System and method for control of the backing feed for a tufting machine
AssigneeCard-Monroe Corp.
InventorsWilton Hall, William M. Christman, Jr.
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of controlling the feeding of the backing material moving through a tufting machine in order to produce tufted articles such as carpets having a woven look or appearance. The backing material is indexed forwardly along its path of travel through the tufting machine by at least the stitch length for each stitch in a stitch cycle of the programmed pattern. At a desired point in the stitch cycle, the backing material can be indexed forwardly by a greater distance approximately equal to the program stitch length and a calculated jump distance to achieve a desired pattern effect.
Claims15
A method of forming a tufted article, comprising:
- engaging a backing material with a first parallel row of needles carrying a first series of yarns;
- engaging the backing material with a second parallel row of needles carrying a second series of yarns;
- forming laterally extending tuft rows of the first and second yarns;
- monitoring the formation of each tuft row in a pattern cycle;
- indexing the backing material longitudinally a predetermined distance;
- and
- forming at least two consecutive longitudinally aligned rows of tufts of the first and second yarns with each of the first and second rows of needles;
- wherein indexing the backing material comprises advancing the backing material by approximately a length of a next stitch of a pattern being tufted and a calculated jump distance.
A method of controlling the feeding of a backing material through a tufting machine to form a patterned article, comprising:
- (a) feeding the backing material along a path of travel through the tufting machine;
- (b) engaging the backing material with a series of needles for inserting tufts of yarn into the backing material;
- (c) determining a desired distance of movement of the backing material for formation of a next successive stitch in the patterned article, including determining whether the next successive stitch requires a jump of the backing material and, if so, calculating a jump distance for movement of the backing material in excess of a programmed stitch length;
- (d) controlling a rate of movement of the backing material and indexing the backing material by the determined desired distance of movement;
- and
- (e) repeating steps b-d until a desired run length of the patterned article is formed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.