US3249078A - Method of tufting a pile fabric - Google Patents

Description

y 1966 I H. F NOWICKI 3,249,078

METHOD OF TUFTING A FILE FABRIC Filed April 12, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR HENRY F. NOWICKI y 3, 1965 I H. F. NOWICKI 3,249,078

METHOD OF TUFTING A FILE FABRIC Filed April 12, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 671 9? Q12 WM hhgiiulhhh hinlihhh 67a 43 a A1rklll'llllllli'lllllllllllllliillllill 6 v v v Q I u v u v v v u mull/111M111 sOJH'H'iPHIHI'IHfiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii L sgA T-illilk{!iilill$flllllllllllllllllllll |Il- -5 INVENTOR HENRY F. NOWICKI May 3, 1966 H. F. NOWICKI 3,249,078

7 METHOD OF TUFTING A FILE FABRIC Filed April 12, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 A3 i'iiiiii 4'5 iiiiiii a$h f 53w? 0 M L LI/A/A 4 /4 IA {A (A 4L ti i I [A {A A (A [A {A 11 5 an 53 5 53 5 5s 5 53 53* m m a, m, FIG.|4 m 53.4 m FIGJG INVENTOR HENRY F. NOWICKI United States Patent 3,249,078 METHOD OF TWTING A PILE FABRI Henry F. Nowiclri, Norristown, Pa., assignor to James Lees and Company, Bridgeport, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 12, 1963, Ser. No. 272,648 Claims. (Cl. 112-266) This invention relates to methods and apparatus for producing pattern tufted pile fabrics and more particularly to apparatus for producing Wilton effect tufted floor coverings.

It will be understood that, in the tufting of pile fabric and particularly carpets, a series of needles are positioned in a needle bar and carry the pile yarns through a backing fabric which is advanced over a throat, oscillating loopers positioned underneath the throat engage the pile yarns and the loopers may be positioned to provide cut pile or uncut pile as may be desired.

With the widespread use of tufting machines in the carpet industry which, because of their vastly higher speeds are replacing much of the conventional weaving equipment and particularly the Axrninster loom, it has become increasingly important to improve tufting machines from the standpoint of their ability to produce patterned goods. The term pattern as used hereafter broadly includes variations in color as well as pile height and refers to any non-uniform appearance of the pile surface. The jacquard on a Wilton loom, for example, has the ability of calling up any selected pile yarn from the ground so that the selected end works over" one or more pile wires thereby becoming visible in the face of the fabric. In this way, the designer achieves a desired figure or pattern due to different colors and/ or pile height. The height of the pile projections in the Wilton loom is dependent upon the height of the pile wires and the judicious selection of different colors working over different wires is utilized to produce the over all appearance. A Wilton loom is limited in the number of different yarn ends that can be selected. Ordinarily speakin g five frames (sets of similarly colored pile yarns) is the maximum, although some looms have been known to go as high as seven frames. In an Axminster loom on the other hand, the number of differently colored yarns is relatively unlimited since these may be wound on the spools in accordance with any pattern. Both Wilton and Axminster weaving are slow as compared to the operation of a tufting machine which, in todays practice, produces fabric at the rate of 500 to 600 stitches per minute.

Pattern devices for tufting machines which enable different pile heights to be achieved in accordance with a pattern are of many varieties, examples are shown in Nix Patent 2,875,714 and Crawford Patent 2,853,033. The latter is at present a preferred type because it provides less down time, more positive yarn feed, individual end control, etc. Other devices for achieving various pattern effects in tufting machines are wave line attachments, such as shown in Manning Patent 2,855,879, and means for shifting the needle bar such as shown in Bryant et al. Patent 3,026,830.

