CN116601348A

CN116601348A - Method and device for adjusting the movement path of a gripper

Info

Publication number: CN116601348A
Application number: CN202180082441.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: P·斯特鲁布; E·德尔布
Original assignee: Picanol NV
Current assignee: Picanol NV
Priority date: 2020-12-07
Filing date: 2021-11-08
Publication date: 2023-08-15
Also published as: BE1028809B1; EP4008817B1; BE1028809A1; EP4008817A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and a device for adjusting the movement path of a gripper (3, 5) in a gripper weaving machine, wherein the gripper (3, 5) is driven to move back and forth using a transmission member (31, 32), wherein a drive element (12, 26) which rotates together with a drive shaft (7) of the gripper weaving machine can be drivingly coupled to the transmission member (31, 32) via a transmission mechanism (24, 25), wherein the transmission mechanism (24, 25) can be fastened to the drive element (12, 26) in a respective eccentric position, wherein the drive element (12, 26) can drive the transmission member (31, 32) to oscillate between end transmission member positions, and wherein the oscillation amplitude of the transmission member (31, 32) can be set by varying the eccentric position in order to adjust the movement path of the gripper (3, 5), and wherein the method comprises: the drive member (31, 32) is held in a selected drive member position when the drive mechanism (24, 25) is released from the drive element (12, 26), and the drive element (12, 26) is moved relative to the drive member (31, 32) from a first angular position associated with a selected drive member position of a first movement stroke of the gripper (3, 5) defined by a first eccentric position to a second angular position associated with a selected drive member position of a second movement stroke of the gripper (3, 5) defined by a second eccentric position.

Description

Method and device for adjusting the movement path of a gripper

Technical Field

The invention relates to a method and a device for adjusting the movement path of a gripper in a gripper weaving machine. The invention also relates to a computer program product comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method for adjusting the movement stroke of a gripper in a gripper weaving machine, and to a data processing device comprising a processor unit adapted to perform the method for adjusting the movement stroke of a gripper in a gripper weaving machine.

Background

As is well known, gripper weaving machines generally comprise two grippers, one of which is called traction gripper and which carries a weft yarn from one end of the weaving machine to a changeover position at or near the middle of the weaving machine, and the other is called receiving gripper, which receives a weft yarn from the traction gripper at the changeover position and carries the weft yarn to the other end of the weaving machine. Each gripper is fixed to a gripper, which is driven by a gripper driving wheel. The known rapier may be a flexible gripper band or a rigid gripper.

It is also known, for example, as shown in DE 10346227 or WO 2011/120820, to fix each gripper to a gripper such as a gripper belt, wherein a gripper drive wheel is driven to move back and forth, thereby inducing a swinging motion using a transmission component such as a gear segment, which is drivingly coupled to a drive element rotating with a main shaft of the gripper loom via a transmission mechanism such as a crank mechanism, wherein the crank mechanism is fixed to the drive element in an adjustable eccentric position using a fastening unit, wherein the gear segment is driven by the drive element to swing around a gear segment axis, and wherein the swing amplitude of the gear segment can be set by changing the adjustable eccentric position in order to adjust the movement stroke of the gripper.

It is also known to perform the adjustment of the movement stroke manually, wherein, first, when the 0 ° position is in the beat-up, the main shaft of the weaving machine is moved to the 180 ° position and the brake for the main shaft is closed. The gripper drive wheel is then uncoupled from the gear segment. The gripper and the rapier are then moved together to a switching position, for example a position 30mm above the middle of the shed. Thereafter, the gripper drive wheel is coupled with the gear segment and the main shaft of the loom is moved to the 0 ° position, whereby the gripper is moved out of the shed. For example, the actual position of the projectile at 0 ° is measured using a ruler. Next, the crank mechanism is uncoupled from the drive element, and the eccentric position of the crank mechanism is changed by manually moving the gripper together with the crank mechanism coupled thereto to an auxiliary position calculated from the difference between the actual gripper position at 0 ° and the desired gripper position at 0 °. The crank mechanism is then coupled again to the drive element and the gripper is uncoupled from the gear segment and moved to the desired gripper position at 0 °. Finally, the gripper drive wheel is coupled again to the gear segment.

US 4052906 shows another transmission mechanism for causing a swinging motion of a transmission member, such as a slider for driving a gripper drive wheel, wherein the amplitude of the swinging motion of the transmission member is settable. The transmission mechanism comprises a crank mechanism for driving the transmission member, which is fixed to the driving element in an adjustable eccentric position using a fastening unit.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method and an improved drive mechanism for adjusting the movement stroke of a gripper in a gripper loom. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a computer program product and a data processing device for adjusting the movement stroke of a gripper in a gripper loom.

According to a first aspect, there is provided a method for adjusting the movement stroke of a gripper in a gripper weaving machine, wherein the gripper is driven to move back and forth by using a transmission part, wherein a drive element rotating together with a drive shaft of the gripper weaving machine is drivably coupled to the transmission part via a transmission mechanism, wherein the transmission mechanism is securable to the drive element in various eccentric positions, wherein the drive element is able to drive the transmission part to oscillate between end transmission part positions, and wherein the oscillation amplitude of the transmission part is settable by changing the eccentric position, in order to adjust the movement stroke of the gripper, wherein the method comprises: the method comprises the steps of holding the transmission member in a selected transmission member position when the transmission mechanism is released from the drive element, and moving the drive element relative to the transmission member from a first angular position associated with said selected transmission member position for a first movement stroke of the gripper defined by a first eccentric position to a second angular position associated with said selected transmission member position for a second movement stroke of the gripper defined by a second eccentric position.

In contrast to the known adjustment method in which the drive shaft is held in place and the gripper is moved with the transmission part relative to the drive element to adjust the movement stroke of the gripper, according to the invention the transmission part is held in place and the drive element is moved relative to the transmission part to adjust the movement stroke of the gripper, preferably by activating the drive motor of the weaving machine to drive the drive element. In the case of a transmission mechanism which is movably mounted to the drive element, for example using bearing halves, when the drive element is moved after loosening the fastening unit and at the same time holds the transmission part in place, the transmission mechanism performs a constrained movement such that the eccentric position changes from the first eccentric position to the second eccentric position due to the relative movement of the drive element and the transmission part. In the case of releasing the transmission from the drive element when the drive element is moved relative to the transmission member, the transmission may be moved while maintaining the transmission member in a selected transmission member position so as to allow fastening of the transmission to the drive element in the second eccentric position.

The drive element can be moved by using a motor of the drive shaft of the weaving machine and/or a designated, separate motor operating synchronously with the main shaft of the weaving machine, wherein the movement can be fully automated under the control of the processor unit and/or the movement can be a backward and/or forward movement function under the control of the operator using manual control of the motor. When the method is performed under the control of the processor unit, the movement stroke of the gripper can be changed very accurately and with minimal risk of errors.

In an advantageous embodiment, the transmission member is a gear segment which is rotationally moved back and forth about the gear segment axis to oscillate between end transmission member positions. In other embodiments, the transmission member is in the form of a slider that moves linearly back and forth.

In one embodiment, the method comprises the steps of: moving the transmission component to a selected transmission component position by moving the drive element to a first angular position associated with the selected transmission component position for a first motion stroke of the gripper while the transmission mechanism is secured to the drive element in the first eccentric position; holding the transmission member in a selected transmission member position; releasing the transmission mechanism from the drive element; moving the drive element relative to the transmission member to a second angular position associated with a selected transmission member position for a second motion stroke of the gripper; and securing the transmission mechanism to the drive element in the second eccentric position. In one embodiment, releasing the transmission mechanism from the drive element and fastening the transmission mechanism to the drive element is performed manually by an operator while the transmission member is held in the selected transmission member position, while all remaining steps are performed under control of the processor unit. In other embodiments, the tightening and loosening can be performed automatically when the transmission member is held in a selected transmission member position, wherein all steps for adjusting the movement stroke of the gripper can be performed under the control of the processor unit.

