US3749135A

US3749135A - Apparatus forming sheds in looms having continuously progressing sheds

Info

Publication number: US3749135A
Application number: US00097550A
Authority: US
Inventors: A Linka
Original assignee: Fouquet Werk Frauz and Planck
Current assignee: Fouquet Werk Frauz and Planck
Priority date: 1969-12-17
Filing date: 1970-12-14
Publication date: 1973-07-31
Anticipated expiration: 1990-07-31
Also published as: GB1336440A; DE1963208B2; BE760502A; DE1963208A1; CH517848A; FR2073878A5; DE1963208C3

Abstract

The heddles are moved by means of operating elements, such as push-rods or jacks, the movement of which are controlled by butts engaging in guide tracks. Diverters, or deflectors are arranged within the guide tracks to cause movement of the butts in predetermined grooves of the guide tracks, for normal operation, or, in case of bypass of the shuttle, to divert the butts into a parallel branching track which moves the heddles into non-weaving position. The diverters are formed as deflection elements which can be controlled by electromagnetic, pneumatic means or the like, in dependence on operating conditions, for example upon thread breakage.

Description

United States Patent 1 1 Linka 1 APPARATUS FORMING SHEDS IN LOOMS HAVING CONTINUOUSLY PROGRESSHNG SHEDS [75] Inventor: Adolf Linka, Pfullingen, Germany [73] Assignee: Fouquet-Werlr Franz & Planck,

Rottenburg am Neckar, Germany 221 Filed: n.14,1970

211 App1.No.:97,550

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data 1 July 31, 1973 Primary Examiner-llenry S. Jaudon Attorney-Flynn & Frishauf [57] ABSTRACT The heddles are moved by means of operating elements, such as pushrods or jacks, the movement of which are controlled by butts engaging in guide tracks. Diverters, or deflectors are arranged within the guide tracks to cause movement of the butts in predetermined grooves of the guide tracks, for normal operation, or, in case of bypass of the shuttle, to divert the butts into a parallel branching track which moves the heddles into non-weaving position. The diverters are formed as deflection elements which can be controlled by electromagnetic,- pneumatic means or the like, in dependence on operating conditions, for example upon thread breakage.

l7 (Ilaims, 10 Drawing Figures Patented July 31, 1973 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 6 Sheets-Sheet I;

Patented July 31, 1973 Patented July 31, 1973 6 Sheets-$hcot Z Patented July 31, 1973 I TH READ I BREAK SENSOR 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig 5 Patented July 31, 1973' 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented July 31, 1973 3,749,135

6 Sheets-Sheet 1 i ZI APPARATUS FORMING SI-IEDS IN LOOMS HAVING CONTINUOUSLY PROGRESSING SHEDS The present invention relates to an apparatus and to a method in which the heddles are moved under control of tracks which have divcrters, or deflectors arranged therein so that the position of the heddles can be selectively controlled in accordance with desired operation of the loom.

Looms with continuously progressing shed are so constructed that the heddles are suitably driven synchronously with the motion of the shuttle, the weft thread being inserted during the progressing motion of the shuttle. Flat bed weaving looms then require that a larger number of shuttles is moved outside of the web than are necessary to insert the weft thread at any time, since the shuttle, after leaving the shed has to be reutrned to the entrance of the shed after the edge of the last web being woven has been reached. This return must be obtained outside of the warp threads. The efficiency of operation of continuously progressing shedtype looms can be improved by returning the shuttle through a second shed of an oppositely located web being woven. v

Circular looms with continuously progressing shed provide the best efficiency, since shuttles can be continuo'usly moved synchronously with the continuously progressing sheds in the various weaving systems weaving a number of separate webs. It has been known to subdivide the circumference of the loom into a plurality of sectors each having one complete weaving system located therein, in order to produce separate webs in each sector.

Weaving a plurality of separate webs on a single loom is efficient in normal operation. If, however, a thread breaks in only one of the webs, the entire machine has to be stopped which causes a substantial production loss particularly in high speed weaving machines operating with a substantial number of shuttles. Further, it was not possible to form the separate webs with differentcross weaving and change over from one type of crossweaving to another required time consuming reconstruction and revision of the machine itself. This is caused by the motion control of the heddles which, in the past, usually were moved by eccentric grooves, or camming disks or the like which had to'be replaced upon change of the type of cross weave.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a weaving method which can readily be changed and in which, in continuously progressing shed-type looms, several separate webs can be made simultaneously although the. type of cross weave of the various webs is different; and, further, to provide a method of weaving in which the entire machine need not be stopped upon breakage of the warp threads in one of the webs; and in which, if desired, the type of cross weave can be changed easily without replacement of parts. It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a weaving system which is capable of carrying out the method.

