US2222995A - Resetting mechanism for weft replenishing looms - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 26, 1940. TURNER 2,222,995

RESETTING MECHANISM FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS.

Filed Sept. 11, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR RICHARD $.Tunusk Ndv. 26, 1940. TURNER 2,222,993

RESETTING MECHANISM FOR WEFT REPLENISHING'LOOMS Filed Sept. 11, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG i u INVENTOR RlcHARp G TURNR ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 26, 1940 UNITED STATES RESETTING MECHANISM FOR WEFT REPLENISHING ooMs Richard G. Turner, Worcester, Mass., assignor to Grompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass, a. corporation of Massachusetts Application September 11, 1939, Serial No. 294,313 I 5 Claims. (Cl. 139-231) This invention relates to improvements in resetting mechanism for weft replenishing looms and it is the general object of the invention to cancel an initiated. replenishing operation when the loom stops because of weft failure.

In the usual weft replenishing loom there will be some part which-is moved from its normal position to an abnormal or indicating position when the weft detector initiates or callsfor a replenishing operation by indicating exhaustion of weft in the weaving shuttle. When this part, which may be termed a. controller, is in its abnormal or indicating position replenishment by an automatic actionof the loom, or at least an attempt at replenishment, will be a neces-.

sary result ofv continued loom operation.

If the filling breaks or becomes exhausted in the interval between indication of Weft exhaustion by the detector and a replenishing operation -the loom will stop with the controller in indicating position. Under these conditions it is common practice for the Weaver to remove the broken pick of filling and also place a. fresh supply of weft in the shuttle, thereby making an automatic replenishment not only unnecessary but undesirable. Upon. resumption of weaving, however, the controller which is stillbeing in indicating position-will cause an automatic replenishment of. weft and the fresh supply placed into the shuttle manually by the weaver will be discarded. The supply of weft thus discarded may be injured by its contact with the bobbin can if the loom be the bobbin changing type, but in any event it must again be handled before it can enter into active weaving.

It is an important object of my present invention to prevent the discarding of the manually replenished weft by cancelling an initiated transfer should the loom be stopped by the weft fork while the controller is in indicating position.

The control for accomplishingthis result is derived from the weft stop motion and acts to return the controller to its normal non-indicating position whenever the loom is stopped by weft failure. In this way the automatic replenishment is cancelled and the manually replenished weft remains in action.

The. general features ofmy invention are applicable to bobbin changing and shuttle changing looms alike and I do not wish to be limited in the use of my invention to bobbin changing looms. As a matter of convenience I have shown the invention applied to a bobbin changing loom having a controller of the type extensively used in shuttle changing looms of the kind illustrated for example in Patents Nos. 2,054,174 and 2,054,192. 7

The condition already described will exist ina loom operating with a single type of weft, as well as in those looms which Weave different types of weft. I have illustrated my invention in connection with a multicolor weft replenishing loom, but certain features of my invention are not limited to looms of this type, inasmuch as the steps of indicating weft exhaustion, initiating a-replenishing operation by movement of the controller to'indicating position, and weft breakage with subsequent cancellation of the replenishing operationc'an all occur during the weaving of a block of single color in the pattern of the fabric being woven.

Weft stop motions are customarily of two types one of which employs a slide located at one side of the cloth and carrying "a fork to detect the weft extending from the selvage into the shuttle box every other loom beat, while the other type employs a fork mountedon the lay and located between the selvages to detect the presence or absence of weft on each beat of the loom. I have shown my invention in connection with the latter type of stop motion, called commonly the center filling stop motion, but I do not wish necessarily to be limited to a weft stop motion of that type. It is sufficient if the stopping movement of some part of the weft stop motion is communicated to the resetter for the aforesaid controller.

