US3865151A

US3865151A - Jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus for textile loom

Info

Publication number: US3865151A
Application number: US451739A
Authority: US
Inventors: Emory Donald Poole
Original assignee: Spring Mills Inc
Current assignee: Spring Mills Inc
Priority date: 1974-03-18
Filing date: 1974-03-18
Publication date: 1975-02-11
Anticipated expiration: 1992-02-11
Also published as: JPS50126975A

Abstract

Jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus for a textile loom characterized by forming a larger-than-normal roll of woven cloth before doffing, providing on-the-loom cloth inspection, and maintaining the woven cloth generally above the conventional loom warp beam at the rear of the loom and weaving mechanisms terminating at the front of the loom to prevent the cloth from becoming dirty and improve quality, as follows. Devices are provided for guiding the woven cloth from the front of the loom generally vertically upwardly to provide an inspection area for on-the-loom inspection of the woven cloth and then generally horizontally over the top of the loom toward the rear thereof. Take-up roll mechanisms are mounted generally above the warp beam at the rear of the loom a sufficient distance to provide space for receiving the woven cloth from the guiding means and forming a larger-than-normal jumbo roll of woven cloth before doffing is necessary.

Description

United States Patent 1191 Poole 1 Feb. 11,1975

1 1 JUMBO CLOTH TAKE-UP AND INSPECTION APPARATUS FOR TEXTILE LOOM [75] Inventor: Emory Donald Poole, Fort Mill, SC.

[73] Assignee: Spring Mills, Inc., Fort Mill, SC.

[22] v Filed: Mar. 18, 1974 [211 App]. N0.: 451,739

[52] US. Cl. 139/304, 139/99 [51] Int. Cl D03d 49/20 [58] Field of Search 139/304, 99

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 2,811,176 10/1957 Mangum 139/304 3,502,115 3/1970 Barnett 139/304 3,677,305 7/1972 Cutting et al. 139/304 Primary Examiner-Mervin Stein Assistant Examiner-Steven A. Hawkins Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Parrott, Bell, Seltzer, Park & Gibson [57] ABSTRACT Jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus for a textile loom characterized by forming a larger-thannormal roll of woven cloth before doffing, providing on-the-loom cloth inspection, and maintaining the woven cloth generally above the conventional loom warp beam at the rear of the loom and weaving mechanisms terminating at the front of the loom to prevent the cloth from becoming dirty and improve quality, as follows. Devices are provided for guiding the woven cloth from the front of the loom generally vertically upwardly to provide an inspection area for ontheloom inspection of the woven cloth and then generally horizontally over the top of the loom toward the rear thereof. Take-up r011 mechanisms are mounted generally above the warp beam at the rear of the loom a sufficient distance to provide space for receiving the woven cloth from the guiding means and forming a larger-than-normal jumbo roll of woven cloth before doffing is necessary.

10 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED E I 1 IHYS sum 10F 3 PATENTEB FEB 1 I975 SHEET 2 BF 3 PATENTEU FEB? 1 i975 SHEET 3 U? 3 JUMBO CLOTH TAKE-UP AND INSPECTION APPARATUS FOR TEXTILE LOOM BACKGROUND OF INVENTION This invention is directed to jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus for a textile loom characterized by forming a Iarger-than-normal roll of woven cloth before doffing, providing on-the-loom cloth inspection, and maintaining the woven cloth generally above the conventional loom warp beam and weaving mechanisms to prevent the cloth from becoming dirty and improve quality.

Heretofore, it has been conventional in the weaving of cloth on a textile loom to position a warp beam mechanism at the rear of the loom for feeding warp yarns into the loom to be acted upon by successively positioned weaving mechanisms which terminate toward the front of the loom for weaving of cloth and to position a take-up mechanism at the front of the loom for rolling-up the woven cloth. Due to the limitation in space at the front of the loom, the size of the roll of woven cloth rolled-up on the take-up mechanism was necessarily limited and the roll of woven cloth was required to be periodically doffed from the loom when the roll was full and had consumed the space around the take-up roll mechanism.

