Tufted Goods Coating and Yarn Setting Without Long Curing Ovens
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing manufacturing process for tufted goods like carpet and artificial grass requires a large, energy-consuming oven for curing foam-coated backing, which is costly and inefficient, and there is a need for an improved method to set yarns without the use of thermoset materials and to reduce the size of the oven.
Innovation Solution
A continuous process where tufted goods are coated with a non-foam, anhydrous mixture of polyurea and polyurethane, and then heat-treated using an air knife or other heat sources within a short distance to set the yarns, eliminating the need for a long curing oven and allowing for a more efficient and cost-effective production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a long curing oven is used to cure foam-coated backing, then the coating can be cured, but energy consumption and capital expenses increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of the coating system by using polyurea instead of traditional foam-coating systems. Polyurea cures through a different chemical mechanism that does not require prolonged high-temperature exposure, thereby reducing energy consumption while achieving reliable coating cure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the oven from the manufacturing process entirely. By using polyurea coating that cures at ambient or reduced temperatures, the long curing oven (which consumed significant energy) is removed from the process, eliminating the associated energy consumption and capital expenses.
2Reliability
If a long curing oven is used to set yarns, then yarn setting can be achieved, but the oven size and capital expense increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the thermal parameters required for yarn setting by using polyurea coating. The yarn setting can now be achieved in a much shorter distance because the polyurea system allows for rapid curing at lower temperatures, eliminating the need for a 100-yard long oven.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the long curing oven from the process. By using polyurea, the entire long-oven infrastructure is removed and replaced with a compact heat treatment section that achieves the same yarn setting function in a fraction of the space.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional foam-coating method is used, then coating can be applied, but oven requirement and associated costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical composition parameters by using polyurea instead of foam-based coatings. This parameter change fundamentally alters the curing requirements, allowing coating application without the need for complex oven systems, thereby simplifying the overall manufacturing device.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method reduces energy consumption and capital expenses by minimizing the use of heat and oven size, achieving effective yarn setting and producing dimensionally stable tufted goods with improved coating properties.
Implementation Method 1
heat-treated using an air knife or other heat sources within a short distance to set the yarns
Data Source
AI summary
The processes of tufting, spraying coating on backing, and setting yarn been provided in a preferred embodiment as a part of a continuous process. The coating is preferably anhydrous with a tack free time of less than two minutes. The yarn setting station employed in many embodiment sets the yarn in a distance of less than about ten feet by injecting air into the yarn side of the tufted goods, preferably with an air knife while the yarns are spread apart.