CAR CARPET

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a motor vehicle carpet material structure for sound insulation for the motor vehicle interior and motor vehicle luggage compartment, which enables a complete reprocessing of the entire composite, in particular the fiber material, to be implemented industrially.

[0002] Carpets are an integral part of a motor vehicle. They typically consist of three different "layers."

[0003] Facing the passenger is the wear layer, which consists of yarns or fibers and, if necessary, a carrier. The fibers can typically be either natural (animal: virgin wool, vegetable: cotton or jute) or synthetic (polyamide, polyester, polypropylene). Blended yarns are also possible, such as polyamide and virgin wool. "Robust" wear layers are also used, which primarily consist of uncrosslinked and cross-linked TPO, with or without surface "graining."

[0004] The "middle layer" usually consists of one or more adhesives that secure the fiber structure to the carrier fabric. Synthetic rubber (SBR latex) is typically used as the adhesive. However, natural latex can also be used. A second adhesive layer is often used to bond the backing material, which is usually made of synthetic or natural latex. PVC can also be used to bond the wear layer to the backing layer; PE, EVA, and PP are also used.

[0005] The backing layer is usually also made of foamed SBR latex. However, a mixture of non-foamed synthetic and natural latex is sometimes used. Textile backings made of natural fibers, such as jute, and blended fibers are also used. Sealing and heavy-duty films, as well as contact layers, are also available.

[0006] The recycling of such heterogeneous carpets made of a wide variety of materials is problematic.

[0007] Various types of carpeting are found in today's automotive market, particularly tufted, dilute, and flat needle-punched carpets. PA6.6, PA6, PP, rPA, and rPET are predominantly used for tufted carpets; PET, PET / PP, PP, and rPET are predominantly used for dilute and flat needle-punched carpets.

[0008] The tufting backing for tufted carpets is made of PET / PP, PET / coPET, or PET / PA. EVA is primarily used for yarn / fiber integration in tufted carpets, while SBR latex or acrylate is used for Dilour and flat-needle-punched carpets. The coating, usually as an adhesive layer for backings, but also for stiffening, is primarily PE or PP; possibly also a heavy layer based on EVA, PE, PP, or EPDM. The backings are usually PET or cotton fiber blends.

[0009] Insulation, especially in flooring systems, can be either foam or fiber composite. Viscoelastic or highly elastic foams, and occasionally lightweight foams, are used. When foams are used, sealing films, film fleeces, or so-called contact fleeces are used between the outer fabric and the foam insulation. Fleece insulation includes unformed (flat), (pre-)formed sheets, and insulation produced using the fiber flock process.

[0010] Such floor covering systems are described, for example, in DE 10 2004 046 201 A, DE 103 60 427 A, DE 199 60 945 A and DE 10 2007 036 952 A.

[0011] US 2008 / 0220200 A, US 2008 / 0223654 A, and US 2008 / 0292831 A describe carpet / floor covering systems in which the tufted outer fabric and insulation are PET-based. The tufting backing is preferably made of PET, a polyolefin fiber (PE), or another suitable synthetic fiber. The yarn is incorporated using foamed latex or acrylate, as well as PE. PE or an EVA / PE blend are used as additional coating materials in the composite. When incorporated using PE extrusion (directly extruded PE film / layer), the fibers are melted, creating a rigidly interlocked pile / fiber underside. Furthermore, the binding material (PE) can only partially penetrate the fiber composite to a limited extent. When the carpet is deformed, the "rigidly" interlocked pile / fiber underside can break, drastically impairing its wear resistance and, of course, its appearance.The floor paneling and the luggage compartment paneling are therefore unusable. Specifically in US 2008 / 0223654 A, heavy-duty films, PVC / EVA / PE, are used in the composite; furthermore, perforated and unperforated film layers made of PA, PE, and / or PET are used.

