Recyclable tufted fabric

• US 5,532,035 A
• Filed: 02/28/1994
• Issued: 07/02/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Arteva North America S.A.R.L (KOCH Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Hoechst Celanese Corporation (Sanofi )
• Inventors: Johnson, Robert D., Davies, Barrie L., Slack, Ian S., Neely, William G., Corbin, James A.
• Primary Examiner(s): MORRIS, TERREL H
• Application Number:
  US08/203,290
• Time in Patent Office: 855 Days
• Field of Search: 428/95, 428/96, 428/296
• US Class Current: 428/95
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 1/48 in combination with at least one other method of consolidation
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 1/54 by welding together the fibres, e.g. by partially melting or dissolving in combination with needling D04H1/485
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 11/00 Non-woven pile fabrics layered products forming non-woven pile fabrics B32B
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 11/08 formed by creation of a pile on at least one surface of a non-woven fabric without addition of pile-forming material, e.g. by needling, by differential shrinking needling machines D04H18/00
• CPC Class Codes: D05C 17/02 Tufted products
• CPC Class Codes: D06N 7/0068 characterised by the primary backing or the fibrous top layer
• CPC Class Codes: D06N 7/0076 the back coating or pre-coat being a thermoplastic material applied by, e.g. extrusion coating, powder coating or laminating a thermoplastic film
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/23979 Particular backing structure or composition
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/23986 With coating, impregnation, or bond

Abstract

A recyclable thermoplastic tufted fabric made of a partially meltable primary backing and tufts tufted into the primary backing. The tufts are bonded to the backing by partially melting the backing to bond the tufts and applying a secondary backing. Such a carpet can be recycled through processes known to recycle polyester.

Claims

1. A tufted carpet comprising

a fibrous primary backing layer comprising thermoplastic binder fibers, a plurality of fibrous tufts extending through a face of said fibrous backing layer to form a plurality of anchoring loops projecting from an opposing face of said fibrous primary backing layer, and

a nonwoven, fibrous, secondary backing layer needled to said opposing face of said fibrous primary backing layer and comprising thermoplastic finder fibers, the foregoing structure being heatset to secure said anchoring loops of said fibrous tufts wherein said thermoplastic binder fibers of the primary backing layer and nonwoven, fibrous, secondary backing layer are of the same thermoplastic material.

2. The tufted carpet of claim 1 wherein said thermoplastic material is selected from the group consisting of polyester, polyamide and polypropylene.

3. The tufted carpet of claim 1 wherein said thermoplastic binder fiber is heterofil fiber.

4. The tufted of claim 2 wherein the polyester fibers are fibers of polyethylene terephthalate or the copolyesters of polyethylene terephthalate.

5. A tufted carpet comprising

a fibrous primary backing layer comprising thermoplastic binder fibers,

a plurality of fibrous tufts extending through a face of said fibrous primary backing layer to form a plurality of anchoring loops projecting from an opposing face of said fibrous primary backing layer,

and a nonwoven fibrous secondary backing layer needled to said opposing face of said fibrous primary backing layer and comprising thermoplastic binder fibers,

the foregoing structure being heatset to secure said anchoring loops of said fibers tufts,

wherein said primary and said secondary layers are of the same thermoplastic material,

wherein said thermoplastic material is selected from the group consisting of polyester, polyamide, and polypropylene.

6. The tufted carpet of claim 5 wherein the thermoplastic binder fiber is a heterofil fiber.