Aug.

9, 1966

A. MARZOCCHI ETAL
Filed March 13, 1961

3,265,530

AUTOMOBILE HEADLINER AND METHOD FOR MAKING THE SAME

AL man Mmzoccm,
INVENTORS

FAw/v/r 0. DIP/5L5) & JAMES J. 0mm

Arm/Mfrs _

United States Patent 0 1C6

3,265,530
Patented August 9, 1966

1
AUTOMOBILE HEADLINER AND METHOD FOR MAKING THE SAME
. 3,265,530

2
that is not penetrated by soil and when dirtied is easily cleaned. Another object of the invention is to provide a head-w liner which may be molded with less dif?culty and which
may be installed expeditiously. .

Alfred Marzocchi, Cumberland, R.I., Frank 0. Brisley, Newark, Ohio, and James J. Dillon, Providence, R.I., assignors to Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 13, 1961, Ser. No. 95,415 4 Claims. (Cl. 161-203)

These and other objects of the invention are attained

by compressive molding the headliner from a body of ?brous glass carrying a dispersed impregnation of a heat settable binder and applying heat to set the binder while the body is held compressed in the ?nal shape desired. 10 The method further entails adhering a covering sheet of This invention relates principally to automobile head ?brous glass cloth to the body of ?brous glass during the liners having bodies of molded ?brous glass and with at molding operation. In addition the method comprises tached surfacing sheets, and to a method of producing the use of an interposed thermoplastic ?lm in a preferred such headliners. While this invention may be utilized to advantage in forming ?at sectional panels, its bene?ts are 15 thickness of three or four mils and in a color substan tially matching the color of the glass cloth to adhere the more fully realized in connection with the fabrication of cloth to the body of ?brous glass during the molding complete headliners with curved edge portions.
Because of the environment with which headliners are
operation.

associated they should be cap-able of yielding under im

pact and should be pleasing in appearance. The re

Further contributing to the attainment of the objects

20 of the invention are the attachment of a Waxed paper backing to the headliner and the adherence of a thin ?lm

silience, durability, sound and ?re resistance of glass ?ber masses make them especially suitable as the body portions of these products; and a surfacing sheet of ?brous glass cloth has the pliability to comply with the
be fractured by sharp blows. Such a covering is also decorative, and resistant to soil. Considerable trouble has been encountered in pro

of thermoplastic to the outer surface of the ?brous glass

cloth in the molding operation. The preferred manner of practicing the invention will
the accompanying drawings in which:
FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a glass surfacing cloth and a plastic ?lm by which the cloth is adhesively attached to the main body of the headliner;

desired compressibility, while being tough enough not to 25 be described in more detail hereafter in connection with

ducing ?brous glass headliners with surfacing sheets. The principal di?iculty has been in obtaining a thoroughly 30 FIGURE 2 is a vertical section of an end portion of a mold for forming a headliner according to this invention satisfactory appearance. with the mold in open position and the ?brous glass Another obstacle in connection with headliners with stock for the headliner body and the surfacing elements woven surfacing sheets has been the dif?culty of remov
ready to be compressed in the mold; ing soil that has lodged between or under the yarns of FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view like that of 35 the surfacing fabric. FIGURE 2 but with the mold closed and the headliner Because of the compound curves present in a one-piece in'its ?nal molded form; and automobile headliner, the surfacing sheet must be capable FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a glass surfacing of smoothly complying with non-planar surfaces. At the fabric with the plastic ?lm by which it is attached and same time the sheet should be stiff enough not to follow minor undulations in the contour of the ?brous glass 40 a supplemental ?lm of plastic which is to be adhered to the outer surface of the glass fabric. body. The headliner produced by the practice of this inven A further troublesome factor has been in securing ade tion is designed for placement against and covering the quate and uniform adhesion of the sheet with the body complete inner side of the roof of an automobile body. portion. The ?brous glass of the panel body not only serves as If the surfacing sheet is thermoplastic or is associated 45

