Method and apparatus for tufting patterned fabric
First Claim
1. In the method of forming a tufted pile fabric by a tufting machine having a bank of yarn carrying needles reciprocably driven by a rotating main shaft, and feed means including a control shaft drivably connected to said main shaft for feeding a backing material in a longitudinal direction for penetration thereof by the needles to insert longitudinal rows of successive yarn tufts therein, said tufts projecting from one surface of said backing and connected in each row by backstitches on the opposite surface of said backing, the improvement comprising, rotating said control shaft at a first rate for feeding the backing material through the machine at a first speed while forming tufted pile having a backstitch of a first length, and selectively increasing the rotational rate of the control shaft to increase the backing material feeding speed to a second speed to form a tufted pile having a backstitch longer than said first length.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A tufting machine has apparatus for feeding the backing material at a first speed for forming tufts having a backstitch of a first length and periodically selectively increasing the feeding rate to a second speed to form tufts having a backstitch of an increased length. The longer backstitch may be a plurality of stitches slightly longer than the first length or a single elongated backstitch. The fabric produced may have a series of tufts projecting from the surface of the backing material in areas having one or more yarn densities and separated by gaps where no tufts project above the surface, the gaps resulting from the elongated backstitches on the reverse side of the material. The apparatus for providing backstitches including the gaps has an intermittent drive which provides an output only during a small portion of the input. A drive shaft is drivingly connected to the feed rollers of the tufting machine and is connected to the input of the intermittent drive through a first one-way clutch and through a second one-way clutch to a driveable member on a control shaft driven by the output of the intermittent clutch. A pattern controlled air operated tooth clutch selectively couples the driveable member to the control shaft. Another pattern controlled air clutch may be utilized to drive the control shaft for providing backstitches slightly longer than the first length.
47 Citations
20 Claims
- 1. In the method of forming a tufted pile fabric by a tufting machine having a bank of yarn carrying needles reciprocably driven by a rotating main shaft, and feed means including a control shaft drivably connected to said main shaft for feeding a backing material in a longitudinal direction for penetration thereof by the needles to insert longitudinal rows of successive yarn tufts therein, said tufts projecting from one surface of said backing and connected in each row by backstitches on the opposite surface of said backing, the improvement comprising, rotating said control shaft at a first rate for feeding the backing material through the machine at a first speed while forming tufted pile having a backstitch of a first length, and selectively increasing the rotational rate of the control shaft to increase the backing material feeding speed to a second speed to form a tufted pile having a backstitch longer than said first length.
- 7. In a tufting machine including a bank of laterally spaced yarn carrying needles, means including a rotatable main shaft for reciprocably driving said needles, means for supporting a backing material for penetration by said needles for insertion of a series of tufts of yarn into the backing material upon each penetration thereof, a control shaft, means for operatively driving said control shaft by said main shaft, feed means for feeding the backing material longitudinally through the tufting machine, means for driving said feed means by said control shaft for feeding said backing at a first speed in timed relationship with the needles to form tufts connected by a backstitch of a first length, and means for periodically selectively increasing the speed of said control shaft for increasing the feed rate of the backing material to a second speed in timed relationship with the needles to form tufts connected by a backstitch of a second length elongated relative to said first length.
- 11. In a tufting machine including a bank of laterally spaced yarn carrying needles, means including a rotatable main shaft for reciprocably driving said needles, means for supporting a backing material for penetration by said needles for insertion of a series of tufts of yarn into the backing material upon each penetration thereof, a control shaft, means for operatively driving said control shaft by said main shaft, rotatable feed rollers for feeding the backing material at a feed rate dependent upon the rotational speed of the rollers, means connecting said control shaft to said feed rollers for rotating the feed rollers at a first speed in timed relationship with the needles to form tufts connected by a backstitch of a first length, and means for periodically increasing the speed of the control shaft for increasing the rotational speed of the rollers to a second speed in timed relationship with the needles to form tufts connected by a backstitch of a second length elongated relative to said first length.
- 14. In a tufting machine including a bank of laterally spaced yarn carrying needles, means for reciprocably driving said needles, means for supporting a backing material for penetration by said needles for insertion of a row of tufts of yarn into the backing material upon each penetration thereof, the tufts formed by each needle being connected by a backstitch, and rotatable feed rollers for feeding the backing material at a speed dependent upon the rotational speed of the rollers, apparatus for periodically selectively increasing the speed of the feed rollers from a first speed in timed relationship with the needles to a second speed in timed relationship with the needles to increase the length of the backstitch from at least a first length to a second length, said apparatus comprising a drive shaft journally mounted for rotation, means for drivingly connecting the drive shaft to the feed rollers for rotating the feed rollers at a speed dependent upon the rotational speed of the drive shaft, an intermittent drive having a rotatable input shaft and output shaft, said output shaft being periodically rotatably driven during only an index portion of the rotational cycle of the input shaft and being stationary during the remainder of the cycle of the input shaft, means for rotatably driving the input shaft in timed relationship with the needles, first drive means for rotatably driving said drive shaft at a speed directly related to the rotational speed of said input shaft, first coupling means for normally coupling said first drive means to said drive shaft and for uncoupling said first drive means from said drive shaft when said drive shaft is driven at a speed greater than the speed driven by said first drive means, second drive means operatively connected to said output shaft for rotatably driving said drive shaft at a speed greater than the speed driven by said first drive means, second coupling means for coupling said second drive means to said drive shaft when said output shaft is driven and for uncoupling said second drive means from said drive shaft when said output shaft is not driven, and pattern control means for selectively uncoupling said driven shaft from said second drive means.
Specification