This application claims the priority of German Patent Application No. 103 41 629.3, filed on Sep. 10, 2003, the subject matter of which, in its entirety, is incorporated herein by reference.
The invention relates to a system for driving a heddle shaft of a power loom.
Power looms have so-called shedding systems, which serve to move warp yarns upward or downward out of the warp yarn plane in order to form a so-called shed so that a weft yarn can be inserted. The weft yarn insertion systems, which employ water or air, for instance, have a power potential for maximum weaving speeds. As a rule, however, this potential cannot be fully exploited, because the existing shedding systems cannot withstand the loads that result from an overly high operating speed. The loads result from the accelerations in the up-and-down motion of the shafts with which the heddles are retained. The motion is generated by so-called eccentric machines or shaft machines. Although the most harmonic possible motions are sought here and achieved, nevertheless vibration occurs in the shedding system and the associated mechanism that connects the heddle shafts with the eccentric machines. This vibration puts a load on all the elements of the shedding system and leads to premature wear or breakage of components. Heddle breakage, warp yarn breakage, and the resultant down times of the machines are the result of such excessive loads.
Various concepts with a view to reducing wear in the shedding system and reducing vibration have been developed:
For instance, from Swiss Patent Disclosure CH 558 435, a heddle shaft drive mechanism is known that includes a rod linkage disposed between the heddle shaft and a shaft mechanism.
The rod linkage includes a strap assembly with a built-in shock absorber. In one variant embodiment, the shock absorber may be embodied as a rubber block. It then connects two rigid halves of the strap assembly that extend away from it.
Such a rubber block achieves adequate oscillation damping only if it has considerable axial resilience, which is disadvantageous for the precision of shaft motion. Moreover, it is an additional mass that must be moved and that in cooperation with further elements, such as connections that have play, may again be a source of vibration.
From Utility Model 7832785, a rod linkage for driving a heddle shaft is also known, in which bell crank levers disposed below the shaft are connected to the shaft via thrust rods. In the upper eyelet or joint of each thrust rod, elastic elements are provided, in the form of vulcanized bodies. The damping elements are thus located at the output of the rod linkage that connects the shaft machine to the heddle shaft.
From German Utility Model DE 296 11 305, a device for oscillation damping of heddle shafts is known in which oscillation damping devices are disposed on the guide face, toward the warp beam, of guide elements of the heddle shaft. These devices are formed by a soft rubber plate, for instance. A guide piece provided on the heddle shaft extends along the soft rubber plate, and as a result, oscillations of the heddle shafts that extend in the direction of the warp yarns can be damped.
From Swiss Patent 549 668, a rod linkage for driving a heddle shaft is known which has spring joints instead of conventional hinge joints. These spring joints are formed by leaf springs or rubber blocks. This provision serves to reduce the wear that otherwise occurs at the joints. Moreover, the goal is to largely avoid the necessity of lubricating joints that move slowly back and forth.
From European Patent Disclosure EP 0 870 856 A1, a rod linkage provided for driving a heddle shaft is known that is connected to the shaft drive via a cushioned strap assembly. To that end, the strap assembly is divided into two parts, between which a compression spring assembly is operative.
The resilience of such a spring assembly may be unwanted.
With this as the point of departure, the object of the present invention is to create a mechanism in whose force transmission path at least one strap assembly is disposed, with a longitudinally oriented sandwich structure comprising different materials. At least one of the materials used has oscillation-absorbing properties. As a consequence of the longitudinal orientation, on the one hand a lightweight, low-mass construction and on the other good oscillation absorption are attained. In particular, it is possible to impart high axial rigidity to the strap assembly, yet on the other hand good oscillation absorption properties are attainable. This makes it possible to transmit strong axial forces for attaining very fast shaft motions, without sacrifices in terms of positioning imprecision, and the inducement of oscillations as a consequence of the jolting or shocklike motions can be reduced sharply by the strap assembly.
