US2298592A - Decorative product - Google Patents

Description

W. W. ROWE DECORATIVE PRODUCT Filed Feb. 8, 1937 Oct. 13, 1942.

A'HURNEYS.

Q I a. O Eris 2L Patented Oct. 13, 1942 nEcoRA'rrvE PRODUCT William Wallace Rowe, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to Cincinnati Industries, Inc., a corporation of Ohio Application February a, 1937, serial No. 124,649

2 Claims.

My invention-is directed to the manufacture of novel, durable, and economical decorative materials of the generalclass of materials suitable for use as artificial leathers, as wall coverings, as floor coverings, and in certain instances, as external coverings or facings for buildings, in

' book-binding, in the manufacture of luggage and protective cases and coverings for articles and materials, and in many other uses. To the extent that the same subject matter is disclosed herein, this case is a continuation in part of several of my copending applications for United States Letters Patent, as follows: Serial No.

512,311, filed January 30, 193lfentitled Flexible impervious and weatherproof material and method of making it, which has now matured into Patent No. 2,085,473, dated June- 29, 1937, Serial No. 736,055, filed July 19, 1934, and entitled Coated creped fabrics and articles and processes of making them, which has now matured into Patent No. 2,077,438, dated April 20, 1937, Serial No. 668,106, filed April 26, 1933; and entitled Plural ply fabrics, which has now matured into Patent No. 2,069,778, dated February 9, 1937.

This invention relates to materials having an external surfacing of decorative and durable character consisting of or. comprising such ma- The general objects of my invention are the provision of novel and improved materials of thev character described, together with methods of making them. The more specific objects of my invention will be set forth hereinafter or will be apparent to one skilled in the artupon. reading this specification.

Reference may now be made tothe drawing wherein each of'the. three figures shows a diflerent type of fabric falling within the scope of my invention, certain layers being cut away to show underlying layers.

lhave indicated hereinabove that my invenva base of asphalt saturated felt.

lems, but-also present a number of problems in common; and in order to make a definitive showing of my invention, it will be necessary to discuss these problems. Artificial leathers have heretofore been made on a base of cloth coated with suitable pyroxylin compounds, lacquers, or the like, to give the desiredsurface appearance. Wall'coverings of the types herein described have not, so far as I am aware, been made previous to my work as set forth herein, although in a few instances walls have been covered with the artificial leathers of commerce. the printed class have uniformly been made on So also have roofing and siding materials. The novel products herein mentioned represent radical departures from anything hitherto known in these arts. I shall discuss the various problems involved under suitable headings:

Body materials As indicated, artificial leathers have been made heretofore on a cloth base. The cloth base has to be heavy enough to give suitable body to the material, since for many uses a heavy body is crease the weight of the cloth foundation or to increase the thickness of the coating. Both ways tion relates to materl'alsblassifiable as'artificial leathers, decorative wall coverings, floor coverlugs and external surfacing materials. These present, of course, a number of individual prob are disadvantageous in some respects and are quite expensive. It is anobject of my invention to provide convenient and economical solutions to these problems. v

For certain purposes, so-called napped cloths, are used. The napping process is accomplished by taking a web of cloth and roughing up the surface fibers on one or both sides by the use of wire brushes or in other known ways. The effect 'is to produce a cloth which is soft and flannel-like on at least one surface. -It is dimcult to take a cloth which has already been coated to produce the artificial leather surface and put it through the nappingprocess because the pyroxylin coating tends to penetrate to the reverse side of the cloth, thereby operating to prevent the action of the wire brushes in napping the cloth on the reverse side. It is also quite dimcult to nap the cloth first and then coat it with the coating substance, because the py- Floor coverings of roxylin will tend to penetrate through to the napped side, thereby stiffening the nap.

It is an object of my invention to provide a simple and economical solution for this problem while also providing for a napped surface if it is desired.

