US3687171A

US3687171A - Drive shaft for a wave-type loom

Info

Publication number: US3687171A
Application number: US17725A
Authority: US
Inventors: Edgar H Strauss
Original assignee: Maschinenfabrik Rueti AG
Current assignee: Ruti Machinery Works Ltd; Maschinenfabrik Rueti AG
Priority date: 1969-03-18
Filing date: 1970-03-09
Publication date: 1972-08-29
Anticipated expiration: 1989-08-29
Also published as: FR2032766A5; DE2012104A1; BE747480A; GB1232956A; DE2012104B2; CS167279B2; CH496829A

Abstract

A drive shaft for use on a wave-type loom which is adapted to swing reed teeth that are arranged side by side along a pivot shaft parallel to the drive shaft and which has a helical exterior or profile against which the reed teeth bear so that the teeth are swung about the pivotal shaft when the drive shaft rotates, the drive shaft comprising an inner core of constant cross-section extending over its length and a plurality of elements which surround the core. The elements are arranged in a row in the longitudinal direction of the core and bear against each other. Also, the elements are rotationally connected to the core so that they will rotate with the core.

Description

imited States Fatent Strauss [54] DRHVE SHAFT FOR A WAVE-TYPE LOOM [72] Inventor: Edgar H. Strauss, Ruti, Zurich,

Switzerland [73] Assignee: Ruti Machinery Works, Ltd., formerly Gaspar Honegger, Ruti, Zurich, Switzerland [22] Filed: March 9,1970

[21] Appl. No.: 17,725

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data March 18, 1969 Switzerland ..4026/69 [52] US. Cl ..139/12 [51] Int. Cl. ..D03d 47/26 [58] Field of Search ..74/566-569; 139/12, 13, 79

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,233,633 2/1966 Fend ..139/12 2,701,108 2/1955 Muschamp et a1, ..74/567 Aug. 29, 1972 3,124,164 3/1964 Ewing ..139/12 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,136,690 12/1968 Great Britain I 39/12 240,564 8/1962 Australia ..139/12 Primary Examiner-Henry S Jaudon Att0rney-Donald D. Denton 5 7 ABSTRACT A drive shaft for use on a wave-type loom which is adapted to swing reed teeth that are arranged side by side along a pivot shaft parallel to the drive shaft and which has a helical exterior or profile against which the reed teeth bear so that the teeth are swung about the pivotal shaft when the drive shaft rotates, the drive shaft comprising an inner core of constant cross-section extending over its length and a plurality of elements which surround the core. The elements are arranged in a row in the longitudinal direction of the core and bear against each other. Also, the elements are rotationally connected to the core so that they will rotate with the core.

10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures DRIVE SHAFT FOR A WAVE-TYPE LOOM This invention relates to a drive shaft for use on a wave-type loom and more particularly to a drive shaft for swinging reed teeth or dents arranged side-by-side along a pivot shaft parallel with the drive shaft, the drive shaft having a uniquely formed helical exterior or profile, against which the reed teeth bear and the reed teeth being swung about the pivot shaft upon rotation of said shaft.

Wave-type looms are known in which the weftthread inserting elements or shuttles are driven and the weft-threads beaten up at the fabric beat-up point or fell by means of reed teeth which are swung about a shaft in such manner that their movements as a whole assume an undulatory form which moves continuously over the width of the loom. The reed teeth are driven by one or two drive shafts, each of which has a raised portion that follows a helical path. The reed teeth are arranged along a pivot shaft which is parallel with the drive shaft and can be swung about the pivot shaft. The ends of the reed teeth bear continuously on the drive shafts and follow the raised portions and the sunk or depressed portions of the profile of the drive shafts so that they are swung. The reed teeth are positioned at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the drive shaft.

In order to obtain a woven material free from defects, the profile or driving exterior of the drive shaft must be exactly uniform over its entire length. The greater the length of the drive shaft the more difficult it always becomes to meet this requirement. Furthermore, the drive shafts are worn by the reed teeth, and the reed teeth by the drive shafts, and this wear shortens the service life of each.

