Circular weaving apparatus product and process

Claim 2

A process for manufacturing a thick-walled seamless and tubular fabric comprising the steps of providing a mandrel having a given axis with a locker warp yarn system comprised of locker warp yarns forming locker warp yarn planes, arranging said locker warp yarn planes coextensively and radially with respect to said axis, traversing said locker warp yarn planes with a continuous and helical filling yarn system comprised of continuous filling yarns forming a plurality of annular and substantially parallel filling yarn planes being concentric and coextensive with said axis and integrally weaving said locker warp yarn and said filling yarn systems together by said locker warp yarns within a given one of said locker warp yarn planes traversing a plurality of said filling yarn planes and locking said filling yarns together by following a predetermined sinuous path.

Claim 3

A process for manufacturing a thick-walled seamless and tubular fabric comprising the steps of providing a mandrel having a given axis with a locker warp yarn system comprised of locker warp yarns forming locker warp yarn planes, arranging said locker warp yarn planes coextensively and radially with respect to said axis, traversing said locker warp yarn planes with a continuous and helical filling yarn system comprised of continuous filling yarns forming a plurality of annular and substantially parallel filling yarn planes being concentric and coextensive with said axis and integrally weaving said locker warp yarn and said filling yarn systems together by said locker warp yarns within a given one of said locker warp yarn planes traversing a plurality of said filling yarn planes and locking said filling yarns together by following a predetermined sinuous path.

Claim 4

A process for manufacturing a thick-walled seamless and tubular fabric comprising the steps of providing a mandrel having a given axis with a locker warp yarn system comprised of locker warp yarns forming locker warp yarn planes, arranging said locker warp yarn planes coextensively and radially with respect to said axis, traversing said locker warp yarn planes with a continuous and helical filling yarn system comprised of continuous filling yarns forming a plurality of annular and substantially parallel filling yarn planes being concentric and coextensive with said axis and integrally weaving said locker warp yarn and said filling yarn systems together by said locker warp yarns within a given one of said locker warp yarn planes traversing a plurality of said filling yarn planes and locking said filling yarns together by following a predetermined sinuous path.

Claim 5

The process of claim 1 wherein said tubular fabric is defined by inner and outer tubular-shaped surfaces said yarns of said locker warp yarn planes following said sinuous path reciprocally between said inner and said outer surfaces.

Claim 6

The process of claim 2 wherein said fabric is provided with a third yarn system, said third yarn system being comprised of yarns forming a series of yarn planes being radially aligned with respect to said longitudinal axis.

Claim 7

The process of claim 3 wherein said yarn planes of said third yarn system traverse the yarn planes of said filling yarn system and are positioned about said axis to sequentially alternate with the yarn planes of said locker warp yarn system.

Claim 8

The process of claim 4 wherein the number of yarns forming the yarn planes of said third yarn system is less than the number of yarns forming the yarn planes of said filling yarn system.

Claim 9

The process of claim 5 wherein the yarns of said locker warp yarn system extend around selected yarn decks of said filling yarn system and traverse the remainder of the yarn decks of said filling yarn system.

Claim 10

A process for weaving a thick-walled seamless and tubular fabric comprising the steps of a. attaching a plurality of warp yarns to a mandrel having a given axis b. arranging said warp yarns into warp yarn planes, said warp yarn planes being arranged radially with respect to said axis and extending outwardly from said mandrel; c. forming shed sectors by the programmed raising and lowering of selected ones of said warp yarns, said shed sectors remaining stationary with respect to said mandrel and extending radially outward from the surface of said mandrel. d. inserting a filling yarn pick into each of said shed sectors formed to build a continuous and helical filling yarn system comprised of annular and parallel yarn decks being concentric and coextensive with said axis said decks each including a plurality of filling yarn picks with said filling yarn picks comprising each deck being separated from each other by selected ones of said warp yarns, said warp yarns being effective to weavE said filling yarn picks into said decks in a predetermined sinuous pattern; and e. moving said mandrel along a vertical path at a rate equal to the rate of deck formation to position said shed sectors to receive and weave additional filling yarn picks for the formation of additional yarn decks.

