Allen E Ward

US Patent:

60592079, May 9, 2000

Filed:

Jun 26, 1998

Appl. No.:

9/105717

Inventors:

Michael Robert Costello - Richmond VA
Forrest Eugene Sloan - Chesterfield VA
Edward Aloysius Duffy - Richmond VA
Walter Michael Babb - Rocky Face GA
Allen Edens Ward - Dalton GA

Assignee:

AlliedSignal Inc. - Morristown NJ

International Classification:

B02C 1900
B02C 1912
B02C 2308

US Classification:

241 2412

Abstract:

The present invention provides an inexpensive process which can be placed in the carpet mill to add value to carpet selvage waste by segregating the various materials used to manufacture the selvage waste. The process for segregating at least one component of a carpet selvage waste comprises the steps of: a. providing carpet selvage waste from carpet manufacturing comprised of tufts comprised of face fiber material, primary backing, an adhesive and optionally a secondary backing, b. identifying face fiber type used in the tufts in the carpet selvage, c. removing the face fiber from the carpet selvage such that the face fiber is essentially free of the primary backing and residual adhesive and d. segregating the removed face fiber from the remainder of the carpet selvage in a mechanical system which segregates fiber by fiber type to obtain a relatively pure stream of the face fiber. All removed, segregated components may be recycled and/or reused.