Patent Description:
With the development of material technology and the increase of social demands, sheets made of elastic organic materials are widely used. For example, people increasingly use various portable apparatuses in various places, for example, move the apparatuses used indoors to the outdoors for use. As a typical example, inflatable products are light weight and easy to package and store, and are widely used. A related-art inflatable product is often made of several sheets of a polymer material manufactured using high-frequency welding and splicing to construct the outer contour thereof. Therefore, the sheets are often made of an elastic polymer material, such as thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), that can be welded at a high frequency. However, when there is a high air pressure inside a product made from such sheets, the sheets will be stretched and deform, so that the shape of the inflatable product will likewise deform.

In order to reinforce such sheet material, technicians have attempted to attach a fabric to the sheet material to improve the tensile performance of the sheet material. Taking a sheet material made of TPU as an example, in related art fabric lamination process, a fabric base is first coated with a binder to obtain a base material; the base material is rolled into a base-material roll for ease of transportation; and a TPU-material roll is prepared. Then, the base-material roll and the TPU-material roll to be laminated are transferred to a laminating machine. The binder of the base-material, supplied by the base-material roll, and the TPU material, supplied by the TPU-material roll, are heated and pressed, so as to form a sheet material in which the TPU material is bonded to the fabric base by means of the binder.

However, the above process has some disadvantages. First, after the intermediate material is obtained, the intermediate material is rolled into a heavy roll for transportation. Second, when an adhesive is used, it is necessary to dissolve the adhesive in an organic solvent to obtain an adhesive solution, to apply the adhesive solution to a surface of the fabric, to evaporate the organic solvent to retain the adhesive on the surface of the fabric, and to then roll up the fabric having the adhesive, so that a transportable base-material roll is obtained. However, the evaporated organic solvent may cause serious environmental pollution.

A method according to the background art is disclosed in <CIT>.

The present invention is directed to a method for manufacturing a sheet according to claim <NUM> and to a sheet according to claim <NUM>. Example embodiments may address at least the above problems and/or disadvantages and other disadvantages not described above. Also, example embodiments are not required to overcome the disadvantages described above, and may not overcome any of the problems described above.

One or more example embodiments may provide an apparatus, however not within the scope of the invention, and process for
manufacturing a sheet, which simplify a production process of the sheet, reduce the production cost, and reduce possible environmental pollution.

According to an aspect of an example embodiment, however not within the scope of the invention, an apparatus for manufacturing a
sheet comprises: a first feeding device configured to convey an elastic polymer material; a second feeding device configured to convey a binding material; a third feeding device configured to supply a fabric sheet; a raw material processing device comprising: a confluence cavity, a first flow channel configured to convey the elastic polymer material from the first feeding device to the confluence cavity, a second flow channel configured to convey the binding material from the second feeding device to the confluence cavity, and a material outlet, in communication with the confluence cavity and configured to discharge a first material sheet comprising the elastic polymer material disposed on a first side of the first material sheet and the binding material disposed on a second side of the first material sheet; and a pressing device configured to laminate the fabric sheet to the second side of the first material sheet.

The pressing device may comprise a first roller and a second roller configured to convey the first material sheet and the fabric sheet therebetween.

At least one of the first roller and the second roller may comprise a working surface made of a metallic material.

The manufacturing apparatus may further comprise: a cooling system comprising a cooling pipeline, wherein the first roller comprises a working surface made of a metallic material, and the cooling pipeline is disposed in the first roller.

The manufacturing apparatus may further comprise: a cooling system comprising a cooling pipeline, wherein the second roller comprises a working surface made of a metallic material, and the cooling pipeline is disposed in the second roller.

One of the first roller and the second roller may comprise a working surface made of an elastic material.

The binding material may comprise a reactive adhesive.

According to an aspect of another example embodiment, within the scope of the invention, a method for manufacturing a sheet comprises: receiving a supply of an elastic polymer material and a binding material and a fabric sheet; and forming a material sheet comprising: a first layer comprising the elastic polymer material, a second layer comprising the binding material, an intermediate layer, between the first layer and the second layer, the intermediate layer comprising a mixture of the elastic polymer material and the binding material, and a fabric layer comprising the fabric sheet bonded to the second layer, wherein the elastic polymer material is PVC or TPU and the binding material is a polyurethane reactive hot-melt adhesive.

