Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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WO 99/40250 PCT/US99/02182
SURFACE COVERINGS CONTAINING FUSED RECYCLED
MATERIAL AND PROCESSES OF MAKING THE SAME
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to hackings for surface coverings, and more
particularly relates to
backings which contain reeycled material as well &% methods of making such
products and incorporating them
into surface coveri.ngs.
At the present time, most of the pnst-confiumer vinyl backed carpets and
carpet manufacturing waste
go to landfills or are destroyed by other tneans such as htirning. With the
environinent being of a global
concern, the disposal of vinyl backed carpets and manufacturing waste which
is, currently done is not an
00 acceptable option.
Further, recycling of vinyl hacked carpets has been attempted hut at most,
manufacturers have taken
recycled materiai and reduced it to liquid platitisol form in order to form a
carpet backing with conventional
coating and curing processes. Nowever, such a process has limitations in that
only very small amounts of
recycled material can be incorporated into a plastisol mix, such as about 5%
or less by weight, and because
the oil absorption of recycled material is very high, high levels of
plasticizers in plastisols are needed which
can lead to further problems. With high levels of plasticizers and plastisols,
fitrther processing by
conventional methods can become difticult, if not impossible.
Thus, there is a desire by manufacturers to develop ways to use recycled
material like carpet backing,
such that large amounts of recycled matCrial can he incorporated into
products.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
A feature of the present invention is to provide a material, e.g., a surface
covering, that can contain
up to 100% recycled material in one or more components or layers.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a backing for a surface
covering containing
recycled material.
An additional feature of the present invention is to provide a surface
covering containing a backing
or intermediate layer which uses up to 100 % recycled material.
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A further feature of the present invention is to provide a method of making a
hacking from recycled
material and incorporating the backing into surface coverings.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention will be set-forth
in part in the description
which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be
leamed by the practice of the
S present invention. The objectives and other advantages of the present
invention will be realized and attained
by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the
written description and appended
claims.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposes of
the present invention,
as embodied and broadly descrihr.d herein, the present invention relates to a
backing or an intermediate layer
4&0 for a surface covering which contains a fused recycled powder. The
recycled powder contains at least a
thermoplastic material and the backing or intermediate layer can optionally
include other materials, including
virgin thermoplastic materials.
The present invention further relates to a surface covering which contains the
hacking described
above.
15 The present invention, in addition, relates to a method of making a backing
or internxxliate layer for
a surface covering and includes the steps of applying at least recycled powder
to a substrate to form a layer,
where the recycled powder contains at least one thermoplastic material; and
fusing the recycled powder to
~ form a continuous backing or intermediate layer.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the
following detailed
20 description are exemplary and explanatory only and are intended to provide
a further explanation of the present
invention, as claimed.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of
this application,
illustrate embodiments of the present invention and together with the
descriptions serve to explain the
principles of the present invention.
25 BRi:_EF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a flow chart showing one einhodimznt of a method of the present
inveetion. _
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Figure 2 is a schematic drawing showina the various steps of makina a surface
covering which
includes a backing containing recycled material.
Figures 3a-e are cross-sectional views of surface coverings according to
several embodiments of the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRiPTTON OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention relates to a backing (also known as a backing layer) and
can be a secondary
backing or an intermediate backine layer tor a surface covering. In one
embodiment, the backing layer or
intermediate layer contains at least a fused recycled niaterial. The recycled
tnaterial contains at least one
thermoplastic material. Various coatings or layers are discussed herein, and
unless stated otherwise, are
preferably of a substantially uniform thickness and can be applied using
tachniques known to those skilled in
the art.
For purposes of the present invention, a surface covering can he any surface
covering which makes
use of a backing and/or interme=-diate layer, such as a floor covering, wall
covering, ceiling covering,
countertop covering, and the like. Examples of tloor coverings include, but
are not limited to, textile
substrates, such as carpets, and resilient tlooring, such as vinyl tlnorinà or
vinyl surface coverings.
Particularly preferred exampies of textile substrates are hard backed and
cushion hacked textile substrates.
While the present invention will be described with respect to the preferred
embodiment which is floor
coverings, and in particular textile suhstratati and resilient tloorini, the
present invention can he applied to
other types of surface coverings containing hacking and/or intermediate layers
in view of the disclosure herein.
