Random Tile Installation Using Non-Random Installation Technique
A modular textile system includes a plurality of modular tiles having a machine direction. Each modular tile includes an indicium that is randomly oriented with respect to the machine direction and/or randomly positioned on the tile. The modular tiles are positioned in an installation with the indicia arranged in a uniform manner, so that the resulting installation of modular tiles is a random modular tile installation.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/297,724, filed Nov. 16, 2011, which is a continuation of PCT/US2010/036382, filed May 27, 2010, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/182,807, filed Jun. 1, 2009, all of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELDThis disclosure is related to a method of making and installing floor coverings, for example, carpet tiles. This disclosure also is related to carpet tile systems and carpet tile installations.
BACKGROUNDTextile tiles, for example, carpet tiles, have been used in many floor covering applications due to their ease of installation. Traditionally, carpet tiles have been installed in a manner that seeks to mimic the appearance of a broadloom installation. Since carpet tiles are cut from a textile web, the tiles are typically installed monolithically, that is, with all of the tiles oriented in the same direction, usually the machine direction. To facilitate the installation, an indicium, for example, an arrow, may be printed on the back of each tile to indicate how the tiles should be oriented. The installer simply rotates each tile as needed so the arrows are pointing in the same direction.
Carpet tiles have also been designed with various patterns and designs that allow the tiles to be installed “randomly.” As used herein, the term “random installation” generally refers to an installation technique in which each tile is oriented variably and indiscriminately with respect to an adjacent tile. For instance, in one exemplary random tile installation, the installer positions a first tile, and for each subsequent tile, the installer can choose one of four rotational positions (0, 90, 180, or 270 degrees) relative to the previous tile. After the tiles are arranged on the flooring surface, the installer is charged with reviewing the installation and reorienting any tiles that do not appear to have been laid randomly, based on the particular installer's perception. Unfortunately, by reconfiguring the tiles in this manner, some degree of true randomness of the installation is substituted by the judgment of the installer. Further, this step of reorienting tiles to create a more random “look” in the installer's view is both time-consuming and burdensome.
In some cases, the tiles may be provided with an arrow indicating the machine direction to assist the installer with rotating the tiles in a more “random” manner However, if the installer focuses too much effort on trying to orient the arrows, and thereby the tiles, randomly, the installer may intentionally or inadvertently use a pattern of rotation, such that the resulting installation may not be random at all. Thus, there is a need for a method and system that provides a more truly random installation as compared with conventional tile systems, without placing a burden on the installer.
SUMMARYThis disclosure is directed generally to carpet tiles, a modular textile system including such tiles, and a textile installation that may be created using the modular tile system. This disclosure is also directed generally to a method of making and installing modular textiles, for example, carpet tiles, and a textile web from which the tiles may be formed.
In one aspect, each carpet tile of the modular textile system includes a variously positioned and/or variously oriented indicium. The position and/or orientation of the indicium may be random or may be pre-determined in a seemingly random or variable manner. Each carpet tile is installed such that each indicium is oriented in a uniform manner (i.e., identically oriented and/or positioned with respect to each other indicium). By arranging the variously positioned and/or variously oriented tiles in a like manner, the overall installation is random or at least seemingly random.
In another aspect, the method of this disclosure facilitates the creation of a random carpet tile installation (or an at least seemingly random carpet tile installation) using an organized or non-random installation technique. To do so, an arrow or other indicium is printed on the back of each carpet tile to indicate the configuration of the tile to be laid. The direction and/or placement of the indicium on a particular tile may be determined using a random number generator or using any other suitable method. When the tiles are installed, the installer rotates each tile until all of the indicia are oriented in a like manner (e.g., the arrows are unidirectional such that the arrow heads are pointing in the same direction), in a manner similar to a conventional monolithic installation. However, since the indicia are printed with various orientations or locations, the resulting tile installation includes variously oriented tiles. Thus, the installer need not be concerned with attempting to create a random installation because the unidirectional arrangement of the indicia will inherently result in a random installation.
