US1778336A - Method of and apparatus for weaving - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 14, 1930. G. H. PERKINS 1,778,336

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR WEAV ING Filed Nov. 17, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 r z W 2: lellA 76 3 WWW A 3 2 fl mw WWW .A 7 7 7 w rr z 5 J 2 M F J A M m 14, 11930. G. H. PERKINS 1,778,336

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR WEAVING Filed NOV. 17, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet. 2

Oct. 14, 1930. G, PERKINS 1,778,336

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR WEAVING Filed NOV. 17, '1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 @y i *W WWW?- Get. 14, 1930- 5, kms 1,778,336

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR WEAViNG Filed Nav. 17, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented :Qet. 14, 1930 S 'EZWEfi ATEN F lCE H. PEBKWIIIS, or SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE nsrronn MILLS, on Esiv 'enn, nnopnrsnAnnA CORPORATION OF 21-101m- ISLAND METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR WEAVING Application filed November 17, 1928. Serial No. 820,153.

. This invention pertains to textile manufacture and, relatesinoreparticularly to a method of. and apparatus for Weaving patterned textile fabrics, the present method and apparatus bein'ginthe nature oita'n improvement upon the method; and apparatus disclosed in the application 0i George H.

Perkins, Serial No. 298,901, filed August 11, 1928 As more fully described in said application, the usual method of Weaving, particularly when applied to the production of long pattern repeats, results in very, substantial Waste of the ivo'ven material incidentto the removal. of successive 'cutsfi'omthe loom and in preparation for certain finishing processes. In accordance with the disclosure of the aforesaid application provision is made for Weavinga length Waste fabric forming less than a full repeat of the pattern at that point' thew'eaving operation at which the, material is to be cut for removal from the loonnthereby producinga short flap at the end of the last full repeat of a cut'and a correspondingshort fiap'in advance of the first pattern'repeat oi". the nest cut. This'is accor lished in the aforesaid disclosure by Weavmg' the pattern bach- Wardlyfor a distance substantially edual'to i al'f the length of the desired'piece ef'ivaste fabri at the end ofthe last full repeat of the pattern, and then. Weaving; thepattern forwardly again'to the startin'g; point of a new full repeat to complete the piece of Waste fabric, the aste fabric thus \VOYGTX bacliwardly and forwardly between full repeats providing the necessary material the desired flap at the ends of the cuts but usnallybeing in 'lengththan a full peat or". the pattern! n For accomplishing this result the afore said application discloses' the application oi the invention to a jacquard pattern mechanism, and provides apparahisfor causing tlie' jacquard cards, when desired, reverse their normal direction of movement until approximately one-haliiot the desired intermediate Waste material has been ov and then again to reverse and move for iv'ai dly in thenor nialdirection for the same pattern elements, sometimes sei eral hen ed in number, WlllCll must be moved back. ardly in opposition to their usual. direction of travel While Weaving the first half of the Waste or flap forming section of fabric.

In accordance with the present invention I accomplish the desired result, that to say the provision of the short intermediate portion of Waste material by weaving the pattern (following the last full. repeat ofthe pattern) a very short section, for example four picks in the reverse direction, following this with a like very short section in the forward or normal directionfthen a ain iii the reverse direction, and on alto ailv until the desired length of material has been produced, the last of said short sections being in the forward direction so that at its completion all. is in readiness to proceed in orderly manner with the next full repeat of the pattern. v i I lVhen using a drop box or other'form of shuttle or color changing loom, the reversal of the pattern means, "for Xample the series out jacquard cards, will usually result'in the production of fabric in which the normal A attern is indistinct, confused, or even Wholly absent. but since the err-fer of warp shedding as determined by the reversely moving" pa tern elen'icnts inverse to the normal order, I have for convenieiure in descri en and illustration referred to the resultant fabric of reverse pattern, which would be substantially true in the simpler forms of Weavin and I Wish it to be'uuderstood that Wherever I havereferred 'to reversal. of the pattern I have particular reference to the order of warp sheddinfg, rather than to the specific appearanceof the completed fabric. i The preferred mechanism for accomplishing the above result" comprises means 'for of the pattern elements to insure of illustrating the invention, and that moving a relatively small number of pattern elements such as jacquard cards, first in one direction and then in the other in alternation so long as is necessary for weaving the predetermined portion of waste material, whereupon the pattern elements resume their normal forward movement for production of full pattern repeats. Since the pattern characteristics of the waste section are of no importance, it is necessary, during the alternate forward and reverse operation of the pattern devices, merely to employ a sufficient number the production of coherent fabric, and for this-purpose four pattern elements are usually suffic nt, although it is within the scope of the invention to employ a larger or smaller number if permissible or desirable.

