US3771572A

US3771572A - Shuttle-motion unit for narrow fabric looms

Info

Publication number: US3771572A
Application number: US00308179A
Authority: US
Inventors: A Gross
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-11-20
Filing date: 1972-11-20
Publication date: 1973-11-13
Anticipated expiration: 1990-11-13

Abstract

A shuttle-motion unit for use in combination with a narrow fabric loom wherein a shuttle race, one or more shuttles carried by the race, and positive shuttle-actuating mechanism adapted to reciprocate the shuttles through the warp sheds are associated with the batten. The unit includes a pair of spaced lever arms mounted for conjoint rocking movement in the direction of the desired reciprocatory movement of the shuttles. A rod connecting the arms adjacent their outer ends supports a peripherally grooved sleeve in rotational and sliding engagement with the rod. A pair of vertically extending rods carried by the shuttleactuating mechanism embrace the sleeve therebetween. Rocking movement is imparted to both lever arms by a reciprocatory slide block having pintles received in bearing slots in the lever arms. The slide block is mounted on a pair of parallel rods and is driven by a single peripherally grooved circular cam mounted on a shaft adapted to be driven from the main shaft of the loom and extending in a direction parallel to the spaced rods, the cam groove receiving a cam follower carried by the slide block. The slide block and its operating mechanism including the cam and its supporting shaft are enclosed in a suitable housing which also serves as a lubricant reservoir.

Description

United States Patent 91 Gross Nov. 13, 1973 SHUTTLE-MOTION UNIT FOR NARROW FABRIC LOOMS [76] Inventor: Alexander Gross, 1201 Chelton Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19126 22 Filed: Nov. 20, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 308,179

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 124,274, March 15, 1971,

Primary Examiner-James Kee Chi Attorney-William l-l. Elliott, Jr.

[57] ABSTRACT A shuttle-motion unit for use in combination with a narrow fabric loom wherein a shuttle race, one or more shuttles carried by the race, and positive shuttleactuating mechanism adapted to reciprocate the shuttles through the warp sheds are associated with the batten. The unit includes a pair of spaced lever arms mounted for conjoint rocking movement in the direction of the desired reciprocatory movement of the shuttles. A rod connecting the arms adjacent their outer ends supports a peripherally grooved sleeve in rotational and sliding engagement with the rod. A pair of vertically extending rods carried by the shuttleactuating mechanism embrace the sleeve therebetween. Rocking movement is imparted to both lever arms by a reciprocatory slide block having pintles received in bearing slots in the lever arms. The slide block is mounted on a pair of parallel rods and is driven by a single peripherally grooved circular cam mounted on a shaft adapted to be driven from the main shaft of the loom and extending in a direction parallel to the spaced rods, the cam groovevreceiving a cam follower carried by the slide block. The slide block and its operating mechanism including the cam and its supporting shaft are enclosed in a suitable housing which also serves as a lubricant reservoir.

24 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures Patented Nov. 13, 1973 3 Sheets-Sheet l IM'ENTOR. ALEXANDER G Ros;

Patented Nov. 13, 1973 3,771,572

S Sheets-Sheet f;

. fig 2.

"NY I I l l mvmToR A LEXA N DER G, R055 Patented Nov. 13, 1973 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 I' lT| IIIIIIIII INVENTOR. ALEXANDER GR SS SHUTTLE-MOTION UNIT FOR NARROW FABRIC LOOMS This is a continuation of US. Pat. application Ser. No. 124,274, filed Mar. 15, 1971 is now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a shuttle motion unit for narrow fabric looms of the type commonly used in simultaneously weaving a plurality of ribbons, tapes and the like. Such looms have a plurality of shuttles aligned in one or more rows and movable in unison in one or more shuttle raceways carried by the loom batten. Various shuttle-actuating mechanisms developing a relatively short throw are used for driving the shuttles. In one form of such mechanism conventionally employed, the batten carries a rack bar for each row of shuttles, the teeth of the bar engaging pinion gears which project into the shuttle raceway and mesh with rack teeth formed on the shuttles. The rack bars are reciprocated to rotate the pinion gears in first one direction and then the other by mechanisms of various types but which conventionally involve the use of elliptical gears, link connectors, and other unbalanced elements which are undesirable as they are sources of vibration and stresses and cause frequent loom breakdowns. One type of such prior mechanisms is being shown in US. Pat. No. 2,002,973, issued May 28, 1935. The prior constructions as exemplified by the above-cited patent have the further disadvantage that they subject the loom to ex cessive vibration and are operative only at relatively low speeds. In addition, inasmuch as their various bearing surfaces are exposed, frequent manual lubrication is required if excessive wear is to be avoided. Also, due to the exposure of the various bearings the lubricant applied thereto tends to collect dust, lint and the like.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The principal object of the instant invention is the provision of a self-contained balanced unit for translating rotary motion'of the main loom drive into reciprocating motion to drive the shuttle-actuating mechanism of a loom having a reciprocating shuttle drive, such as the rack bar or rack bars previously referred to, the unit being adapted for substitution for the shuttle motion mechanisms presently employed in existing looms or for incorporation in new looms during the manufacture thereof.

