1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a controlling device, and more particularly to a
weft controlling device for using weft as warp in a strap weaving machine. The
controlling device has controlling rods each having a warp passing therethrough so that
when a certain quantity of the controlling rods are selected, the warp passing through the
selected controlling rods are then able to be used as the weft.
2. Description of Related Art
Weaving technology for strap weaving machines has been developed for
centuries. To have diversities in the woven patterns, different controlling devices for
controlling the warp or the weft have been available in the market. Basically, a striped
strap is woven by colorful warp. If the weft is also colorful, the woven fabric (the strap)
becomes a checkered strap. As we all know, the checkered strap may contain different
colors and patterns. In order to present the checkered straps with different patterns, weft
controlling device plays a crucial role. The conventional weft controlling device is
composed of an operation chain in combination with a disk. When the user wants to
change the color of the weft, which involves e.g., 120 stitches in a complete cycle for
changing the color, the operation chain will have the corresponding quantity of knots.
Therefore, whenever there is a need for changing the color of the weft, the user will have
to go through a lot of effort to change the configuration of the operation chain. After the
configuration of the operation chain is determined, the operation chain in combination
of the disk can only be used to weave the specific checkered strap.
Another approach to solve the complexity of the existing problem in making the
checkered strap is to use a controlling device to control the movement of the weft.
However, when the controlling device is activated, the checkered strap will encounter a
problem of having frayed side faces. Therefore, a heating method is adopted to eliminate
the frayed side faces of the produced checkered strap, which utilizes the convergence of
the heated frayed side faces of the checkered strap to be hidden inside the edge of the
checked strap. This method solves the existing problem though it still has the difficulty
of simplifying the entire structure of the weaving machine.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide a weft
controlling device to mitigate and obviate the aforementioned problems.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a weft controlling
device for using weft as warp so as not only to simplify the structure of the strap
weaving machine, but also to accomplish the desired goal.
In order to accomplish the foregoing objective, the weft controlling device has
controlling rods each having a weft coming from a spindle and passing therethrough.
When a specific weft is chosen, the corresponding controlling rod is moved to a position
so as to be woven into the fabric and the remaining weft will be woven into the fabric as
warp.
Another objective of the invention is that each of the controlling rods is
controlled by an individual motor which may be a step motor or a server motor.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more
apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings.
In the drawings:
Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the structure of the weft controlling
device of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the parts mounted on an
assembly board;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the controlling rods in combination with
the controlling threads;
Figs. 4 and 5 are a schematic views showing the relative operation on the
assembly board and the controlling rods; and
Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the application of the weft controlling
device of the present invention.
With reference to Figs. 1 and 2, the weft controlling device in accordance with
the present invention has an assembly board (10), motors (20), controlling threads (30)
and controlling rods (40).
The assembly board (10) has multiple holes (11) defined therethrough for
mounting the motors (20) thereon, a front casing (12) and a rear casing (14) together
with the front casing (12) to partially enclose the assembly board (10).
Each motor (20) is mounted on the assembly board (10) and has a motor shaft
(21) extending out from a side of the assembly board (10) to be connected to a
controlling lever (22). A first end face formed on top of the controlling lever (22) is
provided with teeth (220) and a second end face oppositely formed on a bottom of the
controlling lever (22) is connected to a first distal end of a resilient element (222). A
second distal end of the resilient element (222) is positioned on the assembly board (10).
The teeth (220) are provided for connecting with a first distal end of an operation thread
(26). The assembly board (10) further has sets of guiding wheels (24), each set of
guiding wheels (24) being securely yet rotatably mounted on the assembly board (10) to
correspond to one of the operation threads (26). It is noted from the drawing that each
set of the guiding wheels (24) contains three guiding wheels (24) each being so
positioned as to guide the corresponding operation thread (26) to a specific location. A
second distal end of the operation thread (26) is connected to a first distal end of a
controlling thread (30). Because the connection between the operation thread (26) and
the controlling thread (30) is conventional and is irrelevant to the essence of the present
invention, the following detailed description gives no credit as to how the operation
thread (26) and the controlling thread (30) are connected with each other.
With reference to Fig. 3, it is seen that four controlling threads (30) pass through
four corresponding controlling holes (320) in a controlling board (32). After passing
through the corresponding controlling holes (320), each of the four controlling threads
(30) connects to a first distal end of a controlling rod (40).
The first distal end of the controlling rod (40) extends through a guiding board
(42) to connect to a corresponding one of the controlling threads (30). A second distal
end of each of the controlling threads (40) extends through a corresponding one of
guiding holes (460) in a guiding plate (46) to allow the weft coming from a spindle (not
shown) to extend through a weft hole (402) in the second distal end of the controlling
rod (40). Each controlling rod (40) has a spring (44) mounted therearound. A first distal
end of the springs (44) is securely mounted on the corresponding controlling rod (40)
and a second distal end of the springs (44) abuts a bottom face of the guiding board (42)
so that when a specific controlling rod (40) is moved, the corresponding spring (44) will
provide the controlling rod (40) a recovery force so as to return the controlling rod (40)
back to its original position.
With reference to Figs. 4 and 5, the weft controlling device is controlled to move
simultaneously and synchronously with the heddle. Due to the control mechanism being
not the focus of the present invention, there will be no further description about how the
weft controlling device is moving synchronously with the heddle.
When a specific controlling rod (40) is selected, as shown in Fig. 5, the selected
controlling rod (40) is lifted, which loosens the tension on the controlling operation
thread (26). Accordingly, the corresponding controlling lever (22) will tilt to a certain
angle for picking out by a weft weaving mechanism.
With reference to Fig. 6, it is notable that when a specific controlling rod (40) is
selected and is moved upward relative to the guiding plate (46), the weft passing through
the weft hole (402) in the second distal end of the controlling rod (40) is also lifted, such
that the weft controlling mechanism is able to use the selected weft to change the pattern
of the checked strap. That is, if there are two controlling rods (40) each carrying a weft
of a color are selected, when the weft controlling mechanism uses these two wefts, the
woven strap will not be the same as the strap woven by only one weft. It is also noted
that when the controlling rods (40) are not selected, all the wefts passing through the
controlling rods (40) are used as warp woven into the strap (not shown).
With the foregoing weft controlling device of the present invention, the
selvedge of the strap is smooth and because the controlling rods (44) are able to be easily
chosen to meet different requirements, the operation of the strap weaving machine is
greatly simplified.
It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and
advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description,
together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is
illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size,
and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent
indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are
expressed.