The material sheet may be a second material sheet, and the method may further comprise: prior to forming the second material sheet: forming a first material sheet, the first material sheet comprising the first layer, the second layer, and the intermediate layer; wherein the forming the second material sheet comprises pressing the first material sheet and the fabric sheet such that the first material sheet is bonded to the fabric sheet by means of the second layer of the first material sheet to form the second material sheet.

The manufacturing method may further comprise: cooling the first material sheet using a pressing device.

According to an aspect of another example embodiment, within the scope of the invention, a sheet comprises: a covering
layer comprising: a first layer comprising an elastic polymer material, a second layer comprising a binding material, and an intermediate layer between the first layer and the second layer, the intermediate layer comprising a mixture of the elastic polymer material and the binding material; and a fabric layer bonded to the binding material, wherein the elastic polymer material is PVC or TPU and the binding material is a polyurethane reactive hot-melt adhesive.

The sheet may be made by pressing the covering layer and the fabric layer.

The above and/or other aspects will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of example embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:.

Reference will now be made in detail to example embodiments which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. In this regard, the example embodiments may have different forms and may not be construed as being limited to the descriptions set forth herein.

It will be understood that the terms "include," "including", "comprise, and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

It will be further understood that, although the terms "first," "second," "third," etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections may not be limited by these terms.

Various terms are used to refer to particular system components. Different companies may refer to a component by different names - this document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function.

Matters of these example embodiments that are obvious to those of ordinary skill in the technical field to which these exemplary embodiments pertain may not be described here in detail.

As used herein, orientation or positional relationships indicated by terms such as "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", and "anticlockwise" are based on orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are merely for ease of description.

As used herein, unless otherwise explicitly specified and defined, the terms "mounting", "connecting", "connection" and "fixing" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, they can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integrated connection, and can be a direct connection and can also be an indirect connection through an intermediate.

As described herein, an "inflatable product" comprises at least one inflation chamber for inflating, and after a pressure of gas (e.g., air) in the inflation chamber reaches a desired value, the inflatable product is considered to be in an inflated state and is maintained in a certain shape. After the gas in the inflation chamber of the inflatable product is discharged, the inflatable product is considered to be in a deflated state, and a volume of the inflatable product is greatly reduced relative to that of the inflatable product in the inflated state, thereby facilitating storage of the inflatable product.

According to an aspect of an example embodiment, not within the scope of the invention, a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a sheet is provided. The manufacturing apparatus includes a raw material processing device and a plurality of raw material feeding devices separately connected to the raw material processing device and each supplying at least one raw material to the raw material processing device. The raw materials may include a raw material that enables a fabric to be bonded to one or more other raw materials. The raw materials may be joined in the raw material processing device and then discharged from a discharge port of the raw material processing device as a first material sheet. The first material sheet and the fabric may then be fed together into a pressing device, and thus the first material sheet and the fabric are pressed by the pressing device to form a second material sheet. The second material sheet comprises a fabric layer and a covering layer laminated to the fabric layer.

<FIG> shows an apparatus <NUM> for manufacturing a sheet, and the sheet itself, according to an example embodiment not within the scope of the invention; The sheet may be used for make an inflatable product. <FIG> shows how an elastic polymer material discharged by the raw material processing device is laminated to a fabric.

It can be understood that the manufacturing apparatus <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG> and the specific structure thereof are merely examples of a sheet manufacturing process. Configurations illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, such as the relative positional relationships and the dimensional relationships among the various components, are not intended to be limiting.

The manufacturing apparatus <NUM> comprises a first feeding device <NUM>, a second feeding device <NUM>, a raw material processing device <NUM>, a third feeding device <NUM>, and a pressing device <NUM>.