It has been found in accordance with the present invention, that for the first time it is possible to produce a tufted pile fabric having the appearance of a woven Wilton carpet. This is achieved when a bar type pattern attachment such as that shown in the Crawford patent above is combined with a shifting needle bar constructed in accordance with the device described in Batty and Broadrick application Serial Number 98,580 filed March 27, 1961, now US. Patent 3,109,395. Not only is it possible to transfer certain yarns from row to row and from area to area, but in accordance with the present "ice invention it is possible to conceal yarns in any particular row 1n such a way that solid non-geometrical areas of one color appear on the face of the fabric. In the case of the simple shifting needle bar as described in the Batty et al. patent, it was primarily the purpose to break up streaks or stripes which are prevalent in tufted goods by shifting the yarns from row to row. When the step shifts of the needle bar are properly coordinated with a judicious selection of high and low pile as controlled by the Grawford bar type attachment, it was unexpectedly appreciated that a whole new vista of design possibilities could be realized.

A primary object of the present invention, therefore, 15 to produce on a tufting machine a pile fabric resembling a Wilton.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tufting machine having both a shifting needle bar and a pattern attachment.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tufting machine having a shifting needle bar and an individual end control pattern attachment.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved method for producing concealed pile areas in Eetatively random portions of the surface of a tufted pile a IIC.

A still further object of the invention is to correlate the action of a shifting needle bar with the pattern attachrnent in a pile fabric tufting machine.

Further objects will be apparent from the specification and drawings in which FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through a multi needle tufting machine equipped with a bar type pattern attachment,

FIG. 2 is a schematic View showing the shifting needle bar as installed on the machine of FIG. 1,

FIGS. 3, 5, and 7 are schematic views of the needle bar, pattern attachment bars, and loopers of a tufting machine constructed in accordance with FIG. 1,

FIGS. 4, 6, and 8 are transverse sections of a portion of the fabric produced respectively by the apparatus of FIGS. 3, 5, and 7,

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic top view of a series of rows of pile projections such as shown in FIGS. 4, 6, and 8,

FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing an individual pattern bar carrying six pile yarn ends, the needles through which the ends are threaded and the loopers for the needles,

FIG. 11 is a sectional detail of a fabric as would be tufted with the yarns controlled as shown in FIG. 10,

FIGS. 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, and 26 are views similar to FIG. 10 with the needle bar shifted into various transverse positions and with a differing series of pattern bars utilized to control the yarn feed and consequently the pile height,

FIGS. 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25', and 27 are diagrammatic sections of the pile loops produced by the apparatus shown respectively in FIGS. 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, and 26,

FIG. 28 is a schematic top view showing the combined fabric which is produced by the various steps shown in FIGS. 10-26,

The invention comprises essentially the combination in a multi-needle carpet tufting machine of means for controlling the individual yarn ends and means for transferring the various yarn ends thus controlled from row to row. This expedient may be utilized to produce random high and low pile areas as well as random areas dominated by a single color even though all of a series of differently colored yarns are present over the entire surface of the fabric.

Referring now to the drawings, the conventional tufting machine comprises an upper housing 40 having a crankshaft 41 and a series of connecting rods 42 which serve to oscillate the needle bar 43- in a vertical direction through eccentrics 44 and sliding shafts 45. A presser foot 46 is mounted on the lower part of housing 40 by means of bolts 47, 47 and brackets 48. A backing fabric F is fed across the throat 56 of the tufting machine from a pin feed roll 51 to a pin take up roll 52. A series of loopers 53 mounted on brackets 54, 54 are clamped to the 'looper rockshaft 55 by means of bolts 56, 56. The fabric F feeds over the bed 57 of the tutfing machine which is supported on legs 58, 58. All of the above described apparatus is conventional in a multi-needle tufting machine and is believed unnecessary to illustrate more than one set of needles, loopers, etc.

