(12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2005/0260380 A1 Mo0n Et Al
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US 2005O260380A1 (19) United States (12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2005/0260380 A1 Mo0n et al. (43) Pub. Date: Nov. 24, 2005 (54) TUFTABLE CARPET BACKINGS AND (52) U.S. Cl. ............................ 428/95; 442/185; 442/186; CARPETS WITH ENHANCED TUFT 442/208 HOLDING PROPERTIES (57) ABSTRACT (76) Inventors: Richard C. Moon, Dalton, GA (US); Primary carpet backings for tufted carpets comprise, in one Forrest Jaquith, Dalton, GA (US) embodiment, fabric woven from warp tapes comprising Correspondence Address: polypropylene and weft yarns in a plain, closed weave with BP America Inc. an average warp count of about 18 to 32 tapes per inch and a lower average weft count, wherein the warp tapes have Docket Clerk, BP Legal, M.C. 5East deniers of about 250 to about 800 and the weft yarns 4101 Winfield Road comprise polypropylene tapes that are thicker and of greater Warrenville, IL 60555 (US) denier than the warp tapes. In another embodiment carpets comprising a primary backing as described above tufted (21) Appl. No.: 10/850,329 with carpet face yarn to provide a pile Surface comprising a plurality of face yarn tufts on one Side of the backing and a (22) Filed: May 20, 2004 plurality of Stitches of the face yarn on an opposite, Stitched Side of the tufted backing and, optionally having a Secondary Publication Classification backing laminated to the Stitched Side of the backing, have good tuft holding properties for a wide range of carpet face (51) Int. Cl. ............................. D05C 17/02: D03D 1/00 yarn deniers, carpet pile Surfaces and Styles. US 2005/0260380 A1 Nov. 24, 2005 TUFTABLE CARPET BACKINGS AND CARPETS carpet Styles. Designing multiple backing fabrics with a WITH ENHANCED TUFT HOLDING PROPERTIES common warp count can avoid Separate beaming and loom Set up otherwise needed for different counts, thereby pro 0001. This invention relates to tuftable and tufted fabrics moting efficiency. Weft count variations have less effect on and, more particularly, primary carpet backings with good Such weaving considerations, although cost factorS favor tuftability and tuft holding capabilities and tufted backings fabric designs with essentially full or greater coverage at and carpets with improved tuft hold. minimum counts consistent with tufting and carpet perfor BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION mance requirements. 0006 With regard to carpet manufacturing performance, 0002 Primary backings for tufted carpets in the form of ease with which tufting needles and face yarn penetrate a flat fabrics woven from tapes of Synthetic polymeric resins, backing is important for tuftability, generally improving also commonly referred to as ribbons, ribbon yarns, slit film with thinner, less tightly woven backings; however, thicker yarns and flat yarns, are well known and described in U.S. and more tightly woven fabrics have better tuft hold and Pat. NO. 3,110,905. A wide range of yarn compositions and Strength, other things being equal. Smooth pile Surfaces with configurations and their use in various backing fabric uniform pile heights and patterned carpets with high pattern designs have been described in the literature. In actual definition and regularity tend to call for primary backings practice, woven polypropylene tape fabrics are and have with Smooth Surfaces and high weftline Straightness, both of been long preferred primary backings for commercial manu which can be enhanced in primary backing fabrics woven facture of carpets due to important features Such as Strength, from conventionally configured tapes by tightness of the mold and mildew resistance, cost, tuftability and compat Weave and relatively high weft counts, Such as 15 per inch ibility with other aspects of carpet manufacturing opera or greater. Both of those backing design aspects, however, tions. can impact tuftability of a fabric. 0.003 Primary backings conventionally used in commer 0007 Enhancement of one or both of tuftability and pile cial manufacture of common carpet Styles are woven from Surface appearance is generally considered to result from use polypropylene warp tapes with deniers of about 250 to about of backing fabrics designed So that needles used for tufting 600 g/9000 meters and weft tapes with deniers of about carpet face yarn preferentially penetrate the backings at 750-1050 g/9000 meters. Thicknesses of the tapes range interSections of warp and weft tapes, as opposed to piercing from 1.4 to about 2.2 mils and widths generally range from the tapes at their crossovers. A common rule of thumb for 40 to about 150 mils depending on fabric design features tufting involves correlating weft counts of backing fabrics Such as average warp and weft counts and coverages. The with tufting Stitch rates-that is, Stitches per unit length in tapes are easily and economically prepared by conventional the direction