US1117680A

US1117680A - Harness for looms.

Info

Publication number: US1117680A
Application number: US79440013A
Authority: US
Inventors: James R Lister
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1913-10-10
Filing date: 1913-10-10
Publication date: 1914-11-17
Anticipated expiration: 1931-11-17

Description

J. R. LISTER.

HARNESS FOR LOOMS.

APPLICATION FILED 0OT.10,1913.

1,117,680. Patented Nov. 17. 1914.

IIIII ms' R c-rsar.

Methuen, county JAMES R. LISTER, OF METHUEN, IMASSACHUSETTS.

HARNESS FOR LOOMS.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JAMES R. LISTER, a subject of the Kin of England, residing at or Essex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Harnesses for Looms, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts. i

This invention relates to improvements in harnesses for looms which consists in securing a series of heddles or healds at suitable intervals upon an elastic supporting and binding member so that when said member is stretched or permitted to contract the number of heddles within a given space for a given width of loom may be varied and provision thereby made for a greater or lesser number of warp ends for a given,

width of fabric.

It is frequently necessary, especially in mills which make fancy goods, to vary the number of warp ends for a given width of fabric to produce cloth of different texture and it is customary for such mills to carry a large number of harnesses having differently spaced heddles. hen a fiber harness is removed from a loom and hung in the store room for any considerable length of time the varnish upon the heddles becomes hardened and cracks eventually weakening the harness so that the heddles easily become broken when replaced in use. On the other hand if a harness is used continually the heddles will not be likely to break until the harness is practically worn out.

One object of the present invention is to provide a harness which may be used. continually from the time it is put in the loom until it is worn out and one which may be varied in such a manner as to suit the clifferent conditions arising in respect to the requirements of the material production.

A further object of the invention is to provide an elastic harness made in standard wide or narrow sections which may be adapted to fit any loom and provide any desired number of heddles therefor. The wider sections may have the width of standard looms and may be provided with the greatest number of heddles desired for any work on the loom. When it is desired to have a lesser number of heddles the harness may be stretched to provide the number re- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 10, 1913.

Patented Nov. 17, 1914.

Serial No. 794,400.

quired and the remainder cut oil". The narrower sections may be made in standard width and adapted to be placed upon the harness frame when it is desired to contract the main harness to supply a greater number of heddles for a given width of loom.

I am aware that heretofore patents have been granted for extensible harnesses but the heddles disclosed in such devices have been secured to or between convolutions of a helical spring or elastic member. I am not, however, aware that any extensible harness has been made in which a series of beddles have been secured upon a tubular elastic member and knitted thereto in such a manner that the stretching of the elastic member would space the, heddles at uniformly greater distances along the harness frame than the distance normally provided between the heddles. Nor am I aware that elastically supported sections of the standard width have heretofore been made.

Another object of the invention is to provide an inextensible core for the elastic binding member adapted to support theharness when not in use without subjecting the elastic binding member to tension and also to provide means whereby such elastic member may be secured to the harness frame.

Other objects of the invention will more fully appear from the accompanying description and drawing and the following claims.

In the drawing: Figure 1 is a front elevation. of a harness for looms embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a detail illustration partly in section and partly broken away showing a preferred form of my invention; Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional detail view of the elastic supporting member and a portion of the heddle showing the means for securing the heddle upon the securing member; Fig. at is a view of a short section of heddles mounted upon the elastic supports in accordance with my invention, and Fig. 5 is a detail view of a modified form of elastic support for heddles made in accordance with my invention. a

A harness embodying my invention is illustrated in Fig. 1, in which the bars or shafts 1 and 2 are adapted to be supported in the ordinary manner and-are threaded through the upper and lower loops of a series of heddles 3. The heddles are connected to gether by elastic binding members 4 and are secured thereupon by a cord 5 which preferably is wound twice through each loop of the heddle and around elastic member 4. The elastic member 4 may be of any suitable material such as rubber or may be a helical spring or other form of elastic support. In order, however, to provide means for supporting the harness without distortion of the elastic member it is preferable to mount a tubular elastic member upon an ineXtensible core. In a harness constructed in this manner the inelastic core may be also used to secure the harness to the frame.

In a preferred form of my invention illustrated in Fig. 2 the supporting and binding member comprises an inelastic core 6 preferably made of hemp cord, but which may be composed of any other suitable material, around which is wound a helical spring 7 preferably made of round wire and wound tightly to provide a substantially smooth cylindrical surface or tube. An elastic covering 8 is preferably woven around said helical spring and the heddles are secured upon said binding member by a cord 5 which is passed through the loops of the heddles as aforesaid and bound tightly around the woven covering.

By this construction a harness is provided which is extensible uniformly throughout its length and may be adapted to looms in such a manner as to provide for any desired set that is for any desired number of warp threads for a given width of loom. The harness may be applied to the frames by slipping the loops of the heddles over the bars 1 and 2 in the ordinary manner and securing the binding member 4 at its middle to the heddle bars by means of staples 9 or other suitable fastenings.

