US3709536A - Method for making a hand knotted pile fabric - Google Patents

Abstract

Precut open pile loops consisting of a thick yarn, are tied to one side of a base fabric net by a thin tie yarn passing through the eye of a needle having an upturned point.

Description

United States Patent Huber 1 Jan. 9, 1973 [54] METHOD FOR MAKING A HAND FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS KNOTTED PILE FABRIC 231,053 1011909 Germany [76] Inventor: Angela Huber, Augustinergasse l7,

Salzburg, Ausma Primary Examiner-Louis K. Rimrodt [22] Filed: July 13, 1971 AttorneyMichael S. Striker 21 A 1. No.: 162 039 1 pp 57 ABSTRACT 52 US. Cl ..2s9/1.s Precut p p loops consisting of a thick y are [51] Int. Cl. ..B65h 69/04 tied to one Side of a base fabric net y a thin tie y [58] Field of Search ..ll2/80;289/l.2, 1.5; 139/4, passing through the eye of a needle having an up- 139/5, 6 turned point.

5 References Cited 7 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,511,745 5/1970 Holzknecht ..289/l.2 X

METHOD FOR MAKING A HAND KNOTTED PILE FABRIC BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the making of hand knotted pile fabrics, such as carpets and rugs, in which precut open pile loops are tied to a base fabric net. In accordance with the prior art, a knot is formed of each precut pile loop by which the same is secured to a string of the base fabric net. Consequently, a portion of the pile yarn is located on the underside of the base fabric net, and is subject to friction on the floor. Furthermore, a portion of the pile yarn loop is used for forming the knot, so that the pile is not as deep as the entire length of the precut pile yarn loop.

Manually operated needles are known which include a handle for the operator. If the point of the needle is curved, it is difficult for the operator to determine the angular position of the point, as required for insertion of the point into a loop which is in a particular position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is one object of the invention to provide a method for making a hand knotted pile fabric in which no portions of a pile loop is located on the underside of the base fabric.

Another object of the invention is to use the entire yarn of the pile loops for forming the pile on the front of the base net fabric.

A related object of the invention is to make the pile of a hand knotted pile fabric with a minimum amount of pile yarn for forming a pile of predetermined density or thickness.

Another object of the invention is to tie precut open pile loops to a base fabric net by a thin and inexpensive tie yarn.

A particular object of the invention is to make the pile fabric with a needle having an upturned point whose angular position can be determined by gripping the handle of the needle.

With these objects in view, the present invention provides a method in which a thin inexpensive tie yarn of great tensile strength and high wear resistance, is used for tying the precut thick pile loops to a base fabric net.

. The tie yarn is formed into a tie loop whose legs pass over the head of the loop, and under a string of the base net fabric, and whose head passes under the legs of the pile loop so that when the tie yarn is tightened, the pile loop is fixedly tied to the respective string of the base fabric net.

The needle by which the method of the invention is advantageously carried out has an eye for the tie yarn. The point of the needle is bent up to facilitate insertion of the tie yarn under a first string of the base fabric net, and over the next following string. In accordance with the invention, the handle of the needle has an edge located in the plane in which the point of the needle is curved, so that the operator, by gripping the handle, is informed about the angular position of the needle point by the edge of the handle.

In a preferred embodiment of the needle of the invention, the handle has a triangular section.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation,

together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are fragmentary plan views illustrating successive steps of the method of the invention for attaching a pile yarn loop to a base fabric net by means of a thin tie yarn passing through the eye of a manually operated needle;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view illustrating a row of pile loops secured by the thin tie yarn to a string of the base net fabric;

FIG. 7 is a front view of a needle according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 8 shows the needle of FIG. 7 turned an angle of 60.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring first to FIGS. 7 and 8, a needle includes a handle 4, and a stem 1 having a point 2 curved in a plane passing through the edge 5 of the handle 4. Point 2 has a needle eye 3.

