Improvements in or connected with Looms for Weaving.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Sept., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 5th May, 1896-Accepted, 13th June, 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Looms for Weaving.
1, FRIEDRICH PICK, Manufacturer, of 4, Jasomirgottstrasse, Vienna, Austria,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
In power looms, as hitherto made, the warp threads are wound off a cylindrical
warp beam, extending the whole width of the loom, and serving for the whole
series of warp threads.
In my improved loom, on the contrary, each warp thread has a separate bobbiu
supported by a bracket, which may be fixed or pivoted. In the latter case
the turning moments produced by the pull of the thread (in being drawn off the
bobbin), on the one hand, and by the weight of the bobbin and its bracket, on the
other hand, may balance each other, or may be brought into equilibrium by a third
turning moment produced by an adjustable balance weight or spring. The former
construction is adopted, if it is merely desired to avoid the preparation of the yarn,
so that it can be woven direct from the bobbin, and the latter construction is used,
if the improved loom includes an automatic thread guard or guide, each bobbin
being mounted on a bracket kept in equilibrium by the pull of the thread, and the
latter remaining in equilibrium as long as the equilibrating turning moment
mentioned above remains in action, but if the thread breaks, the equilibrium is
disturbed and the bracket tilts, whereupon the loom is stopped, as will be described
hereafter.
The brackets supporting the bobbins are preferably arranged in rows along
rails, of which there are several series placed one above the other.
The axle of each bobbin is preferably provided with conically pointed ends
which run in a pair of socket plates fixed to the ends of two springs, which latter
form a fork attached to the bracket supporting the bobbin, the latter being thus
held between the sides of an elastic fork which can be regulated by means of a
thumb screw adapted to draw the two sides of the fork together more or less, in
order to vary the tension of the thread. Each bobbin is preferably provided with
a thread guide through which the thread passes on its way from the bobbin to the
loom shaft, said guide having the shape of a two-armed lever made of wire and
mounted on the spindle of the bobbin (but capable of turning on the same), the
long arm of said lever being bent forward towards the centre of the bobbin and
provided with a glass-eyelet for the thread, while the short arm extends around
one arm of the fork and is held by the same, so as to prevent the thread-guide
from turning with the spindle.
In the case of pivoted brackets provided with balance weights or springs, I may
arrange at a suitable distance from the said bracket a metallic contact piece against
which said bracket will strike, when the equilibrium of the turning moments is
disturbed by the breaking of the thread, said contact being connected with one
pole of a galvanic battery the other pole of which is connected with the pivoted
bracket carrying the bobbin. The electric circuit of the said battery contains an
electro-magnet which acts on the mechanism of the loom, so as to stop the latter,
when the circuit is closed.
Any suitable number of the pivoted brackets or levers carrying the bobbins may
be mounted on the same axle, and each axle may have an arm adapted to strike a
contact piece for closing an electric circuit. Any suitable number of axles and
corresponding contact pieces may be mounted side by side and at different heights.

page_text: The different axles carrying the bobbin levers as mentioned above, may be joined
in parallel with the same pole of an electric current generator, while the corre-
sponding contact pieces are joined in parallel with the other pole of the said electric
generator. The circuit of the said generator may include an electro magnet, which
on the circuit being closed, stops the loom.
Dated this 23rd day of September 1895.
I, FRIEDRICH PICK, Manufacturer, of 4, Jasomirgottstrasse, Vienna, Austria,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
This invention relates to devices for automatically stopping looms, when one of
the warp threads breaks.
In order to attain this object, each warp thread is wound on a separate bobbin
which is mounted on a lever kept in equilibrium by the tension of the thread and
connected with one pole of a galvanic battery (or equivalent source of electricity),
said lever being so arranged that the breaking of the thread causes it to drop and
thereby touch a contact piece connected with the other pole of the said galvanic
battery, in consequence of which an electro-magnet included in the circuit of the
said battery will attract its armature and thereby stop the loom in a manner
analogous to that hitherto adopted for stopping looms by the breaking of a weft
thread.
In the accompanying drawings
Fig. 1 represents a side view of a loom embodying my invention;
Figs. 2 to 10 show modifications and details of bobbin carriers ;
Figs. 11 to 16 represent devices for simultaneously balancing an entire row of
bobbins, Fig. 11 being a side elevation of the framework or stands M supporting
the bobbin holders, Fig. 12 a separate view of a part of one of the cross beams M
(shown in Fig. 11), together with one of the bobbins mounted on the same, Fig. 13
a plan of Fig. 12, Fig. 14 a section along line - of Fig. 13, and Figs. 15 and 16
showing two modifications of the device shown by Figs. 12, 13 and 14.
As shown by Fig. 1, the warp-threads are not wound on a common warp beam,
as usual, but each thread is wound on a separate bobbin A, for which purpose
several rows of parallel cross bars a are mounted horizontally between the stands M,
which cross bars carry the levers supporting the bobbins.
