US1999280A - Mat - Google Patents

Description

i Apr. 30, 1935- Gerald F. Cavanagh, Euclid, and Gerald F.

Duryee, Willoughby,

Ohio, assignors to The Ohio Rubber Company, Cleveland, Uliio, a corporation of Ohio Application .rune a 1193s, serian N0. @time 3 Claims.

This invention relates to floor coverings and more particularly/to coverings for the front and rear compartments of automobiles, and has for its principal object toprovide a floor covering, especiallyfor the purpose mentioned, which is durable, neat and artistic in, appearance, and inexpensive to produce.

At the present time, automobile mats arev formedof rubber or of rubber and felt, the latter being attached by cementing or vulcanization to the under side of the sheet or layer of rubber. These mats are not entirely satisfactory because of their cold and unartistic appearance and :because they very readily show wear and are rendered unsightly by dirt and Water carried in on the shoes of the occupants of the vehicle, or otherwise.

In accordance with the present invention, we do away with the upper sheet of rubber and form the mat from felt, the upper portion of which is preferably treated with a suitable waterproof adhesive or binder and is subsequently subjected to pressure in a mold which gives the top surface the appearance of carpeting, preferably of tapestry carpet, while the lower part is maintained in its fluffy though felted condition.

The invention may be further briey summarized as consisting in a mat having the structural characteristics hereinafter describedand i1- lustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein We have illustrated twoforms of the invention.

mat made in accordance with one form of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional .view of a por-` In producing the mat shown in Figs. l, 2, 3v

and 4, the upper layer I and the lowerelayer il are formed from separate layers offelt attachedto each other. In producing the upper layer, we prefer to use felted animal hair or bers formed into sheetsand felted in any of the usual Ways. Next, the sheet is impregnated In the drawing, Fig. l is a top plan .view-of awith a waterproof binder of adhesive which gives it very-good wearing qualities and considerable tensile strength, as well as a certain degree of compactness and body. For this purpose, we may use any suitable binder or adhesive, such 5 as tapioca adhesive, to which may or may not be added latex, in fact we may use the adhesive described in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,574,896, or any other suitable adhesive which is waterproof and will not leave the sheet l0 brittle after drying, as it is desirable that the mats formed in accordance With my invention be flexible.

After the impregnated sheet has been dried, it is cut to substantially'the shape desired in the l5 nished mat or covering, after which it is placed in a mold, preferably a heated mold, and is subjected to considerable pressure, this mold having on one side a design such that the top of the material isl given the appearance of carpet and` preferably of tapestry carpet. After being treated in a mold of this kind wherein the mat is subjected to suicient pressure to produce the desired results, it will be found that the top surface is fairly hard and substantially free from tufted fibers or loose ber ends. Infact the appearance is substantially identical with a woven tapestry carpet, and it retains that appearance and shape notwithstanding a great deal of rough usage and Wear. This tapestry effect formed by the molded protuberances and depressions is indicated at l2 in all the different figures of the drawing.

We might add that in the same molding operation wherein the tapestry carpet formation is given to the top surface of the mat there may 'be Ymolded around the mat a suitable margin I3 which may have a surface configuration other than the `tapestry effect i2, and in this instance the marginal portion I3 and the tapestry portion l2 are separated by a bead it.

We might state further at this point that when the upper part or layer Il@ of the mat is subjected to heat and pressure in the mold, as explained above, not only is the top surface of the mat given the desired configuration or design, including the tapestry carpet effect which extends over the major portion of the top surface, but the layer l0 is also considerably com- 50 pacted or densied and its wearing qualities greatly increased.

Next, the mat is trimmed to the desired size and the necessary holes are punched in it to accommodate the steering column, pedals, cables,

Vmethod of manufacture.

or other automobile parts which extend through the mat.

To the under side of this treated mat we prefer to apply a layer II of loose felt, such as animal hair felt or jute felt, or a mixture thereof. 'Ihat is to say, we may use for this purpose any of the commercial forms of felt which may or may not be needled to a layer of burlap, paper, or the like, to give it the desired tensile strength for handling. This loose felt of animal hair or vegetable fibers, or both, may be attached to the lower side of the treated felt I0 by cementing or in any other desired manner. The loose felt may be extended to the edge of the upper layer, or it may extend back from the margin, as shown in Fig. 1, as may be desired. It will be observed that the mat herein shown is provided with numerous openings Il to receive the steering column, pedals, cables, and the like, and from around these openings or part of them the loose felt may extend back a suitable distance so that it will not show through the openings.

The top layer 10, as shown in Fig. 2, has near its lower surface a, layer of burlap I5 to which the felt may be needled in the usual way, and as indicated in this gure,vthe lower layer II has near its top surface a similar strip of burlap I6, it being understood that the strips of burlap are generally provided to give the felted fabric sufficient tensile strength to prevent its being pulled apart in handling. However, the strip of burlap or equivalent material may be omitted from either or both layers, depending somewhat upon the kind of felt used and its^ top layer of treated felt is designated Ia and the lower layer of untreated felt attached to the lower side of the upper layer is designated IIa, the burlap strips have been omitted from the felt used in producing both the upper and the lower layers, but otherwise the mat is the same as that shown in Fig. 2.

