NEEDLE ASSEMBLY FOR TUFTING MACHINES
A replaceable needle module assembly for tufting machines includes a series of needle modules mounted in spaced series along a needle or gauge bar. Each needle module includes a module body having a series of needle receiving passages formed therethrough. The needles are received within and extend through each of the needle receiving passages, with the upper ends of the needles being received and engaged within corresponding recesses formed along an underside surface of the needle bar when the needle modules are mounted thereto. As a result, the needles can be securely and accurately located at a desired elevation along the needle bar.
The present patent application is a formalization of previously filed, co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/788,395, filed Mar. 15, 2013 by the inventors named in the present application. This patent application claims the benefit of the filing date of this cited Provisional patent application according to the statutes and rules governing provisional patent applications, particularly 35 U.S.C. §119(a)(i) and 37 C.F.R. §1.78(a)(4) and (a)(5). The specification and drawings of the Provisional patent application referenced above are specifically incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in their entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention generally relates to the design and assembly of gauge parts for tufting machines, and in particular to an assembly for mounting a series of needles within a tufting machine to enable accurate and efficient location and mounting of such needles within the tufting machine.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONDuring the operation of tufting machines, a series of needles mounted along a reciprocating needle bar and carrying a series of yarns penetrate a backing material and are engaged by a series of hooks or loopers for forming cut and loop pile tufts of yarn in the backing material. Such engagement requires close precision in the positioning and operation of the needles and the hooks or loopers to ensure efficient and accurate operation of the tufting machine. During assembly of the tufting machines, therefore, it is important that the needles, loopers, hooks, and/or other gauge parts be accurately mounted along their respective gauge bars to ensure that such gauge parts are accurately and consistently spaced and positioned along their gauge bars. If the gauge parts are misaligned, the individual gauge parts can become broken or damaged, and tufts of yarns can be mis-sewn, resulting in inaccurate or irregular patterns being formed, which carpets have to be discarded.
Accordingly, it has been common practice to assemble gauge parts, such as needles, loopers or hooks in modules, particularly cast modules in which the loopers or hooks are cast or mounted in a solid block or module, typically including five to ten, or more, individual gauge parts in a precisely spaced series. These modules then are mounted on a needle or hook/looper bar to help ensure substantially consistent and accurate spacing of the gauge parts. One problem that arises with conventional needle modules has been the difficulty of adjusting needle spacings to achieve a smaller or tighter stitch therebetween without use of specialty parts. Additionally, if a single gauging element or part of conventional cast modules fails, (such as becoming broken or dull), the whole gauge module generally must be replaced. Such replacement of the modules is often time consuming and expensive and can require removal and replacement of several undamaged or fully functional gauging elements or parts within each of the modules, which leads to potential waste of other gauging elements or parts in the module that are still operable. Also, while replaceable modules have been produced, it is important to make sure the replacement parts are accurately mounted to ensure consistent penetration of the needles to a depth needed for engagement by the holes/loopers, and that the parts will be secured against shifting or misalignment during use.
Accordingly, it can be seen that a need exists for an easily replaceable gauge module that addresses the foregoing and other related and unrelated problems in the art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONBriefly described, in one embodiment, the present invention generally relates to modular gauging element assemblies for use in a tufting machine and further to a needle assembly for a tufting machine that facilitates and enables easy and accurate installation and replacement of needles within the tufting machine. It will be understood that the present invention also could be used for gauge parts including loopers, hooks, level cut loop loopers or hooks and other gauging elements.
The needle assembly generally includes an elongated gauge bar, such as a needle bar, along which a series of spaced gauge modules are received and mounted. The gauge bar generally can have a substantially L-shaped profile or configuration including an upper body portion and a downwardly projecting front or guide portion. A shoulder or guide ledge/area thus is defined between a lower or bottom edge/surface of the upper body portion of the gauge bar and the front portion of the needle bar, and generally is configured for receiving the gauge modules in mating contact therealong.
Each of the gauge or needle modules generally includes a module body having front and rear faces, parallel sides, and upper and lower portions terminating at top and bottom surfaces or faces, respectively. A series of spaced needle-receiving openings, passages or slots generally can be formed through the module body of each gauge module, arranged spaced in series across the top and bottom surfaces of each module body. A series of needles or other gauging elements or parts will be received within these passages or openings for mounting of the needles or other gauge parts at desired spacings along the module body. The needles can be removably secured within the module body, such as by one or more fasteners inserted within fastener openings spaced along the front face of the module body in alignment with the needles, for engaging or holding the needles in place.
The gauge or needle bar further will include one or more complimentary needle guide or locating recesses/sites or other devices formed along the bottom surface of the top body portion thereof. Such locating recesses generally will be configured to receive the distal ends of the needles projecting through the needle receiving passages of the modules. The locating recesses can thus assist in guiding and mounting the needles to the needle bar with the needles each being located in a substantially consistent, desired depth or vertical alignment or position.
