WO2006080028A1 - A method of embossing design over pvc, latex or rubber backed brush mats or polypropylene mats in a dual temperature press - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of embossing colorful design on PVC, Latex or Rubber backed coir mats or Polypropylene mats wherein the design carved portion of the design mould is filled with crumb rubber which is floured processed and mixed with Viphenylmethandiisocyanat/ Isomere/ Homologe’ and required color in specially designed mixing mill at a temperature of 40° C, over which the coir mat with PVC, Latex or Rubber backing or Poly is placed up-side down and placing the assembly on the base plate of the dual temperature press, at pressure of 1500 psi to 200 psi and simultaneous heating of the base plate at a temperature of 50° C to 90° C by which the floured and processed crumb rubber is transposed into dough, of the color mixed, and sticks on to the mat pulling the bristles of the designed portion deep down to the bottom and thus forming the design at the top of the mat, wherein the PVC, Latex or Rubber backing of the coir or polypropylene mat is remained in tact, unaffected by the heating of the bottom plate by the circulation of water at 15° C through the cooling jacket attached to the top plate.

Description

THE PATENTS ACT 1970 (39 OF 1970 )

&

The Patent Rules 2003 (See Section 10 and Rule 13)

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

T I T L E

A METHOD OF EMBOSSING DESIGN OVER PVC₅ LATEX

OR RUBBER BACKED BRUSH MATS OR POLYPROPYLENE

MATS IN ADUAL TEMPERATURE PRESS.

APPLICANT

DENNΪS.K.J. COCODALE M.0.WARD ALAPPUZHA 688 001

INDIAN

The following COMPLETE SPECIFICATION describes the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed. FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention relates to a method, but not by way of limitation, of making design embossed AND PVC, Latex or Rubber backed brush mats through pressing in a dual temperature press. The production and usage of rubber backed coir mats are very commonly known and widely used and accepted inspite of its inherent and existent shortcomings. The further development of providing PVC and Latex backing to the cior mat did not anyway diminish the acceptance of rubber backed mats, but at the same time the aforesaid later options too equally survive. The designing of the coir mats intended to provide attraction to the mats. The designs were provided by using coir colors and later by embossing the required design with rubber sheet. The embossing of design with rubber sheet could be possible only on rubber backed mats and not on PVC or Latex backed mats for the reason that the later are not that heat resistant like rubber. The invention helps to get away the above dead-lock and provides way-out for the embossing of design on a PVC, Latex or Rubber backed coir mats.

PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

The idea of designing the top surface of coir mats, by the use coir colors put an end to the humdrum and brought-in attraction to the coir mats. The coloring is done by stenciling using templates. The design or notes proposed to be made over the mat is drawn on thin metal sheet and later such design portion is cut off from the sheet. Then the metal sheet is placed over the mat and required color is spread on the mat at the designed portion with a painting brush. The use of painting brush for coloring brings out accuracy and reaches the color up to the bottom of the bristles. The set-back of color fading did not adverse the use of this method, as is evident from the prevalence and use of it even now. but presented with the improvement of substituting the coir color by rubber.

The rubber backing on mat is provided through the application of heat and pressure. The coir mat is placed up-side down, in between two plates viz: top and bottom plates, and fed into the hydraulic press. The top plate is placed below and the bottom plate is placed over the mat. The simultaneous process of vulcanization and compressing brings out rubber backed coir mats. The top and bottom plates used were flat. But then the flat top plates succumbed to design plates. While using a design plate, a rubber sheet also was placed over the top plate and _. - . _, over wnicn the coir mat is placed up-side down. The similar process ot simultaneous pressing and vulcanization could bring-in design embossed rubber backed coir mats. Yet another improvement in the field was the substitution of Coir mat by poly-propelene sheet.

The PVC or Latex backing to coir mats are provided by tufting evenly cut coir fibers into the liquefied PVC or latex compound. But embossing of design on the PVC Latex backed mats was hither to not possible because_of the low heat resistance of the PVC or Latex. In result any further improvement to the PVC/Latex backed mats got stagnated.

The method under the invention is real break through cracking the concept that embossing design on a PVC/Latex backed coir mat is impossible. The invention is an answer to the raising eye-brows by introducing the novel combination of embossing design on PVC/Latex backed coir mats with Rubber. The embossing design under the invention is by use of processed crumb rubber. The crumb rubber is first crushed in crashing machine to get the required size of rubber granules. After crashing the crumb rubber the granules are put into a vibrating screen were the uneven size of granules are separated. The even sized granules from the vibrator are then processed and thus made fit to be used for the embossing of design under the invention.

MEHTOD ANDPROCESS OF THEINVENTION

The equipment used for the invention are

1. Specially Designed Mixing Unit ( Mix Master )

2. Dual Temperature Press.

1. The Function and Working Of Mixing Unit - Mix Master

The Mix Master consists two Hoppers - one small and one big. Below each hopper there is small opening where a flexible screw is placed. The flexible screw extends upto the Mixing cylinder. The small hopper is placed above the big hopper, but both are unconnected. The hoppers are filled with cramb-rubber. On the other side of the Mixing uyimαer, two rums, one con aining co or an e o er con aining an imported chemical by name 'Viphenylmethandiisocyanat/ Isomere/ Homologe' hereinafter for convinience called the imported chemical The flexible spring of each Hooper is connected to motor, so as to rotate the spring. Hence the crumb-rubber filled in the hopper falls on the deep threads of the flexible spring and on rotation of the spring, the crumb- rubber is carried and put inside the Mixing cylinder. Simultaneously the required quantity color and the imported chemical also pumped to the Mixing Cylinder. Thus the crumb-rubber, with the color and imported chemical, along with other accelerators etc is though roughly mixed and partially floured. The floured granules which comes-out after mixing is collected and used for embossing design. The next phase of the process starts with the Dual Temperature press.