with a. thermoplastic adhesive ?lm, care must be taken

an acoustical shield against road noise and as a heat in

to prevent disintegration of the plastic component when

sulating agent, but also has a cushioning effect should a

passenger bump against it. applying the heat required to cure the binder of the The ?brous glass pack from which such panels are con ?brous glass mass of which the headliner body is molded. Other troubles have involved bleeding of the dark 50 structed may be produced in a standard forming line, in volving a furnace, from the forehearth of which molten colored binder into the surfacing sheet and extrusion of glass is projected in ?ne streams through numerous ports the adhesive through the sheet. Any' procedure *which in multiple bushings. High pressure steam or air dis overcomes these cited obstacles must also be economical charged from associated manifolds attenuate the stream and productive to be commercially feasible. 55 of glass into ?ne ?bers. The latter fall in a random The principal object of this invention is to overcome arrangement down within a form'ng hood and collect in these prior difficulties and to provide a highly satisfactory a web or pack upon the foraminous surface of traveling headliner, as well as a practical method of producing it. conveyor, which passes across the bottom of the hood. A more speci?c object is to provide a method of ad During the downward movement of the ?bers, parti hering a surfacing sheet to the main body of a headliner 60 cles of a bonding agent are interspersed among the ?bers by spray devices. The binder is preferably a phenol without detracting from the ?nal appearance of the formaldehyde resin which my be extended about twelve headliner. ' percent by an addition of Vinsol, a turpentine rosin A further important object is to provide a headliner derivative. The proportion of the binder should be be with an attractive surfacing sheet of ?brous glass cloth

3,265,580

3
tween ten and twenty-six percent by weight of the ?nal cured pack, and preferably about sixteen percent. The size of the glass ?bers produced in such a produc
tion line may vary within a wide range and yet serve

3. As shown therein, the glass wool 10, impregnated

with a heat settable binder, is preliminarily supported upon the assembly 26 including the plastic ?lm 8, the glass cloth 9, and the light ?nishing ?lm 27. The edges of the
three assembly components are retained in an annular V-section frame 20 by the elastic cord 21. A sheet of paper or plastic, but most desirably waxed kraft paper, is placed over the glass wool 10 as indicated at 28 in FIGURE 2. The frame is utilized to carry the elements to the open 10
mold and to locate them properly in assembled relation

adequately as stock in the product of this invention. Should it be desired to utilize ?brous glass packs of par

ticularly ?ne ?bers, for example with diameters below twenty-?ve hundred-thousandths of an inch, the produc tion line would then conventionally incorporate either
centrifugal or combustion gas type of ?ber forming ap paratus.

between the lower mold section 12 and the upper mold section 14. dred-thousandths of an inch in diameter have been found The frame 20 is placed upon an auxiliary frame asso to be very satisfactory and are recommended for the prac 15 ciated with the mold and which is yieldably held in its tice of the invention.

Glass ?bers with diameters approximately thirty hun

The formed pack of glass ?bers has preferably a density

between two and three pounds per cubic feet, and a nom

initial position by springs or counter weights. The lower mold section 12 is heated by burners 16.

heat the ?lms are more subject to stretching. The heavier ?lm 8 may fold into doubled thicknesses particularly at the corners where the draft is deeper. together between rollers. For heavily contoured head While it is desirable to heat the ?lms to a stage of liners, the plastic ?lm should be at least three mils in adhesiveness to attach them to the glass cloth and to thickness and should desirably have a particularly smooth attach the cloth to the main body, the heat reaching the surface on the side away from the glass fabric. ?lms should not be su?icient to destroy their continuous While most thermoplastics may be utilized for this ad character. For this reason the heat applied to the lower hesive ?lm, a four mil, high density, polyethylene has 45 mold section is less than that to which the upper mold been found to serve most satisfactorily. Films of poly is raised.
The two parts are preferably unattached but may be pre

