US2897847A

US2897847A - Thread extracting means for weft replenishing looms

Info

Publication number: US2897847A
Application number: US743123A
Authority: US
Inventors: Cederlund Albert
Original assignee: Crompton and Knowles Corp
Current assignee: Crompton and Knowles Corp
Priority date: 1958-06-19
Filing date: 1958-06-19
Publication date: 1959-08-04
Anticipated expiration: 1976-08-04

Description

g- 1 5 A. CEDERLUND 2,897,847

THREAD EXTRACTING MEANS FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS Filed June 19, 1958 2 Sheets-She et 1 INVENTOR ALBERT CEDERLUND aw Z ATTORNEY United States atent THREAD EXTRACT ING MEANS FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS Albert Cederiund, Worcester, Mass, assignor to Crompton & Knowles Corporation, Worcester, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application June 19, 1958, Serial No. 743,123

19 Claims. (CL 139-256) This invention relates to thread controlling means for weft replenishing looms and particularly to thread extracting devices therefor, and it is the general object of the invention to provide improved means for preventing the outgoing thread, or any part thereof, of an outgoing bobbin from entering the shed subsequent to a weft replenishing operation of the loom.

During a weft replenishment beat of the loom, the outgoing thread extends from the shuttle in the shuttle box under a reserve bobbin magazine to the selvage of the cloth being woven. The thread, after leaving the shuttle eye, is adjacent the greater part of the length of the shuttle and lies between the latter and the front wall of the shuttle box and extends therefrom to the selvage. When a transfer of bobbins occurs, the thread must be removed from the shuttle box so that it cannot be drawn into the warp shed by the shuttle to form an imperfection in the fabric when the shuttle is picked. The thread moves with the lay as the latter reciprocates between so-called front and back center positions, and considerable dilficulty has been experienced in the past in removing the thread, not only from the shuttle box but also from the lay on weft replenishing beats of the loom.

Certain devices that have gone into use have not proved entirely satisfactory because they have failed to remove the thread from the lay with the result that the thread, or a part of it, is drawn into the warp shed,

either by a shuttle or by loom vibration. For example,

one known device moves part of the thread forwardly, and a device on the lay coacting with the first device moves part of the thread rearwardly to effect removal of the latter from the shuttle box. However, in this case the thread is held to and suspends from part of the lay and because of the usual rapid reciprocation of the lay, the thread or part of it is often whipped into the shed. Another type of device that has gone into use employs a clamp and cutter system whereby the thread is clamped and then cut at the eye of the shuttle after which the cutter and clamp is moved forwardly during forward motion of the lay to remove the thread from the shuttle box. At this time the layend and certain of the going parts thereon are adjacent to the clamp and cutter, and when the lay recedes, the thread is frequently caught on one of the going parts and eventually finds its way into the shed. Also, in this particular system of removing the thread the front wall of the shuttle box has an elongated slot open at one end and of substantial height to permit the egress of the thread from the shuttle box. As a result of the slot, the shuttle checking surface of the wall is reduced and stopping of the shuttle, when it enters the box, is less effective than when all of the surface is used, and the shuttle may rebound and cause a bobbin smash on transferring beats of the loom. Moreover, because the lay reciprocates through a fixed disstance between back and front center positions thereof, the certain devices, referred to above, must be so correlated with respect to the moving lay as to establish exacting relationship therebetween in order that the devices are able to pick up the thread. This relationship, however, restricts the distance the devices can move, resulting in movement of the thread away from the lay a distance less than is desired.

It is therefore an important object of the present invention to overcome these diffioulties and restrictions by providing simple means movable rearwardly to thread pick-up position and then forwardly whereby part of said means moves the thread forwardly a predetermined distance and another part of said means engages the thread thereafter to move it further forwardly to effect removal thereof from the shuttle box and the lay. In this manner the thread is enabled to be moved a greater distance forward than was contemplated in the past.

Another object of the invention is to provide cooperating elements on said means to effect reeving of the thread always in a forward direction down and away from the lay, one of the elements being provided with means to cause rapid motion of said one element to effect snapping of the thread out of the box and away from the lay before the lay moves rearwardly.

Another object of the invention is to provide thread placing means and thread extracting means movable rearwardly from a normal forward position and back again and mounted on independent supporting structures fixed to a stationary part of the loom, the means cooperating with each other to produce bends in the thread to effect reeving thereof, said bends being moved always forwardly when the placing and extracting means move forwardly to thread extracted position, said bends being held there until a subsequent weft replenishing operation.

