EP0335998A1

EP0335998A1 - Device for forming the shed on weaving looms

Info

Publication number: EP0335998A1
Application number: EP88105529A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Carlo Ugoccioni; Angelo Pavesi
Original assignee: FRETTE SpA
Current assignee: FRETTE SpA
Priority date: 1988-04-07
Filing date: 1988-04-07
Publication date: 1989-10-11

Abstract

The device comprises a plurality of abutment bodies (1) arranged complementarily with respect to the feeler needles (5) of a weaving loom and slidably supported by a plate (3) applicable to the mounting couplings of a cylinder for the traction of punched tape. Actuators (12) are furthermore provided for actuating sliding movement of said abutment bodies (1) and which are arranged remote from said abutment bodies (1) and operatively associated therewith. Said actuators (12) are driven by an assembly for the processing of the image to be reproduced on the fabric.

Description

The present invention relates to a device for forming the shed on weaving looms.
As is known, for the forming of the shed on weaving looms, in order to allow the reproduction of drawings, inscriptions and the like in the fabric, preset combinations of weft and warp are currently used which are produced automatically by the weaving machine.
For the obtainment of the forming of the shed in weaving, in order to obtain the drawing or inscription to be reproduced on the woven fabric, said drawings or inscriptions are transferred, in a first phase, onto squared paper, providing the so-called "drawing" phase. The drawing is subsequently read as a succession of empty or full squares, providing the stepping phase, and subsequently this reading is entered by an operator (input phase) on a mechanical keyboard connected to a special apparatus, which produces a perforation on a support consisting of a tape of folded cardboard (perforation phase). The perforation is performed so as to have, on the nodes of the grid, which correspond with the hooks, the punched hole, which corresponds to the empty square of the drawing to be reproduced, or the unpunched cardboard, which corresponds to the full square of the drawing to be reproduced.
The length of the punched tape depends on the extension of the drawing in terms of the number of required wefts, and in many cases it assumes even considerably large dimensions.
The punched tapes thus produced are stored in appropriate rooms from which they are retrieved at the moment of use.
When the tape is to be used, it is inserted in a reading apparatus which is usually located above the weaving loom. The reader automatically performs the advancement of the perforated tape, which is carried out in steps, each step corresponding to a weft of the fabric and being synchronized with a feeler exploration bed constituted by a set of needles placed at the nodes of the abovementioned grid.
The needles explore the tape at each stroke of the loom so that each individual needle may find on the cardboard tape it is exploring an empty portion or a full portion which correspond, as described above, to the drawing to be reproduced in the fabric. Depending on the exploration, each needle controls, by means of a system of escapements and levers, the position of a hook connected by means of cables to one or more loops in which pass the warp threads originating from the cloth beam.
At each stroke the loom, a weft is inserted through the entire span of the shed, thus crossing all the warp threads which are held each time either above or below the path of the weft thread, depending on the presence or absence of the punched hole in the corresponding position of the cardboard tape.
Various methods for the production of the perforated tape are currently employed which follow the above described procedure, commonly known by the technicians in the field as "paper-setting". In this manner, the problem arises of transferring the drawing or inscriptions to be reproduced in weaving onto squared paper; this step being necessary for the subsequent operations of stepping and entering on the perforating machine. This transfer is very expensive since it must be performed by manual procedures or at the most using photographic projection techniques which are costly and complicated, and may allow the use of opaque originals (proofs) or transparent ones (slides or the like) but cannot in fact reproduce live images, TV images, or recorded electronic images.
The transfer onto squared paper is the most important phase for performing corrections and/or modifications on the original drawing to take into account the requirements of the customer and of the subsequent phases which current technology imposes. The corrections must be performed manually with the related burden of costs and possible errors.
Known systems, after the correction and stepping operation, provide the phase of reading and entering of the stepped drawing by an operator who enters each empty/full square and composes the drawing, using a very expensive and complicated machine which perforates, by punching, a folded cardboard tape the length whereof depends on the size of the drawing and on the type of fabric to be woven.
This last phase of reading and perforation of the tape is very onerous and complicated since it entails the abundant use of skilled labour, and the use of a perforating machine is furthermore very expensive both in terms of initial outlay and in terms of subsequent maintenance.
Another disadvantage furthermore resides in the fact that the tape constitutes a scarcely reliable, though very expensive, support, since it is bulky, heavy, easily subject to deterioration and must be stored in appropriate rooms and preserved from any damage (fire, humidity, etc.). The tape can be reproduced only by means of a copying operation performed with the abovementioned punching apparatus, with all the costs, slowness and disadvantages which derive therefrom.
The prior art also entails a hardly negligible time to be spent in the operations of loading and unloading the punched tape on the reader, located above the weaving loom, every time said loom is to produce a fabric with a different drawing or inscription. This operation, performed by a specific team of operators, is not only onerous in itself, but generally entails a considerably long idle time.
In order to eliminate these disadvantages, machines based on a completely different concept have already been introduced which are capable of employing electronic images originating from various sources, digitized for the direct control of the position of the hooks. Such machines, though on average they have yielded good results, are considerably expensive and are in no way compatible with weaving looms of the type described above, so that currently in order to eliminate the use of perforated tape it is necessary to radically modify the entire system.
The aim of the present invention is indeed to eliminate the above described disadvantages by providing a device for forming the shed on weaving looms which allows the elimination of the use of punched tape to obtain any type of drawing or inscription, even of the TV, electronic or similar type, to be reproduced on the fabric, without thereby having to modify the original weaving loom.
Within the scope of the above described aim, a particular object of the invention is to provide a device which allows the direct use of the electronic image of the original drawing for the control of the needles located on the conventional punched tape reader, but without having to use the punched tape, thereby eliminating all the operations of perforation and subsequent reading of the punched tape.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a device which allows the complete elimination of the problems and difficulties related to the handling of punched tapes, such as their preservation and storage. Another object of the present invention is to provide a device which allows the image or design woven by a loom to be changed or substituted by a different image in an extremely short time, without having to employ skilled personnel and without performing particular modifications to the machines.
A not least object of the present invention is to provide a device which, by virtue of its peculiar constructive characteristics, is capable of giving the greatest assurances of reliability and safety in use.
The above described aim, as well as the objects mentioned and others which will become apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a device for forming the shed on weaving looms of the type comprising feeler needles arranged in a working zone, said device being characterized in that it comprises a plurality of abutment bodies, a plurality of actuators, and at least one plate, said plurality of abutment bodies being arranged in correspondence with said feeler needles,slidably supported by said plate and operatively connected to said plurality of actuators, said plate being removably fixable beneath said working zone, said plurality of actuators being adapted for causing sliding movement of said abutment bodies, located remote from said abutment bodies, and driven by an actuation assembly, said actuation assembly being adapted for processing images to be reproduced on woven fabric.
Further characteristics and advantages will become apparent from the description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of a device for the forming of the shed in weaving looms, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

