US2556714A - Pneumatic thread remover for looms - Google Patents

Description

June 12, 1951 R. G. TURNER PNEUMATIC THREAD REMOVER FOR LOOMS Filed Dec. a0. 1949 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY RICHARD s. TURNER.

Patented June 12, 1951 PNEUMATIC THREAD REMOVER FOR LOOMS Richard G. Turner, Worcester, Mass, assignor to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application December 30, 1949, Serial No. 136,023

This invention relates to improvements in pneumatic thread removers for looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide a thread remover so constructed that it will be held frictionally in its inoperative position but is disconnected from the friction means when moved to operating position to be free to remain in the latter position by the action of gravity.

In weft replenishing looms a thread generally extends along the lay from the cloth selvage to the depleted outgoing bobbin and it is necessary to remove this thread in order to prevent it from being whipped into the warp shed. Heretofore I haveproposed pneumatic means for removing this thread including a tube and supporting structure for it normally held in raised inoperative position above the lay by friction means and moved by the bobbin transferrer arm to its thread pick-up position. The motion derived from the transferrer arm is quick and there is likely to be some rebounding of the remover in a direction from its proper pick-up position back to its normal position. The friction means heretofore used acts to hold the remover in its rebounded position and prevents it from returning to its proper pick-up position.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide a control for the thread remover which holds it frictionally in its in inoperative position and moves the remover out of the range of the friction means at the time of a weft replenishing operation so that the remover can fall by gravity to its correct thread pick-up position. By this construction any slight rebounding which may occur incident to arrival of the thread remover in its lowest position can be followed by a downward motion due to gravity, the friction means at that time not being able to restrict free motion of the remover.

provide means which may be located on the transferrer arm which acts positively on the remover only long enough to disengage it from its friction holding means, after which the remover falls to pick-up position. By this construction the remover is first given a positive motion to release 4 Claims. (01. 139-256) it from the friction means, after which the positive means, such as the aforesaid stud, stops and the remover is free to continue its motion by gravity to its thread pick-up position, thereby reducing likelihood of upward rebounding.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of the invention is set forth,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a weft replenishing loom having the invention applied thereto and showing the thread remover in its normal inactive position, the lay and part of the loom frame being shown in cross section,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevation looking in the direction of arrow 2, Fig. 1, parts being in section,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailed horizontal section on line 3-3, Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on line 4-4, Fig. 3, the supporting stand for the reserve bobbin magaizne being omitted,

Fig. 5 is a view similar to a part of Fig. 1 but shows the thread remover in its thread pick-up position detached from the friction means which normally holds it in inoperative position, and

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic plan of the shuttle and cloth looking in the direction of arrow 6, Fig. 5.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, the loom frame 43 has mounted thereon a stand H supporting a pivot l2 for a reserve bobbin magazine M. The magazine may be provided with reserve bobbins (not shown) arranged in two stacks which feed by gravity toward transfer positions. A transferrer arm i3 is normally in raised position, but

, when a weft replenishing operation of the loom occurs the arm descends to push a bobbin from the magazine into a shuttle S in a shuttle box 14 on the lay I5. The transferring operation ordinarily occurs as the lay is moving toward its front center position, or toward the right as viewed in Fig. l. The transferrer arm is supported pivotally on a stud it which is held stationary with respect to the stand H.

The lay has extending thereacross a mass of deformable material I? which may be in the form of a pile fabric. The thread T of the outgoing bobbin in shuttle S extends from the shuttle box M back to the selvage of fabric F across the top of the piles of the mass of material I! at a point forward of the back Is of the shuttle box.

A pneumatic thread remover designated genorally at R. includes a thread pick-up head H having a tube 25 having an intake mouth 2| and a thread pick-up lip 22 which extend forwardly from a position behind the intake mouth 2 I. The tube 20 is connected at its upper end to a hose 23 in which subatmospheric pressures exist during the thread pick-up operation. The tube 20 is mounted at the rear of a rod 24 mounted yieldingly for forward motion relatively to a carrier designated generally at C. A rod 25 reciprocates vertically once for each pick of the loom, rising as the lay moves rearwardly under a lateral wing 25 on the carrier.

