US2042307A - Loom shuttle structure - Google Patents

Description

w. HAM PSON 2,042,307

LOOM SHUTTLE STRUCTURE May 26, 1936.

Filed April 13, .1934

IIII'IIWHWWIJIWIIIInummmnnmmummmmug by La 5 1 Patented May 26, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE LooM SHUTTLE STRUCTURE Application April 13, 1934, Serial No. 720,412

4 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved loom shuttle structure, and more particularly to a tension means therefor which is adapted to provide a uniform tension upon the thread and prevent inequalities in the woven fabric due either toexcessive slackness or undue tension on the thread.

In the formation of woven fabrics, and more particularly those formed from silk, rayon or other fine threads, the tension devices now in use fail to apply a constantly uniform tension to the thread with the result that the thread is f requently drawn from the bobbin, or other carrier, more rapidly than it is laid into the formed fabric. This 7 results in the overrunning of the thread from the carrier and the formation of loops in the fabric material. If the tension is increased to overcome this difiiculty, there is a tendency to apply excessive tension at intervals, causing the thread to be stretched unduly as it is laid in the fabric and produce spots known as shiners. In the use of the usual tensioning mechanisms now employed such undue slackness and tenseness of the thread may occur with considerable frequency causing more or less serious imperfections in the woven material.

One object of the present invention is to provide a tension means which will reduce largely or eliminate entirely both excessive slackness and undue tenseness of the thread as it enters the weave, thus overcoming the production of such defects as those above mentioned.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an auxiliary tension means adapted for 7 use in connection with any one of a variety of take-up tension mechanisms for equalizing the tension on the thread and insuring a uniformly tensioned supply of thread for the weave.

A further object of the invention isthe provision of a tensioning means of the character described provided with an auxiliary tension member located between the take-up tension means and the thread carrier to insure a substantially even and uniform feed of the thread and cause the same to be supplied to the weave under a substantially even and. uniform degree of tension.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an auxiliary tension element provided with a resiliently actuated presser member adapted to contact with a portion of .the thread to straighten the thread and equalize the feed to the weave.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an auxiliary tension mechanismadapted to retard the movement of the thread to the take-up tension means and thus eliminate variations in tension upon the thread as it passes into the fabric.

' Other objects and advantages of the invention relate'to various improved elements and combina 50' tions of elements as well as novel combinations and arrangements of the parts as will be more fully set forth in the detailed description as follows.

Referring to the drawing:

Fig. 1 isa top plan view of a portion. of a shuttle 5 of a type commonly employed in the weaving of silk, rayon and other light threads.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevational View of the front end portion of the shuttle shown in F 10 Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional View, taken through the front end of the shuttle body, and showing one arrangement of tensioning means comprising a take-up tension means and auxiliary tension member in their operative relations 15 with each other and with the thread as it passes from the thread carrier,

' Fig. 4 is an enlarged side elevational View of the auxiliary tension member substantially as it appears when viewed from the right in Fig. 3, 20

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional View of the auxiliary tension member, taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4,

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional View of the auxiliary tension member, taken substantially along 25 the line ,6-5 of Fig. 5, and, I

Fig. '7 is an end View of the auxiliary tension member, taken looking upwardly at the structure as shown in Fig. 4.

In, the embodiment of the invention illus- 3Qv trated herewith, l designates a loom shuttle of a, type in common use provided with a bobbin or thread carrier recess 2 in which may be positioned a spindle 3 for supporting a cop or bobbin 4 having a supply of thread 5 wound thereon to 35v serve as the weft thread in the formation of a woven fabric. A short strip or strips of fur 6 may be secured within the recess 2 and so positioned as to engage a portion of the cop or bobbin 4 to serve as a drag and retard to some extent a too free movement of the thread from the cop or bobbin 4. It is to be noted, however, that the amount and extent of the retarding fur as employed in the present construction, is materially less than that usually required in devices of this 45 character by reason of the equalizing tendency of the auxiliary tension member.

The shuttle l is cut away to provide a tension chamber 8, spaced from the carrier recess 2, and a thread delivery eye 9 is positioned between and 50 serves to guide the thread or yarn from the carrier 4 to a take-up tension means located within the chamber 8.

The take-up tension means may be of any suitable or desired construction and, in the present 55 illustrated embodiment, comprises a resiliently held arm 10 provided with two'or more thread receiving loops I I. The arm 10 is pivotally mounted upon'a post I2 and normally urged towards its retracted position, as shown in full lines in Fig. 3, by means of a spring or other resilient member l4, which has one end attached to the arm l8 as indicated at l5, and the opposite end thereof secured to a post IS.

