US2141670A - Rope drum for needle looms - Google Patents

Description

w. w. ROBERTSON Filed May 17, 193'? Inventor WuIHam W. Roberrson 41. WW

iii

'btorney Dec. 27, 19,38;

ROPE DRUM FOR NEEDLE LOOMS' Patented Dec. 27, 1938 UNITED STATES PTEN'E QFFIQ'E 2,141,670 ROPE DRUM FOR NEEDLE LooMs setts Application May 17, 1937, Serial No. 142,967

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in rope drums for needle looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide a drum with an improved wearing surface. In wide needle looms such as those on which Axininster fabrics are Woven it is customary to operate the needle by means of a rope attached to a needle carrier and having the ends thereof fastened to a rotatable drum. In order to operate such looms at high speed it is necessary to reduce the weight of moving parts and so far as the drum is concerned this has been accomplished in the past by making the same of a light metal, such as aluminum. These lighter metals are subject to wear because of the constant wrapping. and unwrapping action of the rope and I have proposed heretofore to wrap a wear resisting band around the periphery of the drum to keep the latter out of contact with the rope. A drum made in this way has been found in practice to operate satisfactorily with very little wear when made according to my prior Patent No. 2,065,746.

The band as shown in that patent has two perforations through which the ends of the rope extend and I find an occasional tendency for the band to rupture at the perforations. It is an important object of my present invention to V alter the band and drum so that the ends of 30- the rope may pass through the drum at points between the ends of the band. By this construction the band is not perforated and is therefore stronger and can be relied upon to give better operating results.

In carrying one form of my invention into effect I provide the periphery of the drum with two recesses separated by a small area through which the ends of the rope pass. The ends of the band are held in the recesses by blocks which may be securely fastened to the drum to clamp the band tightly in place. By this construction the band can be of uniform and uninterrupted surface throughout its rope engaging area, thereby insuring greater life and at the same time presenting only smooth surfaces to the rope so that the latter is not subjected to a cutting action as the drum rotates.

In my prior patent the band ends were held together under a single retaining block so that at least one end was not clamped directly against the'rim of the drum and one end did not engage the block. It is a further object of my invention to provide a separate block for each end of the band to enable each end to engage the drum and a block, thus providing better holding conditions for the band by a construction which provides a stronger band,

With these and other objects in View which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawing wherein a con venient embodiment of my invention is set forth,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a needle motion which in the present instance is located at the right of the loom, I

Fig. 2 is a detailed vertical section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 33 of Fig. 2 on an enlarged scale,

Fig. 4 is a view similar to the upper part of Fig. 3 but on an enlarged scale, and

Figs. 5 and 6 are detailed radial sections on lines 5--5 and 66, respectively, of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawing, the loom is presumed to be at the left of Fig. 1 and operates with warp sheds not shown into which is projected a weft carrying needle ID. The latter is mounted on a carriage l I movable along a needle rail l2 supported by the end frame 13. The carriage is connected to a cable or rope l4 extending around right and left guide sheaves l5 and 16, respectively, mounted for rotation on the end frame. The drum H to which the cable is attached in a manner to be set forth hereinafter is secured to a shaft I8 to which is. fastened a pinion l9 meshing with a segment rack 20. The latter is pivoted as at 2! and receives motion through a link 22 driven by a crank arm 23. The latter is mounted on a shaft 24 which is turned by any approved mechanism operating either continuously or intermittently, as desired.

In the operation of the matter thus far described rotation of shaft 24 reciprocates the segment rack to turn the drum in opposite directions to insert the needle into and withdraw it from the warp sheds in well known manner. The matter thus far described operates as mual and of itself forms no part of my present invention.

In carrying my present invention into effect I make the drum ll of some light material, such as aluminum, so that it may be rotated at a high rate of speed. The drum has a web 30 and two spaced flanges 3| and 32, respectively, which extend outwardly from a rim 33. The ends of the cable l4 are wrapped on the rim between the flanges as suggested in Fig. 5 and rotation of the drum winds up one end of the rope as the other end is unwound. In this way the rope is kept substantially taut with a minimum of slackness.

The rim 33 is formed in the present instance with two similar spaced recesses 34 and'35 located, respectively, at the right and left of Fig. 4. The adjacent ends of these recesses are formed with acutely rounded walls 36 while the opposite ends of the recesses may be more gradually inclined, as at 31. That part of the rim forming the bottom of each recess has passing therethrough a pair of bolt holes '30 in which are bolts ll. Located in each recess is a retaining block 52 having holes 43 for the bolts 4| and each block will have at least one edge formed with a curved surface 44 similar to that of wall 36. I do not wish to be limited to this particular method set forth herein for fastening the blocks to the rim.

In order to provide a wear resisting surface for the rim I provide a steel band 45 extending as viewed in Fig. 3 from the right hand recess 34 around the drum in a right hand direction to the left recess 35. The ends of the band extend,

under the blocks which are clamped down tightly on the band by the bolts which extend through holes 46 in the band ends. The bolts and blocks require the band ends to conform to the shape of the recesses and hold the extreme ends of the band between the acutely curved surfaces 36 and 44.

By referring particularly 'to Figs. 3' and 4 it will be seen that the recesses 34 and 35 are separated by a comparatively short peripheralzone 5d the outer surface of which is concentric with the axis of the drum and across which the band does not extend. This zone has twoperforations 5| and 52 located, respectively, near the rims 3i and 32, as shown in Fig. 5. One end 53 of the rope extends through the perforation 5! and may be knotted as at 54, while the otherend 55 of the rope extends through the perforation 52 and may be knotted as at 56. The knots are tied tightly against the inner part of the rim to hold the cable or rope taut.

As viewed in Fig. 4 it will be seen that one end of the rope extends from its perforation to the right over the block 42 in recess 34 and engages 'thewear band 45 along a gradual curve 60, while length and is not weakened by perforations. Should it bedesired to replace the band, the bolts 4| can be removed and the blocks taken from their recesses to release the band ends, and after the old band is replaced by a new one, the blocks and bolts will be tightened as already described. Since there is but one thickness of band under each block the latter eifectively holds the corresponding end of the band tightly against the rim. To this extent a band may be held more securely to the drum than in my aforesaid patent not only because of the use of two blocks instead of one, but also because of the fact that there is no opportunity for one'end of the band to slide or slip on the other end.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a needle operating drum with a wear resisting band or the like held to the drum in such a way that the rope or cable may be fastened to the drum without passing through the band. This result Ipaccomplish by causing the ends of the band to terminate a short distance apart to define between the'ends a peripheral zone through which the rope ends pass. It will further be seen that eachend. of the band has 'its own clamping block and is forced by it directly against the rim 33. It will also be seen that the acutely curved surfaces 36 and M assist in holding the band ends securely in position, since they cause a deformation in the ends of the bands which act to establish a tight holding relation with the rim of the drum.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changesand modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

In, a rope drum for'a loom, a rim forming part of the drum and having spaced recesses therein between which extends a rope attaching Zone, a wear resisting sheet metal band having each end thereof terminating in one of the recesses, said band having a smooth uninterrupted rope engaging-surface extending from one recess around the rim to the other recess, a clamping block in each recess to secure the corresponding end of the band to the rim, the band extending from each end thereof around the rim in a direction away from the ropeattaching zone and the latter having openings therethrough to receive the ends of a rope wound on the drum.

WILLIAM W. ROBERTSON.

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