selective cam shedding mechanism with longitudinally slidable cam means for each harness frame and which are selectable to have opposite longitudinal
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A. J. HERARD, JR., ET AL SELECTIVE SHEDDING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS April 18, 1961 2,980,145 4. Sheets-Sheet Filed July 3, 1959 4, LLLLLLLLLL) WITT KSKKSLLYSLSLLSLSLLLSLS UHQQ 6S 3) || ? NVENTORS ARCHIBALD J. HERARD JR. CLARENCE R. KRONOFF VICTOR E SEPAVCH C4a.7-ya-e-47 ATORNEY
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April 18, 1961 A. J. HERARD, JR., ET AL 2,980,145 SELECTIVE SHEDDING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Filed July 3, 1959 4. Sheets-Sheet 3 27 F G. 6 LL LJ LJ LAL AA LLLLJSLLL SLLLS LLJS LLJS LLJS LLJS LLLSLJ 0LJS LLLLLL L0LL LLLJSSSLSLS 0LJS LLLJSLLLJ0 LJ LL S LLLLLJ LLLLLLLLS LL LLL LLLLLLLL00LLLLLLLLA LLS LLLLLL ALLLLLLLS LL LSL LLLLS LLLLLLS ALLLLLSLL LLLL LL LLLLL S LLLLL LLLLLLLLSLLLL0 LLLLLL LLLLLLLLSLS LLLLL LL0 LLLLLLLLS LL LLL LLLLLL 42 58 NICelT II 2 O ANN A NSN R RN | F G. 7 26 INVENTORS ARCHIBALD J HERARD JR CLARENCE R. KRONOFF VICTOR E SEPAVICH ATTORNEY
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United States Patent Office 2,980,145 Patented Apr. 18, 1961 1. 2,980,145 SELECTIVE SHEDDING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Archibald J. Herard, Jr., Auburn, and Clarence R. Kro- ???? noff and Victor F. Sepavich, Worcester, Mass, assign ors to Cromptoa & Knowles Corporation, Worcester, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Filed July 3, 1959, Ser. No. 824,811 25 Claims. , (Cl. 139-80) This invention relates to improvements in cam shed ding mechanism for shiftable harness frames utilized in looms, and it is the general object of the invention to provide simple cam means which are selectively chosen. to positively shift the harness frames to move warp threads to form sheds or openings therebetween through which a shuttle passes to lay a pick of filling therein during each beat of the loom. Certain types of looms that have gone into extensive commercial usage employ cam shedding mechanisms to raise and lower the harness frames and wherein a set of cams functions in a fixed cycle such that the harness frames must be periodically raised and lowered during each cycle, and because of this periodical raising and lowering, these cams are only able to provide the loom with a definite or limited weave whenever they are used. When it is desired to change the weave, the set of cams being employed must be replaced by another set of cams having the proper configuration of the weave desired. For example, when a cam shedding-loom is to be changed from a 1/1 plain weave to a 1/3 twill weave, it is necessary to change the set of cams for the plain weave to a set of cams that will give the twill weave. Because of the necessity of changing sets of cams to attain different weaves, the versatility of a loom, so far as the weave is concerned, is limited to the num ber of sets of cams supplied for each loom. More over, it is rather expensive to provide looms with vari ous sets of cams in order to increase the weave versatility, and it is also quite expensive to change from one set of cams to another set due to the time utilized in making the changeover, at which time the loom must be stopped with resultant loss in production. It is therefore an important object of the invention to increase the weave versatility of the type of loom mentioned above by greatly reducing if not eliminating the limitations and expenses associated therewith as set forth above by providing the looms with a selective camshedding mechanism which does not require operation of harness frames on a fixed cycle and which does not require interchanging of sets of cams from one set to another when it is desired to change the weave. It is another object of the invention to provide the selective cam shedding mechanism with longitudinally slidable cam means for each harness frame and which are selectable to have opposite longitudinal sliding move ments to raise and lower the harness frames, depending upon which direction the cams are moved, or to main tain the frame in either raised or lowered position for any selected number of beats of the loom. It is another object of the invention to provide the selective cam shedding mechanism with a plurality of pairs of actuating means, each pair being interconnected to each other and moving simultaneously in opposite directions, first toward each other in one direction and then away from each other in the opposite direction to cause sliding movement of the cam means when moving 10. 