The present invention relates to a console carpet and in particular to a durable and flexible console carpet for use in a motor vehicle.
Carpet is typically a molded laminated product composed of a tufted or nonwoven fibers attached to a base substrate. Tufted carpet generally includes a composite structure in which tufts or bundles of carpet fiber are introduced into a primary backing such as a woven or nonwoven fabric. A secondary backing or coating of thermoplastic material is subsequently applied to the underside of the carpet construction and securely retains the tufted material in the primary backing. The secondary backing also provides dimensional stability, greater abrasion and wear resistance, and may serve as an adhesive for an additional layer of material.
Motor vehicle carpeting is typically molded into a nonplanar contour configuration that conforms with contours of the motor vehicle floor. However, such carpeting is relatively thick and is not suitable for fitting within or wrapping around tight corners. In the alternative, heretofore thin carpeting that has been able to wrap around tight corners has exposed a base or substrate layer through a fiber layer when viewed from the fiber layer side proximate to an edge or corner that the carpet is wrapped around. This exposure of the base or substrate layer is unsightly and undesirable to motor vehicle manufacturers. In addition, heretofor thin carpets have not provided desirable abrasion and wear resistance. Therefore, a durable and flexible carpet that provides adequate abrasion and wear resistance and yet can wrap around tight corners without exposure of a base or substrate layer is desirable.
The present invention discloses a carpeted panel having a durable and flexible carpet attached thereto. The panel has a top surface, a bottom surface, and an edge between the top surface and the bottom surface. In some instances, the panel can have a thickness of less than 5 millimeters. A three-layer carpet is also provided, the three-layer carpet having a latex substrate layer, a fiber layer extending across and attached to one side of the substrate layer, and an adhesive layer extending across and attached to an opposite side of the substrate layer.
The three-layer carpet extends across the top surface, around the edge and at least part of the bottom surface of the panel. In addition, the adhesive layer firmly attaches the three-layer carpet to the panel, and the fiber layer covers the latex substrate layer such that the substrate layer is not visible when viewed from the fiber layer side proximate to the edge of the panel. The panel with the three-layer carpet attached thereto can be an interior panel within an interior of a motor vehicle, and the interior panel can abut against a floor carpeting of the motor vehicle. In addition, the interior panel can be a floor panel for a sliding console of the motor vehicle.
The latex substrate layer can be an acrylic latex layer and be made from acrylic styrene latex, acrylic butadiene latex, and/or acrylic styrene-butadiene latex. The fibers can be made from nylon, polypropylene, polyester, polyacrylonitrile, wool, and/or cotton. Finally, the adhesive layer can be made from an adhesive such as a synthetic rubber and resin blend, an acrylic polymer blend, and/or an amide-ester-acrylate resin blend.
The latex substrate layer can have a thickness between 0.5 to 1.5 millimeters, the fiber layer can have a thickness of between 2 to 6 millimeters, and the adhesive layer can have a thickness of between 0.1 to 0.5 millimeters. In some instances, the latex substrate layer has a thickness between 0.7 to 1.1 millimeters, the fiber layer has a thickness of between 2 to 3 millimeters, and the adhesive layer has a thickness of between 0.14 to 0.32 millimeters.
The present invention discloses a durable and flexible three-layer carpet for attaching and wrapping around tight corners of a structure. As such, the carpet has utility as a cover material within a motor vehicle.
The three-layer carpet can include an acrylic latex substrate layer, a fiber layer extending across and attached to one side of the substrate layer, and an adhesive layer extending across and attached to an opposite side of the substrate layer. The three-layer carpet can wrap around and attach to a panel having a thickness between 2 and 4 millimeters, inclusive, the substrate layer not being visible through the fiber layer when viewed from the fiber layer side proximate to the edge of the panel. Naturally, a panel having a thickness between 2 and 4 millimeters can be included.
In some instances, the panel with the three-layer carpet attached thereto is an interior panel within a motor vehicle interior, and the interior panel may or may not abut against floor carpeting. The acrylic latex substrate layer can be made from acrylic styrene latex, acrylic butadiene latex, and/or acrylic styrene-butadiene latex. In addition, the fibers can be made from nylon, polypropylene, polyester, polyacrylonitrile, wool, and/or cotton. The adhesive layer that attaches the three-layer carpet to the panel can be made from a synthetic rubber and resin blend, an acrylic polymer blend, and/or an amide-ester-acrylate resin blend.
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In some instances, the panel 120 can have a thickness less between and 4 millimeters, inclusive. In addition, the acrylic latex substrate layer 220 can have a thickness between 0.5 to 1.5 millimeters, the fiber layer 210 can have a thickness, also known as a pile height, of between 2 to 6 millimeters, and the adhesive layer 230 can have a thickness between 0.1 to 0.4 millimeters, all inclusive. In other instances, the acrylic latex substrate layer 220 can have a thickness between 0.7 to 1.1 millimeters, the fiber layer can have a pile height of between 2 to 3 millimeters, and the adhesive layer can have a thickness of between 0.14 to 0.32 millimeters. It still other instances, the fiber layer can have a pile height of generally 2.4 millimeters which is approximately half of a typical 4.8 millimeter pile height for heretofor automotive carpets.
Although the carpet 200 is shown as wrapping around an edge 122, it is appreciated that the carpet 200 can be used to fit within tight spaces, fit snugly within 90 degree corners, and the like. It is further appreciated that the carpet 200 provides adequate abrasion and wear resistance to meet automotive standards known to those skilled in the art and yet provide a lower cost alternative to standard automotive floor carpeting.
The invention is not restricted to the illustrative embodiments described above. The embodiments are not intended as limitations on the scope of the invention. Methods, apparatus, compositions, and the like described herein are exemplary and not intended as limitations on the scope of the invention. Changes therein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the claims.