CARPET PLANK
A rectangular carpet plank includes a baseplate having a first side edge opposed from a second side edge; and a carpet layer attached to a top surface of the baseplate. The carpet layer being divided into carpet sections, wherein each carpet section extends from the first side edge to the second side edge; each carpet section has a carpet pattern; and adjacent carpet sections have different carpet patterns.
The technology of the present disclosure relates generally to carpet planks and, more particularly, to carpet planks that when collectively arranged as a floor covering create the visual appearance of conventional carpet tiles.
BACKGROUNDCarpet tiles have been used as a floor covering, especially in non-residential buildings. Conventional carpet tiles consist of squares of carpet (e.g., 12 inch by 12 inch squares or 18 inch by 18 inch squares). The tiles typically are attached to an underlying floor with adhesive. Carpet tiles are typically made to be durable and withstand high traffic volumes. For this purpose, the carpet tiles are typically made from a low profile pile that is secured to a flexible textile or rubber backing. When carpet tiles are installed, adjacent carpet tiles can be rotated 90 degrees or 180 degrees with respect to each other such that variation in pile orientation from tile to tile forms a checkerboard arrangement and visually obscures the seam between carpet tiles.
SUMMARYAccording to one aspect of the disclosure, a rectangular carpet plank includes a baseplate having a first side edge opposed from a second side edge; and a carpet layer attached to a top surface of the baseplate, the carpet layer being divided into carpet sections, wherein: each carpet section extends from the first side edge to the second side edge; each carpet section having a carpet pattern; and adjacent carpet sections having different carpet patterns.
According to one embodiment of the carpet plank, the carpet plank further includes a first joining element located along the first side edge of the baseplate; and a second joining element located along the second side edge of the baseplate, the first joining element and the second joining element being complementary in shape;
According to one embodiment of the carpet plank, the carpet plank further includes a third joining element located along a first end edge of the baseplate; and a fourth joining element located along a second end edge of the baseplate, the third joining element and fourth joining element being complementary in shape.
According to one embodiment of the carpet plank, the carpet pattern of each carpet section being a color of the carpet.
According to one embodiment of the carpet plank, each carpet section has a pile and the carpet pattern of each carpet section being an orientation of the pile.
According to one embodiment of the carpet plank, the pile is loop pile.
According to one embodiment of the carpet plank, the pile is cut pile or tufted pile.
According to one embodiment of the carpet plank, the pile of one carpet section is rotated 90 degrees with respect to an adjacent carpet section.
According to one embodiment of the carpet plank, the pile of one carpet section is rotated 180 degrees with respect to an adjacent carpet section.
According to one embodiment of the carpet plank, the first joining element extends along the entirety of the first side edge of the baseplate and the second joining element extends along the entirety of the second side edge of the baseplate.
According to one embodiment of the carpet plank, the third joining element extends along the entirety of the first end edge of the baseplate and a fourth joining element extends along the entirety of the second end edge of the baseplate.
According to one embodiment of the carpet plank, the first joining element is a male joining element and the second joining element is a female joining element.
According to one embodiment of the carpet plank, the male joining element is a tongue and the female joining element is a complementary groove.
According to one embodiment of the carpet plank, the joining elements are integrally formed with the baseplate.
According to one embodiment of the carpet plank, the carpet plank is 6 inches by 36 inches.
According to one embodiment of the carpet plank, the carpet layer having a first carpet section at a first end of the baseplate, a second carpet section adjacent the first carpet section, a third carpet section adjacent the second carpet section, and a fourth carpet section adjacent the third carpet section and at a second end of the baseplate opposed to the first end of the baseplate.
According to one embodiment of the carpet plank, the first and third carpet sections having the same carpet pattern and the second and fourth carpet sections having the same carpet pattern.
According to one embodiment of the carpet plank, the first and fourth carpet sections being squares and the second and fourth carpet sections being rectangles that are twice as long as the first and fourth carpet sections.