15 20 25 30 35 40 4 50 55 60 65 70 only in one of said directions to effect shifting of the 2 frames provided that selection of the cam means for sliding movement has been indicated. It is another object of the invention to provide each of the sliding cam means with selectable means under control of pattern mechanism and normally in nonopera tive relationship with the actuating means, said pattern mechanism being either effective to cause rocking of the selective means in opposite directions to either one of two angular operative positions or effective to permit the selective means to remain in either one of said two positions, the selective means being separate from the actuator means but capable of being operatively con nected thereto when moved to one of said angular posi tions whereupon movement of the pair of actuating means in a direction opposite each other effects sliding move ment of the selective means and the cam means in the same direction from one longitudinal position to another longitudinal position to cause raising or lowering of the corresponding harness frame, depending upon, which di rection the cam means is being moved. It is another object of the invention to provide the selective cam shedding mechanism with a pair of con stantly rotating means which include conjugated, trape zoidal cams each of which has surfaces cooperating with said actuating means effective to produce a time delay during the initial and final movement of the actuating means to prevent the latter from exerting an impact below to the selective means when the latter is initially opera tively connected to the actuating means and to prevent sudden stopping of the shedding mechanism and harness frames during final movement fo the actuating means whereby shock loads are substantially reduced. Another object of the invention is to make the trape Zoidal cams with surfaces connecting the time delay sur faces to increase the velocity of the actuating means be tween the time delays to counteract the latter to main tain the shedding mechanism in proper time relationship with the speed of the loom, the greatest velocity being attained at the time the harness frames are crossing at a point intermediate their high and low positions to cause rapid snap-crossing of the warp threads as they pass each other at their intermediate point to form a clean shed or opening by preventing the clinging of fibers on threads to fibers on other threads due to the rapidity by which the threads are crossed. – Another object of the invention is to provide control means including a giveway and a plurality of selectable systems of rods and levers, one system for each cam means located between and operatively connected to the pattern mechanism and the selective means such that selective activation by the pattern mechanism of any one of the systems will cause the selective means associated therewith to rock angularly from one position to another position so as to enable the actuating means to be opera tively connected thereto. Still another object of the invention is to provide each of the selective means with a pair of hooks, one on each side of the selective means pivot, for cooperating with corresponding coacting means on each pair of correspond ing actuating means effective to cause movement of the corresponding sliding cam means when either of the hooks is operatively connected to its corresponding co acting means. A further object of the invention is to provide the sliding cam means with locking features at each end thereof, the locking features at one end thereof includ ing a cam element having high and low horizontal sur faces which cooperate with operative connections be tween the surfaces and the frames and the weight of the latter to maintain the harness frames locked in raised or lowered position for any selected number of beats of the loom, and the locking features at the other end
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2,980,145 3 thereof including locking fingers pivoted on the selective means to cooperate with the latching means on the actuat ing means to maintain the frames stationary when they are in any position between their extreme high and low positions during stoppage of the loom. A further object of the invention is to provide a call able cam shedding mechanism such that the cams are called at will by pattern mechanism for longitudinal slid ing movement to operate the harness frames during any beat of the loom, the cams being able to remain stationary in one or another of two longitudinal positions for any selected number of beats of the loom to maintain the harness frames raised or lowered depending upon which longitudinal position the cams occupy when called upon to remain stationary during loom operation. A further object of the invention is to