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US 9,775,457 B2Granted
Floor covering with universal backing and methods of making and recycling
AssigneeHiggins Research & Development, LLC
InventorKenneth B. Higgins
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A dimensionally stable universal floor covering includes a tufted textile substrate and a reinforcement layer to provide dimensional stability for the entire floor covering. Vacuum, mixing, and injection of compressed air assists in preparing an adhesive and fiber composition to be in the preferred condition and position before the application of pressure to form the reinforcement layer. The universal floor covering is selectively cut and transported in a roll for installation, and it can be conveniently recycled if necessary.
Claims15
A method of manufacturing a universal floor covering which can be used as either a broadloom or modular floor covering, the method comprising the steps of:
- selectively manufacturing either a broadloom or modular floor covering from a group of design components including a tufted textile substrate having a primary backing substrate extending in a first direction and a plurality of yarns tufted through the primary backing substrate, the primary backing substrate having a face side and a back side opposite the face side, a portion of each yarn forming a stitch portion having an end that is located on the back side of the primary backing substrate, and an interstitial space existing between the ends of stitch portions;
- said group of design components further including a composition pool having a mixture of adhesive and reinforcement fibers, and said group of design components being collectively and individually designed to have desired performance characteristics;
- moving the tufted textile substrate relative to an applicator and providing space between the stitch portions of the yarns and the applicator;
- applying pressure in a controlled manner between the applicator and tufted textile substrate and forcing the adhesive and reinforcement fiber composition in a second direction that is toward the back side of the primary backing substrate;
- aligning the reinforcement fibers to lay predominantly in the first direction such that the reinforcement fibers form a reinforcement layer of fibers that is substantially parallel to the first direction for providing dimensional stability for the entire floor covering and for forming a universal floor covering that can be used as either a broadloom or modular floor covering;
- applying a vacuum to the composition pool before aligning the reinforcement fibers to lay predominantly in the first direction;
- curing the universal floor covering;
- and
- selectively cutting the universal floor covering depending on whether it is desired to install a broadloom or modular floor covering, and rolling the cut universal floor covering into a roll for shipment and installation.
6 more elements
A method of manufacturing a universal floor covering which can be used as either a broadloom or modular floor covering, the method comprising the steps of:
- selectively manufacturing either a broadloom or modular universal floor covering from the same group of design components including a tufted textile substrate having a primary backing substrate extending in a first direction and a plurality of yarns tufted through the primary backing substrate, the primary backing substrate having a face side and a back side opposite the face side, a portion of each yarn forming a stitch portion having an end that is located on the back side of the primary backing substrate, and an interstitial space existing between the ends of stitch portions;
- and the characteristics of each design component, including a length of the fibers, a diameter of the fibers, a viscosity of the adhesive, a porosity of the fiber and the adhesive, being selected to meet desired performance characteristics;
- selecting an equipment arrangement for applying a pool of adhesive and reinforcement fibers to said tufted textile substrate;
- conditioning the adhesive and fibers to assist in preparing the adhesive and fibers to be in a desired condition and location in the pool of adhesive and fibers;
- moving the tufted textile substrate relative to an applicator and applying pressure in a controlled manner between the applicator and tufted textile substrate and forcing the adhesive and reinforcement fibers in a second direction that is toward the back side of the primary backing substrate;
- aligning the reinforcement fibers to predominantly lay in the first direction such that the reinforcement fibers form a reinforcement layer of fibers that is substantially parallel to the first direction for providing dimensional stability for the entire floor covering and for forming a universal floor covering that can be used as either a broadloom or modular floor covering;
- applying a vacuum to the pool of adhesive and reinforcement fibers before completing the alignment of the reinforcement fibers;
- curing the universal floor covering;
- and
- selectively cutting the universal floor covering depending on whether it is desired to have a roll of broadloom floor covering, a roll of modular floor covering, or a combination roll having both broadloom and modular floor coverings;
- and rolling the universal floor covering into a roll for shipment and installation.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.