US3774649A

US3774649A - Hand loom

Info

Publication number: US3774649A
Application number: US00282590A
Authority: US
Inventors: J Glessner
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-08-21
Filing date: 1972-08-21
Publication date: 1973-11-27
Anticipated expiration: 1990-11-27
Also published as: CA970654A

Abstract

A hand loom, on which four different types of weaving are possible, includes vertically movable harnesses, each guided by a cord extending around pulleys at the opposite ends of the bottom of the harness and then across itself and up around another pair of pulleys and sliding connections with the harness ends. The cords are anchored above and below the harnesses and keep them from tilting lengthwise. A beater normally hangs in front of the harnesses, but can be pivoted at the back of the loom and extend forward past them. The warp and cloth beams can be turned together by a belt and pulley arrangement, or turned separately with the belt slipping.

Description

United States Patent 1 Glessner Nov. 27, 1973 HAND LOOM 22 Filed: Aug. 21, 1972 21 App1.No.: 282,590

Primary Examiner-Henry S. Jaudon Attorney-Brown, Murray, Flick & Peckham [5 7 ABSTRACT A hand loom, on which four different types of weaving are possible, includes vertically movable harnesses, each guided by a cord extending around pulleys at the opposite ends of the bottom of the harness and then across itself and up around another pair of pulleys and sliding connections with the harness ends. The cords are anchored above and below the harnesses and keep them from tilting lengthwise. A beater normally hangs in front of the harnesses, but can be pivoted at the back of the loom and extend forward past them. The warp and cloth beams can be turned together by a belt and pulley arrangement, or turned separately with the belt Slipping.

11 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures PATENTEU NOV 2 71975 SHEET 05 0F SHEET 08 HF PAHNIEUNOYE? [97.5

PATENTEDNUVZY 1975 saw aw n PATENTEDNUVZ? 1975 3 774 649 SHEET 10 0F 11 I HAND LOOM It is among the objects of this invention to provide a hand loom for home use which has an open construction for easy string-up, which permits the cloth beam and the warp beam to be turned together by a single crank, which maintains the suspended harnesses horizontal regardless of the location at which pressure is applied to them to move them vertically, which does not require lamms or any other jack mechanism other than cords in tension over pulleys, which permits four different kinds of weaving to be performed on the same loom, and which can be folded into relatively compact form for storage when not in use. More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide a loom which can quickly and easily be converted from counterbalance fabric weaving to jack type fabric weaving, Gobelin tapestry weaving or two-harness tapestry weaving, as desired.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a front view, partly broken away;

FIG. 2 is a view of the right-hand end of the loom;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken-on the line III-III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal section taken on the line lV-IV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a plan view with parts broken away;

FIG. 6 is a horizontal section taken on the line VI-VI of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are diagrammatic views showing two different positions of the harnesses for counterbalance weaving;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal section showing the loom arranged for jack type weaving;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary vertical cross section of the jack type arrangement;

FIGS. 11 and 12 are somewhat diagrammatic views showing the arrangement for Gobelin weaving;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary end view of the loom set up for tapestry weaving;

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary front view of the loom as seen in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a vertical cross section of the loom arrangement for tapestry weaving; and

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary cross section illustrating the movement of the tapestry weaving harnesses.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 6 of the drawings, in which the loom is set up for counterbalance weaving, the framework of the loom includes vertical end frames, each of which has a pair of

crossed legs

1 and 2 that are pivotally connected together midway between their ends by screws 3 that extend into a spreader bar 4 that connects the two end frames together. The front lower ends of the legs are connected by a round rod 6, and the rear lower ends of the legs are similarly connected by a cross rod 7. The upper ends of the legs at each end of the framework are pivotally connected to the lower ends of front and

rear arms

8 and 9 by means of round front and rear rods 1 1 and 12, respectively, that extend through openings in the arms or legs and are held in place by screws 13. The upper ends of each pair of arms are pivotally connected to the opposite ends of a round top rod 14 that extends through openings in the rear arms. The rear arms are somewhat longer than the front arms. By removing the rear rod 12 and replacing it in holes 15 above it in the rear arms and then connecting the upper ends of legs 1 to it again by screws 13, the distance between rod 14 and rod 12 is reduced to the distance between rod 14 and rod 1 1, so the loom can be folded by moving the front and rear bars 1 1 and 12 toward each other. This action reduces the front to back dimension of the loom considerably so that it becomes relatively compact for storing out of the way when not in use.

