US744910A - Steel-harness motion for looms. - Google Patents

Description

No. 744,910. PATENTED NOV. 24, 1903.

0. H. DRABER. STEEL HARNESS MOTION FOR LOOMS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 31, 1903.

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v c. DRAPER. STEEL HARNESS MOTION F011 LOOMS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 31, 1903.

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PATENTED NOV. 24, 1903.- 0.11. DRAPER. 'STBEL HARNESS MOTION FOR Looms.

APPLIGATION FILED JULY 31, 1903.

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TJNTTED STATES Patented November 24, 1903.

PATENT Orrin CLARE II. DRAPER, OF HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO DRAPER COMPANY, OF l-IOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

STEEL-HARNESS MOTION FOR LOOMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 744,910, dated November 24, 1903.

Application filed July 31, 1903. Serial No. 167,668. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, CLARE I-I. DRAPER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Hopedale, county of Worcester, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Steel-Harness Motion for Looms, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification,like letters on the drawings representl0 ing like parts.

This invention relates particularly to harness or shedding motion for looms wherein the so-callec steel harness is employed, such term being technically applied to harnesses of the type wherein the heddles are made of thin flat metallic strips longitudinally slotted to receive a supporting-bar of less depth than the length of the slots, the heddles also actingas warp -stop motion controlling detectors. :0 Such form of harness is shown in United States Patents Nos. 536,968 and 536,969 and in others, which are well known to those skilled in the art.

It is a fact well known to those familiar z 5 with the practical operation of both types of loom-harness that cloth can be woven with a slacker tension when cotton harnesses are used than when the regular or usual form of stop-motion steel harness is employed. There are also certain goods requiring a face or surface appearance which can now be made only with the cotton harness.

My present invention has for its main object the production of means to overcome 5 these disadvantages of the steel-harness motion, as well as to prevent warp breaks and slack threads to some extent by eliminating a good deal of the strain on the warp. The action of the cotton harness diifers from that of the steel harness in several important respects. The warp'eyes of the former are always at a fixed distance from the top of the harness-frame, so thatnecessarily the warp follows the exact motion imparted by the shedding-cam. On the other hand, in the steel harness the heddle hangs upon or is suspended froin the heddle-bar when its frame is up, and it presses u p on the bar when the frame is down. Consequently when the frame is up the warp-eye of the heddle is lower with respect to the bar than when the frame is ter.

down, and at some point intermediate the extreme positions the bar is midway in the slot of the'heddle. At that point the warpthread passing through the warp-eye of the 5 5 heddle is not being either raised or lowered by the action of the shedding-cam. In other words, it is not then controlled by such cam. Should the lay beat up at this point, it

is not at all certain that all of the threads will be held at the same height, and if not their tension will not be uniform and the appearance of the cloth is apt to suffer. On account of the lack of control of the heddles referred to the momentum of the latter, both in the 6 5 rise and fall, must be stopped by their several warp-threads, resulting in straining the lat- Inasmuch as the heddle-bar of a steel harness traverses the heddle-slot in addition to moving the warp the proper distance it is manifest that it goes farther than a cotton-harness frame forthe same shed opening, and if the time of motion is the same (as it must be when the same dwell is used) the motion is quicker and gives more jerk to the 7 5 warp-threads.

In accordance with my present invention the heddles are so mounted that the various obj eetions and disadvantages heretofore mentioned as now attendant upon the use of steel harness are either wholly eliminated or reduced to such a minimum as to cease to be objeotionable in practice.

The various novel features of my invention will be fully described in the subjoined speeification, and particularly pointed out in the following claims.

Figure 1 is a front elevation, centrally broken out, of a sufficient portion of a steelharness motion to be understood with one embodiment of my present invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional detail on the line 2 2,Fig. 1,looki11g toward the right. Fig. 3 is aleft-hand side elevation of theloomframe and harness-motion, the nearer side of 5 the frame being broken off to show clearly the parts beyond it. Fig. A is an enlarged side elevation of one of the shedding-cams shown in Fig. Fig. 5 is a detail of the portion of the stop-motion mechanism internie- 10o diate the feelers and the shipper knock-off lever, omitted in Fig. 3 to avoid confusion.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged front elevation of one of the upper corners of a harness-frame with several heddles mounted thereon viewed in the relative position of the parts when the frame is up. Fig. 7 is a vertical-sectional view thereof on the line 7 7, Fig. 6, looking toward the left. Fig. Sis a sectional view on line 8 9, Fig. 6, looking toward the left, taken when the harness-frame is up. Fig. 9 is a similar view on the same line 8 9, but taken when the frame is down. Fig. 10 is a side elevation of one of the heddles detached, and Fig. 11 is a-perspective detail of the holding device for the movable heddle-bar.

