Improvements in Devices for Strengthening and Regulating Thread-tension in Weaving Shuttles.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Sept., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 22nd Jan., 1895-Accepted, 23rd Feb., 1895
· Improvements in Devices for Strengthening and Regulating
Thread-tension in Weaving Shuttles.
A communication from WILHELM PAUL HEINRICH WAGENKNECHT, of
30, Kaulbachstrasse, Dresden-Altstadt, Empire of Germany, Cocoa-nut
Mat Manufacturer.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex,
Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be a3
follows:-
By the present arrangement or device, applied to shuttles, the weft-thread is
automatically kept in a firm and uniform state of tension.
The device consists essentially of a sliding carriage, adapted to move to and fro
in a special compartment of the shuttle, and having a pair of rollers to maintain the
tension on the weft-thread, and a third roller acting as thread-guide.
For the better comprehension of the working of this new device, it is necessary,
in the first place, to consider that of the ordinary shuttle.
The weft-thread, which naturally comes in question here, is wound on a cop.
The conditions of size and shape in the shuttle require that the thread, as drawr
from the cop should issue from the shuttle, not in the middle of its length, but near
the one end. As, the shuttle is thrown across the warp the same distance in both
directions, it follows that less thread is unwound from the cop when the throw
takes place in the one direction than when it occurs in the reverse direction: as
the orifice, which allows the thread to issue from the shuttle, is situated, when the
centre of the shuttle (in its flight) is equidistant from the two outermost warp-
threads, nearer to the one of those threads than to the other. The same length of
thread that is unwound and drawn out at any one shot or pick across the breadth
of the warp, however, is used for the formation of the next following pick; it is
greater in the one case than in the other; and as, during the drawing in (or
taking up) of such thread-length the friction of the thread in the shuttle ceases, it
follows necessarily that the pick-thread be submitted to less tension in the weft
than its neighbour (or predecessor) that was laid with the longer length of weft-
thread. This is the cause of the irregularities in the thread-tension, which have to
be made uniform by hand. Further the thread was inadequately stretched,
because the friction in the shuttle did not suffice to take up and make good the
slackness occasioned by the over-shot thread-length.
In the present invention, this excess, as above described is materially diminished
by the arrangement for a relative motion as between the weaving-shuttle and the
sliding carriage operating within it; and the thread-tension is augmented by a
special jamming device applied to the thread, and further regulated by other means
hereinafter to be described.
The interior of the shuttle is divided by a partition into two compartments, on
one side of which is the cop chamber, holding the cop from which the thread is
unwound; and on the other side is the sledge chamber containing the sledge or
eliding-carriage, and separated from the pointed end of the shuttle by a second
partition forming a chamber within which the sledge is free to move a certain
distance to and fro. The shuttle is enclosed at the top by a cover hinged to the
body of the shuttle and held fast at the other end by a suitable hook.

page_text: In the cheeks or side-walls of the sledge a pair of tension-rollers are journalled
in such manner as to be movable up and down in vertical notches or slots. To the
right of this pair of rollers and mounted on a vertical pin on which it turns is a
guide-roller over which the thread is allowed to run out.
The thread as it is unwound from the cop passes through a lateral aperture
in the partition and thence over a curved bridge or bow between the tension
rollers and finally round the guide-roller issuing from the shuttle through a slot
in its side wall, traversing on the way the cheek of the sledge by an orifice
provided for the purpose. The curved form of the bridge or bow ensures the
proper feed of the thread to the pair of tension-rollers in all positions of the sledge
and rollers.
The tension rollers may occupy different positions longitudinally in relation to
the outgoing thread, under the influence of springs secured respectively to the
shuttle-cover and the partition.
When the sledge is situated at the left end of its compartment, the tension of
the springs is at its minimum; the tension of the springs increases, as the sledge
travels to the right, while at the same time the tension-rollers, running on the
slanting surface formed by these springs press the latter into a flatter position,
thereby increasing the strain upon them, until, when the sledge is situated at the
right end of its chamber, that tension attains its maximum.
.
The springs serve also the further purpose, viz.: of exercising a brake action on
the travel of the sledge by means of the friction due to their pressure upon the
tension rollers.