Another object of the invention is provision of a shuttle-motion unit adapted for the reciprocation of a rack bar or other shuttle-actuating mechanism in which the several moving parts are symmetrically arranged whereby unbalanced torque forces and the like are eliminated.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a unit as referred to above which permits increased speeds of operation of the loom as compared to the presently employed mechanisms.

A further object of the invention is provision of a unit of the type referred to above in which major parts subject to friction loads are enclosed in a housing defining a lubricant reservoir and having means for distributing lubricant in said reservoir to said parts, and in which unenclosed parts subject to friction are self-lubricating.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a shuttle-motion unit of the type referred to above which is adapted to be readily adjusted to impart reciprocating strokes of selected length to the shuttleactuating mechanism of the loom with which it is associated.

Additional objects of the invention will become apparent in the following description thereof.

In its preferred embodiment, the instant invention is incorporated in a unitary structure adapted for association with a loom presently in place and in substitution for the means provided in such looms for causing reciprocation of the shuttle-actuating mechanism. Alternatively, the device of the instant invention may be built into new looms during their manufacture.

The unitary structure comprises a box-like housing adapted to be supported from the floor or other foundation or mounted on the loom frame in the vicinity of the batten. A horizontal shaft adapted to be driven from and in timed relation with the main loom drive is mounted for rotation in bearings in opposed walls of the housing. The shaft carries a cam affixed thereto for rotation therewith. The cam has a circular cylindrical surface of revolution and a peripheral cam groove adapted to translate circular rotational movement into linear (straight line) reciprocating movement. A slide block within the housing above the cam is supported for straight line (linear) reciprocating movement in a plane parallel to the cam shaft axis i.e., with one degree of freedom of movement. A cam follower adapted to ride in the cam groove previously mentioned projcts from the block and for purposes of balance, is located centrally thereof. The slide block supports a cross head having a pair coaxially aligned rods lying in a plane parallel to the cam shaft axis and projecting at right angles to the cam shaft axis through slots in the walls of the housing. The rod ends projecting from the housing define pintles for cooperation with slots in a pair of upwardly projecting lever arms. Each lever arm is pivotally mounted on one of a pair of fixed vertically extending posts e.g. posts secured to the housing on opposite sides of the cam shaft and lying in a plane extending transversely to the vertical plane of the cam shaft axis. The pivot axis of the lever arms are aligned on a common axis and lie in a plane (usually a horizontal plane) parallel to the cross head pintel axis.

The upper ends of the lever arms at the level of the loom batten are connected by a cross rod paralleling the pintel axis and on which a sleeve member having an annular peripheral groove is mounted for both sliding movement along the rod and rotational movement about the rod axis such arrangement enabling the shuttle drive unit to accommodate to the swinging movements of the batten during the beating up operation and also to the reciprocating shuttle driving movements.

The batten is provided with means for transferring and translating arcuate rocking movements of the lever arm cross bar into straight linear reciprocating movement of the shuttle actuating mechanism, said means including a pair of parallel round guide rods extending vertically between a pair of end mounting brackets centered on a line parallel to the shuttle race and forming a frame assembly carried by the batten and which is adapted to slide on the batten in a fixed straight line path along or parallel to the shuttle raceway. Suitable means are provided to connect the sliding frame to the shuttle actuating mechanism such as for example the shuttle rack. The spacing and diameters of the guide rods are such that they are received within the annular groove on opposite sides of and embrace the sleeve to thereby form a vertical trackway for the sleeve and cross bar to accommodate up and down movements thereof during the rocking of the lever arms.

