US2292103A - Method and apparatus for manufacturing floor mats - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 4, 1942. D. R. coTTERMAN 2,292,103

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING FLOOR MATS l Filfed March 24, 1941 2 sheets-sheet 1 A 1 'I' `UIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII.I..'

DON R. COTTERMAN BY www MVM ATTORNE S Aug. 4, 1942-` n. R. co'rTERMAN 2,292,103

IETHOD AND APPARATUS POR IANUFACTURINC; FLOOR HATS mi@ um 24, 1941 2 sheets-sheet 2 I Ill,

a lnanfa coTTERMAN ATT ORN S Patented Aug. 4, 1942 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANU- FACTURING FLOORIHATS Don R. Cotterman, Pontiac, Mich., assigner to Baldwin Rubber Company, Pontiac, Mich., a

corporation of Michigan Application March 24, 1941, Serial No. 384,991

7 Claims.

This invention relates to a method and ap paratus for manufacturing composite floor cov erings.

More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved method and apparatus for manufacturing floor coverings having a flexible covering sheet of vulcanizable material and having a sheet of pile fabric secured to the top surface of the nexible covering sheet with the pile extending upwardly.

One of the principal features of this invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive method and apparatus for manufacturing composite floor coverings of the above type with an em bossed design in the pile. f

In the manufacture of composite mats oi the type setvforth, it has been proposed to place a sheet oi.' carding material on the contoured sur face oi' a mold form with the rigid pile on the carding material extending upwardly into engagement with the base of a sheet oi' pile fab ric which is placed over the carding material in an inverted position so that the pile on the fabric extends downwardly between the rigid pile on the carding sheet. A sheet of vulcanizable material is placed over the mold form in contact with the base of the pile fabric and a heated iluid under pressure is applied to the vulcanizable material to cure the latter to the contour of the form. During this curing operation, the sheet of pile fabric is vulcanized to the sheet of vulcanizable material and the pile is prevented from matting againstthe form by the rigid pile on the carding sheet.

With the above in View, it is a further object of this invention to form an embossed design on the pile fabric sheet by permitting certain areas of the pile to mat under the influence of the pressure of the fluid applied to the vulcanizahie sheet and by preventing matting of the adjacent areas of the pile. As a result, designs of various congurations may be formed in the door met without increasing the cost or time of manie facture.

Still another object of this invention is to prou vide a sheet of carding material having a rality of closely spaced pins projecting upwejrdly therefrom with the upper ends of the pins are ranged in a common plane parallel to the plane of the form and having raised portions reducing the effective length of the pins projecting from the raised portions so that the pile registering with the raised portions is matted to some tent.

The foregoing as well as other objects will be made more apparent as this description prooeeds, especially when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a sectional view through a floor covering manufactured in accordance with this invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of a mold form employed in the method of manufacturing the mat shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line '3u-3 of Figure 2 and showing the mold form with the several parts of the mat thereon in a vulcanizing chamber; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the apparatus shown in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary diagrammatic sec tional view' illustrating one type of pressure chamber that may be employed with the apparatus forming the subject matter of this invention.

The iioor covering shown herein is in the i'orin of a met especially designed for use as a coverk ing for vehicle body flooring oi the type design hated generally in Figure 1 by the reference char acter it. It will be observed from Figure l that the flooring i5 has a hump intermediate opposite side edges thereof for the purpose of pro viding ciearance for certain vparts (not shown) of the vehicle driving mechanism which extends beneath the flooring of the vehicle. As will be more fully hereinafter set forth, the mat is cured .to the contour oi the flooring i0 so as to provide a neat and pleasing appearance.

In detail, the floor mat comprises a flexible covering sheet il of vnlcanizable material and a pile fabric sheet i2 having the secured to the top surface of the covering sheet with the pile Il extending upwardly'. The pile i4 has e design of any suitable configuration embossed therein., and this design is formed during the vulcanizing operation by permitting certain areas oi' the pile mat against the form to a greater extent than adjacent areas of the pile` This method of forming the design is highly advan tageous in that it permits decorating' the .vor .inst without increasing the time or cost or ufacture or 'the floor mat.

The various steps inthe method of manueoturing a floor mat of the general type previous ly described, will he more fully understood upon considering the preferred apparatus for carrying out the various steps of the method. it should be understood, however, that various different types of apparatus may he employed to perform Athe several steps of the method, out I prefer the general construction shown in the drawings because it has proved both simple and in actual practice.

Upon reference to Figures 2 to al, it will be noted that the apparatus compi i mold form i5 having a recess i6 intermediate op" positie side edges thereof and corresponding to the hump previously described as io fd inthe flooring iii.

As shown particularly in s,

the mold form I5 comprises a metal supporting plate I'I having a hard rubber covering sheet I8 secured to the top surface thereof and having a sheet or cardine material I9 positioned on the top surface oi. the rubber sheet I8 in such a manner that the rigid pile ot the cardine :naterial extends upwardly.

