Patent GB-255965-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in automatic weft replenishing looms
IPC: D03D45/34
Filed: 1925-05-05
Abstract: 255,965. Hollingworth, E., (Crompton & Knowles Loom Works). May 5, 1925. Shuttles, changing bobbins and the like in, automatically.-A pick-and-pick loom having a set of shifting shuttle-boxes at each end of the lay and a multi-colour magazine, comprises means to select a weft-carrier corresponding in colour to the running shuttle, and means to transfer it to the said shuttle when required, the selecting means operating independently of the positions of the shuttle boxes and being controlled directly from the pattern-mechanism. The loom is of the type. having drop boxes and detectormechanism at one side, and horizontally moving boxes and a multi-colour weft-carrier magazine on the opposite side. The boxes on either side are actuated by chains from the usual box-levers 210, 211 and 300, 304, Fig. 14, controlled by the pattern chain. Specification 207,141 is referred to. Detector mechanism. Blocks 34, Fig. 22, on a detector stand 30, Fig. 2, pass through a slotted tube 31 and are connected to an upwardly spring- pressed block 36. A cord 38, Fig. 2, connected co the block 36, passes round pulleys 50, 48 on the free and pivoted ends of a lever 49 to a bellcrank 47, Fig. 1, the other arm of which is flexibly connected to a lever 44. The lever 44 is link-connected to a lever 40 pivoted at 41 on a second lever 40<a> mounted on a fixed pivot 41<a>. The levers 40, 40a engage the usual vibrator levers, so that the stand 30 is moved up and down the tube 31 opposite the drop boxes 53 as soon as the pattern chain is advanced and before the drop boxes have shifted. The lever 49 is linked to the drop-box-supporting rod 52, so that the stand 30 is aligned with a given shuttle box during the movements of the drop boxes. A suitable weft detecting mechanism comprises a slide 56, Fig. 8, in the stand 30, carrying a detecting lever 57 having a tail 58. Normally the lever 57 is parallel to the axis of the slide 56 and is pushed directly forward by the shuttle B. When the weft is exhausted, the lever 57 is turned as shown in Fig. 8, and its tail displaces a lever 59 about a pin 62 on the slide, so that its end 63 engages a rod 64 on a pivoted frame 65. As the lay 54 advances further, a lug 64a thereon engages a shoulder on the lever 59 and through it oscillates the frame 65, Fig. 2. An arm 67 on the frame 65 thereupon rotates an arm 68 on a spindle 69 against a spring 73; a second arm 68<a>, Fig. 2, on the said spindle rotates a supporting lever 71 through a link 70 so that a latch 72 on the lay falls into contact with the head 74 on a spring-pressed rod 75 on the frame. On backward movement of the lay, an arm 76 on the rod 75 rotates a bell-crank 79, 81 flexibly connected to a lever 83, Fig. 1, which in turn rotates arms 85 and a lever 91. Movement of the arms 85 slides a collar 86 along the picking shaft 87 and through links 88 withdraws the pick-arms 89 from operative position. Movement of the lever 91 acts, through a link 92 and a lever 93, to open a clutch 94 so that the drive for the dobby-drive shaft 98 and the take-up is suspended. Weft replenishing mechanism. The bottom weft carrier B, Fig. 12, in each compartment of the magazine M is held by oppositely movable supports 102 controlled by downwardly spring- pressed slides 103. Projections 105 on the said slides are adapted for engagement by lifting fingers 106 on a frame 106<a> which is pivoted on a slidable spindle 107. A lug 110 on the frame is engaged by a lever 111, Fig. 12, which is. pivoted on the spindle 10<7>, and is actuated by a. link 223 actuated bv the weft-feeler device against a spring to raise the fingers 106 after indication of transfer. Raising of the slide 103 rocks arms 113, 115 on a shaft 114 to reverse a toggle 120 and so raise a transferrer latch 117, through a link 116. A shuttle feeler 122, Fig. 11, is yieldingly linked to an arm 125 on the shaft 114 so that the feeler is lowered when the latch 117 is raised, and is raised by a projection 126 on the horizontally-moving shuttle boxes 130, to reverse the toggle 120 downwards and lower the latch 117. The frame 131, Fig. 9, for the boxes 130 is pivoted coaxially with the lay 132 and is shifted relative thereto by a rack 133 engaging a pinion 134 pivoted on the lay sword and actuated through an arm 138 and a connection 139 from a arm 141 on a shaft 142. When raised, the latch 117 is actuated by a lug 118 on the lay to operate the transferrer arm 146. If the shuttle is not properly boxed. it raises the feeler 122 to lower the latch 117 before it is actuated by the lug 118. Shuttle arrangement, indicating. Vertically movable slides 151, 152, Figs. 1 and 14, on a frame 150 correspond to the movable sets of shuttle boxes and are both slotted to receive horizontally-slidable blocks 155 equal in number to the shuttles and having projections 157 of varying height. The slides 151, 152 can be raised against springs by rods 158 159 connected to the levers 44, 161, which are actuated through the levers 40, 40a by the vibrator levers in accordance with the shuttle box positions at either end of the lay. The blocks 155 are yieldingly retained in the slots by spring-pressed plungers and are shifted from side to side in accordance with the shuttle movements by plungers 172 actuated through levers 174 and engaging hooks 177, 178 from a lever 180, which is actuated once for each pick by a cam-operated lever 184. To decide on the active plunger for each pick, spring-pressed feeler-levers 186 are allowed to enter the active slots by arms 191 on a cam-operated shaft 188 before the plungermechanism operates; the tails 192 of the feeler levers are flexibly connected to the hooks 177, so that if a slot is occupied, the corresponding hook is held out of engagement with its hook 178 and the opposite plunger is inoperative. The outward position of the lever 174 is defined by stop screws 174<a> thereon, so that the hook 177 can be freely raised when the block-picking operation is completed. Colour indication. An indicating arm 200, Fig. 14, is spring-pressed towards the active slot on the drop-box slide 152 and is held away from the slide when the blocks are picked by a camoperated arm 216. A cord 202 connects the arm 200 to the bell-crank 108, Fig. 11, which controls the position of the shaft 107 so that the fingers 106 select a weft of the required colour of the active shuttle in accordance with the height of the projection 157 on the active block. When there is no block under the arm 200, there will also be no shuttle on the weft. feeler side of the loom, so that no false action of the weft replenishing mechanism can result. When weft exhaustion is indicated, a pin 220, Fig. 6, on an arm of the shaft 69 engages a lever 221, normally oscillating about a floating pivot 222, so that the link 223, Fig. 12, is pulled downwards to release the required weft-carrier, in readiness for the operation of the transferrerarm 146, Fig. 11. The movements of the blocks 155 and the detector stand 30 being indicated direct from the pattern chain, are half-a-pick ahead of the corresponding shuttle-box movements, giving ample time for the weft-selection.