Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Ttlr_ IL:LD O~' 1'~11. ~RE'SE~T INVEN'rION
The present invention rela~es to improved
resinous products which are suitable for use as floor
coverings, or as desk, table or counter tops; and more
specifically to such improved resinous products having
excellent burn or char resistance, especially to
cigarettes and cigars, or hot pots and pans, or other ho~
objects, as well as e~cellent dimensional stability,
excellent freedom from curl, high indent recovery, good foam
comfort, high retention of gloss, and excellent ease of
maintenance.
GENERAL BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
Sheets of resinous materials have found widespread
use as decorative and wear resistant coverings or tops for
a wide variety of products Such resinous sheets are used,
for example, for floor coverings extensively, but have also
found ~-idespread use as desk, table or counter tops, and
the like. In such uses, these resinous products are
unfortunately exposed to contact with hot objects at
elevated temperatures, such as lighted cigarettes and cigars
which are occasionally accidently dropped or placed on
their surfaces to smoulder thereon and to burn or char the
surfaces of the resinous products, or hot pots and pans
which are occasionally placed on counter tops and
unfortunately burn, char, or discolor the same, This,
of course, is highly undesirable, inasmuch as such poses
a fi_e hazard, unless the resinous product is fire or flame
proof, or is self-extinguishing, and~ in any event, the
burns or chars create undesirable discolorations and
unsightly blemishes.
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~'URPOSL'S l~NI:) OB~I~('TS OF T~IE P1~13SENT INV~NT~ON
__
It is there~ore a principal purpose and object of
the present inv~ntion to provide an improved resinous
product suitable for use as a floor covering, or as a desk,
table, or counter top having excellent burn or char
resistance. It is a further principal purpose and object
of the present invention to provide an improved resinous
product also having excellent dimensional stability, freedom
from curl, high indent recovery, good gl~ss retention,. and
excellent ease of maintenance. Other principal purposes
and objects of the present invention will become clear from
a further reading and understanding of this specification.
BRIEF SU~MARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
It has been found that such principal purposes
and objects can be achieved by providing an improved
resinous product having excellent burn and char resistance
comprising~ a fabric-reinforced heat barrier laminate
comprising (a) a thin aluminum or aluminum alloy foil layer :.
adhesively laminated to (b) a reinforcing fabric layer;
(2) a decorative printing adhesively applied to the aluminum
or aluminum alloy surface of the fabric-reinforced heat
barrier laminate; ~3) .a plastic resin wear layer
substantially uniformly applied on top of the decorative
printing; and (4) a foam plastic resin backing layer ~:
.substantially uniformly applied to the fabric surface of the
- fabric-reinforced heat barrier laminate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
-
- In the following specification and accompanying
self-explanatory drawing, there. are described and illustrated
preferred embodiments of the invention but it is to be
understood that the invention is not to be considered
~limited to such embodiments as disclosed, except as
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determlned by the scope of the appended cl~ims.
Refcrring to the accompanying self-explanatory drawing:
THE FIGURE is a fragmentary, schematic, cross-sectional
view of the improved burn or char resistant resinou~ product
of the present invention. Certain portions of The Figure
are not drawn precisely to scale, especially the thicknesses
of the various layers, so as to better and more clearly
illustrated the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE PRES ~'IN~ION
THE FABRIC-REINFORCED HEAT BARRIER LAMINATE
In The Figure, there is shown a fabric-reinforced heat
barrier laminate 10 comprising a relatively thin aluminum
or aluminum alloy foil layer 1 which is adhesively secured,
such as, for example, by an appropriate polyester adhesive
14, to a reinforcing fabric layer 16. The aluminum or
aluminum alloy foil layer 12 is coated on its exposed surface
with an appropriate polyester adhesive 17 to adhere to other
materials to be described in greater particularity
hereinafter.
The thin aluminum or aluminum alloy foil layer 12
- is very thin and very flexible and has a substantially
uniform thickness of from about 0.00025 inch to about 0.005
inch, and preferably from about 0.00033 to a about 0.001
inch. The thickness which is selected for a particular use
will, of course, depend upon the amount or the degree of
flexibility required or the heat transfer or the heat
resistant properties and characteristics desired.
