US3230982A

US3230982A - Tufting device

Info

Publication number: US3230982A
Application number: US291865A
Authority: US
Inventors: John J Sims
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1963-07-01
Filing date: 1963-07-01
Publication date: 1966-01-25
Anticipated expiration: 1983-01-25

Description

Jan. 25, 1966 J. J. SIMS 3,230,982

TUFTING DEVICE Filed July 1, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTDR JOHN J. SIMS Jan. 25, 1966 J. J. SIMS 3,230,982

TUFTING DEVICE Filed July 1, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet z INVENTOR JOHN J. SIMS MMIW 0% h ATTOR "5V5 United States Patent "ice 3,230,982 TUFTING DEVICE John J. Sims, 9170 Inverness Road, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada Filed July 1, 1963, Ser. No. 291,865 9 Claims. (Cl. 139-1) This invention relates to a tufting device whereby wool yarn and the like may be afiixed to a fabric backing to produce a rug, and particularly to a device which will knot the wool yarn to the individual warp or weft threads forming the fabric backing.

In the making of hooked rugs, strands of wool or its equivalent are passed through a fabric backing with an all or some similar device leaving a portion of the wool protruding to thereby form a rug. The wool is held in place usually by friction and is therefore subject to unravelling.

It is appreciated that devices have been designed heretofore in which the tufts of wool are afiixed, such as by knotting, to the warp and weft threads of the fabric backing. Such devices, however, are usually very complicamd and are, therefore, not adapted to use by the normal person engaged in making a hooked rug. More simple devices have been designed, however, they have not permitted sufiicient speed of operation or uniformity of application of wool to the backing.

The present device provides an implement very simple in construction and in operation whereby individual strands of wool may be knotted to warp or weft threads in fabric backing speedily and in a uniform manner. Only one hand is required in its operation and this operation is so simple that a child or an inexperienced person may make hooked rugs with a dexterity required by one of long practice.

The present invention consists of a tufting device for knotting yarn to the strands of a fabric backing comprising a guide member having a way formed longitudinally therethrough, a plunger slidably carried by the guide member within the way for reciprocal movement, said plunger having yarn carrying means formed on one end thereof, means to operate the plunger from an extended to a non-extended position, a foot having an aperture therethrough and connected to one end of the guide member, said aperture being adapted to permit the passage of said one end of the plunger therethrough when the plunger is moved to its extended position, and yarn gripping means formed in said one end of the guide member, said yarn gripping means lying outwardly of and in longitudinal alignment with the yarn carrying means on the end of the plunger when the plunger is in its non-extended position.

An example of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of the invention showing a strand of wool in place,

FIGURE 2 is an end view of the invention in the direction 22 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of a portion of the device in the direction 33 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURES 4 to 8 are diagrammatic views showing the formation of a tuft and relative position of the elements of the invention in various positions during the formation of the tuft,

FIGURE 9 is a plan view of a portion of the fabric backing used in the making of hooked rugs,

FIGURE 10 is a side view of the device partially cut away to form an alternate embodiment,

FIGURE 11 is an enlarged view of a section of FIG- URE l0, and

FIGURE 12 is a section taken on line 12-12 of FIG- URE 11.

3,230,982 Patented Jan. 25, 1966 Referring to the drawings, the tufting device numbered generally as 10, and as shown in FIGURE 1, comprises essentially a plunger 11 slidably mounted on a guide block 12 for reciprocal movement relative thereto and arranged to be thrust outwardly through an aperture 14 formed in a foot 14a, the latter being connected to the end of the guide block 12. A handle 15 is suitably secured to the guide block in a manner hereinafter described to assist the operation of the device.

The guide block 12, to permit ease of assembly, is formed in two parts, a yarn gripping section 16 having a notch 18 formed in one end 19 thereof and a cover piece 20. The cover piece 20 has a notch 22 formed in one end thereof and is secured at the other end 23 by lug screws 24 to an end 25 of the handle, the axis of the handle and cover piece being at right angles to each other. The yarn gripping section 16 is secured to the underside of the cover piece by lug screws 27.