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PRESENT INVENTION Briefly, the heddles have drive jacks coupled thereto, the motion of which is controlled from a curved track which is so arranged that it has, selectively, a plurality of branches; the jacks are so arranged that they engage the tracks and diverters of deflectors are provided to control the movement of the jacks in one or the other of the selected curved tracks. Thus, by changing the position of the diverter of deflector, the movement of the heddles can be controlled in a desired manner.

If several webs are made on one machine, the drive jacks coupledwith the heddles can be driven in groups, arranged over zones, and corresponding to preselected widths of the web, the zones being independent of each other, which provides the possibility to weave the various webs with different types of cross weaving.

If a thread within a web breaks, supply of further weft thread into the particular shed should be stopped until the breakage is repaired. In accordance with the present invention, a method and apparatus are provided holding the drive jacks for the heddles, at least in predetermined zones, in such a manner that the eyes of the associated heddles through which thewarp threads pass do not move and are placed in a plane lying beyond the track of the shuttle, so that the shuttles pass the warp threads by, since no shed has been formed.

The invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. I is a schematic, perspective view of a circular weaving machine, portions having been pulled out similar to an exploded view;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along lines IIII of FIG. 1 and illustrating the arrangement to form the shed;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top view, with the upper drive portion removed of the shed-forming guide tracks of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an arrangement to control the deflectors of FIGS. 2 and 3, shown in perspective, schematic view, and to a different scale;

FIG. 5 is an electrical circuit diagram of the arrangement to control the deflectors of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic, perspective presentation of the apparatus to change the position of the deflectors, to a scale diflerentfrom that of the other drawings;

FIG. 7 is a schematic top view of a flat bed weaving loom;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary top view of the control section for the heddle drive of the apparatus of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary top view of the heddle drive of FIG. 8, to a greatly enlarged scale; and

FIG. 10 is a side view, partly cut along line X-X to form a fragmentary sectional view.

The general type of machine to which the invention relates is best seen in FIG. 1, there illustrated'as a circular loom. The loom is formed with an arrangement to provide the shed, which includes a fixed needle bed I in which the heddles can operate. The upper and lower portion of the needle bed I is formed with radial grooves 2 (FIG. 2) in which thin jacks 3 are located, longitudinally (with respect to bed I) movable to form a drive for shafts 4 which each control a predetermined number of heddles 5, the openings of which are seen at 6 (FIG. 3). The jacks 3 periodically are moved back and forth to form, in general aspect, waves which progress around the circumference of the machine, thereby forming the shed indicated at 7 in FIGS. 1 and 2. The warp threads 8, between which the sheds are formed, are seen in FIG. 2.

The operating shaft 4, and with it the heddles 5 are moved by means of curved tracks which cooperate with the jack 3.

Ring-

shaped drive elements

9a, 9b are located at.

each side of the needle bed 1. The

drive elements

9a, 9b are connected by one or more rotor arms 10 to a central drive shaft 11 (FIG. 1). The

drive elements

90, 9b are formed with a plurality of

grooves

12, 13, 14 in the side facing the needle bed 1. Butts 15 formed on the jacks 3, for example by unitary extensions (FIG. 2) engage in the grooves Groups of the jacks 3 have a different length; each one of these groups of jacks (in the present example there are three groups) is associated with one of the

grooves

12, 13, 14, that is, with tracks I, II, or III respectively (FIG. 3). Adjacent jacks are of unequal lengths and engage different ones of the tracks I, II, III, respectively (FIG. 2). The jacks 3 of the various groups are engaged in the grooves 2 of the needle bed 1, as best seen in FIG. 2, by means of interposed low-friction separating elements, such as separating pins or plates, and are guided by means of -a pair of

cover plates

16, 16 which, in turn, are secured to supports 17 located on the machine frame 6 (FIG. 1).

