US3429344A

US3429344A - Shuttle-controlling apparatus for weaving looms

Info

Publication number: US3429344A
Application number: US578317A
Authority: US
Inventors: Vladimir Svaty; Jan Bilek; Jiri Zlatohlavek
Original assignee: Elitex Zavody Textilniho
Current assignee: Elitex Zavody Textilniho
Priority date: 1965-09-11
Filing date: 1966-09-09
Publication date: 1969-02-25
Anticipated expiration: 1986-02-25
Also published as: DE1535410A1; AT267430B; GB1151436A

Description

Feb. 25, 1969 v SVA-r? ET AL 3,429,344

SHUTTLE-CONTROLLING APPARATUS FOR WEAVING LOOMS Filed sept. 9, 1966 sheet of's Feb. 25, 1969 v SVAT? ET'AL 3,429,344

SHUTTLE-CONTROLLING APPARATUS FOR WEAVING LOOMS Filed Sept 9. 1966 Sheet 2 of 40 gjg Feb. 25, 1969 v, SVAT? ET AL 3,429,344

SHUTTLE-CONTROLLING APPARATUS FOR WEAVING LOOMS Filed Sept. 9. 1966 Sheet ,3 of C5 United States Patent m 3,429,344 SHUTTLE-CONTROLLING APPARATUS FOR WEAVING LOOMS Vladimir Svaty, Jan Bilek, and Jiri Zlatohlavek, Liberec, Czechoslovakia, assignors to Elitex, Zavody textilniho Strojirenstvi, Liberec, Czechoslovakia Filed Sept. 9, 1966, Ser. No. 578,317 Claims priority, application Czechoslovakia, Sept. 11, 1965, 5,612/65 U.S. Cl. 139-144 2 Claims Int. Cl. D03d 49/24, 49/48, 51/40 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to Weaving looms.

In particular, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for controlling the operation of a shuttle of a weaving loom.

Thus, the present invention deals with that part of the loom mechanism which provides for reliable determination of all of the desired operating positions of the shuttle when it reaches the end of one of its strokes of movement and when it is to be driven along its next stroke of movement. This part of the loom includes structure for damping the movement of the shuttle at the end of one of its strokes, for sensing the timing of the arrival of the shuttle at the end of one of its strokes, for returning the shuttle from the end of one of its strokes to the beginning of its next stroke in preparation for movement of the shuttle again through the shed, and finally for reliably starting the drive of the shuttle along its next stroke at the proper instant.

All of these operations are conventionally carried out by means of different well known mechanisms each of which forms a unitary, structurally independent mechanism having its own driving structure. The disadvantage of these conventional features resides in the fact that the entire device is exceedingly complex and full of inconveniences, not only in its construction, but also in its operation.

'Ihe basic problem encountered during each operating cycle of the shuttle resides in the requirements that the shuttle have a high speed of movement through the shed and that the shuttle be reliably stopped when it completes its movement through the shed. It is of advantage to provide a construction where the device which provides for movement of the shuttle also reliably controls the remaining essential operating functions such as, for example, the damping of the movement of the shuttle upon arrival thereof at the end of one of its strokes, the control of the damping structure, the sensing of the timing of the arrival of the shuttle at the end of a stroke thereof, and finally, the positioning of the shuttle from the end of one of its strokes into the proper position for beginning the next stroke thereof, and the like.

These various operations must be carried out accurately and satisfactorily, and it is not desirable to achieve the required operations by the use of springs the operation of which is not controllable, so that by avoiding the use of springs inaccurate settings and determinations of the indi- 3,429,344 Patented Feb. 25, 1969 vidual positions and damaging of the individual mechanisms as well as excessive interruptions in operation of the loom can be avoided.

