US3841359A

US3841359A - Weft stop motion for shuttleless looms

Info

Publication number: US3841359A
Application number: US00261961A
Authority: US
Inventors: A Gardella
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-06-18
Filing date: 1972-06-12
Publication date: 1974-10-15
Anticipated expiration: 1991-10-15

Abstract

A weft stop motion for a weaving loom of the shuttleless type, in which the weft thread is fed from a stationary weft supply bobbin and is thence inserted through the warp shed by means of a weft thread inserter, such as a needle, said inserter being reciprocated from side to side of the loom through the warp shed, said weft stop motion comprising: weft senser means responsive to the running of the weft thread from a weft thread supply to the weft thread inserter; and control means responsive to said senser means to actuate a loom-stopping device whenever the weft thread fails to run from the said supply to the said weft thread inserter.

Description

United States Patent [1 1 Gardella [4 1 Oct. 15, 1974 l WEFT STOP MOTION FOR SHUTTLELESS LOOMS [76] Inventor: Adriano Gardella, 24 B, Via Al Capo di Santa Chiara, Genoa, Italy [22] Filed: June 12, 1972 211 Appl. No.: 261,961

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS France 139/370 Primary Examiner-Henry S. Jaudon Attorney, Agent, or FirmLarson, Taylor & Hinds [57] ABSTRACT A weft stop motion for a weaving loom of the shuttleless type, in which the weft thread is fed from a stationary weft supply bobbin and is thence inserted through the warp shed by means of a weft thread inserter, such as a needle, said inserter being reciprocated from side to side of the loom through the warp shed, said weft stop motion comprising: weft senser means responsive to the running of the weft thread from a weft thread supply to the weft thread inserter; and control means responsive to said senser means to actuate a loom-stopping device whenever the weft thread fails to run from the said supply to the said weft thread inserter.

12 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures 1 WEFT STOP MOTION FOR SHUTTLELESS LOOMS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Inweaving looms of the shuttleless type, it is known to provide a weft stop motion which is arranged to the sideof the weft thread path at a point between the weft supply bobbin and the weft thread inserter. Each time a weft thread breaking occurs downstream of the weft stop motion, for example in a part of the weft thread inserter, a weft thread length is left lingering behind in the said thread path. Now, weft stop motions known heretofore comprise a senser which is operative if a length of the weft thread exists in said thread path, irrespectively of the thread conditions at/or downstream of the weft thread inserter. On the other hand, it is apparent that said length of weft thread in said path, not only exists when the weft thread is running from the supply to the inserter in normal operation of the loom, but it also exists when said running is stopped upon breaking of the weft thread at/or downstream of the inserter. Thus, whenever such a breaking of the weft thread occurs, the weft stop motion responsive to the said length of the weft thread existing in said path, is ineffective, since the senser will sense said length of the thread being left lingering, as being alength of the weft thread running in the normal operation of the loom.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is intended to overcome such a serious drawback and, to this end it provides a weft stop motion which is responsive to the running of the weft thread along the path between the weft supply bobbin and the weft thread inserter in a weaving loom of the shuttleless type, thus effectively cutting off the feeding of weft thread from the weft thread supply, any time the said running of the weft thread is stopped upon breaking of the weft thread being woven in the loom.

Accordingly, it is a main object of the present invention to provide a weft stop motion for shuttleless weaving looms, said weft stop motion comprising weft thread senser means responsive to the running of the weft thread along said path; and control means responsive to said senser means to control operation of a loom-stopping device any time the weft thread breaks somewhere along or beyond said weft thread path.

Another object of the invention is to provide in said weft stop motion, a weft thread senser having a movable feeler element adapted to be entrained by the weft thread; and an actuating element operatively connected to said feeler element to actuate said control means to operate the loom stopping device any time the weft thread fails to run; said feeler element being movable between a watching position in which the entraining weft thread is running while the actuating element is prevented from actuating said control means; and a warningposition in which the running of said entraining weft thread has failed and the actuating element is thus allowed to actuate said control means to operate said loom-stopping device.

Conveniently, the feeler element comprises a thin plate swingably mounted, which extends towards the weft thread and has a fork-shaped free end; and the actuating element comprises microswitch contacts which are connected in an electric actuating circuit for the said control means of the loom-stopping device.