Also, in conventional textile plant operations, the roll of woven cloth doffed from the loom was taken to an inspection apparatus where the roll of cloth was fed therefrom in an elongate, longitudinal path of travel for visual inspection to determine any defects therein by an operator and was again wound up into a roll after the operator had inspected the cloth. This operation required additional space for the inspection operation and the added requirement of inspection apparatus for unrolling, feeding the cloth in a longitudinal path of travel and rewinding the cloth onto a roll.

In many weaving operations, it is preferable and desirable to form as large a roll of woven cloth as is possible on the loom since the larger roll of woven cloth eliminates the necessity for seaming several rolls together during subsequent finishing operations, etc., and provides more uncut yardage of finished cloth. However, the size of the take-up roll on the loom, as discussed above, was conventionally restricted by the space in which the take-up roll was normally positioned on the loom.

In order to overcome the above disadvantages and take-up a larger roll of cloth on a loom, it has been heretofore proposed to move the take-up roll from the conventional location in which the size of the roll was restricted and place this take-up roll at other locations, such as shown for example in US. Pat. Nos. 2,442,127, issued May 25, 1948; 2,811,176 issued Oct. 29, 1957; 3,502,115, issued Mar. 24, 1970; 3,677,305, issued June 18, 1972, etc. Some of these previously proposed apparatuses also contemplated providing an inspection area for on-the-loom inspection of the woven cloth eliminating the separate inspection operation.

However, all of the prior known apparatuses, such as those disclosed in the aforesaid US. Patents for example, lacked simplicity of design, ease of operation, etc. and more importantly, all provided the common feature of guiding and feeding the woven cloth from generally the front of the loom, under the weaving mecha nisms and drive mechanisms of the loom, and then to a relocated take-up roll mechanism which would form a larger-than-normal or jumbo roll of woven cloth. This A path of travel of the woven cloth under'the mechanisms of the loom has been found by this invention to be totally undesirable inasmuch as lint, grease, dirt, and other impurities would often fall from the loom onto the woven cloth or otherwise cause the woven cloth to become dirty, soiled and reduce the quality of the woven cloth.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is the object of this invention to provide jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus for a textile loomwhich will form a larger-than-normal roll of woven cloth before doffing, provide on-the-loom cloth inspection, while maintaining the woven cloth generally above the conventional loom warp beam at the rear ofthe loom and weaving mechanisms terminating at the front of the loom to prevent the cloth from becoming soiled and dirty and improve the quality of the woven cloth, while also providing simplicity of design and ease of operation.

It has been found by this invention, that the above objects may be accomplished by providing jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus for a textile loom, as follows. Means are provided for guiding the woven cloth from the front of the loom generally vertically upwardly to provide an inspection area for on-the-loom inspection of the woven cloth and then generally horizontally over the top of the loom toward the rear thereof. Take-up roll means are mounted generally above the warp beam mechanisms at the rear of the loom a sufficient distance to provide space for receiving the woven cloth from said guiding means and forming a larger-than-normal jumbo roll of woven cloth before doffmg is necessary. I

Preferably, the take-up roll is driven by a specifically designed and simple reciprocating pick gear linkage driven from the normal loom drive mechanisms, such as the whip roll rocker device, for advancing a toothed gear which is connected to the take-up roll through a slip clutch so that the take-up roll will be rotatingly advanced for rolling-up the cloth when the tension on the woven cloth is below a predetermined amount and for allowing the drive to slip through the clutch when the tension on the woven cloth is above a predetermined amount, to be specifically described hereinafter.