It is another object of the invention to provide operative connections between the thread placing and extracting means whereby the connections permit the placing means, during the greater part of its motion either forwardly or rearwardly, to move with respect to the extracting means to trigger the extracting means to cause the latter to move to thread extracting or to thread extracted position depending on whether the placing means is moving rearwardly or forwardly.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lost motion connection between the extracting means and the operative connections so that the placing means can move forwardly after it has picked up the outgoing thread to place a portion of the latter adjacent the extracting means for engagement thereby before the latter moves forwardly incident to a weft replenishing operation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide yielding means having one of its ends connected to the extracting means and its other end connected to a part of the operative connections, said yielding means moving bodily about said one end when said part moves, either rearwardly or forwardly, and being capable of exerting a force after it has moved bodily a predetermined distance to effect movement of the extracting means rearwardly to thread-extracting position or forwardly to thread-extracted position depending in which direction said part is moving.

A further object of the invention is to provide stop means for the thread placing and thread extracting means to limit rearward and forward motion thereof, whereby operational relationship is maintained between the placer and the extractor when they are in thread pick-up and thread engaging positions respectively by preventing excess motion with respect to each other.

A further object of the invention is to provide the thread placer with a pair of thread pick-up members pivoted on and movable with the thread placer and effective after the latter moves from its normal forward position to its rear thread pick-up position to pick up the outgoing thread and clamp it at one point and trap it at another point, the placer having locking means pivotally mounted thereon to positively lock the members in open or in closed position so that vibration of the loom will not cause accidental closure of the members before they have picked up the thread or accidental opening of the members before they have moved the thread to its extracted position.

It is afurtherobject of the invention to provide actuator means to unlock the members and move them positively to locked open position when the placer is in its normal position, and to provide means to unlock said members when the placer is in rear position and after the thread has been picked up whereupon resilient means connected to said locking means acts to move the members to locked closed position to clamp and trap the outgoing thread.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood reference is made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate by way of example the embodiments of the invention and in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a magazine as viewed from the center 4 of the loom having the invention applied thereto and the parts thereof in normal or forward position; certain of the loom parts being in section,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view looking in the direction of arrow 2, Fig. l, V

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on line 33 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of the thread placer taken on Fig. 3 and looking in the direction of arrow 4,

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view of the thread extractor looking in the direction of arrow 5, Fig. 3,

Fig. 6 is a view similar to a part of Fig. l but showing the thread pick-up members in open or thread-receiving position,

Fig. 7 is an operational view showing the thread placing and thread extracting means in rear position with the lay engaging one of the locking means and the outgoing thread being picked up by the pick-up members,

Fig. 8 is an operational view showing the thread placer approaching its normal position with the outgoing thread adjacent the thread extracting means for engagement thereby,

Fig. 9 is an enlarged view looking in the direction of arrow 9, Fig. 7,

Figs. 10, 11 and 12 are diagrammatic views illustrating the removal of an outgoing thread from the shuttle box and the lay, and

Fig. 13 is a diagrammatic rear view illustrating the clamping and trapping of an outgoing thread.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, a loom frame 1 supports a breastbeam 2 on which a magazine, generally indicated at M, is mounted. The magazine has an upper shaft 3 mounted in right and left-hand bearings 4 and 5 respectively for rocking motion therein. Also, mounted on the magazine for rocking movement thereon is a bobbin selector 6 slidable rearwardly and forwardly by means of a bell-crank lever 7 connected by a chain 8 to a pattern control not shown but well-known in the art. Shaft 3 has a lever 9 fixed thereto which has the upper end of a depending rod 11 pivotally attached thereto, the lower end being pivotally mounted and verticallyadjustable to mechanism to be described hereinafter. Shaft 3 also mounts another depending rod 12 which is connected at its lower end to a latch 13 for cooperation with abunter 14 on the lay L. The lay has shifting shuttle boxes generally indicated at B mounted for vertical movement thereon to receive shuttles, one of which is indicated by S. A weft detector D shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1 rises and falls with the shifting of the shuttle boxes. When exhaustion of weft is detected by the detector, the latter will initiate setting of the magazine for transfer of a bobbin from the magazine into the shuttle containing the near-depleted bobbin which is expelled from the shuttle during the transferring operation. This initiation has the elfect of moving theusual pump rod 15 downwardly to effect rocking of the bobbin selector 6 upwardly to raise one or another of vertical slides 16 through 19, depending upon the longitudinal position of the selector. Subsequently, the selector will be rocked in the opposite direction by pump rod 15 to lower the selected slide to release a reserve bobbin to transfer position indicated at T, Fig. l. Lowering of the slide effects rocking of shaft 3 in a direction to raise rod 11 for a purpose to be described and effects raising of latch 13 for engagement with bunter 14, as the lay advances, to effect transfer of a bobbin into the depleted shuttle by the usual transfer hammer 25 When the selected slide moves shaft 3, the latter is given the usual partial rocking movement to partially move rodll after which the movement of the latter and shaft 3 is completed by the usual over-center spring toggle connection generally indicated at 21, Fig. l. The matter thus far described forms no part of the present invention except as hereinafter described and operates in the usual manner.

