Improvements in or Connected with Loom Drop Box Mechanism.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Mar., 1889
Specification Accepted, 13th Apr., 1889
Improvements in or Connected with Loom Drop Box Mechanism.
1 FRANK HEBDEN of 2850 Hope Street in the City of Philadelphia State of
Pennsylvania United States of America Weaver 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 :-
My Invention relates to looms for weaving fabrics having regularly alternating
portions of different character such for instance as the fabrics used for toweling in
which the central portion or body of the towel is plain and has an ornamental border
at each end.
The object of my invention is to provide such a loom with an attachment which
automatically effects the necessary change in the operation of the loom when the
weaving of the body portion has been completed and the border is about to be
woven, or when the border is completed and the weaving of the body is to be
resumed.
In the accompanying drawing-
Figure 1 is a side view of part of a loom with my improved attachment.
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the attachment comprising the subject of my
invention.
Figuros 3, 4, ♬ and 6 are diagrams illustrating the operation of parts of the nitsch-
ment; and
Figure 7 is a view shewing a modification of part of the attachment.
So far as the general character of the loon is concerned, it may be similar to many
of those in common use, the loom shown in the drawing being selected simply for the
purpose of illustration, and it should be understood that my invention is not limito.i
especially to this class of looms.
In order that my invention may be better understood, however I will give a short
description of the construction and operation of the loom before describing those
parts to which my invention particularly relates.
The side frames 1 of the loom have the usual bearings for the crank shaft 2 and cam
shaft 3, these two shafts being usually geared together by spur wheels, which,

page_text: however, are not shown. The lathe 4 of the loom carries the usual drop boxes 5, and
to the box rod 6 is connected one arm of an anchor lever 7. hung to a bearing 8, the
other arm of the lever having the counterbalance weight 9. The lever is operated
by the usual anchor hung to the lower end of the guided anchor bar 11, which has an
anti-friction roller 12, acted on by a cam 13 on the cam shaft 3.
There is on the shaft 3 another cam 16, which acts upon an arm 17, pivotted to the
har 18, which operates the drop box chain 19, the latter acting through the medium
of the lever 20 and rod 21, upon an arm of the anchor, so that the latter is caused to
swing upon the anchor bar to determine its proper engagement with the lugs on the
inner side of the anchor lever, in the usual manner.
In working these looms, the arm 17 is held out of engagement with the cam 16
during the weaving of the plain portion of the fabric, the arm being dropped into
engagement with the cam when it is desired to throw the drop boxes into action for
weaving the border.
Usually, the raising and lowering of the arm 17 so as to throw the drop box
mechanism into and out of action is effected by hand, and close attention on the part
of the operator is required in order that the drop box mechanism may be thrown into
action when the proper length of body fabric has been woven, but with the most
careful attention on the part of the weaver, there is always more or less variation in
the length of the body portions.
In carrying out my invention, therefore, I provide mechanism for throwing the drop
box motion into action automatically when the proper length of body fabric has been
woven, and out of action when the weaving of the border is completed, so that
accuracy in the operation of the loom is attained and the production of uniform work
insured, while the weaver is enabled to attend to a greater number of looms than usual.
The attachment as shewn clearly in Fig. 2 consists of a standard 25 having hearings
for a shaft 26, which has at one end a ratchet wheel 27 and at the opposite end a
worm 28, the latter gearing into a worm wheel 29 on a transverse shaft 30, which has
at one end a toe 31 adapted to act upon a catch arm 32, which engages with a lug 33
on the standard and is hung to an arm 34 on a shaft 35, the outer end of said arm
being connected by a cord 36 to the arm 17 of the box chain operating har 18.
With the ratchet wheel 27 engages a pawl 40, Fig. 1, the pivot pin of which is
adjustable in a slotted arm 41 secured to the shaft of the lathe, so that said arm
vibrates with the lathe, and the pawl is therefore caused to impart motion to the
ratchet wheel and to the parts driven thereby.
An arm 37 on the shaft 35 is connected by a cord or chain 38 to one arm of a
bell crank lever 39, which is pivotted to the base of the attachment. That arm of
the lever to which the chain 38 is connected is slotted for the reception of a cam 42
on the shaft 80, (see Fig. 6) said arm of the lever having a set screw 43, bearing
upon the outer face of the cam, and being held in contact therewith by a counter-
balance weight on the other arm of the lever.
When the loom is weaving the body of the fabric the arms 34 and 17 occupy
the elevated position shown in Figures 1 and 2, and are retained in this position by
the engagement of the catch. arm 32 with the lug 33, but as the toe 31 is rotated
through the medium of the mechanism described, it comes in contact with the lower
end of said catch arm, as shown in Figure 3, and pushes the same free from
engagement with the retaining lug 33. As soon as the arm is thus freed from
engagement with the lug it falls, as shown in Figure 4, thus permitting the descent of
the arm 34, so as to drop the arm 17 of the box chain bar into engagement with
its operating cam and at the same time moving the arm 37 so as to tighten the
chain connecting the same to the lever 39, as shown in Figure 5.
The parts remain in this position until the border portion of the fabric has been
woven, and in weaving towels, this border portion may be of sufficient extent for
two towels, one border being upon the end of one towel and the other upon the end
of the next towel.
When the weaving of the border has been completed the cam 42 has been moved
to such a position that it releases the lover 39, the counterbalance weight on which

