Shaw Industries Group, Inc.

The present disclosure provides an improved decorative article that may be used as a decorative flooring panel. The decorative article comprises a laminated structure having a core layer and a top layer. The core layer includes separate upper and lower sections with different compressibility resistances, such that the upper section of the core layer exhibits a lower compressibility resistance than the compressibility resistance of the lower section. In some embodiments, for example, the upper and lower sections of the core layer may be foamed layers having different porosities and densities. In some disclosed embodiments, the top layer above the core layer may comprise a coating, a wear layer, and a décor layer. According to some embodiments, a plurality of holes may extend through the top layer, or through only a portion of the top layer, to further improve acoustic performance of the decorative article.

Described herein a device including a frame having a bottom portion having a bottom surface. The device may include a bottom coupled to the bottom surface of the frame, forming an interior region comprising an upper surface. The device may include a first and second modular base having first and second base thickness respectively, the first and second modular base configured to rest on the upper surface within the frame and support a first and second floor sample respectively, the first and second floor sample having a first and second floor sample thickness respectively, and where combining at least the first base thickness and the first floor sample thickness forms a first combined thickness and combining at least the second base thickness and the second floor sample thickness forms a second combined thickness. The device may include where the first combined thickness is equivalent to the second combined thickness.

The invention is directed towards an auxiliary roller system configured to be used with a belt-feed machine. The auxiliary roller system includes an auxiliary roller connected to an arm and an adjustable mount. The adjustable mount is configured to place the auxiliary roller past a primary roller of the belt-feed machine, with the auxiliary roller configured to engage and apply force to an upper belt of the belt-feed machine used to hold down material being fed into an opening of the belt-feed machine.

Described herein are various systems and methods for forming tufted articles using a hollow needle tufting machine. The systems and methods can be used for tufting different types of yarns, such as turf yarns, staple yarns, or yarns having a denier greater than 5000. A system can have a pair of guides and a clevis movable between the pair of guides. The clevis defines an opening therethrough. The clevis and pair of guides are configured to engage a yarn to so that the yarn contacts only exterior surfaces of the pair of guides.

A system and method are presented for generating a design based on a prompt. The prompt can be a text prompt or an image prompt. An image generating model is trained on a database of images. The image generating model includes at least one hyperparameter. The prompt is submitted to the model along with the hyperparameter. The model generates a set of images, one of which is selected for further processing. The processed image is converted into a production specification which can be used as a direct input to control a manufacturing process of the product.

A system has at least one winder configured to wind yarn to form a yarn package. At least one sampling and tying machine is configured to remove a portion of the yarn of the yarn package and tie off a free end of the yarn around the yarn package to inhibit the yarn package from unwinding. A dunnage supply area has therein at least one support structure for receiving a plurality of yarn packages thereon. A robotic arm is configured to: move the yarn package from the at least one winder to the at least one sampling and tying machine; move the yarn package from the at least one sampling and tying machine to at least one case assembly area; and stack the yarn package on a support structure in the at least one case assembly area.

A method is described for simulating a carpet in three dimensions. Properties of yarn to be used in the carpet are compiled. A carpet is designed with selections of desired placement of tufts of yarn and desired yarn properties. A descriptor file is created using the design of the carpet and including the properties of yarn. The descriptor file may include also the type of simulation model used to simulate the carpet pile in addition to other information such as how the carpet simulation is to be displayed. After the descriptor file is created, it is submitted to a rendering engine which calculates the appearance of and displays the simulated carpet to a user. In an embodiment, the pile for each tuft of yarn may be randomized between a minimum height and a maximum height or each filament of a yarn tuft may be so randomized.

A flooring panel sample module and method of manufacturing the same. The module provides superior construction integrity without relying on the unpredictable performance of glue.

Described is a fiber containing at least one polymer and at least one additive. The concertation of the additive is not constant throughout the fiber, but changes along the length of the fiber. Also disclosed is a method of making a fiber.