The marginal edge portions of thehmetal supporting plate i'I project beyond vthe adjacent edges of the rubber sheet I8 and are return bent to provide a continuous chamber 2i extending around the marginal edge of the mold form I5. The top wall 22 of the chamber 2l overlaps the top surface of the rubber mold sheet I8 and is spaced above the latter a sucient distance to provide a passage 23.

The above arrangement is such that when the iiexible covering sheet II of the mat is placed on the top surface o i themold form, the marginal edges of the covering'sheet II overlap the top surface of the walls 22 in such a manner that the passage 23 establishes communication betweenk the interior of the marginal chamber 2| and the joint between adjacent surfaces of the sheet II and the mold form I5.r In the present instance, the marginal chamber 2l communicates with the exhaust side of a suitable pump (not shown) through the medium of a conduit 24. The pump is'operated as soon as the sheet il is placed on the mold form and effects a tight seal around the marginal edges of the sheet II.

It has also been stated above that the mold form I5 comprises the sheet of carding material 20, The area of the carding sheetcorresponds and are adapted to engage the base i3 of the pile fabric sheet i 2 between the pile i4 so as to control matting of the pile E4 against the top surface of the form during the vulcanizing operation to be presently described.

It has also been pointed out above that an einu bossed design is formed in the door mat during the vulcaniaing operation by permitting certain areas oi the pile it on the sheet i2 to mat against the adjacent surface of the form. For accomplishing this result, the -base 25a of the cardine sheet 20 is embossed to form a matrix of the lolesign it is desired to form in the pile id of the fabric sheet i 2.

With the above construction, it wiil he noted that when the strip of pile fabric i2 is placed in an inverted position on 'the csrding sheet 2t and is urged downwardly toward the carding sheet, the pile i4 registering with the raised portions El of the embossed design on the cardine sheet is matted against the .surfaces of the raised portions. whereas the remaining area of the pile is prevented from matting by the pins projecting from the areas of the carding sheet adjacent the raised portions. As will be presently described,

the above action taires place during the vulcanizing operation and, accordingly, a permanent ernbossed design is formed inthe pile N of the fabric sheet I2.

As will be more fully hereinafter set forth, the form I5 is adapted to be supported in a pressure asesinos chamber 28 shown dlagramrnetcally in Figure 5 as comprising a base #t and a cover ll removably supported on the base 30. A suitable sealing strip 32 is secured to the base 3i! and is channe1-shaped in cross section for receiving theV marglnai edge of the cover. The base is apertured to receive the suction conduit 24 and the cover is also apertured to receive a uld pressure conduit 2.9. The above construction -is merely shown for the purpose of illustration and forms no part of the present invention.

Method of manufacture The lrst step in the method of manufacture consists in placing a pile fabric sheet of the proper size on the carding sheet 26 in an inverted position so that the pile I4 on the fabric sheet extends between the rigid pins 26 on the cardine sheet. .After the pile fabric sheet I2 is positioned in the above manner on the carding sheet 2b, a exible sheet of vulcanizable material riI is placed over the base I3 of the pile fabric sheet i2. The ilexible sheet of vulcanizable material Il has an area which is greater than the area of the pile fabric sheet so thatthe marginal edges thereof overlap the walls 22 of the marginal chamber 2i in the manner clearly shown in Figure 3.

When the two sheets are positioned on the mold form, I5 in. the manner specified above, the mold form is located in a chamber 2S which is adapted to communicate with a source of heated uid un der pressure through the medium of a conduit 29. Before admitting iiuid under pressure into the chamber 28, the marginal chamber 2l is exhausted so as to not only remove any air that may be trapped between the covering sheet i I and adjacent surface of the mold forni but to also provide an effective seal around the marginal edge portions of the covering sheet Ii.

As uid under pressure is introduced into the chamber 2b, it acts upon the exposed surface of the covering sheet of vulcanizable materiel in the manner indicated by the arrows in Figure '3 and urges this sheet downwardly toward the con toured surface oi the mold form in As stated above, the pile fabric sheet Z'is urged against the upper ends 'of the pins 2E on the cardine sheetZ, and since the upper ends of these pins are included in a plane lparallel to the plane ci the contoured surface of the forrn it follows that the fabric sheet as well as the .covering suine the same contour under the action ci the duid under pressure.

The temperature of the fluid under pressure admitted to chamber 2o is suiiicicrit to cure the covering sheet iI to the contour of the incid form and to vulcanize the covering sheet to the portions is matted against the top surfaces of the raised portions to an extent determined by the height or' the raised portions, and an embossed design is formed in the pile it during the vulcanizing operation. The depth of theernbcssed design may, of course, loe varied by changing the height of the raised portions 21, and the config-z uration of the design may be altered to suit different specifications by merely changing the arrangement of the raised portions 21 on the carding sheet 20.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. Those steps in a method of manufacturing a composite mat which comprise relatively positioning a sheet of vulcanizable material and a pile fabric sheet on a form with the pile extending toward the form and with the bottom surface of the pile fabric contacting the adjacent surface of the material, curing the sheet of vulcanizable material while the latter is in contact with the bottom surface of the pile fabric by applying heat under pressure against the top surface of the sheet of vulcanizable material, and forming an embossed design in the pile fabric sheet by matting certain areas of the pile under the action of the fluid under pressure to a greater extent than adjacent areas of pile.

