Mesh structure/fabric laminate

• US 5,651,853 A
• Filed: 06/01/1995
• Issued: 07/29/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: PLG Research Limited (Commercial Metals Company)
• Original Assignee: PLG Research Limited (Commercial Metals Company)
• Inventors: Orr, Brian, Wrigley, Nigel Edwin
• Primary Examiner(s): STEMMER, DANIEL J
• Application Number:
  US08/456,689
• Time in Patent Office: 789 Days
• Field of Search: 156/290, 156/308.4, 156/309.6, 156/309.9, 156/553, 156/582
• US Class Current: 156/290
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 70/82 Forcing wires, nets or the like partially or completely into the surface of an article, e.g. by cutting and pressing
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2305/18 Fabrics, textiles
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 37/0053 Constructional details of laminating machines comprising rollers; Constructional features of the rollers
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 37/04 characterised by the partial melting of at least one layer
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 5/26 another layer next to it also being fibrous or filamentary relative arrangement of fibres or filaments of different layers B32B5/12
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1737 Discontinuous, spaced area, and/or patterned pressing

Abstract

In order to laminate a fabric to a plastics material grid formed of oriented strands connected by junctions having thicker and non-oriented or less-oriented nodes, the fabric and the grid having the same melting temperature, the grid is heated by a drum to melt the surfaces of the nodes, and the grid and the fabric are passed through a nip formed by nip rollers, the fabric having been pre-heated by passing around a preheat roller. One nip roller has surface protuberances formed by knurling of such a size that a number of protuberances engage (by way of the fabric) each node of the grid.

Claims

1. A method of making a laminate, comprising:

providing a plastics material mesh structure having molecularly oriented strands connected together by thicker and non-oriented or less-oriented portions;

providing a fabric for lamination to the mesh structure;

heating the surfaces of said thicker portions of the mesh structure to soften or melt the surfaces of said thicker portions;

subsequently passing the mesh structure and the fabric through a nip formed by a nip member and a backing member, to cause the softened or melted plastics material of said thicker portions to penetrate into the fabric; and

cooling the laminate so formed;

said nip member having surface protuberances which engage the opposite face of the fabric to that face of the fabric which engages the mesh structure, in general at least one protuberance engaging substantially each said thicker portion of the mesh structure where bonding is required.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the height of the protuberances is not less than about the mean compressed thickness of the fabric.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the height of the protuberances is not less than about the mean compressed diameter of the largest diameter fibres in the fabric.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the height of the protuberances is not less than about 5% of said thicker portions of the mesh structure.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said protuberances are in the form of discrete, small protuberances.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said protuberances are formed by knurling.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said protuberances are pyramid-shaped.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the fabric is heated to a temperature less than that of the surfaces of said thicker portions.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said nip member is heated to a temperature less than that of the softening or melting temperature of the fabric.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the surfaces of said thicker portions are heated before bringing them into engagement with the fabric.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the surfaces of said thicker portions are heated by engaging them with a hot component moving at the same speed as the mesh structure.

12. A method of making a laminate, comprising:

providing a plastics material mesh structure having oriented strands connected together by thicker and non-oriented or less-oriented portions;

providing a fabric for lamination to the mesh structure;

heating the surfaces of said thicker portions of the mesh structure to soften or melt the surfaces of said thicker portions;

passing the mesh structure and the fabric through a nip formed by a nip member and a backing member, to cause the softened or melted plastics material of said thicker portions to penetrate into the fabric; and

cooling the laminate so formed;

said nip member having surface protuberances which engage the opposite face of the fabric to that face of the fabric which engages the mesh structure, in general a plurality of said protuberances engaging substantially each said thicker portion of the mesh structure where bonding is required.

13. A method of making a laminate, comprising:

providing a plastics material mesh structure having molecularly oriented strands connected together by thicker and non-oriented or less-oriented portions;

providing a fabric for lamination to the mesh structure;

heating the surfaces of said thicker portions of the mesh structure to soften or melt the surfaces of said thicker portions;

subsequently passing the mesh structure and the fabric through a nip formed by a nip member and a backing member, to cause the softened or melted plastics material of said thicker portions to penetrate into the fabric; and

cooling the laminate so formed;

said nip member having surface protuberances which engage the opposite face of the fabric to that face of the fabric which engages the mesh structure, in general at least one protuberance engaging substantially each said thicker portion of the mesh structure where bonding is required, the softening or melting temperature of the fabric being approximately the same as or less than the softening or melting temperature of the surfaces of said thicker portions.

14. A method of making a laminate, comprising:

providing a plastics material mesh structure having molecularly oriented strands connected together by thicker and non-oriented or less-oriented portions;

providing a fabric for lamination to the mesh structure;

heating the surfaces of said thicker portions of the mesh structure to soften or melt the surfaces of said thicker portions;

subsequently passing the mesh structure and the fabric through a nip formed by a nip member and a backing member, to cause the softened or melted plastics material of said thicker portions to penetrate into the fabric; and

cooling the laminate so formed;

said nip member having surface protuberances which, after said surfaces have been softened or heated, engage the opposite face of the fabric to that face of the fabric which engages the mesh structure, in general at least one protuberance engaging substantially each said thicker portion of the mesh structure where bonding is required.

15. A method of making a laminate, comprising:

providing a plastics material mesh structure having molecularly oriented strands connected together by thicker and non-oriented or less-oriented portions;

providing a fabric for lamination to the mesh structure;

heating the surfaces of said thicker portions of the mesh structure to soften or melt the surfaces of said thicker portions;

passing the mesh structure and the fabric through a nip formed by a nip member and a backing member, to cause the softened or melted plastics material of said thicker portions to penetrate into the fabric; and

cooling the laminate so formed;

said nip member having surface protuberances which engage the opposite face of the fabric to that face of the fabric which engages the mesh structure, said protuberances having a height which is not more than about 20% of the thickness of said thicker portions, in general at least one protuberance engaging substantially each said thicker portion of the mesh structure where bonding is required.

16. A method of making a laminate, comprising:

providing a plastics material mesh structure having molecularly oriented strands connected together by thicker and non-oriented or less-oriented portions;

providing a fabric for lamination to the mesh structure;

heating the surfaces of said thicker portions of the mesh structure to soften or melt the surfaces of said thicker portions;

passing the mesh structure and the fabric through a nip formed by a nip member and a backing member, to cause the softened or melted plastics material of said thicker portions to penetrate into the fabric; and

cooling the laminate so formed;

said nip member having surface protuberances which engage the opposite face of the fabric to that face of the fabric which engages the mesh structure, in general at least one protuberance engaging substantially each said thicker portion of the mesh structure where bonding is required, the protuberances defining grooves therebetween, and the protuberances pressing the fabric into said softened or molten surfaces so that the fabric is tensioned between the adjacent pairs of protuberances and said softened or molten plastics material passes through the fabric into said grooves.

17. A method of making a laminate, comprising:

providing a plastics material mesh structure having molecularly oriented strands connected together by thicker and non-oriented or less-oriented portions;

providing a fabric for lamination to the mesh structure;

heating the surfaces of said thicker portions of the mesh structure to soften or melt the surfaces of said thicker portions;

subsequently passing the mesh structure and the fabric through a nip formed by a nip member and a backing member, to cause the softened or melted plastics material of said thicker portions to penetrate into the fabric; and

cooling the laminate so formed;

said nip member having surface protuberances which engage the opposite face of the fabric to that face of the fabric which engages the mesh structure, the tip areas of the protuberances being substantially smaller than the respective said softened or melted surfaces so that the tip areas of the protuberances engage by way of the fabric with only small portions of the respective said softened or melted surfaces, in general at least one protuberance engaging substantially each said thicker portion of the mesh structure where bonding is required.