Advantageously the drive shaft of this invention eliminates or very greatly reduces these disadvantages. Thus, this invention contemplates a drive shaft for a wave-type loom which is further characterized in that the drive shaft comprises an inner core having a constant cross-section extending over its entire length and a plurality of elements which surround the core and which form the exterior or profile of the shaft, the elements are arranged in a line in the longitudinal direction of the inner core, and are also rotationally connected to the inner core.

The invention thus offers the additional advantages that the inner core can be made of a material that imparts very high strength thereto, and that the material used for the elements forming the profile can be selected to suit the needs of the reed teeth. In this connection, the friction can be kept to a relatively low value. Furthermore, the material of the elements will be so selected that the wear which the elements and the reed teeth suffer is relatively small.

The invention will now be described in more detail by reference to one of its embodiments and to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows the arrangement of the drive shafts of this invention in a wave-type loom;

FIG. 2 shows the drive shaft-arrangement in greater detail;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of two associated drive shafts.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a drive shaft of this invention with cylinder-like elements intermediate the ends removed to reveal the inner core; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

In all the figures, like reference numerals indicate similar parts.

The wave-type loom or multi-phase weaving machine, shown in perspective in FIG. 1, incorporates a warp beam 11. From this beam the warp threads 12 run over the guide rollers 13 and 14 and through a warp thread monitoring arrangement 15 and around a shedequalizing roll 16. The warp threads 12 are formed into a plurality of sheds directly beyond the shed-equalizing roll 16 by means of a heald arrangement comprising substantially horizontal heddles, not shown in the drawing. An open shed 17 is present for each inserting member or shuttle l8, and a shed-change takes place between each pair of adjacent shuttles 18 or open sheds 17. This situation is indicated in the drawing by ap propriate hatching. For the purpose of carrying out the weaving operation, there is provided a plurality of shuttles 18, which move one after the other and simultaneously with the sheds 17. The shuttles 18 are moved forwards by the blade-like reed teeth 19, which also act as drive members. These reed teeth also serve the purpose of beating-up the inserted weft threads at the fabric beat-up point or fell 20. The shuttles 18 are guided in the sheds17 by the warp threads 12. The ends of bladelike reed teeth 19 are incorporated in the drive and support arrangement 21, which is firmly secured to the loom frame 22. Two worm or

drive shafts

23 and 24 are provided in the arrangement 21 for imparting movement to the reed teeth 19.

When the

drive shafts

23 and 24 rotate, the reed teeth 19 are swung about a shaft in such manner that each of the blade-like reed teeth 19, during its cycle of movement, is a little ahead of the reed tooth preceding it. The teeth 19 as a whole execute an undulatory movement which, in the illustration of FIG. 1, proceeds from right to left and which carries along the shuttles 18. The sheds 17 also move from right to left at the same speed. The woven material 25 is passed over the pull-in roll 16, and the pressure roll 27 and is rolled on to the cloth beam 28.

The portion of the arrangement indicated by the reference numeral 29 in FIG. 1 is shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 2. The arrangement indicated by reference numeral 21 in FIG. 1 comprises a carrier 30, to which is connected a pack of guide elements 31. Each guide element 31 is a broad-faced plate. These elements are arranged side by side parallel with each other and are held together to form a pack by means of rods 32 which pass transversely through each element. Between each two adjacent elements 31 is located a blade-like reed tooth 19. Each of these is held in a straight position between the element 31 adjacent thereto, i.e., is prevented from bowing laterally. The reed teeth or blades 19 consist of thin strips of metal. They are arranged side by side along the pivot shaft 33 and can be swung about this shaft. The carrier 30, together with the pack of guide elements 31, forms two openings 34 in which the

drive shafts

23 and 24 are mounted. Each of the shafts has a helical exterior or

profile

35 and 36, respectively.

When the loom is operating, the

drive shafts

23 and 24 rotate continuously in opposite directions. Swinging movements are imparted to the teeth 19 in accordance with the raised portions of the

profiles

35 and 36 of the

drive shafts

23 and 24. The

profiles

35 and 36 are so selected that the end portions of the reed teeth 19 bear continuously against both profiles and, as already mentioned, the reed teeth execute, as a whole, an undulatory movement.

