Shuttle plate braiding machine

An apparatus for moving yarn in a selected pattern to form a braided article, said apparatus comprising:

• a grid assembly of stationary support elements;
• a plurality of shuttles configured to carry yarn, said shuttles being supported for movement on said grid assembly, each said shuttle including a retractable plunger for selectively engaging a movable shuttle plate;
• a movable shuttle plate located below said grid assembly and adapted to impart motion to said shuttles when said shuttles engage said shuttle plate;
• means for driving said shuttle plate;
• and
• means for controlling said retractable plunger so as to cause selective engagement between said plunger and said shuttle plate to cause said shuttles to move in a controlled pattern whereby when said shuttles carry yarn and are moved in said controlled pattern, a braided article of predetermined geometry will be formed.

An apparatus for moving yarn in a selected pattern to form a braided article, said apparatus comprising:

• a grid assembly of stationary support elements;
• a plurality of shuttles configured to carry yarn, said shuttles being supported for movement on said grid assembly, each said shuttle including means for selectively engaging a movable shuttle plate;
• a movable shuttle plate located below said grid assembly and adapted to impart motion to said shuttles when said shuttles engage said shuttle plate;
• means for driving said shuttle plate to reciprocate in a horizontal plane along two orthogonal axes, the shuttle plate moving only in a single direction at any particular time;
• and
• means for controlling said selective engagement means so as to cause engagement between said selective engagement means and said shuttle plate to cause said shuttles to move in a controlled pattern whereby when said shuttles carry yarn and are moved in said controlled pattern, a braided article of predetermined geometry will be formed.

An apparatus for moving yarn in a selected pattern to form a braided article, said apparatus comprising:

• a grid assembly of stationary support elements wherein each said stationary support element includes an upper support element plate, an intermediate support element plate spaced below said upper support element plate, and a lower support element plate adjacent said intermediate support element plate;
• a plurality of shuttles configured to carry yarn, said shuttles being supported for movement on said grid assembly, each said shuttle including means for selectively engaging a movable shuttle plate;
• a control circuit on each said shuttle for controlling the actuation of the selective engagement means;
• a movable shuttle plate located below said grid assembly and adapted to impart motion to said shuttles when said shuttles engage said shuttle plate;
• means for driving said shuttle plate;
• and
• means for controlling said selective engagement means so as to cause engagement between said selective engagement means and said shuttle plate to cause said shuttles to move in a controlled pattern whereby when said shuttles carry yarn and are moved in said controlled pattern, a braided article of predetermined geometry will be formed.

An apparatus for moving yarn in a selected pattern to form a braided article, said apparatus comprising:

• a stationary base;
• a grid assembly of stationary support elements, each said support element including a support member fixedly connecting said support elements to said base;
• a plurality of shuttles configured to carry yarn, said shuttles being supported for guided movement on said grid assembly, each said shuttle including a retractable plunger for selectively engaging a movable shuttle plate;
• a movable shuttle plate located between said grid assembly and said stationary base and adapted to impart motion to said shuttles when said retractable plungers engage said shuttle plate, said shuttle plate defining a plurality of slots for receipt of said support members therethrough, said slots being configured to guide said shuttle plate in a plane along two orthogonal axes, said shuttle plate further defining a plurality of holes therein for engagement with said retractable plungers when said plungers are actuated to obtain the desired movement of said shuttles for the selected pattern;
• means for driving said shuttle plate in reciprocating motion in a plane along two orthogonal axes, the shuttle plate moving only in a single direction at any particular time;
• and
• means for controlling said retractable plunger so as to cause selective engagement between each said plunger and one said shuttle plate hole to cause said shuttle to move in a controlled pattern whereby when yarn is being carried on said shuttles and when said shuttles are moved in said controlled pattern, a braided article of predetermined geometry will be formed.

A method of moving yarn in a selected pattern to form a braided article, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing a grid assembly of stationary support elements;
• supporting a plurality of yarn carrying shuttles with retractable plungers on said grid assembly;
• reciprocating a movable shuttle plate below said grid assembly in a plane along two orthogonal axes;
• selectively and independently actuating said plungers to engage said shuttle plate as it reciprocates to cause said shuttles to move in a selected pattern along the grid assembly to thereby form a braided article of predetermined geometry.