Improved Machinery and Process for Ornamenting Fabrics by Flocking.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Oct., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 27th July, 1891-Accepted. 26th Sept. 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Machinery and Process for Ornamenting Fabrics by
Flocking.
I, PIERRE VICTOR RENARD of 28, Rue Boschot Fontenay-sous-Bois (Seine)
France, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to improved machines for ornamenting fabrics by stencilling
adhesive material thercon and then flocking it.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this
Specification in which
Figure 1 represents a plan and Figure 2 an end view of the stencilling machine.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of the machine for flocking and satining the
stencilled fabrics.
Figures 4, 5, and 6, shew different views of the trough and scraper for distributing
the adhesive medium over the stencil plate.
The stencilling machine comprises a smooth cast iron table a and a copper stencil
plate having blank or imperforate end portions cc' for a purpose hereinafter
described, and strengthened by end cross-bars soldered thereto having holes e fitting
on register pins d fixed in the table.
The machine also comprises a vertically-movable frame supporting a trough-
carrier capable of sliding on the frame f from end to end of the stencil plate over
which it is drawn by means of an endless chain attached to the trough carrier
running on pinions ii, the traversing motion of the trough carrier in either direction
being limited by stops j. The vertical movement of frame fis preferably effected by
means of a pair of vertically-guided rack bars k, Figure 2, one at each end, through
pinions by a hand wheel and retained in the desired position by a ratchet and
pawl n, o, but other equivalent means of raising the frame may be employed.
The machine is provided at one side with a roller studded with fine points
around which and a roller q travels an endless web r of very light fabric, to assist
in delivering the fabric from the machine. s (Figure 4) is the scraper trough
employed for distributing the adhesive medium over the stencil plate b.
It is
placed within the trough carrier g to which it is attached at each end by a screw
inserted in holes t, Figure 1, the head of the screw being grooved for engaging a
catch upon the scraper trough so as to permit of adjusting the latter by raising or
lowering the screw. In the scraper trough is contained a plate u bent along its
upper and lower edges, as shewn, and adapted to close the bottom of the scraper
trough said plate oscillating on a centre and being acted on by a spring which
presses it against the side y of the scraper troughs when the latter to be is open.
traversing the scraper troughs over the stencil & from the part c to part c' the
plate u meets a small roller which presses on a lever 1 at each end of plate u and
oscillates the latter so as to bring its bottom edge 2 against the side 3 of the scraper
trough, thus closing the bottom of the scraper trough in which position it is held by
the catches 4 of springs x. The scraper trough being thus closed can be removed
from the stencil plate b.
On
In order to prevent the scraper from passing beyond the rollers z and also allow
of any width of fabric being operated on without the necessity of traversing the
scraper from one extremity of the stencil plate to the other, the movable stops j are
adjusted on frame in the position desired the rollers being also placed in corre-
sponding position and fixed to frame fon either side; in this manner the scraper s
will always be closed by the time it has arrived upon the blank surface c'.
In operation, the fabric 15, as it unwinds from roller 16, passes around a guide

page_text: roller 17 on to the table a which is covered with cloth or other soft material upon
which paper is laid to facilitate the travel of the fabric which passes through the
machine in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 1, the tension of the
fabric during the stencilling operation being maintained by means of roller p.
The stencil is then placed upon the register pins and the scraper troughs placed
in carrier g over the part e and in the open position is then traversed over the
stencil by turning hand wheel m until it reaches part whereby the adhesive
medium is deposited in the perforations of the stencil upon the fabric 15, the levers 1
The
on each end of plate of scraper s closing the latter on striking rollers.
frame is then raised and the stencil held up in the dotted position, seen in Figure 4,
after which the fabric is advanced by means of hand wheel 18 until the stencilled
portion has reached a certain point on the table a indicated by a bench mark or
otherwise, whereupon the stencil is again replaced in position the scrapers is
brought over the part c the frame is again lowered, the trough opened and the
operation repeated, traversing the trough over the stencil until it reaches part e' by
means of hand wheel m, as before.
The fabric on leaving the stencilling machine (Figures 1 and 2) passes to the
machine represented in Figure 3 by means of which the flock or powdered silk or
wool, cut or ground up is distributed upon the stencilled fabric. The proper tension
of the fabric 15 is maintained by a roller 5 furnished with fine points and controlled
by a brake whence the fabric enters, through slit 19, a box 6 containing rotating
sifters 7 preferably of cylindrical form for dusting the powder on the fabric, the
box being supported upon cross bars .so as to allow the fabric to pass beneath it.
