GB2238800A - Curtain heading tape - Google Patents

Abstract

A tape (40) having three or more rows (A, B, C) of fully woven pockets (30), aligned across the width of the tape, is produced on a two or three needle loom by feeding weft yarn (56, 58) for at least two of the pocket rows (B, C) in the warp direction part way across the warp shed (42) of the base web (31) (at the respective side of their respective pocket forming warp sheds (48, 48)) and using a selector needle (60) for insertion of at least two of the pocket forming wefts (54, 56, 58). Upon insertion, owing to the angle of feed of the respective wefts (56, 58), only the relevant weft for a given pocket row (B or C) engages behind its respective displaceable guide (76, 78) and is taken off by its respective latch needle (66, 66) and the remaining weft is withdrawn again with the selector needle (60). Variations are possible in that the pocket forming warp sheds can be displaced to differing levels to allow any two pocket rows to have waft insertion by selector needle and in that two or three selector needles can be used. <IMAGE>

Description

CURTAIN HEADING TAPE This invention relates to curtain heading tape, i.e. tape intended for fastening along the upper margin of a curtain, of the type which incorporates one or more draw cords for pleating the tape, and the curtain fastened thereto, and which also has a plurality of pockets for attachment of hooks, whereby the curtain is hung. More specifically, the invention concerns only such curtain heading tapes which are of woven construction.

In the past, curtain heading tape of 2 to 3 cm width and having a single row of spaced apart woven pockets was conventional. Nowadays, with the use of heavier curtain materials and the increasing popularity of curtains with sewn-in linings, wider heading tape of 7 to 8 cm is by far the most common. Moreover, three rows of pockets, across the width of this wider tape, are commonly preferred so as to allow three alternative heights at which the curtain can be hung. This allows adjustment to the exact drop (curtain height) required, for example so that the hem does not touch the floor, or so that the curtain rail is adequately concealed. This is important when curtains are made up in factories based on standard drops or on rough measurements only, as so many are nowadays, so that they can be adapted to the height required by the customer at the time of hanging.

In most heading tapes currently available in the U.K., which have three rows of pockets, the individual pockets of the respective rows are arranged in alignment across the width of the tape (since that preserves the pleating pattern irrespective of the row used for hanging). In many of these each pocket is formed by a plurality of floating warp yarn sections, these pocketforming warp yarns being bound in by weft yarns of the background tape web in the intervals between the pockets.

A tape of this type, having all its pockets formed only of warp yarns, can be produced relatively simply and inexpensively on a single needle loom, pocket production being effected by control of the various warp yarn sheds. For most purposes, this tape is perfectly adequate. However, compared to full woven pockets i.e.

pockets consisting of warp and weft woven together, warp yarn pockets do have a tendancy to sag, which over time may slightly adversely affect the appearance of the curtains. Indeed, some end users may erroneously fail to insert the hooks through all the warp yarns of a pocket, which will have similar adverse effects. Also, with rough handling, e.g. snagging on insertion of hooks, individual warp yarns of the pockets can be broken and or pulled loose. Thus, there is a demand from a certain sector of the market for a higher quality of curtain heading tape, which demand would be met by a tape in which all three rows of pockets are of woven construction.

In this respect, curtain heading tape with three rows of fully woven pockets aligned across the width of the tape has not hitherto been available.

Three-needle looms have been used to produce tapes with two rows of woven pockets, or two rows of woven pockets together with a third row of warp yarn pockets (usually the warp yarn pocket row lying centrally between the two woven pocket rows). In this respect the first needle introduces weft for the background web, the second needle introduces weft at a higher level for production of one of the rows of woven pockets, and the third needle introduces weft at an even higher level for production of the other row of woven pockets, the respective additional weft picks of the second and third needles being woven into the background web in the intervals between the pockets.

The remaining warp yarn pocket, if present, is of course produced by control of the warp sheds.

Looms with more than three needles are not currently commercially available. It is not known whether provision of a fourth needle at a higher level again would be feasible. The angle at which the weft yarn would have to be fed thereto might be such as to create problems or necessitate further adjustments to the loom mechanism.