The first feeding device <NUM> is connected to the raw material processing device <NUM> via a first feeding path <NUM>, and the elastic polymer material <NUM> (e.g., PVC or TPU) is heated by the first feeding device <NUM> to a plasticization temperature and is thus in a molten state, and the elastic polymer material <NUM> in the molten state is conveyed to the raw material processing device <NUM> via the first feeding path <NUM>. The second feeding device <NUM> is connected to the raw material processing device <NUM> via a second feeding path <NUM>, and a binding material <NUM>, which may be a reactive adhesive such as polyurethane reactive (PUR) hot-melt adhesive, is heated by the second feeding device <NUM> to a plasticization temperature and is thus in a molten state, and the binding material <NUM> in the molten state is conveyed to the raw material processing device <NUM> via the second feeding path <NUM>.

In particular, where a reactive adhesive is used, the reactive adhesive, including PUR, is free of water and organic solvents, has a high performance and is environmentally friendly, has the characteristics of common hot-melt adhesives, such as being solvent-free, high initial adhesion, and rapid positioning during assembly, and also has the properties of water resistance, heat resistance, cold resistance, creep resistance, media resistance, etc. that are inherent to reactive adhesives. However, such reactive adhesive cannot undergo a reverse reaction after curing, so that the laminating process of the laminating solution using the reactive adhesive should be completed before the curing of the reactive adhesive is completed.

According to an example embodiment, the first feeding device <NUM> and the second feeding device <NUM> each have a screw conveying mechanism to, under the pressure and shear force generated by rotation of a screw, enable materials to be sufficiently plasticized and uniformly mixed and allow the materials to be spirally conveyed in an axial direction of the screw. It can be understood that those skilled in the art would be able to use other forms of conveying mechanisms according to actual needs. Thus, alternately, but not by way of limitation, the first feeding device <NUM> and the second feeding device may each have a gear pump conveying mechanism, or the first feeding device <NUM> and the second feeding device <NUM> may have conveying mechanisms different from each other.

The first feeding device <NUM> and/or the second feeding device <NUM> may also optionally have a heating apparatus to heat the elastic polymer material <NUM> and/or the binding material <NUM>.

The flowable elastic polymer material <NUM> and the flowable binding material <NUM> are then joined in the raw material processing device <NUM>. Specifically, the elastic polymer material <NUM> from the first feeding device <NUM> flows into the raw material processing device <NUM> via a first inlet <NUM>, and the binding material <NUM> from the second feeding device <NUM> flows into the raw material processing device <NUM> via a second inlet <NUM>.

The material from the first feeding device <NUM> and the material from the second feeding device <NUM> are joined in a confluence cavity at the end of the raw material processing device <NUM>. The joined materials flow from the confluence cavity to a material outlet <NUM> to form a first material sheet <NUM> and continue to be conveyed in the direction of the corresponding arrow in <FIG>. Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, the entirety of the confluence cavity <NUM>, or at least a portion of the confluence cavity adjacent to the material outlet <NUM>, and the material outlet <NUM>, extend in a width direction of the first material sheet <NUM> (or, in other words, perpendicular to a direction in which the first material sheet <NUM> is conveyed).

Referring to <FIG>, at least one first flow channel <NUM> and at least one second flow channel <NUM> are formed inside the raw material processing device <NUM>. The first flow channel <NUM> is used for the elastic polymer material <NUM> to flow therethrough, and the second flow channel <NUM> is used for the binding material <NUM> to flow therethrough. In the example embodiment shown in <FIG>, the raw material processing device <NUM> is assembled from at least a first component <NUM>, a second component <NUM> and a third component <NUM>. The first component <NUM> and the third component <NUM> define one or more first flow channels <NUM>. For example, the first component <NUM> is adjacent to the third component <NUM>, but at least one of the first component <NUM> and the third component <NUM> includes one or more recesses at a contact position, so as to form the aforementioned one or more first flow channels <NUM>. For example, in an example embodiment, the first component <NUM> and the third component <NUM> define a first flow channel <NUM>, and the first flow channel <NUM> is substantially flat in part or in whole and is in communication with the confluence cavity <NUM>. In another example embodiment, the first component <NUM> and the third component <NUM> define two or more first flow channels <NUM>, and the two or more first flow channels <NUM> are each connected to the confluence cavity <NUM>. Similarly, the second component <NUM> and the third component <NUM> define one or more second flow channels <NUM>. For example, the second component <NUM> is adjacent to the third component <NUM>, but at least one of the second component <NUM> and the third component <NUM> includes one or more recesses at the contact position, so as to form the aforementioned one or more second flow channels <NUM>. According to an example embodiment, the second component <NUM> and the third component <NUM> define a second flow channel <NUM>, and the second flow channel <NUM> is substantially flat in part or in whole and is in communication with the confluence cavity <NUM>. According to another example embodiment, the second component <NUM> and the third component <NUM> define two or more second flow channels <NUM>, and the two or more second flow channels <NUM> are each connected to the confluence cavity <NUM>.

