US2552717A - Shuttle drive for looms - Google Patents

Description

y 1951 D. E. HOUGHTON 2,552,717

SHUTTLE DRIVE FOR LOOMS Filed March 15, 1950 4 Sheet-Sheet 1' w INVENTOR:

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ATTORNEYS.

May 15,1951 0. E. HOUGHTON 2,552,717

SH UTTLE DRIVE FOR LOOMS Filed March 15, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR."

ATTORNEYS May 15, 1951 Filed March 15, 1950 v D. E. HOUGHTON SHUTTLE DRIVE FOR LOOMS 4 Shets-Sheet 5 HUMAN.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented May 15, 1951 SHUTTLE DRIVE FORJ LO'OMS Daniel E. Houghton,-,Washington,- D.-C., assignor, by mesneuassignments, to New York Wire Cloth Company, York, Pa.,. a corporation of Delaware.

Application MaMh 15, 1950I-Srial No. 149,825

6. Claims (Cl. 139-141) This invention relates tonew methods' for drivingthe shuttle of. aloom randnew mechanisms for accomplishing. these. methods. More particularly, it is concernedlwithl a new method. for passing a shuttle throughztheshedof. aloom by;

means of shuttle bars and a new typelof mechanism' particularly well adapted to accomplish the'new method of driving the shuttlebars.

Discussion offield' ofimientz'on In the operation of looms for the weaving of c1oth,various factors limit the speed at which. the shuttle may be transported across the shed of the loom. One of the major factors limiting this speed of operation is the strain whichis placed upon the filling, because of shuttle acceleration. Thus, as the speed of the loom is increased,the point is reached, sometimes referredto as the threshold breaking point, at which the acceleration during some portion of "the travel of the shuttle is so high, that so great a stress is placed upon the filling that the tensile strength'of the filling is'exceeded and the filling breaks.

Several methods of weaving and new improvements in looms 'have been devised for permitting the shuttle to be picked at greater velocity than is possible without the'useof these new'methods' or new mechanisms, while, at the sametime,'de'- creasing the effect of shuttle acceleration; soas the filling and to new mechanisms for driving shuttle bars so as toaccomplish these newweav-- ing methods. adaptableto the art ofrwire .clothweaving" and to the loomsnow widely used in the industry for this purpose.

Objects A principal object of this invention" is the provision of a new method for passing theshuttle through the shed of a loom and the provision of new improvements in loom structures making possible these methods of loom operation.

Further objects include:

(1) The provision of new loomstructureszwhich make possible higher rates. of weaving than has The. invention is particularly,

been possible heretofore of. thiseinvention';

(2) The provision of new methodsaancl: new

' mechanisms for use in conjunction therewith for reducing the strain imparted to the filling during thepicking;operation-in wire cloth looms;

(3 The provision. of new shuttle bar drive mechanisms whichmake possible reduction" in. strain upon the filling,duringthepickingstep,

for. any given speed of weaving;

(4). The provision. of a-. new. methbdfdrthe transfer of the shuttle inaloom from one shuttle bar to another whichl decreases. the. rate of change of 'acceleration of the shuttle during. the

(5) The provision of new methods and. loom mechanisms particularly useful in. the weaving.

of wire cloth.

Still. further objects and the. entire scope of.

applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description. given hereinafter; it. should be understood, however,

that the detailed description. and specificexamples, while indicating preferred embodiments of.

the invention, are t given. by. way of. illustration only, since various changes and modifications. within the spirit andscopeof the invention will."

become apparent to those skilled, in the art from this detailed description.

General "descr ption These objects are accomplishedaccording to the. present invention, by a new process for loom operation inlwhich a'shuttle is. driven through the shed of the loom by a shuttlebarwiththe shuttletbeingtpassed on to the second andopposite-shuttle bar before the delivering shuttle .bar

has reached the end of its travel and when the secondlshuttle bar is in motion .ofreturn to the selvage andwithdrawing the empty shuttle bar with a greater speed than it is drivenintothe:

shed.

This new method of driving-ialshuttle through theshed-of a loom canbe accomplished byvarlious means. However, the preferred means, according to the-present inventionfor accomplishing this, comprises pivotinga pair of pendulous elements to a loom frame at a common point sub stantially above the center of the lay, connecting thelower free end ofthe pendulous elements separately toshuttle bars slidably mounted upon on comparablez; looms. whichdo not? incorporate the'neW improvements- 3 opposite sides of the loom frame by connecting means and driving the pendulous elements by means of a pair of cranks fixed atan obtuse angle to one another and mounted for oscillation in an arc with the outer end of each crank being movably connected to a separate one of said pendulous elements for travel longitudinally along the respective element when the crank is oscillated through its arc of movement.