In one embodiment, a fastening unit is used which can be manually loosened and/or fastened, for loosening and/or fastening, respectively, the transmission from and/or to the driving element. In one embodiment, the fastening unit comprises one or more fastening elements that are manually loosened and/or tightened. For manual operation, in one embodiment, the method further comprises selecting the selected transmission part position and determining a first angular position of the drive element associated with the selected transmission part position, and determining a second angular position of the drive element associated with the selected transmission part position, wherein the selected transmission part position is selected such that the fastening unit is manually accessible, in other words, accessible by an operator, in the first angular position of the drive element and the second angular position of the drive element. In case the fastening unit comprises more than one fastening element, in the context of the present application, the fastening unit is considered manually accessible if at least one fastening element is accessible to the operator. Depending on the design of the transmission, the operator may not be able to access or only have very difficult access to the fastening unit in several angular positions of the drive element. In one embodiment, the selected transmission part position is also selected such that when the drive element is moved from the first angular position to the second angular position no movement past the dead point of the transmission occurs, e.g. no movement of the drive shaft past 0 ° to avoid movement past the dead point of the transmission. In one embodiment, the selected transmission part position is selected such that the first angular position of the drive element and the second angular position of the drive element are for example between 10 ° and 70 ° of the drive shaft, in particular between 30 ° and 60 ° of the drive shaft, when the 0 ° position of the drive shaft is in beat-up. In case it is not possible to properly select the position of the selected transmission part, the adjustment may be performed in two or more repetitions by repeating the above-described method a number of times, so that the operator always has access to one or more fastening elements during each repetition.

In one embodiment, the first angular position of the drive element and the second angular position of the drive element are determined based on stored information about the angular position of the transmission part relative to the drive element for different movement strokes of the gripper. Based on information about the dimensions and other parameters of the elements of the transmission, information about the angular position of the transmission part position relative to the drive element can be determined in advance for different movement strokes of the gripper. This information is stored in, for example, a memory of the processor unit.

In one embodiment, the gripper is uncoupled from the transmission component before moving the transmission component to the selected transmission component position, and the gripper is coupled to the transmission component after moving the drive element relative to the transmission component to the second angular position of the drive element. In contrast to the movement strokes of manually adjusted grippers known in the prior art, according to the present invention, the position of the grippers is not measured during adjustment and there is no need to move the grippers to any defined position during adjustment. Thus, the projectile can be uncoupled from the drive member prior to moving the drive member to the selected drive member position. In one embodiment, for decoupling, the rapier drive wheel is decoupled from the gear transmission. By decoupling the gripper and the rapier or decoupling the gripper belt from the transmission part, any damage to the gripper and/or the rapier or gripper belt during the setting of the movement stroke is avoided. In an alternative embodiment, the rapier together with the gripper may be completely removed from the weaving machine during the setting of the movement stroke.

In one embodiment, the first movement stroke prior to the adjustment is known, for example stored in a memory of the processor unit. In other embodiments, the first motion stroke is determined prior to adjusting the motion stroke. In one embodiment, the determination of the movement stroke is performed manually, for example using a ruler. In this case, this information is input to the processor unit for automatic adjustment under the control of the processor unit. In other embodiments, the first movement stroke is determined by determining a change in the angular position of the drive element when the transmission member moves through a defined range, and the movement stroke of the gripper is determined based on the determined change in the angular position of the drive element.

In the context of the present application, the expression "defined range" is used to describe the range over which the transmission member moves when moving in one direction between two different transmission member positions and the range over which the transmission member moves when moving back and forth from a transmission member position and back to that transmission member position or any other transmission member position.

There is a fixed relationship between the motion travel of the gripper and the transmission ratio between the rotational movement of the drive element rotating with the drive shaft and the movement of the transmission member oscillating between the end transmission member positions, which is independent of any separately selected end position of the gripper. When the transmission ratio is determined based on a change in the angular position of the drive element when the transmission member moves through a defined range, the movement stroke can be determined in a manner independent of any phase shift between the movement of the transmission member and the drive shaft of the weaving machine. Furthermore, the movement stroke of the gripper can be determined when the gripper driving the gripper is uncoupled from the transmission part, or even when there is no gripper in the gripper weaving machine.

In one embodiment, to determine the movement stroke, a first marking is provided on the transmission member for marking a first boundary of the defined range and a second marking is provided on the transmission member for marking a second boundary of the defined range, wherein the method comprises: moving the transmission member such that the first and second markers each pass a sensor device fixedly arranged in a position opposite the transmission member; capturing a first angular position of the drive element when the first marker passes the sensor device and capturing a second angular position of the drive element when the second marker passes the sensor device; and determining a change in the angular position of the drive element based on the captured first angular position of the drive element and the captured second angular position of the drive element. In an advantageous embodiment, the first angular position of the drive element and the second angular position of the drive element are captured when the transmission part is moved in one direction. When two or more marks are provided and the angular position of the drive element is captured when the marks pass the sensor means, the movement stroke of the stator shuttle can be determined when the transmission member is moved in only one direction, wherein the determination is independent of any phase shift between the oscillating movement of the transmission member and the rotation of the drive shaft of the weaving machine.

According to a second aspect, a drive mechanism for moving a gripper in a gripper weaving machine back and forth is provided, the gripper being fixed to a rapier, wherein the drive mechanism comprises a drive element, a transmission part and means for adjusting the movement stroke of the gripper, wherein the gripper is driven to move back and forth by using the transmission part, wherein the drive element rotating with a drive shaft of the gripper weaving machine is drivably coupled to the transmission part via the transmission, wherein the means for adjusting the movement stroke comprise a fastening unit adapted to fasten the transmission to the drive element in a respective eccentric position, wherein the transmission part is drivable by the drive element to oscillate between end transmission part positions, and wherein the oscillation amplitude of the transmission part is settable by changing the eccentric position in order to adjust the movement stroke of the gripper, wherein the means for adjusting the movement stroke comprise a brake for holding the transmission part in a selected transmission part position when the transmission is released from the drive element, and wherein the drive element is drivably coupled to the transmission part via the transmission mechanism from a first angular position of the drive element to a second angular position of the drive element, which position is defined by the first eccentric position of the drive element, which position is associated with the selected movement of the first shuttle for the selected angular position of the first shuttle.

In one embodiment, a processor unit is provided, wherein the brake is activated by the processor unit and the drive element is moved relative to the transmission member using a drive motor of the drive shaft under control of the processor unit and/or using a separate, designated motor under control of the processor unit. In other embodiments, the brake is activated by an operator and moves the drive element under the control of the operator.

In particular, in one embodiment, the means for adjusting the movement stroke comprises a processor unit, wherein the processor unit is adapted to: controlling the drive motor to move the transmission component to the selected transmission component position by moving the drive element to a first angular position of the drive element associated with the selected transmission component position for a first motion stroke of the gripper when the transmission mechanism is secured to the drive element in the first eccentric position; activating a brake to hold the transmission member in a selected transmission member position; and controlling the drive motor to move the drive element relative to the transmission component to a second angular position of the drive element associated with a selected transmission component position for a second motion stroke of the gripper when the transmission mechanism is released from the drive element.

In one embodiment, the processor unit is adapted to: selecting a transmission part position and determining a first angular position of the drive element associated with the selected transmission part position and a second angular position of the drive element associated with the selected transmission part position, wherein the processor unit is adapted to select the selected transmission part position such that the fastening unit is manually accessible in the first angular position of the drive element and the second angular position of the drive element. Depending on the design of the transmission, the design of the transmission mount and/or the design of the fastening unit, the fastening unit may not be accessible or only very difficult to access by the operator in certain angular positions of the drive element. By choosing the transmission member position appropriately, such angular positions can be avoided.

In an embodiment, the processor unit comprises a memory in which information about the angular position of the transmission part position relative to the drive element for different movement strokes of the gripper is stored, wherein the processor unit is adapted to select the selected transmission part position based on the stored information. In one embodiment, the memory and the processor unit together form a physical entity. In other embodiments, the memory is a separate unit.

Alternatively or additionally, in one embodiment, the processor unit is adapted to determine the movement stroke of the gripper by determining a change in the angular position of the driving element when the transmission part moves through a defined range, and to determine the movement stroke of the gripper based on the determined change in the angular position of the driving element. The determination of the movement stroke can be performed after decoupling the gripper from the transmission part, in order to avoid any damage to the gripper, or in the absence of a gripper in the weaving machine.

In one embodiment of the drive mechanism, the transmission mechanism comprises a crank movably mounted to the drive element and fastened to the drive element in an adjustable eccentric position using a fastening unit.

In one embodiment, the crank is mounted to the drive element via a bearing half, wherein after loosening the fastening unit, the crank can be rotated about an axis with respect to the drive element to change the eccentric position and thus the amplitude of the oscillation of the transmission part to adjust the movement stroke of the gripper.

According to a third aspect, there is provided a computer program product for use with a drive mechanism, the computer program product comprising instructions to select the selected transmission part position, and to determine a first angular position of a drive element associated with the selected transmission part position, and to determine a second angular position of the drive element associated with the selected transmission part position, wherein the selected transmission part position is selected such that a fastening unit is manually accessible in the first angular position of the drive element and the second angular position of the drive element, the fastening unit being adapted to fasten the transmission mechanism to the drive element.

