US3851677A

US3851677A - Shuttle loom

Info

Publication number: US3851677A
Application number: US00387068A
Authority: US
Inventors: W Rossborg
Original assignee: Alfa Laval Bergedorfer Eisenwerke GmbH
Current assignee: Alfa Laval Bergedorfer Eisenwerke GmbH
Priority date: 1973-08-13
Filing date: 1973-08-13
Publication date: 1974-12-03
Anticipated expiration: 1991-12-03

Abstract

A sley is provided with a track along which shuttles are movable. A guide is provided for guiding a weft thread which is to be engaged and inserted by the shuttle into a warp shed. An engaging arrangement is provided on the shuttles for engaging the thread, and a cutting arrangement is provided for cutting the inserted weft thread. A holding arrangement holds the severed thread. A mounting arrangement mounts the holding arrangement, the cutting arrangement and the guide arrangement on the sley for common movement transverse to the track between an operative position in which they are all located over the track, and a retracted position.

Description

States Patent 1191 Rossborg Dec. 3, 1974 [54] SHUTTLE LOOM 3,543,809 12/1970 Laval 139/125 [75] Inventor: Werner Rossborg, Hamburg, FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Germany 501,078 2/1971 Switzerland 139/122 [73] Assignee: Alia-Laval Bergedorfer Eisenwerke GmbH, Hamburg, Germany Przmary Examiner-Henry S. Jaudon Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Michael S. Striker [22] Filed; Aug. 13, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 387,068 [57] ABSTRACT [22] Filed; Aug 13 1973 A sky is provided with a track along which shuttles are movable. A guide is provided for guiding a weft PP .2 38 ,068 thread which is to be engaged and inserted by the shuttle into a warp shed. An engaging arrangement is [521 US. Cl. 139/125 Provided Shuttles engaging the thread and 511 1111.0. D03d 47/24 D03j 5/06 a cutting arrangement is Provided cutting the [58] Field of Search 139/122 R i 22 N 123 thread- A hlding arrangement hlds the 139/125 126 1 R 1 severed thread. A mounting arrangement mounts the holding arrangement, the cutting arrangement and the [56] References Cited guide arrangement on the sley for common movement transverse to the track between an operative position UNITED STATES PATENTS in which they are all located over the track, and a re- 2,553,351 5/1951 Belotti 139/127 acted position 3,014,505 12/1961 Herard et al 139/126 3,157,208 11/1964 Juillard 139/127 21 Clalms, 13 Drawing Flglres PATENIL' JEn 31914 3,851,677,

sum

8 or 8 Fig.7!

Fig. 12

snm'rm LooM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to a shuttle loom, and more particularly to a shuttle loom having an arrangement for insertionof weft threads into a warp shed.

Shuttle looms of this type are already known. It is necessary when the warp shed is opened, to insert a weft thread whereupon the warp shed is closed and the weft thread newly inserted is beaten-up by a reed against the previously inserted weft thread. In the priorart constructions the arrangements for supplying the weft thread and for releasing the weft thread from the shuttles after insertion of the weft thread into the warp shed, are provided on the shuttle boxes, or else are so constructed that the particular loom can be used only for producing a certain specific fixed fabric width, because the severing of the inserted weft thread otherwise cannot take place near the fabric edge. This means that the prior-art constructions of the type in question can be changed for producing different-width fabrics only with great difficulties, which are evidently time consuming. In many conditions, particularly where felt fabrics are to be woven, this is not acceptable because in such circumstances it is frequently necessary that the loom must be capable of weaving fabrics of substantially different width.

Other arrangements for inserting the weft thread which are known from the prior art, are suitable only for fabrics of small width and/or they cannot be utilized by being added later to already existing looms.

When the weft thread which has beenv inserted into the warp shed, is released from the shuttle the end of the released weft thread can snap back under its own tension into the not yet closed warp shed, which leads to faults in the weave and may make it necessary to interrupt the weaving operation in order to correct the fault. It is known from the prior art to avoid this problem by utilizing thread catchers which engage the thread while it is still held by the shuttle and maintain it taut until the reed has beaten-up the inserted weft thread, whereupon the end of the weft thread is drawn out of the thread catcher as the sley retracts. This type of thread catcher must be located closely adjacent the edge of the fabric being woven, in order to maintain the thread-cutting losses as small as possible, and because the arrangements for supplying the weft thread to the shuttle, the holding and the cutting arrangement as well as the arrangements for releasing the weft thread from the shuttle must also be located between the shuttle box and the edge of the fabric, very little space is available for the thread catchers, especially because in looms the tendency is to use the width of the loom to the maximum extent possible for producing a corresponding-width fabric.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a general object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.

