Method of making a thermoplastic pile sheet

Claim 1

In a method of making a pile-surfaced product having a pile of a thermoplastic polymer integrally attached to a layer of the same thermoplastic polymer, which method includes feeding a thermoplastic sheet and a backing substrate between two cooperating surfaces one of which is heated with the thermoplastic sheet facing the heated surface, the heated surface having a temperature sufficient to melt the thermoplastic sheet to bond said sheet and said backing substrate and to cause adhesion between the thermoplastic sheet and the heated surface, withdrawing said backing substrate and said thermoplastic sheet from said heated surface to form a pile of fibrils or tufts on said sheet, separating said pile from said heated surface and cooling said backing substrate, said pile and said thermoplastic layer, the improvement comprising: heating said thermoplastic layer from the side thereof having said backing substrate bonded thereto, said heating being for a time and to a temperature sufficient to improve abrasion resistance of the pile as measured by a standard abrasion test and as compared with a pile surfaced product made by a process the same as claimed herein but lacking only the step of heating a pile sheet from the substrate side, and said heating leaving the pile uncollapsed, said substrate being of a material adapted to bond to said thermoplastic sheet with heat and pressure and being otherwise unaffected by temperature of the process.