In Figs. 1 and 3 I have shown my present invention in connection with harness-actuat' ing mechanism, substantially as shown and described in United States Patent No. 7 33,089 but my invention is not restricted thereto, as any other suitable form of actuating mechanism may be used in lieu thereof.

The loom-frame A, arch A the shipper S and its notched holding-plate N, Fig. 3, the cam-shaft O the treadles T and T each having a roll, as 2%, to cooperate with its particular cam, the latter being shown at O and O for a twoharness set in the present embodiment of my invention may be and are of substantially well-known construction.

The pair of oppositely-rocking bell-cranks m m and n n for each harness-frame, fulcrumed at a and a respectively, and connected by an equalizing-link e, the liftingspring S, connecting the upturned arms of each pair of bell-cranks, and the depending links 10 12, connecting the latter with the top of the harness-frame, are all substantially as in Patent No. 7 33,089 and operate as therein provided for, the treadles being connected with the bottoms of the harness-frames by adjustable connectors If and t of well-known character.

The harness-frames comprise each a suitable bottom bar h, upright side bars 71., (shown as rods rigidly attached thereto,) and at their upper ends screwed or otherwise rigidly secured to depending bosses 72 of heads h and the latter are rigidly connected by an upper cross bar or bars h corresponding to the usual heddle bar orsupport in a steel harness.

Inasmuch as the two frames herein illustrated have the same construction only one will be described in detail; but in Figs. 1 and 3 I have indicated the front and back frames as H and H, respectively.

As most clearly shown in Figs. 7, 8, and 9, each frame is provided with two bars h to support each a bank or series of heddles d, which are also warp-stop-motion controllingdetectors, the heads 71 having oppositelylocated seats 15 (see Fig. 7) to receive the ends of the bars, which are notched at 16, Fig. 6, to receive the shank of a holding-bolt 17. This bolt passes through a vertical slot 'h in the head, so that by loosening the nut 18 the bolt can be slid upward to release the heddle heddle-bars h bar or bars. The heads are flattened above the bosses 71. and are each surmounted by an eye 72. for the reception of the lower end of the suspending-link, while an ear k having a vertical hole h through it, is extended outward from each head near its top for a purpose to be described. A plunger 6 is adapted to slide vertically in each ear 7:, the lower end of the plunger being provided with an enlarged base e having depending parallel portions e and acentraltongue-like part 6 leaving a clearance between it and each. of the outer portions e, as best shown in Fig. 11. The base is located outside thehead, (see Fig. 6,) with its depending side portions e parallel to the front and rear faces of the head, the tongue 6 being of slightly greater thickness than the head.

A pair of auxiliary heddle bars h are mounted on each harness-frame, as herein shown, the said auxiliary bars having their ends inserted between the sides 6 and the tongue 6 of each plunger-base and held in place by a cotter-pin or other suitable fastening 20, passed through holes in the several parts. The tongue separates the two bars h so as to admit the head h between them without binding thereupon, so that the bars may move upon the head in a vertical direction toward and from the fixedly-attached main A spiral spring s is interposedbetween each ear h and the plungerbase e surrounding and normally tending to. depress the plunger.

The heddles d are made of thin flat metallic strips each having a warp-eye, as '2, and 1011- gitudinally slotted at its upper end at d, the.

general structure of the heddle being well known; but the slot (1 is made of greater length in my present invention, as each heddle is controlled by two heddle-barsthat is, the main bar h and the corresponding auxiliary bar h are both extended through the slots ofa bank of heddles, as clearly shown in Figs. 6, 8, and 9, the plunger-springs s acting in such manner that while the two bars of a bank of heddles are held apart the warpeyes 2 will be at a constant distance from the main or upper bar 72?, which latter is accurately controlled by the shedding cam. Such separation of the bars is maintained during the motion for shedding, as will appear hercinafter.