According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a data processing device for use with a drive mechanism, the data processing device comprising a processor unit adapted to select the selected transmission part position and to determine a first angular position of a drive element associated with the selected transmission part position and to determine a second angular position of the drive element associated with the selected transmission part position, wherein the selected transmission part position is selected such that a fastening unit is manually accessible in the first angular position of the drive element and the second angular position of the drive element, the fastening unit being adapted to fasten the transmission mechanism to the drive element.

According to a fifth aspect, a weaving machine is provided which is provided with a data processing device as described above and/or a device for adjusting the movement stroke of a gripper as described above and/or a drive mechanism as described above.

Drawings

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same or similar elements will be denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the drawings. In the drawings:

fig. 1 shows in perspective view a drive system for moving a traction gripper and a receiving gripper of a weaving machine back and forth.

Fig. 2 shows a first drive mechanism of the drive system of fig. 1 in a perspective view.

Fig. 3 shows a part of a first drive mechanism of the drive system of fig. 2.

Fig. 4 shows a first drive mechanism of the drive system of fig. 1 in a side view.

Fig. 5 shows a portion of the drive mechanism of fig. 2 in more detail.

Fig. 6 shows in more detail the brake to be used in the drive mechanism of fig. 4.

Fig. 7 shows the angular position of the transmission member relative to the drive element for different magnitudes of the transmission member.

Fig. 8 shows the alternative of fig. 7 for the position of the transmission member relative to the angular position of the drive element for different magnitudes of the transmission member.

Fig. 9 shows the drive system of fig. 1 in a perspective view in a weaving machine.

Fig. 10 shows the drive system of fig. 9 in a first angular position of the drive shaft.

Fig. 11 shows the drive system of fig. 9 in a second angular position of the drive shaft.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a drive system 1 for moving back and forth a traction gripper 3 fixed to a first rapier 2 and a receiving gripper 5 fixed to a second rapier 4. The traction gripper 3 and the receiving gripper 5 are also collectively referred to as grippers, or individually as grippers. The rapier 2, 4 can be a flexible gripper band, or a more rigid gripper, or any other type of rapier to be used in a gripper loom.

The drive system 1 can be used in a weaving machine, in particular a projectile weaving machine. In a gripper loom, as also explained in WO 2011/120820 of the present inventor, the traction gripper 3 and the receiving gripper 5 are intended to move in and out of the shed formed by the warp planes, which converge at the position of the fabric beat-up line. For moving the gripper 3, 5 in and out of the shed, the drive system 1 comprises a first drive mechanism 10 and a second drive mechanism 11, which first drive mechanism 10 drives a first gripper drive wheel 14 for the first gripper 2 and which second drive mechanism 11 drives a second gripper drive wheel 15 for the second gripper 4, wherein the oscillation of the first gripper drive wheel 14 and the oscillation of the second gripper drive wheel 15 allow the gripper 3 and the gripper 5, respectively, to be moved back and forth between an outer commutation point located outside the shed and an inner commutation point located inside the shed.

The first drive mechanism 10 and the second drive mechanism 11 each comprise a drive element 12, 26 in the form of a gear wheel, a transmission 24, 25, a transmission member 31, 32 in the form of a gear wheel segment 22, 47 and a gripper drive wheel 14, 15. In the embodiment of fig. 1, the transmission 24, 25 is a crank mechanism and the gear segments 22, 47 are driving the gripper drive wheels 14, 15.

The drive system 1 shown in fig. 1 comprises a drive motor 6 with a drive shaft 7. The drive motor 6 may drive the first drive element 12 to rotate in one direction via a first gear 8 coupled to the drive shaft 7 and an intermediate second gear 9. The first drive element 12 is connected to the second drive element 26 via a shaft 54, the shaft 54 also being referred to as the main shaft of the weaving machine. The first drive mechanism 10 is driven by the drive motor 6 via the gears 8 and 9, while the second drive mechanism 11 is driven by the drive motor 6 via the gears 8 and 9, the drive element 12 and the shaft 54.

In other embodiments, two synchronized different drive motors are provided, each driving an associated drive element 12, 26.

The drive elements 12, 26 are driven via the drive motor 6 to rotate with the shaft 54 of the weaving machine, i.e. the drive elements 12, 26 are driven to make one complete rotation in each weaving cycle, wherein in one embodiment the rotation of the drive elements 12, 26 is phase shifted such that the gripper 3 and/or the receiver gripper 5 reach the inner and outer commutation points slightly before or after the shaft 54 reaches 0 ° and 180 °.

The first drive element 12 is drivingly coupled to a first transmission part 31 via the first transmission 24, which first transmission part 31 drives the gripper drive wheel 14. As shown in fig. 1, the first transmission part 31 is a gear segment 22 which can be driven by the first drive element 12 to oscillate about a gear segment axis 45. The first transmission member 31 drives the first gripper driving wheel 14 for pulling the gripper 3 via the transmission 18, so that the first gripper driving wheel 14 swings about its rotation axis 48.

Likewise, the second drive element 26 is drivingly coupled to a second transmission part 32 via a second transmission mechanism 25, which second transmission part 32 drives the gripper drive wheel 14. The second transmission member 32 is a gear segment 47 which is drivable by the second drive element 26 for oscillation about a gear segment axis 51. The second transmission member 32 drives the second gripper driving wheel 15 for receiving the gripper 5 via the transmission 27 such that the second gripper driving wheel 15 swings about its rotation axis 49.

In the embodiment shown, the angular position of the drive element 12 is captured using an angle sensor 55, such as an encoder provided on the drive shaft 7, for example an encoder capable of generating 360 signals for each rotation of the drive shaft 7 for driving the weaving machine. The angle sensor 55 may be connected to a processor unit 61 as schematically shown in fig. 2. Alternatively or additionally, an angle sensor may also be provided on the shaft 54 of the gripper weaving machine.

The first drive mechanism 10 is shown in more detail in fig. 2 to 6. In fig. 2, a gripper guide 37 arranged near the shed and a gripper guide 38 arranged near the gripper drive wheel 14 are also shown.

As best seen in fig. 2-5, in the illustrated embodiment, the transmission 24 includes a crank 13 connected to the drive element 12, a fork element 16 rotatably mounted to the crank 13, and a cross element 17 rotatably mounted to the fork element 16. The transmission member 31 is a gear segment 22 fixedly connected to the cross member 17 and oscillating with the cross member 17 about a gear segment axis 45.

As mentioned above, the transmission member 31 drives the gripper drive wheel 14 for the gripper 3 via the transmission 18, which transmission 18 is a gear transmission in the embodiment shown. In this way, the transmission part 31 is coupled to the gripper driving wheel 14, so that the gripper driving wheel 14 can move together or synchronously with the transmission part 31, in other words, there is a fixed transmission ratio between the movement of the transmission part 31 and the movement of the gripper driving wheel 14. As best seen in fig. 6, the gripper drive wheel 14 is detachably secured to the transmission 18 by fastening means 35. As shown in fig. 2 to 4 and 6, the fastening device 35 includes a disc 90, and the gripper driving wheel 14 is fixed to the disc 90 by bolts 91 (only shown in fig. 2 to 4). The disc 90 may be secured to the shaft 50 in any angular position of the rapier drive wheel 14 using a clamping ring 88 and bolts 92. In this way, the disc 90 to which the gripper driving wheel 14 is attached is pressed between the shaft 50 and the pressing ring 88. When the bolt 92 is loosened, the disc 90 with the gripper drive wheel 14 can be rotated along the shaft 50, enabling adjustment of the angular position of the gripper drive wheel 14 relative to the shaft 50.

As shown in fig. 4 and 5, in the illustrated embodiment the crank 13 is movably mounted to the drive element 12 via a bearing half 19, which bearing half 19 cooperates with a corresponding part of the crank 13. The crank 13 is movable relative to the drive element 12 and is fastened or fixed to the drive element 12 in various eccentric positions. Crank 13 drives fork element 16, wherein crank 13 and fork element 16 are rotatably mounted relative to each other via shaft 23 having axis 43. Cross member 17 is driven by fork member 16 via shaft 20 having axis 44, as shown in fig. 4, which shaft 20 is mounted in fork member 16, wherein fork member 16 and cross member 17 are rotatably mounted relative to each other via shaft 20. The cross-member 17 is rotatably mounted with the transmission member 31 about a shaft 21, which shaft 21 has an axis 45 called gear segment axis 45, wherein the shaft 21 is arranged transversely with respect to the shaft 20. Shaft 21 is rotatably mounted relative to frame 42 of drive mechanism 10, as shown in fig. 2, wherein cross member 17 and frame 42 are rotatably mounted relative to each other via shaft 21.