Some fundamentally different styles of curtain heading tape are known, primarily on the continent of Europe, which have two, occasionally three rows of woven pockets. In those which have three rows, they are not aligned. Mostly, the pockets of the respective rows are widely offset but in some cases two rows are in alignment, while the third is staggered, usually so as to be midway across the pocket interval of the other two rows. The other main distinction of these tapes from those common in UK and described above is that the weft yarn which is used for production of the pockets is not woven into the background web between adjacent pockets, but merely bound in in the warp direction, with the result that the pockets tend to have untidy loops at their edges, which are prone to snagging, and may make the pockets vulnerable to unravelling.Moreover, the overall reinforcement of the additional woven in weft between the pockets is lacking. Although production costs are saved by using less weft, special provision has to be made for variable weft feed with a change from high rate feed upon pocket formation to low rate feed where the weft is bound in longitud-inally in the intervals therebetween.

A method of producing the aforesaid 'continental' style of tape is disclosed in European Patent No.

0036920.

Based on the foregoing, the applicants have devised a method of producing curtain heading tape with three rows of fully woven pockets aligned across the width of the tape, and with the reinforcement between pockets which is traditional for the UK market, without involving the complexity of providing a fourth needle on the loom.

According to a first aspect of the invention, curtain heading tape comprises a woven base tape provided with three or more rows of pockets, the pockets of the respective rows being in alignment across the width of the tape, and at least three of the rows of pockets consisting of pockets formed of woven warp and weft yarns, which yarns are woven into the base tape, as additional reinforcement, in the intervals between the pockets of their respective rows.

According to a second aspect of the invention a method of producing curtain heading tape with three or more rows of woven pockets aligned across the width of the tape is proposed wherein weft yarn for at least two of the woven pocket rows is fed to respective locations of insertion along paths which extend in the warp yarn direction and are part way across the warp shed of the base tape, wherein a selector needle (i.e. a needle provided with an open notch instead of a closed eye) is provided to insert the respective weft picks for at least two of the woven pocket rows, wherein weft picks for all of the woven pocket rows are inserted during the same weft insertion cycles, wherein latch needles are provided for each of the woven pocket rows, each of these latch needles being so positioned as to take off only the weft pick for its respective row, and wherein the warp yarns forming the woven pockets are woven into the base tape, in weft and warp directions respectively, as additional reinforcement, in the intervals between the pockets of their respective rows, by appropriate control of the respective pocket forming warp sheds.

In this way a two-needle loom can be modified to produce curtain tape having three or more rows of fully woven pockets, one of the needles (which may be either a closed needle or a selector needle) introducing weft for the background tape, and the other of the needles being a selector needle, as aforesaid, and introducing the respective weft yarns, all at the same level above the base web, for all of the woven pocket rows. In this respect the weft yarn of the pocket row closest to the mounting of the selector needle is inserted through the warp sheds for all the pockets, but since it is not taken off by the latch needles positioned for take off of the other row or rows of pockets, it is drawn back again and only woven in for the extent of the first pocket row.The same applies to the weft yarn for the second pocket row in that it passes through the warp shed of the third pocket row but is subsequently drawn back again and woven in only with the second row warp shed.

In this way it is possible to produce curtain tapes with three, four, five or six rows of pockets aligned across the width of the tape and with full woven in reinforcement in the intervals between pockets in each row. More rows may be possible, the only constraint being the actual width of the tape in which these are to fit.

A three needle loom can be modified to produce these same types of tape. With a three needle loom, the weft for one pocket row, conveniently the first pocket row, closest the needle mounting, can be inserted by a conventional needle, with a selector needle used to insert two or more further pocket-forming wefts to produce three or more aligned woven pocket rows. The third needle, of course, is still used for insertion of base web weft, and is either a closed needle or a selector, whichever is most suitable or available.

Alternatively, with a three needle loomm, two selector needles can be used for the pocket rows, inserting weft for one or more and two or more pocket rows respectively in any combination. For example, for production of tape with four rows of pockets aligned across the tape use of two selector needles to insert weft for two pocket rows each may be most convenient in terms of production efficiency. However insertion of one and three wefts by respective selector needles or by a conventional and selector needle respectively would be possible. Exactly the same applies in the case of six pocket rows, where three rows each may be inserted by respective selector needles, or any combination of one and five or two and four.

The invention will be described further by reference to specific examples of tape and of production methods, as illustrated in the accompanying schematic drawings, in which: Fig. 1 represents a small portion of known curtain heading tape; Fig. 2 represents a small portion of another known type of curtain heading tape; Fig. 3 represents a small portion of a first embodiment of curtain heading tape in accordance with the invention; Fig. 4 is a similar view of a second embodiment of curtain heading tape in accordance with the invention; Figs. 5 to 7 are perspective fragmentary views of a three needle loom illustrating a method, in accordance with the invention, of producing a tape as shown in Fig.