Rooflngs and sidings are subject to much the I same difiiculties although their manner of use is quite different. Brittleness and the tendency to tear and split upon the application of strain are, of course, of equal importance; though for example, when roll roofing is fastened at both sides, these tendencies arise primarily through stretching, sagging, contraction or expansion of the roofing materials which cause wrinkles, bulges and the like. However, these wrinkles and bulges are unsightly and are a source of 'com-' plaints. It is another object of my invention to provide simple and economic solutions for these problems. Also it is an object of my invention to provide strength in floor coverings, sidings, rooflngs, and the like which they have not hitherto possessed;

All of these uses'require considerable body in the materials. Cloth is expensive as the sole body material. 80 also are saturated felts, and these have, as. indicated, the additional disadvantage of lack of inherent strength. I have found that materials may be made having substantially any desired body weight by superposing layers of paper providing the paper is 'bulked in thickness by creping or by giving it some other form of inherent rugosities which have the desired effect. As many layers as desired of creped paper may be cemented together If stiffness is required, it may be obtained by backing the paper layers to a stiff material as might be done, for example, in book-binding or in the manufacture of preformed wall coveri panels where the decorative material is hacked to a panel of cardboard, wallboard, or any of the hard or soft panel boards of commerce.

In the fabric itself, however, varying degrees .of stiffness may be obtained in the use of a plurality of layers of single creped papers by so superposing these layers that the creping crinkles in one layer lie transverse to the creping crinkles in another layer, thereby producing a sort of trussing action. This may be done either by cutting and reversing ordinary creped papers, or by employing single, diagonally creped paper layers so arranged that the crinkles are oppositely disposed.

As exemplary material I have indicated in Fig. 1 a composite product comprising severallayers I, 2 and 3, of universally stretchable paper made in accordance with the teachings of the Kemp Patents 2,008,181 and 2,008,182, ,and the copending application in the name of William C. Kemp Serial No. 558,884, filed August 24, 1931. The number of layers of paper in the product does not constitute a limitation on my invention. The product as shown in this figure is a flexible and limber product having, however, any desired body and very considerable strength. By reason of its inherent stretchability it may be conformed to irregular surfaces much more readily. The stretchability of the product, while not lessened, may be resisted in various ways, as by the inclusion in the combining adhesive of short, heterogeneously arranged fibers. If greater strength is desired at the expense of stretchability various reenforcements, as above mentioned, may be used externally or internally with this product. Also it is possible by proper distribution of these reenforcements, as taught in my copending application Serial No. 122.172, filed Jan. 25, 1937, to

with suitable adhesive and the combined prod- Moreover, a creped paper, while possessingconsiderable efiective transverse bulk or thickness, is nevertheless quite flexible in a direction.

transverseto the lines of crepin Where universally stretchable paper is employed the prod-' uct will be quite flexible in every direction. Also products made of stretchable papers have inherent stretchabiiity which-is an advantage in available in products of the class'to which reference is made here. As I have taught in my copending application Serial No. 668,106 referred to above, non-conjoint layers of paper cemented together withintervening layers of adhesive, while possessing great inherent stretchability possess also an extraordinary resistance to the removal of this stretchability which gives them a further advantage.

retain stretchability in one or more directions, if desired. The layers of paper may be cemented together with any suitable adhesive. Where the paper has been creped by means of the use of a positive thermoplastic adhesive, such for example,

as asphalt, or where the paper has beencreped by means of rubber, as set forth in my copending application Serial No. 668,105, filed April 28, 1933, the creping adhesive may be employed to Join the plies together.

In Fig. 2 I have shown a fabric such as that described and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 512,311, referred to above, where there is a layer of fabric 4 and externally disposed layers of paper I and 0. These have been shown as single layers, but for purposes of giving bulk to the product additional layers may be added, if desired. The paper, of course, may be single creped paper formed by the usual watercreping process, or it may be paper creped by the many particulars and has not hitherto been I use of a positive creping adhesive, as setforth in my Re. Patent No. 17,633, or it may be the single or double diagonally creped paper made under of paper such as paper creped and corrugated in accordance with the teachings of the issued Rowe and Morris Patent No. 2,034,421. Such papers give bulk; but for reasons which will hereinafter be made clear, it is preferable not to use such papers as an external layer which is to be coated with lacquer, paint or the like. A

Where a coarse, woven material such as burlap, for example, is usedin a product of this character, if thin layers of paper are cemented to it with relatively thin layers of adhesive, there may be a tendency upon bending the product, to have the grain of the weave of the cloth show through the paper surfacing. In embossed products, as hereinafter set forth, this may notbe disadvantageous; but in any event it may be obviated by using sumcient adhesive substance to fill up the interstices between the weave of the cloth. I-

have indicated at I in Fig. 2, a layer of adhesive or filler substance which fills up the weave of the cloth.

