US3315634A

US3315634A - Loom flag

Info

Publication number: US3315634A
Application number: US503271A
Authority: US
Inventors: Sherrill John Bisaner
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1965-10-23
Filing date: 1965-10-23
Publication date: 1967-04-25
Anticipated expiration: 1984-04-25

Description

April 25, 1967 I J- B. SHERRILL LOOM FLAG Filed Oct. 23, 1965 FIG. 2

FIG. I

INVENTOR ATTORNEY JOHN B. SHERRILL FIG. 4

United States Patent 3,315,634 LOOM FLAG John Bisaner Shel-rill, Drawer 578, Gastonia, N.C. 28052 Filed Oct. 23, 1965, Ser. No. 503,271 3 Claims. (Cl. 116-132) This invention relates to loom flags and more particularly to a multiple flag unit wherein any one of several flags may be selectively moved to a desired position according to a prearranged plan to signify a particular kind of mechanical difliculty.

The advantages of loom flags as means for attracting attention to a given loom in a weave room have long been recognized in the weaving industry. Weave rooms often contain several hundred looms and so much noise is created by the looms that it is impossible to carry on a conversation or to attract attention by audible means. Therefore, when a weaver experiences mechanical difficulty with one of the looms under his control he must attract the attention of a loom fixer by either visually signalling him or physically approaching him.

Loom flags have previously been employed which include plural flag elements which may be selectively elevated to signify mechanical difficulties of different kinds. The loom fixer is trained to look for signals extending from the looms and recognizes an elevated flag as signifying a mechanical difficulty with the loom from which the flag extends.

Loom flags have been previously known which were supported in elevated position by engagement of a notched end on the lower end of each flag element with a stationary support attached to the loom arch. The intense vibration of the loom in operation tends to wear away the notches so that they do not snugly engage their stationary support with the result that the flags do not stand erect after a period of use.

It is an object of this invention to provide a loom flag which has a plurality of flag elements, each of which may be moved to a selected position at any one of several angular dispositions relative to its vertical support element and mechanically maintained in said angular disposition despite the intense vibration of the loom.

It is a more specific object of this invention to provide spring-pressed locking means for selective engagement with radially arranged notches in an index wheel attached to each flag element whereby its corresponding flag may be firmly supported in a desired position. The flags may be manually moved to any desired position by rotating the flag about a horizontal axis which will overcome the spring and permit the detent to ride about the periphery of the index wheel until it engages one of the peripheral notches, at which time the spring will urge the detent into engagement with the notch to support the flag.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear to those skilled in the art as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the loom flag attached to a loom;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevation looking at the left hand side of FIGURE 1 and showing the loom flag removed from the loom with each of the flags extending at a different angle from the staff or supporting member:

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 in FIGURE 1 and with a portion of the supporting member removed for purposes of illustration; and

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view, with parts broken away, taken substantially along the line 44 in FIGURE 3.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the loom flag of the present invention is broadly indicated at 10 and includes a supporting staff or standard 11 having means at one end for attachment to a suitable portion of the frame of a loom such as the loom arch, a fragmentary portion of which is shown at 12. The means for fastening the stat? 11 to the loom arch 12 may conveniently comprise a nut and bolt assembly 13 together with such washers as may be desired.

The other end of the staff 11 is bifurcated to define a pair of parallel upwardly extending

ears

14 and 15, between which are journalled a desired number of indexing wheels 16, there being five such wheels shown in the illustrated embodiment of the invention. Each of the wheels 16 is fixed to or formed integrally with the lower end of respective flag assemblies 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d and 20s. The index wheels 16 are supported on a common axis by a pin 21 which extends between and is supported by the

spaced ears

14 and 15. Each of the flag assemblies 20a through 202, respectively, comprises a staff 22 and a disc or flag element 23. Thumb tabs 24 are provided on each of the flag elements for ease in moving a flag element to a desired position. The flag assemblies 20a through 202 are preferably made in different colors so that any suitable color code system may be used for facilitating location of the portion of the loom to which attention is needed. The color of each flag assembly preferably extends throughout the flag element 23 and its supporting staff 22 so as to be more readily visible.

