Curling eye heddle

The curling eye heddle of the present invention utilizes a curling eye which permits the warp thread used in weaving to be threaded onto or unthreaded off of the heddle at the level of the sheet of warps. The curling eye heddle also permits individual warp threads to be lifted or depressed above or below the sheet of warps, respectively. A diamond adjacent to the curling eye prevents the curling eye from catching or snagging neighboring warp threads.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
A conventional heddle used in weaving on a loom typically has a central 
hole of some form located at the midpoint of the heddle. The warp thread 
is passed through the hole and is wound on spools at both ends of the 
loom. One problem with a conventional heddle is that once the thread is 
passed through the hole and weaving has begun, the thread cannot be 
removed in any easy manner to change the design of the weave. Some prior 
heddle designs provide means for "self threading", in other words, 
introducing the warp threads onto the heddle without cutting the warp 
threads. Some of these self threading heddles require the individual warp 
be raised or lowered above or below the level of the sheet of warps in 
order to be threaded or unthreaded onto or off of the heddle. In order to 
raise or lower the warp, the loom tension must be relaxed to provide 
several inches of slack. Besides the time it takes to loosen and readjust 
the loom tension, when the warps are slack they are no longer held side by 
side in an orderly position. This causes confusion in the process of 
rethreading the warp threads in a new arrangement and provides a greater 
chance of the warp threads becoming entangled in each other. 
Also, none of the self-threading heddles that can both lift and depress the 
warps are in any way detachable from the heddle frames once the loom is 
threaded and the weaving begun. 
Other self threading heddles permit the warp to be threaded or unthreaded 
at the level of the sheet of warps, but none of these allow both the 
lifting and depressing of the warp threads. 
The curling eye heddle of the present invention overcomes these problems by 
using a curling eye as the central hole from which the warp thread may be 
threaded or unthreaded at the level of the sheet of warps and which 
permits the individual warps to be lifted or depressed above or below the 
sheet of warps. 
Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a 
heddle with a curling eye for threading and unthreading the warp thread at 
the level of the sheet of warps onto and off of the heddle. 
A further object of the present invention is to provide a heddle that can 
lift or depress individual warps above or below the sheet of warps, 
respectively. 
A further object of the present invention is to provide a heddle which can 
be easily removed from the lower heddle frame. 
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a heddle 
which is economical to manufacture, durable in use, and efficient in 
operation. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention utilizes a curling eye that is designed so as to 
provide a means of threading and unthreading warp thread onto and off of a 
heddle used in weaving done on a loom. This allows the weave design to be 
changed at various times throughout the weaving process. A diamond located 
adjacent to the curling eye prevents the eye from catching or snagging 
neighboring threads when the heddle lifts or depresses individual warps 
above or below the sheet of warps, respectively. The heddle has a loop at 
each end which the hedde frame passes through. Two modifications of the 
present invention provide a loop which may be easily removed from the 
lower heddle frame, thus allowing a change in the pattern of the weave at 
various times throughout the weaving process.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Referring to the drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates the curling 
eye heddle. At each end of the heddle there is an end loop 12 formed by 
twisting the wire and thus forming a helix 14 at the base of each end 
loop. The end loops 12 encompass the upper heddle frame 16 and the lower 
heddle frame 17. 
The wire is twisted into a helix 20 at the top of the diamond-shaped guard 
18 and the wire is wrapped around the base 22 of the guard 18 to form a 
short helix. The wire is then brought upward and turned approximately one 
and one half turns to form the curling eye 24. 
The warp thread 26 passes through the curling eye 24 at a level slightly 
lower than that in which a horizontal plane passes through the obtuse 
angles 28 of the guard 18. The warp thread 26 does not pass through the 
guard but passes around one of the angles 28, as shown in FIG. 4. The 
guard 28, having an angular displacement with respect to the common 
vertical plane of the end loops, serves to spread adjacent warp threads 
26a and 26b when the heddle is lifted or depressed, thus preventing the 
wire end 27 in the curling eye 24 from catching or snagging the adjacent 
threads. 
Referring to FIG. 5, a removable loop 30 is provided so that the heddle 10 
can be removed from the lower heddle frame 17. In this configuration, the 
loop 30 is formed by twisting the wire into a helix 32 at the top of the 
loop. Both sides of the loop are on one side of the lower heddle frame 17. 
The free end 34 of the wire is passed on the opposite side of the heddle 
frame and threaded through the loop 30 to secure the loop to the heddle 
frame. To remove the loop from the lower heddle frame 17, the free end 34 
simply needs to be pulled out of the loop 30. 
Referring to FIG. 6, a removable end 38 is provided by forming two small 
loops 40 from the wire. The two small loops 40 pass on either side of the 
lower heddle frame 17 and a fastener 42 is passed through the small loops 
40 to operatively secure the curling eye heddle 10 to the lower heddle 
frame 17. The heddle can easily be removed from the lower heddle frame by 
simply taking out the fastener 42. 
The thread 26 is threaded onto the curling eye 24 from the right side by 
bringing the thread down from the top side of the curling eye next to the 
guard 18 until the thread is near the base 22 of the guard. The forward 
end of the thread is then placed over the wire end 27 so that the thread 
now passes through the curling eye. The curling eye completely surrounds 
the warp thread, thus permitting the thread to be lifted or depressed. 
When the thread is lifted or depressed, the guard 18 spreads apart 
adjacent threads 26a and 26b and prevents the wire end 27 from snagging or 
catching the neighboring threads. 
The thread can be removed from the heddle curling eye by reversing the 
threading process. The ability to lift and depress the warp threads, along 
with the ability to remove the thread from the heddle curling eye, plus 
the possibility of completely removing the heddle from the lower heddle 
frame, makes it simple and easy to change the weave design and pattern at 
any stage of the weaving process. 
The curling eye heddle is preferably constructed from one continuous piece 
of wire, but more than one piece of wire could be used to construct the 
curling eye heddle. The heddle can be made of metal or suitable plastic. 
Therefore, it can be seen that the present invention accomplishes at least 
all of its stated objectives.