3, specifically successive stages of weft insertion during pocket formation; Fig. 8 is a fragmentary enlarged view of a portion of the same loom during weft insertion for pocket formation; and Fig. 9 is a view comparable with Fig. 7, of a two needle loom, illustrating its use in accordance with the invention, for producing a tape as shown in Fig. 3.

Referring first of all to Figs. 1 and 2, the prior art tapes shown here both have three rows of pockets A,B,C, and three draw cords P extending longitudinally of the tape. In each row, the pockets are spaced apart, and the pockets of the respective rows are aligned across the width of the tape, as indicated at a,b,c.

In the known tape shown in Fig. 1 all three rows of pockets are warp yarn pockets, designated by reference numeral 10. In the known tape shown in Fig.

2, the two outer rows of pockets A and C are fully woven pockets, designated by reference numeral 20, whilst the central row of pockets B still comprises warp yarn pockets, in this case designated 22. There are other known tapes (not illustrated here) which have three rows of pockets, wherein two adjacent rows (i.e. the central row and one outer row) are fully woven and one outer row comprises warp yarn pockets. There are other tapes, also, which only have two rows of pockets, both of which are woven.

Production of warp yarn pockets, e.g. 10, 22 simply involves appropriate control of the additional warp sheds, which float over the base web in the pocket regions (a,b,c) and are bound in by the base web weft picks in the intervals between the pockets. A tape having all its pockets formed of warp yarn can therefore be produced on a conventional single needle loom, only one needle being required to introduce the weft yarn.

In contrast, production of fully woven pockets e.g. 20 involves an additional weft yarn for each respective row of such pockets. As explained in the introduction hereto, tapes having two rows of woven pockets (with or without a third row of warp yarn pockets) have hitherto been produced on three-needle looms, one needle for insertion of the base web weft, and two further needles for insertion, between respective warp yarn sheds at successively higher levels, of the respective pocket-forming weft yarns.

Since four-needle looms are not known the aforesaid principle has not yet been extended to allow production of tapes having three rows of fully woven pockets (i.e. one needle for base web weft insertion and three successively higher needles for insertion of three separate pocket-forming weft yarns).

However, a first embodiment of the tape of the invention, which is shown in Fig. 3, does have three rows of pockets (again designated A, B and C) all of which are of fully woven construction. The individual pockets, designated 30, of the respective rows are aligned across the tape, the base web of which is indicated by reference numeral 31. Three draw cords 32 are also provided, substantially centrally of each pocket row A,B,C. Along each row A,B,C, in the intervals between the pockets 30, the warp and weft yarns used for making that row are woven in with the base web 31. In other words, the weft yarn for each pocket row A,B,C continues to be inserted and woven in transversely to the same extent in these intervals between the pocket-forming regions. In this way, each row A,B,C, constitutes a band of substantial reinforcement in addition to providing the pockets 30.

A second embodiment of tape in accordance with the invention is shown in Fig. 4 as having four rows A,B,C,D of woven pockets 30, the pockets still being aligned across the tape at a,b,c. In other respects, such as overall width, positioning of draw cords 32 etc.

this tape is the same as Fig. 3.

The preferred method, in accordance with the invention, whereby the tape, shown in Fig. 3, with three rows of woven pockets can be produced by modification of a known three needle loom is illustrated in Figs. 5 to 8. The main framework and mechanism of operation of the loom are not illustrated or described as these are conventional and well known to those skilled in the art.

Referring firstly to Fig. 5, a completed section of tape is indicated at 40 and extending from this are warp sheds 42 for the base web, and respective warp sheds 44,46,48 for the three pocket rows, A, B, C, these three warp sheds extending side by side, all substantially at the same angle above the base web sheds 42. The warp sheds 42 to 48 are shown in the positions to which they are taken by the healds (not shown) just prior to weft insertion for pocket formation.

Three angled needles 50,60,70 are pivotally mounted on a common support 52 at one side of the warp sheds. The first needle 50 is conventional and is threaded with ground weft yarn 51, which is supplied from a yarn package (not shown) located further to the side and at a higher level. The second needle 60, which is mounted above the first needle 50, is a selector needle. In this respect it has a notch at its tip in place of an eye so as to be capable of selectively inserting different weft yarns. The third needle 70 is another conventional needle and is threaded with a further weft yarn 54 supplied from above and to that side of the warp sheds, which yarn 54 is for forming the first pocket row A, i.e. the row nearest the needle support 52.

