Claims:
1. An eco-friendly weldable fabric, the fabric comprising:
a base fabric having a first surface and a second surface, the first surface coated with an ink receptive prime coating followed by an ink receptive top coating, wherein
the prime coating includes acrylic binders from about 20% to about 25% (w/w), a cross linking agent from about 0.5% to about 1% (w/w), an adhesion enhancing agent from about 8% to about 10%, a porous ink absorptive pigment from about 20% to about 25% (w/w), titanium dioxide from about 5% to about 6% (w/w) and anti-microbial agent from about 0.7% to about 1% (w/w).

2. The eco-friendly weldable fabric as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second surface is coated with the top coating.

3. The eco-friendly weldable fabric as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the top coating includes an aqueous polyacrylic emulsions from about 80-98% (w/w) and fumed silica from about 3% to about 4% (w/w).

4. The eco-friendly weldable fabric as claimed in one of the preceding claims 1 to , wherein density of the prime coating is from about 20 to about 200 GSM.

5. The eco-friendly weldable fabric as claimed in one of the preceding claims 1 to 4, wherein density of the top coating is from about 10 to about 100 GSM.

6. The eco-friendly weldable fabric as claimed in one of the preceding claims 1 to 5, wherein the base fabric includes natural and /or manmade fibres such as cotton, polyester, polypropylene, nylon, m-aramid, p-aramid or blends thereof.

7. A method of manufacturing the eco-friendly weldable fabric as claimed in claim 1 to 6, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a base fabric having a first surface and a second surface;
coating the first surface of the base fabric with an ink receptive prime coating;
drying the prime coating;
coating the prime coating with an ink receptive top coating; and
coating the second surface with the ink receptive top coating.
, Description:FORM 2

THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)

&

THE PATENTS RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
[See section 10, Rule 13]

ECO-FRIENDLY WELDABLE FABRIC AND METHOD THEREOF

ARVIND LIMITED, A COMPANY INCORPORATED UNDER THE COMPANIES ACT, 1956, WHOSE ADDRESS IS NARODA ROAD, AHMEDABAD - 380025, GUJARAT, INDIA

THE FOLLOWING SPECIFICATION PARTICULARLY DESCRIBES THE INVENTION AND THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS TO BE PERFORMED

