Lightweight Carpet Tile Backing for Easy Aircraft Replacement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mass transit vehicles, particularly passenger aircraft, face challenges with traditional carpeting due to harsh environments, high maintenance costs, and weight considerations, as broadloom carpet requires frequent replacement and removal of seats for installation and replacement, while conventional carpet tiles are heavy and not well-suited for lightweight applications.
Innovation Solution
The development of lightweight carpet tiles with a carpet pile and backing layers using low-weight fillers like glass spheres, allowing for orthogonally ambiguous installation and reduced tile sizes to cover varying widths without cutting, and the use of adhesives like TacTiles connectors for easy installation and removal without seat removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If broadloom carpet is used in mass transit vehicles, then good strength and wear properties are achieved, but removal and replacement of damaged carpet sections is difficult and expensive requiring removal of seats
Solution Approach 1:
The carpet system is divided into individual modular tiles rather than continuous broadloom strips. Each tile can be independently removed and replaced without affecting adjacent tiles or requiring removal of seats, thereby maintaining wear resistance while dramatically improving ease of repair.
2Ease of operation
If conventional carpet tiles are used, then ease of installation is improved, but weight increases which is undesirable in aircraft applications
Solution Approach 1:
The density and composition parameters of the backing layer are modified by incorporating lightweight filler materials such as glass spheres and hollow microspheres. This maintains the structural integrity and ease of installation of conventional carpet tiles while significantly reducing their weight for aircraft applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The backing layer is formulated as a composite material combining polymer resin with lightweight filler particles including glass spheres and hollow microspheres. This composite structure provides the necessary mechanical properties for easy installation while achieving the weight reduction required for aircraft carpeting.
3Adaptability or versatility
If square carpet tiles are used to cover varying widths between tracks, then installation flexibility is achieved, but multiple tile sizes are required increasing complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The carpet tiles are manufactured with rectangular dimensions specifically designed to span the varying widths between aircraft tracks. By utilizing rectangular geometry rather than square tiles, a single tile design can accommodate multiple width requirements through strategic placement, eliminating the need for multiple tile sizes and reducing installation complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Low weight and non-square carpet tile suitable for use in mass transit vehicles, particularly passenger aircraft. The carpet tile preferably weighs less than about 82 ounces per square yard. The carpet tile of this invention may have a carpet pile and at least one backing layer. The backing layer may use low weight filler material. Secondary backing plastic material may be compressed into the tile structure with pressure rollers or other pressure applying process on an improved tile production line.