Patent GB-1211454-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to flock materials
IPC: D02G3/40
Filed: 1968-04-05
Abstract: 1,211,454. Coated yarns or fibres. KUHN, VIERHAUS & CIE A.G. 5 April, 1968 [13 April, 1967; 26 June 1967], No. 16613/68. Heading B2E. [Also in Division D1] Yarns or fibres are electrostatically flocked by passing a group of adjacent earthed yarns or fibres provided with an adhesive to a high voltage electrical field established between electrodes, under the action of which electrically non-conducting flock materials supplied over the lower electrode and beneath the yarns or fibres is directed towards the yarn or fibres and is applied thereto, the yarns or fibres in passing through the electrical field being rotated about their longitudinal axes. The flocked fibres and yarns are used for the manufacture of special effect fabrics, particularly upholstery fabrics. Artificial silk and polyamide may constitute the yarns or fibres to be flocked, or the flocking material. The yarns may also be polyester. As shown in Figure 1, a device for the electrostatic flocking of a group of yarns comprises a flocking chamber 6 provided with upper and lower electrodes 14, 15 and 16, a conveyor belt 8 for conveying flock material through the space between the electrodes, an adhesive applicator 5, a bank of winding bobbins 1 for delivering the group of yarns or fibres to the applicator 5, a drying chamber 9 for drying the flocked group of yarns or fibres and to advance the group to a winding machine 11, a yarn tension mechanism between the bank of winding bobbins 1 and the applicator 5 consisting of an adjustable braking and supply roller arrangement, 3 and 4 respectviely, and a conveyor roller 17 having an adjustable drive. The yarn tension mechanism 2 and the conveyor roller 17 are arranged so that a higher tension in the tension mechanism than during the passage of the yarn through the flocking chamber 6 is provided so that yarn rotation occurs. The conveyor roller may be arranged in the drying chamber and its speed of rotation governed by the winding machine drive and adjusted by a loaded pendulum arm 21 cooperating with two limit switches 22 and 23 and attached to a pendulously arranged guide roller 19. The driven rollers 4<SP>1</SP> of the supply roller arrangement 4 may be driven by the drive for the conveyor roller. In the particular embodiment the upper electrode 14 is a brass plate at a positive potential, and the two lower electrodes 15, 16 consist of a plurality of wires running transversely of the direction of advance of conveyor belt 8 at a negative potential, the front electrode 16 being more strongly negatively charged than the rear electrode 15. Flock is shaken into funnel 7<SP>1</SP>, fed by wheel 7<SP>11</SP> into container 7<SP>111</SP> closed at the bottom by a distributor screen 7<SP>v</SP> and provided with circumferential bristles 7<SP>iv</SP> and thereby advanced to conveyor belt 8. In another embodiment (Fig. 4 not shown) flock from a supply container passes into a vibratable hopper where it is uniformly compacted. A thin layer of flock is withdrawn from hopper by action of needles on a first rotatable cylinder located at the bottom of the hopper and spun out by the action of needles on a second cylinder interengaging with the needles of the first cylinder and rotating at a higher peripheral velocity into an inclined funnel arranged tangentially to the second cylinder, an inclined portion of the conveyor belt comprising part of a wall of the funnel. The flock material is thereby uniformly distributed on the inclined portion of the conveyor belt ready for passage to the flocking chamber. The discharge end of the funnel is directed into the flocking chamber. Artificial silk and polyamide material may constitute the yarns or fibres to be flocked, and the flocking material polyester yarns may also be flocked. (For Figure see next page)