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AssigneeShaw Industries Ltd.
InventorsWilliam N. Vaughan, Douglas L. Morgan
Estimating the term…
A system and method for controlling the stopping point of a tufting machine in relation to a preset stitch pattern. The system includes a controller and an encoder to detect the current location of a tufting machine needle bar in the stitch pattern. Upon receipt of a stop signal, the controller insures that the needle bar is stopped at a preset stop step in the stitch pattern. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the controller first slows the main drive shaft of the tufting machine to a jogging speed prior to stopping the tufting machine, and stops the machine at the home position of the carpet pattern. Introducing a delay between receipt of the stop signal and deceleration of the main drive shaft minimizes the jogging time of the machine. The method is directed to stopping the tufting machine at a predetermined stop step and at a position relative to degrees of mainshaft rotation.
In a tufting machine for forming pile carpet according to a stitch pattern comprised of a predetermined number of steps, the machine having a frame, a main drive shaft housed within the frame, a plurality of tufting needles mounted on a reciprocating needle bar assembly operatively connected to said main drive shaft so as to be moveable between a raised position and a lowered position, a yarn feed system operatively connected to said main drive shaft for feeding yarns to said plurality of needles and drive means for driving said main drive shaft so as to feed yarn and successively form rows of tufted loops from the yarns, the improvement comprising:
A tufting machine for forming pile carpet according to a stitch pattern comprised of a predetermined number of steps, the tufting machine comprising:
A method for controlling the stopping point of a tufting machine needle bar adapted to be raised and lowered according to a stitch pattern comprised of a predetermined number of steps, the method comprising the steps of:
A tufting machine for forming pile carpet, according to a stitch pattern comprised of a predetermined number of steps, the tufting machine comprising:
A method for controlling the stopping point of a tufting machine needle bar in relation to a preset stop step in a stitch pattern comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.