GB1096455A - Improvements relating to the manufacture of decorative sheet material - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of making a decorative sheet material comprises applying an adhesive composition to parts of a textile - fabric carrier sheet, attaching flock electrostatically to said parts of the carrier sheet, and making at least one additional application each of adhesive and flock, in that order, to further parts of the carrier sheet said additional adhesive being applied on the surface of the carrier sheet opposite to that on which all the flock is applied and passing through said carrier sheet, each successive application of flock being of different colour and/or of different fibre length from flock of any preceding application, until the pattern is complete. The first applications of adhesive and flock may be on the same face or opposite faces of the carrier-sheet. The design for the first flock colour may be printed on to the carrier by a rotating printing roller carrying adhesive from a reservoir or by using a screen or block method. Concurrently, an opaque registration line is printed at the edge of the carrier fabric and in front of the first pattern which enables subsequent printed adhesive to be printed in register with the first pattern by means of a photo-electric cell device. With a transparent adhesive, the registration line can be printed on prior to adhesive printing. The carrier is then flocked electrostatically using electric potentials of say 20 kilovolts per inch distance between the electrodes, before passing to a heating zone where the adhesive is dried and/or cured and a flock recovery zone where excess flock is removed. The carrier is then passed to the second adhesive printing station where correct registration of the second pattern with the first is achieved by the photo-electric cell device, to a second flocking station followed by drying and flock-removal zones and subsequent flocking stations where additional flock colours may be applied. After a final heat treatment the finished material may be edge trimmed and cooled and wound up. In the example a woven fabric is printed with an acrylic latex adhesive and red nylon flock applied, followed by another adhesive print and white nylon flock. The products are said to be useful as carpeting, wall coverings or other surface coverings.