Yarn color placement system

• US 10,443,173 B2
• Filed: 06/27/2016
• Issued: 10/15/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Card-Monroe Corporation
• Original Assignee: Card-Monroe Corporation
• Inventors: Hall, Wilton, Johnston, Kendall
• Primary Examiner(s): Durham, Nathan E
• Application Number:
  US15/193,652
• Publication Number:
  US 20160305055A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,205 Days
• CPC Class Codes: D05C 15/26 with provision for producing patterns
• CPC Class Codes: D05C 15/30 by moving the tufting tools laterally
• CPC Class Codes: D05C 15/32 by altering the loop length
• CPC Class Codes: D05C 15/34 by inserting loops of different nature or colour
• CPC Class Codes: D05C 15/36 by selective cutting of loops

Abstract

A yarn color placement system for a tufting machine including a series of different color yarns being fed to the needles of the tufting machine by yarn feed mechanisms. A backing material is fed through the tufting machine at an increased stitch rate as the needles are shifted according to the programmed pattern steps. A series of level cut loop loopers or hooks engage and pick loops of yarns from the needles, with the clips of the level cut loop loopers or hooks being selectively actuated to form cut pile tufts, while the remaining loops of yarns can be back-robbed so as to be hidden from view in the finished patterned tufted article.

Claims

1. A tufting machine for forming tufted articles having a pattern with a desired stitch rate and including tufts of yarns, the yarns including at least a first yarn and a second yarn, the machine comprising:

at least one needle bar having needles;

backing feed rolls supplying a backing material to the tufting machine;

a pattern yarn feed mechanism feeding the yams to the needles;

at least one needle bar shifter for shifting the at least one needle bar;

gauge parts below the needles;

the gauge parts positioned to engage the needles of the at least one needle bar as the needles are reciprocated into the backing material to form loops of the first yams and the second yams in the backing material; and

a control system controlling the feeding of the backing material at an effective stitch rate that is greater than the desired stitch rate for the pattern and controlling the pattern yarn feed mechanism and the at least one needle bar shifter to control feeding of the yarns to the needles as the needles are reciprocated into and out of the backing material and shifted to place loops of the first yams and the second yams in the backing material and retain loops of selected yarns, chosen from the first yarns and the second yarns, to form tufts of the first yarns and the second yarns at a desired pile height, and to pull non-selected yarns substantially out of the backing material, to form fields of tufts of the selected first yarns and second yams in the backing material with a number of tufts per inch of the tufts of the selected first yams and second yarns retained in the backing material approximately equal to the desired stitch rate.

2. The tufting machine of claim 1 wherein the gauge parts comprise a plurality of level cut loop loopers, each having a series of extensible clips, a series of actuator connectors configured to connect an output shaft of an actuator to each of the clips for movement of the clips between extended and retracted positions for forming loop pile and cut pile tufts, and an extension portion extending forwardly from and at an angle with respect to the actuator connectors and configured to receive one of the clips of one of the level cut loop loopers.

3. The tufting machine for claim 1 wherein the pattern yam feed mechanism comprises a series of yarn feed rolls each feeding at least two yarns per feed roll to selected needles.

4. The tufting machine of claim 1 wherein the pattern yarn feed mechanism comprises a scroll attachment, a roll attachment, a double end yarn feed attachment, or a single end yarn feed attachment.

5. The tufting machine of claim 1 wherein the gauge parts comprise cut pile hooks, loop pile loopers, level cut loop loopers, and/or combinations thereof.

6. The tufting machine of claim 1 wherein the at least one needle bar comprises dual shifting needle bars, with each of the dual shifting needle bars having a series of needles arranged there along.

7. The tufting machine of claim 1 wherein the first yarn and the second yam are different colors.

8. The tufting machine of claim 7 wherein the pattern further comprises additional yarns of different colors, and the at least one needle bar shifter shifts the at least one needle bar by a number of steps approximately equal to a number of different colors of yarns used in the pattern.

