Jacquard Heddle Wear Reduction via Composite Ramp Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Jacquard weaving machines face limitations in controlling heddle movement and mass due to the need for increasingly stronger springs at higher operating speeds, which stresses the machines and is constrained by spatial conditions, and existing heddle designs suffer from wear issues that can damage warp threads.
Innovation Solution
A lightweight heddle with a plastic material body containing non-metallic fibers, featuring a ramp section between the legs and thread eye that minimizes wear and prevents exposure of reinforcement fibers, allowing for gentle transition and reduced friction with warp threads.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If stronger springs are used to control heddle movement at higher speeds, then heddle control is improved, but machine stress increases and spatial conditions are constrained
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameters of the heddle body, using plastic material with embedded non-metallic fibers instead of traditional materials. This parameter change allows the heddle to have optimized weight and strength characteristics that reduce the spring force requirements while maintaining control at higher operating speeds.
Solution Approach 2:
The heddle body is constructed as a composite material consisting of plastic material with embedded non-metallic fibers. This composite structure provides the necessary mechanical properties to reduce overall heddle mass and optimize the spring force requirements, thereby reducing machine stress while enabling higher operating speeds.
2Strength
If the heddle body is thicker in the region of the mail to provide structural support, then strength is improved, but wear increases and reinforcement fibers can damage warp threads
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a ramp section with specific geometric characteristics (length greater than thread eye length) in the transition region between the legs and thread eye. This localized geometric modification provides gradual transition that distributes wear and prevents fiber exposure while maintaining overall heddle strength through the embedded reinforcement fibers.
Solution Approach 2:
The ramp section creates a curved, gradual transition surface between the leg and thread eye regions. This curvature distributes the contact pressure over a larger area and reduces stress concentration, thereby reducing wear and preventing the exposure of reinforcement fibers that could damage warp threads.
Data Source
AI summary
A heddle for jacquard machines essentially consisting of fiber-reinforced plastic material, with a thread eye formed by a mail or thread eyelet member (12) of a harder material. The heddle body comprises two legs (3, 4). Between the relatively wide thread eye region (5) and the legs (3, 4), ramp sections (6) are provided on the mail, which sections have a length that is greater than the length of the thread eye (1). Preferably, the length is greater than twice the longitudinal extension of the thread eye, and in most cases, is between 10 and 30 mm. As a result of this measure, the wear of the plastic material in the vicinity of the thread eye (13) is kept minimal enough that neither any damage to the stiffening fibers (22) in the body of plastic material nor any damage to the warp threads needs to be feared.