US41045A - Improvement in braiding-machines - Google Patents

Description

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 J B WOOD V BRAIDING MAUHINB.

No. 41,045. Patented Dec. 22, 1863.

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J. B. WOOD. BRAIDING MACHINE.

No. 41,045. Patented Dec. 22, 1863.

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J. B. WOOD.

BRAIDING MACHINE.

N0. 41,045. I Patented Dec. 2-2, 1863.

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v J. B. WOOD. BRAIDING MACHINE. No. 41,045. Patented Dec. 22, 1863.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN B. W001), or PROVIDENCE, ASSIGNOR r0 DARIUS corn, WILLIAM F.

SAYLICS, FREDERIO O. SAYLES, AND DARIUS L. GOFF, ALL OF PAVV- TUGKE'I, RIIUDE ISLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN BRAlDlNG-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No -1 1.015. dated December 272, 1663.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1', JOHN ll. W001), of Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Braiding-Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical section of the braiding-machine in which my improved carrier is designed to be used. Fig. 2 is an elevation of one of the said carriers. Fig. 3 is a central vertical section of. the same. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal view of the bobbinstop of said carrier. Fig. 5 is an upright view of the tensionweight or the same. Fig. 6 is a top view of said weight. Figs. 7 and S are elevations at light angles to each other of a carrier, illustrating a modification of my improvement. Fig.9 is a plan of the braiding machine, shown by vertical section in Fig. 1. Fig. 10 is a vertical section of the carrier used in the English braiding-machine. said carrier and its carrier-wheels and shaft as arranged in said English machine. Fig. 12 is a plan of the same and adjoining part of the machine.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures. r I

My improvement is expressly designed for the braiding of flat braid ot' the maximum widths and number of strands. It is an improvement on the English machine for braidi ng this description of braid, and is calculated to adapt the method employed in the English machine with twoserpentine race-plates to the ordinary single-plate braiding-machine with a view to produce a machine of simpler construction and a more convenient operation than the said English machine" for the manufacture of wide tlat braid. Heretofore the wider flat braids have been exclusively made in foreign countries,and withthe greatest perfection upon the said English machine, the distinctive features of which are that the braid is formed at a distance from the center of the serpentine pathway traversed by the carriers, and that the said pathway does not Fig. 11 is an elevation ofcontinuc entirely around the circle, but terminates in a full curve at. two points in the circle nearest to the point at which the braid is formed, the selvage edges of the (flat) braid being; formed by the passage of the carriers around these two terminal curves, and the interior portion of the, braid by the passage of the carriers in their sepentine course departing and returning; between these two points. In this method of braiding, at a certain point aside from the center of this serpentine course, the (flat) braid will be formed of uniform closeness and evenness of texture from side to side, and any departure therefrom in either direction with respect to the center will have the effectto braid more closely at the edges than in the middlnnt. Hm li it], or i versa, accordingly as the braiding-point is moved toward or from the center, thereby producing imperfectand inferior braiding. In the ordinary method employed in the said singleplate machine, the braid is formed at the centerof the serpentinepathway traversed by the carriers, and only a snfticient traverse of the tension-weights is required to enable the carriers to move in their serpentine course with an equal tension ot'eachstrand.- In the Eng lish method, however, there is 1'C(1llil0(l,'b6- sides that traverse which provides for the said serpentine movement, an additional traverse of the tension-weight equal to double the distance at which the braiding-point is removed from the center to enable the carriers to move freely, and with an equal tension at the farthest as well as at the nearest point in the serpentine pathway to that at which the braid is formed; and as the braiding-point is the farthest removed from the center in braiding the widest bra-id with the greatest number of strands, the construction and arrangement of the carriers must be such as is calculated to afford snfiicient traverse to the tension-weights, both for the serpentine movement of the carrier and' for the approaching and receding movement of the same to and from the braidingpoint at a distance from the center which, amounts ,to a traverse of about six inches in a braid of fifty. three strands thrcefourths of an inch wide. In order to obtain this amount of traverse,

the carrier in' the English machine is con structed, as shown in Figs. 10, 11, and 12 of the accompanying drawings, consisting of a tube, 1), the upper portion of which serves as a spindlefor the bobbin .10 and the ren'iaining portion. inelosing the tension-weight 1 which the eyes it a in the upright rod ll, thence through an eye in't'hc swinging end of the latch e, which regulates the unwinding of the yarn from the bobbin, thence downward and through the eye 0 in the weight F and up ward through the delivering-guide at the top.-

of the tube, and thence to the braidingpoint.