Preferably, the absorber element is embodied two-dimensionally as a closed face. However, it may also be embodied as a honeycomb structure, or as a flat part provided with openings or recesses. Preferably, it comprises a natural or synthetic elastomer, such as natural rubber. It is joined materially, for instance two-dimensionally, by adhesive bonding or vulcanization to the adjacent elements that are of metal or a rigid plastic. Alternatively, it may be retained by rivets or other kinds of positive-engagement connecting means between the other elements of the sandwich assembly. However, an arrangement in which the connection between the two strap assembly parts is created entirely and exclusively by the oscillation-absorbing element is preferred. In such an arrangement, all the forces operative between the ends of the strap assembly travel exclusively through the body of the oscillation-absorbing element. There are no detours or other connections between the ends of the strap assembly that could act to transmit oscillation.
The strap assembly may have stiffer wall regions of a metal or a rigid plastic; the two-dimensional absorber element serving to absorb oscillation is formed of rubber or some other elastomer. The rigid wall regions extending in the longitudinal direction may be embodied in wedgelike fashion, which makes especially good oscillation absorption possible. It is preferred that the rigid wall regions be embodied as a plate, for instance with parallel faces, whose borders extending in the longitudinal direction are bent at an angle for the sake of reinforcement. The borders, bent for instance at a right angle, may be embodied as wedge-shaped; that is, in that case their free edge is at an acute angle to the other two-dimensional stiff wall region and thus to the longitudinal direction. The strap assembly described is preferably attached immediately to a shaft machine, in order from the very outset to prevent transmission of oscillation from the shaft machine to the rod linkage. Further strap assemblies in accordance with the invention may be disposed in the rod linkage. In addition, it is possible to make further damping provisions. For instance, bearings of bell crank levers or joint places may be seated in damping elements, such as rubber rings.
Further details of advantageous embodiments of the invention will become apparent from the drawing, description or claims.
In
The rod linkage 2 serving to transmit the reciprocating pivoting motion of the sword 6 to the heddle shaft 1 includes, in the present exemplary embodiment, at least two pivotably supported bell crank levers 9, 11, which are joined to the heddle shaft 1 via tension and pressure rods 12, 13 in order to move the heddle shaft up and down. The lower arms of the bell crank levers 9, 11 are joined to one another by a connecting bar 14, which is pivotably connected to the respective arms of the bell crank levers 9, 11. The connecting bar 14 can be supported at the center by a sword 15, which is joined by one end pivotably to the connecting bar 14 and by its other end to a pivot bearing. The connection between the bell crank lever 9, which is disposed adjacent the shaft machine 3, and the shaft machine 3 itself is created by a strap assembly 16, one end 17 of which is pivotably connected to a glider 18 that is seated on the sword 6. Its other end 19 is pivotably connected to the lower arm of the bell crank lever 9.
The strap assembly 16 is shown separately in
The strap assembly 16 is shown separately in
Between the two extensions 27, 31, a seam 33 is formed, preferably at an acute angle to the longitudinal direction L of the strap assembly, and this seam is filled by an elongated, flat element 34 of an elastomer material. The element 34 completely separates the extensions 27, 31 from one another, so that they do not touch directly anywhere. Between the face ends of the extensions 27, 31 and the respective adjacent ends 17, 19, a respective gap 35, 36 is formed, which prevents contact even under a vibrational load.
The element 34 is preferably a material with high internal damping or high internal friction. It fills the seam 34 preferably completely and without gaps over the entire width and length and is glued or otherwise, for instance by vulcanization, materially joined to the extensions 27, 31. It may have parallel faces, as shown, or be embodied as wedge-shaped.
The extensions 27, 31, with the element 34, form a sandwich assembly 37, which serves on the one hand to rigidly transmit driving motions from one end 17 to the end 19 and on the other not to transmit jolts and oscillations, or to do so only very incompletely. Shock waves or other oscillations are effectively damped, regardless of whether their direction of oscillation is longitudinal or transverse to the longitudinal direction L of the strap assembly.
