The present invention relates to an airplane carpet, and a method for manufacturing and applying thereof. Airplanes have specific requirements for the carpets used therein. Besides the general requirements of fire retardiness and low toxicity there may be airliner-specific requirements such as a high wear- resistance and a maximum weight.

It is known in the art to fix a carpet to a floor of an airplane by means glue. Glue is applied at irregular spots or in patterns, and for instance dots may be used instead of providing a complete surface with glue, to save on glue and therefore weight. However, carpet fixed glue on certain spots only has the disadvantage of being peeled off easily, and moreover, the disadvantage of unequal wear, as a result of a slight increase of the height of the carpet at the locations of the glue. The latter becomes even more disadvantageous when the carpet is replaced. While replacement, glue from old carpet stays behind on the floor of the airplane, and causes inequalities that make the newly placed carpet wear even faster. The same disadvantage occurs when strokes of double sided tape are put on the airplane floor prior to laying the carpet in order to fixate the latter. Solving the disadvantages associated with the use of irregularly applied spots of glue may be done by applying glue to the entire floor surface of the airplane to be carpeted, but this solution has the disadvantage of causing too much weight, and of being time consuming, and causing trouble when removal or replacement of the carpet is desired. It is therefor a goal of the present invention to provide a carpet that takes a way the disadvantages of the prior art, and/or at least provides a useful alternative to the state of the art.

The invention thereto proposes a self-adhering airplane carpet, comprising a carpet top- layer and a first double sided adhesive layer, comprising a first carrier, having a first top adhesive facing the carpet top-layer and a first bottom adhesive, for attaching the airplane carpet to an airplane floor. By providing a carpet top layer backed with a double sided adhesive layer, a self- adhesive carpet is created. This carpet can be laid without use of (additional) glue, and it is thus not only more wear-resistant, but also easier and quicker to apply. Due to the fact that the adhesive from the first bottom adhesive layer is equally spread over the carpet surface, the carpet is less sensitive for unintended shifting and pleating.

The first carrier may for example be a polyester foil with a thickness between 5 and 20 microns, and in particular between 10 and 15 microns, and more in particular 12 microns. This thickness provides a good strength and form stability while its weight is still relatively low. The fact that the carpet according to the invention can be applied to an airplane as a pre-fab product increases the speed with which it can be laid. Herein, the double sided adhesive layer may essentially stretch over the full surface of the carpet top-layer. Preferably the double sided adhesive layer and the carpet top-layer are both elastic. This enables absorption of stretching and shrinkage of the airplane floor during lift-up and landing. The ability to do so and not to pleat is determined with so called buckling tests.

The first top adhesive may for example be a modified acrylic adhesive with adhesion between 10 and 30 N/25mm, in particular between 15 and 25 N/25mm and more in particular about 20N/25mm, while the first bottom adhesive may be an acrylic adhesive with adhesion between 1 and 10 N/25mm, in particular between 2 and 7 N/25mm and more in particular about 5N/25mm. By selecting a top adhesive with a stronger adhesion than the bottom adhesive, the double sided adhesive layer sticks to the carpet without any residu or other remainings when the carpet is removed from the airplane floor. This may be desired when the carpet is at the end of its life-cycle, but also during installation of the carpet, when the carpet appears to be positioned wrongly.

In order to prevent undesired sticking of the carpet to its support at any stage before installation thereof, the first bottom adhesive may be provided with a removable protection layer, for instance comprising a white polyolefine liner, with a thickness between 20-100 microns, more in particular between 40-80 microns, and preferably about 60 microns.

In a further embodiment, the carpet comprises a second double sided adhesive layer, arranged between the carpet layer and the first double sided adhesive layer, the second double sided adhesive layer comprising a second carrier, having a second top adhesive facing the carpet top-layer and a second bottom adhesive, for attaching to the first double sided adhesive layer. The second double sided adhesive layer may comprise a carrier that is especially fire-retardant or heat isolating or provided with another desired property. For instance, the second carrier comprises a PES/PVA web.

The second top and/or bottom adhesive may for example be a modified, fire retardant acrylic with fire retardant or self-extinguishing properties, and/or with an adhesion between 10 and 30 N/25mm, in particular between 15 and 25 N/25mm and more in particular about 19N/25mm of the top and bottom adhesive layers. The adhesion strength of the second double sided adhesive layer may be equal on both sides thereof, and essentially the same as the adhesion of the top layer of the first double sided adhesive layer. This way, the first bottom adhesive remains the weakest, so that both adhesive layers are likely to stick on the carpet layer when removing the carpet.

The first and second double sided adhesive layers may be attached to each other prior to being attached to the carpet top layer, which may comprise a woven or tufted carpet.

The invention will now be elucidated into more detail with reference to:

- Figure 1, which shows a schematic sectional view of a carpet according to the invention.

Figure 1 shows a schematic sectional view of a carpet 10 according to the invention. The carpet 10 comprises a carpet top-layer 1, which is a woven or a tufted carpet, and a first double sided adhesive layer, comprising a first carrier 6, having a first top adhesive 5 facing the carpet top-layer 1 and a first bottom adhesive 7, for attaching the airplane carpet 10 to an airplane floor 9. The first carrier 6 is a polyester foil with a thickness of 12 microns. The first top adhesive 5 is a modified acrylic adhesive with adhesion about 20N/25mm. The first bottom adhesive 7 is an acrylic adhesive with adhesion about 5N/25mm. The first bottom adhesive is provided with a removable protection layer 8, which comprises a white polyolefin liner, with a thickness of about 60 microns, which is to be removed before attaching the carpet 10 to an airplane floor 9. The airplane carpet 10 comprises a second double sided adhesive layer, arranged between the carpet layer 1 and the first double sided adhesive layer, the second double sided adhesive layer comprising a second carrier 3, having a second top adhesive 2 facing the carpet top-layer 1 and a second bottom adhesive 4, for attaching to the first double sided adhesive layer. The second top and/or bottom adhesive is a modified, fire retardant acrylic with fire retardant or self-extinguishing properties, and with an about 19N/25mm. The second carrier comprises a PES/PVA web.