GB2029772A

GB2029772A - Decorative Sheet Material

Info

Publication number: GB2029772A
Application number: GB7928724A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Kurashiki Spinning Co Ltd
Current assignee: Kurashiki Spinning Co Ltd
Priority date: 1978-08-21
Filing date: 1979-08-17
Publication date: 1980-03-26
Also published as: FR2434032A1; DE2933846A1; JPS5528842A; SE7906935L; AU5004479A; IT1118850B; IT7968700A0; JPS5720894B2

Abstract

A decorative sheet (P) is composed of a flat planar thin base material (B) and a large number of twisted yarns (Y) arranged in layers in one direction on the entire surface of the flat planar thin base material to form an unevenly laminated structure on the base material. The twisted yarns (Ya) at lower layers of the layers and the surface (Ba) of the base material, and also neighbouring ones of the twisted yarns are bonded to each other into one unit. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A Decorative Sheet and a Method of Manufacturing the Sheet The present invention relates to a decorative sheet to be used, for example, as wall decorative material, or furniture surface decorative material, and to a method of manufacturing the sheet.

Conventionally, for the decorative sheets of the above described type, there have been generally employed wooden sheets or vinyl chloride sheets and the like, in which the former produced by slicing natural wood into extremely thin sheets have disadvantages in that they are not only limited in the supply thereof due to recent trend tc deficiency of natural wood, with simultaneous restrictions in their dimensions and applications, but also liable to be readily broken in the actual use owing to the nature of the material.

Meanwhile, in the latter prepared by printing, for example, grain patterns on non-rigid or semi-rigid vinyl chloride sheets, with a further embossing on the surface thereof for imparting undulation or roughness thereon, although defects as in the former of wooden sheets are not noticed, it is difficult to provide the touch of natural wood, since the sufficient roughness can not be imparted to their surfaces, with the told feeling or touch inherent in vinyl chloride sheets still remaining, while the lack of water absorbing nature tends to give rise to formation of dew on the surfaces of the sheets depending on ambient conditions.

According to the present invention there is disclosed a decorative sheet which comprises a flat planar thin base material and a large number of twisted yarns arranged in layers in one direction on the entire surface of said flat planar thin base material to form an unevenly laminated structure thereon. The twisted yarns at lower layers of said layers and the surface of said flat planar thin base material, and also neighboring ones of said twisted yarns are bonded to each other into one unit.

In one aspect the invention provides a method of manufacturing decorative sheets which comprises the steps of continuously feeding in one direction, a large number of twisted yarns uniformly and closely arranged in layers in direction of width and thickness of a belt-like configuration thereof, feeding a flat planar thin base material in a belt-like shape at the same speed and in the same direction as those of said twisted yarns, and continuously laying said twisted yarns onto said base material for integrating said twisted yarns and base material into one unit through application thereto of bonding agent and subsequent drying of said bonding agent.

In another aspect the invention provides a method of manufacturing decorative sheets which comprises the steps of continuously feeding in one direction, a large number of twisted yarns uniformly and closely arranged in layers in directions of width and thickness of a belt-like configuration thereof; simultaneously feeding a flat planar thin base material in a belt like shape at the same speed and in the same direction as those of said twisted yarns; applying bonding agent to one surface of said base material at a first predetermined position; continously laying said twisted yarns arranged in the belt-like configuration on said one surface of said base material applied with the bonding agent; causing the twisted yarns at lower layers adjacent to the one surface of said base material to adhere to said one surface by drying the bonding agent on said base material; continuously re-arranging the twisted yarns at intermediate and upper layers not adhering to said one surface of said base material into an unevenly laminated structure; applying the bonding agent onto the entire twisted yarns rearranged into said unevenly laminated structure; and subsequently causing the twisted yarns to adhere to each other by drying said bonding agent.

