US1994118A - Cop tube holder - Google Patents

Description

March 12, 1935. E, R, WAN ON 1 1,994,118

COP TUBE HOLDER Filed Oct. 13, 1933 and W Patented Mar. 12, 1935 UNITED STATES 1,994,118 cor was normal:

Ernest R. Swanson, Cranston, R. 1., assignor to Universal Winding Company, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application October 13, 1933, Serial No. 693,523

7 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved mandrel or holder for supporting cop-tubes during the operation of winding yarn or thread thereon. The present improvement relates particularly to a mandrel or holder of the type shown and described in an application for United States Letters Patent, Serial No. 618,354, filed June 20, 1932, now Patent No. 1,966,152, issued July 10,

1934, said holder being designed to support cop 10 tubes of the contractible type covered with fabric sheaths as used for dyeing and similarly treating yarn masses wound thereon.

In the following specification and claims the term yarn is used in a general sense to indicate all kinds of textile materials and the designation "package is, intended to apply broadlyto any form of wound mass of such material.

The present invention has for a particular object to provide an improved mandrel or holder for supporting contractible cop-tubes of the type illustrated and described in United States Letters Patents No. 974,127 to F. H. Daniell and J. C. Hebden, granted November 1, 1910, and Re. No. 13,223 to F. H. Daniell, granted March 28, 1911.

: Such cop-tubes are widely used in the wellknown Franklin Process of dyeing and similarly treating textiles. In its simplest form the contractible cop-tubecomprises a helical coil or wire spring constituting a cylindrical, ribbed framework which is covered by a sheath or stockinet of reticulated fabric. The yarn. is wound on this type of tube directly upon the sheath or stockinet to produce cylindrical or other forms of cops or packages suitable for dyeing and like treatment by permeation of fluids into the material.

One object of the present invention is to provide a holder of the type indicated for supporting porous cop-tubes to adapt them to be rotated at a high rate of speed in winding,the yarn thereon. Another object of the invention is to provide a holder of the type indicated adapted to support the skeleton framework of the cop-tubeand having means for gripping the fabric sheath or stockinet at the ends thereof to stretch and hold it taut whereby to prevent its ends from being drawn inwardly or displaced to interfere with the proper winding of the package.

Another object or the invention'is toprovide a holder of the type indicated having radially projecting bearing portions at its ends adapted to rest against the driving drum during the initial stages of the winding to prevent the first .courses of yarn from contacting therewith so as to eliminate pressure against and abrasive action on the wound material before the coils are cushioned by underlying courses or layers.

Another object of the invention is to provide a holder of the type specified which is simple in construction, economical to manufacture and 5 convenient in use for the purposes specified.

Further objects of the improvement are set forth in the following specification which describes a preferred form of construction of the invention, byway of example, as illustrated by 10 the accompanying drawing. In the drawing:

Fig. l is a view of the present improved holder showing a contractible cop-tube supported thereon and illustrating, in section, the yarn mass .wound upon the tube; 15

Fig. 2 is a view of the holder shown partly in section at one end and illustrating the cop-tube in longitudinal section; and

Fig. 3 is a view of the holder with the coptube shown in place thereon and the endmem- 20 bers of the holder illustrated in detached or dis assembled relationship.

The present improved holder comprises, in general, means for supporting a contractible copcovering sheath or stockinet in stretched condi- 30 tion to provide a uniformly smooth, level and substantially inflexible surface for receiving the yarn windings, said last-named means embodying radially projecting annuli at the ends of the mandrel for effecting driving contact with the drum 35 or drive-roll of the winding machine during the initial stages of the winding.

In accordance with the present invention the sheath-gripping end members of the holder are provided with annular flanges or bearing portions 40 of greater diameter than the yarn-receiving body of the cop-tube whereby the peripheries of said flanges will rest on the drum or drive-roll of the winding machine to prevent contact of the drum with the yarn first wound on the tube. Through 45 this arrangement the first courses or layers of winding are relieved of the frictional rubbing action of the drum to prevent flattening, crushing, mashing or abrasion of the yarn. .Ultlmately, when sufficient yarn has been wound on thet cop-tube to cushion the overlying layers, the

end flanges become inoperative and the surface of the yarn mass itself contacts with the drum to effect the drivingaction. I

Referring to theaccompanying drawing, in

the entire length of the tube.

