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US 5,547,732 AGranted
Method and apparatus for making a pile article and the products thereof
AssigneeE. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company
InventorsDonald W. Edwards, James K. Odle, Peter Popper, Donald M. Sadler, Todd J. Savidge, Harold F. Staunton, William C. Walker, Paul W. Yngve
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An elongated pile article having a support strand for attachment to a plurality of yarn bundles, the yarn bundles including a dense portion with the filaments bonded to each other and bonded to the support strand, pile surface structure comprised of a plurality of elongated pile articles placed one next to the other, and a method and apparatus for making the elongated pile article.
Claims40
A pile article comprising:
- a continuous length support strand having a peripheral pile containing surface,
- and a plurality of pile-forming filaments or bundles of entangled or twisted filaments, each of said bundles having a dense portion of filaments bonded together and secured to said support strand;
- the securement having been effected while the general angular relationship between the pile-forming filaments or bundle of filaments and the support strand, as defined by a line describing the plane of the general linear direction of the pile-forming filaments or bundle of filaments and the line describing the general plane of the pile contacting surface of the support strand or a plane tangential to that surface, was other than essentially normal, each of said bundles of filaments having a frangible portion adjacent the dense portion and wherein the strength of the frangible portion is less than the strength of the bundle of filaments before bonding.
A pile article comprising:
- a support strand and a plurality of pile-forming bundles of filaments, each of said bundles having a dense portion of filaments bonded together and secured to said support strand;
- each of said bundles of filaments having a frangible portion adjacent the dense portion wherein the strength of the frangible portion is less than the strength of the bundle of filaments before bonding.
A method for making an elongated pile article comprising:
- feeding a continuous length of a bundle of filaments under tension to an eccentric guide;
- rotating said eccentric guide to wrap said bundle of filaments around a stationary hollow mandrel to form loops of said bundles with said hollow mandrel having a plurality of elongated ridges;
- feeding a continuous support strand of material along at least one of said ridges and in contact with the bundle of filaments being wrapped on the mandrel;
- feeding carrier strands for said loops through the hollow portion of said mandrel and guiding the carrier strands along each of said ridges between said loops and said stationary hollow mandrel, at least one of said carrier strands may be said support strand when said support strand is placed between said loops and said stationary mandrel;
- transporting said loops under a bonding means aligned with a ridge and said support strand by propelling said carrier strands along said ridges of said stationary mandrel;
- bonding the filaments in the bundle to each other and to the support strand while the loops are bent over the ridge;
- cutting said loops to form the elongated pile article;
- and
- forwarding said elongated pile article for further processing.
6 more elements
A pile article comprising:
- a continuous length support strand having a peripheral surface;
- a plurality of "U" shaped bundles of filaments defining a pair of upstanding tufts, the tufts bent at an acute angle at a base and extending upwardly therefrom in an essentially non-curvilinear manner and the tufts defining a spaced distance therebetween adjacent said base, each of said bundles having a dense portion of filaments bonded together and secured to the peripheral surface of the support strand at said base, said support strand having a width that is equal to or less than the distance between the upstanding tufts.
A pile article comprising:
- a continuous length support strand having a peripheral surface;
- a plurality of "U" shaped bundles of filaments defining a pair of upstanding tufts, the tufts bent at an acute angle at a base and extending upwardly therefrom in an essentially non-curvilinear manner, each of said bundles having a dense portion of filaments bonded together and secured to the peripheral surface of the support strand located within and at the base of said "U".
A pile article comprising:
- a continuous length support strand having a peripheral surface;
- a plurality of bundles of filaments defining a plurality of upstanding tufts, the tufts bent at an acute angle at a base and extending upwardly therefrom in an essentially non-curvilinear manner, each of said bundles having a dense portion of filaments defined by a width dimension bonded together and secured to the peripheral surface of the support strand at said base, said support strand having width that approaches the width of the dense portion.