It is not essential that an aluminum or aluminum
alloy be used as the metallic portion or layer of the
fabric-reinforced heat barrier laminate 10. Any-other
metal having similar o~ equivalent flexibility or heat
transfer or resistant properties and characteristics may
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be ~stittl~etl ~h~refor. Copper, for example, which
possesses an ~v~n higher thermal conductivity constant than
that of aluminum, is of use within the broader aspects of
the present inventive concept.
~he reinforcing ~abric layer l~ which is
adhesively secured to the aluminum or aluminum alloy foil
layer 12 is preferab~y a woven or a nonwoven fabric layer
made, for example, of natural fibers, such as cotton or
wool, or synthetic or man-made filaments or fibers, such
as polyamide nylon 6 or 6/6, polyesters, polyolefins, glass,
etc. Mineral fibers, asbestos, glass wool, and the like,
are also of use. Other fabrics made by felting, matting,
needling, knitting, or o~her textile fabricating processes
are also of use. The particular fabric which is used
provides the necessary and proper reinforcement for
dimenslonal stability, indent recovery, ability to w~thstand
the subsequent processing temperature and other conditions,
desired esthetic effects by the transfer of the weaving or
other textile outlines to the aluminum or aluminum alloy
foil surface, etc. The wei~ht of the reinforcing fabric ~;~
layer 16 is in the range of from ~bout 0.5 ounce per square
yard to about 10 ounces per square yard. Other weights are
of use for special circumstances.
- As mentioned briefly previously herein, the thin
aluminum or aluminum alloy foil, or other metallic foil
surface of the fabric-reinforced heat barrier laminate 10
is coated substantially uniformly with a relatively thin
layer of adhesive 17, such as an appropriate polyester resin
adhesive, to provide a suitable a~hesive base, whereby
additional layers or other materials to be described in
greater detail hereinafter may be satisfactor~ly and
.permanently applied and adhered.
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T~IU nFcoR~TIv~ PRJI~'~ING
~ decorative printing 18 havinc~ the desired desiyn
or pattern is applied to the adhesivcly coated surface of the
aluminum or aluminum alloy foil layer 12, such as by
conventional rotogravure printing techniques or by other
conventional printing processes. However, if a metallic-
appearing surface is desired for the particular intended
use of the resinous product, then, the decorative printing 18 may be
cmitted entirely or partially. Transparent, translucent, or opaque
printing inks may also be use to partially or completely transform the
metallic effect to various other colors such as sold and other reflective
shades.
THE WEAR LAYER
A wear layer 20, usually of a clear, transparent
nature, is then applied substantially uniformly over the
surface of the decorative printing 18 on the aluminum or
aluminum alloy foil layer 12 to provides gouge resistance
and decorative protection with enhanced wearing properties.
The wear layer 20 is of a synthetic plastic resin nature and
is preferably a urethane or elastomer which possesses
outstanding abrasion resistance, exc~llent toughness, good
oil, chemical, and solvent resistance; good flexibility, etc.
The urethane coating composition may comprise one or more
of the five principal types of commercially available urethane
coating formulations which are described according to the
accepted A~S~T~Mo D968-51 designations. One particular
- urethane coating composition which is suitable for the purposes
of the present invention is formulated as follows; an aliphatic
diisocyanate, such as hexamethylene diisocyanate, provides
the NCO source; the reacting polyol polyhydroxyl goups are
supplied by a mixture of polyesters and polyethers, with
the polyesters forming the major proportion and the polyethers
forming the minor proportion;
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and thc catalyst is a mixture of tetrakis-2-hydroxypropyl
ethylene diamine, a tertiary amine, and dibutyl tin
dilaurate
Other synthetic plastic resin materials, notably
vinyl resins, such as polyvinyl chloride polymers and
co-pol~mers, are also of use within the principles of the
present invention. Also, various combinations of two or
even more layers of different thicknesses of two or even
more types of synthetic plastic resin materials are of
use within the principles of the present invention as the
wear layer. For example, a relatively thinner layer of a
urethane resin coating placed over and adequately adhesively
or otherwise secured to a relatively thicker layer of a
vinyl resin coating, such as a polyvinyl chloride resin
coating, is of excellent use as a wear layer. The total ~ -
thickness of the wear layer or the combination of two or
more wear layers, will depend upon the future lntended use
of the resinous product and normally ranges from as little
as 0.003 inch to as much as about 0.030 inch, and preferably
from about 0.005 inch to about 0.015 inch.
