Multi-colored decorative surfaces are desirable to differentiate products in many industries. Automotive interior trim, furniture, clothing, house sundries and many other products may benefit by providing surfaces which are more pleasing, and decorative or which have indicia, logos or personalized distinctive markings thereupon.
While such processes as painting and co-molding may provide a solution for providing multi-colored solid articles, heretofore cloth or fabric articles have been colored by dyeing and printing. This provides a two-dimensional effect on the surface but does not provide a depth aspect to the appearance of the surface.
One means of providing a multi-colored product involves providing two or more layers and removing the top layer(s) to expose an underlying layer. U.S. Pat. No. 6,633,019 to John D. Gray is directed at forming a design in the surface of a panel, the panel comprised of an outer layer and an inner layer. A laser beam is directed at the outer layer to burn, vaporize or otherwise remove the outer layer thereby exposing the inner layer.
Lasers are also well known for marking products by exposing a surface to laser energy which may change the color of the plastic or the pigments which color the plastic surface.
While lasers are useful in this regard, they possess numerous limitations in that only certain colors may be formed. Further, the ablation process that takes place when a plastic is exposed to laser energy may result in significant charring and deterioration of the polymer into smoke and gummy residue.
Particularly with layered fibrous materials, lasers may be difficult to focus to allow accurate removal of a top layer.
Laser engraving of fleece materials has been disclosed by Synrad Inc. to provide a three-dimensional pattern or logo on the surface of a fibrous material but does not involve a color change.
What is needed is a method for providing a multi-color and three-dimensional appearance in a non-woven fabric. What is needed is a means of displacing a fibrous layer from a layered non-woven composite to expose an underlying layer, preferably in a decorative pattern, preferably where the layers are of different colors. It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a multi-layered non-woven fabric composite comprising two or more layers having different colors wherein portions of the top layer(s) may be displaced to expose the underlying layer in a decorative, three-dimensional pattern.
It is a further object of the present invention to displace the top layer(s) of a multi-layered non-woven fabric composite to expose an underlying layer using a pinsonic embossing process.
It is a still further object of the present invention to achieve a color change in a single layer of non-woven material by melting at least a portion of the non-woven material by pinsonic embossment, which causes a color differentiation by increasing the density of the non-woven material due to melting, compared to the surrounding unmelted material.
It is a still further object of the present invention to achieve a color change in a single layer of non-woven material by pinsonic embossment, wherein the temperature of embossment causes heat activation of pigments in the material, the pigments changing color due to the heat activation.
It is a still further object of the present invention to cause a color change in a non-woven material by ultrasonically embossing the surface of the material at a temperature where the top layer(s) of fibers melt and are drawn into the body of the material by capillary action resulting in one or both of a voided area and a change in color of the fibers.