sitionable burners 18 with the ?ame size governed by the setting of valves 19. On downward closing movement of the upper mold section 14 brackets 22 projecting from the sides of the conveyor promotes the deposit of the ?bers thereon, and 25 section abut frame 20 and drive it downward with the also provides a control medium for the pack density. The auxiliary frame yielding under the pressure. resulting pack is then cut to desired lengths by a vertically The glass cloth 9, with the enclosing ?lms 8 and 27, reciprocating knife or some other suitable severing device. is thus brought against the lower mold 12 and is stretched Because of the varying thickness of the ?nal headliner down over the curved sides of this mold section by the panel the glass wool is compressed to different densities forced descent of the frame 20. Where the cloth su?i which may range as high as forty pounds per cubic foot ciently resists the stretching action, the elastic retaining along the edge of the panel where extra mounting strength cord 21 permits the marginal portion of the cloth to- slip is desired. past the cord to provide additional cloth area. The plas Referring to the drawings in more detail, in FIGURE ?lms 8 and 27 in accompanying relation with the glass 1 the surfacing assembly 6 is shown with two components, 35 tic cloth 9 are also forcefully laid over the lower mold. Be the inner adhesive ?lm of thermoplastic 8, and the outer ing of an elastic nature and also being softened by the facing element 9 comprising a woven fabric of glass yarn.
doubling up compensates for any uneven distribution of ?bers in the pack. Air movements down through the

inal thickness of approximately two inches. A single layer thereof is adapted for use in the molding operation. 20 Alternately, two layers with each only one inch in nom inal thickness may be utilized in the molding step. This

These may be controlled as desired by bending their tu

bular mountings and by adjustment of the valves 17. In

like manner the upper mold section 14 is heated by po

liminarily joined together by staples or by being pressed

The speed of the molding action is limited by the time are examples of others which would be suitable. The required to set the binder of the glass ?bers of the main color of the plastic ?lm should match that of the glass body of the headliner. A temperature as high as 500 fabric. 50 F. may be best for this purpose. However, the disin~ The woven cloth 9 of glass ?bers may be of various tegrating temperature of most thermoplastics may be weights and weaves. For texture effects, fancy weaves around 350 F. of curtain or tapestry types are preferred. These include As a denser composition of polyethylene withstands such weaves as basket, honeycomb, birds-eye and pique. increased temperatures, such polyethylene ?lms are pre More common plain, satin and twill weaves also provide 55 ferred in the practice of this invention. A composition an attractive appearance especially when in colors har having a density between 0.9.26 and 0.965 gram per cubic monizing with those of the automobile upholstery and centimeter is accordingly prescribed. Also, by having the interior ?nishes. main plastic ?lm 8 in a thickness of at least three mils, A cloth that has proved particularly successful is woven from a single strand yarn of a weight of One pound per 60 resistance to disintegration from the effect of the applied heat is improved. However, it is desirable in order to 15,000 yards, utilizing continuous glass ?laments about curtail costs to limit the thickness of this glass fabric at .00025 of an inch in diameter. There are ?fty-six ends taching ?lm to no more than four mils, although some of warp per inch and ?fty-four picks of ?ll per inch with what thicker ?lms would serve as well and even better the weight of the fabric being 4.3 ounces per square yard. in some respects. The cloth is permanently colored in any one of a group 65 The maintenance of the full integrity of the surface of hues as speci?ed by the auto manufacturer for whom ?nishing ?lm 27 is not so essential, and its function is the headliners are produced. satisfactorily ?lled with a clear ?lm in a thickness be An alternate surfacing assembly 26 is shown in FIG tween one and two mils. With the added thickness and URE 4. This includes the colored, adhesive polyethylene higher density polyethylene of the main ?lm 8, the tem ?lm 8, the facing 9 of glass fabric, and in addition a sur 70 perature of the lower mold may be raised to the region face ?nishing thermoplastic ?lm 27 preferably of Clear of 375 F., with the temperature of the upper mold be polyethylene stock in a thickness of one or one and a tween 425 or 460 F. The possibility of breakdown of half mils. the plastic ?lms is minimized by restricting the molding A method of creating a headliner according to this in period the least time required for setting the binder. vention is depicted diagrammatically in FIGURES 2 and 75 For thetoparticular dimensions and speci?cations of ma

