GB2362823A

GB2362823A - Carpet having regions of differing durability

Info

Publication number: GB2362823A
Application number: GB0012842A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Cliff Kemp; Phil Cooper
Original assignee: Collins & Aikman Autom Syst
Current assignee: Collins & Aikman Autom Syst
Priority date: 2000-05-25
Filing date: 2000-05-25
Publication date: 2001-12-05
Also published as: GB0012842D0

Abstract

A carpet 10 which has regions adapted according to the durability requirements of those regions. Regions which require high durability 22 are comprised of tread with a high weight per unit length 34 and regions which do not require as much durability 20 and 24 are comprised of tread with a lower weight per unit length 30 and 32.

Description

2362823 -I- CARPET This invention relates to carpets and in particular to

carpets XvIiich have some regions which are subjected to high wear and other regions which are subjected to less wear.

Carpets of the prior art are manufactured unifom-ily over the whole loom width of the carpet and along the entire length of the carpet. However, the demands of service are rarely constant across the whole surface area of a carpet.

In the past a carpet has been marketed in which some regions are manufactured with a higher gauge than other regions. The gauge is the number of stitches per unit length across the width of the carpet and so a higher gauge results in better durability.

Z 0 The problem with this method is that the carpet manufacturing machine needs to be 1:1 physically different according to the desired gauge; it is not possible to change the gauge with which regions of a carpet are manufactured on a day to day basis.

According to the present invention there is provided a tufted carpet having at least two regions, a first region of said at least two regions being comprised of a first thread of a first weight per unit length and a second region of said at least two regions being comprised of a second thread of a second weight per unit length, %3,,herein said first weight per unit length and said second weight per unit length are different...

According to the present invention there is further provided a method of manufacturing a tufted carpet,,,,,herein a first region of said carpet is manufactured with a first thread of a first weight per unit length and a second region of said carpet is manufactured using a second thread of a second weight per unit leng h vherein said first weight and second weight are different.

According to the present invention there is further provided a method of manufacturing a non-woven carpet,,,,herein in a first region more fibres are lapped per unit area then in a second region.

The hereinafter described embodiments of carpet, in regions which are likely to be sub ected to high -vvear are made with more fibre than regions which are likely to be sub ected to less wear. In this way, fibre weight reduction of a carpet in the range of 5 to 50% can be achieved without a reduction in the visual or service performance of the carpet. This can reduce both the cost and environmental impact of makinor the carpet. Furthermore, the method used to manufacture the carpet is much simpler to implement than the varying gauge method and the regions of high and low durability 10 can easily be changed on a day to day basis.

The present invention will now be described by way of examples with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic across the width of a strip of stair carpet according to the present invention; and Figure 2 is a schematic of a moulded automobile floor carpet according to the present invention.

Figure 1 shows part of a stair carpet 10 according to the present invention. The carpet comprises tufts 12 made of thread attached to a first side of a primary backing 14 which is attached on its second side to a secondary backing 16.

The carpet 10 as illustrated is divided into 3 regions 20, 22, 24. The threads 30, 32 of the tufts 12 in regions 20 and 24 have a lower weight per unit length than the threads 34 of region 22. Typically, the weight of thread 30, 32 in regions 20 and 24 would result in a carpet with a fibre weight of about 250 grams per square metre. To achieve such a value, a thread of about 900 dTex and a 1/10 gauge (10 stiches per inch) would be used. The thread 34 in region 22 would result in a carpet with a fibre weight of about 500 grams per square metre with a thread of about 1700 dTex.

In use, when the carpet is laid on stairs, regions 20 and 24 (which are, in this example, 150 nun wide) would cover the edges of the stairs and the region 22 (400 1 mm wide) would cover the centre part of the stairs. In this way, the heavier and more durable thread 34 would cover the high wear regions of the stairs and regions 20 and 24 would cover those edge regions which, in use, are subject to less wear. In this particular example, a pile weight reduction of 21% over traditional carpets of the prior art is achieved. A thread weight per unit length for regions 20 and 24 is chosen such that those regions do not appear, on casual inspection, to be of a lower quantity than regions (eg. 22) with threads of higher weight per unit length.

Another example is where a carpet according to the present invention would be used is in hotel lobbies or hallways. Regions, such as those under doorways, subject to high wear could be manufactured from thread with a higher weight per unit length than other regions subjected to less wear.

Optionally, the height of the thread may also be varied in the different regions. In the 1 illustrated diagram, the height 40 of threads 30 and 32 in regions 20 and 24 is less 0 than the height 42 of threads 34 in region 22. Threads of greater height are more durable.

