Year: 1897

page_text: I, ALEXANDRE GEORGES BONBON, of Troyes (Aube) France, Manufacturer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
-
The operation known as mercerising which consists in subjecting for a few moments
vegetable textile fabrics to the action of concentrated alkaline solutions or acids
(which gives them certain usual properties, amongst others much greater affinity for
colouring matters) has the great disadvantage that it greatly shrinks the fabrics,
drawing them, very much in and tightening the texture, thus giving them an
appearance different from that which they had before the operation.
The present process applicable to pieces of fabric and particularly to tubular knitted
goods avoids this disadvantage while it retains all the advantages obtained by
mercerising.
This process is based
(1) upon mercerising by simple impregnation instead of mercerising in a full bath,
(2) upon suppressing the elasticity of the fibres by letting the mercerising solution
act on the fibres for a sufficiently long time.
If a piece of vegetable fabric be plunged in a concentrated solution of caustic soda,
for instance, it will greatly shrink, if after some minutes it be plunged in water in
order to rinse it, it will still shrink, and after rinsing it will be found to have
greatly contracted. This is the ordinary mercerising.
If the piece of fabric be plunged in the mercerising bath in such a position that it
cannot shrink, in order to avoid contraction the rinsing should be effected under the
same conditions otherwise contraction will take place as before.
If, on the other hand, the mercerising be effected by simple impregnation of the
fabric without excess of liquid, and if, at the same moment or immediately after,
the fabric be placed in such a position that it cannot easily shrink, for instance by
rolling it immediately after impregnation, and if it be left in this state to be acted
on by the mercerising solution which impregnates it for a long time such as 12 hours
or more, it will be found that the fibres have lost the elasticity given by mercerising,
and that they have no longer any tendency to contract. The fabric can then be
unrolled and washed in the usual way without undergoing the least shrinkage, so that
the mercerising is in this way effected without sensibly changing the dimensions of
the fabric.
On this basis my process is carried out as I shall describe referring to the
accompanying drawings.
The fabric to be treated being in a roll A Figure 1 passes between two revolving
cylinders C C¹ and is rolled again at B. A pipe T perforated with small holes
distributes the mercerising liquid over the fabric just as it is being rolled, thus
impregnating both surfaces. In order to secure good penetration it is better that
the fabric should be previously cleared from grease and still moist. Excess of the
liquid flows off at each side.
If after this operation the fabric should retain too much liquid, this may be removed
in the following manner

page_text: The fabric roll being placed at B' Figure 2 is rolled at B as before, passing between
the cylinders C C the excess of liquid being thus removed.
The fabric rolled at B cannot easily shrink; it is left rolled as long as desired, after
which it is unrolled over a vat in which it is washed to remove the mercerising solution
which impregnated it. The fabric after rinsing, can be bleached and dyed, which is
easily effected even in the cold; it is farther capable of receiving brilliant dressing.
Obviously the machine above described may be modified as required to suit various
fabrics.
Although the mercerising can be effected with either concentrated alkaline
solutions or acids, it is preferable to employ the alkaline solution, for, as the liquid is
allowed to act for a long time, acid solutions might attack the fibres, especially in
places where they might accidentally become dry.
The process may be applied to textile materials in skeins.
I, ALEXANDRE GEORGES BONBON, of Troyes (Aube) 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 :-
The operation known as mercerising which consists in subjecting for a few
moments vegetable textile fabrics to the action of concentrated alkaline solutions or
acids (which gives them certain usual properties, amongst others much greater
affinity for colouring matters) has the great disadvantage that it greatly shrinks the
fabrics, drawing them very much in and tightening the texture, thus giving them
an appearance different from that which they had before the operation.
The present process applicable to pieces of fabric and particularly to tubular
knitted goods avoids this disadvantage while it retains all the advantages obtained
by mercerising.
This process is based.
(1) upon mercerising by simple impregnation instead of mercerising in a full
bath.
(2) upon suppressing the elasticity of the fibres by letting the mercerising solution
act on the fibres for a sufficiently long time.
If a piece of vegetable fabric be plunged in a concentrated solution of caustic soda,
for instance, it will greatly shrink, if after some minutes it be plunged in water in
order to rinse it, it will still shrink, and after rinsing it will be found to have greatly
contracted. This is the ordinary mercerising.
If the piece of fabric be plunged in the mercerising bath in such a position that
it cannot shrink, in order to avoid contraction the rinsing should be effected under
the same conditions otherwise contraction will take place as before.
If, on the other hand, the mercerising be effected by simple impregnation of the
fabric without excess of liquid, and if, at the same moment or immediately after,
the fabric be placed in such a position that it cannot easily shrink, for instance
by rolling it immediately after impregnation, and if it be left in this state to be
acted on by the mercerising solution which impregnates it for a long time such as
12 to 24 hours, it will be found that the fibres have lost the elasticity given by
mercerising, and that they have no longer any tendency to contract. The fabric can
then be unrolled and washed in the usual way without undergoing the least shrinkage,

page_text: so that the mercerising is in this way effected without sensibly changing the
dimensions of the fabric.
On this basis my process is carried out as I shall describe referring to the drawings
accompanying my provisional specification.
The fabric to be treated being in a roll A Fig 1 passes between two revolving
cylinders CC¹ and is rolled again at B. A pipe T perforated with small holes
distributes the mercerising liquid over the fabric just as it is being rolled, thus
impregnating both surfaces. In order to secure good penetration it is better that
the fabric should be previously cleared from grease and still moist. Excess of the
liquid flows off at each side.
If after this operation the fabric should retain too much liquid, this may be
removed in the following manner.
The fabric roll being placed at B¹ Fig. 2 is rolled at B as before, passing between
the cylinders C C¹ the excess of liquid being thus removed.
The facric rolled at B cannot easily shrink; it is left rolled as long as desired, after
which it is unrolled over a vat in which it is washed to remove the mercerising
solution which impregnated it.
The fabric after rinsing, can be bleached and dyed, which is easily effected even
in the cold; it is farther capable of receiving brilliant dressing.
Obviously the machine above described may be modified as required to suit various
fabrics.
Although the mercerising can be effected with either concentrated alkaline
solutions or acids, it is preferable to employ the alkaline solution, for as the liquid is
allowed to act for a long time, acid solutions might attack the fibres, especially in
places where they might accidentally become dry.
The process may be applied to textile materials in skeins.
A
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
The herein described process for mercerising textile materials by impregnating
them with mercerising solution applied not in excess, while the materials are under
such conditious that they cannot shrink, allowing the solution to act for 12 to 24
hours until the fibres no longer tend to shrink and then washing the materials to
remove the mercerising solution.
Dated
1