EP1675987A1

EP1675987A1 - Method for selecting and feeding weft yarns, and a rapier weaving machine equipped with a device for selecting and feeding weft yarns

Info

Publication number: EP1675987A1
Application number: EP04765801A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Kristof Roelstraete
Original assignee: Picanol NV
Current assignee: Picanol NV
Priority date: 2003-10-21
Filing date: 2004-10-05
Publication date: 2006-07-05
Anticipated expiration: 2024-10-05
Also published as: WO2005047584A1; DE502004010529D1; CN1871386B; DE10349645A1; EP1675987B1; ATE452229T1; CN1871386A

Abstract

In a rapier weaving machine, a device (16) is provided for selecting and feeding weft yarns (14), which contains a number of yarn feeders (19) that can be displaced out of a position of rest (A) and into a working position (B). These yarn feeders, in working position (B), lay a weft yarn, which extends between a supplying device and a selvage, around a diverting edge (31), which is placed between the selvage and the feeders and which runs at least approximately in the direction of motion of the gripper (11) so that the gripper grips this section (14a) of the weft yarn (14) between the diverting edge (31) and the feeders (19).

Description

l Method for selecting and delivering weft threads and rapier weaving machine with a device for selecting and delivering weft threads

The invention relates to a method for selecting and delivering weft threads to a gripper of a rapier weaving machine, which picks up weft threads and enters them into a shed, the weft threads, which extend from the area of a fabric edge to a delivery device, being moved from a rest position into a working position - Movable feeders are brought into a receiving position for the gripper and a device for performing the method.

It is known (EP 0161014 B1) to lay a thread extending between a selvedge and a delivery device by means of a feeder over a deflecting edge and to insert it into this shed by means of a so-called carrier gripper during its movement into a shed. The bringer gripper grasps the thread to be introduced between the deflecting edge and the fabric edge with a gripping device located on its upper side.

It is also known (EP 0906461 B1) to place the weft thread to be inserted into a shed by means of a feeder over a deflection edge which is located between the fabric edge and the feeder. The weft thread is gripped on both sides of the deflecting edge by means of a rapier gripper and carried along by the rapier gripper moving into the shed.

It is also known (EP 1020550 A1) to grasp a weft thread which extends from a selvedge to a delivery device and is brought into a receiving position by means of a feeder, and introduces it into the shed. The rapier gripper picks up the weft thread and first brings it into one Thread clamp to ensure that a perfect clamp is obtained in the weft looper. A cutting device with a rotating cutting edge is arranged between the fabric edge and the thread clamp, which cuts off the weft thread to be introduced before it leaves the thread clamp.

It is also known to insert a weft thread to be inserted into a shed into the shed by means of a gripper, that is to say by means of a gripper which is inserted empty into a shed by the side opposite the weft delivery device and pulls the weft into the shed when he moves out of the shed again. In a known type (FR 1538375), several thread feeders are arranged in a row one behind the other on a carriage that can be moved in the direction of the movement of the hook, so that the thread feeder, which supplies the weft thread to be inserted, can be brought into a position above the hook. This thread feeder is then lowered so that the gripper grasps the weft thread between a fabric edge and the feeder. When inserting the thread runs over a hook-shaped knife, and is cut between the fabric edge and the hook. In another design (US 3299909), several weft threads that come from the delivery device are held between the eyes and thread clamps. These eyes and thread clamps are located on a carriage which can be moved transversely to the movement of a gripper gripper, so that the thread section located between the thread clamp and the eye can be brought over the area of the gripper which is hooked on its upper side is provided. The selected feeder element is then lowered into the area of the gripper. In another construction of this type, the weft threads, which extend from a fabric edge to a delivery device, are assigned thread feeders, which are adjustable in the vertical direction between a rest position and a working position. These feeders are in a he arranged one behind the other, which runs parallel to the direction of movement of a gripper. The weft thread or threads selected for a weft insertion are first shifted downward by their feeders into an area in which they can be taken over by a feed arm which carries out a swiveling and lowering movement. The delivery arm always brings the selected weft threads into the same position in which they can be gripped by the gripper provided with a driving device on its upper side. It is also known (US Pat. No. 3,147,778) to separate the struck weft thread from the weft thread coming from the delivery device and pick it up with a common suction device when a weft thread is struck. The weft thread to be inserted is selected by means of a thread feeder which is lowered in order to bring the selected weft thread into the area of a gripper which is also provided on its upper side with a hook-shaped receptacle for the weft thread.