Numerous variations of the method and system are contemplated. For example, although the method is described in connection with carpet tiles, the method may be used with other textile systems or flooring systems (e.g., hard surface flooring), or may be used in any other suitable manner.
Other features, aspects, and embodiments will be apparent from the following description and accompanying figures.
The description refers to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views, and in which:
As shown in
If desired, the orientation of each variously oriented indicium 108 may be provided randomly, for example, using a random number generator, as will be discussed further below. Alternatively, the orientation may be provided manually or otherwise in a predetermined, non-random, but variable manner (Le., such that it is seemingly random).
The indicium 108 may generally comprise a directional indicium, i.e., a word, shape, symbol, mark, or other element that is asymmetrical along at least one line of symmetry, such that the direction and/or orientation of indicium 108 can be used to indicate an installation direction or orientation for the carpet tile 102. In this example, the indicium comprises an arrow. However, other possibilities are contemplated, as will be discussed further below in connection with
To use the carpet tiles 102 to create an installation on a flooring surface, each tile 102 may be rotated as needed so that the indicia 108 on the back of the tiles 102 are arranged in a unidirectional manner, for example, with the arrows 108 pointing in the same direction, and placed in an edge-to-edge relationship with one another, as shown, for example, in
It will be understood that in any carpet tile installation, the relative positions of the carpet tiles 102 may be generally at the discretion of the installer. If desired, this “positional randomness” or “positional variability” may be minimized by instructing the installer to position the tiles in a sequential manner as the tiles 102 are removed from the packaging without regard to the installer's personal preferences.
It will also be appreciated that countless possible installation types or styles are contemplated. In
Each frame 114 may be provided with a variously oriented indicium 108 for facilitating installation of the tiles. As stated above, the orientation of the indicium may be random or may be seemingly random or variable.
For example, in one embodiment, as the textile web 112 advances in the machine direction MD, a random (or pseudo-random) number generator 116 may generate a plurality of orientation values, each of which represents a pre-determined orientation of an arrow or other indicium 108 to be printed on the back of the textile web 112 within the respective tile frame 114. For example, the orientation value may be an integer that corresponds to a 0, 90, 180, or 270 degree rotation of the printed indicium 108 relative to some predetermined point. Alternatively, the random number generator may be programmed to select from the values 0, 90, 180, or 270. Alternatively still, the orientation values may be determined manually or automatically using some other random or non-random technique. Still other possibilities are contemplated.
The orientation values may be sent to a printing unit or printer 118, which in this example, includes three independently operable print heads 120 generally facing the back side of the textile web 112. Each print head 120 may print the indicium 108 within the respective frame 114 based on the orientation value supplied by the random number generator 116.
Numerous orientation values and corresponding printing configurations are contemplated. In one particular example, an orientation value of 1 may correspond to a 0 degree position, such that the arrow is printed with the arrow head facing the respective print head 120. An orientation value of 2 may correspond to a 90 degree rotation with respect to the 0 degree position, such that the arrow is printed with the arrow head facing a first longitudinal edge 122 of the web 112. An orientation value of 3 may correspond to a 180 degree rotation with respect to the 0 degree position, such that the arrow is printed with the arrow head facing away from the respective print head 120, and an orientation value of 4 may correspond to a 270 degree rotation with respect to the 0 degree position, such that the arrow is printed with the arrow head facing a second longitudinal edge 124 of the web 112. In another example, the arrows may be directed towards the corners of the frames. Countless other variations may be used. Further, while arrows are used commonly in the textile industry, it will be understood that the indicium may be any word, number, symbol, or other image that is capable of being oriented with other indicia in a like manner, such that the indicium serves to indicate the installation direction.
In some embodiments, it may be desirable to ensure that an equal number of tiles having each rotation are produced from a particular web. To do so according to one example, the algorithm used to generate the orientation values may be adjusted to ensure that an equal number of orientation values are generated within a given total number of orientation values and/or length of textile web. Alternatively, the algorithm may require that after returning a particular value (e.g., “1”), that each other value (e.g., “2,” “3,” and “4”) must be generated (in any order) before generating that value (e.g., “1”) again. However, other methods are contemplated.