make the shed ding mechanism as a unit for easy bench assembly and wherein the greater part of the shedding mechanism is enclosed in a casing containing a lubricant and the only parts outside of the casing are those that are operatively connected to the harness frames and operatively con nected to the pattern mechanism. A further object of the invention is to utilize one of the actuating means to operate a pump to effect lubri cation of various parts of the shedding mechanism en closed in the casing. A still further object of the invention is to facilitate the manufacture and the assembly of the sliding cam means by making the latter in two parts which are locked together to form a rigid member but which can easily be unlocked and separated if necessary for whatever reasons. In order that the invention may be clearly understood reference is made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate by way of example the embodiments of the invention and in which: Fig. 1 is a front elevation of part of a loom having the invention applied thereto, certain of the parts being broken away, and certain of the parts being in section for the sake of clarity, Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevation of the lower left-hand part of Fig. 1 showing the parts that are enclosed in the casing, certain of the parts being in section, Fig. 3 is a plan view of the pattern mechanism looking in the direction of arrow 3, Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a vertical section on line 4-4, Fig. 3, Fig. 5 is a vertical section on line 5-5, Fig. 2, Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on line 6-6, Fig. 2, Fig. 7 is a vertical section on line 7-7, Fig. 6, Fig. 8 is a vertical section on line 8-8, Fig. 2, Fig. 9 is a horizontal section on line 9-9, Fig. 1, Fig. 10 is an operational view showing a pair of actu ators just at the moment they have reached their extreme inward position, V Fig. 11 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the relationship between end end of a selective means and the coacting means on one of the actuator means when the latter has just reached its inward position at which time the selective means has completed its angular motion if So called for by the pattern mechanism, Fig. 12 is an operational view showing the actuators having their coating means in contact with the chosen selective means, the actuating means having been moved slightly away from each other by the constantly rotating means, Fig. 13 is an operational view showing the pair of actuator means in their outward position after having longitudinally moved the chosen selective means to effect raising or lowering of the corresponding harness frame, Fig. 14 is an enlarged view of a portion of Fig. 1 show ing cam elements on the sliding cam means and the operative connections which cooperate with the cam ele ments to raise and lower the harness frames, Fig. 15 is a diagrammatic plan view of the drive for the Selective cam shedding mechanism, O 5 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 4 how the two parts of the sliding cam means are locked to each other, and Fig. 17 is a front elevational view showing a conjugal trapezoidal cam unit and the relationship of the surface of one cam with respect to the surfaces of the other cam. Referring particularly to Fig. 1, right and left-hand loomsides 1 and 2 respectively are connected by longitu dinal beams 3, 4 and 5 to form a rigid framework gen erally designated at 6 to support harness frames 7, 8, 9 and 10 for independent vertical sliding movement in right and left-hand guides 13 and 14 respectively sup ported by guide brackets 15 and 16 respectively attached to the loomsides 1 and 2 respectively in any approved manner, as by bolts 17. A shaft 18, driven by the loom motor (not shown) operates to turn a suitably supported jack shaft 19, see Fig. 15, by way of a pair of bevel gears 29 and 21, bevel gear. 20 being attached to shaft 18 and bevel gear 21 being fixed to jack shaft 19. A sprocket 22 fast on shaft 19 transmits constant clockwise rotation to a cross shaft 23 as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2 by means of a chain 24 trained around sprocket 22 and a sprocket 25 fixed to cross shaft 23, the latter being suitably journaled on a casing 26 for a selective cam shedding mechanism generally designated by numeral 27. A second sprocket 28 on jack shaft 19, see Figs. 1 and 15, meshes with a chain 29 leading to and trained around a sprocket 30 on a shaft 31 forming part of the pattern mechanism to be described hereinafter. It is to be understood that al though only four harnesses are illustrated herein, the invention is not thusly limited and that more or less harnesses may be utilized and operated by the selective cam shedding mechanism to be fully described herein after. Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 8, the selective cam shed ding mechanism 27 includes shaft 23 which mounts thereon a plurality of conjugate trapezoidal cam units generally designated at 32 and 33 which rotate constantly during loom operation in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2 to simultaneously rockably reciprocate a plurality of pairs of actuating means, each pair being interconnected and designated generally by numerals 34 and 35, there being a pair of actuating means for each cam unit. The cam units 32 and 33 are brazed to indi vidual hubs 36 and 37 respectively, each unit being iden tical and having front and rear cam plates 38 and 39 respectively. The camplates 38 and 39 are provided with arcuate slots 40 disposed angularly with respect to each other, see Fig. 2, and equidistant from the axis of shaft 23, the slots in one cam unit being substantially in align ment with the corresponding slots in the other cam unit. Bolts 41 pass through slots 40 to hold the cam units fixed with respect to each other and to right and left-hand col lars 42 and 43 respectively, Fig. 8, which are keyed respec tively as at 44 and 55 to shaft 23. A spacer 46 positions the cam units laterally along shaft 23. The slot and bolt arrangement provides for angular adjustment of the cam units with respect to each other to vary the time in which the harnesses cross each other at mid-position thereof as will be explained in more detail hereinafter. The configuration of the periphery of cam plate 38 of unit 32 with respect to the axis of shaft 23 includes rising surfaces a, b, and c and a declining or returning surface r located respectively between dotted radial lines A and B, B and C, C and D and D and A, see Fig. 17. Cam plate 39 has a corresponding configuration but in the reverse order and includes declining surfaces a’, b™ and c’ and a rising or returning surface r located respectively between dot and dash radial lines A and B, B’ and C, C’ and D’, D’ and A. Each cam unit is respectively operatively connected by rolls 47 and 48 to its corresponding actua tor 34 on which the rolls are rotatably mounted on pins 49 and 50 respectively. Since cam unit 33 is the same in structure and operation as cam unit 32 and is opera tively connected to a pair of actuating means in the same Fig. 16 is a fragmentary front elevational view showing 75 manner as is unit 32, it is believed unnecessary to struc
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2,980,145 7 Each lever 73 is formed with depending bearing por tions 130a pivotally connected as at 130 to one of the cam members 68. Lever 73 has right and left horizontal arms 131 and 132 respectively on each side of pivot 30 and includes a pair of laterally spaced plates 33 and 134, see Figs. 2, 6 and 7, between which the lower end of rod 126 is supported by the pivots 119. Each plate 133 and 134 is formed between the ends thereof with left and right hooks 35 and 136 respectively having concave sur faces which face each other, the hooks on plate 133 being in lateral alignment with corresponding hooks on plate 134. Hooks 135 and 36 selectively cooperate with the previously, described pins 66 and 67 respectively, the hooks being considered as coacting hook means for the pins and are normally out of the path of movement of said pins. Hooks 135 are on one side of bearing portion i30a and cooperate with their corresponding pin 66 and hooks 136 are on the opposite side of portion i30a for coopera tion with their corresponding pins 67. Plates i33 and i34 are provided respectively with left and right spacers 137 and 138 held in any approved manner therebetween and adjacent the hooks 35 and 136, the spacers being pro vided with hook portions 139 and i40 respectively which have the same configuration of hooks 35 and 136 and which are congruent therewith. Spacing pins 14 coact with spacers 137 and 133 to maintain plates 133 and 34 in spaced relationship with respect to each other. Levers 73 are guidingly maintained against lateral movement by the lateral space defined by previously described up right arms 57 and 58. Each lever 73 is provided with a pair of right and left locking fingers 42 and 143, one at each end of said lever between the spaced plates 133 and 134 and pivot ally mounted as at 144. Each locking finger has a hook part 145 with which hooks 235 and 136 respectively form left and right openings 46 and 47, see Figs. 2, 7 and 11, to respectively temporarily receive pins 66 and 67 when the levers 73 are rocked angularly by giveway rods 18. The fingers 142 and 143 respectively overlie spacers 37 and 136 as