However, with such a weft stop motion responsive to the running of the weft thread, a problem might arise, because in shuttleless weaving looms, the running of the weft thread is due to stop for a short while at both of the travel ends of the weft thread inserter across the warp, at which ends the weft thread inserter reverses the direction of its stroke.

In order to prevent the occurrence, during these short stop times in which the running of the weft thread is holding, of the weft stop motion being unduly operated to operate the loom-stopping device just as if it were the case of a weft breakage, the invention further provides a concurrent hold-up of the weft thread motion. This concurrent hold-up of the weft thread motion may be achieved by providing suitable additional actu-.

ating means, for example electric gating contact means, which are automatically switched on and off in timed relationship with the stroke travel of the weft thread inserter.

Alternatively, to the weft stop motion might be imparted a reciprocating movement towards and away from the said weft thread, in timed relationship with the reciprocating movement of the weft thread inserter, in such a way that the feeler element of the weft stop motion will come into engagement with the weft thread only during the time intervals in which the said weft thread inserter is effectively moving between the opposite ends of its stroke travel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 diagrammatically shows a part of a shuttleless loom provided with a weft stop motion according to the invention;

FIG. 2 shows the weft stop motion according to the invention, in a vertical section and with the movable weft feeler being moved away from the weft thread;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 of the same weft stop motion, in a position corresponding to that shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows the weft stop motion of the kind as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in a vertical section and with the movable weft feeler being moved nearer to a weft thread while running;

FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4 of the same weft stop motion, in the same position as shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 shows in a vertical section a part of the weft stop motion as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, with the weft feeler being drawn near to a stationary weft thread.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings, and first particularly to FIG. 1, the numeral 1 denotes the weft thread-inserting needle of a shuttleless loom. This weft thread-inserting needle 1 is of tubular shape and is disposed in a horizontal position, transversely to the warp 4. At of its rear end, which is remote from the warp 4, the weft threadinserting needle 1 is secured to a needle carriage 2 which is slidable on a fixed guide 3 mounted parallel to said needle I and arranged on one side of the warp 4. To the needle carriage 2 is imparted a reciprocating movement on the slide guide 3, as shown by the double arrow F, for example by means of a swingable driving arm 5 pivotally mounted onto the carriage 2, the whole being so arranged that the weft thread-inserting needle 1 is inserted into the shed of warp 4 and is caused to run in a forward direction until the fore end of the needle has reached the opposite side (not shown) of said warp, the weft thread-inserting needle 1 being then drawn back again into its illustrated starting position. The weft thread 6 is fed from a supply bobbin 7 arranged in a fixed position to the side of the warp, on the same side as the weft thread-inserting needle 1. The weft thread is unwound from this supply bobbin 7 and is guided to penetrate into the aft end of the weft thread inserting needle 1, and is thence longitudinally threaded therethrough, so as to come out of its fore end, then is inserted together with the needle through the warp shed of the fabric 8. This insertion of the weft thread by means of the weft thread-inserting needle 1 and the formation of the fabric are well known in the art.

Between the supply bobbin 7 and the weft thread inserting needle 1 there is arranged the weft stop motion, generally indicated at 9, which is disposed between an inlet annular thread guide and an outlet annular thread guide 11. The weft thread 6 fed from the supply bobbin 7 passes through both

annular thread guides

10 and 11, which are co-axial to one another, and then through the weft stop motion 9 before entering the aft end of the weft thread-inserting needle 1. As an alternative, the supply bobbin 7 may be arranged beneath the reciprocating travel path of the weft threadinserting needle 1, and may be provided with a vertical or inclined axis, while both

thread guides

10 and 11 are co-axially arranged, the one above the other, in the manner as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 6. In the diagrammatic view as shown in FIG. 1, the supply bobbin 7, the two

annular thread guides

10 and 11, and also the weft stop motion 9, which is interposed therebetween, have been shown, for the sake of clarity, turned from a substantially vertical plane, in which the same actually lie, to a substantially horizontal plane being parallel to the plane of the warp 4.

