Patent Document

RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/830,733 filed Jul. 23, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,634,585, PCT/US99/25985 filed Nov. 4, 1999 published as WO 00/27532, 60/107,494 filed Nov. 6, 1998, entitled, “Compressed Portable Tufting Creel,” U.S. Patent Application No. 60/107,495 filed Nov. 6, 1998, entitled, “Alignment Header for Burning-In Process,” and U.S. Patent Application No. 60/134,589 filed May 17, 1999, entitled, “Compact Creel,” all which are incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates in general to the field of carpet production, and in particular, to carpet yarn creels. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Carpet tufting machines are relatively compact devices. However, substantial space within a carpet production facility is required for the entire tufting process. In addition to the space occupied by a tufting machine (i.e. the tufter) itself, there must be roll-up or additional processing equipment, or both, positioned downstream from the tufter. 
     Substantial additional space is required to supply yarn to the tufter. Yarn is typically supplied directly to the tufter by one of two methods. It may come from a “creel,” which is a rack holding large bobbins or packages of yarn that spool off of the bobbins and into the tufter. Conventional creels occupy substantial floor space “upstream” from the tufter because of the size of the packages or bobbins of yarn and the space needed to hold them so that the many separate strands of yarn can be pulled off the bobbins and fed into the tufting machine. The floor space required by a standard warper and creel is on the order of 2,000 square feet. 
     Alternatively, yarn can be fed to the tufting machine from a “beam,” a large horizontal mandrel onto which multiple strands of yarn of the needed colors are wound in advance. The yarn strands are then unwound simultaneously from the beam into the tufter. While beams typically require substantially less space immediately in front of the tufter than conventional creels, substantial space is needed, and significant work is required to prepare the beam, because in order to position yarn on a beam, bobbins or yarn packages must be positioned on creels to “feed” the beam, much as the yarn packages would be positioned to feed a tufter directly. 
     A significant challenge to carpet manufacturers is to reduce the amount of yarn waste occurring in the manufacturing of carpet. Wasted yarn can occur in several stages during the manufacturing process. For example, there can be yarn waste due to tufting beam waste, production beam waste and/or warping beam waste. A cause of waste is the inability to effectively determine the amount of yarn that is needed for a particular piece of carpet. As yarn is fed into a tufting machine it may be realized that yarn length for one color in a pattern is too short while yarn length for another color in the pattern is too long, resulting in wasted yarn. Large bobbins of yarn or beams of yarn compound the problem due to the sheer size of the yarn contained. A compact creel with smaller yarn packages reduces waste in the manufacturing process. Another significant problem is carpet overrun overage. 
     Therefore, a need exists for a compact creel that occupies less space on the manufacturing floor and reduces yarn waste in the manufacturing process, while enabling the same quantities of carpet production as that produced from a conventional creel. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention is a highly mobile, compact creel that utilizes frames for holding yarn packages (or bobbins), where the packages may be in the form supplied by the yarn supplier (typical sizes are initially about 6 inches or about 10-11 inches in diameter). Each frame can hold yarn packages facing front and back. Each creel frame can hold, for instance, about 416 yarn packages, for a total of approximately 832 yarn packages, so that the two sides of the frames together hold sufficient yarn ends for a typical carpet tufting machine. Other numbers of packages can also be accommodated, and multiple frames can be used to feed a single tufting machine. 
     A header having adjustable bars and slots for the yarn mates and affixes to the frame. This header provides for aligning all of the yarn ends in the same plane in order to join them to ends already threaded into the tufting machine. 
     In operation, yarn spools off of the end of the yarn package, through an eyelet (or yarn eye), through a rigid tube affixed to the frame (and inside the hollow yarn package), and through a flexible tube leading to the top of the frame, and into the header. The flexible tube typically passes through the rigid tube on which the package rests and a yarn eye at the end of the rigid tube can be formed on the end of the flexible tube. The floor space required for two 16 foot frames of the compact creel of this invention is on the order of 160 square feet. 
     A yarn reclamation procedure of this invention strips the yarn packages without unloading the yarn packages from the creel. The ends of the yarn tie from head to tail. The portable creel is placed in front of a backwinder head, and skinner yarn pieces wind onto one package or a few packages. 
