Imitation leather material and method of preparing such material
AssigneePandel-Bradford, Inc.
InventorsHenry R. Lasman, Robert J. Lebenson, Reuben Wisotzky
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An imitation leather material which comprises in combination: a woven fabric base sheet material, one surface of which is a napped surface and the other surface of which is not napped; the napped surface of the base sheet impregnated with a crosslinked polymeric material; the napped impregnated surface of the base sheet characterized by a smooth, buffed, flesh-like surface; an open-cell flexible polymeric foam layer bonded to the other unnapped surface of the base sheet material; a thin polymeric skin layer bonded to the surface of the foam layer; and the thin polymeric skin layer characterized by an imitation leather-like surface.
Claims33
An imitation leather material which comprises in combination:
- a. a woven fabric base sheet material, one surface of which is a napped surface and the other surface of which is not napped;
- b. the napped surface of the base sheet impregnated with a cross-linked polymeric material;
- c. the napped impregnated surface of the base sheet characterized by a buffed, flesh-like surface;
- d. an open-cell flexible polymeric foam layer bonded to the other unnapped surface of the base sheet material;
- e. a thin polymeric skin layer bonded to the surface of the foam layer;
- and
- f. the thin polymeric skin layer characterized by an imitation leather-like surface.
An imitation leather sheet material which comprises in combination:
- a. a woven fabric base sheet material, one surface of which is napped and sheared, and the other surface of which is not napped;
- b. the fabric of the napped surface of the base sheet material impregnated with at least a partially cross-linked nitrile elastomeric polymer material;
- c. the impregnated napped surface characterized by a buffed, flesh-like leather appearance;
- d. a substantially open-cell flexible polymeric foam layer of from about 3 to 30 mils composed of at least two layers of different foam densities, the foam layer composed of a nitrile elastomer, a urethane resin, an acrylic resin or a vinyl chloride resin, the layers bonded together;
- e. an adhesive layer which bonds the lower density foam layer to the unnapped surface of the base sheet material;
- f. a thin urethane elastomeric resin skin layer of from about 0.1 to 3 mils bonded to the surface of the higher density foam layer;
- and
- g. the skin layer characterized by an embossed grain-like leather-like surface therein composed of raised and low areas.
A method of preparing an imitation leather-like material which comprises:
- a. impregnating the napped surface of a woven fabric base sheet material having a napped or an unnapped surface with a cross-linkable flexible polymer;
- b. cross-linking the cross-linkable polymer to form at least a partially cross-linked polymer surface;
- c. buffing the cross-linked impregnated surface to provide a flesh-like leather surface;
- d. bonding a flexible open-cell foam layer to the unnapped surface of the base sheet material;
- and
- e. bonding a thin polymeric flexible skin layer to the foam layer, the skin layer characterized by a leather-like surface appearance.
A method of preparing an imitation leather-like material, which method comprises:
- a. impregnating the napped and sheared surface of a woven fabric sheet material having a napped and an unnapped surface with a cross-linkable nitrile elastomeric polymer;
- b. cross-linking the impregnated elastomeric polymer;
- c. buffing the cross-linked polymer surface to provide a flesh-like leather surface;
- d. coating a thin skin layer of from 0.1 to 3 mils of a flexible elastomeric urethane resin onto a transfer sheet having an embossed grain-like surface thereon;
- e. coating a series of at least substantially open-cell foam layers onto the skin layer, the foam layers composed of an elastomeric foam, an acrylic foam or a urethane foam, the foam layers having a thickness of from about 3 to 30 mils, the foam layers having a difference in foam densities;
- f. coating a thin layer of an adhesive resin onto the exposed surface of the foam layer;
- g. placing the unnapped surface of the base sheet material onto the adhesive layer;
- h. heating the laminate so formed to bond the coating layers together and to the base sheet material to form an integral, flexible, composite sheet material;
- i. removing the transfer sheet;
- and
- j. recovering a flexible, leather-like laminate material with a grain-like embossed surface on the skin layer and a leather flesh-like surface on the opposite surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.