The present invention is directed specifically to the manner of feeding and controlling the pile yarn ends Y both as to amount of yarn fed and as to the position in which the yarns are inserted through the backing fabric F. A yarn feed control device such as shown in the Crawford patent above comprises an endless chain 60 carrying a series of uniform height bars or slats 61, 61 around sprackets 62, 62 driven in timed relationship to the actuation of the needle bar. The upper or pattern chain 63 carried over sprockets 64, 65, and 66 is likewise driven in timed relation to sprockets 62 and the needle bar. Pattern chain 63 is provided with a series of notched or profiled pattern bars 67, 67 which intermesh with the bars 61 so that they pass through a yarn feeding zone indicated generally at 70. When high portions of the bars 67 engage certain yarns more yarn is fed than when low portions on the bars 67 engage the yarns so that the height of the loops is determined by the amount of yarn feed to the needles to form any particular loop all in accordance with the well-known pattern control functions. As the yarn passes from the feeding zone 70 it is carried through a stationary yarn guide 71 and an oscillating yarn guide or jerker 72.

In order to shift the individual yarn ends from row to row in the backing fabric F, I utilize a needle bar 43 which is mounted in slotted blocks 75 and 76 as shown in FIG. 2. A link 77 is pivotally connected to the needle bar 43 at 78 and is oscillated backwards and forwards through a pattern mechanism of the type shown in the Batty et al. application which is incorporated herein for the purpose of completing the disclosure of the shifting needle bar mechanism. The needle bar 43 is provided with a plurality, in some cases as many as 1500, pile yarn needles 80, 80 all of which penetrate the backing fabric F to a uniform distance. Each needle 80, regardless of the shift position, is engaged with one of the loopers 53 underneath the fabric and the shift of the needle bar occurs in equal increments which are equivalent to the transverse space between loopers 80, 80.

Referring now to FIGURES 3-8, a plurality of yarns Y is shown under control of one of the bars 67a of the pattern mechanism. It will be understood that a typical bar is illustrated to show the control of the various individual ends in actual practice. The net result of the control effected by the pattern mechanism is accomplished by a plurality of bars in the intermeshing zone 70. The yarns Y after passing over the high portions 67b and the low portions 670 of the bar 67a are carried through the needles 80 in the needle bar 43. After passing through the fabric F, each needle is engaged by one of the loopers 53 carried on the looper rockshaft 55. In the showing of FIGURE 3, yarn Y1 is engaged by looper 53a, yarn Y2 is engaged by looper 53b, and so on across the machine. Since yarn Y1 is controlled by a high portion on the pattern bar 67a, more yarn is supplied to the needle 80a than is the case with yarn Y2 so that a high loop L1 is formed in the fabric. On the other hand yarn Y2 is controlled by a lower portion or notch in bar 67a so that a low loop L2 is formed. In the showing of FIGURE 3, the high loops L1, L1 in the bracket 83 are of contrasting color with the low loops L2, L2 in the bracket 84, and

they may be the same or a different color from the group of high loops in the bracket 85 as well as the low loops bracketed at 86. The high loops bracketed at 87 are preferably of a contrasting color to high loops in brackets 83 and 85. Also, the low loops L2 in bracket 84 may be of the same but are preferably a contrasting color to the high loops bracketed at 87 and the low loops bracketed at 88. All of the low loops in the showing of FIGURE 4 are concealed by their adjacent high loops regardless of their color so that the face appearance of the fabric exhibits contrasting colors for high loop areas 83, 85, and 87.

In the art of designing tufted pile fabrics, it is very important to 'be able to select or shift the colors appearing in any given row of yarns. As explained above, this feature can be readily accomplished on a conventional Wilton loom equipped with a jacquard. The present invention enables a comparable result to be achieved so that, viewing the fabric warpwise or longitudinally, there is an apparent color change in the same longitudinal row. FIGURE 5 shows a basic or simplified manner in which this color change is accomplished with a combined use of a pile height control attachment and a shifting needle bar. The needle bar 43 in FIGURE 5 is shifted to the left so that yarn Y1 is now in engagement with the looper 53c and yarn Y2 is engaged by looper 53a. Since the loopers do not shift, they are indicative of the longitudinal rows or stiches of loops which are produced in the fabric. Since yarn Y1 is controlled by a high portion 67b of the pattern bar 67a it now forms a high loop in the row of stitches in alignment with looper 530 so that all of the high loops in the area 89 are now moved into adjacent rows and the low loops in the area 90 are moved into adjacent alternate rows. This of course has the effect of changing the color in each of these rows. The same applies to the contrasting areas of high loops indicated at 91, 92, and contrasting areas of low loops bracketed at 93 and 94.

