Sewing – Special machines – Embroidering
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-27
2001-04-10
Izaguirre, Ismael (Department: 3765)
Sewing
Special machines
Embroidering
Reexamination Certificate
active
06213036
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates to tufting machines and more particularly to a yarn feed pattern control for a tufting machine having a separate feed motor for each individual yarn end fed to the tufting machine for varying the pile height of each tuft selectively, thereby permitting a full repeat across the full width of the tufting machine.
It is well known in the carpet tufting art to utilize a yarn feed roller attachment for producing variations in pile height of loop pile products, and for producing cut and loop products wherein any particular needle may produce either a loop pile tuft or a cut pile tuft. The yarn feed rollers act either to feed the full amount of yarn to adequately accommodate the yarn requirements of the particular needle or to feed less than that adequate amount of yam so as to backdraw or backrob yarn from the previous stitch. The backrobbing features are adequately described in the prior art, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,862,465 in regard to loop pile and U.S. Pat. No. 3,084,645 in regard to cut and loop products.
As described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,997, each needle in the tufting machine may be controlled individually to either produce a high loop or a low loop by feeding yarn to each of the respective needles at a first or a second speed, the first and second speeds being different. The greater quantity of yarn fed at the highest speed provides an adequate amount of yarn for the needle while the slower speed supplies a lesser amount so as to backrob from the prior loop. The assembly there shown is known as a single end control yarn feed roller assembly or a full repeat scroll and is a two pile height feed roller assembly. There are other feed roller assemblies of this type that may permit a third level to be formed by including an additional drive roll pair for driving the feed roll at a third speed intermediate the first and second speeds.
Recently, with the improvements made in the art of servo motors wherein such motors have been made smaller and quick acting, it is now possible to drive a single yarn end by a respective servo motor to each individual needle. This provides the ability to feed each yam at a multitude of speeds to each needle so that a substantial number of pile heights may be produced by each individual needle. This gives the carpet designer a substantially greater arsenal of design capabilities than heretofore possible. For example, certain needles may be threaded with different color yarns and a particular color yam may be hidden it the carpet at a first location and yet show slightly at a different location in the direction the carpet is being fed, and show up even more at still other locations so that various shading effects may be created. Additionally, different effects may be created in cut and loop carpets of the type manufactured using the method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,084,645 and in level cut and loop carpet such as the type produced using the method illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,185,569.
When one considers that a full sized tufting machine such as a 4 meter or a 15 foot machine having a ⅛ gauge, i.e., ⅛ inch between rows of needles, may have as many as approximately 1298 needles such that multi-level single end control of the yam being fed would require approximately 1298 servo motors, it can be seen that there is a massive number of yarn ends being fed to the needles and that some means must be found to mount the motors and direct the yarns for threading the proper needle or the massive number of yarns would be intermingled or intertwined and concatenated and make it extremely difficult for threading the needles. If a particular yarn does not go to the proper needle, the pattern would be defective which may result in wasted fabric.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Consequently, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a yarn feed pattern assembly for a tufting machine that permits full control of the pattern repeat across the width of the tufting machine permitting each needle to receive a respective yarn fed at a multiplicity of speeds selectively.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a yarn feed pattern assembly for a tufting machine having an individual motor drive assembly for each needle to permit feeding of the yarn at different selective rates to each respective needle of the tufting machine.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a yarn feed roller pattern assembly for attachment to a tufting machine, the assembly having an individual motor drive assembly for each needle and having a yarn guide system for guiding a yarn to and from each respective motor drive assembly.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a tufting machine having a yarn feed pattern assembly including a housing having a mounting plate for mounting a multiplicity of servo motors, each servo motor preferably corresponding to one needle in the tufting machine so that a full repeat pattern across the width of the tufting machine may be provided. Each servo motor carries a roller about which yarn is trained so as to be fed from a yarn source to the respective needle, the motor being mounted on one surface of the mounting plate and the roller being mounted on the other. Within the housing leading to and from each roller is a respective input and output tube, and the input tubes supplying yarn from the yarn source to the respective roller and the output tubes feeding yarn from the rollers to the respective needles. By maintaining the yarn in the housing within the guide tubes, the yarn is precluded from being entangled with other yarns and provides the machine operator with the ability to thread each particular needle with the correct yarn. For example, any particular servo motor may carry a particular number and the tubes extending thereto and therefrom may also be numbered to correspond with a particular needle. In this manner, the needles may be threaded correctly to provide the desired pattern.
The housing which carries the servo motors and rollers and in which the multitude of yarn guide tubes are mounted may be readily mounted as an attachment, so to speak, on the head of the tufting machine and the yarns fed to the machine may be directed to the needles from the housing conventionally.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3221683 (1965-12-01), Abelsma
patent: 5182997 (1993-02-01), Bardsley
patent: 5383415 (1995-01-01), Padgett, III
patent: 5983815 (1999-11-01), Card
Izaguirre Ismael
Ruderman Alan
Spencer Wright Industries, Inc.
Stark Stephen J.
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