# US 10,767,295 B2 · Method of preparing a tufting process > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,767,295 B2 - Document ID: US10767295B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/763,221 - Filed: 2016-09-15 - Published: 2018-10-04 - Granted: 2020-09-08 - Earliest claimed: 2015-09-28 - Assignees: Vandewiele NV - Applicants: Vandewiele NV - Inventors: Frank Marijsse - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10767295B2 ## CPC - D05C 15/26: with provision for producing patterns - G05B 15/02: electric - D05C: EMBROIDERING; TUFTING (making non-woven fabrics D04H; sewing D05B) - G05B: CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS (systems for controlling or regulating non-electric variables G05D; systems for regulating electric or magnetic variables G05F; control devices or systems insofar as characterised by mechanical features only G05G) ## Abstract A method of preparing a tufting process comprises the steps of: a) providing a pattern representation representative of a fabric to be tufted, b) providing at least one group of tufting aspect instruction layers, each group of tufting aspect instruction layers comprising at least one tufting aspect instruction layer, each tufting aspect instruction layer being associated with a tufting aspect instruction, each tufting aspect instruction referring to a tufting aspect, c) assigning at least one tufting aspect instruction to at least one tufting aspect instruction layer. ## Claims ### Claim 1 Method of preparing a tufting process, comprising the steps of: a) providing a pattern representation representative of a fabric to be tufted as a pattern information representation representing the pattern of the fabric to be tufted, step a) comprising: a step a1) of providing a group of pattern information layers on the basis of the pattern representation, said group of pattern information layers comprising at least one pattern information layer, each pattern information layer representing areas of the pattern information representation having the same pattern information associated therewith, and a step a2) of providing at least one tufting instruction unit, each tufting instruction unit containing at least one tufting aspect instruction, b) providing at least one group of tufting aspect instruction layers, each group of tufting aspect instruction layers comprising at least one tufting aspect instruction layer, each tufting aspect instruction layer being associated with a tufting aspect instruction, each tufting aspect instruction referring to a tufting aspect, c) assigning at least one tufting aspect instruction to at least one tufting aspect instruction layer by assigning tufting instruction units to at least one pattern information layer and thereby assigning tufting aspect instructions of said tufting instruction units to the associated tufting aspect instruction layers, wherein at least one tufting instruction unit is repeatedly assigned to the same pattern information layer. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein a first tufting aspect is a pile height and wherein a first tufting aspect instruction referring to the first tufting aspect indicates a height of a pile to be tufted, and/or wherein a second tufting aspect is a pile type and wherein a second tufting aspect instruction referring to the second tufting aspect indicates a type of a pile to be tufted. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method according to claim 2, wherein each tufting aspect instruction layer of a first group of tufting aspect instruction layers represents areas of the pattern representation having the same first tufting aspect instruction associated therewith, and/or wherein each tufting aspect instruction layer of a second group of tufting aspect instruction layers represents areas of the pattern representation having the same second tufting aspect instruction associated therewith. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein in association with each pattern information layer at least one tufting instruction unit is provided, and/or wherein at least one tufting instruction unit is applied to a plurality of pattern information layers. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one tufting instruction unit is associated with a group of piles to be tufted, said group of piles comprising at least one pile to be tufted simultaneously by means of immediately adjacent needles arranged on a needle bar of a tufting machine and/or comprises a plurality of piles to be tufted by means of immediately consecutive stitches of the same needle arranged on a needle bar of a tufting machine. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method according to claim 5, wherein a first tufting aspect is a pile height and wherein a first tufting aspect instruction referring to the first tufting aspect indicates a height of a pile to be tufted, and/or wherein a second tufting aspect is a pile type and wherein a second tufting aspect instruction referring to the second tufting aspect indicates a type of a pile to be tufted, and further wherein a tufting instruction unit associated with a group of piles to be tufted comprises for each pile of this group of piles the first tufting aspect instruction and the second tufting aspect instruction. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein in step b) at least one group of tufting aspect instruction layers is provided such as to represent one predetermined default tufting aspect instruction in association with the entire fabric to be tufted. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein in step b) at least one group of tufting aspect instruction layers is provided such as to represent one predetermined default tufting aspect instruction in association with the entire fabric to be tufted, and further wherein step c) comprises substituting at least one default tufting aspect instruction for a tufting aspect instruction of a tufting instruction unit assigned to a pattern information layer. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method according claim 1, further comprising the step of substituting at least one tufting aspect instruction of at least one tufting aspect instruction layer for another tufting aspect instruction referring to the same tufting aspect. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of selecting one of a plurality of tufting machines and/or comprising the step of determining a yarn threading to be used for tufting the fabric, the yarn threading defining the sequence of yarns in association with needles of a needle bar of a tufting machine. ### Claim 11 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of selecting one of a plurality of tufting machines and/or comprising the step of determining a yarn threading to be used for tufting the fabric, the yarn threading defining the sequence of yarns in association with needles of a needle bar of a tufting machine, wherein the yarn threading comprises a yarn repeat, at least one group of piles being a group to be tufted with the yarns of one yarn repeat. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of selecting one of a plurality of tufting machines and/or comprising the step of determining a yarn threading to be used for tufting the fabric, the yarn threading defining the sequence of yarns in association with needles of a needle bar of a tufting machine, wherein at least one tufting instruction unit is defined and/or selected on the basis of the information contained in the pattern information layers and/or on the basis of the yarn threading. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of generating a visualization of a fabric to be tufted on the basis of the tufting aspect instructions contained in at least one of the tufting aspect instruction layers. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of generating a tufting machine control file on the basis of the tufting aspect instructions of all tufting aspect instruction layers having tufting aspect instructions assigned thereto. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) Method of tufting a fabric, comprising the steps of: generating a tufting machine control file by using the method of claim 1, forwarding the tufting machine control file to the tufting machine selected for carrying out the tufting process, operating the tufting machine on the basis of the tufting machine control file.