In FIGURE 7 the needle bar 43 is shifted an additional increment to the left so that yarn Y1 is now engaged by looper 53d, yarn Y2 by 530, and so on across, thus again shifting the yarns of different colors from one row of stitches to another. FIGURE 8 shows the various high loop areas of FIGURES 4 and 6 shifted one additional row to the left. The pattern bar or bars 67a shown in FIGURES 3, 5, and 7 additionally illustrate what occurs if two adjacent yarns are both controlled by a high or low portion on the bar 67a. Two yarns Y3 and Y4 are controlled by a double high portion 67d and likewise two other yarns Y5 and Y6 are controlled by a double low portion 67e. This variation has the effect of substituting a low loop for a high loop when the shift is made and also substituting a contrasting high loop for a preceding high loop in the same row. Conversely in the case of portion 67e, the change going from right to left substitutes a low loop for a high loop and a contrasting low loop for a preceding loW loop.

The change in appearance of the completed fabric will be apparent from an examination of FIGURE 9 which shows schematically the color areas 95 in one series of the loops terminating in stepped relationship to each other longitudinally of the fabric. The contrasting color area 96 can thus be controlled not only to appear and disappear longitudinally of the fabric by reason of the provision of high and low loops, but it can be transferred transversely of the fabric to provide random areas of different colors.

The above description incorporates some of the basic or simpler features of the present invention where the shift is in increments of one row at a time and the change in pile height is from low to high, thereby affording substantially complete concealment of the low loops. Entirely new design possibilities are available when the pattern bars are provided with multi-height notches used with a shifting needle bar that may be actuated transversely in increments ranging up to as many as seven or more rows.

The pattern bar 67s in FIGURE is shown as having three sets of yarn control areas. The yarns Y5 and Y6 being fed over the high areas to provide maximum height loops, the yarns Y7 and Y8 being fed over the low areas to provide minimum height loops and the yarns Y9 and Y10 being fed over intermediate height areas on the pattern bar 67s to provide an intermediate height loop which may be only partially concealed by the high pile. With the yarns YS-Y10 controlled as shown in FIGURE 10, yarn Y5 is engaged by looper 53c, yarn Y7 by looper 53f, yarn Y9 by looper 53g, Y6 by looper 53h, Y8 by 531', and Y10 by 53 The fabric produced with the control of FIGURE 10 is shown schematically in FIGURE 11 in which yarns Y5 and Y6 form the high loops L15 and L16 respectively. Yarns Y7 and Y8 form the low loops L17, L18 and yarns Y9, Y10 form the intermediate loops L19 and L20. It will be noted that the intermediate loops L19 and L20 are only partially concealed by the high loops L15 and L16 and this effect is shown more clearly by inspection of FIGURES 29 and 30.

In FIGURE 12 the needle bar 43 is shifted to the right so that yarn Y5 is now engaged by looper 53 and each of the other yarns Y7, Y9, Y6, Y8, Y10 is engaged by the loopers 53g, 53k, 532, 53 and 53k respectively. In addition, on this shift a different pattern bar 671 is advanced to control the yarns so that yarn Y5 still forms a high loop L21 but in looper row 53f, yarns Y7 and Y9 now form intermediate loops L22 and L23 in looper rows 53g and 53h. Yarn Y6 which is of the same color as yarn Y5 forms high loops L24 whereas yarns Y8 and Y10 now form intermediate loops L25 and L26. This results in a partially concealed ground comprising intermediate loops L22, L25, and L26 and it will be understood that a series of similar pattern bars 672 may be used to supply any desired longitudinal area of a particular character.