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

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of myinvention is set forth:

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of a weft replenishing loom having my invention applied thereto, parts being in section, p

Fig. 2 is a plan View of a part of the loomtaken in the direction of arrow 2, Fig. 1, parts being in section, I

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on an enlarged scale on line 3-3 Fig. 1, showing the indication storing controllers which are reset by operation of my present invention,

Fig. 4 is a detailed view on an, enlarged scale of a part of the structure shown near the center of Fig. 1, parts being in section,

. Fig. 5 is a vertical section on an enlarged scale on line 5-5 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a part of the weft stop motion mountedon the loom breast beam and looking forwardly from the lay.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, I have shown a loom frame I0 having a lay ll mounted on a sword I2 supported by and turning around rocker shaft l3 near the bottom of the loom. A connector It extends rearwardly from the lay and is connected to wrist pin I5 on the top shaft I6 which makes a revolution every pick of the loom.

a weft detector D located at the magazine side of the loom and acting electrically in-the present instance to energize a solenoid I1 when-the weft;

on the bobbin B is exhausted and the active shuttle is on the replenishing side' of 1th'e.looml' Energization of the solenoid maybe effected by, means of a source of electric power Pwhicliis connected to the detector bYlWlIe. l8 aridtothef solenoid by wire l9, while the detector is con.-

nected to the solenoid by wire 20. When weft exhaustion occurs in'thez-shuttle-the electric circuit indicated in Fig. lwill be closed to lift the core 2| of the solenoid ,and thereby elevate alifting arm 22, see'-Fig.;3. --,A.carriage 25 is slid-- ably mounted on fixedpins 26 and is provided with two controller fingers2j and 28, respec-;-

tively, connected to yielding positioning elements 29 which inthe present instance may be spring plungers carried by the carriage, Each controller finger carries a trip, 30 adapted for coope eration one at a time with the liftingarm 22.-

The position of the trips with respect to the lifting-arm .is determined- -,by the mechanism shownat the bottom of Fig. 1, where acable 3| is attached to the lower end of an indicator lever 32 pivoted about a fixed axis 33. The cable 3! extends-to the other side ofthe .loom and is attached byconnectionsnot shown either to the drop boxes or some part movingin timed relation with them. The cable therefore acts to'rock the lever32 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1;: and a spring 34; rocks the lever, in a.

A cam 31 rotating once everytwo picks of the loom rocks a lever 38 swinging about a fixed pivot 39 and a lifter'dog 4D pivoted toftherforward, or left end of lever 38 as viewed in Fig.1,

is adapted for engagement with a normally stationary operating lever 4l.- The'latter is connectedby rod 42' to transfer latch 43' and shuttle feeler 44. The latch 43 is connected to the "usual transferrer arm 45, while the shuttle feeler is carried by supporting arm 46 and is swung rearward1y,or to the right as viewed in Fig; 1, when a transfer is about to occur," I i A magazinedesignated generally at M supplies two different typeszof bobbins or weft carriers W and W'corr'esponding 'to' thetwoweaving shuttles mentioned. The magazine is rocked by the connections indicatedin Fig. 1 so that the reserve bobbin under: the transferrer arm corresponds to the active shuttle. Each shuttle will remain active for two picks or a multiple thereof and the alternation of activity on the part of the shuttles is controlled by a pattern mechanism not shown and is accompanied by a shifting of the carriage- 25. Y

The loom has ashipper handle 50 to operate a lever 5| attached to a' rearwardlyextending rod 52 which operates the shipping mechanism not shown for the loom. This mechanism is stance. in my prior Patent No. 2,128,974.

