Improvements in Stop-motions for Looms, Warping Machines and the like
Year: 1898

page_text: eprinted as amended in accordance with the decision of the Comptroller-General
dated the 30th day of July, 1902.
Date of Application, 28th Oct., 1898-Accepted, 23rd Dec.,
1898
AMENDM
"Improvements in Stop-motions for Looms, Warping Machines and
the like,"
(A communication by FREDERIC ELLSWORTH KIP, of Montclair in the County of Essex,
in the State of New Jersey, United States of America, Manufacturer.)
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors 6, Lord Street, Liverpool and 6, Bank Street, Manchester, both in
the County of Lancaster, 118, New Street, Birmingham in the County of Warwick,
and 322, High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
This invention relates to the class of devices employed on looms for automatically
stopping the loom when a warp-thread breaks; the object being, in part to provide
an improved form of circuit-closer, in the nature of a contact-drop supported by
the warp-thread, and in part to provide a magneto-mechanical device, mounted
on the going part or lay and adapted to release the shipper-lever when an electrio
circuit is closed by the breaking of a warp-thread.
In the drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the invention―
Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view in the form of a sectional,side elevation illustrating
the stop-motion as applied to a known form of loom.
Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate forms of the drop having inside electrical contacts, but
differing somewhat from that form of drop shown in Fig. 1.
Figs. 4 and 5 are detail side views of the magneto-mechanical devices for
stopping the looms when a warp-thread breaks, showing the parts in two
positions.
Fig. 6 is a plan view taken from below the head of the lay, showing the trip-
ping lever of the magneto-mechanical device and its relation to the tripping lever of
the weft stop-motion of this special kind of loom.
Fig. 7 shows the tripping lever 1, detached, in front view and plan; and Fig. 8
shows the drop 4 of Fig. 1 on a large scale.
In the drawings the warp stop-motion is illustrated as applied to a known kind of
loom where the weft-fork of the weft stop-motion is at the middle of the warp, and is
carried by the lay, as distinguished from those forms of looms wherein the said fork is
situated at one side of the warp and is not carried by the lay. The present warp stop-
motion is not, however, limited to a loom of this special character, but it may be
conveniently applied thereto.
W represents the warp-beam of the loom, w the warp, H the heddles, L the lay,
and B the breast-beam. Under the breast-beam is a rock-shaft, R, which is adapted,

page_text: when rocked, to release the shipper-lever, S, and permit the spring of said lever to
shift it and thus shift the belt or operate the clutch so as to stop the loom. The
mechanism, comprising the shaft R and shipper-lever S, is a known construction on
this form of loom, and it is used on such looms in connection with the weft-stop
mechanism shown in the drawings and which will now be briefly described. Mounted
on and pendent from the breast-beam (Figs. 4, 5 and 6), is a bracket, b, to which is
pivoted a curved operating arm, á, furnished with a laterally projecting stud, ax,
which extends out, normally (Fig. 4), over an arm, R., on the rock-shaft R. In its
movements to-and-fro, the lay L, when moving toward the breast-beam in beating up,
approaches the upper, free end of the curved arm a.
Fulcrumed on the underside of the lay, is a tripper-lever, T, the front end of
which has an L-shape, as seen in Fig. 6, and this end of the tripper, plays normally
over a curved guide on the bracket 6, in such a manner as to strike the free, upper
end of the curved arm a, whereby, if this tripper-level is not elevated when the lay
advances to beat up the weft-thread, its advancing end will strike, as above stated,
the end of the lever a, swing it backward and downward, and cause the stud a* thereon
to depress the arm R* and rock the shaft R, thus freeing the shipper-lever S and effect-
ing through it the stoppage of the loom. But the forward end of the tripper-lever,T, is
coupled by a connecting-rod, c, with a crank-arm, c, on a rock-shaft, c¹, mounted in
bearings on the front of the lay, and the weft-fork, F, is fixed to this shaft, so that
when the weft-thread has been properly shot beneath the fork, and is unbroken, the
weft-fork will rest on it as the lay advances and act through the rod c, to keep
the tripper-lever T elevated so that it will pass above and not strike the end of the
curved arm a. If, however, the weft-thread breaks and the weft-fork is not upheld
thereby, the tripper will follow over the guide on the bracket b, strike the arm d,
depress it so as to rock the shaft R, and then pass over said arm to the end of its
stroke. A counterweight, t, on the rear arm of the tripper-lever T, serves. to
partly counterbalance the weight of the parts:
The means for effecting the object last above-described when a warp-thread breaks,
will now be described.