Preferably, the textile Eubstrate is a broadloom carpet, inodular tile, or a
wide roll carpet (e.g. 6 ft.
wide). Most preferably, the textile substrate is tile or 6 t't. roll goods.
The textile substrate comprises textile fibers defining a fibrous face, a
primary backing to which the
textile fibers are secured, and a secondary backing secured to the primary
backing. For purposes of the
present invention, the term "textile substrate" relates to, but is not limited
to, a fiber, web, yarn, thread,
sliver, woven fabric, knitted fahric, non-woven fabric, upholstery fabric,
tufted carpet, and piled carpet
formed, from natural and/or synthctic fibers.
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The backing or backing layer for purposes of the present invention can be any
layer or substrate
which has one or more additional layers adhered to a surface of the hacking
layer. Thus, the backing can be
the layer which is in contact with the sub-surface, such as a sub-floor, or
can be an intermediate layer with
other layers above and below the intermediate backing layer.
The recycled material, preferably a powder, contains at least one type of
thermoplastic material. The
recycled powder used in the present invention is preferably a powder obtained
from post-consumer products
which contain at least one thermopiastic material. Preferably, the post-
consumer product is a carpet and/or
carpet manufacturing waste, and more preferably is a vinyl hacked carpet
and/or vinyl backed carpet
manufacturing waste. Preferably, substantially no thermosetting material is
part of the recycled material (e.g.
=10 less than 596 by weight), and more preferably no thermosetting material is
present with the recycled material.
With regards to the hacking material, for ptirposes of the present invention,
the backing is a
thermoplastic material. The thermoplastic material can he an aliphatic
thermopla.ctic resin such as one derived
by polymerization or copolymerization of an ethylenically unsaturated monomer.
The monomer can be a
ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarhon such as an olefin or a nitrile (such as
an acrylonitrile), vinyl or
vinylidene chloride, vinyl acetate, or an acrylate, such as ethylacrylate or
methylmethacrylate. More
particularly, the thermoplastic material can he a polyethylene, ethylene/vinyl
acetate, polyvinyl chloride,
polyisobutylene, and the like. Preferably, the thermoplastic material is a
vinyl-type material such as a vinyl
resin and more particularly a polyvinyl chloride-type material.
Thermoplastic materials are not suhject to chemical change when heated.
Thennoplastic materials
are not infusible, consequently they will gel or soften when a solvznt is
applied. Suitable polymers for the
backing layers of the present invention are derived from at least one monomer
selected from the group
consisting of acrylic, vinyl, chlorinated vinyl, styrene, hutadiesne,
ethylene, butene, and copolymers or blends
thereof. A preferred coating composition is a polymer or copolymer of a vinyl
compound, e.g., polyvinyl
chloride, polyvinylidine chloride, polyethylene chloride, polyvinyl acetate,
polyvinyl acetal, and the like, and
copolymers and mixtures thereof. A specific example of a resin coating
composition is a vinyl chloride, resin-
based plastisol, wherein the plasticizer coinponent of the plastisol is a
phthalate-based compound, such as an
alkyl phthalate substituted one or two times with a linear or branched C5-C12
alkyl group, which is included
in an amount by weight equal to between ahout 15 to 60 percent of the weight
of the vinyl chloride resin
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component. Particular vinyl chlorides incltide Vinycel 124 (Policyd SA DE CV,
Mexico), Geon Registered
TM 13 oz(Geon Company, Cleveland, Ohio), Pliovic -70 (The GoodyCar Tire and
Ruhher Company, Akron,
Ohio), and Oxy 67SF (Occidental Chemical Corp., Dallas, Tex.). Partictilar
alkyl phthalate plasticizers
include Santicizer Registered TM 160 (Monsanto Company, Saint Louis, Mo.),
Palatinol Registered TM 711 P
S (BASF Corporation, Parsippany, N.J.), and Jayflex DHP (Exxon Chemical
America, Houston, Tex.).
