US2426759A - Bobbin delivery cradle for weet replenishing looms - Google Patents

Description

I Sept. 2, 1947. w. A; BLANCHARD I BOBBIN DELIVERY CRADLE FOR WEFT 'REPLENISHING LOOMS 2 SheeiS-Sheet l Fild Oct. 4, 1946' FIGJ FIG.6

' 'IN V E NTQ'R WILLIAM A. BLANGHARD ATTORNEY fiaph 2 1947. w. A. BLANCHARD v 2 BOB BIN DELIVERY CRADLE FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS Filed Oct.- 4, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGS Patented Sept. 2, 1947 BOBB IN'DELIV ERY cRAD LE non wnn'r' REPLENISHING'LOOMS William A. Blanchard, Mummy; Mass, assignor to Crom'pton' 8a", Knowles Lo'o'rn'Works, Wcr'cese ter; Mass; a corporation of Massachusetts Applicationficto'ber 4, 1946, SeriaI'NoL-VOLZH' 7 Claims.,. (01. 139 =-245) This invention relates toimprovements in bob-bin delivery cradles for looms and it is. the general object of the invention to provide an ime proved construction by which cradles for different lengths of bobbins can be made b varying only one of the component parts. I

Multicolor weft replenishing bobbin changing looms-customarily employ a stationary magazine having vertical stacks f bob-bins at the lower end of which is a bobbin "delivery cradle. This cradle is mounted for oscillation about a hori-- zontal axis by mechanism forming part of the magazine and called into action preparatoryto transfer of a fresh bobbin into a shuttle having an exhausted supplyof weft. Heretofore; cradles have been made as castings with their bobbin butt and tip engaging parts so constructed that it has been necessary for the manufacturer tokeeponhand a large varietyof patterns for cradles of" different lengths.

It is an important object of the present inventicn to make the cradles of a substantially straight barwhich may be cutthe appropriate length and have attached to one end thereof abearing member'formed. asa tip support, having'at the other end a second bearing member anda butt support so made that'it can besecured to the bar at the desired location between the bearings.

Bobbin magazines usually are provided Withan- With these and other objects in view which will 1 appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement-of parts hereinaiterdescribed and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein-two forms of cradles are. illustrated,

Fig. 1 is-a side elevation of a multicolor Weft replenishing magazine as viewed from the center of the loom showing the improved cradles form ing the subject matter of thisinvention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detailed rear elevationfof the lower part of the magazine looking .in the direction of arrow 2, Fig. Land-showing the lowest bobbin-inthe rear stack in itszcrad-leand' 22- the; lowest bob-bin in the stack in-front of. the rear stack supported b itscradle,

Figs. 3 and 4 are enlarged 'vertical sections on lines v3' 3 and L -4', respectively, of Fig. 2

Fig. 5 15a perspective view of one ofthecradles shown in Big; 3, and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged. vertical section onlines e or Fig. 1.

Referring particularly to Figs. l and 2, the

magazine 'M' is-shown as iormed withlan inner side plate NJ for the bobbin "butts and an outer side p1ate-ll for the-bobbin tips. These plates are spaced and held together by the usual tierods not show'n herein.v and provide storage-mean for.

reserve-bobbins as they await replenishing-operations. of the loom; In. the present instance the magazine'is shown as adapted tohold four'stacks of bobbins, each stack. being. associated. with a cradle'controlling and'operating lide i2 mounted for-"verticalslidin'g .movement' on the plate Ill. The bottom of eachsI-ide- IZ is provided With' a head I3lha'ving a'slot'l l formed as shown'in'Fig. 1 to receive an operating pin l5f carried bythe cradle to be described; As shown particularly in Fig. 6 each slide I2 is provide'dwith upper andv lower notches l5 and I6 separatedby a'wedge'lll The magazine is'provided withia spring. plunger Iii-for each of the slides l2,'these plungers' each being urged toward their associated'slidesm by a spring I 9. Each plunger has'a head-20 tcenter the notches l5iarid'l6to'positi0n the 'sli'de accuratelyi in either of two vertical positions to which it may be moved'by' a selectorlmechanism designated'generallyat 2 I, I

Ordinarily the slides were in th'eir'dow'n position, but when indication of weft exhaustion .is initiated [the slide corresponding to the indicating shuttle is raised by the selector 2| and the correspendingv Wedge I! moves upwardly] along the associated head '28." At a later timeinfthe opera; tion. of thejloom the elevatedislide is depressed from its raised position, at, which time notch il 5 of the slide returns to holding relationship with resp'ectto the corresponding spring 'plunger; The

latter acts by'reaso'n' ofth'e spring l9 to-complete down movement of the slide and then hold. the latter inva'fixed position. In Fig. 1 the 'rearmo'st slide l2 at'th'eleft is shown up, whilethe other slides 'are'shownin' their dow'nipositionQ butts-23 -which move down the guidewa'ysfby" gravity. The bobbin tips 29 move similarly in;-

The inside] plate so is formed with flanges which define guideways for the several stacks guideways formed by flanges 3|] plate I I, see Fig. 4.

