Laminated composite material

Abstract

The invention is directed to a stain-resistant and fluid-barrier composite fabric material that exhibits a good hand while maintaining intimate adhesion between the base fabric and the polymeric barrier material. The laminated composite material comprises three layers, a first or outer layer comprising a base fabric; a second layer of a thin waterproof film to provide the primary waterproof characteristics to the composite material; and a third or protective backing layer, to provide protection to the thin film during manufacturing and subsequent use of the composite material, such as for example as upholstery fabric. The composite fabric material of the invention is substantially water-proof.

Description

[0001] This application is a continuation of International patent application No. PCT / US2003 / 028970, filed on Sep. 17, 2003 and designating the United States of America, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional patent applications Ser. No. 60 / 411,302, filed Sep. 17, 2002, and Ser. No. 60 / 446,222, filed Feb. 10, 2003, the disclosures of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] In the past, a number of approaches have been taken to make fabrics both cleanable and liquid-resistant so as to be more useful in environments where liquid staining is likely to occur. Vinyl-coated fabrics have been most broadly accepted for these purposes due to relatively easy cleanability and fairly low cost. However, such vinyl-coated fabrics are typically rather stiff to the touch and thereby lack the desired appearance and feel for use in environments such as homes, restaurants, vehicles, and the like where pleasing tactile and visual perceptions by the use...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0003] The present invention is directed to an improved composite material for use in applications such as furniture upholstery or mattress ticking, the improved material possessing desirable flexibility, cleanability, and fluid resistance properties. More particularly, the material of the invention is a multi-layered laminated composite comprising a first layer which defines an outer facing layer of a woven, knitted, or nonwoven fabric substrate, which is preferably (but not required to be) treated with a fluoropolymer or a fluorochemical stain-resistant agent (the “base fabric”); a second layer adjacent to the first layer, the second layer acting as a fluid barrier layer and comprising a thin waterproof film (the “polymeric fluid barrier material”); and a third layer spaced from the first layer by the second layer, the third layer serving as the backing (the “protective backing material”). A process for forming the fluid- and stain-resistant composite fabric material according to the present invention is also provided. The composite fabric material of the invention possesses both stain resistance (when the base fabric is treated with a fluoropolymer or a fluorochemical stain-resistant agent) and fluid barrier properties, both of which properties are durable. In one embodiment of the invention, the composite fabric material is, in addition, fire-retardant. The composite fabric material also exhibits a soft fabric hand as in traditional noncomposite upholstery fabric, where “soft fabric hand” is used herein to mean flexibility and / or lack of stiffness in the fabric itself. Optionally, the composite fabric material may further be treated with an antibacterial or antimicrobial substance, the resulting fabric exhibiting durable antibacterial / antimicrobial properties in addition to its other properties, without sacrificing a soft hand.

Problems solved by technology

However, such vinyl-coated fabrics are typically rather stiff to the touch and thereby lack the desired appearance and feel for use in environments such as homes, restaurants, vehicles, and the like where pleasing tactile and visual perceptions by the user are considered important.

Surface-laminated fabrics have been utilized to enhance the aesthetic characteristics of the fabrics, but due to the generally disjunctive adherence between the laminate film and the fabric itself, these products tend to peel, crack, and delaminate after long periods of use.

Such laminated products also tend to be thick and to lack the generally desirable feel of standard upholstery products.

Adherence of a liquid barrier film or coating to a fabric substrate is made all the more difficult when fluorochemical stain-resistant treatments are applied, since such compositions by their nature tend to repel an applied coating.