A transversely-extended casting g, having openings g (see Fig. 1) for the passage of the lay-pitmen, is bolted to the loom-frame, the central portion of the casting being interposed between the lower ends of the heddles of the front and rear frames and forming a back-stop or support for a released heddle.

its ends to provide bearings for two parallel rock-shafts f .each having arms f to which are secured the oppositely-facing feelers f, so located as to cooperate with a released heddle-detector of one or the other harness-frame.

As shown in Fig. 5, the rock-shafts are provided with intermeshing segmental gears f and a spring .9 (shown only in Fig. 5) acts to move the feelers toward each other on their feeling stroke, the segmental gears insuring rocking of the rock-shafts f in unison, but in opposite directions.

The mechanism for operating the feelers and to cause the operation of the stopping instrumentality upon release of a detector will be described briefly hereinafter.

At each end of the back-stop and above the openings g the casting has secured to it vertically-adjustable brackets 9 each having a horizontal flat head g and a depending foot 9 the feet supporting rods 9 which form warp-rests, one in front of and the other behind the two harness-frames H H, only the front warp-rest being visible in Fig. 1. A vertical slot 22 in the bracket receives the shank of a clamping-bolt 23, passed through and supported in the casting extended across the loom, one bolt serving for the pair of brackets at each end of the .casting, and by means of the slots 22 the brackets can be adju stedvertically.

Each bracket-head g has screwed into it a vertical stop g shown as a screw-bolt and provided with a check-nut Q12, the head or upper end of the stop being located in the path of movement of the plunger-base extensions e e of the corresponding harness frame that is, each frame has one of the plungers at each side, as has been described, and there is a stop to cooperate with each plunger, this being clear from Figs. 1 and 2, and it will be evident that on the rise of a frame the expansion of the springs 8X will cause relative movement apart of the bars h and h until the stops are rendered inoperative by the rise of the frame. At such time the heddles will be hung or suspended from the main bars h and the lower edges of the auxiliary bars h will be adjacent the bottoms of the heddles1otsd,so that as the harness-frame is stopped at its upper limit of movement the tendency of the heddles to be thrown farther upward, due to momentum, will be prevented by the auxiliary bars. There is thus no straining of the warp from the jumping up of the heddles, and the latter are evened in their high H position, making the strain equal upon the different warp-threads in the upper plane of the shed.

It should be stated at this point that the lateral enlargements 30 of the heads 72, limit movement of the auxiliary bars away from the main heddle-bars W.

The shedding-cams C and O are alike in contour and are shown as set opposite each other, and in Fig. 4 one of the cams is shown on an enlarged scale to more clearly illustrate the construction thereof. The front harnessframe is up and stationary, while the treadleroll t traverses the dwell portion from c to c, Fig. 4f, the jumping up of the heddles at the top of the stroke being prevented, as described, at the beginning of such dwell. As the cam continues to rotate, however, the frame is depressed during the traverse of the treadle-roll from c to c on the shedding-cam, and as the short portion from c to c is concentric with its shaft the movement of the frame is stopped temporarily. Any tendency of the heddles to be thrown farther in adownward direction at this point is prevented by the main or upper heddle-support 78, since the descent of the frame has been stopped temporarily, and the auxiliary-bar carriers, as the plungers 6 may be termed, are now in engagement with the vertically-ad j ustable stops 9 so that the said auxiliary bars are at the end of their downward stroke. Remembering that the main bars h are supporting the heddles, it will be manifest that such bars must descend farther in order to allow any heddles whose warp threads are broken or unduly slack to drop into position to act as controller-detectors and detect the fault, although the intact threads must not be farther depressed. Consequently the cam from c to c is shaped to give a further depression to the harness-frame, moving downward the bars h while the auxiliary bars h are held stationary by the stops g Any released heddle can then move down, placing its lower end in the path of its cooperating feeler on the feeling stroke thereof, and by engaging and arresting the feeler the warp stop-motion instrumentality is caused to operate and effect stoppage of the loom. The heddles whose threads are intact are held down by the auxiliary bars h the strength of the springs 3 being sufficient to overcome or resist the upward strain of the warpthreads in the lower plane of the shed. From 0' to c the cam periphery is concentric, giving the dwell at the bottom of the stroke of the frame for detecting. Continuing the rotation of the cam after the dwell of the frame from c to c on the cam, the frame is raised quickly as the treadle-roll traverses the part c c, which is the reverse of the part c 0 and the main bars h are then moved upward; but just as they take hold of the heddles at the upper ends of the slots d the short dwell c c operates and prevents the heddles from being taken up with a jerk. By this time, however, the frame has risen far enough to permit the springs 8X to expand, and the carriers for the auxiliary bars h are ready to rise from the stops g the carriers being thereafter supported on the enlargements or shoulders 30, referred to. The main and auxiliary heddle-bars are now in normal relative position and'rise in unison as the part c c of the cam cooperates with the treadle-roll, completing the rise of the frame.