The

grooves

12, 13, 14 are in a single plane. They form two interconnected curve tracks in which the butts 15 of the jacks 3 engage, as illustrated at 18, 18, 18 19 19', 19'', in FIG. 3 in chain dotted lines. Controlled deflection elements, or diverters 21 are located at the junction point 20 of the converging tracks 18', 19' and the diverging tracks 18'', 19" so that the butts 15 of jacks 3 can be guided into the one, or the other one of the branched tracks l8, 19. The portion of track formed by groove B which is common to the

tracks

18 and 19, that is, which extends through the central part 13 of the groove, corresponds to the closed shed. From that point on, the tracks proceed towards a deflection point 20, from which the paths diverge and the jacks are moved forward, or backward corresponding to a forward or backward path of the heddles 5. The branches extending forward, or backward, and corresponding to

tracks

19, or 18, respectively continue, as seen in FIG. 3, until they converge again to be met at a subsequent deflection point 22. Beyond point 22, a joint portion of track, corresponding to groove 13, continues to extend and thereafter similar branchings with deflectors corresponding to deflectors 21 are arranged.

Point 22 need not contain a deflection element or divertor 21 since the butts 15, due to the continued motion in accordance with the arrow A will naturally follow in groove portion 13 which, again, corresponds to a closed shed. The repetitive opening and closing of the shed provides a zoned subdivision corresponding to the various sheds, the shed progressing synchronously with motion of the shuttle, which is driven by means well known in the art. Thus, depending on the position of the diverters 21, the extending butts 15 can be moved from groove 13 into groove 12 to follow track 18, or, selectively, into groove 14 in order to follow track 19. Thus, different types of cross weaves can be preprogrammed by selectively positioning the diverters 21.

Diverters 21 are swingably located elements, engaging the sides of the butts 15 on jacks 3. They are ar ranged to be either locked into predetermined position as will be explained in connection with FIG. 10; or it is also possible to control the position of the diverters during operation of the machine in accordance with predetermined patterns or programs. In the simplest manner, the diverters are so arranged that all webs are formed with the same cross weave. The arrangement of the threads in the cross weave will then correspond to the number of the associated groups of heddles. It is also possible, however, to form the various webs with different types of cross weaves by suitable control or programming of the position of the diverters 21.

The edges of the butts 15 of the jacks 3, as well as the side surfaces of the diverters 21 are subject to substantial forces. To obtain smooth changeover, and uniform movement and entry of the butts 15 into the selected tracks 18, 19, respectively, small notches 23 are formed in the grooves in the region of the diverters 21 to permit the deflection elements to enter into the notches, to bear against the walls thereof, and to provide for smooth transition from the straight grooved portion 13 to the forwardly or rearwardly slanting portions of the

tracks

18, or 19. The walls of the grooves against which the deflector elements elements 21 can bear will then form a counter element or shoulder against the counter force of the butts.

FIG. 6 illustrates the deflector elements, and the arrangement of the diverters in greater detail. The deflector element 21 is secured to a shaft 24, located in the

respective member

9a, 9b. Shaft 24 extends therefrom and is secured to a lever arm 25 having an operating pin 26 at the remote end thereof. Motion of the diverters 21 between the full line position (position a) FIG. 6, and the dashed position (position b) is controlled by curved control elements 27 which are rotatably mounted, to bear against pins 26. The rotatable position of elements 27 can be electrically controlled, as will appear below. By movement of the element 27 between its two axial positions A arid B will rotate the diverter elements 21 between full line, and dashed position, and thus cause diversion of the butts 15 from the one track or the other. In the drawing, as shwon, posi tion b corresponds to track 18 of FIG. 3. The electromechanical control arrangement is illustrated in detail in FIGS. 4 and 5. The operating elements 27 are secured to a shaft 28 rotatably located in a fixed support plate 29. Shaft 28 has a double-arm lever 30 attached thereto, connected at both ends to movable plunger cores 33, 34, associated with

solenoid coils

31, 32. Energization of

coils

31, 32 is controlled in dependence on the type of cross weave desired, synchronously with motion of the shuttle, and the continuously progressing shed. The two coils 31, 32 are so controlled by means of a relay 35 that they are electrically interlocked against concurrent operation. Relay 35 which may be termed the operating or working relay is controlled, in turn, over a pair of control relays 36, 37 which, in turn, receives its control pulses from a programmer or similar control element. This control element, illustrated in block form only can be of known construction. It can be pre-programmed to make different kinds of cross weaves, for example by a numerical or other program control, and, additionally, it can be sensitive to operating conditions of the machine, for example thread breakage. By suitable control of the controller C, for example onver an input terminal T or by means of a pattern controller, various types of weaves can be made, as well known in the art.