In the preferred form of the invention, the notch 18 formed in the yarn gripping section 16 is formed such that it presents, when viewed in a direction normalto the upper side 28 of the yarn gripping section 16 an outwardly opening V narrowing inwardly to a restricted waste 30 and then widening outwardly to form a more or less elliptical aperture 32, this embodiment is clearly shown in FIGURE 3 of the drawings, the sides of the notch 18 also flare outwardly from the upper side 28 of the yarn gripping section 16 to the underside 33 thereof. This latter embodiment is clearly shown in FIGURE 2 of the drawings.

The plunger 11 which in the preferred form is an elongated rod of rectangular cross section is slidably carried between the yarn gripping section 16 and cover piece 20 in a way 35, the longitudinal centre line of whichis shown in FIGURES 1 and 3 and marked L for identification, formed in the undersurface 36 of the cover piece. The plunger carries a projecting dog 39 which is slidably received by an elongated recess 40 formed centrally in and through the cover piece 20, the

end walls

41 and 42 of which co-act with the dog, thereby serving to limit the reciprocal movement of the plunger.

One end 43 of the plunger is formed with a U-shaped slot 44 and the outer end 46 has an operating cap 47 secured thereto which serves as an outer stop confining a compression spring 48 mounted on the plunger between the cap 47 and the handle 15 to thereby continually urge the plunger to an outward or non-extended position.

The foot 14a is preferably formed of a length of stiff wire, such as piano wire, being bent intermediate its ends to form an upwardly turned loop 51, and spaced parallel arms 52. The foot is secured to the yarn gripping section 16 in a position such that the arms 52 thereof lie parallel to and are centrally located relative to the notch 18 and the loop 51 is located to permit passage of the end 43 of the plunger therethrough. In order to provide a means to adjustably position the foot relative to the yarn gripping section, the arms 52 of the foot are grippingly secured by the head of a lug screw 54 which is screwed into the body of the yarn gripping section on the underside 33 thereof. By loosening the lug screw, the foot may he slid toward or away from the end 19 of the yarn gripping section and secured in any desired position by simply tightening the screw 54.

It is appreciated that the proper proportioning of the elements comprising the device in order that it may properly function as a tufting implement is extremely important. When the plunger is urged outwardly by the spring 48 to the normal non-extended position, as limited by the dog 39 lying against the end wall 41 and the recess, the U-shaped slot 44 of the end 43 of the plunger is positioned slightly rearwardly of the elliptical 3 aperture 32 and when the plunger is forced outwardly to its fully extended position, as limited by the dog 39 lying against the end wall 42 of the recess, the end 43 thereof projects outwardly through the loop 51 of the foot approximately one half an ineh. This latter distance can, of course, be adjusted by slidably positioning the foot relative to the end of the yarn gripping section 16 by loosening the lug screw 54. The plunger in its 'non-ex 'tended position is shown 'in FIGURE '1, FIGURE 4, FIGURE 6 and FIGURE 7 of the "drawings, and in its extended position in FIGURE of the drawings.

The deviceas 'hereinbe'fore described is intended for use in conjunction with a specially prepared fabric backing -of the type now'standard in the making of hooked rugs, in which the warp and weft threads thereof are suitably interwoven and fixed relative to each other to form uniformly spaced and sized longitudinal and transversely disposed apertures. Aportion of this type of backing is shown in FIGURE 9 in which