The success of the present invention is due primarily to the discovery that when the shuttle bars of a loom are driven in the fashion indicated above, the ratelof charge of acceleration of the shuttle, particularly at and about the time when the shuttle is transferred from one shuttle bar to another, is decreased, as compared with methods of transfer of the, shuttle used heretofore, so that the shuttle may be passed through the 100m shed at a greater average speed without reaching the same maximum value of acceleration realized with the operation of looms not op-' erated in accordance with the present invention and the shuttle may be picked without imparting as great a stress to the filling.

Detailed description A more complete understanding of the new methods and apparatus for use therewith of this invention may be had by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is an end view of the lay portion of aloom incorporating the new shuttle bar drive mechanisms of this invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary view of the portion of the loom shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side View of the apparatus shown in Figure 2, taken along the line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary end view of a section of the mechanism shown in Figure 1, illustrating the details of construction of the connecting rod and shuttle bar portions;

Figure 5 is a top sectional View of the mechanism shown in Figure 4, taken along the line 55 of Figure 4 Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the movable connection between the crank and pendulous element, taken along the line 6-6 of Figure 2; V

Figure 7 is an enlarged sectional View of the roller guide mechanism for the pendulous element of the shuttle bar drive, taken along the line 7-! of Figure 2;

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic illustration of the shuttle bars and drive mechanism in the position when the shuttle has just started to enter the shed from the left-hand side;

Figure 9 diagrammatically illustrates the position of the shuttle drive components just before transfer of the shuttle; I

I Figure 10 shows the position of the loom components at the moment of transfer of the shuttle;

Figure 11 illustrates the position of the loom components just after the shuttle has passed from the delivering shuttle bar to the'receiving shut- 4 I4, top members 15, cross member 18, lays and 2 i and reeds 22.

The pendulous elements or lever arms 4 comprise rigid webs 2 3, pivoted at the top end 26 on the bolt 28 which is journalled in the bracket 30 which, in turn, is fastened by bolts 32 to the top frame member 5. The lower free ends 35 of the webs 24 are provided with a series of holes 36 to receive clevis pins of the connecting rods H3, as will be more fully described hereinafter. The central portion of the webs 2% are provided with longitudinal slots 38.

Bolted to the cross member It by bolts '36 there is a support member 42 which is provided at the I lower end 44 thereof with a guide unit 46 conas by bolts or rivets 52, to one of a pair of chain wheels 5! which is. carried upon the shaft 55,

which, in turn, is journalled on the support mem-' ber 42 with one of the chain wheels on either side of the support member 42.

The chain 58 passes around o'ne of the chain wheels 5 5', under the sheaves 6!! and overithe sheaves 82 in normal fashion for connection to the drive mechanisms of the loom (not shown).

The free ends of the cranks 6 are provided with rollers 64 which are fixed on the cranks by means of pins 66. These rollers roll in the slots '38 so a that when the cranks are driven through their are of movement by the crank driving means 3, comprising the chain wheels 54 and chain 58, the rollers move longitudinally along the slot 38 of the lever arms 4 (this can best be seen by reference to Figures 2 and 6 of the drawing). 7 Toward the lower part of the lever arms 4, there are attached guide rollers 68 journalled on the axles it which are carried by the brackets "i2 fastened by bolts T4 to the web 24. As, can be seen from Figures 2 and 3, these guide roll'ers fit between the two channel members G8 and serve to keep the lever arms 5 swinging in parallel planes during the operation of the shuttle drive mechanisms. 1 l l The connecting meansv lti'consist of a pitman 'ie provided on the inner end with a clevis it which fits over the lever arms 4. i Clevis pins 88 extend through the clevis 78 and through the desired opening 36 in the arms 4, thus operatively connecting the means It] to the arms The outside ends of the pitman 16 are provided with outside threaded elements 82 to which the lug 84, extending from'the shuttle bar I2, is adjustably fastened by means of the nuts 86. V

The shuttle bars l2 are slidably carried upon the lay 23 by means of the bracket 83. The inner end 96 of the shuttle bars is provided with shuttle grasping and engaging means 92 which are operated for connection'with and release of the shuttle by means of the operating unit 94. This unit consists of a pair of lever members 96, pivoted at one end 98 to the bar I? and at the other end Hi8 to the roller 32 and the lever member its which, in turn, is pivoted at the opposite end to the rod clamp I138. The rod clamp W8 is adjustably fastened to the rod liLwhich is slidable in bar I2, by means" of the screw I 52.

Engagement of the rollers it? with the cam members let upon passage of the bar 'I2,into

the shed forces'the'rod Iii outwardly from the end 90 of the bar 12, thus" operating the shuttle release mechanism. in known fashion.

various parts of mechanism of this invention in.

mind, from the description given above, the operation thereof can now be described in conjunction with Figures 8 to 12, giving a better idea of. the new method of operation of looms :as provided by this invention.

With the shuttle H4 in position in left-hand shuttle bar 12 downward movement of the respective crank 6 begins the drive of the shuttle into the shed of the loom (see Figure 8). As the shuttle bar proceeds further into the shed, the shuttle increases in acceleration as it passes the selvage and until it reaches approximately the center point of the lay. At the same time, the opposing shuttle bar-enters the loom to meet the incoming shuttle, but it passes its point of maximum movement into the shed before meeting the incoming shuttle, so that it begins its return movement before picking up the shuttle from the first shuttle bar.