The
Falcrumed on the underside of the lay L, and preferably on the same pivot-pin
with the tripper-lever T, is a tripper-lever, 1, one arm of which projects forward
and has its front end situated just back of the L-branch of the lever T, but just
above the normal level of the latter, so that, habitually, when the lay advances, this
end of the tripper arm will pass above the end of the curved operating arm, a.
other, or rear arm of the tripper-lever 1 carries an armature, 2, which is situated
below and within the sphere of attraction of the pole of an electro-magnet, 3, mounted
on the lay L back of the trippers. When this magnet is excited it attracts the
armature 2 and thus rocks the tripper-lever 1, depressing the front arm of the latter
until it is in line with the end of the arm a, whereby the latter will be impinged
upon by the end of the tripper-lever 1 when the lay advances, and the shaft R be
thus rocked.
In order to excite the magnet 3 whenever a warp-thread breaks the devices now
to be described are employed
On each warp-thread is supported a circuit-closing drop, 4; of an oblong form, and
of thin sheet metal. Fig. 1 shows the preferred form of the drop; it has in it a slot, 45,
narrowed near its upper end by a laterally projecting part beveled or inclined on its
underside to form an inclined or sloping contact, 4b, and the warp-thread passes
through the slot in the drop above this projection. Within the slot 4 and extending
transversely of the warp w, through all of the drops of the series, is a terminal
contact-bar, 5, which will be preferably of metal, and in the upper edge of this bar 5,
is set a metal strip forming the other terminal contact, 6, the contacts 5 and 6 being
carefully insulated from each other, although connected together mechanically for
convenience of construction. When the warp-thread supporting any one of the
drops 4 breaks, the drop falls vertically until the inclined lower edge 45 of the lateral
projection strikes the contact 6, as seen in one of the series of drops in Fig. 1. This
has the effect to slightly. tilt or cant the drop so as to insure the contact of the metal

page_text: drop with the side of the contact-terminal 5, and thus close an electric circuit, which
consists of the conductors 7 and 7, and includes the electro-magnet 3, a switch, and
any suitable generator, 7. The drop + may be normally or habitually in electrical
contact with the contact-terminal 5, as the latter is adapted to serve as a guide for the
drop in its vertical movements, but as the light drop must he left free to fall by
gravity, it is not desirable to have the contact-bar 5 fit the slot so closely as to cause
much friction; hence the employment of the inclined contact 4b in the slot where the
contact with the terminal 6 is made. This construction ensures contact of the bar 5
with one margin of the slot in the drop. The invention is not limited, however, to
inclining the contact 4b; if made horizontal it will do good work. Or it may be
V-shaped, as in Fig. 3.
$
In the construction seen in Fig. 2 the inclined contact surface extends entirely
across the slot through which the bar 6 passes, and the slot or aperture for the warp-
thread is thus cut off; the warp-thread is entered into this aperture at a lateral
slot, 4°. In the construction illustrated in Fig. 3 the contact terminals 5 and 6 are
situated above the warp in a closed slot, and the warp-thread engages an open slot
below. In all cases, however, the contact-terminals 5 and occupy a slot or aperture
of some kind in the drop and the contacts are made wholly interiorly and not
exteriorly. The advantages of this on short looms where the warps are not twisted in,
and especially on looms for weaving certain classes of woollen or worsted fabrics, are
very important. It is important to economize the space lengthwise of the loom and
also to insure the falling of the drop when a thread of the warp breaks. There will
sometimes be several series of the drops and in this class of looms the several series
must be close together and take up little space. Woollen warp is what is called
oozy" or fuzzy, and the threads, lying side by side, incline to adhere together so
that if a break in a thread occurs at some distance from the drops, the broken thread
will be sustained by the adjacent threads and this will prevent the drop from falling.
