US3641956A

US3641956A - Nondirectional loop tuft carpet-making machine

Info

Publication number: US3641956A
Application number: US67101A
Authority: US
Inventors: Sylvan B Ownbey
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1970-08-26
Filing date: 1970-08-26
Publication date: 1972-02-15
Anticipated expiration: 1989-02-15
Also published as: GB1374025A

Abstract

A pass-type carpet-making machine for making loop tuft carpeting having a nondirectional or random appearance. A plurality of reciprocating needles are preferably hollow throughout their length and each inserts two or more yarn strands into a base fabric. A pair of loopers cooperate with each needle to form at least two loops of yarn taken from the opposite sides of each needle on each reciprocal stroke of said needles.

Description

United States Patent Ownbey [54] NONDIRECTIONAL LOOP TUFT CARPET-MAKING MACHINE [72] Inventor:

Sylvan B. Ownbey, 1200 Francisco, Torrance, Calif. 90502 [22] Filed: Aug. 26, 1970 I21] Appl.N0.: 67,101

[521 U.S.Cl. ..l12/79 R, 112/224 [51] lnt.Cl ..D05c 15/22 [58] Field 01 Search ..1 12/79 R, 79 A, 80, 266, 410,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,990,792 7/1961 Nowicki et a1 ..112/79 A 1 Feb. 15, 1972 3,091,199 5/1963 Ballard ..1 12/79 R 3,338,198 8/1967 Short et al. ...1 12/79 R X 3,356,048 12/1967 Haas ..1 12/79 R Primary Examiner.lames R. Boler Attorney-Robert C. Comstock [57 1 ABSTRACT A pass-type carpet-making machine for making loop tuft carpeting having a nondirectional or random appearance. A plurality of reciprocating needles are preferably hollow throughout their length and each inserts two or more yarn strands into a base fabric. A pair of loopers cooperate with each needle to form at least two loops of yarn taken from the opposite sides of each needle on each reciprocal stroke of said needles.

10 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to carpet-making machines and relates more particularly to machines of the loop tufting type.

2. Description of the Prior Art At the present time, loop carpeting can be produced only by an automatic machine in which the head and needle travel across the material. In practical use, such a machine uses a maximum of two needles. An automatic machine is accordingly slow and expensive to operate.

A conventional pass type of machine in which the material is moved with respect to the needle will not produce nondirectional carpeting because the loops are all taken from the same side of the needle by a single looper. They are accordingly aligned in definite noticeable rows, providing a corn row effect in appearance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a loop tufting machine of the pass type having a plurality of reciprocally operating needles which are preferably arranged in offset rows, each row having a plurality of preferably hollow needles, each needle having two or more strands of material extending down through an opening disposed substantially along the longitudinal axis of the needle. The needles of one row are staggered relative to the needles of the other row. A pair of loopers are used with each needle, one looper contacting at least one strand of material on each side of the needle on each downward stroke of the needle and holding it to form a loop when the needles are moved upwardly. Thus, two loops are formed from each needle and its loopers to provide two loops adjacent each other and taken from the opposite sides of the needle, thereby producing a random, nondirectional effect. The number of needles in a row is limited only by the size of the machine, that is, the length of the needle clamp, yarn guide and yarn feed.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a pass type of carpet making machine having a plurality of needles, each having a pair of loopers engaging opposite sides of the needle to provide double loop carpeting in which the directional corn row" effect is eliminated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of this character which will manufacture such carpeting far more economically than existing devices and wherein it is possible to use as many needles as the manufacturer may desire.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine of this character wherein the needles are hollow so that two or more strands of material extend down through an opening disposed substantially along the longitudinal axis of the needle.

Still another object of the invention is to provide needles of this character having means for separating the strands at the operating end thereof so that they may be separately engaged by the loopers.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine which will make nondirectional carpeting which is tufted lengthwise, so that the backing can be coated with latex by running the finished carpeting through a latex oven.