In the a-ccom Jan iiw'draivin 's certain de sirable steps comprised in my novel me hod of weaving are disclosed by way o'f'ez: iple together with apparatus useful in perforn v ing said steps, it being understo'd that the accompanying drawings are merely by way they arenot to be understood as limiting the inventionto the specific arrangement of parts, or tothe specific order of steps except as defined by the appended claims.

showing certain partsof a jacquard mec 1anism of usual type-having the present improvements applied thereto;

v-Fig. 5 is a fragmentary end elevation to larger scale looking from the left-hand side formed at eachend. of the cut is much too of Fig. 4i;

Fig. (Sis a section to larger scale, sub 'lazu tially on the line 66 of FIQQ 5;

Fig. 7 1s a fragmentary v-ci Fig. 8 is a similar section on of Fig. 6; and

Fig.9 is a fragmentary vertical smaller scale ontheline 9- 9 of 6.

In accordance with. the usual processes of weaving pattern fabrics it is customary, when sufficient material to form a out has been provided,'to weave a section forming a complete repeat of the pattern which is then cut substantially midway its length to permit removal of the first cut of materialfromthe The wastepiece-of material thus long to serve as an attaching flap in prepar- -l section ing the material for the finishing operation so that a substantial portion of it must cut away.

In accordance with the present invention, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, I produce a series of repeats A, A in usual manner,but at the end as of the last repeat of this series, instead of proceeding normally to weave a waste repeat, I reverse the pattern mechanism and cause the loom to weave the pattern backwardly for a predetermined short distance,

forming a small section A. In accordance with the present invention this reverse weavingis of very-shortduration, for example four picks, whereupon I resume forward weaving, that is to say, normal forward movement of the pattern while weaving another short section A which likewise comprises but a few picks, for example four.

I thus continue weaving a fewpicks back- .wardly and then a similar number of picks forwardly until I have produced a length of fabric sufficient to produce a single attaching fiap. At this point in the weaving, without interrupting the operation of the pattern mechanism, I may weave in one or more picks of a contrasting color to produce a'cut marker G. I then continue in the same manner to weave with alternate reversals another series A or A of short sections until I have produced another section of fabric sufficient to form a single attaching flap. The last short section A of this flap orwaste-portion of material is woven in the normal forward direction of the pattern so that when the point 3 is reached, which marks the beginning of a new series B of pattern repeats, the pattern mechanism stands in exactly the same positionthat it did at the point 00 at which the abnormal pattern movement commenced; The loom maynow continue to function in normal manner, producing a second series of repeats B, and the first cut of fabllC comprising the series A maybe removed from the loom by cutting along the line C.

In the diagrammatic illustrations of Figs. 1 and 3 Ihave indicated but a small number of reversals in the pieceof wastematerial and the relative width of'the alternating sect-ions making up this piece of waste material-is very greatly exaggerated, indicating many more than four picks, but this mode of illus- .ration has been adopted to facilitate the descriptionand in view of the fact that'upou the scale selected itwould'be substantially impossible to show sections of four picks extent. v p

In accordance with the above method the attaching flapsat the end of one cut and at the beginning of the next may be madeas sl'rort as desired, since the length of such flaps is in no way dependent upon the length of the normal pattern repeat.

W'hilel contemplate that the above method may be carried out in'various'ways and by the use offvarious fo "ms of mechanism, and while it is broadly independent of the particular type of pattern mechanism which may be employed, I have here chosen to illustrate mechanism for practicing this process upon a loom provided with jacquard mechanism such as is used in the weaving of blankets and similar materials.

