GB2569097A

GB2569097A - A composite material and a method for the manufacture of a composite material

Info

Publication number: GB2569097A
Application number: GB1717226.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Sodha Anand
Original assignee: Tsn Capital Ltd
Current assignee: Tsn Capital Ltd
Priority date: 2017-10-20
Filing date: 2017-10-20
Publication date: 2019-06-12
Anticipated expiration: 2037-10-20
Also published as: GB201717226D0; GB2569097B

Abstract

The composite comprises a layer of processed leaves 3 from a tree of the genus tectona and polymeric layer 1, preferably with intervening glue 5. The preferred composite also includes a cloth mesh 7 adhered 9 to the teak leaf layer 3. The teak tree leaves are dried, soaked in water, dried on a screen and removed from the screen before the polymer is applied. The water is preferably at 33°C. The material is used as artificial leather.

Description

The present invention relates generally to a composite material and a method for the manufacture of a composite material and finds particular, although not exclusive, utility in an alternative to leather.

Leather is a well-known and widely used material with many and varied uses; however, objections have been made to its use on the grounds of animal welfare and also cost. An alternative material is therefore desirable.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for the manufacture of a composite material, the method comprising the steps of: providing leaves from trees of the genus tectona; drying the leaves; soaking the dried leaves in water; spreading the soaked leaves on a screen to dry; removing the dried soaked leaves from the screen; and applying a layer of a plastics material over the leaves to form a composite material.

The trees of the genus tectona may comprise trees of the species tectona grandis, and/or teak.

Providing leaves may comprise collecting fallen leaves, and/or collecting leaves directly from the trees.

Drying the leaves may comprise placing the leaves on a screen (for example a mesh, material and/or silk screen), placing the leaves in direct sunlight, and/or placing the leaves in an artificially warmed location such as a drying room, oven, etc.

The water may be fresh water. A dye may be provided in the water in order to colour the leaves. The leaves may be soaked for at least 1 week, in particular at least 2 weeks, more particularly at least 3 weeks, preferably at least 4 weeks.

The water may be held at a temperature between 20 and 40 degrees centigrade, in particular between 22 and 36 degrees centigrade, more particularly between 24 and 33 degrees centigrade, preferably approximately 28 degrees centigrade.

Soaking the leaves may cause the leaves to become rubbery in texture.

Spreading the leaves may comprise overlapping the soaked leaves, which may form a substantially flat and/or substantially continuous single layer. The screen may comprise a mesh, material and/or silk screen.

The soaked leaves may be left on the screen for approximately at least 4 days, in particular at least 7 days, more particularly at least 10 days, preferably at least 14 days.

Once dried, the soaked leaves are removed from the screen. The dried soaked leaves may be removed from the screen by pealing, or any other appropriate means.

The dried soaked leaves may be laid on a cloth mesh. The cloth mesh may comprise cotton, or any other fibre material, in particular naturally occurring fibre material.

The soaked dried leaves may be glued to the cloth mesh using any suitable textile and/or material glue.

The plastics material may comprise a biodegradable and/or bioactive thermoplastic aliphatic polyester such as Poly(lactic acid) or PLA, polyester, polythene and/or any other suitable plastics material. The plastics material may be in the form a sheet. The plastics material may be substantially clear and/or transparent. The plastics material applied may be at most 0.1mm in thickness, in particular at most 0.05mm in thickness, more particularly at most 0.01mm in thickness, preferably at most 0.005mm in thickness.

The plastics material may be glued to the leaves using any suitable textile and/or material glue, which may be the same or different to the glue referred to above.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a composite material comprising a first layer comprising a plastics material and a second layer comprising a material formed from processed leaves from trees of the genus tectona.

The composite material may further comprise glue arranged to bind the first layer and the second layer together.

The composite material may further comprise a third layer comprising a cloth mesh.

The composite material may further comprise further glue arranged to bind the second layer and the third layer together.

The above and other characteristics, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention. This description is given for the sake of example only, without limiting the scope of the invention. The reference figures quoted below refer to the attached drawings.

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a composite material.

Figure 2 is a flow diagram of a method of manufacturing a composite material.

