Covering for floors and/or walls

• US 7,033,661 B2
• Filed: 06/13/2003
• Issued: 04/25/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mohawk Brands Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Mohawk Brands Incorporated
• Inventors: Hutchison, Robert D., Whitten, Jeffrey A., Duff, Gene C.
• Primary Examiner(s): JUSKA, CHERYL ANN
• Application Number:
  US10/460,636
• Publication Number:
  US 20040253409A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,047 Days
• Field of Search: 428/88, 428/89, 428/92
• US Class Current: 428/88
• 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 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 on a technical face 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 on the technical face of the covering including loops or cut loops of the tufted yarns;

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 along a technical back of the covering;

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

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 along the technical back of the covering; and

wherein each stitch opening includes either a tufted yarn on the technical face or a backstitch underlying the stitch opening along the technical back of the covering.

2. A covering according to claim 1 wherein said primary backing parts and said tufted yarns forming said first and second discrete wear surface portions of said wear surface are arranged randomly in the wear surface.

3. A covering according to claim 1 wherein said primary backing parts and said tufted yarns forming said first and second discrete wear surface portions of said wear surface are arranged in a pattern on the wear surface of the fabric.

4. A covering according to claim 3 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 a 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.

5. A covering according to claim 1 wherein said backstitches appear solely along the technical back of the covering.