More particularly it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved shuttle loom which avoids these disadvantages. I

Still more particularly it is an object of the invention to provide, in a shuttle loom, an arrangement for inserting a weft thread which is not possessed of the aforementioned disadvantages.

Another object of the invention is to provide such an arrangement which can be utilized for various different types of shuttle looms, including broad-weave looms.

Another object of the invention is to provide such an arrangement which permits a simple re-adjustment of the loom for different fabric widths, without time consuming problems.

Another object of the invention is to provide such an arrangement which holds the losses due to cutting-off of thread to a minimum.

Still a further objection of the invention is to provide such an arrangement which can be added later to already existing looms, without any substantial difficulties. Still a further object of the invention is to provide such an arrangement wherein the thread catcher simultaneously can serve to disengage the weft thread from the shuttle, and in which this disengagement as well as the engagement of the thread by the thread engager can take place closely adjacent to the edge of the fabric, with the construction and operation of the various devices being substantially simplified.

In keeping with the above objects, and with others which will become apparent hereafter, one feature of the invention resides, in a shuttle loom, in a combination comprising a sley, a shuttle track on said sley, at least one shuttle having gripper means for releasably engaging a weft thread to be inserted by said shuttle into a warp shed. Guide means are provided for guiding a weft thread drawn from a weft thread supply into the path of said gripper means of said shuttle. Cutting means is provided for cutting the inserted weft thread so as to sever an inserted portion thereof from a supply portion thereof. Holding means is provided for holding the severed supplied portion, mounting means mount the guide means, cutting means and holding means on the sley for common movement traverse to the track between a laterally retracted position and an operative position in which the guide means are located above the path of said shuttle on said track, and said cutting means and said holding means are located below said guide means for movement between an open position located in the path of movement of said shuttle, and a closed position located below the path of movement of said shuttle. Said cutting means preferably comprises a pair of cutter members cooperating like a scissor. Said holding means preferably comprises two clamping members which cooperate in scissor-like manner.

The guide means, cutting means and holding means are preferably mounted on a slide which is movable in a guide extending transverse to the elongation of the track and can be shifted by well-known mechanical, electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic operating device. The slide can be connected with said operating device via an actuating arm.

The slide may have mounted on it an arm which extends across the sley and is pivotable about an axis which extends substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the shuttle means and which can be actuated by an appropriate device. The cutting members and the clamping members can be mounted on this arm for movement about at common axis which extends substantially parallel to the first-mentioned axis, and with these members also being guided on the slide by means of a guide roller and an associated slotted guide track in such a manner that they are moved to opened and closed position by the arm. That clamping member of the holding means which is closer to the edge of the fabric can advantageously be made unitary with that cutting member which is farther'from the edge of the fabric whereas the other clamping member can be a clamping element or provided with a clamping element of permanent magnetic material which is connected with the first-mentioned clamping member by means of a leaf spring in such a manner that the two clamping elements will be attracted to one another and held against one another when the holding means moves to a closed position.

The guide means is advantageously configurated as an eyelet and preferably can be adjusted with reference to the slide, so that it can be positioned depending upon the type of weft thread and shuttle in such a manner that the weft thread is reliably engaged by the shuttle. The pivotable arm can be an angular arm and be connected with a cylinder unit which is fluidoperated and secured to the slide.

The releasing device may have a portion which is pivotable against the action of a biasing arrangement in the direction towards the fabric edge and an actuating roller which is mounted on this portion for turning movement about a pivot axis extending substantially normal to the direction of movement of the shuttle, the roller cooperating with a release element provided on the shuttle and moving the thread gripper means of the shuttle to thread-releasing position when the shuttle passes the roller on its way into the shuttle box.

The guide means, the cutting means, the holding means and the releasing means are advantageously mounted on supports which are made so that they can be adjusted in the direction of advancement of the shuttle along the sley, the sley in this case is provided with recesses and with covers which cover those portions of the recesses which are not required. In this manner the devices necessary for supplying the weft thread to the shuttle, for releasing the weft thread and for cutting the weft thread can be readily adjusted to accommodate the loom to a different width fabric, without having to resort to long and complicated setups as is necessary in the prior art.

The devices according to the present invention are provided mirror symmetrically at the left and righthand sides of the loom, and are actuated, preferably by cams mounted on the crankshaft, in dependence upon the to-and-fro movement of the shuttle. In principle it is sufficient, if the devices at the left-hand side and the right-hand side of the loom operate in the same sense, but with a phase shift of 360 crankshaft angle, so that the weft threads to be inserted are alternatingly drawn from stationary supplies located at opposite sides of the loom and alternatingly inserted from the left-hand side and from the right-hand side. The inserted weft threads, which initially pass from the supplies on crosswound bobbins or the like through conventional thread brakes are cut closely adjacent the edge of the fabric.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the slide is moved to its operative position at a time between the entry of the approaching shuttle into the re mote end of the shed and its exit from the associated shuttle box, and is moved to its retracted position at a time between the entry of the approaching shuttle into the shuttle box and the exit of the leaving shuttle from the remote end of the shed. The cutting device and the holding device move to open position at a time between the entry of the leaving shuttle into the shed and its exit from the remote end of the shed, and they move to closed position at a time between the subsequent beating-up of the weft thread and the exit of the approaching shuttle out of the adjacent end of the shed.