STRUCTURE OF THE MACHINE DUAL TEMPERATURE PRESS

There is a strong pillar to which the top and the base plate are attached. The top plate is fabricated with a cooling jacket and is capable for vertical movement. There are heating coils just behind the base plate and in contact with it. On both sides of the pillar, right and left, there are conveyors that could hold and carry the 2mtr. x 1.5 Mt. sized design mould. The top plate is attached with the piston of the hydraulic press. The power pack includes wiring etc. for the supply of power to the equipment, few motors - one each for the conveyors, one for the working of the hydraulic press, for the supply and circulation of water to the cooling jacket. METHOD AND WORKING OF THE INVENTION

The design mould is placed on the conveyor. The design mould itself is a plate, of 2 x 1.5 Mt. size, over which the required design is carved on it. The design lines are not simply flat projections but are channels so as to fill processed rubber granules in it. Accordingly the processed rubber granules are filled in the channels either mechanically using flexible screw feeder or manually. Then the coir mat, with rubber, PVC or latex backing or polypropylene mat is placed over the mould, up side down. Then the conveyor is moved which takes the assembly between the top and base plates and places the design mould over the base plate. At a time, around eight or nine mats, depending on its size, can be accommodated in one design mould. The conveyor stops when the design mould comes exactly and parallel down to the top plate and is correctly placed over the base plate. The movement of the conveyor is controlled ?it a imer. en e y rau c press s put to wor , w c s ow y pushes down the top plate and get pressed down at a pressure of 1500 to 2000 lbs. Simultaneously the heaters attached to the base plate and the cooling jacket attached to the top plate are switched on. The heaters transmits heat to the design mould through the base plate at a temperature between 50 C to 90 C. At the same tirne the water circulated in the cooling jacket attached to the top plate, at a temperature of 15 C, remains the top plate cool and unaffected by the heat generated by the heaters. The result is that the PVC, latex or rubber backing of the coir mat is left intact and do not get melted of the heat. The granules at the heat and with the chemicals in it, transforms into dough and sticks to the base of the mat with the PVC, latex or rubber backing as the case may be, of the mat, suppressing the bristles at the respective portion of the design. The duration of the pressing is around 4 to 5 minutes. Then the pressing will be exhausted and the plates are brought to a retracted condition. Then the assembly will be pulled by the conveyor beside and simultaneously bringing the arranged design mould of the other side in between the plates for the repetition of the process. Then water will be showered on the pressed mats to further set the design embossed. Thus design is embossed on the PVC, Latex or Rubber backed mats. Through this process design can be embossed on polypropylene mats also. Any design of any color can be embossed by the change in design mould and color to the required fashion and taste.

The heat required is too low and for that too the PVC, rubber or latex backing is protected by the water circulated in the cooling jacket. The time taken is also very short which brings down the cost in various ways. The method of embossing design on a P VC/Latex or Rubber backed coir mat with the use of a Dual Temperature Press is the possible, cost wise cheap, and the best way of embossing design on a coir mat with PVC, Latex or Rubber backing or on Polypropylene mats.

DESCRIBTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In FIG.No.l the method of mixing the crumb rubber is illustrated. In this a perspective view of the hoppers, the flexible screw, the position of the chemicals used, the mixing chamber are shown and marked. In FIG.2 a perspective of the dual temperature press is illustrated. In this the top and bottom plates, the heaters and the cooling coils, the hydraulic cylinder are shown and marked. While the invention has been particularly shown, described and illustrated hi detail it should be understood by those skilled in the art that equivalent changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the scope and true spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. The process and working of the crashing machine wherein the crumb rubber is crushed and evenly cut and uneven size of granules are separated,

2. The method and process as in claim no.l above and the process and working of the mixing machine, wherein the even shaped granules stored in the hopper are conveyed into the mixing cylinder where the granules are floured and thoroughly mixed at a temperature of 40° C₅ with Viphenylmemandiisocyanat/ Isomere/ Homologe' and other chemicals, accelerators and the required color thereby making the crumb rubber fit to be transposed into dough while processing in the dual temperature press,

3. The method and process as claimed in claim no. 1 and 2 above and the process and working of the Dual Temperature Press whereby the crumb rubber received from the mixing machine are transposed into dough through the heating of the bottom plate at a temperature ranging from 50° to 90° C, and the embossing of design over the PVC, Latex or Rubber backed coir mats through pressing at pressure ranging from 1500 to 2000 psi.

4. The method and process as claimed in claim no. 1, 2 and 3 above and the process and working of the cooling jacket attached to the top plate of the Dual Temperature Press wherein the top plate is remained cool by the circulation of water at 15° C through the cooling jacket attached to the top plate, unaffected by the heating of the bottom plate by the heaters attached to the bottom plate,

5. The method and process of any of the proceeding claims wherein the design is embossed over a PVC , Latex, or Rubber backed coir mats or Polypropylene mats.

6. The embossing of colored designs on coir mats with PVC, Latex or Rubber backing by a method according to any one of the preceding claims.