Improvements in Braiding Machines.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Aug., 1899-Accepted, 30th Sept.,
1899
Improvements in Braiding Machines.
I, ANDREW VINCENT GROUPE, of No. 134, South Ninth Street, in the City and
County of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, United States of America,
Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement;-
This invention relates to braiding, machines of the character set out in my
British Letters Patent, No. 19034/97, dated 17th August, 1897, to which reference
may be had; the object herein being to provide a modified construction of bobbin-
actuating mechanism whereby the threads from one set of bobbins may be
directed under and over another set of bobbins in a manner to effect the platting
together of the threads from the several bobbins for the purpose of forming a
tube or cord of braid, or a braided covering for a central core.
In my previous machine the mechanism for impelling the upper set of bobbin
carriers embodied a fixed cam way; a series of rocking levers operatively con-
nected therewith, provided with pins for engaging and disengaging each of said
carriers at two different points at predetermined intervals; a spider carrying said
levers, and means for rotating the spider. The construction, so far as concerned
its operation, was entirely satisfactory. The objection thereto was mainly one
of expense, incidental to the multiplicity of parts employed, and the requisite
nicety of fitting and adjustment thereof.
With the view, therefore, of overcoming this objection I have devised a simple
and efficient construction and organization of mechanism whereby the upper
bobbin carriers are operatively impelled in respect to the lower bobbin carriers
and to the thread guiding devices, all as will be hereinafter particularly described
and claimed.
In the annexed drawings,
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a braiding machine embodying one form
of my present invention.
Figure 2 is a full horizontal section, on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.
Figure 3 is a plan of one of the upper bobbin carriers, and adjuncts.
Figures 4, 5 and 6 are diagrams of sections of the thread course and upper
bobbin actuating mechanism, showing upper bobbin carriers and thread guides
in different positions which they are caused to assume with relation to each other
and to the thread course during the braiding operation.
1 is the main frame of the machine; 10 a central tubular post rising from the
bed-plate 11 a spider or wheel rotatably mounted on said post; and 4 a driving
shaft carrying on its inner end a bevel wheel 5 which gears with a similar wheel 6
on the hub of the spider or wheel 11, and thereby positively rotates the latter.
On the under side of this spider or wheel are supported at intervals apart the
lower thread-supplying bobbins 12, the threads from which are guided by suit-
ably-located guide devices 14 on the said spider or wheel, and thereby directed to
and through a sinuous course or cam way, 16, by means of which such threads
are pradually raised and lowered during their rotary travel. This course or cam

page_text: way is formed by and between the lower and upper edges of two concentric
rings 19, 20, respectively, whereof the upper ring is fixed to the lateral uprights
of the main frame, and the lower ring to a spider or plate 21, on the upper end of
the fixed central post.
17 is an annular trackway constituting a regular path on which run the upper
bobbin carriers 18. This trackway is secured on the inner faces of the rings 19,
20, on a horizontal plane midway between the highest and lowest planes inter-
sected by the undulations of the cam way, and is divided into sections on diagonal
lines coinciding with the adjacent inclined portions of the cam way, whereby the
threads from the lower bobbins are directed under and over the said sections in
alternate succession, all as fully set out in the previous patent above referred to.
The upper bobbin carriers are rotated in a direction contrary to that of the
lower bobbin carrier, in such manner that the threads from the lower bobbins
are caused to pass under and over the upper carriers and their bobbins and effect
the braiding of the several threads at or about the center of the machine.
The present invention pertains to improved means for impelling the upper
bobbin carriers, which means in the form illustrated will now be described in
detail.
Arranged at regular intervals apart upon the inner face of the ring 20 is a
series of pinions A, which extend through openings in the plate or spider 21 and
mesh with a circular series of gear teeth B at or near the periphery of the lower
bobbin carrier 11, whereby during the rotation of the latter the pinions are simul-
taneously rotated. The carrier 11 thus constitutes, in effect, a bevel gear wheel.
The lower edges of the upper carriers are provided with gear teeth C with which
the said pinions are adapted to co-act, and thus impel said carriers upon the
annular trackway in a direction contrary to that of the lower bobbin carrier.
In the construction herein represented there are twice as many pinions as
there are upper carriers, which pinions are journaled adjacent to the respective
inclines of the thread course or cam way 16. The distance between the centers
of two adjacent pinions is slightly less than the length of a carrier, and the
carriers are disposed at regular intervals apart and maintained relatively there-
in by the co-acting pinions with which they are necessarily engaged at all times.
Hence the carriers are uniformly and continuously driven at a given speed in
respect to the lower bobbin carrier: the ratio of speed being such that during
the depression and elevation of the threads in the inclines of the cam way said
inclines are free and unobstructed, the spaces between adjoining carriers, 18,
during such periods spanning the inclines successively and thereby permitting
the threads to be directed by the cam way under and over the bobbin carriers in
alternate succession.
This will be apparent by reference to Figs. 4, 5 and 6 of the drawings, wherein
two carriers are indicated in several different positions which they progressively
occupy in respect to the cam way and the thread guides. In these figures the
directions of rotation of the carriers and the driving mechanism therefor, are
indicated by the adjacent arrows. It will be observed that in Fig. 4 the carriers
are engaged with the underlying pinions in the spaces between the upwardly
converging inclines of the cam way, and that the threads (noted r) are being
guided in the upper horizontal parts of the cam way above the carriers; that
in Fig. 5 the carriers are slightly advanced to clear the depressing inclines, and
the threads are being depressed in the latter so as to intersect the path of the
carriers and that in Fig. 6 the carriers are still further advanced, and the
thread is drawn below the carrier fully appearing. In the last named figure it
will be seen that the carrier spans the downwardly converging inclines of the
cam way that the underlying thread is midway between said inclines and
directly below the middle of the carrier, and that, therefore, when the thread is
advanced to the next succeeding or raising incline the adjacent end of the carrier
will have cleared the latter and an open unobstructed course for the upwardly
moving thread will be had,