The bottom of this casing may be made of oil cloth, leather, india rubber, etc.,
and is struck by beaters 8 hinged to the machine framing at alternately opposite
sides and operated by springs 9 and by tappets spirally arranged on a shaft so that
the beaters will strike in succession and so produce a continuous trepidation. The
fabric leaves the box by slit 20 and is then acted on by beaters 10 for freeing the
fabric of powder which may have adhered to the under side and which is received
on a sheet metal apron 11 by which it is delivered to the receptacle 12. Another
upper
set of beaters 13 is also provided to remove the powder deposited on the
side
of the fabric elsewhere than upon the stencilled adhesive pattern. In certain cases
a rotary brush 14 is used to smooth the pile adhering to the stencilled pattern,
impart a satin finish, and clean the other parts of the fabric. 21, 22, 23, 24 are
guide rollers over which the fabric passes to the roller 25 covered with fine points
by which it is drawn through the machine and over which passes an endless web 26
whereby the finished fabric is delivered into a receptacle 27.
If a velvet pile is to be produced, when velveting or flocking open fabrics, the
brush 14 would be dispensed with.
The machines represented in Figures 2 and 3 enable the operations of stencilling
and powdering close and open fabrics to proceed simultaneously.
Open fabrics would be passed over a web travelling with the fabric and which
has previously been dusted with powder in order that the powder may be caused to
adhere to both faces of the fabric. Or two stencil plates having coinciding perfora-
tions may be employed between which the openwork fabric is passed. The
stencilling would be performed as before.
In order to prevent the adhesive medium being deposited upon the table the
under stencil plate would be made of much greater thickness than the upper one.
In this case, powder would be applied by any suitable means to the underside of the
fabric on leaving the machine, Figure 2. The fabric 15 (Figure 3) would in this
case act as a carrier apron upon which the open fabric is carried through the
powdering machine and deposited in a basket 29 after having been subjected to the
action of an air blast applied between the rollers 21 and 28, as represented in dotted
lines at the right hand end of Figure 3.
The adhesive medium is prepared by saponifying boiled linseed oils by means of
slaked lime, caustic soda, and carbonates of soda or potash, etc., which may be
-employed in varying proportions, the various mixtures being heated more or less for

page_text: the purpose of preventing the oils from staining the fabrics without rendering them
insufficiently adhesive to retain the powders. The fabrics after being thus
ornamented are to be placed in a drying chamber heated to from 50° to 60° more or
less, according to the degree of saponification. The adhesive mixture may be
diluted with benzene or other solvents.
Dated
.
1000
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Machinery and Process for Ornamenting Fabrics by
Flocking.
1, PIERRE VICTOR RENARD of 28, Rue Boschot, Fontenay-sous-Bois (Seine)
France, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to improvements in machines for ornamenting fabrics by
stencilling thereon an adhesive medium (composed of boiled drying oils saponified
and used either alone or mixed with other substances) and then flocking the
stencilled fabric by dusting it over with silk, wool, etc., ground or cut up into powder
or flock.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this
Specification, in which
Figure 1 represents the delivery side of the stencilling machine with the trough
and scraper removed.
Figure 2 is a plan, and Figure 3 a view of the opposite side of the machine.
Figures 4 and 5 are views of opposite ends of the machine.
Figure 6 is a transverse section on line 1-2 Figure 2 with the frame raised and
the scraper in position.
Figure 7 is a front view of the scraper for distributing the adhesive medium over
the stencil plate on the side next the lifting lever.
Figure 8 an end view, Figure 9 a plan, Figure 10 an opposite face view, and
Figure 11 a cross-section of the same closed.
Figure 12 is a longitudinal section, and Figure 13 a cross-section on line 3-4
Figure 12, of the machine for Hocking the stencilled fabric.
Figure 14 is a longitudinal section of the stencilling machine, taken on line 5-6
Figure 4, with the distributing scraper open.
Figure 15 shews a longitudinal section of a portion of the stencilling table with
the scraper-trough closed.
The stencilling machine shewn in Figures 1 to 6 comprises a smooth cast-iron
table a covered with cloth or sheet india rubber of from one to two millimetres in
thickness upon which is laid a sheet of paper to facilitate the travel of the fabric
thereon, and a copper stencil plate 6 having blank or imperforate end portions c c¹
and strengthened by cross bars or bands d of iron soldered to the ends of the stencil
plate having holes e fitting on register pins fixed in stretchers ff for the purpose of
retaining the stencil plate always in the same position. The machine also comprises
a vertically-movable frame supporting a trough-carrier i capable of sliding on the
frame from end to end of the stencil plate 6 over which it is drawn by means of
endless chains j attached to each side of the trough-carrier at k and operated by
pinions, the traversing motion of the trough carrier i in either direction being
limited by stops m. The vertical movement of the frame and trough carrier is
preferably effected by means of a pair of vertically-guided rack bars n placed one
at each end of the table through pinions o o keyed upon a shaft p which is partially

page_text: rotated by a hand lever g held at the end of its movement by a spring-catch r, but
other equivalent means of raising the frame may be employed. The machine is
provided at one side with a rollers studded with fine points around which and a
roller travels an endless web of very light fabric to assist in delivering the
stencilled fabric from the machine.