Referring to Fig. 4, it will be seen that the portion '0 c c c is very similar to the ordinary cotton-harness shedding-cam, and it is the part of the cam which controls the motion of the heddles. While the portion c c c is in action the heddles are not moved, but rest upon the warp-threads and are held down by the auxiliary heddle-bar. Inasmuch as the position of the lower plane of the shed is the more important in adjusting harnesses, I can with the mechanism herein shown adjust the harnesses for the upper plane of the shed with fair accuracy, and then by means of the adjustable stops 9 adjust the auxiliary bar with any degree of accuracy requisite to give good results. The lower plane of the shed is manifestly positioned by the auX- iliary heddle-bar, so that the finer adjustment of the latter provides for the necessary accuracy.

,I will now briefly describe the means whereby the arrest of the feeler by a released heddle-detector releases the shipper S Referring to Fig. 3, a knock-off arm k, adapted to engage the lower end of the shipper, is mounted rigidly on a rock-shaft 70 supported on the loom-frame and having a depending arm 70. A link K, Figs. 3 and 5, is pivotally connected at its lower end with said arm, the upper end of the link being hooked at 70 Fig. 5, to embrace the cam-shaft O said link sustaining a short rock-shaft 70 The latter has fast upon it a rearwardly-extended arm 76*, connected by a rod or link k with an arm f fast on one of the feeler rockshafts f and said rock-shaft 70 has also a rigidly-attached follower 7c and a bunter W, the former being held in position to be engaged by a feeler-actuating cam K fast on the camshaft O". The spring .9 acts through the link k to keep the follower in cooperation with the cam K which is a double throw cam, and the latter effects the non-feeling stroke of the feelers in a manner obvious to those skilled in the art. cated in the path of a cam having two oppositely-located tappets Fig. 5, and normally the cam K will operate through the follower to elevate the bunter and depress it without engagement by either tappet. When, however, a released heddle engages a feeler, the latter is arrested on its feeling stroke, and the bunter 70 will remain in the path of one or other tappet so that as the latter engages the bunter it will move it and the link K bodily to the left, Figs. 3 and 5, to thereby turn the shaft and act through the knockoff arm 70 to release the shipper S Such release operates through any usual or suitable instrumentality-as, for instance, a beltshifter-to stop the loom in order that the fault may be remedied.

I have described briefly a simple and efficient form of mechanism for operating the feelers and for effecting shipper release when a heddle released by failure or undue slackness of its warp-thread moves into position to engage and arrest a feeler; but any other lhe bunter k is losuitable mechanism of this general character may be employed so far as concerns the main features of my invention hereinbefore set forth.

Having fully described my invention, what conformity with the movement of the bar-- ness-frame.

3. In a loom, a shipper, a harness-frame provided with heddles having warp eyes, means to positively control the position of the warp-eyes during shedding, and means to cause the release of the shipper by or through a heddle upon failure of its warp-thread.-

4. In a loom, areciprocating harness-fram e, a series of heddles carried thereby and serving also as warp-stop-motion controlling-detectors, and means to positively control the position of the heddles during the formation of the shed.

5. In a loom, a harness-frame, a series of heddles carried thereby and having a limited longitudinal movement relative thereto, a cam to control the movement of the frame, and means to position said heddles in predetermined relation to the frame during the movement of the latter to form the shed.

6. In a loom, a reciprocating harness-frame, aseries of heddles carried thereby and serving also as warp-stop-motion controlling-detectors, to effect the operation of a stopping instrumentality upon failure of a warp-thread a shedding-cam, and means to positively control the position and movement of the heddles with relation to the harness-frame during the shed-forming movement of the latter.

