US3608588A

US3608588A - Loom picker and method of forming same

Info

Publication number: US3608588A
Application number: US880710A
Authority: US
Inventors: John J Brown
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1969-11-28
Filing date: 1969-11-28
Publication date: 1971-09-28
Anticipated expiration: 1988-09-28

Abstract

A picker adapted to be positioned on the picker stick of a conventional loom and there serve to engage the nose of the shuttle as it traverses the loom. The picker comprises a plurality of wraps overlying a solid core portion and a hollow collar portion, and is formed by a molding operation which involves a minimum number of mechanical operations and does not waste any of the raw material.

Description

United States Patent 1,904,316 4/1933' Kunman......................I 2,161,662

[72] Inventor John J. Brown 5098 Mahoning Ave., Warren, Ohio 44483 6/1939 Bacon [21] Appl. No. 880,710

2,341,904 2/1944 Clark..............:::::...::::.: 2,353,454 4 2,369,636 2/1945 7/1944 Gillet et a1.

[22] Filed Nov.28, 1969 [45] Patented Sept.28, 1971 FOREIGN PATENTS 480,747 [54] LOOM PICKER AND METHOD OF FORMING Pnmary Examiner-James Kee Ch] SAME 9 Claims, 9 Drawing Figs. Attorney-Parrott, Bell, Seltzer, Park & Gibson pted to be positioned on the picker om and there serve to engage the averses the loom. The picker comps overlying a solid core portion and a and is formed b 30-! dlt ail nu m i mn mm T m R T Ske 5mm Amn 96 0 9 5% M W 1 0 D [51] lnt.Cl............... [50] y a molding operation mechanical o prises a plurality of wra h ollow collar portion,

[ 56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1922 Bacon perations which involves a minimum number of and does not waste any of the raw material.

PATENTEU SEP28 I9?! P'mosa ART INVENTOR. JOHN I BROWN r52. BY @4- ATTORNEYS LOOM PICKER AND METHOD OF FORMING SAME The present invention relates to a loom picker of the type adapted to be mounted on a picker stick of a loom. In use, the picker engages the nose of the shuttle and serves as the contacting means for receiving the shuttle and subsequently throwing it back across the loom.

Loom pickers of known design are fabricated by a process which is unduly laborious, is wasteful of the raw material, and therefore expensive. In addition, the resulting picker is unnecessarily heavy and thus it requires undue power from the loom to overcome its inertia during translation of the picker stick.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a method of fabricating a loom picker in which a minimum number of mechanical operations are required, and wherein none of the raw material is wasted.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a loom picker which is light in weight and yet is sufficiently strong and durable to withstand the impacts with the shuttle over a long period of use.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a step in the method of manufacturing a prior art loom picker;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a subsequent step in the manufacture of a prior art loom picker and illustrating the picker blank prior to the molding operation, as well as the waste material;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a finished prior art picker fabricated by the method illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the picker of FIG. 3 together with the outline of the picker blank;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a step in the method of manufacturing the picker of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the picker blank of the present invention prior to the molding operation;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the finished picker of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the picker of the present invention together with the outline of the picker blank; and

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the mold utilized in the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, the previously employed method of fabricating a loom picker is illustrated in FIGS. 14. In particular, a wide (e.g. 60 inches) sheet of vulcanizable fabric material is wrapped a number of times about a suitable form (not shown) to form an elongated tubular collar member 10. A solid core member 12 is fabricated by assembling a plurality of layers of a similar vulcanizable fabric material to provide a solid elongated member having outer dimensions which generally correspond to those of the collar member 10. Next, the collar member 10 and core 12 are positioned adjacent to each other in parallel side-by-side relation and then wrapped with a plurality of layers 14 of a similar vulcanizable fabric material.

The fabric material employed in the various components of the above product are generally similar and preferably comprise an impregnated woven fabric material. Typically, the fabric material is a nylon-cotton blend with the percentage of nylon being somewhat higher in the core than in the collar or outer wrap. For example, the core may comprise a 75 percent nylon, 25 percent cotton blend while the collar and wrap may comprise a 25 percent nylon, 75 percent cotton blend. To obtain maximum structural strength, the wrapping I4 is preferably applied with the warp threads of the woven material lying perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of both the collar 10 and core 12. The fabric material is impregnated or coated with any suitable rubber or rubberlike material which is capable of vulcanizing under heat and pressure and setting into a hard, resilient structure. The specific composition of various rubber materials of this type are well known to those skilled in the art and thus are not set forth in detail herein.

To form an intermediate picker blank 15, the product illustrated in FIG. I is cut along a plurality of spaced parallel lines 16 which are substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of both the collar 10 and core 12. Next, the resulting product is cut a second time along a line 18 which is inclined at an acute angle with respect to the lines 16, thereby producing a waste portion 20 which is discarded. The desirability of having an inclined bottom surface on the picker blank 15 and finished picker results from the fact that it is preferable to have the shuttle engaging portion of the picker as low down on the picker stick as possible. The manner in which this is accomplished will become apparent as the description proceeds.

