GB2031471A

GB2031471A - Harness connections

Info

Publication number: GB2031471A
Application number: GB7841024A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Devoge and Co Ltd
Current assignee: Devoge and Co Ltd
Priority date: 1978-10-18
Filing date: 1978-10-18
Publication date: 1980-04-23
Also published as: GB2031471B

Abstract

Endwise ridges on heat shrink sleeves covering connections of loom healds to harness cords, lingoes or resilient anchoring strands are removed by gassing with a small flame so as to avoid opposed ridges catching on each other causing mis-picks. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improved connection of loom heald to harness cord and the like This invention relates to connections of weaving loom healds to harness cords or lingoes or resilient anchoring strands.

If the knotted connections at each end of the heald are left uncovered, they tend to catch on each other giving rise to problems in the operation of the loom. It is customary, therefore, to cover the connections with plastic, in order to make them smooth, as well as to prevent the knots coming undone. By preventing relative movement between the connected parts, the plastic covering also prevents chafing of the abradable cord or strand members.

There are several methods by which the plastic covering can be applied. One popular method, especially so on account of convenience in application, is to heat shrink a sleeve of heat shrink plastic which has been slipped into place over the connection so as to cover all unsmooth parts thereof. Although this method is very satisfactory, nevertheless it is found that problems still arie in practice, particularly when the healds are set in the harness in a high-density arrangement, so that they are very close together.

It is found that, even though the sleeves have been heat shrunk on to the heald and connected member, there is still, at each end of the shrunk sleeve, a sharp ridge corresponding to the cut end face of the sleeve which has not been eliminated by the shrinking process. Although this ridge is small, in high density harness arrangements, oppositely facing ridges on adjacent healds can catch on each other and this interferes with the proper working of the loom giving rise to mis-picks and eventual failure of the connections.

This problem is solved, according to the present invention, by gassing at least one end of the heat shrink sleeves.

By "gassing" is meant, in the present context, subjecting the sleeve end to a hot gas such as a flame sufficiently to eliminate the sharp ridge.

A flame is so hot as to be likely to melt or burn the material of which harness cord and elastic anchoring strands are conventionally made. It is found to be sufficient, however, to gas the end of the sleeve that is on the metal heald. Even though there may still be a ridge on the opposed end of an adjacent sleeve in a harness.

The gassing is best done when the sleeves have already been heat shrunk-by a conventional method that does not harm the harness cord or anchoring strand-in a loom assem bly. The connections here are in just the right state of tension.

For work in such a confined environment, a small flamecommensurate with the sleeve dimensions-is desirable. As a gassing tool, a small jet on a probe a few-say 1 0-1 5- centimetres long is very convenient. Since any loom arrangement may contain up to a few thousand healds to be treated, and the flame is desirably played on the sleeve end for a few seconds-say about four seconds-the jet is desirably connected to a substantial reservoir of gas-propane or butane are very suitable.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a knotted connection of a heald to a harness cord and a heat shrink sleeve about to be slid over the connection.

Figure 2 shows the sleeve in position over the connection and about to be shrunk.

Figure 3 shows the sleeve after shrinking and an adjacent sleeve in a loom assembly.

Figure 4 shows an end of the shrunk sleeve being gassed, and Figure 5 shows the end of the sleeve after gassing, with an adjacent sleeve.

The attachment shown in Fig. 1 is of a heald 11 to a harness cord 1 2 and is effected by a single knot 1 3 through the heald eye 1 1a. A heat shrink sleeve 14, of sufficient length to cover the entire region of the attachment, has previously been placed on the heald 11.

Fig. 2 shows the sleeve 1 4 moved up to cover the attachment region. The sleeve is heat shrunk by hot air from a wand 15, Fig. 3 shows the sleeve 1 4 after shrinking. It will be seen that although the sleeve 1 4 has shrunk to a tight fit around the attachment region such that the connection is now generally smooth, nevertheless there is still a small ridge 1 4a at each end of the sleeve. A relatively displaced heald is shown adjacent the sleeve 1 4 in a position such as would be expected in a high density loom arrangement.

When the two healds move relatively in the direction shown by the arrows, the opposed ridges 1 4a are likely to catch on each other. If the one heald is moving down to the closed shed position under the restoring force of an elastic anchoring strand, this motion can be interrupted by a ridge encounter with the opposed ridge of the oppositely moving adjacent heald, giving rise to a mis-pick and a fault in the fabric.

Fig. 4 shows the inventive step of gassing the end of the shrunk sleeve 1 4 on the heald 11. The gassing is effected by a small flame 1 6 from a jet 1 7 on a tube 1 8 of convenient length-say 10 to 1 5 cms---on a handle (not shown) adapted for easy manipulation. The gas supply is desirably by flexible tubing from a cylinder of e.g. propane or butane.

It is necessary to play the flame on to the sleeve end for only a few, say about four, seconds.

Fig. 5 shows the shrunk and gassed sleeve 14. The ridge has now disappeared, the sleeve material joining smoothly on to the heald 11. An adjacent heald is shown also in this figure. It will be seen that even though the adjacent heald exhibits a ridge 1 4a, there is now no possibility of the healds catching on each other because the lower end of the sleeve 14 of the one heald does not display a ridge.

The hot gas does not have to be a flame it could as well be produced in a wand like the one used for heat shrinking, provided the temperature of the air can be made sufficiently high. One advantage of a flame is that the hot region is visible.

Claims

1. A method for making an improved connection of a loom heald to a harness cord or a lingo or a resilient anchoring strand, in which a heat shrink plastic sleeve is shrunk over the connection characterised in that at least one end of the sleeve is gassed.

2. A method according to claim 1, characterised in that the end of the sleeve on the heald is gassed.

3. A method according to claim 1, characterised in that the gassing is effected by a small flame commensurate with the sleeve.

4. A method for making improved connections of healds to harness cords or lingoes or resilient anchoring strands in a loom harness assembly in which the connections are covered by heat shrink sleeves which are shrunk, characterised in that at least one end of each sleeve is gassed.

5. A method according to claim 6, in which each sleeve is gassed individually.

6. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, in which the sleeve is subjected to a flame for a few seconds.

7. A loom heald connected to a harness cord or a lingo or a resilient anchoring strand, the connection being covered by a heat shrink sleeve, characterised in that at least one end of the sleeve is smoothed by gassing.