In a further aspect the invention provides a method of manufacturing decorative sheets which comprises the steps of continuously feeding on one direction a large number of twisted yarns uniformly and closely arranged in layers in directions of width and thickness of a belt-like configuration thereof, continuously applying bonding agent onto the twisted yarns on the whole at a first predetermined position, simultaneously feeding a flat planar thin base material in a belt-like shape at the same speed and in the same direction as those of said twisted yarns so as to continuously lay said twisted yarns applied with the bonding agent at said first predetermined position onto said base material at a second predetermined position, and subsequently drying said bonding agent for integrating said base material and twisted yarns into one unit.

By the arrangement according to the present invention as described above, the improved decorative sheet which has a structure close to the duct structure in natural wood has been advantageously presented through the simple manufacturing process in an efficient manner.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which; Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of an improved decorative sheet according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a cross section on an enlarged scale taken along the line Il-Il of Fig. 1, Figs. 3 and 5 are schematic diagrams explanatory of a method of manufacturing the improved decorative sheet according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view showing twisted yarns arranged on a base material in the process of Fig. 3, Fig. 6 is a fragmentary front elevational view showing on an enlarged scale the disposition of brushes in the process of Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing an arrangement for manufacturing the improved decorative sheet according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout several views of the accompanying drawings.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the construction of a decorative sheet P according to the present invention, which generally comprises a flat planar thin material B and a large number of twisted yarns or threads Y directed in the same direction so as to form an unevenly laminated or layered structure on the upper surface Ba of the base material B as shown, with the twisted yarn Ya at the lower layers, upper surface Ba of the base material B and neighboring twisted yarns Y being bonded to each other by a bonding agent to be described later.

In the above arrangement, by the formation of the unevenly laminated structure including rows of the different number of piled up twisted yarns Y in the direction of width of the base material B as is most clearly seen in Fig. 2, it is possible to impart to the surface of the decorative plate P, an undulating pattern as desired which is similar in construction to the duct structure of natural wood.

The base material B for the decorative sheet P as described above should preferably be made by thin paper or non-woven fabric mainly of cellulose, which is effective not only for preventing formation of dew even in a dew forming condition owing to its superior moisture absorption and desorption characteristics, but also for improving bonding properties. It is preferable that the base material B has unit weights in the range of 60 to 120 g/m2 in the case of paper, and in the range of 20 to 80 g/mZ in the case of nonwoven fabrics.

Meanwhile, the twisted yarns Y to be employed in the above structure of the present invention should preferably be of soft twisted yarns prepared by combining 20 to 40 pieces of filaments each of 2 to 5 deniers into a single multi-filament, with twists in the range of 50 to 100 turns per meter being further imparted thereto. The soft twisted yarns as described above are advantageous in that, when subjected to rolling in the manufacturing process of the decorative sheet, the neighboring yarns are pressed against each other to a certain extent by rolls so as to increase the density therebetween for providing a structure very close to the duct structure of wood. In connection with the above, use of spun yarns is not preferable, since they are too fibrous to provide the structure resembling the duct structure of wood.For the material of the filaments for the twisted yarns as described above, rayon, acetate, etc. composed of cellulose may be advantageously employed owing to their superior moisture absorption and desorption characteristics which are effective for preventing dew formation as stated earlier. It is to be noted, however, that even when filaments of nylon, polyester, etc. not containing cellulose are employed, at least the desirable wood-like touch may be sufficiently provided. The number of the twisted yarns Y per unit width of the base material B should preferably be in the range of 4,000 to 12,000 pieces/meter.

On the other hand, for the bonding agent for bonding the twisted yarns Y and the base material B, agents based on emulsions with film forming temperatures in the region from 10 to 500C and having water resistance and flexibility after the film formation through heating and drying are desirable. Although it is preferable that the bonding agent is of self-crosslinking type in its composition, any bonding agents capable of forming films with heat resistance against a temperature of 800C or thereabout may be employed.

Given hereinbelow are examples of preferable bonding agents.