     Objects of this invention include: 
     To provide a compact creel that reduces yarn waste in the tufting, production and warping processes. 
     To provide an alternative use for warping beam yarn, other than overrun carpet or beam waste. 
     To provide a compact creel that increases the quality of the finished product by reducing slack ends. 
     To provide yarn inventory reduction and decreased amounts of material handling. 
     To provide a compact creel that requires less floor space. 
     To provide an efficient reclamation procedure. 
     To provide a compact creel that reduces the labor required in the warping process. 
     To provide simplified scheduling and increased plant through-put time. 
     To provide all the same features for sample production and carpet development. 
     As the following description and accompanying drawings make clear, these and other objects are achieved by this invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of both sides of a compact creel of this invention including a frame, a header, yarn packages on hollow supports and flexible tubing. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the compact creel of  FIG. 1 , including a hollow support for a yarn package shown in broken lines and a support, a flexible yarn tube and a portion of the header. 
         FIG. 3  is a side elevation view of a front and rear portion of the creel of FIG.  1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a side view, partially in section of the end of a package support tube and flexible tubing. 
         FIG. 5  is an end view, partially in section of the header. 
         FIG. 6  is a side elevation view of two of the creels of  FIG. 1  showing the path yarn takes to enter a tufting machine with yarn from one creel traveling over the other creel. 
         FIG. 7  is a side elevation view of two yarn packages illustrating the problem of yarn falling from one yarn package to another yarn package and becoming entangled therein. 
         FIG. 8  is a side elevation view of two yarn packages and an air shunt in the flexible tubing for blowing air through the flexible tubing and a ring having lines for capturing any slack yarn to avoid the problem of the yarn becoming entangled as shown in FIG.  7 . 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the ring, threaded shank and line affixed to the overlay upright taken at oval “ 9 ” in FIG.  8 . 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the creel having the overlay upright, ring, shank and lines of  FIG. 9  extending across the front and rear portions of the frame. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a compact creel  20  of this invention. The compact creel  20  includes a frame  22  having a front portion  24  and a rear portion  26 , multiple hollow supports  28  attached to the frame  22  for holding yarn packages  30 , and an attachable header  32 . Preferably, the frame  22  can hold about 832 yarn packages  30  with approximately 416 yarn packages  30  on each of the front  24  and rear  26  portions of a sixteen foot frame  22 . Generally, the yarn packages  30  have a diameter of about seven inches and are about twelve inches long. Preferably, the overall footprint of the compact creel  20  is on the order of 160 square feet or less. A variety of yarn packages  30  can be used with the compact creel  20  including yarn packages  30  containing yarn  33 , that is for instance, tightly twisted, loosely twisted and air entangled. Casters  34 ,  36 ,  38 ,  40 ,  42  and  44  placed on the bottom of the frame  22  provide for ease of movement of the compact creel  20 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the yarn packages  30  of the creel  20  are arranged in compact staggered rows. The hollow supports  28  holding the yarn packages  30  are closely spaced, for instance about one inch apart, so that side-to-side and above-and-below positions of yarn packages  30  are close. This configuration is an improvement over the existing arrangements that requires large bobbins of yarn occupying substantial space before feeding into a tufting machine, and a labor intensive set up process. The compactness of the yarn packages  30 , the large quantity of yarn packages  30  fitting on a creel  20  and reductions in set-up and labor costs provide for a more efficient system for delivering yarn to a tufting machine. 
     Preferably, the front portion  24  and the rear portion  26  of the frame  12  define a passageway  46 . Flexible anti-static tubing  50  affixes to the header  32  at one end  52  of the flexible tubing  50  and travels through the passageway  46  with the other end  54  (not shown) of the flexible tubing  50  positioned through the hollow support  28 . Yarn  33  feeds through the flexible tubing  50  to the header  32 , and through the slots  56  in the header to the tufting machine (represented by dash line  58 ). The arrangement of the header  32  and slots  56  ensures that yarns feeding into the tufting machine  58  lie in the same plane. 
       FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of the hollow support  28 . The hollow support  28  includes a tube  60 , a retainer spring clip  62 , and a connector  64 . The hollow support  28  can be configured, for instance, as a length of round or square pipe or metal tube. Preferably, the tube  60  is welded to the frame  22 , and the connector  64  having the retainer spring clip  62  attaches to the tube  60 . The connector  64  can attach to the tube by a variety of methods including, for instance, screwing, welding, and gluing. The tube  60  is hollow, allowing the flexible tubing  50  to be positioned therein. The yarn package  30  is removably placed on the hollow support  28 . An eyelet  66  formed by heat flaring the end  54  of the flexible tubing  50 . 
     During setup of the creel  20 , an end of a strand of yarn  33  is unwrapped from the yarn package  30 . The yarn  33  is blown through the flexible tubing  50  up to the header  32 . As yarn  33  spins off the yarn package  50 , the eyelet  66  serves to allow continuous feeding from the yarn package  30  through the flexible tubing  50 , aids the threading process and helps avoid wear as the yarn  33  is pulled through. Alternatively, a ceramic or ceramic-coated yarn eye may be attached to the end of the tube  60 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the flexible tubing  50  snakes behind the frame  22  and traverses up to the header  32 . The other end  52  of the flexible tubing  50  that affixes to the header  32  can also be heat flared ensuring the flexible tubing  50  remains in place on the header  32  by the heat flared end  68 . Preferably, yarn  33  removal from the yarn packages  30  onto the tufting machine  58  is relatively slow, with little wear on the heat flared end of the flexible tubing  50 . 
       FIG. 3  is a side elevation view of the front  24  and rear  26  portion of the frame  22  of the creel  20  of FIG.  1 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , the flexible tubing  50  travels from the hollow support  28  up the passageway  46  of the frame  22  to the header  32 . As shown, both portions  24 ,  26  of the frame  22  contain a plurality of yarn packages  30 . Yarn  33  inside the flexible tubing  50  travels through the passageway  46  to the header  32 . Yarn  33  exiting the header  32  aligns to enter the tufting machine  58 . 
       FIG. 4  is an enlarged side elevation view of the end tube  60 . Tube  60  contains the flexible tubing  50  with an eyelet  66  at the end  54  of the flexible tubing. The eyelet  66  serves to hold the flexible tubing  50  in place within the tube  60 . 
       FIG. 5  is an enlarged side view of the header  32 . The header  32  includes a first plate  70  and a second plate  72 . The flexible tubing  50  threads through the first plate  70 . The heat flared end  68  of the flexible tube  50  serves to keep the flexible tubing  50  from coming out of the first plate  72 . The heat flared end  68  of the flexible tubing  50  abuts the second plate  72 . The second plate  72  attaches to the first plate  70  by any connecting methods such as, for example, bolts  74 . 
       FIG. 6  is a side elevation view of two creels  20  and  21  placed one in front of the other. Because of the portable nature of the compact creel  20 , more than one compact creel  20 ,  21  can be used at the same time with a tufting machine  58 . After one compact creel  20  is set up and connected to the tufting machine  58 , the second compact creel  21  can be placed into position and attached to the tufting machine  58 . The first creel  20  is positioned closest to the tufting machine  58 . The second creel  21  placed behind the first creel  20  has all the elements of the first creel  20  with an additional feature. The second creel  21  includes a yarn guide  74  for directing the yarn  33  exiting the header  32  over the first creel  20  and into the tufting machine  58 . The yarn guide  74  creates an angled path for the yarn  33  to traverse, as illustrated by directional arrow A-A to insure that the yarn  30  does not travel a path that would interfere with the operation of the first creel  20 . The yarn  33  exiting the first creel  20  travels path B—B which is a separate path from path A—A. 
     In an alternative embodiment, the yarn guide  74  includes a yarn slide that is placed across the top of the compact creel  21 . The yarn guide can include a bar affixed to and positioned above an upper portion of the frame  22 . So that yarn coming from the header  32  of the second compact creel  21  into the tufting machine  58  is not damaged or broken when the first compact creel  20  slides into position, the yarn slide acts as a “roof” that allows the yarn to slide along an upper portion of the yarn slide as the first creel  20  is placed in proper position. 