In case of thread breakage it is desirable to hold the warp threads in a region adjacent the path taken by the shuttle, so that formation of a shed is inhibited, the passing shuttles thus not inserting a weft thread into the shed. Referring again to FIG. 3, the

elements

9a, 9b, in each one of the track groups I, II, III are additionally formed with a diversion groove 38. Groove 38 forms,

essentially, a shunt, which interconnects adjacent grooves 14 to form a smooth, continuous track 39 therewith, as illustrated in dotted lines 39 in FIG. 3. The butts 15 of jacks 3 are thus held in a single, extended position, so that the associated heddles 5 will likewise remain in the extended posiiton beyond the path of the shuttle. At the junction point 4t) of groove 14 and groove 38, a diverter 41 is arranged which is similar to diverter 21 and can enter into a recessed notch 23. The track groups I, II, III and the associated continuous track portions form a guide track system for the jack 3 having its butt engaged therein. Control of the diverter 41 itself can be obtained similarly to control of diverters 21 (FIGS. 4, 5, 6) and its operation, in turn, can be controlled by a thread break sensor S supplying an alarm signal to the controller C, which, in turn, controls the operation of the respective electromagnets. The thread break sensor can be of any known type, for example controlling breakage of a warp thread, the thread from the shuttle, difficulty with shuttle motion, and the like. The bypass groove 38 preferably is located radially outwardly (with resect to the machine center) of the closed shed so that warp threads will be accessible without interference from the shuttle.

When butts 15 leave the groove 38, it is possible that the butts, due to stray forces will be pressed against the enlargement formed by the junction of the slanting portion of groove 14. This may cause vibration of the butts 15 since, for a short period of time, they are not positively guided. When the edge of the butt 15 then impinges on the groove 14, small and abrupt acceleration of the butts may occur which may lead to damage. To prevent this small acceleration, guide elements 42 are interposed in the groove 38 at its junction 42 with groove 14. The guide elements 42 normally are placed in small notches 23; as seen in FIG. 3, in connection with the group of grooves III, the end faces of the deflectors 42 are formed with an inclined surface 44 to fit smoothly against the walls of the slanting portion of groove 14. If desired, the deflection elements 42 can be spring-biased into the position shown in connection with the grooves of group I, or, in connection with the grooves of group III. The small free psace ahead of the inclined surface 44, appearing in the grooves of group I, will not interfere with motion of the butts as the shed in normally formed since force on the butt 15 will be applied at the side opposite from the gap which is formed.

The circular weaving machine of FIG. 1 can readily be constructed so that the weaving mechanism itself is a single constructional entity, removable as a whole from the frame or support structure of the machine, and replacable as a unit against a different one, in case repair, or rc-setting is desired. This affords a high degree of flexibility regarding the types of fabric which can be made, the number of warp threads per unit width, and their gauge. The

drive elements

90, 9b can be subdivided into sectors and remain the same, unless the bed 1 for the heddles is to be changed to accommodate a larger, or smaller number of heddle elements themselves.

The present invention so far has been described in connection with a circular weaving machine; it is not so 6 chine is illustrated in connected with FIGS. 7-9, to which reference will now be made.

Drive elements are used rather than the elements 90., 9b as in a circular weaving machine. Elements 90 can bend over links 91, which interconnects the elements 90 in form of a chain, as seen in FIG. 7. The chain thus formed is guided over a pair of

chain wheels

91, 92, so that the heddles can be controlled along the straight path of the elements 90 between the

chain drive wheels

92, 92. The butts to drive the heddles themselves can be similar to the butts illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, each drive pin 4 being associated with a jack 3 carrying a butt 15. The jacks 3 are guided in a fixed bed 100, similar to the bed 1 holding the heddles (FIG. 1 The various drive portions 90 are continuously guided along bed 100, so that the butts 15 of jacks 3 engage into the grooves formed in the parts 90 to be moved continuously backwardly and forwardly to fomi the continuously progressing shed. The flat drive portions 90, in the embodiment of FIG. 8, have also three groups of tracks I, II, III whichare in general similar to the construction previously described in connection with FIG. 3. Similar parts, therefore, have been given similar reference numerals. Operation of the diverters 21 is similar to that previously described in connection with FIGS. 4 to 6, the arms 25 of FIG. 6 being schematically indicated in FIG. 7.

