GB2115022A - Weaving narrow fabric - Google Patents

Abstract

A ribbon loom weaving face-to- face pile fabric and, if desired, an associated non-pile pattern, has pile threads 14, (18-22, Fig. 2) which are Jacquard shed and placed in and out of the nip of feed rollers 23-27 by Jacquard controlled levers 29 so as to provide sufficient pile warp for the face-to-face floats and a lesser amount of pile warp when the pile warp is woven-in or floated in one or other of the base fabrics 34, 34. Similar Jacquard controlled levers 29 and nip rollers 23-27 may be used to supply wefts for weft patterning. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Weaving narrow fabrics This invention concerns the weaving of narrow fabrics.

The weaving of narrow fabrics in the form of ribbons having a velvet pile has been practised for many years, conventionally, two ribbons are woven face to face, with pile yarns being woven alternatively with the one ribbon and the other, these pile yarns being severed between the two ribbons. In general, the pile extends over substantially the entire widths of the ribbons, but it is possible to produce striped patterns wherein the stripes are of different colours, by warping up the warp yarns in accordance with the desired colour order.

If particular velvet-effect patterns or designs are required in a ribbon, three practical possibilities exist at the present time. In one of these possibilities a single ribbon is woven incorporating a pile type yarn, i.e. as a chenille fabric. In the other, again a single ribbon is woven incorporating the pattern by means of long floats, which are teased out to produce the velvet effect.

In both these examples other wefts also can be incorporated for weft patterning effects. In neither case, however, is a real velvet achieved.

The third method is to weave patterned velvet ribbons on conventional shuttletype ribbon looms, but this is hardly practicable because of the large number of shuttles which would need to bo used.

Only very slow loom operation would be possible and very high skill would be required.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method of weaving patterned velvet-pile narrow fabrics which enables raised patterns to be produced simply and easily and/or in conjunction with non-pile patterning, without the difficulties or disadvantages of the known weaving methods and which can be performed at high speeds on modern weft-inserter-type (or shuttleless) looms.

With this object in view, the present invention provides a method of weaving, on a loom, a narrow fabric having a velvet pile design on its own or warp sheets are controlled to form a number of sheds into which wefts are introduced by respective inserters to produce a face-to-face pair of ground webs, and wherein pile threads are controlled to be woven selectively with the one and the other of said ground webs, the two webs thereafter being separated by severing the pile to form velvet pile on each said web, characterised in that the pile threads are each positively fed and jacquard controlled so as to provide to mails of the jacquard harness sufficient thereof for transfer between the two sheds at locations where pile is required, and to provide a lesser amount thereof to float or be woven in at or on the reverse face of the one or the other or both of said webs at locations whereat absence of pile is required so that non-pile patterns may, if desired be created on the fabric web.

Where the absence of pile is situated, alternate weft patterning in conjunction with further warp patterning can be incorporated for further non-pile patterning.

The positive feeding of the pile threads may conveniently be achieved by drawing the same from a creel by and through respective feed roll nips, the feed rolls being operated from a jacquard and having a common harness tie with the mail so that the movements of the feed rolls and of the mail are synchronised.

The invention further includes patterned velvet pile narrow fabrics when made by the method aforesaid.

In order that the invention may be fully understood, it will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic sketch illustrating the method of weaving a narrow fabric in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic sketch, to an enlarged scale, of a positive yarn-feed mechanism which is preferably employed in the method of the invention; and Fig. 3 is a sketch of one of the feed roll pairs shown in Fig. 2 illustrating how the corresponding yarn may be introduced into the nip of the feed roll pair.

In carrying out the preferred method of the invention, use is made of a high-speed shuttieless loom of the type partially illustrated in Fig. 1 and comprising a back frame (not shown) which supplies body warp yarns 10 to a back reed (not shown) thence to the healds or mails 11 which serve to divide the warp ends 10 into two sheds 12, 13 one above the other. There is a further yarn creel (not shown) behind the back frame from which the pile ends 14 are drawn through the back reed to a positive feed device (similar to that illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3) to the healds or mails 11 in the predetermined order to achieve a velvet weave of one of the recognised current types.

Associated with each shed 12, 13 is a respective weft inserter 15, 16 in the form of an arcuate needle provided at the outer end of a swingable lever which is pivoted at its inner end adjacent the shed at one side thereof. The free end of each needle 1 5, 16 is formed with a weft engaging notch or recess 1 7. Five weft yarns 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 (Fig. 2) are disposed so as to be selectively offered to each weft engaging notch 1 7 and these weft yarns 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 are controlled by a jacquard mechanism (designated by reference numeral 30 in Fig. 3 but not shown in detail) mounted at a desired level above the loom.

One of the weft yarns 1 8 is, of course, ground weft yarn but the remaining four 19, 20, 21, 22 are of different colours. These weft yarns 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 are each supplied by way of the nip of a respective feed roll pair 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, the selection of the weft colour being controlled also by the jacquard mechanism 30 in such a way that when the corresponding weft yarn is operative it engages into the nip of the rolls.

As illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, the feed rolls have circumferential gaps or cut away regions 28.

