Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a carpet with a carpet pile and a backing using Computer Yarn Placement, which method comprises:

- obtaining a primary backing with a direction of advancement through a carpet loom,

- inserting yarns into the primary backing by means of laterally displaced needles, when advancing the primary backing through the carpet loom in order to form the carpet pile.

The invention further relates to a carpet having a carpet pile and a backing, in which yarns are mounted in a primary backing in order to form the carpet pile.

A carpet backing usually comprises a primary backing, in which the pile-forming yams are inserted, and a secondary backing, which is glued onto the primary backing, and thus secures the yarns.

A carpet may be a woven carpet or a tufted carpet.

Background of the invention

Currently, Computer Yarn Placement (CYP) represents state-of-the-art technology in carpet weaving, which is used to produce broadloom carpets. These carpets are widely used in public areas, hotel rooms and corridors. However, they can also be used in other locations, where it is desirable to have carpets with unique designs, in which the pile is made of dyed yams, which may give the carpet a desired pattern.

CYP is an advanced technology, which makes it possible to manufacture carpets with predetermined patterns using yams dyed in the mass. The dyed yarns make it possible to form desired patterns in the carpets.

Carved carpets are also known, in which part of the pile is cut off, thereby forming areas with a relief or grooves that form a predetermined pattern. Carving can be used in different types of carpets, including carpets made with CYP technology. When trimming carpet piles, the resulting dust nuisances needs to be resolved, and the trimmed yam will form a waste product.

Carving is frequently done manually and is a time-consuming process, which is done after the manufacture of a carpet in the carpet loom.

As an alternative to carving, a system for manufacturing broadloom carpets is known, e.g., from US 5,738,030, where no yarn is trimmed. Instead, a principle is used, in which a yam passed through a backing by means of backing opener is retracted through the backing opener, without being tied inside the backing. This produces a position without a thread in the formed tissue, such that a relief effect can be obtained. In this system, the backing openers are arranged on a shared reciprocating rod, such that the individual needles/backing openers can no longer be controlled individually, and need to be passed through the backing, regardless of whether a yarn is attached at a certain position in the backing. Openings are thus formed in the backing, which is undesirable, when no yarn is placed in the opening ensuring the strength and closeness/density of the backing.

US 4,831,948 discloses a system, in which a relief is formed by using yarns, which form piles of different pile heights. Thus yarns are used in all positions. The option of not using yarns in certain positions in order to form a relief is not described.

Object of the invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a method and a carpet, which make it possible to establish advanced patterns with a predetermined shape in carpets, while at the same time avoiding dust nuisances and unnecessarily consuming time in connection with the carving process.

Description of the invention

The is object is achieved according to the present invention by a method, which is characterized by

the method further comprising: - maintaining needles in a raised position above the primary backing during the advancement of the primary backing and the lateral displacement of the needles in order to create areas in the carpet pile without yams, thus forming a relief with a preformed pattern in the carpet pile surface.

Final treatment of the carpet can then subsequently be achieved by applying a secondary backing. This secures the yarns in the carpet.

The carpet according to the invention is characterized by comprising areas in the carpet pile without yarns in order to form a relief with a pre-formed pattern in the surface of the carpet pile and without openings in the primary backing in the areas without yarns.

The backing of the carpet will have a strength/density over the whole surface, such that it is not impaired by openings in the back. There is thus no risk of folds being formed in the carpet along the "paths" forming a relief, as is the case when openings are formed in the primary backing, which were not "closed" by inserted yams. Such a method allows for creating areas in the carpet pile, which may be formed as grooves, which are comparable to the grooves formed by cutting the carpet pile in the carving process. However, with a method according to the invention, carpet pile, which subsequently needs to be trimmed off, will not form. Thus, dust nuisances will not come about, and savings in terms of material will also be realized, as there are no yarns, which need to be removed subsequently from the formed carpet pile. Savings in terms of material is also realized relative to carpets, where a lower pile height is used in areas of the carpet in order to form a relief.

Since the process is performed with computer-based technology, the computer may be used to form advanced patterns by controlling the needles. The method thus makes it possible to control the needles, such that they remain in the up position, instead of guiding a yarn downward into the primary backing. In simple terms, we can say that a hole is thus formed in the carpet pile, which is formed during manufacture. However, these holes can be juxtaposed to form areas, which create a predetermined pattern, which has been stored in the computer control of the needles. Thus, areas with missing yarn do not appear as a defective area with a hole. Instead, the areas appear as a three-dimensional pattern in the carpet pile. The areas will typically take the form of grooves in the carpet pile. Yarns adjacent to these grooves will partially cover the groove. Thus, the backing is invisible to a spectator.