A pile article comprising:
- a support strand having a surface of thermoplastic polymer;
- a plurality of bundles of filaments of thermoplastic polymer, each bundle defining a pair of tufts, the tufts in said pair bent at an angle at a base and extending upwardly therefrom, the tufts defining a spaced distance therebetween adjacent said base, each of said bundles having a dense portion of filaments bonded together and secured to the surface of the support strand at said base by fusion of the thermoplastic polymer of the support strand and the filaments, said support strand having a width that is equal to or less than the distance between the tufts in said pair.
A method for making a pile article comprising:
- feeding a bundle of filaments under tension around a stationary hollow mandrel to form loops of said bundle, said hollow mandrel having a plurality of strand guiding grooves disposed longitudinally along the surface of the mandrel;
- feeding a support strand of material aligned with at least one of said guiding grooves and in contact with the bundle of filaments being wrapped on the mandrel;
- feeding carrier strands for said loops through the hollow portion of said mandrel and guiding the carrier strands along each of said guiding grooves between said loops and said stationary hollow mandrel, at least one of said carrier strands may be said support strand when said support strand is placed between said loops and said stationary mandrel;
- transporting said loops under a bonding means aligned with a guiding groove and said support strand by propelling said carrier strands along said guiding grooves of said stationary mandrel;
- bonding the filaments in the bundle to each other and to the support strand;
- cutting said loop to form the pile article;
- and
- forwarding said pile article off the mandrel.
5 more elements
A method of making a pile article, comprising:
- placing a support strand in a groove on a stationary mandrel;
- contacting the strand with a plurality of bundles of filaments that are connected to other filaments throughout the bundle resulting in a cohesion between the filaments;
- compacting the filaments where they contact the strand;
- and
- bonding the filaments to the strand by contacting the filaments with an ultrasonic horn and squeezing the filaments and strand between said ultrasonic horn and the mandrel acting as an ultrasonic anvil.
2 more elements
A method of making a pile article, comprising:
- feeding a bundle of filaments under tension around a stationary hollow mandrel to form loops of said bundle around said mandrel;
- feeding a support strand of material along said mandrel and in contact with the bundle of filaments being wrapped on the mandrel;
- feeding carrier strands for said loops through the hollow portion of said mandrel and guiding the carrier strands along said mandrel between said loops and said stationary hollow mandrel, at least one of said carrier strands may be said support strand when said support strand is placed between said loops and said stationary mandrel;
- and
- bonding the filaments to each other and to the strand by using an ultrasonic bonding process wherein the mandrel acts as an ultrasonic anvil.
2 more elements
A pile surface structure comprising:
- a backing substrate having a plurality of projections extending out from the surface with the projections terminating in overhanging portions;
- a plurality of pile articles, each comprising a support strand having a surface of thermoplastic polymer and having attached thereto a plurality of bundles of filaments of thermoplastic polymer, the bundles in the form of a "U" shape which is attached to the support strand at the base of the "U" shape by fusion bonding, the bundle opposite the base defining a tuft;
- said pile articles placed one next to the other on said substrate with the support strand located between the projections and retained between the overhanging portions and the substrate with the base of the "U" shaped bundles adjacent the substrate, and the tuft extending beyond the overhanging portions.
The pile surface structure of claims 32 or 34, wherein said surface of said strand and said filaments of said bundle are of the same thermoplastic polymer.
The pile surface structure of claims 32 or 34, wherein said surface of said strand and said filaments of said bundle are nylon polymer.
A pile surface structure, comprising:
- a backing substrate;
- a plurality of pile articles, each comprising a strand having a surface of thermoplastic polymer and having attached thereto a plurality of bundles of filaments of thermoplastic polymer, the bundles in the form of a "U" shape which is attached to the support strand at the base of the "U" shape by fusion, the bundle opposite the base defining a tuft;
- said pile articles placed one next to the other and attached to the backing substrate with the base of the "U" shaped bundles adjacent the substrate and the tuft extending away from the substrate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.