US22065A - Power-loom - Google Patents

Description

JOHN GRAVSHAV, OF ROCHESTER, NEXV YORK.

POWER-LOOM.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 22,065, dated November 16, 1858..

To all 'whom it 'may concern.:

Be it known that I, JOHN CRAwsHaw, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Power- Looms; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a vertical section of a powerloom, in a plane parallel with the warp. Fig. 2 is a back elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of a portion of the same.

Similar letters of reference denote like parts in the three figures.

This invention consists, firstly, in certain means of controlling the take-up motion of a power-loom, whereby its operation is rendered perfectly uniform.

It consists, secondly, in certain means of governing the let-off motion, whereby the amount of let-off is caused to be always in proportion to the amount of the take-up.

-To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A, is the framing of the loom; B, the crank shaft; C, C, the cranks; D, the lay; E, the connecting rods connecting the cranks with the lay to drive it; F, the breast beam; Gr, the yarn beam; and H, the cloth beam. All the above parts are constructed and arranged in a well-known or usual manner, as will be understood by a reference to the drawings.

The cloth beam H, which is furnished with journals fitted to rotate in stationary bearings in front of the framing, is furnished at one end with a spur gear a, which gears with a pinion b, that is fitted to turn on a fixed stud c, secured in the side of the framing. The pinion 5, has secured to it a ratchet wheel cl, which is engaged by a spring pawl d', secured to the front of the framing; and the stud c has fitted to it, and constitutes the fulcrum of, a lever e, g, one arm e, of which carries a pawl f, engaging with said ratchet wheel; and the other arm g, which is bent, has connected with it the upper end of a spiral spring h, the lower end of which connects with the nearly horizontal arm 2', of a right angled lever z', j, 7c, whose nearly vertical arm j, is caused by said spring always to press against the back of the cloth beam in contact with the cloth thereon, The lever 2', j, 71:, is made with its fulcrum 7c, in the form of a rockshaft which is fitted to work in bearings Z, Z, attached to the lower front rail of the framing, in order that while the arm e', is at or near the side of the loom, the arm j, may bear upon the cloth-beam near the middle of its length, as shown in Fig. 3. The tension of the spring l1, acts upon the lever g, with a tendency to press pawl f, against the faces of the teeth of the ratchet wheel d, and hence to turn the ratchet wheel in the direction of the black arrow shown upon it in Fig. l, and thus cause the cloth beam to turn in the direction of the black arrow shown upon it in the same figure, and take up the cloth; but to perform the take-up, it is necessary that the pawl should pass over one or more teeth of the ratchet, and this movement of the pawl is effected by means of the action upon the lever e, g, of a stud or antifriction roller m, attached to one of the swords of the lay. The above movement of the lever e, g, effected by the stud or roller m, would be greater or less, even to its total suspension, according as the tension of the cloth is less or greater; as said tension acting to press the ratchet back against the pawl j', tends to depress the arm c, and raise the arm g, of the lever e, g; and the higher the said arm is raised, the less action will the stud or roller have upon it; and so long as there is a sufficient tension on the cloth, it is not necessary that the stud or roller shall strike the lever at all. The cloth beam is held while the pawl moves back over the teeth of the ratchet, by the engagement of the pawl fl, with the ratchet-wheel CZ.

Tt must be observed that as the quantity of cloth on the cloth beam increases, a given degree of tensionowing to the increasing distance of the cloth from the center of the roller-has a stronger effect in forcing the ratchet teeth back against the pawl, and raising the arm g, of the lever e, g; and hence, in order that the take-up may be uniform, the tension of the spring It, should be increased as the quantity of cloth on the beam increases.' The lever fi, j, effects such increase of tension, for as the arm j, of said lever is forced back by the increase of cloth on the beam, the arm z', to which said spring is attached is depressed. The increase of tension of the spring also produces a corresponding and necessary increase of friction of the arm j, of the lever upon the cloth beam, and hence the action of the take-up must be uniform; it being governed entirely by the tension of the cloth and warp. The pawl d', must be elastic enough to permit the action above described. The tension of the warp may be adjusted to make the take-up motion operate faster or slower by shifting' the connection of the spring farther along the arm e, of the lever e, g.

