Method and apparatus for forming J-tuft pile

Claim 1

A machine for forming J-tuft cut pile comprising: a. means supporting a base fabric, b. means for stitching a yarn continuously through said base fabric to form substantially uniformly spaced loops therein, c. a hook having a free end to enter each loop, and a closed end, d. means for relatively moving each loop upon said hook toward its closed end, e. means cooperating with said hook to cut each loop on said hook, to form a leading strand of predetermined pile height and a trailing strand, f. backdrawing means cooperative with said stitching means for positively backdrawing said trailing strand, only after said loop is cut, a limited distance less than said pile height, to form said trailing strand within and projecting from the same side of said base fabric as said leading strand to a height substantially less than said pile height, g. a resilient clamping member, and h. mounting means fixing said clamping member relative to said hook and biasing said clamping member toward engagement with said hook, to permit movement of said loop upon said hook and to yieldingly hold said trailing strand on said hook, in order to control the uniform length of each trailing strand.