DESC:FIELD
The present disclosure relates to a process for producing a tufted coir mat.
BACKGROUND
Coir fibers extracted from coconut husk can be used for producing mats, for example – brush type mats. Typically, brush type mats comprise a base layer, wherein the base layer is embedded with tufts of coir fibers. These mats can be used in varied applications, wherein the mats are subjected to severe conditions. The base layer should possess a desired strength so that the tufted coir mat(s) are capable of withstanding the severe conditions.
Conventionally, the base layer is made of a cured polymeric material such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) that possesses desired physical and chemical properties. However, the polymeric material(s) used conventionally is/are not biodegradable. PVC is a relatively hard polymer. In order to produce PVC mats, it is necessary to dissolve PVC (base layer) in solvents such as tetrahydrofuran (THF), cyclohexanone, cyclopentanone, and the like, because it is necessary to introduce a solvent or a plasticizer in the PVC so as to obtain PVC with a desired flexibility and softness. Therefore, the final product (PVC mats) contains traces of these solvents. Particularly, the plasticizers are phthalate based which may be carcinogenic in nature. There is, therefore, a need to avoid the use of PVC as a base layer so as to produce tufted coir mats that do not contain traces of the solvents and are safe to use.
Further, natural latex can be used as a binder or binding material for the PVC. The quality of natural latex is completely dependent upon geographical conditions such as place of origin. Due to this, it becomes difficult to control the quality of latex and obtain tufted coir mat(s) having desired quality, i.e., having the required strength and flexibility.
There is, therefore, felt a need of an alternative process to produce a tufted coir mat(s) having the required strength and flexibility.
OBJECTS
Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies, are as follows:
An object of the present disclosure is to produce a tufted coir mat having the required strength and flexibility.
Another object of the present disclosure is to produce a tufted coir mat(s) having the required strength and flexibility without the use of PVC in the base layer.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to produce a tufted coir mat having the required strength and flexibility without using solvents and/or plasticizers.
Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description, which is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
SUMMARY
The present disclosure envisages a process for producing a tufted coir mat. The process comprising feeding a fiber mesh to a pre-conveyor; coating an operative top surface and an operative bottom surface of the fiber mesh with a synthetic latex, thereby obtaining a latex embedded fiber mesh; pressing a plurality of coir fibers of a pre-determined length on the operative top surface of the latex embedded fiber mesh for embedding the operative bottom ends of the coir fibers within the latex embedded fiber mesh, thereby obtaining a coir embedded fiber mesh; conveying, by a conveyor, the coir embedded fiber mesh to a heating unit for being heated at a pre-determined temperature for a pre-determined time period, thereby obtaining a heated coir embedded fiber mesh; conveying, by the conveyor, the heated coir embedded fiber mesh to a cooling unit for cooling, thereby obtaining a cooled coir embedded fiber mesh; and trimming the cooled coir embedded fiber mesh to obtain tufted coir mats of uniform thickness.
In an embodiment, the ratio of the length of the plurality of coir fibers, of the tufted coir mats, and the thickness of the latex embedded fiber mesh is upto 5:1.
In another embodiment, the process further comprises the step of cutting the cooled coir embedded fiber mesh to obtain appropriately sized tufted coir mats.
In another embodiment, the process further comprises the step of rolling the tufted coir mats into mat rolls for ease of transport.
In an embodiment, the pre-determined temperature ranges from 100oC to 185oC, and the pre-determined time period ranges from 25 minutes to 35 minutes.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWING
The present disclosure will now be described with the help of the accompanying drawing, in which:
Figure 1 illustrates a schematic view of an apparatus for producing a tufted coir mat(s) in accordance with the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
As described herein above, coir mats, particularly tufted coir mats, are produced conventionally by the use of PVC or similar polymeric materials in the base layer. Moreover, PVC is a relatively hard polymer; hence it is necessary to introduce solvents and plasticizers in PVC so as to obtain PVC with the desired flexibility and softness. The plasticizers are generally phthalate based, which can be carcinogenic in nature. Therefore, tufted coir mats produced using the PVC in the base layer contain traces of solvents and are unsafe to use.
The present disclosure, therefore, envisages a process for producing a tufted coir mat that overcomes the drawbacks mentioned herein above.
The process for producing tufted coir mats is described with reference to an apparatus (A) depicted in Figure 1.
Continuous lengths of fiber mesh (for example – the fiber can be one of jute or glass fiber), available in the roll form, are taken on a pre-conveyor (50a) so that a thick paste of synthetic latex, which is prepared in a latex preparing tank (40), can be applied on the fiber mesh by a coating knife (30). The synthetic latex is applied on the operative top surface of the fiber mesh and the operative bottom surface of the fiber mesh to obtain a resin coated fiber mesh. The thick paste of the synthetic latex is continuously circulated by a pump (not shown in Figure 1) for applying the synthetic latex on the fiber mesh. The coating knife (30) facilitates layer formation of the synthetic latex on the fiber mesh. Due to the mesh like structure of the fiber, the synthetic latex is embedded in the mesh to form a base layer, which is the latex embedded fiber mesh. Particularly, the mesh like structure of the fiber improves the tear strength of the base layer. In accordance with the present disclosure, the tear strength of the base layer is improved by 30% to 60%, as compared to the tear strength when PVC is used in a base layer. In accordance with the present disclosure, the tear strength of the base matrix is dependent on two parameters, viz., the thickness of the mesh and the density of the mesh.