One common form of jacquard mechanism employs two series of jacquard cards which I are moved alternatel step by step, and while .11. series passing around the usual drums and the presentinvention is of broader utility, I have chosen herein to illustrate one embodiment of the mechanism particularly adapted for e in connection with a jacquard employing two series of cards, although it is equally applicable, by the mere omission of parts, to a jacquard mechanism employing but one series of cards.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 4 and 5'. I have illustrated certain parts of the jacquard proper in order to indicate the application of thepresent mechanism thereto. Thus in Fig. 4 the two series of jacquard ca are indicated respectively at 3 and 4, 1

6. These drums mounted to turn in ournal bearings carried by bars 7 and 8 sliding in suitable guides in the frame and having slotted'brackets 9 and 10 respectively which engage drive rollers 11 and 12 carried by vertically sliding rods 13 and 14 respectively.

he rods 13 and 14 are reciprocated vertically by means of levers l5 and 1(5 actuated by cams or other devices usual in the art but not shown. This vertical movement of the rods '13 and 14 is transmitted through the cam series 3 of cards in a normal or forward dircction. In the same way a forward driving pawl 19*, pivoted at 21, normally cooperates with the pins 18 of drum 6 to advance the series 4 of cards in the normal or forward direction.

The novel mechanism forming the subject matter of the present invention comprises a base or frame 22 (Figs. 4 and 5) which may conveniently be mounted upon a beam 23 constituting one of the. usual supports for the jacquard mechanism. This base or frame provided with upstanding brackets 24 and 25 provided with bearings for parallel shafts 26 and 27. The shaft 26 is provided, near its opposite ends, with rearwardly extending arms 28 and 29 respectively. These arms are slotted at their rear ends for the reception of pins at the lower ends of brackets 30 and 31 respectively which are attached to the lower ends of pawl lifter rods 32 and 33 guided to slide Vertically in bearing brackets 32, 33 projecting forwardly from the frame of the jacquard mechanism. The rods 32 and 33 carry pawl lifters 34 and 35 respectively which underlie portions of the pawls 19 and 19. In the normal position, during regular weaving, the rods 32 and 33 with the pawl lifters 34 and 35, are in the position indicated in Fig. 5, where they do not interfere with the normal engagement of the pawls 19 and 19 with the pins of the jacquard drums.

In accordance with the present invention I provide reverse driving pawls 36 and 37, pivoted at 38 and 39 respectively, which are adapted under certain conditions to engage the pins of the drums 5 and 6 respectively and to turn the drums in reverseor backward direction. The pawls 36 and 37 are urged upwardly toward operative position by means of springs 40 (Fig. 5) (but one of which is shown) but are normally held down out of operative engagement with the jacquard drums by means of pawl depressing arms 43 projecting rearwardly from collars 42 mounted on the rods 32 and 33 respectively.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 4, 5 and 7, the shaft 27 has ii Xed thereon a ratchet wheel 44, here shown as having eight teeth. A pawl 45 is adapted at times to engage this wheel for turning it, thereby turning the shaft 27. The pawl 45 is mounted upon an arm 46 of a bell crank lever free to turn on the shaft 27 and having a second arm 47 provided with an elongate slot 48 which receives a pin 49 projecting from a bracket 50 secured to the rod 14. Thus the rod 14 reciprocates the arm 46. hen the pawl 45 en gages the ratchet 44 the ratchet and shaft 27 are turned step by step.

The pawl 45 is provided with a lateral pin 51 which, during normal weaving, rests upon an elevated surface of a controlling cam 53 mounted to turn freely on the shaft 27, thus holding the pawl out of engagement with its ratchet wheel. The cam 53 is provided with an actuating arm projecting rearwardly and having a pull rod 56 pivotally attached to its forward end. This pull rod passes down through an opening in the support 22 and is provided with a handle 57 at its lower end within convenient reach of an operator stationed at the frontof the loom. A spring 58 tends to lift the rod 56 and thus to hold the arm in the dotted position, shown at (Fig. 8) with the high part 52 of the cam. 53 beneath the pin 51 and the pawl 45 out of engagement with the teeth of ratchet wheel 44.