To effect control of the types of cross weave and to disable formation of the shed upon breakage of the thread, it is desirable to have the deflectors controllable; it is not necessary, that they are separately controllable and a fixed deflection position, once set in the machine to provide a fixed type of fabric can also be used. This system is of advantage if a large number of fabrics of the same kind are to be made, while, still, the versatility of change-over of the type of fabric is desired. Re-

ferring to FIG. 10, the shaft 24 of the deflector 21 is carried in a bushing 93 set into'the drive'portion90 (or 9a, 9b respectively) and is swingably mounted therein. Shaft 24, at its free end, is formed with a thread 94 which has a pair of nuts 95 applied thereto which, when tightened against bushing 93 will maintain shaft 21 in a predetermined, pre-set fixed position.

Drive portions 90' illustrated in FIG. 9 carry only a pair of groups of curved tracks, I, and II, each one corresponding to the grooves of FIG. 3. The bypass or shunt track 38 has been omitted, so that path 39 (dotted line FIG. 3) has been left off. In this arrangement, particularly, fixed diverters' as illustrated in FIG. 10 are desirable.

The present invention has been described specifically in connection with a circular weaving machine, and generally in connection with a flat bed weaving machine; the adaptation of the inventive concept to the type of machine will be obvious to those skilled in the art, and various modifications and changes can be made within the inventive concept to effect such adaptation.

I claim:

l. A loom with a continuously progressing shed (7) in which a shuttle is movable in a predetermined path, the loom comprising heddles (5) and operating means (3, 4, l5) engaging,

and guiding said heddles into predetermined positions;

and structural means (9a,'9b) carrying a group (I, II,

III) of separate essentially parallel guide track systems, the said operating means of selected heddles being engageable in a selected one of the guide track systems, each guide track system including alternate common guide tracks (13) and split branching guide tracks (l8, 19) said common guide track (13) splitting, at a junction (20) into two divergent portions (l8,l9 to form the branching racks (l8, 19) corresponding to movement of the heddles in opposite direction to form the open shed, said branching tracks then forming converging portions (18, 19") which merge together at a subsequent junction (22) to form again a common single track (13), the split branching tracks (l8, l9) guiding the operating means to move the heddles to open shed position, and the common guide track (13) guiding the operating means to move the heddles to closed shed position and permit crossover upon subsequent entry of the operating means into the diverging portions and then into the separate branching guide tracks;

and a bypass track (38) connecting the branching tracks and located at one extremity with respect to the common guide track (13) to form, with said branching tracks, a continuous, smoothly extending path (39) outside of the predetermined path of the shuttle and essentially parallel to the common track, and spaced therefrom; diverter means (21, 41) located at the branching-off junction points of said branching guide tracks (l8, 19) with the common guide track (13), and of the branching guide tracks with said bypass track (38,

and means (25, 26, 27, 31) controlling said diverter means (21, 41) of each of the guide track systems to guide said operating means, selectively, to enter a selected branch (18 or 19) of said branching guide tracks or, selectively, to enter said bypass track (38) to follow in said continuously smoothly extending path being located to guide the operating means for said heddles into an extreme position and to direct the eyes (6) of the heddles, and thus the warp thread passing through the eyes of the heddles, to a side and outside of the path of the loom shuttle. 2. Loom according to claim 1 wherein the operating means for said heddles extends toward said structural means in zoned lengths; and

a guide track system is provided for each zone. 3. Loom according to claim 1 wherein said structural means comprises a fixed holder (16) holding said heddles for sliding movement therein and a movable guide member (9a, 9b) having said tracks l8, 19, 38 formed therein;

and said operating means comprises push means 3 having extending butts (l) engaging said tracks;

said diverter means (21, 41) guiding said butts selctively into said branching tracks or the bypass track (38).

4. Loom according to claim 1 wherein said guide tracks (l8, 19, 38) are formed as grooves in said structural means (90, 9b).