According to one embodiment of the carpet plank, the carpet layer having a first carpet section at a first end of the baseplate, a second carpet section adjacent the first carpet section, and a third carpet section adjacent the second carpet section and at a second end of the baseplate opposed to the first end of the baseplate.
According to one embodiment of the carpet plank, the first and third carpet sections having the same carpet pattern and the second carpet section having a different carpet pattern then the first and third carpet sections.
According to one embodiment of the carpet plank, the first and third carpet sections being rectangles and the second carpet section being a rectangle that is twice as long as the first and third carpet sections.
According another aspect of the disclosure, a system of carpet planks includes a first of the foregoing carpet planks and a second of the foregoing carpet planks, wherein the first and second carpet planks having the same lengths and widths; and wherein the first and second carpet planks having an equal number of carpet sections, each section being the same in size as a corresponding carpet section of the other plank, and the corresponding carpet sections having different carpet patterns, the first carpet plank being a first carpet plank type and the second carpet plank being a second carpet plank type.
According to one embodiment of the system, carpet planks are arranged in a repeating pattern of rows including a first row and a second row, wherein: the first row of carpet planks alternating between the first carpet plank type and the second carpet plank type; the second row of carpet planks alternating between the first carpet plank type and the second carpet plank type; and each carpet plank of the second row is offset with a corresponding carpet plank of the first carpet plank type of the first row and a corresponding carpet plank of the second carpet plank type of the first row so that carpet sections of the carpet planks from the first row align with carpet sections having the same carpet pattern of the carpet planks from the second row.
According to one embodiment of the system, aligned carpet sections of the same carpet pattern from the rows cooperate to form a square carpet area of the carpet pattern.
According to one embodiment of the system, the repeating pattern further includes a third row and a fourth row, wherein square carpet areas of the carpet pattern in the third and fourth rows are offset with the square carpet areas of the carpet pattern in the first and second rows to form a checkerboard pattern.
According to one embodiment of the system, wherein carpet planks are arranged in a repeating pattern of rows including a first row, a second row, and a third row, wherein: the first row comprises carpet planks of the first carpet plank type; the second row comprises carpet planks of the second carpet plank type, wherein each carpet plank of the second row is offset with two corresponding carpet planks of the first row so that carpet sections of the carpet planks from the first row align with carpet sections having the same carpet pattern of the carpet planks from the second row; and the third row comprises carpet planks of the first carpet plank type, wherein each carpet plank of the third row is offset with two corresponding carpet planks of the second row so that carpet sections of the carpet planks from the second row align with carpet sections having the same carpet pattern of the carpet planks from the third row.
According to one embodiment of the system, aligned carpet sections of the same carpet pattern from the three rows cooperate to form a square carpet area of the carpet pattern.
According to one embodiment of the system, the repeating pattern further includes a fourth row, a fifth row, and a sixth row, wherein square carpet areas of the carpet pattern in the fourth, fifth, and sixth rows are offset with the square carpet areas of carpet pattern in the first, second and third rows to form a checkerboard pattern.
These and further features will be apparent with reference to the following description and attached drawings. In the description and drawings, particular embodiments of the invention have been disclosed in detail as being indicative of some of the ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed, but it is understood that the invention is not limited correspondingly in scope. Rather, the invention includes all changes, modifications and equivalents coming within the scope of the claims appended hereto.
Embodiments will now be described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. It will be understood that the figures are not necessarily to scale.
Features that are described and/or illustrated with respect to one embodiment may be used in the same way or in a similar way in one or more other embodiments and/or in combination with or instead of the features of the other embodiments.
Referring to
With additional reference to
As best shown in
The carpet layer 14 is divided into one or more carpet sections. In the embodiment of
Each carpet section 40, 42, 44, 46 may have a carpet pattern. A carpet pattern of a carpet section 40, 42, 44, 46 is a decorative scheme that achieves a visual characteristic for the carpet section 40, 42, 44, 46. The carpet pattern for a carpet section 40, 42, 44, 46 may be established by an arrangement (e.g., orientation) of pile of the carpet section, by a variation in the pile within the carpet section (e.g., by use of two or more pile types), by a color of the carpet section, by a design (e.g., colored stripes) within the carpet section, and/or by any other appropriate means.
