CA1110522A - Water jet loom - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

This invention provides a method of converting con-ventional weaving looms, which includes filling components, pick motion components, parallel motion components, filling motion components and lay motion components. The method com-prises the steps of removing from a conventional apparatus the filling system, the pick motion components, the parallel motion components, the filling motion components and the lay motion components and mounting to the apparatus a liquid jet system. The liquid jet system comprises means for advancing a weft filament across warp filaments comprising a source of pressurized liquid, nozzle means for projecting the source of pressurized liquid in a stream across the shed, means for supplying a length of weft filament having a free leading end and in operative relationship to the source of pressurized liquid, whereby the stream of pressurized liquid is adapted to engage the leading end of the filament. There is further provided means for actuating the source of pressurized liquid to provide a predetermined amount of pressurized liquid in the form of a stream directed across a shed, and means for inter-rupting the flow of the stream of pressurized liquid before the weft filament traverses the width of the shed, providing a storage chamber for the weft filament, and providing means for operating the liquid jet system in conjunction with the modified loom. The invention overcomes the necessity of purchasing new equipment since a conventional loom can be converted to a fluid jet loom.

Description

5~
This invention relates to improvements in fluid or liquid jet looms.
This application is a divisional of Canadian Patent a~plication 273,991, filed March 15, 1977.
~ ore par-ticul.arly, this invention relates to improve-ments relating to sucl~ uid jet looms as are commonly known as water jet looms, which improvements relate to the weft fila-ment or yarn storage devices for use in such looms; in a further embodiment, this invention relates to improvements in means for feeding and advancing a length of weft filament or yarn across the shed of liquid jet looms; and in a further embodiment, this invention relates to improvements in means for actuating tne feeding of weft filamen-ts or yarns for insertion into the shed of warp filaments.
In recent years, improvements in loom constructions have centered on the so-called "fluid" looms in place of the conventional shuttle type looms; such liquid jet looms normally employ a stream of liquid such as water to propel a length of weft filament across the warp shed in place of the conventional snuttle. There are several advantages of fluid jet looms over conventional shuttle type looms including, for example, alleged higher speeds of operation; simplified equipment for certain areas of the operation of the loom; and alleged.higher reliabil-ity of the equipment~
Typical examples o the fluid jet looms are shown in Canadian Patent No. 889,667, issued January 4, 1972 and entitled "WEFT YARN MEASURING AND DETAINING DEVICE FOR SHUTTLELESS LOOM
and Canadian Patent No. 972,257, issued August 5, 1975 and entitled "WEFT SELECTOR MEOEIANISM OF A FLUID JET LOOM1'.
In the above examples, and in the art in general, tne effort on developing fluid jet looms for commercialization has centered around the manufacture and .

construction of ne~ loom devices as replacements for existing-shuttle looms when the latter are worn out or for manufacturers who acquire new machinery to a~d to their manufact~ring lines.
To the applicant's knowledge, no effort has heen made to provide conversion equipment suitable for converting existing shuttle type looms into li~lid looms in any satisEactory manner and th~ls, a manufacturer of woven materials in ordex to gain beneit from the-advantages of fluid jet looms, must purchase new equipment, at a higher cost, compared-to the conversion of existing looms. Moreover, in introducinga completely new structure based on the liquid jet loom principle, many different proposàls have been made in the art for the feeding of the weft filament or yarn into and across the shed. The feeding of weft filament essentially relates to the basic difference between the shuttle type conventional looms and the newer liquid-jet looms, and the proposals thus far developed include single or multiple sequential feeding of the weft filament through various techniques. Generally, these have reliea on pneumatic or electrical components in the systems; a typical example of a recently developed weft inserting device utiliæing elçc~trical-components employs a solenoi~ valYe controlled by a pulse modifier circuit. However, one difficulty with such a device is the sensitivity of electrical components to high humidity, which is a typical factor in the weaving industry where the high humidity is usea for-~he purpose of thread lubrication and elimination of static problems.
In terms of reliability requirements, solenoia valves and sim~lar electrical components have not ~een generally acceptable in the ~eaving in~ustry because of their .

