Tufting machine and method of tufting for producing multiple rows of tufts with single lengths of yarn

• US 4,440,102 A
• Filed: 05/19/1983
• Issued: 04/03/1984
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/1983
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Card-Monroe Corporation
• Original Assignee: Joseph L. Card, Roy T. Card
• Inventors: Card, Roy T., Card, Joseph L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hunter, H. Hampton
• Application Number:
  US06/496,010
• Time in Patent Office: 320 Days
• Field of Search: 112/79 R, 112/79 A, 112/79 FF, 112/410, 112/411, 112/266.2
• US Class Current: 112/80.31
• CPC Class Codes: D05C 15/30 by moving the tufting tools laterally

Abstract

A laterally shiftable needle bar of a tufting machine, carrying a plurality of laterally spaced needles, is reciprocated in a vertical path for simultaneously inserting loops of yarn, carried by the needles, through a base fabric, the fabric being fed in a linear longitudinal path beneath the needles. Each needle has an individual looper below the base fabric, in registery and cooperating with the needle for engaging and temporarily holding the loop of yarn, inserted by the needle through the base fabric, as the needle is retracted.

During a first portion of a cycle of the needle bar, prior to the insertion of the needles through the base fabric, a needle bar shifting assembly shifts the needle bar laterally, in one direction or the other. Then, after the needles have penetrated the base fabric, the needle bar shifting assembly shifts the needle bar laterally in an opposite direction, so as to cause the needles to move, the penetrated position of the base fabric laterally out of its normal linear path and align the needles with their loopers beneath the base fabric for engagement of the loops by the loopers, as the needles are withdrawn vertically from the base fabric. The resiliency of the base fabric returns the shifted portion of the base fabric to its original linear path across the machine and the yarn inserting cycle is then repeated. By appropriate manipulating of the lateral shifting of the needle bar one or, indeed, a plurality of longitudinal rows of tufts are produced by each needle and its individual looper.

Claims

1. Method of producing a tufted product wherein the backing material is progressively moved along a normal path, passing between a reciprocating needle on one side of the backing material and a reciprocating looper travelling in a fixed path on the other side of the backing material, the needle in its reciprocation being moved toward the looper in a yarn inserting stroke and away from the looper during a needle retracting stroke, the needle projecting toward said looper during its travel and being free of the backing material when the needle is retracted, the needle having an end which is sufficiently pointed that it will penetrate the backing material when the needle is moved from its retracted position toward the looper, and yarn is supplied to the needle so that the needle carries the yarn through the backing material during the movement of the needle toward the looper, the length of the yarn inserting stroke of the needle being sufficient for the yarn to form a loop of the yarn which protrudes from the other side of the backing material after the needle has penetrated the backing material, the needle in at least one position being adjacent to the looper, the looper having a hook portion which is inserted, in a loop engaging action, through the loop carried by the needle each time the needle is in its position adjacent to the looper, and the looper temporarily holding the loop as the needle is retracted out of the backing material, the improvement comprising:

(a) in a reciprocation cycle of the needle, moving the needle laterally with respect to the backing material in one direction by a prescribed amount while the needle is retracted from the backing material;

(b) then inserting the needle into the backing material while the needle is in its laterally moved position;

(c) then, moving the needle laterally in the opposite direction from said one direction by a prescribed amount, after the needle has penetrated the backing material and prior to the time the loop, formed by the yarn carried by the needle, is engaged by the looper, for shifting a portion of the backing material laterally of its normal path;

(d) then, continuing the movement of the needle so as to position the loop on the needle for the loop engaging action of the looper; and

(e) thereafter, withdrawing the needle from said backing material.

2. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the lateral distance by which the needle is moved in one direction is equal to the lateral distance by which it is moved in the opposite direction.

3. The method defined in claim 1 including:

(f) moving the needle again in said opposite direction to a second laterally moved position after the needle has been withdrawn in step (d) and is in a retracted position;

(g) during a second reciprocation cycle inserting the needle into the backing material while the needle in its second laterally moved position;

(h) moving the needle laterally in said one direction after the needle has penetrated the backing material for moving the backing material adjacent to the needle laterally and for aligning the needle for loop engaging action by the looper; and

(i) thereafter withdrawing the needle from the backing material.