The cam 53 is provided with a single retaining tooth 6O normally occupying the position 60 in Fig.8. Then the cam has been'turned to the full line position indicated in Fig. 8,

this tooth snaps behind a retaining latch 61 carried by a shaft 62 journaled in a bearing sleeve 63 (Figs. 4 and 6) the pawl normally beingheld in operative or engaging position by means of a weight 64 or an equivalent spring. The shaft 62 is provided with a releasing arm which isadapted at tiniest-c be engaged by a pin 66 projecting from the face of a ratchet wheel 67 mounted toturn freely on the shaft 27. This ratchet wheel 67 is turned step by step'by means of a pawl 68 mounted ona lever 69 secured to the shaft 26, the pawl being held in engagement with the ratchet wheel by means of a spring 7 O. Preferably a locking pawl 71, provided with a counterweight 7 2, is mounted toturn freely on the shaft 26 and engages the ratchet wheel 67 to prevent reverse movement of the latter.

A cam 7 3 (Fi s. 6 and 9) is fixedly secured to the shaft 27. This cam com JflSGS a hi h I n l portion 4 and a low portion 45, each being of substantially a semi-circumference: in 6211 tent. A roller 76, carried by anarm 7 7, engages the peripheral surface of thecams 7 3. The arm 77 is fixedly secured to the shaft 26 V and thus as the cam 7 3 is rotated and't-he roll- .er 76 alternately engages the high and low portions of the cam, the shaft26 is rocked first in one direction and then in the other and at each rocking In vement in the counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 7, the

pawl 68 above described turns the ratchet wheel 67 a predetermined distance.- Preferably l mount a retaining device, for example a star wheel 78 (Fig. 9) on the shaft to preventrev erse movement of the latter during the retraction of the pawl 45. A roller 79engages the edge of the star wheel 78, such roller being carried by a bell crank lever 80 turning freely on the shaft 26v and having a spring 81 adapted'fto hold the roller 79 against the star wheel. f The operation of the above mechanism is substantially as follows, it being assumed that 7 during normal weaving the rods 32 and 33 occupy the positions shown in Figs. 4 and 5 in their lower-' .vith the pawl lifters 34 and 00 most or inoperative positions, with the controlling cam in the dotted line position indicated in Fig; 8 and with the pin 66 to the right of the latch r leasing arm 65, as viewed in Fig. 8.

' At the end of the series of repeats intended to form cut of fabric, the operator grasps the handle 57v and pulls down on the rod 56, thus swinging the controlling cam. 53 down to the full'li ie position indicated in Fig. 8, permitting the pin 51 to drop from the high part 52 of the controlling cain to the low part 59 thereof. Since the pin 66doe'snot now engage'the arm 65, the latch 61 is free to engage the tooth 60, thus retaining the controlling cam 53 in the positionshown'in Fig. 8. As soon as the pin'51 dropscnto the low r. part59 ofthe 'controllingcam', the pawl45,

which is constantly moving, engages a tooth of the ratchet wheel 44 and thus begins to move the shaft 27 intermittently. Assuming that the roller 76' is at this time at the end of the low part 75 of the cam 78, the movement of the shaft 27 bythe pawl 45 and ratchet wheel 44 will cause the roller 76 to ride up onto the high part 74 of the cam 73, thus rocking the shaft 26 and the arms 28 and 29 and lifting the rods 32 and 33. The pawls 19 and 19 are thus lifted out of engagement with the jacquard drums and the pawls 36 and 37 are permitted to engage the drums. The drums immediately begin to turn in reverse direction, thus weaving a se tion of fabric A, Fig. 1, in which the pattern is reversed.

Since the ratchet wheel 44 has but eight teeth and since the high portion 74 of the cam 73 is substantially a semi-circumference in length, the roller 76 will run off of the high part 74 at the endof the fourth active movement of the pawl 45. Since thispawl makes a forward movement corresponding to each actuation of the jacquard .the high portion 74 of the'cam and the reverse driving pawls are again put into operat1on. Thls alternate reverse and forward drive of the pattern mechanism con-' tinues for a predetermined period depend- 'ent upon the number of teeth in the ratchet wheel 67. At some suitable point in this abnormal operation" of the pattern mechaism, provisionmay .be made forweaving in a weft of distinctive color to form a cut marker G, although this is not necessary.