The inner and outer magazine plates are generally provided with supports down which a released bobbin will roll toward a common transfer position. In Fig. 3 one of these supports is on the outer shown at 32 for the bobbin butts, while Fig. 4 shows a bobbin tip guideWay 33. These supports The matter thus far described is of common 7 construction in magazines for multicolor weft replenishing looms and is set forth to indicate the manner in which the cradles forming the subject matter of the invention operate to control movement of bobbins from their stacks toward the bobbin supports and transfer position.

As previously stated each stack of bobbins will have a bobbin controlled. cradle which operates to deliver bobbins so they can pass one at a time from the magazine to transfer position. The detailed drawings, Figs. 3 and 4, show two types of cradles for the rear stacks, but it is to be understood that cradles for the front pair of stacks will be similar to those illustrated herein.

Referring first to the rear cradle 40 it will be seen from Fig. 5 that it is made of an elongated straight metallic bar 4| having preferably flat sides 42 on opposite sides of the bar and extending lengthwise of the latter. The bar has secured as by welding to the left or inner end thereof as viewed in Fig. 5 a bearing 43 carrying a pivot 44 to be supported on the inside Bearing 45 is made of a substantially flat sheet of metal welded to rod 4| and having a bob-bin tip notch 41 and having also a bobbin tip engage ing surface 48 concentric with the cradle axis.

Secured to bar 4| between the bearings 43 and 45 is a bobbin butt supporting member 50 made preferably of spring sheet metal and having the intermediate part thereof formed with a socket 5| receiving the bar 4|. This socket is secured to one of the flat surfaces of the bar 4| in any approved manner, as by rivets 52, although I am not limited to rivets as a means for attaching the butt support 50 to the bar 4|.

Extending from one side of the socket 5| is a bobbin support or delivery jaw 55, while a bobbin retaining arm 56 extends from the opposite side of the socket. The tip notch 41 aligns with thespace between the jaw 55 and arm 55, and when the cradle is in its normal position indicated in dotted lines at the right of Fig. 3 the tip of the lowest bobbin in the rear stack rests on surface 48 and the butt of the bobbin rests on a surface 51 of arm 56 which is concentric with the cradle axis. Under these conditions the cradle is empty and its associated vertical slide 12 is down. I

When the slide l2 rises the cradle rocks in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3, retaine ing arm 56 moving from under the bobbin butt and the jaw 55 rising to support it. At the same time the bearing 45 moves in a clockwise direction so that the bobbin tip falls from surface 48 into notch 41. The lowest bobbin is now in the cradle where it will remain until the associated vertical slide I2 is depressed, whereupon the cradle will rock in a counterclockwise direction and surface 5'! will move under the butt of the next bobbin above it which now becomes the bottom bobbin of the stack, and the spring jaw 55 will move down into engagement with the bobbin support 32. This return of the cradle to its normal position isaccompanied by delivery of the bobbin to the supports 32 and 33, and the bobbin then rolls toward a transfer position under the transfer arm.

Because of the resilience of support or jaw55 and the action of spring plunger N3 the jaw, will be held resiliently against the support 32, thereby insuring a smooth path of delivery of the bobbin from the cradle-to the support. The surfaces 48 and 5'! are concentric and move smoothly under the bobbin next to be supported thereby.

In the form of cradle 50 shown at the upper left hand part of Fig. 3 for the bobbin stack immediately in front ofthe rearmost, stack the rod 4| is the same as rod 4| of cradle 45. This cradle has an outer bearing 6| corresponding to bearing 45 and formed with a surface 52 concentric with the axis of cradle 60 as defined by support stud 63 as bearing 6|. A bobbin tip pocket 64 in bearing 6| corresponds in function to notch 41, The inner end of cradle 60 is provided with a second bearing 65 having one of the pins l5 and having also a bearing stud 66 corresponding to stud 44 and coaxial with stud 63.

