US2879095A - Thread knot and method for making same - Google Patents

Description

' March 1959 A. ALTENWEGER 2,879,095

THREAD 'KNOT AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME Filed April 15, 1957 Fig. 1

a a Y Fig.4

United States Patent THREAD KNOT AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME Alois Altenweger, Uster, Switzerland, assignor to Zellweger A.G., Apparateund Maschinenfabriken Uster, Uster, Switzerland, a corporation of Switzerland Application April 15, 1957, Serial No. 652,843

1 Claim. (Cl. 289-1.5)

The present invention relates to a new thread knot and a method for making same.

To satisfy the requirements of the textile industry 'several devices have been developed for knotting threads. The most commonly used mechanisms include a'rota'table knotter which is provided with a gripping and a cutting element or in which the knot is formed by means of a sleeve or thorn around which the threads are looped, the thread ends being pulled by a hook into the sleeve or thornso that the thread loops can'be tightened around thethread ends.

The manner of knotting threads in textile machinery depends on the individual requirements. 'The knots which are produced by warp knotters need not be particularly small because they are not present in the finished material. All what is required from these knots is that they do not open under any circumstances. The conventional knots do not fulfill this requirement if they are used for threads made of synthetic materials which threads are very smooth.

The object of the present invention resides in the provision of a new method for knotting threads and of a new knot which does not open even if it is used for very smooth threads. With the newmeth'od' the thread ends to be knotted are laid side by side and formed into a loop whereupon the ends portions of the threads coming out of the loop are wound five quarter times around the thread running into the loop. The thread ends are subsequently pulled through the loop from the side of the loop which is opposite the side where the winding of the thread ends started. Pulling the thread ends projecting from the loop and the threads running into the loop in opposite directions tightens the knot.

The novel features which are considered characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, and additional objects and advantages thereof will best be understood from the following descriptions of embodiments thereof when read in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figs. 1 to 3 illustrate three consecutive phases of making the knot according to the invention;

Fig. 4 is a part sectional perspective illustration of a device for knotting threads according to the invention;

Figs. to 8 illustrate the thread knotter of the device shown in Fig. 4 in diiferent operating positions;

Fig. 9 is a perspective illustration of the vital portions of a different thread knotter which is suitable for producing the knot according to the invention;

Figs. to 13 show the thread knotting part of the device shown in Fig. 9 in different operating positions.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the individual parts of the two illustrated devices are designated by consecutive arabic numerals, the individual thread portions being designated by small letters, the same letters being used in all figures of the drawing for the same thread portions. The thread ends to be knotted are in parallel relation and adjacent to each other during Patented Mar. 24, 1959 the whole threading operation and are shown by a solid line in Figs. 1 to 3 and 5 to 13.

When producing the knot according to the invention the thread ends to be knotted are first bent to form a loop a; 'as shown in Fig. 1. The letter [1 designates the threads as they come from the warp. The letter 0 designates' the thread ends which are cut by conventional means of a warp knotting machine. After the loop, shown in Fig. 1, has been formed, the thread ends 0 extending from the loop are wound five quarter times around the threads b which run into the loop (Fig. 2). These windings are designated by the letter I. The thread ends 0 are then pushed through the loop a from the side which is opposite the side where the windings d start (Fig. 3). The knot is tightened by pulling the thread ends 0 projecting from the loop a in opposite direction to the threads b running into the loop a.

Numeral 1 in Fig. 4 designates a conventional knotting thorn or tube which 'is rigidly connected with the frame 3 ofthe warp knotting machine by means of a' flange 2. The thorn 1 is hollow, axially movably accommodating a conventional needle 4. The front end 5 of the needle is formed as a hook for pulling threads which are laid into the hook into the bore of the thorn 1 upon retraction of the needle 4. To the rear end of the needle 4 an element 6 is clamped which element is provided with a pin extending into a slot of a lever 8. Swinging of the lever 8 caused by a cam 9 acting on a roller mounted on the lever 8 and not visible in Fig. 4 causes reciprocating movement of the needle 4 in the thorn 1. The cam 9 is mounted on a shaft 10 which makes one full revolution for each knotting operation. The knotting thorn'or tube 1 has on its outside a longitudinal groove in which slides an ejector 11 Whose rear end is provided with a head from which a pin 12 extends. The latter is slidable in a slot ofa lever 13. The rear of the lever 13 is provided with a cam follower roller, not vissible, engaged by a cam 14 mounted on the shaft 10 for reciprocating the ejector 11 in the longitudinal groove of the thorn 1. A spur gear wheel 15 is mounted on the shaft 10 and engages the teeth of a pinion which is mountedon a hollow shaft 16 revolvable on the thorn 1. The numbers of teeth of the wheel 15 and of the pinion areso that the pinion revolves three times at each revolution of the shaft 10. A sleeve 17 is axially movable on the shaft 16 and prevented to revolve relatively to the shaft by a key. The sleeve 17 supports a conventional thread clamp 18 having a fixed jaw and a spring actuated jaw and rotating around the longitudinal axis of the thorn 1 when the pinion on the shaft 16 is rotated. An actuating fork 19 has prongs extending into an annular groove in the sleeve 17 and is mounted on a rod 20 which is longitudinally movably supported by the frame 3. A head is clamped to the far end of the rod 20, the head being provided with a pin 21 which is slidable in a slot of a lever 22. The latter is actuated by a cam 23 mounted on the shaft 10 so that upon rotation of the shaft 10 the fork 19 moves the sleeve 17 and the thread clamp 18 along the thorn 1 simultaneously with the rotation of the sleeve 17 around the axis of the thorn 1. The warp knotting machine separates in the conventional manner one thread each from the used up warp and from the new warp. By conventional devices, not shown, these threads are placed in the position shown in Fig. 5 after the thread ends 0 have been cut off by conventional means. When the thread knotting machine begins a thread knotting cycle the rotating thread clamp 18 seizes the thread ends and lays these ends once around the thorn 1 while the sleeve 17 is so moved that the ends c come to rest behind the threads b when looking towards the free end of the knotting thorn (Fig. 6).