9. A method of tufting an article including tufts of a number of different color yarns arranged in a pattern having a desired stitch rate, the method comprising:

feeding a backing material through a tufting machine at an effective stitch rate that is increased over the desired stitch rate of the pattern;

reciprocating a plurality of needles to deliver the yarns into the backing material to form loops of the yarns;

shifting at least some of the plurality of needles according to a shift profile of the pattern; and

controlling feeding of the yarns to the plurality of needles as the plurality of needles are shifted and are reciprocated into and out of the backing material to form the yarn loops at varying pile heights, wherein controlling the feeding includes removing at least some of the yam loops delivered into the backing material to form pattern fields of tufts of selected yarns;

repeating the feeding, the reciprocating, the shifting, and the controlling feeding of the yarns for successive stitches of the pattern to form the pattern of the tufted article with a density of tufts per inch of yarns of one or more colors that are to be visible in a selected field of the pattern approximately equivalent to the desired stitch rate of the pattern to hide yarns not to be shown in the selected pattern field and to avoid gaps in the pattern field.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the controlling feeding of the yarns comprises back-robbing the non-selected yarns to a height sufficient to be substantially hidden among high tufts formed in the selected field of the pattern.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the controlling feeding of the yarns comprises controlling each yarn of the yarns fed to each needle of the plurality of needles to selectively form tufts of yarns to be visible in the pattern fields and to substantially remove yarns that are not to be visible in the pattern fields low or out of the backing material.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein at least three different colors of yarns are used in the pattern and the effective stitch rate is at least about two times the desired stitch rate for the article as based upon a gauge of the tufting machine.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising forming a number of different pile height tufts of yarns of one or more of the three colors of yarns that are to be visible in the selected field of the pattern in each tuft row that is substantially equivalent to the desired stitch rate for the pattern.

14. The method of claim 9 wherein, for each stitch of the pattern, shifting at least some of the plurality of needles a number of steps approximately equivalent to the number of colors of yarns.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein shifting at least some of the plurality of needles further comprises moving the needles at least two steps in a stepping pattern.

16. The method of claim 9 wherein the needles are mounted along the at least one needle bar and wherein shifting at least some of the needles comprises shifting the at least one needle bar in a first direction and in a second direction, wherein the second direction is opposite the first direction.

17. A tufting machine for forming tufted carpets having a pattern with a desired stitch rate and including tufts of yarns of different colors, the tufting machine comprising:

at least one needle bar having needles;

backing feed rolls supplying a backing material to the tufting machine;

a pattern yarn feed mechanism feeding the yarns to the needles;

at least one needle bar shifter for shifting the at least one needle bar;

a plurality of level cut loop loopers reciprocable into engagement with the needles of the at least one needle bar as the needles are reciprocated into the backing material to form loops of the first yarns and the second yarns in the backing material, each of the level cut loop loopers having a clip moveable between extended and retracted positions; and

a control system controlling the feeding of the backing material at an increased stitch rate that is greater than the desired stitch rate for the pattern and controlling the pattern yarn feed mechanism and the at least one needle bar shifter to control shifting of the needles and feeding of the yarns to the needles as the needles are reciprocated into and out of the backing material to place loops of the first yarn and the second yarn in the backing material and retain loops of yarns to form tufts of the selected yarns at a desired pile height and to pull non-selected yarns substantially out of the backing material, with a density of tufts per inch of the selected yarns retained in the backing material substantially equal to the desired stitch rate of the pattern, and which avoids gaps appearing within color fields of the pattern; and

,

wherein the control system moves the clips of selected level cut loop loopers between extended and retracted positions for forming loop pile and cut pile tufts.

18. The tufting machine of claim 17 further comprising a series of actuators connected to the clips of the level cut loop loopers and operable by the control system to move the clips between the extended and retracted positions.

19. The tufting machine of claim 18 further comprising a series of connectors each including an extension portion extending and configured to receive and connect one of the clips of one of the level cut loop loopers to one of the actuators.