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 6, the weft stop motion 9 is constituted by a fixedly mounted horizontally arranged support 12 which is fitted between the two superposed

annular thread guides

10, 11, and in which a vertical bore 13, co-axially arranged with respect to the said thread guides, is provided for the weft thread 6 to be passed therethrough. Onto the said support 12, on one side of the weft thread 6, there is fixedly mounted a microswitch 14 having a horizontally actuated push button 15 which extends towards the weft thread 6. Onto the end of this pushbutton 15 there is mounted a head 16 to which two horizontally arranged supporting arms 17 are laterally secured, which arms extend parallel to the pushbutton 15, on both sides of the weft thread 6.

Onto the support 12, a feeler-carrying fork 18 is also mounted, which is slidably mounted transversely to the weft thread 6 and parallel to the horizontal actuation axis of the actuation pushbutton 15 of the microswitch 14. The prongs of this fork 18 extend on both sides of the fixedly mounted microswitch 14 in the direction of the weft thread and beyond the same, and at their free outer parts the said prongs are guided by two vertically arranged sidewalls 19 secured to the support 12, said sidewalls 19 carrying the upper thread guide 11 on the opposite side viz. behind the microswitch 14, while the transverse bar 118 of the feeler-carrying fork 18 is connected to a rod 20, slidably guided within a sleeve 21 which is secured to the support 12. To this rod one arm of a bell-crank lever 23 is hinged at 22, and the said lever is pivotally mounted onto a fixed pivot 24. The other arm of this bell-crank lever 23 is hinged at 25 to a driving rod 26 which can be reciprocated in the direction of the double arrow F1 by any suitable driving element of the weaving loom in timed relationship with the reciprocating movement of the weft threadinserting needle 1, as will be further explained hereinafter.

On the side of the weft thread 6 which is opposite from the microswitch 14, a horizontal pin 27 is transversely fastened onto the free ends of the prongs of the feeler-carrying fork 18, onto which a feeler 28, consti tuted by a thin plate, is swingably mounted. This feeler 28 extends towards the weft thread 6 and has a forkshaped free end by means of which it bears upon the supporting arms 17 which are integral to the head 16 of the pushbottom 15 of the microswitch 14. Above the swingable feeler 28, a transversely arranged abutment pin 29 is secured in the feeler-carrying fork 18.

The feeler-carrying fork 18 is operated in such a manner as to be shifted to the left-hand side in the Figures, thus shifting the feeler 28 away from the weft thread 6, during those time intervals in which the weft thread-inserting needle 1 is at either end of its travel through the warp shed where it reverses the direction of its stroke, and consequently it stops for a while, so that also the weft thread 6 is temporarily at rest. This position of the feelercarrying fork 18 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and while being in this position, the feeler 28 does not engage the weft thread 6, and is horizontally disposed, so as to bear upon the supporting arms 17 being integral with the pushbutton 15. At this time there is no abutting movement of 15 or 16 to the right and therefore no actuation of switch 14.

During those time intervals in which the weft threadinserting needle 1 is being effectively operated, that is, it is caused to perform its forward and backward run through the shed of the warp 4, thus entraining the weft thread 4 being unwound from the supply bobbin 7, the feeler-carrying fork 18 is on the contrary moved to the right-hand side in the Figures, towards the microswitch 14, in such a manner as to draw the feeler 28 near to the said microswitch 14, and as to bring the same into engagement with the weft thread 6.

This position of the feeler-carrying fork 18 is shown in FIGS. 4 to 6. So long as no breaking of the weft thread occurs and therefore the weft thread 6 is running regularly in the direction as shown by the arrow F2 in FIG. 4, the feeler 28 is carried along by the weft thread 6 in the direction of its run, that is upwardly, and is rocked up about the pin 27 to reach the abutment member 29, thus assuming an inclined inactive position, in which it does not engage the pushbutton l5 horizontally to actuate the microswitch 14, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. On the contrary, any time a weft breaking occurs and therefore the weft thread 6 is missing or is lingering behind, the feeler 28 cannot be anymore driven by said thread and therefore it is not rocked upwardly into its inactive position as shown in FIG. 4, so that it maintains its horizontal position as shown in FIG. 2, and bears upon the supporting arms 17 being integral of the pushbutton 15. Thus, any time the feelercarrying fork 18 is shifted towards the microswitch 14, the horizontally lying feeler 28 will frontally abut against the head 16 of the pushbutton 15, so as to push inwardly the same pushbutton 15, thereby actuating the microswitch 14, in the manner as shown in FIG. 6 and further shown by dot-and-dash lines in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 2 a spring 30 may be provided to urge the feeler 28 towards the microswitch. The actuation of the microswitch l4 promotes the stopping of the loom and/or operates a warning device signalling that the weft is broken.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described mainly by way of example, it is to be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited thereto, in that many variations and modifications thereof will be apparent to the whim of those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinabove explained and as claimed in the appended claims.