Claim 11

A process for weaving a thick-walled seamless and tubular fabric comprising the steps of a. attaching a plurality of warp yarns to a mandrel having a given axis b. arranging said warp yarns into warp yarn planes, said warp yarn planes being arranged radially with respect to said axis and extending outwardly from said mandrel; c. forming shed sectors by the programmed raising and lowering of selected ones of said warp yarns, said shed sectors remaining stationary with respect to said mandrel and extending radially outward from the surface of said mandrel. d. inserting a filling yarn pick into each of said shed sectors formed to build a continuous and helical filling yarn system comprised of annular and parallel yarn decks being concentric and coextensive with said axis said decks each including a plurality of filling yarn picks with said filling yarn picks comprising each deck being separated from each other by selected ones of said warp yarns, said warp yarns being effective to weavE said filling yarn picks into said decks in a predetermined sinuous pattern; and e. moving said mandrel along a vertical path at a rate equal to the rate of deck formation to position said shed sectors to receive and weave additional filling yarn picks for the formation of additional yarn decks.

Claim 12

The process of claim 7 wherein said filling yarn is inserted into said shed sectors by following a helical path about said mandrel.

Claim 13

The process of claim 8 wherein selected ones of said shed sectors remain stationary during the insertion of a filling yarn pick therein while the remainder of said shed sectors are being adapted to receive a filling yarn pick.

Claim 14

The process of claim 9 wherein said yarn shed sectors are manipulated by at least two Jacquard heads with each of said Jacquard heads controlling a given shed sector.

Claim 15

The process of claim 10 wherein said filling yarn picks are inserted into said shed sectors by at least one filling yarn inserter, the number of filling yarn inserters being at least one less than the number of Jacquard heads controlling said shed sectors.

Claim 16

The process of claim 11 wherein said Jacquard heads are programmed to manipulate their respective shed sectors when said shed sectors are free of said filling yarn inserters.

Claim 17

The process of claim 12 wherein said warp yarns are comprised of locker yarns and stuffer yarns, said Jacquard heads positioning said stuffer yarns in said fabric to separate said filling yarns forming a filling yarn deck and controlling said locker yarns to loop around and extend between said filling yarns decks, said locker yarns being effective to maintain the integrity of said filling yarn decks and to weave said filling yarns into said fabric.

Claim 18

The process of claim 13 wherein the radial distance from said filling yarn decks to said axis varys in accordance with the exterior shape of said mandrel.

Claim 19

The process of claim 14 wherein said locker yarns and stuffer yarns are added to said shed sectors and incorporated into said fabric as the radial distance between said axis and said filling yarn decks increases and are removed from said shed sectors as the radial distance between said axis and said filling yarn decks decreases by said Jacquard heads in accordance with a predetermined pattern, said pattern being dependent upon the exterior shape of said mandrel whereby the density of said fabric is maintained at a predetermined constant.

Claim 20

The process of claim 15 wherein said locker yarns and said stuffer yarns are arranged in an alternating sequence about said mandrel.

Claim 21

The process of claim 16 wherein said woven fabric is removed from said mandrel.

Claim 22

The process of claim 16 wherein said mandrel is adapted to move upwardly along said vertical axis and wherein said mandrel is cone-shaped with said exterior surface tapering outwardly from top to bottom.

Claim 23

The process of claim 18 wherein said stuffer yarns and said locker yarns which are to be added to said fabric to maintain a constant yarn density as the radial distance between said axis and said filling yarn decks increases are held out of said shed sectors by said Jacquard heads until programmed to be woven into said fabric.

Claim 24

The process of claim 12 wherein said warp yarns are comprised of locker warp yarns and stuffer warp yarns, said Jacquard heads forming said shed sectors to position said locker warp yarns in said fabric to extend between adjacent filling yarns decks and to loop around selected filling yarn decks and to align said stuffer warp yarns within said fabric to be positioned between adjacent filling yarns, said locker warp yarns being effective to maintain the integrity of said filling yarn decks and to lock said filling yarns in said fabric, said stuffer warp yarns increasing fabric tensile strength along its length.

