GB2297331A

GB2297331A - Yarn feed arrangement for tufting machine

Info

Publication number: GB2297331A
Application number: GB9501307A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Harold Brian Bardsley
Original assignee: COBBLE BLACKBURN Ltd
Current assignee: COBBLE BLACKBURN Ltd
Priority date: 1995-01-24
Filing date: 1995-01-24
Publication date: 1996-07-31
Also published as: DE19601995A1; GB9501307D0

Description

2297331 YARN FEED ARRANGEMENT FOR A TUFTING MACHINE This invention relates

to a yarn feed arrangement for a tufting machine.

In the production of tufted carpets and the like by the repeated reciprocation of a multiplicity of yarn carrying needles through a backing fabric for cooperation with respective hooks to form loops thereon, the control of yarn passing through the needles is of great importance in order to ensure evenness in the height of pile fabric, thereby to allow a good quality carpet to be produced.

Means for controlling the yarn made available to the needles has been proposed and commonly comprises an arrangement of four rollers around which the yarn passes, all of the rollers being driven. The need for a four driven roller yarn fixed arrangement arises because in order to control the yarn accurately it is necessary for there to be tension in yarn passing from the rollers to the needle. If yarn from a reel enters the driven roller yarn feed in a slack state, the tortuous path of the yarn around the surfaces of the four rollers provides the ability to remove the slack and to control the tension of the yarn as it leaves the roller nearest to the needle.

Our prior UK published Patent Application No. 2275055A describes a yarn feed system in which the number of driven feed rollers can be reduced to two by the addition of a tensioning device upstream of the rollers. This arrangement offers a significant improvement over four roller yarn feeds insofar as it is possible to maintain control over the tension of the yarn leaving the yarn feed arrangement without the yarn feed arrangement occupying a considerable amount of space within the machine.

The present invention is based on a realisation that the number of driven rollers forms the yarn feed arrangement can be reduced still further to a single driven feed roller, if a suitable device or devices can be provided to ensure that tension is maintained in the yarn, both upstream and downstream of the single yarn feed roller.

According to the present invention therefore there is provided a method of feeding yarn to the tuft forming instrumentalities of a tufting machine comprising wrapping said yarn around a single driven roller and controlling tension of said yarn both upstream and downstream of said driven roller using one or more tensioning devices.

With this arrangement it is possible to provide a yarn feed arrangement which includes only one driven feed roller and which therefore occupies the minimal amount of space necessary in a tufting machine whilst still allowing accurate and effective control over the tension of the yarn leaving the arrangement.

The invention also proposes in a tufting machine, a yarn feed arrangement comprising a single driven roller around which yarn is wrapped and yarn control devices both upstream and downstream of said driven roller to effect control over the tension in yarn leaving said driven roller and being fed to the needle of the tufting machine.

Preferably said yarn control devices can comprise a static device, for 3example a brush or other such device, which restricts the progress of yarn by trapping the same between stationary elements thereof or moving devices for example one or more puller rollers or a roller having a rotating brush mounted adjacent to the surface thereof.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, said static device comprises a brush which acts on the yarn upstream of said driven roller and said moving device comprises a pair of puller rollers mounted downstream of the drive roller to maintain tension of the yarn off the driven roller.

In an alternative embodiment, said moving device comprises a roller which is driven at a speed of rotation greater than said drive roller, said roller having a rotating brush mounted adjacent to the surface thereof which can be driven so as to brush the surface of the roller thereby to maintain tension of the yarn wrapped around the roller.

For the avoidance of doubt, in this specification the term "upstream" is used to mean between the yarn supply and the driven roller, in the direction of transport of yarn through the yarn feed arrangement and "downstream" is used to mean between the driven roller and the needle of the tufting machine.

The invention will now be described further by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:Fig. 1 shows a diagrammatic representation of one embodiment of yarn feed arrangement according to the present invention; and -4Fig. 2 shows a diagrammatic representation of a second embodiment of yarn feed arrangement.

Referring now to Fig. 1, there is shown a yarn feed arrangement 10 for delivering yarn to the reciprocating needle (not shown) of a tufting machine.