One of the important problems encountered with Weaving looms is the accuracy with which the shuttle comes to a stop at the end of one of its strokes. Insofar as it is possible to provide a reliable construction and arrangement of a suciently satisfactory braking structure, the residual kinetic energy of the shuttle at the end of its stroke can be properly braked. A complicated problem is encountered in those cases Where, from the standpoint of the basic construction itself, for example in the case of rotary control of the shuttle at the end of one of its strokes, it is not possible to brake the entire kinetic energy of the shuttle and it is therefore necessary to absorb the remaining part of the energy with a damping mechanism such as a suitable variable hydraulic orice structure or the like. In certain conventional constructions, inaccuracies in the damping and positioning of the shuttle as well as rebounding components are encountered which undesirably influence the required cycles of operation and lead to improper operations. y

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus which will avoid all of the above drawbacks.

More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus which will eliminate all of the constructive and operational complications, the mounting diiliculties, and the operation failures encountered with known methods and apparatus, while at the same time providing reliable operation of the loom.

In particular, it is an object of the invention to provide a method according to which all of the controlling operations are carried out in response to a single uniform movement of a controlling structure.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a rst single unitary supporting structure for all elements which do not move laterally with respect to the loom as well as a second single unitary supporting structure for those elements which do carry out movements laterally of the loom, and in addition it is an object of the invention to provide a single cam means from which the laterally movable components are all controlled so that only the second supporting structure need be lmoved with the structure of the present invention from the single cam means in order to carry out all of the required controls.

In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide for a structure of the above type an adjusting mechanism which enables the structure to adapt itself to different weaving widths.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to considerably simplify the structure of conventional looms while at the same time greatly increasing the reliability of the operation thereof, so that the frequency with which the loom operations must be terminated in order to take care of problems encountered during loom operation can be reduced to a minimum with the method and apparatus of the present invention.

In one of its aspects, the invention resides mainly in a modification of a basically known loom arrangement in which a first mechanism brakes the movement of a shuttle at one end of the path thereof through the shed, a second ymechanism senses the timed arrival of the shuttle at this end portion and stops the loom if the shuttle is not sensed, and a third mechanism controls the drive system for returning the shuttle to the other end of its path.

According to the invention, a brake member of the rst mechanism is movably mounted on a support for movement toward and away from a shuttle engaging position in which the brake member intercepts the movement of the shuttle and moves with the shuttle while the same is being braked. A sensing member of the second mechanism is mounted on the same support for movement toward and away from the end portion of the shuttle path, and means are provided for stopping the loom in response to a predetermined movement of the sensing member toward that end portion. The third mechanism includes a catch member which is guided on the same support between respective positions in which the catch member restrains and releases the shuttle drive.

An operating member is connected to the brake member, sensing member, and catch member for joint movement and constitutes the sole connection between the three mechanisms and the drive shaft of the loom which is connected to the operating member by a cam system causing the operating member to move back and forth when the shaft rotates.

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings which form part of this application and in which:

FIG. 1 is a partly sectional, schematic elevation of one possible embodiment of a structure according to the invention, the structure which is sectionally illustrated in FIG. 1 having the section thereof taken in a plane which contains the axis of the shuttle driving structure; and

FIGS. 2-9 schematically illustrate successive stages in the operations of the components of FIG. l.

Referring to FIG. l, there is fragmentarily illustrated therein a reed-carrying frame 1 which is conventional and which is supported for swinging movement on and with respect to a rotary shaft 2 which extends transversely across the loom. This reed-carrying frame will in a well known manner swing back and forth about the axis of the shaft 2, while the latter shaft 2 carries out a rotary movement to bring about various controls. This rotary shaft 2 is supported by the stationary loom frame 53. A support means 3 is carried by the frame 1 and in turn carries all of the components for bringing about the control of the driving of the shuttle 4. The support means 3 is laterally adjustable along the reed-carrying frame 1, so that the structure can be adapted to the Weaving of webs of different widths, and for this purpose the frame 1 is formed with an elongated slot 5 through which a fixing screw 6 extends, this screw being threaded into the support means 3 for fixing the latter at an adjusted position laterally of the loom. Once the adjusted position of the support means 3 is fixed by way of the screw 6 and with respect to the frame 1, the support means 3 remains ixedly mounted on the frame 1.

