Patent ID: 8899275

Claim:
A tuft carrier loading apparatus for loading individual tufts into tuft retention sites spaced along an elongate tuft carrier, the apparatus including: a guide for guiding longitudinal movement of the tuft carrier along a path of travel; a plurality of individually and selectively operable tuft feeders spaced along the path of travel, each tuft feeder being operable when selected to feed an individual tuft to a tuft retention site of the tuft carrier; a driver drivingly connected to the tuft carrier for moving the tuft carrier along the path of travel, the driver being operable to intermittently move the tuft carrier through a series of successive positions whereat predefined tuft retention sites are moved temporarily into registry with each tuft feeder; and a controller for controlling selection of the tuft feeders, the controller being operable to actuate selected tuft feeders to feed tufts to those tuft retention sites in registry therewith whilst the carrier is located at each successive position, characterised in that the tuft carrier loading apparatus further includes a detector associated with each tuft retention site to detect the presence of a tuft and the driver, on detection of an absent tuft in a tuft retention site following actuation of one or more selected tuft feeders resulting in failure to feed a tuft to the absent tuft retention site, is operable to move the tuft carrier into a position whereat the absent tuft retention site is moved temporarily back into registry with the or one selected tuft feeder and the controller re-actuates the selected tuft feeder to feed a tuft to the absent tuft retention site and wherein the controller further including the step of stopping operation of the tuft carrier loading apparatus on detection of an absent tuft in a tuft retention site following re-actuation of the selected tuft feeder resulting in failure to feed a tuft to the absent tuft retention site.