The backing can be a cushion-back or a hard back backing. In more detail, the
backing can be a solid
thermoplastic backing or a foamed thermoplastic backing. Preferably, the
thermoplastic foamed backing is
a foamed vinyl hacking, and more preferably a polyvinyl chloride foamed
hacking, such as a closed-cell vinyl
foamed backinb. Generally, the hackings will contain a sufticient amotint of
at least one blowing agent and
plasticizer and can include other ingredients conventionally used in hackings.
Chemically expanded thermoplastic t'oamtJ hackings can he used as the
secondary hacking and can
be prepared by casting a thermoplastic resin plastisol containing a blowing
agent onto the back of the primary
backing and heating to expand and fuse the plastisol. Alternatively, a rre-
hlown foamed secondary hacking
can be laminated, such as by heat, to the primary hackinb. The solid
thermoplastic secondary backing can
be similarly prepared by casting or by lamination.
Conventional blowing agents can he used and include, hut are not limited to
azodicarbonamite,
oxybissulfonyl hydroxide, substituted thiatriazole, and the like.:uch as the
ones described in U.S. Patent No.
3,661,691.
The recycled powder is ohtained from pnst-ccrosumer products by suhjecting the
product, such as a
vinyl backed product, to a process which reduces the post-consumer product
into a number of pieces (e.g.,
chunks or granules) which can eventually he furthcr rGJuced in size to form a
powder. One operation that can
be used to reduce, for instance, the vinyl hacked carpet or vinyl hacked
nuanttfactttring waste, to a suitable
recycled powder is to first subject the carpet or waste to a face shear
ctrCration to remove at least a portion,
if not most of the face fiber that may be presznt. While this step is an
optional step, it is preferred that at least
a portion of the face fiber, and evr.n tnore preferahly at least 50% of the
face tiher, and even inore preferably
at least 75% of the face fiber, he removed to improve the end use purity of
the recycled material which
eventually will he formed into a surface covering hacking layer. While there
are various types of devices
which can remove the face fibers, like ptirc nylon tiher, which inay he
attached to the vinyl backed carpet,
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one preferred device is a shearing machine, such as one commercially available
from Sellers, Inc., United
Kingdom.
Whether or not any faoe fiber is removed from the vinyl backed carpet or vinyl
backed manufacturing
waste, the carpet or waste is then fed into a shredder which breaks down the
carpet and waste into various
pieces, chunks, or granules. The particular size of the pieces is not
critical, so long as the carpet or waste is
somehow'"cut up" or formed into pieces so that the carpet or waste can
eventually and preferably be reduced
to powder form. Preferably, these chunks or granules have a diameter of about
4" or less, and more
preferably have a diameter of ahout 3"or less, and most preferably have a
diameter of about 2" or less.
Preferably, the diameter range of these chunks or aranules is froin about 1"
to ahout 2". One device that can
010 be used to reduce the carpet andkor waste to such chunks or tranuies ix a
shredder, such as one commercially
available from Nordfab, Inc., Model t11350K.
The chunks or granules are then reduced to a smaller size by stthjecting them
to any operation which
can accomplish this purpose. For examPle, a granulatar can he used; tor
instance, one available from Rapid
Granulator, Model 3260 with a screen size of 1/4 inch, which can recluce the
chunks or granule.s to a size of
about 'fs" or less, more preferably ahout 3/8" or less, and most Preferahly
ahout 1/4" or less. Preferably, the
chunks or granules are reduced to a size of from about 'fi" to about 1/4",
more preferably from about 3/8"
to about 1/4". With the use of a granulator or sintilar device, the size of
the resulting chttnks or granules can
. be adjusted to any desired size and thus it is certainly within the hounds
of the present invention to vary the
size of the particles to sizes desired hy the ultitnate use of the recycled
tnaterial.
The chunks or granules now reduced to a smaller size, are then optionally
suhjacted to an operation
which can separate substantially any existing fiber from the chtinks or
granules present. This fiber which may
be present is generally face fibers and this operation preferahly removes any
low density fibers from the
granules or chunks which are typically of a high density. One inethod of
separating at least a portion of the
fibers from the granules or chunks at this stage, is an aspirator using an air
stream separation design. One
machine capable of doing this separation is a KF-60 extended aspirator
available from Kongskilde. In this
optional step, it may be desirable to have a portion of the fiber remain with
the granules or chunks of the
recycled material or it may be desirable to remove almost all of the fiber, if
not all of the fiber, depending
upon the end use of the haeking which will he fortned from the recycled
niaterial.