Acrylic emulsions: (1) Copolymer of methyl acrylate and ethey acrylate based on ethyl acrylate.

(2) Copolymer of butyl acrylate based on ethyl acrylate.

(3) Emulsion prepared by further introducing acrylic acid as a third composition into the respective copolymers of the above items (1) and (2).

Other emulsions: (4) Ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer.

(5) Mixture of the copolymer for the acrylic emulsion in the above item (1), (2) or (3) and the copolymer of the above item (4).

(6) Vinyl acetate-vinyl chloride copolymer.

For applications, coloring agents should preferably be mixed preliminarily in the bonding agents for producing a deep tone of shade upon printing on the surface of the decorative sheet.

The decorative sheets according to the present invention are used, for example, for decorations of walls, furniture, etc. by printing proper grain patterns and the like on the surfaces thereof (i.e.

the surfaces on the side of the twisted yarns) and by further applying thereon surface reinforcing agents such as melamine polyester resin or flame retardant agents such as phosphate ester resin and the like.

The decorative sheets of the invention as described in the foregoing may be manufactured in an efficient manner by the method according to the present invention as described in detail hereinbelow.

The method of manufacturing decorative sheets according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention generally includes the steps of continuously feeding in one direction, a large number of twisted yarns uniformly and closely arranged in layers in directions of width and thickness of a belt-like configuration thereof, simultaneously feeding a flat planar thin base material in a belt-like shape at the same speed and in the same direction as those of the twisted yarn; applying bonding agent to one surface of the base material at a first predetermined position; continuously laying the twisted yarns arranged in the belt-like configuration on said one surface of the base material applied with the bonding agent, causing the twisted yarns at lower layers adjacent to the one surface of the base material to adhere to said one surface by drying the bonding agent on said base material, continuously re-arranging the twisted yarns at intermediate and upper layers not adhering to said one surface of said base material into an unevenly laminated structure; applying the bonding agent onto the entire twisted yarns re-arranged into the unevenly laminated structure; and subsequently causing the twisted yarns to adhere to each other by drying the bonding agent.

The method according to the present invention as described above makes it possible to set as desired, the dimensions of the base material, number of twisted yarns and shapes of lamination for continuous production of the decorative sheets in an extremely efficient manner, and is particularly suitable for employment in mills without installation of warp beaming facilities by externally obtaining supply of warpers beams in which a large number of twisted yarns are preliminarily wound uniformly and closely in the directions of width and thickness so-as to be in the belt-like configuration on the whole.

Referring particularly to Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6, the method of manufacturing decorative sheets according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail hereinbelow.

The method of the present invention may be broadly divided into a first process shown in Fig. 3 and a second process illustrated in Fig. 5.

As shown in Fig. 3, the base material B is wound on a rotatable spindle 10 in a roll form, while the twisted yarns Y are also wound onto a rotatable spindle 11 in a form of a warpers beam W, in which 4,000 to 12,000 pieces (or turns) of the twisted yarns Y are uniformly and closely arranged as shown in Fig. 4 in the directions of width and thickness of the belt-like configuration on the whole so as to be fed toward a suction belt 12 provided with suction means (not shown) and movably supported by a plurality of rollers for being combined thereat with the base material B in a manner described later. The base material B drawn out form the roll on the spindle 10 is led through tension rolls r1, r2, r3 and r4 via a bonding roll r5 toward the suction belt 12 at the same feeding speed as that of the twisted yarns Y.In a position between the warpers beam W and the bonding roll r5, there is disposed a storage tank 13 containing therein a bonding agent 14 is a liquid form which is supplied through a roll r6 partially immersed in the bonding agent 14, and a roll r7 contacting the roll r6 and another roll r8 which is in contact with the bonding roll r5 as shown for applying the bonding agent 14 onto one surface of the base material B to be fed onto the surface of said bonding roll rS. As the base material B and twisted yarns Y are joined together on the suction belt 12, the twisted yarns Ya in the lower layers of the layers of twisted yarns Y in the belt-like configuration adhere to the one surface Ba of the base material B by the bonding agent 14 applied thereto as shown in Fig. 4.In the above case, the twisted yarns Yb in the upper layers are merely arranged on the twisted yarns Ya in the lower layers for free movement.