Claim 25

The process of claim 20 wherein said locker warp yarns continuously reciprocate between the inner and the outer surfaces of said fabric along a substantially sinuous pAth.

Claim 26

The process of claim 21 wherein said filling yarn decks are concentrically arranged about said axis of said mandrel with the radial distance from said filling yarn decks to said axis varying in accordance with the exterior shape of said mandrel.

Claim 27

The process of claim 22 wherein said stuffer warp yarns and said locker warp yarns are added to said shed sectors and incorporated into said fabric as the radial distance between said axis and said filling yarn decks increases and are removed from said shed sectors as the radial distance between said axis and said filling yarn decks decreases by said Jacquard heads in accordance with a predetermined pattern, said pattern being dependent upon the exterior shape of said mandrel whereby the density of said fabric is maintained at a predetermined constant.

Claim 28

The process of claim 23 wherein said locker warp yarns and said stuffer warp yarns are arranged in an alternating sequence about said mandrel.

Claim 29

The process of claim 24 wherein said woven fabric is removed from said mandrel.

Claim 30

The process of claim 24 wherein said mandrel is adapted to move upwardly along said axis and wherein said mandrel is cone-shaped with said exterior surface tapering outwardly from top to bottom.

Claim 31

A process for weaving a thick-walled fabric about selected exterior surfaces of a shaped vertically arranged mandrel, said fabric being defined by outer and inner surfaces with said inner surface assuming the shape of said mandrel exterior surface with which it is contiguous, said process comprising the steps of: a. associating a plurality of warp yarns with the upper portion of said mandrel, said warp yarns lying in a substantially horizontal plane being perpendicular to the vertical axis of and circumambient to said mandrel, said warp yarns extending outwardly from said mandrel surface and extending to a warp yarn source and being radially arranged with respect to said vertical axis; b. dividing said horizontal plane of warp yarns into at least two shed sectors; c. providing each of said warp yarn shed sectors with a Jacquard head, said Jacquard head being connected to each of said warp yarns in said shed sector and being adapted to raise selected warp yarns and to lower the remainder of said warp yarns in accordance with a predetermined program to form a sequence of shed sectors; d. inserting a filling yarn pick into each of said shed sectors formed by means of filling yarn inserters being less in number than said Jacquard heads, said filling yarn inserters traveling through connecting shed sectors formed by said Jacquards along a continuous path about said vertical axis, said shed sectors being changed and adapted to receive said filling yarn inserter only in the absence of a filling yarn inserter therein; e. weaving said filling yarns in said warp yarns to form a continuous and helical filling yarn system being coextensive with said mandrel and concentric with respect to said mandrel vertical axis, said filling yarn system comprising substantially parallel and annular filling yarn decks being perpendicular to said axis with each deck being comprised of a plurality of concentrically arranged filling yarn picks; f. moving said mandrel along said vertical axis at a rate equal to the rate of deck formation whereby said warp yarn shed sectors are maintained in a fixed plane with respect to the filling yarn inserter tip to receive and weave additional filling yarn picks for the formation of additional decks; and g. removing said thick-walled fabric from said mandrel upon the completion of said decks.

