Title of Invention

A HEDDLE AND A METHOD FOR PRODUCING A HEDDLE

Abstract No.141/MAS/2002 ABSTRACT A HEDDLE AND A METHOD FOR PRODUCING A HEDDLE The invention relates to a heddle, consisting of a one-piece blank (1) with a profile which has at least two thickenings (4a, 4b) and a narrow point (2) arranged between them, wherein the blank (1) is separated along the narrow point (2) into two individual strands (5a, 5b) and is widened so as to form a loop (6), characterized in that the profile has, in the region of the narrow point (2), the shape of a triangle with a rounded or flattened vertex and with an aperture angle (2a, P) of between 20 and 120°, and in that, in the separated state, the individual strands in the region of the loop (6) have rounded edges. Figure 1
Full Text

The invention relates to a heddle and a method for producing a heddle.
Heddles in weaving machines have the task of raising and lowering warp threads, which run through the heddle center eyes, for shed formation. For example, heddles consisting of yarn, metal and plastic are known. In the case of metallic heddles, the thread eye is formed either by piercing a soldered-together double wire or by stamping out of a flat-rolled round wire or a wide band. The orifice or loop formed by piercing or stamping out constitutes a thread eye through which the warp thread is guided. The thread eye is exposed to high mechanical stress by the warp thread running through it. It must be as low-wear as possible and should not chafe the warp thread running through it. To satisfy these requirements, an additional thread eye is often soldered into the loop and is also designated as a maillon. The requirements of high mechanical load- bearing capacity are fulfilled best by heddles which, at least in the region of the thread eye, are manufactured from metal.
It is known to solder together round-wire heddles consisting of two tinned parallel steel wires by the continuous-flow method in a liquid tin or tin/lead bath. The double wire produced thereby is partially split again along the soldered joint to form the thread eye and is widened into a loop, into which, if appropriate, an additional thread eye is soldered. The method for producing such round-wire heddles is costly and, because of the use of the lead and/or tin bath, is ecologically questionable. Moreover, the heddles have a relatively soft surface which is not abrasion resistant. They therefore have to be subsequently copper-plated and nickel-plated, in order to acquire the desired abrasion resistance and prevent staining of the yarn.

According to the invention, the production of a heddle starts from a one-piece blank having a profile which has at least two thickenings and a narrow point arranged between them. The profile of the blank has, in the region of the narrow point, the shape of a triangle with a rounded or flattened vertex and with an aperture angle of between 20 and 120° or can have approximately such a shape.
The thickness d2 of the blank in the region of the narrow point is preferably between 0.02 and 0.2 mm. The thickness di in the region of the thickenings is preferably 2-8 times the thickness d2 and is preferably between 0.3 and 1.2 mm. The width bi of the blank is preferably between 0.5 and 3.0 mm.
The blank is, in particular, an endless band which has the described profile over the entire band length. It is also designated below as a splittable profile wire. In the heddle according to the invention, the blank is separated along the narrow point, in a region of predetermined length, into two individual strands and is widened so as to form a loop. By a virtue of the narrow point which is present over the entire length of the blank and is conducive to the notch effect, heddles of different length and different loop size can be produced with a high degree of flexibility. The piercing or separation of a slit in order to produce the loop is possible with little effort. On account of the prefabricated narrowing, the individual strands have essentially rounded edges in the region of the slit. The loop thus obtained can therefore be prepared in a simple way for receiving the warp thread. The separation to form a slit and the widening of the slit can take place in one operation in a common processing station.

The blank is preferably a one-part profiled splittable wire. This is produced preferably by rolling, drawing or cutting. It preferably consists of springy rustproof material or cold-drawn spring steel. Its strength is 900-2500 N/mm2, preferably 1100 to 1500 N/mm2. This high tensile strength ensures the necessary stability and durability of the heddle according to the invention. The strength is selected as function of the material, in such a way that the profile can be split and widened, without being torn open over the entire length of the heddle. The breaking elongation is selected in such a way that it is possible for end loops to be formed integrally.
Preferably, for fastening in the harness, the heddle has straight ends for a hose fastening or integrally formed end loops. These are produced by corresponding material deforming, end splitting or the additional attachment of thread eyes.
If the heddle is subjected to only low stress, the widened loop can be used directly as a thread eye.
Its wear resistance is in this case determined by the hardness of the material of the blank. It is of great advantage that, in contrast to heddles consisting of a soldered double wire, copper-plating and nickel-plating may be dispensed with.
In the case of higher stress, an additional thread eye is preferably inserted into the loop. This thread eye preferably has greater wearability than the blank itself and preferably also a correspondingly prepared surface which, for example, is polished. Preferably, this additional thread eye has, along its outer contour, a notch which is matched to the shape of the individual strands. The additional thread eye can consequently be inserted with a form fit into the loop,

