Method of making pile-surfaced sheet material

Claim 1

IN A METHOD OF MAKING A SHEET MATERIAL HAVING A SURFACE FORMED OF A LAYER OF DISCONTINUOUS SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLELIZED UPRIGHT FIBERS, THE STEPS OF (A) PULLING DISCONTINUOUS FIBERS DOWNWARDLY ONTO A TEMPORARY NONADHESIVE BASE BY MEANS OF SUCTION APPLIED BELOW THE BASE TO CAUSE THE FIBERS TO BE DEPOSITED SUBSTANTIALLY AS INDIVIDUAL FIBERS ORIENTED IN UPRIGHT POSITION ON THE BASE SOLELY AS THE RESULT OF THE SUCTION, (B) SUPERIMPOSING A SHEET HAVING AN ADHESIVE SURFACE AS THE PERMANENT BASE OVER THE FIBERS ON THE TEMPORARY BASE WITH THE ADHESIVE SURFACE THEREOF IN CONTACT WITH THE FIBERS, WHILE THE FIBERS ARE MAINTAINED IN THE PARALLELIZED UPRIGHT POSITION, WHEREBY THE FIBERS ARE TRANSFERRED TO THE PERMANENT BASE WITHOUT LOSS OF THEIR PARALLELIZED UPRIGHT RELATION, (C) REMOVING THE PERMANENT BASE HAVING THE FIBERS BONDED THERETO FROM THE TEMPORARY BASE, AND (D) TREATING THE SHEET MATERIAL THUS OBTAINED TO SET THE ADHESIVE SURFACE IN NON-ADHESIVE CONDITION.