US2355159A - Wire fabric loom - Google Patents

Description

1944- N. s. HARTE 2,355,159

' WIRE FABREIC LOOM Filed June 8, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR: /V04H 6. #49759,

fHls ATTORN Aug 8, 1944. N. s. HARTER 2,355,159

WIRE FABRIC LOOM I Filed June 8, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIE- 2. 66 4'0 y 3/ 7a 52 .df w/qa A,

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( HIS ATTORNEY- Aug. 8, 1944. N. s. HARTER 2,355,159

WIRE'FABRIC LOOM Filed June 8, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR /VO4/-/ 5. #45756,

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HIS ATTORN Aug. 8, 1944. N a A T 2,355,159

WIRE FABRI C LOOM Filed Jun 8, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 @IZWS Patented Aug. 8, 1944 WIRE FABRIC LOOM Noah S. Harter, Waukegan, Ill., assignor to The American Steel and Wire Company of New Jersey, a corporation of New Jersey Application June 8, 1942, Serial No. 446,221 9 Claims. (Cl. 139-122) While not limited thereto, the present invention is well suited for incorporation in wire fabricating machines'such as disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 234,853, filed October 13, 1938, entitled Hardware and screen cloth machine and in the Welded selvage screen cloth loom disclosed in my prior Patent No. 2,245,584,

dated June 17, 1941.

In common with the subject matter of my copending application and my prior patent, the

present invention has as one of its objects the elimination of the conventional bobbin and shuttle for the introduction of the weft wire into interwoven relation with the warp wires and to provide in lieu thereof means for introducing appro priate length of weft wire into the shed of warp wires by transverse feeding in cooperation with a guide associatedwith the reed of a heater frame, whereby the weft wire is provided in relatively endless amounts.

The main object of the present invention is to speed up the production for wire looms. A further object is to provide means whereby the speed of the reed panel or beater frame is increased and the stroke thereof materially shortened, A further object is to provide means whereby the weft wires can be fed into guides in the reed dents on both the forward and return strokes of the beater Another object is to provide fixed and frame. movable weft wire guides connected by a flexible closed guide element. A further object is to provide means operable in response to movement of the beater frame for severing the weft wire just prior to the time it is beat up into the shed of warp wires.

- The invention will be fully apparent from a. consideration of the following disclosure when read in connection with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a transverse section through awire in my patent above referred to and illustrating I l, Figure 3 is a plan view of Figure 2 illustrating uie'teaer frame in its extreme forward position; Figure 4 is a similar plan view showing the beater frame in a retractedposition;

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail section on line VV of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 in the opposite direction, taken on line VI-Vlof Figure 2;

Figure 7 is a detail perspective view of the weft wire shear;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a fixed cam plate adapted to actuate the weft wire shear; and

Figure 9 i -a detail view on an enlarged scale taken approximately on line IXIX of Figure 1,

illustrating the actuating means for the beater frame and showing the general arrangement of the reed dents carried thereby and their relationship to the heddle frames of a wire fabric loom.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numerals III-i0 represent the side frames of the loom which support the cross shaft l2 about the center of which the beater frame H oscillates in response to movements imparted thereto by a race cam l6 secured to a shaft l8.- The beater frame I4 carries a cam follower 20 which rides in an eccentric cam groove 22. The contour of this groove is substantially circular and eccentric to the axis of the shaft I8, thus providing momentary dwell portions in each dead center region of maximum and minimum throw of the cam. Thus the cam imparts substantially a true crank motion with momentary dwells at points corresponding to diametrically opposite dead center positions. These dead center portions of the cam allow sufficient time for the weft wire length which has been v fed into the bite of the warp wires to be held until the heddles have reversed themselves.

The machine is equipped with conventional heddle frames 24 and 26 carrying conventional heddle wires 28' and 30 actuated by any conventional type of loom harness for-alternately shifting the warp wires L so as to form warp wire sheds in the usual manner.

fabric loom of the same general type illustrated as much of the loom mechanism as is necessary a The reed of the machine illustrated is indicated generally at 32 and it is composed of a plurality of dents 34 formed from flat metal strips arranged on end in side-by-side relationship to each other on the beater frame I 4 The dents are secured on the beater frame bymeans of a clamp 36 and are maintained in spaced rev lation to each other by a plurality of spacer washers 38 by means of which the warp wire slots are formed. The multiplicity of dents are secured together so as to form a unitary structure by means of tie rods 40 which pass through aligned holes formed therein, the assemblage being made fast by nuts 42 secured to the rods 0.

A notch is provided on the forward edge of each dent at a point intermediate the ends thereof. Thus when the dents are assembled the registering notches form a weft wire' guide slot 44 which extends transversely across the entire face of the reed panel 22.

