Method and apparatus for producing tufts in longitudinal lines

• US 5,499,588 A
• Filed: 07/14/1994
• Issued: 03/19/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Card-Monroe Corporation
• Original Assignee: Card-Monroe Corporation
• Inventors: Card, Roy T., Hall, Wilton
• Primary Examiner(s): LEWIS, PAUL
• Application Number:
  US08/275,077
• Time in Patent Office: 614 Days
• Field of Search: 112/80.41, 112/80.52, 112/80.55, 112/80.7, 112/80.5, 112/266.2, 112/475.23
• US Class Current: 112/80.41
• CPC Class Codes: D05C 15/30 by moving the tufting tools laterally

Abstract

Front and rear needle bars are provided with front and rear needles for inserting yarns into a backing material. An excess of front loopers are provided for the front needles and an excess of rear loopers are provided for the rear needles. The front loopers respectively face the rear loopers and are respectively aligned with each other. The needle bars are shifted laterally so as to provide longitudinal rows of tufts formed by the front needles providing spacing between the tufts of a longitudinal row which space is filled in by the tufts of rear needles.

Claims

1. A tufting machine having a frame through which a backing material is fed along a longitudinal path, a reciprocatable front needle bar disposed on one side of said backing material, transversely spaced front needles carried by said front needle bar for inserting first yarns carried by said front needles through said backing material for producing successive first tufts of first yarns in said backing material upon reciprocation of said front needle bar, a reciprocatable rear needle bar disposed on said one side of said backing material, transversely spaced rear needles carried by said rear needle bar for inserting second yarns carried by said rear needles through said backing material for producing successive second tufts of second yarns in said backing material upon reciprocation of said rear needle bar, means for reciprocating said front needle bar and said rear needle bar, a plurality of loopers cooperating with said front needles and said rear needles, said loopers having first bill portions and second bill portions for catching and holding the yarns carried by said front needles and the yarns carried by said rear needles when the needles are inserted through the backing material, said first bill portions cooperating with said front needles and said second bill portions cooperating with said rear needles, said first bill portions being respectively aligned longitudinally along the path of travel of said backing material with said second bill portions so that tufts of yarns sewn by said front needles and by said rear needles are sewn in individual longitudinal rows along said backing material, the front needles being arranged in front groups of needles which have a prescribed gauge spacing between needles in each front group, the spacing between adjacent needles in adjacent of said front groups of said front needles being greater than said prescribed spacing, such that when said front needle bar is reciprocated, to form first groups of first tufts and is shifted and reciprocated again according to a prescribed pattern to form second groups of first tufts, the first groups are transversely spaced from each other and the first groups are longitudinally spaced from the second groups;

said rear needles also being arranged in groups of needles so that when said rear needle bar is reciprocated and shifted according to said prescribed pattern, said rear needles will supply second tufts substantially only in longitudinal spaces between adjacent of said groups of first tufts in the respective longitudinal rows of first tufts, thereby producing parallel longitudinal rows of tufts in which each row has first tufts and second tufts interspersed and in aligned succession with respect to each other;

means for shifting of said front needle bar and said rear needle bar transversely with respect to each other and with respect to said backing material in timed relationship to the travel of said backing material and to each other so that the front needles are at times selectively aligned with different of said first bill portions and the rear needles are at times selectively aligned with different of said second bill portions in producing the interspersed tufts of the longitudinal rows of tufts in said backing material.

2. The tufting machine defined in claim 1 wherein the groups of needles of said front needle bar and the groups of needles of said rear needle bar are of equal gauge.

3. The tufting machine defined in claim 1 wherein said loopers having said first bill portions are front loopers which engage said first yarns and said loopers having second bill portions are rear loopers which engage yarns sewn by said rear needles.

4. The tufting machine defined in claim 1 wherein the backing material feed is such that there are eight stitches per inch for the needles, a 3/8 inch stagger between the front needles and back needles, and said means for shifting said front needle bar and said back needle bar for providing a three stitch delay between the pattern sewn by the rear needles with respect to the pattern sewn by the front needles.

5. The tufting machine defined in claim 1 wherein there are 10.68 stitches per inch and said means for shifting includes a prescribed pattern which has a four stitch delay between the back needles and the front needles.

6. Method of tufting for producing tufts from different yarns in parallel longitudinal rows in a backing material comprising the steps of:

(a) feeding a backing material progressively along a longitudinal path of travel through a tufting machine;

(b) disposing adjacent to one side of said backing material a plurality of front needles transversely of said backing material and in spaced relationship to each other in which certain of said needles are transversely spaced from each other by a prescribed first gauge and certain of said needles are transversely spaced from each other by another and different gauge distance which is a multiple of said first gauge, for providing a transverse row of front needles, said front needles being threaded with first yarns;

(c) moving said backing material at a prescribed rate longitudinally through said tufting machine;

(d) reciprocating said front needles for simultaneously inserting said first yarns carried by said front needles successively through successive portions of said backing material for forming successive longitudinally spaced groups of tufts of first yarns disposed in longitudinal rows each group having therein uniform stitches per inch of backing material and spaces between adjacent groups in each longitudinal row;

(e) arresting said tufts of said first yarn and then releasing them;

(f) disposing a plurality of rear needles in a transverse row of rear needles adjacent to said first row of needles and adjacent to said one side of said backing material, said rear needles being threaded with second yarns;

(g) inserting said second yarns carried by said rear needles through said backing material for filling in the spaces between said groups of tufts of first yarns in said longitudinal rows;

(h) arresting said tufts of said second yarns and then releasing them; and

(i) laterally shifting said front row of needles and said back row of needles with respect to each other according to a prescribed pattern so as to produce in the respective spaced, longitudinal rows, continuous tufts having first yarns from different front needles and having second yarns from different rear needles in said longitudinal rows and interspersed with each other to form respectively continuous longitudinal rows of tufts in which the longitudinal rows have successive essentially equally spaced tufts.