An advantage of interleaving cloth between 7 tant in connection with floor coverings, roofing and siding. In Fig. 3 I have indicated, however, a layer of cloth 8 with one or more layers 9 and III of paper cemented to one face thereof. Such products may likewise be employed for the uses contemplated herein, and in. such products depending, of course, upon the nature of the exterior of the cloth, the cloth may be napped or not, as desired. All of these products may have a decorative coating indicated generally at D.

The coating, base In my novel products a creped web is employed as a base for the incorporation or superposition or both, of decorative coatings. The coating base operates in three fundamental wa'ysz (a) It keeps the coating essentially out of the body material,

b) It aids in the formation of a more perfect film, a thinner film and a film less subject to damage and disintegration,

(c) It either imparts a desirable texture to the film of coating substance or provides a basis for the subsequent configuration or texturing of the material. These various functions will now be discussed in detail.

I have spoken hereinabove of thedimculties attendant either upon the use of napped fabrics in the production of artificial leather or of theprocedure of napping fabrics after they have been coated. In the production of artificial leathers or similar materials, if a fabric is first faced with a layer of paper and the pyroxylin or other coating applied to the'paper, it will be clear thatthis coating cannotget through the paper so as to impregnate the cloth. Thus the cloth may have a nap at the start of the process, which nap will not be impaired, or the cloth may be napped after the paper has been coated without the difficulties hereinabove described.

Another result of the use of my novel construction is that when coating a paper-lined cloth or a paper-surfaced article, less coating may be used to obtain a perfect film whenthe coating is applied over paper rather than over an unlined or plain piece of cloth. The pyroxylin coating is likely to be the most expensive 'part of the article and the efiective partof the coating is the surface film. on my materials the ooaters can produce an equally effective surface film with the use of-a lower total amount of pyroxylin coating, as will be clear. There is no problem of filling up or masking the interstices of a cloth web by means of a decorative top coating. As a consequence, also, it is 'possible touse cloth reenforcernents of a much more open mesh and a much coarser structure than could normally be used as a base for pyroxylin coating. For example, I am'able to use a paperlined burlap and secure an excellent coated surface. If the appearance of burlap on the under side of the article is objectionable, instead of using the product shown in Fig. 3, Imay employ that shown in Fig. 2. Reenforcing materials embodying open mesh netting or crossed fibers or cords can likewise be employed, as I have indicated, and such products it would be im possible to coat at all in the ordinary construction.. In materials coated on the back side with paper, ifthe appearance of a nap is desired, the paper may be flocked. as hereinafter set forth.

The paper layer thus contributes to the production of a more perfect and thinner film. Also the paper contributes to the production of a film which is less liable to disintegration. As is well known, many paints, lacquers and the like show a tendency toward cracking and crazing with lapse of time. In part, this may be due to other causes; but a'great percentage of it appears to arise through unequal contraction and expansion of the film or coating and the base on which it is placed. Universally stretchable papers coated with -these substances appear to provide a base having substantially no tendency to produce cracking and crazing arising from this. cause. I explain this by the fact that the stretchable paper is free .to expand and contract as the coating expands and-contracts, and therefore does not impose upon the coating the strains which ordinary bases impose.

There is another source of. failure in coating woven fabrics which my invention obviates. When cloth forms the base for a pyroxylin coating, it is clear that when the cloth is distorted on the bias there is a scissors-like motion of the warp and woof threads which places an undue strain on the film of coating. This has presented a problem in the manufacture of artificial. leathers leading to the establishment of standards of performance and laboratory tests among which is the so-called flexing test. A piece of the fabric is clamped in a suitable apparatus and is repeatedly distorted on the bias under apredetermined amount of force. Fabrics, to pass the established standards, must withstand a large number of flexes. Considerable work apparently has been done also in the art of developing certain'kinds of cloth which v have-a less strongly marked tendency to subject the coating to this type of strain.

Where, however, the fabric is faced with a stretchable paper and this paper is given the of the coating than fabrics hitherto made.