Thus, for example, the invention might be also applied to other types of shuttleless weaving looms, e.g. those having weft thread-inserting steel tapes, or having a plurality of supply bobbins, which may be arranged above the weft thread inserters, or anywhere, even at a level higher than the warp level. Furthermore, instead of acting upon an electrical contact or microswitch, the weft stop motion movable feeler responsive to the running of the thread might co-operate with other control members such as a mechanical, hydraulic or pneumatic member, wherein the lines to and from the device 14 of FIG. 2 would represent fluid lines rather than electrical lines, devised for controlling the loom-stopping device for stopping the loom in the event of a weft breaking, and/or for activating a suitable warning device as shown at schematically at 31 in FIG. 2.

I claim:

1. A weft stop motion for shuttleless weaving looms operatively arranged between the weft thread supply means and the weft thread inserter, comprising:

a weft senser means,

a control means,

means for mounting said weft senser means for movement relative to the control means between an inactive position and an active position, the active position including an actuating position in which the weft senser means actuates the control means and a non-actuating position in which actuation of the control means is excluded,

said seft senser means being movable into the path of the weft as the weft senser means moves from the inactive position to the active position, said weft senser means being positioned such that as it moves from said inactive position to said active position, (a) a moving thread entrains the weft senser means and moves it into said non-actuating position and (b) if the thread is not running, the weft senser means moves into said actuating position to actuate the control means.

2. A weft stop motion according to claim 1, in which the control means actuated by the senser means stop the operation of the loom.

3. A weft stop motion according to claim 1, in which the control means actuated by the senser means actuate a signaling means.

4. A weft stop motion according to claim 1, in which means are provided to exclude the actuation of the control means by the associated senser means when- 6 ever the weft thread inserter, during the normal operation of the loom, reverses its movement at either end of its stroke.

5. A weft stop motion according to claim I, in which said senser means comprise a supporting member and an oscillating feeler member mounted thereon, said feeler member being fulcrumed on said supporting member about an axis transversal to the direction of running of the weft thread and having a free oscillating end directed towards the said direction of running, said feeler being capable of oscillating from said active position at which it is apt to cooperate with its free end with the control means, said inactive position, said oscillating feeler member being normally urged into its active position, while it is compelled to oscillate to its inactive position under the action of the tensioned weft thread running transversally thereto and contacting said free oscillating end, whereby said feeler member comes to be in its active position whenever the weft thread is not running from the supply means to the weft thread inserter.

6. A weft stop motion according to claim 5, wherein said oscillating feeler member is urged into its active position by the force of gravity.

7. A weft stop motion according to claim 5, wherein said oscillating feeler member is urged into its active position by spring means.

8. A weft stop motion according to claim 5, wherein:

a. the control means capable of cooperating with the feeler member of the feeler means are mounted on a fixed supporting member, and are arranged sidewise with respect to the path of the running of the weft thread;

b. the supporting member of the oscillating feeler member is caused to reciprocate to and fro with respect to the control means, in a direction which is transversal to the direction of running of the weft thread;

. reciprocating means are provided to cause the reciprocation of the said supporting member. of the oscillating feeler member in synchronism with the movement of the weft thread inserter, said means causing the movement of said supporting member towards the control means when the weft thread inserter actually moves across the loom, and causing the movement of the said supporting member away from the control means whenever the weft thread inserter comes to a stop;

d. fixed co-axial weft thread guides are provided to guide the running weft thread between the control means and the feeler member, at least one thread guide being provided at a point between the weft thread supply means and the weft stop motion, and at least one thread guide being provided at a point between the weft stop motion and the weft thread inserter.