The lower portion of the housing is employed as an oil reservoir, the motion of the cam serving to splash or distribute the oil or other lubricant therein to the parts within the housing. If desired, the distribution of the lubricant may be supplemented by an oil pump located within the housing. Such pump can be driven from the cam shaft or other moving part of the mechanism, and oil lines may extend from the pump to various of the bearing points. Also, suitably self-lubricating bearings are employed for the mounting of the lever arms on the posts, for the pintles received within the slots of the lever arms and for the annular sleeve.

In operation, the cam is driven in timed relationship to the other operations of the loom and, as the cam makes one revolution, it causes the reciprocation of the slide block through a forward and reverse movement whereby the lever arms are rocked through a complete oscillation, the movement of the arms being translated by the sleeve and the rods associated with the batter to the shuttle-actuating means and into straight linear reciprocatory motion of the latter. Adjustability of the unit to vary the length of the stroke of the rack bar or other shuttle-actuating means is provided by employing a series of axially aligned spaced openings in the posts and lever arms for the reception of the bearing connections therebetween; and by similarly providing a series of connections in the upper ends of the lever arms for the transversely extending cross rod carried thereby and which slidably supports the annular sleeve.

As will be understood from the foregoing, the provision of the balanced self-contained and self-lubricated shuttle-operating means employing a pair of lever arms driven by a reciprocable slide block which, in turn, is driven by a single cam, reduces the number of moving parts (particularly unbalanced or unsymmetrical parts), greatly simplifies the timing of the unit, minimizes bearing wear, eliminates the vibration and other operational defects of the prior mechanisms such as stress points and torsion stresses and permits the loom to be operated at much higher speeds and with fewer shut-downs than was possible prior to the instant invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a sectional elevational view, with parts broken away for clearness of illustration, of a unit of the instant invention incorporated in a loom which may be of conventional construction; the section being taken approximately on the irregular line 1-1 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevational view of the unit of the instant invention, with parts broken away for clearness of illustration; the section being taken approximately on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on the line 4--4 of FIG. 2 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows but showing the lever arm rocked to its extreme righthand position; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross section taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a unit for imparting straight line reciprocatory movements to loom shuttleactuating means, the unit as a whole being indicated by the reference character 10, The shuttle-motion unit 10 is illustrated in association with the batten ll of a conventional narrow fabric loom having a positive shuttle drive and that is adapted to simultaneously weave a plurality of cloth strips or ribbons. In the drawings the batten is provided with only one raceway and one row of shuttles, but it will be understood that the invention is equally applicable to looms having multiple shuttle raceways. In the illustrated embodiment the shuttle 12 is driven by a conventional elongated rack member 13 carried by the batten 11 and extending along the raceway 80. The rack is adapted for longitudinal reciprocatory sliding movement on the batten. Theteeth of the rack member mesh with pinion gears 14 which are journaled on axles that are fixed relative to the batten and which mesh with rack teeth formed on the shuttles to pass the shuttles back and forth along raceway through thewarp sheds when the rack is reciprocated. The shuttle motion unit 10 of the instant invention is employed to positively drive the rack member 13 (and additional rack members, if such are employed), through the reciprocatory strokes in substitution for the mechanisms for this purpose previously employed.

The shuttle motion unit 10 includes a main box-like housing 15 including vertically extending side and end