Respective weft yarns 56,58 for the second and third pocket rows B,C, which are further across the base web from the needle support 52, are supplied up the middle of the loom, in line with the warp sheds 42 to 48. This contrasts with the conventional method of lateral weft feed. In this respect, these two weft yarns 56,58 are each supplied in the warp direction part way across the base tape warp 42 and closely adjacent the insertion side of its own respective warp sheds 46,48.

Respective latch needles 64,66,68 for the three pocket rows A,B,C project in the warp direction closely adjacent the sides of the respective warp sheds 44,46,48 remote from their insertion side. The heads of these latch needles are not visible in Figs. 5 to 7, but the heads of 66 and 68 can be seen in Fig. 8. A further latch needle 62 for the ground weft is conventionally positioned at the opposite side of the base tape warp 42 to the needle mounting. Furthermore, respective pairs of guide members 74,84; 76,86; 78;88 are provided at opposing sides of each of the pocket forming warp sheds 44,46,48. Each of these guide members is in the form of a finger extending in the warp direction and having a notch in its lower surface.The latch needles 64, 66, 68 and the guide members 74, 76, 78, which are closely adjacent the respective needles at the take off side of each shed, are mounted on a common bar 90 which extends across the warp sheds, perpendicular to the warp yarn direction, and is displaceable in the warp direction during each weft insertion cycle, to correctly position the needles and the said guides 74, 76, 78 for their respective take off and holding down functions. The other guide members 84, 86, 88, at the insertion side of each pocket-forming warp shed, as well as a similar guide member 82 near the insertion side of the base webs shed, are mounted on a tape plate 92 which extends in a fixed position across the loom (i.e. perpendicular to the warp) below the level of the bar 90.

Referring now to Figs. 6 and 7, the first needle 50, in operation, inserts the ground weft 51. In pocket regions this only goes through the base warp sheds 42, whereas in the intervals between the pockets it additionally goes through all the secondary warp sheds 44 to 48, by appropriate control of the latter. The latch needle 62 takes off the ground weft 51 in conventional manner.

The selector needle 60 inserts the two furthest secondary weft yarns 56,58 for both the second and third pocket rows B,C, whilst the third needle 70, as previously mentioned, inserts the secondary weft 54 for the first pocket row A.

In pocket regions, the three pairs of warp sheds 44,46,48 open up and each of the secondary weft yarns 54,56,58 is woven in only with its own associated warp sheds, 44,46,48, respectively.

As it swings forward in its yarn insertion stroke the selector needle 60 firstly passes through the first pocket forming warp sheds 44, then picks up the weft yarn 56 and inserts this through the second warp sheds 46. With the weft yarn 56 still retained, it then picks up the further weft yarn 58 and inserts both through the third warp sheds 48. As the selector 60 moves forward (see Fig. 7) it causes the weft yarn 56 to slide below the guide 76, whereby it is held down, and lie across its respective latch needle 66, and the weft yarn 58 to slide below the guide 78 whereby it is held down, and lie across its respective latch needle 68. The selective holding down of the wefts 56,58 by the respective guides 76,78 results from the different angles of inclination of these yarns between their respective hold down guides 86,88 and the needle 60.

At the end of the insertion stroke of the selector 60, the weft yarn 58 (but not the yarn 56) lies across its associated latch needle 68, which closes and moves back to take off (bind in) the weft 58 as the selector needle 60 commences its return stroke. As the latch needle 68 only takes off the weft yarn 58, the weft yarn 56 is withdrawn through the sheds 48 again when the selector needle 60 swings back on its return stroke i.e. only the yarn 58 is woven in with the warp sheds 48. As the selector 60 continues to move back, the remaining weft yarn 56 is in similar manner engaged and taken off by its respective latch needle 66 so only the weft 56 is woven in with the warp sheds 46.

As the third needle 70 moves forward the weft 54 slides below and is held down by the guide 74 and as it is drawn back the latch needle 64 takes off the weft 54 so that is woven in with the warp sheds 44, in conventional manner.

Figs. 5 to 7 only illustrate successive stages in the weft insertion stroke. After the return stroke of the needles 50,60,70, during which the weft yarns 54,56,58 are woven in, as just described, the reed 80 moves forward towards the tape plate 92 to pack (beat) the wefts tightly and then moves back again before the next insertion stroke, in conventional manner. Upon beat up the wefts are caused to engage below the fixed guides 82 to 88 and are securely held down by same as the next weft insertion commences.

Conventional tensioning means can be arranged to adequately tension the secondary weft yarn 56 to ensure it is withdrawn from the additional warp yarn sheds 48 through which it is inserted, without being woven in therewith.