reliability which has not been as good as the conventional shuttle type loom; and fur-ther, in general terms, electrical components such as solenoid valves do not h~ve -the length of liEe that typical mechanical components employed in the shuttle type loom usually have.
Still further, in the utilization of llquid jet looms as opposed to conventional shuttle type looms, due to the higher speed of operation normally associated with the former, more precise components must be employed, particularly for any adjustment means or device that is required in~the timin~ and duration of a liquid system.
Such liquid systems are known to require precise adjustments for the various components associated-with the weft fila-ment insertion devices. By way of example, one difficulty with regard to critical adjustment in the known liquid jet looms relates to the precise adjustments required for the gripping device for the weft filament - the latter device being employed for the purpose of releasing a predetermined length of weft filament for insertion into a warp shed and it has been proposed $o provide a gripping device which is controlled by a rotating cam mounted on or operatively associated with the drive shaft of the liqui~-jet loom system. In operation, problems have arisen relati~e to the duration of therelease time of the gripping device, which as will ~e appreciated, is precisely determined by the given confiyuration oE the cam utilized in such an arrangement - and any variation fr~m it will cause a lowering oE the qu~lity of the fabric being produced.
A still further problem associated with known types of Eluid or liquid jet looms relates to the typ~ of storage device used for storing a length of weft fil~ment -- 4 ~

52'Z

prlor to insertion into -the warp shed. As explained herein-after, -the storage device becomes quite critical in liquid jet looms and various proposals have been made in the prior art for pro~idiny improved storage devices overcomi~g the di.sadvantages of known structures.
In accordance Wi th this invention, there is provided a method of converting conventional weaving looms which includes filling components, pick motion components, parallel motion components, filling motion components and lay motion components, comprising the steps of removing from said conventional apparatus said filling system, said pick motion components, said parallel motion components, said filling motion components and said lay motion components, mounting to said apparatus a liquid jet system, said liquid jet system comprising means for advancing a weft filament across warp filaments comprising a source of pressurized liquid, nozzle means for projecting said source of pressurized liquid in a stream across said shed, means for supplying a length of weft filament having a free leading end and in operative relationship to said source of pressurized liquid whereby said stream of pressurized liquid is adapted to engage said leading end of said filament, means for actuating said source of pressurized liquid to provide a predetermined amount of pressurized liquid in the form of a stream directed across a shed, and means for interrupting the flow of said stream of 5;~2 pressurized liquid before said weft filament traverses the width of the shed, providing a storaye chamber for said weft filament and providing means for operating said liquid jet system in conjunction with the modified loom.
In the above`structure, the means for inter'-mittently introducing a.flow of liquid to the device may comprise any sui.table source of liquid under pressure, and valve means for permitting introduction of the liquid to the inlet port. Typically, this may be any suitable valve such as.a "one-way'~ trip valve-~ however-,-similar or equivalent devices may be employed for this purpose. The source of pressurized liquia is preferably common to the source of liquid used in the weft filament feeding system of the present invention, as described hereinafter -, however, a separate source may be employed operating inconjunction with the feeding system if desired~ It is most advantageous to use a common source of pressurized liquid for all systems of the present invention for simul-taneous actuation of the various components of the over~ll 20 system - and in addition, a single pressur-ized.-liquid system ~-simplifies the number of components required.compared to 2 or more systems being èmployed.
Actu~tion of t.he valve means for permitting intexmittent flow o liquia through the system to actuate the gripping mechanism is carried out Ln conjunction with movement o the loom - and the actuation means is preferably of a mechanical nature tied in with the movement of the ree~
arm of the loom. To this end, a preferred embodiment comprises mechanical actuation means in the form of cooperating , '' ' '

2~

componerlts associated with the movement of the reed arm and wi~h the valve for providing intermittent liquid flow through the grippiny system.
Having thus generall~ described the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawin~s, describing preferred embodiments, and in which:
FIGURE 1 is a perspective ~iew of a portion of a modified loom incorporating one .
. embodiment of the present invention relating to the watér jet aspects of the present invention;
FIGURE 2 is a schematic diagram showing the components of the water jet embodiment of Figure l;
FIGURF. 3 is a similar view relating to the feeding system for feeding a weft . filament and showing the storage device;
FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a portion of a loom incorporating the improved weft filament feeding means o~ the present invention;
FIGURE 5 illustrates the p~ogressive motion of - the weft filament as it is fea across the l~om relative to the water carrier;
FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a typical or conventional loom showing, accoraing to a further embodiment of the invention, ~-the components which are removed (in solid lines) to permit modifica~ion of the same to a modified water jet loom of the present invention, and , .. , ., . . . _ __ , . ._ _ _ . _~_. _ _ . .. _ ._ . .. . . _. . . , . , . . , . . _ _ .. ~ .. . _ _ , .
.