5. Loom according to claim 32 wherein said diverter means (21, 41) are movable elements swingably mounted on the structural means and extending into the tracks and located at least adjacent the diverging portions; said tracks are formed as grooves in said structural means; and said swingably mounted elements abut against alternate sides of the grooves depending on their selected position.

6. Loom according to claim 1 wherein said diverter means (21, 4B) comprises movable elements located in the path of said tracks;

a swingable shaft;

and means operating said shaft for swinging movement to position said diverter elements to divert the operating means into a selected track.

7. Loom according to claim 6 wherein the shaft operating means comprises camming elements (27);

cam follower means secured to said swingable shaft;

and means selectively positioning said camming elements in the path of said cam follower means secured to said shaft to selectively swing the position of said shaft and thus the position of said diverter menas in accordance with the position of said camming means;

and means controlling the position of said camming means.

8. Loom according to claim 1 including supervisory operation detection means responsive to failure of at least one of: warp thread, shuttle thread, shuttle operation;

and means controlling the position of said diverter means (411) located at the junction of a branching guide track (19) with the bypass track (38) and controlling movement of the operating means in the bypass track in dependence on detected malfunction by said supervisory operation detection means to guide the operating means (3) for the heddles (5) into a position such that the eyes of the heddles, and thus the warp thread passing therethrough will be to a side and outside of the path of the shuttle when the supervisory operation detection means has detected a malfunction.

9. Loom according to claim 1 wherein said structural means are formed with grooves, said grooves providing said guide track systems;

and said diverter means includes diversion plates interposed in the path of said grooves; and notches formed in the grooves in the path of movement of said diverter plates to accommodate said diverter plates and provide for a smooth transition from a branch path past the diverter plate.

10. Loom according to claim 1 wherein said diverter means are mounted in said structural means and, together with said structural means, form a single unitary, exchangeable machine element,

11. Loom according to claim 1 wherein the loom is a circular loom;

and the bypass track (38) is located to guide the beddles to be outside, with respect to the loom center, of the shuttle path.

12. Loom according to claim 1 wherein the loom is circular loom;

and the structural means are essentially ring shaped and comprise a plurality of sequentially continuously arranged groups (I, II, III) of guide track systems, the diverter means (21, 41) of each group being independently controllable.

l3. Loom according to claim 12 wherein the groups (I, II, III) of the guide track systems are located con centrically with respect to the center of the circular loom, and the bypass tracks (38) of the guide track systems are located concentrically to and radialy outside of the common guide tracks (13) of the system.

controllable diverter means (41) located at the junction of the circumferential portion of at least one of the guide tracks (19) and the bypass track (38) and controlling movements of the butts (15) into 14. A circular loom with continuously progressing shed (7) in which a shuttle is movable in a predetermined path, the loom having heddle means (3, 4, 5);

a circular holder (16) holding the heddle means e e f? radial sliding mOVemenl; said smoothly extending path (39) or into the path rotatab e gu de mfimbef means having of the converging portion (19") of the branching grooved guide track systems (13, l8, 19, 38) id k formed therein. the heddle means extend and means separately controlling the position of the ing essemlally in a radial direction with Yespcct to controllable movable means (21) and said diverter the machine and having Projecting bulls means (41) of said groups of track systems.

gaged in a respective grooved track, movement of the heddles being controlled in accordance with the instantaneous position of the movable guide member means with the loom, the guide member means and the grooved guide tracks therein being located in an essentially horizontal plane;

the guide tracks comprising sequential radially spaced groups of track systems (I, ll, ill), the butts (15) of adjacent heddle means (3, 4, 5) being located in radially spaced track systems;

each track system having a pair of branching guide tracks formed with diverging portions (18, 19') splitting in alternate directions from a common track section (13) then merging into circumferentially disposed portions (18, 19), each portion merging into a converging portion (18'', 19"), said converging portions joining into a subsequent common track section (13) and a bypass track (38) located concentrically to the common track section radially spaced therefrom and at the same radial distance as the connected branching track, to form, with the connecting branching track, a continuous smoothly extending path (39) which guides the heddle means (3, 4, 5) to a position such that the eyes (6) of the heddle means, and thus the warp threads coursing therethrough will be radially spaced from the path of the shuttle;

controllable movable means (21) extending into the grooves of the tracks and located at the junctions of the common track section (13) and at least the 40 divergent portions of the branching guide tracks to direct the butts (15) of said heddle means (3, 4, 5),

15. Circular loom according to claim 14 wherein the bypass track (38) is located to guide the heddles to be outside, with respect to the loom center, of the shuttle path.