The present invention will be described with respect to certain drawings but the invention is not limited thereto but only by the claims. The drawings described are only schematic and are non-limiting. Each drawing may not include all of the features of the invention and therefore should not necessarily be considered to be an embodiment of the invention. In the drawings, the size of some of the elements may be exaggerated and not drawn to scale for illustrative purposes. The dimensions and the relative dimensions do not correspond to actual reductions to practice of the invention.

Furthermore, the terms first, second, third and the like in the description and in the claims, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking or in any other manner. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that operation is capable in other sequences than described or illustrated herein.

Moreover, the terms top, bottom, over, under and the like in the description and the claims are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that operation is capable in other orientations than described or illustrated herein.

It is to be noticed that the term “comprising”, used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being restricted to the means listed thereafter; it does not exclude other elements or steps. It is thus to be interpreted as specifying the presence of the stated features, integers, steps or components as referred to, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps or components, or groups thereof. Thus, the scope of the expression “a device comprising means A and B” should not be limited to devices consisting only of components A and B. It means that with respect to the present invention, the only relevant components of the device are A and B.

Similarly, it is to be noticed that the term “connected”, used in the description, should not be interpreted as being restricted to direct connections only. “Connected” may mean that two or more elements are either in direct physical contact, or that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other but yet still co-operate or interact with each other.

Reference throughout this specification to “an embodiment” or “an aspect” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or aspect is included in at least one embodiment or aspect of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment”, “in an embodiment”, or “in an aspect” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment or aspect, but may refer to different embodiments or aspects. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics of any embodiment or aspect of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure, in one or more embodiments or aspects.

Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the description various features of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Moreover, the description of any individual drawing or aspect should not necessarily be considered to be an embodiment of the invention. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in fewer than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into this detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention.

Furthermore, while some embodiments described herein include some features included in other embodiments, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the invention, and form yet further embodiments, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. For example, in the following claims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.

In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practised without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description.

In the discussion of the invention, unless stated to the contrary, the disclosure of alternative values for the upper or lower limit of the permitted range of a parameter, coupled with an indication that one of said values is more highly preferred than the other, is to be construed as an implied statement that each intermediate value of said parameter, lying between the more preferred and the less preferred of said alternatives, is itself preferred to said less preferred value and also to each value lying between said less preferred value and said intermediate value.

The use of the term “at least one” may mean only one in certain circumstances. The use of the term “any” may mean “all” and/or “each” in certain circumstances.

The principles of the invention will now be described by a detailed description of at least one drawing relating to exemplary features. It is clear that other arrangements can be configured according to the knowledge of persons skilled in the art without departing from the underlying concept or technical teaching, the invention being limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a composite material comprising a plastics material layer 1 disposed over a layer of a material 3 formed from processed leaves from trees of the genus tectona and affixed thereto with a glue 5. The layer of material 3 is disposed on a substrate 7 in the form of a cloth mesh material, affixed thereto with a further glue 9.

Figure 2 is a flow diagram of a method of manufacturing a composite material in which in step 10 leaves from trees of the genus tectona are provided, in step 20 the leaves are dried, in step 30 the dried leaves are then soaked in water, in step 40 the soaked leaves are spread on a screen to dry, in step 50 the dried soaked leaves are removed from the screen, in step 60 the dried soaked leaves are laid on a cloth mesh, in step 70 a layer of a plastics material is applied over the leaves to form a composite material.

Claims

1. A method for the manufacture of a composite material, the method comprising the steps of:

providing leaves from trees of the genus tectona;

drying the leaves;

soaking the dried leaves in water;

spreading the soaked leaves on a screen to dry;

removing the dried soaked leaves from the screen; and applying a layer of a plastics material over the leaves to form a composite material.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the water is held at a temperature between 24 and 33 degrees centigrade.

3. The method of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the plastics material is glued to the leaves using any suitable textile and/or material glue.

5. The method of any preceding claim, further comprising the steps of: after spreading the soaked leaves on the screen to dry, laying the dried leaves on a cloth mesh.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the dried leaves are glued to the cloth mesh using any suitable textile and/or material glue.

7. A composite material comprising a first layer comprising a plastics material and a second layer comprising a material formed from processed leaves from trees of the genus tectona.

8. The composite material of claim 7, further comprising glue arranged to bind the first layer and the second layer together.

9. The composite material of claim 7 or claim 8, further comprising a third layer comprising a cloth mesh.

10. The composite material of claim 9, further comprising further glue arranged to 5 bind the second layer and the third layer together.