Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
The present invention relates to a novel decorative trim
panel and process or making same.
Composite trim panels of the type to which the present in-
mention is directed are in widespread commercial use in the manufact-
use of home furnishings, automotive interior trim, and the like. Such
trim panels are particularly applicable to interior automotive trim
including package trays, door panels and headliners. Conventionally,
composite trim materials employed for the foregoing purposes include a
decorative wear-resistant and abrasion-resistant facing sheet which is
applied over an underlying resilient padding material, enhancing the
feel and cushioning characteristics of the surfaces to which it is apt
plied. It has been customary in the past to enhance the decorative
characteristics of such trim materials by including localized depress-
Ed areas therein. Various techniques have heretofore been used or pro-
posed to fabricate such trim materials, including stitching the facing
sheet and pad material together along selected areas and dielectric
heat fusion techniques for imparting a preselected pattern to such
trim materials.
The various techniques heretofore used or proposed are each
subject to inherent disadvantages, either in high cost, time-consuming
operations required for imparting a desired pattern or lack of flexibly-
fly in selection of the various designs which canoe incorporated in
such trim panels. For example, the stitching of a facing sheet and a
pad material to each other is an extremely costly and time-consuming opt
oration, and the resulting composite material is characterized as allow-
in relative movement between the facing sheet and the underlying padding
material in those areas devoid of any stitching, which generally results
in wrinkling and an excessive wear rate of the composite material.
It is therefore an object of one aspect of the present invent
lion to provide an improved process for making a composite trip panel.
it is an object of another aspect of this invention to provide
an improved composite trim panel.
in accordance with one broad aspect of the present
invention, an improved process is provided for making a
decorative, composite laminate material which comprises the
sequential steps of: providing an unbounded fibrous belt of
desired thickness hazing a thermosetting resin dispersed
there through; applying a layer of desired thickness of a
curable latex foam to at least one side of the fibrous belt;
drying the foam to a predetermined moisture level to provide a
dried composite material; and compressing and heating the
resulting dried foam and the belt simultaneously to mold the
composite, to cure the layer and to cure the binder material by
embossing a pattern into the exposed side of the layer before
the layer and the binder material are cured to cause the layer
to be contoured with the pattern substantially throughout the
thickness thereof and thereby to cause the pattern to be
substantially impressed into one side of the belt, so that the
resulting embossed and cured layer has a substantially-uniform
thickness and such side of the cured belt substantially
conforms to the embossed contour of the layer.
The latex may be a foam, and may be applied to the
belt by knife-coating the foam onto the belt, or it may be
applied to the belt by extruding the foam onto the belt, or it
may be applied to the belt by kniFe-coati.ng the foam onto a
carrier material and thereafter uniting the carrier material,
hazing the foam layer thereof, with the belt.
rho latex may be a loam that may be dried to a moisture level
of` not greater than 10 percent, preferably not greater than 3
percent, e.g. by drying the foam at a drying temperature in the
approxirr)ate range of 250 to 350 OF. for a lime in the
approximate range of 5 to 20 minutes. The foam may be heated
during the foam drying step for a time sufficient partially to
cross link the loam.
The curable latex may be either an acrylic latex or a
nitrite latex. In one preferred embodiment, the step of
10 heating and compression molding comprises the steps of
disposing the composite material between a first platen and a
second platen, and bringing the platens together to mold the
composite material there between. In such embodiment, the step
of disposing the composite material comprises the step of
disposing the exposed side of the belt onto a surface of the
second platen, the step of bringing the platens together
causing a decorative surface of the first platen to be embossed
into the exposed side of the layer, whereby the exposed side of
the resulting cured belt has the contour of the surface of the
20 second platen. The surface of the second platen is preferably
substantially flat, whereby the cured belt has the exposed side
thereof formed substantially flat.
lo provided in accordance with another aspect of
this invention is a decorative laminate material made according
to the above described processes.
in the accompanying drawing,
Figure 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a composite
panel made in accordance with one embodiment of the process of
an aspect of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a cross-section taken along line 2-2 of
Figure l;
Figures 3 - 5 illustrate the steps of spreading a
curable foam onto a fibrous belt, then drying the foam; and
Figure 6 illustrates the molding step of the process
0 of an aspect of this invention.
One embodiment of the invention is illustrated in
Figures 1 and 2. The composite panel 10 has fully compressed
portions 16 and less compressed portions 18, these portions
cooperating to provide a decorative surface pattern, as
illustrated.
The composite panel 10 is made, as described above, by
first applying a layer of a curable latex foam to a fibrous
belt. The foam may be applied using a knife coaler, as
illustrated in Figure 3, wherein a foam mass 20 is spread onto
a continuous fibrous belt 22 using a coating knife 24 to provide
a foam layer 26 of a desired thickness. The resulting
composite of foam 26 and belt 22 is then passed into a drying
oven 28 to dry the foam layer 26. The foam layer 26 ran also
be applied to the belt 22 by extruding the layer 26 using a
foam extrusion apparatus 30, as illustrated in Figure I.
- pa -
cording to another embodiment. of the process of an
aspect of the invention, the loam layer 26 is spread, using a
coating knife 24, onto a carrier material 32. The composite of
the carrier 32 and foam layer 26 is then united with the
fibrous belt 22 and the foam is thereafter dried, as described
above.
