Abstract: A needle plate for a controlled needle tufting machine utilized for overtufting secondary yarn into a backing material having a primary pile previously formed therein. The needle plate has needle plate fingers disposed with the upper support surfaces above the needle plate support surface by an amount substantially equal to the pile height of the primary yarn tufts. As the backing material with the primary tufts is fed over the needle plate it is raised relative to the needle plate as it rides over the finger support surfaces. The hooks of the tufting machine may therefore be raised so that the pile height of the loops of secondary yarn being overtufted may be reduced by an amount substantially equal to that of the pile height of the primary tufts. This results in reducing the required amount of tip shearing of the secondary pile to bring it level with that of the primary pile.

Abstract: A tufting machine has apparatus for feeding the backing material at a first speed for forming tufts having a backstitch of a first length and periodically selectively increasing the feeding rate to a second speed to form tufts having a backstitch of an increased length. The longer backstitch may be a plurality of stitches slightly longer than the first length or a single elongated backstitch. The fabric produced may have a series of tufts projecting from the surface of the backing material in areas having one or more yarn densities and separated by gaps where no tufts project above the surface, the gaps resulting from the elongated backstitches on the reverse side of the material. The apparatus for providing backstitches including the gaps has an intermittent drive which provides an output only during a small portion of the input.

Abstract: A mounting comb for a tufting machine for mounting the needle plate fingers so that the fingers may be readily replaced without requiring substantial cutting of base material. The combs have a base member including a plurality of slots for receiving respective elongated fingers, and at least one securing member releasably assembled to the base member for positively locking the fingers in the comb. In two embodiments the base member has a shallow elongated channel and one securing member is positionable within the channel to clamp the fingers into the slots. In one of these embodiments the securing member is a thin elongated bar, while in the other the securing member is a portion of a base plate upon which the comb is mounted. In another embodiment the base portion and the securing portion each have spaced lands including finger receiving slots through each of the lands.

Abstract: A knife mounting block for a tufting machine is formed with a pair of reference surfaces one of which forms the angle of inclination and the other forms the angle of canter that the knives make with the tufting machine hooks, the reference surfaces cooperating with corresponding surfaces of the tufting machine knife bar. One of the reference surfaces includes a slot which receives a pin extending from the knife bar so as to determine the gauge between respective knife blocks. Positioning of the knife blocks on the bar will engage the pin within the slots and accurately gauge the blocks and thus the knives at the proper gauge. The knife bar may include a slidable member from which the gauging pins extend so that the pins can be adjusted to match the gauge of the hooks and compensate for accumulative gauging tolerances of the needle bar of the tufting machine. The knife blocks can thus be removed from the tufting machine and returned to the exact position when required.

Abstract: A combination cut/loop hook and clip for tufting machines in which the mounting portion of the hook remote from the beak includes a longitudinal groove for receiving the tail portion of the clip. The groove includes a pair of female formations in the form of holes for receiving corresponding male formations on the clip tail portion in a detachable press-fit relationship. The spacing between the formations are such that the crease of the enlarged portion of the clip properly resiliently engages the beak. A worn clip may be readily removed from the hook and replaced by another clip without discarding a useable hook.

Abstract: Tufting apparatus and method for producing a high density tufted fabric in a wide range of gauges and patterns. In one embodiment the needles and backing material support fingers are laterally shifted together by a common drive controlled by a cam having pattern information thereon. The needles and fingers are shifted in a first direction while the needles are outside the backing material and are thereafter shifted back toward the original position after the needles have penetrated and are within the backing material. In another embodiment the needles are shifted in accordance with a first cam operated pattern control, and the support fingers are shifted by means of a second cam actuated pattern control. Provision may be made in the common drive for adjusting the amount of lateral shift provided by a single cam and/or utilization of the same cam with machines having different gauge part spacings.

Abstract: A fine gauge cut pile tufting machine has a needle mounting apparatus for supporting the needles in two staggered rows with the needles in one row being adjustable in the direction of the row to vary the stagger and compensate for the differential deflection of the hooks cooperating with each row. The needle mounting apparatus includes a needle bar housing carrying needle holding blocks corresponding to each row of needles. The needle mounting blocks are secured to the needle block housing by a bolt passing through an enlarged aperture in the adjustable needle block and secured to the fixed needle block, and adjustable locking members at each end of the needle bar housing for adjustably fixing the longitudinal position of the adjustable needle block.

Abstract: A cut pile tufting machine having needle plate backing support fingers oscillated in timed relationship with the hooks and the needles to support the backing material during needle penetration and to withdraw from the needle path as the hooks move across the needle path to seize loops has the bill of the hooks reduced in thickness on a portion thereof. The bill has a lower or cutting edge and an upper edge, and the portion of reduced thickness is provided by narrowing the upper edge relative to the lower edge along that portion of the bill on which a loop seized by the hook is drawn against and cut.

Abstract: A staggered needle cut pile tufting machine having needle plate backing support fingers oscillated in timed relationship with the hooks and the needles of the machine to support the backing material during needle penetration and to withdraw from the needle path as the hooks move across the needle path to seize respective loops. The support fingers are substantially straight parallel members with alternate fingers being elongated relatively to the remaining fingers so that the fingers provide support of the backing material adjacent the penetration points of the respective staggered needles in the front and rear rows. The straight parallel fingers provide clearance for the needle plate to be withdrawn from the needle array so that a path is provided for the hooks to be closely adjacent the backing material for forming very low fine gauge cut pile fabrics.

Abstract: A cut pile tufting machine having cut pile hooks and cooperating knives pointing in the direction oppositely to the direction in which base material is being fed includes loop pile loopers in a selective array in the same mounting member as the cut pile hooks and pointing in the direction oppositely to that in which the fabric is being fed. A wiper cooperates with each loop pile looper to push loops of yarn seized by the looper off the beak of the looper to form loop pile. The wipers are mounted in knife blocks with the knives and rock into loop pushing relationship with the loop pile loopers as the knives rock into cutting engagement with the loops on the cut pile hooks. The loopers have an elongated inclined blade terminating at the beak which is spaced below the cutting edge of the hook relatively to the base material.

Abstract: A staggered cut pile tufting machine has a modular hook assembly having long blade hooks and short blade hooks molded in separate body members. The body members have complementary reference surfaces adapted to cooperatively mate and be secured together. One of the body members includes slots between the hooks carried therein for receiving a portion of the hooks of the other body member when assembled.

Abstract: A tufting machine hook with a spring clip secured at one end to the hook shank is resiliently engaged on a face of the bill by a flag on the clip adjacent the other end. An intermediate portion of the clip is bent so as to be disposed out of the plane of the face engaged and toward the opposite face. In one embodiment the face to which the clip is secured and the face engaged by the flag are on the same side and the free end of the clip is elongated. In the other embodiment the clip is secured to the shank at the opposite side to the face engaged by the flag and the clip is bent to cross the plane of the hook.