The support means 3 includes a body 7 which carries a pressure cylinder 8 in which a piston 9 of a shuttle driving means reciprocates, this piston 9 being xed with a piston rod 10 which extends to the left, as viewed in FIG. 1, through a suitable guide sleeve carried by the body 7. At its left free end, as viewed in FIG. l, the piston rod 10 forms a pusher member 11 for moving and positioning the shuttle 4 as well as for transmitting the driving power thereto.

The pressure cylinder 8 supports for sliding movement not only the piston 9 but also guides a second piston 12 which is formed with an axial bore 13 and which ixedly carries a pair of arms 14 which sides with the piston 12 in the cyiinder 8. A pin 15 extends between and is xedly carried by the arms 14, and on this pin 15 a pair of catch levers 16 are freely swingable in opposed directions, respectively, so as to form a tong-like structure. The pair of catch levers 16 respectively have left jaws 17 received in a hollow interior space 18 which is formed in the piston 9. The piston 9 is provided at its end which is directed toward the piston 12 with an inwardly directed annular flange 19 having an inner conical surface and coacting with the jaws 17 in the manner more fully described in our simultaneously tiled application Ser. No. 578,200. The cylinder 8 iixedly carries in its interior between the piston 9 and the piston 12 a control Cil ring 20 which at its end, that is directed toward the piston 9, is formed at its inner periphery with an annular, conical control surface 21. This surface coacts with control surfaces 22 at the ends of the catch levers 16 which are distant from their holding jaws 17.

Compressed air is directed in the direction of the arrow P1 through the bore 13 of the piston 12 into the space 23 between the

pistons

12 and 9. The space 24 which is situated at the piston rod side of the piston 9 receives compressed air in the direction of the arrow P2 through the passage 25 which is formed in body 7, and this latter compressed air which ows through the passage 25 in the direction of the arrow P2 is used for returning the piston 9 to its initial position while, during driving of the piston 9 toward the left, as viewed in FIG. l, a suitable unillustrated valving structure opens the passage 25 to permit air to move out of the chamber 24 whose volume is diminishing at this time. These components serve to terminate the movement of the shuttle at the end of one of its strokes as well as to position the shuttle at the beginning of its next stroke and to drive the shuttle along its next stroke.

The damping or -braking of the movement of the shuttle 4 at the end of one of its movements is provided by way of a plunger 26 in the nature of an anvil against which the shuttle strikes at the end of a stroke thereof upon moving out of the shed. This plunger 26 is slidable in a bore 27 which is formed in the body 7, and a pin 28 connects the plunger 26 with a slide block 29 slidable in a vertical groove 30 which is formed in a lever arm 31, so that in this way the anvil plunger 26 is operatively connected with the lever 31. This lever 31 is supported for swinging movement by a pin 32 which is iixedly carried .by the body 7, and a suitable friction brake 33 of any known construction is xed with the lever 31 to control the swinging movement thereof. The lower end 34 of the lever 31 extends alongside of a roller 49 and provides a rolling surface which is engaged by the roller 49.

A yblock 3S is fixed to and extends upwardly from the body 7 and is formed with an axial bore in which a guide sleeve 36 is xed. An elongated rod 37 extends slidably through the sleeve 36 to be guided thereby. The left end of the rod 37, as viewed in FIG. 1, carries a projection 38 which at its right end is of a frusto-conical conguration and which at its left end is of a cylindrical configuration, and this projection 38 serves as a releasable holding means coacting with a projection 39 at the right end of a. lever 40 which forms part of a sensing or scanning means for determining whether or not the shuttle 4 is present at the end of its stroke in properly timed relation with the movement of the other components.

The lever 40 of the scanning means is in the form of a two-armed lever pivotally carried by a pivot pin 41 which is iixed to the body 7. At its left end, the lever 40 carries a scanning or sensing member 42 which is turnable on a pivot pin 43 iixed to the left end of the lever 40. A spring which engages the body 7 urges the lever 40 to turn in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 1, and the release means 38 moves with the rod 37 to the left during the operations so as to be situated beyond the projection 39 to release the lever 40 for turning movement by the spring so as to displace the scanning member 42 downwardly into engagement with the shuttle 4. The parts are shown in FIG. l where the releasable holding means 38 has in fact moved to the left `beyond the projection 39 so that the spring has turned the lever 40 to place the scanner 42 in engagement with the shuttle 4. The swinging of the lever 40 at this time causes it to open the switch 44 so as to stop the operation of the loom. The loom will also stop operating at this time if it should happen that the scanner 42 does not sense the presence of the shuttle 4, so that in the event that the shuttle 4 does not reach the end of its stroke at the proper moment the machine will also be stopped. The return of the rod 37 to the right to its rest position causes the projection 38 to engage the projection 39 and lourn the lever 40` in a clockwise direction, thus closing the switch 44 and again starting the operation of the loom.

