GB2092021A

GB2092021A - Fabric coated with rubber or rubber-like plastics materials

Info

Publication number: GB2092021A
Application number: GB8136254A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Continental Gummi Werke AG
Current assignee: Continental AG
Priority date: 1980-12-06
Filing date: 1981-12-01
Publication date: 1982-08-11
Also published as: IT1139794B; ES8300285A1; DE3046143C2; GB2092021B; FR2495542A1; DK155925B; IT8125166A0; NL8105227A; FR2495542B3; NL189450C; DK155925C; NL189450B; ES507202A0; DK538581A; DE3046143A1

Abstract

The invention provides a fabric coated with rubber or rubber-like materials for the manufacture of inflatable hollow bodies, e.g. rubber dinghies or life belts, in which the coating, at least on one side of the fabric has a surface roughness, preferably microscopically fine, over the entire surface.

Description

SPECIFICATION Fabric coated with rubber or rubber-like plastics materials The present invention relates to fabrics, coated with rubber or rubber-like plastics materials, for the manufacture of inflatable hollow bodies, for example, rubber dinghies, lifebelts, and the like.

Rubber dinghies and simiiar inflatable hollow bodies are usually composed of moulded parts, which have been formed from moulds and which are made of ready-coated fabrics, and they are constructed by means of adhesive or welded joints in the generally overlapping edge seams. The additionally required fittings, such as edge trims, braids for grab ropes, carrying handles and securing or trailing eyelets, rowlocks, seat retaining means, inflation and bilge valves, compartments for the floating bodies, and the like, are also mounted by means of adhesive or welded joints. In respect of the overall manufacture, the preparation and formation of the materiallocking joints necessitate a relatively large amount of space, so that in practice there has long been the desire to reduce the work and time, especially, needed to accomplish these joints by simplifying the process.However, since special requirements are in fact set for the stability and reliability of the joints, it has hitherto proved impossible to meet these requirements despite all attempts at rationalization. For technical reasons, it is necessary to roughen the adhesive or welded surfaces beforehand, and the required care and attention can only be achieved manually, for example, by means of grinding discs mechanically driven by flexible shafts. From the outset, in fact, it would be disadvantageous, for safety reasons, for substantially greater surface sections than the actual adhesive surfaces to be always processed in such a manner.

The invention seeks to simplify the formation of the adhesive joints between adjacent sections, made of fabrics which are coated so as to be watertight and airtight, without reducing their tensile strength to breaking and their stability, and, as a consequence thereof, to reduce substantially the work and time required to construct all types of inflatable hollow bodies whilst providing the end product with a quality which remains at least uniform.

According to the present invention, to achieve this object for fabrics of the abovementioned type, provision is made for the coating, at least on one side of the fabric, to have a surface roughness, preferably microscopically fine, over the entire surface. This rough surface may, for example, be in the form of an open-cell pore structure or follow a line pattern formed by regularly spaced indentations particularly in the form of a design which is composed of intersecting lines.

By introducing such ready-made fabric webs as novel components during manufacture of inflatable hollow and floating bodies, the invention leads to surprisin.g advantages which could not have been expected beforehand as regards either its result or its scope.

The uniform surface structure, which is produced in a predetermined manner in all regions replaces the localized roughening which was otherwise required at the various adhesion locations. The elimination of the operations for preparating the locations for adhesion also eliminates the ever-present danger of unnoticed fabric flaws and the consequential damage resulting from later use of the articles. However, since the irregularities, inevitable with any mechanical process, in the region of the locations for adhesion, and particularly the indentations caused by removing the material of the external layer, compared with the surrounding regions of the surface, are also eliminated, favourable conditions are already produced from the outset for achieving considerably improved adhesion. This applies particularly to the vital transitional regions at the edges of the interconnected parts.

In addition to the reduced work and time required and the improved stability of the adhesive joints, however, the invention also provides manufacturing advantages as an indirect consequence. Since no material has to be removed subsequently, the fabric webs can in fact be coated from the outset with a thinner coating and, thus, both the material costs and the weight of the finished articles are reduced without there being any reduction in quality.

Further reductions in price result from being able to cut the necessary moulded or shaped parts from one and the same fabric web, without any regard for their technical function, with minimum waste. And finally, the finished articles are also valuable in use because the surface roughness is uniform in all regions, and this roughness substantially facilitates the operation of climbing on board out of the water, for example, in the case of rubber dinghies and other floating bodies.

