US2370022A - Warp regulator - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 2o, 1945. J K DUDLEY 2,370,022

WARP REGULATOR Filed Dec. 31, 1943 Patented Feb. 20, 1945 iTaEb STATES PATENT OFFICEA 4 Claims.

This invention relates to warp regulating mechanisms, and particularly to an improved form for use in looms adapted to weave a plurality of strips of narrow fabric, such as tape, ribbon, webbing, etc., simultaneously. The present invention is also applicable to looms adapted for weaving single wide strips of fabric.

Prior to the present invention the warp threads for each individual strip in a multiple strip weaving loom have been wound on a separate spool and each time it became necessary to replenish the warp supply for any one strip it has been necessary to discontinue the weaving of the entire series while the operator tied the ends of the warp threads of a new spool onto the retiring ends of the warp threads from the depleted spool.

The warp threads are frequently delivered to the weaving establishment from the spinning mill in rope form, with the ropes baled or wound in balls, with or without woodeil cores, or on cones, tubes, etc., and heretofore it has been necessary to backwind the threads onto the conventional warp spools for use in the loom.

One of the objects of the present invention'is to provide a warp regulating mechanism which will make it possible to utilize the warp threads in the loom while the Warp is still in the rope form, as received from the spinners, thus eliminating the expense involved in the back winding operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a warp regulating mechanism by which it will be possible to use the warp rope direct from the original packages or from suitable receptacles at the back of the loom in which the ropes may be placed, whereby, while the loom .s running and before a Warp supply becomes completely exhausted, the operator may tie the ends of the warp threads of a substantially depleted supply to the ends of the warp threads of a fresh supply, thereby avoiding the necessity for shutting down the loom each time any one warp supply being used in the loom becomes practically used up.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a sectional plan view of sufficient of a narrow fabrics loom to illustrate the principles of the present invention as applied thereto; and

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevational taken on the' line 2-2, Fig. 1.

In the drawing, the warp for a single strip of fabric is shown at A, in rope form, as it comes from the spinners.

The warp rope A, as is well known in the industry, consists of a plurality of individual warp threads a, a, which are grouped together with no twist. The individual threads merely cling together and can be readily separated when desired.

`For the purpose of the present invention the ropeA is drawn from a supply located at the back of the loom, and is led therefrom vertically through a pig tail guide l secured to a rigid portion 2 of the frame of the'loom.

From the eye of the pig tail guide I, the rope A is led up and over a suitable traction roll 3 which is provided with a shaft or with trunnions Ml rotatably mounted in bearings 5,5 carried by the uprights 2,'2 of the loom frame.

From the traction roll 3, the warp rope A is led down and under a floating roll I 0, then up and over a second traction roll S having trunnions.1,1 rotatably mounted in bearings 3,8 secured to the uprights 2,2, with the axes of the trunnions 4,4 of the roll 3 and the trunnions 1,1, of. the roll 5 in substantially the same horizontal plane, and with the peripheral faces of the rolls 3 and 6 in laterally spaced relation to each other and affording a rolling contact for the floating roll Ill.

From the second traction roll 6, the warp rope A is led through an eye or recess II formed in the outer forked and of a long arm I2 of a brake lever I3. The brake lever I3 is provided with trunnions Illv pivotally mounted in bearings l5 secured to the uprights 2,2.

'I'he brake lever I3 is provided with a pair of laterally spaced short arms I 6, IB, to the outer end of each of which is pivotally attached a brake shoe I1, at I8. The brake shoes I1, I1 bear against the under side of the iioating roll I0, at oppositesides respectively of the warp rope A, as clearly shown in Fig. l.

The warp rope A passes downwardly through the eye or recess II in the outer end of the long arm I2 of the brake lever I3 to and through a ring or eye I9 formed on or connected to the upper end of a, Weight stem 20, on which is mounted a plurality of removable and replaceable weights 2I,2l.

The rope A is formed in a loop Al depending fanned out into side by side relation to each other by passing through dents or slots in a fixed back reed 26.

The laterally separated warp threads 2,2 then pass downwardly and around the under side of a lower whip or other roll 23 from which these individual threads pass to and through the heddie eyes 24,24 of the loom harness, and thence to the fell of the fabric and the usual take up rolls of the loom (not shown).