Whencoating paper to form products sub- Jected to hard usage involving flexing, as for' example, in upholstery or the like, it is advisable to make provision against the internal splitting or separation into plies of a paper layer to which the coating is applied if this'layer be.

of very heavy character. This is taken care of, however, easily by one of two methods. Any impregnation of the paper with a relatively hard substance whether permanently adhesive in character or of the character of paint, lacquer, or the like will cut this splitting tendency down to the point where it is no longer'of importance. Thus when coating paper with lacquer, varnish, pyroxylin or the like, it is possible to apply the material in such form that a portion of it penetrates in and through the paper, thereby elim inating the splitting tendency. This may largely be controlled by the viscosity of the coating at the time of the application, and the viscosity may be controlled in known ways. Where, however, it is undesirable to make provision for the external coating to penetrate the body of the paper, the paper may be rendered non-splitting such a coating. Under these conditions one or more of the paper layers may be subjected to an anti-staining treatment, as set forth in my copending application Serial No. 512,311. A simple form of such treatment is to give the paper a coating of rubber latex either before or after creping. Such coating acts to prevent staining of the paper or penetration through the paper of underlying adhesives when located next the adhesive coating. When located on the side of the paper away from the adhesive coating it, of

course, does not tend to prevent penetration of the paper but will prevent the adhesive coming through the ,paper and any external coatings.

by causing penetration into the paper of the adhesive employed in building up the composite fabric. The adhesives most commonly used in building up the composite fabric will be such materials as asphalt or other bitumen, resins,

' described in my lcopending application Serial No. 135,296 filed April 6, 1937. Thus when employing asphalt, for example, as an adhesive, the asphalt can be caused to strike into or through the paper, if desired, by treating the external uncoated surface of the paper with a volatile solvent for the asphalt.

It will be understood that penetration of the paper by a dark colored or staining adhesive may be of importance where the nature of the overlying coating is such as to be transparent or translucent in part at least. Under these circumstances a change in color of an underlying paper layer due to any cause might be disadvantageous. Moreover certain types of coatings, and in particular paint coatings, and the like, are susceptible to staining from the lighter oils of the asphalt. This is of particular importance in the making of paint-printed floor coverings and-the like. For these uses it is frequently advisable to give the paper an anti-staining treatment either on its upper surface or beneath, as may be desired. Where, however, any coating is of a character which would not itself be stained by any materials from an adhesive and where it is dark enough in color and opaque enough to mask any changes in color of the coating base, it may act itself as a stain-preventing layer in the sense of preventing any materials coming through the paper layer from going any further.

A creped paper is a paper having a distinct siu'face texture. When used as a coating base it is capable of imparting this texture toa coating placed thereon. For most uses, however, the- After the solvent has drawn the asphalt into the paper it to preserve it, especially where my materials are subjected to external weather conditions or to conditions of moisture as in a flooring.- Where the paper is not permeated it is possible'for water to work into the layer ojfpaper from a cut edge by capillarity. Thusthe paper may be weakened and separation promoted, By the treatment hereinabove outlined, the paperitself is sealed against such action and its inherent strength in spite of adverse external conditions.

In connection with the application of certain types of coatings,'and where a composite fabric has been built by using some sort of staining adhesive like asphalt, it is desirable to prevent either a staining of surface layers or a penetration of the staining adhesive through surface layers. Also this action is important where, as in the case of bitumen as an adhesive. any heat to which the material might be subjected in use It will texture of ordinary creped paper will not be found particularly desirable. The texture of the double diagonally creped paper of the Kemp patents referred to above is in itself, however, a fine grained leather-like texture and especially suitable for coating in the formation of artificial leather and decorative materials in general.

The application of the coating may be done in any way desired by several modes of application for their own peculiar advantages. As set forth in my copending application, Serial No. 736,055,

filed July 19, 1934, the paper may be coated before creping. This has a number of advantages.

In the first place it is easier to coat plain paper creping is characterized by a novel type of texture and differs quite markedly in appearance from paper coated after creping. When paper is coated after creping the coating to some degree, at least,

furthermore found that the characteristic apmight cause the adhesive to soften and tend to penetrate through paper layers so as tostain an external coating or so as to-penetrate through pearance of paper coated after creping is destroyed to every great extent by subsequent embossing. Thug apaper coated after crepinc may.

'. acteristic color.

by embossing, be made to resemble a paper coated before creping.

It will be understood, of course, ,that when coating already creped paper the thickness of base flooring is secured in floorings of my type where the coatings are laid down on a coating base of creped paper. The operations of printing the floor covering with my new fabrics are carried on in the same way as is usual with felt base materials.