Continuous lengths of coir fibers are rolled on a plurality of coir creels (10) and are conveyed to a tufting section (20) by a conveyor (50b), wherein the continuous lengths of the coir fibers are cut and reduced into short lengths of 14 mm to 15 mm. Further, in the tufting section (20), the coir fibers of pre-determined length, i.e., 14mm to 15mm are gently pressed in the synthetic latex by a hammer (not shown in Figure 1), thereby improving the bonding of the coir fibers with the synthetic latex and producing tufts to obtain a coir embedded fiber mesh. Particularly, the coir fibers get partially embedded into the synthetic latex in such a way that the bottom portion of the coir fibers is embedded into the fiber reinforced latex and the top portion of the coir fibers extends above the fiber reinforced latex.
Mats leaving the tufting section (20) are conveyed by the conveyor (50b) to a heating section (60), where the coir embedded fiber mesh is heated at pre-determined temperature for a pre-determined time period. In one embodiment, the pre-determined temperature ranges from 100°C to 185°C, and the pre-determined time period ranges from 25 minutes to 35 minutes to produce a heated coir embedded fiber mesh, which followed by a step of cooling in a cooling section (70). The process steps of heating and cooling enable firm bonding of the coir fibers with the base matrix, i.e., latex embedded fiber mesh to obtain unprocessed tufted coir mats. The cooled coir embedded fiber mesh or the unprocessed tufted coir mats are then processed to obtain appropriately sized tufted coir mats.
The cooled coir embedded fiber mesh leaving the cooling section (70) is conveyed to a trimming section (80), wherein the coir fibers are trimmed to produce tufted coir mats of uniform thickness. In one embodiment, the ratio of the length of the coir fiber to the thickness of the latex embedded fiber mesh ranges from 3:1 to 5:1.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, the tufted coir mats leaving the trimming section (80) can be collected in a processing section (90), wherein the tufted coir mats can be cut into desired shapes and sizes.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure, the tufted coir mats leaving the shearing section (80) can be collected or rolled on a plurality rollers (100).
Depending upon the requirement, the coir fibers can be pigmented so as to produce tufted coir mats with different patterns (for example – flowery pattern of coir fibers) or designs.
Preferably, the process of the present disclosure does not use natural latex, it rather uses synthetic latex. This is because, the natural latex is obtained from natural sources, for example – flowering plants and the quality of the natural latex is completely dependent upon geographical conditions such as place of origin. Due to this, it becomes difficult to monitor the quality of the natural latex and incorporate the changes in the process accordingly.
In accordance with the present disclosure, the quality of the tufted coir mats obtained using the synthetic latex is better as compared to that obtained using the natural latex. Moreover, the process of the present disclosure obviates the use of PVC in the base layer. Therefore, the final product (tufted coir mats) produced using the process of the present disclosure does not contain solvents and are safe for use.
TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS
The present disclosure described herein above has several technical advantages including, but not limited to, the realization of a process that can be used to produce tufted coir mats:
• with a desired strength and flexibility;
• that do not contain solvents;
• that are safe to use; and
• without using PVC.
The disclosure has been described with reference to the accompanying embodiments which do not limit the scope and ambit of the disclosure. The description provided is purely by way of example and illustration.
The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments so fully revealed the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
Throughout this specification the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.
The use of the expression “at least” or “at least one” suggests the use of one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as the use may be in the embodiment of the disclosure to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results.
Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like that has been included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the disclosure. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form a part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the disclosure as it existed anywhere before the priority date of this application.
The numerical values mentioned for the various physical parameters, dimensions or quantities are only approximations and it is envisaged that the values higher/lower than the numerical values assigned to the parameters, dimensions or quantities fall within the scope of the disclosure, unless there is a statement in the specification specific to the contrary.
While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the components and component parts of the preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that many embodiments can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the disclosure. These and other changes in the preferred embodiment as well as other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the disclosure and not as a limitation.
,CLAIMS:WE CLAIM:
1. A process for producing a tufted coir mat, the process comprising the following steps:
feeding a fiber mesh to a pre-conveyor;
coating an operative top surface and an operative bottom surface of said fiber mesh with a synthetic latex, thereby obtaining a latex embedded fiber mesh;
pressing a plurality of coir fibers of a pre-determined length on the operative top surface of said latex embedded fiber mesh for embedding the operative bottom ends of the coir fibers within the latex embedded fiber mesh, thereby obtaining a coir embedded fiber mesh;
conveying, by a conveyor, the coir embedded fiber mesh to a heating unit for being heated at a pre-determined temperature for a pre-determined time period, thereby obtaining a heated coir embedded fiber mesh;
conveying, by said conveyor, the heated coir embedded fiber mesh to a cooling unit for cooling, thereby obtaining a cooled coir embedded fiber mesh; and
trimming said cooled coir embedded fiber mesh to obtain appropriately tufted coir mats of uniform thickness.
2. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ratio of the length of the plurality of coir fibers of the tufted coir mats and the thickness of said latex embedded fiber mesh ranges from 3:1 to 5:1.
3. The process as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of cutting said cooled coir embedded fiber mesh to obtain appropriately sized tufted coir mats.
4. The process as claimed in claim 3, further comprising the step of rolling said tufted coir mats into mat rolls for ease of transport.
5. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pre-determined temperature ranges from 100oC to 185oC.
6. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pre-determined time period ranges from 25 minutes to 35 minutes.