The heater frame and reed of my present in- Referring to this Figure 9, the weft wire guide slot 44 formed by the registering notches in the forward face of each reed dent 34 comprises a guide for receiving and holding the weft wire advanced by the intermittently acting feed rollers 60. This weft wire as fed by the rollers 60 passes successively through thefixed guide III,

the flexible guide conduit 64, and the movable guide 66, and thus into guide slot 44. The weft wire guide slot 44 of the instant application is identical with the weft guideway 31 of my previous application. In Figure 9 I have shown a retractable closure 'II'I for the guide slot 44. This closure and its operating means are identical with similar parts shown in my co-pending patent application. The closure includes a boxlike member II'I arranged to bear on the front face. of the panel. The member II! is slidable vertically in suitable guides (not shown herein, but identical with members I9, Figures 8 and 9 of my co-pending application). As in my copending application, the box-like member III has secured thereto an angle bar N8 the horizontal leg of which is bolted to the box section as shown, the upright leg thereof being in sliding engagement with the front face of the reed panel 32. The angle bar II8 will be elevated into the position of Figure 9 to afford a closure for the slot 44. As in my co-pending application, the up-and-down sliding movement of the member I I1 and the angle bar 8 secured thereto, is transmitted through a link -I I9 which receives its motion from a lever I (identical with lever 253 of my co-pending application),

said lever carrying cam followers I22 and I24 coacting with cams I26 and I23 in identically the 4 same manner as shown in my co-pending applieffect the feeding movement. It is necessary that the rolls 60 in the machine of the present invention, feed more weft wire lengths than the corresponding rolls of my prior patent, because of the novel construction of the weft wire feed as disclosed herein, which allows the weft wire lengths to be fed into the shed of the warp wires during portions of both the forward and return strokes of the reed panel, whereas in my prior patent the disclosed machine allowed the weft wire lengths to be fed into the shed of warp wires during only a portion of the forward stroke of the reed panel. Therefore the mechanism in the present machine for raising and lowering the upper feed roll 60 has been greatly speeded up to increase the rate of weft wire feed. From the feed rollers 60 the predetermined lengths of weft wire are successively fed through the stationary weft wire guide 62 via a flexible guide conduit 64 to a movable weft wire feed guide 66 carried by the beater frame.

The novel features of the present invention which distinguish over my prior application and patent above referred to, as well as over any other looms or wire working mechanism of which I have knowledge, relate to the improved weft wire guiding means which permits of a high speed weft wire feed during portions of both the forward and back stroke of the beater frame to now be described in detail.

The fixed weft wire guide 62 is made up of a plurality of closely ground and fitted pieces of steel so constructed and arranged that when they are secured together a small rectangular opening or passageway 68 is provided extending in the direction of the line of travel of the weft wire. This assemblage, shown in Figures 2,, 3, and 4, provides a closed passageway 68 I which confines the weft wire being fed forwardly at a high rate of speed by the feed rolls 6B. The fixed guide assemblage is designated as a unit by the numeral I0, and it includes oppositely curved or flared portions 12 'and 14 which flank the flexible guide conduit 64. This conduit may be conventionally formed of a closely wound coil spring, one end of which is secured to the as-' 'semblage I0- and the other end of which is se-' cured tothe movable guide 66.

ends are secured by fastening means I38 to the box-like member 1.

The weft wire W is supplied from. a reel 46 from which it is positively drawn by a puller drum 48 through an automatic slack maintaining guide 50. The puller drum 48 delivers the.

,not 'be given herein. Sufllce it to say that one a of the rolls can be shifted toward and from the other, and the "weft wire will only be ad- ;vanced when the uppermost intermittent feed roll 66 pushes the-wire against the lower roll to The movable guide 66 is also formed of a plurality of closely ground steel pieces so constructed and arranged as to provide a' closed guide passageway I6. The movable guideincludes flared members 18 and similar to the members 12 and I4 and the extremity of the flexible conduit 64 is disposed therebetween and so fastened that the guide passageway of member 64 is aligned accurately with the guide passageway 16 of the movable guide.

Associated with the movable guide and integrated therewith there is a wire shear element 62 having a weft wire guide groove 84 formed in the headed extremity thereof. This shear element is shown in detail in Figure 7. Its guide tween the fixed movable guide elements.

- formed in the reed dents.

