Card-Monroe Corp.

Other

Card & Co., Inc.

Tuftco Corporation

Roy T Card

Joseph L Card

Wilton Hall

William M Christman, Jr

Sherman W Smith, Ii

Marshall Allen Neely

Brooks E Taylor

Michael L Kilgore

Rodney E Hill

William E Passons

Jr William M Christman

Ii Sherman W Smith

A yarn feed system, enabling the control of individual yarns to the needles of a tufting machine, and which system can be manufactured as a substantially standardized unit or attachment that can be removably mounted to a tufting machine. The yarn feed unit includes a series of yarn feed devices for feeding each of the yarns to the needles of the tufting machine, and a series of yarn feed controllers that monitor and control the operation of the yarn feed devices to control the feeding of the yarns to the needles according to programmed pattern instructions.

Yarn feed system for tufting machines

A pattern yarn feed device for use with a tufting machine in the manufacture of tufted articles includes at least one yarn feed roll assembly positioned on a frame of a tufting machine adjacent a yarn feed path. The yarn feed roll assembly has an elongate rotatable yarn feed roll having an exterior yarn driving periphery for engaging yarns thereon. A drive motor is provided for rotating the yarn feed roll. At least one yarn applying member, preferably a rotatable pinch roller, is provided as a part of the yarn feed roll assembly, and extends parallel to the yarn feed roll, and is orbitally moveable about the yarn feed roll. The at least one yarn applying member is selectively moveable from a first yarn receiving position spaced from the periphery of the yarn feed roll for receiving an intermediate portion of selected ones of the tufting yarns thereon, into a yarn applying position engaged with at least a portion of the yarn driving periphery of the yarn feed roll for applying the selected ones of the yarns thereto. In separate constructions, the pinch roller may be eccentrically orbited about the yarn feed roll from the yarn applying position into the yarn receiving position, or may be concentrically orbited about the yarn feed roll and then selectively moved into the yarn applying position at the completion of its orbital rotation about the yarn feed roll. In its yarn applying position, the pinch roller is normally resiliently urged into engagement with the periphery of the yarn feed roll.

Tufting machine pattern yarn feed device

A tufting machine with an improved pattern yarn feed and distribution device for use in tufting a graphic pattern into the face of a tufted article. An improved pattern yarn feed drive is provided with at least two separate yarn drive control sections which together provide an increased number of controls such that any one control is adapted to drive a predetermined number of tufting yarns selectively passed thereabout for minimizing the length between any one of the tufting yarns and its respective tufting needle. An improved tube bank configuration is used with the pattern yarn drive assembly, and comprises at least two tube bank sections, each of which is also constructed and arranged to minimize the length of the yarns passed therethrough from a respective one of the yarn drive controls to a respective one of the tufting needles. This improved construction minimizes the problems of yarn elasticity and yarn lag when feeding the yarns to the needles of the tufting machine, thus greatly reducing the likelihood of a loss of pattern definition occurring in the graphic pattern being tufted in the face of the tufted article on the tufting machine.

Tufting machine with pattern yarn feed and distribution device

A yarn feed mechanism for use with a tufting machine is disclosed. The tufting machine has a needle bar with an aligned series of spaced tufting needles disposed thereon, each of which is supplied with yarn from a yarn supply for penetrating a backing material to sew tufts of yarn therein. The yarn feed mechanism includes a support framework mounted on the tufting machine adjacent a yarn feed path extending from the yarn supply to the needles of the tufting machine, with at least one yarn feed roll assembly mounted for rotation on the support framework. The yarn feed roll assembly further includes an elongate yarn feed roll having an exterior yarn driving periphery extending along a longitudinal axis parallel to the needle bar of the tufting machine, the yarn feed roll being rotated in timed relationship with the reciprocation of the needle bar. An orbital yarn applying member spaced from the yarn feed roll is supported on the support framework and is movable about the yarn feed roll in an orbital path from a yarn receiving position to a yarn applying position. The yarn applying member is used to apply portions of selected yarns against at least a portion of the yarn driving periphery of the yarn feed roll in the yarn applying position for controlling the rate at which the yarn is fed to the needles of the tufting machine. The yarn applying member of the invention may comprise at least one concentrically orbited control rod spaced from and parallel to the yarn feed roll, or may comprise a pinch roller orbited eccentrically about the yarn feed roll, and constructed to be moved into a yarn applying position engaged with the periphery of the yarn feed roll.

Tufting machine pattern yarn feed mechanism

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.

Method and apparatus for producing tufts from different yarns in

A yarn feed mechanism for a tufting machine includes yarn feed rolls disposed along parallel axes transversely adjacent to the parallel paths of travel of yarns from yarn sources to the needles. A yarn control assembly surrounds each roll, each yarn control assembly having a pair of opposed, concentrically mounted, indexing plates at opposite ends of each roll. Each pair of indexing plates carries a plurality of individually removable cimcumferentially spaced, yarn control rods, the plates being manually rotatable about the axis of the roll, independently of the rotation of the roll. By collecting intermediate increments of selected yarns on one of the rods, then rotating the indexing plates, with the rod installed to selected positions, the rod is moved in an orbital path for applying the yarn increments to portions of the periphery of the roll, such that the roll feeds controlled successive amounts of applied yarns toward the needles.

Tufting machine yarn feed mechanism

Method and apparatus for producing tufts in longitudinal lines

A tufting machine with front and back laterally shiftable needle bars carry needles for producing loops in a backing material the accent yarns being fed to the needles by yarn feed controls and the border yarns by standard feed. The operation of the yarn feed controls is electrically operated by a computer which operates according to a pattern in memory, the lateral shifting of the needle bars being synchronized with the operations of the yarn feed controls. By producing high and low loops with the accent yarns, the low loops are hidden by the overlay of level tufts so that spaced, isolated pin dots are visible. The memory for the pattern is on a floppy disc created using a mouse and a second computer which displays both the amount of lateral shift for both needle bars and the high and low loops of the accent yarns. A print out of the displays are used for both threadup and the production of cams for controlling lateral shifting.

Method and apparatus for producing enhanced graphic appearances in a

A tufting machine is provided with separate motors which drive the main drive shaft, control the feed of the backing material and control the bedrail height. A computer is electrically connected to these motors and to the yarn feed controls. The software indicates patterns to be produced, informing the computer to control the number of stitches per inch of backing, the weight of face yarn per square yard, the pile height, the amount of yarn fed to the needles and the linear length of carpeting produced. The computer also dictates the schedule by which prescribed lengths of additional patterns are produced by the tufting machine and can control a number of such tufting machines. When the pile height is to be changed, the computer automatically controls the main motors for rocking the main shaft, to reciprocate the needles while controlling the yarn feed controls and the motor to the bedrail.

Computer controlled tufting machine and a process of controlling the

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.

Apparatus and method for producing a cut loop overlay of a loop pile

Laterally shiftable front and back needle bars are slideably mounted on a main needle bar, the front needle bar carries a front row of needles and a back needle bar carries a back row of needles. Cut pile loopers cooperate with the needles of the back row and cut-loop loopers cooperate with the needles of the front row. Needles in the front row are larger and handle larger size yarns than needles in the back row and a yarn feed control dictates whether yarns in the front needles make low loops or high cut piles.

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Chattanooga, TN, United States of America

Roy T Card