walls

16 and 17 respectively and a bottom wall 18, the several walls preferably constituting a unitary cast structure. Suitably, the bottom wall 18 includes extensions l9 defining feet for attachment to a floor or other foundation. A cam shaft 20 extends between end walls 17 and is supported by the end walls in suitable roller bearings 21 of known type adapted to absorb both thrust and radial loads. The shaft is held against longitudinal movement by collars 22 on both sides of the bearings and secured to the shaft by set screws. One of the projecting ends of the shaft, the end to the left as viewed in FIG. 1, carries a sprocket 23 in driven connection with a sprocket 24 affixed to the main drive shaft 25 of the loom through a sprocket chain 26. (It is understood that a mesh gear drive can be employed in lieu of the chain and sprocket drive). Cam 27, as can be seen in FIG. 2 is a barrel or drumlike member of circular cross section and is coaxially mounted on shaft 20. The cam track as can be seen in FIG. 1 is a continuous peripheral groove on the surface of revolution of the cam drum. The center C line of the cam track moves back and forth relative to subtended points of the cam axis one 360 rotational cycle of the cam drum will generate a single complete back and forth reciprocation cycle of a cam follower whose freedom of movement is limited to straight line movement in a plane parallel to the cam shaft axis. Further and as also can best be seen in FIG. 1, the cam track is shaped so as to slow the speed of an associated cam follower as the follower approaches points where its direction of movement is reversed. The shape of the cam in the preferred practice of the invention is such as to impart a longitudinal reciprocating motion to a cam follower, received in the cam groove, of the order of 4 to 6 inches.

Housing 15 is provided with a cover plate 30 suitably detachably secured to the main body of the housing as by studs 31, the cover plate supporting an upwardly extending subhousing 32 surrounding a correspondingly dimensioned opening in cover plate 30. The subhousing has a coverplate 33 detachably secured thereto as by studs'34. The subhousing 32 and the upper portion of the main housing body enclose a slide block '35 mounted on a pair of bars or rods 36 which extend in parallelism and in the direction of cam shaft axis 20 between the end walls 17 of the main housing adjacent the upper ends of the walls giving the slide block one degree of freedom of movement. The rods 36 are secured to the end walls by any suitable means as, for example, that shown at 37 in FIG. 1, 2 and 4. The slide block includes a body portion 38 having pairs of ears 39 projecting from opposite sides thereof. The ears are bored as indicated to slidably receive the rods 36 on which the slide block is mounted. The slide block additionally includes an upwardly projecting portion or cross head 41 having a horizontal bore 42 (see FIG. 4), the bore extending at right angles and parallel to the direction of extension of rods 36. A rod 40 is mounted in bore 42, the ends of the rod projecting beyond portion 41 and through elongated horizontal openings 44 in the subhousing 32, the outer projecting ends of rod 40 fining pintels for cooperation with lever arms as will hereafter be described. The body portion of the slide block carries a downwardly projecting cam follower 45 secured centrally of the lower side of the slide block as by set screw 51.

Each post of a pair of spaced posts 46 is secured to one of the housing walls 16 by any suitable means as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Posts 46 project vertically upwardly from the housing and each is provided with a succession of vertically spaced bores 47, corresponding bores in the two posts coaxially aligned and positioned at the same level. One of a pair of lever arms 48 is rockably mounted on each of the posts 46 by means of a pivot pin 49 extending through a selected one of the bores 47 of its associated post 46 and a selected one of a series of vertically spaced bores 50 in the lever arm. Sleeves 49a which provide self-lubricating bearings for the lever arms are carried by the pivot pins 49 within the bores. The sleeves in their preferred embodiment are composed of a solid-lubricant-filled nylon material such as that sold by the Polymer Corporation of Reading, Pennsylvania, under the trademark NYLA- TRON.

The lower portions of the lever arms include sections inclined towards each other as illustrated particularly in FIG. 2 and terminate in portions 52 lying in parallelism to and adjacent the side walls of subhousing 32. Portions 52 are provided with preferably open-ended slots extending longitudinally of the arms as illustrated at 53 in FIGS. 1 and 4 to receive the projecting ends or pintles 54 of rod 40 carried by the slide block. The slots are so dimensioned and the slots and pintles are so rela tively positioned that the arms 48 may move through their complete arcs of oscillation, i.e., from the position shown in FIG. 1 to the position shown in FIG. 2 while maintaining the bearing contact and without withdrawal of the pintles from the open ends of the slots. Suitably, and as illustrated, particularly in FIG. 5, the pintle-forming ends 54 of rod 40 are or reduced diameter and carry bearing elements or spool-like sleeves 55 of the same type as sleeves 49a, whereby the slot and pintle connections are self-lubricating. I

Lever arms 48 project upwardly to a point somewhat above the height of the batten 11 and a cross rod 59 connectstheir upper ends. The rod is suitably secured to the lever arms as by studs 60 penetrating selected ones of a series of vertically spaced coaxially bores 61 in the arms, the studs being threadedly received in recesses in the ends of rod 59. A sleeve 62 is mounted-for sliding movement on rod 59 and is also free to rotate about the rod axis. The sleeve has an outwardly opening peripheral groove 63.