To produce the novel fabrics themselves, known processes, preferably continuous processes, may be used, whereby the elastomeric coating material is vulcanized or cross-linked by the effect of pressure and heat with an adhesive bonding to the fabric, e.g. between the heated rollers of a calender. The indentations or recesses forming the rough surface may then be inserted into the coating simultaneously with the pressing action, these indentations being formed by the use of heavily embossed rollers, or rollers provided with moulded surfaces, or also by the use of synchronously-moving supported fabric or film webs.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Fabric coated with rubber or rubber-like plastics materials The present invention relates to fabrics, coated with rubber or rubber-like plastics materials, for the manufacture of inflatable hollow bodies, for example, rubber dinghies, lifebelts, and the like. Rubber dinghies and simiiar inflatable hollow bodies are usually composed of moulded parts, which have been formed from moulds and which are made of ready-coated fabrics, and they are constructed by means of adhesive or welded joints in the generally overlapping edge seams. The additionally required fittings, such as edge trims, braids for grab ropes, carrying handles and securing or trailing eyelets, rowlocks, seat retaining means, inflation and bilge valves, compartments for the floating bodies, and the like, are also mounted by means of adhesive or welded joints. In respect of the overall manufacture, the preparation and formation of the materiallocking joints necessitate a relatively large amount of space, so that in practice there has long been the desire to reduce the work and time, especially, needed to accomplish these joints by simplifying the process.However, since special requirements are in fact set for the stability and reliability of the joints, it has hitherto proved impossible to meet these requirements despite all attempts at rationalization. For technical reasons, it is necessary to roughen the adhesive or welded surfaces beforehand, and the required care and attention can only be achieved manually, for example, by means of grinding discs mechanically driven by flexible shafts. From the outset, in fact, it would be disadvantageous, for safety reasons, for substantially greater surface sections than the actual adhesive surfaces to be always processed in such a manner. The invention seeks to simplify the formation of the adhesive joints between adjacent sections, made of fabrics which are coated so as to be watertight and airtight, without reducing their tensile strength to breaking and their stability, and, as a consequence thereof, to reduce substantially the work and time required to construct all types of inflatable hollow bodies whilst providing the end product with a quality which remains at least uniform. According to the present invention, to achieve this object for fabrics of the abovementioned type, provision is made for the coating, at least on one side of the fabric, to have a surface roughness, preferably microscopically fine, over the entire surface. This rough surface may, for example, be in the form of an open-cell pore structure or follow a line pattern formed by regularly spaced indentations particularly in the form of a design which is composed of intersecting lines. By introducing such ready-made fabric webs as novel components during manufacture of inflatable hollow and floating bodies, the invention leads to surprisin.g advantages which could not have been expected beforehand as regards either its result or its scope. The uniform surface structure, which is produced in a predetermined manner in all regions replaces the localized roughening which was otherwise required at the various adhesion locations. The elimination of the operations for preparating the locations for adhesion also eliminates the ever-present danger of unnoticed fabric flaws and the consequential damage resulting from later use of the articles. However, since the irregularities, inevitable with any mechanical process, in the region of the locations for adhesion, and particularly the indentations caused by removing the material of the external layer, compared with the surrounding regions of the surface, are also eliminated, favourable conditions are already produced from the outset for achieving considerably improved adhesion. This applies particularly to the vital transitional regions at the edges of the interconnected parts. In addition to the reduced work and time required and the improved stability of the adhesive joints, however, the invention also provides manufacturing advantages as an indirect consequence. Since no material has to be removed subsequently, the fabric webs can in fact be coated from the outset with a thinner coating and, thus, both the material costs and the weight of the finished articles are reduced without there being any reduction in quality. Further reductions in price result from being able to cut the necessary moulded or shaped parts from one and the same fabric web, without any regard for their technical function, with minimum waste. And finally, the finished articles are also valuable in use because the surface roughness is uniform in all regions, and this roughness substantially facilitates the operation of climbing on board out of the water, for example, in the case of rubber dinghies and other floating bodies. To produce the novel fabrics themselves, known processes, preferably continuous processes, may be used, whereby the elastomeric coating material is vulcanized or cross-linked by the effect of pressure and heat with an adhesive bonding to the fabric, e.g. between the heated rollers of a calender. The indentations or recesses forming the rough surface may then be inserted into the coating simultaneously with the pressing action, these indentations being formed by the use of heavily embossed rollers, or rollers provided with moulded surfaces, or also by the use of synchronously-moving supported fabric or film webs. CLAIMS

1. Fabric coated with rubber or rubber-like plastics materials, for the manufacture of inflatable bodies, such as, rubber dinghies, lifebelts, and the like, in which the coating, at least on one side of the fabric, has a surface roughness over the entire surface.

2. A fabric as claimed in claim 1, in which the surface roughness is microscopically fine.

3. A fabric as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the surface roughness has an open-cell pore structure.

4. A fabric as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the surface roughness follows a line pattern formed by regularly spaced indentations.

5. A fabric as claimed in claim 4, in which the surface roughness has a design composed of intersecting lines.

6. A fabric coated with rubber or rubberlike plastics materials, as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, substantially as hereinbefore described.

7. A method of producing the fabric as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the elastomeric coating material is vulcanized or cross-linked by the effect of pressure and heat with an adhesive bonding to the fabric, in which indentations forming the rough surface are inserted into the coating by the pressing action during vulcanization.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7, substantally as hereinbefore described.