To accommodate the traverseot' the tension weight Fbelow the base of the carrier, the tube D extends so far downward in that d'ircction as to require a second set'ot' carrierwheels J", and a second serpentine raceplate, A which nearly doubles the size and cost of the machine, and is otherwise objectionable. The arrangeinentof the said yarnguides, as described. is also objectionable,tor the reason that it is necessary to lift the carrier completely out of the machine and turn it bottom upward in order to runthe strand of yarn through the yarn-guides-in the la'wh o and weight F, when it breaks or runs out, which requires considerable time and-is most inconvenient.

The object of my invention is, therefore, to overcome these objections and by meansofan improvedcarrier to braid the wider kinds of flat braid upon the single-plate machine by the method heretofore employed only in the ,double-plate English machine, which has never before been done to my knowledge.

"Vith this object in view, my invention consists in constructing'the carrier and arrang in g its yarn-guides insuch a manner that the tension-weight may have a sutficient traverse above the base of the carrier,"or of asingle plate, from which such carrier derives "its serpentine movement to permit thcbraid'to be formed at any required distance from the center of the machine; and my invention further consists in combining with the single platebraidingmachine a suitable former, adapted to braidingwithout or at a distance from the center of such machine, substantially as hereinafter indicated and described.

In order that the nature and extent of my improvement maybe'fully understood, and-to enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same,'I will proceed to describe the same witlrret'erence to the annexed drawings.

A, Figs. 1 and 9, is the race-plate, forming part of the frame of-'the single-plate machine. J are the carrier-wheels, adapted to such race-plate and forming therewith the cireular supentine course traversed by the carriers inthe operation of braiding, as shown in Fig. 9, the motion of said wheels being united by equal gears L on each, and both turning upon suitable studs projecting from the bedplate A of the frame. (3 is the former employed in the English machine, having its crot-ched end 1, which is the braiding-point, arranged at some distance from the center T of the circular plate A, and 2 2 are the terminal curves, around which the carriers pass in forming the selvage edges 5- ot' the tiatln'aid, l. lbeing two pointed rods, over which the yarn is laid to form the said edges. This construction and arrangement of parts beingin all respects according to the methodemployed in the English machine above referred to;

and it will be seen, by reference tolfiigf-t), that a-certain traverse ot' the tension-weight is re-.

quired to allow the *arriers l) to run from-the inside to the outside circumference of their serpentine courscwithout varying the tension of the several strands, and that in addition to this a traverse which will take'up the yarn as the carriers approach the braidingpoint 1, and let it out again as they recede therefrom, and run at the farthestpoint in the circle from the former 1, as shown at W. In order to obtainthis amount-of travel e in a single-plate machine, I make use ofthc carriers illustrated in Figs. 1 to ti, inclusive, the same consisting of a castiron base, 15, ot'

the form commonly adopted for the carriers of the single plate machine, from which ascends alight upright tubular spindle, 1),on which the bobbin E is titted to turn freely, the said spindle being securedtirmly inthe casting and being of a length otab'out twice the height of the bobbin. which rests on the shoulder a. ot'the cast-iron base '13. In the upper part of the spindle I) there is alining-ting, b 7), which is rounded in siich form as to allow the yarn to pass frcelyover it. The weight F is of cylindrical form and placed within the spindle, in: which it nis capable of working up and down freely,.'the'-said weight being furnished ,with an eye,"O,'at the top to receive the yarn.