Normally, during the Weaving operation, back tension is applied to the warp threads a, a, by the rope A being snubbed around the floating roll IIl and gripped between the outer surface of this snubbing roll and the two traction rolls 6 and 3, which latter are adapted to rotate by and under the weaving or take up pull of the rope A, which is in frictional engagement with the rolls 3, I and 6.

Rotation of the snubbing or floating roll I0 is retarded or actually prevented by the brake shoes I1, I'I, under pressure applied by the weights 2I and hanger 2li-I9, through the loop Al of-the rope A and the leverage of the long arm I2 of the brake lever I3 to the brake shoes II, I1 bearing against the roll I0.

As the warp threads a, a are used up in the weaving operation and are drawn off by the fabric take up mechanism of the loom, the loop AZ is shortened until the end I9 of the weight hanger 20 engages the underside of the outer forked end of the long arm I2 of the brake lever I3, Whereupon, the brake lever I3 is rocked on its pivot I4 and causes the braking action of the brake shoes I'I, I'I to be relieved from the snubbing roll III.

The weights 2|, 2| tend to draw out the loop Al thereby effecting rotation of the traction rolls 6 and 3 and the interposed floating roll I0 and effecting a paying out of the warp rope A until the loop Al becomes elongated to a predetermined eX- tent, whereupon, the friction of the rope A running downwardly over the inner edge 9 of the recess I I in the outer forked end of the lever arm I2, plus the difference in the lengths of the two lever arms I2 and I6, causes the brake shoes I1, II to be effectively applied to the floating roll III which causes a snubbing action of the roll I0 on the warp rope A, pinching said rope at the points 25, 25, between the peripheral faces of the roll I0 and rolls 3 and 6.

By the foregoing construction and mode of operation an even uniform tension is applied to the rope A at all times, thus producing a. uniform texture in the fabric into which the individual warp threads a, a are woven.

By providing the floating roll IIJ, for pinching the warp rope A against the spaced traction rolls 3 and 6, and by pivotally mounting the brake shoes I'I, I1 on the ends of the lever arms I6, I6, the whole of the regulating mechanism is free to find its own operating position without binding of any parts thereof which may tend to disturb the equal uniform paying out of the warp threads a, a as required.

A number of ropes A may be used to form the warp of a. Wide strip of fabric, in which case each rope would be under separate control of a warp regulating mechanism such as previously described herein. The threads making up the varilous ropes can be used in the warp of a wide fabric in any way desired, such as one rope for each of a number of sections of the fabric or the threads of the series of ropes may pass through successive dents respectively in a back reed similar to the reed 26, whereby the fabric would be made up of one thread from each rope in succession across the width of the fabric, without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

I claim:

l. A warp regulator comprising a pair of laterally spaced rolls freely rotatable about laterally spaced fixed axes and an interposed floating roll below said pair of rolls and engageable peripherally therewith and around and between which a warp is adapted to pass, means for bodily moving said interposed floating roll upwardly into the space between said pair of rolls to pinch said warp therebetween, and means for retarding rotation of one of said rolls.

2. A warp regulator comprising a pair of laterally spaced rolls freely rotatable about laterally spaced flxed axes and an interposed floating roll below said pair of rolls and engageable peripherally therewith and around and between which a warp is adapted to pass, means for bodily moving said interposed floating roll upwardly into the space between said pair of rolls to pinch said warp therebetween, and means for retarding rotation of said floating roll.

3. A warp regulator comprising a pair of laterally spaced rolls freely rotatable about laterally spaced fixed axes and an interposed floatirg roll below said pair of rolls and engageable peripherally therewith and around and between which a warp is adapted to pass, and means for bodily moving said interposed roll upwardly into the space between said pair of rolls to pinch said warp therebetween and for retarding rotation of said floating roll comprising a pivoted lever, a pair of brake shoes pivotally mounted on said lever and engageable with said floating roll atopposite sides respectively of said lwarp, and means for rocking said lever to effect engagement of said shoes with said floating roll and the pinching of said warp between said floating roll and said pair of rolls.

4. A warp regulator comprising a pair of laterally spaced freely rotatable rolls and an interposed floating roll around and between which a warp is adapted to pass, and means for retarding rotation of said floating roll comprising a pair of brake shoes engageable with said floating roll at opposite sides respectively of said warp, a brake lever to which said 'shoes are pivotally connected and through an opening in the outer end of which said warp passes in the form of a loop, and weight means for vdrawing said Warp into said loop through said'lever and for rocking said lever to apply said shoes to said floating roll.

JOHLN KYLE DUDLEY.

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