clearly shown in Figs. 7 and 11 and are provided with undercam surfaces i48 and 149 respective iy to engage corresponding pins 159 on supports 54 and 55. The locking fingers 42 and 43 act to maintain plates 34 and 135 in spaced relationship similarly as do spacers 37 and 38. Pins 4 and pivots 44 assure that plates 34 and 135 will move simultaneously. The hooks 135 and 36 cooperate with their corresponding hook part to establish a locked latching relationship with the actuators 34 and 35 respectively. Referring again to cam members 68, each has a right hand part 151 and a left-hand part 52, see Figs. 1, 2 and 6, for ease in manufacture and assembly. The right hand end of part 151 supports the previously described cam element 72 and the left-hand end supports a lock ing block 53 on a stud i54 fixed to part 151, the latter being made with two spaced levers 55 and 556. Lock ing block 53 fits into a circular socket i57 in a head i58 at the right-hand end of part 52. As can readily be seen in Fig. 16 the longitudinal diameter of block 53 is greater than the vertical height thereof defined by upper and lower flat surfaces 59 and 50. Pocket 157 has a pair of edges 6 to define an exit for block 53. A lift bar 64 has its left end attached to block 153 and its right end lying free between levers 55 and 156. Re silient means in the form of a lock spring 65 is fixed to the underside of lift bar 464 and has a curved tail 66 which is normally in a notch ió7 to maintain parts 25: and 152 rigidiy locked with respect to each other to form cam member 68. To unlock and separate parts 151 and 152, bar 164 is swung to the dotted line position, Fig. 16, to place surfaces 159 and 160 vertically after which upward movement of bar 164 in the direction of the arrow will cause surfaces 159 and 168 to pass be tween edges 16 to effect said separation. The left-hand end of part 52 is provided with a pair of slots 69 and 5 10 15 20 25 30 40 45 50 60 65 70 75 8 179 which fit guide pins 70 and 71 respectively, the rods 70 and 7 and stand 69 being the means to mount the cam members 68 for longitudinal sliding therealong. The left-hand end of each part 151 has a bearing 173, see Fig. 7, to fit between plates 133 and 134 and to receive stud 30, With reference to Figs, 1 and 2, the lower part of casing 26 contains a lubricant 174 in which the periphery of cams 32 and rolls 47 rotate. Arm 61 is connected to a plunger i75 to reciprocate the latter to cause a piston (not shown) within pump 176 to force the lubricant through a pipe line 177 to emit the lubricant as at 178 to lubricate pivots 117 after which the lubricant seeps down through holes 79 in the top of the casing to fall upon the mecha nism located therebelow. Casing 26 is provided with a cover 80 and housing 181, the casing and housing con taining the greater part of the selective cam shedding mechanism forming part of the present invention. During loom operation bottom shaft 18 will make one revolution for two beats of the loom as is usual to cause complete rotation of jack shaft 19 in the same time through equal bevels 20 and 21. Shaft 23 will make one revolution for each beat of the loom because of the 2 to 1 ratio between chain sprockets 22 and 25, see Fig. 15. The constantly rotating means 32 and 33 will therefore make one complete revolution for each beat of the loom and during this revolution the actuating means 34 and 35 will first move simultaneously, in opposite directions to ward each other to the position shown in Fig. 10 and then in opposite directions away from each other to the posi tion shown in Fig. 13. The movement of actuating means 34 and 35 is constantly in reciprocation, that is, there is no dwell period provided for the cams. When the actua tor means are as shown in Fig. 10 the pattern chain levers 107 will be either raised or lowered according to the pat tern chain 194 to effect rocking of the levers 73 clockwise or counterclockwise as viewed in Fig. 2. Also, certain of the levers 107 may be selected to remain stationary and maintain the same position they had from their previous indication by the pattern chain to prevent rocking of their associated lever 73. The actuator means when moving toward each other will always have a nonworking stroke and when moving away from each other will have a work ing stroke or a nonworking stroke depending upon wheth er a lever 73 has been or has not been rocked. For ex ample, in Fig. 10 unless one of the levers 73 is rocked, movement of the actuator means 34 and 35 away from each other will not effect movement of levers 73 and their corresponding harnesses, . It will be noted from an inspection of Figs. 4 and 15 that the pattern shaft 3 by the ratio of the sprockets 28 and 30 will