Control system for looms

Claim 1

In a loom having a lay, a shuttle for reciprocal movement along said lay in repetitious weaving cycles during each of which the shuttle is transferred from one end of the lay to the other end thereof, a shuttle box formed upon each end of said lay for receiving said shuttle at the ends of the weaving cycles, each said shuttle box having a pivotable member biased inwardly of said box for decelerating the shuttle as it enters the box, a clutch-brake motor and a control therefor for starting, driving and stopping the loom, shuttle protection means for stopping the loom at the end of the weaving cycle if the shuttle is not properly received in said shuttle box toward which it is traveling duriNg such cycle, said shuttle protection means comprising a pulse inducing element associated with each said shuttle box, each said pulse inducing element being connected to be actuated by the movement of said pivotable member upon entry of a shuttle into the associated shuttle box and operative when actuated to generate a signal indicative of the entry of said shuttle into said associated one of said shuttle boxes, means operative for a limited period of time toward the end of each weaving cycle for generating a loom stop signal which, if transmitted to said clutch brake motor control, would stop the loom, and means normally operative during each weaving cycle and operative only in response to a signal from the pulse inducing element associated with the shuttle box toward which the shuttle is traveling during any such weaving cycle to prevent transmission of such stop signal to said control whereby loom operation will continue when the shuttle is properly boxed in the receiving shuttle box at the end of the weaving cycle but will terminate otherwise.