To overcome this difficulty-which cannot be done by spreading the threads apart
laterally my correspondent provides means for spreading them vertically, forming á
shifting shed, as usual, with the heddles, which shed extends from the reed, 10, to the
drops, and another shed, which may be called a permanent shed, extending from
the whip-roll, 11,to the drops. Thus a shed extends practically from the whip-roll to the
reed, and keeps the threads of the warp apart vertically except perhaps just at the
point where the drops are situated, and this short space is not of sufficient extent,
measured lengthwise of the warp, to offer any obstacle to the falling of the .drops.
This permanent shed, between the whip-roll and the drops, is effected. by inserting a
single spreader, 12 (Fig. 1), alternate warp-threads passing over and under said
spreader. This spreader will be, by preference, relatively broad and flat, and. it may
be made from any suitable material. To limit the extension rearwardly of the shed
produced by the heddles, and to separate this shed from the permanent shed produced
by the spreader 12, the warp is made to pass between two transverse rods, 13 (Fig. 1),
which keep the warp flat at this point. The drops shown are readily placed. and
replaced after a thread breaks, and the several series of drops may be placed close
together.
To prevent the roughness of the moving warp-threads from dragging some of the
drops 4 forward and getting them out of alignment, a stop-bar 8 may be employed,
extending across the warp. This may be a flat strip as shown in the principal
views, or a round rod or wire, as shown in Fig. 2. The stop-bar 8 is merely a
precautionary device and it need not be set, primarily, in contact with the drops.
It is found that on ordinary looms provided with these drops, where the terminals
are within the drops, the closely set series of drops forms a channel or chamber
occupied by the terminals which is practically closed against the accumulation of fluff
or lint, which would affect, of course, the electrical contact of the drop with the
terminals. The accumulation of fluff below the warp in looms is very considerable
at the point where the drops are situated.
It is desirable to break the circuit through the magnet and permit it to free the
tripper as soon as the shaft R is rocked for stopping the loom; and to effect this

page_text: automatically the switch or circuit breaker before referred to is employed. This
consists, as herein, shown, of a spring terminal, 9, on the breast-beam, in the
circuit, and a similar spring terminal, 9, on and insulated from the arm R* of the
rook-shaft R, and also in the circuit when the parts are in their normal positions and
the loom in motion (see Fig. 4), these terminals 9 and 9 are in electrical contact ;
.but when the arm R*, is depressed in stopping the loom, the terminals separate, as in
.Fig. 5, and break the circuit.
Some simple shunt device whereby the drops 4 are cut out of the circuit at the
instant the magnet 3 is excited, may be employed; such a device is shown and
described in my Letters Patent No. 18,488, dated 29th August, 1898. This will
insure the retention of the energy of the magnet 3 until the loom is stopped, even if the
jarring of the loom should break the circuit at the fallen drop.
The terminals 5 and 6 are, as before stated, connected together mechanically for
convenience, and they play in one continuous slot in the drop, for the same reason;
but it will be obvious that they may be separate, as seen in Fig. 2, and occupy two
really distinct slots 4" separated by a tie 44; but this arrangement of the slots is merely
a difference of detail,
In this class of drops it is not very easy to detect which one has fallen so as to replace
it; and to facilitate this the drops may have each a nick or recess, 4°, in its edge. When
the drops are supported these nicks will be aligned, but when one falls, its position
will be at once noted.
While my correspondent has shown his stop-motion applied to the warp in a loon it
will be obvious that the circuit-closing drops are adapted as well for use in warping
machines or "warpers" which have electrical stop-motions, and in other like
apparatuses where threads are strained taut and there is liability of their breakage,
Therefore their use is not confined solely to looms.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is :-
こ
1. A circuit-closing drop for an electrical stop-motion, of thin metal and having a
-slot or slots through which extend both the terminals of the circuit, in combination
with said terminals extending transversely of the warp, whereby the contacts are wholly
within the drop, substantially as set forth.
