Leather assembly and method of fabricating a leather assembly

#The invention relates to a leather which has, on its surface, a grain structure forming the visible side or a dressing forming the visible side, which preferably has a grain structure. On its flesh side opposite the visible side surface, the leather has a foam finish consisting of a solidified plastics material containing hollow microspheres. The invention furthermore relates to a process for the production of such a leather.

#It has become known that split leathers (splits), in particular, can be provided with a dressing on the visible side in order to impart a more attractive appearance to the visible side. Here, dressing consists of at least two layers, and at least one layer may contain hollow microspheres. The outer layer forming the visible side is first produced separately on a substrate and then bonded via the inner layer to the grain side of the split leather. At least the outer layer must meet the requirements set for the grain side of a leather and in particular must be hard and abrasion-resistant, must have good endurance and must be water-repellent and therefore has no soft foam structure.

#It has also already been proposed to provide the grain side of a leather with a dressing which has hollow microspheres which are opened by buffing the surface, resulting in a suede effect. Owing to the opened hollow microspheres. Such a dressing does not have a foam structure.

#The drawing is a magnified cross section through a leather assembly according to the invention.

#Referring now to the sole figure of the drawing in detail, there is shown a leather or leather substrate 1 which is provided, on its visible side, with a dressing 2 and, on its flesh side opposite the visible side, with a foam finish 3. The dressing 2 can be applied to the grain side of a natural leather, to one side of a split or to a nubuck leather. The dressing 2 is produced in a conventional manner, which is known to those of skill in the pertinent art. When a natural grain leather is used, the dressing 2 can also be dispensed with.

#The foam finish 3 has a structural design which, in the illustrated embodiment, is formed of grooves 4. These grooves 4 may run only in one direction, parallel to one another. However, it is expedient to provide grooves which intersect one another and between which square or rectangular elevations 5 of the foam finish 3 are formed. However, the foam finish 3 can also have a different design and can possess, for example, the appearance of a fine-grained lining leather or of a textile material.

#The visible side of the foam finish can also be provided with a colored finish.