The movable guide 68 and the shear member 82 integrated therewith are seated in a rectangular notch 86 formed in the head 88 of a guide holder 90 secured to a stub shaft 92 mounted in a block 94 which is secured by bolts 96 to the beater frame. riodically rocked by means of an arm 98 secured thereto. The rocking movement-is ef fected through the coaction of a cam roller I secured to the arm which rides in a fixed cam groove I02 formed in a cam plate I04 secured by suitable fastening means I 06 to a fixed bracket I08 secured in any suitable manner to the side frame of the loom. With the parts thus constructed and arranged, it is apparent that as the beater frame makes its forward and return strokes the interaction of the roller I00 and cam slot I02 will impart a rocking motion to the movable wire guide and also to the shear element 82, since they are both carried by the pivotally mounted guide holder 90.

The shear element 82 slides over the outer face of a tool steel blade IIO which corresponds in size and shape with the dents 34. This blade is also formed with a slot aligned with the guide slots 44 formed in the reed dents, As thus arranged, it will be apparent that when'the camactuated arm 98, together with the cam roller I00, reaches the active portion N4 of the cam groove I02, the arm 98 is quickly depressed, thus causing head 88 which carries the shear 82 to be rocked backward a short distance across the the side face of the blade H0, and thus sever the weft wire length carried by the covered slot 44 from that portion of the weft wire which occupies the weft wire guide groove 84, it being remembered that-said guide groove 84 is a part of shear element 82 mounted in head 88 which is, in turn a portion of the movable guide 68. Such severing of the weft wire is effected immediately after the feed rolls 60 are separated and therefore break contact with the weft wire. This occurs ata point in the operating cycle of the machine, at which time the beater frame 14 is approximately three-quarters of an inch from the end of its forward stroke. The beater frame actuating cam I6 is so designed as to im- .weft wire feed is continuous during three inches of the total four and one-half inch travel of the beater frame. The shearing of the weft wire takes place durin about a three-fourths inch forward travel of he beater frame. During the three-fourths inch back stroke of the beater frame the cam I02 is effective to realign the guide passageways I8 and 84 of the movable guide 86 and shear 82 with the guide slot 44 After the beater frame has traversed three-quarters of an inch of its backward stroke, the feed rolls 80 immediately start feeding a weft wire length into the guide slot incorporated in the-reed dents and this feeding motion continues during the remaining backward travel of one and one-half inches of the beater frame and through the first inch The shaft 92 is adapted to be peroller I00 of the shear operating arm 98 travels in an arcuate portion II2 of the cam groove I02 which is concentric with the beater frame rock shaft I2. Thus during this major portion of the forward and reverse stroke of the beaterframe there is no relative movement between the movable guide and the frame which carries it. However, when thec'am roller I00 reaches the active portion H4 of the cam groove, the arm 98 is quickly depressed, thus causing the shear 82 in cooperation with the knife I I0, to sever the weft wire with a scissor-like action. During the remainder of the forward stroke of the beater frame the cam roller I00 rides in another portion mi of. the cam groove which is also concentric with the beater frame rock shaft I2, this portion I I8 being 'on a smaller radius than the concentric portion II2. During the time the roller I 00 occupies the portion H6 of the cam groove, the guide passageway in the movable guide is out of alignment with the guide grooves of the the roller I00 rides in the part IIG of the cam slot,

at the extreme end of the forward stroke of the beater frame. 1

From the foregoing it is apparent that the parts shown and described are so combined and coordinated that a high rate of production can be maintained on the machine since it is unnecessary to cause the beater frame to dwell for the purpose of feeding the weftwire into the reed dents thereof. The described mechanism requires precision timing, but it enables high speed production. By adoption of the invention it has been possible to speed up the number of strokes of the beater frame per unit of time to such an extent as to increase the rate of production by about 30 per cent.

There are problems involved when flimsy wire stock, such as that handled by the present machine, is manipulated at a high rate of speed. One problem concerns the accurate aligning of the severed end with the groove of the beater frame, because of the inherent tendency of wire to sprin out of alignment after being severed. Another problem arises because of thetendency of a rapidly moving flimsy wire to vibrate or whip whenmoved back and forth.

- I have overcome both these problems in part by I the utilization of the design and arrangement During the time the weft wire is being fed, the 70 of the fixed and movable guides shown and in part by the provision of the flexible guide conduit which at all times confines the oncoming weft wire. This flexible conduit prevents whipping of that part of the wire which extends across or bridges the gap between the fixed guide and the movable guide. The curved or flared members 12, 74, I8 and forming part of the fixed and movable guides, respectively, serve to prevent the flexible conduit from taking too sharp a bend, which occurrence would tend to impair the easy travel of the weft wire therethrough. When the beater frame I4 is in motion, the flexible guide conduit alternately contacts the flared members and thus a vibrationdampening action is exerted on the guide conduit itself and it is prevented from having an objectionable whipping motion imparted thereto as a result of the high speed of operation.

