US2630275A - Winding machine - Google Patents

Description

March 3, 1953 w. L. PERRY WINDING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 7, 1950 1 720821287 krap Z W. L. PERRY WINDING MACHINE March 3, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 7, 1950 Liar? Ky March 3, 1953 w. PERRY WINDING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 7, 1950 Mani m 6"" 1. 7% g March 3, 1953 w. L. PERRY 2,630,275

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March 3, 1953 w. L. PERRY WINDING MACHINE Filed A ril 7, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 pli err r Patented Mar. 3, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WINDING MACHINE New Hampshire Application April 7, 1950, Serial No. 154,553

8 Claims.

This invention relates to that type of automatic winding machine in which the supply package of thread to be wound and the thread guide are both located beneath the winding bobbin, and constitutes an improvement upon United. States Patent No. 2,426,168 granted August 26, 19%7. It is generally desirable as in that patent and in United States Reissue Patent No. 22,492 and Patents Nos. 2,377,367 and 2,395,028 to locate the supply package beneath the winding bobbin so as to avoid complication or interference with the automatic bobbin-supplying mechanism which is located mainly above the level of the winding bobbin, and also so that the operator will not need to raise the heavy supply packages to an elevated position. It is moreover desirable as in Patent No. 2,426,168 to locate thread to run with less variation in tension and 'allows the thread guide assembly to run more easily. The reduction of frictional action of the thread guide upon the thread is particularly desirable in the case of synthetic filaments and more especially of the type of plied yarn in which there is a difierence between the characteristics of the difierent plies.

A principal object of the present invention is to improve automatic winding machines having this general relation of the supply package and thread guide to the winding bobbin, by improving the mechanism for effecting the transfer of the supply thread from a full wound bobbin over into association with a new empty bobbin to be wound.

The invention aims particularly to provide simple, reliable and long lasting thread-positioning mechanism adapted to carry thread into position to be associated with a new winding bobbin in cooperation with a thread guide located beneath the winding bobbin.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from this specification and its drawings wherein the invention is explained by description of a preferred embodiment thereof. In'the drawmg's:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the bobbin-changing mechanism of a traveling spindle automatic filling winding machine, showing one of the several winding units entering the bobbin-changing mechanism and showing fragments of winding units at further succeeding positions;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation, partly broken away, of one of the traveling winding units;

Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are respectively a plan view, a front elevation, a bottom view and a right side elevation, of the thread guide assembly of a winding unit;

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken through the axis of rotation of the winding bobbin, showing the inner or base center and the rotatable thread positioning mechanism associated therewith, the thread-positioning mechanism having been rotated part way from its inactive position so that its thread-engaging hook is lowermost;

Fig. 8 is a front face view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a diagram taken from the same point of view as Figs. 2 and 8, showing successive positions of portions of a winding unit, corresponding to centerlines aa, bb, c-c and dd of Fig. 1;

Figs. 9 9 and 9 are diagrams in the nature of fragmentary right side elevations showing portions of a winding unit and its completed bobbin at the aforesaid lines, aa, bb and cc; and

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Figs. 9 to 9 showing a winding unit, in greater detail, at the line dd.

Although some features of the invention may advantageously be applied to winding machines in which tending mechanism attends to the changing of bobbins at only a single winding unit, or tending mechanism attends to the changing of bobbins of a plurality of winding units simultaneously, the invention has its fullest utility when applied to a multiple unit machine in which a tending mechanism attends to the changing of the bobbins of a plurality of winding units in succession. In the preferred form of mechanism shown, the relative travel, as between the plurality of winding units and the bobbin-changing tending mechanism, is brought about by moving the winding units in a procession past the tending mechanism as in the above mentioned patents.

The winding machine to which the invention is shown as applied includes a plurality of traveling winding units 15 movable by means of a chain I8 upon tracks consisting of upper and lower rails I6 and I! respectively, in a closed counterclockwise path of travel having straight side portions and semi-circular end portions as in United States Reissue Patent No. 22,492 and United States Patent No. 2,395,028.

Each traveling unit includes an upright frame element I5 extending between the rails I6 and IT, with the winding mechanism of the unit carried at the top of the upright element I5, and with provision for holding the supply of thread to be rewound near the bottom of the unit.

Each winding unit is preferably individually driven by its own electric motor I9, such motor deriving its current through the frame of the machine and through suitable brushes contacting with stationary conductor bars so as to wind thread onto an individual bobbin B as the winding unit travels around the machine. The conductor bars 20 extend completely around the machine excepting in the region of the automatic bobbin-changing mechanism.

The winding bobbin B is held between inner and outer chucks or rotatable hollow centers 24 and 25, the inner center 24 being rotated by the motor I9 to rotate the bobbin.

A bracket 50 is provided at the lower end of upright frame element I5 and any suitable package holder 55 mounted on the bracket 50 carries the supply package of thread P, which is typically a conical package of several pounds of thread wound on a paper core.

The thread T runs upwardly to the winding bobbin B through a suitable thread guide I02 (Figs. 2 and 9 and tension devices I64, I04 and through an open eye III'I at the outer end of a swinging thread detector wire I07, to a traversing thread guide assembly 23.