This take-up roll drive or advancing apparatus also preferably includes mechanisms for releasing the pick gear linkage when it is desired to pull the woven cloth back off the take-up roll to obtain a slack in the woven cloth passing upwardly from the front of the loom to allow an operator access to the weaving mechanisms near the front of the loom for piecing up of broken warp yarns or otherwise repairing the loom operation.

Also, in accordance with the preferred form of this invention, the apparatus hereof further includes means mounting the take-up roll for easy manual disengagement for doffing of a full jumbo roll of woven cloth, which will be specifically described below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS While some of the objects and advantages of this invention have been set forth, other objects and advantqges will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective, schematic, flow diagram of material through the textile loom and the improved apparatus of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic, side, elevational view of a textile loom, with portions omitted for clarity, and with the improved apparatus of this invention thereon;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged front elevational view, broken away, looking from the left side of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view, broken away, and taken generally along the line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view, taken generally along the line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view, taken generally along the line 6-6 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view, taken generally along the line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, there is schematically illustrated, in FIG. 2, a textile loom indicated generally by the reference numeral 10. The textile loom 10 conventionally includes a warp beam mechanism 11 mounted on frame portions 12 at generally the rear or entrance end of the loom 10 for supplying a plurality of parallel warp yarns W to the loom. The loom 10 further includes a whip roll mechanism 13 which is operated by a whip roll rocker linkage 14 having a cam follower 15 on one end thereof to be acted upon by a rotating, driven cam 16 for reciprocating the linkage 14 up and down. This action of the whip roll mechanism 13 including the reciprocating rocker linkage 14 is well understood by those with ordinary skill in the loom art for placing the required tension on the warp yarns W as they pass from the warp beam mechanism 11 into the weaving instrumentalities of the loom 10.

The loom 10 further includes successively positioned weaving mechanisms terminating at generally the front or exit end of the loom and including a conventional harness device 17, lay mechanism 18 with picker stick 19, etc., for the insertion of the filling yarns and the weaving of cloth in a manner well understood by those with ordinary skill in the art. The woven cloth C conventionally passes around sand roll 21, to be rolled up into a roll of woven cloth by a take-up mechanism. The above-described conventional loom mechanisms and those not shown in the drawings are all well known to those with ordinary skill in the art and further description and illustration herein is not deemed necessary for an understanding of the present invention.

The take-up mechanism, conventionally located in a textile loom at the front or exit of the loom near the sand roll 21 has been removed in accordance with this invention and relocated, as will be described below, for allowing the forming ofa larger-than-normaljumbo roll of woven cloth and for providing on-the-loom cloth inspection.

The jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus of this invention is generally designated in the drawings by the reference numeral 30. This apparatus comprises, firstly, means for guiding the woven cloth from the front of the loom, adjacent sand roll 21, generally vertically upwardly to provide an inspection area, designated as such in FIG. 2 of the drawings, for on-theloom inspection of the woven cloth C and then generally horizontally over the top of the loom toward the rear thereof.

This means comprises frame members, collectively indicated by the reference numeral 31, for being secured to the loom frame 12 and for rotatably supporting

successive guide rolls

32, 33 and 34 for receiving and guiding the woven cloth C in the above-defined path of travel. Accordingly, an operator may stand at the front of the textile loom 10 and easily inspect the woven cloth C at eye level as the cloth is lead from the loom 10 through the apparatus 30 of this invention, thus eliminating an off-the-loom and separate cloth inspection operation.

The apparatus 30 of this invention further includes take-up roll means mounted generally above the warp beam mechanisms 11 at the rear of the loom 10 at a sufficient distance therefrom to provide space for receiving the woven cloth C from the guiding

rolls

32, 33, 34 and forming a larger-than-normal jumbo roll R of woven cloth before doffing is necessary. This jumbo roll R will normally take-up three to five times as much woven cloth as the conventional take-up mechanisms on a loom.

The take-up roll means comprises a take-up roll 45 rotatably carried by the upstanding frame members 31, in a manner to be described below, for receiving the woven cloth C from the

guide rolls

32, 33, and 34 and for forming a jumbo roll R of the woven cloth.