The mechanism for rotating the flags to a desired angular position relative to the support element 11 is identical and only that mechanism used in conjunction with the flag assembly 200 will be described in detail. The index wheels 16 each have a plurality of notches spaced about their periphery, there being one notch for each angular position into which the flag assemblies are to be locked. The peripheral notches are indicated at 25a through 25a in FIGURE 4. The notches 25a through 252 are selectively engageable With a springpressed detent 26 resiliently supported on the upper end of a coil spring 27. The springs 27 are vertically mounted within a recess 28 or within respective tubular cavities, not shown, in the upper end of the staff 11 and immediately beneath the bifurcated end portion which defines the

ears

14 and 15. The springs 27 extend between the bottom wall 30 of the recess 28 and a transverse Wall 31 which extends between the lower ends of the

cars

14 and 15. The transverse wall 31 is provided with spaced apertures 32 which communicate with the interior of the cavity 28, or with the individual tubes for the springs 27 if desired, and through which respective detents 26 extend for engagement with selected notches in the periphery of the index wheel 16.

The springs 27 are of suflicient strength to move the detents into firm engagement with a selected peripheral notch despite the somewhat vigorous vibration of the loom in operation. The provision of a separate spring for each of the flag elements enables two or more of the flag elements to be moved to different angles depending upon a predetermined system in the mill.

Each of the flag elements may be colored a distinctive color if desired as a part of a prearranged system for readily signifying the nature of mechanical difiiculty on a loom. According to one system all of the flag elements are in the uppermost or neutral position when the loom is operating satisfactorily and a flag of a selected color will be moved to a given angular position to visually indicate mechanical difliculty of a given nature. The tabs 24 on the individual flag elements 23 are particularly advantageous in moving the innermost flag elements from the neutral position. Otherwise, difliculty would be encountered in grasping the disc 23 when it is desired to rotate the index wheel 16 to move the peripheral notch 25 out of engagement with its detent 26.

There is thus provided an improved loom flag having a greater number of stations than has been previously available in loom flags and which has improved means for maintaining the loom flag at a desired angular disposition.

In the drawings and specification there have been set forth preferred embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. A signalling device comprising a support stand bifurcated at its upper end to define spaced ears and a transverse wall joining the ears, a plurality of flag assemblies journaled on a common axis between the ears, each flag assembly including a staff, a flag at one end of the staff and an index wheel formed integral with the other end of the staff, said index wheel being rotatable about said axis and having a plurality of peripheral notches, a spring pressed detent assembly associated with each index wheel and each of said detent assemblies including a spring and a pin, the springs in each detent assembly being confined beneath said transverse wall and normally urging their respective pins into engagement with a corresponding index wheel, and there being a sufiicient number of peripheral notches in each index wheel to permit each flag assembly to be moved to a different angular relationship with respect to the remaining flag assemblies.

2. A signalling device according to claim 1 wherein each fiag includes a thumb tab extending outwardly from its flag.

3. A signalling device according to claim 1 wherein each flag includes means for visually distinguishing it from other flags on the signalling device.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,552,920 9/ 1925 Glover 4067 2,647,486 8/1953 League 116132 2,771,854 11/1956 Cronenwett 116-133 FOREIGN PATENTS 552,556 6/1932 Germany. 176,261 6/ 1935 Switzerland.

LOUIS J. CAPOZI, Primary Examiners

Claims

1. A SIGNALLING DEVICE COMPRISING A SUPPORT STAND BIFURCATED AT ITS UPPER END TO DEFINE SPACED EARS AND A TRANSVERSE WALL JOINING THE EARS, A PLURALITY OF FLAG ASSEMBLIES JOURNALED ON A COMMON AXIS BETWEEN THE EARS, EACH FLAG ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A STAFF, A FLAG AT ONE END OF THE STAFF AND AN INDEX WHEEL FORMED INTEGRAL WITH THE OTHER END OF THE STAFF, SAID INDEX WHEEL BEING ROTATABLE ABOUT SAID AXIS AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF PERIPHERAL NOTCHES, A SPRING PRESSED DETENT ASSEMBLY ASSOCIATED WITH EACH INDEX WHEEL AND EACH OF SAID DETENT ASSEMBLIES INCLUDING A SPRING AND A PIN, THE SPRINGS IN EACH DETENT ASSEMBLY BEING CONFINED BENEATH SAID TRANSVERSE WALL AND NORMALLY URGING THEIR RESPECTIVE PINS INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH A CORRESPONDING INDEX WHEEL, AND THERE BEING A SUFFICIENT NUMBER OF PERIPHERAL NOTCHES IN EACH INDEX WHEEL TO PERMIT EACH FLAG ASSEMBLY TO BE MOVED TO A DIFFERENT ANGULAR RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPECT TO THE REMAINING FLAG ASSEMBLIES.