Method of Preparing Polyurethane Foam Carpet Underlay Having a Barrier Film Attached Thereto

Polyurethane foam has been heretofore employed as carpet underlay material. Often, such material contains a barrier film placed on one side thereof.

The present invention provides a method for employing the barrier film as the mold for forming the polyurethane.

The present invention pertains to a method for preparing polyurethane foam carpet underlay which method comprises:

(A) a frothed, polyurethane-forming mixture applied into a film material;

(B) passing the film containing the frothed, polyurethane-foaming mixture through a gauging device so as to provide a substantially uniform thickness of frothed polyurethane-forming mixture;

(C) contacting the top of the thus gauged, frothed polyurethane-forming mixture with a film material which has been in previous contact with the bottom of said frothed polyurethane-forming mixture and which film that is in contact with the top and bottom of said frothed polyurethane-forming mixture is one continuous piece of film;

(D) curing said gauged frothed polyurethane-forming mixture with said continuous piece of film on top and bottom thereof;

(E) removing said film from the underside of the cured polyurethane and applying said film in a continuous manner to the top of said gauged, frothed, polyurethane-forming mixture in step (C); and

(F) thereafter cutting the thus prepared carpet underlay having a film attached to one surface into desired lengths.

The FIGURE is a non-scalar cross section of one method for preparing the carpet underlay material.

The process of the present invention can be described employing FIG. 1 for illustrative purposes wherein the film material, 10, is fed from supply roll, 11, around direction change roll, 12, across a bed plate, 13, onto a conveyer belt, 14, supported at each end by rolls 15 and 16 and supported therebetween by a plurality of idler rolls, 17, around direction change rolls, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23. A mass of a frothed polyurethane-forming mixture, 24, is deposited by a means not shown onto said film material prior to contact with a gauging means, 25, illustrated as a doctor roll, thereby forming a sheet of frothed polyurethane-forming mixture on said film material. The gauging means, 25, and the bed plate, 13, are in an adjustable relationship to each other. The top of said sheet of frothed polyurethane-forming mixture is then contacted with said film material at direction change roll 23. The sheet of polyurethane-forming mixture being in contact with said film material on top and bottom then passes through a means, 26, for curing said polyurethane-forming mixture. After passing through said curing means, 26, the bottom portion of said film material is removed by means of direction change roll 18 and the sheet of cured polyurethane having one surface in contact with a film material, 28, is passed around direction change roll, 27 and thereafter a direction change roll, 29. An optional roll, 30, is shown which facilitates removal of the film from the polyurethane. Thereafter, the thus formed carpet underlay is cut into the desired length and rolled-up for storage, all by means not shown.

Any suitable film of non-woven material can be employed in the present invention such as, for example, polyethylene, polyvinylchloride, polypropylene, copolymers of vinyl chloride and vinylidine chloride, polyethylene terephthalate, nylon, multilayer composites of like or any two or more such film or non-woven material and the like.

In some instances it may be desirable, or even preferred, to treat the surface of the film which is to remain in contact with the polyurethane by flame treating, electrostatic arc or other suitable methods to enhance the adhesion of the film material to the polyurethane.

The frothed urethane-forming composition contains (a) one or more polyols, (b) one or more polyisocyanates, (c) one or more catalysts and, optionally, auxilliary blowing agents, fillers, cell control agents, fire retardant agents and the like.

In some instances, the polyurethane may undergo a density reduction between rolls 25 and 27 due to thermal expansion, auxilliary blowing agents and the like.