The synthetic plastic resin wear layer 20 is
applied to the decoratively printed aluminum or aluminum
alloy foil layer 12 by any conventional coating apparatus.
For the purposes of the present invention, however, a - -
reverse roll coater application of the synthetic plastic
resin wear layer 20 has been found preferable. After
application of the synthetic plastic resin wear layer 20,
the coated composite article is heated and cured in a hot
air oven or other suitable heating apparatus maintained at
an elevated temperature of from about 250F. to about 425F,
for a required period of time ranging from about 2 minutes
to about 10 minutes, depending primarily upon the specific
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naturc o~ the appli~d synthe~ic plastic rC`Sill materiCl
involved.
TEIE FOAM PLASTIC R~SIN BACKING LAYER
A foam plastic resin bac~ing layer 22-is then
adhesively adhered to the fabric sur~ace 16 of the fabric-
reinforced heat barrier laminate 10. Such a backing layer
22 provides increased comfort, noise abatement, warmth,
and the like. The foam plastic resin backing layer 22 may
be either chemically or mechanically expanded and, for
example, may be applied and expanded and fused in situ,
using conventional methods well known in the art, or it
may be separately formed and prepared, and then subsequently
adhesively or otherwise secured to the fabric surface 16.
The thickness of the foam plastic resin backing
layer 22 is in the range of from about 0.030 inch to about
0.250 inch, and preferably from about 0.080 inch to about
0.160 inch.
It is not essential that the backing layer 22 be
made of a foam or expanded plastic resin material. Other
2Q backings are of use to supply the increased comfort, noise
abatement, warmth, etc. Examples of such other backing
materials include: vinyl resins and especially polyvinyl
chloride polymers and co-polymers; needled, matted, felted,
or other fabricated sheet materials; and the like. The
fibers in the fabricated sheet materials may be mineral
fibers, asbestos fibers, natural fibers of wool or of
cellulosic origin such as cotton; synthetic or man-made
fibers and filaments, such as polyamide nylon 6 and 6/6,
rayon, polyesters, polyolefins, etcc
MECHANICAL EMBOSSING
-
The resulting resinous product may then be
mechanically embossed to convert its substantially level or
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planar surface, particularly the wear layer surface, to
a patterned, non-plarlar, textured surface having predetermined
elevated areas and depressed areas normally present in such
embossed products. Such elevated areas and depressed areas
are naturally formed in a pattern or design which provides
a pleasing esthetic relief to the hitherto planar surface
of the erstwhile wear layer. Additionally, improvement
is noted in the gloss retentive properties of the wear
layer surface, as well as a reduction of the exposure to
cigarette and cigar, or heated pot and pan, burn or char
discloration. This latter feature i$ due to the creation
of a lack of continuous intimate contact betwen the glowing
ash of the cigarette or cigar, or the heated surface of the
hot pot or pan in all areas between because of the
interrupted surfacescreated by the elevations and depressions
in the embossed surface. In other words, the area or line
of heated contact is not continuous but is discontinuous.
The invention will be further described and
illustrated in greater detail by the following specifi~
Examples. It should be understood, however, that, although
these specific Examples may describe in particular detail
some of the more limited features of the invention, they are
given for purposes of illustration and the invention in its
~ broader aspects is not to be construed as limited thereby,
EXAM2LE I
.
A thin sheet of aluminum foil having a thickness
of 0.0005 inch is adhesively laminated to a woven fabric
having a weight of about 2 ounces per square yard by means
of a polyester adhesive to form a fabric-reinforced heat
barrier composite laminate. The aluminum foil side of the
fabric-reinforced heat barrier composite laminate is coated
with a polyester adhesive to provide an adhesive base for
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the decorative printin~J and ~he plastie wear la~er to be
applied subsequently to the ~-abric-reinforced heat barrier
composite laminate.
A suitable decorative patterned design is printed
on the aluminum foil surface by means of conventional
rotogravure printing techniques and with conventional
printing inks.