Claim 32

A process for weaving a thick-walled fabric about selected exterior surfaces of a shaped vertically arranged mandrel, said fabric being defined by outer and inner surfaces with said inner surface assuming the shape of said mandrel exterior surface with which it is contiguous, said process comprising the steps of: a. associating a plurality of warp yarns with the upper portion of said mandrel, said warp yarns lying in a substantially horizontal plane being perpendicular to the vertical axis of and circumambient to said mandrel, said warp yarns extending outwardly from said mandrel surface and extending to a warp yarn source and being radially arranged with respect to said vertical axis; b. dividing said horizontal plane of warp yarns into at least two shed sectors; c. providing each of said warp yarn shed sectors with a Jacquard head, said Jacquard head being connected to each of said warp yarns in said shed sector and being adapted to raise selected warp yarns and to lower the remainder of said warp yarns in accordance with a predetermined program to form a sequence of shed sectors; d. inserting a filling yarn pick into each of said shed sectors formed by means of filling yarn inserters being less in number than said Jacquard heads, said filling yarn inserters traveling through connecting shed sectors formed by said Jacquards along a continuous path about said vertical axis, said shed sectors being changed and adapted to receive said filling yarn inserter only in the absence of a filling yarn inserter therein; e. weaving said filling yarns in said warp yarns to form a continuous and helical filling yarn system being coextensive with said mandrel and concentric with respect to said mandrel vertical axis, said filling yarn system comprising substantially parallel and annular filling yarn decks being perpendicular to said axis with each deck being comprised of a plurality of concentrically arranged filling yarn picks; f. moving said mandrel along said vertical axis at a rate equal to the rate of deck formation whereby said warp yarn shed sectors are maintained in a fixed plane with respect to the filling yarn inserter tip to receive and weave additional filling yarn picks for the formation of additional decks; and g. removing said thick-walled fabric from said mandrel upon the completion of said decks.

Claim 33

The process of claim 27 wherein said filling yarn picks comprising a filling yarn deck are separated from each other and are locked into said fabric by said warp yarns.

Claim 34

The process of claim 28 wherein a single filling yarn inserter is employed, said filling yarn decks being comprised of a continuous filling yarn supplied by said single filling yarn inserter.

Claim 35

The process of claim 28 wherein said filling yarn picks are supplied to at least three said shed sectors by two filling yarn inserters and with each of said shed sectors being provided with a Jacquard head, said filling yarn deck being comprised of a number of filling yarns, said number being divisable by two, said filling yarn decks being comprised of a first set of adjacent and concentrically arranged filling yarn picks being supplied by a first filling yarn inserter and a second set of adjacent filling yarn picks, said second set of adjacent filling yarn picks being supplied by a second filling yarn inserter and being concentrically arranged with respect to each other and said first set of filling yarn picks.

Claim 36

The process of claim 71 wherein the shed is divided into at least five sectors with each of said sectors being individually controlled by a respective Jacquard head and wherein said filling yarns are supplied to said shed sectors by four filling yarn inserters to form said filling yarn decks with the number of filling yarn picks comprising each of said decks being divisable by four, said filling yarn decks having four sets of filling yarns with the filling yarn of each set being continuous and being concentrically arranged with each other and the filling yarns of other sets with each set of filling yarns being supplied by a single filling yarn inserter.

Claim 37

The process of claim 31 wherein each of said filling yarn inserters supplies filling yarn to only one predetermined set.

Claim 38

The process of claim 32 wherein the number of filling yarn picks comprising each set may be increased and decreased during weaving by said Jacquard heads selectively controlling the formation of said shed sectors and by the simultaneous respective addition and elimination of warp yarns to accommodate the separation of adjacent filling yarn picks from each other and the locking of said filling yarn picks within said fabric.

Claim 39

The process of claim 28 wherein only a selected number of warp yarns initially associated with the upper portion of said mandrel are employed by said Jacquard heads to form said shed sectors said Jacquard heads incorporating the remainder of said warp yarns into said fabric in accordance with said predetermined program.

Claim 40

The process of claim 34 wherein said mandrel is substantially cone-shaped with said exterior surface tapering outwardly from top to bottom.

Claim 41

The process of claim 35 wherein the number of said warp yarns employed by said Jacquard heads to form said shed sectors increases proportionally to the increase in radial distance between said filling yarn decks and said vertical axis.

Claim 42

The process of claim 36 wherein additional warp yarns are added to said shed sectors by concentric ring members, said concentric ring members normally being positioned above said mandrel and being adaptable to be dropped down into close proximity to said mandrel in accordance with said predetermined program, said additional warp yarns extending from a source to said concentric rings and being connected to selected Jacquard heads, said Jacquard heads incorporating said warp yarns into said shed sectors selectively upon the dropping of said concentric ring members.