The mode of operation of the devices hereinbefore described is as follows:-
:
In the reciprocating movement of the shuttle, or at each alternate throw, the
sledge, owing to the pull of the thread, lags bebind the shuttle. As when the pick
or shot takes place from left to right the sledge hangs behind, clinging, as it were,
to the partition and consequently the thread issues from the shuttle, which draws
it out behind itself in its throw, at the left end of the slot provided therefor and
therefore the excess of over-draft.of the thread is diminished by the length of travel
of the sledge. On the other hand, when the shot occurs from right to left the
sledge lags behind, on the right, in exactly the same way, and the overdraft of
thread is similarly shortened on the left. Upon this depends the increase of the
thread-tension, in so far as a slight excess of overdraft of thread has to be worked
off. Therefore, as far as the strengthening of the thread-tension is concerned, two
effects in particular have to be considered, viz. Firstly, the jamming of the thread
between the tension-rollers and secondly the slide of the sledge under the influence
of the controlling springs, by which motion a shorter and more powerful pull is
.exercised each time on the slack thread, until the resistance of the braked rollers is
overcome and fresh thread begins to be unwound. Inasmuch however, as with
travel to the right, as compared with that to the left there is a continual excess of
over-draft (because the thread always quits the shuttle on the right) it follows that
this device must have a regulating effect upon the thread-tension. The most
thread is unwound, when the shot is from left to right: but, as has been seen,
when the sledge is situated to the right, the thread-tension as well as the brake-
action is at its maximum. Moreover, with the object of increasing the difference in
the tension, the thread may be made to have a sharper bend at the right end of
the slot than at the opposite end.
The arrangement above described may be varied in minor details without in any
way departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.
Dated this 28th day of September 1894.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
London, Nottingham, Liverpool, and Manchester,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in Devices for Strengthening and Regulating
Thread-tension in Weaving Shuttles.
A communication from WILHELM PAUL HEINRICH WAGENKNECHT, of
30, Kaulbachstrasse, Dresden-Altstadt; in the Empire of Germany.
ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex,
Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what mauner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
By the present arrangement or device applied to shuttles the weft thread is
automatically kept in a firm and uniform state of tension.
The device consists essentially of a sliding carriage, adapted to move to and fro
in a special compartment of the shuttle, and having a pair of rollers to maintain the
tension on the weft-thread and a third roller acting as thread-guide.
For the better comprehension of the working of this new device it is necessary
in the first place to consider that of the ordinary shuttle.
The weft-thread which naturally comes in question here is wound on a cop. The
conditions of size and shape in the shuttle require that the thread, as drawn
from the cop should issue from the shuttle, not in the middle of its length, but near.
the one end. As the shuttle is thrown across the warp the same distance in
both directions, it follows that less thread is unwound from the cop when the throw
takes place in the one direction than when it occurs in the reverse direction :
as the orifice which allows the thread to issue from the shuttle; is situated, when the
centre of the shuttle (in its flight) is equidistant from the two outermost warp
threads, nearer to the one of those threads than to the other. The same length of
thread that is unwound and drawn out at any one shot or pick across the breadth
of the warp, however, is used for the formation of the next following pick; it is
greater in one case than in the other, and as during the drawing in (or taking up)
of such thread-length the friction of the thread in the shuttle ceases, it follows
necessarily that the pick-thread be submitted to less tension in the weft than its
neighbour (or predecessor) that was laid with the longer length of weft-thread.
This is the cause of the irregularities in the thread tension, which have to he
made uniform by hand. Further the thread was inadequately, stretched, because
the friction in the shuttle did not suffice to take up and make good the slackness
occasioned by the over-shot thread-length.
In the present invention this excess as above described is materially diminished
by the arrangement for a relative motion as between the weaving shuttle and the
sliding carriage operating within it; and the thread tension is augmented by a
special jamming device applied to the thread, and further regulated by other means
hereinafter to be described.
In the accompanying drawings
Figures 1 and 3 are vertical longitudinal sections of a shuttle fitted with this
invention;
-
Figures 2 and 4 views of the sanie as seen from above.
The position of the sliding carriage in Figure 1 corresponds to that in Figure 2,
and in Figure 3 to that in Figure 4.
Figures 5 and 6 are cross sections of the sliding carriage or sledge showing in the
former the thread-guide-roller and in the latter the bow or thread carrier delivering
the thread to the tensiou rollers.