The loom batten 11 which, as previously pointed out, may be of any conventional construction, is modified but only to the extent necessary to connect the unit to the shuttle-actuating mechanism. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the batten carries a rack bar 13 and, optionally, a second rack bar 64 vertically spaced from the rack bar 13 and reciprocable therewith for an overlying row of shuttles. The rack bars are connected to the cross rod 59 of the shuttle motion unit 10 adjacent their outer ends by a pair of parallel round vertically extending guide rods 65 whose axes lie in a plain parallel to or on the line of rack reciprocation. The guide rods 65 and their associated end bracket 65 form a frame assembly that is suitably connected to the rack bar or bars. The frame assembly is adapted to slide on the batten in a fixed straight line path along or parallel to the shuttle raceway. Rods 65 are spaced apart a distance to embrace the sleeve 62 therebetween with a sliding fit, portions of the rods being received within the peripheral groove 63 on opposite sides of the sleeve. This arrangement of the cross-rod 59, the sleeve 62 and the frame assembly 65-65 enables the unit to accommodate the swinging movement of the batten (L-L in FIG. 2) during heating up and the rocking movements (R-R in FIG. 1) of the lever arms 48 to reciprocate the shuttle.

Referring now particularly to FIG. 1, the lower portion of housing 15 forms a pan or reservoir for a suitable lubricant such as oil, the oil in the pan being maintained at a level, as indicated by the line 66, such that a portion of cam 27 is immersed therein. The agitation of the oil set up by the motion of the cam 27 may be relied upon to distribute the oil to the various bearing points within the housing. Preferably, however, an oil pump 67, which is only diagrammatically shown, is supported by the bottom wall 18 of the housing. The pump may be driven by any suitable means as, for example, from cam shaft 20 through a sprocket 68 on the pump shaft, a sprocket 69 on the cam shaft, and a connecting sprocket chain 70. The outlet side of the pump is in communication with oil lines (not shown) leading to the various bearing points and particularly to those in the upper portion of the housing.

As previously pointed out, the self-contained shuttle motion unit of the instant invention may be employed for looms presently in place or may be incorporated in new looms during their manufacture. Assuming, for the purposes of the following explanation that the unit is to be employed in conjunction with a loom in place, a first step, in the substitution of the above-described unit for the shuttle actuator driving means as originally incorporated in the loom, is the disconnection of such driving means and the removal of at least those parts thereof as would interfere with the proper positioning and operation of the unit 10 and the mounting of the frame assembly ('65-65') on the shuttle rack 13.. The unit is then placed adjacent the end of the loom and is suitably secured to the floor or other foundation as by bolts passing through perforations in the cars 19. The pivot pins 49 are positioned in selected aligned bores 47 and 50 of the posts 46 and lever arms 48 respectively and rod 59 is also positioned opposite to aligned ones of the series of bores 61 in the upper portions of the lever arm to provide the required extent of reciprocation or throw of the rack 13 and to vertically position the cross rod 59 and sleeve 62 carried thereby with respect to the batten structure. The trackway formed by rods 65 should be sufficiently long that when the lever arms 48 rock through their normal are of oscillation to give the required rack throw, the sleeve 62 will not contact either of the end brackets 65'. The pins 60 are then inserted in the bores and threaded into the ends of the rod 59.

Sprockets

24 and 23 supported by the main drive shaft 25 and the cam shaft respectively are properly selected to provide the desired coordination between the operation of the loom proper and of the unit 10.

Upon the operation of the loom, each revolution of cam 27 causes, through the interaction of the cam groove and follower 45, the reciprocation of slide block 35 on rods 36. The interaction of the pintles 54 and lever arms 48 converts the reciprocatory movements of the slide block into conjoint rocking movements of the lever arms 48. In turn, the rocking movements of the lever arms through the interaction of the parallel bars 65, carried by the rack member of the shuttle-actuating mechanism and sleeve 62 mounted on rod 58, are translated into the desired reciprocatory movements of the shuttle-actuating mechanism.

