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Title:
A CARPET AND THE METHOD OF MANUFACTURING A CARPET
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2011/045691
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
The patent discloses a method of manufacturing a carpet which includes structuring sheets of lapping fibres into base cloths and face cloths, structuring the face cloth in a first structuring stage, overlapping the base cloth onto the face cloth operatively facing needle boards and structuring the two sheets into a single sheet of material, and applying a resin backing to the material which acts as an adhesive and locks the fibres of the sheets together, and wherein the structuring is done using two sets of structuring machines, with each set of structuring machines comprising at least two needle boards and each needle board comprising a plurality of needle sets, with at least part of the needle sets of the needle punch boards of the second set of needle punch boards arranged in a predetermined pattern.

Inventors:
JANSEN VAN VUUREN MARIUS (ZA)
Application Number:
PCT/IB2010/054176
Publication Date:
April 21, 2011
Filing Date:
September 16, 2010
Export Citation:
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Assignee:
BELGOTEX FLOORCOVERINGS PTY LTD (ZA)
JANSEN VAN VUUREN MARIUS (ZA)
International Classes:
D04H18/02
Domestic Patent References:
WO2006056675A12006-06-01
Foreign References:
EP1055760A12000-11-29
US3729785A1973-05-01
AT322870B1975-06-10
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
DE BEER, Deon (PO Box 1238Rivonia, 2128 Johannesburg, ZA)
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Claims:
CLAIMS

1 . A method of manufacturing a carpet which includes structuring sheets of lapping fibres into base cloths and face cloths, structuring the face cloth in a first structuring stage, overlapping the base cloth onto the face cloth operatively facing needle boards and structuring the two sheets into a single sheet of material, and applying a resin backing to the material which acts as an adhesive and locks the fibres of the sheets together, and wherein the structuring is done using two sets of structuring machines, with each set of structuring machines comprising at least two needle boards and each needle board comprising a plurality of needle sets, with at least part of the needle sets of the needle punch boards of the second set of needle punch boards arranged in a predetermined pattern.

A method of manufacturing a carpet as claimed in claim 1 in which the needles in the needle sets of the needle punch boards of the second set of needle punch boards are arranged in spaced apart rows, with the rows of needles in the needle sets of the first board arranged at right angles to the rows of needles in needle sets of the second board, thereby creating in the carpet a pattern comprising diamond shapes.

A method of manufacturing a carpet as claimed in claim 2 which includes removal, from the first needle punch board of the second set of needle punch boards, of every second set of needles starting with the second needle set, alternatively starting with first needle set; and removal, from the second needle punch board of the second set of needle punch boards, of every second set of needles starting with the with the first needle set, alternatively starting with the second needle set, thereby creating in the carpet a herringbone pattern.

A method of manufacturing a carpet as claimed in claim 3 which includes the step of removing the longitudinal boundary rows of needles from every needle set in the first and second needle punch board of the second set of needle punch boards, thereby creating in the carpet a pattern with a three dimensional visual appearance.

A method of manufacturing a carpet as claimed in claim 4 which includes the step of using in at least the second set of needle punch boards, preferably in both sets, fork needles, and more preferably in conjunction with a base cloth having a density of about 200g/m2 and a face cloth having a density of about 300 g/m2.

6. A non-woven double velour needle punched carpet created according to the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. A non-woven double velour carpet, comprising a face cloth structured from a first sheet of lapping fibre and a base cloth structured from a second sheet of lapping fibre into the face cloth and an resin backing applied to the base cloth which penetrates at least into the face cloth, the material preferably with a pattern formed therein, and more preferably with a three dimensional visual appearance.

Description:
A CARPET AND THE METHOD OF MANUFACTURING A CARPET

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a carpet, more specifically a non woven graphics velour carpet and the method of manufacturing such a carpet which has a high durability and high quality, suitable for commercial use.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Carpet tiles used for heavy commercial applications are usually hardwearing as well as hard to the touch. These are manufactured as tufted loop piles or as needlepunch carpets. The current velour carpeting is all single layer and has only received a medium residential rating. The majority of single velour carpeting is manufactured for use in the automotive industry where the requirement for durability and performance is not as high.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a carpet and a method of manufacturing a carpet which at least partly overcomes the abovementioned problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with this invention there is provided a method of manufacturing a carpet which includes structuring sheets of lapping fibres into base cloths and face cloths, structuring the face cloth in a first structuring stage, overlapping the base cloth onto the face cloth operatively facing needle boards and structuring the two sheets into a single sheet of material, applying a resin backing to the material which acts as an adhesive and locks the fibres of the sheets together, and wherein the structuring is done using two sets of structuring machines, with each set of structuring machines comprising at least two needle boards and each needle board comprising a plurality of needle sets, with at least part of the needle sets of the needle punch boards of the second set of needle punch boards arranged in a predetermined pattern.