The bobbin butt support 68 of cradle 65 is of somewhat different shape from that shown'in Fig. 5, but it nevertheless has a socket 69 extending partly around its rod 4| and secured thereto against one of the flat sides of the rod. Support 68 has a bobbin retaining arm 10 and a bobbin delivery arm 7| which is much shorter than jaw 55. Arm 1!! has a bent part defining a surface 72 concentric with the axis of cradle 69 and surface 62. V

This second cradle 68 when in normal position is empty and is as shown in full lines in Fig. 3. When it rocks to receive a bobbin it turns in a counter-clockwise direction the effect of which is to move the support arm 'il to a position inallowing the bobbin to drop and the retaining arm 15 and its surface 72 moves under the next bobbin above. a

From the foregoing it will be-seen that I' have provided a simple form of bobbin delivery cradle which lends itself to manufacture for use with bobbins of diiferent; lengths. The. inner and outer bearing and also the butt delivery part of the cradle will be thesame for'all lengths of bobbins, the only difference for adaptation to'bob bins of different lengths beinglength of rod 4|.

In both instances the butt support is made preferably of resilient sheet metal formed-with a socket to fit the bar or ro dj4|'. The cradles are provided with surfaces51 or 12 concentric with their axes so that the bobbin retaining arms can 75 slide smoothly under the superposed bobbins of the associated stack. shown in Fig. the delivery jaw by reason of its resilience can be pressed against the support 32 b a force derived from the plunger spring i9 to thereby insure smooth delivery of the bob-- bin from cradle 40 onto support 32. In both forms of the cradle the retaining arm has a relatively long bobbin supporting surface concentric with the cradle axis.

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 bobbin magazine for a weft replenishing loom, an inclined bobbin guideway to direct a bobbin toward transfer position, an oscillatable cradle mounted on the magazine rocked in one direction to receive a bobbin and then rocked in the opposite direction to discharge the bobbin toward the guideway, and a resilient bobbin engaging member on the cradle positioned to engage the guideway when the cradle is rocked in said opposite direction to provide a smooth path of travel for the bobbin from the cradle to the guideway.

2. In a bobbin magazine for a weft replenishing loom, an inclined bobbin guideway to direct a bobbin toward transfer position, an oscillatable cradle mounted on the magazine rocked in one direction to receive a bobbin and then rocked in the opposite direction to discharge the bobbin toward the guideway, and a sheet metal spring member secured to and moving with the cradle and having a part which engages said guideway when the cradle rocks in said opposite direction to provide a smooth path of travel for the bobbin from the cradle to the guideway.

3. In a bobbin magazine for a weft replenishing loom, an inclined bobbin guideway to direct a bobbin toward transfer position, an oscillatable cradle mounted on the magazine rocked in one direction to receive a bobbin and then rocked in the opposite direction to discharge the bobbin toward the guideway, said cradle including an elongated bar having a fiat side extending lengthwise thereof, and a sheet metal member extending partly around said bar and secured thereto and held against said flat side to prevent relative angular movement thereof with respect to the bar, said member having a bobbin support movable toward said guideway when said cradle rocks in said opposite direction.

4. A bobbin delivery cradle for a weft replenishing loom, said cradle comprising a substan- In the form of cradle tially straight rod extending for the length of.

1y straight rod extending for the length of the cradle, a bearing member secured to one end of the rod and having a bobbin tip receiving notch,

a second bearing member coaxial with the first member and secured to the other end of the rod, and a bobbin butt support formed of sheet metal having an intermediate part attached to said rod between said bearing members, a bobbin delivery part extending from one side of the intermediate part, and a bobbin retaining part extending from the opposite side of the intermediate part and having a bobbin butt engaging surface concentric with the axis of the bearing members.

6. A bobbin delivery cradle for a weft replenishing loom, said cradle comprising a substantially straight rod extending for the length of the cradle and having a flat surface along one side thereof, a bearing member secured to one end of the rod and having a bobbin tip receiving notch, a second bearing member coaxial with the first member and secured to the other end of the rod, and a bobbin butt support having a bobbin delivery part, a bobbin retaining part formed with a surface substantially concentric with the axis of the bearing members, and a third part intermediate the first two parts secured to said flat surface of said rod between said bearing members.

7.. A bobbin delivery cradle for a weft replenishing loom, said cradle comprising a substantially straight rod extending for the length of the cradle, a bearing member secured to one end of the rod and having a bobbin tip receiving notch, a second bearing member coaxial with the first member and secured to the other end of the rod, and a bobbin butt support having a bobbin delivery part, a bobbin retaining part formed with a surface extending angularly around the axis of the bearing members, and a third part intermediate the first two parts secured to said rod between said bearing members.

WILLIAM A. BLANCI-IARD.

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