The characteristics and advantages of the invention are further sufficiently referred to in connection with the following detailed description of the accompanying drawings which represent one embodiment. After considering this example, skilled persons will understand that many variations may be made without departing from the principles disclosed and I contemplate the employment of any structures, arrangements or modes of operation that are properly within the scope of the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the top part of a pass type of carpet-making machine embodying the present inven tion;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and including a showing of the end loopers and the mechanism for mounting same in their uppermost position;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of needle clamp, needles, loopers and looper-mounting means in their lowermost position, with the yarn not shown for clarity of illustration;

FIG. Sis an enlarged view taken on line 55 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 4, but showing the yarn;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of one of the needles, with yarn strands therein and also showing the loopers therefor in operative engagement with the needle and yarn strands;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of one of the hollow needles;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken on line 9-9 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken on line 10-10 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 1 l is a sectional view taken on line llll of FIG. 8;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary top plan view of the needle bar.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring more particularly to the drawings, there is shown a pass type of carpet-making machine with the present invention embodied therein. The pass type of machine is well known and includes a horizontal base 20, supported on legs 21, and a substantially L-shaped head, indicated generally at 22. The short arm 24 of the head is vertically disposed with the lower end secured to the base in a well-known manner. The horizontal arm 26 of the head extends from the upper end of the vertical part or arm 24 in upwardly spaced relation to the base.

The horizontal arm 26 is hollow with a rotatable shaft 28 operably disposed therein, there being a bearing 30 at the end of the horizontal arm from which the vertical arm 24 depends. Shaft 28 extends outwardly of the bearing 30 and has a pulley 32 secured thereon, a belt 34 on said pulley 32 being connected to a suitable source of power such as an electric motor, not shown.

A yarn feed mechanism, indicated generally at 38 is operably mounted adjacent the free end of the horizontal arm 26 of the head. This yarn feed mechanism is of well-known character and includes

rollers

40 and 42 operably mounted between laterally spaced vertical frame members 44 spaced apart relative to each other. There are also frame parts 48 which extend from the upper ends of the frame members 44 forwardly and downwardly and are secured at their forward ends to the upper ends of vertical frame members 50. The lower ends of said frame members 50 are connected or secured to the forward ends of the horizontal frame members 52, the opposite ends of said frame members 52 being secured to the lower ends of the vertical frame members 44. The frame is secured to the horizontal arm 26 of the head by screws, not shown, or by any other suitable well-known means.

There is means for effecting a constant, positive feed, said

means including rollers

40 and 42 which are vertically spaced apart and have

axial shafts

54 and 56 respectively. Shaft 56 has a pulley 58 at one end and is driven by a belt 60 which is operably mounted on a pulley, not shown, secured on shaft 28 within the arm 26 of the head, said belt extending through a suitable opening provided therefor in said arm 26.

The opposite end of shaft 56 of roller 42 has a sprocket 64 secured thereon and is connected by a chain 66 with a sprocket 68 secured on the adjacent end of shaft 54. Thus

rollers

40 and 42 are rotated.

A yarn jerker has its ends secured to the frame at the junction of the

frame members

48 and 50, said yarn jerker having nun-n "a m openings for the yarn strands or threads, indicated at 72. These openings are spaced apart longitudinally of the yarn jerker. The yarn strands are disposed on spools, not shown, mounted in the usual well known manner, and are disposed in respective grooves of the

rollers

40 and 42. As shown the yarn strands pass over roller 40 and under roller 42 and then are disposed in the openings provided therefor in the yarn jerker.

At the front of the arm 26 of the head there is an upper yarn guide 76 and a lower yarn guide 78, both of which are secured to the arm 26 and are vertically spaced apart. From the lower yarn guide 78, the strands of yarn are fed to the needles, indicated generally at 80, and described more fully hereinafter.

