Stabilization of fabric surfaces
AssigneeEngineered Floors LLC
InventorsJohn Joseph Matthews Rees, Stephen Horace Tsiarkezos, Dimitri Zafiroglu, Anthony Daniell
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A textile fabric having improved properties, variously including surface stability, abrasion resistance, resistance to edge fraying, moisture control, and resistance to fluid penetration is created by introducing a polymeric solution or a plurality of low-melting particles suspended in a liquid into the textile fabric while leaving a plurality of surface fibers exposed and maintaining a textile feel on the surface.
Claims18
A method for improving abrasion resistance in a top surface of a textile fabric, the method comprising:
- suspending a plurality of low-melting polymeric adhesive particles having a particle melting point that is lower than a melting point of fibers forming the top surface in a liquid to create a liquid suspension of low-melting polymeric adhesive particles;
- applying the liquid suspension of low-melting polymeric adhesive particles to the textile fabric;
- applying a volume of additional liquid without any low-melting polymeric adhesive particles to the top surface of the textile fabric, the volume sufficient to carry at least a portion of the plurality of low-melting polymeric adhesive particles into the textile fabric and away from the top surface;
- and
- applying heat to the textile fabric after applying the volume of the additional liquid, the heat sufficient to evaporate the liquid applied to the textile fabric and to melt the plurality of low-melting polymer adhesive particles in situ without melting the fibers forming the top surface.
A method for improving abrasion resistance of a top surface of a textile fabric, the method comprising:
- depositing a layer of low-melting polymeric adhesive particles having a particle melting point lower than a melting point of fibers forming the top surface of the fabric onto the top surface of the textile fabric;
- applying, subsequent to the deposition of the layer of low-melting polymeric adhesive particles onto the top surface of the textile fabric, a volume of liquid onto the top surface to cause at least a portion of the particles deposited onto the top surface to be driven below the top surface;
- and
- applying heat to the fabric to evaporate the applied volume of liquid and to melt the low-melting polymeric adhesive particles in situ.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.