The arrangement described thus far and comprising the heddle shaft 1, rod linkage 2 and shaft machine 3, functions as follows:
In operation, the sword 6 executes a reciprocating motion, within the context of which it essentially remains more or less briefly in its extreme positions. The pivoting of the sword 6 out of one extreme position to another is then effected in each case with a brief, fast pivoting motion with great acceleration out of one dead center position and with major braking upon entering the other dead center position. This motion is transmitted via the strap assembly 16 to the bell crank lever 9 and via the connecting bar 14 to the bell crank lever 11, and as a result the heddle shaft 1 is raised or lowered. Weaving heddles are retained with longitudinal play on the heddle shaft, and in this abrupt positioning operation they strike their heddle support rails and thereby introduce considerable vibration into the heddle shaft. Moreover, vibration is engendered by the heddle shaft itself, and, like the high-frequency vibration of the weaving heddles, this vibration reaches the rod linkage 2. Further vibration originates in the shaft machine 3. This is generally true, but vibration can be found particularly whenever the shaft machine includes shifting clutches that are engaged and disengaged while stopped. The connecting strap assembly 16 dissipates this vibration. Shock waves introduced for instance at the end 17 travel partly along the wedge-shaped extension 17, where they are damped by the element 34. Moreover, they travel through the elastomer and are damped in the process. Because of the great difference in the speeds of sound through rubber and steel, in a ratio of approximately 1:70, structure-borne sound is extensively reflected at the boundary face between rubber and steel. Thus the strap assembly 16, in each of its embodiments, prevents the propagation of sound. In the embodiment of
Although the damping action of the sandwich assembly 37 is thus broadband in nature and good, high rigidity is attained in the longitudinal direction L of the strap assembly. With regard to transmitting the driving motion, the sandwich structure 37 forms a rigid transmission element, while for jolts and oscillations it acts as a severely damped wave guide.
While the strap assembly 16 in
For further details, see the above description of
A further modified, currently preferred embodiment of the strap assembly 16 of the invention is shown in
The extensions 27, 31 extend as flat, platelike elements away from the ends 17, 19 and are disposed parallel to one another. The element 34, embodied with a greater thickness here, is disposed between the extensions 27, 31 and comprises polyurethane or natural rubber, and its thickness exceeds the thickness of the extensions 27, 31 substantially. To stiffen the extensions 27, 31, their longitudinally extending borders may be crimped over, but the borders of the extensions 27, 31 preferably do not touch. The free edges of these crimped-over borders may be embodied rectilinearly.
The seam between the borders 46, 48 may also, as shown in
A further-modified embodiment of the element 16′ is shown in
The strap assembly presented may, in
In
The extensions 27a, 31b define a gap 51 between them. The extensions 31a, 27b define a gap 52 between them. Each gap, as
The extensions 27a through 31b are each bent at an angle on their outer borders and engage one another there in order to enclose the element 34 from outside. The element 34 is preferably not connected to these angled borders. In a preferred embodiment, this element comprises an elastomer based on natural rubber. It is joined to the steel extensions 27a through 31b by vulcanizing.
In all the other embodiments shown as well, the damping element 34 may be of natural rubber or some material based on natural rubber.
A novel rod linkage 2 for driving a heddle shaft 1 includes at least one strap 16, which for damping oscillation has a sandwich structure 37 oriented in the longitudinal direction L of the strap assembly 16. The sandwich structure includes at least one rigid element 27, extending in the longitudinal direction, which is joined to one end 17 of the strap assembly 16; a second rigid element 31, likewise extending essentially in the longitudinal direction, which is joined to the other end 19; and a two-dimensional damping element 34, again extending in the longitudinal direction, disposed between the first two. The element 34 exclusively effects the mechanical connection of the two parts 16a, 16b of the strap assembly 16. Preferably, no additional connecting elements, such as rivets, screws, or other rigid connections, between the rigid elements 27, 31 are provided. Preferably, the rigid elements 27, 31 are embodied as wedges pointing in opposite directions, which thus define a wave resistance that varies in opposite directions in the longitudinal direction. This wave resistance brings about an intentional coupling misadaptation with respect to the oscillation transmission. The element 34 disposed between them damps the oscillations additionally, so that the strap assembly 16 transmits driving motions like a filter and destroys or absorbs interfering oscillations.
It will be appreciated that the above description of the present invention is susceptible to various modifications, changes and adaptations, and the same are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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103 41 629 | Sep 2003 | DE | national |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20050051228 A1 | Mar 2005 | US |