GB2252336A

GB2252336A - "A carpet manufacturing process"

Info

Publication number: GB2252336A
Application number: GB9114699A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael Dixon
Original assignee: CAMBERWELL DEV Ltd
Current assignee: CAMBERWELL DEV Ltd
Priority date: 1991-01-29
Filing date: 1991-07-08
Publication date: 1992-08-05
Anticipated expiration: 2011-07-08
Also published as: GB2252336B; IE910290A1; BE1003147A6; IE64307B1; GB9114699D0

Abstract

A manufacturing process for a hand tufted carpet bearing a design and a hand held tufting gun apparatus (1) used in the process. A design is applied to a woven carpet base (40). A looped carpet pile is formed on the carpet base (40) in accordance with the design using the tufting apparatus (1). The tufting apparatus (1) has a reciprocating needle (3) and a needle follower (6) for insertion of continuous lines of loops (45) of yarn in the carpet base (40) from a rear side of the carpet base (40). Movement of the needle (3) and needle follower (6) is is synchronised such that the needle follower (6) lags behind the needle (3). After a backing sheet is applied to the rear side of the carpet, the free ends of the looped carpet pile is sheared. <IMAGE>

Description

ZA carPet manufacturina process This invention relates to a process for manufacturing a carpet, and in particular a hand tufted carpet bearing a design.

The term carpet as used in this specification is taken to include rugs and the like.

In carpet production it is known to provide a tufting process and machine in which a pre-woven base is passed through the machine in which a bank of needles spanning the carpet width inserts tufts of yarn into the base to form the carpet pile on the base. A carpet of a predetermined width is thus formed.

This has a disadvantage in that when the carpet is to be laid on a relatively large floor or an irregularly shaped floor, which is often the case, the floor area may have to be covered by a number of pieces of carpet joined together. A concealed joint is very difficult to achieve in practice and poorly made joints detract from the aesthetic look of the carpet.

Further, where the carpet carries a pattern it can be difficult to correctly align the pattern on the adjoining pieces of carpet. Typically, there is also a considerable amount of wastage in fitting the carpet.

Also, while the process described above is suitable for the production of large quantities of carpet either plain or carrying a particular pattern or design, it is not practical or adaptable enough to use it for the production of custom made carpets, each suited for a particular required application and carrying an individual design. Further, there are limitations on the type of design which can be applied to the carpet.

The present invention is directed towards overcoming these problems.

According to the invention there is provided a process for manufacturing a hand tufted carpet bearing a design, the process comprising the steps of, (a) preparing a stencil which delineates the design, (b) overlying the stencil on a sheet of woven material forming a carpet base, (c) painting ink over the stencil to apply the design onto the carpet base, (d) mounting the carpet base to which the design has been applied on a support frame and stretching the carpet base taut on the support frame, (e) tufting yarn onto the carpet base with a tufting gun having a reciprocating needle and needle follower by feeding the yarn to the needle, inserting the yarn with the needle from a rear side of the carpet base through the carpet base to extend a preset distance outwardly of a front face of the carpet base, inserting the needle follower from a rear side of the carpet base through the carpet base adjacent the needle to engage and hold the yarn extended outwardly of the carpet base, withdrawing the needle while retaining the yarn in place with the needle follower to form a loop of yarn on the carpet base, and withdrawing the needle follower leaving behind the loop of yarn, (f) repeating the tufting step to form continuous lines of loops of yarn on the carpet base with a number of lengths of yarn, thus forming a looped carpet pile on the carpet base in accordance with the design, (g) applying a backing sheet to a rear side of the carpet base, and (h) shearing free ends of the looped carpet pile.

In one embodiment of the invention a number of areas of looped yarn of different depths are formed on the carpet base such that a portion of the design is shown in relief.

In another embodiment the yarns are tufted onto the carpet base to form a looped pile of substantially uniform depth on the carpet base, and during shearing of the pile areas of varied pile depth are formed to show portion of the design in relief on the carpet pile.

In another aspect of the invention there is provided a hand held tufting gun apparatus for tufting yarn onto a carpet base according to the process described above, the apparatus comprising a body member, a hardened needle mounted on the body member having an eye through which the yarn is drawn in use, means for reciprocating movement of the needle on the body member between a retracted position and an extended position for penetration of the needle through the carpet base, a hardened needle follower mounted on the body member adjacent the needle with an outer end of the needle follower having a notch for engaging the yarn, means for reciprocating movement of the needle follower on the body member between a retracted and an extended position for penetration of the needle follower through the carpet base, movement of the needle and the needle follower on the body member being synchronised such that the needle and needle follower are movable in turn from their retracted to their extended positions and then the needle and needle follower are movable in turn from their extended to their retracted positions, the needle always being moved first.