The picker blank 15 is next placed in a suitable mold (not shown) wherein it is deformed under conditions of heat and pressure to vulcanize the rubber contained in the fabric material, and to compress and set the blank into a relatively hard, resilient, unitary finished picker 22 illustrated in FIG. 3. More particularly, the molding operation is designed to form a finished picker 22 having parallel front and rear end faces 24 and 25 respectively, parallel sides 26 and 27, a planar top surface 28, and an inclined planar bottom surface 29. In addition, the molding operation forms a conical opening 30 in the front end face 24 for receiving the nose of a loom shuttle, and a substantially rectilinear aperture 31 extending from the bottom surface 29 to the top surface 28 for admitting a loom picker stick. FIG. 4 illustrates the manner and degree of compression which the blank 15 undergoes during the molding operation.

In the method of the present invention, an elongated tubular collar 40, an elongated solid core 42, and a wrapping 44 are assembled from the materials substantially as described above. However, this assembly is out only at spaced increments along the parallel lines 46 to form the picker mold blank 50. No other cutting operations are required. As in the previous embodiment, the lines 46 are preferably perpendicular to the axis of both the collar 40 and core 42. It will also be noted that the transverse height A of the blank 50 is somewhat less than the height B of blank 15 and thus the blank 50 will necessarily be lighter.

The blank 50 is positioned in the mold 51 schematically illustrated in FIG. 9 wherein the blank is deformed under conditions of heat and pressure to form the relatively hard, resilient, unitary finished picker 52 illustrated in FIG. 7. The picker 52 includes parallel front and

rear end faces

53, 54 respectively, parallel sides 55, 56 a planar bottom surface 57, and a top surface which comprises a forward portion 58 and rear portion 59 which are angularly disposed with respect to each other. As best seen in FIG. 8, the bottom surface is disposed at an acute angle C (about 81 in the illustrated embodiment) with respect to the front end face 53, the top surface forward portion 58 is substantially parallel to the bottom surface 57, and the top surface rear portion 59 is substantially at right angles or perpendicular to the rear end face 54. Also, it will be observed that the forward portion and rear portion of the top surface each comprises substantially one-half of the total top surface.

In addition to shaping the picker in the manner above, the molding operation forms a conical indentation 60 in the front end face 53 for receiving the nose of a loom shuttle, and shapes the opening through the collar section 40 to form a substantially rectilinear aperture 61 extending from the bottom surface 57 to the top surface rear portion 59. It will be observed from FIGS. 7 and 8 that the forward edge surface 62 of the aperture 61 intersects the top surface along a line which substantially corresponds to the intersection of the forward portion 58 and rear portion 59. It will also be apparent from FIG. 8 that the end faces and sides of the finished picker 52 are formed from the wrapping 44 and thus comprise a continuous laminated woven fabric material. The molding operation does not, in any significant degree, disturb the general alignment of the warp threads in the woven material, and thus the warp threads thereof lie generally parallel to the bottom surface and top surface forward portion of the finished picker. Further, since the blank 50 was formed without any angular cutting operation, the number of warp threads in the laminated woven fabric material of the finished picker will be substantially constant along the ends and sides.

The mold 51, which is schematically illustrated in FIG. 9, will be seen to include a solid block having a cavity shaped to receive two blanks 50 and deform them into the desired final configuration. In particular, the cavity includes opposed sidewalls 64 for shaping the top surface of the picker, a bottom wall 65 including a pair of conical protuberances 66 for forming the front end face 53 and indentation 60, and a second pair of sidewalls (not shown) for forming the

sides

55 and 56 of the picker. A T-shaped core 68 is adapted to extend into the central portion of the mold cavity and includes a pair of oppositely directed arms 69 for shaping the aperture 6], and opposed edges 70 for forming the bottom surface 57. The mold also includes a removable cover 72 for admitting the two blanks and core into the cavity, and an aperture 74 in the bottom wall 65 to facilitate removal of the core after the molding operation. Suitable means of conventional design for applying pressure and heat to the mold are also provided but are not illustrated.

From the above description, it will be apparent that the picker 52 of the present invention may be positioned on a picker stick in a manner wherein the conical indentation 60 is disposed in a substantially identical relationship with respect to the picker stick as would a prior art picker 22. Thus the picker of the present invention may be used interchangeably in looms designed for the prior art picker. However, it will be seen that the picker 52 is substantially lighter in weight than the picker 22, and that this has been accomplished without sacrifice of durability or strength since the effectively removed material is from the top surface forward portion of the picker which makes little contribution to the overall strength of the device. In addition, the method of forming the picker 52 is much more efficient than the prior art method since the second cutting operation is eliminated and there is no waste of the raw material.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment 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.

lClaim:

l. A loom picker comprising a relatively hard, resilient, unitary structure having parallel front and rear end faces, parallel sides, a planar bottom surface disposed at an acute angle with respect to the front end face, and a top surface having a forward portion and a rear portion angularly disposed with respect to the forward portion, said forward portion comprising substantially one-half of the top surface and being disposed substantially parallel to the bottom surface, said rear portion being substantially perpendicular to the rear end face,

an aperture extending through said picker from said bottom surface to said top surface rear portion for admitting a loom picker stick, and

a conical indentation extending into said front end face for receiving the nose of a loom shuttle.

