US2339891A - Flock adhesive printing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

. Jan. 25, 1944. E c, TARNUZZER 2,339,891

FLocK ADHESIVE PRINTING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 26, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 i Q o 1 l l l I Q" g i l T N .lip be g l i Q m QW Q I Xq,

JVENTOR.

Jan. 25, 1944. E C, TARNUZZER 2,339,891

FLOCK ADHESIVE PRINTING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 26', 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ArroRA/ys Patented Jan. 25, 1944 FLOCK ADHESIVE PRINTING APPARATUS Edmund C. Tarnuzzer, North Adams, Mass., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Beacon Industrial Corporation, Fall River, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application February 26, 1941, Serial No. 380,607

(Cl. S31- 49) 3 Claims.

This invention relates in general to flock printing, and more particularly to the apparatus by which the adhesive is applied to the fabric prior to -the application of the flock.

Flock adhesives have commonly been applied by stencils. So far as I am aware, it has not heretofore been practical to apply the adhesive by means of intaglio or engraved rolls. 'A fundamental object of the present invention is to provide apparatus by which this may done.

The nature of the adhesive required for flock printing, and the necessity of carrying the fabric with the freshly applied adhesive through the flocking unit, without intervening drying or setting of the adhesive, have prevented the successful application of ordinary fabric printing operations to the production of flock prints. Largely for this reason, stencil printing has been the usual procedure. The adhesive nature of the material that has to be applied, and its physical consistency, have precluded the use of the back grey between the fabric and the impression cylinder or bowl. Consequently, any appearance of the adhesive on the underside of the fabric presents a problem, because of its contamination of the working surface of the impression cylinder, and yet it is not altogether desirable to entirely avoid penetration of the adhesive into the fabric. High pressure contact between the intaglio printing roll and the fabric. and the use of lapping between the back grey and the hard surface of the impression cylinder, cannot be advantageously employed in applying adhesives for flocking.

According to my invention, the fabric is run over the bare, non-absorbent surface of an impression cylinder, such working surface preferably being formed of moderately cured or vulcanized rubber of good traction, the adhesive liquid is applied to the fabric running over the impression cylinder by means of a print roll carrying an intaglio design. this print roll having very light contact with the fabric, and the bare working surface of the impression cylinder is continuously cleaned between the point Where the fabric leaves it and where the working surface resumes or reenters contact with the fabric, the consequence being that excessive quantities of adhesive are not forced through the cloth onto the working surface of the impression cylinder, and such quantities of adhesive as do reach this surface are continuously removed before the working surface has to make renewed contact with the fabric. For the purpose of supplying the engraved print roll with adhesive,

and at the same time conflning its application to the cloth in the design engraved in the print roll, I provide a doctor blade operating in contact with the engraved print roll in such a position as to form, with a portion of the print roll surface, a trough into which the liquid adhesive drips from a suitable supply source, this trough being blocked off at each end by means of packing dams through which the adhesive is unable to pass.

The formula of the liquid adhesive must meet rather exacting requirements, and I shall hereinafter give an example of a formula that has been found satisfactory in practice. Other compositions, with which those skilled in the art of flock printing are acquainted, may of course be used if preferred.

An embodiment of the invention is diagrammatically illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a diagram in elevation, with parts in section, illustrating the adhesive-applying apparatus in its relation to the supply of fabric thereto, and the delivery of the fabric from the adhesive-applying apparatus into the flock-applying box from which the flocked fabric passes to the conventional drying unit.

Figure 2 is a diagram in sectional elevation, on a somewhat larger scale, illustrating in more detail the essential elements of the adhesive-applying apparatus according to my invention.

Figure 3 is a transverse section of the engraved print roll with its associated doctor blade and one of the packing dams mounted thereon, the section being taken through the middle of the packing dam, and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the packing dam unit, with the packing removed.

Referring first to Figure l, the fabric is led olf a roll I0 mounted in frame II, and is carried over the conventional spreaders I2 and under the guide roll I3 into contact with the impression cylinder I4, over which the fabric runs while the adhesive is being printed thereon. From the impression cylinder I4, the fabric is carried over a guide roll I5 from which it .enters the flock-applying box I6, of any conventional or desired type. The fabric is pulled through the flock-applying box I6 by the driving roll I'I and passed therefrom to the drying equipment of any approved type. Referring again to the impression cylinder I4, and at this point more particularly to the detailed illustration in Figure 2, this impression cylinder I4 is journalled in bearing blocks I8 mounted in the side frames I9. Its working surface is constituted by a rubber sleeve 20, which is preferably of a semi-hard cure so as to provide satisfactory traction with the fabric while at the same time not being too soft and yielding. This cylinder is driven, as for example by chain drive 2l running over sprockets 22, 23, the latter of which constitutes the driving sprocket and is operated in proper speed ratio to a second driving sprocket 24 by means of the speed ratio control unit 25, which is adjusted by the hand wheel 26. The purpose of the speed ratio control unit is to maintain accurate equality of the surface speed of the fabric on the impression cylinder I4 with the surface speed of the print roll 21 which is driven by chain 28 running over the driving sprocket 24 of the speed ratio control unit and the driven sprocket 29 of the print roll 21. Print roll 21 is adjusted to make very light contact with the fabric on the impression cylinder I4. It is supplied with adhesive from an overhead receptacle 30, from which the adhesive drips under the control of regulating valve 3| through the spout 32 into a trough formed by a doctor blade 33 with a portion of the periphery of the print roll 21. At either end of this trough is adjustably mounted a packing darn 34, which is illustrated in more detail in Figures 3 and 4. It comprises essentially a housing 35 secured on the upper arm of a resilient meta1 strap 36 which extends rearward and then down and forward to terminate beneath the housing 35, where it is provided with a set screw 31 so that a packing dam unit may be adjustably positioned near each end of the doctor blade 33, by turning up the set screw 31 to engage the doctor blade between it and the bottom of the housing 35. The rear of the housing 35 is provided with a follower plate 38, which is adjusted by meansof the set screw 39 to force the packing material 40 into suitable contact with the face of the print roll 21 and thus confine the liquid adhesive dripping into the trough between the two dams thus constituted.