well understood, left hand motion of the shipper handle as viewed in Fig. 1 corresponding to a forward pull of rod. 52 to cause the loom to operate. The shipper handle is mounted on shipper rod 53 and rocking of the latter in a *right hand direction as viewed in Fig. 1 from normal running position will effect loom stopxp fi- V 1 t is not deemed necessary to give a full description of the operation of the replenishing ine'chanism or the shipper control since these partsare alreadyknown and are shown for in- It is thought sufficient for present purposes to state that both the controller fingers illustrated particularly'in Fig. 3 will be normally in the down position occupied by finger 28 of that figure and thatwhen, indication of weft exhaustion is given by the detector the lifter arm 22 will raise the controller finger corresponding to the active shuttle to the position occupied-by finger 21 in Fig. 3. Furthermore. the controllers are movable toward and from active position relatively to the lifter arm 22 by rocking of lever 32in,

response to shifting of the drop boxes. The details .of the structure shown in Fig. 3 are set forthand described in the aforementioned Patent-No. 2,054,192. When either of the controller fingers 21 or 28 israised a'replenishing operationhas'been initiated and when the exhausted shuttle again moves toward the magazine end of the 'loom the controller finger corresponding thereto will be in a position to direct the lifting dog 40 into lifting relationship with respect to leveri4l, see Fig. 3, whereupon the latch 43 will be set for transfer and the shuttle feeler 44 placed for detecting the position of the shuttle along-the lay.

' As'already stated the present invention relates to means to reset the . fingers 21 and 28, and more generally the indication storing mechanism-of a weft replenishing loom, when the weft stop motion stops the loom'due'to failure of weft. It is well known that the various types of filling 1 stop motions employed at the present time include in their construction a part which is moved upon weft failure to'vefiect loom stop- I ping.- In the present instance I have elected to illustrate my invention in connection with a center stop'motion of the typegenerally. em-:

ployedon silk looms; but 'I do not wish to be limited in' the practice of my invention to this particular kind of weft stop motion.

In the application of my invention of the structure already'described it is convenient to use'ce'rtain parts which are shown in my co'-' pending application Serial No. 225,607. Since the structure "shown in that application is used with; my present invention I prefer to illustrate the transferrer arm which is the subject mat ter of the co-pending application, since it provides the normal means forresetting' the controllers after a transfer. I wish it to be understood however-that the present invention can operate independently of the structure shown in" ti id mploy a' depndiflg I00 "pivoted to the lever. 90 at IM and having a tum-buckle I02 asset. forthin theco-pending application to reset-the active controller 21 or 28 at the time of a normal transfer. A tube I03 depends from the tum-buckle and has a stop collar I04 for engagement with the under side of a guide I05 through which'the tube extends. The part I03 is made tubular herein for a purpose to be set forth but itcanbe considered as a continuation of rod I forrth'e resetting purposes just describedand it is .to be understood that the tube I03 will be held normally in its raised position shown in'Fig. 1 atall times except during a transferring operation of the; loom.

- In. carrying my invention into effect I provide mechanism which will cause a resetting of an active controller finger in indicating position corresponding to an active shuttle the thread of which breaksor becomes exhausted during weaving vwith resultant loom stoppage through the weftistop motion. In this way the weaver can replenish the shuttle by hand without danger of a repeated automatic replenishment to be effected by .the loo-m after weaving is resumed.

The type of weft stop motion illustrated is that customarily located near the center of the lay to detect the weft on every forward beat of the loom. These mechanisms are so well understood that I will'describe such parts only as are necessary to. an understanding of my invention. Further description will be found in Patent No. 2,141,656 to Adams to which reference may be made for the details of the weft stop mechanism. Referring to Fig. I have shown the lay as provided with a dagger IIO the vertical position of which is. controlled by the weft on the forward beat ofthe loom. If weft is present-the fork III will be supported and the dagger will be in the relatively low position shown in dotted lines, but

if weft is. absent or broken the fork falls into thewell H2 in the lay and the dagger will be raised to the full line position of Fig. 5, as thelay moves forwardly or in the direction of arrow a. The breast beam II 3 of .the loom has supported on the under side thereof a rolling rod II4 which rocks'in bearings one of which is indicated at I I5and has-secured thereto a dog IIB having a notch. III positioned for engagement with the dagger I I0 when the latter is raised. A cam arm I;i8.secured to the rolling rod II4 engages a second arm H9 on the shipper rod 53 to press the latter down and rock the shipper rod to stop-the loom when the dagger enters the notch.

