CN-122003524-A - System and method for forming patterned tufted products

Abstract

A system, apparatus and method for forming a tufted product may include a tufting machine for forming patterned tufted products such as carpets, rugs and artificial grass or turf products having incorporated therein indicia of other designs, including yarns of multiple colors. The tufting machine may include a series of hollow needles arranged at gauge intervals along the needle bar and may receive a series of different colored and/or types of yarns from a yarn feed system. The yarn selection system may be controlled to selectively retard or retract yarn from the needle. The needles will reciprocate into and out of the backing to deliver a series of yarns into the backing and may be engaged by corresponding cutters to form yarn tufts.

Inventors

• B. Lafradi
• R.E. Mathews

Assignees

• 卡德-门罗公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20240816

Priority Date

20240815

Claims (20)

1. 1. A tufting machine for forming an artificial grass or turf product having a plurality of patterned designs, the tufting machine comprising: At least one needle bar along which a plurality of needles are positioned; wherein the plurality of needles comprises hollow needles; A yarn feeding system configured to feed a plurality of yarns into the plurality of needles; Wherein the plurality of needles move in a reciprocating motion toward and away from a backing that moves along a travel path through the tufting machine to introduce a plurality of selected yarns into the backing as the plurality of needles pierce the backing; at least one displacement mechanism for laterally displacing the backing; A yarn selection system arranged along a travel path of yarn between the yarn feeding system and the plurality of needles, the yarn selection system configured to retract and/or retard unselected yarn supplied by the yarn feeding system to one or more of the plurality of needles, and A cutting system disposed below the backing and including at least one knife or cutting blade configured to cut a selected yarn as it is fed into the backing as the plurality of needles reciprocate into and out of the backing.
2. 2. The tufting machine of claim 1 and further comprising a control system comprising a program configured to control operation of said yarn feed system for feeding each selected yarn of said plurality of selected yarns into said needles at a length substantially sufficient to form tufts of a predetermined tuft height, to control operation of said yarn selection system, and to control operation of said at least one displacement mechanism to enable presentation of different colors or types of yarn at each of a plurality of stitch locations of a pattern being formed.
3. 3. The tufting machine of claim 2 and wherein said yarn selection system further comprises a plurality of yarn retractors adapted to engage a plurality of yarns fed into said plurality of needles and a plurality of actuators each connected to at least one yarn retractor and adapted to move said plurality of yarn retractors between an extended position allowing a plurality of selected yarns to pass through said plurality of needles from said yarn feed system and a retracted position retracting and/or retarding a plurality of unselected yarns supplied to said plurality of needles by said yarn feed system.
4. 4. The tufting machine of claim 3 and wherein said control system comprises a program configured to dynamically push operation of said yarn feed system and said plurality of yarn retractors or said yarn selection system prior to a next stitch placement step of a pattern being formed.
5. 5. The tufting machine of claim 1 and wherein said at least one needle bar comprises a series of openings spaced along said at least one needle bar and in communication with channels extending through corresponding needles and wherein said plurality of yarns are directed through a plurality of openings in said at least one needle bar and into said plurality of needles.
6. 6. The tufting machine of claim 1 and wherein said plurality of needles are arranged at selected needle gauge intervals along said at least one needle bar based on the needle gauge of the artificial grass or turf product of said tufting machine.
7. 7. The tufting machine of claim 1 and further comprising an air flow driven yarn feed device coupled to an air source and configured to direct an air flow through said at least one needle bar to assist in feeding a plurality of yarns through said plurality of needles.
8. 8. The tufting machine of claim 1 and wherein said displacement mechanism comprises a rack and pinion type displacement mechanism.
9. 9. The tufting machine of claim 1 and wherein said at least one knife or cutting blade comprises a substantially planar cutting surface or edge.
10. 10. The tufting machine of claim 1 and wherein said plurality of needles each comprise a main body defining an interior channel therein, a first end received within a needle bar and a second end terminating at a tip and having a flattened cutting surface configured for cutting flat ribbon yarns or filaments.
