Covering for floors and/or walls

• US 20040253409A1
• Filed: 06/13/2003
• Published: 12/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mohawk Brands Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Burlington Industries LLC
• Inventors: Hutchison, Robert D., Whitten, Jeffrey A., Duff, Gene C.
• Granted Patent: US 7,033,661 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 428/89
• CPC Class Codes: D05C 15/34 by inserting loops of different nature or colour
• CPC Class Codes: D05C 17/026 characterised by the tufted pile surface
• CPC Class Codes: D06N 7/0065 characterised by the pile
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/23914 Interlaminar
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/23929 Edge feature or configured or discontinuous surface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/23936 Differential pile length or surface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/23957 Particular shape or structure of pile

Abstract

A fabric is provided having discrete surface portions of a primary backing and tufted yarns exposed on the technical face of the fabric. To form the fabric, the yarn feed controlled by servomotors is adjusted in increments to rob back yarn sufficient to pull out the previously tufted loops in selected portions of the fabric, leaving the primary backing portion of the pulled-out loops exposed on the technical face. By the selection process, random or patterned tufted portions and exposed primary backing surface portions are provided on the technical face of the fabric.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a tufted pile fabric having a technical face with exposed surface portions of tufted yarn and primary backing, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing at least one needle bar carrying a plurality of needles spaced from one another in a weft direction;

(b) supplying yarns to the needles carried by the needle bar;

(c) displacing the needle bar and the primary backing relative to one another in a warp direction;

(d) tufting yarns into the primary backing to form yarn loops on the technical face upon relative displacement of the needle bar and the primary backing; and

(e) controlling yarn feed to selected needles during tufting to withdraw through the primary backing yarn loops previously tufted into the primary backing by the selected needles to form discrete surface portions of the primary backing and tufted yarns exposed on the technical face of the fabric.

2. A method according to claim 1 including providing servomotors for controlling yarn feed and differentially actuating the servomotors to control yarn feed to the selected and non-selected needles, respectively.

3. A method according to claim 1 including controlling the yarn feed to selected needles to form a random pattern of tufted and primary backing surface portions exposed on the technical face of the fabric.

4. A method according to claim 1 including controlling the yarn feed to selected needles to form a selected pattern of tufted and primary backing surface portions exposed on the technical face of the fabric.

5. A method according to claim 1 including cutting the loops to form exposed surface portions of cut loop pile and the primary backing.

6. A method according to claim 1 including controlling yard feed to non-selected needles to form yarn loops of different heights.

7. A method of manufacturing a tufted pile fabric comprising tufting yarns through a primary backing and pulling selected tufted yarns in their entirety back through the primary backing to form discrete exposed and aesthetically distinct surface portions of the primary backing and the tufted yarns on the technical face of the fabric.

8. A method according to claim 7 including tufting yarns through the entirety of the primary backing prior to pulling selected tufted yarns through the primary backing.

9. A method according to claim 8 including controlling yarn feed to non-selected tufted yarns to form yarn loops of different heights.

10. A method according to claim 7 including controlling yarn feed to non-selected tufted yarns to form a random pattern of tufted and primary backing surface portions exposed on the technical face of the fabric.

11. A method according to claim 7 including controlling yarn feed to non-selected tufted yarns to form a selected pattern of tufted and primary backing surface portions exposed on the technical face of the fabric.

12. A method according to claim 7 including cutting non-selected tufted yarns to form cut loop pile on the technical face of the fabric.

13. A covering for a floor, wall or ceiling surface, comprising:

a primary backing having discrete parts thereof exposed on one side of the covering for forming first discrete wear surface portions of a wear surface of the covering;

a plurality of yarns tufted into said primary backing along remaining parts of said primary backing forming second discrete wear surface portions of the wear surface;

a plurality of backstitches of the tufted yarns extending along an opposite side of the primary backing from the first discrete wear surface portions of the wear surface; and

a composition along the back side of the primary backing fixing said backstitches to the primary backing.

14. A covering according to claim 13 wherein said primary backing includes a plurality of regularly spaced stitch openings for receiving the tufted yarns with each stitch opening spaced a unit length from a next-adjacent stitch opening in a warp direction of the fabric, said backstitches spanning between stitch openings spaced from one another in distances of multiple unit lengths in the warp direction.

15. A covering according to claim 13 wherein said primary backing parts and said tufted yarns forming first and second discrete wear surface portions of said wear surface are arranged randomly in the wear surface.

16. A covering according to claim 13 wherein said primary backing parts and said tufted yarns forming first and second discrete wear surface portions of said wear surface are arranged in a pattern on the wear surface of the fabric.

17. A covering according to claim 16 wherein uppermost portions of the primary backing parts and tufted yarns forming the first and second discrete wear surface portions lie at different elevations in the covering, enabling an individual viewing the covering from one perspective to predominantly view the exposed primary backing parts and their predominant aesthetic characteristics and, from an different perspective, enabling the individual to view predominantly the tufted yarns and their predominant aesthetic characteristics, thereby creating the appearance of a change in aesthetic characteristics of the covering upon a change in viewing perspective.

18. A fabric having discrete surface portions of a primary backing and tufted yarns exposed on the technical face of the fabric, the fabric being formed by having the yarn feed controlled by servomotors adjusted in increments to rob back yarn sufficient to pull out the previously tufted loops in selected portions of the fabric, leaving the primary backing portion of the pulled-out loops exposed on the technical face such that random or patterned tufted portions and exposed primary backing surface portions are provided on the technical face of the fabric.