There is further provided for the needles in the needle sets of the needle punch boards of the second set of needle punch boards to be arranged in spaced apart rows, with the rows of needles in the needle sets of the first board arranged at right angles to the rows of needles in needle sets of the second board, thereby creating in the carpet a pattern comprising diamond shapes.

There is further provided for the removal from the first needle punch board of the second set of needle punch boards of every second set of needles starting with the second needle set, alternatively starting with first needle set; and removing from the second needle punch board of the second set of needle punch boards of every second set of needles starting with the with the first needle set, alternatively starting with the second needle set, thereby creating in the carpet a herringbone pattern.

There is still further provided for the method to include removing the longitudinal boundary rows of needles from every needle set in the first and second needle punch board of the second set of needle punch boards, thereby creating in the carpet a pattern with a three dimensional visual appearance.

There is still further provided for the methods to include using in at least the second set of needle punch boards, preferably in both sets, fork needles, and more preferably in conjunction with a base cloth having a density of about 200g/m 2 and a face cloth having a density of about 300 g/m 2 .

According to a still further feature of the invention there is provided a double velour needle punched carpet created according to the method described above.

There is also provided a non-woven double velour carpet, comprising a face cloth structured from a first sheet of lapping fibre and a base cloth structured from a second sheet of lapping fibre into the face cloth and an resin backing applied to the base cloth which penetrates at least into the face cloth, the material preferably with a pattern formed therein, and more preferably with a three dimensional visual appearance.

These and other features of the invention are described in more detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which :

Figure 1 is a diagrammatical view of the process of manufacturing a carpet according to the invention;

Figure 2 shows the needle layout to produce according to the invention a diagonal pattern on a double velour needle punched carpet;

Figure 3 shows the pattern formed using the needle layout as per Figure 2;

Figure 4 shows the needle layout to produce according to the invention a herringbone pattern on a double velour needle punched carpet;

Figure 5 shows the pattern formed using the needle layout as per Figure 4;

Figure 6 shows the needle layout to produce according to the invention a diamond shaped pattern on a double velour needle punched carpet;

Figure 7 shows the pattern formed using the needle layout as per Figure 6;

Figure 8 shows a fork needle and a crown needle, respectively;

Figure 9 shows the needle layout to produce a double velour carpet with an apparent three dimensional pattern; and

Figure 10 is a graphic representation of a carpet produced according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The manufacture of a carpet according to the invention is described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in Figure 1 the process (1 ) includes at least two structuring stages, each with its own set of needle boards, and one coating stage (not shown).

In the first structuring stage (2) the process (1 ) is started by passing a sheet of pre structured lapping fibre, known as face cloth, (3) of a roll past a first set of needle boards (4). The lapping fibre comprises a sheet of fibres that have been made to all extend in the same direction, but with nothing holding them together. The fibres can thus very easily be pulled apart from the sheet.

The needle boards (4) are setup to be movable perpendicular with respect to the plane within which the sheet of face cloth (3) is travelling, with the needles set to structure through the sheet. As shown in Figure 8, each needle (5) includes at least one notch (6) which is open to the tip (7) of the needle. This allows the needle (5) to catch fibres in the notch (6) on the way into the sheet (3), and to release such caught fibres when the needle (5) is retracted from the sheet.

When the entire needle board (4) with numerous needles (8) punch through the sheet (3) at the same time it causes a multitude of fibres to be pushed through the sheet (3), which effectively "knits" the fibres together over a large area. Once the sheet of lapping fibre (3) has passed through the first set of needle boards (4) it is much more stable. This is then the end of the first structuring stage (2).

In the second structuring stage (10) the face cloth (9) is passed by a second set of needle boards (1 1 ). Before the face cloth (9) passes by the second set of needle boards (1 1 ), a second sheet known as the base cloth (12) is passed onto the face cloth (9) for the two sheets (9, 12) to simultaneously pass through the second set of needle boards (1 1 ). The orientation of the two sheets (9, 12) with respect to the set of needle boards (1 1 ) is that the second sheet of (base cloth) (12) lies on top of the face cloth (9), between the face cloth (9) and the set of needle boards (1 1 ). The operation of the second set of needle boards (1 1 ) is the same as for the first set of needle boards (4) in the first stage in that the needles (13), with notches open to the tips thereof, are pushed through the sheets (9, 12). This pushes fibres from the base cloth (12) through the face cloth (9), which joins the face cloth (9) and base cloth (12) into a single sheet (14).