The base material B and twisted yarns Y combined into a decorative sheet material BY on the suction belt 12 in the above described manner are then fed onto a flat drying plate 15 disposed subsequent to the suction belt 12, and further onto a first drying drum D1 through a series of tension rolls r, r,0, r11 and r,2, and from the first drying drum D1, onto a second drying drum D2 through tension rolls r,3, r,4 and r5, while the bonding agent 14 for the bonding between the base material B and the twisted yarns Ya at the lower layer is dried by the flat drying plate 15 and the first and second drying drums D, and D2.After the bonding material 14 has been dried in the manner as described above, the decorative sheet material BY formed by the twisted yarns Y and base material B is wound through tension rolls r,6, r7, r8 and rag onto a spindle 18 provided with surface winder rolls r20 and r21 for completion of the first process.

The decorative sheet material BY thus wound onto the spindle 18 in the roll form is then transferred onto another spindle 19 for being subjected to the second process shown in Fig. 5 and somewhat similar in arrangement to the first process of Fig. 3. The material BY drawn out from the roll on the spindle 19 is continuously fed onto a bonding roll r5b through tension rolls rib, r2b, r3b and r4b. Adjacent to the peripheral surfaces of the tension roll r2b and the bonding roll r5b, there are respectively provided brushes Fa and Fb so as to contact the twisted yarns Y of the decorative sheet material BY. As shown in Fig. 6, the brush Fa (or Fb) further includes, for example, three brush member F1, F2 and F3 which brush the twisted yarns Y as the decorative sheet material BY passes over the tension roll r2b.By the brushing as described above, the twisted yarns Y in the upper layers regularly arranged on the base material B are re-arranged into an unevenly laminated layer structure as shown in Fig. 2. The decorative sheet material BY whose twisted yarns Y are re-arranged in the above described manner is subsequently passed between rolls r6b and r7b, and r7b and r8b, during which time, the bonding agent 14 contained in a storage tank 1 3b is applied onto the twisted yarns Y on the whole for bonding between said twisted yarns Y.

The decorative sheet material BY onto which the bonding agent 14 is applied as described above is continuously fed onto the flat drying plate 1 5b through the suction belt 1 2b, and from the flat drying plate 1 sub, onto the first drying drum D1 b through a series of tension rolls r9b, r1 Ob, r1 1 and r1 2b, and then from the drum Dlb onto the second drying drum D2b through tension rolls r1 3b, r1 4b and r1 5b. The bonding agent 14 for bonding the twisted yarns Y to each other is dried at the flat drying plate 1 sub, and first and second drying drums D1 b and D2b in the similar manner as in the first process of Fig. 3.After the bonding agent 14 has been dried in the above described manner, the decorative sheet material BY is wound in the form of a roll of the finished decorative sheet P, onto the spindle 1 8b provided with the surface winder rolls r20b and r2 1 b through the tension rolls r1 6b, r1 7b r1 8b and r1 9b for completion of the second process.

By the first and second processes as described above, the decorative sheet P in which the twisted yarns are arranged in the unevenly laminated structure on the base material as shown in Fig. 2 can be continuously manufactured. Depending on necessity, the decorative sheet thus obtained may be further subjected to printing or reinforcement finish in a subsequent process (not shown).

It is to be noted here that, in the foregoing embodiment, although the first and second processes are described as carried out by the different arrangements of Figs. 3 and 5 with the decorative sheet material wound onto the spindle 18 in Fig. 3 being transferred onto the spindle 19 of Fig. 5, it may be so modified that the arrangement of Fig. 3 which is similar to that of Fig. 5 is also utilized for the second process with the decorative sheet material being drawn out directly from the spindle 18.