A plurality of tension pins H are mounted within the chamber 8 and so arranged as to be located substantially within a common plane which is approximately parallel with the position of the arm ||l when the arm is turned to the limit of its movement about the post |2, as is indicated in dotted lines on Fig. 3 of the drawing. The loops I I carried by the arm H! are so arranged upon the arm as to be alternately positioned with reference to and project beyond the tension pins 1 when the arm is turned into its dotted line position, as seen in Fig. 3 of the drawing.

A guide or supporting pin I8 is located in offset relation to the plane of the tension pins and outwardly therefrom towards the thread discharge opening |9 of the chamber 8. The above described resiliently mounted arm, tension pins and associated parts are referred to herein as a take-up tension means, since they cooperate to provide one form of take-up tension mechanism of a type now in common use for the purpose of applying take-up tension to a weft thread in a loom shuttle of this character.

As herein above described, the various take-up tension means of this general character, when used alone, fail to exercise such complete control over the yarn or thread as to prevent the same from overrunning and whipping off the bobbin whereby insufficient tension is applied to the thread as it passes into the fabric, and if the drag on the thread is increased to such an extent as to overcome this defect the thread frequently fails to feed with sufficient rapidity and excessive tension is applied.

in order to obtain the desired uniformity and evenness of tension upon the thread, and at the same time control its supply to the weave, an auxiliary tension element 28 is positioned within the tension chamber 8 and preferably located between the thread delivery eye 9 and the take-up tension means. In order to maintain the auxiliary tension member 20 properly positioned with reference to the thread delivery eyeand the takeup mechanism, as well as to permit its ready insertion within or removal from the chamber 8, registering grooves 2| and 22 are formed in the upper and lower faces of the chamber walls respectively which serve to provide a channel within which the auxiliary tension member 28 will fit substantially. A screw 24, or other fastening means, is employed to secure the auxiliary tension member 29 firmly in position within the opposed grooves 2| and 22.

The auxiliary tension member comprises a pair of stationary plates 25 and 21 mounted in spaced relation with each other, secured together by a connecting plate 28, and provided with a plurality of connecting posts 29. The plate 21 has its opposite side edges rounded or inclined, as at 38, for a purpose which will be more fully explained hereinafter. A presser plate 3| is mounted between the plates 26 and 21 and slidably supported by the posts 29 for movement towards and from the plate 21. The presser plate 3| is provided with substantially parallel rounded ribs 32 for engagement with the inner or contact face of the plate 21, inclined portions 33 extending outwardly from each rib 32, and a side Wall portion 34 extending from each inclined portion 33 towards the plate 26 when the parts are in assembled position.

A shouldered adjusting screw 36 has an enlarged portion threaded through a locknut 31 and into the plate 26, and a reduced portion 38 extending towards the plate 21 and adapted to projected through an opening 39 formed in the presser plate 3|.

A coiled spring 40 is mounted upon the reduced portion of the adjusting screw and is adapted to bear against the adjacent face of the presser plate 3| for applying tension to the presser plate. The opening 39 formed in the presser plate is of such size as to admit the reduced portion 38 of the adjusting screw and permit a limited degree of angular movement of the presser plate relative thereto while the spring 40 bears against the presser plate and forces it towards the stationary plate 21. The openings formed in the presser plate 3| for receiving the posts 29 are sufficiently large to permit a slight rocking movement of the presser plate in a direction transversely of the parallel ribs 32, so as to allow a slight tilting movement of the presser plate 3| relative to the stationary plate 21, as indicated in Fig. 7 of the drawing.

It will be seen upon reference to Fig. 3 of the drawing, that the pivoted tension arm l9 and aligned tension pins H are so arranged relative to each other and the auxiliary tension member The rounded or beveled edges 30 of the plate 21 and the inclined portions 33 of the presser plate 3| cooperate to provide means for guiding a threading hook between the plates 21 and 3| for passage through the thread delivery eye 9 in drawing the thread through the tensioning means initially, and these parts also serve to provide means for permitting the passage of knots or other slight enlargements formed in the thread between the plates 3| and 21 without causingbreakage of the thread and without relaxation of the tension. The side wall portions 34 of the presser plate serve both to limit its movement towards the stationary plate 26 and to protect the coiled spring 49 against injury, such as from the threading hook employed in drawing the thread through the tension mechanism.

By extending the side walls 34 of the presser plate to a point adjacent to the plate 26, the presser plate 3| is prevented from being forced too far from the plate 21, and the desired slight rocking or tilting of the plate 3| .in a direction transversely of the ribs 32 is insured without danger of the presser plate being caught or hung up on the posts 29 as it tilts. By reason of the tilting action of the presser plate, a substantially uniform tension is applied to the thread at all times, since, for example, when a knot or other enlarged portion of'the thread is passing under one rib 32 the presser plate tilts so that the other rib 32 is applying tension to the thread.