For driving the take-up roll 45 there is provided a first lever arm 46 having one end thereof connected to the whip roll rocker linkage 14 and having the other end thereof connected to one end ofa second lever arm 47. The second lever arm 47 is pivotally mounted at an intermediate portion through integral collar 36 about a stub shaft 37 carried by the upstanding frame members 31 through bearing collar 38. The second lever arm 47 includes a pick member 39 pivotally mounted on the other end thereof and which is biased by spring 40 into engagement with a pick gear 41 keyed to the shaft 37. The pick gear 41 includes projecting teeth around the outer periphery thereof.

Thus, as the whip roll rocker linkage 14 reciprocates up and down under the influence of the rotating cam 16, the

lever arms

46 and 47 will be reciprocated about the pivoting connection of lever arm 47 on shaft 37 to reciprocate the pick member 39 to successively engage the teeth on pick gear 41 and successively rotate the pick gear 41 forwardly in the direction of rotation indicated by the arrows in FIG. 2. The pick gear 41 also includes a stop member 42 which is pivotally carried by the upstanding frame members 31 and is biased by spring 43 into engagement with the teeth on the outer periphery of the pick gear 41 so as to prevent the pick gear 41 from rotating in the opposite direction to that indicated by the arrows in FIG. 2 during the reciprocating advancement of the pick gear 41 by the pick member 39.

While the drive mechanisms of the take-up apparatus of this invention have been illustrated and are being described as connected with the whip roll rocker linkage 14, it is to be understood that the reciprocating movement of the take-up race mechanism may be obtained from any conventional loom movement or drive.

The stud shaft 37 carries on one end thereof another gear 50 which meshes with a gear 51 for rotating same. The gear 51 includes collar 52 extending outwardly therefrom which forms a part of a slip clutch generally indicated at 55. The collar 52 of the gear 51 is received within an adjustable slip clutch member 56 so that rotation of the collar 52 will also rotate clutch member 56 if the resistance on clutch member 56 is below a predetermined amount and the collar 52 will slip relative to the clutch member 56 if the resistance on the clutch member 56 is above a predetermined amount. The clutch member 56 is adjustable by means of a threaded member 57 and spring 58. The clutch member 56 is keyed (see FIG. 7) to a stub shaft 59 which is supported by frame members 31 through bearing sleeves 60.

The inner end of the stub shaft 59 is received within an aperture 65 in one end of the take-up roll 45 and is keyed thereto for rotation of the take-up roll 45 therewith. For this purpose, the end of the stub shaft 59 may be generally square-shaped in cross-section and the aperture 65 in the end of the take-up roll 45 will be correspondingly square-shaped in cross-section. Accordingly, it may be seen that the take-up roll 45 will be driven by rotation of the stub shaft 59 for rolling up the cloth C into a roll R on the take-up roll 45 when the tension on the cloth C being fed through the apparatus 30 is below a predetermined amount and the slip clutch 55 will slip and prevent driving rotation of the take-up roll 45 when the tension on the cloth C being fed through the apparatus 30 is above a predetermined amount. The stub shaft 59 is secured against longitudinal movement thereof and thus provides a support for the end of the take-up roll 45.

The other end of the take-up roll 45 is supported on one end of a stub shaft 70 which is received in an aperture 72 in the other end of take-up roll 45. The stub shaft 70 is movably supported in a bearing 74 carried by frame members 31 for longitudinal movement into reception within the aperture 72 in the other end of take-up roll 45 for rotatably supporting the take-up roll 45, and for movement out of the aperture 72 in the other end of take-up roll 45 for allowing disengagement of the take-up roll 45 from the stub shaft 70 and from the stub shaft 59 for doffing of a full roll R of cloth C wound on the take-up roll 45.