This technology allows for controlling the needles to form different colored patterns combined with the formed areas, which creates a relief effect in the formed carpet pile. Thus, it is possible to form highly advanced patterns in a quick and efficient way. No additional treatment of the carpet is needed, when leaving the plant producing the carpet.

Usually, after placing the yarns in the primary backing, a secondary backing is glued on, such that the primary and secondary backing both form the backing of the formed carpet. In this way, the yams are secured, in that a part of the yams is located between the primary and secondary backing.

The forming patterns may be oriented across the direction of advancement, when the primary backing passes through the carpet loom. Since the areas without yarns are created with the aid of computer control, they can be given any shape or form, which aligns in the direction of advancement, is transversal to the direction of advancement, or is at any angle relative to the direction of advancement.

Similarly, it is possible to form curved areas in the carpet pile. Thus, the process does not require merely straight- lined areas or yarn-less grooves. Any orientation and curvature is possible via computer-based control of the placement of the yarns.

According to a further embodiment, the method is characterized by further comprising: - the use of a maximum of three raised needles juxtaposed in the lateral direction of the carpet loom, when advancing the primary backing.

Practice has shown that a relief can be formed with a larger or smaller size, without the carpet appearing as a carpet with holes in the pile. As it turns out in practice, it is possible to use up to three juxtaposed raised threads as viewed in the lateral direction of the loom, without the formed carpet having the appearance of a carpet pile with a hole.

In practical terms, the use of juxtaposed threads, which are held in a raised position in order to form a pattern, may be varied along the advancement of the primary backing. Thus, a constant number of juxtaposed raised needles is not necessarily used. The number of adjacent needles may vary depending on the angle and direction of an area, when advancing the primary backing.

According to a further embodiment, the method is characterized by further comprising: - the needles retained in the raised position, relative to the primary backing, are displaced laterally, when advancing the primary backing, in order to form an area oriented at an angle relative to the direction of advancement.

In practice, different needles will be used. The needles are displaced laterally and the position of a needle is determining for the formation of yarn-less areas inserted in the primary backing. Thus, there is a specific position in the cross direction of the loom, which is of importance when determining whether to maintain a needle in the raised position. It is immaterial whether the needle, which is held in the raised position, is placed in a position to the right or left of a preceding or subsequent insertion of the yarn in the primary backing.

According to a further embodiment, the method is characterized by further comprising: - moving the needles no more than eight positions in the lateral direction.

In practice, the needles being used can be shifted between 8 positions. Typically, a needle may be shifted across the direction of advancement between 4 to 8 positions, and most typically between 6 positions in the lateral direction.

This shift allows for needles with a specific color of yam to be used in order to form a color pattern across the direction of advancement. It should be noted that a loom typically may have as much as 2,500 needles or more in the lateral direction, and that across the width of the loom, a number of needles will thus be provided with the same color of yam. Accordingly, a second needle in the array of needles may continue a color pattern, when the color pattern extends beyond the width, by which a single needle can be displaced across the direction of advancement.

Likewise, the needles which form areas without yams may also be combined, in that a number of needles in the lateral direction contribute to creating a groove or a single area. As mentioned above, the position of a needle in the loom is determining for the pattern that forms, i.e., not the individual needle per se.

Thus, during lateral displacement, when advancing the primary backing, areas having an arbitrary orientation relative to the direction of advancement are formed. Hence, it is possible to form patterns with an arbitrary orientation relative to the direction of advancement of the primary backing.

According to a further embodiment, the method is characterized by further comprising:

- the use of at least 30 stitches per 10 cm., corresponding to a gram weight of approx. 1,100 g per sq. m, during manufacture of the carpet.

In practice, the method becomes optimal, if a greater number of stitches corresponding to a large specific gram weight is used in the manufacture of the carpet. In practice, it was found that the use of less than 30 stitches per 10 cm may cause the carpet pile to appear having a defective carpet pile, rather than appearing as a pattern having a carved pattern. 30 stitches per 10 cm typically corresponds to a gram weight of 1 ,100 g per sq. m.

According to a further embodiment, the method is characterized by further comprising:

- applying several colors on yams in the needles.

As mentioned above, it is possible to combine the formation of a relief, which gives the carpet a three-dimensional shape, [and] with a two-dimensional shape of the color in the yams being used.

This gives rise to carpets with highly advanced patterns, which form by the combination of different carpet-pile colors and different carpet-pile reliefs. According to a further embodiment, the method is characterized by further comprising: - the use of advancement speeds of up to 10 meters per hour.