7 At each rocking movement ofthe shaft 26 in one direction, the pawl68 is. actuated to move the ratchet wheel 67 forward one step, thus gradually-moving the pin 66 until it engages the releasing arm 65. At the next movement ofthe pawl 68 the 'pin 66 moves toward the position 66' and actuates'the releasing .arm 67 to disengage the latch 61 (Fig.6) from the tooth 60, thereupon the spring 58 raises the rod 56 and restores the cam to'its normal position with its high portion 52 beneath the pin 51, thus holding the pawl 45 in inoperative position. The shafts 27 and 26 thus come to rest with the roll 76 at the end of the low part of the cam '73 and with the pawl lifters 34 and 3 in inoperative position.

Since the jacquard drums are moved rear- Wardly and then forwardly to the same amount at each reversal of the driving pawls they are left at the end of the above operation in exactly the same position as at the beginning, so that the next card presented for operation by the following movement of the forward driving pawls 19 and 19 is that which corresponds to the beginning of a new pattern repeat, and the loom mechanism is now ready to proceed in orderly fashion with the production of a new cut of material.

l/Vhile the mechanism hereinabove described is arranged to weave the waste section of fabric upon four cards only of the jacquard, it is obviously possible by a very slight modification to change the number of cards which take part in the production of the waste fabric, and I contemplate that a, greater or lesser number'may be employed as circumstances may warrant, it being suflicient merely to change the number of teeth in the ratchet wheel 44 or the extent of the cam surfaces of cam '73 to produce such variation in operation.

Since withithe arrangement described but a small number of pattern cards take part inthe operation,.no substantial difficulty is experienced in guiding and supporting these jcards as they are advanced and'then reversed, and even though a substantially greater number of cards, for example eight or twelve, were to take part in this operation," no such difficulty would be experienced as where several hundred cards are employed.

While a desirable arrangement of mechanism has herein been illustrated and described, I contemplate that various changes in size and proportion of parts, as well as the substitution of equivalents may be made witliout departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

'1. That method of weaving textile fabric having a series of recurrent attern repeats which comprises as steps weaving a predetermined number of complete repeats. then weaving in succession thereto a series of short sections each of the samenumber of picks withthe same pattern reversed and in tile normal direction, alternately, the first such section having: the pattern reversed and the last such section having the pattern in norjinal directi0n,"and then weaving anew series (if recurrent pattern repeats.

2. That method of -weaving textile fabric having a series of recurrent pattern repeats which comprises as steps weaving a predetermined number "of complete repeats, then weavinginfa sniallnumber of picks with the pattern reve rl d,;the same numberof picks the forward direction, the same number redetermined length of waste material has been woven, and then proceeding to weave another series of pattern repeats in orderly fashion.

3. That method of weaving textile fabric having a series of recurrent pattern repeats which comprises as steps weaving a predetermined number of complete repeats, then weaving groups of four piclrs each with the pattern reversed and in normal direction e1- ternately until a predetermined length of waste material has been woven.

i. That method of weaving by the use of pattern elements in series which comprises as steps weaving in succession a series of lengths of fabric each embodying a complete pattern repeat, and thercaftc' alternately moving a selected nu 'ibcr, substantially less than the full number, of the pattern elements en'iployed in formin said pattern first forwardly and then rearwardly a plurality of times whereby to form successive short sections of waste fabric in which the same pattern extends in normal forward direction and in rev ase direction respectively.

5. That method of weaving by the use of warp shedding pattern elements in series which comprises as steps weaving in succession a series of lengths of fabric each embodying a complete pattern repeat, and thereafter alternately moving a relatively small number of the elements employed in forming said pattern forwardly'and then rearwardly a plurality of times while weaving a predetermined length of waste fabric, and in immediate succession thereto moving the entire series of pattern elements fo'rwart 1y while weaving a full pattern repeat.

