A METHOD FOR TYING UP HAND LOOMS USING TYING UP STRINGS

Background of the Invention

Conventional hand looms are provided with a plurality of strings or threads, which are used for tying up the loom. These strings extend e.g. between treadles and lambs, between lambs and shafts, from one shaft via a pulley to another shaft etc. These strings are generally attached to their different attachment points by being slipped through holes in their associated parts and thereafter being manually provided with knots. Due to the fact that a large number of strings must be provided with knots in accurate positions in order to set up the loom correctly and as these knots must often be made in uncomfortable and difficult working postures - particularly for tying up lambs and treadles which often must be made thus that the person making the job creeps into the loom and sits down adjacent the treadles - is the tying up an extensive and uncomfortable manual work. These strings are furthermore during weaving subjected to a considerable wear, whereby the strings after a comparatively short time's service will burst and must be replaced, which means a repeated work. In order to increase the lifespan of the tying up it has in later years been tried to use synthetic string material which has a considerably larger strength than the traditional textile strings. These synthetic strings have from wear aspects been superior to the textile strings but it has instead been difficult to make reliable knots thereon as the more slippery material means that the knots have a tendency of "sliding" and to become untied when exposed to stresses.

DE-Ä-645 151 discloses an attempt to provide an improved device for interconnecting different parts of a loom, and this device comprises a two-hooked hanger to which a bicycle type drive chain can be hitched with any of its chain links in contact with the hanger, which is fitted to the loom component. Such a device can be used for interconnection of some of the loom components, but cannot be used for all interconnecting purposes, because it is flexible or bendable in one plane due to its construction and therefore cannot be easily adapted to interconnect all parts of the loom. Furthermore such a link chain would be noisy and expensive as compared with the conventional tying up string.

In machine looms it has also been proposed, e.g. by US-A-1,668,124, to interconnect the harness frame and the arness jack by means of a strap having a plurality of holes which can be attached to the harness frame and to the harness frame and the harness jack by means of described hereabove a rather limited use and it is furthermore doubtless more expensive than the conventional tying up string.

Summary of the Invention

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a method for tying up a hand loom, wherein movable components of the hand loom are interconnected by tying up strings by aid of which method the difficulties and drawbacks mentioned hereabove are eliminated whereas the advantages of the conventional tying up string are still utilized and this is obtained by using tying up strings consisting of two threads, which are brought alongside each other and interconnected by crocheting together to form a single series of loops, the loops of each adjacent pair being separated from each other by an interconnecting rib, and either fixing each said tying up string to its associated loom component by fitting said loom component into at least one of said loops at any convenient position along the length of said tying up string, or alternatively sliding the tying up string through a hole provided in said loom component from one side of the loom component and to its'other side, and threading a fitting member formed as a stop member through the loop of each tying up string situated nearest said loom component on said other side, said stop element having such size and shape as to prevent the tying up string from being pulled back through said hole when fitted in a loop.

Description of the Drawings

The invention will hereinafter be further described with reference to some embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

• Figure 1 shows in a schematic side elevation a hand loom,
• Figure 2 is a fragmentary view showing the conventional tying up of the shafts, lambs and treadles of the loom,
• Figure 3 is a schematic view of a tying up string according to the invention,
• Figure 4 shows in a schematic side perspective elevation tying up of a shaft stick to a shaft carrier by aid of different fitting details used in the method according to the invention,
• Figure 5 is a detail from Figure 4 shown in elucidated fashion,
• Figure 6 is an embodiment of a stop of the type used in the method according to the invention, and
• Figure 7 shows an embodiment of a hook member of a type which can also be used in the method according to the invention.

Description of Some Preferred

Embodiments

Figures 1 and 2 shows in a schematic side view and a fragmentary front view respectively a hand loom and its conventional type of tying up device.