11. 11. A tufting machine, the tufting machine comprising: A plurality of needles configured to pierce a backing; a yarn feed system configured to selectively feed a plurality of yarns into the plurality of needles; Wherein the plurality of needles comprises a plurality of hollow needles, each hollow needle having a first end and a second end defining a passageway therebetween through which one or more yarns are fed; wherein the plurality of yarns comprises yarns of different types or colors; at least one displacement mechanism for displacing the plurality of needles on the backing or displacing the backing relative to the plurality of needles; a yarn selection system comprising a plurality of yarn retractors adapted to move between an extended position allowing a plurality of selected yarns to pass from the yarn feeding system to the plurality of needles and a retracted position retracting and/or retarding unselected yarns supplied by the yarn feeding system to one or more of the plurality of needles, and Wherein the feeding of the selected and unselected yarns is controlled by the yarn feeding system as the plurality of needles reciprocate into and out of the backing, and the plurality of yarn retractors move between their retracted and extended positions to enable insertion of the selected yarn into the backing to form a plurality of loops or cut tufts of the selected yarn according to the pattern being tufted.
12. 12. The tufting machine of claim 11 and further comprising a cutting system comprising at least one knife or cutting blade configured to cut said selected yarns to form cut pile tufts of a plurality of yarns in said backing.
13. 13. The tufting machine of claim 11 and further comprising a control system comprising a program configured to control operation of said yarn feed system to feed said plurality of selected yarns into said plurality of needles and a program configured to dynamically urge said yarn feed system to feed said plurality of yarns and said plurality of yarn retractors to move between said extended position and said retracted position prior to a next stitch placement step of a pattern being formed.
14. 14. The tufting machine of claim 11 and further comprising at least one needle bar along which said plurality of needles are mounted, wherein said plurality of needles are arranged at selected needle bar spacings along said at least one needle bar based on needle gauges of artificial grass or turf products produced by said tufting machine.
15. 15. The tufting machine of claim 11 and further comprising a gas source and a gas flow driven yarn feed device coupled to the gas source for directing said plurality of yarns through said plurality of needles.
16. 16. The tufting machine of claim 11 and wherein a second end of each of said plurality of needles comprises a tip and a surrounding flattened cutting surface, said tip having an opening through which said one or more yarns exit said needles, said flattened cutting surface configured for cutting a plurality of flat ribbon yarns or filaments.
17. 17. The tufting machine of claim 11 and configured to produce a plurality of tufted turf or artificial grass products having a plurality of integrated designs (e.g., logos) for said plurality of tufted turf or artificial grass products.
18. 18. A method comprising moving a backing along a travel path, feeding a plurality of yarns into each of a plurality of needles along the travel path from a plurality of yarn feeding devices, reciprocating the plurality of needles into and out of the backing, displacing the backing or displacing the plurality of needles in a direction transverse to the travel path of the backing, selectively controlling the plurality of yarn feeding devices to substantially stop or slow the feeding of a plurality of unselected yarns to the plurality of needles, and actuating one or more yarn retractors to engage and block or retract the plurality of unselected yarns so that the plurality of yarns remain substantially within the plurality of needles, selectively controlling the plurality of yarn feeding devices and the plurality of yarn retractors when the movement of the backing along its travel path is controlled so that a plurality of different yarns can be presented at each of a plurality of positions, and forming a plurality of artificial turf, and tufted turf, or tufted grass products, wherein the plurality of yarns or tufted grass products comprise one or more selected yarns or tufted grass yarn or tufted yarn or a plurality of synthetic grass product designs.
19. 19. The method of claim 18, wherein displacing the backing or displacing the plurality of needles comprises displacing a backing support over which the backing moves.
20. 20. The method of claim 18, further comprising moving at least one cutting blade into engagement with a cutting surface of each needle as the plurality of needles pierce the backing, and cutting the plurality of selected yarns to form tufts of the plurality of selected yarns in the backing.