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The granules or chunks, which may have some fibers attached or present, are
then preferably reduced
in size to form a powder. Any means can he used to reduce the larger sized
granules or chunks to a powder.
Preferred ways of doing so is with the use of a grinder or cryogenic grinding
process. lf very fine powder
is required for the particular end use, then a cryogenic grinding process is
preferred which can be
accomplished by spraying the granules or chunks of recycled material with
liquid nitrogen and then subjecting
the sprayed recycled material to a grinding process. The cryogenic process
forms finer powder because of the
brittleness of the material resulting from the liquid nitrogen treatment and
because of the reduced
agglomeration of the material during the grinding process. If the powder size
is not as important, then an
ambient grinding process can he used with any type of grinder such as a Wedco
Therm-O-Fine UR-28
00 grinding systetn available from Wedco, Inc.. Any size of recycled material
can he used in the backing or
intermediate layer, so long as the material can take the form of a hackint or
intermediate layer by fusing,
which will be described in more detail helow. It is preferred that the
recycled powder have a particle size of
3,000 microns or less and more preferahly 1,000 microns or less. A preferred
range of powder size would
be from about 250 microns to about 1,500 microns, and a more preferred range
would be from about 300
microns to about 900 microns. Figure 1 suniinarize.s the preferred steps of
making the recycled powder.
The recycled powder upon analysis typically contains at least one
thertnopiastic material, such as a
vinyl-based material, and can also contain at least one plasticizer, at least
one inorganic filler, at least one
stabilizer, and generally a small amount of face fibers, such as nylon,
polypropylene, polyester, and/or glass
fibers. These fibers which may be present can assist as acting like a
reinforcement fiber material in the
backing layer once the recycled powder is fused.
The recycled material, preferably in powder forin, which is tormed can be used
alone to form a
backing or intermediate layer or can he mixed with other conventional
ingredients, such as virgin
thermoplastic material to form the backing or intermediate layer. Any
combination of the recycled material
with virgin material is possible. For instance, frotn ahout 1% by weight
recycled material to about 100%
recycled material can be used along with from about 0% virgin niaterial to
about 99% by weight virgin
material to form a mixture which can ultiinately he fused into a hacking layer
or intermediate layer.
Preferably, when forming the final backing layer, a backing layer containing
about 100% recycled material
is preferred. When an intermediate backing layer is tormed, it is preferred
that at least 10% by weight virgin
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thermoplastic material is also present with the recycled material, and more
preferably at least about 50% by
weight virgin thermoplastic material is present along with the recycled
material, and most preferably at least
about 90% by weight virgin thermoplastic material is present along with the
recycled material.
Besides virgin thermoplastic material, other conventional ingredients can be
present along with the
recycled material to form a backing or intzrmediate layer, such as inorganic
fillers, resins, plasticizers,
stabilizers, foaming agents, hlowing agents, and the like. The amount of any
one of these ingredients can be
the same as conventionally used by those skilled in the art in forming such
layers. Since a foaming or blowing
agent can be incorporated into the recycled material, a toain layer or cushion-
hacked layer can be formed with
the recycled material of the present invention.
~0 In forming the backing or intermediate layer, the recycled material,
preferably powder, with or
without additional ingredients or components, is applied onto a suhstratc in
any tnanner in which powders can
be applied to eventually form a continuous layer, which is preferably
suhstantially uniform in thickness. The
substrate can be a release paper, a belt, or preferably, the bottom surface of
a priinary backing or other layer
in a carpet or other surface covering. Once the recycled powder with or
without other ingredients or
components is applied, preferably in a uniform or Suhstantial uniform fashion,
the recycled material is fused
to form a continuous layer. Fusing or ftised, for purposes of the present
invention, is understood to mean that
the recycled material, preferably a powder, is not completely reduced to a
liquid state, like liquid plastisol,
= but instead, is the,joining of the individual particles or granules of the
recycled material, in any manner,
preferably with the application of heat, to form a continuouti layer.
