Absorbent non-woven felt material and method of making same
AssigneeBouckaert Industrial Textiles, Inc.
InventorsThomas V. Bouckaert, Richard A. Leroux
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention provides a non-woven felt material that includes a blend of cotton shoddy and synthetic fibers, and a method of making the same. The blend of cotton shoddy and synthetic fibers is carded and needled to form a batt. The batt is compacted and unified into its stable final shape by heating and soft-pressing, which causes at least a portion of the synthetic fibers to soften and/or melt and thereby bond the needled cotton shoddy and synthetic fibers together. The non-woven felt material according to the invention is strong, tear resistant, yet provides a non-slip, cushioned walking surface that readily absorbs and contains spilled oils, water and/or glycols.
Claims14
A non-woven felt material comprising a blend of:
- from about 40% to about 60% by weight of cotton shoddy;
- from about 25% by weight to about 35% by weight of polyolefin fibers;
- and
- from about 15% by weight to about 25% by weight of polyester fibers;
- wherein the cotton shoddy, polyolefin fibers and polyester fibers are randomly oriented and mechanically intertwined and interlocked in a sheet structure, and
- wherein the sheet structure is unified and stabilized by temporarily heating and soft pressing the sheet structure at a temperature sufficient to at least partially melt bond the polyolefin fibers to the cotton shoddy and polyester fibers throughout the entire sheet structure,
- wherein the non-woven felt material has a thickness of about 0.125±10% inches and a weight of about 12±10% ounces per square yard, and
- wherein the non-woven felt material is latex-free.
A floor mat for absorbing oils, water and/or coolants comprising a latex-free non-woven felt material comprising a blend of:
- from about 45% to about 55% by weight of cotton shoddy;
- from 27.5% to about 32.5% by weight of polypropylene fibers having a denier within the range of from about 3 to about 25;
- and
- from about 17.5% to about 22.5% by weight of polyethylene terephthalate fibers having a denier within the range of from about 3 to about 25;
- wherein the blend of cotton shoddy, polyolefin fibers and polyester fibers are randomly oriented and mechanically intertwined and interlocked in a sheet structure,
- wherein the sheet structure is unified and stabilized by temporarily heating and soft pressing the sheet structure at a temperature sufficient to at least partially melt bond the polyolefin fibers to the cotton shoddy and polyester fibers throughout the entire sheet structure, and
- wherein the latex-free non-woven felt material has a thickness of about 0.125±10% inches and a weight of about 12±10% ounces per square yard.
A method of making a non-woven felt material comprising:
- contacting from about 40% to about 60% by weight of cotton shoddy, from about 25% by weight to about 35% by weight of polyolefin fibers, and from about 15% by weight to about 25% by weight of polyester fibers together to form a blend of fibers;
- carding the blend of fibers to form a carded web;
- needling the carded web to form a needled batt in which the cotton shoddy, polyolefin fibers and polyester fibers are randomly oriented and mechanically intertwined and interlocked;
- and
- temporarily heating and soft pressing the needled batt at a temperature sufficient to at least partially melt bond the polyolefin fibers to the cotton shoddy and polyester fibers throughout the entire needled batt and thereby form a latex-free unified stable sheet structure having a thickness of about 0.125 ±10% inches and a weight of about 12±10% ounces per square yard.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.