The spindle D also containswithin it alight rod, G, whiehcarri'es'tlie latch 0. This rod is composed of apiece of wire','which is straight except at itslends, which are bent in the form of rings and set'at right angles to it, as Shown at g g in Figs. 3 and 4, to fit easily within the cylindrical interior of the spindle to -keep the rod in place, and a groove, f, is provided in one side of the weight F for the said rod to slide freely through, the weight being ar ranged between the two rings 9 g. The latch e is attached rigidly to the said rod G,and protrudes through an upright slot, h, in thetubulat-spindle, for the purpose of entering the notches in the top of the bobbin. Outside of the spindle D, on the same. side witlrthe'slot 71, a yarn-guide, 'i, is secured to the base of the carrier, the bend or eye of the said guide being about half the height of the bobbin. The yarn passes from the bobbin through the guide 1', thence upward over the edge of the tubular spindle D at I), through the eyes of the weight- F, back over the opposite edge of the spindle at b, and thence to the former.' As the carrier approaches the former,the weight F descends and draws down the yarn into the spindle, and as it recedes from the former theyarn is drawn up from the spindle, drawing upthe werght F. The quantity of yarn which is held in reserve between the bobbin and the head of the spindle to be-let out and taken back again is equal to twice the distance which *the weight is allowed to move 'up and down the spindle, and thus. owing to the upward extension of the spindle, is about three times as much as can be let outand taken back again with a carrier of the construction commonly used in the single-plate braiding-nuichine, wherein the traverse allowed to the tensionweight is only so much as is required for the serpentine movement of thecarrier. When the tension-weight F is drawn up. into con tact with the upper ring, g, of the latch-bar G, it lifts the said bar, and so lifts the latch 0 out of the notches in the head of the bobbin, and allows the bobbin to be turned to give out the yarn. With this construction of carrier, when the yarn break or runs out, it is only necessary to draw the yarn from the bobbin, hook it into the guitle-eye-i,-ai1d by means of a rod or wire, with a look at the end, the weight F is drawn up to the top of the tubular spindle D, when the end of the yarn may be readily run through the eye 0, and the operation of the machine resumed in much; less time than is required in the English machine. In the modification of my invention 'represented in Figs.'Tand 8 the bobbin E is arranged upon ashort spindle, j, as in the ear,- riers commonly used in the single-plate machine, and the weight F is arranged to work on a guidebar, H, outside of the bobbin; but the said guide is extended upward from the base B of the carrier to about twice the height of the bobbin, and the arrangement of the latch ,I is such that the weight F has a traverse on the said guide from its position as shown (at the base B)near1y to the top of the guide-bar, (until it comes in contact with and lifts the end q of the said latch l,) a distance of six inches, with'a let-ofi' of twelve inches in length of yarn. While in the usual construction of the carrier, which provides merely-for the serpentine movement before referred to, as set forth in the patentof A. B. Clemons. of November 16, 1858, the yarn passes through an eye in the guide midway between the two ends of the bobbin, and down outside of the guide under. the lower end of the weight, which gives a traverse of but two and onehalf inches (2%) ot' the weight and a let-oft. of but five. (5) inches of yarn, which, though-amply sutficient for the ser entine movement of the carrier forming braid at the centrr of the machine. is less than half the traverse required for the approaching and receding movementincident to the formation of wide same traverse of the weight.