In using this invention a harness containing the greatest number of heddles for the loom would be originally obtained and secured to the middle of the loom by the staple 9 as aforesaid, the ends of the inextensible cord 6 being secured to the ends of the harness bars in any suitable manner as by passing downwardly through slots 10 provided for that purpose and thereafter wrapped around the ends of the bars 1 and 2 and tied or otherwise fastened thereto. Supplementive staples 11 may, if desired, be placed at intervals along the binding member to more securely fasten the same upon the bars 1. and 2 and to prevent the possibility of unevenness in the spacing of the heddles, although this is not. ordinarily necessary. If it is found desirable to weave a web of cloth having a lesser number of warp threads the ends of the binding member are released from the bars 1 and 2, the supplemental staples withdrawn, and the elastic member slipped along its core until the required number of heddles for the number of warp threads desired in the fabric is obtained, and the portion of the binding member carrying the unnecessary heddles cut off. The ends of the helical elastic member may be easily secured to the inextensible supporting cord-by pinching down or twisting the last coil of the spring upon the cord. The staples are then replaced and the ends of the binding member secured to the harness bars. if after using the harness thus extended, it is desired to return to a greater number of warp threads for the same width of cloth the supporting end portions of the binding cord are released from the harness bars, the'staples withdrawn, and the elastic member and consequently the harness permitted to contract to its original condition. This of course, will leave an empty space at the end of the harness bars, and to provide the required number of heddles for this space a narrow section of harness 12 (see Fig. 4) having a sufficient number of heddles to complete the full harness for the loom is supplied. These sections are preferably made in standard widths and are likewise supported upon elastic binding members in the manner aforesaid. If desirable the entire harness may be made up of a series of such narrow sections.

By reason of the construction above described a single harness for each loom may be used continuously until the same is worn out, for if different numbers of warp threads are desired in the weaving of difierent webs of cloth the harness can be expanded or permitted to contract as above stated.

A modified form of this invention is disclosed in Fig. 5 in which the elastic supporting and binding member comprises an inextensible core 20 around which is placed a helical spring 21 which is inclosed or embedded in an elastic composition 22, such as rubber, an elastic cover 28 being knitted around said elastic member and the heddles being secured upon the same in any suitable manner as by a cord fastening around the elastic covering in the manner above described.

The process of constructing a harness in accordance with my invention comprises first constructing a helical coil of round or flat wire in the form of a small cylinder or tube braiding thereupon an elastic covering, drawing through the extensible member thus formed I an inextensible core preferably closely fitting the interior of the cylindrical tube and finally knitting the heddles upon the elastic tube. During the knitting of the bed dles upon the tubular member the ends of the spring are secured to the inelastic core so that the spring is prevented from expanding.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a harness for looms, a heddle supporting and binding member consisting of an inextensible core, a cylindrical elastic member slidably mounted upon said core and means for securing the heddles to said cylindrical member whereby the distance between said heddles may be varied by causing the extension or permitting the contraction of said member.

2. A harness for looms comprising a heddle supporting and binding member consisting of a helical spring and an extensible covering for said spring and a series of heddles secured upon said supporting member at suitable intervals, whereby the distances between said heddles may be varied by causing the extension or permitting the contraction of said member.

3. A harness for looms comprising a bed dle supporting member consisting of a helical spring, an elastically woven cover for said spring, and a series of heddles supported by means looped around said elastic covering.

4. In a harness for looms a heddle supporting and binding member comprising an inextensible core, an integral elastic covering therefor and a series of heddles secured upon said elastic covering.

5. In a harness for looms a heddle supporting and binding member comprising an inextensible core, a cylindrical integral elastic covering slidably mounted thereon, a series of heddles and a cord looped through said heddles and around said elastic covering.

6. A harness for looms, a heddle support ing and binding member comprising an inextensible core, a helical spring surrounding and slidably mounted upon said core, and an elastic covering for said spring.

7. A harness for looms comprising a pair of bars, a series of heddles mounted upon said bars, a supporting and binding member for said heddles comprising an inextensible core, an extensible covering for said core upon which said heddles are secured, whereby the distances between the heddles may be varied by changing the tension upon said members, slots in the ends of said shafts adapted to receive and hold the ends of said inextensible core, and means for securing said elastic covering to said shafts.

S. A harness for looms comprising a pair of shafts, a series of heddles mounted upon said shafts, a binding member for said heddles comprising an inextensible core, an eX- tensible member surrounding said core, heddles knitted upon said members, whereby the distances between the heddles may be varied by changing the tension upon said extensible member, slots in the ends of said shafts adapted to receive and to hold the ends of said inextensible core, and means for attaching said elastic covering to said shafts, comprising staples adapted to embrace said binding member, and secure the same to said shafts.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES R. Lis'rnn.

\Vitnesses ROBERT Honen, CARLETON ANDERSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.