Apparatus for the manufacture of weft inserted non-woven fabrics

In an apparatus for forming fabric of the warp and cross laid weft type, which apparatus includes means for supplying warp yarns in the form of at least one sheet and means for forming aligned wefts and transporting them to lay across the warps, the improvement which comprises,

• a. the means for forming and transporting aligned wefts comprising two aligned weft carrying means for carrying aligned wefts, said carrying means being provided with weft loop retaining means, the spacing of the weft loop retaining means being shorter than the dimension of the means, a source of at least one weft yarn, means for stringing weft yarn from weft loop retaining means on one carrying means to weft loop retaining means on the other carrying means and means guiding weft yarn from said source to said stringing means,
• b. said means for stringing weft yarn comprising at least one yarn guide and means for moving said yarn guide along the periphery of a circular arc, the chord of said arc being substantially equal to the length of a weft, one end of said chord being adjacent to one weft carrying means and the other end adjacent to the other weft carrying means,
• c. moving transfer means for transferring loops of weft yarn from the guide moving along the periphery of the circular arc to the weft loop retaining means on the weft carrying means, whereby movement of the guide means along the circular arc lays wefts from weft loop retaining means on one weft carrying means to the other,
• d. means for releasing weft loops from the weft loop retaining means after the completion of the transport of the aligned wefts,
• e. the moving transfer means for laying wefts onto the weft carrying means comprising a pair of counter-rotating elements adjacent each weft carrying means, the first of such elements of the first of the pairs thereof being a single unforked finger positioned to receive weft yarn from the end of the yarn guide means, the second counter-rotating element of the first pair being a forked finger positioned to receive the weft yarn from said first counter-rotating element and to transfer it, in the form of a loop, to the weft loop retaining means on one carrying means, said forked finger having an upper and lower fork, a vertically oscillating engaging means positioned to engage the weft yarn transferred to the single unforked finger and to raise it above the forked finger, and a horizontally oscillating means positioned to engage the weft yarn after it has been received by the first counter-rotating element and maintaining it in a position below both forks of said forked finger, both oscillating means being synchronized to hold the yarn during transfer from the first counter-rotating element to the second counter-rotating element, whereby coaction of the two oscillating engaging means and the counter-rotating elements results in a twisted loop around the first counter-rotating element, which loop, when transferred to the second counter-rotating element and from said second counter-rotating element to the weft loop retaining means, effecting a half twist of the yarn, and
• f. all of the means effecting motions being synchronized.