Apparatus and method for laminating flexible layers

Claim 1

A process for forming a laminated structure of a relatively rugged woven roving mat and a relatively fragile adhesively bonded chopped strand mat which maintains the dimensional stability of the chopped strand mat and prevents attrition of individual strands from the chopped strand mat during lamination of the mats comprising: a. advancing the woven roving mat with a heat activated adhesive on a major surface thereof along a first path, b. advancing the adhesively bonded chopped strand mat along a second path which intersects with said first path, c. heating the adhesive on the major surface of the woven roving mat, d. effecting contact between a major surface of the adhesively bonded chopped strand mat and the major surface of the woven roving mat with the heated adhesive; and e. supporting the adhesively bonded chopped strand mat on a supporting means which advances the mats, with the woven roving mat overlaying the adhesively bonded chopped strand mat, until the heated adhesive including any adhesive of the chopped strand mat which has been heated by heat transfer from the woven roving mat is cooled enough to solidify so that the mats are bonded together and the adhesively bonded chopped strand mat maintains its integrity.

Claim 6

An apparatus for forming a laminated structure of a relatively rugged woven roving mat and a relatively fragile adhesively bonded chopped strand mat which maintains the dimensional stability of the chopped strand mat and prevents attrition of individual strands from the chopped strand mat during lamination of the mats comprising: a. means for applying a heat activated adhesive onto a major surface of a woven roving mat in a dry powder-like, non-tacky form, b. means for advancing the woven roving mat with the heat activated adhesive on the major surface thereof along a first path, c. means for advancing an adhesively bonded chopped strand mat along a second path which intersects with said first path, d. means for heating the adhesive on the major surface of the woven roving mat, e. means for effecting contact between a major surface of the adhesively bonded chopped strand mat and the major surface of the woven roving mat with the heated adhesive, f. means for pressing the chopped strand mat and the woven roving mat together as the contact between the mats is effected, g. means for passing a stream of cooling gas over the mats to solidify the adhesive, and h. endless conveyor means for supporting and advancing the mats as the mats are being cooled by the cooling gas, with the woven roving mat overlaying the adhesively bonded chopped strand mat until the heated adhesive, including any adhesive of the chopped strand mat which has been heated by heat transfer from the woven roving mat, is cooled enough to solidify so that the mats are bonded together and the adhesively bonded chopped strand mat maintains its integrity.

Claim 7

An apparatus for forming a laminated structure of a relatively rugged woven roving mat and a relatively fragile adhesively bonded chopped strand mat which maintains the dimensional stability of the chopped strand mat and prevents attrition of individual strands from the chopped strand mat during lamination of the mats comprising: a. means for applying a heat activated adhesive onto a major surface of a woven roving mat in a dry powder-like, non-tacky form, b. means for advancing the woven roving mat with the heat activated adhesive on the major surface thereof along a first path, c. means for advancing an adhesively bonded chopped strand mat along a second path which intersects with said first path, d. means for heating the adhesive on the major surface of the woven roving mat, e. means for effecting contact between a major surface of the adhesively bonded chopped strand mat and the major surface of the woven roving mat with the heated adhesive, f. means for pressing the chopped strand mat and the woven roving mat together as the contact between the mats is effected, g. means for passing a stream of cooling gas over the mats to solidify the adhesive, and h. endless conveyor means for supporting and advancing the mats as the mats are being cooled by the cooling gas, with the woven roving mat overlaying the adhesively bonded chopped strand mat until the heated adhesive, including any adhesive of the chopped strand mat which has been heated by heat transfer from the woven roving mat, is cooled enough to solidify so that the mats are bonded together and the adhesively bonded chopped strand mat maintains its integrity.