Gerierally, some of the recycled particles
or granules, and preferably a majority, and most preferably over 90% of the
recycled particles or granules
substantially maintain their identity as particles on a macroscopic level, hut
are part of the continuous layer.
In one embodiment of the present invention, after the recycled material has
been fitsed to form a continuous
layer, visually, one can identify niany of the inJividual recycled particles
in the backing layer. The fusing
of the recycled material is preferably with the application of heat and
pressure. More preferably, the fusing
of the recycled material is accomplished with the use of' a dotihle-helt press
such as one available from
Schilling-Knobel of Gerniany.
With a double-belt pre.sr., the recycled material and any other layers of the
surface covering travel
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between a inoving top belt and a inovin3 hottoin belt where htuit is applied
thmugh each belt onto the recycled
material. Generally, a heated platen is located above the top belt and below
the bottom belt to provide the
application of heat onto the belt and then onto the recycled inaterial. This
platen can also provide pressure
onto the recycled material. Preferably, the heated platen provides up to about
100 psi and more preferably
$ about 40 psi or less, and even more preferably about 0.1 psi to about 10 psi
onto the recycled material. Most
preferably, no pressure is applied onto the recycled material at this point.
Preferably, any pressure that may
be applied through the platens is at a consistent pressure. The temperature
applied to the recycled material
is generally a temperature sufficient to fuse the recycled particles of the
recycled material together without
causina any substantial melting of the recycled particles. The top belt is
preferably maintained at a
temperature of from ahout 215 C to ahout 220 C while the hottoin belt which is
the furthest away from the
recycled material is preferably kept at a teinperature of froin about I 10 C
to ahout 130 C so as to avoid any
damage to the other layers which may exist with the recycled material. Once
the recycled material with or
without other layers present is heated and fused, the material then preferably
goes between two sets of nip rolls
which apply a pressure of about 75 psi or less onto the material traveling on
the belts and then the material
15 goes through a cooling zone whcrein cold water or other cooling mcclium is
circulated through additional
platens located above the top belt and below the hottom belt which cools the
belt and cools the surface
covering. Preferably, during the fusing stage, the pressure and teinperature
are held constant or substantially
= held constant. The material then can he rolled if desired onto a roller or
fed into a cutter. Figure 2 depicts
a preferred process of making tha surface covering with the use of a douhle
belt press.
20 In a more preferred embodiment, a surface covering, in this case, a hard
backed carpet can be made
as follows. Unbacked carpet is placed on an unwinding station where this
unbacked carpet is fed face down
on a moving belt preferably the bottom belt of a douhle-helt press. The
unhacked carpet can be a primary
backing with textile fibers extending upwardly from the backinb and forming a
surface. With the carpet face
down on the bottom belt of the dciuhle-heit press, an adhesive or polymCric
pre-coat is applied, for instance,
25 by applying a dispersion grade or suspension grade therinoplastic resin
onto the primary backing or unbacked
carpet. This adhesive or polymeric pre-coat layer can he a 100% virgin dry
blend or can be a mixture of
virgin material along with recycled material. In lieu ot' a dry blend, a
liquid crade resin can lie applied as.the
adhesive or polymeric pre-coat layer. Preferably, a dry blend is applied. The
adhesive or polymeric pre-coat
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layer is applied in conventional ainounts, hut preferahly the amount is from
about 15 ounces per square yard
to about 60 ounces per square yard. Preferably, the adhesive or polymeric pre-
coat layer is a dry blend of at
least one PVC resin, at least one plasticizer, and at least one stabilizer.
If the adhesive or polymeric pre-coat layer is a dry grade, the material along
with the unbacked carpet
is vibrated by a plate underneath the bottom belt which aids in the particles
in the adhesive or polymerie pre-
coat layer to fall between the fiber bundles and improves the dispersion of
the particles on the unbacked
carpet. The material can then be subjected to a process which will gel the
adhesive or polymeric pre-coat
layer, such as with the use of infrared heat. Then, a reinforcement material
is applied onto the surface of the
adhesive or polymeric pre-coat layer. Examples of rzinf'orcement materials
include, but are not limited to,
00 a non-woven material or woven inaterial, such as a non-woven fiber glass
mat or fleece and the like. This
reinforcement material is generally placed on the surface of the adhesive or
polymeric pre-coat layer while the
layer is still in a liquid or gel state. Prior to or after the reinforceinent
material is applied, an intermediate
layer can be applied.