The invention has for its object to provide a method of the type mentioned that carries out the selection and delivery of a weft in its receiving position with simple movements, with only a small space requirement for the individual elements including the gripper and its guide elements, so that a relatively small weaving shed is sufficient and that the specialist training resources and the weaving reed can be designed accordingly small.

This object is achieved in that the feeders place the respective weft thread when moving from their rest position into their working position over a deflecting edge which runs at least approximately in the direction of movement of the hook, so that the section of the weft thread between the deflecting edge and the feeder in a receiving position in the Movement path of the gripper is brought. In an advantageous further development, it is provided that the gripper is a slave gripper, which pulls a weft thread into the shed by means of a movement out of the shed. Such a slave gripper requires only a relatively small cross section, so that the distance between the feeders and the deflection edge can be dimensioned accordingly small.

In a further embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the feeders bring the respective weft thread into the take-up position before the gripper reaches a take-over position, and that the gripper essentially deflects the weft thread located in the take-up position downward and, after reversing its movement, grips and takes it with it , In this embodiment, a relatively long period of time is available within which a weft thread can be brought into its take-up position.

With the method according to the invention, an advantageous rapier weaving machine can be created which is provided with a device for selecting and delivering weft threads and which is characterized in that a deflecting edge for the weft threads running at least approximately in the direction of movement of the rapier runs between the fabric edge and the feeders is arranged, and that the movement path of the gripper between feeders located in the working position and the deflection edge. Such a weaving machine is particularly advantageous if a slave gripper is provided which can be inserted into a weaving shed of the weaving machine from the side opposite the device for selection and delivery.

In a further embodiment of the invention it is provided that the feeders are arranged in a row one behind the other in a row, which in the

Runs essentially parallel to the deflection edge. This makes it possible to have all weft threads in essentially the same positions relative to the gripper to bring, which is designed so that its hook-shaped gripping element extends beyond the weft thread held by the last feeder of the row. The arrangement of the weft threads between the feeder and the deflection edge is advantageous for gripping the weft threads.

Further features and advantages of the invention result from the subclaims and the following description of the exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings.

1 shows a view in the direction of a weft insertion on an inventive device for selecting and delivering weft threads,

2 is a plan view of the device according to the invention according to FIG. 1,

3 top views, similar to FIG. 2 of the embodiment according to to 6 FIGS. 1 and 2 during the takeover of a weft thread and the beginning of an insertion,

7 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of a modified embodiment,

8 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 7,

Fig. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 1 on a further modified embodiment and

Fig. 10 is a plan view of a device according to the invention, which contains a spreader and an edge insert. 1 and 2, only a rapier belt 10 or a rapier bar is shown of the actual weaving machine, which carries at its end a rapier 11 designed as a slave rapier. The weaving machine forms a fabric 15 from warp threads 12, 13 and weft threads 14, which is only indicated schematically. The weft threads 14 are struck against a fabric edge with a reed, not shown. To insert a weft thread 14, the warp threads are moved apart by means of a shed forming means (not shown) to form an upper warp thread sheet 13 and a lower warp thread sheet 12, so that a shed is formed into which a weft thread 14 can be inserted. The weft thread is inserted by means of the gripper 11, which is inserted into the shed from the side opposite the side on which the weft threads 14 are kept ready. When it moves out of the shed, the slave gripper 11 takes one, possibly also several, weft threads 14 with it.

