US760860A - Weft-fork. - Google Patents

Description

No. 700,860. l PATBNTED MAY'24, 1904.

- J. H. FOSTER.

WEET PORK.I

f APPLiQATIoN FILED 00.5.1903.-

" Fig.. .l

Z V Z Y John Hfsten",

' ing from the upper side of the fork is asheet- No. r760,860.

' AUN ITED v STATES. 'PATENT'.l OFFIOE. 1

Patented May 24, 1904.

JOHN` H. FOSTER, or FALLRIvER,MAssAOHUsErTs WEET-FORK.

si'ncrnrcArroN forming part q`f 1.eaer Patent No. 760,860, dated May 24, '1904.

` Appiimimi `61th Ajlgusi 5,1903.I serial No. 168,631. un mean.)

To all whom it .may concern- Y Be it known that I, J OHN H'. FOSTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at -Fall River, in the county of Bristol and State' of Massachusetts, have invented new and 1useful Improvements in VVeft-Forks, of which the following is a specification. .I This invention relates to weft-forks, and it constitutesv an. improvement upon the fork patented to me April 7, 1903, No. 724,563.1

The-.objects of the present invention are to render. the operation of the tilting-weight more delicate and capable of, ready adjustment, to actuate the fork-returning lever by the weft-hammer instead of by the lay, and to render more accurate the action of the parts which operate the stop-motion. I

In the accompanyingdrawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a weft-fork embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; and Fig. 8 is a cross-section of the same on the line m, Fig. 2. j

The sliding carriage 1` has at its front end a hook 2 for connection with the stop-motion, which is operated by a movement' of the carriage to the left in the figures of the drawings. At its back end the carriage has two jaws 3,be tween which the weft-fork is suitably pivoted on a transverse axis. The fork has tines 4, curved backward and downward, and a tail, lying along the upper part of a longitudinal slot 6 in the carriage and resting normally on a cross-bar'7 just in front of the pivot. Rismetal standard 8, whose upper end carries a weight 9, preferably a lead cylinder, around which the upper portion of the standard 8 is wrapped. The axis of the cylinder is parallel with the pivot of the fork, andv by bending the standard toward the front or back of the carriage the cen-ter of gravity of the weight can be altered to bring it either exactly into or a little to one side or the other of the vertical plane of said pivot, so that the delicacy of action of the fork can be very accurately adjusted and altered as circumstances may require.

In my patent aforesaid the reseating-lever is actuated by the lay at every stroke. In the present invention this lever is actuated by the i weft-hammer 10 'at every alternatestroke of the lay,-V thus saving one-half ofthe strain and wear and tear. The lever is preferably made of wire and has an arm 11, overlying the taill of theweft-fork, and two side bars 12, connected by a V-shaped bail portion 13, which drops down through the slot in the carriage and preferably carries on its lower portion an antifriction-roller 14. rlhe side bars are suitablyv pivoted on the carriage, preferably by being connected with washers l'lconcentric with the pivot of the fork. Shoulders 16 preventj the side bars from slippingoif. The weft-hammer carries a cam 17, which engages with the bail 13 at every other stroke-,of the lay when the shuttle is in thebox at the same end of the loom as the fork. The cam -lifts the bail and withI it the arm 11,fthus leaving the fork free to be tilted. The weight of the reseating-lever causes it to return to its normal position when the cam is withdrawn. If desired, the roll 14 may be made heavy to assist the reseating action. f

In my patent aforesaid there is shown a swinging plate on the tail of the fork, which is lstruck by the the weft-hammer and forced against abutments on the carriage. I have found in practice that the plate form is not desirable, because it presents too much surface to the shoulders orabutments, and unless it hangsexactly parallel to them it is liable to throw some strain on the axis of thev fork. Moreover, it will at times swing forward too far and striking the upper surface of the carriage fail to be interposed between the abutments and the weft-hammer. I have over- 'come these faults by substituting for the plate a link 18, having rounded surfaces, (the link being made, preferably, of round wire.) The upper ends of the abutments 19 are beveled to coperate with the rounded link and guide it into place. To prevent the link from swingp ing forward too far, the tail of the fork is provided with laterally-projecting lugs Ajust in front of the link, which serve asstops'to limit its forward swing. These lugs also serve another purpose. In weft-forks much trouble has resulted from what is called the rebound Much of this is caused by the fact that the .fork rests on the cross-bar 7, which forms a IOO stop for the long unsupported tail near its aXis. When the tail is checked suddenly at this point in its downward movement, its weight and the weight of the reseating-lever cause it to rebound. I overcome this by providing a rest or stop at the end of the tail, the same being the material of the carriage just forward of the abutments or shoulders 19, on which the lugs 20 strike when the tail comes down.

In accordance with the patent statutes I have described the principle of operation of my invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof; but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that the invention can be carried out by other means.

I claim- 1. A weft-fork having a standard on its upper side, capable of adjustment lengthwise of said fork, and a counterbalancing-weight permanently secured to said standard.

2. A weft-fork having a sheet-metal standard rising from its upper side and a weight attached to said standard.

3. A weft-fork provided with means for positively returning it to normal position, and a weft-hammer constructed to operate said means.

4. The combination with a weft-fork, of a reseating-lever, and a weft-hammer having means for lifting said lever.

5. The combination with a weft-fork, of a reseating-lever, and a weft-hammer having a cam for lifting said lever.

6. The combination with a weft-fork, of a reseating-lever pivoted concentric therewith, having an arm lying across the tail of the fork, two side arms, and a depending bail portion between said arms.

7 The combination with a carriage having a slot, of a weft-fork and a reseating-lever pivotally supported on said carriage, the reseating-lever having a bail portion depending through said slot, and a weft-hammer vibrating in said slot and having acam to engage with said bail portion.

8. A weft-fork having a link hinged thereto and provided with means to limit the swing of said link.

9. A weft-fork having a link hinged thereto, and provided with laterally-projectinglugs to limit the swing of said link.

10. `The combination with a weft-fork carriage having abutments beveled at their upper end, of a weft-fork provided with a link having rounded edges.

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

JOHN H. FOSTER.

Witnesses:

ARBA N. LINCOLN, EDMUND DOMINGUE.

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