figure 1 is a schematic view of the electromagnetic actuator with the initial portion of the means for the operative connection to the weave machine;
figure 2 is a view of the operative connection means at the end arranged on the weave machine below the feeler needles;
figure 3 is a schematic view of a printed circuit board, with a plurality of electromagnetic actuators;
figure 4 is a diagram of the device, indicating the means for the operative connection between the electromagnetic actuators and the contrast bodies;
figure 5 is a schematic view of the device according to the invention applied to a weaving machine and connected to an electronic assembly for the processing of the image to be reproduced on the fabric.

With reference to the above described figures, the device for forming the shed on weaving looms, according to the invention, comprises the plurality of abutment bodies 1 substantially having a cylindrical configuration, which are slidably accommodated in corresponding cylindrical seats 2, defined in a plate 3 which is applicable to the mounting couplings which are used for the application of the conventional cylinder for the traction of the punched tape on the loom, generally indicated by 4.
The cylindrical bodies 1 and the corresponding seats 2 are arranged complementarily with respect to the working zone of the feeler needles 5 of the weave machine and in practice replace the conventional holes provided on perforated tape.
The abutment body 1 can be located, as illustrated in figure 2, in a recessed position, and in practice provides the position corresponding to a hole of conventional punched tape. The bodies 1 are also arrangeable, as will become apparent hereinafter, so as to be flush with the plate 3, consequently closing the cylindrical seat 2, providing the full portion of the conventional punched tape which, in this case, is not used.
Each body 1 is connected to a flexible cable 6 which is slidably guided in a flexible sheath 7 inserted at one end in the plate 3 and associated, at the other end, with a supporting plate or framework indicated by the reference numeral 10.
The flexible cable 6, slida ble inside the sheath 7, is rigidly associated at its other end with the core 11 of a linear electromagnetic actuator 12, supported by a bracket 15, which is in turn connected to an electronic card 20 which constitutes a printed circuit board whereon the electronic components 21, assigned to the control of the electromagnetic actuators 12, are mounted. Said cards or boards 20 are in turn associated with a supporting framework 25, which is mounted on a supporting stand 26, enclosed in a dust-proof container.
The connections of the individual boards lead, by means of a multipolar cable 30, to an assembly 31 which contains the electric power supplies of the system and the interface with the read unit 32, to which it is connected by means of a cable 33. A synchronization cable 34 is furthermore provided which connects the read unit to the weaving loom to obtain operational synchronization.
The structural arrangement adopted above is extremely important since it allows to arrange, in the extremely small space which in practice corresponds to the region where the punched tape traction cylinder was traditionally applied, a plurality of abutment bodies which provide the same functionality, with the advantage that, by virtue of the connection of the flexible cable, the various actuators, which necessarily have considerable dimensions, can be located in a remote region without particular problems of space and dimensions.
In this manner the perfect compatibility with conventional-type weaving looms is achieved, since the abutment bodies, which are the active part of the device, affect the region of the multiple comb constituted by the feeler needles which are installed in the loom or weaving machine.
In practical operation it is sufficient to insert the support of the required electronic image into the read unit of the data processor 32, which can operate with a support of the magnetic disk or tape type, which sends the signals corresponding to the position of the individual hooks. The signals, through the connection constituted by the cable 30, reach the electronic circuits provided on the boards 20, which drive the various actuators 12 which, if triggered, expel the core 11, which by sliding pushes the flexible cable 6. The cable, is slidably guided in the sheath 7 and acts on the various abutment bodies which reach the outer level of the plate, while the contrast bodies connected to untriggered actuators remain considerably below the outer face of the plate, thus allowing the feeler needles 5 to descend into the free holes constituted by the cylindrical seats 2, corresponding to untriggered actuators, while the feeler needles are blocked by the abutment bodies 1 which are connected to triggered actuators. At each stroke of the loom the cycle is repeated, thus allowing the loom to form the shed according to the signals stored in the reader 32 and transferred therein by means of magnetic tape or disk. In this manner the need for paper-setting and for the perforation of the drawings to be reproduced on the fabric is eliminated, and the possibility is allowed of making full use of the already existing weaving loom.