Depending upon the construction of the shuttle the weft thread can be presented to the same, that is moved to operative position, either during the movement of the shuttle from the shuttle box to the fabric edge, or already during the movement of the shuttle from the fabric edge into the shuttle box. In the firstmentioned case the slide is moved to its operative position, in which the guide means guides the weft thread into the path of the gripper means of the shuttle, only after the shuttle has entered into the shuttle box, and after the entry of the leaving shuttle into the shed it is moved to the retracted position. In the second embodiment the slide is moved to the operative position prior to the exit of the approaching shuttle from the shed, and it is moved into the retracted position prior to the exit of the shuttle from the shuttle box. In this case the gripper means are opened sooner, so that the weft thread ends cut off by the cutting device can be kept particularly short. The weft thread is held on its way through the shed in gripper means provided on the trailing end of the shuttle which engages the weft thread on its way into the shuttle box, and inserts it into the shed during its subsequent passage through the same.

According to another embodiment both slides are moved simultaneously into operating position at a time between the entry of the shuttle into the shuttle box and its exit out of the shuttle box, and both slides are moved into retracted position at a time between the entry of the shuttle into the shed and the exit of the shuttle out of the shed. Each of the cutting devices and the associated holding device may be moved to open position at a time between the entry of the leaving shuttle into the shed and the subsequent beating-up, it may be moved to a closed position at a time between the exit of the shuttle from the opposite shuttle box and the exit of the approaching shuttle out of the shed.

The thread catcher can also perform the function of opening the gripper means of the shuttle, that is the means which holds the weft thread on the shuttle. This of course facilitates a simplification of the loom construction and reduces the amount of space required, because a single means can perform two functions. Such a means can be arranged closely adjacent to the edge of the fabric and can be adjusted rapidly and reliably between an operative position and a retracted position by turning it about a pivot axis. Because in this manner the engaging means of the shuttles can be opened at a very small spacing from the edge of the fabric, the amount of lost weft thread which is cut off is substantially reduced, and the construction of shuttle looms with a small distance between the shuttle box and the edge of the fabric is greatly facilitated.

The gripper shuttle is driven by well-known picking means back and forth through the warp shed. More specificly the shuttle is driven by actuation of the picking means disposed at the left end of the sley from the left shuttle box through the opened warp shed into the shuttle box disposed at the right end of the sley. When passing out of the left shuttle box the shuttle engages with its gripper means the weft thread presented in their path between the left guide means and the left holding means and inserts it into the warp shed. When the shuttle leaves the right end of the warp shed the right releasing means open the gripper means to release the weft thread shortly after it has been engaged by the right thread catcher. The shuttle enters the right hand shuttle box and thereafter is driven back by the picking means at the right end of the sley to return through the warp shed. During its return movement the shuttle engages the weft thread presented by the right guide means and inserts it into the warp shed. When the shuttle leaves the warp shed on its leftward return movement the left releasing means open the gripper means to release the weft thread shortly after it has been engaged by the left catcher. The movements of said picking means, said guide means, said cutting means, said holding means, said thread catchers, and said releasing means are preferably effected by cam following means cooperating with respective cams mounted to the crankshaft of the loom which drives the sley, the harnesses and the other parts of the loom in the usual way.

together with additional objects and advantages" thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic top-plan view of an arrangement according to the present invention, located at the left-hand end of a sley of a shuttle loom;

FIG. 2 is a somewhat diagrammatic front view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged diagrammatic view of the cutting and holding device of the embodiment in FIGS. 1 and 2 seen in the direction of weft thread insertions, in one position;

FIG. 3a is a view similar to FIG. 3, but showing the same device in an alternate position;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic top-plan viewof FIG. 3; FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic front view of FIGS. 3 and FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail view of a somewhat different embodiment of a shuttle;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the time sequence of operation according to one embodiment;

FIG. 8 resembles FIG. 7, but showing the time sequence of operation according to another embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic view of a thread catcher, seen in the direction of weft thread insertions;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged partial top-plan view of a further embodiment of the invention, the view resembling FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a section taken on lines XI-XI of FIG. 10, but with a somewhat different embodiment; and

FIG. 12 is an enlarged diagrammatic top-plan view of still a further embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Discussing now the drawing in detail, and firstly referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be seen that the illustrated weft thread inserting arrangement is provided at the left-hand end of the sley 40 of a shuttle loom. The gripping shuttle 11 is moved toand-fro on the track 41 provided at the upper side of the sley 40, into and out of the shuttle box 36 and through the warp shed which is formed by the warp thread 38 and guided by the reed 37. The shuttle 11 engages the weft thread 39 which is supplied to it by the arrangements which are to be described subsequently, and inserts it into the warp shed. After beating-up of the inserted weft thread by the reed 37, the inserted weft thread portion is cut off closely adjacent to the edge 43 of the fabric being produced.