As already described, the selective take off of the respective pocket forming wefts 54,56,58 by the respective latch needles 64,66,68 is accomplished by virtue of the differing angles of supply (and withdrawal) of the respective secondary weft yarns 54,56,58 at those latch needle locations along with correct positioning of the weft yarns owing to their engagement with and holding down by the respective guides 74, 76, 78. That in turn takes place owing to the angle at which the respective weft yarns extend across the sheds during the insertion and withdrawal strokes of the needles 60,70.

In the intervals between pockets, the conventional needle 70 and the selector needle 60 continue to insert the weft yarns 54,56,58 in the same manner, and these are taken off by the respective latch needles 64,66,68 in the same manner. However, by appropriate warp shed control, the upper and lower warp yarns of the base web sheds and the pocket sheds being held, at the same respective levels, in addition to being woven through the base warp 42, the ground weft 51, in these regions, is also woven through all the secondary warp sheds 44,46,48 with the result that both the warps 44,46,48 and the wefts 54,56,58 are bound into the base tape 31.

In summary, in the foregoing example a three needle loom is used to produce a tape having three rows of aligned woven pockets by one needle being used for the base weft and another needle being used to produce one row of pockets (that nearest to the needle mounting), whilst the third needle is a selector needle which picks up and inserts weft for both of the two remaining pocket rows.

It must be emphasised that the foregoing is only one example of tape production which suitably serves to explain the principles involved. The invention is not limited thereto. Many variations are possible.

With the three needle loom just described, it would be possible, for example, for the selector needle to be used to insert weft for the first and third pocket rows, with the central row weft inserted by conventional needle, (or for the selector needle to be used for the first two rows and a conventional needle for the third although that is unlikely as it could introduce unnecessary terminating problems for the latter weft).

A three needle loom provided with two or three selector needles could also be used very successfully for production of a tape with three rows of aligned woven pockets. In this respect, the base weft could be inserted either by a closed needle or a selector needle, as desired. Similarly, weft for one of the pocket rows could be inserted either by a closed needle or a selector needle, whilst a selector needle would certainly be used for weft insertion for the other two rows.

Incidently, for combinations other than the second and third row wefts being inserted by the same selector, it would simply be a matter of having the warp sheds for those two pocket rows at a different level to the warp sheds for the single pocket row.

Exactly the same principles can successfully be extended to enable production of a tape with four, five or six rows of aligned woven pockets on a three needle loom.

A tape with three, four, five or six rows of aligned woven pockets can also be produced on a two needle loom, production of a three pocket tape by such a loom being illustrated in Fig. 9. In this respect, the arrangement of the loom is generally similar to the embodiment of Figs. 5 to 7 so the same reference numerals have been used for equivalent parts, with the mere addition of 100. As previously, a first needle 150, which is shown here as a conventional needle (but could just as well be a selector needle) is used for insertion of weft 151 for the base web. The second needle 160 is a selector needle and in this case is used for insertion of all three pocket forming weft yarns 154,156,158, which in this case are all supplied in the warp yarn direction alongside the insertion side of their respective warp yarn sheds 144,146,148.Obviously special care has to be taken to provide for appropriate tensioning of the first two of these pocket forming wefts 154,156 to ensure they are withdrawn from the additional warp sheds 146,148 and 148 respectively through which they are carried by the selector needle 160 when the latter draws back again. In other respects, the method is as previously described and that description will not be repeated.

Although the methodology imposes no limit to the number of pocket rows, aligned across the width of the tape, which can be formed, the width of the tape places a constraint on the number of rows of adequate sized pockets which can be fitted in, bearing in mind that for each row respective guide member and latch needle mounting has to be provided for.

In any event, it will be appreciated that, although an overall tape width of 7 to 8 cm is currently popular, the provision of three or more rows of pockets, and the method of forming those pockets, in accordance with the invention, can be applied to tapes of any width. Also, the gaps or intervals between the aligned pockets of each row may vary from minimal, e.g. binding in by two to three weft picks only, to quite considerable. The number, arrangement and positioning of the draw cords may also differ from those shown in the drawings, and is in no way critical to the invention.

Claims (12)

1. Curtain heading tape comprising a woven base tape provided with three or more rows of pockets, the pockets of the respective rows being in alignment across the width of the tape, and at least three of the rows of pockets consisting of pockets formed of woven warp and weft yarns, which yarns are woven into the base tape, as additional reinforcement, in the intervals between the pockets of their respective rows.