Figs. 1-5 show various profiles of blanks for the
production of heddles according to the invention;
Fig. 6a shows a top view of a heddle according
to the invention with an additionally inserted thread eye;
Fig. 6b shows a cross section through a double-wire heddle according to the prior art;
Fig. 6c shows the cross section through a heddle
according to the invention.
Figures 1-5 illustrate various profile shapes of blanks which can be used for producing a heddle according to the invention. Identical functional regions are designated by the same reference symbols.
The profile according to fig. 1 is essentially dumbbell-shaped or eight-shaped. It is symmetrical both with respect to a transverse axis 11 and with respect to a center axis 12 perpendicular to the latter. The profile 1 has two lobe-like lateral thickenings 4a, 4b, between which a narrow point 2 is formed. The narrow point 2 is formed during the method for producing the blank, in that the blank is provided over its entire length with notches 3a, 3b located opposite one another mirror-symmetrically with respect to the transverse axis 11. The blank 1 has a width bl of 0.4 to 2.6 mm, preferably 0.6mm. In a direction perpendicular to this, it has a maximum thickness dl which is about two thirds of the width bl, here 0.4 mm. The minimum thickness d2 in the region of the narrow point 2 is about one third of the width bl, here preferably 0.2 mm. The profile has a rounded shape in the region of the thickenings 4a, 4b and in the region of the notches 3a, 3b. The

radius of curvature Rl of the profile in the region of the narrow point 2 is between 0.01 and 0.25 mm, preferably amounting to 0.05 mm. The notches are in the shape of a rounded cone with an aperture half angle a of 30° to 60°, here a = 40°.
For a heddle to be produced according to the invention, the profile wire is partially separated along the narrow point 2, that is to say along the smallest thickness d2. The slit which occurs is widened into a loop which either itself forms the thread eye or receives a further thread eye (maillon).
Fig. 2 illustrates further example of a profile of a blank 1. The narrow point 2 between the two thickenings 4a, 4b has, here, a reduced thickness d2, as compared with the example from fig. 1, of about one sixth of the width bl of the profile. The aperture half angle a of the notches 3a, 3b is about 30°. The radius of curvature Rl of the notches 3a, 3b is about 0.05 mm.
Fig. 3 shows a further example of a profile wire according to the invention, with notches 3a, 3b of triangular or roof-shaped cross section. The width bl of the profile 1 is between 0.6 and 2.6 mm and, here, amounts preferably to 0.8 mm. The narrow point 2 formed by the notches 3a, 3b between the two thickenings 4a and 4b consists of an essentially straight piece of material of the width b2. The width b2 is between 0.05 and 0.5 mm and amounts here to 0.1 mm. The thickness d2 of the narrow point 2 in a direction running perpendicularly thereto is preferably between 0.1 and 0.5 mm and here amounts, for example, to 0.1 mm. The thickness Dl of the entire profile 1, measured at the point of greatest extent, is preferably between 0.25 and 1.3 mm and amounts, here, to 0.45 mm. The aperture angle P of the notches 3a, 3b is between 60 and 120° and amounts, here, to about 90°.

Fig. 4 shows a profile which is slightly modified in relation to fig. 3 and which has rounded notches 3a, 3b. The radius of curvature Rl of the notches amounts, here, to about 0.12 mm and, in principle is preferably between 0.05 and 0.5 mm. The aperture angle p is essentially 90°.
Fig. 5 shows a further dumbbell-shaped or 8-shaped profile of a blank according to the invention. The width of the profile bl is about 0.6 mm, the thickness dl of the profile is about two thirds of this, here 0.4 mm, and the thickness d2 of the narrow point 2 is about one sixth of this, here 0.1 mm. The aperture angle P of the notches 3a, 3b amounts to approximately 90°. The radius of curvature Rl of the profile in the region of the narrow point 2 amounts to approximately 0.05 mm. The radius of curvature R2 of the profile in the region of the thickenings, 4a,4b amounts to approximately 0.1 mm. The profile according to fig. 5 has a cross-sectional area of approximately 0.16 mm2.
The profiles shown in figs. 1-5 can be produced by the cold-drawing, rolling or cutting of a wire consisting of springy rustproof material or spring steel. The splittable profile wire thus produced serves as an endless band as initial material for the production of heddles according to the invention. Moreover, further components which have a loop can be manufactured in a simple way from such a wire.
Fig. 6a shows an example of a heddle according to the invention with an inserted thread eye 7. The heddle consists of a blank 1 which is a splittable profile wire with a profile according to one of figs. 1-5 or 6c. The profile wire has two thickenings 4a, 4b which are strand-like in the longitudinal direction and run parallel to one another in the end regions la, lb of

the blank 1. In these end regions la, lb, they are connected to one another by a narrow point 2. In the region of the loop 6, the narrow point is separated over a particular length. The blank 1 is split in this region into two individual strands 5a, 5b. These are drawn apart from one another in the transverse direction so as to form a loop 6. A thread eye 7 is inserted with a form fit into the loop 6. The ends 8 of the loop 6 or the intermediate region between the thread eye 7 and the individual strands 5a, 5b are filled with a filling means.
Figs. 6b and 6c show sections through a heddle along the line 1-1 in fig. 6a. Fig. 6b illustrates the situation where the blank 1 is a soldered double wire according to the prior art. This consists of two round wires 9a, 9b which are oriented parallel to one another and are connected over their entire length by means of soldering tin 10. Such a double wire has the disadvantages initially outlined. Fig. 6c shows, by contrast, the further development according to the invention, in which a one piece splittable profile wire is used as blank 1.


