US1810438A - Metal fabric and process for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Description

"June16, 1931. L, RADO 1,810,438

METAL FABRIC AND PROCESS FOR mmumc'runme THE SAME Filed Sept. 1, 192a Patented June 16, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIcE LEOPOLID OF HALENSEE, BERLIN, GERMANY METAL FABRIC AN D PROCESS FOR llfANUFACT'URING THE SAME Application filed September 1, 1928, Serial No. 303,608, and in Germany April 7, 19 28.

This invention relates to metal fabric and a process for manufacturing the same.

It is quite common to work strips of thin leaf metal particularly aluminium foil into different kinds of fabrics. The surface of the base metal foil used for this purpose loses its original polish and colour, in. course of time, owing to oxidation and the fabric consequently loses its appearance. Apart from these disadvantages, which are inherent in the products hitherto known, considerable difliculty is encountered in the treatment of the metal strips themselves. As thin metal strips only possess a very low tensile strength, it is extraordinarily difiicult to work with such material, owing to continual breakage and the work is very troublesome and lengthy. Only very thick metallic strips could therefore be used up to the present as only such can stand up to the stresses set up in the working; this considerably increases the cost of the fabric. L

One object of the present invention as to produce metal fabric which does not tarnish.

Another object is to provide a fabric formed of strips of metal foil which have substantial tensile strength.

It has now been discovered that the disadvantages aforementioned can be overcome even when using very thin metal leaf, if such leaf is first coated on both sides with a transparent layer of cellulose hydrate or similar products *(called cellulose skin or, more briefly, cellulose). By treating such metallic strips in this mannena metal fabric can be produced in which the individual strips of metal of the fabric are coated on both sides with a layer of cellulose hydrate. The strips. are preferably produced by uniting the thin metal leaf, for example aluminium foil, by means of a suitable adhe' sive, such as for example rubber solution, gelatine solution, celluloid solution or other suitable transparent adhesive, with a thin layer of cellulose hydrate'and then cutting the compound foilinto strips. These strips are then wound up on spools either as they are or after being twisted and the desired fabric is produced in the usual manner by twisting or weaving. Thestrips can either be used alone or along with other material, for example by winding the plain or twisted strips around another textile thread. The strips described above are suitable as weft and warp and can therefore be used bothas longitudinal strips and also as transverse strips in the fabric.

It has been found that this product has, for all practical purposes no tendency to break. As a result of the diiference in the co-efiicients of expansion of metal andcellulose, however, a cellulose coating tends to strip from the metal layer. This is particularly the case in the strip material used here, as the adhering faces of the metal and its cellulose coating are extremely narrow and consequently the two layers are easily rubbed apart. This scraping away is assisted by the well known property of cellulose coatings of warping and bending on the slightest alteration of the moisture content, even that produced by changes. in the atmospheric conditions.

These disadvantages. may be overcome by a further feature of the present invention according to which the cellulose layers are rendered non-sensitive to the action of the moisture by a coating of water resistant material, for example celluloid solution cellulose nitrate or other ester solution or the like. This step is particularly efficacious when the cellulose strips are completely enclosed by the water resisting coating both over the surface and also over the edges and corners.

According to one. method of carrying out the invention, the strips for the production of the metal fabric are obtained by securing to the metal strips a layer of cellulose coated over both the surface and also the edges with water resistant material. It is preferable however, to cut the metal foil into strips after having coated it on one or both sides with a cellulose coating and then to provide the separate compound strips with the coating of water resistant substance. In this way a metal fabric can be produced in which, according to the invention, the cellulose layer covering the metal strips or the whole compound strips are provided with a coating of water resistant material, such as for example nitro-cellulose,

celluloid solution or the like. Fabrics of all viding the coated metal foil into strips of kinds may be produced according to the in vention, such as lace, brocade, and similar products and are capable of various industrial applications.

Referring to the accompanyin drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section 0 the coated metal foil.

Figure 2 is a perspective View, partly in section of the coated metal foil.

Figure 3 shows a fabric constructed from coated metal foil strips.

In the various figures, a represents the metal foil,.b and c are cellulose foils and d represents strips of metal coated foil.

Both the metal foil and the cellulose coat ing can be dyed, printed or impregnated in any suitable manner. The finished fabric can also be dyed by means of suitable transparent dyestufis or printed by means of suitable printing rollers.. .Thus any desired technical effect can be obtained.

The finished fabric can also be mounted by means of any suitable adhesive on various bases such as for example, paper, fabrics, celluloid, leather, wood or the like and so produce a combined fabric suitable for very varied purposes. When using elastic or resilient backing such as fabric, leather, rubber or the like it is preferable to use rubber solution as the adhesive. Acombined fabric of: this type can be dyed, painted or printed in any suitable manner and can be made into finished goods of all types by stitching or other means.

The metal fabric according to the invention can be used in the hand bag industry, for book-binding, ladies hats, belts, ribbons, motifs, basket work, shawls, tapestry, particularly carpets, shoes, upholstery materials and the like.

The strips used according to the invention are also suitable for the manufacture of cord or the like, in which the strips can be used either in the plain form or twisted or wound about other textile fibre.

I declare that what I claim is 1. Metal fabric woven from strips of metal foil first coated with cellulose hydrate, then coated with a water resisting layer.

' 2. In the process of producing metal fabric woven from strips of metal foil, the step which consist in coating metal foil on both sides with a layer of cellulose hydrate previously coated over both the surface and also the edges with water resistant material and dividing said coated foil into strips.

3. In the process of producing metal fabric the step which consists in coating metal foil on both sides with a cellulose hydrate,

dividing said coated foil into narrow strips and then coating said strips over their faces and edges with a water resisting layer.

4. The process of producing coated metalfoil strips which comprises coating metal foil with cellulose hydrate foil and then didesired width.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name this 3rd day of August, 1928.

LEQPOLD RADO.

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