When the folded loom is expanded so that it can be used, the front to back distance between the lower ends of the legs is controlled by a tension cord 17 anchored at its ends to the lower front rod 6 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6 and extending back around pulleys 18 attached to the lower rear rod 7 and along that rod. The cord is provided with a turnbuckle 19 for adjusting its length. This cord also has another function that will now be explained.

Rotatably connected to the legs above the level of spreader bar 4 are a warp beam 21 and a cloth beam 22. Near their opposite ends, pulleys 23 are rigidly mounted on these beams and are connected by endless belts 24. At one end of the framework cranks 25 are rigidly mounted on the projecting ends of the beams so that they can be turned. Due to the belt and pulley arrangement, when either beam is rotated by a crank the other beam will be rotated by the belts. The tension cord 17 below them controls the tension on the belts. This should be great enough to prevent the general weaving operation from turning either beam, but not so great as to require undue effort for the weaver to turn one of the cranks while he holds the other one stationary, which is done to adjust the tension on the warp threads 26 that are connected with the beams in the usual way and extend up around the front and

rear rods

11 and 12 and horizontally across the space between them.

Four parallel vertical harnesses are shown, each formed from a rectangular frame 30, in which the usual heddles 31 are mounted. As is well known, the heddles are provided with loops, through which the warp threads extend so that the latter can be raised and lowered by the vertically movable harnesses. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the two front harnesses are supported by a cord 32 that passes over a pulley 33 suspended from the front end of another cord 34 that extends up over a pulley 35 mounted on a flat spreader bar 36 directly above the lower bar 4. The opposite ends of the upper bar are secured to the rear arms 9 of the end frames. Cord 34 extends from pulley 35 back through a hole in bar 36 and down and around another pulley 37 mounted on the back of that bar. The rear end of the cord supports a pulley 38 that in turn supports a cord 39 detachably connected at its ends to the tops of the two rear harnesses. It will thus be seen that if the front pair of harnesses, for example, is pulled downwardly together the rear pair of harnesses will be raised together by the top cord 34 as indicated in FIG. 7. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, if two alternate harnesses are pulled down together, the

cords

32 and 39 connected to them will lift the other two harnesses. It will be noted that the cords are not midway between the ends of the harnesses, but nevertheless the harnesses do not tilt for a reason that will be explained presently.

To accomplish the vertical movements of the harnesses, the loom is provided with six treadles 41 (FIG. 6), each of which is rockably mounted at its front end on the lower front rod 6. The rear ends of the treadles counterbalance weaving are achieved by connecting each treadle to two harnesses, but with each treadle connected to a different pair of harnesses.

Due to an important feature of this invention, the cords 42 extend straight up from the treadles to the bottoms of the harnesses as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, which means that the downward pull on a harness when a treadle is depressed is exerted off center of the harness; that is, at some point between either end of the harness and the middle of the harness. This off center pull does not tilt the harnesses out of horizontal position, however, because of the way they are guided in their vertical movements. Thus, as shown in FIG. 4, the ends of each harness frame are provided near their top with screw eyes 43 and are provided near their bottom with pairs of vertically spaced pulleys 44 disposed in slots in the frames. The ends of a cord 45 are anchored to cross-pieces 46 secured to lower spreader bar 4 beneath the ends of the harness. The cord extends'from these cross-pieces up and over the lower pulleys 44 directly above them and then lengthwise of the harness and up around the upper pulleys at the opposite ends of the harness. From there the cord extends up through the screw eyes to cross-pieces 47 secured to the upper spreader bar 36. The cord extends through holes in these cross-pieces and along the bottom of the bar. The cord is looped once around one of the upper crosspieces to anchor the cord at that point, but permit it to be adjusted lengthwise in one direction or the other as required. The cord may be provided with a turnbuckle 48 to keep it tight. With this arrangement, no matter where the tension is applied to a harness frame to raise or lower it, the frame will remain horizontal in its vertical plane and not tilt lengthwise, as it would do if the frame merely slid up and down parallel vertical cords. Furthermore, it eliminates the former necessity for having a mechanism between the treadles and the harnesses to always direct the pull by the treadles to the midpoints of the harnesses.

Between the harnesses and front rod 14 of the framework, the warp threads pass through a beater reed 51 that has upwardly extending arms 52 at its opposite ends. The beater is suspended from large wooden pins 53 extending through registering holes in the upper ends of the beater arms and rear arms 9 of the end frames. The pins are removable to permit the framework to be folded. Weaving is done in the customary way by the use of a shuttle in front of the heater, and the weaver swings the beater forward against the weft threads as weaving progresses. When released, the beater swings back to its vertical position. Since the beater normally hangs in a vertical position, it is unnecessary for it to lean against anything and therefore it is quiet in operation.