The fact is furthermore very important that the same couplings normally used for the punched tape traction cylinder may be used for the connection of the plate bearing the various contrast bodies, so that the possibility is allowed to achieve an extremely versatile machine, which allows the possible application of the conventional punched tape traction cylinder if drawings transferred earlier onto punched tape are to be produced on the fabric being woven.
In practice the possibility is thus achieved of having, for conventional machines already installed, the actuation by means of the conventional method with punched tape or the actuation by means of drawings or inscriptions of the electronic type.
The invention thus conceived is susceptible to numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the inventive concept.
Moreover, all the details may be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.
In practice, the materials employed, as well as the contingent shapes and dimensions, may be any according to the requirements.

Claims

1. A device for forming the shed on weaving looms of the type comprising feeler needles (5) arranged in a working zone, said device being characterized in that it comprises a plurality of abutment bodies (1), a plurality of actuators (12), and at least one plate (3), said plurality of abutment bodies (1) being arranged in correspondence with said feeler needles (5), slidably supported by said plate (3) and operatively connected to said plurality of actuators (12),said plate (3) being removably fixable beneath said working zone, said plurality of actuators (12) being adapted for causing sliding movement of said abutment bodies (1), located remote from said abutment bodies (1), and driven by an actuation assembly (30-34), said actuation assembly (30-34) being adapted for processing images to be reproduced on woven fabric.

2. Device, according to claim 1, characterized in that said abutment bodies (1) are slidable in cylindrical seats (2) defined on said plate (3) and arranged complementarily with respect to said feeler needles (5).

3. Device, according to the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises means (6) for the operative association of said abutment bodies (1) with said actuators (12), constituted by a flexible cable (6) associated, at one end, with said abutment bodies (1) and operatively associated, at the other end, with said actuators (12), said flexible cable (6) being slidably guided in a flexible sheath (7) inserted in said plate (3) and rigidly associated with a plate (10) for supporting said actuators (12).

4. Device, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said actuators (12) are constituted by linear electromagnetic actuators (12) with their core (11) rigidly associated with the end of said flexible cable (7).

5. Device, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said assembly (30-34) for the processing of the image to be reproduced on the fabric processes data representing drawings to be reproduced on the fabric, supported by magnetic supports.

6. Device, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said actuators comprise electromagnetic actuators (12) and are controlled by electronic control cards (20,21) driven by said image processing assembly (30-34), said actuators (12) being arranged inside a casing supported by a framework (25) and containing in its interior said flexible sheaths (7) for the operative interconnection between said actuators (12) and said abutment bodies (1).

7. Device, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said abutment bodies (1) are arranged in a first position substantially flush to the upper face of said plate (3), corresponding to the full portion of the punched tape and in a second position, recessed in said cylindrical seats (2) and adapted to allow the insertion of the corresponding feeler needle (5), corresponding to the hole of a punched cardboard tape.