It will be appreciated that a carpet of any number of regions with different thread C weights per unit length and optionally different thread heights could manufactured 1 depending on the expected durability requirements of the carpet in use.

Figure 2 shows a moulded automobile floor carpet 50 according to the present invention. In this case, the carpet has 3 regions 52, 54, 56. A first region 52, which is subject to least wear when the carpet 50 in use in a vehicle, is comprised of a first thread with a low weight per unit length which results in a carpet with a fibre weight of about 200 grams per square metre. A second region, 54, which is subject to more wear than the first region 52 and, in use is situated above a central strut of a motor vehicle, is comprised of a second thread of higher weight per unit length than thefirst thread. Typically, the weight per unit length of the second thread would result in a carpet with a fibre weight of around 300 grams per square metre. The regions 56 of the carpet 50 which will cover the foot well areas of the vehicle when in use, are comprised of a third thread of a third weight per unit length which is heavier per unit length than the thread used in the first and second regions 52, 54. The third thread in the third regions 56 results in a carpet with a fibre weight of typically about 400 grams per square metre.

In the illustrated embodiment of Figure 2, a weight saving of about 20 to 25% over traditional moulded automobile floor carpets of the prior art is to be expected. In that embodiment the density changes across width of the car. In an alternative embodiment the density changes along the length of the car with, for example, high

1 wear regions across the front footwells, medium wear regions across the rear footwells and a low wear region under the seats.

The ratio of the weight per unit length of thread used in different regions of a carpet is preferably at least 1: 1.2 and more preferably 1:2 but any desired ratio can be used. The preferred ratios ensure that high wear regions are durable enough whilst less durable regions do not, in use, appear to an observer to be of a lower quality than the regions of high durability.

A similar principle can be used for non-woven (needle punched) carpets in which successive layers of generally parallel lofted fibres are cross lapped on top of each other with the threads of each successive layer lying in perpendicular directions. In such carpets the layers are held together by employing a needling process. Regions of the carpet which, in use, will be subject to high wear have more fibres in a given layer per unit area than regions which are expected to be subjected to less wear. This method also has the advantage that no re-engineering of the carpet manufacturing apparatus is required. The desired fibre density can be achieved simply be reprogramming an existing computer controlled apparatus.

Claims

A tufted carpet having at least two regions, a first region of said at least two 1 regions being comprised of a first thread of a first weight per unit length and a second region of said at least two regions being comprised of a second thread of a second weight per unit length, wherein said first weight per unit length and said second weight per unit length are different.
2. The tufted carpet according to claim 1, wherein the ratio of the first weight 10 per unit length to the secondweight per unit length is at least 1: 1.2.
1 -1.

The tufted carpet according to claim 2, m..-llerein the ratio is at least L2.
4. The tufted carpet of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said first thread has a first height and said second thread has a second height and wherein said first height is different from said second height.
The tufted carpet according to any one of the preceding claims, -,,,, herein said 0 tufted carpet is a carpet for stairs and wherein, in a first direction, a region comprised of thread of said first weight per unit length is followed by a region comprised of thread of said second weight per unit which is followed by a region comprised of thread of said first weight per unit length.
6. The tufted carpet of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said carpet is an automobile floor carpet, wherein portions of said carpet which, in use, require high durability are regions comprised of thread of a high weight per unit length and portions which, in use, require less durability are regions comprised of thread of a low weight per unit length.

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7. The tufted carpet of any one of the preceding claims, wherein said at least two regions include at least three regions each comprised of thread of a different weight per unit length.

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8. The tufted carpet of any one of the preceding claims, wherein said first and second regions have surface areas which are each at least 1/10 the size of the total Z- surface area of the carpet.
9. A method of manufacturing a tufted carpet, wherein a first region of said 1 carpet is manufactured with a first thread of a first weight per unit length and a second region of said carpet is manufactured using a second thread of a second 0 weight per unit length, wherein said first weight and second weight are different.
10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the ratio of the first weight per unit length to the second weight per unit length is at least 1: 1.2.

1
11. The method according to claim 10, wherein said ratio is at least 1:1
12. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein said first region 1 is manufactured with afirst pile height and said second region is manufactured with a second pile height, the first height being different from the second height.
13. A method of manufacturing a non-woven carpet wherein in a first region more fibres are lapped per unit area then in a second region.
14. A tufted carpet as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated 25 in the accompanying drawings.
15. A method of manufacturing a pile carpet substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
16. A method of manufacturing a non-woven carpet as herein before described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.