Patent GB-190301798-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to Automatic Shuttle Changing Mechanism of Looms for Weaving.
Inventor: GREY JAMES MITCHELL
Filed: 1903-01-26
Granted: 1904-01-21
Abstract: 1798. Grey, J. M. Jan. 26. Loom shuttle-changing mechanism; shuttle boxes; stop-motions.-On breakage or failure of the weft, the loom is stopped, the spent shuttle is ejected, a fresh shuttle is inserted through the front of the shuttle box, and the loom is automatically restarted. On the crank shaft are mounted three pulleys. The outside pulley is the fast driving- pulley, the middle pulley is loose on the shaft, and the inside pulley is fast on a sleeve mounted loosely on the crank shaft. A pinion 7, Fig. 3, fast on the sleeve gears on a large spur-wheel 8 on a short shaft 9. When the spring handle 13 is in its usual notch, the belt is on the fast driving-pulley. When the weft breaks or fails, the weft-fork lever 17 is acted upon in the usual manner, and the spring handle 13 flies into a notch 16 in the weft-fork lever, so that the belt is shifted to the inside pulley, the loom is stopped, and the spur-wheel 8 is driven. A hollow cam 11 on the outside of the wheel 8 raises an arm 20 and rocks a cross-shaft 21. A bowl 23, Fig. 4, on an arm 22 fixed to the other end of the shaft 21, rides upon a lever 24, which is thereby depressed, so that the front 27 of the shuttle box is raised, against the action of a spring 29. A projection 111 on the cam 11 then raises an arm 30 and rocks a cross-shaft 31. An arm 32, fixed to the other end of the shaft 31, strikes a projection 33 on a pivoted bent fork lever 34, which ejects the spent shuttle, and is then withdrawn by a spring 38. A crank 40 on the shaft 9 then acts, through an adjustable lever 41 and a yielding lever 43, to rock a cross-shaft 46, so that a lever 47 fixed to its other end is swung backwards. Fixed to the top of the lever 47 is a shuttle carrier or pusher 50 having two fingers 51, by which a fresh shuttle is carried from the bottom of the magazine 52, and pushed into the shuttle box 26, through the opening formed by the raised front plate 27. The fingers 51 enter grooves in the bottom of the shuttle box on which the shuttle is deposited. Sliding rods 55 are pushed forward by springs 56 to follow np the carrier 50, and support the shuttles in the magazine ; but when the carrier is withdrawn by the continued revolution of the crank 40, it engages two projecting fingers 58 on the sliding rods 55, which are thereby withdrawn from the open bottom of the magazine 52, thus allowing the next filled shuttle to fall on the fingers 51. The continued revolution of the cam 11 allows the arm 20 to fall, tne shaft 21 to rock back, and the shuttle-box front 27 to close. A bowl on the inside of the spur-wheel 8 now strikes against an inclined projection 60 on a vertical lever 61, which acts through suitable mechanism to replace the spring handle 13 in its notch, and thereby start the loom. A spring lever 74 prevents the cam 11 from over-running when the belt is taken off the inside pulley. The whole loom can be stopped by releasing the spring handle 13 from its notch, and placing it against the face of a projection 85 on the weft-fork lever 17, so that the belt is shifted to the middle pulley. When the loom is stopped, a raised portion on the end of a spring finger 86, fixed to the spring handle, comes under and raises the weft fork 18, so that it cannot, at the moment of re-starting, engage the weft hammer 19 and bring the shuttle-changing mechanism into action. In order to stop the loom when the shuttle magazine becomes empty, or when a shuttle is trapped in the shed, without actuating the shuttle-changing mechanism, particularly when applied to loose-reed looms, arrangements, described in Specification No. 4486, A.D. 1903, are used in conjunction with the abovedescribed mechanism. When a shuttle 36, Fig. 7, enters either box 26, it presses out a swell 83, which acts upon an elbow-lever 79, so as to raise the end of its horizontal arm. But if, for any reason, the shuttle fails to enter either box, the horizontal arm of the lever 79 is not raised, and, as the lay beats up, it meets the lower end of a bent lever 77, Fig. 3, the upper end of which is moved into the path of the spring handle 13. When the spring handle is released, owing to the failure of weft, it is checked by the lever 77, and the driving-belt is only moved from the fast outside pulley to the middle pulley. A spring prevents the lever 77 from moving too freely. The lever 77 may be moved by hand into the path of the spring handle, so that the loom may be worked as an ordinary loom.