9. A weft stop motion according to claim 8, wherein:

a. the supporting member of the oscillating feeler member is slidably mounted on the fixed supportingmember of the control means;

b. the reciprocating movement to said slidable supporting member is imparted by a rocking lever operatively connected in synchronism to the weft thread inserter.

10. A weft stop motion according to claim 8,

wherein:

a. the control means comprises a switch provided with a pushbutton facing the opposed oscillating feeler member of the senser means and the thread guided therebetween, which pushbutton can be actuated in a direction which is transversal to the direction of running of the weft thread and in alignend against the pushbutton of the switch whenever the said oscillating member is moved towards the control means under the action of the reciprocating means.

ment with the reciprocating movement of the -11. A weft stop motion according to claim 10, in

which the switch is an electric switch.

12,. A weft stop motion according to claim 10, in

which the switch is a fluid pressure switch.

Claims

1. A weft stop motion for shuttleless weaving looms operatively arranged between the weft thread supply means and the weft thread inserter, comprising: a weft senser means, a control means, means for mounting said weft senser means for movement relative to the control means between an inactive position and an active position, the active position including an actuating position in which the weft senser means actuates the control means and a non-actuating position in which actuation of the control means is excluded, said seft senser means being movable into the path of the weft as the weft senser means moves from the inactive position to the active position, said weft senser means being positioned such that as it moves from said inactive position to said active position, (a) a moving thread entrains the weft senser means and moves it into said non-actuating position and (b) if the thread is not running, the weft senser means moves into said actuating position to actuate the control means.

4. A weft stop motion according to claim 1, in which means are provided to exclude the actuation of the control means by the associated senser means whenever the weft thread inserter, during the normal operation of the loom, reverses its movement at either end of its stroke.

5. A weft stop motion according to claim 1, in which said senser means comprise a supporting member and an oscillating feeler member mounted thereon, said feeler member being fulcrumed on said supporting member about an axis transversal to the direction of running of the weft thread and having a free oscillating end directed towards the said direction of running, said feeler being capable of oscillating from said active position at which it is apt to cooperate with its free end with the control means, said inactive position, said oscillating feeler member being normally urged into its active position, while it is compelled to oscillate to its inactive position under the action of the tensioned weft thread running transversally thereto and contacting said free oscillating end, whereby said feeler member comes to be in its active position whenever the weft thread is not running from the supply means to the weft thread inserter.

8. A weft stop motion according to claim 5, wherein: a. the control means capable of cooperating with the feeler member of the feeler means are mounted on a fixed supporting member, and are arranged sidewise with respect to the path of the running of the weft thread; b. the supporting member of the oscillating feeler member is caused to reciprocate to and fro with respect to the control means, in a direction which is transversal to the direction of running of the weft thread; c. reciprocating means are provided to cause the reciprocation of the said supporting member of the oscillating feeler member in synchronism with the movement of the weft thread inserter, said means causing the movement of said supporting member towards the control means when the weft thread inserter actually moves across the loom, and causing the movement of the said supporting member away from the control means whenever the weft thread inserter comes to a stop; d. fixed co-axial weft thread guides are provided to guide the running weft thread between the control means and the feeler member, at least one thread guide being provided at a point between the weft thread supply means and the weft stop motion, and at least one thread guide being provided at a point between the weft stop motion and the weft thread inserter.

9. A weft stop motion according to claim 8, wherein: a. the supporting member of the oscillating feeler member is slidably mounted on the fixed supporting member of the control means; b. the reciprocating movement to said slidable supporting member is imparted by a rocking lever operatively connected in synchronism to the weft thread inserter.

10. A weft stop motion according to claim 8, wherein: a. the control means comprises a switch provided with a pushbutton facing the opposed oscillating feeler member of the senser means and the thread guided therebetween, which pushbutton can be actuated in a direction which is transversal to the direction of running of the weft thread and in alignment with the reciprocating movement of the feeler means; b. the oscillating member of the senser means is constructed of such a length that, whenever same is in its active position, it can act by pressure of its free end against the pushbutton of the switch whenever the said oscillating member is moved towards the control means under the action of the reciprocating means.

11. A weft stop motion according to claim 10, in which the switch is an electric switch.

12. A weft stop motion according to claim 10, in which the switch is a fluid pressure switch.