Patent Application
20110268940
1. Domaine De L'Invention
This invention relates to the field of pads to be used under legs of furniture to protect the floor from scratches caused by the movement of the furniture. More particularly, this invention relates to felt pads made with recycled fibers.
2. Prior Art
CN 2841330 “Felt pad with composite layer” of Zhang JINSONG published 2006 Nov. 29; shows a pad comprising a composite layer of Bamboo Carbon which absorbs bad smells.
The present invention refers to a previous invention CA 2,558,716 filed on 2006 Sep. 11 of the same authors, which is a felt pad for furniture legs made by fusion of plastic and felt so that the felt becomes inseparable of the plastic part and remains constantly in contact with the floor.
There is a need in the market for products more ecological which could reduce quantities of waste and so protect the environment. The use of recycled products for our invention contributes to give to fibers which were already used a first time, a second life. And all this without damaging the quality of the product, its resistance to shear and its durability.
In the present invention, the first thin layer in contact with the floor is made with virgin fibers and a second thick layer made with recycled fibers coming from fibers of glass, wool, cotton, and more particularly from fibers coming from ripped fabrics or a ripped felt, post consumer or post industrial, or from an extruded fiber from recycled polymer known under the name of regenerated fiber.
This second layer is fixed by means of adhesive at a furniture leg. An intermediate layer localized at a junction of virgin fibers and recycled fibers is the result of the fusion of virgin and recycled fibers.
The present invention will be further understood from the following description with reference to the drawings.
In the following description and in the accompanying drawings, the numeral numbers refer to identical parts in the various Figures.
A felt pad to use under the leg of a piece of furniture composed of two layers joined together by an intermediate layer. A first thin layer 22 in contact with the floor is composed of virgin fibers, a second layer 24 thicker than the first layer and fixed to the leg of a piece of furniture by means of an attachment 28, such as an adhesive band. Both layers are joined together by means of fusion which forms an intermediate layer 26 composed of fused virgin and recycled fibers, this intermediate fused layer 26 making impossible to separate the virgin fiber layer 22 from the recycled fiber layer 24. If recycled fibers were used in bigger quantity than virgin fibers it would avoid wasting of fibers having already served a first time by giving them a new utility. Respective quantities of the components according to their thicknesses is as follows: a minor thickness 34 corresponds to a density of fibers to support a load on a floor by taking into account the roughness of the floor. For example for a roughness of floor “r”=1 mm, the minor thickness 34 would be of 3 mm. Thereby, the minor thickness, of virgin fibers, possesses a recognized aesthetic appearance by consumers. The second layer 24 may be strengthened by means of latex injection. It is to be clearly understood that the instant description with reference to the annexed drawing is made in an indicative manner and that the preferred embodiments described herein are meant in no way to limit further embodiments realizable within the scope of the invention. The matter which is claimed as being inventive and new is limited only by the following claims.