Claim 45

The apparatus of claim 38 wherein said apparatus includes a vertically extending frame having a vertical axis being common with said mandrel longitudinal axis.

Claim 46

The apparatus of claim 39 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said Jacquard means is a plurality of Jacquard heads and said filling yarn inserter means is a filling yarn inserter with the number of Jacquard heads exceeding the number of filling yarn inserters at least by one, said Jacquard heads and said filling yarn inserter being mounted on said frame.

Claim 47

The apparatus of claim 40 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein each of said Jacquard heads controls a specific sector of said warp yarns, said Jacquard heads being adaptable to change said shed sector when said sector is free of said filling yarn inserter.

Claim 48

The apparatus of claim 41 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said filling yarn inserter is mounted for movement through said shed sectors and about said mandrel along said defined path on a discontinuous rail, said discontinuous rail being mounted on said frame and being comprised of spaced apart rail segments, said rail segments being positioned substantially in said shed sectors and arranged circumambient to said mandrel and being positioned to allow for the changing of said shed sectors by said Jacquard heads whereby said warp yarns pass between said rail segments.

Claim 49

The apparatus of claim 42 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said discontinuous rail is circular in shape and concentrically arranged about said frame vertical axis.

Claim 50

The apparatus of claim 43 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said filling yarn inserter is moved along said discontinuous rail about said mandrel by drive means, said drive means being comprised of an annular main drive gear mounted on said frame and concentrically about said frame vertical axis, said main drive gear being adapted for rotation about said frame vertical axis, motor means inducing the rotative movement in said main drive gear, a first vertically arranged pinion gear disposed adjacent each of said rail segments for meshing engagement with a toothed rack segment associated with said filling yarn inserter, a second vertically arranged pinion gear in meshing engagement with the main drive gear with said first and second pinion gears being connected to a common shaft rotatively mounted in said frame whereby the rotative motion of said main drive gear moves said filling yarn inserter around said discontinuous rail.

Claim 51

The apparatus of claim 44 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said filling yarn inserter is adapted to engage selectively at least two of said first pinion gears simultaneously when passing from one of said rail segments to an adjacent rail segment.

Claim 52

The apparatus of claim 45 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said filling yarn inserter is provided with a retractable tip, said tip adapted to insert said filling yarn pick in the vertex of said shed sector substantially adjacent to said mandrel and being movable radially with respect to said frame vertical axis.

Claim 53

The apparatus of claim 46 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said tip is caused to oscillate and extend or retract in accordance with a predetermined program by counting means to accommodate for the fabric thickness and the change in the exterior shaped of said mandrel.

Claim 54

The apparatus of claim 47 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said counting means includes index means mounted on said filling yarn inserter, tip actuation mechanism mounted on said filling yarn inserter and connecting said index mechanism with said tip to selectively move said tip incrementally upon the actuation of said index means, index actuation means mounted on said frame for selectively engaging and actuating said index means, a first and second counter means connected to and selectively energizing said index actuation means and a power source for said counter means, said tip being caused to oscillate upon the energization of said index actuation means by said first counter means and said tip being caused to extend or retract upon the energization of said index actuation means by said second counter means.

Claim 55

The apparatus of claim 48 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said main drive gear has mounted thereon a fabric compactor, said fabric compactor being comprised of a base plate being secured to said main drive gear, a plate member being slidably mounted in said base plate and positioned to extend radially inward toward said frame vertical axis, impactor means rotatively mounted on the inward extending end of said plate member, said impactor means being adapted to force said filling yarn having been inserted into the last formed shed sectors into said fabric and having a surface normally residing adjacent and in slidable contact with said mandrel exterior surface and spring means connected to said base plate and said plate member for maintaining said contact between said impactor means and said mandrel.

Claim 56

The apparatus of claim 49 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said impactor means is comprised of a hub having an axis of rotation and a plurality of blades extending outwardly from said hub and being radially aligned with said axis of rotation, said blades being adapted to force said filling yarns into said fabric.