In one embodiment, the pattern for a carpet section 40, 42, 44, 46 is achieved using an orientation or other arrangement of the pile. For example, the pile may be aligned in straight rows of loops as shown in
Adjacent carpet sections 40, 42, 44, 46 may have a different pattern. For instance, in the embodiments of
To exemplify this pattern arrangement for the carpet layer 14, reference is made to the embodiment of
In the embodiment of
In the embodiment of
Referring to
Within the floor covering assembly 52, there are two types of carpet planks 10, referred to as type A and type B and denoted by reference numerals 10A and 10B. In one embodiment, the carpet sections for the type A carpet planks 10A are arranged as a mirror image of the carpet sections for the type B carpet planks 10B. That is, when the side edges 20 having the first joining element 24 (e.g., a male joining element) all face in the same direction for each carpet plank 10A and 10B and the side edges 22 having the second joining element 26 (e.g., the female joining element) all face in the opposite direction for each carpet plank 10A and 10B, then the carpet sections 40 and 44 of the type A carpet plank 10A will have the same pattern as the carpet sections 42 and 46 of the type B carpet plank 10B and the carpet sections 42 and 46 of the type A carpet plank 10A will have the same pattern as the carpet sections 40 and 44 of the type B carpet plank 10B. The first joining element 24 for each carpet plank 10 locks into the second joining element 26 of one or more carpet planks 10 from an adjacent row of carpet planks 10.
Four exemplary carpet plank rows 50A, 50B, 50C and 50D are illustrated. In each row 50, the type A carpet planks 10A are alternated with the type B carpet planks. Also, the carpet planks 10A and 10B in each row are offset with the carpet planks 10A and 10B in adjacent rows so that carpet sections from carpet planks 10 in a first row (e.g., row 50A or row 50C) of a pair of adjacent rows align with commonly patterned carpet sections from carpet planks 10 in the second row (e.g., row 50B paired with row 50A or row 50D paired with row 50C) of the pair of rows. In the illustrated example, the square carpet section 46 from a type B carpet plank 10B in the first row 50A joins with the square carpet section 40 from an adjacent type A carpet plank 10A in the first row 50A and with rectangular carpet section 42 of an offset type B carpet plank 10B in the second row 50B to form a square carpet area 54A with a first carpet pattern. Also, the rectangular carpet section 42 from the type A carpet plank 10A joins with the rectangular carpet section 44 of the type B carpet plank 10B in the second row 50B to form a square carpet area 54B with a second carpet pattern. Similarly, the rectangular carpet section 44 from the type A carpet plank 10A in the first row 50A joins with the square carpet section 46 of the B carpet plank in the second row 50B and with the square carpet section 40 of an adjacent type A carpet plank 10A in the second row 50B to form a square carpet area 54C with the first carpet pattern. Next, the square carpet section 46 from the type A carpet plank 10A in the first row 50A joins with the square carpet section 40 from an adjacent type B carpet plank 10B in the first row 50A and with the rectangular carpet section 42 of an offset type A carpet plank 10A in the second row 50B to form a square carpet area 54D with the second carpet pattern. Next, the rectangular carpet section 42 from the type B carpet plank 10B joins with the rectangular carpet section 44 of the type A carpet plank 10A in the second row 50B to form a square carpet area 54E with the first carpet pattern. The rectangular carpet section 44 from the type B carpet plank 10B in the first row 50A joins with the square carpet section 46 of the type A carpet plank in the second row 50B and with the square carpet section 40 of an adjacent type B carpet plank 10B in the second row 50B to form a square carpet area 54F with the second carpet pattern.
