US Patent 7347151 Control assembly for tufting machine

A tufting machine and a method of controlling a tufting machine for forming cut and loop pile tufts of yarns in a backing material that includes a hook assembly having a series of hooks/loopers and a series of clips independently moveable between extended and retracted positions. The movement of the clips between their extended and retracted positions is selectively activated to cause transitions from cut pile tufts to loop pile tufts and loop pile tufts to cut pile tufts according to programmed pattern information.