Bleaching and dyeing; fluid treatment and chemical modification – Chemical modification of textiles or fibers or products thereof – With coating – sizing – or lubricating
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-21
2001-04-03
Gupta, Yogendra (Department: 1751)
Bleaching and dyeing; fluid treatment and chemical modification
Chemical modification of textiles or fibers or products thereof
With coating, sizing, or lubricating
C427S154000, C427S155000, C427S282000, C427S407100, C427S412000, C156S247000, C156S345420, C156S314000, C118S505000, C150S154000, C150S158000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06210446
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The application relates to stock material and especially to treating and applying of protective sheeting to stock material. More specifically, the invention relates to method and apparatus for treating a textile stock material having a synthetic pile or nap type surface. The invention is especially applicable to a coating, impregnation, or bond for carpeting.
BACKGROUND ART
As a method of protecting stock materials such as textiles, it is known to apply a layer of protective plastic sheeting, often called carpet masking. In the automobile industry, this technique is used with new automobiles. Sheets of flexible plastic are applied to new automobile carpeting at the factory in order to protect the carpeting and maintain its new appearance until the dealer is ready to deliver the car to a purchaser. At that time, the dealer removes factory-applied protective materials, including the plastic carpet masking film on the carpeting.
The art of applying protective plastic film is technically sophisticated and requires individual analysis of each type of carpeting. As a general practice, each manufacturer must individually adapt the process to each of his specific carpet offerings; and each model year may involve enough variation in the offered carpets that the individual analysis must be repeated and the results modified. The challenging aspect is found in the need to adhere the plastic to the carpeting so that it serves its purpose until time for removal, while at the same time the adhesive must allow the plastic to be removed from the carpeting without leaving residue or causing any damage or discoloration to the carpeting. The types of adhesive that performs adequately is individualized to specific characteristics of the carpeting. Thus, for example, an adhesive formulation may have to be changed to conform to the percentage of specific fibers in the pile, pile length, and density. The choice of plastic sheeting type also may require reformulation.
Only new carpeting has been adequately diagnosed to allow the use of removably adhered plastic sheeting. Used carpeting includes many unknown variables that have prevented use of carpet masking film. One such variable is the composition of the carpet fiber, which tends to be unknown by the time a car enters the used market. Although it would appear possible to research what carpet fiber was supplied in each model of used car, obtaining such information would be pointless. The film and adhesive specifically formulated for the carpet in a used car is unlikely to be in production anymore. Even if the film could be obtained, it likely would not adhere properly, due to the used and unrecoverable condition of the carpet. Consequently, a major problem in adapting carpet masking film to used carpet is that the film and adhesive that once worked when the car was new will not work in the car's later life.
In the used car market, it cannot be reliably predicted that an adhesive will work with even a professionally cleaned, shampooed carpet. Automobile carpet tends to be contaminated with a wide variety of unknown impurities, the full scope of which is limitless. Some of the more commonly anticipated contaminants are sand, dirt and dust of any variety in the pile; waxes, oils, and grease from new or old shoe prints; residual soap, cleaning byproducts and chemicals; food and drink spillage; and salt, fertilizer, and other chemicals used on roads, sidewalks, lawns, and gardens. With the added complication that different fiber compositions and pile characteristics require special adhesives even in the new car market, it is clear that a new technology is needed if refurbished used cars are to reliably benefit from adhered but removable plastic sheeting on their carpets.
Some chemicals or their derivatives that are useful in the present invention have been employed in cleaning products, although the method of use, concentration, or associated preparatory steps apparently have been insufficient to produce the desired result. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,203,859 to Kirn et al. teaches a modifier for carpet shampoo that contains acrylic copolymer that may include methacrylic acids and methyl methacrylate. U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,409 to Boardman teaches a stain blocking composition containing methacrylic polymers, which are useful for treating nylon carpet. While these compositions and treatments employing them may be useful in protecting or cleaning carpet, no previously known technique has overcome the specific problems of reliably adhering protective, removable plastic sheets to used carpet.
It would be desirable to have a technology that places used carpeting into a predictable condition so that a single satisfactory process and composition can be used to apply removable, protective plastic sheeting.
To achieve the foregoing and other objects and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the method of applying protective plastic sheeting of this invention may comprise the following.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
Against the described background, it is therefore a general object of the invention to provide an improved method of treating used carpeting that reliably allows adhering protective plastic sheeting, while also allowing the clean removal of such sheeting, when desired.
Another object is to provide a system of treating compositions that place used carpeting into a predictable condition such that a preselected plastic sheeting can be removably adhered to the napped surface of the carpeting.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention shall be set forth in part in the description that follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by the practice of the invention.
According to the invention, carpet masking film is reliably and removably applied to used carpeting by, first, applying a primer layer in quantity sufficient to establish a barrier and separation layer on top of the carpet fiber. Second, a sprayed adhesive layer is applied over the primer layer. Third, carpet masking film is applied over the sprayed adhesive layer.
The removable carpet masking film may be of a type having a film adhesive layer carried on one side of the carpet masking film. The step of applying carpet masking film is done by applying the film adhesive layer against the sprayed adhesive layer.
The step of applying a primer is done by applying a methacrylate copolymer. A preferred methacrylate copolymer is octylacrylamide/acrylates/butylaminoethyl methacrylate copolymer. A hair spray containing this copolymer can be applied.
Prior to priming, the carpet can be cleaned by the steps of physically removing from the carpet visually perceivable dirt and solvent cleaning the carpet.
The accompanying drawing, which is incorporated in and forms a part of the specification illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention, and together with the description, serves to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
REFERENCES:
patent: 4203859 (1980-05-01), Kirn et al.
patent: 4623413 (1986-11-01), Questel et al.
patent: 5952409 (1999-09-01), Boardman et al.
Gupta Yogendra
Mruk Brian P.
Rost Kyle W.
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