The rod 37, which controls the movement of the mechanism for sensing the presence of the shuttle at the end of its stroke, as well as the piston 12 are connected with unitary operating member `45 which is xedly carried by the piston 12 so that the supporting of the piston 12 by the cylinder 8 and the carrying of the latter by the body 7 of the support means 3 provides .a support for the movable operating member 45 by way of the support means 3 which is carried by the frame 1. Thus, the movement of the operating member 45 back and forth to the right and left Will cause simultaneous displacement of the rod 37 and the piston 12 to the right and left.

The lower left end of the operating member 45 Xedly carries a pin 46 on which the roller 49 turns, and this pin 46 also serves to pivotally connect to the movable operating member 45 a lever 47 of a cam means of the invention which controls all of the structure. This lever 47 is a two-armed lever which is supported for turning movement by a pin 48 carried by the support means 3, so that this support means 3 also serves to support the cam means which forms the single control means of the invention. At a predetermined moment during an operating cycle, the roller 49 will come into engagement with the bottom end 34 of the lever 31. At its lower end the lever 47 carries a follower roller 50, and a spring 51 acts on the lever 47 to urge it in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. l, so as to maintain follower roller 50 constantly in engagement with the camming surface of a cam 52.

This cam 52 is carried by the rotary shaft 2 which is supported by the Wall 53 of the stationary frame of the loom. The shaft 2 is formed with an axial groove 54 and the cam 52 is longitudinally adjustable along the shaft 2 and is capable of having its position thereon fixed by Way of a suitable setscrew or the like passing through the cam 52 and received in the groove 54. In this way the lateral position of the cam 52 can be adapted to the lateral position of the support means 3 on the reed-carrying frame 1.

The above described structure operates in the following manner:

As the shuttle 4 reaches the end of its path from the left to the right side of the loom, the right side being illustrated in FIG. 1, the front tip of the shuttle 4 strikes against the anvil plunger 26 so as to actuate the frictiondamping structure formed by the lever arm 31. The frictional resistance to turning of the lever 31 brings the shuttle to a complete stop. This is the position of the parts indicated schematically in FIG. 2. At this time during the operating cycle the piston 9 and the piston rod 10 are held in their right end position because the jaws 17 of the catch levers 16 are open and are situated within the hollow interior of the piston 9 engaging the ange 19 thereof. As a result of the movement of the cam 52 and the lever 47 the laterally movable operating member 45 remains also in its right end position holding the rod 37 and the piston 12 in their right end positions.

The continued turning of the cam 52 turns the lever 47 in a counterclockwise direction, in opposition to the spring 51, displacing the operating member 45 tothe left, so that the rod 37 moves to the left to displace the releasable holding means 38 to the left beyond the projection 39 so that the lever 40 is turned by the spring which acts thereon in a counterclockwise direction to displace the scanner 42 downwardly so as to sense whether or not the shuttle 4 has arrived at the end of its stroke at the proper moment. This is the position of the parts shown in FIG. 3. In the event that the shuttle 4 has not arrived at the end of its stroke at the proper moment, the loom operation will remain at a standstill by reason of the fact that the switch 44 will remain open. 1f the shuttle 4 does reach the end of its stroke at the proper moment,

then, as the frame 1 swings around the shaft 2 the piston rod 10 is brought into alignment With the shuttle 4 while the plunger 26 is moved away from the latter, and the advancing of the piston 12 to the left at this time causes the rod 10` to advance to the left so as to engage the shuttle 4 with the end 11 of the piston rod 10. This movement of the piston rod 10 to the left at this time is transmitted by engagement With the shuttle 4 t-o the latter so as to advance the shuttle 4 `from the end of its stroke back to a position for the beginning of the next stroke. The counterclockwise turning of the lever 47 at this time acts not only to produce the above operations but also to place the roller 49 in engagement with the lower end 34 of the arm 31, so that at the same time the arm 31 is returned to its initial position.

