Gripper with dual-insert body

Abstract

In order to reduce or to prevent wear on the tufting gripper (16) at the contact point with the tufting needle (18), an additional insert 28 is provided in addition to a wear-resistant cutting insert (27), said additional insert (28) being directed at interacting with the tufting needle (18). Said additional insert consists of a material that, paired with the tufting needle (18), forms an optimal sliding combination. Preferably, the additional insert (28) is a soft needle-saving insert. Preferably, the cutting insert (27) is a hard wear-resistant insert. The two inserts (27, 28) may be accommodated separately in different pockets (36, 37) or together in one pocket (31). They may be connected with each other or be made in one piece.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]The present application claims the priority of European Patent Application No. 10 171 112.5, filed Jul. 28 2010, the subject matter of which, in its entirety, is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The invention relates to a tufting gripper for a tufting machine, in particular for the manufacture of goods with cut pile.[0003]Goods that are provided with cut pile, for example carpets, are typically produced on tufting machines that comprise a gripper arrangement with a plurality of grippers. The grippers are associated with cutting knives. This arrangement has been known, for example, from publication EP 1 826 306 A1. As can be seen, in that publication the grippers interact with needles of a sinker that punch the pile thread through a backing material. The resultant loops are picked up by grippers that are provided with a cutting edge. Each gripper is associated with a cutting knife that is disposed to cut the...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]The additional insert in accordance with the invention has a different surface and is preferably positioned at the point of the gripper body that comes into contact with the tufting needle. Preferably, this insert has a surface that does not damage the tufting needle when the tufting needle and said additional insert come into contact with each other. In particular, the surface may display good sliding properties. For example, the additional insert may consist of a soft metal or non-metal, for example, a ceramic material displaying a low coefficient of friction, or of a metal having a coating that ensures a low coefficient of friction and a low abrasion effect between the surface of the insert and the tufting needle. For example, the surface may be a carbon-nitride coating or a ceramic coating. This coating may also be applied directly to the gripper body so that the additional insert and the gripper body can ultimately be viewed as being a one-piece component.

Problems solved by technology

This can result in damage to the tufting needles.

For example, while the eye of the tufting needle sweeps long the hard-metal insert of the gripper, sharp edges may form on the eye and, as a result of this, individual filaments of the pile thread can be damaged.

Also, damage to the tufting grippers at the contact points between the gripper body and the needle cannot be precluded.

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