In carrying out the present form of the invention a bracket 22 bolted as at 23 for vertical adjustment to the magazine frame M supports a stud 24 on which a thread placer, generally indicated at 25, is pivotally mounted for rocking movement on stud 24. During normal loom operation, the thread placer and the parts associated therewith and to be described hereinafter will be in their normal or forward position as seen in Figs. 1 and 3, and during a weft replenishing operation the placer and parts will be in rear or thread pick-up position as shown in Fig. 7. The thread placer comprises a pair of spaced

arms

26 and 27 depending from a hub 28 on stud 24. Another arm 29 extends rearwardly from hub 28 and is operatively connected to the lower end of rod 11, referred to above, and when shaft 3 is rocked to lift latch 13 to set the magazine for transfer as described above, rod 11 will also be raised to lift arm 29 to cause rocking of thread placer 25 rearwardly from its normal position to thread pick-up position. The lower end of each

arm

26 and 27 has pivotally mounted thereon, as at 3131, thread pick-up

members

32 and 33 respectively, the upper ends of which are interconnected by a pin 34 to effect simultaneous movement of the members for a purpose to be described. Member 32 has a rearwardly extending, thread pick-up arm 35 to cooperate with the lower end 36 of arm 26 to clamp the outgoing thread OT as can best be seen in Figs. 8 and 13. Member 33 also has a rearwardly extending, thread pick-up arm 37 having a beveled edge 38 opposite a beveled edge 39 on arm 27 to define therebetween a space 40 to effect trapping of the thread OT when the latter is clamped by arm 35 and end 36 on a replenishing beat of the loom, see Fig. 13. Trapping of the thread occurs at the same time the latter is clamped due to simultaneous movement of the members 32-and 33 by pin 34.

A lever 41 pivotally mounted as at 42 on arm 27 is provided with an arcuate slot 43 to receive and guide the interconnecting pin 34 for a reason to be described hereinafter. The forward end of this slot has an upwardly facing notch 44, see Figs. 3 to 8, to receive the pin 34 to hold the

members

32 and 33 positively locked in closed or thread clamping and thread trapping positions respectively. A lever 45 is also pivotally mounted on arm 27 as at 46 and is provided with a forwardly extending part 47 which has an arcuate surface 49 to guide the pin 34 into a notch, described below, when the pin moves rearwardly to

rock members

32 and 33 to open or threadreceiving position. The rear end of surface 49, see Figs 3, 6 and 8, has a downwardly facing notch 50 to receive the pin 34 to positively lock the

members

32 and 33 in open or thread-receiving position. Lever 45 has a depending tail piece 51 for engagement with part of the lay L, Fig. 7, when the thread placer is in its rear position, to cause turning of lever 45 counterclockwise to effect unlocking of the

members

32 and 33 as the lay moves forwardly to transfer position. A spring 52 is operably connected to both

levers

41 and 4 and has one end anchored K" J as at 53 to lever 41 and its other end fast to lever 45 as at 53a. The spring exerts a force in a direction to move the distal ends of the levers away from each other, and when unlocking of

members

32 and 33 is effected by the lay, the force exerted by the spring will cause lever41 to rock counterclockwise, Figs. 7 and 8, to move pin 34 along slot 43 which guides the pin into notch 44 to establish positive locking relationship with lever 41 to hold thread pick-up

arms

35 and 37 in thread-clamping and trapping positions respectively.