The shuttle 11 is provided with

gripper members

18 and 19 which are located in a recess of the shuttle l1 and can be turned about

pivots

20 and 21, respectively. These

gripper members

18 and 19 engage and hold the weft thread 39. They are connected in the manner of a hinge by means of a bolt 24 which turnably extends through both of them and is mounted on one of the

members

18 and 19. It carries a release element 23 in form of a roller or cam surface. The

members

18 and 19 are pressed in part against cooperating surface portions of the shuttle 11 by a spring 22. When the release element 23 is displaced in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1, by an appropriate force, then the

members

18 and 19 disengage from the cooperating surfaces of the shuttle 11, so that a weft thread 39 which was previously held between one or the other of the members 18, I9 and the respectively cooperating surface, is now released. In the illustrated embodiment the weft thread 39 will be initially engaged as the shuttle 11 moves towards the right, whereby the thread becomes clamped by the member 18. To disengage the

members

18 and 19, a releasing device is provided on the sley 40 adjacent the diagrammatically indicated fabric 43. The releasing device comprises a substantially Z-shaped member 26 fixed by a screw 260 to the support plate 12 mounted to the side of the sley 40. Member 26 comprises at the other end thereof a vertical flange 26b. A vertical pivot 26a is fixed to the horizontal portion of member 26. A pivotable member 25 is mounted on pivot 26a for pivotal movement. Member 25 comprises at one end thereof a downwardly extending flange 25b. Member 25 further carries at the other end thereof a vertical shaft 29a on which there is turnably supported an actuating roller 29. A threaded bolt 28 is fixed to the vertical flange 26b of member 26. Said threaded bolt 28 extends through an opening in the vertical flange 25b of member 25 and, in addition, is surrounded by a helical spring 27 which abuts with one end against flange 25b of member 25. Thus, member 25 can be pivoted about pivot 26a against the force of spring 27 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1. Accordingly, when the release element 23 of the shuttle 11 moves towards the right (as shown in FIG. 1) past the releasing device, the actuating roller can yield in the direction of the arrow, because member 25 carrying it can move to the position shown in broken lines. If the shuttle 11, however, moves out of the shed in opposite direction, then the member 25 carrying the actuating roller 29 cannot yield, because the vertical flange 25b thereof abuts in this case the actuating roller 29 engages the release element 23 of shuttle l1 and shifts it in the direction of the arrow associated with it (see FIG. 1 whereby both of the

members

18 and 19 are pivoted about their

respective pivots

20 and 21 and release the weft thread To prevent a weft thread from snapping back into the shed after it has been released, under the influence of its own tension, which is a danger that exists especially in the case of monofilaments, a braking member (not shown) of polyamide bristles can be located adjacent the edge 43 to prevent such movement. This latter type of member and its operation is well known in the art.

FIGS. 3-5 show particularly clearly that the weft thread 39 is supplied to the shuttle 11 through a guide which is here configurated as an eyelet 1, and a holding device which together with a cutting device is mounted on a slide 9. The slide 9 can move in a guide transversely to the direction of movement of the shuttle 11.

The cutting device has a cutting member 2a which is closer to the fabric edge 43 and cooperates with a further cutting member 2b. The holding device has a clamping member 3a which is farther from the fabric edge 43 and a cooperating clamping member 3b. In the illustrated embodiment the

members

2b and 3a are unitary, having a cutting edge and a clamping edge, but this is not necessary. The member 2a, the combined

members

2b and 3b and the member 3a are each configurated as angled lever and are mounted on a common pivot 6 which is provided on a pivot arm 7 that is in turn pivoted to the slide 9 and is pivotable about a shaft 7a located in a slot 10a of guide 10. The member 2a and the member 3a are provided at respective ones of their ends with the shaft of a common guide roller 4a which is displaceably guided in a curved slotted track 4b of the carrier 8. The combined

members

2b and 3b are provided at their common free end with a slotted track 51) in which a roller 5a is slidably guided which is mounted on the carrier 8. The arm 7 is an angled lever and provided at its lower end with a pivot which connects it with a piston rod of a hydraulically actuated cylinder unit 16 having fluid lines 16a, 16b which is mounted on the slide 9 by means of a mounting bracket 17. By activating the cylinder unit 16 which is located beneath the sley 40, the arm 7 can be pivoted from the position of FIG. 3 to the position of FIG. 3a, and the upper pivot 6 provided at the upper end of the arm 7 becomes displaced essentially normal to the track 41, so that the

members

20 and 2b and the

members

3a and 3b can be moved between a closed position in which they are retracted into an upper recess 42 of the sley 40, and an open position in which they are located upwardly of the track 41 but below the guide 1. The position of the guide 1 can be adjusted, for which purpose the guide 1 is displaceably mounted on the carrier 8, a set screw 65 being provided so that it can be set where desired.