The carrier C is provided with front and back ears 2] in which the rod 24 is slidably mounted in a back and forth direction, and a collar 28 secured to the rod between the ears is held against the rear ear 2! by a compression spring 29. The right lower end of carrier C is pro vided with a stop finger 313 for engagement with a stop 3! held as at 32 in a back and forth adjusted position on the loom frame ill.

Except as noted hereinafter the matter as thus far described may be of common construction. The rod 2d and carrier will be normally in the raised position as shown in Fig. 1 with the head H above the lay in inoperative position, but when a weft replenishing operation occurs the head will be in the thread pickup position shown in Fig. with tongue or lip 22 embedded in the mass of material I! at a point behind the thread At a later time in the loom cycle rod 25 rises to engage wing 25 and move the thread remover back to its normal position.

In carrying the present invention into effect provision is made for holding the carrier frictionally in its inactive position and for positively disengaging the remover from the friction holding means so that the remover may then move by gravity to its correct pick-up position. The carrier includes in its construction a fiat plate so lying generally in a vertical plane and having the ears 2'! and wing 28 struck laterally there from. The previously described stop 35 may also be a part Of this plate 40.

The plate M is provided with a bore 4! which fits loosely on a bearing 42 between a shoulder 43 on stud l6 and a collar 3 held against a second smaller shoulder 15 on stud I 6 by nut 65 threaded on reduced end 41 of the stud. Bearing A2 is slightly wider than the thickness of plate id. The carrier is therefore free to move pivotally on stud l6 and the friction means customarily used with thread removers of the general type set forth herein and located on stud E6 is omitted.

Extending upwardly from the body in is a finger 5e adapted to enter between resilient friction holding plates or jaws 5i and 52 located respectively to the right and left of the finger as viewed in Fig. 3. These plates 51 and 52 may be separated by a spacing block 53 and the latter together with the spring plates may be secured to the stand I! by screws 54, see Fig. 3.

Extending laterally from the transferrer arm is a stud 60 which lies over the rear end SI of the body dB. This stud is at a higher 1evel than those used heretofore and may be of simple construction as shown in Fig. 2.

In the operation of the invention the thread remover and carrier 4Q will normally be in the raised inoperative position shown in Fig. 1 with the finger 55] held frictionally between the side plates 5| and 52 of the friction device and head H above the path of the shuttle. When a weft replenishing operation occurs the transferrer arm descends as already described and in doing so causes the stud 60 to engage the rear end SI of body 40 and rock the latter in a counter-clockwise direction, Fig. 1, to move the finger 50 rearwardly away from and out of engagement with the plates 5! and 52. Thereafter the remover and parts associated with it will be able to continue the counter-clockwise motion under the action of gravity until the stop finger 3!) engages the stop 31. The remover will then be in operating thread pick-up position with the lip or tongue 22 extending into the mass of material ll to a depth below that of the thread T to be removed.

It is necessary for the stud 6!] to serve the purpose only of disengaging the remover from its friction holding means, and it is not necessary for the stud to follow the carrier after the latter is free to fall by gravity. This result can be accomplished by having the stud 68 located high enough on the transferrer arm so that it will not be able to maintain positive engagement with the body 40 throughout the entire downward motion of the latter. By having the stud 68 thus placed the remover R is out of engagement with stud [it during the latter part of the downward motion of the head H.

