Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Pile or nap type surface or component – Particular backing structure or composition
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-25
2002-02-05
Juska, Cheryl (Department: 1771)
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Pile or nap type surface or component
Particular backing structure or composition
C428S096000, C442S035000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06344254
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates broadly to a modified secondary backing material or scrim fabric. This modified scrim is both novel and improved and is particularly suitable for carpet. More particularly, the present invention relates to carpet containing the improved scrim fabric and to the manufacture thereof. Carpet typically includes face fibers, in the form of tufts, primary and secondary backing members and latex or adhesives, or both, to bind the components together. A modified secondary backing member, or scrim, has been developed for such carpet which imparts useful properties to form novel, improved carpet. The present invention also provides a facile method for manufacturing such modified secondary backing members and its use in the manufacture of carpet.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Tufted carpet is widely used today in the United States and abroad. Such carpet is produced by tufting machines which are essentially multi-needled sewing machines. The tufting machines push or, more specifically, sew the face yarns of the carpet (also referred to as pile yarns) through a primary backing fabric, forming loops in the face yarns. The machines also hold the face yarns in place while the needles are withdrawn. . The resulting loops formed by the face yarns are then either released to form loop-pile, tufted carpet, or cut to form cut-pile, tufted carpet.
A secondary backing fabric, attached to the backstitched side of the primary backing fabric, i. e. , the side opposite the protruding face yarns, is used to hold the tufted face yarn in place and is typically attached to the primary backing fabric by a latex or other binding adhesive applied to the backstitched side of the primary backing fabric. Although the combination of the secondary backing fabric and the adhesive binder combine to provide a necessary rigidity to the carpet, allowing it lay flat and resist buckling or travel under use, the back surface of the carpet becomes very rough, indeed abrasive.
Carpet is delivered to installation sites in rolls with the face yarns internal and in lengths from the loom which are usually 12 to 15 feet wide. Because the roll is heavy and somewhat unmanageable, it is frequently dragged around wall corners and through narrow hallways and doorways during which the rough carpet back surface causes damage to the room, house or building in which it is to become installed. Although there are carpets that have a soft backing, such as the foam backing utilized for indoor/outdoor carpet, better quality tufted carpet has typically been produced utilizing the secondary backing and adhesives as described hereinabove. Current tufted carpet production for the year 1997 in the U.S. alone is expected to reach over 4 billion square yards, up from 1.6 billion in 1994. Nevertheless, despite the damage that constantly results from the delivery and installation of carpet, little has been done to change the construction of tufted carpet.
A review of the patent literature over the last three decades, reveals many variations of carpet. U.S. Pat. No. 3,497,414, for instance, discloses a non-woven carpet and method for making the same. The non-woven carpet in the patent is produced by needling a fibrous batt of polyolefin fiber to partially compress and strengthen the batt and to create a smooth face and a pile face from which polyolefin fiber ends slightly protrude. The pile face of the batt is then heated to fuse the fiber ends to form balls on the ends of the fibers. A second batt is placed over the pile face and needled to the first batt. This combination may be employed alone as a carpet or as a carpet topping in combination with a backing which may comprise a needled foam-fiber batt laminate. The backing is preferably composed of polyolefin fiber and a layer of flexible polyurethane foam and is attached to the carpet topping by lamination.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,510,386 discloses the structure of an antistatic carpet that has a fibrous layer, an antistatic conductive coating, and a polymeric backing. The disclosed structure includes a fibrous pile extending upwardly from a primary backing that is initially backed with an antistatic layer. The polymeric backing layer holds the antistatic coating layer in place and may assist the antistatic coating layer in dispersing charges to the ground. The polymeric backing layer is preferably applied in the form of an aqueous dispersion of latex although other polymeric coatings such as polystyrene, vinylidene chloride, polyacrylates, butadiene styrene rubbers and the like may be employed. The patent also discloses that a secondary backing may be optionally applied to the polymeric backing.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,922,454 discloses a secondary backing for carpeting that comprises a woven synthetic scrim with a layer of staple fibers needled onto the top surface of the scrim with portions of the fibers projecting through to the bottom surface of the scrim. A latex coating is then applied to bond the fibers to the bottom surface of the scrim, and the bottom surface is then ironed. The secondary backing is connected to the back side of the primary backing by an adhesive layer. Once applied, the secondary backing provides a non-slip coating which enables the carpet to better frictionally engage the floor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,112,161 discloses the structure of an indoor/outdoor tufted pile fabric that is intended to be a substantially permanent floor covering. The tufted pile fabric includes a synthetic plastic primary backing and a synthetic plastic secondary backing that are laminated together by a hot melt adhesive to form a relatively rigid impervious sheet. The structure is then provided with a plurality of perforations to give the fabric a softer hand and breathability. The patent intends for the fabric to be adhesively secured to a floor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,153,749 discloses an antistatic carpet including a primary backing that carries the yarns. A secondary backing includes a base formed of jute or woven or non-woven polypropylene or polyester and a conductive polymeric layer that is bonded to the upper side of the base. The secondary backing is bonded to the primary backing by a conventional non-conductive latex coating layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,986 discloses a tufted carpeting composed of piled yarns that are anchored in a prime backing that may be either a bonded, non-woven fabric or a woven fabric. A secondary backing is a non-woven fabric composed of individual filaments that are randomly laid out such that they cross over and are bonded at their cross over points with the aid of applications of a secondary binder. The secondary backing is adhered to the primary backing by a rubber or PVC latex coating. The patent discloses that the purpose of the secondary backing is to provide not only better stability to the tufted carpet, but also to provide easy slidability on other surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,857, discloses a carpet tile consisting of a primary carpet base and a foam layer. The carpet base is laminated to the foam layer by an adhesive layer which is embedded with a layer of glass scrim to provide dimensional stability to the carpet tile. The foam layer consists of a fibrous carrier backing of woven polypropylene coated with a high density urethane foam having a tough integral skin surface on its underside. The patent discloses that the carrier backing can be woven or non-woven and composed of other materials such as nylon, polyester or fiberglass. The carrier backing contacts the adhesive that binds the foam layer to the primary carpet base.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,950, discloses a carpet tile having a primary backing sheet composed of non-woven polyester or ribbon polypropylene. The carpet tile includes a first precoat composition and a second precoat or intermediate coating composition that includes a limestone filler, a bitumen, petroleum resin and an ethylene vinyl acetate polymer. A second backing coating composition layer includes a bitumen with a thermoplastic rubber polymer material that is bound to a secondary backing sheet that includes a glass fiber
Fowler Gregory D.
Smith Gregory B.
Juska Cheryl
Renner Kenner Greive Bobak Taylor & Weber
Sind, LLC
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