In this construction the closure movement of the

members

2a, 2b and of the

members

3a, 3b takes place simultaneously. Because of this the weft thread 39, which is withdrawn from a non-illustrated supply spool via a similarly non-illustrated thread brake to the guide I, and which extends to the edge 43 and has been inserted into the shed in the previous operation, is cut by the

members

2a, 2b and at the same time is engaged and held by the

members

3a and 3b. Subsequently,

downward pivoting of the arm 7 causes the

members

2a, 2b and the

members

3a, 3b to be lowered beneath the plane of the upper surface of the track 41 into the recess 42 of the sley 40, so that the weft thread 39 which extends from the guide 1 to the

members

3a, 3b moves to the operative position in which it can be engaged by the member 18 of the shuttle l1, clamped and taken along by the movement of the shuttle. The cutting and the clamping of the weft thread 39 advantageously take place at a time in which the weft thread 39 which is to be cut extends parallel to the reed 37 from the fabric edge 43 to the guide 1.

During this operation the slide 9 is in its guide 10 in a position in which it is remote from the reed 37'. The displacement of the slide 9 in the guide 10 takes place by an electromagnetic shifting device 13 in the illustrated embodiment, particularly a direct current reversible-stroke magnet whose electric leads are shown at 13a, via an angled arm 14 which is pivoted to the slide 9 by means of a bracket 14a. The device 13 can be directly controlled by an end switch from the flap of the shuttle box 36. In this manner the slide 9 is shifted to its end position in which it is closer to the read 37, only as the shuttle l1 enters into the shuttle box 36.

The cylinder unit 16 serving to pivot the arm 7 can be operated with compressed air also. The control of the pressure medium can take place by means of end switches and control cams which are not illustrated. When the cutting and holding devices located at opposite sides of the loom are tobe moved to operating position only during each second crankshaft rotation, then the cams must turn at half the rotation speed of the crankshaft and the projections of the control cams must be offset through If the control is to be such, however, that the cutting and holding devices at both sides of the loom are to operate simultaneously for movement to their operating position during each rotation of the crankshaft (in which case they only supply a weft thread in alteration into operating position) then the cams can rotate with the same rotational speed as the crankshaft and despite the doubled movement this results in a significant simplification of the control.

It is desirable that the arrangement according to the present invention be rapidly and simply adjustable for making fabrics of different widths. For this purpose the guide 10 of the slide 9, the device 25, the device 13 and the mounting of the arm 14 are each mounted together on a support 12 which in turn is mounted on the front side of the sley 40, to be displaceable longitudinally thereof. The recess 42, which is necessary to permit the

members

2a, 2b and the

members

3a, 3b to be depressed below the plane of the track 41, is made of the necessary length and that portion which is not being used at any particular time is covered by a cover 45 which can also be adjusted longitudinally of the sley 40.

In FIG. 6 I have illustrated a somewhat different embodiment of the shuttle Ila. Here, the members 18a and 19a are operated by separate release elements 31 which are each mounted at one end of an associated arm 30, the latter in turn being pivoted via a respective bolt 32 to the shuttle 11a. The members 18a and 19a are each in turn pivoted to the respective arms 30 via a pivot 33, and are also pivoted via pivots 34 to the shuttle 11a. The arms 30 are pushed by springs 22 in the direction away from the reed 37. The release elements 31 are actuated by the actuating roller 29 of the releasing device 25 against the force of the respective spring 22, in the manner described earlier, so that the members 18a and 19a release. This construction has the advantage that the thread portions which occur when the weft thread is cut off, and which of course must be discarded, can be maintained shorter than in the other embodiment.

If it is desired to insert different types of weft threads 39, then a corresponding member of the guides must be located at each side of the loom in known manner, and each of these guides l is operated by.a conventional and well-known thread selecting device in the desired manner.