When manufacturing carpets, advancement rates up to 10 meters per hour may be used. These advancement rates are obtained, when the formed areas/grooves are oriented at a minor angle relative to the direction of advancement. The rate of the primary backing advancement will be reduced, if operating with larger angles for the areas/grooves relative to the direction of advancement. In the present patent application, a minor angle refers to an angle as low as 2°, and larger angles refer to angles up to 178°. In theory, an orientation almost perpendicular or parallel to the direction of advancement can thus be obtained. However, the yams used and the number of stitches need to be considered. According to a further embodiment, the carpet is characterized in that areas of the carpet form grooves, which are oriented at an angle relative to a direction of advancement of the carpet during manufacture.

As mentioned above, the carpet is manufactured with areas that may be oriented at different angles in relation to the direction of advancement. In the initial stage, the formed relief will primarily be shaped as grooves in the carpet pile. This means that larger areas with a relief effect are not formed. This is impossible, in that the carpet would then appear as a perforated carpet. However, angles relative to the direction of advancement will create an appearance similar to a three-dimensional carving in the carpet pile.

According to a further embodiment, the carpet is characterized by having a gram weight of at least 1,100 grams per sq. m. As mentioned above, a greater gram weight will contribute to a pattern formation that resembles carving. In practical terms, it was found that with a gram weight exceeding 1,100 g per sq. m, an appearance resembling defects or holes in the carpet pile will by and large not occur, regardless of the orientation of the grooves formed in the carpet. To achieve improved quality, a gram weight of 1,200, 1,300, 1,400 or 1,500 g per sq. m may alternatively be used. By using different types of yarns and different angles for the yam-less areas, a carpet with the appearance of a carpet with a carved pattern, will form. Description of the drawings

The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying schematic drawing, in which

Fig. 1 is a partial perspective view illustrating yarns placed on a primary backing and with a secondary backing applied thereto,

Fig. 2 shows a schematic section through a woven carpet,

Fig. 3 shows a section corresponding to Fig. 2 through a tufted carpet,

Fig. 4 shows a partial schematic diagram of a primary backing, in which yams are inserted and having an area, in which the carpet pile has no yams,

Fig. 5 shows a section through Fig. 4 along the line V-V in order to illustrate inserted yams, and an area without yams inserted; and

Figs. 6-8 show photos of different embodiments of carpets according to the invention.

Detailed description of the invention

In the following, identical or similar elements will be denoted by the same reference numeral. Consequently, not every single detail in each of the figures is explained.

Also keep in mind that the figures show only a few concrete embodiments and that for a carpet according to the invention, a large number of alternative embodiments are possible.

Fig. 1 shows a partial view of a carpet 1 with a carpet pile 2 and a backing 3 consisting of a primary backing 4 and a secondary backing 5 glued together using an adhesive 6. The carpet pile 2 is formed by a number of yarns 7. It can be seen that a part of the yarn 8 is situated between the primary and secondary backing, such that the carpeting pile 2 remains secured in the backing. Fig. 2 illustrates a woven carpet 1 with carpet pile 2. It illustrates how weft yarns 9 and warp yams 10 are used to secure the carpet pile 2 to a backing 3.

Fig. 3 shows a tufted carpet 1, where the carpet pile 2 is placed in a backing 3 by using latex 11 and a foam 12.

The above embodiments are principal illustrations of a carpet 1 design with a carpet pile 2 and a backing 3.

Fig. 4 schematically illustrates a primary backing 4. This primary backing 4 has a direction of advancement according to the arrow 13. Fig. 4 schematically illustrates a partial section of needles, which have a yarn 7 inserted in an array of juxtaposed positions 14 for the needles 15 (see Fig. 5) used in the carpet loom.

Fig. 4 also illustrates a position 16 without yarn inserted in the primary backing 4. This is achieved by lowering the needles 15 illustrated in fig. 4, with the exception of a single needle marked 15 which is situated in position 16, where thus no yarn is inserted into the primary backing 4.

The section illustrated in Fig. 5, is taken according to the arrow V-V in Fig. 4. Fig. 4 shows that positions 14, in which yarns are placed, are cross-marked. Furthermore, a number of positions 16 are shown, which together form an area 17, in which no yarns are placed. Thus, in the shown embodiment, a relief will have formed, which extends at an angle 18 relative to the direction of advancement 13 in a first section of the area 17. The needles 15 may be displaced in the lateral direction, as indicated by the double arrow 19 in Fig. 5. The lateral displacement 19 of the needles 15 is done by shifting a guide 20, in which the needles are mounted.

Fig. 4 and 5 show only a small section of the primary backing 4. In practice, the carpet loom will have between 1,000 and 2,500 needles over its width.

Fig. 6-8 illustrate different embodiments of a carpet 1 according to the invention. Each of the figures illustrate the direction of advancement 13 of the primary backing. Each of the images illustrate an area 17. It can be seen that these areas 17, which contain no yarn in the primary backing, appear with arbitrary orientations and patterns.

As shown in these figures, the relief pattern can be combined with color patterns using different colored yarns in the manufacturing process.