5~2 , FIGURE 7 is a similar view to Figure 6 of the same .loom sho'wing the modified loom with the components incorporated thereln according to ~ further embodiment of the present invention~ -' Referring now initially to Figure 1, there is illustrated in that'figure the weft filament storage device'.
of the present invention and inaicated generally'by ref~erence numeral 20. As shown, the storage device comprises an elongated-generally U-shaped member having a pair of. opposed side walls 22, each side wall forming a generally planar uninterrupted surface. In the embodiment illustrated, the sid,e walls'22' taper slightly inwardly.towards the bottom of ,the device 20 and are interconnected by means of a continuous ;:
bottom wall 24 of a length corresponding to the length of the ~' side walls 22 whereby the side walls 22 and-bottom wall ~4 form a.cavity therebetween.-- The ends of the storage device 20 are open as is the top between the upper portions of the side.walls 22. The cavity formed by the side walls 22 and 20 bottom wall 24 thus define a storage area for receiving a - :
length of weft filament; the storage area being of a con~
tinuous elongated nature. ~ ~
~ Operating in conjunction with the storage ~ . .-device is means to entrain a length of weft filament in an air current and to this end, there is provided a pneumatic control valve indicated by reference numeral 26 connected to -~
a source of pressurized air (not shown~, and which incluaes . ~.
- a nozzle 28 for projecting a ~et of air. ' ~ ~ -A mounting plate 30 fixealy secures the valve 26 to a frame member F of the loom and at the sam2 time, the mounting plat~ 30`includes a pair of apertures 32 and 34 :

z .
therein. Both aper'tures. for~ guidin~ neyes" with the upper aperture beïng iocate~ in alignment with'the.'nozzle' 28 whereby the latter proj'ects ~ jet of ~ir through the eye 32.
The nozzle 28 i5 spaced slightly from the eye 32'to pro~ide a narrow gap for feeding of the weft.fila,ment to the storage device.
In constructing the weft filament storage device oE the present invention, it has been found tha~ the width across the devlce tthat is between the walls 22), should not be greater than 10 times the- opening of the aperture 32 -through which the air flow passes. If a greater width is employed, it has been found that the airstream will cease to become a true airstream as such and.accordingly, the wiath.should be less than 10 times to maintain the we~t filament in an untangled condition which the device achieves using the above circumstances. Typically, the eyelet may have an.opening vary.ing considerably fxom ten to twenty thousandths of an inch upwardly - normally, this.eyelet will .be in the order of one hundred thousandths of an inch, thus giving a maximum width of about 1 inch between the wal~ 22.
Most preferably the width between the walls is between 4 to 10 times the opening of the eyelet 32. ~' . , The pressure utilized in the air jet may vary considerably but it is preferable to maintain this within the ` range of S to 25 pounds per square inch. At higher rates, the resistance exerted on the weft filament by the air flow may be too great to provide proper feeding of the weft ''~
filament across the shea, but this will depend on the type of filament. Obviously,,it would be possible to go to higher 30 pressures but for best performance, ~his is preferably main-~aine~ below 25 pounds per square inch. The pressure of the _g _ .
;' ' ~

~ir will also var~ depending on the ~ilament strength so that with fr~gile''fil'aments, lower air pressures will be utilized.
The length of the storage device should be equal to 50% of the length of the filament to be fea acro5s the shed - most preferably, the fil~ment does not extend beyond th~ end of the storage device. If the filament did extend beyond the ed~e~ the filament would ~e free-~loating in air and in addition to looping or'twistin~, 1~ entanglement with the sides of the storage'device could Occur .
~ he overall system of the present invention includes-a source of weft fil'ament or yarn material indicated .generally by re~erence numeral 50~ which is usually in the form of a spindle or bobbin of weft filament material. The - ~' bobbin 50 may be mounted by any sui~able means'to the loom. ' A continuous length of weft filament material, indicated by reference nùmeral 51, is withdr~wn from the bobbin 50 in a continuous length.--Depending on how the ~ilamentary-material 51 is withdrawn from bobbin 50, one or more sets of guides 52 and 54 may be employed for guiaing the filamentary material in its path of travel to the storage system - the location and nature of such guides being according to conventional e~pedients with suitable mounting means for positioning the guide where appropriate. The filamentary material îs p~ssed -through a thread tensioning device 54 - again such devices being well knowm in the yarn art. Pre~erably, such thread tensioning me~ns are employed between the source of the filamentary materi~l and a measuring device (described ' hereinafter~ or the purposes of feeding the wef't filament ' under continuous tension to provide constant measurements or the filamentary material.