The yarn beam Gr, has secured to either or each end a drum n, over which passes a friction strap o, one end of which is secured to the framing' and the other to a weighted lever 79, which hangs on a fulcrum p, secured in the frame, and is arranged parallel with the back of the loom. The drawing shows a drum, friction strap, and weighted level' at each end of the yarn beam; as I propose to apply them at each end, to all looms for weaving wide fabrics, though it it sufficient to apply them to one end only of a loom for weaving narrow goods. The weights s, s, which act upon the levers p, p, are not suspended directly from the levers, but are attached each to one of two other levers q, q, whose fulcrum is a long screw r, which has journals at its extremities fitted to turn in bearings in the ends of the loom frame; said levers p, p, passing through holes in t-he other levers, g, Q One half the length of the screw r, has a right-handed and the other half a left-handed thread; and the levers g, g, are tapped to fit the said screw one to the right-handed and the other to the left-handed portion, so that by the revolution of said screw in the proper direction indicated by the arrow sho-wn near it in Fig. 1, both arms may be moved together toward the sides of the loom and thus caused to carry the weights s, s, nearer to the fulcra of the levers j), y), and hence reduce their effect on the friction straps o, 0. The screw has secured to it near one end a ratchet wheel t, in which works a pawl fv, attached by a pivot to an arm a, which is secured rigidly to and hangs below what I call a rock-beam, which is a square beam I, occupying the position occupied in other looms by what is called the whip roll, and furnished at its ends with journals ae, x, fitting' to bearings in the sides of the framing'. The arm u, has a spring w, applied, which pulls it forward and applies force to the pawl o, in a direction to turn the ratchet wheel in the direction indicated by the arrow last mentioned, and this spring' at the same time exerts a tendency to hold back the top of the rock-beam against the tension of the yarn which passing over it from the yarn beam in the manner represented in red color in Fig. l, tends to draw it forward.

The let-off motion is controlled so as to correspond with the take-up motion by the friction of the bands o, 0, upon the drums n, n, which are properly adjusted at starting' by bringing the weighted levers Q, g, near to or at a suitable distance from the middle of the length of the screw r. The beating-up of the lay produces a vibrating motion of the rock-beam, and when the tension of the warp between the rock-beam and the filling point at the time the lay strikes the filling, reaches a certain point, the rockbeam carries its arm u, so far back that the pawl o, passes over av tooth of the ratchet wheel; and when the lay comes back, the pull on the rock-beam being reduced, the spring fw, is permitted to pull forward the arm u, and cause the pawl o, to move the ratchet wheel, thus turning the screw in the levers Q, g, and drawing' said levers nearer to the sides of the loom and to the fulcra of the levers p, p, and reducing the effect of the weights s, s, on the friction straps o, 0. As the operation of weaving proceeds, the above operation is repeated at short inter" vals of time; and by that means as the quantity of yarn on the yarn beam is reduced, and the tension on the yarn beam is less effective in turning the said beam, the friction of the bands o, o, .is constantly reduced, and if the weights and levers are properly proportioned, the said reduction in friction will be precisely in proportion to the capacity of the tension on the yarn to turn the yarn beam and effect the letting-off.

I do not claim operating the take-up motion by means of a pawl attached to a. lever operated upon by a stud or roller attached to the lay. Nor do I claim reducing the friction on the yarn beam as the quantity of yarn upon it is reduced, by the use of weights traveling along levers connected with the friction straps. But

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The lever z', j, 7c, applied in combination with the cloth roll and with the spring 7L, of the take-up lever, to operate substantially as herein described for the purpose herein set forth.

2. The rock beam I, its arm u, and pawl fu, applied in combination with the ratchet wheel t, screw r, and lever or levers g, g, and weight or weights s, substantially as herein described, to move said weights toward the fulcra of the friction strap levers 7;, j?, as the quantity of yarn on the yarn beam is reduced.

JOHN CRAIVSHAIV. Witnesses:

JN0. C. CHUMAsEno, FRED. DE LAND.

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