US3402445A - Apparatus for tightening knots in a fringe material - Google Patents

Description

Sept-.24, 1968 J. D. BROCK 3,402,445

APPARATUS FOR TIGHTENING KNOTS IN A FRINGE MATERIAL Filed March 16, 1966 ,FIG 1. '76 1 63 77 14- f 59 INVENTOR JOHN D BROCK Gar 35m wdizzz ATTORNEYS United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE mscLosuRE A machine for tightening knots in a loosely knotted material is provided having spaced gripping devices for holding the material at opposite ends as it is advanced through the machine. One of the gripping devices is disposed at an oblique angle with respect to the other device so that the spacing between the gripping devices gradually increases in the direction of travel of the material. As the material advances through the machine the lateral tension force applied at the ends of the material increases and causes the knots to be tightened. A guide plate disposed between the gripping devices causes the knots to be uniformly tightened and spaced from the ends.

In making rugs,.resort is often made to the use of tassels or other fringe-type material for enhancing the appearance of the rug. In my co-pending application Ser. No. 665,943, filed Aug. 14, 1967, which is a continuationin-partof Ser. No. 517,384, filed Dec. 29, 1965, now abandoned, there is disclosed a machine for making a rug fringe which comprises a woven border having a loose fringe on one side only. Such rug fringes have found 'wide acceptance as a decorative attachment for rugs, and can be used either as a loose fringe or with the fringe formedinto tassels by tying several strands of the fringe yarn into a knot adjacent the woven border. In either case, the woven border of the rug fringe is sewn to the rug to form a decorative attachment.

Where the fringe is formed into tassels, this operation, heretofore, has been done by hand; however, the formation of tassels on the rug fringe normally suffers from many disadvantages particularly due to the difficulty of obtaining uniformly tight knots which are equally spaced from the woven border. As can be appreciated, this requires special care and attention on the part of the workers to prevent a high percentage of spoilage. Such an operation is slow and costly, and it takes several workers to keep up with the output of a single rug fringe machine such as described in my aforementioned application.

The present invention overcomes these disadvantages and provides a novel apparatus for automatically tightening loosely formed knots of a rug fringe to a uniform tightness while maintaining the knots equally spaced from the woven border. The step of forming tassels by tying several strands of the fringe into a loose knot may be done by machine or manually. Where the loose knot is formed manually, a considerable cost saving in the end product is still realized, because it is no longer necessary for the workmen to exercise the special care and precautions necessary to try to obtain a uniform tightness and equal spacing of the knots from the woven border, and the loose knots are easily formed with the workmen being able to work at a considerable increase in speed.

Accordingly, it is a primaryobject of the present inventionito provide a novel knot tightening apparatus for a rug fringe compfising a woven border having a fringe on one side only formed with loose knots.

Another object of the present invention is to provide 3,402,445 Patented Sept. 24, 1968 a novel knot tightening apparatus for completing the tassel forming operation on a rug fringe.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel'knot tightening apparatus which assures uniform tightening of knots and equal spacing of knots from the woven border of a rug fringe.

Although the invention is particularly adapted for-tightening of loose knots formed in a rug fringe made in accordance with the teachings of my aforementioned c'opending application and is described in connection there with, in its broader aspects, the invention is also susceptible for a variety of other uses such as, for example, to effect lateral tensioning of web or sheet material or spreading of a fabric. Such apparatus have heretofore required the use of bowed rolls or rotatable shafts having helical threads extending from the center outwardly. The present invention obviates the need of such costly arrangements and provides a novel apparatus for lateral tensioning of material which is simple and economical in construction, yet highly efiicient in operation.

Accordingly, a further object of the present invention is to provide a novel tensioning apparatus for effecting lateral stretching or tensioning of web or sheet materials.

To this end, in accordance with the present invention, there are provided two sets of gripping devices arranged in spaced relationship to edge grip the material as it is advanced. One gripping device set is disposed parallel to the direction of travel of the advancing material and the other gripping device set is disposed obliquely with respect to the direction of travel of the advancing material. In this manner, the spacing between the sets gradually increases from the initial point of contact of the gripping devices with the advancing material in the direction of travel of the advancing material to effect lateral tensioning thereof by the application of a continuous, progressively increasing lateral tensioning force to the material.

In accordance with another feature of the present invention, loosely formed knots in a rug fringe are uniformly tightened and the spacing of the knots from the woven border of the rug fringe are maintained uniform. To this end, a slotted guide plate is disposed between the sets of gripping devices and the loosely knotted rug fringe material is advanced through the machine so that the fringe material passes through the slot of the guide plate with all the knots being positioned on one side of the plate and the border of the fringe material passing on the other side. As tension is applied through the action of the gripping devices, the loose knots are drawn tight against the slotted plate which sets the spacing of the knots from the border.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, means are provided to insure that the loose fringe is extended outwardly for engagement by one of the sets of gripping devices. To this end, the rug fringe is initially transported perpendicular to the path of travel of the rug fringe past the gripping devices, and the direction of feed of the rug fringe is changed approximately before passage past the gripping devices. As the direction of feed is changed, the rug fringe is subjected to a forced air flow which causes the rug fringe and the loose strands extending from .the woven border to be flipped and extend outwardly.

Although the invention will be described with respect to the specific application of tightening loosely formed knots in a rug fringe, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the invention is susceptible for use in many other environments. Therefore, although only one specific form of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, it is to be expressly understood that this drawing is for the purpose of illustration only and is not intended to represent the full scope of the invention which is defined by the appended claims.

In the drawing, wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the tensioning apparatus of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the tensioning apparatus of FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawing, reference character generally designates the knot tensioning apparatus of the present invention comprising a rectangular frame 11 supported at each corner by plurality of leg members 12. Frame 11 may be formed in a conventional manner by a pair of longitudinally extending angle pieces 13 and 14, and laterally extending angle pieces 15 and 16. A pair of channel member 17 and 18 are fixed at opposite ends to angle pieces 15 and 16. Disposed beneath the rectangular frame 11 is another pair of supporting members 19 and 20 which may be conveniently secured to cross pieces (not shown) joining oppositely disposed leg members 12. Additional reinforcing members may be provided, if desired, to add structural support to the frame.

In accordance with the present invention, two sets of gripping devices 21 and 22 are mounted in spaced relationship to the channel members 17 and 18 so that each set grips an edge of the advancing material 9 for a portion of its run. Set 22 is disposed parallel to the direction of travel of the material as it is advanced between the sets 21 and 22, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 1, and the other set 21 is disposed obliquely or at an angle with respect to the direction of travel of the material 9 between the sets.

The spacing between the sets 21 and 22 is predeterminedly set in accordance with the width of the material so that the initial point of contact of the gripping devices with the material, the material is gripped along the edges. Thereafter, the distance or spacing between the gripping devices in a direction of travel of the advancing material between the sets gradually increases. In this manner, there is exerted a continuous, lateral tensioning or stretching force which is progressively increased as the material is advanced between the sets of gripping devices.

Edge gripping of the material on each side is effected in a similar manner by each edge gripping device 21 and 22 which comprise a roll 23 and a cooperating endless belt 24 rotatably mounted about four pulleys 25-28, and a roll 29 and a cooperating endless belt 30 rotatably mounted about four pulleys 31-34, respectively. The structural supporting arrangement for each gripping device set is identical with the exception, as clearly shown in FIG. 1, that set 21 is disposed at an angle with respect to the direction of travel of the advancing material between the sets while the other set 22 is disposed parallel to the direction of travel of the advancing material between the sets. Accordingly, the structural supporting arrangement for only one set will be described.

Roll 23 comprises a disc-like roller rotatably mounted on stub shaft 35 secured to channel member 17 and is driven by belt 24. Advantageously, the peripheral edge of the roll 23 comprises a resilient surface such as, for example, rubber, which enhances frictional engagement between the roll and the material. If desired, the surface may be grooved or notched to further improve frictional contact and prevent lateral slippage.

Pulleys 25-28 are conventional V-belt pulleys adapted to receive the endless V-belt 24. Pulley 25 is keyed to a shaft 36 which is rotatably supported by pillow-block 37 secured to upstanding member 38. Likewise, pulleys 26, 27 and 28 are keyed to their respective shafts 39, 40 and 41, which are rotatably supported by pillow- blocks 42, 43 and 44, respectively. Pillow-block 42 is mounted to channel member 17, while pillow- blocks 43 and 44 are mounted to Belt 24 is driven 'by a fifth pulley 46 keyed to driving shaft 47, and a similar driving pulley 48 is secured to the other side of shaft 47 for establishing a driving connection to belt 30 of edge gripping set 22.

Shaft 47 is rotatably supported in a conventional manner on cross pieces 19 and 20 and is arranged to be driven from a frame mounted motor 50 through a speed reduction unit 51. To this end, the output shaft 49 of motor 50 has affixed thereto a pulley drive comprising a pulley 52 keyed to shaft 49, a pulley 53 keyed to the input shaft 54 of the speed reduction unit 51 and an endless belt 55. The output of the speed reduction unit 51 is conveniently coupled to the driving shaft 47 by means of a sprocket chain drive comprising a sprocket 56 keyed to the output shaft 57 of the speed reduction unit and drivingly connected to sprocket 58 secured to the drive shaft by means of chain 59.

In operation, motor 50 is energized and the material is fed to the edge-gripping sets 21 and 22 to establish an initial contact with the material between the belts 24 and 30 and the rollers 23 and 29. The material is thus gripped at its edges and advanced in the direction of the arrows between the sets of gripping devices. Since the distance between the sets gradually increases from the initial point of contact, a continuous, progressively increasing lateral tension force is applied to the material. This lateral tension force is applied so long as the material is in contact with the sets of gripping devices, and pressure is maintained on the edges of the material between the rollers and the belts for a distance which is slightly greater than a quarter of the circumference of the roll.

After the material leaves the final point of contact between the rollers 23 and 29 and the belts 24 and 30, the material is withdrawn from the machine by passing it over a feed roller 60 from where it may be stored in any desirable manner. Feed roller 60 is secured to shaft 61 which is rotatably supported by pillow- blocks 62 and 63 carried by frame members 64 and 65 secured to the frame 11. For driving the feed roller 60, there is keyed to shaft 61 a pulley 66 which is driven through endless belt 67 and driving pulley 68 afiixed to the driving shaft 47.

As herebefore described, the invention is particularly adapted for tightening up loose knots in a rug fringe made in accordance with the apparatus described in my co-pending application Ser. No. 517,384. To this end a slotted guide member is disposed between the sets of gripping devices 21 and 22, which comprises an upper guide plate 70 and a lower guide plate 71 having an arcuate slot or channel 72 formed therebetween. Guide plate 70 is supported to the frame 11 by bracket 73, while guide member 71 is supported to the forward portion of the frame 11 by bracket 74. Guide plates 70 and 71 are supported in the same plane and in spaced relationship so that their adjacent edges are spaced and shaped to provide an arcuate channel 72 which corresponds to the curvature of the rolls.

The rug fringe 9 is advanced through the machine so that the fringe material passes through the channel 72 formed by the guide plates 70 and 71, with the knots being disposed on one side and the border being disposed on the other side. In operation, as the lateral tension force is applied to the rug fringe as it is advanced between the sets of gripping devices, the loose knots are drawn tight against the guide member, which provides a uniform spacing of all knots from the rug fringe border. The spacing of the guide plates 70 and 71 is set so as to prevent the tightened knot from passing therethrough, and it should be apparent that the size of the channel can be varied as desired according to the thickness of the material and the size of the knot.

To insure that all strands of the loose fringe of the material extend outwardly for engagement by edgegripping device 21, the rug fringe is initially transported perpendicular to the path of travel of the rug fringe past the sets of gripping devices through a U-shaped guide 75 supported transversely of frame members 17 and 18.

The rug fringe is fed into the machine with the woven border traveling adjacent the biglrt of the U and the direction of feed of the rug fringe is changed approximately 90 after traveling the limit of the guide 75. As the direction of feed of the rug fringe is changed, means are provided for subjecting the rug fringe to a forced air flow which causes the rug fringe tobe flipped 180 so that the loose strands extending from the woven border all extend outwardly and are engaged by edgeagripping device 21. Such an air flow may be provided by a blower 76 supported by gusset 77 secured to angle piece 14. Blower 76 may include a nozzle 78 positioned close to the point of the direction of feed. Advantageously, the exit end of guide 75 may be cut on a bias, as at 79, to facilitate turnover of the material and a sloping feed member 80 is supported between the channel members 17 and 18 to provide a slide for the material by which it is advanced into engagement with the gripping devices and also to prevent the strands of the rug fringe from hanging loosely after they are flipped by the air blast.

There has thus been described a simple, yet highly efficient, machine for effecting the application of a lateral tension force transverse to the direction of feed of the material. While the invention has been described with particularity with respect to tightening of loose knots formed in a rug fringe, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the inventive concept is susceptible of a variety of applications and that various modifications may be made without departing from the inventive concept. It is therefore intended by the appended claims to cover all such modifications which come within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for lateral tensioning of a material having a plurality of loosely formed knots comprising a first and a second set of gripping devices, means for advancing the material between said first and said second sets of gripping devices, means supporting said first gripping device set for edge gripping the material on one end of the material adjacent one side of the knots, means supporting said second gripping device set for edge gripping the material on the other end of the material adjacent the other side of the knots, and said first and said second sets of gripping devices being disposed in spaced relationship such that the distance between said first and said second sets of gripping devices from the initial point of contact of said sets of gripping devices with the advancing material gradually increases in the direction of travel of the advancing material to effect lateral tensioning thereof and tightening of the knots as the material is advanced and guide means disposed be tween said sets of gripping devices for spacing the tightened knots from the ends of the material.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said guide means disposed between said sets of gripping devices includes a channel extending in the direction of travel of the material through the machine and adapted to receive the material with the knots on one side so as to cause the knots to be uniformly tightened and spaced from the end of the material as it is advanced through the machine.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said sets of gripping devices comprises a roll and an endless belt rotatably mounted and disposed such that said endless belt presses the material against the surface of said roll to grip the material between said endless belt and said surface of the roll as the material is ad vanced to effect lateral tensioning thereof.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said sets of gripping devices comprises a roll, a plurality of rotatably mounted pulleys and an endless belt passing around and received by said pulleys and disposed such that said endless belt presses the material against the surface of said roll to grip the material between said endless belt and said surface of the roll as the mater'ial is advanced to elfect lateral tensioning thereof and said means for advancing the material includes a drive ing a woven border and a fringe on one side formed with loosely tied knots comprising means for advancing the rug fringe, first griping means disposed in the path of the advancing rug fringe for gripping: the border, second gripping means disposed in the path of the advancing rug fringe for gripping the fringe, said first and said second gripping means being disposed in spaced relationship such that the distance between said first and said second gripping means from the initial point of cont-act of said first and said second gripping means with the border and fringe gradually increases in the direction of feed of the rug fringe to effect tightening of the loosely formed knots as the rug fringe is advanced and guide means supported between said first and said second. gripping means for setting the spacing of the tightened knots from the border of the rug fringe material.

6. Apparatus for tightening knots as set forth in claim 5 wherein one of said gripping means is disposed parallel to the direction of travel of the advancing rug fringe between said first and said second gripping means and the other of said gripping means is disposed obliquely with respect to the direction of travel of the advancing rug fringe between said first and said second gripping means.

7. Apparatus for tightening knots as set forth in claim 5 wherein each of said gripping means comprises a roll and an endless belt rotatably mounted and disposed such that one of the endless belts presses the border against the surface of a corresponding roll to grip the border between said endless belt and said surface of the roll and the other of the endless belts presses the fringe against the surface of its corresponding roll to grip the fringe between said last named endless belt and surface of the roll to eifect tightening of the knots as the rug fringe is advanced.

8. Apparatus for tightening knots as set forth in claim 5 wherein said guide means for setting the spacing of the tightened knots from the border of the rug fringe comprises a plate member having a slot extending in the direction of travel of the rug fringe between said first and said second gripping means and adapted to receive the rug fringe as it is advanced with the loosely formed knots positioned on one side thereof.

9. Apparatus for tightening knots as set forth in claim 8 wherein the size of said slot is such as to prevent a tightened knot from passing therethrough.

10. Apparatus for tightening knots as set forth in claim 5 further including means disposed adjacent the path of travel of the advancing rug fringe and ahead of said first and said second gripping means for causing the fringe of the rug fringe to be extended outwardly for gripping engagement by said second gripping means.

11. Apparatus for tightening knots as set forth in claim 10 wherein said means for causing the fringe of the rug fringe to be extended outwardly comprises a forced air flow directed toward the advancing rug fringe.

12. Apparatus for tightening knots as set forth in claim 10 further including means disposed in the path of travel of the advancing rug fringe for causing the direction of travel of the rug fringe to be changed prior to passage through said first and said second gripping means, and said means for causing the fringe to be extended outwardly is disposed adjacent the path of travel of the advancing rug fringe at the point where the direction of travel of the rug fringe is changed.

13. Apparatus for tightening knots as set forth in claim 12 wherein said means for causing the fringe to be extended outwardly comprises a forced air flow directed toward the advancing rug fringe.

14. Apparatus for tightening knots as set forth in claim 12 wherein said means for causing the direction of travel of the rug fringe to be changed includes a channel member adapted to receive the border, said channel being disposed substantially perpendicular to the direction of travel ofrthe rug fringe between said first and said second gripping means whereby the direction of travel of the vrug fringe is changed approximately 90 15. Apparatus for tightening knots as set forth in claim --14 wherein said means for causing the fringe to be extended outwardly comprises a forced air flow directed toward the'rugv fringe at the point where the direction of travel of the rug fringe ischanged for causing the rug 504,316 9/1893 Arnold 1,997,483 4/1935 Cluett 2,702,406 2/1955 Race LOUIS K. RIMRODTfP'rimary Examiner.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE PATENT OFFICE Washington, D.C. 20231 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,402,445 September 24, 1968 John D. Brock It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 3, line 16, "member" should read members line 73, after "mounted to" insert an upstanding plate 45 secured to channel member 17.

Signed and sealed this 3rd day of February 1970.

(SEAL) Attest:

Edward M. Fletcher, Jr.

Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR.

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