Underneath each cross bar a there is mounted another cross bar h, so that the
two stands M carry as many parallel cross bars h, as there are cross bars a.
The principal types of bobbin holders or levers pivoted on the cross bars a are
represented by Figs. 3 and 4, and consist essentially of a lever c, one arm of which
carries, the bobbin A by means of a spring-fork adapted to serve as journal
bearings, while the other arm carries a weight adapted to balance the tension of
the thread together with the weight of the bobbin A. Instead of the said balance
weight, a spring d (Fig. 4) adjustable by means of a screw d¹ may be employed.
As long as the warp-thread is kept in tension by the working of the loom, the
bobbin holder or lever remains in the position represented in Figs. 3 and 4 by full
lines; but if the thread breaks, the equilibrium of the lever c is disturbed, and the
lever c, following the influence of the weight C or of the spring d, assumes the
position represented in Figs. 3 and 4 by dotted lines, where one arm of the lever c
touches the cross bar h.

page_text: If now all cross-bars a be connected with one pole, and all cross bars with he
her pole of a battery S or other source of clectricity, as indicated by Figs. 3
d 4, and if an electro-magnet E be inserted in the circuit of the said battery, the
id electro-maguet will attract its armature e, as soon as the warp-thread breaks,
d may be thereby caused to stop the loom in the well known manner.
Fig. 2 shows on a larger scale the elastic fork b mounted on the balance lever c
ad holding the bearings 6' for the pivots A¹ of the bobbin A. The said fork is
omposed of two leaf springs b bent at right angles and provided with a regulating
rew B adapted to press the two branches of the fork together. These latter press
n the conical pivots of the bobbin, so as to act as a brake more or less according
o the pressure exerted by the regulating screw B.
Figs. 5 to 10 show some modifications of the balance lever c carrying the bobbin.
In Fig. 5 the lever c has only one arm, which carries the elastic fork 6 for the
obbin A, as well as the balance weight C, which in this case must be so arranged,
hat its turning moment added to the turning moment due to the weight of the
ever e and appendages, will balance the turning moment of the thread tension.
In order that the direction of the thread running off the spool, and consequently
the turning moment of the thread tension, may remain constant, this modification
(and those described hereafter) includes a thread-guide consisting of a glass
eyelet m supported by the arm m'. The latter is mounted on the axle A¹ of the
bobbins by means of a loose collar m³ (Fig. 5A) and is retained in its position by a
fork m³, which encloses the spring b.
.
In the modification represented by Fig.
the balance weight C of the balance
lever c shown in Fig. 5 is replaced by a spring d, the tension of which can be
regulated by an adjusting screw.
In the modifications represented by Figs. 7 and 8, the bobbins are arranged
horizontally instead of vertically, and the thread runs through a glass eye m
secured to the bobbin axle A', in order to maintain constant the direction of the
thread running off the bobbin, and consequently the turning moment of the
thread-tension.
י
This type of balance lever is shown in Fig. 7 with a balance weight, and in
In both cases the thread tension maintains the balance
Fig. 8 without the same.
If the thread breaks and therefore its, tension
lever c in a horizontal position.
ceases, the balance lever ċ shown in Fig. 7 will rise, and that in Fig. 8 will drop.
In the modification represented by Figs. 9 and 10 the bobbins A are horizontal
The thread running off the bobbin is kept in the
and parallel to the cross-bar a.
same vertical plane by guiding it through a glass eye m mounted on the bobbin
axle A¹.
This type of balance lever may be used with or without a balance weight, as in
0 the previous case, and the thread tension retains the lever c in a horizontal position;
but when the thread breaks, the lever c (shown in Fig. 9) will rise, and that shown
by Fig. 10 will drop.
It follows from the preceding description, that in any of the types represented
by Figs. 3 to 10, the breaking of the thread will cause the arm c to turn out of its
15 point of equilibrium and thereby to stop the loom.
In the loom represented by Fig. 1 each of the horizontal bars a carries 40 (or
other suitable number of) bobbins arranged in a horizontal row, and the bars
carrying the bobbins are arranged in four superposed rows or tiers, each of which
contains eight bars forming a slightly inclined plane. The threads wound off the
50 different bobbins pass first over a glass tube k and subsequently, as in ordinary
looms, over the bars k to the reed and harness. These parts may be constructed
as in ordinary looms, and need no further description.
The automatic stop-motion or mechanism described above may be modified i
such a manner, that a single manipulation will be sufficient to simultaneousl
55 regulate the tension of the balance springs belonging to the forks b mounted on th
same bar a, instead of a separate manipulation being required for each fork.
,

page_text: :
This simultaneous regulation may be produced by means of the improvements
illustrated by Figs. 11 to 16, where the round bars a are not rigidly fixed to the
end rails laid across the side frames or stands M, shown in Fig. 1, but are adapted
to turn in the same, as illustrated by Fig. 11. Each round bar a carries at one.
of its extremities projecting over the end rail M a ratchet wheel a', and the
rail M³ carries for each ratchet wheel a pawl a³, so that each of the cross bars
or shafts a mounted on the end rails M' may be turned in the direction of the
arrow (1) shown in Fig. 12, by means of a crank mounted on the prismatic
extension of the shaft, and is then retained in the desired position by the corre-
sponding ratchet pawl.