The first revolution of the thread clamp thus forms the loop a. At the subsequent revolution of the thread clamp 18 the clamp is moved beyond the free'end of the thorn 1 by the sleeve 17 and is then moved towards the frame 3 so that the thread ends slide past the free end of the thorn and are subsequently placed behind the threads b running into the loop. In this way the winding d is formed. During the subsequent rotating motion of the thread clamp the clamp is moved beyond or forward of the free end of the thorn 1. The hook 5 is simultaneously projected from the bore of the knotting thorn so that the thread ends 0 cannot slide over the free end of the thorn 1 but are laid into the hook 5. Immediately thereafter, the needle 4 is retracted in the bore of the knotting thorn pulling the thread ends c out of the clamp 18 and yieldingly retaining the thread ends in the bore of the thorn 1. The clamp continues to rotate and seizes a pair of threads which has been presented in the meantime by conventional devices, not shown, while the ejector 11 moves towards the free end of the knotting thorn, throwing off the previously formed loop and windings. Conventional devices, not shown, pull on the threads b tightening the knot, shown in Fig. 8, and pulling the thread ends 0 out of the bore of the knotting thorn.

The mechanism illustrated in Fig. 9 operates by a conventional knotting bill which is provided with a gripping ends 0, because the bill knotter will do this after completion of the knotting operation. A conventional thread guide, not shown, places the threads b in such a position relatively to the bill knotter that the point of the latter passes at the left of the threads during the initial revolution of the bill knotter, Fig. 11. The thread guide 43 carries the thread ends so far forward that they do not element 32 and with a movable cutting element 33, the V latter, during rotation of the bill knotter 31, being actuated by means of a sleeve 35 which is eccentrically mounted relatively to the rotation axis of the shaft 34 of the bill knotter. Bill knotters of this type afiord seizing and cutting the thread ends so that theloops formed on the bill can be pulled over the thread ends. A spur gear 36 is mounted on the shaft 34 which gear meshes With a gear 37 mounted on a shaft 38. The numbers of teeth of the wheels 36 and 37 are so chosen that the shaft 34 makes two revolutions during one revolution of the shaft 38 at each knotting operation. A cam 39 is mounted on the shaft 38 which cam engages a follower roller 40 mounted on a lever 42 which swings on a shaft 41. On the free end of the lever 42 a thread holder 43 is mounted. The thread holder is provided with a slot 44 for guiding the threads to be knotted. Prior to the knotting operation conventional elements, not shown, present the thread ends to be knotted to the bill knotter 3 1. In this case it is not necessary to cut the thread come within reach of the scissors formed by the gripping and cutting elements although the scissors are opened by the sleeve 35 whenever the scissors pass the thread ends. The thread ends are in front of the path of the bill knotter during the first revolution of the latter. In this manner the loop 11, shown in Fig. 11 is formed. At the subsequent revolution of the knotter, the loop a is turned approximately five quarter times relatively to the thread ends, producing the same result as if the threads were turned relatively to the loop (Fig. 12). 'At this second revolution the cam 39 actuates the thread holder 43 so that the thread ends move into the path of the scissors formed by the knotter and by the cutting element 33 and away from the loop one and one-quarter turns about the standing portion, passing the end portions through the loop on that side opposite to that where the one and one-quarter turns are initially wound about the standing portion, and tightening the knot by pulling the pairs of threads passing through the loop in a direction away from those extending toward the loop.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS McKinney Feb. 6, 1900 Raney July 2, 1946 OTHER REFERENCES Popular Mechanics, May 1945, pp. -110.

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