Safety lock for looms
[ Apr. 29, 1975 United States Patent [191 Budzyna 3.0l0 48l ll/l96l wheelerunumnnnu..i.t........ I39/l R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS SAFETY LOCK FOR LOOMS Inventor: Joseph M. Budzyna, East Douglas,  
 Mass.  
 United Kingdomwnwwm m mm M on  
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  41.340 90635 89999 w ww Primary Examiner-James Kee Chi [57] ABSTRACT A safety lock for the shipper lever of a loom which is operatively connected to and actuated by pivotal [52] U.S. 139/] R; 13 9/l93 [5 l] Int. Cl.. D03d 49/00; D03d 49/58; DO3d 51/00 [58} Field of Search.............,....... l39/l R. 336. 193  
 movement of the looms shuttle guard from its active [56] References Cited to inactive position to prevent starting the loom when UNITED STATES PATENTS the shuttle guard is not in its active or shuttle confining position relative to the looms lay beam 34157] 5/l886 Hahlo ct ill. l&#39;i9/l9? 1.364.038 I2/I920 Cumberland l39/l93 3 Claims. 4 Drawing Figures SAFETY LOCK FOR LOOMS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In fly shuttle looms the movement of the shuttle to and fro across the lay and through the shed formed between opposed warp sheets is normally guided only by the lay and the reed so that the shuttle itself is relatively unconfined against movement in a forward direction. and may move upwardly until it engages the hand rail, although the hand rail itselfis not of sufficient width to serve very effectively as a confining means. Normally the to and fro movement of the shuttle, if the loom is operating as intended. is not accompanied by any noticeably erratic movements or tendency to be thrown from the shed. but as is unavoidable at times, some un usual circumstance or circumstances give rise to situations in which the shuttle does tend to fly out of the shed and in these instances. of course, there is always the damage to the warp threads. and if the loom operator or others are in the immediate vicinity, the shuttle may cause bodily injury.  
  Various types of shuttle guards have been devised such as the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2.572,l ll which may be readily raised about a pivot from an active shuttle confining position in which it is virtually impossible for the shuttle to escape from the shed, to a relatively inactive position where it permits the weaver to have complete access to the fabric adjacent the fell. to the warp threads in the event he desires to repair broken threads at that point, the shuttle in the shed. or in fact. to any of the parts or warp threads at that general area of the loom which would not otherwise be as accessible ifthe guard were to remain in its active position,  
  The above form of shuttle guard performs its intended function quite satisfactorily; however, it does present a problem that is considered serious from a safety standpoint, for a loom can be restarted with the shuttle guard in its raised or inactive position.  
  The safety lock for looms according to the present invention has eliminated the above problem by providing a means which locks the shipper lever in its of position when the shuttle guard is pivoted to its inactive position, and will not permit restarting the loom until the shuttle guard is pivoted back to its shuttle confining or active position.  
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The safety lock for the shipper lever of a loom comprising the invention is in the form of a pivotal latch member operatively connected to the looms shuttle guard. The shuttle guard is pivotally supported on hinge members carried in support brackets that are assembled to a portion of the looms frame. One of the shuttle guard s hinge members carries a cam element, the outer periphery of which is operatively connected to the latch member by means of a linkage cable. This linkage cable permits the shuttle guard to be raised to an inactive position only after stopping a loom. As the shuttle guard is raised, the cam element acts upon the linkage cable which pivots the latch member to a position which locks the shipper lever in its off position. To again start the loom, the shuttle guard must be pivoted downwardly to its active or shuttle confining position. During this movement the end of the linkage cable maintains contact with the outer periphery of the cam element and permits the latch member to pivot to a position to clear the shipper lever and allow it to be moved to operating position.  
  It is a general object of the invention to provide a safety lock for the shipper lever of a loom which is activated and deactivated by movement of the looms shuttle guard between its shuttle confining and inactive positions.  
  A further and more specific object is to provide a safety lock for the shipper lever of a loom which will lock the shipper lever in its inoperative position upon raising the loom s shuttle guard to its inactive position and which will maintain the shipper lever in a locked position until the shuttle guard is returned to its shuttle confining position.  
  These and other objects of the present invention will become more fully apparent by reference to the appended claims and as the following detailed description proceeds in reference to the figures of drawing wherein:  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a flyshuttle loom showing the safety lock according to the invention applied thereto.  
  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of FIG. 1 showing further detail of the means for moving the latch member to that position for locking the shipper lever in its non-operating position,  
  FIG. 3 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 showing the shuttle guard in its inactive position and the latch member in its locking position, and  
  FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of FIG. 3 showing further detail of the cam element and its rela tionship to the linkage cable for effecting movement of the latch member to its locking position.  
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the embodiment shown in FIG. I only those parts of a fly shuttle loom have been shown which are required for a complete understanding of the invention.  
  With reference to FIG. 1 parts of a loom to which the safety lock of the invention has been applied include a lay 10, a shuttle box ll, a hand rail 12 and a reed 13, these all being attached in the usual way adjacent the upper ends of swords, a portion of one thereof being indicated by numeral 14.  
  In FIGS. 1 and 3 the forward upper right hand portion of the loom frame is identified by numeral 15 and has a bearing member 16 assembled on the forward surface thereof through which the looms shipper shaft 17 is adapted to extend.  
  A shipper lever generally indicated by numeral 18 is assembled on that end of the shipper shaft 17 which extends beyond the bearing member 16, and includes a hub portion 19 having an extension 20 leading upwardly therefrom to which is fixed a shipper handle 21 having a knob 22 to facilitate gripping thereof. An arm 23 extends in a downward direction from the hub 19 and is pivotally connected at its lower end to a control link 24 which controls operation of a motor not shown.  