Claim 57

The apparatus of claim 48 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said mandrel is moved along said vertical axis and said main drive gear is rotatively moved simultaneously by said motor means, said motor means moving said mandrel along said vertical axis at a rate equal to the rate of filling deck formation.

Claim 58

The apparatus of claim 51 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said motor means includes a motor, a power source for said motor, a first gear reducer and a second gear reducer each being connected to said motor, a second pinion gear mounted for rotation in said frame and being connected to said first gear reducer and being in meshing engagement with said main drive gear and elevator means connected to said second gear reducer and supporting said mandrel for raising and lowering said mandrel.

Claim 59

The apparatus of claim 52 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said elevator means is comprised of a vertically arranged threaded shaft being reversibly rotatable and an auxiliary motor connected thereto and to a power source, said threaded shaft including means for receiving and supporting said mandrel.

Claim 60

The apparatus of claim 53 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said motor and said auxiliary motor are interconnected to said threaded shaft by means of a first and a second electric clutch, and said motor is connected to said second pinion gear by means of a third electric clutch, said first, second, and third electric clutches being electrically controlled to permit only one of said motors to power said threaded shaft at a time.

Claim 61

The apparatus of claim 54 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said motor is interconnected to said threaded shaft by means of said second electric clutch and to said second pinion gear by means of said third electric clutch, said second and said third electric clutches being electrically controlled to actuate said main drive gear and said elevator means synchronously.

Claim 62

The apparatus of claim 55 for weaVing said shaped fabric wherein a filling yarn break detector is provided, said filling yarn break detector being comprised of magnet means mounted on said filling yarn inserter, magnetically actuatable reed switches mounted on said frame and said second and said third electric clutches normally being electrically energized and electrically connected to said magnetically actuatable reed switches, said magnet adapted to be moved into communication with and to actuate a reed switch upon the breaking of a filling yarn whereupon said actuated reed switch deenergizes said second and said third electric clutches which results in the disengagement of said motor from said second pinion gear and said elevator means.

Claim 63

The apparatus of claim 52 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said mandrel is provided with a mandrel guide, said mandrel guide being adapted to maintain the movement of said mandrel along said frame vertical axis and comprising a vertical track including at least three vertically extending and parallel rods being parallel to said frame vertical axis and being mounted on said frame and a spider guide having a center hub which receives the upper extending portion of said mandrel and a plurality of arms connected to and extending radially outwardly from said hub, said arms being equal in number to said rods and having ends being slidably received by said rods to adapt said spider guide to slide vertically along said track.

Claim 64

The apparatus of claim 51 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said warp yarns are secured to the upper portion of said mandrel and said motor means is adapted to move said mandrel upwardly along said vertical axis at a rate equal to the rate of filling yarn deck formation.

Claim 65

The apparatus of claim 58 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said mandrel is substantially cone-shaped with said exterior surface tapering outwardly away from said vertical axis to provide for an increase in cone diameter from top to bottom.

Claim 66

The apparatus of claim 59 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said Jacquard heads are provided with means adapted to supply said shed sectors with added warp yarns as said mandrel is raised by said motor means, said added warp yarns being incorporated into said fabric to maintain a substantially uniform fabric density throughout the vertical length of said fabric.

Claim 67

The apparatus of claim 60 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said Jacquard heads include a plurality of hooks mounted for vertical movement, heddles connecting said hooks with individual warp yarns, knives for engaging and raising selected hooks, means for raising said knives, bars for receiving those hooks being free of said knives and for lowering said received hooks, means for lowering said bars, means for selectively positioning said hooks on respective bars and knives, levitator means for positioning selected hooks out of engagement with both knives and bars for maintaining the connected yarns out of said shed sectors and independent of the Jacquard shedding motion and levitator release means associated with said levitator means for selectively releasing said hooks from said levitator means to allow said connected warp yarns to form a part of said shed sectors and said Jacquard shedding motion and to be incorporated into said fabric to maintain a substantially uniform fabric density as the diameter of said cone increases.

