US2231126A - Reed suitable for use in the shedding mechanism of circular looms - Google Patents

Description

E. KINSELLA REED SUITABLE FOR USE IN THE SHEDDING MECHANISM OF CIRCULAR LOOMS 2 Sheet s 1 Filed June 2 1959 F/G. 3 ab abc-d i/veg Feb. 11, 1941. E. KlNSELL-A' REED SUITABLE FOR USE IN THE SHEDDING MECHANISM OF CIRCULAR LOOMS 2' Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 2, 1959 FIG. 6

Patented Feb. 11, 1941 REED SUITABLE FOR USE IN THE SHEDDING MECHANISM OF CIRCULAR LOOMS Edward Kinsella, Spondon, near Derby, England, assignor to Celanese Corporation ofAmerica, a corporation of Delaware Application June 2, 1939, Serial No. 276,990 In Great Britain June 14, 1938 4 Claims.

This invention relates to reeds suitable for use in the shedding mechanism of circular looms. The invention is particularly concerned with shedding mechanism of the type in whicha reed with perforated dents is used to control the warp threads, some of the threads passing through the dent perforations, and the others passing between the dents so that by deflecting the warp threads at one side of the reed from their normal (unshedded) position, separation of the warp threads into two sheets is effected at the other side of the reed to permit the entry of the shuttle. This separation arises because those threads which pass through the dent perforations remain undeflected on the shuttle side of the reed, whereas the other threads (free threads) are free to move between the dents. i

According to the present invention, a reed comprises a plurality of dents perforated for the insertion ofthreads and spacedapart from each other in the lengthwise direction of the reed to allow of the free passage of threads between the dents, the perforated portions of different dents being spaced apart from each other in the general direction in which the threads pass through the reed. With this construction more space is provided for thepassage between the'dents of the warp threads which are not entered through the perforations, and freer shedding results,which is of particular importance with reeds designed for high warp density, for example of the order of 100, or threads to the inch or upwards.

Conveniently, the dents have. portions of their length containing the perforations curved out of the general plane of the reed, and, in order to preserve fully the freedom of movement of the free threads, the amount of curvature of the dents should be such that a gap exists between the opposed edges of the oppositely curved dents.

There is then no possibility that in trying to pass the portions of the dents in which the. perforations are formed a free thread can be trapped by engagement on one side with a thread entered in one dent and on the other by a thread in the adjacent dent since the perforations in adjacent dents are at a different level. Thus, in its simplest form, the reed according to the invention comprises identical curved dents arranged so that alternate dents are curved in opposite directions out of the plane of the reed, the amounts of curvature of each dent being somewhat in excess of half the width of the dent, so as to provide a gap between the opposed edges of the dents. Such a reed provides for plain shedding equivalent to that obtained with a reed in which all the dents are arranged in a single plane with alternate threads entered in the perforations and passing between the dents respectively. At the same time the separation of the dents into two levelsdoes not interfere materially with the ease of entering the warps, and the unitary structure of the reed provides for rigidity, compactness in the loom, and ease of mounting.

The reed may be built as a single circular structure or in arcuate sections of say 4, 6 or8 in number, but advantageously the dents may be assembled in small sections capable of being secured to circular members to build up the complete circular reed. Such sectional construction enables accurate spacing of the dents to be effected.

The sections may be assembled into units extending over a substantial fraction of the loom circumference equivalent to the space covered by thewarp threads of one of the several beams of the loom. These units may be arranged to be readily removed from and replaced in the looms so that warps may be entered away from the looms,thus requiring the minimum delay in fitting new. warps when the previous supply is exhausted.

One form of reed according to the invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of part of the reed;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of part of the reed shown in Fig. 1 taken on the line 2-2;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2 showing the dispositions of the Warp threads in the reed;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section similar to that shown in Fig. 3, but showing a method of entering the warp threads;

Fig. 5 is a partial end view of Fig. 4 viewed in the direction of the arrow but showing the entering tool in a different position; and

Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9 are partsections of a circular loom, employing a reed according to the inventiomand show four stages in the weaving cycle, the loom being of the same general type as that described in U. S. Patent No. 2,080,772 to which reference may be made for details not described in this specification.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 a reed is illustrated which is .built up from a plurality of arcuate'sections l which together form a complete reed of circular form. The sections l are identical in construction and for purposes of describing the construction of the reed itself it is only necessary to consider one section.