In order to obtain a woven material that is free from defects, the

profiles

35 and 36 of the drive shafts must be machined or made very accurately. In the case of wide looms considerable difficulties are encountered if the required accuracy is to be precisely maintained over the entire length of the

shafts

23 and 24. In the present embodiment, these difficulties are overcome by means of the form of

drive shafts

23 and 24 shown in Fig. 3. Each of these shafts consists of an inner core 40, which is of constant cross-section. Individual camming elements 41 are arranged in a row, side by side, and bearing against each other in the longitudinal direction of the core 40, these elements as a whole forming the

profiles

35 and 36, respectively. The cross-section of the shaft 40 may be quadratic (i.e., square) for example. In this case, the elements 41 have openings which extend in their iongitudinal direction and are of likewise quadratic cross-section, which is minimally greater than the cross-section of the core 40, so that the elements 41 fit snugly on the core 40. It should be noted that, for reasons of providing a simple illustration, the two

shafts

23 and 24 in FIG. 3 are not in their correct location in relation to their rotational position.

It can be seen that the elements 41 can be individually replaced if they can slide along the core 40. If for some reason, certain points along the

drive shafts

23 or 24 are more heavily stressed as a result, for example, of the woven fabric to be produced, and thus suffer heavier wear than other points along the

shafts

23 and 24, then the elements 41 located at these points can be replaced separately.

it can be seen that the resistance to wear of the material of the core 40 is not an important factor, so that this can be selected exclusively with a view to providing the greatest possible strength. The elements 41 are advantageously produced from a material, that has little friction resistance on the reed teeth. Since the elements 41 can be readily replaced, care is also taken to see that any wear takes place as far as possible on the elements 41 and as little as possible on the reed teeth 19. Polymethylene oxide has proved to be an advantageous material for the elements 41.

It is of course advantageous if all the elements 41 of a shaft are of the same form. These can then be produced more economically and very great uniformity is obtained over the entire length of the drive shaft. The length of each of the elements is preferably equal to the distance between two helical lines or portions of the

profiles

35 and 36, respectively, i.e., equal to a wholenumber multiple of the pitch of the helical portion. As seen in FIG. 3, the length of the elements 41 is equal to the pitch of the helical raised portion.

An advantageous method of manufacturing the ele ments 41 consists in first boring out a length of suitable material. With the help of a template, the

profile

35, 36 is then formed by turning or milling, i.e., by a machining operation. When the manufacturing operations are complete, the end-faces 42 are milled extremely accurately. The elements 41 can however be manufactured by die-pressing.

As can be seen from FIG. 2, the blade-like reed teeth 19 are disposed at right-angles to the

drive shafts

23 and 24 and their narrow sides or edges bear against these shafts. In order to prevent a tooth 19 from finding its way into the interstice between two adjacent elements 41, the ends of these elements meet at inclined faces 42. Expressed another way, the two end-faces 42 of the elements 41 are disposed in planes which are inclined to the longitudinal axis 44 of the

drive shaft

23 or 24. An advantageous range for the position of the planes or endfaces 42 relatively to the axes 44 is obtained if the angle between the axis 44 and the end-face 42 is between 60 and In the case of a joint formed at the end-faces 42 between two elements 41, the joint, at two points 43 on its periphery, is nevertheless at right angles to the axis 44 of the drive shaft. It is therefore important that the position of these two points 43 be so selected that the danger of a reed tooth 19 finding its way into the joint at this point is as small as possible. The pressure acting on the blades should be as small as possible at the points 43 at which the tangent struck from the joints 42 is at right-angles to the axis 44 of the drive shaft. In other words, the tangent at the points on the joint in which a large force is applied to the blades should be inciined relatively to the axis of the drive shaft. A large force occurs for example along the raised edge 45 of the profile 36. Therefore, at the point of intersection 46 of this edge 45 with the joint 42, the tangent struck from the latter should be inclined relatively to the axis 44.

