Advanced Stitch Placement with Backing Shifting
AssigneeTuftco Corporation
InventorsJason Daniel Detty, Robert A. Padgett, Michael R. Morgante, Paul E. Beatty, Steven L. Frost
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A shiftable backing feed and shiftable needle assembly is utilized with a tufting machine having reciprocating needles and gauge parts for seizing or cutting yarns wherein marginal step yarn placement techniques can be utilized in connection with a row of needles to minimize over-sewing needle positioning, and three axis shifting may be employed to optimize stitch locations in the backing fabric.
Claims16
A method of operating a tufting machine for forming tufted fabrics, comprising:
- a first needle bar and a second needle bar, each having a series of needles mounted transversely across the width of the tufting machine;
- a yarn feed mechanism for feeding a series of yarns to said needles, the yarns being carried by said needles;
- a needle drive for reciprocating the yarn carrying needles through a backing material;
- backing feed rolls for feeding the backing material through a tufting zone of the tufting machine;
- a first shifter to move needles of the first needle bar laterally;
- a second shifter to move needles of the second needle bar laterally;
- a series of gauge parts mounted below the tufting zone in a position to engage yarns carried by needles as the needles are reciprocated into the backing material to form tufts of yarns in the backing material;
- a control system for controlling and synchronizing the shifters, needle drive, backing feed, gauge parts, and needle plate reciprocation;
- wherein the needles of the second needle bar are marginally shifted to minimize over sewing yarn tufts of yarns carried by the needles of the first needle bar.
A method of altering the needle penetration locations of a yarn placement pattern for a tufting machine having a first needle bar with a needle gauge and a shifter for laterally positioning and displacing the needle bar and having a shifter for laterally positioning and displacing a backing fabric fed through the tufting machine, comprising the steps of inputting a bitmap pattern file for a tufting machine pattern at a first gauge including some cut pile tufts of yarn;
- inputting yarn feed rates, yarn threadup information sufficient to identify the number of different yarns and the location of the different yarns with respect to specific needles, and shifting patterns for the first needle bar and the backing fabric;
- specifying the gauge at which the tufting machine tufts;
- specifying a second gauge for tufting the pattern;
- mapping the location of yarn carrying needles at the second gauge to the pattern at the first gauge based upon the laterally displaced positions of both the needle bar and the backing fabric;
- selecting yarns to tuft at the second gauge based upon said mapping.
A method of operating a tufting machine for forming tufted fabrics, comprising:
- a first needle bar and a second needle bar longitudinally spaced from each other by a longitudinal offset distance, and each having a series of gauge spaced needles mounted transversely across the tufting machine;
- a yarn feed mechanism for feeding a series of yarns to said needles, the yarns being carried by said needles;
- a needle drive for reciprocating the yarn carrying needles through a backing material;
- backing feed rolls for feeding the backing material through a tufting zone of the tufting machine and a backing shifter to laterally move and position the backing material;
- a first shifter to move needles of the first needle bar laterally;
- a second shifter to move needles of the second needle bar laterally;
- a series of gauge parts mounted below the tufting zone in a position to engage yarns carried by needles as the needles are reciprocated into the backing material to form tufts of yarns in the backing material;
- a control system for controlling and synchronizing the shifters, needle drive, backing feed, gauge parts, and needle plate reciprocation;
- wherein the first and second needle bars have a composite gauge that is the machine gauge and the backing material is laterally shifted in units of the machine gauge while the first and second needlebars are laterally shifted in units of the needle gauge spacing of said needlebar.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.