Levers

41 and 45 may be considered as locking means for the

members

32 and 33 while spring 52 may be considered as resilient means incident to a weft replenishing operation, actuator 54 will contact anchor 53 to move it and lever 41 clockwise, Fig. 2,- to unlock pin 34 from notch 44, whereafter continued down motion of actuator 54 will continue to rock lever 41 clockwise about pivot 42, and pin 34 will be guided rearwardly along slot 43 and curve 49 until it moves into notch 50 to eifect positive locking relationship with lever 45 as shown in Fig. 6. During rearward motion of pin 34, members 32 and 3-3 will turn simultaneously clockwise about pivot 3131, from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig. 6, to move thread pick-up

arms

35 and 37 to open or thread-receiving position where they are locked against accidental closure because of loom vibration in order to be able to pick up the outgoing thread.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, a thread extracting means generally indicated at 55 comprises a thread extractor lever 56 mounted for pivotal movement on a stud 57 supported on a stand 58 fastened to a block 59 in any approved manner, the block being conventionally bolted to the breastbeam 2. The lower end of lever 56 is formed with a forwardly facing hook 60 to engage and move the outgoing thread forwardly on replenishing beats of the loom. Stud 57 mounts a lever 61 for pivotal movement thereon with respect to lever 56. A connector 62 has one of its ends pivoted on arm 27 as at 63 and the other end pivoted as at 64 to lever 61. Lever 61 has a stud 65 to which is anchored one end of a spring 66 the other end of which is anchored to a stud 67 on lever 56. Lever 61, connector 62, and spring 66 may be considered as operative means or operative connections between the thread placer 25 and the thread extractor 55.

Stand 58 has mounted thereon stop mechanism generally indicated at 68 to limit rearward and forward movement of thread extractor 56 during a weft replenishing beat of the loom. The stop mechanism includes a rod 69 having one end pivotally connected to lever 56 and the other end having nuts 70 for adjustment therealong to vary the motion of lever 56. Rod 69 extends freely through a rotatable stud 71 on stand 58 and when lever 56 is rocked, rod 69 will slide through stud 71 and turn the latter to position itself to limit motion of lever 56 either forwardly or rearwardly depending upon which direction the thread extracting lever 56 is moved. A fixed stop 72 on stand 58 cooperates with an extension 73 on lever 61 to limit rotation of the latter in a clockwise and counterclockwise direction which consequently limits motion of the thread placer 25 rearwardly and forwardly through rod 62. Another stop 74 fast on stand 58, see Figs. 3 and 8, contacts the lower end 75 of arm 27 when the latter moves to its forward position to prevent over-travel of the lower end of the thread placer. It has been found that the latter stop is not necessary for the successful operation of the present invention, but merely acts as a safeguard to prevent undue strain on the thread placing device which may result from said over-travel.

Referring particularly to Fig. 7, which corresponds to Fig. 1 the thread placer 25 is shown as being in its rear or thread pick-up position and lever- 56 in its rear or thread-engaging position. The lay at this point has advanced a portion 76 of the outgoing thread so that it lies between the thread'pick-up

members

32 and 33 and the lower ends of

arms

26 and 27 respectively. Continued forward motion of the lay will effect unlocking of the members, as described hereinbefore, with subsequent closing thereof by spring 52 to clamp and trap the thread as shown in Fig. 13.

As the lay advances it will move placer 25 from its slanted position, Fig. 7, to a vertical position (not shown) after which the usual toggle 21 will act to move the placer to the positions shown in Figs. 8 and 11 and thence to its normal position shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Movement of the placer to its normal position will cause arm 29 to rotate downwardly to move rod 11 also downwardly to effect rocking of shaft 3 back to the position it occupied prior to indication of weft exhaustion.

Fig. 11 corresponds to Fig. 8 and shows the

levers

26 and 27 adjacent the hook 60 which is about to engage portion 65. During forward movement of

levers

26 and 27 the spring 66 will be moved bodily from the position shown in Fig. 7 to that in Fig. 8 whereupon lever 56 will be moved rapidly forwardly by the force exerted by the spring to carry the thread through slot 40 to effect reeving and movement of the thread downwardly and forwardly in the direction of arrow 77, Fig. 13. Fig. 12 shows the thread placer and the thread engaging means in their forward positions with the thread snapped out of the shuttle box and away from the lay. As shown in Figs. 7 and 8 the lost motion connection referred to hereinbefore permits relative movement between the thread placer and the thread-engaging means such that when the