The print roll 21 is driven counterclockwise and the impression cylinder I4 clockwise (Figure 2). Beneath the impression cylinder I4 is mounted a pan 4I to maintain a bath 42 of solvent or other cleaning liquid, for example varnaline, for the adhesive which may be carried from the fabric by the surface of the impression cylinder I4. This bath is maintained at such a level as to slightly immerse the lower portion of the working surface 20 of impression cylinder I4, and in this bath are mounted two wiper rolls 43, driven in clockwise direction and wiping the working surface 20 by means of the absorbent treads 44 formed, for example, by terry cloth or other suitable material. In this way, the cleaning liquid is swabbed over the face of the working surface 20 by a rubbing action, to supplement the cleaning effect of the direct contact of the working surface 20 in the bath of cleaning liquid 42. The surface of the impression cylinder is thus continually cleaned of residual adhesive between the point where the working surface leaves contact with the fabric and the point where it reenters such contact. To avoid carrying a lm of cleaning liquid up to the fabric, the working surface 20 is engaged by a doctor blade 45, which strips any foreign matter from the working surface and assures a clean, fresh surface to make contact with the under face of the fabric.

With regard to the composition of the liquid adhesive, an emulsion type is preferred, containing a vehicle, a solvent and a pigment. The

pigment content generally determines the shortness, its flexibility, fastness to washing, whiteness, and in general its printability. It is desirable to use as little pigment as possible in order to retain flexibility and tackiness for flocking, while on the other hand using enough pigment to gain the desired whiteness and absence of stringiness. acquainted with these and other requirements. A composition which I have found satisfactory for use in accordance with this invention contains, roughly, about 5% water, and is made up substantially as follows:

Heavy commercial flock varnish quarts 9% Lacquer emulsion -do-- 21/2 Mephisto Red Lake pounds-- 2 6% Cobalt drier cubic centimeters-- 50 This composition is ground twice 1n a threeroller mill, The flock varnish is supplied under this name by varnish makers, and generally contains tung oil as the basic ingredient and is cooked to an extremely heavy body. The lacquer emulsion contains about 16.3% water, 46.2% solids, and 37.5% nitrocellulose solvents. The solids comprise nitrocellulose, plasticizers and resins, for example, dammar, copal, sandarac, etc.

The adhesive compounded as above recited will dry satisfactorily at a temperature of 110 to 120 F, in a period of twenty-four hours. The flocked fabric is, therefore, hung at this temperature for the required period, after which it is brushed and nally folded.

I claim:

l. Flock adhesive printing apparatus, comprising in combination an impression cylinder having a substantially non-absorbent work surface to contact with and support the fabric running over the upper portion thereof, an engraved print roll associated with said impression cylin- `-rirtc "pfi1.` adhesive upon the fabric passing between them, means for supplying adhesive to said engraved print roll, a doctor blade associated with said engraved print roll to remove eX- cess adhesive therefrom, a receptacle for cleaning liquid under said impression cylinder, a wiper roll running in said cleaning liquid and contacting the lower` surface of said impression cylinder, and a doctor blade in contact with said impression cylinder between said wiper roll and where the work surface reenters contact with the fabric.

2. Flock adhesive printing apparatus for processing a continuous sheet of fabric permeable to adhesive, comprising in combination an impression cylinder having a substantially non-absorbent work surface to contact with and support the fabric being printed, a print roll associated with said impression cylinder to apply adhesive to the fabric passing between them, cleaning means containing a receptacle for cleaning liquid disposed underneath said cylinder so as to have the lower part of said cylinder immersed in the liquid, and wiper means contacting said cylinder and arranged to be wetted by the liquid for removing from said cylinder the adhesive normally permeating through said fabric onto the surface of said cylinder,

3. Flock adhesive printing apparatus for processing a continuous sheet of fabric permeable to adhesive, comprising in combination an impression cylinder having a substantially non-absorbent work surface to contact with and support the fabric being printed, a print roll associated with Those skilled in the art are well Ubi." bil HUUR H said impression cylinder to apply adhesive to the fabric passing between them, a receptacle for cleaning liquid disposed underneath said cylinder so as to have said cylinder partly submerged in the cleaning liquid, a wiping device contacting the surface of said cylinder and arranged to be wetted by the liquid, said wiping device being disposed in front of said receptacle relative yto the rotation of said cylinder to remove from said cylinder adhesive normally permeating through said fabric onto the cylinder surface, and another wiping device engaging said cylinder and disposed behind said receptacle and 'in front of said printing roll relative to the rotation of said cylinder for removing excess liquid from said cylinder.

EDMUND C. TARNUZZER.

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