flat braid at a distance from the center-for which my improved construction'of the car rier and arrangement of the yarmguides is exneck 7:, down under the heck of the-button 'nr 7 on the weight, and up again to and through the eye Z, whence it passes to the braiding, former 1. This arrangement of the yarnguides does not difl'er in any practical sense from that first described, and shown in Figs. 2 and 3, for it will be seen that the guides 7?, Figs. 2 and 3, and n, Figs. 7 and 8, are both situated midway between the two ends of the bobbin; thatthe rounded ring I) b in Figs. 2 and 3 and the neck- It; and eye I in Figs. 7 and 8 are bot-h situated at the extreme top of the carrier,"and that the eye. 0 in Figs. 2 and 3 and the bottom m, in Figs. 7 and 8 are both situated upon andfortn part of the weight F; and, furthermore, the end (1 ot the latch 1, Figs. 7 and 8, is situated above the latch-m, which immediately engages with the stops or pegs p p in the-top of the bobbin to permit the weight; to traverse to that height q precisely as is the ring g, situated above the latch '0, Figs. 2 and 3, which immediately engages with the notches in the top' of the bobbin and with the same object in view to give additional traverse to the weight to provide" for the method hereby adapted to the single-1 plate machine of braiding at a distance from the. center. On the same principle of arranging the said yarn guides, the yarn may pass twice between the neck k and button m of Figs. 7 and 6, or twice between the ring I) b and eye 0 in the weight of Figs. 2 and 3, and thereby double the let-ofl' of yarn from the The weight alone has been hereinajbove mentioned as a means for producing the requisite tension of the yarn in its delivery from the carrier, because it is, all things being considered, the best means for the purpose where an excessive motion or traverse is necessary, the nearest approach to an equivalent therefor being acoiled spring applied to wind at band upon a scroll-pulley, by means of which a tension is produced" that is nearly equal throughout a traverse of six inches of an eye in the:

end of such band through which the yarn is passed; but from the fact thatit is practically impossibleto makea number of coiled springs of the same stiffness and winding-power, or to maintain the same at the same stifi'ness' and power for any length of time, it is obvious that for the corresponding evenness of tension required in all of a large number of strands in braidm g a flat braid with a traverse of five or six inches of the weight and alet ofl' of ten or arrangement of a spring is both unsuitable and impracticable, and that the corresponding evennessof tension required inall the carriers can only'be attained by the use of a number of weight ofequal heaviness applied one to each braiding-strand. g

I am aware that an arrangement of a springpulley, a lifter band, and ringto play within a hollow spindle has been heretofore patented by Edward B. Day, February 7, 1860; but as said spring-pulley is not a scroll-pulley the power of itsspring would be so' multiplied with a sufficient traverse to braid at a dis tance from the center, and the variation in the power of the dilfe'rent springs would produce such a variety of tension in the several strands as to pucker the braid, and render it entirely .W rthless that it is onlycalculated for the small amount of traverse required for'tlie serpentine movement of the carriers, and is unsuitable andimpracticable for braiding wide fiat braid at a distance from the center of the machine.

It will be -seen that the bases B B of the carriers are based upon and operate 'within the single serpentine plate A, and

that the carriers and their auxiliary parts are all arranged and operate above their said bases with that degree of traverse which adaptsthe single-plate machine to 'the braiding ofwide flat braid, which has only heretofore been accomplished by means of a similar traverse below the base of the-carrier and the two serpentine plates and twosets of carrier-' wheels of them'ore complicated and expensive English machine abovereferred to.

reference to the particular branch of manufacture for which it. is designed, I wish it understood that-I do not claim any arrangement 'of a tension'weight with the carrierof a braidlng-machiuewhiclisimply provides for-the serpentine movement of the carrier-braiding at thecenter'ot" the machine, asset forth in A. B. Glemonspatent of November 16,1858. Neither do I claim the arrangement of a spring-pulley, lifter band, and-ring" as a substn tute for the tension-weight to provide for the serpentine movement of 'the carrier, as set forth in Edwd. B. Days patent of February 7 ,1860,

as neither of the said devices are capable of affording the degree of traverse with the requisite evenness of tension in any number of strands, which is the object of my present improvement. 'Nor (10,1 claim that construction of the carrier and arrangement of its yarn guides which provides for a sufficient degree of-traver'se below the baseof thecarrier as employed in the English doubleplate machine, as such arrangement is wholly unsuitable for use in the single-plate braidingmachine, for which my improvement -is expressl y designed.

What-I claim, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is-- 1. So contructingthe carrier and arranging its yarn-guides -that the tensionweight may have a sulficient traverse above the base'of the carrier or racer to allow wide flat braid to. be formed at any required distance from the center in the single-plate-braiding-machine,

substantially as herein specified. 2. Combining with'a single-plate braidingmachine; substantially as described, the ,t'ormer C. or its equivalent, adapted to braidinga't a distaneefrom the center, substantially as described, for the purpose specified. Having thus described my intention with JOHN B. WOOD.

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