When the auxiliary tension member is positioned within the chamber 8 the adjusting screw 36 is located outwardly thereof towards thechamber opening, whereby necessary adjustments in the tension may be made without removing the auxiliary tension member.

In passing the thread through the various tension means initially to thread the shuttle, the arm I0 is turned into its dotted line position, as shown in Fig. 3, and a threading hook is then passed through the loops l I, between the presser plate 3| and stationary plate 21 of the auxiliary tension member, and then through the thread delivery eye 9 to engage the thread 5 and draw it into threaded position between the presser plate 3| and the stationary plate 21 and through the loops ll outwardly of the tension pins [1. The threading of the entire tension mechanism is therefore accomplished in a single operation.

It will be noted that by positioning the auxiliary tension member between the take-up tension and the thread delivery eye, the auxiliary tension member acts as an equalizer on the thread to check the slack caused by whipping of the thread off the bobbin and thus permit the takeup tension to take up the slack of the thread in the shed of the loom instead of taking up the slack of the thread from the bobbin or thread carrier. The location of the auxiliary tension member is such as to permit its ready insertion or the removal from the grooves 2| and 22 where it is held in place by the holding screw 24.

It will be understood that through the use of the auxiliary tension member a very loose winding may be employed upon the cop or bobbin since the overrunning tendency of the thread is substantially entirely eliminated, and that a considerably less degree of drag, such as is usually accomplished by placing large quantities of fur in the carrier recess, is necessary upon the thread as it comes from the bobbin since the pull on the thread due to the movement of the shuttle is rendered more uniform.

The auxiliary tension member may be employed with any type of thread and readily adjusted to equalize the tension, and at the same time the provision of the parallel ribs 32 bearing against the contact surface of the plate 21 serves to remove to a considerable degree any bends which may be present in the thread, while at the same time permitting the passage of knots or other enlarged portions without breakage of the thread or the application of excessive tension.

What I claim is:

1. In a device of the character described, a thread tension means comprising a fixed plate member having a uniform thread engaging surface and a movable member provided with projecting thread engaging surfaces spaced from each other longitudinally of the direction of travel of the thread for engagement with the thread at spaced points longitudinally of the thread as the thread is passed between said members, spaced means supporting said movable member for bodily movement towards and from said fixed member or limited rocking movement relative thereto in a plane located at substantially right angles with the thread engaging surface of the fixed member and in the direction of the path of travel of the thread, means resiliently engaging said movable member to force the same towards said fixed plate member and into yielding engagement with the thread, and means independent of said spaced supporting means for supporting said resilient means in operative position relative to said movable member.

2. In a loom shuttle, a thread tension means comprising a stationary plate member having a substantially uniform thread engaging surface angularly positioned relative to the axis of the thread carrying member, a movable member mounted for movement towards and from the thread engaging surface of said stationary member and rocking movement in a definite fixed plane relative thereto, said movable member being provided with ribs located in opposed relation with the thread engaging surface of said stationary member and spaced from each other in the direction of the path of travel of the thread, plural means for guiding said movable member in its movement towards and from the stationary member and for limiting the extent of its rocking movement relative thereto, means yieldably urging said movable member towards said stationary member, and means independent of said movable member guiding means supporting said resilient means in position for its operative engagement with said movable member at a point intermediate of said ribs.

3. In a thread tension device, a stationary member provided with a uniform thread contact surface, a movable member provided with spaced contact portions located in opposed relation with the contact surface of said stationary member and spaced from each other in a direction 1ongitudinally of the path of travel of the thread across the contact surface of the stationary member, a plurality of guide means for said movable member permitting straight line rectilinear movement of said movable member towards and from said stationary member and rocking movement of the same only in a direction substantially parallel with the path of travel of the thread, resilient means urging said movable member towards the contact surface of said stationary member, and supporting means for said resilient means so positioned as torender the resilient means effective upon the movable member at a point substantially midway between the contact portions of said movable member.

4. In a loom shuttle structure, a thread carriermember, a thread delivery eye having its axis substantially parallel with the axis of said thread carrier member, a tension chamber located outwardly of the thread delivery eye and provided with a tension member receiving channel located angularly with relation-to the axis of said thread delivery eye, a thread tensioning member positioned within said channel and provided with a stationary contact plate and a movable contact plate located in opposed relation with each other for receiving therebetween a thread from said thread delivery eye, the thread engaging surface of said stationary contact plate being angularly positioned relative to the axis of said thread delivery eye, a take-up means located in said tension chamber and operable independently of said tension means and so positioned that in the threading position of its parts the thread received therein will be located at an angle to the axis of the thread eye and substantially within the plane of the thread receiving surface of said stationary contact plate, whereby threading of the separate tensioning means may be effected at a single operation, and resilient means urging said movable contact plate towards said fixed contact plate to impart tension to the thread.

WALTER HAMPSON.

Images