Partsof the weft stop motion not essential to anunderstanding of the present invention are omitted but may be of usual construction.

A head I20 pivoted to the dog at I2I extends forwardly or. to the left as viewed in Fig. 5 through a guide I22 supported by a hanger I23 depending from the breast'beam and is attached to a wire I24. The wire extends through a tubular guide I25 which may be in the form of a closely coiled spring one end of which is carried by the hanger. The guide extends along the under side of the breast beam as shown in Fig. 2 and-then leads rearwardly and has the end thereof extended through the turnbuckle I02 and secured within the vertical tube I03 as by soldering' or the like. Tube I03 corresponds to the lower part of the two part rod set forth in my co-pending application Serial No. 225,607 and is made hollow in the present instance to receive the flexible guide I25. The wire I24 extends downwardly inside the tube I03 and. is attached to a plunger head I26 normally though not neclower part of Fig. 4.

Adjustment of the wire I24 with respect tothe guide I25 is obtained at the weft, stop motion by makingthe head. .|20 in two adjustable parts as shown in Fig. 5. I

Under normal conditions with the thread intact during weaving the dagger. I I0 will be depressed to the dotted position of Fig. 5 and will pass under the notch III during the forward beat of the lay. When the filling breaks, however, the dagger will remain raised in a manner customary to center stop motions and will engage the dog II6 to move it forwardly or to the left as viewed in Fig. 5 to cause rocking of shafts I I4 and 53 to stop the loom. The center stop motion therefore'performs its primary function of stopping theloom when the weft breaks, but when the dog moves forwardly the wire I 24 is caused to slide through the flexible guide I25 with the result that the plunger head I23 is projected downwardly from its normal position or to the dotted lines indicated in Fig. 4. If at this time the finger or controller in active position immediately under the plunger I26 has previously been raised by indication of weft exhaustion it will'be depressed by the plunger and the replenishing mechanism will thereby be reset to normal condition, thus cancelling the transfer andpreventing an automatic replenishment.

When the loom is stopped the weaver will correct the mispick caused by thebroken or exhausted filling and will replenish the shuttle by hand, as is customary. Upon resumption of weaving therefore therewill be no coupling of corresponds to the active shuttle and the filling stop motion does not act to reset a controller finger in indicating position but moved out of active position because its corresponding exhausted shuttle is temporarily idle.

It will be understood that projection of the plunger I62 is independent of motion on the part of tube I03 and can and ordinarily will occur when the latter is stationary. If the brake of the loom is loose so that the lay can reach front center position before stopping, a transfer will occur and tube I03 will descend as well as plunger I23. The weaver however will notice that automatic replenishment has already taken place and that it is unnecessary. to replenish the shuttle by hand."

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided mechanism for resetting whichever of the controllers 21 and 28 happen to be in active indicating position when the loom is stopped through the weft stop motion. It will be noted also that the tube I03 which is depressed by action of the transfer arm to reset the controller fingers under normal transfer conditions is also a carrier for the resetting device controlled by the weft stop motion. Furthermore, while I have illustrated my invention in connection with a socalled center stop motion, I do not necessarily wish to be limited to motions of this type, inasmuch as other forms of filling stop motions have a part which is moved to effect loom stoppage to which the wire I24 could be attached. Again, the invention is useful on looms operating with one or more weaving shuttles and is also applicable to shuttle changing looms which employ es'sarily located within the tube as shown in the the controllers 21 and 28 'or' parts. similar" to them. a