The elastic polymer material <NUM> from the first flow channel <NUM> and the binding material <NUM> from the second flow channel <NUM> are partially mixed in the confluence cavity. As described above, the first material sheet <NUM> continues to be conveyed via the material outlet <NUM>, and via the mixed part of the elastic polymer material <NUM> and the binding material <NUM>, the two materials are tightly bonded together. In other words, in the first material sheet <NUM>, the part of the elastic polymer material <NUM> that is not mixed with the binding material <NUM> forms a first layer <NUM> of the first material sheet, the part of the binding material <NUM> that is not mixed with the elastic polymer material <NUM> forms a second layer <NUM> of the first material sheet, the part where the elastic polymer material <NUM> and the binding material <NUM> are mixed forms a third layer <NUM> of the first material sheet, and the first layer <NUM> and the second layer <NUM> of the first material sheet are firmly bonded by means of the third layer <NUM>. It should be understood that there are no distinct interface between the first layer <NUM> and the third layer <NUM> and between the second layer <NUM> and the third layer <NUM>.

In the orientation shown in <FIG>, the width of the material outlet <NUM> defines the width of the first material sheet <NUM>, and the height of the material outlet <NUM> defines the thickness of the first material sheet <NUM>. Optionally, the width of the material outlet <NUM> may be adjustable to facilitate adjustment of the thickness of the first material sheet <NUM>. The width of the material outlet <NUM> may be adjusted, for example, by means of adjusting the relative position between the first component <NUM> and the third component <NUM> and/or adjusting the relative positional relationship between the second component <NUM> and the third component <NUM>.

It can be understood that the first component <NUM> and the third component <NUM> may be provided integrally or separately, and the second component <NUM> and the third component <NUM> may be provided integrally or separately.

It can also be understood that, in other example embodiments, more flow channels may be provided. For example, a third flow channel (not shown) may be further provided in addition to the one or more first flow channels <NUM> and the one or more second flow channels <NUM>. Similar to the first flow channel(s) <NUM> and the second flow channel(s) <NUM>, the third flow channel may also be connected to the confluence cavity <NUM>, and the first material sheet <NUM> further comprises a third layer (not shown) in addition to the first layer <NUM> and the second layer <NUM>. Alternatively, the first feeding device <NUM> may be a multi-layer co-extrusion device. The extruded elastic polymer material <NUM>, for example in a molten state, may have a two-layer or multi-layer composite structure, and then the elastic polymer material <NUM> and the binding material <NUM> are joined in the confluence cavity and discharged together via the material outlet <NUM> to form the first material sheet <NUM>. Thus, the finally formed second material sheet may have a composite elastic polymer material coating to have more comprehensive mechanical properties.

Next, the first material sheet <NUM> is fed into the pressing device <NUM>. Meanwhile, the fabric sheet <NUM> supplied by the third feeding device <NUM> is also fed into the pressing device <NUM>, so that the fabric sheet <NUM> is laminated to the first material sheet <NUM>. The second layer <NUM> of the first material sheet <NUM> faces the fabric sheet <NUM>, so that the first material sheet <NUM> and the fabric sheet <NUM> are bonded together by means of the second layer <NUM>. That is, the second layer <NUM> of the first material sheet <NUM> is arranged between the fabric sheet <NUM> and the first layer <NUM> of the first material sheet <NUM>. It can be understood that, compared with the example embodiments shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, in other example embodiments where the first material sheet <NUM> comprises more layers, one of binding layers of the first material sheet <NUM> may face the fabric sheet <NUM>, so that the first material sheet <NUM> is firmly bonded to the fabric sheet <NUM> by means of the binding layer under the action of the pressing device <NUM>.