While in the foregoing description I have described coacting instrumentalitles, the practicability of which has been demonstrated by a reduction to practice on a commercially success-. in] basis, it is not to be construed that I am limited thereto since various changes in arrangement and substitutions of equivalents may be made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

i I claim:'

1. A wire fabricating machine including a beater frame, means for interweaving warp wires and weft wires, characterized by the novel features of respective fixed and movable weft wire guides secured respectively to a fixed part of the machine and to said beater frame and a flexible conduit secured at its opposite ends to said fixed and movable guides.

2. A wire fabricating machine including a beater frame, means for interweaving warp wires and weft wires, characterized by the novel features of respective fixed and movable weft wire guides, a flexible conduit secured at its opposite ends to said fixed and movable guides and secured respectively to a fixed part of the machine and to said beater frame, and respective pairs of flared members secured to said fixed and movable guides for coaction with said conduit.

3. A wire fabricating machine including means for interweaving warp wires and weft wires, characterized by the novel features of respective fixed and movable weft wire guides, a flexible guide conduit bridging the gap between the fixed and movable guides, the movable guide being carried by a beater frame which is provided with reed dents slotted to form a weft wire guideway, and means for feeding weft wire into said guideway of the beater frame during portions of both the forward and backward strokes thereof.

4. A wire fabricating machine including a weft wire supply and means for intermittently feeding wire therefrom, a movable beater frame carrying reed dents grooved to receive said weft wire, aflxed weft wire guide member receiving wire from said supply, a movable weft wire guide member car-- ried by said beater frame, and a flexible weft wire guide conduit connecting said fixed and movable guide members.

5. A wire fabricating machine including a weft wire supply and means for intermittently feeding wire therefrom, a movable beater frame carmove the movable guide relative to the beater frame, a shear mounted on the carrier, said beater frame carrying a blade for cooperation with said shear, a fixed weft wire guide, and a flexible weft wire conduit bridging the space between the fixed guide and the movable guide.

'7. In a wire fabricating machine, a movably mounted beater frame, means for imparting a forward and return stroke thereto, reed dents carried by the beater frame and having aligned slots therein adapted to receive the weft wire, a holder pivotally mounted on the beater frame, a movable weft wire guide and a shear element secured to said holder, a blade carried by the beater frame in position for coaction with said shear, a fixed cam, an operating lever having a roller cooperating therewith and operatively connected with said holder and effective upon movement of the beater frame to move the respective guide passageways in the movable guide and shear into and out of alignment with the guide slots formed in said reed dents, a fixed weft wire guide member, and means for periodically feeding weft wire through the fixed and movable guide mem- I bers into the guide slot formed by the notches in the reed dents, during portions of both the forward and return stroke of said heater frame.

8. In a wire fabricating machine, a movably mounted beater frame, means for imparting a forward and return stroke thereto, reed dents carried by the beater frame and having aligned slots therein adapted to receive the weft wire, a holder pivotally mounted on the beater frame, a movable weft wire guide and a shear element secured to said holder, a blade carried by the beater frame in position for coaction with said shear, a fixed cam, \an operating lever having a roller cooperating therewith and operatively connected with said holder and effective upon movement of the beater frame to move the respective guide passageways in the movable guide and shear into and out of alignment with the guide slots formed in said reed dents, a fixed weft wire guide member, means for periodically feeding weft wire through the fixed and movable guide members into the guide slot formed by the rying reed dents grooved to receive said weft wire,

a fixed weft wire guide member receiving wirefrom said supply, a movable weft wire guide member carried by said beater frame, a flexible weft wire guide conduit connecting said fixed and movable guide members, and respective pairs of outwardly flared members carried by said fixed and flanking said notches in the reed dents during portions of both the forward and return stroke of said beater frame, and a closely wound spring-like weft wire conduit bridging the space between the fixed guide and the movable guide.

9. vA wire fabricating machine including, in combination with the beater frame and weft wire feeding means thereof; a fixed weft wire guide having a passageway through which weft wire travels and having a pair of flared members secured thereto and flanking said passageway, a movable guide carried by the beater frame also having a passageway through which weft wire ing a pivotally mounted beater frame carrying reed dents having guide slots therein adapted to] receive weft wire, means for oscillating said frame, a carrier pivotally mounted on the beat- -er frame, a movable weft wire guide secured to I said carriena fixed cam and connections between the cam and the movable carrier effective to travels, another pair of flared members flanking the passageway in the-movable guide, and av coiled spring-like flexible guide element secured at one end to the fixed guide between the flared members thereof and at its other end to the movable guide between the'flared members of said movable guide.

NOAH 5. HARTER.

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