Fig. 1 the reference numeral 2 indicates the holder in general and 3 designates the cop-tube supported thereon with the yarn mass surrounding its periphery in the form of a cylindrical package shown in section and indicated by the reference character C. In the form of contractible coptube 3 herein illustrated the outer fabric sheath or stockinet 4 is supported by a skeleton framework constituted by a helically-coiled, flat band or spiral wire 5. The yarn may be wound on the cop-tube 3 in overlying layers comprising crossing turns with each layer extending substantially The package C is preferably wound with what is termed an open wind, that is, with the yarn turns spaced slightly apart to render the mass sufliciently porous for the permeation of the dye liquor or other fluid thereinto during the dyeing or similar process to which it is subjected. With the present improved mandrel or cop-tube holder the yarn may be wound more uniformly in the first or starting layers of the package with the turns or convolutions .evenly distributed to obtaina greater uniformity of density in the mass whereby to improve the conditions for hydraulic or fluid treatment.

In drum-driven winding machines the coptube is supported on a mandrel or holder rotatably mounted adjacent a drive-roll or drum to adapt the tube for peripheral contact with the latter to effect the driving operation. The yarn is deposited on the cop-tube by suitable traversing means such as a helically grooved roll or a reciprocating thread-guide, to dispose the material in superimposed layers of helical turns.

As in the invention of the pending application before referred to the present improved cop-tube holder 2 is constituted by a cylindrical or other suitably shaped sleeve or mandrel 10 adapted to be received within the helical or otherwise ribbed framework of the cop-tube 3 and having end members 11 by means of which it may be rotatably mounted on the spindle-of a winding machine. The end members 11 are detachable from the sleeve 10 and provided with means for gripping and binding the terminal portions of the fabric sheath 4 of the cop-tube 3 to the ends of the sleeve to hold it stretched longitudinally of its framework whereby to provide an unbroken surface on the periphery of the tube.

According to one preferred embodiment of the invention the cylindrical shell or sleeve 10 is constructed of seamless tubing'and the cylindrical heads or end members 11 may be made of wood, fiber or any other suitable material. The end members ll'are bored axially at 13 with the diameter of the bore dimensioned to adapt it to freely fit the spindle on which the holder rotates. Preferably, the members 11 have counterbores in their outer ends as shown at 15 in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawing. 1

Each end member or head 11 has a cylindrical portion adapted to fit within the end of the sleeve 10 and at its outer end is an annular flange 12. In accordance with the present invention the annular flange 12 is made considerably .larger in diameter than the sleeve-10 to adapt it to project radially outward beyond the yarn-receiving surface of the cop-tube 3 held on the mandrel or holder 2. This construction provides that the annular bearing portions or flanges 12 will bear against the peripheral surface of the winding machine drive-roll or drum, indicated by dashlines in Fig. 2, to prevent the first layers of yarn wound onto the tube 3 from contacting with the drum. In this manner a space is left between the flanges 12 which may be filled with yarn during the first stages of the winding to provide a cushion for succeeding courses or layers which bear directly on the surface of the driving drum.

As a convenient means for detachably secur ing the end members 11 to the ends of the sleeve 10 the reduced cylindrical portion of each mem-,

ber is formed with screw threads 16 engageable with suitable means on the interior of the sleeve. In the present construction the reduced portions of the end members 11 are provided with metal sheaths 14, for example, lengths of seamless tubproviding for economical manufacture and at the same time insuring a firm joint between the parts.