i2Z

~ measuring device indicated generally by reference numeral 58, preferabl~ mounted to a suitable frame member (not shown) o~ the loom, is provided for feeding a predetermined amount of filamentary material to the weft storage device~ The measuring device ma~ be any suitable device known by those skilled in this art or accordiny to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, comprises a rotating drum havin~ ~ pair of side walls 60 projecting above the sur~ace 62 of the drum to provide a drum surface having a recess an~ about which one or more turns of the w~ft filament material are wrapped. The measuring arum 58 may b~e - driven by any suitable means in conjunction with the speed of operation oF the loom - or alternatively, the drum 58 may be driven in synchronization with the drive of the loom and to this end, an appropriate drive system may be connected to the drive system of the loom. A nu~ber of turns of the filamentary material may be wrapped about the drum 58 and depending on-the number of rèvolutions of the drum, a corresponding amount of:material will be dispensed for the subsequent operation. It is also desirable to mount a guiding finger 62 in operative relationship to the drum 58 for separating the filamentary material 51 on the surface of the drun.
, The weft inserting and gripping devi~e-illustratea in Figures 1 through 3 will no~ be described. To this-end, there is provided a one-way trip valve 63 havin~ an inlet 65 connected in operative relationship to a supply of a fluid under pressure (not shown) and a pair of outletS 67 and 68 connected to a nozzle 69 and a gripping`-device indicated generally by reference numeral 70~ The valve 63 is actuated zz by a lobe 71 fixedly secured on the dr.iving reed arm 73 which in turn, is attached to the reed 74 each time the reed is moved to a full open position. On its return stroke, the valve will not be actuated. Screw adjustments by means.of screw 75 are provided for adjusting the timing ~nd duration.
The gripping device includes a housing 76 con-t~ining a relatively small cylindrical chamber 77 having a piston 78 -therein. Exteriorly, a portion of the piston-78 includes a gripping flange 79 adapted to be generally tightly pressed against the wall surface 80 of the housing 76 by means of a spring 81 supported-on a bracket 82.
A check valve 83 is located upstream from the chamber -77 and -in communication with the valve 63. The chamber 77 is connected in operative relationship to a control needle valve 84 via a conduit 85, with an exhaust port 86 in operative.communication with the valve 84. The weft yarn filament 51 is passed between the gripping flange 79 and the wall surface 80 of the housing. The chamber 77 with the piston therein, as illustrated in the drawings, is oniy exemplary of the type of components that can be used and other shapes,. movable seals or fluid actuators may like-wise be used.
Referring now to Figures 4 and 5, the loom of the present invention is shown and includes the arrangement of Figures 1 through 3. In Figure 4, the weft filament) indicated by reference numeral 51 is shown as being advanced through-a portion of its length of travel across the shed and for explanatory purposes, reference may be had to Figure 5 to better illustrate the principle of the present invention according to that embodiment thereof. More 5~
particulqrly, the weft filament ~s shown in Figure 5, at the .~op, in ~ "st~tionary.~' position prior to the charge of fluid or water ~eing released to propel and c~rry the weft filament and ~s is seen, the weft filament includes ~ leading end portion whîch, due to its own weight, forms a "tailn. The length of the tail per se is not critical and may vary so.
that the portion of the filament 51 projecting from the nozzle can thus be very short or in the order of .5 to 2 inches or so. Upon the commencement of the cycle, a charge o water is released through the nozzle containing the-filament,.which due to friction, engages the filament, propels and carries the same across the shed as shown in Figure 4. At the initial stage of the water or liquid being released from the nozzle, the leading charge or portion of the water, upon discharge 'from the nozzle, is broken up into droplets due t~ air resistance and thus, in Figure 5B, forms a "spray" as shown therein. As will also be noted from Figure 5B, the leading "tail" commences to "straighten out" due to engagement of the same with the charge of water and referring to Figure 5C, the tail is in a generally straight or linear configur~tion with the ~aiance of the filament.51 when ihe charge o~ water following the initial "spray" or "bulbous" configuration forms. a generally linear charge enveloping the filament.
Thus, as shown in Figure 5C, the sheath of water following the initial spray is carrying and propelling the ilament 51 in a generally linear configuration.
Figure 5D illustrates the projection of the filament with the water carrier again ~uring initial ph~ses of the propelling across the she~ and ~t this point, the lead-.`ing tail is in a substantially straight configuration with the initial bulbous spray, indicated by reference letter S, being .. ..