page_text: It should be understood that while the particular number and disposition of
the pinions, or propelling devices, herein shown and described, are preferable.
yet the same are not absolutely essential, as, obviously, a greater or less number
may be employed, which would, of course, necessitate a re-arrangement of the
same in order to insure the proper propulsion of the carriers thereby in respect
to the course of the threads from the lower bobbins.
It must also added that this invention is not restricted to the use of the par-
ticular kind of propelling devices herein shown and described, as, for example,
in lieu of toothed gearing, plane frictional gearing might be used; nor is it con-
fined to the precise mechanism herein shown and described for actuating the
propelling devices, as, obviously, in the light of this invention other equivalent
means may be employed for the purpose.
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:-
1. In a braiding machine, the combination with a sectional trackway, pro-
vided with thread ways between adjacent sections, and under and over alternate
sections, carriers on said trackway, bobbins on said carriers, a second set of
bobbins, a carrier therefor, actuating means for said carrier, a series of rotatable
propelling means interposed between and directly engaged with the latter carrier
and the carriers first-named, and means whereby the threads from the last-named
bobbins are directed between, under and over sections of the trackway in pre-
scribed order, substantially as described.
2. In a braiding machine, the combination of a sectional trackway provided
with thread ways between adjacent sections, and under and over alternate sections,
carriers on said trackway provided with gear teeth, bobbins on said carriers, a
second set of bobbins, a carrier therefor provided with gear teeth, a series of
pinions interposed between and geared with the latter carrier and the carriers
first-named, and means whereby the threads from the last-named bobbins are
directed between, under and over sections of the trackway in prescribed order,
substantially as described.
3. In a braiding machine, the combination of a sectional trackway provided
with thread-ways between adjacent sections, and under and over alternate sections,
carriers on said trackway provided with gear teeth, bobbins on said carriers, a
second set of bobbins, a series of pinions mounted at intervals apart adjacent to
the trackway and adapted to gear with said carriers in continuous succession,
means for rotating said pinions, and means for supporting and rotating said
second set of bobbins, together with means whereby the threads from the latter
bobbins are directed between, under and over sections of the trackway in pre-
scribed order, substantially as described.
4. In a braiding machine, the combination of stationary members constituting
a thread guiding course, a sectional trackway, a set of bobbin carriers on said
trackway, their bobbins, a series of propelling devices rotatable each about its
own axis and adapted to co-act with said carriers, a second set of bobbins, sup-
porting and actuating means therefor, and means for actuating said devices, to-
gether with means whereby the threads from said second set of bobbins are
directed to the said course, substantially as described.
5. In a braiding machine, the combination of two rings between which is
formed a sinuous course, an annular trackway between the highest and lowest
planes of, and intersected by, the course, thread supplying devices
on said
trackway, other thread supplying devices, mechanism for rotating the latter, a
series of propelling devices rotatable each about its own axis and adapted to
impel the first-named thread supplying devices, and means for actuating said
propelling devices, substantially as described.
6. In a braiding machine, the combination of stationary members constituting
a sinuous course, an annular trackway between the highest and lowest planes of,

page_text: and intersected by, the course, thread supplying devices on said trackway,
pinions journaled on one of said members and engaged with said devices a common
gear co-acting with said pinions, supporting and actuating means for said gear,
bobbins connected with said gear, and thread guiding means on said gear, substan-
tially as described-
7. In a braiding machine, the combination of two rings between which is
formed a sinuous course, an annular trackway between the highest and lowest
planes of, and intersected by, the course, thread-supplying devices on said track-
way, other thread-supplying devices, mechanism for rotating the latter, pinions
journaled on the lower ring at points adjacent to the respective inclines of said.
course, and operatively engaged with the first-named thread-supplying devices
,and with the mechanism for rotating the other thread-supplying devices, sub-
atantially as described.
8. In a braiding machine, the combination of two rings betwen which is
formed a sinuous course, a supporting frame for the upper ring, a plate or
spider for the lower ring, a fixed central post for said plate or spider, an annular
sectional trackway between the highest and lowest planes of, and intersected by,
said course, a series of bobbin carriers provided with gear teeth, a lower bobbin
carrier provided also with gear teeth, and arranged below the said plate or spider,
a rotary support for said latter carrier, and pinions journaled on the lower ring
adjacent to the respective inclines of said course and adapted to co-act with the
successive carriers of the series and with the lower carriers, the said pinions
extending through openings in the plate or spider, substantially as described.
Dated this 26th day of August 1899.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.