When the regions of maximum radius of a pair of feed rolls coincide to form a nip, yarn may be fed but when the gaps 28 coincide the feed is interrupted. In this way the length of yarn fed during each revolution of a feed roll pair may correspond, in the case of weft yarn, to twice the width of the fabric. To achieve a feed the yarn is moved into the respective nip by a respective lever 29 pivoted at 31 and swung into position in line with the feed roll pair by a cord 32 controlled by the jacquard mechanism 30. The yarn extends through a hole 36 in the end of the lever29 remote from the point nf attachment of the cord 32.

Thus weft patterning in the area of the fabric where no pile patterning is required is controlled by the design cut into the jacquard card.

For jacquard patterning of the pile part of the fabric, similarjacquard controlled feed rolls are provided in the path of the pile yarns or threads prior to the healds or mails 1 These rolls rotate at a slower speed than those concerned with weft feed as less yarn is required in the pile vis a vis the weft. However, they work on the same principle of the weft feeds by way of trapping the pile yarn or thread in a nip when the pile is required to be woven between the upper and lowerfabrics.

When no pile is required the pile yarns are either woven into the upper and lower webs respectively and/or allowed to float above or below the upper and lower webs.

Located alongside each shed, at the side thereof remote from the inserter, is a respective selvedge needle (not shown) fed with its respective catch thread locking yarn. There is also a forward reed 37 for beating up after each weft insertion.

Tile rnnner of operation of the loom in producing patterned velvet-pile ribbons in face-toface disposition will readily be appreciated from the foregoing description.

aasica!!y, the two inserters 15, 16 s.multan ously insert, into their respective sheds 1 2, 13, their respective ground weft yarns 18, each as a loop which is engaged at the side opposite that entered by the inserter 1 5, 16 by the respective catch thread needle which locks each such loop with its selvedge locking yarn to prevent the loop being drawn back out of the shed upon withdrawal of the inserter 1 5, 1 6.

Between successive ground weft insertions, the jacquard mechanism controls the pile yarn feed rolls so as to cause one or more pile yarn insertions with the supplied amount of pile yarn varying in each case according to whether it is desired to extend between the two sheds in correspondence with locations where the pattern is required, or it is desired to be woven in or float above or below the ground webs. The feed rolls have a common harness tie with the appropriate mail or head 11 so that their movements are correctly synchronised. Where more than one of such pile yarn insertions is effected, these are of course effected successively, or, if desired, with colour change(s) according to the pattern required.

Also between each ground weft insertion, weft patterning may be introduced for further non-pile colouring effect. The colour is selected by the jacquard causing the weft yarn to be introduced into the weft catching notch 1 7 in the inserter needle 1 5, 16 and into the nip of the feed roll system.

Weaving proceeds continuously under the control ofthejacquard mechanism, correspondingly producing the pattern continuously in both ground webs or ribbons 33, 34, on pile and which, which pattern may be of any desired configuration, such as zig-zag or crenellated, or may comprise straight or curving bands, may be in localised areas or may comprise individual motifs produced at regular or irregular intervals, and may be on-colour or multi-coloured as desired. Of course, since the two ribbons 33, 34 are woven face-to-face, the pattern produced on the one ribbon is reproduced in mirror image on the other. A knife 35 is, of course, provided for separating the ribbons 33, 34 as they pass away from the fell, in known manner.

Naturally, the invention is not limited to the precise details of the foregoing example and variations may be made thereto. For instance, in the arrangement above described, a five-coloured design can be produced, but of course the invention is equaily applicable to cases where a multi-coloured design with any number of coloured yarns can be woven or where only a single colour of pile warp is used. In the latter case the jacquard mechanism will simply control the weft yarn supply and the pile yarn feed roll pairs associated with their respective mails. The loom may, if desired, be of duplex construction providing for two pairs of ribbons to be woven simuitaneously side-by-side as is common with modern high speed shuttleless ribbon looms.

Claims (5)

1. A method of weaving, on a loom, a narrow fabric having a velvet pile design on its own and/or in conjunction with non pile patterns wherein a warp sheet is controlled to form a number of sheds into which wefts are introduced by respective inserters to produce a face-to-face pair of ground webs, and wherein pile threads are controlled to be woven selectively with the one and the other of said ground webs, the two webs thereafter being separated by severing the pile to form velvet pile on each said web, characterised in that the pile threads are each jacquard controlled so as to provide to mails of the jacquard harness sufficient thereof for transfer between the two sheds at locations where pile is required, and to provide a lesser amount thereof to float or be woven in at or on the reverse face of the one or the other or both of said webs at locations whereat absence of pile is required so that nonpile patterns may, if desired be created on the fabric webs.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 characterised in that the pile threads are positively fed by drawing the same from a creel by and through respective feed roll nips, the feed rolls being operated from a jacquard and having a common harness tie with the mail so that the movements of the feed rolls and of the mail are synchronised.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2 characterised in that the pile threads extend through bores in respective pivoted levers which are pivoted under control of the jacquard to bring the respective pile threads between the feed roll nips for an appropriate period of time.

4. A patterned velvet-pile narrow fabric made by the method claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3.

5. A method of weaving a patterned velvet-pile narrow fabric substantially as hereinbefore described.