US2701587A - Loom grate cleaner - Google Patents

Description

8, 1955 c. M. CULPEPPER ETAL 2,701,587

LOOM GRATE CLEANER Filed Sept. 21, 1953 5 R O T N E V m ATTORNEYS United States Patent LOOM GRATE CLEANER Coy M. Culpepper and Jael Culpepper, Greenville, S. C.

Application September 21, 1953, Serial No. 381,266

4 Claims. (Cl. 139-379) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in a loom cleaning device, and more particularly to a loom grate cleaner designed to clean the filling fork grate on weaving looms by removing loose threads, lint and other foreign material from such grate, to thereby avoid faulty operation of the loom stop mechanism.

It is now the ordinary practice to provide looms with weft or filling detecting mechanisms, usually comprising a grate mounted upon the lay, and a weft detecting fork mounted on the breast beam to cooperate with the grate to determine whether or not filling has been laid in the shed, and on a failure thereof to effect a change in the loom operation, such, for instance, as stopping the loom. During weaving, especially with certain kinds or characters of filling or weft threads, lint, dirt or other foreign matter is liable to accumulate on the grid, with the result that in such case the detecting mechanism may fail in its functional operation and call for loom stoppage when, as a matter of fact, weft has been laid in the shed. To guard against this improper operation of the weft detecting mechanism, the grid should be maintained free from lint and other like substances during the entire weaving operation.

In these looms, a suitable lay is mounted for oscillation on the upper end of sword members, and at one or both ends of the loom, the grate or grid is disposed adjacent the reed in the lay. Upon oscillation of the lay, the filling fork penetrates the grate and if there is a filling present, such filling fork will be pivoted so as to not actuate stop motion means. If there is no filling cast across the shed in the weaving operation, the pivoted filling fork will penetrate the grate and will therefore not be moved on its pivot and suitable stop motion means will be set into motion for stopping the loom. When the above-mentioned loose pieces of thread or lint find lodgment across the grate or grid, the filling fork will not be able to penetrate the openings in the grid or grate, and the loom will not be stopped even though there is no filling extending across the lay of the loom from one shuttle box to the other, thus resulting in thin places in the cloth.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a grate cleaner which will automatically remove from the grate, upon each oscillation of the lay away from beat-up position, any loose threads or lint which may become lodged in the grate.

It is another object of this invention to provide a loom filling grate cleaner which is characterized by being extremely durable and yet highly effective in cleaning of the filling grate.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a loom grate cleaner embodying loosely mounted springs which vibrate so as to clean themselves and the grate following each beat-up of the lay, such springs being readily replaceable and adjustable relative to the loom pitman rod to obtain the most effective cleaning of the filling grate.

The above desired objects are accomplished by rigidly mounting on the pitman rod extending from the sword to the crank shaft of the loom, a bracket which has mounted thereon individual cleaning means for engaging and thereby cleaning the slots of the grate as the loom moves away from the beat-up position and which is automatically removed from cooperation with the grate upon a beat-up stroke of the lay due to the change in angularity between the pitman rod and the grate.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which 2,701,587 Patented Feb. 8, 1955 'ice will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective detail of portions of a conventional loom provided with the present invention to show the connection and operation thereof with the loom.

Figure 2 is a side elevation illustrating the relationship of the loom grate cleaner and loom as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a detailed elevational view showing the mounting for the individual cleaning means for the slots of the filling grate.

Figure 4 is a perspective view illustrating a preferred form of filling grate to be used with the grate cleaner of this invention.

Figure 5 is an elevational view similar to Figure 2 showing the grate cleaner mounted on an alternative form of loom pitman rod.

As the invention is concerned entirely with the grate and grate cleaning mechanism of an automatic loom and as the construction and operation of the automatic stop mechanisms therefor, as well as of the looms in which they are embodied are all well-known and familiar to those skilled in the art, it is deemed only necessary here to illustrate portions of ordinary types of looms together with preferred forms of the present invention applied thereto.