11. Method defined in claim 1 wherein during the withdrawal of the needle, again moving said needle in said one direction while said needle is still projecting into said backing material for shifting said portion of said backing material back toward its normal path.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the movement of said needle in said one direction during the withdrawal of the needle is by an amount sufficient to return said portion of said backing material to its normal path.

4. Method of producing a tufted product wherein a needle bar, carrying a plurality of spaced parallel needles, is reciprocated toward and away from a plurality of loopers corresponding in number to the number of needles, yarns are respectively supplied to the needles, a backing material is pased between said needle bar and the loopers so that loops of yarn are inserted through the backing material and are respectively caught, held and subsequently released, the needles being withdrawn from the backing material when the needle bar is moved away from the loopers, the improvement comprising:

(a) shifting the needle bar laterally in one direction during a cycle of the needles while the needles are retracted from the backing material;

(b) inserting the needles through the backing material while the needle bar is in its shifted condition;

(c) shifting the needle bar laterally in an opposite direction after the needles have penetrated the backing material and prior to the time the loopers engage the loops formed in the penetrated portions of the backing material for laterally shifting the increment of the backing material which has been penetrated as the needles are moved laterally, whereby tufts are created in the backing material laterally of the loopers when the needles are withdrawn from the penetrated portions of the backing material.

5. The method defined in claim 4 including shifting the needle bar laterally in the other direction to a laterally shifted position while the needles are retracted from the backing material having formed the first mentioned loops, inserting the needles through the backing material while the needle bar is in its laterally shifted condition, shifted in the other direction;

and shifting the needle bar laterally in said one direction after the needles have penetrated the backing material and prior to the time the loopers engage the second loops, thus formed, in the thus penetrated backing material for laterally shifting the backing material which has been penetrated, as the needles are moved in said other direction, whereby the second sets of tufts are created which are laterally offset in the backing material from the first mentioned tufts and diagonally extending backstitches are created between the first mentioned tufts and the second mentioned tufts.

6. The method defined in claim 5 wherein the lateral shifting of the needles in one direction is by approximately one fourth the distance between the axes of adjacent needles.

7. A tufting machine having a reciprocating needle bar, a plurality of spaced parallel needles carried by the needle bar for reciprocation by the needle bar in a linear path of travel toward and away from loopers respectively associated with and individual to the needles and wherein backing material is passed between the needles and the loopers so that successive lengths of yarn carried by the respective needles are inserted from one side through successive transverse increments of the backing material to form tufts protruding from the other side of the backing material and wherein the loops when inserted by the needles are respectively caught and held and subsequently released by the loopers, the needles being withdrawn from the backing material as they are moved by the needle bar away from the loopers, the improvement comprising:

(a) means for shifting the needle bar laterally in one direction out of their normal path of travel while the needles are withdrawn from the backing material; and

(b) means for moving the needle bar in an opposite direction to said one direction, after the needles have penetrated the backing material and prior to the time the loopers engage and hold the yarns, whereby the needles move the increment of backing material, through which the needles project laterally and the needles release this increment of backing material when the needles are withdrawn therefrom.

8. The tufting machine defined in claim 7 wherein said means for shifting said needle bar laterally includes a cam having a periphery, said cam being provided with a plurality of lobes evenly spaced around said disc, a plurality of recesses evenly spaced around said periphery, said cam also being provided with said recesses being diametrically spaced from said lobes, a shift bar connected to said needle bar, cam followers for extending from said needle for engaging said periphery at diametrically opposite positions, and means for rotating said cam in synchronization with reciprocation of said needle bar.

9. The tufting machine defined in claim 8 wherein said lobes include an inclined leading edge and an inclined trailing edge and outer edge joining the ends of said inclined leading edge and said inclined outer edge, said outer edge being arcuate and concentric with the periphery of said cam.

10. The tufting machine defined in claim 9 wherein the height of each of said lobes and the depth of each of said valleys is equal to approximately one fourth of the distance between the axes of adjacent needles in said tufting machine.