SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FORMING PATTERNED ARTIFICIAL/SYNTHETIC SPORTS TURF FABRICS

摘要

A system and method for forming synthetic/artificial grass or turf products in which a series of tufts of artificial/synthetic grass filaments or yarns are formed in a backing material with various graphic pattern effects being formed therewith. The system generally will include at least one needle bar having at least one row of needles mounted along a tufting zone and reciprocated through the backing to a desired penetration depth, and will present a desired set or group of yarns to a series of pattern pixels or stitch areas. A series of level cut loop loopers or hooks will be aligned with and will engage the needles in order to form tufts of yarns in the backing material. Clips of the level cut loop loopers will be selectively controlled to control the retention of selected ones of the yarns presented at each pattern pixel. The remaining, non-selected yarns generally are not retained at the pattern pixels, and can be formed as lower pile tufts or removed from the backing material.

主权项

1. A method of forming patterned tufted articles, comprising:
moving a backing through a tufting zone; reciprocating a series of needles into the backing, the needles arranged in needle groups so as to present a series of yarns carried thereby to a plurality of stitch areas defined across the backing; as the needles penetrate the backing and present the series of yarns carried thereby to each stitch area, selectively activating a series of clips of a series of level cut loop loopers in accordance with an LCL pattern profile to pick-up selected yarns while retarding pick-up of non-selected yarns of the series of yarns presented at each stitch area to control formation of tufts of the selected yarns in the backing at each stitch area; and controlling feeding of the yarns to the needles in accordance with the LCL pattern profile to pull back the non-retained yarns.