Method of Producing a Silky Lustre upon Fabrics and Webs of all kinds.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Apr., 1895-Accepted, 18th May, 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Method of Producing a Silky Lustre upon Fabrics and Webs of
all kinds.
.I, LUDWIG SCHREINER of 27 Jaeger Strasse of Barmen, in the Province of
the Rhine, German Empire, 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 :-
Silk, as is known, is distinguished from all other sorts of fabrics and webs by its
brilliant lustre caused by the peculiar property of the silk fibre strongly to reflect
rays of light. That property is due to the particular shape of the silk-fibre or
cocoon-thread respectively, in that the shape of said fibre or thread is similar to that
of a band or ribbon, whilst the section of all other sorts of fibres is a more or less
round one. The rays of light are, thus, with the common fibres reflected not by a
surface, but by a line only, whilst with silk there is on each of the broad sides of
the fibre or thread a reflecting surface having a breadth of from 0.01 to 0.015 milli-
metres. As, now, the cocoon-thread on being spun and woven is distorted, there
result a great number of surfaces lying in different angles to each other, and
producing the lustre by the rays of light being reflected by them.
If a web is exposed to a slight pressure by aid of any known means, there are
produced small surfaces upon the fibres, and a certain slight lustre results therefrom;
if, however, the pressure is increased, for the purpose of increasing the lustre, then
the many small surfaces afore mentioned are practically turned into one large
surface. There is then produced no lustre proper at all, but only that of a mirror,
because all the surfaces are in one plane, and reflect the rays of light all at
a time.
In contrary to the above, there are in a silk-web the rays of light reflected only
by those of the many small surfaces, which by chance are in one plane, and are
situated in the proper angle of reflection corresponding to the place of the eye;
said reflecting surfaces are, however, separated by a great many of other surfaces,
which form different angles with the former ones, and are also caused in an ever-
varying number to reflect the rays of light as soon as either the web or the eye, or
the source of light is moved, or the direction of the glance of the eye becomes
another one.
If therefore, the lustre of silk is to be given to other parts of fabric, it becomes
requisite to provide the web with a great number of small surfaces, which are
distributed not on one but on several planes lying each in an angle to all the other,
the angles being different ones. This may be made, for instance, by pressing the
web to be improved by means of a stamp or die, upon the working-surface of which
the structure of a silk-satin-web has been transferred by a galvanoplastic
process.
The manufacture of stamps or dies of this kind is, however, a very difficult one,
and the latter, moreover, are of but slight durability. I therefore, prefer to engrave
a great number of small surfaces of the said kind into a plate or roller consisting of
steel or any other hard material, or I cut such surfaces into said parts by means of
a suitable machine. A section through a plate or roller provided with the
differently inclined small surfaces will represent an appearance similar to that of a
fine-toothed saw, there being, however, the difference, that there may be more
directions of inclination than only two.

page_text: The various surfaces produced by pressing the fabric to be improved in the
manner described may be so small, that a millimeter may have about from 12 to 30
of them; said surfaces need not indispensably have a breadth equal to that of
a broad side of a cocoon-thread, but it is, in fact, of advantage, if that breadth is a
somewhat greater one, provided the latter be not so great as to be cognisable by a
sound eye. The said small surfaces are arranged in parallel lines upon the surface
of the plate or roller, so as to represent a sort of parallel grooves; in using said
plate or roller for the purpose in question, care is to be taken, that the direction of
said grooves is parallel to that of the threads of the respective fabric or web. The
pressure employed ought to be at least 50 kilogrammes per square centimeter, but
may be increased up to 300 atmospheres, or even more. If the fabric or web is
pressed by means of rollers, the pressure exerted upon each end of the roller-shaft,
or upon each pivot respectively, may amount to from 6000 to 30000 kilogrammes.
After the operation has been finished, and the stuff is taken out of the press, the
differently inclined,surfaces produced by that operation subdivide each into a
number of smaller ones, in that the relative position of the threads of the stuff
becomes somewhat altered by the various movements, bendings, formation of folds,
and the like, which the stuff is exposed to. The lustre of the stuff is exactly that
of silk, and even the lustre of silk may greatly be improved by letting the silk
undergo the above-described process.
In order to make the artificial lustre more durable, or to fix the small surfaces as
much as possible respectively, it is advisable to perform the process at rather high
temperatures, such as permitted by the quality or condition of the respective stuff;
the latter may in some cases be moreover exposed to the action of steam, either
before the pressing, or after the same.
The above described method is applicable to fabrics and webs consisting of
vegetable fibres as well as to such consisting of animal ones, or of a mixture of both
the said kinds. Wool is especially adapted for being provided with a lustre.
Having now particularly described the nature of my said invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The method of producing a silky lustre upon fabrics and webs, consisting in
providing the latter with numerous small surfaces having different inclinations with
regard to the plane of the stuff, substantially as described.
2. The method of producing a silky lustre upon fabrics and webs, consisting in
providing the latter with numerous small surfaces by means of a plate or roller
having said surfaces engraved or cut into it; the latter having different inclinations
with regard to the plane of said plate, or the mantle of said roller, substantially as
déscribed.
3. The method of producing a silky lustre upon fabrics and webs, consisting in
providing the latter with numerous small surfaces having different inclinations with
regard to the plane of the stuff, and in steaming the latter either before or after the
said operation, substantially as described.
Dated this 16th day of April 1895
°
LUDWIG SCHREINER.
By Geo. H. Rayner,
37, Chancery Lane, London, Agent for the Applicant.