Referring specifically to Figure 1, the loom frame 1 may be of usual construction provided with bearings 2 mounted at each side of the loom in which is journaled the crank shaft 3 having a crank 4. The lay 5 oscillated by pitman rods 6, is carried by the usual swords 7 which oscillate upon the usual rock shaft along the lower part of the loom. The pitman rod 6 pivotally connected to the crank 4 and upper end of sword 7 adjacent the lay 5 effects oscillation of the lay upon rotation of shaft 3. Thus, as the crank shaft 3 is rotated, the lay will be given its forward and rearward movements to effect the beat-up.

The lay 5 carries the usual reed 8 and as shown has mounted thereon adjacent one end of the reed the filling grid or grate 9, which may be conveniently secured to the lay in any appropriate manner as, for instance, by connection with the back box-plate of the shuttle box.

As is well known in conventional loom structures, as generally described above, such looms are commonly rendered automatic by embodying therein a so-called filling fork mechanism which acts upon breakage or failure of the running filling, to effect a change in the operation of the loom such, for example, as either the stopping of the loom or the automatic replenishment of the running filling supply. Such a filling fork mechanism usually comprises the two main elements of a grid such as 9 carried by the lay, in front of which lies the path of the filling from the shuttle to the cloth, and secondly a. filling fork pivoted on a fork slide carried by the breast earn.

The preferred form of filling grate 9 illustrated on Figure 4 comprises a substantially U-shaped plate with the ends thereof bent outwardly from the ends of the U, such plate being formed with a plurality of parallel elongated slots 10 extending throughout a major portion of the length of the plate which makes up the grate. This plate is further provided with an outwardly extending slotted tab 11 to facilitate attachment and proper adjustment of the plate in position on the lay as by connection thereof to the back box-plate of the shuttle box.

To most effectively illustrate the invention as applied to a loom of more or less conventional structure, only one corner or end of the loom has been shown. It is well known that in some loom constructions a filling detecting mechanism is provided at both ends of the loom. In these latter constructions it is contemplated that the loom grate and hereinafter-described grate cleaning device of our invention will be provided adjacent the pitman rods at each end of the loom.

Figure 1 illustrates one generally well-known type of pitman rod 6 which consists of a central bar 15 usually made of wood and a pair of U-shaped straps 16 respectively engaging the crank 4 at one end of the pitman rod and the pivot pin at the upper end of the sword 7 on the lay 5. These straps embrace the sides of the central bar and have at each of their ends outwardly extending flanges 17 which are engaged by bolts 18 which draw the U-shaped straps toward one another to retain the pitman rod assembly on the crank 4 and pivot pin on the lay 5.

A mounting plate 19 for the grate cleaning device is secured to the under side of the strap 16 adjacent the lay 5 by the lower bolt 18 joining flanges 17 and a bolt 20 which extends through the legs of the U-shaped strap 16 and the central bar 15. Slots are provided in the plate 19 to be engaged by the bolts 18 and 20 so that the mounting plate may be readily adjusted laterally with respect to the pitman rod to properly align the hereinafter described cleaning means, with the slots of the grate 9 mounted on the lay 5. The plate 19 further has vertically extending flanges 21 and 22 which are slotted to accommodate the holding screws which mount the grate cleaning device thereon.

The grate cleaning device is mounted on the flanges 21 and 22 by securing screws 26 and 27 extending through slots in the plate and the corresponding slots in the respective flanges 21 and 22. The provision of slots in both the plate 25 and the two vertical flanges 21 and 22 enables proper adjustment of the plate 25 relative to the pitman rod 6 so as to obtain the most effective operation of the cleaning device as actuated during oscillation of the lay 5.

The plate 25 has a portion extending upwardly and forwardly toward the filling grate 9 with the outer end thereof perpendicular to the general plane of the plate 25 to provide a mounting surface 28 for the cleaner supports. A series of upwardly and downwardly facing U-shaped rods 29 and 30, respectively, are secured to the surface 28 by one leg of each of such U-shaped rods being suitably connected as by welding to such surface. Each pair of these rods 29 and 30 is connected with the free outer ends thereof spaced and aligned so as to provide a mounting for one of the individual cleaning members which cooperate with the elongated slots 10 in the filling grate 9.

