LAMINATE MADE OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL

Technical field

This invention relates to a laminate made of flexible material.

In particular, the invention relates to a laminate made of flexible material suitable for use in the sector of finishing and increasing in value leathers.

The laminate according to the invention can be applied, for example, in the sector of finishing leathers, in general not high-grade leathers, allowing an increase in the value of those leathers for which the normal finishing procedures would not allow an optimum result to be achieved, thus excluding the use in particular sectors.

Background art

Technologies currently exist for finishing leathers, for example obtained by spraying or veiling the leather with materials in a liquid or semi-liquid form in order to fill any defects present in the leather itself.

However, this type of prior art technology has considerable drawbacks.

A first major drawback relates to the fact that current finishing technologies do not allow the removal of any defects in the leather which are not simple shallow scorings.

The prior art technologies are therefore totally ineffective in all those situations in which the leathers have significant defects such as, for example, holes or scars (deeper than a typical surface scratch). Aim of the invention

In this context, the aim of the invention is to provide a laminate made of flexible material which is able to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art. An aim of the invention is to provide a laminate made of flexible material which also allows the finishing and increasing in value of leathers having significant defects such as, for example, holes, scratches or scars which would otherwise not be treatable with prior art technologies.

According to the invention, this and other aims are achieved by a laminate made of flexible material comprising the technical features described in the accompanying claims. The technical features of the invention, with reference to the above-mentioned aims, are clearly described in the accompanying claims and its advantages are apparent from the detailed description which follows.

Detailed description The laminate made of flexible material according to the invention comprises a layer of natural leather and a layer of polyurethane foam positioned with a relative first surface integral (irremovable) with the layer of natural leather. The layer of polyurethane foam is previously prepared with a relative second surface on a supporting layer. The invention describes a natural leather, but the same invention is also applicable to a layer of fabric, microfibre or paper in place of the layer of leather. The layer of mechanical polyurethane foam is of the open cell type. Advantageously, the polyurethane foam is of the mechanical type.

The term "mechanical polyurethane foam" is used to mean a polyurethane foam comprising polyurethanes in aqueous dispersion selected between aromatic or aliphatic.

Advantageously, the polyurethanes have a high level of solid, approximately 60% by weight.

Alternatively, it is possible to use polyurethanes with a lower level of solid, approximately 35% by weight. In order to obtain a correct laminate according to the invention the layer of mechanical polyurethane foam has density values of between 200 kg/m ³ and 800 kg/m ³ . Advantageously, moreover, the layer of polyurethane foam has a thickness of between 0.050 mm and 0.150 mm. The polyurethane foam also has a 100% Module of between 1 MPa and 4 MPa with percentage elongation at failure of between 600 and 1100.

These values allow an optimised flexibility and strength to be obtained in the finished product which is able to achieve the preset aims.

In the making of the laminate according to the invention, the layer of natural leather and the layer of polyurethane foam are held together by adhesive means chosen from low temperature or hot-melt adhesive means. Alternatively, the above-mentioned layers forming the laminate are held together by a process of heat reactivation of the polyurethane foam.

The supporting layer on which the layer of polyurethane foam is prepared is advantageously made from a plastic or paper film and has a high capacity of detachment from the layer of polyurethane foam if subjected to traction (for example, manually by a user).

The expression "high capacity of detachment" means that at the end of the production cycle of the laminate according to the invention, it must be possible to remove the supporting layer in an easy manner and without leaving residue through a simple manual operation. Advantageously, the supporting layer is detached from the laminate before making the final product, for example any product covered in leather.

The thickness of the layer of leather is not influential for the purposes of the invention, however generally the layer of leather has a thickness of between 0.10 mm and 2.50 mm. The laminate made of flexible material, according to the invention, overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art and brings important advantages.

An important advantage is the fact that the laminate made of flexible material according to the invention makes it possible to use lower grade leathers which otherwise, due to the presence of significant defects, would not have been usable for most possible applications.

More in detail, the presence of the layer of polyurethane foam makes it possible to obtain a perfect filling of the above-mentioned defects, even if they are of considerable depth and/or extent.