Covering for floors and/or walls
AssigneeBurlington Industries, Inc.
InventorsJeffrey Whitten, Gene Duff, Robert Hutchison
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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.
Claims13
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.
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.
13-18. (canceled)
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.