The intermediate layer can he forined frotn 100% recycled material or can
contain lesser amounts of
the recycled material or can contain 100 'Yo virgin material. Preferably, the
intermediate layer contains at least
509b virgin material and more preferahly at least 75 4'o virgin inaterial and
most preferably at least 909c virgin
material with the remaining balance being suhs-antially recycled material.
This intermediate backing layer
= is also an optional layer and can he made from the same tnaterial as the
secondary hacking iayer. Preferably,
the intermediate backing layer is a hard backed and is not a foamed layer. The
intermediate layer is preferably
a thermoplastic material and more preferably is a polyiner or copolynier of a
vinyl compound, such as
polyvinyl chloride. The intermediate backing layer is preferably applied in
the form of a dry blend but can
be applied as a liquid coating. The intermediate hacking layer whether applied
as a dry blend or as a liquid
coating can be applied in the manners conventionally known to those skilled in
the art. Preferably, the amount
of intermediate layer applied is an amount of froin ahotit 10 oz/yd' to about
150 oz/yd2.
Once the reinforcement material is applied, the carpet can then he subjected
to a suitable pressure to
create a good bond between the individual fibers and/or yarns the adhesive or
polymeric or pre-coat layer as
well as the reinforcement material with the pre-coat layer. An application of
pressure of this sort can be
applied by a pressure roller or other stiitahle device.
CA 02410390 2002-12-02
The unbacked carpet can then move to a station where the final hacking is
applied which preferably
is from a 100% recycled powder. This material can he applied with the use of a
scattering machine or other
conventional application davice just like the dry adhesive or polymeric pre-
coat layer. Preferably, the recycled
material powder is applied in an amount of from about 40 to about 150 ounces
per square yard, and more
preferably from about 70 to about 90 ounces per square yard, and most
preferably about 80 ounces per square
yard. As described above, the material, once substantially uniformly applied
to the unbacked carpet, is then
subjected to a fusing process. The carpet can then he suhie;etcsd to a cooling
zone also described previously
and then rolled or fed to a cutter.
Referring to Fiaure 2, an unwindin- roll (50) contains release paper or the
primary hacking of a
O carpet or other layer which is ttnwound onto the lower belt (51) of the
double belt system (53). A scattering
machine (52) scatters powder containing the pre-coat ingredients which can
contain recycled powder onto the
material being unwound from (50), and the vibrating chute assists in evenly
distributing the powder uniformly
throughout the layer on the bottom belt. An infrared heater (54) is used to
heat pre-coat material to gel or fuse
the pre-coat material, and then fihergla::s is applied to form a
reinforcenient layer and a crush roll (55) is used
IS to crush the fiberglass onto the pre-coat layer. Afterwards, a
scattering/cooling machine (56) is used to
applied the secondary backing layer tnaterial which contains at Ir,atit the
recycled powder. Then, a second
infrared unit (57) is used to heat the secondary hacking material. A series of
heating platens (58) is located
above the upper belt (60) and balow the hottom belt (51) and the heater (59)
is used to heat the platens (58).
Nip rolls (61) are used to press the material on the belt. Cooling platens
(62) are then used above the upper
20 belt (60) and below the bottom hult (51) to cool the material. Finally, a
belt cleaning system (63) is used to
remove debris from the belts and a rewinding roll (64) is used to roll the
finished product.
Figure 3 a) through e) depict various emhoAimant:; of the preferred surface
covering which is a textile
product. In each embodiment in the Figttrz, tihtrc (65) are locate,d on top
and a secondary backing (70) is
located at the very bottom of the covering and a primary hacking layer (66)
secures the fibers (65). A
25 reinforcement layer (68) can he located beneath the pre-coat layer (67)
and/or beneath an intermediate layer
(71). An intermediate layer (69) can also he located beneath the reinforcement
layer (68). In each case, each
layer is affixed in some manner such as by casting, adhesive, or other means
conventional in-the art. -
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As an alternative to using the priinary hacking as the stihstrata in which all
other layers are applied
thereto, it is certainly within the hounds of the present invention to make
any layer of the surface covering
first and then add other desirable layers to the top and/or bottom surface of
the first layer made. For instance,
the secondary or final backing layer can bz made first and then all layers
applied thereto.