In the illustrated embodiment, the frame 42 of the drive mechanism 10 may be fixedly attached to an intermediate frame 41, which intermediate frame 41 is attached to a side frame 40 of the loom (as shown in fig. 9). In the drive mechanism 10, the axes 43, 44 and 45 of the respective shafts 23, 20 and 21 all pass through the common point 36, as shown in fig. 4.

The crank 13 is fastened or fixed to the bearing half 19 of the drive element 12 by means of a fastening unit 28, for example the fastening unit 28 comprises a wedge 29, which wedge 29 is clamped between the crank 13 and the wall of the bearing half 19 by means of one or more fastening elements 34, for example two bolts as best shown in fig. 5. For example, the side of the crank 13 opposite to the side of the crank 13 on which the wedge 29 acts directly abuts against the side wall of the bearing half 19, which side wall of the bearing half 19 is opposite to the side wall of the bearing half 19 on which the wedge 29 acts. In the embodiment shown, the bearing half 19 has a circular curvature about the axis 45. After loosening the fastening element 34, the crank 13 can be rotated about an axis 45 (see fig. 1) with respect to the drive element 12 to change the eccentric position, so as in operation to adjust the amplitude of the oscillation of the gear segments forming the transmission part 31 and thus the movement stroke of the gripper 3, which is driven to and fro with the transmission part 31. Along the bearing half 19, a balancing weight 33 may optionally be fixed. The drive element 12 with the bearing half 19 and the fastening unit 28 may also be implemented as disclosed in WO 2011/120820 of the present inventor. The fastening element 34 may be loosened to loosen the transmission 24 from the drive element 12 and tightened to fasten the transmission 24 to the drive element 12.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, a brake 30 is provided that is adapted to hold the gear segment 22 after releasing the fastening element 34. The brake 30 is mounted to a support 89, which support 89 is attached to the frame 42 by bolts 93. The brake 30 allows to hold the transmission member 31 in a selected transmission member position and to move the driving element 12 relative to the transmission member 31 to adjust the eccentric position of the crank 13 relative to the driving element 12, wherein by moving the driving element 12 about its rotational axis 46 the crank 13 is moved within the bearing half 19 and the transmission 24 performs a constrained movement. Preferably, the drive element 12 is moved by actuating the drive motor 6. In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the shaft 50 of the gripper drive wheel 14 is provided with a gear 52 of the transmission 18. The brake 30 acts on the shaft 50 of the gripper drive wheel 14 and brakes the gear segment 22 forming the transmission part 31 via the gear 52 of the transmission 18. As shown in fig. 6, the brake 30 acts on the shaft 50 of the gripper drive wheel 14. This provides the advantage that, due to the gear ratio of the transmission 18, a large braking force can be exerted on the gear segment 22.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 6, the brake 30 includes an actuator 53 having a cylinder 80 and a plunger 81. A brake shoe 58 is provided on the distal end of plunger 81, and a spring 85 may be provided between plunger 81 and brake shoe 58. In addition, the brake 30 comprises a brake shoe 59 provided on the shaft 50, which brake shoe 59 is capable of cooperating with the brake shoe 58 when the actuator 53 is activated, in particular when the plunger 81 is moved in the direction of arrow B in fig. 6. To activate actuator 53, a compressed fluid (e.g., oil) may be supplied into cylinder 80 via supply conduit 87 (shown only in fig. 3) to move brake shoe 58 toward brake shoe 59 so that shaft 50 may be braked or held in place by brake 30. In one example, a first detector (not shown) may be provided to detect whether plunger 81 is in an inactive state, and a second detector (not shown) may be provided to detect whether plunger 81 is in an active state, thereby detecting whether brake shoes 58, 59 contact each other to retain shaft 50. The shaft 50 is supported in the frame 42 via bearings 83, 84. The cylinder 80 may be provided in a support 89, which support 89 is fixed to the frame 42 by bolts 93.

As schematically shown in fig. 2, a device 60 for determining a movement parameter, for example a movement path of the gripper 3 in a gripper weaving machine, is provided, which device 60 is able to determine the movement parameter of the gripper 3 on the basis of the amplitude of the oscillation of the transmission part 31 of the driving gripper 3, the amplitude of the oscillation of the transmission part 31 defining the amplitude of the oscillation of the gripper drive wheel 14 and thus the movement path of the gripper 3. With the device 60, the amplitude of the oscillation of the transmission member 31 is determined from the transmission ratio between the driving element 12 and the transmission member 31, which transmission ratio can be determined on the basis of the change in the angular position of the driving element 12 when moving the transmission member 31 through a defined range Δα, in particular when the transmission member 31 is moving through a gear segment 22 of a defined angular range Δα as shown in fig. 4.

For this purpose, the device 60 comprises a processor unit 61, which processor unit 61 is adapted to determine a change in the angular position of the driving element 12 when moving the transmission member 31 through the defined range Δα, and to determine the movement stroke of the gripper 3 based on the determined change in the angular position of the driving element 12. The processor unit 61 comprises a memory 65, in which memory 65 information about the position of the transmission member 31 for different movement strokes of the gripper 3, i.e. the angular position of the transmission member position relative to the drive element 12 for different movement strokes of the gripper 3, is stored, wherein the processor unit 61 is adapted to select the selected transmission member position based on the stored information. The processor unit 61 may perform the same determination as described above with respect to the first driving mechanism 10 with respect to the second driving mechanism 11. In the illustrated embodiment, the device 60 also includes a sensor device 64, described in more detail below. The processor unit 61 is connected to the sensor device 64, for example via a wire 66.

In order to determine the change in the angular position of the driving element 12, in the embodiment shown, the angular position of the driving element 12, in particular the first and second angular position of the driving element 12, may be captured using an angle sensor 55 which is also connected to the processor unit 61.

Fig. 7 schematically shows the angular position Θ of the transmission part position (in particular the angular position α of the gear segment 22) relative to the drive element 12 for two different amplitudes of the transmission part 31 and thus for two different movement strokes of the gripper 3 with two curves 70 and 71, wherein the first curve 70 shows the angular position Θ of the transmission part position relative to the drive element 12 for a first movement stroke (in particular a small movement stroke) with a solid line and wherein the second curve 71 shows the angular position Θ of the transmission part position relative to the drive element 12 for a second movement stroke (in particular a large movement stroke) with a dashed line. In each case, the transmission member 31 is driven to oscillate between two end transmission member positions, wherein the two end transmission member positions are different for a small movement stroke and a large movement stroke. In the embodiment shown, the movement from one end transmission member position to the other end transmission member position comprises a movement of the transmission member 31 over a defined range Δα with a first boundary α1 and a second boundary α2 for small and large movement strokes. The first and second boundaries α1, α2 are indicated by two horizontal lines 72 and 73 associated with the positions of the marks 62, 63 on the transmission member 31, as explained in more detail below. As will be appreciated, when the transmission member 31 is moved through the defined range Δα, the change Δθ1 in the angular position of the drive element 12 in the case of the first movement stroke of the gripper 3 is greater than the change Δθ2 in the angular position of the drive element 12 in the case of the second movement stroke of the gripper 3. Furthermore, based on the information about the changes Δθ1, Δθ2 in angular position, the amplitude of the motion of the transmission member 31, and thus the motion stroke of the stator shuttle 3, can be determined by using the geometric formula and dimensions of the drive mechanism 10. It should be understood that the curves shown in fig. 7 are by way of example only, and that each curve is related to the eccentric position of the crank 13 with respect to the driving element 12.

As shown in fig. 2-4, in the illustrated embodiment, the device 60 comprises two markers 62, 63 provided on the gear segment 22 and a sensor device 64, which sensor device 64 is fixedly arranged in a position opposite the gear segment 22 and is adapted to sense the presence or absence of the markers 62, 63. The sensor device 64 is attached to a support 89, which support 89 is attached to the frame 42. The sensor device 64 may be a proximity sensor device, in particular selected from the group comprising: capacitive proximity sensor devices, inductive proximity sensors, and optical proximity sensor devices. The first indicia 62 and the second indicia 63 may be selected from the group consisting of: recesses, cutouts or protrusions. In the example shown in fig. 4, the edges of the first indicia 62 and the edges of the second indicia 63 extend in a radial direction relative to the axis 45, for example along radial lines 67 and 68. The first and second markings 62, 63 are arranged at a relatively large distance from each other and from the axis 45, which facilitates an accurate determination of the change in the angular position of the drive element 12.

In the illustrated embodiment, the sensor device 64 is a proximity switch and the indicia 62, 63 are protrusions provided on the gear segment 22 proximate the toothed portion of the gear segment 22. The sensor device 64 may be adapted to measure a rising edge when one of the two markers 62, 63 moves into the sensing area of the sensor device 64 and/or to measure a falling edge when one of the two markers 62, 63 moves out of the sensing area of the sensor device 64.