16. Circular loom according to claim 14 including superviosry operation detection means responsive to failure of at least one of: warp thread, shuttle thread, shuttle operation;

and means controlling the position of said diverter means (41) located at the junction of the branching guide track (19) with the bypass track (38) and controlling movement of the operating means in the bypass track in dependence on detected malfunction by said supervisory operation detection means to guide the operating means (3) for the heddles (5) into a position such that the eyes of the heddles, and thus the warp thread passing therethrough will be to a side and outside of the path of the shuttle when the supervisory operation detec tion means has detected a malfunction.

17. Circular loom according to claim 14, wherein the holder is part circular and sector shaped;

said movable guide members are part circular and sector shaped, and means are provided connecting said movable members to the drive of the machine, the movable means extending into the grooves being secured to and mounted on the movable members;

the sector shaped holder (16), the movable members (9a, 9b) and the movable means (25, 26, 27, 31) being dismountable from the machine as a unitary selectively, into selected grooves forming the guide assembly. tracks;

Claims

1. A loom with a continuously progressing shed (7) in which a shuttle is movable in a predetermined path, the loom comprising heddles (5) and operating means (3, 4, 15) engaging, and guiding said heddles into predetermined positions; and structural means (9a, 9b) carrying a group (I, II, III) of separate essentially parallel guide track systems, the said operating means of selected heddles being engageable in a selected one of the guide track systems, each guide track system including alternate common guide tracks (13) and split branching guide tracks (18, 19) said common guide track (13) splitting, at a junction (20) into two divergent portions (18'',19'') to form the branching racks (18, 19) corresponding to movement of the heddles in opposite direction to form the open shed, said branching tracks then forming converging portions (18'''', 19'''') which merge together at a subsequent junction (22) to form again a common single track (13), the split branching tracks (18, 19) guiding the operating means to move the heddles to open shed position, and the common guide track (13) guiding the operating means to move the heddles to closed shed position and permit crossover upon subsequent entry of the operating means into the diverging portions and then into the separate branching guide tracks; and a bypass track (38) connecting the branching tracks and located at one extremity with respect to the common guide track (13) to form, with said branching tracks, a continuous, smoothly extending path (39) outside of the predetermined path of the shuttle and essentially parallel to the common track, and spaced therefrom; diverter means (21, 41) located at the branching-off junction points of said branching guide tracks (18, 19) with the common guide track (13), and of the branching guide tracks with said bypass track (38, 39); and means (25, 26, 27, 31) controlling said diverter means (21, 41) of each of the guide track systems to guide said operating means, selectively, to enter a selected branch (18 or 19) of said branching guide tracks or, selectively, to enter sAid bypass track (38) to follow in said continuously smoothly extending path being located to guide the operating means for said heddles into an extreme position and to direct the eyes (6) of the heddles, and thus the warp thread passing through the eyes of the heddles, to a side and outside of the path of the loom shuttle.

2. Loom according to claim 1 wherein the operating means for said heddles extends toward said structural means in zoned lengths; and a guide track system is provided for each zone.

3. Loom according to claim 1 wherein said structural means comprises a fixed holder (16) holding said heddles for sliding movement therein and a movable guide member (9a, 9b) having said tracks 18, 19, 38 formed therein; and said operating means comprises push means 3 having extending butts (15) engaging said tracks; said diverter means (21, 41) guiding said butts selctively into said branching tracks or the bypass track (38).

4. Loom according to claim 1 wherein said guide tracks (18, 19, 38) are formed as grooves in said structural means (9a, 9b).

6. Loom according to claim 1 wherein said diverter means (21, 41) comprises movable elements located in the path of said tracks; a swingable shaft; and means operating said shaft for swinging movement to position said diverter elements to divert the operating means into a selected track.

7. Loom according to claim 6 wherein the shaft operating means comprises camming elements (27); cam follower means secured to said swingable shaft; and means selectively positioning said camming elements in the path of said cam follower means secured to said shaft to selectively swing the position of said shaft and thus the position of said diverter menas in accordance with the position of said camming means; and means controlling the position of said camming means.