2. The loom picker as defined in claim 1 wherein said end faces and sides comprise a continuous laminated woven fabric material disposed with the warp threads thereof aligned generally parallel to said bottom surface and top surface forward portion.

3. The loom picker as defined in claim 2 wherein said aperture includes a forward edge surface which intersects the top surface along a line which substantially corresponds to the intersection of said forward portion and rear portion.

4. A loom picker comprising a relatively hard, resilient, unitary structure having parallel front and rear end faces, parallel sides, a planar bottom surface disposed at an acute angle with respect to the front end face, and a top surface having a forward portion and a rear portion angularly disposed with respect to the forward portion, said forward portion being substantially parallel to the bottom surface and said rear portion being substantially perpendicular to the rear end face, the end faces and sides comprising a continuous laminated woven fabric material disposed with the warp threads thereof lying generally parallel to said bottom surface and top surface forward portion,

5. The loom picker as defined in claim 4 wherein the number of warp threads in said fabric material is substantially constant throughout the length of the material.

6. The loom picker as defined in claim 5 wherein the angular relation of said bottom surface to said front end face is about 8l.

7. A method for producing a loom picker adapted for use on a picker stick in a loom comprising the steps of,

forming an elongated tubular collar section of vulcanizable material,

positioning an elongated core of laminated vulcanizable material adjacent one side of said collar section,

wrapping the collar section and adjacent core with a plurality of layers of a vulcanizable fabric material,

cutting the assembled collar section, core, and wrapping at spaced increments along parallel lines which are substantially perpendicular to the axis of the collar section and the core to form a substantially rectilinear individual blank having a substantially solid front portion and hollow rear portion with the wrapping extending about the front and rear ends and two sides, and

deforming the entire resulting blank under conditions of heat and pressure to vulcanize the materials into a hard unitary structure having parallel front and rear end faces, parallel sides, a planar bottom surface disposed at an acute angle with respect to the front end face, a top surface forward portion substantially parallel to the bottom surface, and a top surface rear portion substantially perpendicular to the rear end face.

14. The method as defined in claim 7 wherein deforming the resulting blank further includes forming a conical indentation in said front end face for receiving the nose of a loom shuttle, and shaping the hollow rear portion to form a substantially rectilinear aperture extending from said bottom surface to said top surface rear portion.

9. The method as defined in claim 8 wherein the fabric material comprises a woven fabric, and wrapping the collar section and adjacent core includes positioning the warp threads of the woven fabric along a line substantially perpendicular to the axis of the collar section and core.

Claims

1. A loom picker comprising a relatively hard, resilient, unitary structure having parallel front and rear end faces, parallel sideS, a planar bottom surface disposed at an acute angle with respect to the front end face, and a top surface having a forward portion and a rear portion angularly disposed with respect to the forward portion, said forward portion comprising substantially one-half of the top surface and being disposed substantially parallel to the bottom surface, said rear portion being substantially perpendicular to the rear end face, an aperture extending through said picker from said bottom surface to said top surface rear portion for admitting a loom picker stick, and a conical indentation extending into said front end face for receiving the nose of a loom shuttle.

4. A loom picker comprising a relatively hard, resilient, unitary structure having parallel front and rear end faces, parallel sides, a planar bottom surface disposed at an acute angle with respect to the front end face, and a top surface having a forward portion and a rear portion angularly disposed with respect to the forward portion, said forward portion being substantially parallel to the bottom surface and said rear portion being substantially perpendicular to the rear end face, the end faces and sides comprising a continuous laminated woven fabric material disposed with the warp threads thereof lying generally parallel to said bottom surface and top surface forward portion, an aperture extending through said picker from said bottom surface to said top surface rear portion for admitting a loom picker stick, and a conical indentation extending into said front end face for receiving the nose of a loom shuttle.

6. The loom picker as defined in claim 5 wherein the angular relation of said bottom surface to said front end face is about 81*.

7. A method for producing a loom picker adapted for use on a picker stick in a loom comprising the steps of, forming an elongated tubular collar section of vulcanizable material, positioning an elongated core of laminated vulcanizable material adjacent one side of said collar section, wrapping the collar section and adjacent core with a plurality of layers of a vulcanizable fabric material, cutting the assembled collar section, core, and wrapping at spaced increments along parallel lines which are substantially perpendicular to the axis of the collar section and the core to form a substantially rectilinear individual blank having a substantially solid front portion and hollow rear portion with the wrapping extending about the front and rear ends and two sides, and deforming the entire resulting blank under conditions of heat and pressure to vulcanize the materials into a hard unitary structure having parallel front and rear end faces, parallel sides, a planar bottom surface disposed at an acute angle with respect to the front end face, a top surface forward portion substantially parallel to the bottom surface, and a top surface rear portion substantially perpendicular to the rear end face.

8. The method as defined in claim 7 wherein deforming the resulting blank further includes forming a conical indentation in said front end face for receiving the nose of a loom shuttle, and shaping the hollow rear portion to form a substantially rectilinear aperture extending from said bottom surface to said top surface rear portion.