The two markings 62, 63 delimit a defined range Δα of the transmission member 31, in particular a defined angular range Δα of the gear segment 22 in the embodiment of fig. 4. In other words, the first mark 62 and the second mark 63 each mark the boundary of the defined range Δα of the transmission member 31. In the example shown in fig. 4, the angular range Δα is defined between radial lines 67 and 68.

In one embodiment, the drive element 12 is moved to drive the transmission part 31 coupled to the drive element 12 in one direction such that the first and second markers 62, 63 each pass a sensor device 64, which sensor device 64 is arranged to be fixed to a suitable position on the frame 42 and opposite to the transmission part 31, wherein a first angular position of the drive element 12 when the first marker 62 passes the sensor device 64 and a second angular position of the drive element 12 when the second marker 63 passes the sensor device 64 are captured, and a change in the angular position of the drive element 12 is determined from the captured first angular position of the drive element 12 and the captured second angular position of the drive element 12. The drive element 12 is driven by means of a drive motor 6 of the weaving machine, which drive motor 6 is controlled by a processor unit 61. The fact that the sensor means 64 senses the passage of the first and second markers 62, 63 when the transmission member 31 rotates in the same direction provides the advantage that: an accurate angular difference between the captured first angular position and the captured second angular position may be determined.

In a gripper weaving machine in which the drive mechanism 10, 11 for the grippers 3, 5 is driven by the drive shaft 7, the movement configuration of the grippers 3, 5 can be defined as a function of the angular position of the drive shaft 7. The movement configuration defines the movement speed and the movement acceleration of the grippers 3, 5. This acceleration generates forces in the drive mechanism 10, 11 and at the gripper 2, 4 with gripper 3, 5. These forces include inertial and frictional forces between the rapiers 2, 4 with grippers 3, 5 and the rapier guides of the loom. Such forces and the speed of movement of the grippers 3, 5 define the load on the drive elements and bearings of the drive mechanism and the wear of the guiding surfaces. To reduce these forces and loads, the weaving speed may be limited. If the movement configuration of the grippers 3, 5 is known, the maximum weaving speed of the weaving machine can be calculated over the life expectancy of the weaving machine elements. In order to determine the movement configuration of the grippers 3, 5, the geometric formulae and dimensions of the drive means 10, 11 can be used, as well as the change in the angular position of the drive elements 12, 26 when the transmission part 31, 32 moves through the defined range Δα, the movement configuration can be determined on the basis of a limited number of measurements, and thus also on the basis of the movement path of the grippers 3, 5, in the case of the drive means 10, 11 shown in the figures with only one degree of freedom, in particular the eccentric position of the crank 13 with respect to the drive elements 12, 26.

For example, as shown in fig. 7, wherein the drive element 12 moves through 180 °, for a first eccentric position of the crank 13 relative to the drive element 12 associated with the curve 70, a first angular position of the drive element 12 may be captured when the first marker 62 marking the first boundary α1 of the range Δα passes the sensor device 64, which is located at the intersection 74 of the curve 70 with the horizontal line 72, and a second angular position of the drive element 12 may be captured when the second marker 63 marking the second boundary α2 of the range Δα passes the sensor device 64, which is located at the intersection 75 of the curve 70 with the horizontal line 73. The change in angular position Δθ1 may be determined from the captured first and second angular positions of the drive element 12. Similarly, for a second eccentric position of crank 13 relative to drive member 12 associated with curve 71, first and second angular positions of drive member 12 may be captured, which are located at intersections 76 and 77 of curve 71 with horizontal lines 72 and 73. Preferably, the positions of the horizontal lines 72 and 73 are selected such that when the curvature of the curves 70 and 71 is almost linear, the curves 70 and 71 pass through the horizontal lines 72 and 73.

The movement stroke of the grippers 3, 5 can be determined on the basis of the changes Δθ1, Δθ2 of the angular position of the drive element 12 determined when the transmission members 31, 32 move through the defined range Δα, in other words on the basis of the angular distance between the intersection points 74, 75 and the angular distance between the intersection points 77, 78. For each weaving speed of the gripper weaving machine, the movement configuration of the grippers 3, 5, in particular the movement speed of the grippers 3, 5 and the associated movement acceleration of the grippers 3, 5, can also be determined on the basis of the change Δθ1, Δθ2 in the angular position of the drive element 12 determined when the transmission part 31, 32 moves through the defined range Δα. Further, average motion speed, maximum or minimum motion acceleration, and other motion parameters may be determined.

The average speed of movement of the grippers 3, 5 is related to the movement travel of the grippers 3, 5 and the movement speed of the drive element 12 of the gripper loom, while the actual speed of the grippers 3, 5 and the maximum speed of the grippers 3, 5 can also be determined based on information about the element size of the drive mechanism 10, 11.

According to one embodiment, the weaving speed of the gripper weaving machine may be selected or set on the basis of the allowable movement speed of the grippers 3, 5. The maximum allowable movement speed of the grippers 3, 5 is also related to the allowable acceleration forces caused by the grippers 3, 5. The speed of the gripper weaving machine can be increased or decreased so that the maximum permissible speed of the grippers 3, 5 is not exceeded during the weaving process. This provides the advantage that the weaving speed of the gripper weaving machine can be set as high as possible while avoiding that the movement parameters of the grippers 3, 5, such as the movement speed or the movement acceleration of the grippers 3, 5, exceed the maximum permissible value. For example, for a motion stroke of 800mm and a transmission mechanism as shown in fig. 1, the maximum loom speed may be limited to 820RPM, while for a motion stroke of 1110mm, the maximum weaving speed must be limited to 700RPM.

According to different embodiments, the driving element 12 is moved to drive the gear segment 22 coupled to the driving element 12 back and forth such that at least one of the first and second markers 62, 63 passes the sensor device 64 twice, wherein a first angular position of the driving element 12 is captured when the first or second marker 62, 63 moves past the sensor device 64 in a first direction and a second angular position of the driving element 12 is captured when the first or second marker 62, 63 moves past the sensor device 64 in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and a change in the angular position of the driving element 12 is determined from the captured first and second angular positions.

For example, as shown in fig. 8, wherein the drive element 12 moves through 360 °, for a first eccentric position of the crank 13 relative to the drive element 12 associated with the curve 70, a first angular position of the drive element 12 may be captured when the first marker 62 moves past the sensor device 64 in a first direction, which is at an intersection 74 of the curve 70 and the horizontal line 72, and a second angular position of the drive element 12 may be captured when the first marker 62 moves past the sensor device 64 in a second, opposite direction, which is at an intersection 79 of the curve 70 and the horizontal line 72. Similarly, for a second eccentric position of the crank 13 with respect to the drive element 12, the intersection points 76 and 78 can be determined.

In both embodiments, the determination of the change in the angular position of the drive element 12 is independent of the phase shift between the transmission part 31 and the drive element 12, in particular, the phase shift between the transmission part 31 and the drive shaft 7 of the weaving machine.

As shown in fig. 2, a gripper position sensor device 56 may furthermore be provided for sensing the passage of an area of the gripper drive wheel 14 along the sensor device 56. The gripper position sensor device 56, in particular the proximity sensor device, is mounted in a rest position in the vicinity of the gripper drive wheel 14. When the position of the gripper 5 relative to the gripper drive wheel 14 is known, the gripper position sensor device 56 allows to determine when the gripper 5 is in a defined position relative to the shed or fabric and relative to the drive element 12 rotating with the drive shaft 7 of the weaving machine. The use of such gripper position sensor means 56 allows to determine a phase shift between the angular position of the drive shaft 7 of the weaving machine and the angular position of the gripper drive wheel 14 driving the gripper 5, which angular position of the gripper drive wheel 14 also defines the position of the gripper 5 with respect to the shed. For example, the processor unit 61 is connected to the gripper position sensor device 56 via a wire 69.

In addition to the gripper position sensor device 56 or as an alternative to the gripper position sensor device 56, a further gripper position sensor device 57 may be provided for sensing the passage of the gripper 5 along the gripper position sensor device 57, whereby the gripper position sensor device 57 may be a sensor device as known from US 4,127,150, which is mounted in the vicinity of the gripper path, for example in the region of a gripper guide 37 arranged in the vicinity of the shed. The gripper position sensor device 57 allows to determine when the gripper 5 is in a defined position with respect to the shed or fabric and with respect to the drive element 12 rotating with the drive shaft 7 of the weaving machine. The gripper position sensor device 57 may be connected to the processor unit 61 via a wire 69.