According to one example embodiment, the width of the fabric sheet <NUM> is configured to be the same or approximately the same as the width of the first material sheet <NUM>. For example, the width of the material outlet <NUM> is adjusted to be the same or approximately the same as the width of the fabric sheet <NUM>. In this way, after the fabric sheet <NUM> and the first material sheet <NUM> are pressed and bonded, the outer contours thereof substantially coincide, so that the finished sheet has neat edges without a large amount of material to be cut out.

In the example embodiments shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the pressing device <NUM> comprises a first roller <NUM> and a second roller <NUM> arranged facing each other, and the first material sheet <NUM> and the fabric sheet <NUM> are disposed between the first roller <NUM> and the second roller <NUM>. The gap between the first roller <NUM> and the second roller <NUM> is adjusted such that the first roller <NUM> and the second roller <NUM> are sufficiently pressed against the surfaces of the first material sheet <NUM> and the fabric sheet <NUM>, respectively. At least the second layer <NUM> in the first material sheet <NUM> discharged via the material outlet <NUM> has not been completely cooled and still has a certain fluidity, so that after the fabric sheet <NUM> and the first material sheet <NUM> are in contact at the pressing position P, shown in <FIG>, and pressed by the first roller <NUM> and the second roller <NUM>, the fabric sheet <NUM> is tightly bonded to the second layer <NUM> of the first material sheet <NUM>. After the first material sheet <NUM> and the fabric sheet <NUM> are completely cooled, the first material sheet <NUM> and the fabric sheet <NUM> are firmly bonded by means of the second layer <NUM>. At least one of the first roller <NUM> and the second roller <NUM> is driving. For example, a first shaft <NUM> drives the first roller <NUM> to rotate about the first shaft <NUM>, the first roller <NUM> drives the first material sheet <NUM> to move, the first material sheet <NUM> drives the fabric sheet <NUM> to move, and the fabric sheet further drives the second roller <NUM> to rotate about a second shaft <NUM>. Alternatively, the second shaft <NUM> drives the second roller <NUM> to rotate about the second shaft <NUM>, the second roller <NUM> drives the fabric sheet <NUM> to move, the fabric sheet <NUM> drives the first material sheet <NUM> to move, and the first material sheet <NUM> further drives the first roller <NUM> to rotate about the first shaft <NUM>. Alternatively, the first roller <NUM> and the second roller <NUM> are driven to rotate by the first shaft <NUM> and the second shaft <NUM>, respectively, and the first roller <NUM> and the second roller <NUM> drive the first material sheet <NUM> and the fabric sheet <NUM> to move.

The fabric sheet <NUM> is supplied by the third feeding device <NUM>. For example, a roll formed by rolling the fabric sheet is sleeved on a shaft (see <FIG>, a third shaft <NUM>) of the third feeding device <NUM>. Optionally, the third feeding device <NUM> is unpowered, and the fabric sheet <NUM> that is pressed to the first material sheet <NUM> and continues to be conveyed provides a pulling force to the third feeding device <NUM> to achieve continuous drawing of the fabric sheet <NUM>. It can be understood that, in some example embodiments, the third feeding device <NUM> is configured to be driving, for example, but not by way of limitation, the third shaft <NUM> drives the third feeding device <NUM> to achieve continuous feeding, and the revolution speed of the third shaft <NUM> matches the travelling speeds of the fabric sheet <NUM> and the first material sheet <NUM>.