A unit of the construction and operation of that described in detail above eliminates problems with respect to vibration, undesirable torque loads, torsion stresses and the like encountered in narrow fabric looms employing the previously known mechanism for imparting reciprocating motion to the shuttle-actuating mean. The unit, as has previously been pointed out, is essentially self-contained and can readily be adjusted to accommodate the particular shuttle throw requirements of a given narrow fabric loom. The oiling system within the housing 15, and particularly when pump 67 and its oil lines leading to bearing points are employed, together with the self-lubricating sleeves employed for exposed bearings, results in the continuous lubrication of the various parts subject to friction loads while at the same time eliminating the presence of oil or other lubricant on the exterior of the unit, which if present, would lead to the collection of dust and lint and have other undesirable effects.

Having thus described the invention in detail, it will be understood that changes and modifications of the foregoing specific disclosure may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

1 claim:

1. A shuttle motion unit for use in combination with a narrow fabric loom having positive shuttle drive connection said unit comprising a circular cam member coaxially mounted on a shaft that is adapted to be rotationally driven by the main loom drive and in timed relation thereto; said cam member having a cam track adapted to impart liner reciprocating motion to a cam follower having but one degree of freedom of motion, said cam follower being secured to a slide block mounted for movement along a straight line parallel to .the cam shaft axis, said slide block having a cross head including a pair of axially aligned outwardly projecting pintels, the pintel axis lying in plane parallel to the line of movement of the slide block and perpendicular thereto; a pair of lever arms coaxially pivoted on an axis above and parallel to the pintel axis, each pivot arm having a slotted end portion adapted to engage one of the pintels so as to impart one cycle of back and forth rocking motion to the lever arms on the pivot axis on reciprocation of the slide block through one full stroke; shuttle actuating mechanism having a positive shuttle drive connection associated with the batten to reciprocate a shuttle on the shuttle race through the warp sheds, and means linking the shuttle actuating mechanism and the lever arms at a point displaced from the pivot axis to transfer and translate rocking motion of the lever arms to straight linear reciprocating motion which is imparted to the shuttle.

2. A shuttle motion unit according to claim 1 wherein the motion transfer and translating means comprises a rod member connecting the ends of the lever arms opposite the cross head on an axis parallel to pivot axis of said arms, a sleeve having an annular peripheral groove is mounted for sliding movement along the rod axis and for rotational movement about the rod axis, a pair of vertically extending parallel guide rods mounted in a frame assembly connected with the shuttle actuating mechanism carried by the loom batten and which can slide in a fixed horizontal path aligned with or parallel to the shuttle raceway, the guide rods being adapted to be received within the annular groove on opposite sides of and embrace the sleeve.

3. A shuttle motion unit according to claim 1 wherein the one revolution of the cam will impart one complete reciprocating cycle to the cam follower.

4. A shuttle motion unit for a loom having a batten including a shuttle race, a row of shuttles carried by said race, and shuttle-actuating mechanism adapted for reciprocation in the direction of said row, said shuttlemotion unit comprising; spaced projecting lever arms; means pivotally mounting said arms for conjoint rocking movement on a pivot axis intermediate the upper and lower ends of the spaced arms; means connected to the lower ends of said spaced arms for rocking said spaced arms, means for translating the rocking movement of said spaced arms into reciprocatory movements of said shuttle-actuating mechanism in the direction of said row; said translating means comprising a first member supported by said spaced arms for rocking movement therewith positioned near the upper end of said spaced arms and a second member slidably and rotatably mounted on said first member; and means for operatively connecting said second member to said shuttle-actuating mechanism.

5. A shuttle motion unit as defined in claim 4 wherein said first member comprises a rod and said second member comprises a sleeve mounted on said rod.

6. A shuttle motion unit as defined in claim 5 wherein said sleeve includes a recessed portion and said means for operatively connecting said second member to said shuttle-actuating mechanism comprises means slidably received within said recessed portion of said sleeve.

7. A shuttle motion unit as defined in claim 6 wherein said recessed portion of said sleeve comprises an exteriorly opening annular groove and said means slidably received in said recessed portion comprises rods for affixation to said shuttle-actuating mechanism and received within said groove on opposite sides of said sleeve.