arms

26 and 27 move forwardly toward the thread-engaging means, the thread is partially moved out of the shuttle box after which the thread-engaging means completes removal of the thread from the box and the lay. Fig. 13 shows the outgoing thread clamping at one point between member 26 and arm 35 and trapped at another point between member 27 and arm 37 by reason of opening 40 which permits reeving of the thread downwardly and forwardly by the engaging means when the latter is moved forwardly. It will be noted that reeving of the thread around hook 60 and over arm 37 produces a plurality of bends in the thread which are always moved in a forward direction away from the lay, see Fig. 12. Members 32' and 33 and hook 60 hold the portion 76 and the bends of the thread in position away from and forward of the lay when the latter is reciprocating between back and front center positions to prevent engagement thereby and subsequent whipping of the thread into the shed.

In operation, the lay will be moving rearwardly and forwardly between back and front center positions, as is usual, and the magazine, the thread placer and thread extractor will be as shown in Fig. 1. Upon weft exhaustion, the detector D will initiate setting of the magazine for transfer as described hereinbefore. At the time of initiation, rod 15 will move downwardly in the usual way to cause actuator 54 to engage and move anchor 53 downwardly which has the effect of moving pin 34 from notch 44 to notch 50 whereupon thread pick-up

arms

35 and 37 will simultaneously move to locked open position as described above and shown in Fig. 6. Rod 11 will have an up movement to set the magazine for transfer subsequent to the down movement of rod 15 and this movement will rock arm 29 clockwise as viewed in Fig. 1. Rocking of arm 29 will rotate the thread placer 25 rearwardly to thread pick-up position with the

members

32 and 33 in locked open thread-receiving position. As the placer moves rearwardly, connector 62 will rotate lever 61 counterclockwise as viewed in Figs. 3 and 7 to a predetermined position without efiecting movement of the thread extracting lever 56. After this position has been reached, the spring 66, which moved will exert a force to eifect movement of lever 56 rearwardly to thread-engaging'position, see Figs. 7 and 8. The pivotal mounting 57 forlevers 56 and 61 and the connecting spring 66 therebetween provides a lost motion connection such that the thread placer will move rearwardly a predetermined distance before lever 56 will move. wardly. It is to be understood that when the placer is in its rear or thread pick-up position, the lay will be moving forwardly as will be the outgoing thread OT, and the shuttle boxes will be as shownin Fig. 1. As the lay advances, the thread will move onto

arms

35 and 37 after which part of the lay will engage the piece 51 to unlock the latter whereupon spring 52 will exert a force to move pin 34 forwardly to effect clamping and trapping of the thread by

members

32 and 33 respectively. The thread is clamped and trapped just before the usual thread cutter 78 severs the threadat the shuttle eye in the usual manner, not sho'wn but well understood in the art. Continued forward motion of the lay will move the thread placer a certain distance forwardly as described above after which the aforesaid toggle connection will move the placer adjacent the extractor, Figs. 8 and 11, thereafter completing motion of the placer to its normal position. During its forward motion, from Fig. 7 to Fig. 8, the placer will move connector 62, and

lever 61 and spring 66 clockwise to the position shown in Fig. 8, and at the same time portion 76 of thethread will be placed in position to be engaged by'hook 60. When the spring reaches the position shown in Fig. 8, it will contract and lever 56 will be given a snappyforward motion effective to snap the thread out of the box and away from the lay before the latter starts rearwardly. During a subsequent pick after a weft replenishing operation, the usual temple cutter indicated at 79 will operate to sever the thread at the selvage, and that partof the thread indicated at 81 extending from the selvage to the clamp will hang downwardly from the placer as will the extracted part of the thread indicated at 82 and said both parts will be held by the placer away from and forward of the lay, see Fig. 1.