For each of the bobbin carriers 6 there is mounted on its cross bar a a helically
coiled spring d having one end fixed in a corresponding groove a³ of the shaft a,
while the other end is attached to the hub C of the bobbin carrier. Consequently,
the springs
may be set in tension simultaneously by turning the shaft a in the
direction of the arrow 1, so that each spring overcomes the turning moment
of the corresponding bobbin carrier and bobbin A, and turns its carrier 6 into
the position indicated in Fig. 14 by dotted lines, when the radial arm c extending
from the hub C of the bobbin carrier, strikes against the contact rail mounted
underneath the shaft a.
When, however, the bobbin thread is drawn so as to produce a sufficient turning
moment in a direction opposite to the turning moment of the spring d, the
bobbin A, together with its carrier b, is replaced in the position shown in Fig. 14
by full lines.
As soon as the thread breaks, the bobbin A and its carrier will again assume the
position shown in Fig. 14 by dotted lines, and the metallic contact which then takes
place between the arm c and the rail will close the electric circuit, thereby
stopping the loom as described above.
In the modification represented by Fig. 15 the spring d is a flat spiral spring
situated in a circular groove C' of the hub C of the bobbin carrier b.
In the modification represented by Fig. 16 the bobbin holder b is kept in equilibrium
by a spring d fixed at one end to a radial arm of the hub C and at the other to a cross
bar d. The round bars a are fixed at their ends, and the ends of the bars d are
held in the rails M¹ in the same manner as has been described above with reference
to the round bars a and illustrated by Figs. 12 and 13.
As mentioned above, in adjusting the apparatus the tension of the thread leaving
the bobbin should be so regulated that the said tension together with the weight
of the bobbin holder 6 and bobbin A will keep the turning moment of the spring
in equilibrium. It is evident, that the thread tension depends on the resistance
which is opposed to the unwinding of the bobbin thread or to the turning of the
bobbin A, which resistance again depends on the friction of the bobbin journals in
their bearings. This frictional resistance, and consequently the resistance produced
by drawing off the thread, may be varied by placing the bearings of the bobbin
journals nearer together or further apart.
Instead of mounting the bobbin spindle between the elastic prongs of a fork
composed of leaf springs b, b, as described above, it may be supported in an
L-shaped rigid frame b, as represented by Figs. 12, 14 and 15, the lower part of
which frame contains a regulating spring t. This spring has approximately the
shape of the letter C placed horizontally, and is fixed with one end to the frame b,
while the opposite end is exposed to the pressure of a regulating screw t¹ acting on
the bent part of the spring so as to vary the depth of the same. The back of the
spring t has a recess t² to form a bearing for the conical lower extremity or centre
of the bobbin axle, while the upper extremity or journal of the said axle is held in
the rectangularly bent part of the bobbin holder b. By tightening or relaxing the
regulating screw t', the brake action of the spring on the bobbin axle may be
varied, and consequently also the tension of the thread produced during the working
of the loom.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature or my samu
on and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
laim is:
1. A loom having for each separate warp thread a bobbin A mounted on a
balanced lever c which on the breaking of a warp thread turns on its axis and
hereby closes an electric circuit adapted to stop the loom, substantially as
described.
2. A balance lever or bobbin holder c having a pair of springs b forming a fork
adapted to hold the bobbin axle and provided with a regulating screw B adapted
to produce a brake action on the bobbin by pressing the springs b together,.
substantially as described.
3. In a balance lever or bobbin holder of the type specified under (1) and (2),
a separate thread guide m, m', m³, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as
described.
4. In a loom provided with an automatic stop-motion or mechanism of the type
pivoted in a cross rail M¹ and
specified under (1), the combination of a shaft
carrying bobbin holders b, with ratchet mechanism a', a², adapted to prevent the
turning of the shaft in one direction, and balance springs d, one for each bobbin
holder, each spring being fixed to the shaft a and to the hub Ć of a bobbin holder,.
for simultaneously regulating the tension of all the springs & mounted on the same-
shaft a, substantially as described.
5. In a loom provided with an automatic stop-motion or mechanism as specified
under (1), the combination of a shaft a fixed in side rails and carrying the bobbin
holders b, with a shaft d' pivoted in the said side rails and connected with the said
bobbin holders by springs d, each shaft d' being furthermore provided with ratchet
gear, substantially as described with reference to Fig. 16.
6. An L-shaped bobbin holder b mounted on a horizontal shaft a and containing
in its lower part a bulged spring t on the back of which rests the axle of the
bobbin, together with a regulating screw t¹ adapted to vary the pressure of the
said spring on the axle of the bobbin, substantially as described.
of Mev 1896.
FAIRFAX & WETTER,
433, Strand, London, Agents..