WE CLAIM :
1. A heddle, consisting of a one-piece blank (1) with a profile which has at least two thickenings (4a, 4b) and a narrow point (2) arranged between them, wherein the blank (1) is separated along the narrow point (2) into two individual strands (5a, 5b) and is widened so as to form a loop (6), characterized in that the profile has, in the region of the narrow point (2), the shape of a triangle with a rounded or flattened vertex and with an aperture angle (2a, P) of between 20 and 120°, and in that, in the separated state, the individual strands in the region of the loop (6) have rounded edges.
2. The heddle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the profile of the blank (1) is lobe-shaped, dumbbell-shaped or eight-shaped.
3. The heddle as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the loop (6) has a polished surface and forms a thread eye (7).
4. The heddle as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein an additional thread eye (7) is arranged in the loop (6).
5. The heddle as claimed in claim 4, wherein the thread eye (7) has, along its outer contour, a notch which is matched to the shape of the individual strands (5 a, 5«) for form-fitting insertion into the loop (6).
6. The heddle as claimed in claim 4 or 5, wherein the thread eye (7) has a polished surface.
7. The heddle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the blank (1) is a profiled splittable wire.

8. The heddle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the blank (1) is a cold-drawn or rolled or cut wire which preferably consists of springy rustproof material or of cold-drawn springy steel.
9. The heddle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the blank (1) has a strength of 900 to 2500 N/mm2, preferably of 1100 to 1500 N/mm2.
10. The heddle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein straight ends (la, lb) for a hose fastening or integrally formed end loops.
11. The heddle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the profile has, in the region of the narrow point, a radius of curvature (Rl) of between 0.01 and 0.5 mm.
12. The heddle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the profile has, in the region of the narrow point (2), a roof-shaped configuration, the width (b2) of the narrow point being between 0.05 and 0.5 mm and the width (bl) of the profile being between 0.6 and 2.6.
13. A method for producing a heddle, comprising the steps of:
a) providing of a one-piece blank (1) with a profile which has at least two
thickenings (4a, 4b) and a narrow point (2) arranged between them;
b) separating the blank (1) in the longitudinal direction over a
predetermined length along the narrow point (2) into two individual strands (5a,
5b);
c) widening the blank (1) in the separated region into a loop (6);
characterized in that

d) the profile of the one-piece blank has, in the region of the narrow
point (2) the shape of a triangle with a rounded or flattened vertex and with an
aperture angle (2a, P) of between 20 and 120°;
e) separating the blank such that the individual strands (5 a, 5b) in the
region of the loop (6) have rounded edges.
14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein an additional thread eye (7) is inserted into the loop (6) or is fastened in the region of the loop (6), preferably by the thread eye (7) being snapped, adhesively bonded, soldered, welded or pressed into the loop (6).


Documents:

141-mas-2002 abstract duplicate.pdf

141-mas-2002 abstract.pdf

141-mas-2002 claims duplicate.pdf

141-mas-2002 claims.pdf

141-mas-2002 correspondence others.pdf

141-mas-2002 correspondence po.pdf

141-mas-2002 description (complete) duplicate.pdf

141-mas-2002 description (complete).pdf

141-mas-2002 drawings duplicate.pdf

141-mas-2002 drawings.pdf

141-mas-2002 form-1.pdf

141-mas-2002 form-18.pdf

141-mas-2002 form-26.pdf

141-mas-2002 form-3.pdf

141-mas-2002 form-5.pdf

141-mas-2002 form-6.pdf


Patent Number 227238
Indian Patent Application Number 141/MAS/2002
PG Journal Number 07/2009
Publication Date 13-Feb-2009
Grant Date 05-Jan-2009
Date of Filing 22-Feb-2002
Name of Patentee GROZ-BECKERT KG
Applicant Address PARKWEG 2, 72458 ALBSTADT,
Inventors:
# Inventor's Name Inventor's Address
1 TOBLER ERNST SCHRIBERWEID 23, CH-8330 PFAFFIKON,
2 KAGI JORG DROSSLI, CH-8498 GIPSWIL,
PCT International Classification Number D03C 9/04
PCT International Application Number N/A
PCT International Filing date
PCT Conventions:
# PCT Application Number Date of Convention Priority Country
1 2001 0370/01 2001-02-28 Switzerland