       FIG. 7  is a schematic side elevation view of two yarn packages  30 A and  30 B illustrating how yarn  33 A falls from one yarn package  30 A to another yarn package  30 B and becomes entangled. The hollow support  28  that supports the yarn packages  30  (including  30 A and  30 B) allows the yarn to spool off at a variety of speeds including high speeds of about 800 rpm. Yarn packages  30  having different tensions of yarn  33  on the yarn packages  30  such as loosely twisted or tightly twisted yarn  33  can spool off the yarn package  30  at different rates. Yarn packages  30  containing different types of yarn  33  placed above each other can cause the yarn from one package to become entangled with another package.  FIG. 7  shows this situation where the yarn  33 A from the upper yarn package  30 A has fallen onto the tube  60 B of the lower yarn package  30 B. This problem causes the yarn  33 A to jam, requiring stopping the operation of the creel to untangle the yarn packages  30 A and  30 B which can negatively affect productivity. 
       FIG. 8  shows a method for addressing the yarn entanglement problem including a ring having a line for capturing any slack yarn to avoid the problem of the yarn becoming entangled as shown in FIG.  7 . The ring  78  having a threaded shank  80  (shown in  FIG. 9 ) received in an overlay upright  81  and held in place by a nut  82 . A line or strand  84 , such as, for instance, fishing wire or monofilament line, loops through the ring  78  and extends across the overlay upright  81  and attaches at the opposite end of the overlay upright  81  (shown in FIG.  10 ). The front portion  24  and rear portion  26  of the overlay upright  81  can contain such strands  84 . The placement of the ring  78  and strand  84  avoids the problem of yarn  33 A entanglement by supporting any loose yarn on the strand as shown at  86 . Further, even if yarn  33 A is very loose and falls down to the lower yarn package  30 B, the yarn follows the likely path shown at  87  and does not become entangled in the tube  60 B of the lower yarn package  30 B. 
       FIG. 8  also illustrates use of a shunt for blowing air through the flexible tubing  50 . Shunt  90  attaches to the flexible tubing  50  providing an alternative location for air entry to blow the yarn  33  through the flexible tubing  50 . In another alternative embodiment, multiple shunts can be fed by a single manifold so that air can simultaneously be blow through tubes  50 . 
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the ring  78 , shank  80  and strand  84  taken at oval “ 9 ” in FIG.  8 . The wire  84  extends across the front and rear portions  22 ,  24  of the frame  22  such that yarn  33 A from an upper yarn package  30 A does not become entangled with yarn  33 B from a lower yarn package  30 B. 
       FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the front portion  24  of a compact creel  85  having the strands  84  of  FIG. 9  extending across overlay uprights  81 . The overlay uprights  81  contain a series of rings  78  for attaching strands  84  between each horizontal row of yarn packages  30  to prevent yarn  33 A from an upper yarn package  30 A from inadvertently wrapping around a tube  60 B of a lower yarn package  30 B entangling the yarn  33 A. 
     Yarn reclamation can occur by stripping the yarn  33  from the yarn packages  30  without unloading the yarn packages  30  from the creel  20 ,  21  and  85 . The ends of the yarn  33  in adjacent packages  30  are tied from head to tail. The portable creel  20 ,  21  and  85  is placed in front of a backwinder head, and skinner yarn pieces wind onto one package or a few packages. 
     An advantage of this invention is that it provides a compact creel that substantially reduces wasted yarn while making a comparable sized carpet. 
     Yet another advantage of this invention is that it provides for improved quality by reducing yarn slack ends. 
     Still another advantage of this invention is that it improves plant through-put time because the warping process is eliminated for smaller jobs. 
     Another advantage of this invention is that it increases output because it provides for placing yarns of different thickness having different lengths on yarn packages directly next to each other on the compact creel. This also increases carpet design flexibility. 
     Some other advantages of the compressed, portable, tufting creel include:
         Tufting setup time reduction   Carpet overrun overage reduction and control   Usable plant floor space increases   Yarn warehouse inventory reduction   Improved skinner yarn reclamation   Simplified scheduling of plant personnel   Material handling labor reduction   Redirection of non-value added labor to value added labor   Enhanced sample production       

     While certain embodiments of this invention have been described above, these descriptions are given for purposes of illustration and explanation. Variations, changes, modifications and departures from the systems and methods disclosed above may be adopted without departure from the scope or spirit of this invention.

Technology Category: 7