warp threads

60, 61 and 62 are interwoven through

weft threads

63 and 64 to form apertures '66 and 67. a In the operation of the device, a length of wool yarn 70 is formed into a loop providing a looped end '71 and free ends 72. The looped end 71 is drawn over the foot 14 with the free ends standing upwardly therefrom and the 'yarn '70 is thendrawn backwardly over the arms 52'of the foot into 'the elliptical aperture 32 of the yarn gripping section 16. The free ends 72 of the yarn may then be released, the yarn being held firmly by the walls of the elliptical aperture. The loop 51 of the foot is then 'thru'st'down'war'dl-y through aperture 67 and against warp thread 61. In this position, the plunger will assume a position centrally over aperture 66 as shown diagrammatically in FIGURE 4. The plunger is then thrust outwardly to its extended position, as shown in FIGURE 4, downwardly through aperture 66 and through the loop 51 of the foot, the U-shaped slot 44 in the end'thereof carryin'g th'efr'ee'ends 72 of the arm 70 downwardly through said 'la'tteraperture and l op. The parts in this position are showndiagr ammatieally in FIGURE 5. When the plunger is released to assume a fully Withdrawn position, asshown 'in FIGURE 6,the'ifree ends 72 of the yarn 70 remains in position downwardly through aperture 66 and loop 51. The foot is then withdrawn as shown in FIG- URE 7 upwardly through aperture 67, the loop 51 carrying the free ends 72 of the yarn upwardly through the looped end 71 of the yarn thereby forming a barrel knot around 'warp thread 61 as shown in FIGURE 8. If desired, the knot may be tightened by simply taking hold of the free ends 72 of the yarn and tucking them. Such "an actionwill produce a relatively tight knot. When the foregoing operation is carried out to form a knotted length of yarn around each warp or weft thread forming the fabric backing, a rug of the pile type will be produced and by virtue of the adjustable foot, various lengths of yarn may be employed to produce either a rug having long or short pile strands. The device is also capable of adjustment to suit fabrics of various mesh as feet of differentiwidths suitably sized relative to the fabric used may be easily and quickly secured to the device in the manner described hereinbefore.

It will be noted that the foregoing description provides a device which may be very easily constructed and which may be simply operated, the plunger being depressed by the thumb of the hand gripping the handle 15. If desired, the plunger may be operated by 'a'trigger device as shown in'drawings through'12.

It is'to be understood that in the description following, the device and separate elements are thesame as the device described hereinbefo're with theaddition of the trigger device. Similar parts, however, are given different numbers for identification purposes.

In this embodiment of-the invention, the handle which is-numbered 80 and yarn gripping section numbered -'8-2,

are of hollow construction and contain a triggering mechanism 83. The triggering mechanism comprises a lever pivoted at a point intermediate its length on a shaft 86, said shaft being secured at each end to the handle 80. One end 88 of the lever projects outwardly through a slot 89 formed in the forward face of the handle and the other end 91 is pivotally connected to one end 95 of a pawl 97, the other endss of thepawl being'arranged to bear against a stop formed on the undersurface of the plunger 102. The said one end 98 of the pawl is provided with a sidewaysproje'cting lug 104 which is adapted to slidably engage a wedge shaped projection 105, having a cam face 107, formed on an inner wall 108 of the yarn grippings'ection 82,111 a 'r'n'anner hereinafter described.

A tension spring 109 is secured at one endto the end '91 of the lever 85 and at the other end to the rear wall 110 of the handle, and a compression spring 1'12 is situated and appropriately fastened between the lever and the pawl in a position substantially as shown in FIGURES 10 and 11.

The parts as described are so arranged that when the plunger is in its fully non-extended position, as shown in FIGURE 10, the tension spring 109 will pivot the lever 85 to fully withdraw the pawl 97, said pawl being thrust upwardly against the underside of the plunger by the compression spring 112 with its end 98 positioned just rearwardly of the stop 100. To operate the device, the handle 80 gripped by the thumb and first two fingers of the hand and the third finger and little finger pressed against the end 88 of the lever 85. The pivotal action of the lever forces the 'end 9815f the pawl against the stop 100 and moves the plunger outwardly to an extended position at which'point'the lug l04 -meets the cam surface 107 of the projection 105, and rides downwardly thereon releasing said end 98 of the pawl frorn's top 100 and allowing the plunger 'to return to its non-extended position. When the end 88 of the lever is released, the tension spring 109 will cause the lever 85 to pivotand withdraw 'the pawl to the first-mentioned position to start the cycle over again.

