US949706A - Weft-carrier for needle-looms. - Google Patents

Description

J. P. HUMPHRIES.

WEFT CARRIER FOR NEEDLE LOOMS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 26, 1909.

949,706. Patented Feb.15,1910.

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WEET CARRIER FOR NEEDLE LOOMS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 26, 1909.

Patented Feb. 15, 1910.

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JAMES PERCIVAL HUMPHRIES, OF KIDDERMINSTER, ENGLAND.

WEFT-CARRIER FOR NEEDLE-LOOMS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 15, 1910.

Application filed August 26, 1909. Serial No. 514,752.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES P. HUMrHnms, a subject of the Kin of Great Britain, residing at Kiddermmster, VVorc'estershire, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Weft-Carriers for Needle-Looms, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention is an improvement in weft carriers for pile fabric looms, and more particularly for a pile fabric loom of the type shown and described in my prior application filed January 11, 1909, Serial No. 471786, the general object of this invention residing in the production of a needle- ]ike carrierpossessed of sufiieient flexibility to permit of its being coiled or wrapped around a drum, thereby materially reducing the space occupied by the working parts of :t the loom without impairing their degree of usefulness or interfering with their operation.

The invention further resides. in the provision o'fi nteans for impartinga slight forward and backward movement to the drum around which the needle is coiled, so as to maintain the unreeled portion of the needle at all times in alinement with the passageway formed in the slay.

'lhepre'ferred embodiment of the inventionis illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

- Figure 1 is a fragmental front elevation, partly in section, of a loom equipped with the improved needle. Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of the slay. Fig. 4 is a fragment-a1 longitudinal sectional view of the needle. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the Weft-carrying end of the needle. Fig. 6 is a fragmental view of a modified form of needle. Fig. 7 is an en.- larged detail View showing the drum in section, and the threads formed upon the drum shaft.

Reference being had to said drawings and to the numerals marked thereon, 1 designates, in a general manner, the frame of the loom, 2 the stationary slay, 3 the needlecarrying drum located in close proximity to the slay, and the shaft upon which said drum is keyed or otherwise mounted, said shaft being arranged longitudinally of the frame and at right angles to the slay.

The needle 5, which is coiled around the grooved periphery of the drum, preferably consists of a plurality of small blocks 6 threaded upon a wire 7, the inner end of which -is led over a pulley 8 mounted in a peripheral slot in said drum and is fastened to the central portion of a lever 9 pivoted at its inner end to a bracket 10 secured to one of the spokes of the drum. The outer end of lever 9 is connected by an expansible spring 11. to the drum hub. The blocks 6 above mentioned are strung end to end upon the wire 7, and each is formed at one end with a tongue 12, and at the other end with .a socket 13. This construction, aided by the spring 11 employed, rovides for a limited elasticity in the nee le, as will be apparent, so that the joints between adjacent blocks can open slightly and enable the needle to hug the drum, while at the same time that portion of, the needle which is unreeled from the drumis maintained rigid by the closing of the joints. At its outer end, the needle terminates in a solid member 14 having at itsforward end a lateral arm 15 in the extremity of which an eyelet 16 is formed. Through this eyelet the weft thread is passed.

The slay 2, in connection with which the needle operates, as hereinafter described, consists of a series of parallel upstanding reeds or teeth 17 connected together at their lower ends, each reed having a central opening 18 and a forwardly-extending slot 19 communicating therewith. See Fig. 3. The openings and slots aline with each other and thus unite in forming a continuous passageway through the slay. The solid member 14 of the needle is adapted to work in the passageway formed by the openings 18, while its arm 15 works through the slots 19.

To prevent the needle from buckling during the movements of the drum, there is provided a case 20 which incloses said drum and is secured in any preferred manner to the frame 1. To this case is fastened in turn the rear end of a tangential guide 21 formed by a continuation of the slay, said guide being adapted to support the needle member 14 when the latter is in its retracted or inoperative position shown in Fig. 1.

The requisite oscillatory movement of the drum is effected by means of an arcuate rack 22 formed upon one end of a lever 23 and adapted to mesh with a pinion 24 secured to the drum shaft, 4. Lever 23 is operated, through a connecting rod 25, by a primary lever 26 provided with a roller 27 which works in the groove 28 of the box cam 29 secured to a shaft 30,-the needle remaining at rest during the travel of said roller in the concentric portion of the cam groove.

\Vhen the arm 15, with which the needle member 14 is provided, reaches the far side of the loom the shuttle (not shown) ordinarily employed in Axminster looms passes through the loop formed by the weft threaded through the eyelet 16, and the return movement of the needle then commences.

In order to maintain the unreeled portion of the needle in alinement at all times with the passageway in the slay, it is necessary to eflect a slight endwise reciprocatory movement of the drum shaft during its rotation, and to this end a portion of that shaft is preferably threaded as indicated by the numeral 31, Fig. 7 such portion being engaged in a correspondingly threaded bearing 32 formed in frame 1. In this connection, it may be stated that the cam shaft 30, from which the drum shaft is driven, as above described, is driven in turn from the main' shaft of the loom by means of gearing (not shown), so proportioned as to provide for three insertions of weft during each rotation of the main shaft.

While the preferred form of the needle consists of a series of blocks threaded upon a wire, as above shown and described, such form may be replaced by a spirally coiled wire 33, (shown in Fig. 6), provided at its outer end with the solid member 14.

The operation of the invention will readily be understood from the foregoing, and furthgr description thereof is accordingly omitte What is claimed is:

1. In a needle 100111 the combination of a drum; a flexible needle coiled therearound; means for imparting a forward and backward rotation to the drum; and means for shifting the position of said drum bodily.

2. The combination of a slay comprising 4.. In a needle loom, a flexible needle comprising a flexible member, and a seriesof tubular sections strung end to end thereon and having their mutually adjacent ends jointed together.

5. In a needle loom, the combination of a drum; a flexible needle coiled around the drum and comprising a flexible member connected thereto at its inner end, and a series of tubular sections strung upon said member; means for exerting tension on the con nected end of said member; and mechanism for operating the drum.

6. In a needle loom, the combination of a slay provided with a passageway; a drum located adjacent said slay; a flexible needle coiled around the drum and arranged to work in said passageway; means for imparting a forward and backward rotation to said drum, to operate said needle; and means for shifting said drum laterally with respect to said slay, for maintaining the unreeled portion of the needle in alinement with said passageway.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAM ES PERCIVAL HUMPHRIES.

\Vitnesses:

J AMES MORTON, GEO. W. CooKE.

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