FIGS. 7 diagrammatically illustrates one way in which the arrangement according to the present invention can be operated. It will be seen that the slide 9 located at the left-hand side of the loom is moved from operating position into retracted position shortly after the entry of the shuttle 11 into the shed, and is moved out ofthe retracted position into the operating position shortly after the returning shuttle 11 has moved out of the shed. The associated left-hand cutting arrangement is moved from closed position into opening position at the time at which the leaving shuttle moves out of the remote edge of the shed, and it is moved from opening to closed position shortly before the returning shuttle moves into the shed. In this manner the cutting of the last beaten-up weft thread takes place at a time which, as seen with respect to the crankshaft angle, is approximately 90 after the beating-up; in other words, the crankshaft will have turned through approximately 90 by that time. The slide and cutting arrangement located at the right-hand side of the loom are operated analogously, with a phase shift of 360 of crankshaft angle.

A difierent mode of operation is illustrated in FIG. 8. The cutting devices located at the left-hand and the right-hand side of the loom are operated in the manner described above. However, the slides located at the opposite sides are each operated simultaneously to move before each beating-up into the operating position, and to be returned to the retracted position shortly before the rear dead-center position of the crankshaft is reached. This means that each of the slide must be moved twice as often as with the mode of operation described relative to FIG. 7, but a significant simplification of the control devices necessary for effecting the movement of the slides can be achieved in this manner.

If it is to be expected that the weft thread might snap back into the shed after it is released by the

members

18 or 19, it is advantageous if a thread catcher 46 is used, such as illustrated in FIG. 9. This is moved via an arm 47 and a cylinder unit 48 into the full-line ready position after the shuttle 11 has entered into the shed. The retracted position which is shown in broken line is assumed by the thread catcher 46 after the reed 37 has beaten-up the weft thread. The arm 47 is pivoted on the support 12 by means of a mount 49, and the catcher 46 is pivoted to the arm 47 and provided with a guide portion 50 which is guided for straight-line movement in a guide member 51 on the support 12.

The shuttle l lashown in FIG. 6 holds the weft thread 39 which is located at that end which is the forward end of the shuttle in the direction of movement thereof.

The weft thread extends during insertion from the respective gripper member 18a or 19a to a thread guide 35, is taken over by the catcher 46 immediately prior to disengagement by the respective member 18a or 19a and is maintained in taut condition until beating-up has taken place. Subsequently, the end of the portion of the thread 39 which is located in the shed is drawn automatically out of the catcher 46 as the sley 40 retracts. According to FIG. 7, the control of the right-hand and left-hand catchers 46 can take place with a phase-shift of 360 as seen with respect to the rotation of the crankshaft. FIG. 8 shows a further possibility of controlling the operation of the catchers 46, in which case both members at opposite sides of the loom are always simultaneously moved either into the operating position or into the retracted position. The catchers 46 advantageously are provided with two substantially fun nel-shaped engaging portions 46a and 46b which are pressed together by a spring 53, as shown in FIG. 1.

Coming now to the embodiment in FIG. 10 it will be seen that here like reference numerals are identified with like components as in the preceding embodiments. The sley is again identified with reference numeral 30 and a support 12 is mounted on the front side of the sley, being adjustable longitudinally thereof. An arm 52, which extends across the track 41, is provided on the support 12 adjacent the fabric edge 43. At the end of the arm there is provided a pivot 54 extending vertical with respect to the track 41 and being located closely adjacent to the path of movement of the shuttle 11a. A member 53, having approximately the shape of a sector of a circle, is pivoted on the pivot 54 and provided with a slot 58 and a thread-engaging edge 55, for engaging that portion of the thread 39 which is located between the member 19a and the thread guide 35 of the shuttle 11a. There is further provided a convexly curved actuating edge 56 which is adjacent to the slot 58 and cooperates with the release element 31' of the shuttle 11a.

At the side edge of the slot 58 which is opposite the edge 55 there is mounted a U-shaped clamping spring 57 the free end of which abuts the edge 55. A bore 76 is provided in the edge 55 and accommodates a guide pin 77 which extends through an elongated slit 78 of the spring 57. At the side of the pivot axis 54-which is opposite the slot 58, there is provided an arm which is pivoted to the member 53 via a pin 71. The slide 9 is provided with a projection 68 to which the opposite end of the arm 70 is pivoted by means of pivot 69.

In this manner the member 53 is so connected with the slide 9 that during movement of the slide 9 into the retracted position the member 53 will move to its fullline operating position, whereas during movement of the member 9 into the operating position thereof the member 53 will move into the retracted position which is shown in broken lines in FIG. 10. The member 53 is always turned through an angle of between 60 and (90 in the illustrated embodiment) through the pivot axis 54, and the edge 56 which extends in the operating position of the member 53 into the longitudinal slot of the shuttle 1 la, is pivoted out of the path of movement of the shuttle 11a when the member 53 is in the retracted position.