7. In a loom, shed-forming mechanism, including harness-frames each provided with heddles serving also as controlling-detectors, intactwarp-threads maintaining the heddles inoperative as detectors, and means to prevent movement of a released heddle into detecting position until after the shed is completed.

8. In a Warp stop-motion for looms, heddles serving also as controlling detectors, and means to permit a released heddle to drop into detecting position only after the shed is completed.

9. In a loom, harness-frames, heddles carried thereby and having limited longitudinal movement relative thereto to enable them to act as controlling-detectors for a warp stopmotion, means to reciprocate the harness- IIO frames, and means to prevent momentum-induced movement of the heddles when the proper shed-opening has been attained.

10. In a loom, harness-frames, heddles carried thereby and having limited longitudinal movement relative thereto to enable them to act as controllingdetectors for a warp stopmotion, means to move the harness-frames to form the shed, and means to prevent momentum-induced movement of the heddles when the frames have been positioned to properly open the shed.

11. In a loom, harness-frames, heddles carried thereby and having limited longitudinal movement relative thereto to enable them to act as controlling-detectors for a warp stopmotion, means to move the harness-frames to form the shed, and means to prevent continued movement of the heddles, due to momentum, when the harness frames have opened the shed.

12. In a loom, a vertically-reciprocating frame having a cross-bar, a series of longitudinally-slotted heddles mounted on the bar and having a limited longitudinal movement relative thereto, and means independent of the bar to positively stop upward movement of the heddles when the harnessframe is at the upper end of its stroke.

13. I11 aloom,avertically-reciprocating harness-frame,a series of heddles carried thereby and having a limited longitudinal movement relatively thereto, to enable the heddles to act also as warp-stop-1notion controlling-detectors, a cam to control the reciprocation of the harness-frame, said cam causing the latter to diminish its speed before reaching the bottom of its stroke, and means to at such time stop descent of the heddles and thereafter to release the heddles from control thereby.

14. In a loom,a vertically-rcciprocatin g l1ar-.

ness-frame having transverse main and auxiliary heddle-supports one of which is movable toward and from the other, a series of heddles serving also as controlling-detectors and 1011- gitudinally slotted to receive said supports, means to reciprocate the frame, and means to stop the movable support before the harnessframe has completed its stroke.

15. In a lo0m,a vertically-reciprocating harness-frame having a rigidly-connected main heddle -bar, an auxiliary heddle-bar below and movable toward and from the main bar, a series of heddles serving also as controllingdetectors and longitu'din ally slotted to receive said bars, spring-controlled carriers for the auxiliary bar, and means to stop the movement of the latter at a predetermined point in the downward stroke of the harness-frame.

1 6. In a loom, a vertically-reciprocatin g har-' ness-frame having transverse main and auxiliary heddle-supports one of which is movable toward and from the other, a series of heddles serving also as controlling-detectors and longitudinally slotted to receive said supports, means to reciprocate the frame, and verticall adjustable means to stop the movable support at a predetermined point in the downward stroke of the harness-frame.

17. In a loom, a vertically-reciprocatin g harness-frame having a rigidly-connected main heddle-bar, an auxiliary heddle-bar below and movable toward and from the main bar, aseries of heddles serving also as controlling-detectors and longitudinally slotted to receive said bars, means to maintain the bars rela tively immovable as the harness-frame reaches the upper end of its stroke, the auxiliarybar then acting to prevent jumping up of the hed dles, and stops to engage and hold the auxiliary bar stationary at a predetermined point on the downward stroke of the harn essframe, continued movement of the latter causing the main and auxiliary bars to approach each other and permit a heddle released by failure .or undue slackness of its warp-thread to drop into detecting position.

18. In aloom,avertically-reciprocatingharness-frame, a series of heddles carried thereby and having a limited longitudinal movement relatively thereto, to enable the heddles to act also as warp-stop-motion controllingdetectors, means to prevent such relative movement until shedding is completed, and means to control the reciprocation of the harness-frame, said latter means causing the bar ness'frame to diminish its speed before shedding is completed.

1 9. In a loom, a vertically-reciprocatin g harness-frame having a heddle-bar movable with relation thereto, and adjustable means independent of said frame to set the bar in proper position for an open shed.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CLARE I-I. DRAPER.

Vitnesses:

E. D. BANCROFT, ERNEST IV. Wool).

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