5~

di5persed in ~ greatex length along the filament followed by gener~lly conbrming .sheath of w~ter.
In Figure 5E, upon cessation o~ the charge oE
water, it.will be seen that the water forms a generally cyl.indrical sheath about the fil~ment indicated by reference numeral 10~. The initial spray is still travelling in a generally horizontal pa-ttern with the ilament and.the latter i5 continuing on a gener~lly linear plane betwèen the warp filaments 22 in the shed, The charge of water, now terminated, and reerring to Figures 5F and SG, is effective to carry the initial.portion of the filament 51 across the shed completely and--:at-the same.-..time,.to--pull the-balance-of-the-filament 51.
through the shed.-_ As the charge of water progresses across ~the shed,- divergence begins to take place but the amount of - water is still sufficient to propel,.and carry, the filament 51 through to the other side of the shed located opposite the point at which the filament was fed. Figure 5G shows the, leading edge o the filament in a position at the terminal end of its path of travel, to be engaged by suitable means ~0 such.as those.described hereinafter.
As will be seen from Figures 5A through 5G, and in accordance.with a feature of the present invention, the charge of water is sufficient to initially engage the filament 51, form an envelope or sheath thereabout, and which envelope or sheath carries the lea~ing end of the -filament 51 while pulling the trailing end of the filament .~ 51 across the shed. Thus, only the initial portion of the filament 51 is su~rounded by the water charge.
In pr~tice, the amount of wa~er in the water chargè should be su~ficient to proviae a water charge : -14-:.. : . .

5%~

corresponding to 20 :to 80% of the length of the fi1amen~, as me~sured acros~ the shed~ At higher amounts, the stream of water will have`adverse effects on the il~ent by virtue of the initial or le~ding portion of the w~ter charge slowing down due to ~ir resistance while the tr~iling portion of the w~ter charge will tend to "push" into the leading portion of the water charge and thus cause improper filament laying.
Preferably, the amount of water charge is sufficient to provide 25 to 60% of the length of.the filament with a sheath of water (as measured from the leading.end of the filament) and most desirably between 30 to 45%. At these ranges, excellent filament lay-down has been obtained.
One of the prime advantages of the present invention is the fact that the process and apparatus can operate using relatively low pressure water systems - e.g., between 45 to 70 pounds per square inch. The amount of water pressure will actually depend on several factors in-cluding the type of filamentary material, the filament dia-meter, the width of the shed across which the filament must travel and the like. In some cases, it is possible to utilize up to 125 to 200 pounds per square inch of water pressure for larger diameter filaments but bearing in mind the fact that the water charge is only applied to the initial ~ortions of the filament. In some cas.es, it may ~e desirable to include additives to the water charge to make the water adhere better to the filament - i.e., the resi.stance of the filament to movement by the.water sheath or charge is - reduced. S~ch additives m~y be typic~l of those known i~
` the art for that purpose.
. In utilizing the process and apparatus of the present invention, the volume of water dispersea`can vary -l5-' ZZ I~ ~