The cross-section of handle 4 is substantially triangular, and at least partly bounded by an equilateral triangle whose apex is located in the edge 5. Consequently, the operator gripping the handle and feeling the position of the edge S, knows the angular position of the bent point 2 during the insertion of a yarn passing through the eye 3 into a loop or other opening, as will be described hereinafter. Without the guide edge 5 on one side of the handle only, the operator would not know whether the point of the needle is upwardly, downwardly, or laterally directed which would require looking at the point of the needle which may be hidden by the yarn forming the pile of a fabric.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a base fabric net 7 consists of fixedly connected longitudinal strings 18, 18a and transverse strings 8, 8a, 8b crossing each other at right angles, and forming substantially square openings.

The legs 9a of a pile loop 9 having a head 9b is gripped between two fingers of the operator, and the head 9b is placed between two longitudinal strings l8 and 18a, and two transverse strings 8 and 8a on top of the base fabric net 7.

The operator, feeling the edge 5 of the handle 4, places the bent up point 2 of the needle in the illustrated position between two strings 18 and 18a, with the point 2 and edge 5 located in a plane perpendicular to the base fabric net 7, and parallel to the strings 18, 18a.

A tie yarn 6 passes through eye 3 and has a portion 1 I, which may be attached to the base net fabric 7, and a portion 10 taken from a spool, not shown.

As shown in FIG. 2, the point 2 is pushed under a transverse string 8a and over the following transverse string 8b of the base fabric net 7, which is facilitated by the curvature of point 2.

Tie yarn 6 is formed into a large tie loop 11a, while the yarn portion 10 is supplied from the spool, not shown. During the advance of needle 1, tie yarn portions 10, 11 extend straight to the eye 3, and the legs of loop 1 1a lie on legs of the pile loop 9.

The operator releases the legs 9a of the pile loop 9, and grips the head of tie loop 11a, as shown in FIG. 3, so that the size of tie loop 11a is increased during retraction of the needle 1, as shown in FIG. 3,. and also in broken lines in FIG. 2.

The operator places the head of tie loop 110 under the legs 9a of the pile loop 9, and grips then the legs 90 of pile loop 9 again, as shown in FIG. 4. Needle I is further retracted from under the string 80 and moves out of the fabric to the position of FIG. 4. Portion of tie yarn 6 can now be pulled to tighten the tie loop 1 la, as shown in FIG. 5, and the other portion 1 l of tie loop 6 may be secured now, or earlier, to the transverse string 8a, as shown at 1 lb in FIG. 6.

The first pile loop 9 is now fixedly tied to the string 8a, and the next pile loop 9 can be placed on the transverse string 8a adjacent the longitudinal string 18. Needle l is advanced out of the position shown in FIG. 4 to thread the tie yarn portion 10 on the right of longitudinal string 18 under the transverse string 8a and through the new pile loop 9, as shown in FIG. 2 for the first pile loop.

FIG. 6 shows a row of pile loops 9 whose head 9b are tied by the tie yarn 6 to transverse string 8a of the base fabric net 7. When the row ofpile loops has been tied, all legs 9a are bent upward to a position substantially perpendicular to the base fabric net 7, to form a pile on the front face of the base fabric net 7. Each transverse string 8, 8a, 8b can be used for tying a row of pile loops. At the end of a row, yarn portion 10 is moved over to the next transverse string 8 and under the same into another pile loop, as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Since the tie yarn portion 10 has to be moved from the completed pile loop 9 over longitudinal string 18, a connecting stitch 6a of the tie yarn 6 is formed between adjacent pile loops, and such a connecting stitch also connects the last pile loop 9 of one row with the first pile loop 9 of the following row. When the entire pile has been secured, the end of portion 10 is secured to the base fabric.

A pile made by the method of the invention, can be made in a shorter time than in accordance with the method of the prior art, and has the additional advantage that less of the expensive thick pile yarn is used than in the prior art, since the precut pile loops 9 may have only two-thirds of the length of precut pile loops required in accordance with the prior art for forming a pile of the same depth and density.