Each section I consists of a number of dents 2 equal to one-half the number of warp threads required to be entered in the part of the circumference covered by the section. The dents 2 are formed from thin steel strips of about A" in width, the thickness of the dents being small so as to provide for the maximum amount of space between the dents for thread movement, and also to provide flexibility in the dents for ease in thread entry. The dents ,2 are curved out of the general plane of the reed section, are identical in shape, and are arranged so that alternate dents are curved in opposite directions over a portion of their length containing the perforations, the amount of curvature of each dent being about equal to the width of the dent so as to provide a gap between the opposed edges of the oppositely curved dents, and the radius of curvature of the dents is large enough to allow the gap between the opposed edges of the dents to extend over a substantial part of the length of the dents. Each dent 2 is provided at its centre with an elongated perforation 3 extending transverse to the length of the dent. The edges of the perforations 3 as well as the edges of the dents themselves are smoothed to remove any sharpness to avoid damage to the warp threads passing through the perforations 3 or between the dents 2.

The dents 2 are assembled in slightly diverging form with their perforations 3 lying in an arc of a circle of radius corresponding to the weaving radius of the loom for which the reed is intended. The requisite spacing of the dents is obtained by fitting, towards the inner and outer ends of the section, coiled springs 41 and 5 respectively, the upper edges of the dents 2 being inserted between the coils of one pair of springs 4 and 5 and the lower edges being inserted between the coils of another pair of springs 4 and 5. The pitch of the springs 5 is greater than that of the springs 4 by an amount necessary to bring each dent 2 into truly radial position, and for the 45' same reason, the gauge of the wires from which the springs 4 and 5 are made corresponds to the respective spaces between the dents at the radii at which the springs are fitted. At the inner end of the section, a steel plate 6, of a depth equal to 50 the depth of the dents 2, abuts the ends of the dents, and two thin steel clamping members 1 extending from the plate 8 over the ends of the dents 2' to the springs are provided, the dents 2, springs 4, plate .3 and the two clamping members I all being secured together by solder indicated at 2. which is run in between the dents 2, springs 4, plate 6 and clamping members i, the end of the dents being shaped as shown at Ill and provided with anchor holes H to provide additional keys 0 for the solder. Solder 9 similarly secures the dents 2 and springs 5 at the outer end of the section. Each section is secured, by means of screws i2 passing through holes iii in the plate 5 and clamping members 7, to a spider It by which the assembled reed is held in position in the loom, the radial edges of the soldered section being machined for accurate assembly of the sections to form the complete reed.

By curving alternate dents 2 in opposite direc- 70 tions, the portions of the dents carrying the perforations 3 may be looked upon as two separate banks of dents with the dents of the lower bank opposite the spaces between the dents of the upper bank and vice versa, as shown in Fig. 3. Threads 75 a are entered through the perforations 3 of the dents 2 in the upper bank and pass freely between adjacent dents 2 in the lower bank, while threads 0 pass freely between adjacent dents in the upper bank and are entered in the perforations 3 of the dents in the lower bank. Threads 1) and (2 pass freely between the dents in both banks. Taking the reed as a whole, the threads are entered as follows; thread a is entered in the perforation 3 of the first dent (upper bank), thread b passes freely between the first and second (lower bank) dents, thread 0 is entered in the perforation of the second (lower bank) dent and thread (1 passes freely between the second and third (upper bank; dents, this order being repeated throughout. This arrangement of reed dents provides for plain shedding equivalent to that obtained with a reed inwhich the same number of dentsare arranged in a single plane with alternate threads entered in theperforations and passing between the dents respectively, with the advantage that more space is available for the shedding movement of the free threads.

As shown in Fig. 4, the threads are entered in the perforations 3 of the dents 2', by means of a tool l5 consisting of four prongs I 6 each terminat-' ing in a, hook H. The prongs iii are cranked at 18 sufiiciently for the prongs to extend from one side of the dents 2 through the perforations 3 to the other side of the dents, the prongs being flexible so that they can be sprung into position (aided by the flexibility of the dents) as shown in Fig. 4, and pushed completely through the reed until the hooks I! are clear of the dents 2 as shown in Fig. 5. With threads engaged in the hooks- I? the tool is then drawn back through the reed, the cranked portions I8 of the prongs again springing from one side of the dent-s 2 to the other through the perforations 3 drawing the threads through the perforations of the dents in the upper bank and through the space between the dents in the lower bank. Threads are entered through the perforations 3 of the dents 2 in the lower bank in a similar manner.

Threads passing between the dents in each bank are entered by a tool E9 of similar construction to the tool IE, but in this case, the prongs are straight, the tool being entered between the appropriate dents 2 and the threads drawn straight through the spaces between the dents in both banks.