8. A shuttle motion unit as defined in claim 4 wherein said means for rocking said arms comprises a slide block, means mounting said slide block for reciprocatory movement, means for reciprocating said slide block on said slide block mounting means, and crosshead means carried by said slide block pivotally associated with said arms. I

9. A shuttle motion unit as defined in claim 8 wherein said slide block mounting means comprises spaced rods extending in the direction of the reciprocatory movement of the slide block, means supporting said spaced rods in parallelism, and bores in said slide block receiving said spaced rods.

10. A shuttle motion unit as defined in claim 8 wherein said means for reciprocating said slide block comprises a cam having a cam groove and a cam follower carried by said block and received within said groove.

11. A shuttle motion unit as defined in claim .8 wherein said cross head means carried by said slide block and pivotally associated with said spaced arms comprise pintles projecting from opposite sides of said slide block and there are bearing slots in said spaced arms receiving said pintles.

12. A shuttle motion unit as defined in claim 7, wherein said means for rocking said spaced arms comprises a reciprocatory slide block, spaced rods extending in the direction of reciprocation of the slide block means supporting said spaced arms in parallel positions, bores in said slide block receiving said spaced rods, pintles projecting from opposite sides of said slide block, bearing openings in said spaced arms receiving said pintles, a barrel cam having a peripheral cam groove, and a cam follower carried by said block and received within said groove 13. A shuttle motion unit for a loom having a batten including a shuttle race, a row of shuttles carried by said race, and a shuttle-actuating mechanism adapted for reciprocation in the direction of said row, said shuttle motion unit comprising: spaced projecting arms; means pivotally mounting said arms for conjoint rocking movement; means for rocking said spaced arms comprising a slide block, means mounting said slide block for reciprocatory movement, means for reciprocating said slide block on said slide block mounting means, and cross-head means carried by said slide block pivotally associated with the lower ends of the pivotally mounted space arms and means for translating the rocking movements of said spaced arms into reciprocatory movements of said shuttle-actuating mechanism.

14. A shuttle motion unit as defined in claim 13 wherein said means mounting saidslide block for reciprocating movement comprises spaced rods extending in the direction of the reciprocatory movements of the slide block, means supporting said spaced rods in parallelism, and bores in said slide block receiving said rods, and wherein said crosshead means carried by said slide block pivotally associated with said spaced arms comprises pintles projecting from opposite sides of said slide block and there are bearing openings in said spaced arms receiving said pintles.

15. A shuttle-motion unit as defined in claim 13 wherein said means for pivotally mounting said spaced arms comprises support members and pivot pins connecting said arms and said support members and there is means for adjustably positioning said pins with respect to said arms and said support members.

16. A shuttle-motion unit as defined in claim 15 wherein said means for adjustably positioning said pivot pins comprises a first series of pimreceiving openings in said arms and a second series of pin-receiving openings in said support members.

17. A shuttle-motion unit as defined in claim 13 wherein said means for pivotally mounting said spaced arms comprises support means adjacent said arms and self-lubricating bearing means pivotally connecting said mounting means and said spaced arms.

18. A shuttle-motion unit as defined in claim 13 wherein said means for reciprocating said slide block comprises a cam having a cam groove and a cam follower carried by said slide block and received within said groove.

19. A shuttle-motion unit as defined in claim 13 wherein said slide block, said means for mounting said slide block for reciprocating movement, and said means for reciprocating said slide block on said slide block mounting means are enclosed in a housing.

20. A shuttle-motion unit as defined in claim 19 wherein said housing in part defines a lubricant reservoir.

21. A shuttle-motion unit as defined in claim 20 wherein there is auxiliary means in said lubricant reservoir for distributing lubricant to said means enclosed by said housing.

22. A shuttle-motion unit as defined in claim 14 wherein there are lubricant-containing bearing sleeves interposed between said pintles and said bearing openings in said spaced arms receiving said pintles.

23. A shuttle-motion unit as defined in claim 18 wherein said loom includes a drive means for operating elements thereof, and there is means for driving said cam from said drive means in timed relationship to the operation of said operating elements of said loom.

24. A shuttle-motion unit according to claim 2 wherein one revolution of the cam will impart one complete reciprocating cycle to the cam follower.