The weft thread 14 to be inserted into a shed during a weft insertion is selected by means of a device 16 and delivered to the gripper 11. The device 16 has a base body or a base plate 17 which is fastened by means of screws 39 on a profile rail 38 running in the direction of the weft insertion. The base plate 17 with the elements attached to it can be moved on this profile rail 38 and fixed in a position adapted to the fabric width. The entire device 16 can therefore be adapted to a changed fabric width in a very simple manner.

The device contains needle-shaped thread feeders 19, the drives 20 of which are attached to a holder 21 and which extend downward at an acute angle, so that they can move downward essentially in the vertical direction. The drives 20 of the thread feeders 19 can be designed, for example, as is known from EP 0598264 B1, so that the thread feeders 19 can be adjusted between a rest position A (FIG. 1) and a working position B. The thread feeders 19 are each provided at their lower ends with eyelets 22 through which a weft thread 14 runs in each case. The weft threads 14 extend from a fabric edge of the fabric 15 through the eyelets 22 to a delivery device, for example a spooling device.

In ^'of the base plate 17 is a strip 23 is mounted, is disposed on the filament separation means 24th The thread separating device 24 has a knife disk 25 which is driven by an electric motor 26. The knife disk 25 is assigned thread guides on both sides, which are formed by means of the bar 23 and guide tongues 28, 29.

On the base plate 17 of the device 16, a further strip 30 is attached, which forms a deflection edge 31 by means of a raised leg, which runs parallel to the direction of movement of the gripper 11, i.e. transversely to the direction of the warp threads 12, 13. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the deflection edge 31 lies in a plane with a binding point 32 of the fabric 15 and with the thread guides formed by the bar 23 and the guide tongues 28, 29.

As can be seen from Fig. 2, the base plate 17 is adjustable in the rail 38 in the direction of the fabric width. The receptacles for fastening screws 39 (FIG. 2) of the base plate 17 are slots directed transversely to the profile rail 38, so that an adjustment in the transverse direction is also possible. With this setting, the position of the thread feeder 19 and thus its eyelets 22 is set transversely to the hook 11. The strip 23 with the cutting device 24 is fastened to the base plate 17 in an adjustable manner both transversely and in the longitudinal direction of the warp threads. It is thus their position with respect to the distance to the deflection edge 31 in the transverse direction and also with respect to the distance to the end the deflection edge 31 adjustable in the longitudinal direction. In practice, it is preferably provided that the bar 23 with the cutting device 24 and the bar 30 with the deflection edge 31 are adjusted relative to one another and to the feeders in the manufacturing plant and that the bars 23, 30 are then fixed in this position that they cannot be changed or can only be changed with difficulty by the user. This can be done, for example, by providing fastening screws with specially designed tool engagement surfaces. The positions can also be sealed. The user of a weaving machine can then only adjust the entire device 16 to a small extent in the direction of the weaving width and possibly also transversely to it. In order to ensure that a user cannot easily adjust the device 16 in the transverse direction to the profile rail 38 on his weaving machine, provision can be made for the adjustability in the transverse direction to be separated from the attachment to the profile rail 38, so that then the weaving machine can only adjust the device 16 in weaving width.

As can be seen from FIG. 1, when the feeders 19 with their eyelets 22 are in the rest position A, the weft threads 14 are located above the gripper 11, the deflection edge 31 and the cutting device 24. A feeder 19 becomes its working position B transferred, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, for the feeder 19 closest to the fabric edge, the relevant weft thread 14 is placed over the deflecting edge 31, so that it lies below with an obliquely downward section 14a the tip 33 of the gripper 1 1. The gripper 11 overflows this section 14a and deflects it downward. When the gripper 11 is moved back again, it grips the thread section 14a with its hook-shaped element 34, to which a thread clamp 35, which is only schematically indicated in FIGS. 2 to 6, is assigned. The hook-shaped element 34 and the thread clamp 35 are located on the side facing the section 14a of the weft thread 14, ie below the top of the hook 11.

