Roll-formed shear-resistant frame slat

In a heddle frame assembly for a loom of the type which includes upper and lower frame slats vertically spaced by side frame members, heddle rods carried by said frame slats between which heddles are supported in the frame, said heddle frame being reciprocated up and down in a shedding motion during weaving, wherein said heddle frame slat comprises:

• a thin wall, roll-formed steel frame extending generally the entire length of said heddle frame assembly;
• a hollow box shaped core space formed within said thin wall steel frame;
• a reduced neck portion formed by opposing sides of said thin wall steel frame forming said box shaped core space being brought together in flesh relationship intermediate said core space and said ledge means;
• ledge means formed in said thin wall steel frame at one end thereof extending in a transverse direction to said frame slat;
• and a transverse shear-resisting mounting slot defined by said ledge means extending generally across the entire length of said heddle frame assembly;
• a generally T-shaped heddle rod having a rod stem and a transverse mounting frange;
• and
• said rod stem being carried within said longitudinal mounting slot whereby shear forces acting between said heddle rod stem and frame slot during shedding are effectively reduced by mounting said rod stem in said longitudinal mounting slot.

In a heddle frame assembly for a loom of the type which includes upper and lower frame slats vertically spaced by side frame members, heddle rods carried by said frame slats between which heddles are supported in the frame, wherein said heddle frame slats comprises:

• a thin wall back plate extending generally the entire length of said heddle frame assembly;
• a thin wall front plate parallel with said back plate extending generally the entire length of said heddle frame assembly;
• said back plate and front plate being spaced apart and being parallel with one another to define a box shaped core space therebetween;
• a reduced neck portion adjacent said core space defined by said thin wall front plate and back plate being engaged in a flush relationship;
• an elongated longitudinal heddle rod mounting slot formed generally across the entire length of said frame slat adjacent to said reduced neck portion defined by said back plate being bent outwardly in a first terminal end perpendicular to said back plate and said front plate being bent outwardly in a second terminal end extending perpendicular to said front plate, said first and second terminal ends being spaced apart to define said longitudinal mounting slot;
• and
• a generally T-shaped heddle rod having a rod stem and a transverse flange on which said heddles are carried, said rod stem being affixed within said longitudinal heddle rod mounting slot whereby shearing forces between said heddle rod and said frame slat are greatly reduced.