$ Besides the above embodiment relating to the ttse of recycled material in
one or more layers of a
surface covering, another aspect of the present invention is a surface
covering wherein the secondary backing
layer and preferably the adhesive or polymeric pre-coat layer are made from
dry powder blends instead of
liquid blends. The advantage with such a system would he that the powder
blends are less expensive and are
easier to handle in the manufacturinb process. In such a proccsti, the layers
can he formecl in the same manner
1o described above with respect to the forination of a layer using recycled
material such that the virgin material
forming the secondary backing or other layer will forni a contintuuts layer by
t'vsing or he suhjected to
sufficient heat to melt the powder to form a continueyus layer. The use of the
dnuble-belt press described
above would he preferred in forniin,g a surface covering containing one or
more layers froin a dry powder
blend. Preferably, the secondary hacking wotild contain a dry blend of a
polymeric resin stich as polyvinyl
15 chloride along with other optional conventional ingredients in a dry blend
form, such as at least one
plasticizer, at least one filler, at least one stahilizer, and the like. A
foaining agent in the form of a dry blend
can also he included. An intCrmediate backing layer and/nr an adhesive or
polytneric pre-coat layer can be
formed in the same fashion as described earlier. It is within the hounds of
the present invention to first form
one layer and suhjzct the dry powder blend in the shape of a laycr to
appropriate heat to form a continuous
20 layer and then add a second layer in powder torm to the top or hottom
tiurface of the tirst formed continuous
layer and so on. Alternatively, the layers can all he formed on top of each
other in powder form and then
subjected at one time to sufficient heat to form a continuotts multi-layered
surface covering.
Whether a surface covering contains recycled material or 100% virgin material,
the process of curing
all at one time is particularly preferred in making resilient vinyl tloaring
where all layers are first formed and
25 then the entire surtace covering is suhjcx:ted to sufficient heat to form a
multi-layerc:d resilient vinyl flooring
which can then have optional strengthening layers, wear layers and/or top coat
layers applied afterwards, such
as in the manner described in U.S. Patent No. 5,458,953.
CA 02410390 2002-12-02
WO 99/40250 PCT/US99/02182
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In combination with the other emhoQinicnts of the present invention or as a
separate alternative, the
recycled material of the present invention can he added to the adhesive and/or
pre-coat layer. In this
embodiment, the adhesive and/or pre-coat layer are preferably applied as a
liquid and the recycled material
is added to the liquid in any fashion, such as by mixing with the liquid
before the liquid is applied as a coat
or the recycled material can be applied by introducinb the recycled material
on top of the liquid once the liquid
is applied as a coat (e.g., applying the recycled material on top of the
liquid coat by scattering techniques).
Any amount of recycled material can be applied in this fashion, and preferahly
the amount is from about 1%
by weight of the liquid coat to ahout 50% by weight, and more preferably, from
ahout 5% to about 15% by
weight of the liquid coat. Similarly, any intermecliate layer or even the
backing layer, such as the ones
0 described above, can have recycled inaterial introduced and present in the
same manner (i.e., recycled material
added to liquids which form the layer) as a separate altemative; meaning, the
hacking layer need not contain
recycled material as long as some other layer(s) contains recycled material.
More than one layer can contain
recycled material and preferably, the entire surface covering has frorn ahout
I% by weight to about 20% by
weight recycled material.
The present invention will he further claritied by the following examples,
which are intended to be
purely exemplary of the present invention.
EXAMPLES
= Example 1
A surface covering, such as a final hard hacked carpet was made in the
following manner. A carpet
was made in the same manner as described ahove with respect to the preferred
embodiment of using an
adhesive or polymeric pre-coat layer having the formula A described below in
Table I and the use of a
fiberglass fleece (1.0 lb - 2.0 lb/100 ft=, e.g. 1.4 lh/100 ft) obtained from
Johns Manville. The unbacked
carpet used was a 26 ounce loop obtained froin Mannington Carpets - 1/10
gauge. The final or secondary
back coat was applied in powder form as shown in Figure 2 using the preferred
amounts and parameters
described above in the preferred emhodiment.