The configuration of the cam 52 is such that during its continued turning movement at this time, with the rotary shaft 2, it permits the spring 51 to turn the lever 47 through a relatively small angle in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. l, with the result that the piston rod 101, which has now returned the shuttle 4 to the starting location for the next stroke, is moved to the right to the position indicated in FIG. 4 so as not to interfere with the turning of the shuttle 4, so that the front end thereof will be directed toward the shed in preparation for the next stroke of the shuttle. In this way a reliable turning of the shuttle 4 can be carried out. This turning around of the shuttle is carried out in a well known manner which is not illustrated and does not form part of the present invention.

During the next operating phase, while the shuttle 4 is turned through to the position of FIG. 5, all of the structure shown in the drawings and described above remains stationary, and it is during this time that a new charge of weft yarn is also introduced into the shuttle in preparation for the next stroke.

The turning of the cam 52 and the lever 47 Will now again move the piston rod 10 to the left, so that its pusher end 11 engages the rear end of the shuttle 4, and the parts are shown in this position in FIG. 6l. In this way the axial space between the shuttle 4 and the piston rod 10 shown in FIG. 5 is eliminated, so that at the beginning of the driving of the shuttle there will be no unnecessary impact due to striking of the rod 10 against the rear end portion of the shuttle.

During the lfurther movement of the support means 45 to the left, the piston 12 moves to the left together with the levers 16 in the interior of the ring 20. As a result of the compressed air which enters through the axial bore 13 of the piston 12 in the direction of the arrow'Pl, as soon as the levers 16 move sufficiently beyond the ring 20 to the left, as viewed in FIGS. 7 and 8, the compressed air will be capable of moving the piston 9 to the left beyond the jaws 17 with the inner `frusto-conical surface of the anges 19 acting on the jaws 17 to `displace them toward each other while the rear ends of the levers 16 move apart from each other, as permitted by their location to the left of the ring 20. In this way the compressed air is capable of advancing the piston 9 to the left beyond the jaws 17, as is apparent from a comparison of FIGS. 7 and 8, and the catch levers 16 are displaced, by the action of the compressed air on the piston 9 itself, to their release position releasing the piston `9 and the rod 10 to the force of the compressed air in the chamber 23. This compressed air which enters the chamber 23 in the direction of the arrow P1 provides a rapid, Aforceful driving of the piston 9 and the rod 10 to the left, so that the end 11 of the rod 10 by its engagement with the shuttle 4 drives the latter through the shed of warp yarns. The nal phase of the movement of the piston 9 is indicated in FIG. 8. The catch levers 16 at this operating phase are in their left end positions where the jaws 17 are closed and await the return of the piston 9.

The return of the piston 9 to that position where its hollow interior 18 receives the jaws 17 of the catch levers 16 is brought about by the introduction of compressed air in the direction of the arrow P2 through the passage 25 into the chamber 24 formed at the piston rod side of the piston 9, and in this way the piston 9 is moved back toward its starting position, receiving the jaws 17 in its hollow interior. When the jaws 17 are received in the hollow piston A9, the cam 52, by its continued turning movement, permits the spring 51 to act on the lever 47 to turn it in a clockwise direction, thus moving the operating member 45 together with the piston 12 and the rod 37 to the right, back toward their initial positions. The action of the compressed air on the rear surface of the piston 9 in the chamber 24 causes the piston 9 to move to the right together with the jaws 17 which remain in the interior of the piston 9, and during this phase of the movement the right ends of the levers 1-6 coact at their control surfaces 22 with the control surface 21 of the ring 20 so as to cause the latter to turn the jaws 17 apart from each other into engagement with the ange 19 for again restraining the piston 9 in its starting position. The parts are shown in this position in FIG. 9 which is the basic starting position of the apparatus where it is in readiness to again receive the shuttle 4 when it returns to the right side of the loom. From this moment, which represents the end of a complete operating Cycle, the above described operations are repeated.

