Tufting machine needle bar shifter
First Claim
1. A tufting machine having a needle bar movable between at least two transverse locations in response to a control signal, a motor, a yarn supply, a backing material, a backing material feed, a stitch drive, looper drive and a yarn feed roller, all of which are timed for moving the respective components at times in the stitch cycle when the needles are clear of the backing material;
- the tufting machine operating to produce a series of stitches through the backing material by moving the needle bar to cause the needles to pierce the backing material and interact with the looper drive to produce a tufted fabric; and
having a needle bar shifter comprising;
a frame having a first end and a second end;
a first belt attachment means at the first end and a second belt attachment means at the second end;
a roller fixed relative to the frame between the first and second belt attachment means;
a belt attached to the first belt attachment means, looped around the roller and attached to the second belt attachment means;
a roller drive supplying rotational energy to the roller;
whereby activation of the drive turns the roller either clockwise or counter clockwise causing the belt to pull against the frame and thus shift the frame from a first position to a second position making a corresponding shift in an attached needle bar from a first location to a second location.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a tufting machine having a needle bar movable between at least two transverse locations in response to a control signal, a motor, a yarn supply, a backing cloth feed, a stitch drive, looper drive, yarn feed roller and all timed for moving the respective components at times in the stitch cycle when the needles are clear of the backing; the tufting machine operating to produce a series of stitches through the backing material by moving the needle bar to cause the needles to pierce the backing cloth and interact with the looper mechanism to produce a tufted fabric; and having a needle bar shifter comprising:
a frame having a first end and a second end;
a first belt attachment at the first end and a second belt attachment at the second end;
a roller mounted between the first and second belt attachments;
a belt attached to the first belt attachment looped around the roller and attached to the second belt attachment,
a roller drive supplying rotational energy to the roller;
whereby activation of the drive turns the roller either clockwise or counter clockwise causing the belt to pull against the frame and thus shift an actuator from a first position to a second position making a corresponding shift in an attached needle bar from a first location to a second location. In a preferred embodiment the drive is an electrical servomotor and the control signal is generated by a computer. In contrast to prior art hydraulic systems, the servomotor response is linear and easily tuned. The shifting range, in practice, is limited by the ability of the yarn supply system to keep up with large changes in needle bar location rather than the system capacity limitations typically found in hydraulic systems.
69 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A tufting machine having a needle bar movable between at least two transverse locations in response to a control signal, a motor, a yarn supply, a backing material, a backing material feed, a stitch drive, looper drive and a yarn feed roller, all of which are timed for moving the respective components at times in the stitch cycle when the needles are clear of the backing material;
- the tufting machine operating to produce a series of stitches through the backing material by moving the needle bar to cause the needles to pierce the backing material and interact with the looper drive to produce a tufted fabric; and
having a needle bar shifter comprising;a frame having a first end and a second end; a first belt attachment means at the first end and a second belt attachment means at the second end; a roller fixed relative to the frame between the first and second belt attachment means; a belt attached to the first belt attachment means, looped around the roller and attached to the second belt attachment means; a roller drive supplying rotational energy to the roller;
whereby activation of the drive turns the roller either clockwise or counter clockwise causing the belt to pull against the frame and thus shift the frame from a first position to a second position making a corresponding shift in an attached needle bar from a first location to a second location. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
- the tufting machine operating to produce a series of stitches through the backing material by moving the needle bar to cause the needles to pierce the backing material and interact with the looper drive to produce a tufted fabric; and
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10. A needle bar shifter comprising:
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a frame having a first end and a second end; a first belt attachment means at the first end and a second belt attachment means at the second end; a roller fixed relative to the frame between the first and second belt attachment means; a belt attached to the first belt attachment means, looped around the roller and attached to the second belt attachment means; a roller drive supplying rotational energy to the roller; whereby activation of the drive turns the roller either clockwise or counter clockwise causing the belt to pull against the frame and thus shift the frame from a first position to a second position making a corresponding shift in an attached needle bar from a first location to a second location. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification