US2082926A - Shuttle box control for shuttle changing looms - Google Patents

Description

. I, B M v a 4 Attorney June 8, 1937. w WAT-HE SHUTTLE BOX CONTROL FOR SHUTTLE CHANGING LOOMS Filed Jan. 15, 1936 s Sheets-Sheet 1 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inv r Att y June 8, 1937. w; M. WATTlE SHUTTLE BOX CONTROL FOR SHUTTLE CHANGING LOOMS Filed Jan. 15, 1936 June 8, 1937. w. M. WATTIE SHUTTLE BOX CONTROL FOR-SHUTTLE CHANGING YLOOMS Filed Jan. 15, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 v Kw? Patented June 8, 1937 UNITED I STATES SHUTTLE BOX CONTROL FOR SHUTTLE CHANGING LOOMS William M. Wattie, Worcester, Mass, assignor to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application January 15, 1936, Serial No. 59,258

9 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in shuttle changing looms and it is the general object of the invention to make provision for increased certainty in the passage of the reserve shuttle from the magazine to the lay.

In that type of shuttle changer wherein shifting shuttle boxes are located at the magazine end of the loom, one box to be raised to receive a shuttle while a box thereunder receives the spent shuttle, it has been customary to use a cover for the upper box which is lifted to permit the incoming reserve shuttle to pass into the upper box. The mechanism for operating the cover has included a cam fixed to some part of the magazine structure and I have found that in certain instances the blow which the cam receives incident to raising of the cover causes undesirable jarring and vibration of the magazine which occurs when the reserve shuttle is in motion. It is accordingly an important object of my present invention to locate the cam where it can cause no disturbance to the incoming reserve shuttle, such for instance, as on the lay. y

In these previous constructions the cam has heldthe cover raised during the period of time in which the reserve shuttle passes from the magazine into the top box, and lowering of the shuttle box has been necessary to permit the cover to descend. During the down motion of the box .30 there is a tendency for the new shuttle to hesitate,

since its rear wall slides along the lay end which forms the box back. It is a further object of my present invention to provide a cam so constructed as to release the cover while the box is still in its highest position for the purpose of exerting a downward pressure on the shuttle before the box starts down. In this way more assurance is given that the incoming shuttlewill' be properly located in its shuttle box and ready for picking.

It is a more specific object of my present invention to provide a pivoted cam movable about an axis supported by the lay and restrained against motion in onedirection to be effective to lift and release the cover before the boxes complete their up motion, the cam moving about its pivot away from the stop in order to prevent damage as the boxes and cover descend.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of my invention is set forth, Fig. 1 is an end elevation of parts of a loom made according to my present invention, the lay and shuttle box being shown in section with the shuttle box in normal down position,

Fig. 2 is a view on a smaller scale of the upper part of Fig. 1, the structure of the magazine being shown in more detail, a

Fig. 3 is a plan view looking in the direction of arrow 3, Fig. 2,

Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 are diagrammatic views show ing the parts in the different positions they assume during a shuttle changing operation, and

Fig. 8 is a detail front elevation taken in the direction of arrow 8, Fig. 3.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the loom frame [0 supports a relatively large bracket ll having a foot l2 bolted to the loom frame. A plate IS on the bracket extends laterally from the loom frame and constitutes the main support for the magazine, having secured thereto a pair of stands M to support a rod l5. Ears IS on each bracket have adjusting screws I! by means of which the stands M can be adjusted vertically with respect to the bracket l I, bolts 18 fastening the stands [4 to the bracket.

The magazine M comprises front and rear plates 20 and 21, respectively, held together by bolts 22 to define a guideway for reserve shuttles S and the rear plate has hubs 23 through which the rod i5 passes, onlyone hub being shown in Fig. 2. By this construction the magazine is mounted for pivotal adjustment around rod [5 and is held partly by set screws one of which is shown at 24 and partly by a screw 25 the head of which is pivoted at 26 to the rear magazine plate. The screw 25 passes through the bracket I I and is held in adjusted position by lock nuts 21. By reason of the adjustment described it is possible to vary the point from which the reserve shuttles S are delivered from the bottom of the magazine relatively to the lay L. A platform 30 extendshorizontally under the stack of reserve shuttles and is secured to the rear magazine plate, supporting the bottom reserve shuttle, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. r

The magazine frame has a long hub 35 through which slides a plunger 36 having a head 31 which lies behind and extends around theends of the bottom reserve shuttle. The head 31 may be formed and operate as described in copending application Serial No. 689,209 urged rearwardly, or to the right as shown in Fig. 2, by a tension spring 38, the forward end of which is attached to said plunger and the rear end of which is held to fixed structure supported by the loom frame. An operating pin 39 extends laterally from the plunger and is received by the forked end 40 of a shuttle advancing lever 4|.

A support 42 is secured to the bracket H and has mounted in the lower end thereof a pivot pin 43 on which the lever 4| swings. The upper arm 44 of lever 4| carries a cam roll 45 to engage the face 46 of a cam 4T movable pivotally about a stud 48 also mounted in the bracket 42. An arm 49 extends upwardly from the cam and is pivotally connected to the upper end of an actuator rod 59.

The rod 50 has adjustable pivotal connection with the rear end of a normally stationary lever 55 movable about a fixed stud 56, see Fig. 1. The forward end of lever 55 supports a yieldable twopart link 5'! by means of a pin 58. The lower end of the link is connected to a box lifter rod 59.

A lifting dog 60 is pivotedas'at 6 I to a regularly rocking lever 62 also pivoted on stud 56 and carrying at its rear end an adjustably positioned roll 63 for engagement with a cam 64. The latter is secured to the bottomshaft 65 of the loom and rotates in the direction of arrow 11., Fig. 1. A ten- 5 sion spring 66 interposed between a finger 61 of lever 62 and a fixed part 68 of the loom holds roll 63against cam 64.

In normal loom operation lever 62 has a rising motion at the forward end thereof, to the left of Fig. 1, on those beats of the loom when the active shuttle is atthe opposite end of the loom from the magazine, but lever 55 remains down because dog 69 is held clear of lever 55 by a spring 69 interposed between the dog and lever 62. A connector 10 controlled by weft detector mechanism not shown is operative on shuttle changing beats of the loom to rock the dog 60 about its pivot so, that it will lie under a ledge 1 l' on lever 55, thus causing the box lifter rod 59 to rise when a shuttle change is called.

The lifter rod supports upper and lower shuttle boxes 15 and 16, respectively, which are normally down so that the upper box 15 is opposite the shuttle race TI to receive the active shuttle arriving from the opposite end of the loom. Curved shuttle supports 18 extend rearwardly from the lay and lie close to the platform.

, In the operation of the matter thus far described the plunger 36-is normally in rear position with the shuttle advancing head thereof close behind the bottom reserve shuttle of the magazine which'restsxon theplatform 30. On shuttle changing beats of the loom dog 69 will be rocked to raise the forward end of lever 55 as already described, causing two concurring results the first of which is to lower rod 50 and thereby rock cam 41 so that the incline face 46 thereof will oscillate lever 4i about pivot 43 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2 to move the plunger and therefore the head together with the reserve shuttle forwardly or to the left as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2. The extent of motion of the plunger is sufiicient to move the rear wall of the incoming reserve shuttle slightly in advance of the vertical roll whichforms the rear part of the shuttle boxes 15 and 16 andis carried by the lay. I

The second result attending oscillation of lever 55 is the raising of box l6'into alignment with the shuttle race H so that said lower box can receive the incoming depleted shuttle. The upper box 15 is simultaneously raised to a position closely adjacent the delivery mouth of the magazine to receive the incoming'reserve shuttle.

The matter thus far described of itself forms no part of my present invention, and reference may be had to Patents Nos. 1,753,233; 1,834,302; and copending application Serial No. 460,746 for a further understanding of the box motion and shuttle delivery mechanism.

In carrying my invention into effect I provide box 15 with a cover having aligned pivot studs 9! rotatable in bearings 89 on the shuttle box '55. A torsion spring 92 around one of the studs operates normally to hold the cover yieldingly down.

, An arm 93 extends upwardly from the cover as shown particularly in Figs. 1 and 2 and may have an offset end 94, see Fig. 8. The cover may be substantially the same as that shown in the aforesaid application Serial No. 460,746.

As previously stated the cover has heretofore been raised by a cam fixed to the magazine, but as set forth herein I provide a movable cam supported by the lay. Accordingly, a bracket 95 securedto the lay as shown in Fig. 1 extends upwardly and forwardly and has a stud 96 on which pivots a depending cam 91. A light tension spring 98 holds the cam against an adjusted stop screw 99 carried by the bracket 95. The cam has a thin wing I00 extending laterally therefrom and having a lower upwardly and forwardly inclined surface IUI which terminates in an upwardly extending dwell surface l92.. The surface I92 is short enough so that the stud 94 can rise thereabove during the latter part of the up motion of the boxes, and the wing 'is thin enough to permit the stud 94 to pass therebehind as the boxes descend.

During normal loom running the cam 91 will be held against the stop screw 99 by spring 98 and restrained against further rearward movement around pivot 96 by the stop screw. Since bracket 95 is fixed on the lay the axis of the cam is stationary relatively thereto so that as the boxes rise the lug 94 will engage and slide along inclined surface l0l to rock the cover about axis 9| in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2. When the lug 94 reaches the dwell I02 the cover is suificiently raised to permit the bottom reserve shuttle to pass thereunder. The cover is not raised so as to assume a truly vertical position but is somewhat inclined, the upper left corner of the incoming shuttle moving forwardly at the same time that the boxes rise, thereby permitting the cover while inclined with the lug 94 on dwell I92 to lie close to the shuttle. This is the position shown diagrammatically in Fig. 4.

As the boxes continue to rise the parts assume the position shown in Fig. 5, the lay moving rearwardly as indicated by the arrow b and the boxes continuing to rise as shown by arrow c.

. As the boxes reach the upper limit of their motion the lug 94 will pass over the top of the dwell I02, whereupon spring 92 will rock the cover in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 6, moving the cover downwardly toward the freshly inserted reserve shuttle. If the latter hesitates as it moves into the box 15 because of friction the cover will assist in properly seating it. This feature of a cover which is returned to normal position with respect to the shuttle box when the latter is fully raised is an important part of my present invention.

As the boxes descend as indicated by arrow (1, Fig. '7, with the lay moving forwardly as indicated by arrow e the lug 94 will descend behind the cam and engage the rear part of Wing I99, moving the latter away from the stop screw 99 against the action of spring 98 and around pivot 96, all as shown in Fig. '7, to prevent breakage of the engaging parts. As the boxes continue to descend the lug will move away from the cam and the latter will be returned to normal position by spring 98. l 7

It is to be understood that the boxes start to rise as the lay moves rearwar'olly toward the mag azine and are in highest position when the lay is in rearmost or back center position. The boxes remain raised until the depleted shuttle arriving from the opposite end enters lower box 16, after which the earn (it operates to lower the boxes so that the empty shuttle in box 16 can pass under the stationary binder H0 on the lay, said binder being shown in patent to Turner No. 1,597,124. The boxes will assume their normal position with the fresh reserve shuttle in box 15 aligned with the shuttle race in time for the next picking operation of the loom.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a simple means for permitting the cover of the box IE to return to its normal down position while the boxes are in high position relatively to the lay, this operation enabling the cover to assist in properly seating the reserve shuttle should the latter hesitate in its motion into the elevated box. It will further be seen that this result is accomplished by mounting the cam which operates the cover on the lay, thereby preventing any Vibration resulting from cover lifting operation from disturbing the reserve shuttle as it is moved forwardly by the plunger head. It will further be seen that the cam is pivoted and that the incline on the rear lower part of wing It"! is such as to tend further to turn the cover in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 6, for instance. Springs 92 for the cover and 98 for the cam add their effects to cause return of the cover.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a shuttle changing loom, a lay, a magazine to deliver a reserve shuttle, a shuttle box on the lay normally remote from the magazine, a cover for the shuttle box normally in box closing position, means to move the shuttle box toward the magazine on a shuttle changing beat of the loom, and mechanism mounted on the lay rendered operative solely by motion of the shuttle box relatively to the lay during the time that the shuttle box moves toward the magazine first to move the cover to box opening position to permit reception of a reserve shuttle from the magazine by the box and thereafter as the shuttle box continues to approach the magazine to move the cover to box closing position.

2. In a shuttle changing loom, a lay, a reserve shuttle magazine above the lay, a shuttle box on the lay normally in down position remote from the magazine, means to raise the box on a shuttle changing beat of the loom, a cover for the box normally in box closing position, mechanism mounted on the lay over the shuttle box and operative during the first part of the up motion of the box to move the cover to open position to render the box capable of receiving a reserve shuttle from the magazine, and means operative during the latter part of the up motion of the shuttle box to return the cover to normal closed position, the cover by its closing motion assisting in moving a reserve shuttle into the box, the motion of the cover being due solely to motion of the shuttle box relatively to the lay.

3. In a shuttle changing loom, a lay, a reserve shuttle magazine above the lay, a shuttle box on the lay normally in down position remote from the magazine, means to raise the box on a shuttle changing beat of the loom, a cover for the box normally in box closing position, mechanism mounted on the lay operative during the first part of the up motion of the box to move the cover to open position to render the box capable of receiving a reserve shuttle from the magazine, and return means operative during the latter part of the up motion of the shuttle box toreturn the cover to normal closed position, the cover by its closing motion assisting in moving a reserve shuttle into the box, said mechanism and return means being dependent for their operation solely on motion of the shuttle box.

4. In a shuttle changing loom, a lay movable back and forth therein, a magazine to deliver a reserve shuttle when the lay is at one extreme position of its movement, a shuttle box on the lay movable relatively to the latter toward the magazine to receive a reserve shuttle from said magazine, a cover for the shuttle box normally in down position, a cam on the lay, means to establish cooperative relation between the cam and cover when the box moves toward the magazine as the lay approaches said extreme position, the height of the cam being less than the distance the box moves toward the magazine after engagement between said cam and said last means to carry the latter above the cam, and means to return the cover to normal position when the box is in the upper part of its motion relatively to the lay, the motion of the cover being due solely to motion of the shuttle box relatively to the lay.

5. In a shuttle changing loom, a lay movable toward and from an extreme position, a reserve shuttle magazine located adjacent said extreme position of the lay to deliver a reserve shuttle, a shuttle box on the lay normally remote from the magazine, a cover for the shuttle box normally down, box lifting means to move said box relatively to the lay toward the magazine, and mechanism including a cam on the lay and a part carried by the cover to engage said cam rendered effective solely by rising motion of the box and operative during the time that the lay moves toward said extreme position first to raise the cover to afford a clear passage for a reserve shuttle into the shuttle box and thereafter lower said cover to the end that the latter will assist in placing the reserve shuttle into the shuttle box before the lay starts to move away from said extreme position.

6. In a shuttle changing loom, a lay movable toward and from an extreme position, a reserve shuttle magazine to deliver a shuttle adjacent said extreme position, a shuttle box on the lay normally in down position, a pivoted cam on the lay over the shuttle box, a cover for the box normally down, means to move the shuttle box toward the magazine and cam, a stop to limit pivotal movement of the cam in one direction, an element moving withthe cover and operative when the box is raised to engage one side of said cam to effect lifting of the cover during movement of the boxes toward the magazine, the means to move the boxes carrying the element above the cam, and return means thereafter operative to lower the cover to normal down position relatively to the shuttle box to engage a shuttle in the box and move said element down on the other side of the cam, the latter movable away from said stop as the shuttle box moves away from the magazine to permit return of the element to normal position, said element and return means dependent for their operation solely on motion of the shuttle box relatively to the lay.

'7. In a shuttle changing loom, a lay movable toward and from an extreme position, a magazine to deliver a reserve shuttle adjacent said position, a shuttle box on the lay normally remote from the magazine, box lifter means to move the box toward the magazine, a cover for the box normally in down position, an actuating arm movable with the cover, a camv pivoted to the lay above said arm, movement of the box toward the magazine by the box lifter means causing cooperative relation between the actuating arm and the cam due solely to up motion of the shuttle box, and said cam yielding on the down motion of the box to permit the actuating arm and cover when in normal position relatively 20 to the shuttle box to move downwardly.

8. In a shuttle changing loom, a lay movable toward and from an extreme position, a magazine to deliver a reserve shuttle adjacent said extreme position, a shuttle box normally remote 25 from the magazine and mounted on the lay, a

cover for said shuttle box normally in position to'resist movement of a shuttle into or out of the shuttle box, a cam pivoted to the lay above the cover, a cooperating arm on the cover for 30 engagement with the cam, said cam having a lower inclined surface and an upper dwell, box lifter means to move the box toward the magazine and effective to cause engagement between the actuator arm and the inclined surface to move the cover to abnormal position and thereafter when said arm engages a dwell to maintain said cover in abnormal position to permit entrance of a reserve shuttle into the box and then move said actuating arm above the cam, and means thereupon effective to move the cover to normal down position relatively to the shuttle box while the latter is in raised position.

9. In a shuttle changing loom, a lay, a magazine to deliver a reserve shuttle, a shuttle box on the lay normally remote from the magazine, box lifter means to move the box relatively to the lay by a given distance toward the magazine, a cover for the shuttle box normally closing said box, return means for the cover effective to move the latter toward normal position, and means on the lay rendered operative solely by motion of the shuttle box relatively to the lay during a space less than said given distance and terminating before the box has moved all of said distance to move the cover to open position, said return means efiective when the box is moving during the latter part of said given distance to return the cover to normal down position relatively to the box.

WILLIAM M. WATTIE.

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