Patent US 6,163,733

A monitor and malfunction detector for the thread feed of a textile machine. The monitor combines electronic information and mathematical analysis of the movement of the thread, including speed, tension and fiber and consistency, thereby permitting the determination of: 1) presence of knots and inconsistencies in the thread 2) the operating status of the textile equipment and thread feed; 3) the prediction of problems based upon the change of operating characteristics including speed, tension, draw and duty cycle patterns; 4) the control of the textile machine being monitored; 5) the diagnosis of mechanical faults; 6) production accounting; and 7) needle burr detection. The monitor also employs a unique signal comparison incorporating differential circuitry, pattern recognition, and averaging functions to achieve these goals efficiently and reliably.