Weaving method and machine

Claim 3

In a broad fabric weaving machine having a sley and a breast plate for forming a plurality of strips of fabric from threads of synthetic fiber, the improvement comprising: a fabric guiding station extending across the width of said machine at the output from the machine where the sley beats up the fabric and ahead of the breast plate, said fabric guiding station comprising a slot and a rounded guide bar therebehind to define a re-entrant part-annular path for passage of woven fabric into said slot, round said bar and back out of said slot; said guide bar being formed with a left-hand fabric guided thread over the right-hand half of its length in the direction towards a cutting station, and a right-hand guiding thread over its left-hand half; a heating and cutting station downstream from said guiding station in the fabric path to said breast plate, which station includes a plurality of electrically heated cutting wires successively spaced across the width of said machine in the direction of the weft and extending into the path of the fabric for heating and cutting said woven fabric into desired width separated strips parallel to the warp of the fabric and for heating the cut edges of said strips to weld the same; and a second heating station comprising an elongated heating member to heat said separated strips extending across the width of said machine downstream from said hot wire cutting and cut edge heating station towards said breast beam for heating the strips at a temperature lower than said cutting temperature to effect thermostabilization of said strips.

Claim 4

In a broad fabric weaving machine having a sley and a breast plate for forming a plurality of strips of fabric from threads of synthetic fiber, the improvement comprising: a fabric guiding station extending across the width of said machine at the output from the machine where the sley beats up the fabric and ahead of the breast plate, said fabric guiding station comprising a slot and a rounded guide bar therebehind to define a re-entrant part-annular path for passage of woven fabric into said slot, round said bar and back out of said slot; said guide bar being formed with a left-hand fabric guided thread over the right-hand half of its length in the direction towards a cutting station, and a right-hand guiding thread over its left-hand half; a heating and cutting station downstream from said guiding station in the fabric path to said breast plate, which station includes a plurality of electrically heated cutting wires successively spaced across the width of said machine in the direction of the weft and extending into the path of the fabric for heating and cutting said woven fabric into desired width separated strips parallel to the warp of the fabric and for heating the cut edges of said strips to weld the same; and a second heating station comprising an elongated heating member to heat said separated strips extending across the width of said machine downstream from said hot wire cutting and cut edge heating station towards said breast beam for heating the strips at a temperature lower than said cutting temperature to effect thermostabilization of said strips.

Claim 5

A machine according to claim 2, wherein said heating and cutting station comprises a unitary structure with each of said cutting wires mounted on a heating plate and extending through the fabric path so as to serve to prevent the cut edges from reuniting.

Claim 6

A machine according to claim 3, wherein each of said electrically heated cutting wires is electrically connected in series circuit relationship with its respective cut edge heating plate and the series connected cutting wire/heating plate combinations are connected in parallel circuit relationship to a common energizing source.

Claim 7

A machine according to claim 3, wherein said elongated heating member extends across the width of said machine adjacent a recess over which said fabric passes in freely supported manner, and said heating member and recess are spaced apart for passage of said fabric therebetween.

Claim 8

A machine according to claim 2, wherein said guiding, cutting and heating stations are formed in and supported by a common carrier itself comprising an attachment to be mounted on conventional broad fabric weaving machines intermediate the position where the sley beats up the fabric and the breast plate.