In a preferred embodiment, a yarn guide tube is provided on the body member having an outlet adjacent a tip of the needle for feeding yarn to the needle.

In another embodiment the distance moved by each of the needle and the needle follower between the retracted and the extended positions is adjustable.

In a further embodiment the needle and needle follower are slidably mounted on a support on the body member and the means for reciprocating movement of the needle and needle follower comprise an electric motor and associated reduction gear box drivably connected to a pair of synchronised rotatable drive arms associated with the needle and needle follower, link rods pivotally connected to each arm extending to pivotally engage the needle and needle follower for reciprocating movement of the needle and needle follower upon rotation of the arms.

The invention will be more clearly understood by the following description of an embodiment thereof given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective side view of a hand held tufting gun apparatus according to the invention, Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic side view of a carpet formed with the tufting apparatus in accordance with the carpet manufacturing process of the invention, and Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic side partially sectional view showing looped pile applied to a carpet base in accordance with the process.

Referring to the drawings and initially to Fig. 1, there is illustrated a hand held tufting gun apparatus according to the invention indicated generally by the reference numeral 1. The tufting apparatus 1 has a body member 2 on which a hardened needle 3 is mounted, the needle 3 being slidably moveable on a support 4 on the body member 2 between a retracted position and an extended position. Mounted adjacent the needle 3 on the support 4 is a hardened needle follower 6. An outer end of the needle follower 6 has a notch 7 for engaging yarn. The needle follower 6 is slidably moveable on the support 4 between a retracted position and an extended position.

Movement of the needle 3 and needle follower 6 on the body member 2 is synchronised such that the needle 3 and needle follower 6 are moveable in turn from their retracted positions to their extended positions and then the needle 3 and needle follower 6 are movable in turn from their extended positions to their retracted positions, the needle 3 always being moved first. A foot member 10 is provided on the body member 2 adjacent outer ends of the needle 3 and needle follower 6.

The foot member 10 has a flat outer surface 11 for engagement against a carpet base when operating the tufting apparatus 1.

The body member 2 comprises a motor 20 mounted in a casing having a pistol grip 21 and operating trigger 22. The motor 20 drives the needle 3 and needle follower 6 through a gear box 25 drivably connected to a pair of synchronised rotatable drive arms 26, mounted one on each side of the gear box 25.

Link rods 27 are pivotally connected by adjustable fasteners 28 to each arm 26 and extend to pivotally engage the needle 3 and needle follower 6 by means of connectors 29. It will be noted that each link rod 27 is slidably received in it's associated fastener 28 and is rigidly secured to the fastener 28 by a locking screw 30. A front handle 32 extends laterally of the body member 2 at a front end of the body member 2. A tubular yarn guide 34 is mounted on a side of the body member 2 to feed the yarn to the needle 3, the guide 34 having an outlet adjacent the tip of the needle 3.

To manufacture a carpet according to the process of the invention first a stencil is prepared which delineates the design. The stencil is formed by drawing the design onto a paper sheet and then perforating the paper sheet delineating the design. A carpet base 40 (see Figs. 2 and 3) formed erom woven cotton canvas is cut from a roll of the canvas to the required length for the carpet. The carpet base 40 has a front face 41 and a rear face 42. With the stencil overlaid on the rear face 42 of the carpet base 40 ink is painted over the stencil to apply the design onto the rear face 42.

When the ink has dried the carpet base 40 is mounted on a support frame (not shown) which supports the carpet base 40 in an upright position. It will be noted that the support frame is adjustable to accommodate carpet bases 40 of different sizes. The carpet base 40 is stretched taut on the frame with lines of weave of the carpet base 40 extending substantially horizontally across the frame. A number of vertically spaced substantially horizontal parallel guide lines are marked in pencil between each end of the carpet base 40; typically the guide lines should be made along every fourth groove between lines of weave extending across the carpet base 40. The needle 3 of the tufting apparatus 1 is then threaded with the required yarn. The outer face 11 of the foot portion 10 of the threading apparatus 1 is placed against the rear face 42 of the carpet base 40.By depressing the trigger 22 the needle 3 and needle follower 6 reciprocate back and forth between their retracted and extended positions and by moving the tufting apparatus 1 along one of the guide lines marked on the carpet base 40 a continuous row of loops 45 of carpet pile extending outwardly of the front face 41 of the carpet base 40 is formed on the carpet base 40 (see Fig. 3). Each loop 45 is formed by first penetrating the carpet base 40 with the needle 3 which pushes the yarn through the carpet base 40. The needle follower 6 then penetrates the carpet base 40 adjacent the needle 3 engaging and holding the yarn. Next the needle 3 is withdrawn whilst retaining the yarn in place with the needle follower 6 to form a loop 45 of yarn on the carpet base 40. By withdrawing the needle follower 6 the loop 45 of yarn is left on the carpet base 40.Thus any particular area of the design can be covered with yarn of the required colour in a number of continuous lines of loops 45. Then yarn of another colour is mounted on the tufting apparatus 1 and the tufting of another portion of the design is carried out in similar fashion to the tufting previously described.