The use, moreover, of paper characterized by a distinct texture as a coating base facilitates the manufacture of parti-colored coatings. Thus, paper may be coated before or after creping with a relatively thin layer of coating having one char- After this coating has dried and set a coating having a contrasting color may be applied thereover, and this coating removed by wiping or otherwise from the higher portions of the rugosities of the textured surface, thereby giving a parti-coloredresult of great efiectiveness.

The decorative surface may be applied to the paper in any desired way as by spraying, roller coating, dipping, doctor'mg and the like. Also, it is within the scope of my invention to employ as a coating base creped papers which have been printed with suitable designs, and then employ as an overlying covering a clear lacquer or varrics.

nish or a preformed translucent or transparent Thus paper printed in imitation of cloth, and

lacquered, not only is highly decorative, but has a texture, imparted by the creping, which is quite suggestive of a cloth surface.

Finally, many of my products are embossed by treating them between the plates of a platen press, one of which contains a suitable design or by passing them between a'series of embossing rollers. Embossing not .only changes the surface aspects of the products but also tends to mask surface imperfections and to mask the juncture between adjacent webs, where the surface of a fabric has been covered with non-coterminous webs. Metal foils may be incorporated in my material and these may likewise be embossed both for the sake of general appearance, surface or texture, and for the masking of lines of juncture between adjacent foil pieces. It is to be noted, however,.that the production of deep embossing in products of this character is dependent to a considerable extent on the stretchability of the coating base. Many materials including metal foils may be given slight surface embossings without,

serious dangerof splitting; but since embossing essentially involves a stretching action, deep embossings cannot be formed without danger of splitting unless the material be stretchable in and of'itself. My coating bases are therefore exceptionally well adapted to deep embossing,

The surfaces of any of my products may be flocked by coating them with a suitable coating layer having adhesive properties during one step of the process at least, and while such layers are 75' characterized by novel, desirable textures.

adhesive dusting on them asuitable short-flbered flock or the like. In this way a very beautiful 'ef- 'fect may be obtained, such as effects in imitation of suede leather. This may be done before or after creping. I have succeeded in making, in the ways described, very durable, very beautiful but exceedingly inexpensive products having a number of distinct advantages. The thickness of the fabrics is not a limitation on my invention. In accordance with my teachings it will be within the skill of the worker within the art to give these fabrics any body weight desired. Where the fabrics are to be used for juncture to walls, to articles, or to stiff panels less body is required. Moreover, my fabrics are such that light body materials maybe given heavy bodies at any time after fabrication so that the stocking of large quantities of material otherwise identical but having different body weights is not required. Moreover, ordinary artificial leathers may be given more body by joining them to the fabrics herein described, or to individual layers of creped paper. I am not limited as to the nature of the coating materials employed nor as to the nature of adhesive employed building up the body fab- All of my products have distinct advantages in appearance, durability and economy, as well as in strength and lessened liability toward cracking,- tearing, scufl'ing and the like. All may be When "are found to be exceedingly durable and weather resistant and even where inherently stretchable ar not subject to marked shrinkage or elongation under weather conditions, All of my products are or can be made very flexible. They will lie flat and can be conformed much more readily to irregular surfaces.

Modifications may be made in my invention without departing from the spirit thereof.

Having thus described my invention,.what I ing imposed upon said paper layer, said paper layer being printed in imitation of cloth, and said coating being a coating of paint-like character so imposed upon said paper that the said'creping crinkles impart a cloth-like texture to said coating, said coating being translucentin character to disclose said printing.

2. A fabric visually imitating cloth, and comprising a. surface layer of paper printed in imitation of cloth and creped in such manner as to have imparted thereto relatively'fine rugosities comparable in size to the rugosities of cloth, whereby the rugosities so imparted to the paper give it a texture reinforcing the impression of cloth imparted by said printing, the creping rugosities consistingin crossing sets of creping crinkles whereby the paper is given universal stretchability, and whereby the said texture is without marked directional grain, the said paper layer being coated with a wear coating of sufllcient translucence to disclose said printed representation, said paper layer being joined by means of a flexible adhesive to a flexible body comprising at 'least one layer of universally stretchable paper.

wamncr: ROWE.

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