Figures 7 to 11 represent the scraper trough employed for distributing the
adhesive medium over the stencil plate . It is placed within the trough carrier i
in which it is seated on the ends of thumb-screws upon which it is held by presser
bars and screws y at the ends of the trough carrier whereby the degree of pressure
of the scraper upon the stencil plate & may be accurately regulated. In the scraper
trough which is open at bottom, is contained a plate (Figure 11) bent along its
lower edge, as shewn, to close the bottom of the scraper trough of which said plate
virtually forms one side and the bottom, the said plate being pivoted on end
centres (Figure 9) and it is provided with curved spring arms 2 connected by a
cross-bar 3 which is engaged above spring catches 4, as shown in Figure 14, in
order to swing plate against the side 5 of the trough and open the bottom thereof
to distribute the adhesive medium over the stencil plate. On traversing the scraper
trough over the stencil b from the part c to part c', the spring arms 2 meet the
small rollers 6 which release the cross-bar 3 from the catches 4 and oscillate the
plate in the opposite direction, thus closing the bottom of the scraper trough in
which position it is held by the cross-bar 3 engaging beneath the spring catches 4,
as shewn in Figure 15.
.
It may be here observed that the scraper trough above described applies
the adhesive material to the stencil only when travelling in one direction over the
same, but the right is reserved of duplicating the scraper trough so as to make it
operative in both directions.
b
In order to prevent the scraper from passing beyond the rollers 6 and also allow
of any, width of fabric being operated on without the necessity of traversing the
scraper from one extremity of the stencil plate to the other, movable stops mare
adjusted on frame in the position desired, the rollers 6 being also placed in
corresponding position and fixed by means of screws to said frame à on either side,
so that the scraper will always be closed when it is stopped. Instead of shifting the
stops as described, I may simply apply gummed paper over those parts of the
stencil plate which are not required to be stencilled, as in the case of narrow fabrics.
The fabric as it unwinds from roller 19 passes round a guide roller 20, and is drawn
over the table a as indicated by the arrow in Figure 6, by means of the fine-pointed
roller s.
The leading end of the fabric having been led across the table, the
stencil is placed upon the register pins e and the scraper trough placed in its
carrier being then over the part of the stencil and in the open position is
traversed over the stencil by turning hand wheel 21 and operating through the
pinions and endless chains juntil the scraper reaches part c¹ whereby the adhesive
medium is deposited in the perforations of the stencil upon the fabric the trough
being closed on the springs 2 striking rollers 6. The frame is then raised by hand
lever and rack gear and the stencil also raised and suspended by its ring y to a
counterweighted hook after which the fabric is advanced by means of hand
wheel 22 and rollers until the stencilled portion has reached a certain point on the
table a indicated by a bench mark or otherwise whereupon the stencil is lowered
into position, the scraper returned by reversing the motion of the hand wheel to its
starting point, the frame h is again lowered by releasing lever g from its catch r,
the trough opened by engaging cross-bar 3 with springs 4 and the operation repeated
until the whole length of the fabric has been stencilled.
9
The fabric on leaving the stencilling machine (Figures 1 to 6) is kept distended
in breadth by means of a temple or other suitable means and introduced into the
machine represented in Figures 12 and 13 by means of which the flock or powdered
silk or wool cut or ground up is distributed upon the freshly-stencilled fabric. This
machine is provided with a roller 7 studded with fine points and controlled by a
brake whence the fabric enters through a slit 23 a box 8 containing rotating

page_text: sifters 9 preferably of cylindrical form for dusting the powder on the fabric, the box
being supported upon cross-bars at just a sufficient height above the bottom to
allow the fabric to pass beneath it. The bottom of this casing may be made of oil-
cloth, leather, india-rubber, coated fabric, etc., and is struck by beaters 10 beneath
it said beaters being hinged to the machine framing at alternately opposite sides
and operated by springs 11 and by tappets 13 spirally arranged on a shaft 12 so
that the beaters will strike in succession and so produce a continuous trepidation.
The fabric leaves the box by slit 24 and is then subjected to the action of beaters 14
whereby the fabric is freed of powder which may have adhered to the under side,
the powder falling on a sheet metal apron 15 by which it is delivered to the
receptacle 16. The fabric then passes round guide rollers 25, 26, 27, 28, and the
portion in the face downwards position is subjected to the action of another set of
beaters 17 to remove the powder deposited on the right side of the fabric elsewhere
than upon the stencilled portions. In certain cases, a rotary brush 18 turning in
the direction of the arrow is used to lay the pile adhering to the stencilled design,
impart a satin stitch embroidery effect thereto, and clean the other parts of
the fabric. The delivery roller 29 is covered with fine points whereby the finished
fabric is drawn through the machine, an endless web 30 running on the roller 29
detaching the fabric therefrom and delivering it into a receptacle 31.