The interior of the sleeve 10 is formed with rolled or embossed threads corresponding to those on the end members 11 if desired, but preferably the threads in-the sleeve are only partial. Re-

ferring to Fig. 3 of 'the drawing, the sleeve 10.is therein shown as being indented to provide relatively short angularly-disposed projections 18 on its interior for engaging with the threads 16 on the end members 11. The end members or heads 11 are inserted into the ends of the sleeve 10 and by imparting a slight relative rotative movement thereto the threads 16 will engage with the projections 18 to draw the end members into place with the shoulders of their flanges 12 engaging snugly against the ends of the sleeve. The reduced body portions of the end members ll'flt rather loosely within the ends of the sleeve 10 whereof the terminal portions of the fabric sleeve or stockinet 4 may be folded or tucked into the open ends of the holder and bound in place by the flanges 1-2 on the end members.

As a feature of improvement over the device of the pending application before referred to, the flanges 12 of the end members 11 are'grooved on their inner faces adjacent their body portions to form annular recesses 20 for receiving and enclosing the ends of the cop-tube 3 when the end members are assembled in place on theholder 2. The inner wall of the recessed groove 20 in each end member '11' is adapted to engage against theinturned portion of the fabric sheath 4 to grip the latter to the end of the sleeve 10 in the manner as later more fully explained. In use the improved cop-holder operates as follows:

The cop-tube 3, consisting of the skeleton framework or helical spring 5 covered by the fabric sheath or stockinet 4,. is slipped into place on the sleeve 10 of the holder 2, and usually the sleeve is made somewhat shorter than the normally extended lengthof the spring so that the latter will be contracted longitudinally to a slight extent when held in place on the holder. After the cop-tube 3 has been placed on the sleeve 10 the terminal portions of the stockinet 4 which overhang the ends of the spring 5 are folded or tucked into the ends of the sleeve as indicated at the right in Fig. 3. Qneend member or plug 11 is then inserted into the end of the sleeve 10 to engage its threads 16 with the projections 18 on the interior thereof and by giving the end member a slight rotative movement it is drawn operators fingers.

into the sleeve to cause the inner wall of the recess'20 in the flange 12 to bind the inturned portion of the stockinet 4 against the end of the sleeve 10. Referring to Fig. 2, when the end member 11 is assembled in place in the manner asabove explained the end of the stockinet 4 and spring 5 are enclosed and protected by the overhanging portion of the flange 12.

The fabric sheath or stockinet 4 is next drawn taut toward the opposite end of the sleeve and this end of the stockinet tucked into place while the fabric is held in stretched condition by the I The other end member 11 is then screwed into place in the manner as previously explained to bind this end of the stockinet l between the inner wall of the recess 20 in the flange l2 and the end of the sleeve 10. With the two end members 11 screwed snugly intoplace the-outer fabric sheath or stockinet i will be held in stretched condition between the ends of the sleeve 10 to provide a smooth unbroken surface on the periphery of the cop-tube for receiving the yarn windings. With the end members 11 applied to the holder 2 in the manner as above explained the flanges 12 act to effect a slight contraction in the length of the helical spring 5 or framework of the tube 3 whereby its ends will be 'frictionally engaged with the flanges to connect the parts for unitary rotation.

The holder 2 and its assembled cop-tube 3 may be placed on the winding-spindle by inserting the latter through the-bores l3"in the end members 11 to provide for rotation of the con-tube with its holder. If desired, the end members ll-m'ay be constructed of lubricant-impregnated material soas to provide oil-less bearings for the cop- 'tube holder on the winding or other machine.

. After the cop-holder 2 is mountedto rotate on the winding-spindlethe' latter is placed in position to bring the peripheries of the annular bearing portions or flanges 12 of the members 11 against the periphery of the drum or drive-roll. The holder 2 will then be rotated by frictional contact of the flanges 12 with the surface of the drum to wind the yarn onto the main portion of the cop-tube 2 extending between the flanges. As the support 2 is rotated from the drivingdrum the thread-guide traverses the yarn on the coptube 3 between the flanges 12 to deposit it in helical turns which cross and recross each other to build up superimposed layers.