Due to the way in which the tie yarn 6 is knotted to the pile yarn 9 and to the base fabric net, pulling out of an anchored pile loop 9 is impossible. Consequently, a carpet or rug made in accordance with the invention, can be heated, brushed and vacuumed without any damage.

The span of life of a carpet or rug in accordance with the invention is particularly long, since the back of the base fabric net is completely free of pile yarn, and need not be covered with an adhesive. Since all pile loops are secured to the front of the fabric only, friction of the back of the fabric on the floor cannot damage the heads of the pile loops.-

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of methods of making hand knotted pile fabrics differing from the typfis described above,

hile the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a method of making a pile fabric by tying precut pile loops by a thin tie yarn to the front of a base fabric net, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A method of making a hand knotted pile fabric, comprising the steps of placing the head of a precut open pile yarn loop between first and second longitudinal strings, and first and second transverse strings of a base fabric net, and holding the legs of the pile yarn loop; inserting a needle having an eye through which a tie yarn passes under said first transverse string through said pile yarn loop and over said second transverse string for forming a tie loop; holding said tie loop on the legs of said pile yarn loop while retracting said needle from under said first transverse string out of said base fabric net so that both legs of said tie loop are located under said first transverse string; laying the head of said tie loop under the legs of said pile yarn loop; tightening said tie yarn so that said head of said pile loop is anchored by said tie yarn on said first transverse string; moving said needle over said second longitudinal string on one side of said pile yarn loop; and tying the next pile yarn loop with said tie yarn to said first transverse string so as to form a row of anchored pile yarn loops 2. The method of claim 1 comprising the steps of supplying said tie yarn on said one side of said pile yarn loop; and knotting the tie yarn on the other side of said pile yarn loop to said first transverse string.

. 3. The method of claim 1 comprising the step of moving at the end of said row, said needle from said first transverse string to and under a second transverse string to form a second row of pile yarn loops tied to the same.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said legs of said pile yarn loop, and the head of said tie loop are alternately held between two fingers.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said base fabric net has rigidly connected longitudinal and transverse strings crossing at right angles.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the end of said needle has. an upwardly bent point for facilitating manual insertion of said point under said first and over said second transverse strings.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein said open pile yarn loop consists of a yarn substantially thicker than said tie yarn and than said strings of said base fabric net.

Claims (7)

1. A method of making a hand knotted pile fabric, comprising the steps of placing the head of a precut open pile yarn loop between first and second longitudinal strings, and first and second transverse strings of a base fabric net, and holding the legs of the pile yarn loop; inserting a needle having an eye through which a tie yarn passes under said first transverse string through said pile yarn loop and over said second transverse string for forming a tie loop; holding said tie loop on the legs of said pile yarn loop while retracting said needle from under said first transverse string out of said base fabric net so that both legs of said tie loop are located under said first transverse string; laying the head of said tie loop under the legs of said pile yarn loop; tightening said tie yarn so that said head of said pile loop is anchored by said tie yarn on said first transverse string; moving said needle over said second longitudinal string on one side of said pile yarn loop; and tying the next pile yarn loop with said tie yarn to said first transverse string so as to form a row of anchored pile yarn loops.

2. The method of claim 1 comprising the steps of supplying said tie yarn on said one side of said pile yarn loop; and knotting the tie yarn on the other side of said pile yarn loop to said first transverse string.

3. The method of claim 1 comprising the step of moving at the end of said row, said needle from said first transverse string to and under a second transverse string to form a second row of pile yarn loops tied to the same.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said legs of said pile yarn loop, and the head of said tie loop are alternately held between two fingers.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said base fabric net has rigidly connected longitudinal and transverse strings crossing at right angles.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the end of said needle has an upwardly bent point for facilitating manual insertion of said point under said first and over said second transverse strings.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein said open pile yarn loop consists of a yarn substantially thicker than said tie yarn and than said strings of said base fabric net.

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