In order to do jack waeaving on this loom the two center treadles are not used and

cords

32, 34, 39 and 42 are removed. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the front harness is supported by a cord 56 attached to its top and extending up and over a pulley 57 on the front of upper spreader bar 36 and then down between the front and back pairs of harnesses to the underlying treadle, to which it is attached. This cord is provided with a knot 58 that normally engages the bottom of a screw eye 59 that is screwed into bar 36, so downward movement of the harness is limited by the knot, but the harness can be pulled upwardly by depressing the treadle. The other front harness is supported in the same way by a cord 61 and a pulley 62, the cord being connected to the treadle beside the one just mentioned. Either of the front harnesses can be raised independently of the other by depressing the appropriate treadle, or both can be raised together by pressing both treadles simultaneously with the same foot, thereby providing great flexibility in the choice of harness combinations to be raised. The two rear harnesses are supported by

cords

63 and 64 extending over

pulleys

66 and 67, respectively, on the back of bar 36, and then down through screw eyes 68 to the other two end treadles. These harnesses are operated in the same way as the front harnesses.

The loom can be converted to Gobelin tapestry weaving by inserting a bar 71 in holes 72 (FIG. 2) through the arms 52 of the beater near the level of upper spreader bar 36, as shown diagrammatically in FIGS. 11 and 12. A cord 73 is connected to bar 71 and passes rearwardly and down around a pulley 74 mounted on the front of the spreader bar, and then down between the two pairs of harnesses to one of the center treadles. The harnesses and the rest of the treadles are not used. For this kind of weaving the warp threads 76 are strung differently than for counterbalance and jack type weaving. They extend from warp beam 21 back around rear rod 12 and then upwardly across the back of an intermediate rod 77 supported by upper cross-pieces 47. From there the threads extend up and over the top rod 14 and down the front of the loom to front rod 11, from which the threads extend down and back to the cloth beam 22. Alternate warp threads between top rod 14 and front rod 11 are connected to strings 78 that extend back around the beater bar 71. These alternate threads normally are held in front of the remaining threads by inserting a rod 79 between the two groups as shown in FIG. 11. The pressure of the threads against the rod will generally hold it in position, but if desired it can be suspended by cords from the ends of rod 14 above it. When the beater is swung backward to the position shown in FIG. 12, it will pull the front threads back between the rear threads to provide a space between the two groups of threads through which the shuttle can be passed. When the beater is released, the tension on the threads connected with it will straighten them back to their original position shown in FIG. 11 and swing the beater with them. The shuttle then can be returned between the two groups of threads. It will be understood that only one treadle is used in this type of weaving, and that the bands do not touch the beater.

The fourth kind of weaving that can be performed on this loom is two-harness tapestry weaving. As shown in FIG. 15, the warp threads 80 are strung up in the same way as for Gobelin weaving, except that rod 79 and strings 78 are not used. The beater can be removed from its hanging position by sliding it off the inner ends of pins 53 that support it, and then the upper ends of the beater arms are moved down to holes 15 in the rear arms of the framework and mounted on pins 81 mounted in those holes. If desired, pins 81 can be eliminated and pins 53 removed from their upper position and then inserted in holes 15. The arms 52 of the beater extend forward past the opposite ends of the harnesses to locate reed 51 between the front arms 8 of the end frames. It is suspended in this position by cords 82 attached to its ends near holes 72 and extending upwardly over pulleys 83 suspended from the upper crosspieces 47. From these pulleys the cords extend straight down and are connected to the upper. ends of coil springs 84 attached to the top of the lower spreader bar 4. When not in use, these springs are swung down against the top of the bar and anchored there as shown in FIG. 4. It will be seen that the front end of the beater can be swung down against the resistance of the coil springs, but when released the springs will swing it back up to the position shown in FIGS. 13 to 16. The warp threads pass through the beater in the same way as in counterbalance weaving.