In this manner, the carpet sections from adjacent carpet planks 10 come together to form squares (e.g., twelve inch by twelve inch areas using the above described exemplary dimensions) of alternating commonly patterned carpeted floor covering areas (e.g., carpet areas 54B, 54D and 54F of the second pattern interleaved with carpet areas 54A, 54C and 54E of the first pattern). Then, a pair of rows (e.g., rows 50C and 50D) is offset with an adjacent pair of rows (e.g., rows 50A and 50B) to form a checkerboard pattern in the floor covering assembly 52 using the first and second carpet area 54 patterns.
The carpet planks 10 in the embodiments shown in
For example,
As another example,
Turning to
In one embodiment, the carpet sections of the type B carpet plank 10B′ has an inverse of carpet patterns relative to the carpet patters of the carpet sections of the type A carpet plank 10A′. In this embodiment, the carpet sections 40′ and 44′ of the type A carpet plank 10A′ have the same pattern as the carpet section 42′ of the corresponding type B carpet plank 10B′. Similarly, the carpet section 42′ of the type A carpet plank 10A′ has the same pattern as the carpet sections 40′ and 44′ of the corresponding type B carpet plank 10B′.
In one embodiment, the carpet planks 10A′ and 10B′ each are six inch by 36 inch rectangles, in which the first and third carpet sections 40′ and 44′ each are six inch by nine inch rectangles (e.g., rectangles as wide as the width of the carpet plank 10 and 1.5 times as long as the carpet plank 10 is wide) and the middle second carpet section 42′ is a six inch by eighteen inch rectangle (e.g., a rectangle as wide as the width of the carpet plank 10 and four times as long as the carpet plank 10 is wide). Therefore, the first and third carpet sections 40′ and 44′ are the same size as each other. It will be appreciated that other dimensions are possible.
The carpet planks 10A′ and 10B′ may be arranged to form a floor covering assembly 52′ that has a checkerboard arrangement. In one embodiment, a first row 50A′ and a third row 50C′ each have aligned type A carpet planks 10A′. In between the first row 50A′ and the third row 50C′ is a second row 50B′ having type B carpet planks 10B′ that are offset by 50 percent of the length of the carpet planks 10′. In this manner, the third carpet section 44′ of a type A carpet plank 10A′ in the first row 50A′ combines with each of: a first carpet section 40′ of an adjacent type A carpet plank 10A′ in the first row 50A; a second carpet section 42′ of an offset type B carpet plank 10B′ in the second row 50B; another third carpet section 44′ of a type A carpet plank 10A′ in the third row 50C; and another first carpet section 40′ of an adjacent type A carpet plank 10A′ in the third row 50C′. The result is a carpet area 54A′ having a first pattern. Similarly, a second carpet section 42′ of a type A carpet plank 10A′ in the first row 50A′ combines with each of: a third carpet section 44′ of a type B carpet plank 10B′ in the second row 50B; a first carpet section 44′ of an adjacent type B carpet plank 10B′ in the second row 50B; and a second carpet section 42′ of a type A carpet plank 10A′ in the third row 50C′. The result is a carpet area 54B′ having a second pattern adjacent the carpet area 54A′ having the first pattern.
In this manner, the carpet sections from groups of carpet planks 10′ come together to form squares (e.g., eighteen inch by eighteen inch areas using the above described exemplary dimensions) of alternating commonly patterned carpeted floor covering areas (e.g., carpet areas 54A′ of the first pattern interleaved with carpet areas 54B′ of the second pattern). Then, a group of three rows (e.g., rows 54D′, 54E′ and 54F′) are offset with an adjacent group of three rows (e.g., rows 54A′, 54B′ and 54C′) to form a checkerboard pattern in the floor covering assembly 52′ using the first and second carpet area 54′ patterns.
Although certain embodiments have been shown and described, it is understood that equivalents and modifications falling within the scope of the appended claims will occur to others who are skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification.
