US1850328A - Shedding mechanism for looms - Google Patents

Description

March 22, 1932. F, vv. MERRxcK SHEDDING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Filed Feb. 24, 1950 2 Sheets-Shaw March 22, 1932. F, W MERRlCK 1,850,328

SHEDDING MECHANISM FOR LOMS Filed Feb. 24, 1930 2 sheets-sheet `2 ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 22, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENTy OFFICE FRANK W. MERRICK, OIE'r DOR-CHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNDB T0 WONDER WEAVE, INC., OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS SHEDDING'MECHANISM FOR LOOMS,

Application led February 24, 1930. `rSerial No. 430,717.'

In the patent to Villiam S. Wells, No. 1,759,530 a Warp-shedding mechanism is disclosed which, essentially stated, combines with a pair of actuators reciprocating in opposite directions together toward and together from an intermediate plane and eachv account of the fact that the actuator moved in a straight line whereas the coupling means followed the arcuate path of the lever, and this made necessary certain complications of structure and led to unreliability in action of the mechanism, especially when operated at high speed. The object of this invention is to overcome these faults, and this I accomplish by constructing the actuators as levers and providing a common fulcrum for them and the lever of each warp-shifting system.

In thedrawings, y

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through a mechanism embodying the invention, the actuators being together or in position for transfer;

Fig. 2 is a similar view, the actuators being apart to form the shed;

Fig. 3 isa section on line 3-3, Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section on line 4-4, Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a view somewhat similar to Fig. 1 but showing the means for moving the actuators and pattern cylinder, so much of such means as actuates the pattern cylinder appearing in modied form.

Each of the mentioned csystems here includes a harness shaft 1 sliding vertically in guides 2 and having of course heddles or other provision (not shown) for receiving and imparting shed-forming movements to warps; a lever 3 fulcrumed on a shaft 4; and means, as links 5, to connect the shaft 1 with the lever. Each lever here comprises two side bars 3a (Fig. 4) having spacers 3?) be# tween them so that the whole forms a unitary part, and the corresponding link extends between and is pivoted to these bars; but these' details are immaterial.

rlhe mentioned actuator levers, 6, are herein shown as each comprising spaced legs 6a joined by a cross-bar 6b, or here U-shaped, the free ends of their legs being fulcrumed on the shaft 4, the pair of one member beftween those of the other and the group of levers 3 being flanked at each side by the correspondinglegs of the actuators. The actuators receive motion up and down, so thaty L they move together toward and together from each other, through links 7 from a double crank 8 on a shaft 9 Whose crank 9a is connected with the rotating element 10y by a pitman 11.

'Each mentioned coupling means here inthese notches to a lever 3 of one of said sys tems, a lever 13y fulcrumed at 14, a link 15 pivotally connecting this lever and the cou-- pling, and a spring 16 connecting the lever with somel fixed point -17 18 is ak'cylinder having a peg or pegs or equivalentv 18a to cause shifting of each lever 13 against the tension of spring 16-when such cylinder, serving as the pattern means, is rotated. This rotation may be'efi'ected step by step (Fig. 5) from a crank 19 on shaft 9 acting through pitman 20 to oscillate a crank 21 on the shaft 18?) on which the cylinder rotates. said crank 21 having a spring pressed pick pawl 22 engaged with a ratchet 180 on the cylinder, which is kept from re-rotation by a holding pawl 23 engaging said ratchet. Or the shaft 10c of element 10 may carry the actuator 24 of av Geneva stop motion (Fig. 1) whose notched disk 25 is atiixed to the cylin-v der. Any other means for rotating the cy-l-v inder intermittently and holding it fixed between movements may be utilized.

I here note that in Fig. 5, since either actuator lever 6 and the pawl 22 are both backand-forth moving parts of the same back-andforth moving train, the transfer or shifting of a coupling cannot be advanced or retarded,

in other Words timed, with respect to the time in a cycle of said train when it is in position for the transfer to occur, and this factor limits the speed at which the shedding-mechanism may be driven.` But ink Fig. 1, where the part 10 (continually rotating in eitherV case in one direction). and is therefore independent of said train, itis possible to obtain any necessarytiming of the advances of the pattern means 18 with respect to thep0si tioning of the actuator levers 6 for transfer by some such adjustment as ofthe actuator 24: of the Geneva stop motion around shaft 10er it may be of the pattern means 18 around shaft `186.

With the actuator levers reciprocating the coupler 12 V'of any one system will always be engaged? with one or the other actuator lever.y The transfer from one to the other actuator lever occurs whenthe actuator levers are inthe proximatin'g portions of theiiranges of movement, or here in actual contact with vthe levers 3 as when a peg 18a causes displacement to the rightr or permits it to the left. Thus,`according to the pattern deter'- mined bythe arrangement of pegs on the rotated cylinder 18, any one shaft 1 may in a fullv cycle of the actuator levers move fromk the one `to the other open-shed position orl from one open-shed positionto the mid-position and back, in the former case being transferred" from one'a-ctuator tothe other and in the latter remaining coupled with the same c actuator, all as in the case of the IlVellsshedfy n uncoupling.

ding mechanism referred to.

- But, sinceth'eV actuator levers are here ful--y on the same axis, 4, as the levers of the warp shifting ysystems thepaths of movement fof the couplers are parallel Withthe paths; of the actuators, wherefore said axis itselfserves to' confine the actuators to definite paths of movement and noexpedient for producing a differential movement of each coupling means withf respectk to its lever so as to insure theV coupling remaining engaged with the actuator lever is necessary and the-apparatustherefore operateswith greater efiiciency and may be driven at higher speed withoutV accidental My inventlonv is not necessarily limited to the presence of two actuator leversfmovable together toward and together fromzan intermediate pl'ane, and I claim accordingly.

Having thusifully described my invention what I claim, is:

1. In a warp-shedding mechanism, the combination, with a warp-shifting systeminclud-y ing a lever, of a bacl i-and-forth-moving ac:- tuator lever, a common fulcrumfor the levers, and coupling means movable at. will't'o intercouple oruncouple said levers. i

2. vIn a warp-shedding mechanism, the combination, witha warp-shiftingsystem including a lever, of a pair of actuator levers moving toward and from an intermediate plane,V a common fulcrum for the several levers, and coupling means movable at will to intercouple the first lever and either Vactuator lever and uncouple the first lever and-,the other actuator Ylever.

3. In a warp-sheddingr mechanism, the combination, with a Warp-shiftingsystem includ-V ing a lever, of a' .pair of' actuator levers having the rst lever between them, a common fulcrum for the several levers, said actuator levers belng movable together toward and togetherfromand adapted remote from the fulcrum to contact with the first lever, and means movable to intercouple the first lever and either actuator lever and uncouple the first lever andthe otherfactuator lever during such contact. v Y e 4. In a warpshedding mechanism, the com'- bination of aKV fulcrum, warp-shifting systems each includinga lever, said levers being' ar ranged" on said fulcrum, a back-and-forth f moving actuator lever having two spaced lever legs arranged on said fulcrum and a crossbar'connecting said legs, thefirst levers being arranged between the legs of the actuatory lever, and coupling means movable on the respective first levers into and out of engagement with said cross-bar.

' '5.' Ina Warp-sheddingmechanism, the com- Y bination of afulcrum, warp-shifting systems each including a lever,'said leversbeing arranged on Vsaid fulcrum, back-and-forth moving actuatorV -leverseach having two spaced Vlever legs arrangedvon said fulcrum and a

Images