Various features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a review of the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Referring now to the drawings in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views,
As
As additionally illustrated in
The gauging element assemblies 28 are shown in
In one embodiment of the replaceable needle assembly 10 according to the principles of the present invention, as generally illustrated in
In addition, although a single needle bar 50 is generally illustrated in
Each of the needles 25 generally will include an elongated shank or body 55 (
The needles 25 further are generally illustrated in
The gauge or needle bar 50 of the replaceable needle assembly 10 generally is illustrated in
The needle bar 50 also is shown as having a downwardly projecting front or guide section or portion 73, defining a front face 74 of the needle bar as shown in
As generally shown in
A series of open-ended needle receiving passages 91 will be formed through the modules 51 at spaced locations along the length thereof. Each of the needle receiving passages generally comprises a slotted opening, channel or passage that extends through the module body from the lower or bottom side surface 84 (
A series of fastener openings 94 also will be formed along the front facing surface 86 of the body 81 of each needle module. As indicated in
As indicated in
To the extent that a needle becomes worn, broken or otherwise damaged and needs to be replaced, the fastener associated with that particular needle can be removed and the needle thereafter removed and replaced, with the new needle being inserted and located at a desired elevation along the needle bar after which the fastener can be replaced to secure the needle in place. Thus, the entire needle module does not have to be replaced, rather each needle can be individually or independently replaced as needed and such replacement can be accomplished quickly and accurately by the location of the upper ends of the shanks of the needles within the guide passages and needle receiving recesses of the needle modules and needle bar to maintain consistency in the depth of the needle penetration along the needle bar. The needle module also can remain in place along the needle bar during such needle replacement. Still further, the needle receiving recesses and the corresponding engagement of the upper or distal ends of the shanks of the needles within the needle receiving recesses of the needle bar can help provide additional stability to the needles during operation. By the engagement and supports of the upper ends of the needles within the needle bar itself, the tendency of the needles to flex, twist, or otherwise be deflected upon engagement with their corresponding gauge parts below the tufting zone, can be further resisted to help ensure consistent operation and penetration of the needles even over extended use.
It also will be understood by those skilled in the art that while the present invention is disclosed with respect to a needle module, the principles of the present invention further can be adapted for use with other replaceable gauging parts or gauging assemblies. For example, the principles of the present replaceable needle module assembly also can be used for the replaceable mounting of other gauge parts, such as cut pile hooks, loop pile loopers, level cut loop loopers, reed fingers, cut loop clips and a variety of other replaceable parts as needed or desired.
Various features, advantages and aspects of the present invention further may be set forth or apparent from consideration of the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Moreover, it will be understood that the accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure, are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate various aspects, advantages and benefits of the present disclosure, and together with the detailed description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will understand that, according to common practice, various features and drawings discussed below are not necessarily drawn to scale, and that dimensions of various features and elements of the drawings may be expanded or reduced to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure.
Claims
1. A needle assembly for a tufting machine, comprising:
- at least one needle bar; and
- at least one needle module configured to engage and be mounted along the at least one needle bar, the at least one needle module comprising: a module body; a series of needle receiving passages defined through the module body; and a series of needles, each needle having a distal end received within one of the needle receiving passages;
- wherein the at least one needle bar includes a series of recesses configured to receive the distal ends of the needles received within the needle receiving passages of the module body of the at least one needle module.
2. The needle assembly of claim 1, wherein the needles each comprise a shank having a non-cylindrical configuration.
3. The needle assembly of claim 1, wherein the recesses formed along the at least one needle bar are each aligned with a corresponding needle receiving passage of the module body.
4. The needle assembly of claim 1, wherein the recesses formed along the at least one needle bar are formed at a predetermined depth for locating the needles at a desired elevation.
5. The needle assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one needle bar is slidably mounted within the tufting machine to enable shifting of the needles.
6. The needle assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one needle bar comprises an upper body portion having a bottom surface along which the recesses are formed, and a front portion projecting downwardly from the upper body portion, and wherein a module receiving area is defined between the upper body portion and front portion.
7. The needle assembly of claim 6, wherein the front portion of the at least one needle bar comprises a series of fastener openings through which fasteners are received for engaging and mounting the at least one needle module to the at least one needle bar.
8. In a tufting machine for forming a series of yarns in a backing material, the improvement comprising:
- at least one gauge bar having a ledge defined therealong and having a plurality of receiving sites located in spaced series adjacent said ledge; and
- a plurality of gauge modules each comprising a body configured to engage said ledge of said gauge bar and having a front side, rear side, top and bottom portions, and a series of passages extending through said body from said bottom to said top portion thereof, and at least one fastener opening formed along said front side of each gauge module and adapted to receive a fastener therein for mounting said gauge module along said gauge bar; and
- a series of gauge parts received within and extending through said passages of said gauge modules, each of said gauge parts having a distal portion projecting from said passages at said top portion of said gauge modules and each received within one of said receiving sites of said gauge bar.
9. In a tufting machine according to claim 8, wherein said needles each comprise a shank having a non-cylindrical configuration.
10. In a tufting machine according to claim 8, wherein said receiving sites formed along said at least one gauge bar are formed at a predetermined depth for locating the needles at a desired elevation.
11. In a tufting machine according to claim 8, wherein said receiving sites formed along said at least one needle bar are each aligned with a corresponding one of said passages extending through said body of each of said gauge modules.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 10, 2014
Publication Date: Sep 18, 2014
Inventors: Todd Woodall (Soddy Daisy, GA), Wilton Hall (Ringgold, GA)
Application Number: 14/202,441
International Classification: D05C 15/10 (20060101); D05C 15/20 (20060101);