These cleaning members consist of coil springs 31 which are positioned over the free spaced outer ends of each pair of rods 29 and 30. The springs 31 loosely fit on the free ends of the rods 29 and 30 so that as the plate 25 is moved by reason of its being mounted on the pitman rod 6, these springs will enter the respective slots 10 in the filling grate 9 and effect a cleaning of such grate following each beat-up of the lay.

The cleaning members which may be made in the form of coil springs or tubes are preferably made of metal so as to have the desired resiliency to create a vibrating jingling action of the springs relative to the mounting rods. However, it is contemplated that any suitable durable rigid material may be used in forming the coiled springs or tubes, such as plastic or other material which will retain its formed shape when positioned on the mounting rods.

A particular advantage in the use of the metal or resilient plastic spring or tube structure resides in the fact that such springs or tubes are not subject to the undesirable wear which, as is well known, takes place in the presently used types of loom grate cleaners which utilize various forms of fiber brushes in cleaning the grate. Additionally, the loose mounting of the springs 31 on the rods 29 and 30 enables these springs to freely vibrate upon operation of the loom. This vibration of the springs creates a jingling action which serves to keep the coil springs clean themselves and enhances the cleaning performed by the device as it cooperates with the filling rate.

g The coil springs 31 made of metal, plastic or other suitable material are designed to vibrate on the mounting rods 29 and 30 which retain such springs in place on the grate cleaning device. In cooperating with the grate slots during oscillation of the lay, these springs are of such a size as to not fit too tightly within the grate slots. This keeps the springs from hanging in the grate and the vibration of the loom during operation thereof keeps the springs spinning around, up and down, and thus prevents the springs from filling up with lint, while at the same time cleaning the filling grate on each oscillation of the lay. It will readily be appreciated that the structure of the mounting rods 29 and 30 with their spaced aligned ends permits easy removal and replacement of the springs 31 should such replacement become necessary.

Having hereinbefore described the structure of our improved loom grate cleaner, reference will now be had to the operation of the cleaner in maintaining the filling grate of the loom free of lint, et cetera, during loom operation. With the grate cleaning device mounted on the pitman rod 6 and the crank shaft 3 turning in a clockwise direction, when the crank 4 is positioned as shown in Figure 1, the lay will be starting toward beat-up position. As the loom continues toward beat-up of the filling, the crank 4 will travel down to its lowermost position and then rise as it goes in a clockwise manner so that the springs 31 will be moving toward the slots 10 in the grate 9 when the crank throw is all the way to the beat-up position. The springs 31 will have completely entered the grate slots to efiect the cleaning action when the crank throw reaches the position shown in Figure 2. Continued rotation of the crank shaft 3 after moving the lay to beat-up position causes the crank 4 to effect backward oscillation of the lay 5 during which time the springs move in and then out of the grate slots.

It is thus seen that the springs 31 cooperate with the slots 10 in the grate 9 to clean such grate on each movement of the lay away from the beat-up position. Therefore the springs perform the cleaning action on the backward motion of the lay, at which time the filling is not present adjacent the grate and such cleaning action accordingly will not interfere with the proper action of the filling fork.

Figure 5 illustrates a cleaning device similar to the cleaning device in Figure 1, but applied to a loom having an alternative form of pitman rod construction. The pitman rod of this alternative form is characterized by having a spring 40 interconnecting the end 41 coupled to the crank 4 and the end 42 pivotally connected to the lay 5 mounted on the upper end of the swords 7. This form of pitman rod construction is suitably provided with a plate 43 which is slotted to adjustably support the mounting plate 44 to which is secured the grate cleaning device. This mounting plate 44 is provided with slots similar to the slots formed in the vertical flanges 21 and 22 of mounting plate 19 of the embodiment shown in Figure 1, these slots likewise being utilized to adjustably mount the plate 25 on the pitman rod to effect cleaning of the filling grate 9 during loom operation.