[0012] The technical solutions known in the state of the art are not "single-material systems"; these composites contain a wide variety of polymers. In particular, in addition to PE and EVA, SBR latex and acrylate are used for fiber bonding, making reprocessing of the composite virtually impossible. Thus, optimal reprocessing of the fiber material is not feasible.

[0013] Furthermore, the following disadvantage exists when incorporating yarn into tufted carpets using film or extrusion film: To achieve a bond between the PET fibers or the yarn tuft on the underside of the carpet, the tuft must be practically melted. However, this results in the yarn tuft not only being plasticized but also melted in a "glass-like" manner. This also explains the deterioration in abrasion values, thus the increased wear. The individual fiber loses its good technological properties (elongation, tensile strength, etc.) over a short but important distance; and under stress, this can lead to increased fiber breakage. The stiff extrusion film (rigid fixation) tends to produce a "bimetallic effect" in the molded part; less dimensional stability under temperature fluctuations; and there is also a risk of fiber / filament breakage.

[0014] This of course also applies to needle-punched carpets, which, however, do not have yarn nubs but individual fibers.

[0015] The present invention is based on the object of realizing a carpet material structure for sound insulation that is 100% recyclable, relatively simple, and combined with a reduction in the overall weight of the product and the achievement of acoustic (absorptive) advantages.

[0016] According to the invention, this object is achieved in particular by the carpet material structure being made of PET fiber material with a high recycled content; and, in particular, the fiber binding agent is a PET dispersion. This application of the foamed fiber binding agent allows both the optimal bonding (flexible) and a steam / heat process to shrink the yarn and achieve the optimal fiber bulk.

[0017] A first embodiment of the invention consists in a motor vehicle carpet according to claim 1.

[0018] A PET-based dispersion is used to incorporate the PET yarn (tufting) / the PET fibers (Dilour, flat needle felt) and, if necessary, for additional adhesive layers.

[0019] This allows for easy handling during production, and the composite, especially the raw materials, are 100% optimally recyclable. The fiber binding is flexible; the individual fibers are bonded at points rather than rigidly fused. Furthermore, this results in a 100% pure (PET) material composite; that is, both the fiber material and the binding and adhesive materials are made of this material. This is especially true for tufting, since the carrier is made of PET / coPET.

[0020] A PET dispersion as an encapsulant enables good pile anchoring and adhesive embedding in the fiber composite at relatively low (processing) temperatures. This largely preserves the flexibility of the carpet / carpet composite and achieves optimal abrasion values.

[0021] When the binding agent (PET dispersion) is applied, the aqueous component evaporates, thus (automatically) shrinking the yarn / fibers with an optimal surface effect.

[0022] One advantage of PET dispersion coating with a specifically adjusted melting range, i.e., a low temperature, is that the fibers / yarn do not melt. The fibers are highly flexible and form a fairly homogeneous mass, thus eliminating the "bimetallic effect."

[0023] The type of carpet construction of the present invention can depend on the respective circumstances. Primarily, within the meaning of the present invention, a carpet is manufactured from a tufted, diluted, or flat-needle-punched nonwoven face fabric, one or more adhesive and nonwoven layers, and insulation, a nonwoven insulation. Thus, the overall system is PET-based, in particular the tufted backing is a PET / coPET staple fiber nonwoven or spunbonded nonwoven. The fiber-yarn bond and the adhesive layers are also based on PET dispersions. To conserve material resources, the PET fibers can be made from recycled PET. Naturally, it is also possible to produce the PET fibers from virgin PET or from blends of virgin and recycled PET.

[0024] It is particularly preferred within the meaning of the present invention to produce the fiber / yarn bond and the adhesive layers in the form of a PET powder-water dispersion, which have differently adjustable melting points.

[0025] For the purposes of the present invention, it is particularly preferred if the nonwoven sublayers are based on PET / rPET absorption / stiffening nonwovens, which may also contain recycled PET fibers. For good sound absorption, it is particularly preferred for the purposes of the present invention if the entire sound insulation system is (acoustically) open to air flow.