For biasing the stub shaft 70 into its supporting position within the aperture 72 of the take-up roll 45, there is provided a leaf spring member 76 (See FIG. 5) secured to a frame member 31 at one end thereof and engaging the other end of the stub shaft 70 at the free end thereof. Also, there is provided a stop bar member 77 pivotally mounted at one end on the frame member 31 and engageable within a slot 78 in the stub shaft 70 for holding the stub shaft 70 in its release position out of the aperture 72 in the other end of take-up roll 45 for allowing disengagement of the take-up roll 45 from the stub shaft 70.

For aiding in doffing of a full roll R of cloth C from the apparatus 30 of this invention, there is provided a first cradle member 80 secured to a frame member 31 for receiving the other end of take-up roll 45 when it is released from the stub shaft 70. Cradle member 80 has an upper portion of generally U-shape for receiving the other end of the take-up roll 45 therein. On the other side of the take-up roll 45, there is provided a lever 82 pivotally mounted medially thereof by a bracket 83 onto a frame portion 31. The lever 82 has a manually engagable handle portion 84 on one end thereof for movement by an operator and a cradle portion 85 of U-shape at the other end thereof. The lever 82 is positioned so that the operator may move the lever by means of the handle portion 84 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3 so that the other end 85 of the lever 82 will engage the roll R of wound cloth C and move the roll R and the stub shaft against the bias of leafspring 76 for allowing engagement of stop member 77 within slot 78 and thereby move the take-up roll 45 off of the stub shaft 59 for reception within the cradle portion of the lever 82. This will also cause the other end of the take-up roll 45 to be disengaged from the stub shaft 70 due to its longitudinal movement for reception in the cradle member 801. The full jumbo roll R of cloth C is then in position for removal by an operator and doffing from the apparatus 30 of this invention.

Further, in accordance with this invention, if it is desired by an operator to gain access to the loom or the weaving mechanisms, described above, from the front or exit end of the loom, there is provided a release means for releasing the pick member 39 and stop member 42 from the gear 41 so that the woven cloth C may be manually pulled back off the roll R formed on the take-up roll 45 for providing a slack in the cloth C in generally the inspection area of the apparatus 30 so that an operator may easily gain access to the weaving mechanisms of the loom for piecing up of a broken warp yarn, etc.

This release means comprises (see FIG. 2) a manually movable handle member pivotally mounted at one end to a frame member 31 and having a connecting rod 91 extending therefrom. The connecting rod 91 engages a generally V-shaped connecting rod 92 (see FIGS. 2, 3 and 4) which in turn is secured to the pick member 39 and the stop member 42 so that when the handle 90 is moved in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2, the connecting

rods

91 and 92 will pivot the pick member 39 and stop member 42. against the bias of

springs

40 and 43 and out of engagement with the teeth on the outer periphery of gear 41 so that the gear 41 is free to rotate in the opposite direction of the arrows of FIG. 2 so as to allow the cloth C to be unwound from the roll R on take-up roll 32.

Thus, it may be seen that this invention has provided a jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus for a textile loom which will form a largerthan-normal roll of woven cloth before doffing, provide on-the-loom cloth inspection, while maintaining the woven cloth generally above the conventional loom warp beam at the rear ofthe loom and weaving mechanisms terminating at the front of the loom to prevent the cloth from becoming soiled and dirty and improve the quality of the cloth, while also providing simplicity of design and ease of operation.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of this invention, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

What is claimed is:

1. Jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus for a textile loom having conventionally-mounted warp beam mechanisms at the rear of the loom and successively positioned weaving mechanisms terminating at generally the front of the loom and including drive means, said apparatus characterized by forming a larger-than-normal roll of woven cloth before doffing, providing on-the-loom cloth inspection, and maintaining the woven cloth generally above the conventional loom warp beam and weaving mechanisms to prevent the cloth from becoming dirty and improve quality, said apparatus comprising:

means for guiding the woven cloth from the front of the loom generally vertically upwardly to provide an inspection area for on-the-loom inspection of the woven cloth and then generally horizontally over the top of the loom toward the rear thereof; and

take-up roll means mounted generally above the warp beam mechanisms at the rear of the loom a sufficient distance to provide space for receiving the woven cloth from said guiding means and forming a larger-than-normal jumbo roll of woven cloth before doffing is necessary.

2. Jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, in which said means for guiding the woven cloth from the front of the loom comprises frame members for being secured to the loom, and

guide rolls rotatably mounted on said frame members for receiving and guiding the woven cloth in its path of travel through the inspection area and to said take-up roll means.

3. Jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, in which said take-up roll means comprises frame members for being secured to the loom and extending generally upwardly from the rear portion of the loom,

a take-up roll rotatably mounted on said frame members for receiving the woven cloth from said guiding means and for forming a jumbo roll of the woven cloth, and

drive means carried by said frame means and connected with said take-up roll for rotating said takeup roll to roll-up the woven cloth thereon.

4. Jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus, as set forth in claim 3, in which said drive means comprises a reciprocating linkage for being reciprocated by the drive means of the loom,

gear means connected with said reciprocating linkage for being rotated thereby during its reciprocating movements, and

a slip clutch connected with said gear means and with said take-up roll for rotating said take-up roll during the rotating movements of said gear means when the tension on the woven cloth being rolledup on said take-up roll is below a predetermined amount and for slipping and allowing rotation of said gear means with respect to said take-up roll and preventing rotation of said take-up roll when the tension of the woven cloth being wound on said take-up roll is above the predetermined amount.

5. Jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus, as set forth in claim 4, in which the loom includes a whip roll mechanism having a cam-operated, reciprocating, rocker device,

said reciprocating linkage of said apparatus drive means comprises a first lever arm having one end thereof connected to said whip roll rocker device for reciprocating movement thereby, a second lever arm having one end thereof secured to said first lever arm for reciprocating movement thereby and being pivotally mounted at an intermediate portion thereof and having a pick member pivotally mounted on the other end thereof and biased into engagement with said gear means of said apparatus drive means, and

said gear means of said apparatus drive means comprising a rotatably mounted pick gear having teeth around the outer circumference thereof for engagement by said pick member for sequential rotary movement thereof in one direction during each reciprocation of said pick member and including stop means biased into engagement with said gear means for preventing rotation of said gear means in the opposite direction.

6. Jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus, as

set forth in claim 5, including release means for releasing said pick member and said stop means from said gear means when it is desired to pull the woven cloth back off of the roll formed on said take-up roll for obtaining access to the loom from the front thereof.

7. Jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus, as set forth in claim 6, in which said release means comprises a manually movable handle member pivotally mounted on said frame members for movement by an operator,

connecting rod means extending from said handle member to said pick member and to said stop means for pivotally moving said pick member and said stop-means against the bias thereof when said handle member is moved to release said gear member for rotation in the direction opposite to the take-up rotation and thus allow rotation of the take-up roll and the roll of woven cloth formed thereon in the opposite direction to the take-up rotation.

8. Jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus, as set forth in claim 3, in which said take-up roll means further comprises means mounting said take-up roll for easy manual disengagement for doffing of a full jumbo roll of woven cloth from said apparatus comrising an aperture in each end of said take-up roll,

a first stub shaft rotatably carried by said frame members and secured against longitudinal movement thereof, said first stub shaft being connected at one end with said take-up drive means for rotation thereby and having the other end received within said aperture in one end of said take-up roll and being keyed thereto for supporting and rotating said take-up roll and allowing longitudinal linear movement of said take-up roll with respect thereto,

a second stub shaft longitudinally movably carried by said frame members and having one end received within said aperture in the other end of said takeup roll for supporting said take-up roll,