6. Apparatus of the class described comprising means for weaving in succ ion a seriesof lengths of fabric, each length. unhodying the complete'normal pattern which the apparatus is designed to produce, and means for causing the weaving means, at the end of a selected length, to weave a short'section of waste material consisting of a series of groups of picks, ach of the number; with the pattern reversed in alternate groups.

7. Apparatus of the class described comprising means for w ng in succession a series of lengths of fabric, each embodying the complete normal pattern which the apparatus is designed to produce, and lllQUlSfOi causing the weaving means, at the end of a selected length, to weave four picks forming a portion of the pattern reversed, then four picks with the pattern in normal direction, then four picks reversed, and so on in alternation until a predetermined length of abnormal waste fabric has been woven.

8. Apparatus of the class described comprising means for weaving in succession a series of lengths of material, each leu th cinbodying the complete normal pattern which the apparatus is designed to produce, and means for causing the weaving means, at the end of a selected length, to weave a series of successiveshort lengths of wast fabric in which a portion of the same pattern extends alternatelyin normal direction and in reverse direction, respectively, and thereafter to resume normal weaving of recurrent complete pattern repeats.

9. Apparatus of the class described comprising means for weaving in succession a series of lengths of material, each length embodying the complete normal pattern which the apparatus is designed to produce, and for causing the weaving means, at the end of a selected length, recurrently to weave a predetermined number of waste picks with the same pattern in normal forward direction and alternately the same number of picks in the reverse direction, and at the end of a predetermined number of such alternations to cease interfering with the normal operation of the pattern means. i

10. Apparatus of the class described for use with a loom having weaving instrumentalities and means for actuating them, pattern means for controlling them, and means normally operative to drive the pattern means in a forward direction whereby to weave a series of full pattern repeats, said apparatus comprising means for temporarily taking con trol of the pattern means and for moving it alternately forward and backward a series of times while weaving a section of fabric less in length thana full pattern repeat. 11. Apparatus of the class described for use with a loom having weaving instrumentalities and means for actuating them, pattern means for controlling them, and means normally operative to drive the pattern means in a forward direction whereby to weave a series of full pattern repeats, said apparatus comprising means for driving the pattern means in reverse direction, control means for causing the forward and reverse drive means to act alternately while weavingia series of short len ths of fabric, and timing means for throwing the control means out of action at the endofa predetermined period of operation. I i y i I 12. Apparatus of the class described for use with a loom having weaving instrumentalities and means for actuating them, pattern means for controlling them, and means normally operative to drive the pattern means in a normal forward. direction whereby to weave a seriesof full pattern repeats, said apparatus comprising means for driving the pattern means in reverse direction, control means including a cam for selectively determining the operation of the forward and reverse drive means, a pawl for moving the cam whereby alternately to cause the forward and reverse drivemeans to act, and timing means for rendering the pawl inoperative at the end of a predetermined period of operation.

Apparatus of the class described for use with a loom having weaving lllSil'lIln-1ltalities and means for actuating them, pattern means for controlling them, a driving pawl normally operative to move the pattern means step by step in a forward direction, said apparatus comprising means for moving the pattern means step by step in a reverse direction, a cam adapted to cause the forward and reverse drive means alternately to operate, a ratchet wheel for driving the cam, a pawl for moving the ratchet wheel step by step, and timing means for determining the length of the period of operation of the pawl.

i l. Apparatus of the class describedfor use with a loom having weaving instrumentalities and means for actuating them, pattern means for controlling them, and means normally operative to drive thepattern means in a forward direction whereby to weave a series of full pattern repeats, said apparatus comprising means for driving the pattern in reverse direction, manually actuable control means for causingthe forward and reverse drive means to act alternately while weaving a like number of picks, and timing means for throwing the control means out of'operation at the end of a predetermined series of reversals.

15. Apparatus of the class described for use with a loom having weaving instrumentalities and means for actuating them, pattern means for controlling them, and means normally operative to drive the pattern means in a forward direction whereby to weave normal pattern repeats, said apparatus comprising means for driving thepattern; means in reverse direction, control means for causing the forward and reverse drive means to act alternately while weaving a like number of picks, a latch to maintain the control means in operation, and timing means operative after a predetermined series of reversals, to release the latch and thereby permit the control means to cease its function.