2. Those steps in a method of manufacturing a composite mat which comprise relatively positioning a flexible sheet of stock and a pile fabric sheet on a mold form Iwith the pile extending in a direction toward the form and with the bottom surface of the pile fabric contacting the adjacent surface of the flexible sheet, urging the sheets toward the form by applying a fluid under pressure to the opposite surface of the stock, and forming a design in the pile fabric sheet during the application of the fluid under pressure by matting certain areasy of pile against the form and by holding the remaining area of the pile spaced from the form.

3. Those steps in a method of manufacturing a composite mat which comprise relatively positioning a sheet of vulcanizable material and a pile fabric sheet on the contoured surface of a form with the pile extending toward the contoured surface of the form and with the bottom surface of the pile fabric contacting the adjacent surface of the material, curing the sheet of vulcanizable material to the contour of the form and uniting the bottom surface of the pile fabric sheet to the sheet of vulcanizable material by applying heated fluid under pressure against the surface of the sheet of vulcanizable material opposite the surface contacting the bottom surface of the pile fabric, and forming a design in the pile fabric sheet during the application of the fluid under pressure by matting certain areas of the pile against the form and by holding certain other areas of the pile spaced from the form.

4.. Those steps in a method of manufacturing a composite mat which comprise relatively positioning a sheet of vulcanizableI material and a pile fabric sheet on the contoured surface of a form with the pile extending toward the contoured surface of the form and with the bottom surface of the pile fabric sheet contacting the adjacent surface of the material, curing the sheet of vulcanizable material to the contour of the form by applying heated fluid under pressure against the surface of the sheet by vulcanizable material opposite the surface contacting the bottom surface of the pile fabric, and forming an embossed design in the pilefabric sheet by matting certain areas of the pile under the action of the fluid under pressure to a greater extent than adjacent areas of pile.

5. In apparatus for making floor coverings embodying a sheet of vulcanizable material and a sheet of pile fabric having a base portion united at its underside to the sheet of vulcanizable material, a form over which the sheets-are placed with the pile on said fabric sheet extending toward the form, means for applying heat under pressure on the sheet of vulcanizable material to conform the sheets to the contour of the form, a plurality of closely spaced rigid pins projecting from the form between the pile and engageable with the base of the pile fabric sheet to counteract the heat under pressure applied to the sheet of vulcanizable material and thereby control matting of the pile against the form, and raised portions on the form engageable with adjacent portions of the pile to mat the latter under the action of the heat under pressure and thereby form ,a design on the pile surface` of the fabric sheet.

6. In apparatus for making floor coverings embodying a sheet of vulcanizable material and a sheet of pile fabric having a base portion united at its underside to the sheet of vulcanizable material, a form over which the sheets are placed with the pile on said fabric sheet extending toward the form, means for applying fluid under pressure on the sheet of vulcanizable material to conform the sheets to the contour of the form, a strip of carding material having a base secured to the form and having an embossed design on the surface adjacent the pile fabric, closely' spaced rigid pins extending from the embossed surface of the carding material and having the free ends included in a common plane parallel to the plane of the form, raised portions of the embossed design on the carding material having a height so determined that the pile on the pile fabric sheet registering with the raised portions is matted against the raised portions under the action of the fluid pressure to such an extent that an embossed design is formed in the pile of the fabric sheet.

7. In apparatus for making contoured floor coverings embodying a sheet of vulcanizable material and a sheet of pile fabric having a base portion united at its underside tothe sheet of vulcanizable material, a form having a contoured surface over which the sheets are placed with thepile on the fabric sheet extending toward the contoured surface of the form, means for applying a heated fluid under pressure to the sheet of vulcanizable material to conform said sheets tothe contourof the form and to vulcanize the sheets together, a strip of carding material having a base positioned on the contoured surface of the form and having an embossed design on the opposite surface thereof, a plurality of closely spaced rigid pins extending from the embossed surface of the carding strip and having the'free ends included in a common plane parallel to the plane of the contoured surface of the form, the projecting portions of the pins adjacent the raised portions of the embossed design on the carding strip having a length approximating the length of the pile on the fabric sheet to prevent matting of the pile under the action of the fluid u nder pressure and the projecting portions of the pins extending from the raised portions of the embossed design on theycard'ing strip having a length less than the length of the pile to permit the pile registering with the raised portions to mat against the latter.

DON R. CO'I'IERMAN.

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