Referring to Fig. 7, there is shown a second embodiment of the method of manufacturing decorative sheets according to the present invention.

The method of Fig. 7, in which the number of applications of the bonding agent is reduced to only one time, includes the steps of continuously feeding in one direction, the large number of twisted yarns uniformly and closely arranged in layers in directions of width and thickness of the belt-like configuration thereof, continuously applying the bonding agent onto the twisted yarns on the whole at a first predetermined position, while simultaneously feeding the flat planar thin base material in the belt-like shape at the same speed and in the same direction as those of the twisted yarns so as to continuously lay the twisted yarns applied with the bonding agent in said first predetermined position onto the base material at a second predetermined position, and subsequently drying said bonding agent for integrating said base material and twisted yarns into one unit.

Similarly to the method of Figs. 3 to 6, in the method of Fig. 7 also, it is possible to set the dimensions of the base material, number of twisted yarns and shapes of the lamination as desired for continuous production of the decorative sheets at a high efficiency, and the method of Fig. 7 is particularly suited to be adopted in spinning mills and the like equipped with warp beaming and sizing facilities.

In the arrangement of Fig. 7, the twisted yarns Y drawn out from a large number of cheeses C1, C2, C3, ... and Cn mounted on a creel C are first passed through an ordinary reed E, disposed in a position immediately before the creel C. The number of the twisted yarns Y to be processed is in the range of 4,000 to 12,000 pieces as in the embodiment of Figs. 3 to 6, and the twisted yarns Y to be passed between respective two needles of the reed E, are generally equal in number. The twisted yarns Y which have passed through the ordinary reed E are subsequently passed through an accordion type read E2 which is adjustable in its width as desired and disposed in a position between the ordinary reed E, and the applicator rolls r6c, r7c and r8c for the storage tank 1 3c containing therein the bonding agent 14.While the twisted yarns Y are passed through the reed E2, they are irregularly divided in number between the needles of the reed E2, with distances between the twisted yarns Y in the widthwise direction of the belt-like configuration being simultaneously reduced. As described above, by passing through the reed E2, the twisted yarns Y are formed into the unevenly laminated structure, presenting the belt-like configuration on the whole. The twisted yarns Y which have passed through the reed E2 are then applied with the bonding agent 14 as they pass between the rolls r6c and r7c, and r7c and r8c, and are further fed toward rolls r22 and r23 provided subsequent to and in a spaced relation from the rolls r6c, r7c and r8c.

In a position between the rolls r8c and r22 and below the path of the twisted yarns Y therebetween, there is disposed the base material B in the roll form mounted on the spindle 1 Ob, and the base material B drawn out therefrom is fed onto the roll r22 at a speed equal to that of the twisted yarns Y. Therefore, the twisted yarns Y applied with the bonding agent 14 and the base material B are joined together on the roll r22 so as to be bonded together to each other.

The decorative sheet material BY thus prepared is then fed to the drying process (not shown here) in the similar manner as in the process of Fig. 3, and is wound onto the winding roll (not shown here) after drying of the bonding agent. Since the above drying and winding processes are generally similar to those in the arrangement of Fig. 3, detailed description thereof is abbreviated here for brevity.

By the arrangement of Fig. 7 as described above, the decorative sheet in which the twisted yarns are formed into the unevenly laminated structure on the base material as shown in Fig. 2 can be continuously manufactured through the process simpler than in the arrangement of Figs. 3 to 6.

As is clear from the foregoing description, since the decorative sheet according to the present invention has the structure very close to natural wood, disadvantages inherent in the conventional wooden sheets or vinyl chloride sheets have been completely eliminated, while said decorative sheet can be manufactured at an extremely high efficienty by the method according the present invention.

