Plastic and nonmetallic article shaping or treating: processes – Forming articles by uniting randomly associated particles – With liberating or forming of particles
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-23
2001-10-09
Theisen, Mary Lynn (Department: 1732)
Plastic and nonmetallic article shaping or treating: processes
Forming articles by uniting randomly associated particles
With liberating or forming of particles
C264S122000, C264S911000, C264S916000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06299811
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a simplified method of recycling vehicle trim components and other scrap materials incorporating urethane foam.
In the prior art, many components which are utilized in automobiles include a significant portion of urethane foam. As one example, the seat foam typically utilized to provide cushion in a vehicle seat is a urethane-based foam. Another example is found in vehicle headliners. The seat foam is typically trimmed prior to insertion into the seat, and thus, at the manufacturing site, there is a good deal of excess or waste foam trimmed away from the final desired foam. The same is true of headliners, which are initially molded and then cut to a desired shape.
Thus, at a vehicle trim manufacturing site, there is often a good deal of waste material. A large volume of waste material includes polyurethane foam. In some cases, the waste material could include many other materials. As an example, a vehicle headliner could include nylon, polyester, cellulose films, glass fibers, and even natural fiber layers. In the past, it has been very difficult to recycle these components since they include so many distinct materials.
One recent method mixed these materials into a shredded fluff, and then mixed a binder into the fluff. This invention is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,513. In this patent, it was recognized that in order to provide binder to all of the several pieces of fluff, the binder would be desirably carried in a water.
Further, it is known in the prior art to take flexible polyurethane foam, only the foam, and grind it into a powder, with particles on the order of the microns. This powder has then been pressed into a sheet of material. While this has been proposed as a way to utilize waste polyurethane foam, it has not been used in production. Moreover, it has never been proposed to use ground polyurethane foam as a binder for other non-polyurethane materials.
Many types of materials are generated as waste in a vehicle trim manufacturing plant. While polyurethane foam-containing materials may benefit from the above prior art, there are also many other materials which have not been as adaptable to recycling.
Further, while industry does desirably wish to gain recycling as a benefit, in the end, cost is an overriding factor. Thus, if the recycling is not cost effective, it will not occur in large part. The above-described method of grinding into a powder is not cost effective.
The present invention is directed to a method of using polyurethane foam as a binder.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Applicant has discovered that when trim component waste material including a significant portion of polyurethane foam is formed into a fluff, it can be molded into a trim part without any separate binder being necessary. The recycled foam serves as a binder. To achieve this objective, the scrap must be molded under elevated heat and pressure such that the foam exceeds its glass transition temperature.
The present invention only requires that the waste material be made into particles on the size of fractions of an inch, and not as small as the powder in the proposed prior art use of polyurethane foam without binder. In particular, the present invention preferably utilizes particles between 0.25 and 1.0 inch. Most preferably, the particles are formed to be on the order of 0.25-0.50 inch.
The present invention generally includes the step of taking a waste material including polyurethane foam and forming it into particles in the desired range. Those particles are then moved into a mold and exposed to both compression and heat. The glass transition temperature of the foam is exceeded during this molding. No separate binder is included with the particles. The foam can be utilized on its own to form a desired sheet of material for refuse, or additional filler materials can be utilized. The filler materials will most preferably include other waste materials such that the recycling effect of the overall method is greatly improved. Materials such as a resonated fiber scrap or dolomite, have been utilized with the present invention, and have resulted in materials which have desirable characteristics for many trim applications.
The present invention is not necessarily directed to any one particular material, nor is it directed to a particular final use of the material. Instead, the present invention in general recognizes that by utilizing the polyurethane foam as a portion of the recycled material, no separate binder need be utilized.
In embodiments of this invention, the material can be made to different stiffnesses, thicknesses and resiliencies by controlling mold temperature, pressure and time. Also, properties can be controlled by selecting type and ratio of polyurethane foam as the binder, as well as filler types. Controlling of these various variables to achieve a desired final sheet is within the skill of a worker in this art.
These and other features of the present invention can be best understood from the following specification and drawings, the following which is a brief description.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4666646 (1987-05-01), Chang
patent: 5185380 (1993-02-01), Diessel et al.
patent: 5503788 (1996-04-01), Lazareck et al.
patent: 5525278 (1996-06-01), Krosch et al.
patent: 5676895 (1997-10-01), Toivola et al.
patent: 5807513 (1998-09-01), Gebreselassie et al.
Recycling and Reuse of Polyurethanes—Miles Polymers Division—1993—pp. 4 through 6.
Solid State Shear Extrusion for Pulverization of Flexible and Rigid Polyurethane Foam Wastes—Paper from the Polyurehanes World Congress—1993.
Pulverized Polyurethane Foam Waste as a Reinforcing Agent for Virgin PUR Foams—Paper from the Polyurethane Expo—1996.
Frisch Kurt C.
Gebreselassie Girma M.
Klempner Daniel
Sendijarevic Vahid
Wolf, Jr. Harold G.
Lear Corporation
MacMillan Sobanski & Todd LLC
Theisen Mary Lynn
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