Claim 68

The apparatus of claim 59 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein warp yarn addition ring means are provided, said warp yarn addition ring means receiving a plurality of warp yarns from said warp yarn source and maintaining said warp yarns above said shed sectors until programmed to be incorporated into said shed sectors to maintain a substantially uniform fabric density as the diameter of said cone increases.

Claim 69

The apparatus of claim 62 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said warp yarn addition ring means is comprised of a plurality of ring members being concentrically arranged about said frame veRtical axis and adapted to receive said warp yarns, support arms connected to and extending radially outwardly from each of said ring members, retractable arm supports receiving said support arms and means for actuating said retractable arm supports to allow said ring members to drop and to place said warp yarns in said shed sectors.

Claim 70

The apparatus of claim 63 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said means for energizing said retractable arm supports is comprised of solenoids mounted on said frame and connected to each of said retractable arm supports, electrical circuit means adapted to commonly connect said solenoids which function as a set to receive the arms of a common ring member and a ring drop counter connected to said solenoids by said electrical circuit means, said ring drop counter being adapted to energize sequentially the solenoids connected to the sets of retractable arm supports to allow each of said ring members to drop individually whereby said warp yarns attached thereto may be incorporated into said shed sectors.

Claim 71

The apparatus of claim 64 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said ring drop counter is adapted to count the revolutions of said main drive gear and to cause said solenoids actuating a single set of retractable ring support arms to be energized after a predetermined number of revolutions of said main drive gear has been recorded.

Claim 72

The apparatus of claim 65 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said ring drop counter includes a reed switch mounted on said frame and wherein a magnet is mounted on said main drive gear to pass in close proximity to said reed switch and being adapted to actuate said reed switch whereupon said actuation is recorded by said ring drop counter.

Claim 73

The apparatus of claim 38 for weaving said shaped fabric wherein said warp yarn source maintaining said warp yarns under tension is comprised of a plurality of support rods, said rods having a flat surface running lengthwise with respect thereto and a plurality of spools rotatably mounted on said rods, each of said spools having an outer surface for receicing a length of warp yarn and being adapted to define a passageway having a diameter larger than the diameter of said rods and a spring torsionally wound in said passageway, said coiled spring having a flat end adapted to engage said rod flat surface, a body portion wound about said flat surface and a friction end adapted to frictionally engage said passageway wall, said flat end preventing said spring from rotating about said rod and said spring body portion forcing said friction end against said passageway wall to adapt said spool to be rotated relative to said spring only after the frictional force between said spring friction end and said passageway wall has been overcome.

Claim 74

Apparatus for weaving a thick-walled three-dimensionally shaped fabric comprising: a. a shaped mandrel mounted for movement along a vertical axis; b. a warp yarn source circumambient to said mandrel for supplying warp yarns thereto; c. means maintaining said warp yarns under tension; d. means for attaching said warp yarns to said mandrel, said warp yarns extending horizontally and radially outwardly from said mandrel; e. a plurality of Jacquard heads controlling selected warp yarns for forming shed sectors in accordance with a predetermined program; f. filling yarn inserter means movable about said mandrel along a defined path and through said shed sectors for depositing a continuous filling yarn through each of said shed sectors, said filling yarn inserter means and said Jacquard means cooperating to weave a three-dimensional fabric having a portion shaped in accordance with the exterior surface of said mandrel.

Claim 75

Apparatus for weaving a thick-walled three-dimensionally shaped fabric comprising: a. a shaped mandrel mounted for movement along a vertical axis; b. a warp yarn source circumambient to said mandrel for supplying warp yarns thereto; c. means maintaining said warp yarns under tension; d. means for attaching said warp yarns to said mandrel, said warp yarns extending horizontally and radially outwardly from said mandrel; e. a plurality of Jacquard heads controlling selected warp yarns for forming shed sectors in accordance with a predetermined program; f. filling yarn inserter means movable about said mandrel along a defined path and through said shed sectors for depositing a continuous filling yarn through each of said shed sectors, said filling yarn inserter means and said Jacquard means cooperating to weave a three-dimensional fabric having a portion shaped in accordance with the exterior surface of said mandrel.