8. Loom according to claim 1 including supervisory operation detection means responsive to failure of at least one of: warp thread, shuttle thread, shuttle operation; and means controlling the position of said diverter means (41) located at the junction of a branching guide track (19) with the bypass track (38) and controlling movement of the operating means in the bypass track in dependence on detected malfunction by said supervisory operation detection means to guide the operating means (3) for the heddles (5) into a position such that the eyes of the heddles, and thus the warp thread passing therethrough will be to a side and outside of the path of the shuttle when the supervisory operation detection means has detected a malfunction.

9. Loom according to claim 1 wherein said structural means are formed with grooves, said grooves providing said guide track systems; and said diverter means includes diversion plates interposed in the path of said grooves; and notches formed in the grooves in the path of movement of said diverter plates to accommodate said diverter plates and provide for a smooth transition from a branch path past the diverter plate.

11. Loom according to claim 1 wherein the loom is a circular loom; and the bypass track (38) is located to guide the heddles to be outside, with respect to the loom center, of the shuttle path.

12. Loom according to claim 1 wherein the loom is circular loom; and the structural means are essentially ring shaped and comprise a plurality of sequentially continuously arranged groups (I, II, III) of guide track systems, the diverter means (21, 41) of each group being independently controllable.

13. Loom according to claim 12 wherein the groups (I, II, III) of the guide track systems are located concentrically with respect to the center of the circular loom, and the bypass tracks (38) of the guide track systems are located concentrically to and radialy outside of the common guide tracks (13) of the system.

14. A circular loom with continuously progressing shed (7) in which a shuttle is movable in a predetermined path, the loom having heddle means (3, 4, 5); a circular holder (16) holding the heddle means therein for radial sliding movement; rotatable guide member means (9a, 9b) having grooved guide track systems (13, 18, 19, 38) formed therein, the heddle means (3, 4, 5) extending essentially in a radial direction with respect to the machine and having projecting butts (15) engaged in a respective grooved track, movement of the heddles being controlled in accordance with the instantaneous position of the movable guide member means with the loom, the guide member means and the grooved guide tracks therein being located in an essentially horizontal plane; the guide tracks comprising sequential radially spaced groups of track systems (I, II, III), the butts (15) of adjacent heddle means (3, 4, 5) being located in radially spaced track systems; each track system having a pair of branching guide tracks formed with diverging portions (18'', 19'') splitting in alternate directions from a common track section (13) then merging into circumferentially disposed portions (18, 19), each portion merging into a converging portion (18'''', 19''''), said converging portions joining into a subsequent common track section (13) and a bypass track (38) located concentrically to the common track section radially spaced therefrom and at the same radial distance as the connected branching track, to form, with the connecting branching track, a continuous smoothly extending path (39) which guides the heddle means (3, 4, 5) to a position such that the eyes (6) of the heddle means, and thus the warp threads coursing therethrough will be radially spaced from the path of the shuttle; controllable movable means (21) extending into the grooves of the tracks and located at the junctions of the common track section (13) and at least the divergent portions of the branching guide tracks to direct the butts (15) of said heddle means (3, 4, 5), selectively, into selected grooves forming the guide tracks; controllable diverter means (41) located at the junction of the circumferential portion of at least one of the guide tracks (19) and the bypass track (38) and controlling movements of the butts (15) into said smoothly extending path (39) or into the path of the converging portion (19'''') of the branching guide tracks; and means separately controlling the position of the controllable movable means (21) and said diverter means (41) of said groups of track systems.

16. Circular loom according to claim 14 including superviosry operation detection means responsive to failure of at least one of: warp thread, shuttle thread, shuttle operation; and means controlling the position of said diverter means (41) located at the junction of the branching guide track (19) with the bypass track (38) and controlling movement of the operating means in the bypass track in dependence on detected malfunction by said supervisory operation detection means to guide the operating means (3) for the heddles (5) into a position such that the eyes of the heddles, and thus the warp thread passing therethrough will be to a side and outside of the path of the shuttle when the supervisory operation detection means has detected a malfunction.

17. Circular loom according to claim 14, wherein the holder is part circular and sector shaped; said movable guide members are part circular and sector shaped, and means are provided connecting said movable members to the drive of the machine, the movable means extending into the grooves being secured to and mounted on the movable members; the sector shaped holder (16), the movable members (9a, 9b) and the movable means (25, 26, 27, 31) being dismountable from the machine as a unitary assembly.