To adjust the movement stroke of the grippers 3, 5, in one embodiment, the actual movement stroke of the grippers 3, 5 is first determined. This may be implemented according to the method for determining the movement stroke of the shuttles 3, 5 as described above. For this purpose, in one embodiment, the grippers 3, 5 are uncoupled from the transmission means 31, 32 in order to avoid movement of the grippers 3, 5 when determining the movement path. To uncouple, the gripper drive wheels 14, 15 may be disengaged from the transmission 18, 27 by loosening the fastening means 35, for example by loosening bolts 92 (shown in fig. 6) for attaching the gripper drive wheels 14, 15 to the shaft 50. Thereby, the grippers 3, 5 do not move during the adjustment movement stroke and are therefore not damaged during the adjustment movement stroke.

For example, when the gripper 3, 5 is outside the shed, e.g. when the gripper 3, 5 is inside a fixed gripper guide 37 (as shown in fig. 2), the gripper 3, 5 is uncoupled. In an alternative embodiment, the rapier 2, 4 with the gripper 3, 5 can be completely removed from the weaving machine, as shown in fig. 2. After decoupling the gripper 3, 5, the drive motor 6 can be activated to move the drive element 12, 26, which drive element 12, 26 drives the transmission part 31, 32 in rotation about the axis 45, 51, in particular the drive gear segment 22, 47 in rotation about the axis 45, 51. The transmission members 31, 32 are then driven for a rotational movement in one direction, wherein both markers 62, 63 pass the sensor device 64. When the transmission part 31 of the first drive mechanism 10 moves, for example by means of the angle sensor 55 connected to the processor unit 61, a first angular position of the drive element 12 when the first marker 62 passes the sensor means 64 and a second angular position of the drive element 12 when the second marker 63 passes the sensor means 64 are captured. The actual movement stroke can be determined from the change in the angular position of the drive element 12 between the positions associated with the markers 62, 63 caused by the movement of the transmission member 31. The same determination may be performed for the second drive mechanism 11. In the following description, the actual movement stroke is referred to as a first movement stroke. The desired movement path after the adjustment movement path is called the second movement path.

In order to adjust the movement path of the gripper 3 from the first movement path to the second movement path, a relative movement of the drive element 12 and the crank 13 is required in order to change the eccentric position of the crank 13 relative to the drive element 12. Hereinafter, the eccentric position associated with the first movement stroke is referred to as a first eccentric position, and the eccentric position associated with the second movement stroke is referred to as a second eccentric position.

To change the eccentric position and thereby adjust the movement stroke, the transmission member position is next selected and the transmission member 31 is moved to the selected transmission member position by moving the drive element 12 to a first angular position associated with the selected transmission member position for the first movement stroke of the gripper 3. By actuating the drive motor 6, the drive element 12 can be moved into the first angular position. During this movement, in the first eccentric position, the crank mechanism 24 remains fixed to the drive element 12. The first angular position of the drive element 12 is shown in fig. 9 and is selected such that the fastening element 34 of the fastening unit 28 is accessible to an operator, for example via a coverable opening 39 in an intermediate frame 41, which intermediate frame 41 is arranged between a frame 42 (only shown in fig. 2) of the drive mechanism 10 and a side frame 40 of the weaving machine. The transmission part positions are selected such that the first angular position of the drive element 12 and the second angular position of the drive element 12 are, for example, between 10 ° and 70 ° of the drive shaft 7, in particular between 30 ° and 60 ° of the drive shaft 7, when the 0 ° position of the drive shaft 7 is in beat-up.

When the movement stroke is to be increased, for example from 1000mm to 1100mm, the selected transmission part position may be selected at a first angular position of the driving element 12, 26, for example at a 30 ° position of the driving element 12, 26, when the 0 ° position of the driving element 12, 26 is in beat-up. The drive element 12, 26 is moved to 30 °, which is also the first angular position associated with the selected transmission part position for the first movement stroke of the gripper 3, 5. A second angular position associated with the selected transmission part position for the second movement stroke of the grippers 3, 5 is then determined by the processor unit 61 on the basis of the stored information about the dimensions of the transmission 24, 25 and the movement stroke of the grippers 3, 5, wherein the movement stroke of the grippers 3, 5 is determined by the transmission ratio, in particular by the current eccentric position of the crank 13 with respect to the drive elements 12, 26. For example, based on the stored information, the processor unit 61 may determine that the second angular position is 55 °. After the fastening unit 28 has been released and while the transmission parts 31, 32 are held in their transmission part positions by the brake 30, the drive elements 12, 26 can be moved to 55 °. During this movement the eccentric position of the transmission 24, 25 with respect to the drive element 12, 26 will change, in particular the crank 13 will move along the bearing half 19 and the drive element 12, 26 will reach a second angular position, which is associated with said selected transmission part position for the second movement stroke of the gripper 3, 5. The fastening unit 28 may then be fastened again and the brake 30 may be deactivated.

When the movement stroke is to be reduced, for example from 1000mm to 920mm, the selected transmission part position may be selected at a first angular position of the driving element 12, 26, for example at a 60 ° position of the driving element 12, 16, when the 0 ° position of the driving element 12, 26 is in beat-up. The drive element 12, 26 is moved to 60 °, which is also the first angular position associated with the selected transmission part position for the first movement stroke of the gripper 3, 5. A second angular position associated with the selected transmission part position for a second movement stroke of the grippers 3, 5 is then determined by the processor unit 61 on the basis of the stored information about the dimensions of the transmission 24, 25 and the movement stroke of the grippers 3, 5, wherein the second movement stroke of the grippers 3, 5 is determined by the transmission ratio, in particular by the current eccentric position of the crank 13 with respect to the drive elements 12, 26. For example, based on the stored information, the processor unit 61 may determine that the second angular position is 38 °. After the fastening unit 28 has been released and while the transmission parts 31, 32 are held in their transmission part positions by the brake 30, the drive elements 12, 26 can be moved to 38 °. During this movement the eccentric position of the transmission 24, 25 with respect to the drive element 12, 26 will change, in particular the crank 13 will move along the bearing half 19 and the drive element 12, 26 will reach a second angular position, which is associated with said selected transmission part position for the second movement stroke of the gripper 3, 5. The fastening unit 28 may then be fastened again and the brake 30 may be deactivated.

In both examples described above, the first angular position of the driving element 12, 26 and the second angular position of the driving element 12, 26 will remain between 30 ° and 60 °, such that in the first angular position of the driving element 12, 26 and the second angular position of the driving element 12, 26, the fastening unit 28 remains manually accessible by the operator.

When the drive element 12 is in the first angular position and the transmission member 31 (in particular, the gear segment 22) is in the selected transmission member position as shown in fig. 9 and 10, the brake 30 (as shown in fig. 2, 3 and 6) is activated to hold the transmission member 31 in the selected transmission member position. The one or more fastening elements 34 are then released while the transmission member 31 is held in the selected transmission member position by the brake 30.

After loosening the one or more fastening elements 34 and while holding the transmission part 31 with the brake 30, the driving element 12 is driven for a rotational movement about its rotational axis 46 (see fig. 4), as indicated by arrow R in fig. 10, and is moved relative to the transmission part 31 to a second angular position, as shown in fig. 11, which is associated with a selected transmission part position for a second movement stroke of the gripper 3. Preferably, the drive element 12 is moved from the first angular position into the second angular position by actuating the drive motor 6, so that the crank 13 is moved along the bearing half 19. For different eccentric positions of the crank 13 relative to the drive element 12, in particular for different movement strokes of the gripper 3, the first and second angular positions are determined based on information stored in the memory 65 about the angular position of the transmission part 31 relative to the drive element 12.

Due to the rotational movement of the drive element 12, the crank 13 is moved relative to the drive element 12, wherein the movement is constrained by the crank mechanism 24 and the bearing half 19, such that the crank 13 is moved relative to the drive element 12 along the bearing half 19 from the first eccentric position into the second eccentric position. Thus, after the drive element 12 reaches the second angular position, one or more fastening elements 34 may be fastened to fasten the crank 13 in the second eccentric position with respect to the drive element 12. During tightening of the tightening element 34, the drive motor 6 may be controlled to maintain its angular position, or alternatively may be maintained in its angular position by a brake 86 (shown in fig. 1) mounted on the drive motor 6. When the crank 13 is fastened to the drive element 12, the brake 30 may be deactivated. In one embodiment, the method for determining the movement stroke as described above may be performed in order to check whether the second movement stroke is set correctly. If the set second movement stroke is incorrect, the setting of the movement stroke may be repeated. When the gripper 3 is coupled again to the transmission part 31, the operation of the weaving machine can start with an adjusted movement stroke of the gripper 3.