Claims
1. A rectangular carpet plank comprising:
- a baseplate having a first side edge opposed from a second side edge; and
- a carpet layer attached to a top surface of the baseplate, the carpet layer being divided into carpet sections, wherein: each carpet section extends from the first side edge to the second side edge; each carpet section having a carpet pattern; and adjacent carpet sections having different carpet patterns.
2. The carpet plank of claim 1, further comprising:
- a first joining element located along the first side edge of the baseplate; and
- a second joining element located along the second side edge of the baseplate, the first joining element and the second joining element being complementary in shape.
3. The carpet plank of claim 2, wherein the first joining element extends along the entirety of the first side edge of the baseplate and the second joining element extends along the entirety of the second side edge of the baseplate.
4. The carpet plank of claim 2, wherein the first joining element is a male joining element and the second joining element is a female joining element.
5. The carpet plank of claim 4, wherein the male joining element is a tongue and the female joining element is a complementary groove.
6. The carpet plank of claim 2, wherein the joining elements are integrally formed with the baseplate.
7. The carpet plank of claim 2, the carpet plank further comprising:
- a third joining element located along a first end edge of the baseplate; and
- a fourth joining element located along a second end edge of the baseplate, the third joining element and fourth joining element being complementary in shape.
8. The carpet plank of claim 7, wherein the third joining element extends along the entirety of the first end edge of the baseplate and a fourth joining element extends along the entirety of the second end edge of the baseplate.
9. The carpet plank of claim 1, the carpet pattern of each carpet section being a color of the carpet.
10. The carpet plank of claim 1, wherein each carpet section has a pile and the carpet pattern of each carpet section being an orientation of the pile.
11. The carpet plank of claim 10, wherein the pile is loop pile.
12. The carpet plank of claim 10, wherein the pile is cut pile or tufted pile.
13. The carpet plank of claim 10, wherein the pile of one carpet section is rotated 90 degrees with respect to an adjacent carpet section.
14. The carpet plank of claim 10, wherein the pile of one carpet section is rotated 180 degrees with respect to an adjacent carpet section.
15. The carpet plank of claim 1, wherein the carpet plank is 6 inches by 36 inches.
16. The carpet plank of claim 1, the carpet layer having a first carpet section at a first end of the baseplate, a second carpet section adjacent the first carpet section, a third carpet section adjacent the second carpet section, and a fourth carpet section adjacent the third carpet section and at a second end of the baseplate opposed to the first end of the baseplate.
17. The carpet plank of claim 16, the first and third carpet sections having the same carpet pattern and the second and fourth carpet sections having the same carpet pattern.
18. The carpet plank of claim 16, the first and fourth carpet sections being squares and the second and fourth carpet sections being rectangles that are twice as long as the first and fourth carpet sections.
19. The carpet plank of claim 1, the carpet layer having a first carpet section at a first end of the baseplate, a second carpet section adjacent the first carpet section, and a third carpet section adjacent the second carpet section and at a second end of the baseplate opposed to the first end of the baseplate.
20. The carpet plank of claim 19, the first and third carpet sections having the same carpet pattern and the second carpet section having a different carpet pattern then the first and third carpet sections.
21. The carpet plank of claim 19, the first and third carpet sections being rectangles and the second carpet section being a rectangle that is twice as long as the first and third carpet sections.
22. A system of carpet planks, comprising:
- a first carpet plank of claim 1; and
- a second carpet plank of claim 1, wherein the first and second carpet planks having the same lengths and widths; and
- wherein the first and second carpet planks having an equal number of carpet sections, each section being the same in size as a corresponding carpet section of the other plank, and the corresponding carpet sections having different carpet patterns, the first carpet plank being a first carpet plank type and the second carpet plank being a second carpet plank type.
23. The system of claim 22, wherein carpet planks are arranged in a repeating pattern of rows including a first row and a second row, wherein:
- the first row of carpet planks alternating between the first carpet plank type and the second carpet plank type;
- the second row of carpet planks alternating between the first carpet plank type and the second carpet plank type; and
- each carpet plank of the second row is offset with a corresponding carpet plank of the first carpet plank type of the first row and a corresponding carpet plank of the second carpet plank type of the first row so that carpet sections of the carpet planks from the first row align with carpet sections having the same carpet pattern of the carpet planks from the second row.