By using different materials for the core 40 and for the elements 41, the expansion of these parts will generally be different at different temperatures. These differences are advantageously absorbed by a resilient member 47 which is fitted at one end of each of the

shafts

23 and 24. As shown in FIG. 3, the member 47 is clamped between the elements 41 and the means 48 for securing the elements 41 to the core. Means 48 fits over the core and may be secured thereto by a set screw or other similar fastening means. The member 47 also causes the elements 41 to be continuously pressed against each other even when the temperature fluctuates. It is of course possible to provide a resilient member 47 at both ends of the

drive shafts

23 and 24.

It will be appreciated that the element 41 placed at the end of the core adjacent to the resilient member 47 (which may be made of hard rubber or the like material) may have its outer end-face disposed in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the core in order to bear against the resilient member. Also, the resilient member may be shaped to mate with an inclined endface of one of the elements 41 or (as shown) an intermediate element 41' may be provided which has one inclined end-face and one perpendicular end-face.

What is claimed is:

1. A drive shaft for use on a wave-type loom adapted to drive reed teeth individually, which are arranged side by side along a pivot shaft which is parallel with the drive shaft, said drive shaft having a helical continuous exterior forming helically shaped continuous high and low portions against which the reed teeth bear, the teeth being swung about the pivot shaft when said drive shaft rotates, said drive shaft comprising an inner core of constant cross-section extending over the width of the loom, a plurality of cylinder-like elements having a hollow inner section extending in the axial direction, said elements being arranged in their axial direction in a row and longitudinally over said core, thereby surrounding said core and having their end faces bearing against each other, thus forming said high and low portions, said elements being rotationally connected to the inner core, so that the core and the cylinder-like elements will rotate together, each of said elements being provided with a section of said helical continuous exterior and including a high portion and a low portion therein that extends lengthwise and circumferentially of said element to form said helically shaped continuous high and low portions.

2. The drive shaft of claim 1 in which the elements are slidable in the longitudinal direction of the inner core and can be individually replaced.

3. The drive shaft of claim 2 in which the inner core is of quadratic cross-section and the elements contain straight-through openings extending in their longitudinal direction, which openings are likewise of quadratic cross-section, and the cross-section of the core is minimally smaller than the cross-section of the openings in the elements, so that the elements fit snugly on the core.

4. The drive shaft of claim 2 in which the elements are held at each end of the core by a securing means, and a resilient member is provided between at least one of the securing means and the elements so as to set up a biasing action whereby the elements are continuously pressed against each other.

5. The drive shaft of claim 1 in which the inner core is made of a material of great mechanical strength and the elements are made of a material which has a relatively small friction on the reed teeth and by which the reed teeth are subjected to relatively little wear.

6. The drive shaft of claim 1 in which the elements are made from a material containing polymethylene oxide.

7. The drive shaft of claim 1 in which the length of each of the individual elements is equal to the distance between two helical raised portions of the helical exterior of the drive shaft, said distance being a wholenumber multiple of the pitch of the helical portions.

8. The drive shaft of claim 1 in which when the reed teeth are positioned at right-angles to the drive shaft and bear via their narrow sides on the drive shaft,'the end-faces of the elements are disposed in planes inclined to the longitudinal axis of the drive shaft.

9. The drive shaft of claim 8 in which the tangent at the outer limits of the end-faces of the elements at the points on a raised edge of the exterior of the drive shaft are inclined to the axis of the drive shaft.

10. The drive shaft of claim 8 in which an angle of between 60 and is formed between the axis of the drive shaft and each of the planes inclined relatively thereto.

Claims

7. The drive shaft of claim 1 in which the length of each of the individual elements is equal to the distance between two helical raised portions of the helical exterior of the drive shaft, said distance being a whole-number multiple of the pitch of the helical portions.

8. The drive shaft of claim 1 in which when the reed teeth are positioned at right-angles to the drive shaft and bear via their narrow sides on the drive shaft, the end-faces of the elements are disposed in planes inclined to the longitudinal axis of the drive shaft.

10. The drive shaft of claim 8 in which an angle of between 60* and 80* is formed between the axis of the drive shaft and each of the planes inclined relatively thereto.