As can be seen from Figures 8 to 10, while the empty carrier is making its stroke into the shed, the cranks move 120 and, while the shuttle is being brought to the center, the cranks move 165. During the interval between the end of the in stroke of the empty carrier and the exchange of the shuttle, the empty carrier reverses its direction of motion and increases its speed, going out of the shed at an average speed greater than it enters with, so that at the time the shuttle is exchanged, the two carriers are movin at the same speed and in the same direction. In this way, the shuttle is passed at a time when the shuttle bar which brought it into the shed is just starting to slow down and the one which is receiving it has speeded up to the same speed on the return motion of this shuttle bar. The drop in acceleration of the shuttle at the exact moment of transfer from one to another is considerably less than the drop in acceleration experienced by shuttles passed as in methods of weaving used heretofore. After the shuttle is carried beyond the selvage on the opposite side by the second shuttle bar, a selvage loop is formed in the filling and the picking, as described, is repeated.

As can be seen from the detailed description given above, a new method of picking the shuttle across the shed of a loom and new apparatus for accomplishing this new method have been provided by the present invention. As a matter of fact, actual operations on standard weaving looms in wire cloth weaving establishments have shown that the shuttle may safely operate at about 80 picks per minute, using the new methods and procedures of this invention, a compared with a maximum safe speed of about 65 picks obtained with the best drive mechanisms known heretofore. These new methods and apparatus make possible the operation of looms at higher speeds, so that a greater amount of woven goods can be turned out per machine for any given period of operation. It will be clear to those skilled in the art that other apparatus may be employed to accomplish the new methods of shuttle driving, as described herein, and that the preferred type of mechanism for this purpose, as disclosed above, can be altered in various respects by substitution of mechanical equivalents for the particular elements illustrated and described. For example, a slide and slide way arrangement be made.

. conceived and reduced to practice during the course oi this development, these novel features are defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A loom comprising a frame, a shuttle bar slidably carried by the frame on each side thereof, a pair of pendulous elements pivoted at a common point above said bars for swinging movement parallel to one another, means connecting a bar on each side of the frame to the unpivoted end of one of said elements, a pair of cranks fixed at an obtuse angle to one another for oscillation in an arc in a plane parallel to the plane of swinging of said elements, a movable connection between each one of said cranks and a separate one of said elements whereby the end of each crank reciprocates longitudinall along its respective pendulous element when oscillated in said arc, and means for driving said cranks in said arc.

2. A shuttle drive mechanism for looms comprising in combination a pair of opposed shuttle bars having means on one end for releasablyengaging a shuttle and having the other end attached to a connecting rod, a pair of lever arms pivoted at a common point above the loom reeds, with the other ends of said arms each being connected to one of said connecting rods, a longitudinal slot in each of said lever arms, a chain wheel journalled to rotate in a plane parallel to the plane of movement of said lever arms and cranks carried by said chain wheel, each of said cranks having a portion of its outer end positioned for oscillation in the slot of one of said lever arms.

3. A shuttle drive mechanism for looms comprising in combination a pair of shuttle bars slidably mounted on opposite sides of the loom, a connecting rod pivoted to the outside end of a shuttle bar on each side of the loom, a pair of lever arms pivoted at a common point above the loom reeds for swinging movement in planes parallel to one another, the inside end of each connecting rod being pivoted to the lower end of a respective lever arm, a chain wheel journalled above the loom reeds and below said lever arm pivot point between said lever arms in a plane parallel to the planes of movement of said lever arms, a longitudinal slot in each of said lever arms located approximately midway in the arm, a pair of cranks fastened to said chain wheel at an obtuse angle to one another, an operative connection between the free end of each crank arm and its respective lever arm slot, whereby said free end oscillates along said slot when moved in a circular path by the chain wheel and means for rotating said chain wheel.

4. A mechanism as claimed in claim 3, wherein said crank arms are provided at their free end with rollers which roll in the longitudinal slots of the lever arms.

5. A mechanism as claimed in claim 3, wherein said lever arms are provided with rollers which roll in guide ways carried by the loom frame in line with the path of swinging movement of the lever arm guiding the roller so that the lever arm is guided thereby during its movement.

6. A mechanism as claimed in claim 3, wherein said connecting rods are pivoted to said lever REFERENCES CITED arms by clevls pins and said lever arms are p The following references are of record in the vided with a SBIIESV of holes to receive the P1115 file of t patent:

whereby adjustment can be made in the length of travel of the connecting rod upon operation of i the lever arms by choice of the lever arm hole to UNITED STATES PATENTS which the connecting rod is attached. figi gggg g '12s 15s Bullock et a1. May 12 1903 NI L DA E E HOUGHTON 994,295 YOSt June 6, 1911 1,925,044 Briggs Aug. 29, 1933

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