US1865345A

US1865345A - Covering

Info

Publication number: US1865345A
Application number: US551954A
Authority: US
Inventors: George H Wheatley
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1931-07-20
Filing date: 1931-07-20
Publication date: 1932-06-28
Anticipated expiration: 1949-06-28

Description

June 28, 1932. G. H. wHEA'rLl-:Y

COVERING Filed July 2o, 19:51

FIGA.

fw? M wam@ Patented' June 28, 41932 UNITED" STATES PATENT .ori-fior.

.tpplioatien filed Jnly 30Jl9%1. Serial No. 551,954.

This invention relates to coverin and with regard to certain more specific eatures to carpeting formedirom a felted fabric and rubber. l

Among the several objects of the invention may be noted the provision oi a coveringcomprisinga tenacionsly joined elted Jfabric and rubber base; the provision of a covering of the class described which will not fray when cut,

or When worn in particular spots; the provi sion oi a covering of the class described which is shock :absorbing and a relatively eihcient heat insulator, and which has a certain resilient'quality whereby it is adapted to lay snugly over limited unevenness oi floors; the provision oi a covering of the class described which is readily adapted for use on the doors of'niotor cars; the provision of a covering of the class described in which the ielted inatege rial is treated vvithrnbber and vulcanized, and vvhich may be suitably reinforced and/or p formed to @ve the appearance of vvoven 'tabv ric; and the provision of the method of manuiacturing covering of the class described ne which gives a strong relatively cheap and attractive covering. ther objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinaiter. l

The invention accordingly comprises the et elements and combination ofelernents, :features of construction and synthesis, and arrangements of parts, which will be exempli- :iied in the structures hereinafter described,

and the scope ot the application o whichV et will be indicated in the following claim.

ln the accompanying drawing, in which are illustrated one or more of various possible embodiments ci the invention,

Fi 1 is a trimetric view of a fragment of #1@ the nished covering, in this instance carpeting, showing the application of a molding screen thereto;

Fig. 2 is an exploded sectional viewillustrating the raw materials of the invention v @il prior to treatment thereof;

. illustrating an alternative embodiment of the finished covering.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts thronghout. the several 'Views of the drawing.

' lin my copending application, Serial Number 527,435, led April 3, i931, for door covering, l disclose a carpeting formed of a Woven fabric `Wearing surface and a Vshoclze@ absorbing sponge rubber hacln'ng therefor. While the carpeting therein disclosed is possessedo'f great utility, the necessity for b1nding the edges thereof to prevent raveling or fraying oi the fabric renders it uneconomical e5 for use in small pieces, as tor automobile floors. The present invention overcomes this diculty and presents a covering -which reqnires no edge binding whatsoever.

Referring to Fig. l there is shovvn at nu- 7o rneral 1 a piece oi covering, in this instance carpeting, made according to the present invention which is especially adapted for use on the doors ci automobiles and the like. Prior carpeting ont the class used for the oor's ot motor cars has been made from a, Woven fabric. When subjected to Wear in l certain limited regions, the carpet Wore through in those regions, and became ragged we,

and frayed and presented an unsightly appearance betere the remainder of the carpet showed any appreciable vvear. Furthermore, such acarpet required a binding around the edges to prevent the cut fabric 'from ravellin 35 or fraying.. A still further disadvantage o the plain :fabric carpeting is that it is neither Waterproof, sound, nor vibration absorbing' nor heat insulating, and accordingly the degreve of utility comfort which the deep carpet '90 i that a well furnished home affords was not available.

I have overcome the diiliculties associated with the aforementioned carpet and have provided a new and improved type of covering which is resilient, heat insulating and vibration absorbing and which has a top surface which will not unravel or become ragged, and which may be cut to any size desired Without necessity of binding the edges of the cut portions.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 1, there is shown at numeral 1 a section of covering which comprises a sponge rubber layer 3 to the top of which is tenaciously, permanently joined a treated felted fabric 5.

The felt 5 before treated may comprise Wool, wool and cotton, jute or other fibrous material felted together to form a finished but untreated felted mat 13 (see Fig. 2) In this condition the mat 13 has a large number of fibers 15 extending therefrom and the number of relatively large interstices therein is lar e.

The fa ric 13 is first soaked with a rubber solution which may comprise for example, a rubber cement, a solution of rubber latex or a water solution or suspension of rubber. After the felted material 13 has been so treated as to be impregnated throughout with the rubber solution, it is allowed to dry thoroughli and the dried and matted felted fabric is s own on to of the raw rubber composition in Fig. 3. his drying allows the solvent of the solution to evaporate and leaves the rubber around the fiber and lling the interstices. This drying also causes further matting of the fibers which matting provides a heavil matted, tough and wear resisting surface. e felt in this condition is quite sticky. The onge preformed rubber' base 3 is formed om a rubber composition 11 (Fig. 2) which usually comprises a thoroughly intermixed mass of latex and/or partial rubber or the like, and such chemicals as, under the influence of heat, react to produce an aerating as.y Upon heating and vulcanizing, the ru ber composition, as shown at numeral 11 e ands and assumes the finished shock-absor ing base or under-side material shown at numeral 3, Figs. 1 and 4.

|Ihe treated dried fabric 13 and rubber composition 11 are assembled as shown in Fig. 3

and the composite material is now subjected to a. heatin or vulcanizing operation, as dcscribed in etail in my United States patent application, Serial No. 527,435, filed April 3, 1931, or otherwise. Durin this heating or vulcanizing operation the c emical or chemicals in the composition 11 are caused to react or generate ases which aerate or inate the composition ayer 11, thereby producing the sponged or vulcanized rubber layer 3.

The rubber in the rubber treated mat 13 assumes the characteristics shown in y cured numeral 5 il! that it loses its stickiness which it had after being treated with the rubber y solution and prior to the heat treating.

-top of the carpeting 5 during the heating or vulcanization, and the effect is to produce a permanent design such as is shown at numeral 7 which design gives a woven effect to the cover. This is accomplished because the rubber in the felt is also vulcanized at a temperature corresponding to an optimum plastic state of the rubber and holds its vulcanized form when cooled. n

Plate molds or screens having any suitable design may likewise be used to impress the felted material 5 during the vulcanizing 0peration. The mold may also be provided with cutting edges, whereby the coverin is brought to exact size, during the vulcanizing operation with maximum simplicity.

In instances where a covering having a relof an occu ant of the car in which the carpet is installe The rubber and felt, being heat insulating, provide a cooler surface in the summer and a warmer surface in the winter. Inasmuch as the carpet has no woven fabric if as under the clutch pedal of a car, the heel of the operator wears the material 5 through to the rubber, the material 5 around the hole will not fray or become ragged inasmuch as it is of a felted construction. Further for this reason no edge binding is necessary.

Further, the fact that the felt 5 is fastened to such a resilient base helps the wearing ualities of the felting inasmuch as the resiliency of the base tends to take a great deal of the shock and thus the felt 5 gives with the base. Because the base is rubber it is adapted to lie on the floor without slipping.

A further advantage of the invention is that the roduct which is thus obtained is relatively inexpensive to produce because this type of coverin may be made in a continuous strip; by t e vulcanizing machine described in my aforementioned patent application.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved .and other advantageous results attained.

As many changes could be made in carrying out the above constructions without de- In' testimony, I have si ed m name to this specification this 16th da of u1 1931.

EATIZY.

GEORGE H.

ayer of rubber,- saidV