The joined sheet (14) of face cloth and base cloth exits the second needle punch stage (1 0), it moves to the coating stage (not shown) in another stage. In the coating stage a glue, preferably a resin, more preferably a styrene butadiene resin (SBR) is applied to the base cloth. This penetrates the base cloth into the face cloth, which locks the joined fibres in position. This also gives the sheet dimensional stability, which means the carpet will not loose its shape. The coating occurs in accordance with the conventional techniques. To ensure that the SBR penetrates deeply enough into the face cloth (9), the density of the base cloth (1 5) is kept below that of the face cloth (9), with typical values of 200g/m 2 for the base cloth (15) and 300 g/m 2 for the face cloth (9). This provides a combined structure of 500 g/m 2 in which the SBR penetrates deeply into the face cloth (9) portion of the joined sheet (14) to stabilise it.

To provide a pattern in the final product the needles in the needle boards are arranged in a predetermined random pattern. As shown in Figure 2, in the prior art methods the second board (1 6) of each set of boards is left blank, and the needles in the first board (17) are arranged randomly (18). This produces a diagonal pattern (19) in the final double velour carpet (20) as shown in Figure 3.

Alternatively, a diamond shape, as seen in figure 7 can be created. To do this, board 2 (16) in Figure 2 is filled with needles that are a mirror image of board 1 (1 7). This is illustrated in Figure 6 and the mirror image is illustrated through false lines (27) - these lines do not exist as the needles have been placed randomly.

In the current method the needles in neither board are left completely clear. Instead, the needles in the first set of needle boards (4), from the first structuring stage (2), are left in the normal random pattern to produce the face cloth (9). In the second set of needle boards (1 1 ), from the second structuring stage (10), the needles are also in the normal random pattern but different rows (23, 25) are removed to create varying patterned effects. As shown in Figure 4, in Board 1 (21 ) of the second set of needle boards (1 1 ), every second set of needles (22) in the board (21 ) is removed, and the remaining sets of needles in the board are all still in a random pattern with the desired effect illustrated by a false line (23). In Board 2 (24) every second set of needles (25) are also removed, but starting alternatively from the first board (21 ). This means the first set of needle boards (21 ) structures even numbered rows and the second set of needle boards (24) odd numbers of rows, collectively structuring all the rows in the carpet.

If a herringbone pattern is desired, the second set of needleboards (24) will have their randomly placed needles created to mirror the first set of needle boards as previously illustrated in Figure 6 by the false line (27). This is shown in Figure 4. Through various settings, the randomly placed needle will strike the cloths at varying intervals, creating patterns. In this instance the correct setting allows the needles to strike the carpet so that the desired pattern is created. Operatively this creates the herringbone pattern (26), also referred to as a zig-zag pattern, shown in Figure 5. To enhance the three dimensional pattern the needle boards are fitted with so-called fork needles (5A) instead of the conventional crown needles (5B), which are shown in Figure 8. Fork needles (5A) are blunt needles with a central slot (6A) in the tip (7A) in which a lot of fibres may be caught when it is pushed through a sheet. Crown needles (5B) are sharpened needles with two notches (6B1 , 6B2) on opposing sides of the needles behind the tip (7B) in which collectively fewer fibres are caught than in the fork needle (5A). The fork needles (5A) thus push through more fibres which enhances the pattern formed in the carpet. It also provides a much better knit or hold between the cloths. Furthermore it allowed more SBR to penetrate the cloths, thus increasing the adhesion between the cloths. An additional visual effect is introduced into the carpet by removing the rows of needles (29) on the boundary of every set of needles (30) on the first and second sets of needle boards (31 , 32) of the second set of needle boards (1 1 ), as shown in Figure 9. This leaves a very narrow diagonal line of face cloth in its original form (33). Once finished it provides an optical illusion that the herringbone structure (34) is in fact a three dimensional pattern formed in the carpet (35), which adds to the visual appeal of the carpet. This is shown in Figure 10.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described above are given by way of example only. Variations of the embodiments are possible without departing from the scope of the invention.