When the next replenishing operation occurs,

arms

35 and 37 will open, as described hereinbefore, and the

parts

81 and 82 will fall to some such position adjacent breastbeam 2 as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 to be held by hook 60 until the latter moves rearwardly, as before, whereupon the thread OT will fall to the fioor or into a container (not shown) if desired.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that simple means have been provided for the removal of the thread from the shuttle box and from the lay to prevent entry of the thread into the warp shed. Also, it will be seen that removal of the thread occurs before the lay starts its backward motion and in this way the thread is prevented from being caught on a going part of the lay and eventually drawn into the shed. Also, the thread placer and thread engaging means are so mounted that there is relative motion between them, the effect of which is to move the thread forwardly in two steps, first by the thread placer and secondly by the thread engaging means. In this manner it is possible to move the thread a distance further forwardly than was realized in the past. It will also be seen that the invention provides means 'which not only moves the thread forwardly but also holds the thread in a forward position adjacent the breastbeam and away from the lay. Moreover, the cooperation between the thread engaging means and the thread placer means provides the means in which bends in the threads are produced and moved forwardly and when thus being moved reeving of the thread is effected by the hook 60 and arm 35. Also, simple, locking means have been provided for the members to positively lock the members either in closed or in open position so that This is also true when the placer moves forthe members cannot close due to loom vibration before they have picked up the thread or cannot open to lose the thread after picking it up before the thread is cut at the selvage and before the next weft replenishing operation. i

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited in use with shifting shuttle boxes, but that a single shuttle box under the magazine can be employed, and when such is the case, it need only be necessary to lower bracket 22 via bolts 23, adjust rod 11 to drop its lower end, and

remove block 59 to set stand 58 on the breastbeam proper and bolt it thereto.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, what is claimed is:

1. In a weft replenishing loom having a magazine and transfer setting means therefor, and a rearwardly and forwardly reciprocating lay having a shuttle box thereon at the magazine side of the loom containing a shuttle having a thread extending from the eye of the shuttle to the selvage on weft replenishing beats of the loom and movable with the lay, the loom having a thread cutter adjacent the eye of the shuttle on said beats, thread placing means movable rearwardly on said beats to thread pick-up position when the magazine is set for transfer and movable forwardly by the advancing lay after it has picked up the thread to advance a portion of the thread forwardly to place said portion in a position conducive to further advancement, thread extracting means mounted on the loom frame in thread extracting position incident to a weft replenishing operation of the loom, and means between said placing means and said extracting means effective to cause movement of said extracting means forwardly on said beats to further advance said portion after the thread has been severed by the cutter at the shuttle eye, whereupon that part of the thread extending from said portion to said eye will be extracted from said box.

2. In a weft replenishing loom having a magazine and setting means therefor, and a reciprocating lay having a shuttle box thereon at the magazine side of the loom containing a shuttle having a near-depleted bobbin from which a thread extends through the shuttle eye to the selvage on weft replenishing beats of the loom, the loom having a thread cutter operable to sever the thread on said beats, thread placing means movable from a normal forward position to an abnormal rear, thread pick-up position when the magazine is set for transfer and movable back to said forward position after the thread has been picked up by said placing means to place a portion of the thread forwardly to locate said portion between said positions for further forward movement thereof after the cutter has severed the thread, thread extracting means movable rearwardly and forwardly with said placing means on said beats to engage said portion when moving from its rear to its forward position to move said portion further forwardly to effect removal of the thread from the shuttle box, and means between said placing and extracting means effective to cause movement of the latter means rearwardly to thread extracting position when said placing means moves rearwardly and also effective to move said extracting means forwardly to threadcxtracted position when said placing means moves forwardly.

3. In a weft replenishing loom having a magazine, a backwardly and forwardly reciprocating lay having a shifting shuttle box thereon at the magazine end of the loom, said box having a shuttle therein containing a neardepleted bobbin from which a thread extends to the selvage on weft replenishing beats of the loom, the loom having a thread cutter adjacent the shuttle and operable to sever the thread on said beats, thread placing means movable on said beats from a normal forward station to an abnormal or rear, thread pick-up station when the magazine is set for transfer and movable back to its normal station after picking up the thread to move a portion of the thread forwardly to a position between said stations to locate said portion for further forward movement, means to engage said portion when in said position to move it further forwardly incident to a Weft replenishing operation, operative connections movable with said placing means and between said placing means and said engaging means to effect movement of the latter means rearwardly to thread engaging position during part of the rearward movement of said placing means and to effect return of said engaging means to thread retracted position while said placing means is moving forwardly, and means movable by said connections and between said connections and said engaging means to move the latter means rearwardly and forwardly and with respect to said connections when said connections have moved a predetermined distance rearwardly and forwardly respectively.