At least the working surface (i.e., the surface in contact with the first material sheet) of the first roller <NUM> is substantially made of a metallic material, so as to provide high heat transfer efficiency and increase the cooling and curing rate after the first material sheet <NUM> is in contact with the fabric sheet <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, in some example embodiments, in order to further improve the cooling and curing rate of the first material sheet <NUM>, the manufacturing apparatus <NUM> further comprises a cooling system <NUM>. The cooling system <NUM> specifically comprises a cooling pipeline <NUM>, a connecting pipeline <NUM>, a circulation pipeline <NUM>, and a heat exchange device <NUM>. The cooling medium is a fluid that is pressurized and then flows from the circulation pipeline <NUM> into the connecting pipeline <NUM> and is then distributed to the cooling pipeline <NUM> distributed inside the first roller <NUM>, so as to cool the first roller <NUM> to keep same at a relatively low temperature. After this, the cooling medium flows into the heat exchange device <NUM> via the circulation pipeline <NUM>, and discharges heat to the atmosphere (or other media) by means of the heat exchange device <NUM>, and then flows into the connecting pipeline <NUM> and the cooling pipeline <NUM> via the circulation pipeline <NUM>. For example, the circulation pipeline <NUM> comprises at least two pipes that respectively introduce the fluid into the cooling pipeline <NUM> (e.g., via the connecting pipeline <NUM>) and into the heat exchange device <NUM>. The cooling medium may be a gas or a liquid in some example embodiments, for example, the cooling medium is water, or alcohol, or a solvent thereof. The cooling system <NUM> allows the first material sheet <NUM> to be cooled and cured as quickly as possible after coming into contact with the fabric sheet <NUM>, so as to prevent quality defects of the sheet product due to partial separation of the first material sheet <NUM>, which is still at a relatively high temperature after pressing, from the fabric.

The working surface of the second roller <NUM> (i.e., the surface in contact with the fabric sheet <NUM>) is optionally made of an elastic material (e.g., rubber or silicone) to provide sufficient friction between the second roller <NUM> and the fabric sheet <NUM> to prevent unexpected relative sliding between the second roller <NUM> and the fabric sheet <NUM>, thereby ensuring reliable lamination between the fabric sheet <NUM> and the first material sheet <NUM>. It can be understood that, in some example embodiments, the working surface of the second roller <NUM> may also be made of a metallic material. In addition, the second roller <NUM> is also internally provided with a cooling pipeline that is connected to the cooling system mentioned above, with the implementation and technical effect of the cooling pipeline in the second roller <NUM> being substantially the same as the working principle and technical effect of the cooling pipeline <NUM> in the first roller described above.

It can be understood that, in some example embodiments, the second roller <NUM> may also be configured to have a working surface, which is made of a metallic material, and a cooling pipeline, while the first roller <NUM> is not provided with a cooling pipeline therein, so that the fabric sheet <NUM> and the first material sheet <NUM> are cooled by means of the second roller <NUM>. The specific implementation and the technical effect are substantially the same as those in the example embodiments described above in which the first roller is internally provided with the cooling pipeline <NUM>.

It can be understood that the pressing device <NUM> may have more rollers to provide higher pressing quality and/or better cooling effect (e.g., by providing cooling pipelines in more rollers).

The pressed first material sheet <NUM> and fabric sheet <NUM> are firmly bonded to form a second material sheet <NUM>. The second material sheet <NUM> can then be used as a sheet for making an inflatable product. Optionally, the second material sheet undergoes subsequent steps, such as shaping and washing, and is then packaged into a sheet for making an inflatable product.

Referring to <FIG>, the second material sheet <NUM> comprises a covering layer <NUM> and a fabric layer <NUM>. The covering layer <NUM> comprises a first layer <NUM>, a second layer <NUM> and an intermediate layer <NUM>. The first layer <NUM> comprises the aforementioned elastic polymer material <NUM>, and the second layer <NUM> comprises the aforementioned binding material <NUM>. The intermediate layer <NUM> comprises a mixture of the aforementioned elastic polymer material and the aforementioned binding material, so that the first layer <NUM> and the second layer <NUM> are firmly bonded. Also, the second layer <NUM> is firmly bonded to the fabric layer <NUM>. In this way, the covering layer <NUM> and the fabric layer <NUM> are firmly bonded to form the sheet shown in <FIG>.