Any suitable printing technique and/or equipment may be used to print the indicia 108 on the textile web 112. In the exemplary process shown in
Returning to
In this example, the indicium 308 comprises a word, symbol, mark, or other element that is variously positioned on the back of the carpet tile 302, such that each indicium 308 is proximate to one of the edges 304a, 304b, 306a, 306b and/or corners 326a, 326b, 326c, 326d of the respective carpet tile. The indicia 308 may be symmetrical or asymmetrical since the position of the indicium 308 may be used to indicate the orientation of each tile 302. For example, in the illustrated embodiment 300, each indicium comprises a circle or dot 308 positioned adjacent to one of the corners 326 of each tile 302. In still another variation (not shown), the indicium may comprise a line or other marking proximate to one of the edges of each tile (e.g., perpendicular, parallel, or oblique to the respective edge). Countless other variations are contemplated hereby.
To install the tiles 302 according to one exemplary method, the tiles 302 may be oriented in a unidirectional manner such that the indicium 308 are similarly positioned with respect to one another, for example, as shown in
The system 300 can be made as described in connection with
It will be appreciated that the present method and system greatly simplify the creation of a random tile installation. Unlike conventional systems, the installer need not adhere to complicated instructions for rotating the tiles with respect to one another to ensure some degree of variation in tile orientation. Further, the installer need not be burdened with the visual discretion and responsibility associated with conventional random tile systems. Instead, the carpet tiles may be positioned quickly and effortlessly as needed to arrange the indicia in a unidirectional configuration. Further, the present method and system ensure a greater degree of randomness in the resulting installation since the installer is not given the discretion to change the orientation of each tile to suit his particular preferences.
It will be readily understood by those persons skilled in the art that, in view of the above disclosure, the present invention is susceptible of broad utility and application.
Although specific embodiments or aspects are disclosed, it will be understood that this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary of the invention and is made merely for purposes of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the invention and to set forth the best mode of practicing the invention known to the inventors at the time the invention was made. Many adaptations, variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements will be apparent from or reasonably suggested by the present invention and the above detailed description thereof without departing from the substance or scope of the present invention. It will be recognized that various elements discussed with reference to the various embodiments may be interchanged to create entirely new embodiments coming within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative only and is not intended nor is to be construed to limit or otherwise to exclude any such other embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements of the present invention.
Claims
1. (canceled)
2. A modular tile system, the modular tile system comprising:
- a plurality of modular tiles, the modular tiles each having a face and a backing, wherein the modular tiles are formed to have a machine direction and a cross-machine direction, wherein
- the backing of each modular tile is provided with an indicium, wherein the indicium comprises at least one of a randomly oriented indicium and a randomly positioned indicium, wherein the randomly oriented indicium is randomly oriented with respect to the machine direction of the face of the modular tile, and the randomly positioned indicium is randomly positioned on the modular tile,
- wherein the modular tiles are for being placed in an edge-to-edge configuration with one another in an installation with the indicium of each modular tile configured in a like manner with respect to one another, such that the at least one of the randomly oriented indicia of the modular tiles are oriented in the same direction, and randomly positioned indicia of the modular tiles are positioned in the same position with respect to one another, so that the installed modular tiles are randomly oriented with respect to one another.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein
- the indicium is a randomly oriented indicium, and
- the randomly oriented indicium is rotated 0, 90, 180, or 270 degrees with respect to the machine direction of the modular tile.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein the indicium comprises a directional indicium.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein the indicium comprises an arrow.
6. The system of claim 2, wherein
- the indicium is a randomly positioned indicium, and
- the randomly positioned indicium is positioned adjacent to a corner of the modular tile.
