INSERT MAT FOR MOTOR VEHICLES FOR PLACING ONTO A WALL-TO-WALL CARPET STRUCTURE OF THE MOTOR VEHICLE

Abstract

An insert mat for motor vehicles for placing onto a sound-absorbing wall-to-wall carpet structure of the motor vehicle, having an at least three-layer structure, in which the structure has a decorative layer, which is oriented toward the interior of the vehicle in the proper position of the insert mat and is attached to a top surface of a support layer, which surface is oriented toward the interior of the vehicle in the proper position, and a gripping layer, which in the proper position of the insert mat, is attached to a bottom surface of the support layer and is embodied to achieve a hooking interaction with a wall-to-wall carpet of a vehicle, in which the entire structure is embodied to be air permeable, wherein the decorative layer is a tuft, the support layer is a nonwoven, and the gripping layer is a tuft.

Claims

1. A method for forming an insert mat for motor vehicles for placing onto a sound-absorbing wall-to-wall carpet structure of the motor vehicle, the method comprising: forming a first intermediate product by attaching a decorative layer to a top surface of a support layer with a first thermoplastic adhesive between the decorative layer and the support layer, wherein the decorative layer is a tufted fabric with tufts having pile loops inserted into a primary backing and the pile loops have zeniths facing the support layer, the decorative layer is intended to be oriented toward an interior of a vehicle in a proper position of the insert mat, the support layer is a nonwoven, the top surface of the support layer is intended to be oriented toward the interior of the vehicle in the proper position of the insert mat, and the first thermoplastic adhesive is applied on the zeniths of the pile loops in a point pattern or line pattern to form an air-permeable connection between the decorative layer and the top surface of the support layer; forming a second intermediate product composed of a gripping layer, wherein the gripping layer is a tufted fabric with tufts having pile loops inserted into a primary backing and the pile loops have zeniths extending from a top surface of the gripping layer, and in the proper position of the insert mat the top surface of the gripping layer is attached to a bottom surface of the support layer and a bottom surface of the gripping layer achieves a hooking interaction with a wall-to-wall carpet of a vehicle; applying a second thermoplastic adhesive on the zeniths of the pile loops of the gripping layer in a point pattern or line pattern and attaching the top surface of the gripping layer to the bottom surface of the support layer; and thermally activating at least one of the group consisting of the first thermoplastic adhesive, the second thermoplastic adhesive, and the support layer, and using a forming tool to give the insert mat a predetermined, three-dimensional shape while attaching the first intermediate product and the second intermediate product to each other; wherein an entire structure of the insert mat is air-permeable.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the support layer of the insert mat is an air permeable support nonwoven with a hydrophobic finish.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the decorative layer is a first tufted fabric with a mass per unit area of 305 g/m.sup.2 to 860 g/m.sup.2.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the support nonwoven of the support layer is PET nonwoven or a natural nonwoven with a mass per unit area of 200 g/m.sup.2 to 450 g/m.sup.2.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the gripping layer is a second tufted fabric with a mass per unit area of 300 g/m.sup.2 to 500 g/m.sup.2.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the each of the first and second thermoplastic adhesives is applied in a quantity of 80 g/m.sup.2 to 300 g/m.sup.2 per adhesive layer.

7. The method according to claim 2, wherein the hydrophobic finish of the support layer withstands a pressure of at least 50 mm of a water column.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least 20% of the fibers of the support nonwoven that constitutes the support layer are thermally activated adhesive fibers.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein on a free outer surface of the gripping layer, gripping or booking devices for cooperating with a gripping or hooking partner of the wall-to-wall vehicle carpet structure are also provided in some regions.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] The invention will be explained in greater detail below by way of example in conjunction with the drawings. In the drawings:

[0038] FIG. 1: schematically depicts a cross sec in through a layer structure of an insert mat according to the invention;

[0039] FIG. 2: is a schematic, more detailed depiction of the layer structure of the embodiment according to FIG. 1 with a glue line;

[0040] FIG. 3: is a view of filament arcs of tuft materials, which are used as a decorative layer and/or as a gripping layer and are provided with adhesive;

[0041] FIG. 4: schematically depicts a graph in which the equivalent absorption area is plotted over the frequency, with measurement curves of a floor covering (wall-to-wall carpet structure) of the motor vehicle alone, of the insert mat according to the invention alone, and of a composite made up of the floor covering/wall-to-wall carpet structure and the insert mat according to the invention, as well as a target curve of the absorption.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0042] A cross-sectional view of the layer structure of an insert mat according to the invention is particularly visible in FIG. 1. The insert mat according to the invention is basically provided to be used in addition to a carpet that is already present in the vehicle or is provided in a corresponding textile coating.

[0043] In particular, this is the usual sound-absorbing wall-to-wall carpet structure that is present in the vehicle.

[0044] Basically, the insert mat 1 according to the invention has an essentially three-layered structure, which includes a decorative layer 2. A decorative layer 2 of this kind is oriented toward a vehicle interior. There is also a support layer 3 and a gripping layer 4, which, when properly positioned, is oriented toward a vehicle floor or a wall-to-wall carpet structure of a vehicle.

[0045] The support layer 3 has a top surface 3a and a bottom surface 3b so that the top surface 3a is oriented toward the decorative layer 2 and the bottom surface 3b is oriented toward the gripping layer 4.

[0046] The decorative layer 2 is embodied as a so-called tuft. A tuft is a textile material in which needles insert the so-called pile yarn into a base material such as a woven or nonwoven (the so-called primary backing). This produces so-called pile nubs 5, i.e. loops, on the top surface of the tufting woven or nonwoven. The loops can be cut with a knife to produce a velvet carpet or cut-pile carpet. For example, the decorative layer is an Econyl recycled nylon, high-pile tuft.