FIG. 10 shows that the slot 58 of the member 53 extends in parallelism with the direction of movement of the shuttle lla when member 53 is in the operating position, so that that portion of the thread 39 which extends between the gripper member 19a and the thread guide 35 across the lateral longitudinal slot of the shuttle 11a will automatically enter into the slot 58 during the movement of the shuttle 11a past the member 53; in this slot it.will be frictionally engaged and retained between the thread--engaging edge 55 and the spring 57. The pin 77 prevents on the one hand an undesired displacement of the spring 57, and on the other hand a movement of the thread 39 past the free end of the spring 57. Because the pin 77 is guided in the slit 78 of the spring 57, the latter can freely shift in longitudinal direction relative to the edge 55, in the manner necessary to obtain the desired spring effect, but cannot move upwardly or downwardly off the edge 55. The gripper member 19 releases thread 39 only shortly after the latter has been inserted between edge 55 and spring 57, since release element 31 contacts the edge 56 only after such insertion has taken place.

FIG. 1 1 shows a somewhat different embodiment, illustrating that the member 53 can be operated by a separate control device. Here, a cylinder 48 is mounted on the sley 40, having a piston rod which is pivoted by means of the pivot 80 to a double-arm lever 47 which in turn is journalled in a bracket 49 on the support 12 and is provided at its opposite end with a ball joint 69' by means of which it is connected to the arm 70. Of course, the ball joint 69' could be replaced with another pivotable connection. When the piston rod of the cylinder 48 is extended to the broken-line position shown in FIG. 11, the member 53 is moved from its operating position into its retracted position. FIG. 11 shows also that the member 53 in the illustrated operating position will extend with its edge 56 into the lateral longitudinal slot of the shuttle 11, to an extent sufficient so that as the shuttle 11 moves past the member 53, the release element 31 will be engaged and briefly depressed counter to the force of the spring 22, so that the member 19 is moved to open position and disengages the weft thread 39. The configuration and length of the release element 31 are so accommodated to the configuration and length of the actuating edge 56 that the member 19 will be maintained in released position sufficiently long to permit a withdrawal of the thread 39. In the embodiment of FIG. the release element 31 is configurated as an elongated member having slightly inclined receding abutment surfaces, but depending upon the particular requirements of a given situation the configurations of the release element 31 and the actuating edge 56 can also be chosen otherwise.

In the embodiments illustrated in the various Figures the member 53, as well as the arrangement for moving the weft thread 39 to engaging position, the guide 1 and the associated operating devices are each mounted on a common support 12, which is longitudinally adjustable at the front side of the sley 40, all of thesedevices can be rapidly and simply moved so that they are located closely adjacent the fabric edge 43, simply by adjusting the support 12, if and when the width of the fabric being produced has to be changed.

In operation appropriate activation of the actuating devices assures that the member 53 is turned to the operating position before the returning shuttle 11 moves out of the shed, and is turned to the retracted position intermediate the time of beating-up and the exit of the shuttle 11 from the shuttle box 36. The control can be carried out by means of end switches and earns which are not illustrated. Because each of the members 53 must be maintained in the operating position only in the time between the emergence of the returning shuttle 11 out of the shed and the subsequently following beating-up procedure the member 53 located at the left-hand side of the loom and the member 53 located at the right-hand side of the loom are operated only during very second crankshaft rotation, with the operation of one member being time-delayed with respect to the operation of the other member by one crankshaft rotation. However, the control can be further simplifled if both of the members 53 are simultaneously moved to the operating position before the shuttle 11 moves out of the shed, and if they both are moved to the retracted position between the time of beating-up and the movement of the shuttle out of one of the shuttle boxes 36. In this case each of the members 53 must be moved between operating and retracted position twice as often as otherwise, but a considerable simplification in the controls is obtained.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a shuttle loom, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. I

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a shuttle loom, a combination comprising a sley, a shuttle track on said sley, at least one shuttle having gripper means for releasably engaging a weft thread to be inserted by said shuttle into a warp shed, guide means for guiding a weft thread drawn from a weft thread supply into the path of said gripper means of said shuttle, cutting means for cutting the inserted weft thread so as to sever an inserted portion thereof from a supply portion, holding means for holding the severed supply portion, releasing means for opening said gripper means so as to release the engaged weft thread, mounting means mounting said guide means, cutting means and holding means on said sley for common movement transverse to said track between a laterally retracted position and an operative position in which the guide means are located above the path of said shuttle on said track, and said cutting means and said holding means are located below said guide means for movement between an open position located in the path of movement of said shuttle, and a closed position located below the path of movement of said shuttle.

2. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said cutting means comprises a pair of cutter members which cooperate with one another analogously to scissors, and wherein said holding means comprises two clamping members which move relative to each other in scissor-like manner, said members being movable in the operative position between respective open positions in which they are located in the path of movement of said shuttle, and respective closed positions in which they are retracted into a recess formed in said sley.

3. A combination as defined in claim 2, wherein said mounting means comprises a slide which is movable transverse to said track, and guide means guiding said slide.