It will be noted that the travel of the needle 3 and the needle follower 6 between the retracted and extended positions can be adjusted to loop yarn to different depths on the carpet base 40. Adjustment is carried out by releasing the locking screws 30 and sliding the link rods 27 relative to their associated fasteners 28 to adjust the operating length of each link rod 27. When correctly positioned the link rods 27 are locked in position again by tightening up the locking screws 30. In this way, the stroke of the needle 3 and needle follower 6 can be quickly and easily adjusted. Different portions of the design can be covered in looped yarn of different depth, thus showing portion of the design in relief.

When the whole carpet base 40 has been tufted to the required design a latex backing sheet 50 is applied to the rear face 42 of the carpet base 40. Then the free ends of the loops 45 of carpet pile are sheared. When shearing the carpet pile further shaping of the pile may be carried out.

It will be appreciated that the process and apparatus are particularly useful for custom making a carpet to a required size and design. Irregular and abstract designs even of intricate shape can be readily easily produced. Wastage due to cut-offs is eliminated as the carpets can be made to the required size and shape.

The needle and needle follower are hardened to make them more resistant to wear due to friction as they are moved through the carpet base. Thus relatively fast operating speeds can be achieved to minimise production time.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment hereinbefore described which may be varied in both construction and detail.

Claims

1. A process for manufacturing a hand tufted carpet bearing a design, comprising the steps of: (a) preparing a stencil which delineates the design, (b) overlying the stencil on a sheet of woven material forming a carpet base, (c) painting ink over the stencil to apply the design onto the carpet base, (d) mounting the carpet base to which the design has been applied on a support frame and stretching the carpet base taut on the support frame, (e) tufting a number of lengths of tufting yarn onto the carpet base with a tufting gun having a reciprocating needle and needle follower by feeding the yarn to the needle, inserting the yarn with the needle from a rear side of the carpet base through the carpet base to extend a preset distance outwardly of a front face of the carpet base, inserting the needle follower from a rear side of the carpet base through the carpet base adjacent the needle to engage and hold the yarn extended outwardly of the carpet base, withdrawing the needle while retaining the yarn in place with the needle follower to form a loop of yarn on the carpet base and withdrawing the needle follower leaving behind the loop of yarn, (f) repeating the tufting step to form continuous lines of loops of yarn on the carpet base with a number of lengths of yarn, thus forming a looped carpet pile on the carpet base in accordance with the design, (g) applying-a backing sheet to a rear side of the carpet base, and (h) shearing free ends of the looped carpet pile.

2. A process as claimed in claim 1 wherein a number of areas of looped yarn of different depths are formed on the carpet base such that a portion of the design is shown in relief.

3. A process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the yarns are tufted onto the carpet base to form a looped pile of substantially uniform depth on the carpet base, and during shearing of the pile areas of varied pile depth are formed to show portion of the design in relief on the carpet pile.

4. A process substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

5. A carpet whenever produced by the process of any of claims 1 to 4.

6. A hand held tufting gun apparatus for tufting yarn onto a carpet base according to the process of any of claims 1 to 4, the apparatus comprising a body member, a hardened needle mounted on the body member having an eye through which the yarn is drawn in use, means for reciprocating movement of the needle on the body member between a retracted position and an extended position for penetration of the needle through the carpet base, a hardened needle follower mounted on the body member adjacent the needle with an outer end of the needle follower having a notch for engaging the yarn, means for reciprocating movement of the needle follower on the body member between a retracted position and an extended position for penetration of the needle follower through the carpet base, movement of the needle and needle follower on the body member being synchronised such that the needle and needle follower are moveable in turn from their retracted to their extended positions and then the needle and needle follower are moveable in turn from their extended to their retracted positions, the needle always being moved first.

7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein a yarn guide tube is provided on the body member having an outlet adjacent a tip of the needle for feeding yarn to the needle.

8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 6 or 7 wherein the distance moved by each of the needle and the needle follower between the retracted and extended positions is adjustable.

9. An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 6 to 8 wherein the needle and needle follower are slidably mounted on a support on the body member and the means for reciprocating movement of the needle and needle follower comprise an electric motor and associated reduction gear box drivably connected to a pair of synchronised rotatable drive arms associated with the needle and needle follower, link rods pivotally connected to each arm extending to pivotally engage the needle and needle follower for reciprocating movement of the needle and needle follower upon rotation of the arms.

10. An apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.