Patent GB-120523-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to Automatic Weft-replenishing Looms.
Inventor: WADE HAROLD
IPC: D03D45/20
Filed: 1918-05-17
Abstract: 120.523. Wade. H., (Hopedale Manufacturing Co.). May 17, 1918. Weft, cutting; weft-replenishing mechanism.-Weft-cutting mechanism for weftreplenishing looms, especially those controlled by a weft-feeler, comprises upright members, such as the reed dents, fixed on the lay and adapted to co-operate with cutting-blades loosely supported at their rear ends on a stationary part of the loom and at their front ends on means actuated to mova the blades into and out of position to sever the outgoing and the incoming wefts ; the blades are positioned to cut the weft when the shuttle feeler is actuated as described below. As shown, a number of blades 39 with knife-edges 67 pass between the reed dents 40, or the uprights of a grid, and their slotted rear and front ends are supported respectively on a rod 42 rigidly and adjustably secured to a fixed bracket 43 and on a support 46 rigidly and adjustably secured to an arm 49 on a rock-shaft 50 on the breast beam, The slots in the blades cause the friction of the reed dents to impose pulling rather than pushing stresses on the blades, and the adjustability of the supports allows the blades to be positioned to suit the width of the fabric being woven. A guard 44 on the inner ends of the rod 42 is interposed between the blades and the warps. The rear end 55 of an arm 54 fixed to the shaft 50 is normally pressed down by a spring 64 on to a raised portion 58 of a slidable cam 56, so that the blades 39 are held in the raised position shown. The shuttle feeler 20 is pivoted at 21 and connected by a link 22 to an arm 17 pivoted on a stud 18 and drawn by a spring against the end 15 of an arm 12 on the tubular shaft 11, which is rocked to initiate weft-replenishment. When the arm 12 is moved forwards, the shuttle feeler is swung rearwards to feel for the shuttle, and a pin 60 on a bracket 61 on the feeler engages the rear end of a slot 59 in the cam 56, which is thereby moved rearwards so that the end 55 of the arm 54 drops on to a lower portion 63 of the cam, and the blades 39 are lowered into position to engage and cut the outgoing weft as the reed beats up on the weft-replenishing beat. When the shuttle feeler is moved forwards after weft-replenishment, the pin 60 engages the front end of the slot 59 and pushes the cam 56 forwards until the rear end 68 of the portion 63 is brought under the end 55 of the arm 54. The blades 39 still remain in their operative position to cut the incoming weft at the next beat-up, but the rear end of the cam 56 is lowered into position to be struck by a bunter on the lay at the beat-up when the cam is restored to its normal position. The blades 39 are momentarily raised to permit the shuttle 23 to be picked from the weft-replenishing side by the action on a cam-piece 72, secured to the arm 54, of a pin 74 on the shuttle feeler, which follows the lay as it moves rearwards after weft-replenishment. The pin 74 also acts on the cam-piece 72 to raise the blades 39 and prevent the outgoing weft from being cut if the shuttle feeler is pressed forwards by an improperly, positioned shuttle. The invention is shown as applied to a loom having a weft fork 27 at the replenishing side, the fork slide 29 acting through an arm 35 on a stopping rock-shaft 37; but the fork may be at the other side or both sides of the loom. The cutting-mechanism may be used to sever the incoming weft in a weft-replenishing loom controlled by. a weft fork.