Claims

1. A decorative sheet which comprises a flat planar thin base material and a large number of twisted yarns arranged in layers in one direction on the entire surface of said flat planar thin base material to form an unevenly laminated structure thereon, said twisted yarns at lower layers of said layers and the surface of said flat planar thin base material, and also neighboring ones of said twisted yarns being bonded to each other into one unit.

2. A decorative sheet as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said flat planar thin base material is selectively made of paper or non-woven fabrics mainly composed of cellulose.

3. A decorative sheet as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said twisted yarns are mainly composed of cellulose.

4. A decorative sheet as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said twisted yarns are of soft twisted yarns made of multi-filament.

5. A method of manufacturing decorative sheets which comprises the steps of continuously feeding in one direction, a large number of twisted yarns uniformly and closely arranged in layers in directions of width and thickness of a belt-like configuration thereof, feeding a flat planar thin base material in a belt-like shape at the same speed and in the same direction as those of said twisted yarns, and continuously laying said twisted yarns onto said base material for integrating said twisted yarns and base material into one unit through application thereto of bonding agent and subsequent drying of said bonding agent.

6. A method of manufacturing decorative sheets as claimed in Claim 5, wherein said application of the bonding agent is effected onto one surface of said base material at a first predetermined position, said laying of said twisted yarns onto said base material which has the bonding agent applied to said one surface thereof being effected at a second predetermined position with subsequent drying of the bonding agent on said base material for causing the twisted yarns at lower layers to adhere to said base material and also with subsequent continuous re-arranging of the twisted yarns in intermediate and upper layers not adhering to said base material into an unevenly laminated structure, said twisted yarns on the whole rearranged into the unevenly laminated structure being further applied with the bonding agent which is subsequently dried so as to cause said twisted yarns to adhere to each other.

7. A method of manufacturing decorative sheets as claimed in Claim 5, wherein said application of the bonding agent is continuously effected onto said twisted yarns on the whole at a first predetermined position, said continuous laying of said twisted yarns applied with said bonding agent onto said base material being effected at a second predetermined position with subsequent drying of said bonding agent for integrating said twisted yarns and base material into one unit.

8. A method of manufacturing decorative sheets which comprises the steps of continuously feeding in one direction, a large number of twisted yarns uniformly and closely arranged in layers in directions of width and thickness of a blet-like configuration thereof; simultaneously feeding a flat planar thin base material in a beltlike shape at the same speed and in the same direction as those of said twisted yarns; applying bonding agent to one surface of said base material at a first predetermined position; continuously laying said twisted yarns arranged in the belt-like configuration on said one surface of said base material applied with the bonding agent, causing the twisted yarns at lower layers adjacent to the one surface of said base material to adhere to said one surface by drying the bonding agent on said base material, continuously re-arranging the twisted yarns at intermediate and upper layers not adhering to said one surface of said base material into an unevenly laminated structure, applying the bonding agent onto the entire twisted yarns re-arranged into said unevenly laminated structure, and subsequently causing the twisted yarns to adhere to each other by drying said bonding agent.

9. A method of manufacturing decorative sheets which comprises the steps of continuously feeding in one direction a large number of twisted yarns uniformly and closely arranged in layers in directions of width and thickness of a belt-like configuration thereof, continuously applying bonding agent onto the twisted yarns on the whole at a first predetermined position, simultaneously feeding a flat planar thin base material in a belt-like shape at the same speed and in the same direction as those of said twisted yarns so as to continuously lay said twisted yarns applied with the bonding agent at said first predetermined position onto said base material at a second predetermined position, and subsequently drying said bonding agent for integrating said base material and twisted yarns into one unit.

10. A method of manufacturing a decorative sheet substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figures 3 to 6 or with reference to and as shown in Figure 7 of the accompanying drawings.

11. A decorative sheet manufactured by a method as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 10.

12. A decorative sheet substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.