2. Curtain heading tape as claimed in claim 1 and having four rows of woven pockets.

3. Curtain heading tape as claimed in claim 1 and having six rows of woven pockets.

4. A method of producing curtain heading tape with three or more rows of woven pockets aligned across the width of the tape, characterised in that: weft yarn for at least two of the woven pocket rows is fed to respective locations of insertion along paths which extend in the warp direction and are part way across the warp shed of the base tape; a selector needle, (i.e. a needle provided with an open notch instead of a closed eye) is provided to insert the respective weft picks for at least two of the woven pocket rows; weft picks for all of the woven pocket rows are inserted during the same weft insertion cycles; latch needles are provided for each of the woven pocket rows, each of these latch needles being so positioned as to take off only the weft pick for its respective row; and the weft yarns as well as the warp yarns forming the woven pockets are woven into the base tape, in weft and warp directions respectively, as additional reinforcement, in the intervals between the pockets of their respective rows, by appropriate control of the respective pocket forming warp sheds.

5. A method of producing curtain heading tape with three or more rows of woven pockets aligned across the width of the tape, and using a three needle loom, characterised in that: weft yarn for at least two adjacent woven pocket rows is fed to respective locations of insertion along paths which extend in the warp direction and are part way across the warp shed of the base tape; during each pocket forming weft insertion cycle the first needle inserts the weft pick for the base tape, the second needle, which is a closed needle, inserts the weft pick for one pocket row, while the third needle which is a selector needle, inserts the weft pick for the remaining two or more pocket rows; latch needles are provided for each of the three or more woven pocket rows, each of these latch needles being so positioned as to take off only the weft pick for its respective row; and the weft yarns as well as the warp yarns forming the woven pockets are woven into the base tape, in weft and warp directions respectively, as additional reinforcement, in the intervals between the pockets of their respective rows, by appropriate control of the respective pocket forming warp sheds.

6. A method of producing curtain heading tape with three or more rows of woven pockets aligned across the width of the tape, and using a three needle loom, characterised in that: weft yarn for at least two adjacent woven pocket rows is fed to respective locations of insertion along paths which extend in the warp direction and are part way across the warp shed of the base tape; during each pocket forming weft insertion cycle the first needle inserts the weft pick for the base tape, the second needle, which is a selector needle, inserts the weft pick for at least two pocket rows, whilst the third needle, which is also a selector needle, inserts the weft pick for the remaining one or more pocket rows; latch needles are provided for each of the woven pocket rows, each of these latch needles being so positioned as to take off only the weft pick for its respective row; and the weft yarns as well as the warp yarns forming the woven pockets are woven into the base tape, in weft and warp directions respectively, as additional reinforcement, in the intervals between the pockets of their respective rows, by appropriate control of the respective pocket forming warp sheds.

7. A method of producing curtain heading tape with three or more rows of woven pockets aligned across the width of the tape, and using a two needle loom, characterised in that: weft yarn for at least two adjacent woven pocket rows is fed to respective locations of insertion along paths which extends in the warp direction and are part way across the warp shed of the base tape; during each pocket forming weft insertion cycle the first needle inserts the weft pick for the base tape, and the second needle, which is a selector needle, inserts the weft pick for all the woven pocket rows; latch needles are provided for each of the woven pocket rows, each of these latch needles being so positioned as to take off only the weft pick for its respective row; and the weft yarns as well as the warp yarns forming the woven pockets are woven into the base tape, in weft and warp directions respectively, as additional reinforcement, in the intervals between the pockets of their respective rows, by appropriate control of the respective pocket forming warp sheds.

8. A method as claimed in any of claims 4 to 7 wherein guide means are provided for each woven pocket row, each guide means being so positioned and so configured as to engage and hold down, upon each weft insertion stroke, only the weft pick for its respective row.

9. A method as claimed in claim 8 wherein at least some of the guide means are mounted along with the latch needles on a common bar, which extends transversely of the warp shed and which is displaceable longitudinally during each cycle of weft insertion to bring those guide means and the latch needles to their correct operative positions respectively for holding down and for taking off the relevant weft yarns for each woven pocket row.

10. Curtain heading tape with three or more aligned pocket rows substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by Fig. 3 or Fig. 4 of the accompanying drawings.

11. A method of producing curtain heading tape with three or more aligned pocket rows substantially as hereinbefore described.

12. A method of producing curtain heading tape substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 5 to 8, or Fig. 9 of the accompanying drawings.