4. A combination as defined in claim 3; and further comprising means mounting said guide means for adjustment relative to said slide.

5. A combination as defined in claim 3; and further comprising moving means for effecting the movement of said slide.

6. A combination as defined in claim 5, wherein said moving means comprises an electromagnetic device, and an arm connecting said device with said slide.

7. A combination as defined in claim 5; further comprising a pivot arm on said slide and pivotable about a first axis extending substantially parallel to said track; pivot means mounting said members on said pivot arm for pivotal movement about a second axis substantially paralleling said first axis and common to all of said members, and a guide arrangement guiding said members on said slide for movement between said open and closed positions in response to pivoting of said pivot arm about said first axis.

8. A combination as defined in claim 7, wherein the loom weaves a fabric having a free edge, and wherein one of said cutter members is closer to and one of said clamping members is farther from said free edge than the respective other cutter and clamping members; and wherein said one members together constitute a unitary element.

9. A combination as defined in claim 7, wherein one of said clamping members comprises an element of permanently magnetic material, and further comprising a leaf spring connecting said magnetic element with said one clamping member so that said magnetic element is attracted against said other clamping member in said closing position.

10. A combination as defined in claim 7, wherein said pivot arm is an angled lever; and further comprising a pressure-fluid operated cylinder unit mounted on said slide and connected with said angled lever for effecting the pivoting of the same.

11. A combination as defined in claim 2; wherein said releasing means comprise an actuating element mounted on said sley, and said shuttle comprises a release element cooperating with said actuating element in response to the passage of said shuttle past said actuating element so as to transmit an opening motion to said gripper means of said shuttle.

12. A combination as defined in claim 11, wherein said actuating means comprises a pivotable member mounted on said sley for pivotal displacement in the direction of movement of said shuttle means during insertion of said weft thread, a biasing member resiliently resisting said pivotal displacement, and a roller member mounted on said pivotable member for turning movement about an axis substantially normal to said direction of movement and being arranged to engage actuating element during movement of said shuttle means opposite to said direction.

13. A combination as defined in claim 11, wherein said guide means, cutting means, holding means and releasing means are all mounted on a common support which is adjustable longitudinally of said track, said sley is provided with at least one recess extending a sufficient length along said track, and there are further provided cover means for covering those portions of said recesses which are not required for the movement of said cutting means and said holding means.

14. A combination as defined in claim 11; further comprising thread catching means mounted on said sley between the free edge of the fabric and the shuttle box and adapted to catch said weft thread engaged in said gripper means prior to the opening thereof at a thread portion extending between said gripper means and a thread guide element of said gripper shuttle, and

to hold said weft thread portion until beating-up of the inserted weft thread.

15. A combination as defined in claim 14, wherein said catching means is adapted to act also as the actuating element.

16. A combination as defined in claim 15; and further comprising means for turning said plate-shaped element about said turning axis.

17. A combination as defined in claim 15, wherein said catching means comprises a plate-shaped element having a slot for entry of said weft thread which is bonded by a lateral thread-contacting edge, and a convexly curved actuating edge for actuating said release element, said plate-shaped element being turnable about a turning axis normal to said track through substantially 60-90.

18. A combination as defined in claim 17, wherein said plate-shaped element substantially resembles a sector of a circle, said slot being located at one side of said turning axis, and said plate-shaped element further having an edge portion located at the opposite side of said turning axis and extending transverse to said slot.

19. A combination as defined in claim 17; and further comprising a clamping spring at said slot for engaging and frictionally clamping said weft thread therein.

20. A combination as defined in claim 19, wherein said clamping spring is U-shaped and mounted on an edge bounding said slot which is located opposite said thread-contacting edge.

21. A combination as defined in claim 19, said plateshaped element having a bore formed in said threadcontacting edge, and said clamping spring having an arm formed with an elongated slit; and further comprising a pin received in said bore and extending into said lit. 8 k

Claims

14. A combination as defined in claim 11; further comprising thread catching means mounted on said sley between the free edge of the fabric and the shuttle box and adapted to catch said weft thread engaged in said gripper means prior to the opening thereof at a thread portion extending between said gripper means and a thread guide element of said gripper shuttle, and to hold said weft thread portion until beating-up of the inserted weft thread.

17. A combination as defined in claim 15, wherein said catching means comprises a plate-shaped element having a slot for entry of said weft thread which is bonded by a lateral thread-contacting edge, and a convexly curved actuating edge for actuating said release element, said plate-shaped element being turnable about a turning axis normal to said track through substantially 60*-90*.

21. A combination as defined in claim 19, said plate-shaped element having a bore formed in said thread-contacting edge, and said clamping spring having an arm formed with an elongated slit; and further comprising a pin received in said bore and extending into said slit.