depending on severa~ factors includin~ thb.'d~nier o~ the filaments,,etc. Typicallx~ ,the.volume'of ~ater is ~etween .6 cc per pick up.to approximateIy 2 cc per' pick, and most, desirably between .8'cc to 1.5 cc per pick. 'Satisfactory -results have heen found utilizing .8 cc to 1.2'cc per pick.
As will be noted from the above description, the proce~ of the present invention utilizes a water .
charge to pull the thread across tha shed. As such, th~s has been found to provide proper.lay-down of the.filament .
and overcomes the problems associated with the prior art proposals.which use'continuous water jets to surround a filament as it is traversing totally the width of the shed.
. Referring now-to Figures,.6 and 7, illustra-ting-a further embodiment of the present invention, there is illustrated a typical conventional,loom (Figure 6) whIch may be converted according to this invention to a water jet system (as shown in Figure 7~. In Figure 6, those parts which are associated with a conventional loom, and which are included in the modified loom of.the present invention in ~20 Figure 7, are shown in broken lines while those parts which .are.-removea,--according to this embodiment, are shown in solid lines .in Figure 6. Such conventional looms are well kno~n to those skilled in the art and reference will only , b~ made to those components which designate the key components -for modification or removal according to the present invention.
Thus, reference numeral 200 designates the parallel motion components which include a pick an~ 202, a strap 204,- a picker stick 206, the pick shaft Z08,'~ picX cam'210,,shuttle supply means 212, and a warp stop detector 214. The right hand lay ' 30 : parts 216, operatively associated with the picker stick, the - shuttle 218, the center fork filling motion device 220~ the lay beam 222, the filling cam 224, the pick cam 226~ the latter pair of components operating in conjunction with the fill~n~ linX~ge ~ ~h~ knoc~o~ ~od ~3~ the le~t h~nd la~
parts ~ndicate~ genexall~ B~ ~ege~ence nu~eral.2~,'are' ~urther components o~ a typ~cal conventional s~ste~. In a like manner, the'single'~ork'~iller' 238, the push-rod 240.
and the'pick'shat 242~: toget~er w~t~'the 'crank shat 244 are ~urthe'r conventi`on~l components. Each'of these components, according to this embodiment of the''invention, are removed rom the'con~ent~onal apparatus and such'components may ~e removed b~ convent~onal d~sassembly means. As such, therefore, the remo~al o~ these 'components shown in Figure 6, thus el'iminates' from t~e 'convent~onal fl~ shuttle loom, the filling system o~ the 'conventional loom, the' bobbin of thread, the pick motion,' t~e''parallel motion, the fill~ng motion and t~e .. ..
complet'e'la~ motion. Such'components are not required in the water ~et system of the pres'ent invention.
Referrin~ no~.to Figure'7, the modified conventional s~ste~ o~ Figure 6 is illustrated' but including the components o~ the pres'ent invention to result ln a modified loom suitable for weft filliny usin~ the water ~et system. To this end, a troug~'or other like suitable water retaining means 250 is mounted.to the ~rame of the apparatus through suitable frame members and associated with the trough are ~eans to receive and retain the leading end of a weft filament. Such means, according to a preferred embodiment, includes a vacuum system having a ~outh ~ortion 252 connected to a means ~or creatin~
a vacuum ~not shown~ throu~ a conduit 254. In thi.s ~anner, upon projection o~ a we~t ~ilament across the shed, the leadin~
edge i~s en~a~ed~ ~hen in pxoxi~it~. to.th~ vacu~ s~st~m, and retained ~or permittin~ subsesuent ste~s..to ~e carr~ed out in the' weavin~ operation. ~ ~urthe ca~ 256 ~s added to the cam sha~t to dr~ve't~e 'lay be~m~ Also ~ountea to the apparatus 5~2 is a pa~ o~ e~g~ cutters ~nd~cated ~enex~ b~.re~erence' numeral 256 ada~tea to tr~ the'ed~es' o~'t~ Wo'ven ~a~ric.
These'devtces' ~ay~ be'an~ su~table'device''~ox th~'s purpose and such'de~ices' are wel'l known'~ thos~e'skilled in the`art.
Such'de~ices incl~de mec~'anical or electrical he'at Futters, etc.
The''conversion s~stem o~ th0' present ~nvention also emplo~s sel'va~n~ means and such ~eans are illustrated in Figure'7 and indicatea genexall~ b~ re~erence numeral 262.
, Such sel'vaging means are preferably of t~e type disclosed and claimed in copending application serial number ' . In ~ts broaaer conte~t, t~e conyers~on o~ the conventional s~stem to the water' ~et' s~stem of the present invention may ,emplo~ an~ sui~tabl'e 'seIvag~n~ means ~or that purpose although in the''pre~erred embodiment, such selvaging means are those o~ the'copend~n~ applicat~on re~erred to above.
St~ll fur~her; as shown in Figure 7, the.components o~ Figures 1 to 3 are included for ~eeding a weft filament to ~inish conversion of a conventional system to the water jet s~stem, The process of the present invention may be applied to natural ana s~nthetic filaments with the denier ranging over a considerable range - e.g~, 50 denier to 300 denier or even greater, with satisfactory results bein~
obtainea. The present inyention has man~ advan-tages over the prior a~t proposals includin~ the ~act that the la~ of .~ the weft filament can be accu~atel~ controlled since the - fila~ent IS basically bein~ ~uiled in a relatiyel~ straight l~ne. This ~n turn proY~des ~etter ~roducts. In addition~
limited a~ounts o~ wa't~-r are em~lo~ed t~us resultin~ ~n a - greater econ~m~ o~ operat~on ~ and ~urt~er, the cumponents o~ the'present invention are rel'at~vel'y simple'to construct .. . . ... . . . _ ... . ~ . . . ... . . . . .