It is apparent that many types of trigger or lever actions may be devised to'rnove'the plunger, the above being only one of many. The invention is, therefore, not limited to any one of'tlie described means of operating the plunger.

It 'will be'noted the foregoing description the device has been describedjas being fashioned of separable individual parts, i.e. the yarn gripping 'member, the cover piece and the handle. It will be appreciated, however, that the device may be molded from a material, such as a plastic or'the like, in one unit in which the foregoing parts are an integral part-of'the unit.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. 'A tufting device for knotting yarn to the strands of a fabric backing comprising a guide member, a way formed in and extending through said guide member, a plunger 'slidably'carried by'the guide member within the way for reciprocal movement, said plunger having yarn carrying means formed on one end thereof, cover means over the way to maintain the plunger therein while permitting sliding movement of the latter, means to operate the plunger from an extended to a non-extended position, a foot having an aperture therethrough and connected to one end of'the guide member, said foot extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the way, said aperture being adapted to permit the passage of said one end of the plunge'rtherethrough when the plunger is moved to its extended position, and yarn gripping means formed in said one end of the guide member, said yarn gripping means lying outwardly of and in longitudinal alignment with the yarn carrying means on the end of the plunger whenthe'plunger is in its non-extended position.

2. A tufting device as claimed in claim 1 including resilient means connected to the plunger urging said plunger to a normal non-extended position.

3. A tufting device for knotting yarn to the strands of a fabric comprising a guide member, a way formed in and extending through said guide member, a plunger slidably carried by the guide member within the way for reciprocal movement, said plunger having yarn carrying means formed on one end thereof and having a dog mounted thereon, cover means over the way to maintain the plung-- er therein while permitting sliding movement of the latter, spaced walls on the cover means arranged in the path of the dog to limit the travel of the plunger between an extended and non-extended position, means to operate the plunger from an extended to a non-extended position, a foot having an aperture therethrough and connected to one end of the guide member, said foot extending transversely of the longitudinal axis of the way, said aperture being adapted to permit the passage of said one end of the plunger therethrough when the plunger is moved to its extended position, and yarn gripping means formed in said one end of the guide me her, said yarn gripping means lying outwardly of and in longitudinal alignment with the yarn carrying means on the end of the plunger when the plunger is in its non-extended position.

4. A tufting device as claimed in claim 3 including resilient means connected to the plunger urging said plunger to a normal non-extended position.

5. A tufting device for knotting yarn to the strands of a fabric backing comprising a guide member, a way formed in and extending through said guide member, a plunger slidably carried by the guide member within the way for reciprocal movement, said plunger having a forwardly opening U-shaped recess in one end thereof and having a dog mounted thereon, cover means over the way to maintain the plunger therein while permitting sliding movement of the latter, spaced walls on the cover means arranged in the path of the dog to limit the travel of the plunger between an extended and a non-extended position, means to operate the plunger from an extended to a non-extended position, a foot having an aperture therethrough and connected to one end of the guide member, said foot extending transversely of the longitudinal axis of the way, said aperture being adapted to permit the passage of said one end of the plunger therethrough when the plunger is moved to its extended position, and yarn gripping means formed in said one end of the guide member, said yarn gripping means lying outwardly of and in longitudinal alignment with the U-shaped recess on the end of the plunger when the plunger is in its non-extended position.

6. A tufting device as claimed in claim 5 including resilient means connected to the plunger urging said plunger to a normal non-extended position.

7. A tufting device as claimed in claim 6 in which the resilient means comprises a coil spring situated over the plunger.