Description

System and method for forming patterned tufted products Cross reference The present application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 63/533,171 filed on month 8 and 17 of 2023, and claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 63/555,590 filed on month 2 and 20 of 2024, and claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 63/683,097 filed on month 8 and 14 of 2024. Reference inclusion The disclosures of U.S. provisional application No. 63/533,171, filed 8/17 at 2023, U.S. provisional application No. 63/555,590, filed 2/20 at 2024, and U.S. provisional application No. 63/683,097, filed 8/14 at 2024, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety as if set forth herein for all purposes. Technical Field The present disclosure relates generally to tufted fabrics or products, and in particular, to systems and methods for forming tufted fabrics or products having patterned designs formed therein, including forming patterned artificial/synthetic turf fabrics or products. Background Tufted products, such as carpets, rugs, turf, etc., with company brand logos (e.g., logos, font designs, and other patterned graphics) have become increasingly popular. In addition, as artificial or synthetic grass or turf products are installed in indoor and outdoor applications, there is an increasing demand for forming such turf products in a greater variety of colors and/or patterns (e.g., team or sponsor logos, or various graphic patterns). In the past, to create a large tufted product site (e.g., turf or artificial turf site) having a graphic pattern or design (e.g., logo, number, or other feature), it was necessary to first install a section of ordinary turf or artificial turf at the site, then either draw the desired design or logo or the like onto the turf or artificial turf, or cut and remove a portion of the installed turf or artificial turf, and then insert and fix (e.g., glue) the pre-cut logo, number, or other design feature having the desired color in place. Such a process is often labor and time intensive and costly and may result in increased material wastage and, in some cases, inaccuracy in the alignment of such a subsequently applied logo or other complex design. In addition, as players become larger and stronger, the forces applied to the turf or artificial grass field during play may also increase, which may result in the turf or artificial grass being more likely to separate along the seam where the turf has separated and where signs or other designs have been applied. It can thus be seen that a need exists for a system and method for forming patterned tufted products, including artificial/synthetic grass or sports turf products, that addresses the foregoing problems, as well as other related or unrelated problems in the art. Disclosure of Invention Briefly, the present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for forming patterned tufted products, including carpets for commercial, residential applications, string carpets, rugs, sports carpets (including, but not limited to, artificial grass or turf), products for landscape applications, and/or other tufted products. In embodiments, the tufted product may comprise a patterned design comprising a plurality of different colors, different pile heights (PILE HEIGHT) and/or loops (loop pile) and/or cut pile (cut pile) tufts. In one example embodiment, patterned tufted products formed using the systems and methods of the present disclosure may be formed from yarns of various colors and/or types, including synthetic grass or turf type filaments (filaments) or yarns (yarns) and/or other yarns that may be inserted into a backing material to form patterned artificial/synthetic grass or turf products as well as tufted products including carpets and rugs. In embodiments, the yarns may include one or more yarns for forming carpets and rugs (e.g., coarse carpets) or for forming sports carpets or turf products, which may include a combination of one or more of filaments and/or ribbon yarns (ribbon yarns) for forming sports and landscaping applications. In embodiments, the systems and methods of the present disclosure may generally include and/or may be adapted for utilization in tufting machines that include at least one row of needles that are reciprocally movable into and out of a backing material passing under the needles to insert a plurality of yarns into the backing material for forming tufts of such yarns therein. In an embodiment, the tufting machine may comprise a hollow needle tufting machine having a plurality of hollow needles mounted in a spaced series along the needle bar. In some embodiments, the tufting machine may include more than one needle bar having a plurality of needles along the needle bar therebetween (e.g., a pair of needle bars may be provided each carrying a plurality of needles). Additionally, in embodiments, the tufting machine may include a needle travel support assembly configured to guide a push