Abstract:
A textile machine receives a plurality of yarn strands from a yarn supply. A header receives the yarn strands where multiple strands are combined for joint direction to the textile machine. Beams with multiple yarn strands wrapped thereon preferably function as the yarn supply and the header may direct through yarn tubes to a staging header for use by the textile machine. The textile machine is preferably a tufting machine and multiple yarn strands are received by at least one needle of the tufting machine.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to textile machinery and its use, and more particularly to textile manufacturing machines such as a creel wherein a group of a plurality of yarn strands are received and are fed to the textile machinery. 
     DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART 
     In textile machines, such as tufting machines, yarn is normally fed to the machinery either directly from a creel or from a warper. A creel is a frame having an array of vertical and horizontal support members including a multiplicity of yarn cone holders. A yarn cone is a spool about which yarn is wound. There are a multiplicity of yarn cone holders provided in horizontally and vertically disposed pairs, one cone holder of the pair mounting the active yarn cone and the other mounting a reserve or magazine cone used after the active cone is emptied. Each cone holder pair normally has its own yarn guide tube through which yarn on each holder of the pair may be fed. While this is the standard arrangement for creels, other creel configurations could also be utilized for tufting machines. 
     A warper is normally a machine having a large spool, known in the art as a beam, on which yarn is wound and which subsequently supplies the yarn to a tufting machine. These may have more than one yarn wound thereabout and even a plurality of beams may be utilized such as mini-beams as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,592,069. However, in the prior art as known to the applicant, each yarn would be fed to a separate needle from the beam. The applicant is unaware of any use of beams to provide a plurality of yarns to a single needle. 
     In the art of tufting, generally a strand of yarn is fed through each needle. However, there are some occasions when it may be desired to feed a plurality of fine yarn strands to each needle for providing tufted fabrics having unique patterns. Presently, when such need arises, and in order to supply more than one yarn strand to a needle of a tufting machine, the yarn strands are cabled together onto a single yarn cone or to reserve a magazine position as used for mounting an active cone. Cabling involves winding the plural yarns onto a single yarn cone, but yarn manufacturers typically merchandise yarn cones with but a single yarn wound thereon. Thus, cabling requires unwinding the yarn cones from several cones and rewinding the yarns as a group on the multi-yarn cones. Cabling is therefore believed to be inconvenient and time consuming. Magazining, on the other hand, would appear to limit to two the number of yarn strands capable of being used and thus limits the pattern potential. 
     In an effort to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,531,392 and 5,613,643, incorporated by reference, are directed to providing multiple yarn strands to a single yarn guide tube. This is believed to be a huge advance over the prior art. However, the creels shown and described in these patents are not configured to be utilized with beams of yarn. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Consequently, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a yarn supply such as a creel or at least one beam which feed a plurality of yarn strands for use by a single needle of a tufting machine or other textile machinery either directly or indirectly. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a yarn supply which provides a plurality of yarns to a single needle utilizing an eye board. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a yarn supply which feeds a plurality of yarns to a single needle apart from the methods and apparatus taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,531,392 and 5,613,643. 
     Accordingly, the present invention provides a yarn supply for feeding yarn to a textile machine such as a tufting machine wherein a plurality of yarn ends are fed to a single needle of the textile machine. The yarn supply is preferably one of a creel and a beam. Yarn ends are directed from the yarn supply to an eye board where there is at least one eye per needle and at least two yarns directed through each of the eyes and then to each corresponding needle. The eye board may be connected to a tube bank which directs yarn toward the specific needle. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The particular features and advantages of the invention as well as other objects will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  shows a prior art creel; 
         FIG. 2  shows a prior art mini-beam; 
         FIG. 3  shows a perspective view of an eye board receiving a plurality of yarn strands at each eye from a yarn supply in the form of a beam, directing the strands through a tube bank and sending each of the yarns to needles which correspond with a particular eye. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       FIG. 1  is a prior art creel taken from U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,392. The yarn cones direct yarns into eyelets or into tubes at a creel. The specific yarns which will be directed to a single needle are placed together at the creel. 
       FIG. 2  is a prior art beam system taken from U.S. Pat. No. 6,592,069. While each beam has a plurality of yarn ends wrapped thereabout, each yarn end is directed to a separate needle. 
       FIG. 3  shows the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention having a header  10  connected to a yarn supply  12 . The yarn supply  12  is illustrated as having a plurality of beams  14 . Each of the beams  14 , 16  is preferably wound with at least two, and possibly three or more yarn ends  18 , 20 , 22  and  24 , 26 . From the yarn supply, the yarn ends  18 , 20 , 22  and  24 , 26  are directed to the header  12  without inserting the yarn ends  18 , 20 , 22  directly into guide tubes as is done in with the creel configurations shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,531,392 and 5,613,643. 
     At the header  12 , a plurality of yarn ends such as yarn ends  18 , 20 , 26  are inserted into a particular eye  28  of the header  10 . The plurality may include 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or more yarn ends per eye  28 . The header  10  is preferably constructed as a planar eye board  36  having a plurality of eyes  28 , 37 , 39 , 40  therethrough. For every needle  30  (only one is shown in tufting machine  32 , but it will be understood to one skilled in the art that additional needles would be behind the illustrated needle  30 ) of the tufting machine which is to receive a yarn end, at least one eye is preferably provided at the header  10 . 
     The eye  28  may receive at least two yarn ends  18 , 20  from a beam  14  which rotates about an axis  34 . Additionally and/or alternatively the eye  28  may receive at least two yarn ends  18 , 26  (or more yarn ends) from two or more beams  14 , 16  (at least one from each beam  14  or  16  and any number more). The respective yarn ends are directed from the header  10 , or first header, toward the tufting machine  32  either directly, through a tube  38 , and/or to a staging header  40 , or a second header, before proceeding to a tufting machine  32  and/or pattern attachment which could be integral or separate as it relates to the tufting machine  32 . Although only a single tube  38  is illustrated in the drawings, it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that a plurality of tubes could be utilized to direct yarn from any of the eyes  28  of the first header  10  to any of the eyes  42  illustrated on the staging or second header  40 . Providing additional tubes in the figure could unnecessarily clutter the figure. Furthermore, although a tufting machine  32  is illustrated other devices might also utilize this multi-strand principle. 
     When yarn ends are fed as illustrated from a particular beam such as beam  14  to more than one eye, such as eyes  28 ,  44 , it is important that the needles fed by yarns  18 , 20 , 22  provide similar stitches so that the unwanted slack does not develop intermediate the header  10  and the yarn supply  12 . Accordingly, it is probable that the yarn ends from a single beam will normally be directed to needles which are providing the same stitch (such as in a repeating pattern) at the same time. 
     When multiple yarns from a single beam, such as beam  14 , are provided to a particular eye, such as eye  28 , they then can proceed to a particular needle, in this case needle  30 . Accordingly each of the yarn ends  18 , 20  would proceed at the same rate and amount from the beam  14  as a result of the tufting process. In the illustrated embodiment, since yarn strand  22  will be fed at the same rate and amount as ends  18 , 20 , and  26 , it makes since that yarn ends  22  and  26  can be fed at the same speed and rate to eye  44  (which will then supply a similar stitch as being provided by needle  30 , except through a different needle). Other beams (not shown) could be simultaneously providing a different stitch or the same stitch at the same time with additional yarns. 
     Although only three yarns are illustrated on beam  14 , and only two yarn ends  24 , 26  on beam  16 , it will be understood by one skilled in the art that more, and even many more, yarn ends can be provided on a single beam. Furthermore, although beams  14 , 16 , are illustrated positioned collinearly along the same rotation axis  34 , it will be understood by one skilled in the art that the rotation axes  34  of the beams  14 , 16  need not be collinear. They may be parallel and non-linear, or any other configuration. 
     In addition to using beams  14 , 16  with the yarn supply  12 , it is also possible to utilize a creel with the method and apparatus of the present invention. Specifically, instead of utilizing the structures and methods as taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,531,392 and 5,613,643, the yarn ends could be fed to the header  10  as shown where the specific yarns, such as yarn ends  18 ,  20 ,  26 , which would be from separate yarn cones come together at the header  10  instead of in guide tubes as shown in the prior art patents. 
     Another alternative embodiment would include the ability to provide a header  10  which receives a single yarn end and then directs at least two yarns to a single eye, such as eye  46  of a staging header  40 . 
     The use of beams to provide a plurality of yarn ends to a single needle is believed to be new. Additionally the use of a header to receive a plurality of yarn ends from beams and/or yarn cones independent of combining in guide tubes and then assist in directing the yarn ends to the tufting machine where a plurality of yarns are directed to a single needle is also believed to be new. 
     Numerous alterations of the structure herein disclosed will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be understood that the present disclosure relates to the preferred embodiment of the invention which is for purposes of illustration only and not to be construed as a limitation of the invention. All such modifications which do not depart from the spirit of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.