5~ .

as compaled to other ~io~ art p~opos,a,lsc .'The 'pre~ent invention utilizes more'econo~ic~l ~nd fewe~ p~rts ,and prov.ides the.'additional advanta~e 'that with'such'~a~ts~, conversion o~ exlst~n~ loo~s to ~ater jet looms o~ the present..inven-tion can be 'readily o~tained, ' It wili ~e understood.that various modifications may be made to the above'without departing from the spirit and 5cope of the i~vention.

Claims (10)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclu-sive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A method of converting conventional weaving looms, which includes filling components, pick motion components, parallel motion components, filling motion components and lay motion components, comprising the steps of removing from said conventional apparatus said filling system, said pick motion components, said parallel motion components, said filling motion components and said lay motion components, mounting to said apparatus a liquid jet system, said liquid jet system comprising means for advancing a weft filament across warp filaments comprising a source of pressurized liquid, nozzle means for projecting said source of pressurized liquid in a stream across said shed, means for supplying a length of weft filament having a free leading end and in operative relationship to said source of pressurized liquid, whereby said stream of pressurized liquid is adapted to engage said leading end of said filament, means for actuating said source of pressurized liquid to provide a predeter-mined amount of pressurized liquid in the form of a stream directed across a shed, and means for interrupting the flow of said stream of pressurized liquid before said weft filament traverses the width of the shed, providing a storage chamber for said weft filament, and providing means for operating said liquid jet system in conjunction with the modified loom.

2. A method for use in converting conventional weaving looms, which looms include filling components, pick motion components, parallel motion components, filling motion com-ponents and lay motion components, to a water jet loom comprising the steps of: removing substantially all of the filling, pick motion, parallel motion, filling motion and lay motion components from the frame of a conventional loom; mounting a liquid jet filling system on one side of the frame of the loom, the jet filling system advancing a weft filament across warp filaments and including a source of pressurized liquid, nozzle means for projecting said source of pressurized liquid in a stream across said warp filaments, means for supplying a length of weft filament having a free leading end and in operative relationship to said source of pressurized liquid, whereby said stream of pressurized liquid is adapted to engage said leading end of said filament, means for actuating said source of pressurized liquid to provide a predetermined amount of pressurized liquid in the form of a stream directed across the warp filaments, and means for interrupting the flow of said stream of pressurized liquid before said weft filament traverses the width of the warp filaments; and mounting weft filament storage means on the one side of the frame of the loom for storing the weft filament from a supply source prior to feeding it to the jet filling system.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2 including the step of adding a leno motion assembly to each side of the frame of the loom in position to provide selvage edges on the fabric being woven.

4. A method as claimed in claim 2 including mounting vacuum catching means on the other side of the frame of the loom for catching the weft filament after it has traversed the warp filaments.

5. A method as claimed in claim 2 wherein the removal of the lay motion components includes removal of the heavy lay beam and the crank shaft assembly connected to the lay beam to swing it back and forth, the method including mounting a lighter lay beam in the loom, mounting cam means on the main drive shaft of the loom, and connecting the cam means to the ligher lay beam to swing it back and forth.

6. A method as claimed in claim 3 including adding means to the main drive shaft of the loom to operate the leno motion assemblies.

7. A method as claimed in claim 2 wherein the liquid jet filling system is mounted on a first bridge plate which in turn is mounted on the one side of the frame of the loom.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7 wherein a second bridge plate is mounted on the other side of the loom and vacuum catching means are mounted on the second bridge plate, opposite the jet filling system for catching the weft fila-ment after it has traversed the warp filaments.

9. A method as claimed in claim 8 including mounting a dovetail support member between the bridge plates, the dovetail member carrying cutting means adjacent its ends.

10. A method as claimed in claim 5 including mounting a water collecting trough on the loom.