, processes and features of the character hereinafter described and claimed. i

It is well understood in the art that cotton and artificial silk fabrics may be prepared for commercial use by pattern printing thereon with a suitable dye dissolved in a carrier comprising a gum, the latter, during the printing operation, forming a coating on those fabric strands in the printed portions. After the fabric has thus been printed, it is subjected as an entirety ,to a

parchmentizing action. Between the printed portions, the parchmentizing acid stifiens and coating, such acid does not cause any substantial parchmentizing action on the fabric strands in and throughout the printed portions. The gum coating is subsequently washed out. It results, therefore, that in the printed portions, the fabric retains its original soft, flexible character and the contrast is not good. For some purposes, this is an undesirable characteristic.

In accordance with the present invention there is produced a novel patterned fabric comprising transparent or translucent areas and more or less opaque well contrasted areas, the fabric being of about the same stiffness throughout. In United States Patent No. 2,075,695 there is described a process in which a pattern of a cellulose-containing composition with an acidresisting pigment. is printed on to a cotton or other cellulose-containing material and then passed through a transparentizing swelling agent, preferably sulphuric acid, under proper conditions to cause transparentizing and stiffening. The composition used for printing in that patent is readily permeable to the transparentizing swelling agent and thereby the resulting patterned fabric is of about the same stiffness in the printed and unprinted portions since the sulphuric acid readily penetrates the pattern and stiffens the fabric beneath the pattern.

In accordance with the present invention in 5 order to form the pattern we employ prior to the transparentizing treatment a nitrogenous organic hinder or plastic, such for example as protein-containing substances such as albumen, casein, gelatine and the like or casein, albumen, 10 gelatine and the like hardened with formaldehyde, or resins such for example as formaldehyde-urea. We find that we can obtain similar but greatly improved results to those obtained and described in said United States Patent No. 2,075,695 by the use of such nitrogenous binders. With this invention it is not necessary or desirable that the printing mass be permeable to the transparentizing agent, such as sulphuric acid. These improved results are due to the 20 facts, as we have discovered, that such printing masses or substances will themselves give to the printed portions of the fabric the desired feature of being roughly of about the same stiffness as the transparentized or ground portions so that 25 the fabric will have stifiness throughout, and that these printing substances which were known to be either soluble in or broken down by parchmentizing strong inorganic acids as for example, sulphuric acid which we employ, will not be substantially permeable to or attacked by such acids within the short time required to transparentize the unprinted or ground portions of the fabric, and will thus protect the fabric under the printed areas from being trans- 35 parentized and will also protect the pigments contained in the printing substances while effecting a wash-proof fixation of the pigment on the fabric, thereby producing in a washproof pigment print effect an improved contrast and 40 demarcation between the transparentized ground portions and the printed portions due to the full natural opaqueness of the untransparentizedfabric in the printed places plus the opaqueness of the pigmented printing substances.

The printing may be applied in one or the other stages of treatment of the fabric. It may be put on first and transparentizing produced, r or it may be put on in intermediate stages of treatment with the transparentizing agent.

While the printing substances herein used are substantially impermeable to the parchmentizing acid during the parchmentizing treatment and thus will substantially protect any contained 55 pigment during the period of the transparentizing treatment, yet after the treatment with the acid of parchmentizing strength and during the substantially longer period before the acid is completely washed out, therewill remain a certain amount of dilute acid which by diffusion may attack the contained pigment, and therefore, it is important to use a pigment which will not dissolve to any considerable extent in the parchmentizing agent so that there may be obtained the desired optical contrast between the nontransparent portion and the-transparent portion of the design. v

As above pointed out, the transparentizing agent used according to our invention is a strong inorganic acid such as sulphuric acid.

Various pigments may be employedin carrying out the invention. For example we may use titanium white, barium sulphate, smalt or cobaltblue, lamp-black and the like.

The following are specific embodiments of the invention, but these examples are not to be considered as limitations of the invention except as indicated in the appended claims:

Example 1.A mercerized, bleached cotton muslin fabric is printed in a pattern with a paste consisting of:

Parts by weight Gelatine 30 Water 130 Titanium white I 40 uniform stiffness throughout.