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to weldable fabrics and more particularly, to an eco-friendly weldable fabric and method thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
PVC flex are the sheets made up of Poly Vinyl Chloride that are printable by large colour solvent ink printers with most of the printing technologies. A flex board or a banner is generally made from a synthetic polymer and colour dyes. PVC flex are weldable due to their thermoplastic nature therefore they are widely used primarily as commercial signage products such as hoardings of larger dimensions. The PVC flex are also used as a cheaper substitute to the tarpaulin which are used for transportation purposes.
The PVC flex are thrown away when they serve its primary or secondary purpose as this materials are not re-usable. The flex material is non-biodegradable, hence, it has to be burnt in order to destroy it. It requires a temperature of 2990 C to burn the flex and generate poisonous gases while burning. The flex ash has a pH of 4.7 that makes the soil, water and air acidic. Moreover, it may pollute water sources when the flexes or ashes of burnt flexes are thrown to the water bodies. Moreover, PVC contains vinyl chloride monomer which is a cancer causing chemical.
It is a well known fact that Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) in atmosphere should be maintained at 30 and 250 micro grams per cubic meter respectively. Burning of flex releases harmful pollutants like sulphates and nitrates. These pollutants are heavier than air and form a thick blanket reducing the supply of oxygen in the vicinity. The current state of art includes number of ink receptive coated textile substrates that are selectively receptive to particular printing technology. Such textile print media cannot be used for hoardings with larger dimensions due to not being weldable.
Accordingly, there is need of means that is universally printable, weldable, and eco-friendly in nature.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present inventionrelates to a weldable eco-friendly fabric. The fabric includes a base fabric having a first surface and a second surface. The first surface is coated with an ink receptive prime coating followed by an ink receptive top coating. The prime coating and the top coating are ink receptive acrylic based resins. The prime coating includes acrylic binders from about 20% to about 25% (w/w), a cross linking agent from about 0.5% to about 1% (w/w), an adhesion enhancing agent from about 8% to about 10%, a porous ink absorptive pigment from about 20% to about 25% (w/w), titanium dioxide from about 5% to about 6% (w/w) and anti-microbial agent from about 0.7% to about 1% (w/w). A method of manufacturing the eco-friendly ink receptive fabric comprises the following steps. The base fabric having a first surface and a second surface is provided. The first surface of the base fabric is coated with an ink receptive prime coating. In the next step, the prime coating is allowed to get dried. In the next step, the prime coating is coated with an ink receptive top coating. In the last step, the second surface is coated with the ink receptive top coating.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a structure of a weldable eco-friendly fabric in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Although specific terms are used in the following description for sake of clarity, these terms are intended to refer only to particular structure of the invention selected for illustration in the drawings, and are not intended to define or limit the scope of the invention.
References in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” mean that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, or function described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a weldable eco-friendly fabric comprising an acrylic based coating formulation applied on an acrylic base fabric making the coated substrate universally printable. Accordingly, the weldable eco-friendly fabric comprises an ink receptive prime coating, an ink receptive top coating and a substrate applied on the acrylic base fabric in a predefined manner.
The present invention is illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings, throughout which reference numbers in brackets indicate corresponding parts in the various figures.
Referring to FIG. 1, a weldable eco-friendly fabric (100) (herein after “the fabric 100”) in accordance with an embodiment is shown. The fabric (100) comprises a woven and/or knitted and/or non-woven fabric as a base fabric (110). The base fabric (110) includes natural and /or manmade fibres such as cotton, polyester, polypropylene, nylon, m-aramid, p-aramid or blends thereof and the like.
In an embodiment, the fabric (100) includes the base fabric having two surfaces. A first surface (102) of the base fabric (110) is coated with a prime coating (120). In this one embodiment, the prime coating (120) is an ink receptive prime coating (120). The prime coating (120) is allowed to dry and over coated with a top coating (130). The top coating (130) is an ink receptive acrylic based resin that provides a glossy top coat and weldability to the fabric (100). The prime coating (120) forms an integral bond with the top coating (130) and the base fabric (110) that results in enhanced physical properties such as adhesion, scuffing, rubbing and scratches resistance and the like.
A second surface (104) of the base fabric (110) is coated with the top coating (130). It is to be noted here that the prime coating (120) and the top coating (130) are ink receptive in nature. In this one embodiment, density of the prime coating (120) is from about 20 to about 200 GSM (grams per square meter). The density of the top coating (130) is from about 10 to about 100 GSM. The prime coating (120) and the top coating (130) are applied to the base fabric (110) by a knife coating method. However, it is understood here that the coating method may vary in alternative embodiments.
In accordance with an embodiment, the prime coating (120) formulation comprises of acrylic binders from about 20% to about 25% (w/w), a cross linking agent from about 0.5% to about 1% (w/w), an adhesion enhancing agent from about 8% to about 10% and a porous ink absorptive pigment from about 20% to about 25% (w/w). The prime coating (120) formulation further includes Titanium dioxide from about 5% to about 6% (w/w) and anti-microbial agent from about 0.7% to about 1% (w/w). It is to be noted here, the Titanium dioxide increases the whiteness of the prime coating (120). In this one embodiment, the cross linking agents include Melamine Cross linkers, Isocyanate crosslinkers or Aqueous dispersion of epoxy. The adhesion enhancing agent includes Melamine Resin.
In accordance with this one embodiment, the top coating formulation includes an aqueous polyacrylic emulsions from about 80-98% (w/w) and fumed silica from about 3% to about 4% (w/w). The matting agent provides a soft and a non-tacky surface. However, it is understood here that ingredients and weight% thereof may vary in alternative embodiments of the present invention.
A method of manufacturing the eco-friendly ink receptive fabric comprises the following steps. The base fabric having a first surface and a second surface is provided. The first surface of the base fabric is coated with an ink receptive prime coating. In the next step, the prime coating is allowed to get dried. In the next step, the prime coating is coated with an ink receptive top coating. In the last step, the second surface is coated with the ink receptive top coating.
In accordance with the present invention, the weldable eco-friendly fabric (100) is re-usable. The fabric (100) is weldable by various methods such as hot air, high frequency, ultrasonic methods and the like. The fabric (100) is printable by various technologies such as solvent, eco solvent, latex and UV printing technology. The fabric (100) is eco-friendly, weldable and anti-microbial.
The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the present invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others, skilled in the art to best utilize the present invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is understood that various omission and substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstance may suggest or render expedient, but such are intended to cover the application or implementation without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.