Apparatus and method for producing a cut loop overlay of a loop pile base fabric in a single pass of the base fabric through the tufting machine

• US 4,903,625 A
• Filed: 01/31/1989
• Issued: 02/27/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/1988
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Card-Monroe Corporation
• Original Assignee: Card-Monroe Corporation
• Inventors: Card, Joseph L., Card, Roy T.
• Primary Examiner(s): NOT, DEFINED
• Application Number:
  US07/305,007
• Time in Patent Office: 392 Days
• Field of Search: 112/410, 112/80.54, 112/80.51, 112/80.52, 112/80.41, 112/80.31, 112/266.2
• US Class Current: 112/410
• CPC Class Codes: D05C 15/30 by moving the tufting tools laterally

Abstract

A conventional tufting machine is provided with front and back juxtaposed, laterally shiftable, needle bars positioned on a common needle bar support, the needles of the front needle bar cooperating with loop pile loopers and the needles of the back needle bar cooperating with cut-loop loopers. Yarn feed controls respectively feed yarns to the needles according to individual prescribed patterns. The needle bars are respectively shifted laterally according to individual prescribed patterns.

Tufted fabric produced by the machine is illustrated in which the loop tufts produced by the front needles are of relatively small cross section while the selectively cut or loop tufts produced by the back needles are of relatively large cross section. The large loop tufts are interspersed with small loop tufts due in part to lateral shifting of the needles.

Claims

1. A tufted fabric comprising a backing material, a plurality of longitudinal rows of tufts in said backing material, said rows having cut pile and loop pile in certain of said rows, certain of said rows being zig-zagged across other rows to provide cut pile in rows offset from other portions of said certain of said rows along said backing material and a plurality of loop tufts of different heights in said backing material, whereby the cut pile of said certain of said rows covers and hides the low loops and the high loops in certain rows being of approximately the same height as said cut pile.

2. The tufted fabric defined in claim 1 including said loops being formed in succession and along zig-zag patterns which are interspersed with the cut pile and loop pile tufts.

3. A tufted fabric comprising a backing material, a plurality of parallel, transversely spaced, first, longitudinal rows of first tufts formed respectively first yarns in said backing material, a plurality of parallel, transversely spaced, second, individual longitudinal rows of second tufts in said backing material, said second rows being disposed between adjacent first rows, said first tufts including having high tufts and low tufts, certain of said second tufts being laterally offset from their individual second rows, certain of said second tufts being cut pile tufts and said certain of said first tufts being loop pile tufts which are lower than other of said first tufts and in close proximity to said certain of said second tufts so that said certain of said second tufts hide said certain of said first tufts.

4. The tufted fabric defined in claim 3 wherein said first tufts from a group and said second tufts from a group which are of different diameter from the first tufts group so that one group is formed of thin yarns and the other group of fat yarns.