EP0100690B1 - Coating in conformity with a high friction resistance - Google Patents

Abstract

A conformable sheet covering with high coefficient of friction, comprising a superficial layer made of a fine powder at least partially imbedded in a curable resin layer bonded to a lower support layer. The support layer is made of a thin sheet material having an elongation coefficient between 20 and 60% for a tensile force per linear centimeter less than 20N. There is a contact adhesive layer, protected by a pull off film, on the back side of the support layer. The new sheet covering is usable on three-dimensional surfaces.

Description

It has already been proposed in many patents to produce floor coverings, in particular for sports grounds, the surface layer of which is produced by natural or synthetic rubber crumb partially coated in a layer of resin applied itself on one or more several support layers. These support layers may be the most diverse, but in general an elastic compressible layer is sought, the type being a needled nonwoven.

These coatings have a relatively large thickness if only because of the thickness of the corresponding support layer which is generally greater than 3 millimeters to give a substantial resilience as described in French patent n ° 2112 087.

These coatings in the form of prefabricated sheets are not suitable for many applications in which the coating must be as neutral as possible from the point of view of elasticity, of a reduced thickness and of a mechanically stable shape. To meet these requirements, the applicant has already proposed in its French patent No. 2,439,084 to apply the layer of polymerizable resin and of crumb, in general a resin and a crumb of polyurethane, on a support layer of calendar nonwoven . In the calendar nonwoven the fibers are heat sealed, the thickness and elasticity are greatly reduced, the thickness being between 0.1 and 1 millimeter, and the shape stability is excellent. However, in certain applications, this shape stability constitutes a drawback because the coating, due to the shape stability of the support layer, does not adapt to non-planar surfaces or to applications such as the coating of the parts of the bridges of boats on the left surface, the coating of the various handles and handles on which a helical winding is carried out with covering of a relatively narrow band, etc. A sheet material, on calendar nonwoven of 0.3 mm such as that described in French patent n ° 2 439 084 has a deformation at the breaking point of 3 to 15% for a force of 50 to 60 N exerted on a strip of a centimeter wide. In fact, the elongation that it is possible to obtain at the time of application is extremely small and even practically zero.

The object of the present invention is to solve this problem and to create a sheet coating of the type comprising a surface layer consisting of a crumb at least partially embedded in a layer of polymerized resin which is thin and which is conformable on a left surface. .

In accordance with the invention, a thin sheet material having a coefficient of elongation between 20 and 60% is used as the support layer for a tensile force per linear centimeter of less than 20 N.

The thin layer material constituting the support layer may be a plastic film obtained by extrusion or calendering having a thickness of between 0.01 and 1 mm, preferably between 0.05 and 0.10 mm, a deformable textile of the type stretch knit having a thickness of less than 3 mm or a needled or chemically bonded nonwoven having a thickness of less than 1 millimeter and an elongation before rupture of between 20 and 60%.

The plastic film can be based on plasticized polyvinyl chloride, polyester or cellulose acetate. Stretch knitting can be made with natural or synthetic fibers. The deformable nonwoven consists for example of a mixture of cotton fibers and of superpolyamide chemically bonded by an acrylic binder.

The limit values of the elongation and the tensile force have been fixed taking into account the fact that the tensile force which it is possible to exert on the strip during the laying operation is limited to a manual force, that an elongation of less than 20% is insufficient to obtain the necessary conformability and that an elongation of more than 60% is capable of causing a tearing of the surface layer of resin and of crumb which exhibits an elongation before rupture of the order of 50 to 60%.

According to another characteristic which represents a significant technical improvement in the case of such a material subjected during its laying to a tensile force substantially parallel to its laying surface, the dorsal face of the support layer is coated with a contact adhesive. , preferably an adhesive adhering by simple pressure. This makes it possible to adhere the covering layer to the left surface along the rump line and then apply it on either side thereof, exerting on the lateral edges the tensile force necessary to ensure elongation corresponding to the curvatures of the surface. In known manner the adhesive layer is protected by a peelable film such as a sheet of paper having a low adhesion power for the adhesive.

Consequently, the product according to a preferred embodiment of the invention comprises an upper layer of polymerized resin, in particular of polyurethane in which is at least partially coated a crumb of a compatible material, in particular of polyurethane, having a particle size between 0 , 2 and 1 mm, the overall thickness of the layer being between 0.5 and 3 mm, a support layer constituted by a thin sheet material having an elongation coefficient between 20 and 60% for a force tensile strength per linear centimeter less than 20 N and bonded with the above layer by chemical welding during the polymerization of materials compatible and / or partial coating of the constituent fibers of this thin sheet material and a layer of contact adhesive protected by a removable film on the dorsal face of the support layer, and the overall thickness of the coating is between 0 , 5 and 3 mm.

According to another characteristic, a layer of polymerized resin is applied to the upper layer to coat the crumb.

The coating obtained has a high coefficient of friction which gives it a non-slip property and it is thermally insulating under a small thickness, which makes it particularly suitable for being applied to handles and handles such as fishing rod handles, racket handles tennis, ski pole grips, bicycle handlebars and steering wheels, tool handles and butts, its elongation capacity allowing the application by helical winding of a strip with overlapping of the turns. It is also a covering material which is particularly well suited for left or flat surfaces such as upper windsurfing surfaces, boat decks, stair treads, shop displays, dashboards and rear areas of automobiles, wall coverings. various, etc.

Other characteristics will appear from the detailed description given below of two exemplary embodiments.

Example 1

A plasticized polyvinyl chloride film having a thickness of 0.05 mm, a tensile strength of 10 N per linear cm and an elongation before rupture of 60% was used as the support layer. This film was coated on one side with an adhesive based on acrylic resin adhering by simple pressure and protected by a sheet of paper.

10 secondes après application de la résine polymérisable, on a étendu sur ladite couche à raison de 200 gr/m², une couche de matériau solide en poudre constitué par une poudrette de polyuréthane ayant une granulométrie échelonnée entre 0,2 et 1 mm.On the second face of the polyvinyl chloride film, an adhesion primer was applied and then deposited by casting using a die and at the rate of 600 gr / m ² a polymerizable mixture having the following composition by weight:

10 seconds after application of the polymerizable resin, a layer of solid powder material consisting of a polyurethane powder having a graded particle size between 0.2 and 1 mm is spread over said layer at the rate of 200 gr / m ² .

To accelerate the crosslinking, the assembly is passed through a hot air drying oven at a temperature of 80 ° C for 5 minutes.

The sheet material obtained has a thickness of approximately 1 mm and a weight of 850 to 900 gr / m ² . Its elongation is 60% under a tensile force of 16 N per linear cm.

Example 2

A nonwoven consisting of a mixture of polyamide and cotton fibers linked together by an acrylic resin was used as the support layer, the support layer having a surface weight of 200 gr / m2, a thickness of 0.7 mm and an elongation. at the 60% breaking limit.

One side of the nonwoven was coated with a heat-reactivable synthetic rubber-based adhesive layer protected by a protective paper.

On the other side, 400 gr / m ² of a polymerizable polyurethane resin corresponding to the following composition was deposited continuously by spraying.

After 10 seconds, 200 gr / m ² of a polyurethane powder having a particle size between 0.2 and 1 mm was deposited on this layer.

The resin was crosslinked with evaporation of the solvents by passage through an oven at 80 ° C for 7 minutes.

A second layer of polyurethane resin was then deposited on the upper side by spraying at a rate of 50 gr / m ² , this resin having the following formula:

Then the sheet material was passed through an oven at 80 ° C for 7 minutes to complete crosslinking and evaporation of the solvents.

The second layer of polyurethane resin constitutes a protective film against dirt; it increases resistance to abrasion and protects the crumb which is on the surface.

Claims (7)

1. A sheet covering with high coefficient of friction, comprising a superficial layer formed of a fine powder at least partially imbedded in a cured resin layer bonded to a lower support layer, wherein the support layer is made of a thin sheet material having an elongation coefficient between 20 and 60 % for a tensile force per linear centimetre less than 20 N.

2. A covering according to claim 1, wherein the thin layered material is made of a plastic material film formed by extrusion or calendering, with a thickness between 0.01 and 1 mm, preferably between 0.05 and 0.10 mm.

3. A covering according to claim 1, wherein the thin layered material is made of a deformable textile material of the extensible knitted fabric type, having a thickness less than 3 mm.

4. A covering according to claim 1, wherein the thin layered material is made of a needled or chemically bonded nonwoven having a thickness less than 1 mm and an elongation before breaking between 20 and 60 %.

5. A covering according to any one of claims 1 through 4, wherein the back face of the support layer is coated with a contact adhesive, preferably an adhesive adhering by simple pressure.

6. A conformable sheet covering according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises an upper layer of cured resin, notably a polyurethane, in which is at least partially imbedded a fine powder of a compatible material, notably polyurethane, with a granulometry between 0.2 and 1 mm, the overall thickness of the layer being between 0.5 and 3 mm, a support layer formed of a thin sheet material having an elongation coefficient between 20 and 60 % for a tensile strength per linear centimetre less than 20 N and bonded to the hereabove layer by chemical welding during the curing of the compatible materials and/or by partial imbedding of the fibers constituent of said thin sheet material and a contact adhesive sheet protected by a pull off film on the back face of the support layer, and the overall thickness of the covering being between 0.5 and 3 mm.

7. A covering according to any one of claims 1 through 6, wherein a layer of cured resin is applied on the upper layer in order to coat the fine powder.