Claims

1. A shuttle motion unit for use in combination with a narrow fabric loom having positive shuttle drive connection said unit comprising a circular cam member coaxially mounted on a shaft that is adapted to be rotationally driven by the main loom drive and in timed relation thereto; said cam member having a cam track adapted to impart liner reciprocating motion to a cam follower having but one degree of freedom of motion, said cam follower being secured to a slide block mounted for movement along a straight line parallel to the cam shaft axis, said slide block having a cross head including a pair of axially aligned outwardly projecting pintels, the pintel axis lying in plane parallel to the line of movement of the slide block and perpendicular thereto; a pair of lever arms coaxially pivoted on an axis above and parallel to the pintel axis, each pivot arm having a slotted end portion adapted to engage one of the pintels so as to impart one cycle of back and forth rocking motion to the lever arms on the pivot axis on reciprocation of the slide block through one full stroke; shuttle actuating mechanism having a positive shuttle drive connection associated with the batten to reciprocate a shuttle on the shuttle race through the warp sheds, and means linking the shuttle actuating mechanism and the lever arms at a point displaced from the pivot axis to transfer and translate rocking motion of the lever arms to straight linear reciprocating motion which is imparted to the shuttle.

4. A shuttle motion unit for a loom having a batten including a shuttle race, a row of shuttles carried by said race, and shuttle-actuating mechanism adapted for reciprocation in the direction of said row, said shuttle-motion unit comprising; spaced projecting lever arms; means pivotally mounting said arms for conjoint rocking movement on a pivot axis intermediate the upper and lower ends of the spaced arms; means connected to the lower ends of said spaced arms for rocking said spaced arms, means for translating the rocking movement of said spaced arms into reciprocatory movements of said shuttle-actuating mechanism in the direction of said row; said translating means comprising a first member supported by said spaced arms for rocking movement therewith positioned near the upper end of said spaced arms and a second member slidably and rotatably mounted on said first member; and means for operatively connecting said second member to said shuttle-actuating mechanism.

8. A shuttle motion unit as defined in claim 4 wherein said means for rocking said arms comprises a slide block, means mounting said slide block for reciprocatory movement, means for reciprocating said slide block on said slide block mounting means, and crosshead means carried by said slide block pivotally associated with said arms.

11. A shuttle motion unit as defined in claim 8 wherein said cross head means carried by said slide block and pivotally associated with said spaced arms comprise pintles projecting from opposite sides of said slide block and there are bearing slots in said spaced arms receiving said pintles.

12. A shuttle motion unit as defined in claim 7, wherein said means for rocking said spaced arms comprises a reciprocatory slide block, spaced rods extending in the direction of reciprocation of the slide block means supporting said spaced arms in parallel positions, bores in said slide block receiving said spaced rods, pintles projecting from opposite sides of said slide block, bearing openings in said spaced arms receiving said pintles, a barrel cam having a peripheral cam groove, and a cam follower carried by said block and received within said groove

13. A shuttle motion unit for a loom having a batten including a shuttle race, a row of shuttles carried by said race, and a shuttle-actuating mechanism adapted for reciprocation in the direction of said row, said shuttle motion unit comprising: spaced projecting arms; means pivotally mounting said arms for conjoint rocking movement; means for rocking said spaced arms comprising a slide block, means mounting said slide block for reciprocatory movement, means for reciprocating said slide block on said slide block mounting means, and cross-head means carried by said slide block pivotally associated with the lower ends of the pivotally mounted space arms and means for translating the rocking movements of said spaced arms into reciprocatory movements of said shuttle-actuating mechanism.

14. A shuttle motion unit as defined in claim 13 wherein said means mounting said slide block for reciprocating movement comprises spaced rods extending in the direction of the reciprocatory movements of the slide block, means supporting said spaced rods in parallelism, and bores in said slide block receiving said rods, and wherein said crosshead means carried by said slide block pivotally associated with said spaced arms comprises pintles projecting from opposite sides of said slide block and there are bearing openings in said spaced arms receiving said pintles.

16. A shuttle-motion unit as defined in claim 15 wherein said means for adjustably positioning said pivot pins comprises a first series of pin-receiving openings in said arms and a second series of pin-receiving openings in said support members.