8. A tufting device for knotting yarn to the strands of a fabric comprising a guide member, a way formed in and extending through said guide member, an elongated plunger slidably carried by the guide member within the way for reciprocal movement, a dog mounted in the plunger, cover means over the way to maintain the plunger therein while permitting sliding movement of the latter, spaced walls on the cover means arranged in the path of the dog to limit the travel of the plunger between an extended and a non-extended position, resilient means connected to the plunger normally urging the latter to its non-extended position, a handle extending laterally from the guide member and being located, when gripped, to position the thumb of the hand over the other end of the plunger whereby the latter may be moved to its extended position against the action of the resilient means, a foot having an aperture formed therethrough connected to one end of the guide member and being located so as to permit the passage of the said one end of the plunger therethrough when the latter is moved between its extended and non-extended position, said foot extending transversely t0 the longitudinal axis of the Way, and yarn gripping means formed at said one end of the guide member adapted to releasably maintain a doubled strand of yarn in the path of the said one end of the plunger so as to permit the latter to carry said strand through the aperture as said plunger is moved from its non-extended p osition to its extended position.

9. A tufting device for kuotting yarn to the strands of a fabric comprising a guide member, a way formed in and extending through said guide member, an elongated plunger slidably carried by the guidemember within the way for reciprocable movement, a dog mounted in the plunger, cover means over the way to maintain the plunger therein while permitting sliding movement of the latter, spaced walls on the cover means arranged in the path of the dog to limit the travel of the plunger between an extended and a non-extended position, a handle extending laterally from the guide member, a lever pivotally mounted on the handle and engageable with the plunger, resilient means connected to the plunger normally urging the latter to its non-extended position, said lever being operable to move said plunger from its non-extended to its extended position against the action of the resilient means, a foot having an aperture formed therethrough connected to one end of the guide member and being located so as to permit the passage of the said one end of the plunger therethrough when the latter is moved between its extended and non-extended position, said foot extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the way, yarn gripping means formed at said one end of the guide member adapted to releasably maintain a doubled strand of yarn in the path of the said one end of the plunger so as to permit the latter to carry said strand through the aperture as said plunger is moved from its non-extended position to its extended position, and means to disengage the lever and the plunger when the latter reaches its extened position to allow the resilient means to return said plunger to its non-extended position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,873,766 2/1959 Jeandupeux 139-1 FOREIGN PATENTS 79,195 4/ 1959 Denmark. 27,966 of 1903 Great Britain. 206,023 11/ 1923 Great Britain.

DONALD W.- PARKER, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. A TUFTING DEVICE FOR KNOTTING YARN TO THE STANDS OF A FABRIC BACKING COMPRISING A GUIDE MEMBER, A WAY FORMED IN AND EXTENDING THROUGH SAID GUIDE MEMBER, A PLUNGER SLIDABLY CARRIED BY THE GUIDE MEMBER WITHIN THE WAY FOR RECIPROCAL MOVEMENT, SAID PLUNGER HAVING YARN CARRYING MEANS FORMED ON ONE END THEREOF, COVER MEANS OVER THE WAY TO MAINTAIN THE PLUNGER THEREIN WHILE PERMITTING SLIDING MOVEMENT OF THE LATTER, MEANS TO OPERATE THE PLUNGER FROM AN EXTENDED TO A NON-EXTENDED POSITION, A FOOT HAVING AN APERTURE THERETHROUGH AND CONNECTED TO ONE END OF THE GUIDE MEMBER, SAID FOOT EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE WAY SAID APERTURE BEING ADAPTED TO PERMIT THE PASSAGE OF SAID ONE END OF THE PLUNGER THERETHROUGH WHEN THE PLUNGER IS MOVED TO ITS EXENDED POSITION, AND YARN GRIPPING MEANS FORMED IN SAID ONE END OF THE GUIDE MEMBER, SAID YARN GRIPPING MEANS LYING OUTWARDLY OF AND IN LONGITUDINAL ALIGNMENT WITH THE YARN CARRYING MEANS ON THE END OF THE PLUNGER WHEN THE PLUNGER IS IN ITS-EXTENDED POSITION.