Carpet weaving loom

1. A carpet weaving loom comprising one or more tuft forming units ( 1 ), each of which is capable of supplying yarn tufts ( 26 ) of a number of different colours to a number of different weaving points sequentially, characterized in that the or each of the tuft forming units ( 1 ) includes a demountable yarn carrier ( 2 ), in which the or each yarn carrier ( 2 ) is demountable from the remainder of the or each tuft forming unit ( 1 ) without the use of tools of any kind and in which the yarn carrier ( 2 ) includes engagement means ( 82 , 90 ) which cooperate with a drive means ( 21 ) to drive the yarn carrier ( 2 ) to ensure that the yarn carrier responds to movement of the drive means ( 21 ) and a retainer ( 83 , 87 , 91 , 94 ) to hold the yarn carrier ( 2 ) in position.

2. A carpet weaving loom according to claim 1 , in which the retainer is a simple press-on or snap-on fitting or, alternatively, the retainer includes a positive lock or latch operable to lock the yarn carrier into position.

3. A carpet weaving loom comprising one or more tuft forming units ( 1 ), each of which is capable of supplying yarn tufts ( 26 ) of a number of different colours to a number of different weaving points sequentially, characterized in that the or each of the tuft forming units ( 1 ) includes a demountable yarn carrier ( 2 ) which is supplied with yarn from a creel ( 3 ) which is itself removable from the remainder of the loom and replaceable when the design of carpet to be woven changes or the creel ( 3 ) is exhausted.

4. A carpet weaving loom according to claim 3 , in which the creel ( 3 ) is mounted on wheels ( 13 ) so that it can be wheeled towards the way from the remainder of the loom, typically manually.

5. A carpet weaving loom according to claim 4 , in which guides ( 4 ) attached to and moving with the creel ( 3 ) are provided to guide the yarn from the creel ( 3 ) to the or each demountable yarn carrier ( 2 ).

6. A carpet weaving loom comprising one or more tuft forming units ( 1 ), each of which is capable of supplying yarn tufts ( 26 ) of a number of different colours to a number of different weaving points sequentially, characterized in that the or each of the tuft forming units ( 1 ) includes a demountable yarn carrier ( 2 ), wherein

the yarn supplies for the or each demountable yarn carrier ( 2 ) are provided from a creel ( 3 ) which is fixed in position and formed in two parts; yarn from one part being threaded through guides and into all of the one or more demountable yarn carriers ( 2 ) associated with the tuft forming units ( 1 ) on the loom, so enabling the or each of the demountable yarn carriers ( 2 ) to be removed from the loom and replaced by different yarn carriers ( 2 ) which are all fed from yarn in the other part of the creel ( 3 ), when it is required to change the design of carpet to be woven, or when the creel ( 3 ) is exhausted.

7. A carpet weaving loom according to claim 6 , in which the creel ( 3 ) is located behind a weaver ( 7 ) and on the opposite side of the loom from a warp thread entry ( 8 ) and shedding arrangements.

8. A carpet weaving loom according to claim 7 , in which guides ( 4 ) carry the yarn over the top of the weaver's position ( 7 ), and the guides are formed by a series of yarn tubes ( 12 ).

9. A carpet weaving loom according to claim 6 , in which includes a number of package holders each of which supports a bobbin ( 5 ) of a conventional yarn package or, alternatively, a creel includes a number of individual containers or cells ( 14 ) each of which contains a length of yarn.

10. A carpet weaving loom according to claim 3 , in which guides ( 4 ) attached to and moving with the creel ( 3 ) are provided to guide the yarn from the creel ( 3 ) to the or each demountable yarn carrier ( 2 ).

11. A carpet weaving loom according to claim 3 , in which the creel ( 3 ) is located behind a weaver ( 7 ) and on the opposite side of the loom from a warp thread entry ( 8 ) and shedding arrangements.

12. A carpet weaving loom according to claim 11 , in which guides ( 4 ) carry the yarns over the top of the weaver's position ( 7 ), and the guides are formed by a series of yarn tubes ( 12 ).

13. A carpet weaving loom comprising one or more tuft forming units ( 1 ), each of which is capable of supplying yarn tufts ( 26 ) of a number of different colours to a number of different weaving points sequentially, characterized in that the or each of the tuft forming units ( 1 ) includes a demountable yarn carrier ( 2 ) and the carpet weaving loom further includes a number of package holders each of which supports a bobbin ( 5 ) of a conventional yarn package or, alternatively, a creel includes a number of individual containers or cells ( 14 ) each of which contains a length of yarn.

14. A carpet weaving loom comprising one or more tuft forming units ( 1 ), each of which is capable of supplying yarn tufts ( 26 ) of a number of different colours to a number of different weaving points sequentially, characterized in that the or each of the tuft forming units ( 1 ) includes a demountable yarn carrier ( 2 ) and in which yarn supplies on a creel ( 3 ) are all of a predetermined length and matched to those required for the particular design of carpet to be woven.

15. A carpet weaving loom comprising one or more tuft forming units ( 1 ), each of which is capable of supplying yarn tufts ( 26 ) of a number of different colours to a number of different weaving points sequentially, characterized in that the or each of the tuft forming units ( 1 ) includes a demountable yarn carrier ( 2 ), and in which the or each yarn tuft forming unit ( 1 ) includes means ( 21 ) to drive the yarn carrier ( 2 ) into a selected one of a number of discrete positions to bring a selected yarn ( 20 ) to a loading position, a puller ( 51 ) for engaging the selected yarn ( 20 ) at the loading position and pulling a predetermined length of the selected yarn ( 20 ) from the selector wheel ( 2 ), and a cutting mechanism ( 61 ) to cut the selected yarn ( 20 ) to form a tuft ( 26 ) of predetermined length.