In two-harness tapestry weaving harnesses 30 are not used. Instead two vertically spaced harnesses 86 are added. These two harnesses are held in spaced parallel relation by means of parallel pairs of links 87, pivotally connected at their upper and lower ends to the ends of the harness frames. A rod 88 extends through the centers of the front links and another rod 89 extends through the centers of the back links. The ends of these rods are inserted in bearings 90 permanently connected to the front and rear edges of the front arms 8 of the framework near their upper ends. The normal position of these two harnesses is as shown in FIGS. 13 and 15, where it will be seen that they are in planes perpendicular to the plane of the warp threads extending through the heddles of the harnesses. A cord is connected to the back of each harness near its center. One cord 92 extends back over pulley 74 and down to a center treadle, while the other cord 93 extends over pulley 35 and down to the other center treadle. The other four treadles are not used. When one of the center treadles is depressed, the harness 86 connected with it is moved rearwardly and causes the parallel links to swing the other harness forward as shown in FIG. 16. This spreads the two groups of threads apart. Depression of the other treadle causes the two harnesses to move past each other in the opposite direction.

In all four types of weaving referred to herein, the vertical harnesses can remain in place on guide cord 45. The upper harnesses 86 for tapestry weaving are removed when that type of weaving is not being done. Also, it is only during tapestry weaving that the position of the beater is changed from the position shown in FIG. 2 to that shown in FIG. 15. These changes can be made quickly, and it does not require much time to rearrange the various cords in the loom to connect the harnesses with the different treadles. Although cords have been referred to, obviously wires could be used without departing from the invention.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it nected to each end of each harness near its bottom, a flexible guide cord for each harness, means for anchoring each cord below the opposite ends of the harness above it, the cord extending upwardly over the lower pulleys in the overyling harness and in opposite directions along the bottom of the harness and then up around the upper pulleys and up along the ends of the harness, means connected with said spreader bar for anchoring the cord above the harness, means slidably connecting the cord to the upper parts of the harness ends, whereby when the harnesses are moved up and down they will not tilt lengthwise, a warp beam rotatably connected to the end frames behind the harnesses, and a cloth beam rotatably connected to the end frames in front of the warp beam.

2. In a loom according to claim 1, a beater disposed substantially vertically in front of the harnesses and including upright arms at its opposite ends, and pivot pins supporting the upper ends of the beater arms from the end frames, whereby the bottom of the beater can be swung forward away from the harnesses.

3. In a loom according to claim 1, each end frame being formed from a pair of crossed legs pivotally connected together midway of their length below said spreader bar, front and rear arms pivotally connected at their lower ends of the upper ends of the legs on parallel axes, the rear arms being longer than the front arms and supporting said bar, and means pivotally connecting the upper ends of the front arms to the upper ends of the rear arms, the loom including means for selectively pivotally connecting the upper ends of the legs behind the harnesses to the rear arms a distance from the upper ends of those arms substantially equal to the distance between the upper ends of the front arms and their pivotal connection to the legs at their lower ends, whereby the loom can be folded.

4. In a loom according to claim 1, each end frame being formed from a pair of crossed legs pivotally connected together midway of their length below said spreader bar, front and rear arms pivotally connected at their lower ends to the upper ends of the legs on parallel axes, and means pivotally connecting the upper ends of the front arms to the upper ends of the rear arms, the loom including pulleys rigidly mounted on the ends of said beams, an endless belt extending around the pulleys, means attached to the beams for turning either of them, and means limiting the distance the lower ends of the legs can move away from each other, whereby to control the tension on said belt.

5. In a loom according to claim 1, pulleys mounted on the front and back of said spreader bar, a cord extending through said bar and suspended from said pulleys, a pulley suspended from each end of the cord, a cord suspended from each of said last-mentioned pulleys, and means for connecting the ends of each of said last-mentioned cords to the tops of a pair of said harnesses for counterbalance weaving.

6. In a loom according to claim 1, pulleys mounted on said spreader bar, a cord attached to the top of each harness and extending up and over one of said pulleys and then down to one of said treadles, whereby any harness can be raised by depressing the treadle connected with it, and means for limiting the downward movement of all of the harnesses t0 the same predetermined level for jack type weaving.

7. In a loom according to claim 6, said limiting means including a knot in each cord below the pulley supporting that cord, and means on said bar for engagement by the top of the knot.

8. In a loom according to claim 1, a horizontal bar detachably connected at its ends to the upright arms of said beater in front of said spreader bar, a pulley mounted on the spreader bar, a cord attached to said beater bar and extending back and down around said pulley to one of said treadles, and a plurality of strings attached to said beater bar for connection to alternate warp threads in front of the beater in Gobelin tapestry weaving.

9. In a loom according to claim 1, said beater being removable from said pivot pins for two-harness tapestry weaving, means for pivotally connecting the beater arms to said end frames behind the harnesses, the beater arms straddling the harnesses and extending forward from them, pulleys supported by said spreader bar, cords attached to the beater arms and extending up and over said pulleys and then down, and coil springs connected to the lower ends of the cords and anchored below said harnesses, whereby the front of the beater can be pressed down and will be raised by said springs when it is released.