A further variation in fabric appearance is shown in FIGURES l4 and 15 in which the needle bar 43 is shifted one more increment to the right so that yarn Y5 is now in looper row 53g, Y7 in 53k and so forth. In this case the pattern bar 67:: is provided with alternating high and low portions. The high portions control pairs of yarns and the low portions control single yarn ends. This gives a fabric area shown in FIGURE 15 in which high loops L27 and L28 are of the same color and high loops L29 and L30 are of contrasting color. The low loops L31 and L32 are completely concealed.

An additional shift of the needle bar 43 which may take place with a different bar 671 or any one of the other wires is shown in FIGURE 16. In this case yarn Y5 is now shifted to register with looper 5312 and the other yarns correspondingly shifted. The configuration of pattern bar 67v provides for an intermediate height loop L33 in looper row 53h to high loops L34 and L35 of the same color now appearing in rows 531' and 531. Intermediate loop L36 is of the same color as loop L33 and these yarns are the ones which also form loops L27, L28, L21, L24, L15, and L16. The low loops L37 and L38 in FIGURE 17 are completely concealed and it will be noted that yarn Y9 continues to form a low loop as it did in the showing of FIGURE 15. However, the low concealed loops formed by yarn Y9 are now in different portions of the fabric.

In FIGURE 18 the needle bar 43 has been shifted back to the left one increment so that the needle alignment is the same as that shown in FIGURE 14, however, a different pattern bar 67w is now utilized to control the yarns so that in the same rows of FIGURE 15 we now have a low loop L39 which conceals yarn Y5. The high loops L40 and L41 are again transferred to looper rows 53h and 53k so that they continue as shown in FIGURE 15. Yarns Y9 and Y10 are now elevated to join intermediate height loops L42 and L43 whereas yarn Y6 is now concealed because it is formed into a low loop L44.

In FIGURE 20 the needle bar shifts back a further in crement to the left so that the alignment of the needles and loopers is now the same as that shown in FIGURE 12 in which yarn Y5 is engaged by looper 53 However, comparing FIGURES 21 and 13 it will be seen that yarn Y5 now forms intermediate loops L45 in looper row 53 instead of the high loop L21. Yarn Y7 in looper row 53g is now a high loop L46 instead of the intermediate loop L22. Yarns Y8, Y9, and Y10 also form high loops L47 and L48 whereas yarn Y6 is now an intermediate loop L49 instead of the high loop L24 in FIGURE 13. The pattern bar 67x is comparable to pattern bar 67;: except that the lower pile areas call for intermediate height loops instead of low loops.

In FIGURE 22 the needle bar 43 is shifted one more increment to the left so that it is in the same position as shown in FIGURE 10. A yarn control bar 67s is now used in which there are successive steps of low, intermediate, and high controlling individual yarns. This forms a low loop L50 for yarn Y5, an intermediate loop L51 for yarn Y7, and high loop L52 for yarn Y9. This sequence is repeated to form a low loop L53 for yarn Y6, intermediate loop L54 for yarn Y8, and a high loop L55 for yarn Y10. It will be noted that the pattern bar 67s appearing in FIGURES l0 and 22 is cut in the same manner in each case but has been offset one notch so that the same bar may be utilized to control the same yarns but differently in relation to the loopers. This is an example of the endless design possibilities that may be accomplished with the judicious use of pattern bars and shifting control for the needle bar.

FIGURE 24 shows the needle bar 43 shifted one more increment to the left from the initial position of FIGURE 10. Yarn Y5 is now engaged by looper 53n, yarn Y7 by looper 53e, etc. All of the yarns, however, are controlled by an intermediate height portion in pattern bar 673 so that in this area each yarn forms intermediate loops as shown in FIGURE 25 all of the same height. In FIGURE 26 the needle bar shifts one further incre ment to the left in which yarn Y5 is now engaged with looper 530, Y7 with 5312, and so forth. This pattern bar 672, however, produces an intermediate loop L57 with yarn Y5, a low loop L58 which is visible or only partially concealed with yarn Y7, intermediate loops L59, L60 and L61 with yarns Y9, Y6 and Y10 and a low loop L62 with yarn Y8.