When a
velvet pile is to be produced or when velveting or flocking open fabrics the brush 18
would be dispensed with.
The rotary sifters before referred to are made of wire-cloth attached to three
discs mounted upon a revolving shaft. 32 and they are provided with circumferential
charging doors 33 having hinged metal frames secured by a slide bolt operated by
a knob 34. The sifters are driven by an endless chain 35 from shaft 12 in any
suitable manner, said chain operating pinion 36 by which motion is transmitted
through pinion 39 to the first sifter and thence to the second one by means of
another endless chain 37 upon the opposite end by which the sifters are geared
together. As each end portion of the length of fabric is necessarily left
unstencilled, the one end of the one sifter shaft is made movable by means of a
rod 38 whereby the pinion on the sifter shaft may be put in, or out of, gear with
pinion 39.
The machines herein described enable the operations of stencilling and powdering
close and open fabrics to proceed simultaneously and continuously, provided that
both operations are performed at the same rate of speed.
Open fabrics would be passed from a roller over a web travelling with the fabric
and which has previously been dusted with powder, by means of a cylindrical sieve
or otherwise, in order that the said powder may be caused to adhere to the under
face of the fabric. Or instead of applying powder to the underside as last
described, two stencil plates having coinciding perforations may be employed,
between which the openwork fabric is passed, the stencilling being performed as
before. In order to prevent the adhesive medium being deposited upon the table,
the under stencil plate would be made of much greater thickness than the upper
one. In this case powder would be applied by any suitable means to the underside
of the fabric on leaving the machine. The openwork fabric passes direct from the
stencilling machine into the powdering machine, the operation being performed in
the same manner as for close fabrics. The fabric after being carried through the
flocking or powdering machine passes over roller 39 which deposits it in a
basket 40 after having been subjected to the action of an air blast applied between
the rollers 25 and 39, as represented in dotted lines at the right hand end of
Figure 12.
The adhesive medium is prepared by saponifying boiled linseed oils by means of
slaked lime, caustic soda, and carbonates of lime, soda, or potash, caustic lyes, etc.,
which may be employed in varying proportions, the various mixtures being heated
more or less, for the purpose of preventing the oils from staining the fabrics without
rendering them insufficiently adhesive to retain the powders. It will however be
understood that other adhesive media may be employed for the purpose.

page_text: The oils used by artificial-flower makers, paper stainers, and drying oils more or
less glutinous may also be employed, it being understood that these oils would be
more or less boiled according to their quality and that the quantity of lime
carbonate or potash to be employed may be reduced when the oils are stronger and
increased when they are weaker. Resin or other bodies may also be mixed with
the oils.
The following is an example of the composition of one of the adhesive mixtures
employed Take 750 grammes of boiled linseed oil such as used by artificial-flower
makers and 250 grammes of less boiled linseed oil such as used by paper-stainers
and mix with said oils five grammes of powdered carbonate of soda and thirty-five
grammes of slaked lime. Boil the whole in a water bath at a temperature of
90° C. to 100° C. for from five to ten minutes. The mixture can be used the day
after making or even if necessary the same day. Add to it 500 grammes of boiled
linseed oil such as employed by artificial-flower makers and when the whole is well
mixed, add one kilogramme of oil saponified with potash or, to be more exact, with
a caustic lye. The composition of this saponified oil is the result of the combination
of 74% of strong oil, 60% of potash and 20% of water.
[Note. Sometimes from five to ten per. cent. of alkali is afterwards added to the
mixture.]
The fabrics after being thus ornamented arc to be placed in a drying chamber,
heated to from 50° to 60° more or less according to the degree of saponification.
The adhesive mixture may be diluted with water, benzene, or other solvents.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I make
no claim to the subject matter of a previous Patent granted to me, No. 2976 of
1889, but what I claim is:
In a machine for ornamenting fabrics by stencilling with boiled oils and flocking
as described
1st. The combination of the scraper trough its carrier and guide frame / for
traversing the scraper over the stencil and distributing the adhesive medium in the
perforations thereof, as and for the purpose specified.
2nd. The combination, with the scraper trough and its guide frame, of the rack
gearing for raising the same as described.
3rd. The scraper, trough mounted to traverse as described in combination with
the movable bottom and the herein described means of opening and closing
automatically the delivery mouth of the trough on reaching the ends of its course,
as described.
4th. The combination, with the perforated stencil plate having blank end
portions c c and means of fixing the same to the table, of the scraper-trough
mounted traversed and machine operated, as described.
5th. The herein described process for ornamenting fabrics by stencilling them
with saponified boiled oils as a medium for producing the adhesion of flock or
powder, substantially as described.
P. VICTOR RENARD.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agents.