The needles 80 are carried by a needle clamp 86 which comprises a bar having two rows of

vertical bores

88 and 90 therein, the bores of each row being spaced apart longitudinally of the needle clamp 86. The row of bores 88 is termed herein the front row while the row of bores 90 is termed the rear row and the bores of row 90 are staggered relative to the bores of row 88.

Needle clamp 86 is secured to a support 92, which is attached to the lower end of actuator rods 94 extending downwardly of the arm 26 of the head 22. Rods 94 are spaced apart and the upper parts of said rods are operably mounted within the arm 26 and are reciprocated longitudinally in the well-known manner by the shaft 28 so that the needle clamp 86 is moved downwardly and upwardly with reciprocal movements of the rods 94.

The needles 80 are all the same, so a description of one will suffice. Each of the needles 80 has a tubular shank 100 at one end, an intermediate blade, indicated generally at 102, and a point, indicated generally at 104. Each shank 100 has a longitudinally extending bore 103. The shanks 100 are removably received in the

bores

88 and 90 of the needle clamp 86, and the diameter of the

bores

88 and 90 are of a suitable diameter for slidable but snug reception of the shanks of the needles. Means for securing the needles in the

bores

88 and 90 comprise setscrews 105 threadably disposed in tapped bores extending norm ally to the axis of the

bores

88 and 90,

The intermediate blade 102 and point 104 of the needles 80 have a longitudinally extending bore 106 which is a continuation of the bore 103. The blade of each needle 80 is channel or U-shaped in cross section, as best shown in FIGS. 3, 7 and 10. The bore 106 is defined by a pair of parallel sidewalls which are connected along their forward or front edges by a front wall 1 10. The front wall 1 is V-shaped in cross section, with its apex at the front of the needle 80, as best shown in FIGS. 7 and 10. The bore 106 extends to the tip of the point 104, and there is an opening or eye 114 in the front of the blade, just above the point 104. That portion of the front wall 1 10 below the eye 114 is enlarged to form a rounded projection or knob 116, which extends forwardly of the plane of the front wall 110. Just above the eye 114, the front wall 1 10 has a downwardly and inwardly inclined portion 118.

it will be noted that the

bores

106 and 103 provide a continuous opening extending along the longitudinal axis of the needle. This opening is used to provide center feed or two or more strands through the hollow needles, eliminating drag. When the strands reach the eye 114, they move out from the bore 106 through the eye 1 14.

The front wall 1 10 of the needle 80 has a pair of oppositely facing sides 110a and 110b, which are disposed at substantially right angles to each other. When the needle 80 is in its downward stroke, the yarn strands extend out through the eye 114 and upwardly along the sides 110a and 1l0b of the front wall 110. If there are two strands, one strand will move along each of the faces 110a and 11%. If there are three strands, one strand will move along one face and two strands will move along the other face, with the odd strand changing its position at random. If there are four strands, two will move along each of the faces, et cetera.

The base is hollow and has a top wall 120 which has an opening 122 therein below the needle assembly or gang of needles. A spacer plate 124 is secured to the top of the base and has an opening 126 therein which is aligned with the opening 122 in the top wall of the base. On top of the spacer plate there is a throat plate 128 secured in any well-known manner, such as by screws or the like, not shown.

Throat plate 128 has an opening 130 therein which is smaller than the

openings

122 and 126 but which is in register therewith. Along the front of the opening 130 of the throat plate 128 there are notches 132 spaced apart longitudinally of the plate and separated by lugs 134. Fingers 136 are secured to the throat plate 128 and project across the opening 130 of said throat plate terminating just short of the side 138 of the opening opposite the side having the notches 132.

Fingers 136 are parallel relative to each other. The front row of needles are adapted to move into and out of the notches 132. The fingers 136 are spaced laterally apart providing spaces 140 into which the rear row of needles are adapted to operatively enter and move out of. These spaces 140 are arranged alternatively with the spaces 142 which are in register or alignment with the notches 132.

There are a plurality of loopers operably disposed beneath the throat plate, there being two sets of loopers, the loopers of one of said sets being indicated generally by the reference numeral 146 and the loopers of the other set being indicated generally by the reference numeral 148.