7. A modular tile system, the modular tile system comprising:
- a plurality of modular tiles formed from a textile web, the textile web having a face and a backing, and wherein the textile web is formed to have a machine direction, and wherein the modular tiles are formed from the textile web by dividing the textile web into a plurality of frames, such that the plurality of frames each define one modular tile of the plurality of modular tiles, providing the backing of the textile web within the frames with indicia that is at least one of randomly oriented with respect to the machine direction of the textile web, and randomly positioned within the frames, and cutting the textile web into the modular tiles defined by the frames,
- wherein the plurality of modular tiles are for being installed on a surface with the indicium of each modular tile configured in a like manner with respect to one another, such that the at least one of the randomly oriented indicia of the modular tiles are oriented in the same direction, and randomly positioned indicia of the modular tiles are positioned in the same position with respect to one another, so that the installed modular tiles are randomly oriented with respect to one another.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein
- the indicium is a randomly oriented indicium, and
- the modular tiles are further formed from the textile web by providing a plurality of orientation values, wherein the plurality of orientation values each correspond to an orientation of the indicium to be provided in each frame of the plurality of frames.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein providing the plurality of orientation values comprises generating the plurality of orientation values using a random number generator.
10. The system of claim 8, wherein providing the plurality of orientation values comprises manually generating the plurality of orientation values.
11. The system of claim 8, wherein the orientation values each correspond to a 0, 90, 180, or 270 degree rotation of the indicium relative to the machine direction of the modular tile.
12. The system of claim 8, wherein the indicium comprises a directional indicium.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein the indicium comprises an arrow.
14. The system of claim 7, wherein
- the indicium is a randomly positioned indicium, and
- the modular tiles are further formed from the textile web by providing a plurality of positional values, wherein the positional values each correspond to a position of the indicium to be provided in each frame of the plurality of frames.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein providing the plurality of positional values comprises generating the plurality of positional values using a random number generator.
16. The system of claim 14, wherein providing the plurality of positional values comprises manually generating the plurality of positional values.
17. The system of claim 14, wherein the positional values each correspond to a corner of the respective frame.
18. A modular tile system, the modular tile system comprising:
- a plurality of modular tiles formed from a textile web, the modular tiles and the textile web each having a face and a backing, wherein the textile web has a machine direction and a cross-machine direction, and wherein the modular tiles are formed from the textile web by defining a plurality of areas of the textile web, the plurality of areas defining the modular tiles to be formed from the textile web, providing the backing of the textile web within the areas with indicia that is at least one of randomly oriented with respect to the machine direction of the textile web, and randomly positioned within the area, and cutting the textile web into the modular tiles defined by the areas,
- wherein when the modular tiles are installed with the indicia of the modular tiles configured in a like manner with respect to one another, the installed modular tiles are randomly oriented with respect to one another.
19. The system of claim 18, wherein
- the indicium is a randomly oriented indicium, and
- the modular tiles are further formed from the textile web by generating orientation values for the indicia to be provided in the areas, wherein the orientation values each correspond to a 0, 90, 180, or 270 degree rotation of the indicium relative to the machine direction of the textile web.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein generating orientation values comprises using a random number generator.
21. The system of claim 19, wherein generating orientation values comprises manually generating the orientation values.
22. The system of claim 19, wherein the indicium comprises a directional indicium.
23. The system of claim 22, wherein the indicium comprises an arrow.
24. The system of claim 18, wherein
- the indicium is a randomly positioned indicium, and
- the modular tiles are further formed from the textile web by generating positional values, wherein the positional values each correspond to a position of the indicium to be provided in each frame of the plurality of frames.
25. The system of claim 24, wherein generating positional values comprises using a random number generator.
26. The system of claim 24, wherein generating positional values comprises manually generating the positional values.
27. The system of claim 24, wherein the positional values each correspond to a corner of the respective frame.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 22, 2014
Publication Date: Feb 5, 2015
Inventor: Glen Hussmann (Chaltanooga, TN)
Application Number: 14/520,827
International Classification: E04F 15/10 (20060101); A47G 27/02 (20060101); D06C 23/00 (20060101);