It will be readily recognized that the operation of the cleaning device mounted on the pitman rod construction of Figure 5 is substantially identical to the operation of the cleaning device on the form of pitman rod shown in Figures 1 and 2. Accordingly the description of the operation of the device as set forth for the first form of pitman rod construction similarly applies to the loom having the alternative pitman rod structure.

The filling grate cleaner as described hereinbefore may be readily applied to all types of looms having a variety of different lengths and styles of pitman rods, the adaptation of the cleaner necessitating only a variation in the mounting plate which is secured to the pitman rod. The advantages inherent in the filling grate cleaner as described above are apparent in that the cleaner continuously maintains the filling grate of the loom free of lint, threads and other foreign material during operation of the loom. Maintaining the filling grate continuously clean will minimize the cloth seconds having thin places in the cloth which may be caused by stopped-up filling grates. Obviously the utilization of this automatic filling grate cleaner will dispense with the necessity of the manual cleaning of the grates by a brush and remove the necessity for stopping the loom for hand cleaning.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

1. In a loom having an oscillating lay provided with a grate into which a filling fork is adapted to project upon oscillation of the lay in one direction, said lay having a pitman rod pivotally connected thereto and to a crank shaft for imparting oscillations to the lay, a mounting plate secured to the pitman rod having vertically extending portions provided with elongated slots, a second plate having slots therein, connector means cooperating with the respective slots in said mounting plate and said second plate to adjustably mount said second plate on said mounting plate, said second plate having an upwardly and forwardly extending portion with the outer end thereof provided with a surface normal to the general plane of said second plate, a plurality of pairs of mounting rods secured to said surface with portions of each pair of rods being axially aligned, and coiled resilient members freely supported on each pair of rods to cooperate with the loom grate upon each oscillation of the lay away from beat-up position.

2. In a loom having a lay provided with a grate and a crankshaft with a pitrnan rod pivotally connecting the crankshaft and the lay for imparting oscillatory movement to the lay, a grate cleaning device including a bracket mounted on the pitman rod to move simultaneously therewith, parallel upstanding mounting rods on said bracket with at least one such mounting rod for each slot in the grate, said rods being carried by said bracket so as to be movable through the slots in the grate upon each oscillation of the lay, an individual cleaning member loosely retained on each of said mounting rods, said members being freely vibratable'relative to said mounting rods so that during loom operation said members will be self-cleaning as the lay oscillates.

3. In a loom having a lay provided with a grate and a crankshaft with a pitman rod pivotally connecting the crankshaft and the lay for imparting oscillatory movement to the lay, a grate cleaning device mounted on the pitman rod to move simultaneously therewith, said device having individual cleaning means for each slot in the grate extending toward the grate and adapted to extend through the slots in the grate upon each oscillation of the lay away from beat-up position, said cleaning means comprising coiled members loosely retained on said device to permit said members to freely vibrate during loom operation to effectively clean the members and the grate after each beat-up of the lay.

4. In a loom having an oscillating lay provided with a grate into which a filling fork is adapted to project upon oscillation of the lay in one direction, said lay having a pitman rod pivotally connected thereto and to a crankshaft for imparting oscillations to the lay, a bracket adjustably mounted on the pitman rod adjacent the end pivotally connected to the lay, said bracket projecting upwardly above the pivot point between the pitman rod and lay and toward the grate, individual cleaning means for each slot of the grate mounted on the forward end of said bracket to cooperate with the grate upon oscillation of the lay in one direction due to the change of angularity between the lay and the pitman rod and to move away from the grate when the lay oscillates in the other direction, said individual cleaning means each comprising a pair of axially aligned rods mounted on said bracket in a plane substantially parallel to the slots in the grate and a coiled spring loosely supported on said rods so as to be freely movable in cooperating with the grate to thereby clean the grate on each oscillation of the lay away from beat-up position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 745,473 Austin Dec. 1, 1903 973,741 Armstead Oct. 25, 1910 1,651,148 Nix et a1 Nov. 29, 1927 2,367,564 Cooper Jan. 16, 1945

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