2. A circuit-closing drop for an electrical stop-motion, of thin metal and having a
slot therein with an inclined or other contact surface at its upper ends, in combination
with two terminals of the electric circuit extending transversely of the warp and
through said slot, one of said terminals making contact with the drop at the
lateral margin of said slot and the other terminal, when the drop falls, making
contact with said inclined or other surface at the upper end of the slot, substantially
as set forth.
3. In an electrical stop-motion, the combination with two contact terminals
extending transversely of the warp and placed one above the other, of a series of
circuit-closing drops, each having a slot or aperture to receive the warp-thread
which supports it, a slot through which said terminals extend, and a contact-
.projection to impinge upon the upper contact terminal when the drop falls, the lower
terminal having lateral contact with the drop, substantially as set forth.
4. In an electrical warp stop-motion, the combination with a normally open electric
circuit, a generator, and a series of drops carried by the respective warp-tbreads and
forming circuit-closers for said circuit, of means for stopping the loom, a tripper-
lever 1 mounted on the going part of the loom and carrying an armature, an electro-
magnet in the said circuit and mounted on said going part, the pole of said magnet
being adjacent to said armature, and mechanism between the loom-stopping
mechanism and said tripper-lever and in the path of the latter when it is rocked by
excitation of the magnet, whereby when the circuit is closed the magnet is excited,
and by rocking the tripper-lever puts the latter in operative position, substantially
as set forth. :...

page_text: 5. In an electrical wap stop-motion for looms, the combination with a normally
open electric circuit including a generator, and a series of circuit-closers for closing
said circuit when a warp-thread breaks, of a mechanism for stopping the loom, an
arm a, adapted to operate said mechanism to stop the loom when said arm is
depressed, a rocking, tripper-lever 1, mounted on the lay of the loom, said tripper-lever
carrying an armature on its rear arm and having the end of its front arm normally
adapted to pass the arm a, and a magnet 3 mounted on the lay adjacent to the
armature on the tripper-lever and in said circuit, whereby said tripper-lever is
rocked when the magnet is excited and its front end put in operative position with
respect to the arm a, substantially as set forth.
6. In-an-electrical--warp-stop-motion-for-looms, the--combination--with-circuit-
elosing-drops--supported-by-the-warp--threads,-an-electrie--eirenit--adapted-to--be
elosed by the-falling-of-a-drop-and-including a generator, electro-mechanical-means
controlled-by-said-eireuit--for-stopping--the-loom-when--a-drop-falls-and--eloses-the
erreuit,-and-means-for-forming--sheds-in--the-warp-which shall be--practically-eon-
tinuous-from--the-whip
forth:
roll--to-the-reed,--substantially-as-and-for-the--purposes-set
67. In an electrical warp stop-motion, the combination with a series of circuit-
closing drops adapted to be supported by the unbroken threads of the warp, of an
electrical operating circuit having two terminals adapted to be put in contact with
any one of said drops when it falls, said terminals being mounted one in the other
and the two insulated from each other, substantially as set forth.
8.
In-an-electrical-warp-stop-motion-for-looms,-the-combination-with-the-eirenit-
elosing-drops--supported-by-the--warp--threads, an electric--eireuit-adapted-to-be
elosed-by-the-falling-of a drop-and including a generator,-electro-mechanical-means
controlled-by-said-eireuit-for-stopping the-loom-when-a-drop-falls-and-eloses-the
eirenit, means-for-forming-a shifting shed in-the-warp, and--means-in-front-of the
series--of-drops--which--limits--the-rearward--extension--of the--said-shifting-shed,
substantially-as-set-forth.
70. In an electrical warp stop-motion for looms, the combination with a normally
open electric circuit including a generator, means for closing this circuit through an
operating electro-maguet carried by the lay, a rocking tripper lever carrying an
armature and mounted on the lay, mechanism for stopping the loom, and mechanism
between said tripper-lever whereby said loom-stopping mechanism is set free
whenever said magnet is excited and attracts said armature, substantiaally as
set forth.
10.-The-eirenit-closing-drops-of-an-electrical-warp-stop-motion-ench-having-in-its
edge-a-nick-or--recess--10--so--that--a--fallen-drop--may--be-readily--distinguished;
substantially-as-set-forth.