The final back coat was formula R. Formula R is recycled powder resulting from
vinyl back carpet
tile and carpet wastz which was suhjected to a face shear operation to remove
suhstantially all.of the fiber with
a Sellers Shearing Machine. The sheared carpet tile and carpet waste were then
fed into a Nordfab 1350K
CA 02410390 2002-12-02
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shredder to form 2" or less granules or chunks which were then reduced to a
smaller size of 1/4" or less with
the use of a Rapid Granulator 3260"'', . Low density fiber was separated out
of the material with a Kongskilde
KF-60T' aspirator and the material was reduced to a powder having a size of
from about 330 microns to about
850 microns. Table 2 below, sets forth the various parameters used in making
the carpet which was
constructed on a double-belt press obtained from Shilling-Knohel of Germany.
CA 02410390 2002-12-02
-1.5-
TABL 1
Formulations
Cn-Polvmer Pre-Coat Formulation - A-Pnwder
Chemical T e Chemical PHR
PVC Resin VC-113T' 100
Flame Retardant Altimintim Trihydrate 120
Plasticizers Blend S-160 (6036 h wt.) 22.5
DINP (40%)
Stabilizer Tile 1.5
Stearic Acid 1.0
Hcimo-Polvnitr PVC Back-Coat - B-Pnder
PVC Resin VC-57T"'' 100
Filler CaCO1 180
Plasticizer Blend S-160 (60% by wt.) 60
D1NP (404b)
Stabilizer Tile 1.5
Stearic Acid 1.0
Foam Backim;v Dr Blend armulation - F-Powder
PVC Resin Geon 438 T'" 100
Flame Retardant Aluniinunt Trihydrate 60
Filler CaCO 60
Plasticizer Blend S-160 (60% hy wt.) 70
D1NP (40%)
Stahilizer Tile 2.0
Foaming Agent AZ-120 2.4
Activator Kadox 920 "" 1.0
CA 02410390 2002-12-02
WO 99/40250 PCT/US99/02182
-16-
~
o 0
e y 0R "O
~ ~ v. ovo
oa E oo 0o 0o 06
a~
.~
.. '
Ln E N N N N
..N
E U u U U
= ~ o 0 ~
0
vi
U U U C) U
~ ~ tn UI) tn
E=, ~õ" N N fl N~"
a~ Q
a' d o~
m co cli r ~ -
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~ ai ~u v ~i v v N
c >. e a. c a, c
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=
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00 00 00 00
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CA 02410390 2002-12-02
-17-
xam le 2
A vinyl floor covering was made using the process of the present invention. In
particular, on a belt,
recycled material having Formula R was applied in an atnount to create a 40
mil thick layer which on top was
applied PVC pellets to form a second layer of 40 mils in thickness. Both
layers, in powdered form, were then
fused to form a continuous multi-layer product. A top coat eontaining an UV
curable urethane-based acrylate
thermoset from Lord Corporation was then applied in the manner described in
U.S. Patent No. 5,405,674,
to form the final product.
xam le 3
A surface covering containing laycrti made from powder hlendti wat inade from
using the double-belt
press and procedure in Exaniple 1. The process steps of Example I were
followed except that in lieu of
Formula R as the final backing layer, Fortnt-la B or Formula F were utied to
form the final backing layer.
Table 3 below sets forth some results from surface coverings made from
Examples 1 and 3.
Tahle 3
Example IA 3A 3B 1B
Radiant Panel (ASTM E-648) .70 - .78 .56
NBS Smoke FL (ASTM E-662) 474 444 515 435
Tuft Bind D(ASTM D- 1335) 7.8 9.9 2.5 6.6
Tuft Bind Wet (ASTM D-1335 6.4 7.4 1.5 5.4
Delamination (ASTM D-3936) No No No -
Flatness (ITTL Test-5 means carpet 4 - 2-3 4
totall "hu s" the floer
Other embodiments of the nre.cent invention will he apparent to those skilled
in the art from
consideration of the specification and practice of the present invention
disclosed herein. It is intended that
the specification and examples hC considered as exemplary only, with a tntC
scope and spirit of the present
invention being indicated by the following claims.