[0047] The support layer 3 is embodied as a nonwoven; the gripping layer 4 is also embodied as a tuft. Both the decorative layer 2 and the gripping layer 3 have pile loops 5; the pile loops 5 have nub-like filament arcs 7 on the side oriented toward the support layer 3; the nub-like filament arcs 7 form zeniths 6 and the zeniths 6 of the filament arcs 7 are oriented toward the support layer 3.

[0048] For the fastening of the decorative layer 2 and/or of the gripping layer 4, an adhesive 8 is applied to the zeniths 6 in a point-by-point or linear fashion. A linear arrangement can also be produced by virtue of the fact that point-by-point applied adhesive 8 of adjacent zeniths 6 runs together. As can be seen in FIG. 3, this produces tracks or lines of adhesive extending along the zeniths 6, while nub channels 9, which are free of adhesive, remain open between them.

[0049] The adhesive 8 is in particular applied to the filament arcs 7 or, the zeniths 6 of the filament arcs 7 by means of an adhesive roller. In this connection, the adhesive 8 can, for example, be a thermoplastic adhesive, but can also be any other adhesive.

[0050] The support layer 3 is a woven, a knit, a felt, or a nonwoven, where the support layer 3 is embodied as air permeable. In addition, the support layer 3 can have a hydrophobic finish; the hydrophobic finish, however, must fulfill the requirement that it does not significantly influence the breathability.

[0051] The decorative layer is in particular a high-pile tuft with a mass per unit area of 350 g/m.sup.2 to 860 g/m.sup.2.

[0052] For example, the support nonwoven of the support layer 3 is a PET nonwoven and/or a natural fiber nonwoven with a mass per unit area of 220 g/m.sup.2 to 450 g/m.sup.2.

[0053] For example, the gripping layer 4 is a non-slip tuft with a mass per unit area 300 g/m.sup.2 to 500 g/m.sup.2.

[0054] The adhesive 8 is applied to the zeniths 6 in a quantity of 80 g/m.sup.2 to 300 g/m.sup.2 per adhesive layer.

[0055] The hydrophobic finish of the support layer 3 is preferably embodied so that it is able to withstand a pressure of 50 mm to 60 mm of a water column so that even though the decorative layer 2 can in fact be thoroughly soaked, no water penetrates through the support layer 3 to a wall-to-wall carpet of the vehicle. The applied liquid on the decorative layer 2 can then dry.

[0056] The nonwoven of the support layer 3 is preferably a PET nonwoven 15% to 25%, in particular 20% of the fibers of the support nonwoven constituting the support layer 3 are thermally activated adhesive fibers.

[0057] The insert mat 1 according to the invention in this case can be manufactured out of two intermediate products; the first intermediate product is composed of the decorative layer 2, the support layer 3, and the adhesive 8 between the decorative layer 2 and the support layer 3.

[0058] The second intermediate product is composed of the gripping layer 4, which has the adhesive 8 at the zeniths 6 of the filament arcs 7.

[0059] The two intermediate products are placed together into a heatable press and are attached to each other therein by means of pressing and heating; it is particularly advantageous if both the adhesive and the nonwoven can be thermally activated. In this case, the pressing can preferably occur in that the intermediate products are already cut to the required dimensions and are placed into the press in a correspondingly congruent fashion and are then attached to each other.

[0060] Preferably, additional gripping or hooking means for cooperating, for example, with a gripping or hooking partner in the wall-to-wall vehicle carpet structure can be provided on the free outside of the gripping layer 4.

[0061] To this end, it is also possible to give the insert mat a predetermined shape that is adapted to the vehicle body.

[0062] FIG. 2 once again shows the air permeable structure of an insert mat 1 according to the invention for an optimal acoustic absorption, showing the decorative layer 2, which is embodied, for example, in the form of a high-pile tuft, a first adhesive layer 8, which is shown in the form of a line and bonds the zeniths 6 of the filament arcs 7 to one another, and then the support layer 3 with a support layer top surface 3a and a support layer bottom surface 3b, a second adhesive layer 8 between the support layer 3 and the gripping layer 4, which is in particular a non-slip tuft.

[0063] The arrow 10 indicates the through-flow direction.

[0064] As explained above, FIG. 3 shows the adhesive 8, which is not applied over the entire area, but rather to the zeniths 6 of the filament arcs 7 and which has partially run, forming the corresponding adhesive lines, but lies on some of the nubs singly. The nub channels 9 between them, which do not hinder the flow from traveling through, are clearly visible.

[0065] FIG. 4 shows various absorption curves of the sound absorption of a floor mat, measured in an Alpha cabinet according to the testing recommendations of the automobile manufacturer.

[0066] On the one hand, this figure shows the target curve of the absorption and in contrast with this, the absorption curve of a floor mat according to the invention alone. The figure also shows the floor covering composed of the tufted carpet and an insulation with a thickness of 25 mm, corresponding to the wall-to-wall carpet structure in motor vehicles.

[0067] Above this appears the improved sound absorption achieved by the combination of a floor covering and the floor mat according to the invention.

[0068] The air permeable floor mat according to the invention has the advantage that an insert mat is inexpensively produced, which can be placed onto an existing wall-to-wall carpet structure of the motor vehicle in a non-slip fashion without additional fastening means and which, together with the wall-to-wall carpet structure, achieves a higher absorption coefficient.