The gripper 11 moving back into the shed takes the weft picked up in section 14a and pulls it over the deflection edge 31 in the direction of the shed. In the process, the weft thread 14 arrives in the cutting device 24, in which the weft thread is separated from the portion remaining on the fabric edge before it is inserted into the shed.

The selection of the weft thread 14 to be entered, i.e. the transfer of a feeder 19 from its rest position A to its working position B is controlled by a control device 36, which suitably belongs to the device 16 and is attached to it. The control unit 36 receives its commands from the control of the weaving machine. The control unit 36 also switches on the motor 26 of the knife disk 25. This can be done individually for each shot entry or as a continuous operation at high shot speeds.

The thread feeders 19, of which only four are shown, are arranged in a row one behind the other. This row runs parallel to the path of movement of the gripper 11 and the deflection edge 31. Since the feeders 19 each occupy the same working position B, the thread pieces 14a between the eyelets 22 and the deflection edge 31 all run at the same angle in the side view (FIG. 1) , even if the angle between the eyelets 22 and the fabric edge (Fig. 2) is different. With its hook-shaped element 34 and the clamp 35, the gripper 11 always grips the thread sections 14a in the same way.

In the device according to the invention, the thread feeders 19 move down with a movement component, so that they Lay weft threads over the deflection edge 31. As can be seen in FIG. 1, this can be done by aligning the feeders 19 at an acute angle. Of course, it is also possible to arrange the feeders in such a way that they are aligned vertically and perform an exclusively vertical movement.

As a rule, there is sufficient space in the loom in the direction of the weaving width to arrange a large number of thread feeders 19 in a row. However, it is also possible to arrange the thread feeders 19 in more than one row. In order to achieve the most uniform conditions possible for the take-up of the thread sections 14a by the gripper 11, it is then expedient to lower the thread feeders 19 of the row arranged at a greater distance from the deflecting edge 31 somewhat lower, so that the thread sections 14a between the eyelets 22 and the Deflection edge 31 always run at the same angle if possible. Differences of a few angular degrees are, however, easily compensated for, since the gripper deflects the thread section located in the receiving position downwards.

In the embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 6 it is provided that the weft threads 14 are only separated from the fabric edge when they are re-entered in a shed. However, it is also possible to insert and separate each weft thread in a separating device when it strikes the goods edge. In this case the free ends are then taken up by a thread clamp. Such a thread clamp, which is arranged between the fabric edge and the cutting device 24, is then part of the device 16 in such an embodiment.

It should also be pointed out that in the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 7 the device 16 and also the distances between the cutting device 24 and the tissue are exaggerated in order to get an understandable presentation. In practice, however, significantly smaller distances are possible, in particular also between the working position B of the thread feeder and the deflection edge 31.

The embodiment according to FIGS. 7 and 8 corresponds in principle to the embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 6. For the feeders 19 and their drives 20, a holder 37 inclined in the direction of the deflection edge 31 is provided, so that overall shorter needle-shaped feeders 19 are used can. Another difference is that the bar 23 with the cutting device 24 and the bar 30 with the deflection edge 31 are combined to form an assembly which can only be adjusted together relative to the base plate 17 and the feeders 19.

In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 9, thread feeders 19 are provided which can be pivoted between a rest position A and a working position B by means of drives 20 designed as drive motors. The eyelets 22 of the thread feeders 19 move on a movement path that largely corresponds to the movement paths of the exemplary embodiments according to FIGS. 1 to 6 and FIGS. 7 and 8. The axis 40 of the drive motors lies lower than the deflection edge 31, so that the thread section 14a is tensioned well, as in the other embodiments, which is brought into a receiving position in the movement path of the hook 11.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 10, in a departure from the embodiment according to FIGS. 1 and 2, a blade 55 is provided instead of a rotating knife disk 25, which preferably has a razor-sharp edge. This blade 55, which is easily exchangeable, is oriented such that a weft thread 14, which is carried by the hook 11, slides over the cutting edge of this blade 55 and thereby is cut up. This cutting device 24 with the stationary blade 55 does not require any drive.