  Bearing member 16 attaches to that portion of the loom frame identified by numeral 15 by means of bolts 25 and 26 with the latter bolt 26 being provided with an extension 27 which is adapted to pivotally support a latch member generally indicated in FIGS. 1 and 3 by numeral 28. This latch member includes a hub 29 having a finger 30 extending therefrom normal to the axis of extension 27. Adjacent the lower and forward surface of finger 30 an integral forwardly extending lip 31 is provided and is disposed for operative engagement with one end ofa linkage cable or Bowden Wire 32. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. the Bowden Wire 32 is sup ported adjacent the end in contact with the underside of lip 31 in a forwardly extending lug 33 which forms an integral part of bearing member 16.  
  Extension of the shipper lever l8 includes a generally horizontally disposed groove or channel 34 which is located in alignment with the free end or tip 35 of fin&#39; ger when the latter is in its lower or inactive position as shown in FIG. 1. With the finger 30 in this position movement of the shipper handle 21 between its active and inactive positions is unrestricted or in other words. channel 34 provides sufficient clearance to prevent interference with tip when pulling the shipper handle to its operating position or pushing it forwardly to stop the loom.  
  In FIG. 3 the shipper handle is shown in its nonoperating position with the finger 30 of the latch member 28 pivoted upwardly, by a means now to be de scribed. to a position which prevents the pulling of said shipper handle to its operating position.  
  In FIGS. 2 and 4 the end of the Bowden Wire 32 opposite that end in contact with the lip 31 of the latch member 28 is identified by numeral 36.  
  Adjacent end 36 the Bowden Wire 32 is supported by a bracket member 37 which is adjustably assembled to a hinge bracket 38 by means of cap screws 39. Hinge bracket 38 assembles to a portion of the loom&#39;s frame commonly referred to as the arch end and is identified in FlG. l by numeral 40. Hinge bracket 38 includes an integrally formed cylindrical portion 41 within which a hinge pin 42 is journalled and which extends from each end of said cylindrical portion.  
  The shuttle guard is identified in the various figures of drawing by numeral 43 and is supported on strap members 44 (one only shown) by means of screws 45. Strap members 44 are provided with a collar element 46 fixed thereon by any suitable means such as by brazing or welding and are fixedly assembled on hinge pin 42 by such means as set screws or the like not shown.  
  As shown in the figures of drawing, the outer end of the hinge pin 42 has a cam member 46 fixed thereon by set screws 47 and end 36 of the Bowden Wire 32 is adapted to maintain contact with the outer periphery of said cam member by a biasing means not shown but which is carried within tubular end portion 48 of said Bowden Wire.  
  To summarize the operation the shuttle guard in its operating position is disposed in overlying relation to the lay. reed and hand rail as shown in FIG. 1 and as the combination of the latter are swung to and fro in a well known manner. In FIG. 1 the shipper handle 21 is shown in loom operating position with the tip 35 of the latch member 28 disposed within channel 34 provided in extension 20.  
  Should the loom knock off automatically or be stopped manually for any number of reasons. the shipper handle will be pivoted rearwardly to that position shown in FlG. 3 which places extension 20 rearwardly of the latch member 28.  
  After the loom has stopped the weaver or loom attendant may desire to raise the shuttle guard 43 from its active position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, for any number of well-known reasons. to its inactive position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.  
  During the raising of the shuttle guard 43. the hinge pin 42 and cam member 46&#39; carried thereon are C&#39;tUSCCl to turn in a clockwise direction as viewed in the various figures of drawing causing actuation of the Bowden Wire which is effective upon lip 31 so as to pivot finger 30 of the latch member 28 to that position shown in FIG. 3.  
  In this position the tip 35 of finger 30 is in close proximity with the upper portion of extension 20 which prevents the pulling of the shipper handle 21 to loom operating position.  
  To restart the loom. the shuttle guard 43 must be manually lowered to the position shown in FlGSv l and 2. During this movement the biasing means of the Bow den Wire 32 causes end 36 thereof to maintain contact with the outer periphery of cam member 46&#39; which then moves in a counter-clockwise direction and allows the latch member 28 to pivot downwardly to the position shown in FIG. 1. In this position the tip 35 of the latch member 28 is in alignment with the channel 34 in extension 20. and will permit movement of the shipper handle 21 to loom operating position.  
  Although the present invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment. it is to be understood that modifications and variations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as those skilled in the art will readily understand. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the purview and scope of the invention and the appended claims.  
 I claim:  
  1. In a fly shuttle loom having a supporting frame, a lay beam. a shuttle guard with hinge members by which said guard is attachable to the frame to be swung to and from active and inactive positions. a shipper lever pivotally mounted on the frame with a motor control link operatively connected to one end thereof. a safety lock for the shipper lever which comprises:  
 a. a latch member pivotally carried on the frame;  
 b. operator means having one end thereof operatively associated with said latch member; and  
 c. actuating means carried by the hinge members of the shuttle guard and operatively associated with the other end of said operator means for moving said latch member to a position to prevent actuation of the shipper lever upon movement of the guard to its inactive position.  
  2. The safety lock for the shipper lever according to claim 1 wherein said operator means includes a linkage cable having an integral follower member in frictional contact with said actuating means.  
  3. The safety lock for the shipper lever according to claim 2 wherein said actuating means includes a cam member movable with the hinge members when moving the shuttle guard between its active and inactive positions.