page_text: causes the upper end of the vertical arm to swing forward, as shown in Figure 6,
thus through the medium of its connection with the arm 37, operating the latter
and the rock shaft 35 so as to lift the lever 34 in order to again raise the arm on
the chain operating bar out of operative position and cause the retainer 32 to again
engage with the lug 33, thereby holding the lever 34 in this inoperative position until
such time as the retainer has been again operated by the toe 31.
It will thus be seen that the device is perfectly automatic in its operation, both in
regard to the tripping of the retainer to lower the arm of the drop box chain operating
bar into operative position and for re-lifting said arm and re-setting the retainer to
hold it out of operative position, no attention on the part of the loom operative being
required in order to ensure the proper action of the attachment.
The set screw 43 carried by the lever 39 provides for the accurate setting of the
device, so that said lever will be released by the cam when a certain number of picks
have been produced.
Although the weighted lever connected to an arm on the rock shaft 35 is preferred
other means of operating said rock shaft under control of the cam 42 may be used
without departing from my invention, for instanco in Figure 71 have shown a rack 50
moved in one direction by the cam and in the other direction by a spring 51, this rack
engaging with a pinion 52 turning on the shaft 35 and having a projection 53 for
engaging with a pin 54 on said shaft, so that the necessary lost motion of one in
respect to the other is permitted.
The toe 31 is not confined rigidly to the shaft 30 but has a slot into which projects
a pin 45 on said shaft, the slot being of somewhat greater width than the pin so
that after the toe has knocked off the retaining arm 32, said toe will drop to a certain
extent, as shown in Figure 4 so as not to be in the way of the re-engagement of the
retaining arm with the lug 33 in resetting the apparatus.
Although I prefer to drive the ratchet wheel 27 from the shaft of the lathe, as
shown and described 1 do not desire to limit myself to this method as it will be
evident that the wheel may be driven from some other moving part of the loom
if desired.
I may use worm wheels 29 of different diameters but like pitch, so that the device
can he readily adapted for different lengths of fabric, the bracket carrying the shaft 26
being secured by means of a bolt 47 adapted to a slot 48 in the standard, so that
said bracket can be raised or lowered to suit the diameter of the worm wheel used.
In some cases the automatic re-setting device may be omitted the arm 34 being
lifted by hand through the medium of suitable cord and pulleys as shown, for instance,
by dotted lines in Figure 1. but in this case the arm 37 of the shaft 35 should be
connected to the pawl 40 so as to throw the latter out of action and stop the operation
of the attachment when the retainer is tripped, thus avoiding lost motion of the parts
while the border is being woven.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is
:-
1st. The combination of a drop box chain device having a portion movable into and
out of acting position for throwing said drop box chain into and out of operation,
a retainer for holding said movable part out of action, and an automatic tripper
for said retainer substantially as described.
2nd. The combination of a drop box chain device having a portion movable into
and out of acting position for throwing said drop box chain into and out of operation,
a retainer for holding said movable part out of action, and an automatic tripper
and re-setting device for said retainer, substantially as hereinbefore described.
3rd. The combination of the drop box chain device having a portion movable
into and out of acting position, a retainer for holding said movable portion out of
action, a tripping toe for said retainer, and a tripping shaft having a driving pin
adapted to a slot in the tripping toe of greater width than the pin substantially
as herein before described.

page_text: 4th. The combination of the drop box chain device having a portion movable
into and out of acting position, a retainer for holding said movable part out of acting
position, a tripper for said retainer, a tripper shaft. connected by worm gears to the
operating shaft, and an adjustable frame or standard to permit the use of different sized
gears substantially as specified.
5th. The combination of the drop box chain device having a portion movable into
and ont of acting position, a retainer for holding said movable part out of acting
position, a tripping too for said retainer, a iripping shaft having a cam and a weighted
re-setting lever connected to the retainer and controlled by the cam substantially
as specified.