means biasing said second stub shaft into reception within said aperture in the other end of said takeup roll and biasing said take-up roll and said aperture in the one end thereof into reception with said first stub shaft,

stop means carried by said frame member and engageable with said second stub shaft for holding said second stub shaft against longitudinal movement and in a first position in which said first and second stub shaft are positioned within said apertures in said take-up roll for supporting and rotating said take-up roll and being disengagable for allowing longitudinal movement of said second stub shaft into a second position in which said take-up roll and the apertures in the ends thereof disengage from said first and second stub shaft for doffing of a full jumbo roll of woven cloth, and

lever means pivotally mounted on said frame member and having one end thereof engagable with said roll of woven cloth on said take-up roll so that the other end of said lever means may be manually moved by an operator to move said take-up roll and the full roll of woven cloth thereon against said biasing means to longitudinally move said take-up roll and said second stub shaft for disengaging said take-up roll from said first stub shaft and for disengaging said take-up roll from said second stub shaft when said stop means is in the disengaged position thereof.

9. Jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus, as

with said cut-out in said second stub shaft for allowing longitudinal movement of said second stub shaft.

10. Jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus, as set forth in claim 8, in which said apparatus further comprises first cradle means carried by said frame members and positioned generally below the said other end of said take-up roll, and

second cradle means forming said one end of said lever means and positioned generally below the said one end of said take-up roll and in position for engagement with the roll of cloth on said take-up roll,

said first and second cradle means being positioned for receiving the ends of said take-up roll when said take-up roll is disengaged from said first and second stub shaft for allowing easymanual doffing and removal of the jumbo roll of woven cloth from said

Claims

1. Jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus for a textile loom having conventionally-mounted warp beam mechanisms at the rear of the loom and successively positioned weaving mechanisms terminating at generally the front of the loom and including drive means, said apparatus characterized by forming a largerthan-normal roll of woven cloth before doffing, providing on-theloom cloth inspection, and maintaining the woven cloth generally above the conventional loom warp beam and weaving mechanisms to prevent the cloth from becoming dirty and improve quality, said apparatus comprising: means for guiding the woven cloth from the front of the loom generally vertically upwardly to provide an inspection area for on-the-loom inspection of the woven cloth and then generally horizontally over the top of the loom toward the rear thereof; and take-up roll means mounted generally above the warp beam mechanisms at the rear of the loom a sufficient distance to provide space for receiving the woven cloth from said guiding means and forming a larger-than-normal jumbo roll of woven cloth before doffing is necessary.

2. Jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, in which said means for guiding the woven cloth from the front of the loom comprises frame members for being secured to the loom, and guide rolls rotatably mounted on said frame members for receiving and guiding the woven cloth in its path of travel through the inspection area and to said take-up roll means.

3. Jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, in which said take-up roll means comprises frame members for being secured to the loom and extending generally upwardly from the rear portion of the loom, a take-up roll rotatably mounted on said frame members for receiving the woven cloth from said guiding means and for forming a jumbo roll of the woven cloth, and drive means carried by said frame means and connected with said take-up roll for rotating said take-up roll to roll-up the woven cloth thereon.

4. Jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus, as set forth in claim 3, in which said drive means comprises a reciprocating linkage for being reciprocated by the drive means of the loom, gear means connected with said reciprocating linkage for being rotated thereby during its reciprocating movements, and a slip clutch connected with said gear means and with said take-up roll for rotating said take-up roll during the rotating movements of said gear means when the tension on the woven cloth being rolled-up on said take-up roll is below a predetermined amount and for slipping and allowing rotation of said gear means with respect to said take-up roll and preventing rotation of said take-up roll when the tension of the woven cloth being wound on said take-up roll is above the predeTermined amount.

5. Jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus, as set forth in claim 4, in which the loom includes a whip roll mechanism having a cam-operated, reciprocating, rocker device, said reciprocating linkage of said apparatus drive means comprises a first lever arm having one end thereof connected to said whip roll rocker device for reciprocating movement thereby, a second lever arm having one end thereof secured to said first lever arm for reciprocating movement thereby and being pivotally mounted at an intermediate portion thereof and having a pick member pivotally mounted on the other end thereof and biased into engagement with said gear means of said apparatus drive means, and said gear means of said apparatus drive means comprising a rotatably mounted pick gear having teeth around the outer circumference thereof for engagement by said pick member for sequential rotary movement thereof in one direction during each reciprocation of said pick member and including stop means biased into engagement with said gear means for preventing rotation of said gear means in the opposite direction.

6. Jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus, as set forth in claim 5, including release means for releasing said pick member and said stop means from said gear means when it is desired to pull the woven cloth back off of the roll formed on said take-up roll for obtaining access to the loom from the front thereof.

7. Jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus, as set forth in claim 6, in which said release means comprises a manually movable handle member pivotally mounted on said frame members for movement by an operator, connecting rod means extending from said handle member to said pick member and to said stop means for pivotally moving said pick member and said stop means against the bias thereof when said handle member is moved to release said gear member for rotation in the direction opposite to the take-up rotation and thus allow rotation of the take-up roll and the roll of woven cloth formed thereon in the opposite direction to the take-up rotation.

8. Jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus, as set forth in claim 3, in which said take-up roll means further comprises means mounting said take-up roll for easy manual disengagement for doffing of a full jumbo roll of woven cloth from said apparatus comrising an aperture in each end of said take-up roll, a first stub shaft rotatably carried by said frame members and secured against longitudinal movement thereof, said first stub shaft being connected at one end with said take-up drive means for rotation thereby and having the other end received within said aperture in one end of said take-up roll and being keyed thereto for supporting and rotating said take-up roll and allowing longitudinal linear movement of said take-up roll with respect thereto, a second stub shaft longitudinally movably carried by said frame members and having one end received within said aperture in the other end of said take-up roll for supporting said take-up roll, means biasing said second stub shaft into reception within said aperture in the other end of said take-up roll and biasing said take-up roll and said aperture in the one end thereof into reception with said first stub shaft, stop means carried by said frame member and engageable with said second stub shaft for holding said second stub shaft against longitudinal movement and in a first position in which said first and second stub shaft are positioned within said apertures in said take-up roll for supporting and rotating said take-up roll and being disengagable for allowing longitudinal movement of said second stub shaft into a second position in which said take-up roll and the apertures in the ends thereof disengage from said first and second stub shaft for doffing of a full jumbo roll of woven cloth, and lever means pivotally mounted on said frame member and having one end thereof engagable with said roll Of woven cloth on said take-up roll so that the other end of said lever means may be manually moved by an operator to move said take-up roll and the full roll of woven cloth thereon against said biasing means to longitudinally move said take-up roll and said second stub shaft for disengaging said take-up roll from said first stub shaft and for disengaging said take-up roll from said second stub shaft when said stop means is in the disengaged position thereof.

9. Jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus, as set forth in claim 8, in which said stop means comprises a cut-out portion in said second stub shaft, and a lever member pivotally mounted at one end on said frame members for positioning within said cut-out portion of said second stub shaft to hold said second stub shaft against longitudinal movement and being movable to a position out of engagement with said cut-out in said second stub shaft for allowing longitudinal movement of said second stub shaft.

10. Jumbo cloth take-up and inspection apparatus, as set forth in claim 8, in which said apparatus further comprises first cradle means carried by said frame members and positioned generally below the said other end of said take-up roll, and second cradle means forming said one end of said lever means and positioned generally below the said one end of said take-up roll and in position for engagement with the roll of cloth on said take-up roll, said first and second cradle means being positioned for receiving the ends of said take-up roll when said take-up roll is disengaged from said first and second stub shaft for allowing easy manual doffing and removal of the jumbo roll of woven cloth from said apparatus.