Referring to Figs. 6-9, a reed 2!), built up of a number of the sections described above, is shown in the position which it occupies in the circular loom. Fig. 6 shows the normal line that the warps follow in passing from the warp supply to the fell 2| of the fabric being woven, the fabric being supported by a ring 22. The warp threads are entered alternately through the perforations 3 of the dents 2 and between the dents, in the order a b c (1 shown in Fig. 3. Fig. '7 shows the position of the warp threads upon passage of an outer shedding wheel 23 which urges the whole of the warp threads towards the axis of the loom. The threads at and c by reason of their engagement with the perforations 3 of the dents 2' are prevented, onthe shuttle side of the reed, from partaking of the shedding movement imparted to the warp sheet on the opposite side of the reed by the shedding wheel 23, while the threads 12 and d, which are not entered in the perforations 3, are free to move between the dents 2 to the full extent of the shedding movement. The warp sheet is thus divided into two sheets a c and b d sufiici ently far apart to permit the entry of the nose 24 of the shuttle 25 which passes into the sheet and completes the shedding operation, as shown in. Fig. 8.

Fig. 9 shows the shedding of the warp threads for the next succeeding shuttle 2'6. In this case the whole of the warps are urged away from the 100m axis by an inner shedding wheel 2'! in a similar manner to the shedding operation shown in Fig. 7, the threads b (1 now being on the opposite side of the threads or c for the passage of the 1" next pick of weft from the shuttle 26.

As explained above, the warp sheet is urged first to one side of the normal line shown in Fig. 6, to provide a shed for the entry of one shuttle (Figs. 7 and 8), then to the other side to provide a shed for the entry of the next shuttle (Fig. 9), and so on throughout the weaving operation, the warp sheet being urged to alternate sides of the normal line for alternate weft picks. Taking the shedding position shown in Fig. 7, it will be seen that threads b d have moved inwardly from the normal position under the influence of the shedding wheel 23, which is disposed slightly in advance of the shuttle 25 and moves round the loom at the same speed as the shuttle, and now take a line extending from the tip of the shedding wheel 23 to the fell 2| of the fabric being woven, the line passing through the reed 28 at a point m. At this stage, the nose 24 of the shuttle 25 is just entering the shed which is then completed by the shuttle 25 itself as shown in Fig. 8, the shedding wheel 23 having passed on to prepare for the further I penetration of the nose 24 of the shuttle 25- into the warp shed which is formed continuously in advance of the shuttle 25.

After the passage of the shuttle 25 the warp sheet is urged outwardly by the shedding wheel 27 which, like shedding wheel 23, is disposed,

slightly in advance of its shuttle 26 and moves round the loom at shuttle speed to prepare the warp threads for the entry of the shuttle 26. As in the previous shedding operation, the threads d are the only ones to move on the shuttle side of the reed 20, the threads at a remaining in their normal line from the reed downwards because of their engagement with the perforations 3 of the dents 2. In this case, the threads b d as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 9, take up a similar line to that shown in Fig. 7 but on the opposite side of the threads a c, the threads I) at now extending from the tip of the shedding wheel 21, through the reed 20 at the point y, to the fell 2| of the fabric being woven. The shed is then completed by the shuttle 26 as shown in Fig. 9.

It will be observed that the points a: and y in the reed 20 are the farthest points to which the threads 12- d move during shedding. Since these points are within the gap existing between the and y can be looked upon as two separate banks of oppositely curved dents 2, the density of the dents in each bank being equal to half the density of the dents in the reed 26 as a whole. The space between adjacent dents 2 in each bank, therefore, is much increased as compared with the space between adjalent dents 2 in the part of the reed where the oppositely curved dents come together, with the result that more space is provided for the passage of threads between the dents than would be provided if all the dents were in a single plane. It will be clear, therefore, that, with this construction, much higher warp densities can be obtained than with reeds in which the dents are all in a single plane.

Having described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A reed for the shedding mechanism of a circular loom, said reed comprising a plurality of radial dents formed of strips perforated for the insertion of threads and spaced apart in fixed circumferential relationship to allow of the free passage of threads in a radial direction between the dents, the inner and outer ends .of all the dents lying in the general plane of the reed and the perforated portions of different dents being spaced apart from each other in the general direction in which the threads pass through the reed.

2. A reed for the shedding mechanism of a circular loom, said reed comprising a plurality of radial dents formed of strips perforated for the insertion of threadsand spaced apart in fixed circumferential relationship to allow of the free passage of threads in a radial direction between the dents, alternate dents having the perforated portions of their length curved alternately in opposite directions out of the general plane of the reed to such an extent that a gap exists between the opposed edges of the oppositely curved dents.

3. A reed for the shedding mechanism of a circular loom, said reed comprising a plurality of arcuate sections each consisting of a plurality of radial dents formed of strips perforated for the insertion of threads and spaced apart in fixed circumferential relationship to allow of the free passage of threads in a radial direction between the dents, the perforated portions of different dents being spaced apart from each other in the general direction in which the threads pass through the reed, a common supporting ring, and means to secure the arcuate sections to the supporting ring to form a continuous circular reed.

4. A reed according to claim 3, wherein each radial section has its dents soldered to a plate by which the section is secured to the supporting ring.

EDWARD KINSELLA.

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