Loom reed

In a loom of the type in which a series of set screws impinge upon and grip the surface of the lower backing strip of the loom reed to hold the reed in position, distortion of the dent wires by overtightening of the set screws is prevented by means of an improved backing strip construction. The dent wires are shortened so that they extend down only partially into the space between a pair of spaced parallel side plates, each of which has an upper portion between which the lower ends of the dent wires extend and terminate, and a lower portion against which the set screws impinge. A force absorbing, spacer plate or bar is sandwiched between the lower portion of the side plates in abutting relation with the lower ends of the dent wires and absorbs the force of the set screws.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
For many years, loom reeds have been mounted on looms by means of an upper 
reed cap and a lower lay which receive the upper and lower backing strips 
respectively of the loom reed and hold the reed in the loom as it is 
continuously beat against the filler. In recent years, a loom known as the 
"Sulzer" loom has become increasingly popular. In the "Sulzer" loom, and 
other similar looms the reed is supported by the lay only, with no 
connection at all by a reed cap at the upper side along the backing strip. 
A plurality of set screws extend through a portion of the lay and are 
tightened against one surface of the lower backing strip to secure the 
loom reed in proper position for operation. In an 80 inch loom, there are 
approximately 25-30 of such set screws to be tightened. 
Problems have arisen in such a mounting system leading to distortion or 
skewing of the dent wires in the following way. Although instructions with 
the loom are very precise as to the proper tightening force to be exerted 
by the set screws against the lower backing strip, it frequently occurs 
that when a loom fixer becomes hurried the screws may be overtightened to 
the extent that depressions in the backing strip will occur. The result of 
such overtightening of the set screws is that the dent wires become skewed 
or distorted, with the spaces therebetween becoming non-parallel which 
leads to attendant problems and defects in the fabric being woven. 
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
The present invention, on the other hand, is directed to a novel and 
improved construction of the lower backing strip for loom reeds in which 
the wire dents extend only partially into a portion (upper portion) of the 
space between the side plates forming the backing strip. A spacer plate 
abuts against the lower end of the dent wires and between the lower 
portions of the side plates against which the set screws impinge. 
Therefore, as the set screws are tightened, overtightening will not have 
any affect on the dent wires, as the dent wires are not located behind the 
points on the side plates against which the set screws are being 
tightened. 
It is therefore a first object of the invention to provide an improved 
construction for loom reed backing strips used with looms of the type in 
which the reed is held in the lay by set screws which impinge upon and 
grip the surface of the lower backing strip. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved loom 
reed construction which may be securely mounted to the "Sulzer" type loom 
without damage thereto. 
A further and more specific object of the present invention is to provide a 
loom reed in which the upper portion of the backing strip covers the lower 
end of the dent wires and a force absorbing means is positioned between 
the lower portion of the two side plates forming the backing strip in the 
area against which the set screws impinge.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Turning now to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 1, there is 
illustrated the improved loom reed 10 according to the present invention. 
A plurality of spaced, parallel dents or dent wires 12 extend vertically 
between an upper backing strip 14 and a lower backing strip 16. The upper 
backing strip 14 is formed according to conventional techniques in which a 
pair of side plates 14a, 14b, are secured by soldering, to the side edges 
of the upper extremities of dents 12. A conventional coil spring 18 is 
used to space the dents immediately below the upper backing strip 14 and 
immediately above the lower backing strip 16. 
Although the upper backing strip 14 is formed in a conventional manner, the 
lower backing strip 16 is a novel construction which affords a solution to 
the problems set forth hereinabove. First of all, the dent wires 12 extend 
into and are retained in the space between side plates 20, 22. Note, 
however, that contrary to upper backing strip 14 (conventional), the dent 
wires 12 extend only into the upper portion of the space between plates 
20, 22. The lower space between side plates 20, 22 is filled with an 
excessive force absorbing means, for example such as spacer plate 24, for 
reasons to be described hereinafter. Solder, epoxy, or other cementitious 
material is introduced between the lower ends of dent wires 12 in a 
conventional manner prior to the application of side plates 20, 22 and 
spacer plate 24. The upper edge of spacer plate 24 abuts against the lower 
ends of dent wires 12, and the plate 24 is approximately the same 
thickness as the thickness of dent wires 12, so that the inner surface of 
the side plates 20, 22 engage both the opposite edges of the lower ends of 
the dent wires between the upper portions thereof and the opposite 
surfaces of plate 24 adjacent the lower portion thereof. 
While the construction may seem to be simple, it is a very effective 
solution to the problem as best illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is 
illustrative of the prior art in which, as a set screw S is tightened 
against the backing plate 16', if a prescribed force is exceeded, the 
backing plate will be depressed with the result that the dent wires 
therebehind may become bent, skewed, or distorted accordingly. Such 
distortion of the dent wires can be extremely deleterious to the quality 
of the fabric being processed through the loom, as it is of the utmost 
importance that the dent wires 12 remain absolutely straight and parallel. 
Note, however, in FIG. 3 the set screw does not bear against the portion of 
the side plate 20 which overlaps dent wires 12. Rather, the set screws 
bears against the lower portion of the side plate 20, which has positioned 
therebehind the spacer plate 24. In this construction, if excessive force 
is accidentally applied to the set screw S, no damage occurs to the dent 
wire, because the spacer plate 24 absorbs the excessive force. 
There is therefore provided an improved construction for loom reed backing 
strips which prevents damage thereto in the form of distortion or skewing 
of the dent wires as a result of excessive tightening of the mounting 
screws. 
It should be recognized that the force absorbing means could be fabricated 
integrally with the side strips to form a U-shaped backing member 30 in 
which the set screws bear against the side of the solid base and the legs 
surround the lower ends of the dents (FIG. 4). Such U-shaped member could 
be either steel or aluminum. It is also apparent that other changes and 
modifications could be made to the embodiment illustrated and described 
hereinabove without departing from the scope of the invention. With this 
in mind, the invention is then to be limited only by the following claims.