Abstract:
A synthetic leather and a manufacturing process thereof involves having a substrate to be combined with a thermoplastic basic material (TPU MB) in one-time or multiple times of compound procedure for both to become an integrated party of the synthetic leather that prevents easy stripping off, excellent compound results, and excellent air permeability, particularly ideal in lateral and longitudinal ductility and malleability. Furthermore, the synthetic leather of the present invention gives advantages of having smooth surface, free of pilling, multiple choices for the applicable substrate, and perfect for massive production by batch.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    (a) Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention is related to a compound process and finished product of a synthetic leather, and more particularly, to an innovative art of putting a substrate and thermoplastic basic material (TPU MB thermoplastic-polyurethane melt-blown non-woven) under multiple rounds of compound process to produce a synthetic leather that imitates genuine leather. 
         [0003]    (b) Description of the Prior Art 
         [0004]    Conventional synthetic leather has staple fiber as the substrate, surface of the substrate is then PU film lamination processed before the final process of embossed pattern press to come up with the finished product of synthetic leather. However, both of the substrate and the PU film could be easily stripped off since they are only laminated to each other; as a result, the major defect found with the conventional process is that the synthetic leather is vulnerable to be damaged. Furthermore, the PU film in the conventional synthetic leather has a poor air permeability to cause the scope of its application is extremely limited. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide synthetic leather and a manufacturing process thereof that gives advantages of good fastness to prevent stripping off, and good air permeability, and more importantly, its lateral and longitudinal ductility and malleability meet requirements. In addition, the synthetic leather of the present invention is characterized in smooth surface that withstands friction without pilling, allowing diversified types of applicable substrate, and ideal for mass production by batch. 
         [0006]    To achieve the purpose, a substrate, and synthetic fiber is preferred, is selected to go through fiber opening and carding procedures and then combined with a thermoplastic basic material (TPU MB thermoplastic-polyurethane melt-blown non-woven) to become a compound material, which is then put through an embossed pattern press process as required to come up with a synthetic leather of the present invention. 
         [0007]    The combination of the substrate and the thermoplastic material is done at least once and may be repeated as many times as required. 
         [0008]    The method of combining the substrate and the thermoplastic material includes but not limited to a water entangle method, a needle punch method, a melt brown method, a hot air lamination method, or an adhesive binding method. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a schematic view showing a flow path of a one-time compound procedure for manufacturing a synthetic leather of the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a schematic view showing a construction of the synthetic leather of the present invention manufactured using the one-time compound method. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a schematic view showing a flow path of a multiple-time compound procedure for manufacturing the synthetic leather of the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a schematic view showing a construction of the synthetic leather of the present invention manufactured using the multiple-time compound method. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0013]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , a synthetic fiber  11  is selected as a substrate; the synthetic fiber is then put through fiber opening procedure  12  and fiber carding procedure  13  before being put into a compound procedure  14  to combine with a thermoplastic basic material (TPU MB thermoplastic-polyurethane melt-blown non-woven)  15  to become a compound material; and finally, the compound material is further going through a dipping process  16  and an embossing process  17  using an embossed pattern hot roller to press a pattern on the surface of the compound material to have a final product of a synthetic leather  18 . 
         [0014]    The synthetic fiber  11  may be related to Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), polyester, nylon, cellulose, rayon, ES fiber, other any synthetic fiber, activated carbon fiber, stainless steel fiber, wool, cotton, flax, or a mixture of cotton and flax. 
         [0015]    The compound procedure  14  involves having pressurized water (40˜120 kg/cm2) to produce an extremely minute water jet in thickness as that of a needle (0.1 mm) to directly spray on the synthetic fiber  11  and the thermoplastic basic material (TPU MB thermoplastic-polyurethane melt-blown non-woven)  15  for their fibers to get entangled and become a compound material by taking advantage of rebounding action provided by the water. 
         [0016]    The compound procedure  14  includes but not limited to a water entangle method, a needle punch method, a melt blown method, a hot air lamination method, or an adhesive binding method. 
         [0017]    Now referring to  FIG. 2 , the finished product of the synthetic leather  18  using the manufacturing process as illustrated in  FIG. 1  is substantially comprised of a substrate layer  31  at the bottom and a thermoplastic basic material layer  32  compounded on top of the substrate layer  31 . 