- 3b - _
.~,
The composite of belt 22 and foam layer 26, or belt 22,
carrier 32 and foam layer 26 is no ready for molding. Referring to
FIG. 6, the composite, hereinafter designated by the reference numeral
34, is placed in a molding apparatus 36 having a first platen 38 and a
second platen 40. In the embodiment illustrated, the first platen 38
has a generally flat surface 42, and the second platen 40 has a decorative
surface, designated generally by the reference numeral 44, in reverse of
the desired decorative surface. When the molding apparatus is closed,
the foam layer 26 and the belt 22 are both compressed to varying degrees,
depending on the pattern of the surface 44. Following a suitable time
in the mold, the apparatus 36 is opened and the completed panel 10 is
removed.
Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, it can be seen that the ox-
posed surface 46 of the compressed foam layer, i.e., the decorative sun-
face layer 14, is embossed with the pattern 44 of the second platen 40.
The opposite surface 50 of the layer 14 is generally smooth and although
it does reflect the sharper divisions between the fully compressed port
lions 16 and the less compressed portions 18, the surface 50 does not
fully take on the embossments present in the surface 46. The exposed
surface 52 of the compressed belt, i.e., the base 12, is relatively flat,
while the opposite surface 54 of the base 12 generally follows the con-
tours of the decorative surface layer 14. It is also readily apparent
from FIG. 2 that the compressed foam layer 12 is OF relatively uniform
thickness, as compared to the base 12.
The fibrous belt 22 comprises randomly arranged fibers of any
of the types well known in the art including those of animal, vegetable
or synthetic origin. Suitable fibers include naturally-occurring fibers
of animal origin, e. g., wool, silk, hair from cattle, horses and hogs,
chicken feathers and the like; natural fibers of vegetable origin e. g.,
cotton, hemp jute, Rome, sisal, cellulose, aback and the like, and
synthetic fibers, en g-, cellulose acetate, viscose rayon, nylon, vinyl-
chloride, glass fiber, and the like.
The Formation of a continuous belt of the fibrous material is
achieved in accordance with techniques well known in the art, e.g., for
example, by passing the fibers through a suitable carding or guaranteeing
machine, thereafter they pass through a suitable lapper in which an
overlapping of the resultant fibrous web is accomplished until a belt
of the desired thickness if obtained. Alternatively, a continuous
belt may be formed using air-lay equipment.
The continuous belt is impregnated with a suitable binder ma-
tonal which functions to bond the fibers to each other at their points
of contact. Suitable binder materials include any of those well known
in the art which are compatible with the fibers employed and which pro-
vise a tenacious bond of the fibers. Various thermosetting binders
have been found to be particularly satisfactory. e. g., phenol alluded
resins, urea resins, mailmen resins and the Mike. The binder materials
o should have a curing temperature of 225 - 350F.
The binder material may be applied to the web as it emerges
from the guaranteeing machine and passes into the lapper, or it may be
incorporated with the fibers as the belt is formed by an air-lay machine.
Conventionally, the Fibrous belt is formed so as to nave a resultant den-
sty of from one to five ounces per square foot and may be
of a thickness ranging from 1/4 to 1/1/2 inches. The amount
of bonder material incorporated with the fibrous material may range from
10 to 30 weight percent, based upon the weight of fibrous
material.
The carrier material 32 may be any material, woven or non
woven, onto which the curable latex foam can be applied in a relatively
uniform manner and which is sufficiently open, spa that, during the mold-
in step, a portion-of the latex foam can pass through the interstices in
the carrier material and physically bond to the fibers of the fibrous belt.
The carrier material may be made from any natural or synthetic fiber.
The curable latex foam may be any vulcanizable, or otherwise,
heat curable, natural or synthetic latex capable of forming the desired
decorative laminate material under the conditions employed. Typical
synthetic lattices include hot and cold SIR lattices, SUB resin lattices,
nitrite lattices, vinyl pardon lattices, acrylic lattices, polychloroprene
latex and isoprene latex, and blends thereof. Two presently preferred
latices-are acrylic lattices and nitrite lattices.
A typical formable latex recipe is as follows:
Parts by weight (Dry Basis)
Latex 100
Emulsifying Agent 0.5-4
Plasticizer 0-15
Filler 0-40
Thickener 0.1-1.0
Foam Stabilizer 1-5
Cross linking Agent 1-10
Water 0-50
The above ingredients are compounded using conventional techniques and
apparatus. The formable latex is then mechanically frothed using convent-
tonal techniques and apparatus. The resulting foam is applied in a lay-
or ranging in thickness from 0.05 to 0.5 inch, using the
application techniques previously discussed.
The latex foam is dried using conventional foam drying technic
quest to a moisture level of 10 percent or less, preferably
3 percent or less. The drying temperature may range from 250~ to
350 F (120 - 175 C), and drying time may range from 50 to
20 minutes, depending upon the foam thickness and the initial
moisture level. It is highly desirable that the drying conditions be
selected so as to dry the foam to the desired residual moisture level
without prematurely activating the binder material in the fibrous belt.
Depending upon the type of latex employed, it maybe desirable to heat
the foam for a time sufficient to partially cross link the foam.
The composite material is molded at a temperature ranging from
225 to 450 F. (105 to 230 C.) for a time ranging from
15 to 120 seconds. During the molding step, the foam is compressed
and then cured, and, simultaneously, the fibrous belt is compressed and
the binder material therein is then cured. At the end of the molding
cycle, the mold is opened and the completed part is removed. One ad-
vantage resulting from applying the latex foam to the fibrous belt, as
compared to applying foam to a previously densified belt, is that there
is some impregnation of the belt, and during tune molding and curing step,
the foam is physically linked to the belt.
The completed part may be colored, in a desired manner, by
painting the same after molding, or the foam layer may be pigmented by
substituting one or more pigments for the filler, mentioned previously.