It will thus be understood that the pattern bars as introduced into the yarn controlling area are so designed that within the height limits of the bar any loop can be produced in any individual yarn end. While the pattern bars do not physically shift, the cutting or configuration of the bars as they advance into the yarn controlling zone can be arranged so that the effect of the yarn control is the same as if the bars did shift. This is illustrated in FIGURES l0 and 22. In addition, it is now possible to plant any yarn end in an adjacent row of stitches and also within the limits of the needle bar shift, any yarn end could be planted in any desired row. A tufting machine capable of producing a multi-color pile fabric with the ability to control the appearance of the face yarns similar to a loom is a result that has long been desired in the tufted pile fabric industry. For the first time it is now possible to control a random or nongeometrical area in a tufted fabric with regard to the color or type of yarn.

FIGURE 28 illustrates schematically this effect from the standpoint of the appearance of the fabn'c.. FIG- URE 28 shows a transverse repeat row by row of the yarn formations of FIGURES ll, l3, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, and 27.

The pile height control utilized in the present invention may be produced by inserting all of the pile projections to a uniform depth and then reducing the height of selected projections so that the non-selected projections conceal either totally or partially the reduced height projections. This reduction in height may be accomplished by what is known as a loop robbing operation in which the height of a preceeding loop is reduced or backdrawn or which may be produced by pulling back from the pile yarn from the loop or loops currently being formed by the needles. Naturally a combination of the two methods may also be employed.

It will thus be understood that I have provided for the first time a tufted pile fabric suitable for floor covering and the like which can be controlled by the designer to exhibit non-geometrical single or multi-colored areas similar to those only capable of being produced on a Wilton loom with a jacquard. More specifically, the skillful designer can now produce a tufted fabric having random or nongeometrical differently colored areas by means of the precise control of each pile projection as to its location and height. Other attempts to accomplish the same or similar results have proved to be impractical or unsuccessful from the standpoint of cost, maintenance, or speed of operation.

Having thus described my invention 1 claim:

1. In the tufting of Wilton effect pile fabric for use as floor coverings and the like utilizing a plurality of spaced, reciprocable, laterally shiftable needles, a plurality of aligned laterally immovable loopers, and a back ing member moving between said needles and said loopers, the method of inserting a plurality of colored pile yarns carried by said needles through the back-ing material to produce longitudinal linear rows of pile projections on the opposite side of the backing material, simultaneously advancing the backing material in a longitudinal linear path while shifting the points of pile insertion by laterally shifting the needles a distance substantially equal to the distance between at least two loopers and transversely across the direction of feed of the backing material in accordance with a predetermined pattern while varying the yarn feed to the backing material to control the relative height of inserted pile projections whereby selected lower pile projections are concealed by selected higher pile projections in a non-geometrical area.

2. The method of claim 1 in which the pile yarn insertions are shifted transversely from row to row to produce alternate high and low pile in a single longitudinal line of stitches and alternately colored yarns in a single longitudinal line of stitches.

3. In the tufting of Wilton effect pile fabric for use as floor coverings and the like utilizing a plurality of spaced, reciprocable, laterally shiftable needles, a plurality of aligned laterally immovable loopers, and a backing member moving between said needles and said loopers, the method of inserting a plurality of colored pile yarns carried by said needles through the backing material to produce longitudinal linear rows of pile projections on the opposite side of the backing material, simul taneously advancing the backing material in a longitudinal linear path while transferring all of the pile yarns transversely across the direction of feed of the backing material from one row to an adjoining row during the advancing of the backing material by laterally shifting the needles a distance equal to the distance between two loopers, simultaneously concealing selected pile yarn projections in one multi-row area by controlling the height of saidprojections and concealing other 8 selected pile yarn projections in a different multi-row area.

4. The method of claim 3 in which the concealed pile yarns in the first area are of contrasting colors to the concealed pile yarns in the second area.

5. The method of claim 3 in which the areas are nongeometrical in outline.

6. The method of claim 3 in which the pile yarns in one of the areas are partially concealed.

7. In the tufting of Wilton efliect pile fabric for use as floor coverings and the like utilizing a plurality of spaced, reciprocable, laterally shiftable needles, a plurality of aligned laterally immovable loopers, and a backing member moving between said needles and saidloopers, the method of inserting a plurality of colored pile yarns carried by said needles through the backing material to produce longitudinal and transverse linear rows of pile projections on the opposite side of the backing material, simultaneously advancing the backing material in a longitudinal linear path, simultaneously transferring all of the pile yarns transversely across the backing fabric from one longitudinal linear row to an adjoining longitudinal linear row by shifting the needles a distance substantially equal to the distance between two loopers, and simultaneously adjusting the height of selected pile projections during said transfer to conceal certain of the pile yarns in selected multi-row areas whereby each linear row of pile projections contain a plurality of separate pile yarns of varying heights.

8. In the tufting of pile fabric in which a series of pile yarns is inserted simultaneously through a moving sheet to form pile projections on the opposite side thereof, the improvement which comprises the steps of continuously advancing the backing sheet in a straight line over a series of laterally immovable loopers arranged at right angles to the path of the backing sheet travel, inserting a series of pile yarns through the backing sheet in line with said loopers/engaging the yarns with said loopers to form longitudinal linear rows of pile projections on one side of the backing sheet, shifting the yarns laterally during the travel of the backing sheet to engage adjacent loopers on a subsequent yarn inserting cycle and simultaneously varying the yarn feed to the backing material to reduce the height of selected pile projections thereby producing both high and low pile projections from different yarns in the same longitudinal linear row in the backing sheet.

9. The method of claim 8 in which the lateral shifting of the yarns from row to row is elfected in consecutive insertions.

10. The method of claim 8 including the steps of controlling the height of a series of yarns of a first color to reduce the pile projections of said series and thereby conceal said first series beneath the pile projections of a second series of yarns of a different color.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,679,218 5/1954 Jones 112-79 2,766,506 10/1956 Rice.

2,853,033 9/ 1958 Crawford 112-79.6 2,855,879 10/1958 Manning et a1 1-1279 3,026,830 3/ 1962 Bryant et al. 11279 3,100,465 8/1963 Broadrick 11279 3,109,395 11/1963 Batty et a1 11279 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. IN THE TUFTING OF WILTON EFFECT PILE FABRIC FOR USE AS FLOOR COVERINGS AND THE LIKE UTILIZING A PLURALITY OF SPACED, RECIPROCABLE, LATERALLY SHIFTABLE NEEDLES, A PLURALITY OF ALIGNED LATERALLY IMMOVABLE LOOPERS, AND A BACKING MEMBER MOVING BETWEEN SAID NEEDLES AND SAID LOOPERS, THE METHOD OF INSERTING A PLURALITY OF COLORED PILE YARNS CARRIED BY SAID NEEDLES THROUGH THE BACKING MATERIAL TO PRODUCE LONGITUDINAL LINEAR ROWS OF PILE PROJECTIONS ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE BACKING MATERIAL, SIMULTANEOUSLY ADVANCING THE BACKING MATERIAL IN A LONGITUDINAL LINEAR PATH WHILE SHIFTING THE POINTS OF PILE INSERTION BY LATERALLY SHIFTING THE NEEDLES A DISTANCE SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE DISTANCE BETWEEN AT LEAST TWO LOOPERS AND TRANSVERSELY ACROSS THE DIRECTION OF FEED OF THE BACKING MATERIAL IN ACCORDANCE WITH A PREDETERMINED PATTERN WHILE VARYING THE YARN FEED TO THE BACKING MATERIAL TO CONTROL THE RELATIVE HEIGHT OF INSERTED PILE PROJECTIONS WHEREBY SELECTED LOWER PILE PROJECTIONS ARE CONCEALED BY SELECTED HIGHER PILE PROJECTIONS IN A NON-GEOMETRICAL AREA.

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