         [0018]    In another preferred embodiment of the manufacturing process of the present invention as illustrated in  FIG. 3 , a synthetic fiber  21  is selected as the substrate, and the synthetic fiber is put through a fiber opening procedure  22  and a fiber carding procedure  23  before entering into a compound procedure  24  to combine with a thermoplastic basic material of Thermoplastic Polyurethane Melt Blown Nonwoven (TPU MB thermoplastic-polyurethane melt-blown non-woven)  251  followed with a second compound process with the thermoplastic basic material TPU MB  252 . The resultant compound material is then put through a dipping process  26  and an embossing process  27  using an embossed pattern hot roller to press a pattern on the surface of the compound material to have a final product of a synthetic leather  28 . 
         [0019]    As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the construction of the synthetic leather  28  is comprised of a substrate layer  31  in an integrated compound, a thermoplastic basic material layer  32 , and a secondary layer  33  of thermoplastic basic material. It appears that certain portion of fiber  311  from the substrate layer  31  is covered inside the secondary layer  32  of thermoplastic basic material. 
         [0020]    The preferred embodiment differs from the previous preferred embodiment in that the compound procedure is given twice 24, 241 or more; and the advantages of repeated procedures of compound are: 
         [0021]    1. When compared to the one-time compound procedure, the secondary compound procedure  241  to combine the thermoplastic basic material TPU MB  252  allows few protruding fibers  311  as illustrated in  FIG. 2  from the thermoplastic basic material layer  32  are effectively concealed inside the secondary layer  33  of the thermoplastic basic material as illustrated in  FIG. 4  to be prevented from penetrating through the secondary layer  33  of the thermoplastic basic material; therefore, the surface of the synthetic leather  28  becomes comparatively smooth, withstanding friction, and free of pilling. Furthermore, the color of the surface looks even more consistent since those fibers  311  are effectively concealed. 
         [0022]    2. Variance of the substrate material is enriched to allow the use of various types of synthetic fiber, activated carbon fiber, stainless steel fiber, wool, cotton, etc. for developing diversified products and achieving even more comprehensive application. For example, a synthetic leather with stainless steel fiber as the substrate so that when it is applied in a power massage chair, the performance of the synthetic leather of the present invention in withstanding continuous friction, force applied, and plunging by internal mechanism of the power massage chair is far better than any other synthetic leathers generally available in the market, thus to deliver longer service life, more durable properties, and more capability of withstanding friction. 
         [0023]    3. The synthetic leather of the present invention manufactured in multiple-time compound procedures gives a construction better than that made using one-time compound procedure and simulates the advantage of preventing easy stripping off as provided by the genuine leather due to the repeated compound procedure  241  to combine the thermoplastic basic material TPU MB  252  as illustrated in  FIG. 4  to effectively conceal those fibers  311  otherwise exposed from the thermoplastic basic material layer  32  by being sandwiched between the second layer  33  of the thermoplastic basic material and the thermoplastic basic material layer  32 . 
         [0024]    4. The additional compound procedure  241  to combine the thermoplastic basic material TPU MB  252  allows reuse of those wastes of dyed TPU MB produced from purging the manufacturing equipment (i.e., feeding the thermoplastic basic material into the mechanical equipment to expel dyestuff attached to the mechanical equipment) otherwise to be disposed to be used as the thermoplastic basic material  251  (i.e., the thermoplastic basic material layer  32  since its appearance will be fully covered up by the secondary layer  33  of the thermoplastic basic material) for effective use of materials and reducing material consumption and production cost. 
         [0025]    5. For the finished product to be dyed, it takes only to add color to the outmost secondary layer  33  of the thermoplastic basic material  33  thus to effectively reduce the dyeing cost. 
         [0026]    6. The present invention allows reduction of inventory level and thus the inventory maintenance costs since the thermoplastic basic material  252  (i.e., the secondary layer  33  of the thermoplastic basic material) may be produced in massive quantity with the corresponding dyestuff prepared for future production by batch. While being free of color difference between batches, the key point is to reduce inventory level and inventory maintenance cost. 
         [0027]    Even though the multiple-time compound procedure does provide those advantages as describe above, the synthetic leather manufactured using the one-time compound method gives also the advantage of lower production cost. It is to be noted that those advantages provide by either compound method for manufacturing the synthetic leather of the present invention should fall within the scope of the purposes and claims of the present invention.