The first and second angular positions are selected such that the operator can manually access one or more fastening elements 34 of the fastening unit 28 via the coverable opening 39 in the intermediate frame 41. In an alternative embodiment, the fastening unit 28 may be provided with an actuator and a fastening element 34 drivable by the actuator, for example an actuator such as a hydraulic cylinder or a controllable electric motor, so that the fastening unit 28 may be fastened or unfastened automatically via the processor unit 61 controlling the actuator.

When large adjustment of the movement stroke is necessary, by repeating the above-described method several times, the adjustment of the movement stroke can be performed in a plurality of repetitions, so that the operator is always accessible to one or more fastening elements 34 during each repetition.

If the gripper 3, 5 is uncoupled from the transmission part 31, 32, for example after the drive element 12, 26 has been moved into the second angular position relative to the transmission part 31, 32 and before the loom has been started, before the transmission part 31, 32 has been moved into the selected transmission part position, and if applicable after the last repetition of the above-described method, the gripper 3, 5 is coupled again to the transmission part 31, 32.

In one embodiment, the drive element 12, 26 may be driven by the drive motor 6 under the control of the processor unit 61 to move the drive element 12, 26 into an angular position associated with the end position of the gripper 3, 5 in the middle of the weaving machine, for example when the shaft 54 is in a 180 ° position. The gripper 3, 5 mounted to the rapier 2, 4 can then be coupled to the transmission part 31, 32 via the rapier driving wheel 14, 15 by means of the fastening means 35, while the gripper 3, 5 is in said end position and the driving element 12, 26 is in said associated angular position. This allows the movements of the grippers 3, 5 to be synchronized with the movements of the driving elements 12, 26, in other words, allows a phase shift between the movements of the grippers 3, 5 and the movements of the driving elements 12, 26 to be set, so that an optimal movement of the grippers 3, 5, in particular an optimal movement determined by the processor unit 61, is obtained, which is related to the eccentric position of the crank 13 with respect to the driving elements 12. The movement of the grippers 3, 5 is determined by movement parameters, such as movement path, movement speed and/or movement acceleration, which can be determined when, for example, movement path and weaving speed are known.

As shown in fig. 10 and 11, when the method for adjusting the movement stroke of the gripper 3 is performed, by moving the driving element 12, in particular by driving the driving element 12 to move using the driving motor 6, the first transmission part 31 and the cross element 17 are held in place by the brake 30 and do not move, while the crank 13 and the fork element 16 move due to the rotational movement of the driving element 12, while allowing the crank 13 to move along the bearing half 19 with respect to the driving element 12 when the fastening element 34 is released.

In the illustrated embodiment, the processor unit 61 (see fig. 2) is adapted to: determining a first angular position of the drive element 12 associated with a selected transmission member position of the transmission member 31 and a second angular position of the drive element 12 associated with the selected transmission member position of the transmission member 31; by moving the drive element 12 into the first angular position, the transmission member 31 is moved to a selected transmission member position, preferably by actuating the drive motor 6; activating the brake 30 to hold the transmission member 31 in the selected transmission member position; and moving the drive element 12 into the second angular position relative to the transmission member 31, preferably by actuating the drive motor 6, while maintaining the transmission member 31 in the selected transmission member position and while releasing the crank mechanism 24 from the drive element 12. The processor unit 61 may determine the first and second angular positions based on the respective geometric formulas and dimensions of the drive mechanism 10 or the drive mechanism 11.

The loosening and tightening of the tightening element 34 may be performed manually by an operator. In this case, the selected transmission part position for adjusting the movement stroke is selected so as to ensure good accessibility for the loosening and tightening of the tightening element 34 when the driving element 12 is in the first and second angular positions.

To this end, the processor unit 61 is adapted to select a transmission part position at which the transmission part 31, 32, in particular the gear segment 22, 47, has to be held in place, and to determine a first angular position of the drive element 12, 26 associated with the selected transmission part position for the first movement stroke, and a second angular position of the drive element 12, 26 associated with the selected transmission part position for the second movement stroke, wherein the processor unit 61 is adapted to select the selected transmission part position such that the fastening element 34 is accessible in the first and second angular positions of the drive element 12, 26.

The processor unit 61 is further adapted to: by determining the change Δθ1, Δθ2 of the angular position of the drive element 12, 26 when moving the transmission member 31, 32 through the defined range Δα, the movement stroke of the stator shuttles 3, 5 is determined; and determining the movement stroke of the stator shuttles 3, 5 based on the determined changes Δθ1, Δθ2 in the angular positions of the driving elements 12, 26. In order to determine the movement path of the stator 3, the geometric formulae and dimensions of the drive mechanisms 10, 11 are used.

In an alternative embodiment, the transmission member 31, 32 is drivingly coupled to the gripper drive wheel 14, 15 and is moved through a defined range to determine the motion parameters of the gripper 3, 5, the transmission member 31, 32 being a gear 52 of the transmission 18 or being drivingly coupled to the shaft 50 of the gripper drive wheel 14, 15. The defined range through which the gear 52 or the shaft 50 moves may be determined by an angle sensor that senses the angular position of the gear 52 or the shaft 50. The defined range is in fixed relation to the angular position of the gear segment 22 of the transmission 18.

The processor unit 61 is further adapted to: by determining the change Δθ1, Δθ2 in the angular position of the drive element 12, 26 when moving the gripper 3, 5 through a defined range (in particular, by moving the transmission member 31, 32 through a defined range Δα), the speed of movement of the gripper 3, 5 is determined; and determining the movement speed of the grippers 3, 5 based on the determined changes Δθ1, Δθ2 in the angular position of the driving elements 12, 26 and the movement speed of the driving elements 12, 26. In order to determine the movement stroke of the grippers 3, 5 and/or the movement speed of the grippers 3, 5, the geometric formulae and dimensions of the drive mechanisms 10, 11 are used. The processor unit 61 can also control the movement speed of the weaving machine, in particular of the drive elements 12, 26, in order to optimize or maximize the movement speed of the weaving machine in connection with this movement stroke of the grippers 3, 5.

The method for determining the movement parameters of the grippers 3, 5 in a gripper loom may be performed when the drive motor 6 is moving at a low speed or during the weaving process when the drive motor 6 is moving at a weaving speed.

By controlling the movement parameters of the gripper weaving machine, such as the movement stroke of the grippers 3, 5, the movement speed of the grippers 3, 5 or the movement speed of the drive elements 12, 26 of the gripper weaving machine, the movement speed of the gripper weaving machine can be optimized in connection with the movement stroke of the grippers 3, 5. This allows the movement speed of the loom for weaving a fabric having a smaller width to be increased relative to the movement speed of the loom for weaving a fabric having a maximum weaving width in the case where the weaving width of the loom is smaller than the maximum weaving width of the loom, in particular when the movement stroke of the gripper 3, 5 is smaller than the maximum movement stroke of the gripper 3, 5.

The width reduction can be performed at each side of the loom. The width reduction at one side of the traction gripper 3 may be different from the width reduction at the side of the receiving gripper 5, for example for weaving a fabric with a small weaving width, which is not located at the centre of the weaving machine. In this case, the movement strokes of the two grippers 3, 5 may be different, and the maximum speed of the loom may be defined by the movement strokes of the grippers 3, 5 moving with the maximum movement strokes.

The transmission 10, 11, the transmission parts 31, 32 and the bearing halves 19 are not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the figures. In an alternative embodiment the transmission member comprises a wobble slide driving the gripper drive wheel, which slide moves linearly back and forth between the end transmission member positions, as is known from US 4052906, wherein the slide moves through a defined range, which is a defined linear range. In this embodiment, the slider may be provided with one marker, or the slider may be provided with a first marker and a second marker for marking the boundary of the defined range, and the sensor means is fixedly arranged in a position opposite the slider for sensing the presence or absence of one or more markers. In yet another embodiment, the transmission mechanism may be a crank mechanism, wherein the bearing half is a linearly extending bearing half known from US 4052906. In a further alternative embodiment the transmission mechanism may be a combination of a cam mechanism and a crank mechanism as known from EP 565885 a.

Since the movement configuration of the grippers 3, 5, which is defined by the movement parameters of the grippers 3, 5, is known relative to the drive shaft 7 of the weaving machine, the maximum weaving speed can also be determined in order to avoid overloading the components of the drive system 1. When knowing the movement stroke of the grippers 3, 5 and the weaving speed of the weaving machine, the movement configuration and other movement parameters of the grippers 3, 5 can be determined with the geometric formulas and dimensions of the drive mechanisms 10, 11.