4. In a Weft replenishing loom having a magazine and bobbin transfer setting means therefor, a rearwardly and forwardly reciprocating lay having a shuttle box thereon at the magazine side of the loom, and a shuttle in said box having a thread extending from the shuttle eye to the selvage on weft replenishing beats of the loom, the loom having a thread cutter adjacent the eye of the shuttle, thread placing means between the box mouth and the selvage movable rearwardly to thread pick-up position when the magazine is set for. transfer and movable forwardly by the advancing lay after the thread has been picked up to move a portion of the thread forwardly to a predetermined position wherein said portion will. be in readiness for further forward movement, and thread extractor means mounted on the loom frame in thread extracting position incident to a replenishing operation of the loom and triggered by said placing means to move forwardly to engage said portion when the latter is in said predetermined position to move said portion forwardly to cause the part of the thread extending from said portion to the shuttle eye to snap out of said box down and away from said lay after the thread has been severed by the cutter at the shuttle eye and before the lay starts moving rearwardly.

5. In a weft replenishing loom having a magazine and a rearwardly and forwardly reciprocating lay having a shuttle box thereon at the magazine side of the loom containing a shuttle having a thread extending from the eye of the shuttle to the selvage on weft replenishing beats of the loom, the loom having a thread cutter to sever the thread adjacent the eye of the shuttle on said beats, means movable rearwardly and forwardly to thread extracting and extracted positions respectively incident to a weft replenishing operation of the loom, said means including a plurality of elements movable further forwardly from thread extracting position to thread extracted position on said beats, one of said elements effective to produce a plurality of bends in the thread as said one element moves forwardly after the thread hasbeen cut, said one element moving said bends in a direction away from and relative to the lay to effect withdrawal of the thread from the shuttle box.

6. The loom set forth in claim wherein said one element is mounted on the loom frame independently of the mounting for the other elements and is effective when in said extracted position to maintain said bends stationary in a forward position away from said lay as the latter moves rearwardly subsequent to a weft replenishing operation.

7. The loom set forth in claim 5 wherein said one element moves rearwardly to thread extracting position on said beats relative to the remaining elements as said means moves to said position, said one element moving forwardly to thread extracted position on said beats relative to the remaining elements to produce a plurality of forwardly moving bends in the weft as said means move to thread extracted position.

8. In a weft replenishing loom having a magazine and a rearwardly and forwardly reciprocating lay having a shuttle box thereon at the magazine side of the loom containing a shuttle having a thread extending from the eye of the shuttle to the selvage on weft replenishing beats of the loom, the loom having a thread cutter to sever the thread adjacent the eye of the shuttle on said beats, means movable rearwardly and forwardly to thread extracting and extracted positions respectively incident to a weft replenishing operation of the loom, said means including a thread placer and a plurality of thread engaging reeving elements, part of said reeving elements being on the placer and part being on the loom frame and movable with said placer when the latter moves, said placer being effective to carry'a portion of said thread forwardly to said last named part when the latter is in thread extracting position and also being effective to cause relative movement between the said parts on said beats when said placer moves forwardly incident to a weft replenishing operation, said movement causing engagement of said last named part with said portion to move the latter in advance of said placer to produce a plurality of bends in the thread to effect reeving of the thread in a forward and down direction away from said lay and removal therefrom.

9. In a weft replenishing loom having a forwardly and rearwardly moving lay, a thread extracting device including a pair of spaced vertical arms pivotally mounted at their upper end for simultaneous movement from a normal, forward position to a rear, thread pick-up position incident to a weft replenishing operation and thread engaging means pivotally mounted independently of said arms'but being operatively connected thereto for movement therewith when said arms move, a pair of spaced thread pick-up members, one on each arm, pivoted at the lower end of the arms and movable from closed to open position incident to said replenishing operation when said arms are in their normal position, means interconnecting said members to effect simultaneous movement thereof, locking means coacting with said interconnecting means and between said members and said arms and mounted on one of said arms for independent movement relative to each other, said interconnecting means cooperating with one part of said locking means to hold said members closed when said device is in its normal position, operating means movable incident to a replenishing operation to engage said one part to move the latter on a weft replenishing beat of the loom whereby said interconnecting means is moved to unlocking position to effect opening of said members and into locking relationship with the other part of said locking means to lock said members in open position before said device is moved to its rear or thread pickup position, means on said other part to cooperate with the advancing lay to unlock and initiate closure of said members when said device is in its rear or thread pick-up position and after it has picked up the thread, and means between said parts of locking means to eflect movement of saidlinterconnecting means forwardly to complete closing and locking of said members.