The loom includes a stand 1 which i.a. carries a sley 2, a warp beam 3 and a cloth beam 4. The stand furthermore carries the heald bar 5, which again carries pulleys 6, which then again - commonly via shaft carriers 11 (see Figure 2) - via tying up strings 10 carry the shafts 7, 7', which forms the suspension for the healds 12. The movement of the shafts is controlled by treadles 8, which by aid of tying up strings 10 - commonly via lambs 9 - are connected to the lower shaft 7'.

In Figure 2 are shown the connections between the tying up strings and the different loom components - such as heald bar 5, shaft carriers 11, shafts 7, 7', lambs 9 and treadles 8 - to which these strings are connected in conventional manner by means of manually tied knots 13, which therefore on one hand have a tendency of sliding and on the other hand means an extensive manual work when setting up the hand loom.

In Figure 3 is schematically shown on exaggerated scale a tying up string of the type included in the invention and forming the most vital part of the equipment necessary for performing the method according to the invention.

As can be seen in this figure the string 100 consists of two threads 104, 105, which are brought alongside each other and which preferably in a hosiery machine - have been crocheted together in such a manner that they form a single series of loops 101, which are separated - and interconnected - by means of intermediate short "ribs". In the figure is shown only one complete loop 101 but it is to be understood that the string forms a continuous series of essentially similar and equally large loops 101.

Figure 4 shows schematically in perspective the tying up between a shaft carrier 11 and upper shafts 7 and the figure shows different methods of attachment. The shaft carrier 11 is connected to a not shown pulley via a centrally located tying up string 100, which extends through a hole 106 in the shaft carrier. A fitting member formed as a stop element 102 is inserted through the loop situated nearest to the shaft carrier on the side thereof turned from the pulley and this stop element is larger than the hole 106 and will thereby prevent the tying up string from being pulled back through the hole.

At both ends of the shaft carrier there are attached other tying up strings 100, which are connected to the shafts 7. The strings are at the ends of the shaft carrier preferably attached thereby that such as shown in Figure 5 the series of loops 101 b is slipped through the outmost loop 101 a of the string, whereby is formed a running noose, which can be arranged about the end of the shaft carrier in the groove therein. The tying up string 100 is furthermore attached to the bottom side of the upper shaft 7 by being slipped through a hole 106 and being fixed to the shaft by having a loop 101 hooked to a hooking member 103.

In Figure 6 is shown in bigger scale a stop element 102 of the type shown in Figure 4. This stop element is designed essentially as a "dog's bone" i.e. it incorporates a rod shaped intermediate portion having a cross-sectional size which is smaller than the opening of a loop 101. At the ends of the rod shaped member there is provided enlarged material portions the cross sections of which are bigger than the intermediary portion and essentially equal to or even somewhat bigger than the opening of the loop. It is hereby possible to insert the stop element in any desired loop by pressing it into the loop, possibly under use of the flexibility of the thread for stretching the loop during the inserting of the stop element. When the stop element has been put in place it will effectively prevent the string from unintendedly being pulled out of the hole 106 and as the force in the string will be mainly perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the stop element is it ascertained that the stop element will not be pulled out of the loop.

In Figure 7 is shown an embodiment of a hook member 103 of the type intimated in Figure 5. The hook member comprises a base member which can be fixed to the loom component, to which the tying up string in question shall be attached. On the base member there is arranged a hook, which preferably is somewhat elastic and intended to be hooked by a loop 101. By using a suitable design of the hook member together with the fact that the string in its service position is subjected to a pulling force acting in the direction away from the hook member 103 is it ascertained that the tying up string will be reliably retained against undesired unhooking from the hooking member.

In this manner is it very easy to attach the tying up strings exactly in their desired positions without the problems which are usual at hand tying. It is also easy to unhook the connections when this is desired e.g. for replacement of worn out strings. According to the invention the entire tying up work will thus be simplified and reduced to a considerable extent.

The material in the tying up string 100 is a wear-resistant, somewhat flexible, preferably synthetic material. It is of no importance if this material is slippery as there can exist no sliding in the crocheted loops, whereby the sliding problems usual at the synthetic tying up strings provided with hand-tied knots are entirely eliminated.