J
The interior of the shuttle is divided by a partition 'I into two compartments,
that on the left as shown in the drawings is the cop chamber, holding the cop C
from which the thread c is unwound; while that on the right is the sledge chamber

page_text: containing the sledge or sliding carriage S separated from the pointed end of the
shuttle by a second partition 2 thus forming a chamber within which the sledge is
free to move a certain distance to and fro. The shuttle is enclosed at the top by a
cover 3 hinged at 3ª to the body of the shuttle and held fast at the other end by a
suitable hook '4.
ri
"J"
t
In the cheeks or side wallss of the sledge S a pair of tension rollers 5 and 6
are jouroalled in such manner as to be movable up and down in vertical notches
or slots (see Figs. 1 and 3). To the right of this pair of rollers and mounted
on a vertical pin on which it turns is a guide-roller 7 over which the thread is allowed
to run out.
The thread c as it is unwound from the cop C passes through a lateral aperture
in the partition (see Figs. 2 and 4) and thence over a curved bridge or bow 8
between the tension rollers 5 and 6 and finally round the guide-roller 7 issuing
from the shuttle through a slot 9 in its side wall, traversing on the way the
cheeks of the sledge by an orifice provided for the purpose. The curved form
of the bridge or how (shown in Fig. 6) ensures the proper feed of the thread e to
the pair of tension-rollers 5 and 6 in all positions of the sledge and rollers.
The tension rollers 6'may occupy different positions, longitudinally in relation to
the outgoing thread, under the influence of springs 10 and 11 secured respectively
to the shuttle cover 3 and the partition I as shown in Figures 1 and 3.
When the sledge S is situated at the left end of its compartment as shown in
Fig. 1, the tension of the springs 10 and 11 is at its minimum;, the tension of the
springs increases, as the sledge travels to the right, while at the same time; the
tension rollers, running on the slanting surface formed by those springs,, press
the latter into a flatter position, thereby increasing the strain upon them, until
when the sledge is situated at the right end of its chamber as shown in Fig. 3′ that
tension attains its maximum.
'
The springs 10 aud 11serve also the further purpose, of exercising a brake action
ou the travel of the sledge, by means of the friction due to their pressure upon the
tension,rollers 5 and 6.
.
The mode of operation of the devices hereinbefore described is as follows ;-
In the reciprocating movement of the shuttle, or at eacli alternate throw,. the
sledge owing to the pull of the thread, lags behind the shuttle. As when; the, pick
or shot takes place from left to right (Figs. 1 and 2) the sledge, S.hangs behind
clinging as it were to the partition I and consequently the thread c issues from
the shuttle, at the left end of the slot 9. provided therefor, and therefore, the excess
of: over-draft of the thread' is diminished by the length of travel of the sledge.
On the other hand, when the shot occurs from right to left (Figs. 3 and 4), the
sledge lags behind on the right in exactly the same way and the over-draft of thread
is similarly shortened on the left. Upon this depends the increase of the thread-
tension, in so far as a slight excess of overdraft of thread has to be worked off.
Therefore as far as, the strengthening of the thread-tension is concerned, two
effects in particular have to be considered, viz. First the jamming of the thread
between the tension rollers, and secondly the slide of the sledge under the influence
of the controlling springs, by which motion a shorter and more powerful, pull, is
exercised each time on the slack thread until the resistance of the brake-controlled
rollers is overcome and fresh thread begins to be unwound. Inasmuch however as
with travel to the right, as compared with that to the left, there is a continual
excess of overdraft (because the thread always quits the shuttle on the right); it
follows that this device,must have a regulating effect upon the thread-tension. The
nost thread is unwound when the shot is from left to right, but, as has been, geen
when the sledge is situated to the right, the thread tension as well, as the brake-
action is at its maximum. Moreover with the object of increasing the difference in
the tension the thread may be made to have a sharper bend at the right end of the
slot 9 (as shown in Fig. 4) than at the opposite end as shown in Fig. 2.
The arrangement above described may be varied in minor details without in any
way departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion as communicated to me by my foreign correpondent, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is ;-
1. A device for strengthening and regulating the thread tension in weaving
shuttles consisting of a sliding carriage such as S with a pair of rollers such as 5
and 6 springs such as 10 and 11 and a guide roller such as 7 the whole operating
substantially as and for the purpose described, and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
2. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete weaving
shuttle substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 22nd day of January 1895.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.