Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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WO 94/15779 PCT/EP94/0()036
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WALI, O~ FU3~NITU~E COVERING, ESP13CI~LL~ W~LLP~P~R
The invention is a wall or furniture eovering, especially a wallpaper having a base,
especially made of paper, and having: attached to this material that lends it a three-
dimensional textured appearance.
Wallpapers, especially: paper wallpapers, textured or untex~ured, are known.
Textured wallpapers are pnmadly known as~ ingrain wall coverings in which a laye~ of wood
chips are attached irregularly to a~layer~of pape~. Other textured wallpapers, like, for :~:
example, embossed wallpapers, textured layered wallpapers, are expensive to manufacture, : ~
and their handling and maintenance xequire great care. In ~ddition~ they are sensitive to ~;
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moisture.
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It is the task of the present invention to provide a wall or furniture covering, or a
wallpaper, which is simple to manufacture, has multiple applications, and offers advantages
in its usage.
This task is solved by the invention presented in the main clairn. ~ccording to it, the
invented wall covering comprises a base, especially paper, pieces of filrn-like material having
thelmoplastic characteristics arranged regularly or irregularly, these pieces of film bonded
together and to the base by pressure and heat in such a way that a surface having a three-
dirrlensional texture results ~rom intentionally impressing elevations. By heath~g the material
ex}libiting thermoplastic characteristics to a temperature in the ra~ge of the melting
temperature of the material, the materia! becomes heat adhesive and bonds under pressure to
the base. In this preferred embodiment, the material exhibiting thermoplastic characteristics
is pieces oP plastic film, particularly pieces of polyethylene filrrl. The film pieces may be
arranged on the base regularly or irregularly ;n one layer or in multiple layers. Handling is
par~icularly easy if the size of the film pieces is between rnore than one and 10 millirneters in
width and length. When the film pieces are arrangecl regularly on the base, e.g., layering
the pieces in a layer of uniform thickness, the embossed texture can be stamped by a
calender roller, dandy roller, or die. A preferrecl embodiment provides that the film pieces
are arranged on the base in such a ~vay that the arrangernent corresponds somewllat to the
subse~uent embossed texhlre and are then bonded to the base using the effects o~ heat and
pressure. Intentional arrangement
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of the filrn pieces on the base carl, for example, result from use of a piercing roller. If the
elevations forming the three-dimensiollal surface texture are to be relatively soft and elastic,
it is pre~erable that bonding t}le film pieces to the base be done using at least locally lirmited
pressure. This carl be done USillg pressure preferably by brusl-es or by a light roller printing.
If the elevatiorls of the wall covering according to the inventioll are to e7~hibit a firmer
texture, the textllre can be made by starnping under high pressure, preferably using a dandy
roller, a die, or a calender roller. Dosing the film pieces and arranging them on a base is
particularly s;mple using a lhree-dimensional form of film pieces employed, especially pieces
of plastic filr~. In addition, such pieces of plastic film are "ample in volume," so that the
texture of the elevations resulting from them and therefore the texture of the entire product
can be ai~hieved intentionally and is more elastic than those of a product manufactured from
flat pieces of plastic film. Employment of pieces of plastic ~llrn derived frorn waste film is
preferred because such clean plastic film waste can be employed immediately and with no
additional processing steps.
The same is true ~or ernployment of film pieces from a material provided with a
thermoplastic layer on at least one side and containing a layer of aluminum foil. These
materials may also be bonded ta the base in the sarne way and manner as described above.
No additional processing steps are re~uired for these materials, either, in order to use them
in the product according to the invention, i.e., in order to dispose of them simultaneously.
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The wall or furlliture covering according to the invention has a particular advantage in
that film pieces of different colors may be used, and may be used intentiollally in sucll a
manner fhat a part;cular color pattern in the product is achieve(l. lf, for example,
transparent, single-color clear films are applied as a base layer and pieces of colored film are
then applied on top of these in order to achieve a particular color pattern, ~he result, with no
additional processing steps, is a wallpaper with a colored texture.