10. The loom set forth in claim 9 wherein the pivotal mountings for the arm and engaging means are parallel to and spaced from each other such that the lower ends of said arms will be rearward of said engaging means when said arms and means are in thread pick-up position, and such that said engaging means will be forward of said lower ends when the latter and said means are in their normal forward positions.

11. The loom set forth in claim 9 wherein said operative connections permit the lower ends of said arms to move forwardly and adjacent to said engaging means while the latter is still in rear or thread engaging position, after which said connections effect return of said arms and'means to their normal forward positions.

12. The loom set forth in claim 9 wherein said operative connections are movable with said arms and include a lever pivoted on the mounting for said engaging means and movable with respect thereto, a connector having one end pivotally connected to said lever and its other end ment therebetween when s'aida'rm'smove.

13. The loom set forth in'claim l2wherein said spring has one of its ends fixed to said lever and the other end fixed to said engaging means such that when said arms move said one end of the spring will move relative'to the other end to effect expansion and bodily movement of the spring about said other end to a predetermined position whereupon the spring will contract to move said ends toward each other to cause relative movement between the lever and theengaging means to move the latter from normal forward position to rear thread engaging position or vice versa depending upon which direction said arms move.

14. The loom set forth in claim 12 wherein said spring yieldingly locks said engaging means to hold the latter in rear or normal position depending upon whether said arms are in rear or normal position.

15. The loom set forth in claim 9 wherein said one part is a lever pivoted on one of said arms and including a stud thereon'for engagement with said operating means, and an arcuate guiding slot for movement of said interconnecting means therein and having at the forward end thereof an upwardly facing notch opening into said slot to receive said'interconnecting means to effect locking of said members in closed position when said arms are in their normal forward position.

16. The loom set forth in claim 9 wherein said other part is a lever pivoted on one of said arms and including an elongated extension having an arcuate surface in guiding relationship with said interconnecting means, a downwardly open facing notch at the rear of said surface to receive said means to effect locking of said members in" open position when said arms are in their rear position, and a tailpiece depending from said lever for engagement with the lay to effect unlocking of the members as the lay moves forwardly incident to a weft replenishing operation.

17. The loom set forth in claim 9 whereinsaid means between said parts is a spring having one end anchored to said one of said parts and the other end anchored to the said other of said parts and exerting a force in a direction to separate the distal ends of said parts to effect holding of said members in locked position when they are closed or open and to effect movement of said-one part to 12 other to effect removal ofthe thread from the lay on said beats, means operated by the magazine mechanism to move one of said devices rearwardly to thread pickup position incident to a weft'replenishing operation, connections between said devices to effect movement of the other device with respect to" said one of said devices when it moves, a pivotal support mounting part of said connection and said other device for relative movement therebetween, means operatively connected to and between said part and said other device movable when said part moves to cause said relative movement, and stop means for each device to limit rearward and forward movement thereof, one of said stop means cooperating with said part to limit rearward and forward movement of said connection and said one device and the other stop means cooperating with said other device to limit rearward and forward movement thereof.

19. In a thread controlling unit for a weft replenishing loom having a pair of pivotal supports on the loom frame and an actuator movable incident to replenishment, a supporting structure having a pivoted pair of thread pickup members thereon and rotatable about one of said supports by said actuator, a pin connecting said members to effect simultaneous movement thereof, each of said members coacting with said supporting structure to respectively clamp and trap a weft thread at different points thereof, a pair of levers pivoted on said structure each of which has a notch to receive said pin independently of each other to positively lock said members against pivotal movement until they are unlocked and each of which has means to guide said pin toward the notches, yielding means capable of holding said-levers in locking relationship with said pins and capable of moving one of said levers to effect movement of saidpin after unlocking has occurred, a thread engaging structure rotatable about the other of said supports and having a forwardly facing hook to engage the weft thread between said points, a lever also rotatable about the other of said supports with respect to said thread engaging structure, yielding means connected to said thread engaging structure and said lever. and movable bodily with the latter to effect a lost motion connection therebetween, a connector having one end pivoted on said supporting structure and the other end pivoted on said lever to transmit motion to the latter when the supporting structure moves to effect movement of the thread engaging structure after the lever has moved a predetermined distance, and stop means on said unit for said structure to limit motion of the latter independently of each other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS