Sheet material excelling in cushion and nonslip properties

• US 8,133,570 B2
• Filed: 04/01/2005
• Issued: 03/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kuraray Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Kuraray Company Limited
• Inventors: Fujisawa, Michinori, Ishii, Sadahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Simone, Catherine A
• Application Number:
  US11/578,104
• Publication Number:
  US 20070232165A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,538 Days
• Field of Search: 428/141, 428/156, 428/151, 428/187, 428/206, 428/207, 428/904, 473604-606, 473/596, 473/597, 473/599
• US Class Current: 428/141
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 41/08 Ball covers; Closures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: D06N 3/0077 Embossing; Pressing of the surface; Tumbling and crumbling; Cracking; Cooling; Heating, e.g. mirror finish
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24355 Continuous and nonuniform or irregular surface on layer or component [e.g., roofing, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24479 including variation in thickness
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 442/2033 Coating or impregnation formed in situ [e.g., by interfacial condensation, coagulation, precipitation, etc.]

Abstract

The present invention provides a sheet material exhibiting an appearance excellent in three dimensional feel in combination with sufficient abrasion strength of the surface, cushioning property and non-slipping property and advantageously used as the surface material of balls for basketball and the like. The sheet material has a base fabric and a coating layer of a polymer covering the surface of the base fabric, where the coating layer has substantially continuous protrusions and hemispherical depressions formed adjoining the protrusions on a surface, the depressions have a color tone different from a color tone of the protrusion and a gloss brighter than a gloss of the protrusion, a vertical projected area of the depression is 3 to 30 mm², an average distance between the depressions is 0.5 to 3 mm, and a height difference between the protrusion and the depression is 50 to 1,000 μm.

Claims

1. A sheet material comprising a base fabric and a coating layer of a polymer covering a surface of the base fabric, wherein the coating layer has substantially continuous protrusions and hemispherical depressions formed adjoining the protrusions on a surface, the depressions have a color tone different from a color tone of the protrusions and a gloss brighter than a gloss of the protrusions, a vertical projected area of each of the depressions is 3 to 30 mm², an average distance between the depressions is 0.5 to 3 mm, and a height difference between the protrusion and the depressions is 50 to 1,000 μ

m.

2. The sheet material according to claim 1, wherein the base fabric is a knitted fabric or woven fabric or a nonwoven fabric.

3. The sheet material according to claim 1, wherein a fiber constituting the base fabric is a microfine fiber having an average fineness of 0.0001 to 0.3 dtex.

4. The sheet material according to claim 3, wherein the microfine fiber is obtained via a sea/island fiber and/or a multi-layered fiber.

5. The sheet material according to claim 4, wherein a ratio of amounts by volume of a sea component to an island component in the sea/island fiber is in the range from 30/70 to 70/30.

6. The sheet material according to claim 1, wherein the base fabric is a base fabric comprising a fiber-entangled fabric and a polymer.

7. The sheet material according to claim 1, wherein the base fabric is a three-dimensionally entangled nonwoven fabric impregnated with a polymer at an inside thereof.

8. The sheet material according to claim 1, wherein the polymer is a polyurethane-based resin.

9. The sheet material according to claim 1, wherein a total area of vertical projected areas of the depressions is 30 to 60% of a surface area of the sheet material.

10. The sheet material according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of a surface of the protrusions or a surface of the depressions are coated with a resin having a non-slipping property.

11. The sheet material according to claim 1, wherein a fiber constituting the base fabric is a microfine fiber having sea/island structure.

12. The sheet material according to claim 11, wherein the sea/island volume ratio is 30/70 to 70/30.

13. The sheet material according to claim 11, wherein the sea/island volume ratio is 40/60 to 60/40.

14. The sheet material according to claim 1, wherein a total area of vertical projected areas of the depressions is 40 to 50% of a surface area of the sheet material.

15. The sheet material according to claim 1, wherein average distance between the depressions is 1 to 2 mm.

16. The sheet material according to claim 1, wherein the height difference between the protrusion and the depressions is 70 to 500 μ

m.

17. The sheet material according to claim 1, wherein the vertical projected area of each of the depressions is 5 to 20 mm².