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and "modifications may be made therein by those skilledhin theart without departing from the spirit and scopezof the invention andI do not wish to be limited to the detailsherein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a weft. replenishing loom having a re-' serve bobbin to be transferred into a weaving shuttle, transfer mechanism effective when set for transfer tomove the reserve bobbin into the weaving shuttle during a replenishing operation, means to initiate a replenishing operation of the 100m upon occurrence of weft exhaustion in the weaving shuttle, a controller to be moved from normalto indicating position by the initiating means, an actuator havingan operating stroke at two-pick intervals during the loom operation, coupling means controlled by the controller when the latter is in indicating position to couple the actuator to the transfer mechanism and set the latter for transfer, means to hold the controller in indicating position after the transfer mechanism is set for transfer, a weft stop motion to stop the loom upon failure of the thread in the weaving shuttle occurring subsequent to movement ofthe controller to indicating position and prior to operation of the coupling means, and connections between the filling stop motion and the controller to require the latter to move into normal position ineffective to couple the actuator with the transfer -mechanism when the loom is stopped by failure of the weft.

2. In a multicolor weft replenishing loomhaving two reserve bobbins and operating with two weaving shuttles'each of which may become active,'transfer mechanism effective upon a com-/ plete operation thereof to insertreither of the reserve bob-bins into the weaving shuttle corresponding'thereto,a pair of controllers for the transfer mechanism, one for each weaving shuttle, and each controller movable from normal to indicating position upon exhaustion of weft in the active shuttle corresponding thereto,

means to move eachcontroller into and out of active position, thecontroller in active position corresponding to the active shuttle, means controlled by either controller when in indicating position and also inactive position'toset the transfer mechanism ata given point in each two-pick cycle of the loom for a transferring operation, means to hold the controller in indicating position after the transfer mechanism is set for transfer, a weft stop motion operating to stop the loom upon failure of the weft thread of either shuttle when active, and resetting means operated by the weft stop motion and acting to move the controller in active position and corresponding to the active depleted weaving shuttle from indicating to normal'position when" the weft tion, tlie controller inactive position correspond ing: to theactive-weft supply, means controlled byeither controller when in active and indicating position to set the replenishing mechanism fora transferring operation which replaces the active depleted weaving weft supply with a reserve-weft supply corresponding thereto,.means tohold the controller in indicatingposition after the transfer mechanism is set for transfer, a weft stop motion to stop the loom upon failure of the weft ofv either of the weaving Weft supplies, and resetting means for the controller in activeposition operated by the weft stop motion when the latter stops the loom to return a controller in the active and also in indicatingposition to normalposition to prevent operationof the weft replenishing mechanism. H

4. In a multicolor weft replenishing loom operating with two weaving shuttles either of which may become active, multicolor weft replenishing mechanism to supply two types of reserve weft, one type for each weaving shuttle, setting means movable from normal to indicating position to set. the replenishing mechanism for a replenishing operation with respect to the reserve weft corresponding to the active shuttle when the latteris exhausted, subsequently acting means controlled by the setting means when in indicating position to complete the replenishing operation of the replenishing mechanism, means to hold the setting means in indicating .position after the replenishing mechanism is set for a replenishing operation, a weft stop motion to stop the;loom upon failure of the weft of either weavingg shuttle when active occurring between the times of operations of the setting means and said :subsequently acting means, and preventer means controlled by the weft stop motion to return the setting means to normal position and prevent operation of the subsequently acting means when the weft stop motion stops the 100m.

5. In a multicolor weft replenishing loom operatingwith a pair of .weaving shuttles either of which may become active,,multicolor weft 'replenishing mechanism to supply reserve wefts correspondin'gto the ,weft supplies of the 'weaving shuttles, a controller for the weft replenishingmechanism corresponding to each weaving shuttle, means to move the controllers into and out of active position, the controller in active position corresponding to the active shuttle, means operative upon exhaustion of weft in the active shuttle to move the controller corresponding thereto in activeposition from normal to indicating position, a controller in indicating position capable of moving out of activerp'osition when the weaving shuttle corresponding thereto becomes inactive, means controlled by a. con-' troller in indicating and also active position to set;

normal position to prevent an operating of the I g 4 7o? weft replenishing mechanism.

RICHARD G.

Images