Example 2.A mercerized, bleachedv cotton muslin fabric is printed with a paste consisting of Parts by weight Kaurit solution (described below)"; 20 Water 5 8% starch solution 30 Mono basic ammonium phosphate 0.8 Titanium white 9 After printing, the material is dried at 60-70 C. It is then heated for about 6 minutes at approximately 145 C. to effect final condensationof the urea-formaldehyde. The material is then cooled and is then treated with sulphuric acid of 54 B. at 11 C. for 8 seconds. It is then washed out and mercerized in the usual manner with caustic soda solution of about 30 B. under tension. 'I'here-" after it is washed out, acidified and finished. The result is similar to that of Example 1.

The Kaurit solution mentioned is prepared by dissolving 50 parts by weight of the urea-formaldehyde pre-condensate known as Kaurit (made by the German I. G.). The 8% starch solution is prepared by mechanical stirring and boiling of starch with water until dissolved.

The process may be employed in connection with all kinds of fabrics, weaves, and other surfaces consisting of natural or artificial cellulose also has application to the parchmentizing of I linen, cotton and artificial silk fabrics.

.The expression in the appendedclaims said fabric, being subjected to one or more rnerceriz ing treatments at some time prior to its final finishing means that the mercerizing treatment' which has been parchmentized by strong inor-.

ganic acids such as sulphuric acid. And likewise where the expression acid parchmentizing agent is employed, it refers to strong inorganic acids such as sulphuric acid.

While the invention-has been described respect to certain particular preferred examples which give satisfactory results, it will be understood by those skilled in the art after understanding the invention, that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention'and it is intended therefore in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is: V

1. Process for producing a patterned effect which comprises printing in a pattern, on a cellulose-containing fabric, an adherent composition containing a nitrogenous organic binder with a pigment incorporated therein, said composition when dried being substantially resistant and impermeable to an acid parchmentizing agent .for the time required by such agent to transparentize the cellulosic fibers in the unprinted portions of the fabric, drying said printed composition and transpar'entizing said cellulosic fibers of the unprinted portions by passing the printed fabric,

through an acid parchmentizing agent so that cellulosic fibers in said unprinted portions of the fabric are transparentized while such fibers in the printed portions are unafiected by the said parchmentizing agent, thereby producing a washproof pigment print effect wherein an improved con-. trast and demarcation is obtained between said transparentized portions and the non-transparentized printed portions, due to the full natural opaqueness of the untransparentized fabric therein plus the opaqueness of the pigmented printing composition, and the fabric is of about the same stiffness throughout.

2. Process for producing a patterned effect which comprises printing in a pattern, on a cellu lose-containing fabric, an adherent composition .comprising a protein-containing binder with a pigment incorporated therein, said composition when dried being substantially resistant and impermeable to an acid parclnnentizing agent for the time required-by such agent to transparentize the cellulosic fibers in the unprinted portions of the fabric, drying said printed composition and transparentizing said cellulosic fibers of the unprinted portions by passing the printed fabric I through an acid parchmentizing agent, saidv by the said parchmentizing agent, thereby producing a washproof pigment print effect wherein an improved contrast and demarcation is obtained between said transparentized portions and the non-transparentized printed portions, due to the full natural opaqueness of the untransparentized fabric therein plus the opaqueness of the pigmented printing composition, and the fabric is of about the same stiffness throughout.

3. A permanent patterned cellulose-containing fabric having acid-transparentized portions and non-transparentized printed portions, the latter having printed thereon an adherent composition containing a nitrogenous organic binder with a an acid parchmentizing agent for the time required to transparentize the unprinted portions of the cellulosic fibers of the fabric by such agent, so that the printed portions of the cellulosic fibers are unafiected by said parchmentizing agent, 50 as to provide a washproof pigment print effect wherein an improved contrast and demarcation is obtained between said transparentized portions and the non-transparentized printed portions due to the full natural opaqueness of the untransparentized fabric therein plus the opaqueness of the pigmented printingcomposition; and the fabric is of about the same stiffness throughout.

GEORG HEBERLEIN. ALBERT BODMER.