move the sprocket 103 one-sixth of a revolu tion for each beat of the loom to place a roll or a sinker beneath levers 107 to cause lifting or nonlifting, depending upon which roll is placed beneath the levers 107. When the actuating means 34 and 35 are in the position as shown in Fig. 10 or just as they reach that position a se lected lever 73 will be given a rocking movement to place openings 46 and 47, see Fig. 11, over pins 66 and 67 respectively, after which the actuating means 34 and 35 have a movement away from each other to cause longitu dinal movement of selected lever 73 either from left to right or vice versa, depending upon which lever has been operatively connected to the actuating means. Rotation of the cams 38 and 39 will cause the actuating means via rolls 47 and 48 to first move away from each other with a delayed time action because of surfaces a and a so that pins 66 and 67 respectively pick up the hooks 135 and 136 smoothly and easily when the pins move from the position in Fig. 10 to Fig. 11 after which continued rotation of the cams will, because of surfaces b and b’, accelerate movement of the actuating means away from each other to effect rapid movement of the lever 73 from left. to right or vice versa. When rolls 47
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2,980,145 and 48 are engaged respectively by surfaces c and c’ the actuating means will be delayed to prevent sudden stop ping thereof. Levers 73, as stated above, are pivotally mounted to the cam members 68 and when these levers 73 have their longitudinal movement the cam members 68 will also be moved longitudinally in the direction that the levers 73 are moved, the effect of which is to cause the cam elements 72 to move to the left or right according to the selection of levers 73 to cause actuation of the harness connections to effect positive raising or lowering of the harness frames. When each cam element 72 moves in one direction its divergent surfaces 77 and 78 will act respectively as a decline and an incline to effect rais ing of the harness frame associated therewith and when each cam element is moving in the opposite direction, surfaces 77 and 78 will act in reverse order to effect lowering of the frame. In the event that levers 73 are not rocked when the actuating means are in the position shown in Fig. 10 the cam member 68 will not be moved longitudinally with O 15 20 the result that the cam elements 72 will maintain the harness frames locked in raised or lowered position for any number of selective beats of the loom. The harness frames may be raised or lowered each beat of the loom or may remain in dwell position for as long as desired by reason of angular movement or nonangular move ment respectively of levers 73. Pins 66 and 67 will nor mally reciprocate in a path to avoid moving levers 73 until the latter is rocked from one angular position to another. When a lever 73 is rocked to one angular posi tion by lever 18 it will return to its original position by spring 123 provided the pattern chain so designates by a low roll. During reciprocation of actuating means 34 and 35 oil pump 176 will transmit oil through pipe line 177 to cause the lubricant to emit oil from mouth 178 of the pipe line, pumping action being accomplished by arms 61 and 62 and connector 175 when actuating means 34 moves to the right, see Fig. 2. When levers 73 are rocked to coact with pin 66 or 67 locking finger 142 will partially encircle the pins to effect a holding rela tionship between lever 73 and the pins. As the actuating means moves to their final out position as shown in Fig. 13 surface 148 on finger 42 will engage pins 150 to cause unlocking of lever 73 from the pins 66 and 67. These locking fingers are maintained by pins 150 in high position as shown in Fig. 10 after which they are per mitted to fall to locking position by their own weight whenever a lever 73 is rocked as can be seen in Fig. 11. The purpose of locking fingers is to maintain the harness frames locked in any of their positions between their high and low positions during stoppage of the loom, that is, if the loom is stopped while rolls 86 and 87 are on the incline surfaces 77 and 78 of the cam members 72 the harness frames will not drop to their low position because of the weight of the frames if the loom is stopped when the rolls are on the inclines 77 and 78 of the cam elements. Low surfaces 74 and 75 and high surface 76 on the cam elements also coact with the rolls 86 and 87 and the weight of the harness to maintain the latter locked in either high or low position. It will be noted in Fig. 17 that the rotating cam means have continual rising Surfaces a, b and c on cam plate 38 to cooperate with roll 47 while cam