After the remover has been moved to its thread pick-up position the lay will move rearwardly and the thread will be directed by the lip 22 toward the intake mouth 2|, and the thread, having been out at a point beyond the intake mouth with reference to the cloth selvage, will be drawn partly into the tube 29 due to the subatmospheri'c pressures existing within the hose 23. As the lay moves rearwardly after weft replenishment rod 25 engages the wing 26 and rocks the remover in a clockwise direction, thereby resetting the finger 50 between the resilient friction holding plates 5| and 52.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention provides simple means by which the pneumatic thread remover may be held in idle inoperative position by a friction means from which it is detached by the transferrer arm during the first part of the movement of the remover toward its operating position. Thereafter the remover continues its motion by gravity, and should the remover rebound slightly the finger 5% will be out of reach of the friction means and the latter will not be able to restrain the remover or hold it in its rebounded position. Furthermore, since the final part of motion of the remover to its operating position is eifected by gravity the stud 6!] on the transferrer arm need have positive engagement with the carrier 49 no longer than is necessary to move the finger 50 away from the spring jaws 5! and 52.

Having thus described the invention it will be seen that changes and modifications of the foregoing specific disclosure may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In a weft replenishing loom having a thread remaining from the outgoing bobbin incident to a weft replenishing operation by a transferrer arm, a pneumatic remover for the thread, a carrier on which the remover is mounted, friction means engaging the carrier normally holding the latter in position to maintain the remover in inoperative position above the thread pick-up position thereof, a stop for the carrier effective when engaging the latter to limit downward motion of the remover by gravity and hold the remover in thread pick-up position, means on the transferrer arm effective incident to a weft replenishing operation to disengage the carrier from the friction means, whereupon the remover falls by gravity to thread pick-up position, and means operating subsequent to the replenishing operation to return the carrier to normal holding relation with said friction means.

2. In a weft replenishing loom having a thread remaining from the outgoing bobbin incident to a weft replenishing operation by a transferrer arm, a pneumatic remover for the thread, a carrier on which the remover is mounted, a fiat wing rigid with the carrier, stationary friction means normally engaging the wing and cooperating with the latter to hold the carrier in position to keep the remover in inoperative position above the thread pick-up position thereof, means on the transferrer arm incident to a weft replenishing operation detaching the wing from the friction means, whereupon the remover falls by gravity to the thread pick-up position thereof, a stop engaging the carrier to prevent further downward motion of the remover when the latter reaches the thread pick-up position thereof, and means operating subsequent to the replenishing operation raising the remover to the inoperative position thereof and returning the wing to holding relation with the friction means.

3. In a weft replenishing loom having a thread remaining from the outgoing bobbin incident to a weft replenishing operation, a pneumatic remover for the thread, a carrier on which the remover is mounted, friction means engaging the carrier only when the latter is in a position to maintain the remover at or near the inoperative position thereof above the thread pick-up position thereof, the remover moving by gravity to the thread pick-up position thereof when the carrier is disengaged from the friction means,

means disengaging the carrier from the friction means incident to a weft replenishing operation, a stop engaging the carrier when the remover has fallen by gravity to the thread pick-up position thereof, and means operating subsequent to the replenishing operation returning the carrier to engagement with the friction means.

4. In a weft replenishing loom having a thread remaining from the outgoing bobbin incident to a weft replenishing operation by a transferrer arm pivoted on a stud, a pneumatic remover for the thread, a carrier on which the remover is supported mounted for free pivotal movement on said stud, friction means engaging the carrier normally holding the latter only when the remover is in inoperative position above the thread pick-up position thereof, angular movement of the carrier about the stud in a direction to lower the remover effecting disengagement of the carrier from the friction means, after which the remover moves by gravity to the thread pick-up position thereof, means operating incident to a weft replenishing operation moving the carrier angularly with respect to said stud to disengage the carrier from the friction means, a stop arresting further angular motion of the carrier about said stud when the remover reaches the thread pick-up position thereof, and means operating subsequent to the replenishing operation to return the carrier to holding engagement with said friction means.

RICHARD G. TURNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,448,161 Turner Aug. 31, 1948 2,490,436 Hemingway Dec. 6, 1949

Images