In the example embodiments described above, the fabric sheet is made of a fabric material which may be, for example, but not limited to, a flat fabric material or a three-dimensional fabric material, or only several fibers or threads. These fabric materials are made of one or more types of fibers with high tensile strength, such as natural fibers or chemical fibers. For example, the one or more types of fibers are selected from the following materials, including but not limited to: cotton fibers, linen fibers, silk fibers, nylon fibers, polyacrylonitrile fibers (PAN fibers), and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers (UHMWPEF).

It can be understood that there are many kinds of natural fibers or chemical fibers, and for the sake of brevity, they are not exhaustively listed here, but only some common examples are provided, and these examples do not constitute a limitation on the specific implementations of the present application. Specific implementations based on these fibers are all included within the scope of protection of the present application.

When the sheet shown in <FIG> is applied to an inflatable product, on the one hand, the first layer <NUM> made of the elastic polymer material <NUM> can provide good airtightness and can be conveniently welded to other sheets to form walls of an inflation chamber of the inflatable product. On the other hand, the firm bonding between the first layer and the second layer of the covering layer <NUM>, and the firm bonding between the covering layer <NUM> and the fabric layer <NUM>, allow the first layer <NUM> to be fixed to the fabric layer <NUM>. Therefore, the fabric layer <NUM> with high tensile strength can prevent the walls of the inflation chamber from being stretched and deformed after being subjected to the internal pressure for a long period of time. Therefore, the inflatable product using the sheet shown in <FIG> can withstand the high internal air pressure and maintain the desired shape for a long time.

The specific structure and working principle of the manufacturing apparatus for a sheet for making an inflatable product provided by example embodiments are described in detail above.

Corresponding to the example embodiments described above, based on the above-described manufacturing apparatus, a manufacturing method for a sheet for making an inflatable product, according to an example embodiment, is provided below.

Referring to <FIG> and the example embodiments described above, a manufacturing method may comprises the following steps: continuously supplying an elastic polymer material, a binding material and a fabric sheet; and forming a second material sheet comprising a first layer, a second layer and a fabric layer, the first layer comprising the aforementioned elastic polymer material, the second layer comprising the aforementioned binding material, an intermediate layer being provided between the first layer and the second layer, the intermediate layer comprising a mixture that includes the aforementioned elastic polymer material and the aforementioned binding material, and the fabric layer being formed by the aforementioned fabric sheet, and the second layer being bonded to the fabric layer.

Referring to <FIG>, in some example embodiments, prior to forming the second material sheet, a continuous first material sheet is formed, the first material sheet comprising a first layer and a second layer, the first layer comprising the aforementioned elastic polymer material, the second layer comprising the aforementioned binding material, an intermediate layer being provided between the first layer and the second layer, and the intermediate layer comprising a mixture of the aforementioned elastic polymer material and the aforementioned binding material; and then the first material sheet and the fabric sheet are pressed such that the first material sheet is bonded to the fabric sheet by means of the second layer of the first material sheet to form a second material sheet.

In some example embodiments, the aforementioned elastic polymer material is TPU.

According to the invention, the aforementioned binding material is a polyurethane reactive hot-melt adhesive.

In some example embodiments, the flowable elastic polymer material and the flowable binding material are joined via respective flow channels to form the aforementioned continuous first material sheet.

In some example embodiments, the first material sheet is further cooled. For example, the first material sheet is cooled by means of the pressing device for pressing the first material sheet and the fabric sheet.

It may be understood that the example embodiments described herein may be considered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Descriptions of features or aspects within each example embodiment may be considered as available for other similar features or aspects in other example embodiments.

Claim 1:
A method for manufacturing a sheet, the method comprising:
receiving a supply of an elastic polymer material (<NUM>) and a binding material (<NUM>) and a fabric sheet (<NUM>); and
forming a material sheet comprising:
a first layer (<NUM>) comprising the elastic polymer material (<NUM>),
a second layer (<NUM>) comprising the binding material (<NUM>),
an intermediate layer (<NUM>), between the first layer and the second layer, the intermediate layer comprising a mixture of the elastic polymer material and the binding material, and
a fabric layer (<NUM>) comprising the fabric sheet (<NUM>) bonded to the second layer (<NUM>), characterised in that
the elastic polymer material is PVC or TPU and the binding material is a polyurethane reactive hot-melt adhesive.