[0026] In the same way as the carpets discussed above, floor mats and luggage compartment linings can also be designed in accordance with the present invention.

[0027] The invention is explained below using examples. Examples of implementation : Example 1:

[0028] A tufted carpet 1 was produced with a PET / rPET yarn count 2 of 1020 dtex, 127 filaments and a pitch of 5 / 64" using a 120 g / m 2 PET / coPET backing 3 with a final pile yarn weight (pile 2) of 305 g / m 2 . The binding was carried out by roller application of 100 g / m 2 coPET dispersion 4; to improve the absorption / stiffening behavior, a 360 g / m 2 PET / coPET fleece 5 was laminated. The deformation of the composite to a motor vehicle floor covering was carried out using a fully automatic thermoforming system; in the process steps of cutting the carpet and fleece to length, lamination in a laminating press, subsequent heating in an IR heating field and subsequent deformation. The testing of the Abrasion as one of the quality characteristics resulted in 0.180 g. Test conditions based on DIN 53 754 according to PrA-014 Cyclen N 1000 Speed ​​n 60 min -1< Load F 2 x 1000 g Friction wheel type H18 Target values: Abrasion ≤ 0,3 Example 2:

[0029] Another tufted carpet 1 was produced with a PET / rPET yarn count 2 of 1300 dtex, 127 filaments, and a pitch of 1 / 10" using a 120 g / m 2 PET / coPET backing 3 with a final pile yarn weight of 305 g / m 2 . The binding was carried out by roller application of 100 g / m 2 coPET dispersion 4; to improve the absorption / stiffening behavior, a 360 g / m 2 PET / coPET fleece 5 was laminated. The deformation was carried out as in Example 1. The abrasion test resulted in 0.210 g. Example 3:

[0030] Using fiber flocking processes, corresponding PET / rPET fiber insulations 6 with 15% PET / BiCo fiber content were produced.

[0031] This meant that the floor covering system (outer fabric + insulation) consisted of a single-material PET system. Complete recycling is ensured. This, along with the use of recycled PET (rPET) fibers, fully meets the "sustainability" and "green" claim. Example 4:

[0032] A dyed carpet (not shown) was manufactured with 6.7 / 11 dtex PET / rPET fibers 2; and a 100 g / m2 coPET dispersion 4 was applied using a padder. Here, too, a 360 g / m2 PET / coPET nonwoven 5 was laminated to improve absorption / stiffening properties. In addition to the fiber mix in the PET / rPET, PET / BiCo fibers (binding fibers) were also used in the composite.

[0033] The deformation was carried out as in the first example. The abrasion test resulted in 0.260 g.

Claims

1. Motor vehicle carpet (1) with - a wear layer (2) of a tufted, dilour or flat needle-punched nonwoven outer fabric consisting of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) yarns and / or fibers, - a carrier layer (3) consisting of polyethylene terephthalate and / or a copolymeric polyethylene terephthalate, - a first adhesive layer (4) consisting of a polyethylene terephthalate-based adhesive, - if necessary, further adhesive layers (middle layer) (4) consisting of a polyethylene terephthalate-based adhesive, - a backing layer (5) consisting of a polyethylene terephthalate-based nonwoven or woven fabric, and - an insulating layer (6) consisting of PET / coPET fibers, characterized in that the adhesive layers are made of a PET dispersion, and individual fibers of the wear layer (2) are point-bonded and not (rigidly) fused, and a fiber bond is therefore flexible.

2. Carpet (1) according to claim 1, characterized by a tufting carrier (3) comprising a PET / coPET staple fiber nonwoven or spunbonded nonwoven.

3. Carpet (1) according to one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that the PET fibres (2) comprise virgin or recycled PET or a mixture thereof, in particular consist thereof.

4. Carpet (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the overall sound insulation system is (acoustically) open to flow.