ES341721A1 - Tufting mechanism,method,stitches and article - Google Patents

Abstract

A tufting machine comprises a first looper for seizing a yarn loop thrown by an eyed needle, a second looper for taking the loop from the first looper and for holding the loop for penetration by the needle during the next stroke for forming a chain stitch, and a finger so shiftable that the needle passes alternately on opposite sides of the finger to lay a yarn loop thereover. Backing fabric 173 is fed between an upwardly-inclined support plate 27 and a transversely-movable upwardly-inclined presser plate 36 provided with yarn-supporting wire fingers 37 each formed with a hump 99 near its free end. A needle 32, during the ascent following a first penetration of fabric 173 to the left of a finger 37, throws a first loop 73 which is seized by the beak 57 of a looper 34 oscillating in a vertical plane. A horizontally-reciprocating looper 35 then moves forward and a pair of beaks 74, carried by looper 35 and spring- biased together, move into loop 73 to retain it while looper 34 withdraws. Plate 36 then moves leftwards with the backing fabric, whereby needle 32 in the second penetration to the right of finger 37 lays yarn over the latter before entering the loop 73 held by looper 35, which then withdraws to release loop 73. A yarn takeup then pulls loop 73 up and around needle 73 to form a first chain stitch 100. During its next ascent the needle throws a loop 178 which, as previously, is seized in succession by the loopers 34 and 35. After the needle has withdrawn from loop 73, feeding movement of the backing fabric pulls the yarn over the hump 99 to tighten the chaining loop 73 on the lower side of the fabric and to leave a pile loop 180 on the upper side of the fabric. Presser plate 36, and with it the backing fabric, then move rightwards to their initial position, whereby needle 32 in its third penetration passes to the left on finger 37 and lays yarn thereover. During continued operation, each needle of the multi-needle machine produces a succession of loose-stitch zig zag chain stitches having the chaining loops 73 tight against the reverse side of the fabric and the other loops 180 forming uncut pile on the obverse side of the fabric to produce one-sided terry cloth. Presser plate 36 is carried by an axially-slidable shaft (103) journalling a cylindrical cam (118) formed at each end with respective cam surfaces (120, 121) co-operating with respective fixed rollers (128, 129) for imparting reciprocating motion to shaft (103) via thrust bearings (134) carried thereby.