16. An attachment for controlling a jacquard mechanism having means normally operative to move a series of pattern cards forward step by step, said-attachment compris ing reverse drive means, a normally stationary cam having high and low parts adapted to determine alternatingperiods of operation of the forward and reverse drive means respectively, a ratchet wheel for turning the .cam, the number of teeth of the wheel being an even multiple of the sum of the high and low parts of the cam, a normally inactive pawl for actuating the ratchet wheel and means for initiating effective movement of the pawl to turn the ratchet wheel.

17. An attachment for controlling a jacquard mechanism-having means normally. operative to move a series of pattern cards forward step by step, said attachment comprising reverse drive means, a normally stationary' rotary cam having high and low lie parts each of substantially equal extent adapted to determine alternate periods of operation of the forward and reverse drive means respectively, a ratchet wheel for driving thecam, the ratchet wieel having an even number of teeth, means for actuating the ratchet, and means operative after a predetermined number of revolutions of the cam to disengage the pawl from the ratchet wheel.

18. Apparatus of the class described for use with a loom having weaving instrumentalities and means for actuating them, pattern means for controlling them, a driving pawl norn'ially operative to move the pattern means step by step in a forward direc tion, said apparatus comprising means for moving the pattern means step by step in a reverse direction, a normally stationary cam adapted, when moved, to cause the forward and reverse drive means alternately to 0p erate, a ratchet wheel for driving the cam, a pawl for moving the ratchet wheel step by step, a pawl controller operative to hold the pawl out of action during normal weav ing, means for moving the pawl controller to inactive position to permit the pawl to operate the ratchet wheel and for temporarily holding the controller in inactive position, and timing means operative to permit the pawl controller to return to normal operative position at the end of a predetermined period.

19. Apparatus of the class described for use with a loom having weaving instrumentalities and means for actuating them, pattern means for cont-rolling them, a driving pawl normally operative to move the pattern means step by step in a forward direction, said apparatus comprising means for moving the pattern means step by step in a reverse direction, a normally stationary cam adapted, when moved, to cause the forward and reverse drive means alternately to operate, a ratchet wheel for driving the cam, a pawl for moving the ratchet wheel step by step, a pawl controller normally operative to hold the pawl out of action during normal weaving, means for moving the pawl controller to inactive position to permit the pawl to operate the ratchet wheel, a latch for temporarily holding the controller in inactive position, and timing means for releasing the latch.

20. An attachment for controlling a jacquard mechanism having means normally operative to move a serles of pattern cards for ard step by step, said attachment comprising reverse drive means, a normally stationary cam adapted, when moved, to cause the forward and reverse drive means alternately to actuate the cards, and means for turning the cam and for stopping it after a plurality of revolutions.

' 21. An attachment for controlling a jacquard mechanism having means normally operative to move a series of pattern cards forward step by step, said attachment comprising reverse drive means, a normally stationary cam adapted when moved to cause alternate operation of the forward and reverse drive means, means for advancing the cam step by step, and retaining means for holding the cam stationary during the intervals between successive advances thereof.

22. An attachment for controlling a jacquard mechanism having means normally operative to move a series of pattern cards forward step by step, said attachment comprising reverse drive means, a normally sta tionary cam adapted to be rotated and thereby to cause alternate operation of the for ward and reverse drive means, pawl and ratchet means for turning the cam step by step, and detent means for preventing reverse movement of the cam when the pawl is retracted.

23. Apparatus for use with a loom having weaving instrumentalities and means for actuating them, pattern means for controlling them, a driving pawl normally operative to move the pattern means step by step in a forward direction, said apparatus comprising means for moving the pattern means step by step in a reverse direction, a cam adapted to cause the forward and reverse means alternately to operate, a ratchet wheel for driving the cam, a pawl for moving the ratchet wheel step by step, a latch for temporarily holding the controller in inactive position, a ratchet wheel, a pawl operative at each shift from reverse to forward drive to advance the ratchet wheel, and a latch releasing pin carried by the ratchet wheel and adapted to release the latch at the end of a predetermined arc of movement of the wheel.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts, this sixteenth day of November, 1928.

GEORGE H. PERKINS.

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