of advancement of a backing through tufting film extrusion and Slitting or tape extrusion processes. Such that the former exceeds the latter by a significant Strengths, elongations and other characteristics of the tapes proportion, such as 30-60%. While application of this rule of are Such as to withstand the rigors of weaving, even on the thumb can, or is often considered to provide improved wide looms-often as great as 9-15 feet-used for weaving tuftability, it also has limitations and exceptions. For backings for broadloom carpets, without So much breakage, example, with regard to tufted pile Surface appearance, twisting or folding to impair fabric performance and appear extensive Studies of different commercial and experimental ance. Suitably designed fabrics with Such warp and weft primary backing fabrics tufted in the same or Similar low tapes are tuftable, with Strength and other properties Suited weight, cut pile construction, Such as commonly found in to use to make carpets and performance of finished goods. carpets for commercial applications, indicates that backings 0004 Primary backings made from Such tapes are com with identical weft counts yielded tufted carpets with ratings monly fabrics woven in a plain, closed weave fabric. Fabric for watermarking and pitting, which are well recognized designs generally having about 10-42 tapes per inch in the indicators of carpet Surface appearance, ranging from poor warp and about 10-20 tapes per inch in the weft have to very good. Backing fabrics woven from tapes in one commonly been reported in the literature, as Seen from U.S. direction and, in the other direction, fibrillated tapes or other Pat. Nos. 4,123,577 and 6,740,385. In actual practice, pri yarns with a multi-filament or multi-Sectioned configuration, mary backings commonly available for or used in a wide as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,359,934 and 4,145,467, can be used to range of current commercially available carpets are plain reduce piercing of tapes during tufting due to the more easily Weave fabrics designed with average warp counts of 24 or 28 penetrated, open yarn configuration, but tuft holding prop tapes per inch and average weft counts of 11 to 18, with erties of the fabrics are inferior to those of fabrics woven counts of 11 and 13 weft tapes per inch most commonly from tapes in both directions, and the fibrillated or multi found in carpets for residential applications, Such as in Single Sectioned yarns add cost to backing fabrics and carpets. family houses and apartments, and counts of 15, 16.5 and 18 0008. With continuing emphasis on innovation and style common for carpets for commercial uses, Such as in offices, in the carpet industry and demanded by carpet customers, hotels, Stores, airports and the like. More specific tailoring of primary backing fabrics are Subject to new and increasing other backing designs to particular carpet Styles is compli demands. Conventional backings often are inadequate in one cated, and empirical in many respects due to numerous or more respects and attempts to tailor backings to new manufacturing, performance and design features of both carpet Styles, weights and other characteristics require chal backings and carpets that must be accounted for and their lenging and expensive modifications and Significant inves complex, Sometimes conflicting or unpredictable interrela tigation and trial and error with new backing designs. AS an tionships. example, Berber-style carpets, which have become popular 0005 Weaving efficiency is an important practical con in recent years for commercial and residential uses, gener sideration relevant to tailoring backing fabric designs to ally are characterized by large, heavy face yarn bundles with US 2005/0260380 A1 Nov. 24, 2005 deniers as high as 20000 g/9000 meters tufted at relatively 10 to about 15 yarns per inch, wherein the warp tapes are low Stitch rates on wide gauge tufters to provide a highly about 1.4 to 2.0 mils thick with deniers of about 250 to about textured carpet face Surface. These carpets contrast signifi 800 and the weft yarns comprise polypropylene tapes about cantly with Smoother, more uniform pile Surfaces Such as in 1.7 to about 2.5 mils thick and thicker than the warp tapes, conventional Saxony carpets with lighter face yarn, gener with deniers of about 1200 to about 1600. ally on the order of 800 to 4000 denier, tufted at higher stitch rates and gauge. With conventional primary backing fabrics 0013 In another embodiment, the invention provides of the type commonly used in Saxony and other Smoother, tufted carpets comprising Such a primary carpet backing more uniform pile Surface carpet Styles, even at the high end fabric tufted with face yarn to form a textured pile surface. of conventional weft tape deniers in the range of 1000-1100, In a particular embodiment, the textured pile Surface com Berber carpets and their heavy face yarns approach perfor prises carpet face yarn with a denier of about 5000 or greater.