A suitable urethane plastic resin coating
composition is the wear layer and consists of 94~ Hughson
2504-2. Such a urethane composition is formulated as
follows: hexamethylene diisocyanate is the NCO source; the
reacting polyol polyhydroxyl groups are supplied by a mixture
of polyesters (major proportion) and polyethers (minor
proportion); and the catalyst is a mixture of tetrakis-2-
hydroxypropyl ethylene diamine and dibutyl tin dilaurate.
The coating compositlon is applied at a 35% solids level
in xylene. It is applied substantially uniformly to the
decoratively printed surface of the aluminum foil. The
coated surface is heated and dried for a period of about
five minutes at an elevated ternperature of about 325F. in
- a hot air circulating oven. The final dry thickness of
the applied urethane wear layer coating is about 0.005 inch.
A blown polyvinyl chloride resinous composition
having a thickness of about 0.100 is the foam resin backing
and is adhesively applied to the fabric surface of the
fabric-reinforced heat barrier laminate by a suitable heat
reactive adhesive. The composite laminate is heated at an
elevated temperature of about 250F~ for a period of about
five minutes and is then laminated by means of a steel
over rubber roll laminator using a fixed gap, The lamination
is permanent.
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The procl~lct i5 thcn mechanically embossed in a
suitable patterned desi~n having elevated areas and
depxessed areas, using an embossing roll in a conventional
manner, with an embossiny roll temperature of about 70~F.
and a composite product with a surface temperature of about
350F.
The final product is well suited as a floor
covering, or as a desk, table, or counter top. It
possesses excellent cigarette and cigar, or hot pot and pan,
burn and char resistance, as well as excellent dimensional
stability, excellent indent recovery, good comfort, noise
abatement, and warmth.
EXAMPLE II
The procedures of Example I are followed
substantially as set forth therein with the exception that
the final mechanical embossing is omitted. The esthetic
relief to the level, pianar, wear layer surface disappears
and the burn and char resistance is lowered. Nevertheless,
the final product is acceptable commercially. It is
useful as a floor convering, or as a desk, table, or
counter top.
EXAMPLE III
The procedures of Example I are followed
substantially as set forth therein with the exception that
the decorative printing ink patterned design is omitted
and is not placed on the aluminum foil surface. The
clear plastic resin wear layer permits the surface of the
aluminum foil to be seen and such is acceptable where a
printed design is not required, such as for a plain
counter top.
EXAMPLE IV
The procedure of Example I are followed
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substantially as set fort~ therein with the exception that
the heat curabl~ uxethane resin wear layer is replaced by a
polyacrylate-polyurethane ultra violet curable polymer.
The results are ~enerally comparable to the results
obtained in Example I and the final product is similarly
commercially acceptable.
EXAMPL~ V
The procedures of Example I are followed
substantially as set forth therein with the exception that
the all-urethane resin wear layer is replaced by a polyvinyl
chlorlde resin layer having a thickness of about 0.004 inch,
covered by a polyurethane resin layer, having a chemical
composition as described in Example I, but having a thickness
of only about 0.002 inch. The results are generally similar
to the results obtained in Example I. The product is
similarly commercially acceptable.
EX~PLE VI
The procedures of Example I are followed substantially
as set forth therein with the exception that the thickness
of the aluminum foil is 0.001 inch. The results are generally
comparable to the results of Example I, except that there is
an increase in the burn and char resistance, along with a
slight loss of flexibility. The final product is simiiarly
commercially acceptable.
EXAMPLE VII
The procedures of Example I are followed substantially
as set forth therein with the exception that the reinforcing
fabric is a nonwoven fabric, having approximat~ly the same
weight per square yard as the woven fabric of Example I,
3~ The results are generally similar to the results obtained
in Example I. The final product is similarly commercially
acceptable.
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EX~MPLF. VIII
The procedurcs of Example I are followed
substantially as set forth therein with the exception that
the backing layer is an 0.050 inch thick felted sheet of
asbestos fibers. The results are generally comparable to
the results of Example I, except that there is a loss of
comfort, noise abatement, and warmth. Nevertheless, the
final product is commercially acceptable.
Although the present inventive concept has been
described and illustrated in particularity in the presented
Example by reference to specific materials and constructions,
it is to be appreciated that such is merely illustrative
o the present inventive concept and is not to be construed
as limitative of the broader aspects thereof, except as
defined by the scope of the appenaed claims.
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