vinyl chloride, polyvinyl acetate and vinylidene chloride

3,265,530
terials as described herein, this should be between two

easy to clean. It also locks the cloth to the inner adhe

and three minutes. For thinner and less dense ?brous body stock, the molding period may need be only a min
ute or less; while for bulkier stock and slower curing

binders, the time required would be extended consider ably, for example, to as much as ten or ?fteen minutes. Because of the heavier gauge of plastic ?lm 8 and par ticularly when this ?lm is doubled in thickness in curved areas the plastic material thereof exudes into the glass
cloth. For this reason this plastic ?lm should be sub stantially the same color as the glass cloth. The pene

sive ?lm by fusing with the inner ?lm through the inter stices of the fabric. The backing of wax paper (or alternately a sheet of plastic, aluminum foil, or plain paper) not only facilitates

the molding procedure, but also greatly improves the handling characteristics of the headliner.
In regard to materials involved, it should be acknowl edged that various other ?brous glass bonding agents are well known and would be equally effective. Likewise, ad hesive thermoplastic ?lms other than those mentioned could could be easily adapted to the practice of this inven tion. Also it is recognized that other mineral and organic ?bers are comparable to glass ?bers though usually inferi
instances without too severe an effect upon the resulting

tration of the plastic into the cloth, which is desirable

from an attachment standpoint, does not then affect the color of the cloth. Another characteristic desired in the plastic ?lm 8 is an extra smooth surface on the face 15 or in properties, and may be substituted therefor in some

contacting the ?brous glass stock 10. This permits easy

slippage between the two materials and facilitates the mold conforming movement of the ?brous glass stock.

products. Examples of such comparable ?bers include those of rock wool, rayon, polyester and cellulose.

.Instead of ?bers, the body of the headliner may be Films from different sources vary in ?nish and its a mat ter of selection from samples to obtain stock of the great 20 formed with one of the plastic foams which are available in open or closed cell, ?exible and rigid types. Depending est smoothness. upon the material preferred, either a liquid or beads of Without the presence of the plastic ?lm 8 the dark col the basic resin are poured in the mold. The foaming of ored binder impregnant of the glass ?ber body may un the resin may occur at room temperature, with the appli der the pressure and heat of the molding operation be 25 cation of heat, or induced by a ?ow of steam, according forced into and stain the glass cloth facing. to the resin formulation utilized. Urethane and poly This plastic ?lm also improves the washability of the styrene foam resin materials are among those which are headliner as it prevents a cleaning solution from entering serviceable. the main body of the headliner. In the same manner Accordingly, it is desired that the accompanying claims the ?lm provides resistance to moisture. The cleanability
outer uncolored ?lm 27 which enters the interstices of the cloth weave and fuses with portions of ?lm 8 which

of the product is further improved considerably by the 30 be interpreted sufficiently broadly to encompass obvious
alternate materials and natural modi?cations in the pro duct and processing procedure as herein described. We claim:

have penetrated the cloth.

The wax paper 28 laid over the ?brous glass stock 10

1. A contoured headliner for a passenger conveyance

and molded with it has several bene?cial functions. It 35 having a heat and sound insulating body of randomly arrange-d bonded ?bers, said body being resiliently com may ?rst serve as a separator sheet between units of the pressible, a colored surfacing fabric of ?brous glass and stock 10 when stacked for delivery to the mold from the a continuous plastic ?lm interlayer directly adhering the ?brous mat production line. In the molding operation it surfacing fabric to the body, said plastic ?lm interlayer prevents sticking of the binder impregnated ?brous glass being between three and four mils in thickness and in a mass to the upper mold 14 and is a quick release medium. color matching that of the surfacing fabric. As an integrated upper cover for the completed headliner,
it retains loose ?bers and presents a smooth surface, com fortable to the touch of installation personnel, and one