Claims

1. Method for adjusting the movement stroke of a gripper (3, 5) in a gripper weaving machine, wherein the gripper (3, 5) is driven to and fro by using a transmission member (31, 32), wherein a drive element (12, 26) which rotates together with a drive shaft (7) of the gripper weaving machine can be drivingly coupled to the transmission member (31, 32) via a transmission mechanism (24, 25), wherein the transmission mechanism (24, 25) can be fastened to the drive element (12, 26) in a respective eccentric position, wherein the drive element (12, 26) can drive the transmission member (31, 32) to oscillate between end transmission member positions, and wherein the oscillation amplitude of the transmission member (31, 32) can be set by changing the eccentric position in order to adjust the movement stroke of the gripper (3, 5), characterized in that the method comprises: -maintaining the transmission member (31, 32) in a selected transmission member position when the transmission mechanism (24, 25) is released from the drive element (12, 26), and-moving the drive element (12, 26) relative to the transmission member (31, 32) from a first angular position associated with the selected transmission member position for a first movement stroke of the gripper (3, 5) defined by a first eccentric position to a second angular position associated with the selected transmission member position for a second movement stroke of the gripper (3, 5) defined by a second eccentric position.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: -moving the transmission member (31, 32) into a selected transmission member position for a first movement stroke of the gripper (3, 5) by moving the driving element (12, 26) into the first angular position associated with the selected transmission member position when the transmission mechanism (24, 25) is fastened to the driving element (12, 26) in the first eccentric position; -holding the transmission member (31, 32) in the selected transmission member position; -releasing the transmission (24, 25) from the drive element (12, 26); -moving the driving element (12, 26) relative to the transmission member (31, 32) to the second angular position associated with a selected transmission member position for a second movement stroke of the gripper (3, 5); and fastening the transmission (24, 25) to the drive element (12, 26) in the second eccentric position.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the method further comprises selecting the selected transmission part position and determining a first angular position of the drive element (12, 26) associated with the selected transmission part position and determining a second angular position of the drive element (12, 26) associated with the selected transmission part position, wherein the selected transmission part position is selected such that a fastening unit (28) is manually accessible in the first angular position of the drive element (12, 26) and the second angular position of the drive element (12, 26), the fastening unit (28) being adapted to fasten the transmission mechanism (24, 25) to the drive element (12, 26).

4. A method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the first angular position of the drive element (12, 26) and the second angular position of the drive element (12, 26) are determined based on stored information about the angular position of the transmission part position relative to the drive element for different movement strokes of the gripper.

5. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the gripper (3, 5) is uncoupled from the transmission part (31, 32) before moving the transmission part (31, 32) into the selected transmission part position, and that the gripper (3, 5) is coupled to the transmission part (31, 32) after moving the drive element (12, 26) relative to the transmission part (31, 32) into the second angular position of the drive element (12, 26).

6. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, prior to adjusting the movement stroke, a first movement stroke is determined by determining a change in the angular position of the drive element (12, 26) when the transmission part (31, 32) moves through a defined range (Δα); and determining a movement stroke of the gripper (3, 5) based on the determined change (Δθ1, Δθ2) in the angular position of the drive element (12, 26); wherein in particular a first marking (62) for marking a first boundary of the defined range (Δα) is provided on the transmission member (31, 32), and a second marking (63) for marking a second boundary of the defined range (Δα) is provided on the transmission member (31, 32), the method comprising: -moving the transmission means (31, 32) such that the first and second markers (62, 63) each pass a sensor means (64) fixedly arranged in a position opposite the transmission means (31, 32), -capturing a first angular position of the driving element (12, 26) when the first marker (62) passes the sensor means (64), and-capturing a second angular position of the driving element (12, 26) when the second marker (63) passes the sensor means (64), and-determining a change of the angular position of the driving element (12, 26) depending on the captured first angular position of the driving element (12, 26) and the captured second angular position of the driving element (12, 26), wherein in particular the first angular position of the driving element (12, 26) and the second angular position of the driving element (12, 26) are captured when the transmission means (31, 32) is moved in one direction.

7. A drive mechanism for moving a gripper (3, 5) back and forth in a gripper weaving machine, which gripper is fixed to a rapier (2, 4), wherein the drive mechanism (10, 11) comprises a drive element (12, 26), a transmission (24, 25), a transmission part (31, 32) and means for adjusting the movement stroke of the gripper (3, 5), wherein the gripper (3, 5) is driven to move back and forth by using the transmission part (31, 32), wherein the drive element (12, 26) rotates together with a drive shaft (7) of the gripper weaving machine and can be drivingly coupled to the transmission part (31, 32) via the transmission (24, 25), wherein the means for adjusting the movement stroke comprise a fastening unit (28), which fastening unit (28) is adapted to fasten the transmission (24, 25) to the drive element (12, 26) in various eccentric positions, wherein the transmission part (31, 32) can be moved back and forth by the drive element (12, 26) in such a way that the amplitude of the movement of the gripper (3, 30) can be set from the drive element (12, 26) in such a way that the amplitude of the movement can be adjusted from the drive element (31, 30) is set up by the transmission part (30) 26 -holding the transmission member (31, 32) in a selected transmission member position when the transmission mechanism (24, 25) is released, wherein the driving element (12, 26) is movable relative to the transmission member (31, 32) held by the brake (30) from a first angular position of the driving element (12, 26) associated with a selected transmission member position for a first movement stroke of the gripper (3, 5) defined by a first eccentric position to a second angular position of the driving element (12, 26) associated with a selected transmission member position for a second movement stroke of the gripper (3, 5) defined by a second eccentric position.

8. The drive mechanism according to claim 7, characterized in that the means for adjusting the movement stroke comprises a processor unit (61), wherein the processor unit (61) is adapted to: controlling a drive motor (6) to move the transmission member (31, 32) to a selected transmission member position for a first movement stroke of the gripper (3, 5) by moving the drive member (12, 26) to a first angular position of the drive member (12, 26) associated with the selected transmission member position when the transmission mechanism (24, 25) is secured to the drive member (12, 26) in the first eccentric position; activating the brake (30) to hold the transmission member (31, 32) in the selected transmission member position; and controlling the drive motor (6) to move the drive element (12, 26) relative to the transmission part (31, 32) to a second angular position of the drive element (12, 26) associated with a selected transmission part position for a second movement stroke of the gripper (3, 5) when the transmission mechanism (24, 25) is released from the drive element (12, 26).

9. The drive mechanism according to claim 8, wherein the processor unit (61) is adapted to: -selecting the transmission part position and determining a first angular position of the driving element (12, 26) associated with the selected transmission part position and a second angular position of the driving element (12, 26) associated with the selected transmission part position, wherein the processor unit (61) is adapted to select the selected transmission part position such that the fastening unit (28) is manually accessible in the first angular position of the driving element (12, 26) and the second angular position of the driving element (12, 26).

10. The drive mechanism according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the processor unit (61) comprises a memory (65) in which information about the angular position of a transmission part position relative to the drive element (12, 26) for different movement strokes of the gripper (3, 5) is stored, wherein the processor unit (61) is adapted to select the selected transmission part position based on the stored information.

11. The drive mechanism according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the processor unit (61) is adapted to determine the movement stroke of the gripper (3, 5) by determining a change in the angular position of the drive element (12, 26) when the transmission part (31, 32) moves through a defined range (Δα), and to determine the movement stroke of the gripper (3, 5) based on the determined change in the angular position of the drive element (12, 26).

12. A drive mechanism according to any one of claims 7-11, characterized in that the transmission mechanism (24, 25) comprises a crank (13), which crank (13) is movably mounted to the drive element (12, 26) and is fastened to the drive element (12, 26) in an adjustable eccentric position by using the fastening unit (28).

13. A computer program product for use with a drive mechanism according to any of claims 7 to 12, and comprising instructions to select the selected transmission part position, and to determine a first angular position of a drive element (12, 26) associated with the selected transmission part position, and to determine a second angular position of a drive element (12, 26) associated with the selected transmission part position, wherein the selected transmission part position is selected such that the fastening unit (28) is manually accessible in the first angular position of the drive element (12, 26) and the second angular position of the drive element (12, 26), the fastening unit (28) being adapted to fasten the transmission mechanism (24, 25) to the drive element (12, 26).

14. A data processing device for use with the drive mechanism according to any one of claims 7 to 12, the data processing device comprising a processor unit (61), the processor unit (61) being adapted to: -selecting the selected transmission part position, and-determining a first angular position of the driving element (12, 26) associated with the selected transmission part position, and-determining a second angular position of the driving element (12, 26) associated with the selected transmission part position, wherein the selected transmission part position is selected such that the fastening unit (28) is manually accessible in the first angular position of the driving element (12, 26) and the second angular position of the driving element (12, 26), the fastening unit (28) being adapted to fasten the transmission mechanism (24, 25) to the driving element (12, 26).

15. Loom with a data processing device according to claim 14 and/or with a drive mechanism according to any of claims 9 to 12.