In a further development the invention provides that the base also derives from waste
material, particularly from waste paper, e.g, from printed paper. By arranging the pieces of
plastic film across the full surface of the base (the color composition and pattern
corresponding to the requirements of the final product), the base is not visible and such wal~
paper may be manufactured economically ~nother variant provides that a base comprising
paper that has already been processed is covered only in certain locations by pieces of plastic
film and bonded to the base, so that the wall covering produced, when used wi~h an
appropriate color (lilce the ingrain wall covering), Is painted, and the color is only picked up
by the paper acting as the base and the color pattern is provided by the colored elevations
fiom the applied pieces of plastic fllm ;
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~ s ernbodied, the invention provides that a very thin paper layer is arranged on the
side exhibiting the film material, which layer either partially or entirely covers the sur~ace
with the plastic film material and is bonded to the base. The bond of the thin paper layer to
the base and the film yieFes arDnged on it rcsults from heating the
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surface of ~he wallpaper thus far already finished, e.g., by hot air or in~ared radiation, and
thereby softening the plastic rnaterial arranged on it ancl making it sticky. The thin paper
layer may then be attashed to the wallpaper by simply pressing or bmshing. The
arrangement of the thin paper layer is preferable if the entire surface of the wallpaper is to
be painted, i.e., if the entire surface of the wallpaper is to be and must be provided with a
color-receptive layer, since the pieces of plastic film are color-resistant. Of course this thin
layer of paper may connprise waste paper. The thin paper layer that is applied to the layer of
plastic material or to the plastic material elevations may be in the ~orm of a continuous web,
but it may also comprise shredded waste paper. If the pieces of paper are small enough,
they may be applied to the wallpaper mixed with color as a dispersive or they may be
scattered loose with no color. This type of wallpaper is particularly similar in appearance to
ingrain wallpapers. The wallpaper according to the invention, however, has the advantage
that it can be manufactured entirely from recycling products, e.g., fronn waste paper as the
base, ~rom plastic film waste arranged on top of this, and from cuttings of wastepaper as tlIe
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top layer.
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The greatest thickness of wallpapers produced in this manner can be between 3 mmand 0.5 n~m. Wallpapers with higher elevations, that is, thicker material, are particularly
suitable particularly for embossed wallpapers, especially when employed as protective wal~
coverings, while the thin materials~are suitable for employment as decorative wall coverings. ;~
An advantage of the products irt accordance with the invention also results from the fact that ~`
they do not rip as easily during rolling and processing as wallpapers manu~actured solely
from
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paper, because they are produced from film materi~ls. ~esistance to moishlre compared to
conventional wallpapers is likewise increased.
The products described are suitable not only as wall coverings; they are also suitable
as furniture and ceiling coverings, in short, as coverings of surfaces to which a certain
appearance, and in some cases a certain texture, are to be given.
An embodiment example of the wall covering in accordance with the invention is
explained in greater detail using the following illustrations:
Fig. 1:- ~ schematically enlarged depiction of a cross-section of a wall covering in
accordance with the invention.~ ;
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Fig. 2: Depiction of a wallpaper having a coarse surface texture and a paper
. ~ covering layer.
Fig. 3: A schematic depiction of a wallpaper having a smooth surface texture.
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The wallpaper 1 depicted schematically in Fig. 1 exhibits elevations 2 arranged on a ...
paper base 3, the elevations comprising pieces of ~plastic film 4 that are at least partially
bonded to each other. The pieces of plastic film 4 are bonded to the base 3 and to each
o the r by the ef~ects of heat;and pressure.;
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A wallpaper having a relatively coarse texture is depicted in Fig 2, the textured side
o~ the wallpaper being provided with a thirl layer of paper 5. This makes the entire surface
of the wallpaper color-receptive, including the elevations 7, which comprise plastic material.
The base~ is also covered with thè paper layer 5~ the areas 8 located between ~:
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tlle elevations 7.
Fig. 3 depicts a wallpaper having a smooth texture that exhibits small elevations 10
arranged on a base 9.
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