2. A headliner for a passenger conveyance having a

that facilitates slipping the headliner in place to be snapped over the metal trim channels of the automobile body.
The wax paper functions most satisfactorily and is econ-> nomical in cost. Other materials which would serve

heat and sound insulating body of randomly arranged bonded ?brous glass, said body being resiliently com
pressible, a surfacing fabric of ?brous glass, a plastic ?lm interlayer fused to both the insulating body and the

quite as effectively include plastic ?lms and cellophane.

In review, it should be noted that there are various fea tures contributing to the success of the invention. These

surfacing fabric and thus holding the surfacing fabric upon the insulating body, and an exteriorly placed plastic
?lm adhered to the outer side of the surfacing sheet, said

include a plastic ?lm for joining the covering glass cloth

to the body of greater thickness than the two mil gauge ordinarily utilize-d as an adhesive interlayer, and also a ?lm matching the color of the outer glass cloth. Sup plemental characteristics of the ?lm which are advan tageous are its extra smooth surface in contact with the ?ber glass mass permitting easier conforming of the mass to the shape of the mold and its higher density which co

exteriorly placed plastic ?lm being transparent and consid erably thinner than the plastic ?lm interlayer, and said exteriorly placed plastic ?lm being fused to the plastic ?lm interlayer through interstices of the surfacing fabric.
3. A method of forming an automobile headliner which comprises placing in overlying relation within a mold a surfacing fabric of ?brous glass, a continuous, imperfo
rate thermoplastic interlayer of the same color as the

surfacing fabric of the ?brous glass, a main insulating operates with its greater thickness in withstanding higher 60 body of randomly arranged ?brous glass with a heat cur able binder dispersed therethrough and aflexible sealing curing temperatures for the ?brous glass binder. This sheet, closing the mold with su?icient pressure to com ?lm is only heated to the degree where it becomes softened press the body to the ?nal shape desired in the product for attachment while its continuous ?lm formation is un and applying heat to cure the binder and to fuse the affected. A further important aspect of the invention is the en 65 thermoplastic interlayer, said application of heat being controlled to fuse the thermoplastic interlayer to an extent veloping of the glass cloth between the heavy interior ?lm where it flows into the interstices of the surfacing fabric of polyethylene and the thin ?nishing ?lm. The ?lm while still retaining its continuous, imperforate nature. character of the two ?lms is maintained while at the same 4. A method according to claim 3 in which a transpar time they are fused together through the interstices of the ent thermoplastic ?lm is ?rst placed in the mold beneath cloth. the surfacing fabric and is fused by the application of heat The inner ?lm functions to adhere the cloth to the main into joining relation with the thermoplastic interlayer body of ?bers and also maintains the attractive appear through the interstices of the surfacing fabric. ance of the cloth by matching it in color. The thin ?nish ing sheet of clear polyethylene is responsible for prevent (References on following page) ing penetration of soil and presenting a surface extremely 75

3,265,530

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References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,227,212 12/1940 Beck. 2,949,394 2,978,376 3,000,772 3,046,173
156-247 5 3,060,068

8
9/1960 Rodman. 4/1961 Hulse. 9/1961 Lunn _____________ __ 7/1962 Copeland. 10/1962 Hannes.
161-63

2,408,245 9/ 1946 Walter ___________ __ 2,460,571 2/ 1949 Chaifee. 2,577,205 12/1951 Meyer et a1. 2,642,370 6/ 1953 Parsons et a1. 2,674,488 4/ 1954 Lyijynen et a1. 2,774,698 12/1956 Jenk et a1.
2,809,910
10/1957 Deddo.

ALEXANDER WYMAN, Primary Examiner. C. F. KRAFFT, EARL M. BERGERT, M. E. ROGERS,

10

W. J. VAN BALEN, Assistant Examiners.