In addition, in the embodiment according to FIG. 10, a holder 57 is attached to the base plate 17 and carries a fabric spreader 56. The holder 57 is fastened to the base plate 17 with adjustable fastening means 59, for example with fastening screws 59, which penetrate the slot guides of the holder 57 and slot guides of the base body 17 extending transversely thereto.

In a corresponding manner, an edge insert 58, which is indicated by dashed lines, can also be attached to the holder 57. The edge insert 58 can be attached to the holder 57 in a manner not shown by means of adjustable fastening means.

In many cases, it will therefore suffice to only adjust the holder 17 when changing to a changed fabric width, the thread feeder 19, the cutting device 24, the spreader 56 and the edge insert 58 being adapted to the changed fabric width at the same time.

In the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 6, in the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 7 and 8 and in the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 9, it is provided that the thread feeder 19, which is located in the working position B, moves into an intermediate position between the Working position B and the rest position A is retracted when the section 14a of the weft thread 14 has been picked up by the gripper 11 and is entered into the shed. This ensures that the removal of a weft thread due to the thread eyelet 22 in the intermediate position is not disturbed by the other weft threads and that this weft thread is held in a favorable position within the shed.

Claims

claims

1. A method for selecting and delivering weft threads to a rapier of a rapier weaving machine, which picks up weft threads and enters them into a shed, the weft threads, which extend from the region of a fabric edge to a delivery device, by means of feeders which can be moved from a rest position into a working position are brought into a receiving position for the gripper, characterized in that the feeders place the respective weft thread when moving from their rest position to their working position over a deflecting edge which runs at least approximately in the direction of movement of the gripper, so that the section of the weft thread between the deflecting edge and the feeders is brought into a receiving position in the path of movement of the gripper.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the gripper is a slave gripper which pulls a weft thread into the shed by means of a movement out of the shed.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the slave gripper brings the section of the weft thread, which extends from it to the region of the fabric edge, into a cutting device.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the feeders bring the respective weft thread into the take-up position before the gripper comes into a take-over position, and that the gripper deflects the weft thread located in the take-up position essentially downwards and towards Reversal of his movement grips and takes away.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the thread feeder is transferred during the insertion of a weft thread in an intermediate position located between the rest position and the working position.

6. rapier weaving machine with a device for selecting and delivering weft threads, which contains a plurality of feeders which can be moved from a rest position into a working position and which, in the working position, hold a weft thread which extends between a delivery device and a region of a fabric edge in a receiving position for a rapier indicates that a deflection edge (31) for the weft threads (14) running at least approximately in the direction of movement of the hook (11) for the weft threads (14) is arranged between the fabric edge and the thread feeders (19), and that the path of movement of the hook (11) is between those in working position B. Thread feeder (19) and deflection edge (31) runs.

7. rapier weaving machine according to claim 6, characterized in that a slave gripper (11) is provided which can be inserted into a shed of the weaving machine from the side opposite the device (16) for selecting and delivering.

8. rapier weaving machine according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that a cutting device (24) is provided between the deflecting edge (31) and the fabric edge, which is arranged at a smaller distance than the thread feeder (19) from the fabric edge.

9. rapier weaving machine according to claim 8, characterized in that the cutting device (24) contains a rotary cutter disc (26).

10. rapier weaving machine according to one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that a connecting line between the deflection edge (31) and a thread guide (22) of a thread feeder (19) located in the working position B in the direction of movement of the gripper (11) below a tip ( 33) of the gripper and within the contour of the gripper (11).

11. rapier weaving machine according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the thread feeders (19) are arranged one behind the other in a row which runs essentially parallel to the deflection edge (31).

12. rapier weaving machine according to one of claims 6 to 11, characterized in that the thread feeder (19) can be stopped in an intermediate position located between the rest position A and the working position B.