During the initial stages of the winding the package on the drum with the flanges 12 raised away from the drum. As the winding continues the pressure of the drum on the yarn is cushioned by the first layers of coils wound on the top-tube 3 between the flanges 12 so that there will be little tendency to flatten and crush the yarn or to abrade its surface as would be the case i! the first turns of the winding were compressed between the surface of the driving drum and'the cop-tube 3. I

During the winding operation the overhanging portions of the flanges 12 on the endmembers 11 serve to cover and protect the ends of the contractible support 5 and its sheath or stockinet 4. Through this provision the ends of the stockinet or fabric sheath are held against loosening and and withdrawn from the sleeve 10 of the holder 2 and the cop-tube 3 may then be removed and the package applied to the dyeing or other process for which the yarn has been prepared.

It will be observed from the foregoing that the present invention provides a cop-holder or sup- .port embodying means for eliminating the deleterious action of the driving drum on the yarn during the initial stages of winding the package whereby to prevent injury to the material or impairment of its quality. The invention is particularly well adapted for winding soft, lofty yarns which may not be subjected to any considerable flattening or frictional abrasion without injury to the material.

As a further feature of improvement the invention provides means for gripping and protecting the ends of the fabric stockinet or sheath to prevent it from being drawn into the coils of the winding to impair the uniformity of the wound packageand interfere with the proper delivery of the material therefrom during subsequent processes.

While the improved device is herein described and illustrated as embodied in a preferred form of construction, it is to be understood that modiflcations may be made in the structure and arrangement of its parts without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore,

mandrel provided with members at its ends having annular bearing portions projecting radially beyond the periphery of the cop-tube mounted on the mandrel to adapt them to bear against the driving drum of a winding machine to prevent contact of thedrum with the yarn wound on the tube during the initial stages of the winding, at least one of said members being removable from the mandrel to permit the tube to be placed thereon.

2. A holder for cop-tubes and the like comprising a mandrel adapted to fit within the tube to support the latter, and end members attachable to the ends of the mandrel and provided with annular abutments projecting radially beyond the periphery of the cop-tube to adapt them to bear. against the driving drum of a winding machine to prevent contact of the drum with the yarn wound on the tube during the initial stages of the winding.

3. A holder for cop-tubes or the like comprising a hollow mandrel, and end members releasably attachable to the ends of the mandrel and provided with annular flanges projecting radially beyond the periphery of the cop-tube held on the mandrel to adapt them to bear against the driving drum of a winding machine to prevent contact of the drum with the yarn wound on the tube-during the initial stages of the winding.

4. In a holder for a cop-tube embodying an outer flexible sheath, the combination of a hollow mandrel for supporting said cop-tube with the terminal portions of the sheath disposed within the ends of said mandrel, and end members attachable to the ends of the mandrel and provided with flanges adapted to grip the sheath against the ends of the mandrel, said flanges projecting beyond the periphery of the cop-tube to adapted them to bear against the drum of a winding machine during the initial stages of the winding.

5. In a holder for a cop-tube embodying an outer flexible sheath, the combination of a mandrel adapted to fit within the tube, end members attachable to the ends of the mandrel and provided with radially projecting flanges having recessed portions adapted to overlie the ends of the tube mounted on the mandrel.

6. In a holder for a cop-tube embodying an outer flexible sheath, the combination of a mandrel adapted to fit within the cop-tube and having openings at its ends Ior securing the terminal portions of the sheath, and end members attachable to the ends of the mandrel and provided with radially projecting flanges, said flanges formed with recesses for receiving the ends of the cop-tube to bind the inturned portions of the sheath against the endsyof the mandrel to hold the sheath in stretched condition.

7. In combination, a contractible cop-tube comprising a framework enclosetd by a flexible porous sheath, and a holder herefor comprising a rigid mandrel fitted to the interior of the tube, and end members detachably s ed to the ends of the mandrel and having radially projecting flanges abutting thereagainst and -formed with annular recesses for receiving the nds 0! the

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