24. The system of claim 23, wherein aligned carpet sections of the same carpet pattern from the rows cooperate to form a square carpet area of the carpet pattern.
25. The system of claim 24, wherein the repeating pattern further includes a third row and a fourth row, wherein square carpet areas of the carpet pattern in the third and fourth rows are offset with the square carpet areas of the carpet pattern in the first and second rows to form a checkerboard pattern.
26. The system of claim 22, wherein carpet planks are arranged in a repeating pattern of rows including a first row, a second row, and a third row, wherein:
- the first row comprises carpet planks of the first carpet plank type;
- the second row comprises carpet planks of the second carpet plank type, wherein each carpet plank of the second row is offset with two corresponding carpet planks of the first row so that carpet sections of the carpet planks from the first row align with carpet sections having the same carpet pattern of the carpet planks from the second row; and
- the third row comprises carpet planks of the first carpet plank type, wherein each carpet plank of the third row is offset with two corresponding carpet planks of the second row so that carpet sections of the carpet planks from the second row align with carpet sections having the same carpet pattern of the carpet planks from the third row.
27. The system of claim 26, wherein aligned carpet sections of the same carpet pattern from the three rows cooperate to form a square carpet area of the carpet pattern.
28. The system of claim 27, wherein the repeating pattern further includes a fourth row, a fifth row, and a sixth row, wherein square carpet areas of the carpet pattern in the fourth, fifth, and sixth rows are offset with the square carpet areas of carpet pattern in the first, second and third rows to form a checkerboard pattern.
29. A carpet plank comprising:
- a rectangular baseplate having a top surface, a first side edge opposed from a second side edge, a first end edge extending between the side edges and a second end edge extending between the side edges and opposed from the first end edge, wherein the side edges are longer than the end edges;
- a carpet layer attached to a top surface of the baseplate and having dimensions to cover the top surface;
- a first joining element located along the first side edge of the baseplate; and
- a second joining element located along the second side edge of the baseplate, the first joining element and the second joining element being complementary in shape.
30. The carpet plank of claim 29, wherein the first joining element extends along the entirety of the first side edge of the baseplate and the second joining element extends along the entirety of the second side edge of the baseplate.
31. The carpet plank of claim 29, wherein the first joining element is a male joining element and the second joining element is a female joining element.
32. The carpet plank of claim 31, wherein the male joining element is a tongue and the female joining element is a complementary groove.
33. The carpet plank of claim 29, wherein the joining elements are integrally formed with the baseplate.
34. The carpet plank of claim 29, the carpet plank further comprising:
- a third joining element located along a first end edge of the baseplate; and
- a fourth joining element located along a second end edge of the baseplate, the third joining element and fourth joining element being complementary in shape.
35. The carpet plank of claim 34, wherein the third joining element extends along the entirety of the first end edge of the baseplate and a fourth joining element extends along the entirety of the second end edge of the baseplate.
36. The carpet plank of claim 29, wherein the carpet plank is 6 inches by 36 inches.
37. The carpet plank of claim 29, wherein the end edges of the baseplate are planar.
38. The carpet plank of claim 29, wherein the side edges are more than twice as long as the end edges.
39. A system of carpet planks, comprising:
- a first carpet plank of claim 29; and
- a second carpet plank of claim 29, wherein the first joining element of the first carpet plank is mated with the second joining element of the second carpet plank.
40. The system of carpet planks of claim 39, wherein the first end edge of the first carpet plank is longitudinally offset from the first end edge of the second carpet plank.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 17, 2011
Publication Date: Sep 20, 2012
Inventor: Christopher C. Phillips (Amherst, OH)
Application Number: 13/050,291
International Classification: E04B 5/00 (20060101); D03D 27/00 (20060101); D04H 11/00 (20060101);