Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The invention relates to a weaving process, in which
the warp threads are pulled by at least one shuttle through the
warp whose threads are positioned at various angles to the wefts
orientation and pulled into a shed out of the plane of motion of
the shuttle.
Two types of weaving machines have been used up to this
date in the textile industry. These two processes differentiate
themselves from each other in the way in which the weft threads
are introduced into the warp. The first type comprises
projectile, pull-rod, and air machines, which all introduce the
weft threads individually into the warp. The second group
consists of the wave-shed or multiphase weaving machines, in
which several shuttles can introduce the weft thread they carry
simultaneously and in rapid succession.
The machines in the first group are characterized by a
very high product quality, but they work relatively slowly,
whereas the multi-phase machines are, through the simultaneous
introduction of several weft threads, significantly faster, but
yield a lower product quality. All weaving machines known to
this date have high initial and operation costs, due to the
nature of the weaving process: they have a great number of moving
parts, can be very heavy, are very energy hungry, and their
operation is very noisy and produces much dust. This makes them
highly unsatisfactory and much in need of revision in respects of
environmental protection and work conditions.
An object of the invention is therefore to provide a
weaving method or process which achieves the high product quality
of the first machine types described and, at the same time, the
high production rate of the multi-phase machines. Further, the
mass of the moving parts and the energy requirements are reduced
as well as the operation noise level and the wear of material
that results in dust.
According to the present invention there is provided a
method of weaving in which weft threads are pulled by at least
one shuttle through a warp whose threads are tensioned at various
angles to the weft ori~ntation and pulled into a shed out of the
plane of motion of the shuttle, the improvement wherein the
shedding of the warp threads is performed by the controlled
forward motion of the shuttle.
The invention also provides in a weaving apparatus
comprising wherein weft threads are pulled by at least one
shuttle through a warp whose tensioned at various angles to the
weft orientation and pulled into a shed out of the plane of
motion of the shuttle, the improvement wherein means are provided
to control the forward motion of the shuttle whereby the shedding
of the warp threads can be performed thereby.
The weaving process according to the invention is a
radical departure from the traditional weaving processes where
the shuttle plays only a passive role, in that the shuttle here
plays an active role in the insertion of the weft threads through
the weave shed. Whereas external elements are necessary to
create the weave shed and send the weft thread through it in the
current weaving machines, the ~'smart" shuttle in the process
according to the invention finds its own way through the warp,
and is thus an active weaving element. It opens its own shed
through the warp and guides the weft threads through it. It can
furthermore act as a catch thread device.
From a mechanical viewpoint, the weaving process
according to the invention leads to a greatly reduced number of
moving parts which make the older systems more expensive. For
instance, the entire shedding machine, including the head frame,
the shafts and their driving machinery, the weaving reed, and the
catch thread devices, which accounts for a large portion of the
machine costs, can be eliminated. Thus, eliminating these moving
parts also reduces the energy requirements for the machine and
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the operating noise level, through a reduction of the moving mass
in the machine. At the same time, the production rate and the
product quality can be raised. Also the thread is handled more
carefully, with a resulting lowered production of dust.
An additional advantage is the flexibility of the
weaving process according to the invention, which allows a
variation of the weave patterns through a corresponding
programming of the shuttle path through the warp. From the
technical point of view, only two mechanical components are
necessary for the realization of the weaving process according to
the invention; they are the shuttle driver which pushes the
shuttle through the warp; and a programmable, sensor-based
control system for the guidance of the shuttle's path through the
warp by the proper setting of the shuttle's tip and for the weft
thread release by an appropriate configuration of the trailing
point of the shuttle.
While the components acting on the warp threads and
other mechanically active components of the shuttle have a
defined location in the system, the weaving process according to
the invention leaves a great deal of flexibility as to how the
shuttle driver and sensor-based control system for the guidance
of the shuttle's path through the warp can be realized and where
they can be located. According to the requirements, they can be
incorporated into the shuttle or installed externally, at an
appropriate location on the weaving machine.
The invention will now be described in more detail, by
way of example only, with reference to show schematically the
principle for the movement of the shuttle through the warp, the
accompanying drawings in which and in particular:
Fig. 1 shows a front view of one embodiment of a
shuttle for the weaving process according to the invention, and
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Figs. 2 and 3 show the front part of the shuttle in
Fig. 1 in its position within the fabric being woven, in a top
and side view respectively.
The representation in Fig. 1 shows a front view of a
shuttle (1) designed for the purposes of the invention as it
transverses the warp. It is shown within the setting of the
fabric (6), composed of the warp (4) and of the weft threads (5).
The representations of the shuttle (1) in Figs. 1 to 3
show only two significant details of the structure of the front
part of the shuttle that are relevant to the invention. These
are the selector point (2) and an optical sensor (3). The
optical sensor (3) serves in the identification of the warp
section ahead of the shuttle (1) point. The optically sensed
warp thread is specially marked in the figures (4a). The
selector point (2) imposes, as it moves through the warp, a pre-
programmed weave shed on the warp threads (4). The specially
marked warp threads (4a) are those just pulled into the shed by
the shuttle (1). It should be noted that the choice of the
direction in which the warp thread is pulled (4 or 4a) is
determined by the shuttle's control program, which is defined by
the desired weave structure.
The driver required to push the shuttle through the
warp with the programmed warp thread pattern (4 or 4a, 4b) is not
shown in the diagram. It can be designed in various different
ways, and has only to ensure that the shuttle ~l) can execute a
series of combined forward and side-motions during which the
selector point (2) pulls the warp threads (4) out of the plane
according to the desired weave design or structure. This series
of motions is governed by the identification of the warp thread
position by the optical sensor (3) on one hand, and by the
control program for the formation of a predetermined weave
pattern on the other. The computer control can be located in the
shuttle (1) itself, in the form of a microprocessor, or it can be
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installed in a different par-t of the weaving machine and transmit
the weave pattern data to a receiver in the shuttle (1).
The shuttle driver can be located within the shuttle
(1) and be powered by an integrated, autonomous power supply, but
it can also be designed as an external driver hooked into a
network power supply. Besides its role of guiding the movement
of the shuttle (1) according to a predetermined program, the
optical sensor (3) can also serve the purpose of identlfying
flaws in the weave, such as broken warp threads (4), thus
allowing the control processor acting on this information to
change the program of the other shuttles and/or of the weaving
machine as a whole. For example the motion of the shuttle could
be interrupted, should a broken warp thread be detected. This
offers a fast and flexible means for the identification and
removal of possible flaws in the weave. In this context, the
optical sensor could also be replaced by an electrical or a
magnetic sensor with the same functions, for the purpose of
identifying the warp thread position.
Through an appropriate design of its trailing point,
the shuttle (1) can also be used as a weaving reed, for the
picking of the weft thread t5) in the fabric.
The description given above, in con~unction with the
figures, shows that the invention offers a possibility to use the
shuttle as an active element for the insertion of the weft thread
into the warp. In the process, the shuttle can replace the
shedding machine, the weaving reed, and the catch thread device,
and thus save the costs of these otherwise necessary components.
The weaving process according to the invention is thus
an economical, fast, and rellable method for the production of
high quality fabrics and weaves. A dust-free operation with low
operating noise levels furthermore makes this an environmentally
attractive process. Finally, the weaving process according to
the invention, works wit5h a shuttle that weaves by "finding its
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own way" through the warp by means of a sensor-based
identification of the warp thread position and control means to
create the shed through whi~h it pulls and in which it sets the
weft threads.
