Border, edge or pattern carpet tile design, manufacture and installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing carpet tile designs require precise orientation to create discernible patterns, which can be aesthetically and functionally limiting, as they often need to be aligned to avoid visual discrepancies and functional inefficiencies, such as unclear navigation paths.
Innovation Solution
The development of carpet tiles and manufacturing methods that allow for random installation and creation of diverse patterns, including borders and edges, using tufting machines to produce tiles with varying yarn colors, heights, and textures, enabling flexible and visually appealing designs without the need for precise orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If carpet tiles are manufactured with uniform yarn loops and single-color patterns, then the manufacturing process is simple and production speed is high, but the resulting floor patterns are visually monotonous and lack aesthetic appeal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by varying yarn loop heights (low, medium, high) and introducing multiple yarn colors (A, B, C) to create diverse visual patterns. The control system adjusts these parameters dynamically during tufting to generate complex designs from simple manufacturing processes
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses periodic action through the reciprocating motion of the needle bar that shifts laterally in a controlled sequence. This periodic lateral shifting, combined with periodic yarn feeding, creates repeating yet varied patterns across the carpet width, enabling aesthetic diversity without complicating the base manufacturing process
2Adaptability or versatility
If the needle bar shifts laterally to create patterns, then visual design variety is improved, but the control system complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is designed with multi-functionality to handle multiple yarn colors, variable loop heights, and lateral needle bar shifting through a single integrated programming interface. This universal control approach manages pattern creation complexity while maintaining ease of operation
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs dynamics by making the needle bar position and yarn selection variable during operation. The control system dynamically adjusts needle bar lateral position and yarn feed timing based on the desired pattern, transforming a static manufacturing process into a dynamic, adaptable system that handles complexity through programmable motion
3Adaptability or versatility
If yarn loops are tufted at varying heights to create visible patterns, then aesthetic appeal is improved, but the manufacturing precision required to control loop heights increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating different yarn loop heights at different locations across the carpet face. The control system selectively tufts low, medium, and high loops in specific positions to form patterns, where each location has the quality (loop height) needed for its specific design function
Solution Approach 2:
The control system performs preliminary action by pre-programming the needle bar lateral positions and yarn feed sequences before tufting begins. This preliminary setup establishes the pattern blueprint, allowing the system to achieve precise loop height control through pre-planned rather than real-time complex adjustments
Data Source
AI summary
Design and manufacture of tufted articles, carpet tile webs and carpet tiles, and installation of carpet tiles, having different color, pile height, pile texture or other characteristics that, together with similar other such tiles, may be installed to create borders, edges or other multiple-tile designs, usually without any of the tiles looking out of place or improperly oriented relative to nap or the direction the tile is “facing.”