plate 39 has op posite or declining continual surfaces a’, b™ and c’ to cooperate with roll 48 to cause reciprocation of the actuating means away from each other for a working stroke. The cam plates 38 and 39 are also provided respectively with return surfaces r and r™ which effect opposite movement of the actuating means for a non working or return stroke. Surfaces a and a’ effect easy pick-up of the levers 73 because of the time delay men tioned above, while surfaces c and c’ effect slowing of movement of the harnesses at the end of their rise or 25 30 40 45 50 55 60 65 10 sion of shock loads to the harness frames and the shedding mechanism. Surfaces band b™ respectively between sur faces a and c and a’ and c’ accelerate the actuating means to such an extent that the harness frames in their mid position will be crossing at a rate faster than that rate given by surfaces a and c and a’, c’. In this way the harnesses cause a quick snap-crossing or passing of the warp threads by each other to prevent the fibers thereof from sticking to each other. This rapid crossing of the warp threads provides a clean shed opening for the passage therethrough of a shuttle. Also, to facilitate the passing of the warp threads by each other, the cam units 32 and 33 may be adjusted angularly with respect to each other by reason of slots 40 and bolts 41 to form a so-called split shed by stag gering the crossing of the harness frames as they pass their mid-position in such manner as to prevent all the moving frames from reaching mid-position all at once. From the foregoing it will be seen that simple means have been provided to positively raise or lower the har nesses on any selected beat of the, locm and to dwell the harnesses in raised or lowered position for any se lected number of beats of the loom. Moreover, it will be seen that the invention provides a selective cam shed ding mechanism whereby cam elements may be selectively chosen by selectable means under pattern control to raise or lower the harness frames and to maintain the latter in raised or lowered position, means also being provided to lock the harness frames when between their high and low positions when the loom is stopped. Also, it will be seen that the selectable means are picked up by the actuating means easily and without impact after which the selectable means are accelerated and then slowed down to avoid sudden shock loads on the mech anism and the harness frames. Further it will be seen that the two-part cam members are provided with locking features which maintain the two parts rigidly connected but permit easy separation thereof for removal with re spect to each other. The present invention also provides mounts for the selective shedding mechanism whereby the greater part of the mechanism is within a casing form ing a unit which can be readily removed or applied to a loom. Provision is also made to lubricate the parts in the casing by providing the latter with a lubricant which is pumped to the various parts by actuating means 34. It will be noted that the selective cam shedding mechanism may be used to weave various types of fabrics without any change in the mechanism, it only being necessary to sup ply the proper chain for whatever weave is desired after which the cam elements will operate to raise or lower the harnesses according to the pattern required. Further, simple, means have been provided to angularly adjust the trapezoidal cam units with respect to each other to form a split shed, the units also being adjusted laterally with respect to each other to be able to operate with the desired harness frame capacity. We claim: 1. In a selective shedding mechanism for a loom hav ing a plurality of independently shiftable harness frames and a pattern mechanism, a plurality of pairs of actuating means having a working and a nonworking stroke, each pair being interconnected to each other to move simul taneously in opposite directions, and each means of said pair moving in one direction toward each other and then away from each other in the opposite direction, a plu rality of sliding means each of which is operatively con nected to a harness frame and selectively chosen by said pattern mechanism to positively raise or lower its corresponding harness frame depending upon which di rection said sliding means moves when having a sliding movement and each of which is capable of maintaining its corresponding harness frame in raised or lowered posi tion for any number of selected beats of the loom, se lectable means for each of said sliding means under con drop to avoid sudden stopping, thus preventing transmis- 75 trol of said pattern mechanism and normally in a non
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