The arrangement comprises a single driven yarn feed roller 11 about which yarn is wrapped from a creel (not shown), the driven roller 11 serving to feed yarn according to the overall yarn requirement of the needle in penetrating the backing fabric.

The arrangement further includes a yarn control device 12 mounted upstream of the roller 11, which acts to bear against the yarn and thereby prevent the yarn being fed in a slack condition to the driven roller 11. The control device 12 can take the form of a brush or any other suitable device as desired or as appropriate.

A guide roller 13 is mounted upstream of the driven roller 11 which can be either fixed or freely mounted for rotation about a longitudinal axis thereof.

A pair of driven puller rollers 14 are mounted downstream of the driven roller 11 and act to maintain tension in the yarn off the driven roller 11 and into the region of the needle (not shown).

In use, yarn is drawn from the creel to the yarn control device 12, through a yarn feed guide 16, around the guide roller 13 and driven yarn feed roller 11, between the puller rollers 14 and to the needle. The yarn is drawn from the creel in accordance with the driven speed of roller 11 and is fed via the yarn control device 12 and the puller rollers 14 to the needle, the yarn control device 12. and puller rollers 14 maintains tension in yarn on and off the feed roller 11. As tension is maintained in the yarn both upstream and downstream of the driven roller 11 at all times during reciprocation of the needle, the yarn is maintained in driving engagement with the driven roller 11 which therefore continues feed of the yarn constant and accurate yarn feed to the needle is maintained.

In the second embodiment shown in Fig. 2, the puller rollers 14 of the first embodiment are replaced by a diameter roller 17 mounted downstream of the driven feed roller 11. A brush 18 is mounted adjacent the roller so as to be capable of being driven to brush the surface of the roller 17.

In use, any reduction in tension of the yarn which might tend to occur as it leaves the driven roller 11 is eliminated due to the action of the brush which brushes the surface of the yarn of the roller 17 to eradicate any slack.

Furthermore, the roller 17 can be driven at a slightly faster surface speed than the driven feed roller 11 in order to also assist in the elimination of slack in the yarn and the maintenance of tension therein.

It is thought that the present invention will have particular application in tufting machinesfor producing plain non-patterned tufted fabrics, although the invention will also provide benefits in machines using sliding needlebar arrangements. In the latter machines, the requirement for a variable supply of yarn is particularly important.

It will be appreciated that with the present invention, the bulk and complexity of the yarn feed arrangement is reduced to the minimal necessary and by so doing, of course, the requirement for drives for four driven rollers and associated systems is significantly reduced.

It is of course to be understood that the invention is not intended to be restricted to the details of the above embodiment which are described by way of example only.

2

Claims

1. A method of feeding yarn to the tuft forming instrumentalities of a tufting machine comprising wrapping said yarn around a single driven roller and controlling tension of said yarn both upstream and downstream of said driven roller using one or more tensioning devices.

In a tufting machine, a yarn feed arrangement comprising a single driven roller around which yarn is wrapped and yarn control devices both upstream and downstream of said driven roller to effect control over the tension in yarn leaving said driven roller and being fed to the needle of the tufting machine.

3. A yarn feed arrangement according to claim 2 wherein said yarn control devices comprise a static device which restricts the progress of yarn by trapping the yarn between stationary elements thereof.

4. A yarn feed arrangement according to claim 3 wherein said yarn control device comprises a brush.

5. A yarn feed arrangement according to claim 2 wherein said yarn control device comprises one or more puller rollers.

6. A yarn feed arrangement according to claim 2 wherein said yarn control device comprises a roller having a rotating brush mounted adjacent to a surface thereof.

7. A yarn feed arrangement according to claim 2 wherein a static device and a moving device are provided, said static device comprising a brush -8which acts on the yarn upstream of the driven roller and said moving device comprises a pair of puller rollers mounted downstream of the driven roller to maintain tension of the yarn off the driven roller.

8. A yarn feed arrangement according to claim 7 wherein said moving device comprises a roller which is driven at a speed of rotation greater than said driven roller, said roller having a rotating brush mounted adjacent to the surface thereof which can be driven so as to brush the surface of the roller thereby to maintain tension in the yarn wrapped around the roller.

9. A method according to claim 1 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

10. In a tufting machine, a yarn feed arrangement according to claim 2 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.