It is apparent from the above description that with the single uniform movement of the operating member 45 not only is the shuttle 4 displaced from the position it assumes at the end of one stroke into its starting position for the next stroke and the sensing of proper arrival of the shuttle at the right moment at the end of its stroke simultaneously determined by the scanner 42, but in addition this movement of the operating member 45 brings about the advancing of the shuttle along its next stroke by means of the piston rod and the compressed air, and furthermore the single movement of the operating member 45 during each operating cycle brings about the return of the friction-damping lever 31 into its starting position.

It is to be noted that all of those elements which do not move laterally of the loom and which act to damp the movement of the shuttle 4 at the end of its stroke and to sense Whether or not the timing of the shuttle is proper (such as the pivot pin 32 which carries the lever 31, the pivot pin 41 which carries the lever 40, and the blocks 35 which carries the guide sleeve 36) are carried by the body 7 of the support means 3 and for-m a first group of elements carried by this support means 3 so as to remain at laterally xed positions on the loom. The elements which move laterally of the loom (such as the rod 37, the piston 12, and the roller 49) are all mounted on the operating member -45 or operatively connected thereto, and the control for all of these mechanisms is derived from the single cam means formed by the cam 52, the lever 47, and the spring y51. The lateral adjustment of the support means 3 provided by way of the slot 5 and the screw 6 in the manner described above enables the entire structure to have its position changed so that it can be adapted to the weaving of webs of dierent widths. Upon displacement of the support means 3 on the frame l to accommodate a web of a given width, the operator will provide a corresponding adjustment of the cam 52 on the rotary shaft 2 by way of the groove 54, so thatvwhenever the lateral position of the support means 3 and all of the structure carried thereby is changed, the operator, can also change the position of the cam 52 so that it will coact properly with the lever 47 in its new position laterally of the loom,

We claim:

1. In a loom having a first mechanism for braking the movement of a shuttle means at one end portion of the path thereof, a second mechanism for sensing the timed arrival of the shuttle means at said end portion and for stopping the loom if the shuttle means is not sensed, drive means for returning said shuttle means along said path, and a third mechanism for controlling said drive means, the improvement which comprises:

(a) support means;

(b) an operating member mounted on said support means for back-and-forth movement,

(l) said first mechanism including a brake member movably mounted on said support means for movement toward and away from a shuttle engaging position, in which the brake member intercepts said movement of the shuttle means and brakes said movement while moving with the shuttle means,

(2) said second mechanism including a sensing member mounted on said support means for movement toward and away from said end portion, and means responsive to a predetermined movement of the sensing member toward said end portion for stopping said loom,

( 3) said third mechanism including a catch member guided on said support means between respective positions in which the catch member restrains and releases said drive means;

(c) connecting means operatively connecting said sensing member and said catch member to said operating member for joint movement;

(d) a drive shaft; and

(e) cam means connecting said drive shaft to said brake member and said operating member for moving said operating member back and forth, when said drive shaft rotates,

1( 1) said operating member constituting the sole connection between said drive shaft and said second and third mechanisms.

2. In a loom as set forth in claim 1, said support means including a reed-carrying frame, said brake member, said sensing member, said catch member, and said operating member being movably mounted on said frame, means for jointly shifting said members on said frame in the direction of said path, and for fastening them to the frame in the shifted position, said shaft extending in said direction, and said cam Ameans including a cam member releasably fastened to said shaft for adjustment thereof in said direction.

References `Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 921,658 5/1909 Bachman 139-144 3,330,305 7/'1967 Svaty et al 139-144 X 3,332,452 7/1967 Mzyk et al 139-341 FOREIGN PATENTS 613,526 8/ 1926 France.

981,064 1/1951 France. 1,389,088 1/1965 France.

600,231 7/ 1934 Germany.

822,827 11/ 1951 Germany.

JAMES KEE CHI, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. XR. 139-155, 187, 341