The loopers 148 each have a shank 150 with a rearwardly and slightly upwardly inclined yarn-engaging finger 152 having a straight underside. The loopers 146 also have shanks, indicated at 154, with a rearwardly offset upper end portion 156 from the upper end of which a finger 158 extends rearwardly and slightly upwardly, the fingers 158 being substantially the same as the fingers 152.

There is means for operably mounting the loopers, said means comprising a bottom oscillating shaft 160 beneath the base and mounted in the usual well-known manner in bearings, not shown, shaft 160 being oscillated by the usual well-known mechanism including a timing cam, said mechanism also not being shown.

To shaft 160 is secured a looper bar, indicated generally at 162, said bar comprising an upper member 164 and a lower member 166. There is a shaft opening 168 in the looper bar which extends longitudinally thereof, approximately half of the opening 168 being in the upper member 164 and approximately half in the lower member 166. Screws 170 secure the upper and lower members of the looper bar together and secure said bar on the lower oscillating shaft 160 so that the looper bar will oscillate with oscillation of the shaft 160. The shanks of the loopers are disposed in recesses provided therefor in the upper member 164 and are secured in said recesses by setscrews 172. This arrangement is well known.

There are two loopers for each needle and the looper fingers 158 of loopers 154 are adapted to operably engage the strands of yarn along the forwardly inclined converging sides 110a and b of the front wall 110 of the rear row needles and the looper fingers 152 of the loopers 148 are adapted to operably engage the strands of yarn along the forwardly inclined converging sides 110a and b of the front wall 110 of the front row needles.

Each of the needles 80 is adapted to use a plurality of strands of yarn. While two such strands for each needle are shown, it is to be understood that more than two can be used, the number being limited only by the internal size of the needies.

The strands of yarn from the lower guide 78 are threaded through the bore 103 in the shank 100 of each needle and thence downwardly in the bore 106 and through the eye 1 14. The strands then extend forwardly through the eyes 114 of the respective needles and are woven into the jute or base fabric,

not shown, the machine having a jute stripper of the usual well-known character. The strands or threads may be of different colors if desired and should more than two strands be desired they may be of different colors according to the color effect desired in the finished carpet.

The needle clamp is reciprocated downwardly and upwardly by well-known mechanism within the arm 26. With downward movement of the needle clamp, the needles with their yarn threads are moved downwardly and through the base fabric or jute which is positively fed by the usual wellknown mechanism which includes drive rollers and idler rollers. The front row of needles then moves into the notches 132 of the throat plate while the rear row of needles moves into the spaces 140 between the fingers 136 rearwardly of the lugs 134. When the needles have moved downwardly a predetermined distance, the bottom oscillating shaft is rocked counterclockwise, as viewed in FIG. 4, causing the looper bar to move accordingly and move the

looper fingers

152 and 158 into engagement with the yarn strands along the forwardly converging sides or faces 110a and b of the front walls 110 of the respective needles 80. After the looper fingers have moved into this position, the needle clamp is moved upwardly, whereupon loops are formed below the base fabric or jute and the loopers are oscillated clockwise to disengage the

fingers

152 and 158 thereof out of engagement with the loops of yarn.

- With each cycle of operation of the needles, a cycle being considered the movement of the needles from their upper position to their lower position and back to the upper position, the loopers are moved into engagement with the yarn threads thereof to form the loops as above described, and then back to their inoperative position out of engagement with the needles and the yarn loops.

By having the needles hollow from the upper end to at least the eyes, the strands are held steadier and there is better control of the strands than with needles which are not hollow throughout their length. Because of this, the strands can also be more easily separated.

The oppositely directed faces of the front wall 110 of the needle 80 hold the strands apart and make it easier for the

loopers

146 and 148 to engage the yarn strands. The

fingers

152 and 158 of the loopers 146 have end portions which are formed complementarily to the sides 110a and 11% as shown in FIG. 7 of the drawings, so that they are adapted to contact lightly and sweep across the opposite sides 110a and b of the front wall 110 to pick off the yarn strands and form the loops.

The nondirectional or random appearance of the carpeting is effected as a result of two loopers picking up yarn from the opposite sides of each of the needles, so that at least two separate loops are provided by each needle, with the loops crowding each other and extending in random directions.

The rows of needles may, if desired, be much longer than shown, and of course the longer the rows with their greater number of needles, the more carpeting can be made in a given time.

It has been found that with the present invention as much as 300 yards oflooper carpeting can be made in 8 hours whereas with prior loop tufting machines only about 35 yards of carpeting can be made in 8 hours. Further, only one operator is required for each machine.

The invention and its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts of the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof or sacrificing its material advantages, the arrangement hereinbefore described being merely by way of example, and I do not wish to be restricted to the specific form shown or uses mentioned except as defined in the accompanying claims.

lclaim:

1. A loop tuft carpet-making machine including a plurality of reciprocating needles for inserting yarn into a base fabric, means for moving said base fabric with respect to said needles, at least two of said yarn strands being inserted into said base fabric by each of said needles on each reciprocal stroke, each ofsaid needles having means for separatin said yarn strands, said separating means comprising a pair 0 differently facing sides of said needle along which said yarn strands are adapted to travel, and a pair of loopers for releasably holding the yarn strands inserted into said base fabric by each of said needles, one of said loopers engaging the yarn strands disposed along one side of said needle and the other of said loopers engaging the yarn strands disposed along the other side of said needle, so that a plurality of adjacent loops are formed on each reciprocal stroke of each of said needles to produce a random, nondirectional effect.

2. The structure described in claim 1, wherein said needles are arranged in at least one row and supported by needle support means.

3. The structure described in claim 2, wherein there is a second row of said needles carried by said needle support means, the needles of each row being spaced apart longitudinally, the needles of one row being staggered relative to the needles of the other row and being in alignment with the spaced between the needles of said other row.

4. The structure described in claim 1, said separating means being disposed at the front of said needles, each of said needles having a front wall which is V-shaped in cross section, with its opposite sides extending at substantially a right angle with respect to each other, each of said needles having an eye disposed adjacent to and beneath said front wall.

5. The structure described in claim 4, each of said needles having a hollow strand-receiving bore extending from the upper portion thereof to said eye, said yarn strands being adapted to travel longitudinally through said bore and out through said eye.

6. The structure described in claim 5, each of said needles having an open top, the eye of said needles being disposed adjacent to the bottom thereof, and a hollow strand-receiving bore extending through substantially the entire length of said needles from the open top thereof to said eye.

7. The structure described in claim 6, each of said needles having a rounded projection at the lower end thereof beneath said eye.

8. The structure described in claim 7, each pair of said loopers having end portions formed complementarily to said sides of said needle, whereby said end portions of said loopers are adapted to sweep across the sides of said needle to pick off said yarn strands.

9. The structure described in claim 8, said front wall of each of said needles having a downwardly and inwardly inclined portion disposed directly above said eye.

10. The structure described in claim 7, said needles being arranged in two rows, the needles of one row being staggered relative to the needles of the other row.

Claims

1. A loop tuft carpet-making machine including a plurality of reciprocating needles for inserting yarn into a base fabric, means for moving said base fabric with respect to said needles, at least two of said yarn strands being inserted into said base fabric by each of said needles on each reciprocal stroke, each of said needles having means for separating said yarn strands, said separating means comprising a pair of differently facing sides of said needle along which said yarn strands are adapted to travel, and a pair of loopers for releasably holding the yarn strands inserted into said base fabric by each of said needles, one of said loopers engaging the yarn strands disposed along one side of said needle and the other of said loopers engaging the yarn strands disposed along the other side of said needle, so that a plurality of adjacent loops are formed on each reciprocal stroke of each of said needles to produce a random, nondirectional effect.