As stated above, the felt composing the lower layer may be extended back from the margin of the upper layer (as shown in Figs. 2 and 3), or it may be extended out to or substantially to the edge of the upper layer. In Fig'. 4 we have shown the lower layer of felt, here designated IIb, extended out to the margin of the upper layer here designated Ib, it being understood, of course, that the mats shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 have the `same characteristics in that the upper layer is formed of felt impregnated with a binder and compressed in a mold', while the lower layer is also formed of felt, and is cemented or otherwise secured to the upper layer, but in all instances, the fibers of the lower layer of felt are loose or fluffy as compared with those of the upper layer. If the felt of the lower layer is extended to or substantially to the margin of the upper layer.. the marginal portion of the lower layer may be treated with a suitable binder, such as latex, to prevent fraying at the edges of the mat or it may be compacted or it may be both treated with a binder and compacted. This is indicated at II c in Fig. 4. Likewise, instead of extending the loose felt of the lower layer back from the openings I1 or part of them, it may be brought up to the edges of the openings .in which event the portions around the OpenlngS may be treated 'with latex or other suitable binder or compacted or both treated.

311th a binder and compacted to prevent fray- In Fig. 3, where theA In Figs. 5, 6 and 7, we have shown a mat which has a top portion IIld with all of the characteristics of the mats shown in Figs. 1 to 4 and a lower portion ltd having the loose felt characteristics of the lower layer of the mats of Figs. 1 to 4, but the mat is produced in a somewhat different manner, and, in fact, from a single layer of felt. -In the production of this mat, we employ felt which initially is preferably the same material that is used in forming the upper layer of the mat of Fig. 1, i. e. preferably formed of animal hair, but which is of about twice the thickness thereof, and, additionally, in forming this relatively thick felt, there is preferably provided at about the middle thereof a strip of burlap, paper, or other material I8 to which the felt may be needled or otherwise attached in any of the usual ways. This felt is produced in strips and is then subjected to a suitable waterproof adhesive, Asuch as is used in making the upper layer of the mats of Figs. 1 to 4, the adhesive being applied to one side only of the strip, as is usually the case also in formingthe strip used in making the upper layer of the mats of Figs. 1 to 4. In this instance, however, i. e., with the burlap or equivalent material in the center of the strip, the adhesive does not penetrate beyond the same so that after the strip thus treated is dried, one side or stratum will have considerable body imparted to it by reason of the adhesive, while the other side of the felt will be loose or in substantially the same condition as prior to the adhesive applying treatment.

Next, this strip is cut substantially into mat size and is placed in a heated mold and subjected to pressure to compact the upper portion of the mat and to impart to it a top surface having the appearance of carpet, such as tapestry carpet, as before.

Then the mat is removed from the mold, is cut to size, and the holes I1 for the steering column, pedals, etc., are punched therein.

If desired, the marginal portion of the mat and the portions around part or all of the openings referred to may be subjected to greater pressure than the remainder of the mat so as to compact the fibers of the lower layer and thus providearound these openings and along the margin of the mat, portions having4 less thickness than the remainder of the mat 4so as to reduce the likelihood of fraying. In this last operation, the upper surface I9 of the margin of the mat may be given any desired design or configuration which may be smooth relative to the part inside the margin which is given the tapestry carpet effect, or these portions may be treated with latex or other suitable binder with or without the pressure or compacting step.

Mats produced altogether of felt, except for the waterproof adhesive in what becomes the upper part of the' mat, and made in accordance with the methods explained above, answer the requirements for automobile use very effectively and have the advantages and characteristics stated in the objects of the invention. While these mats are preferably employed as floor coverings for automobiles, they may be used for other purposes also.

Changes may be made in the form, shape, and construction of the mats without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. A floor mat for automobiles or the like comprising a layer of felt having the upper portion thereof treated with a binding material and the lower portion thereof untreated, said lower portion being relatively loosely felted to provide the mat with a cushioning backing and said treated upper portion being relatively densely compacted to provide aitread surface.

2. A oor covering for automobiles and the like comprising a layer-of felt having an intermediate reinforcing sheet therein, the portion of the layer below the reinforcing sheet being relativelyloosely felted to form a cushioning backing and the portion of the layer above the sheet being treated with a binding material and be- -ing relatively compactedto provide a tread surface.

3. A floor mat for automobiles or the like coniprising connected upper and lower layers of felt provided respectively with a reinforcing sheet at or adjacent their contiguous surfaces, said lower layer being relatively loosely felted to provide a. cushioning backing and said upper layer being treated with a binding materialand `being relatively densely. compacted to provide a.l 10

tread surface. J y

GERALD F. CAVANAGH. GERALD F. DURYEE.

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