10. In a loom according to claim 9, a pair of vertically spaced parallel harnesses between said end frames in front of said spreader bar, means supporting said vertically spaced harnesses from the end frames for movement back and forth, a pair of pulleys mounted on said bar, a cord attached to the back of each of said vertically spaced harnesses and extending back around one of said pulleys and down to a treadle for pulling the harness rearwardly, and means connected to the vertically spaced harnesses for moving the other harness forward when either harness is pulled backward.

11. In a loom, a framework having a pair of horizontally spaced end frames, a warp beam rotatably connected to the end frames at the back of the framework, a cloth beam rotatably connected to the end frames at the front of the framework, each end frame being formed from a pair of crossed legs pivotally connected together midway of their length and pivotally connected at their upper ends to the lower ends of front and rear arms that are pivotally connected together at their upper ends, pulleys rigidly mounted on the ends of said beams, an endless belt extending around the pulleys, means attached to the beams for turning either of them, and means connected with said legs for limiting the distance their lower ends can move away from each other to thereby control the tension on said belt. a: a:

UNITED STATES rATDNT errics QERTEFICATE 0F CG EQHQN Patent No. 3, Tflbfll-g Dated Nevember 7; 97-3 Inventor(s) James Stoy Glesener It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Claim l In a loom, a pair of horizontally spaced upright end frames, a horizontal spreader bar secured at its ends to the upper parts of said end frames, vertical harnesses suspended from said her and having top and bottom londitudinal members, treadles between the bottoms of the, frames, cords con-- necting the treadles with the bottoms of the harnesses for moving them up and down, a pair of vertically spaced vertical pulleys connected to' each end of each harness adjacent to one of its longitudinal members a flexible guide cord for each harness, means for anchoring each cord below the opposite ends of the harness above it the cord extending. upwardly and over the lower pulleys in the overlying harness and in": opposite directions lengthwise along the harness and then up around the upper pulleys and upwardly therefrom means connected with said spreader bar for anchoring the cord' above the harness, means spaced vertically from each pair of said pulleys for slidably connecting the cord to the harness ends, whereby when the harnesses are moved up and down they will not tilt lengthwise, a warp beam rotatably connected to the end frames behind the harnesses, and a cloth beam rotatably connected to the and frames in front of the warp beam. I

Signed and sealed this 16th day of April 197M,

(shat) Attestz.

EDWARD M .FLETCHER ,"J'R'. C MA RSHALL DANE Attesting Officer p r Commissioner of Patents FORM ec-1050 (10-69) I v USCOMM-DC wan-P09 i US. GOVEFNMENT PRINTING OFFICE "ID 9-866-llt

Claims

1. In a loom, a pair of horizontally spaced upright end frames, a horizontal spreader bar secured at its ends to the upper parts of said end frames, vertical harnesses suspended from said bar, treadles between the bottoms of the frames, cords connecting the treadles with the bottoms of the harnesses for moving them up and down, a pair of vertically spaced vertical pulleys connected to each end of each harness near its bottom, a flexible guide cord for each harness, means for anchoring each cord below the opposite ends of the harness above it, the cord extending upwardly over the lower pulleys in the overyling harness and in opposite directions along the bottom of the harness and then up around the upper pulleys and up along the ends of the harness, means connected with said spreader bar for anchoring the cord above the harness, means slidably connecting the cord to the upper parts of the harness ends, whereby when the harnesses are moved up and down they will not tilt lengthwise, a warp beam rotatably connected to the end frames behind the harnesses, and a cloth beam rotatably connected to the end frames in front of the warp beam.

6. In a loom according to claim 1, pulleys mounted on said spreader bar, a cord attached to the top of each harness and extending up and over one of said pulleys and then down to one of said treadles, whereby any harness can be raised by depressing the treadle connected with it, and means for limiting the downward movement of all of the harnesses to the same predetermined level for jack type weaving.

11. In a loom, a framework having a pair of horizontally spaced end frames, a warp beam rotatably connected to the end frames at the back of the framework, a cloth beam rotatably connected to the end frames at the front of the framework, each end frame being formed from a pair of crossed legs pivotally connected together midway of their length and pivotally connected at their upper ends to the lower ends of front and rear Arms that are pivotally connected together at their upper ends, pulleys rigidly mounted on the ends of said beams, an endless belt extending around the pulleys, means attached to the beams for turning either of them, and means connected with said legs for limiting the distance their lower ends can move away from each other to thereby control the tension on said belt.