The detector wire I0! preferably controls the motor I9 on the individual winding unit in known manner, so as to stop motor in the event of exhaustion of the thread. The detector wire I0! is thus shown in Fig. 2, as having an upper horizontal portion IOI mounted in a bearing I09 and a rearwardly extending crank portion IIl'I engaging the lower surface of a knock-off finger Or latch member IIl'l which is fast on a partially rotatable knock-off rod I01 In normal winding a notch IITI in the latch member I07 engages and holds to the right the upper end of a brushcontrolling lever I08 corresponding to the arm 251 of Fig. 15 of United States Patent No. 2,426,168 to maintain the brushes of the winding unit in contact with the stationary conductor bars 20, for instance through brush-controlling mechanism such as is shown as controlled by the arm indicated at 463 in Figs. 16 and 17 of United States Patent No. 2,377,367.

The thread guide assembly 23 is preferably of the type that is frictionally mounted for sliding movement upon a traverse rod 23 which is reciprocated with a short stroke of traverse by suitable traverse cam and linkage connections from the motor I9. During the winding of the bobbin the thread guide assembly 23 is progressively advanced along the rod 23, from near the base of the bobbin to near the tip of the bobbin by means of a stationary overhead abutment or cam similar to that described in U. S. Patent No. 2,362,455 which reacts upon an upstanding roller 42 upon the thread guide assembly, thus providing the filling type of winding on the bobbin.

This mode of advancing the thread guide assembly is preferred for use with the present invention in that it avoids need for any feeler engaging the winding bobbin and permits shift- 4 ing the thread guide to the region of the base center 24 while the winding bobbin is still held by the centers and without displacement of other parts of the winding unit.

The thread guide assembly includes certain parts similar to parts of the thread guide assembly in Patent No. 2,426,168, but simplified because of control of theprogression by a stationary overhead abutment or cam as in Patent No. 2,362,455 and consequent elimination of feeler mechanism from the thread guide assembly.

Thus as best shown in Figs. 3 to 6 the thread guide assembly 23 includes an upper plate BI and a lower plate 62 connected by vertical end pieces 63, 64 of fiber-composition material which frictionally engage the reciprocating traverse rod 23. The thread guide assembly also includes a tubular element 65 of fiber-composition material wrapped around the traverse rod 23 and compressively held in frictional engagement therewith by an inwardly pressing spring jacket 66. An upstanding pin carries the roller 42 by which the thread guide assembly is shifted in either direction along the traverse rod.

A rearwardly extending portion of the upper plate BI carries a guide block 61 which is slidable beneath a guide bar 68 on the winding unit.

Thread guide 23 is in the form of a wire bent to provide two parallel spaced portions beneath the winding bobbin, providing a narrow slit between them adapted to receive the thread. As shown in Fig. 2, the thread guide 23 is located so that the thread can app-roach the winding bobbin by running upwardly from beneath the thread guide, through the thread guide and thence further upwardly to the winding bobbin. When viewed as in Fig. 2, that is, at right angles to the axis of the winding bobbin and path of reciprocation of the thread guide, the course of the thread to and through the thread guide is a straight line, the thread guide not causing any appreciable bend of the thread as viewed from this point of view but merely causing the requisite shifting of the thread back and forth for distributing it on the winding bobbin. This results in imposition of a minimum of tension on the thread by the thread guide, and in particular avoids frictional snubbing action upon the thread, so that there is no substantial tendency for the thread guide to cause the tension which exists in the thread approaching the thread guide to be multiplied in the thread beyond the thread guide.

A preferred construction which Permits the thread guide 23 to be easily and simply detachably held in place on the thread guide assembly is shown in Figs. 3 to 6. As there shown, particularly in Fig. 5, the lower plate 62 is open in its middle portion and notched to receive an upstanding portion of the wire 23 and position this lengthwise of the thread guide assembly. The wire 23 then extends up to the top plate 6 I then over the top plate, and terminates in a laterally bent end portion 23 which lies under the rearwardly extending part of the upper plate 6|. Thus the wire 23 is resiliently held in place as shown, but by being slightly bent can be disengaged and removed, the opening in the bottom plate 62 permitting this removal.

As a winding unit enters the bobbin-changing mechanism of Fig. 1 from the left, the upstanding roller 42 of the thread guide assembly encounters an inclined stationary cam or guide element 44 and the thread guide assembly is thereby shifted toward the base center 24 to carry the thread guide wire 23- behind, or to the right of in Fig.

9a, the plane of the face of the base center 24, the wound bobbin thus far remaining in the centers 24 and 25.

Upon completion of this movement of the thread guide, the outer center 25 of the winding unit is retracted, at the position aa by a crank arm 35 on the winding unit encountering a nontraveling abutment 3 I. The left end of this abutment is preferably in the form of a rotatable wheel 31 adapted to ease the movement of the crank arm 30 onto the abutment 3|. The wound bobbin then drops from the centers 24 and 25 onto a lower horizontal stationary plow plate 32 which extends along the path of travel of the winding units underneath their head portions. A generally vertical plate 35 on the winding unit then pushes the discharged bobbin along with the winding unit to the right end of the lower plow plate. A polished metal plate 32 preferably overlies that portion of the lower plow plate 32 traversed by the discharged bobbins, so as to minimize the friction of travel of the discharged bobbins and minimize any tendency of the discharged bobbins to roll rather than slide.

Preferably, preparatory to discharge of the wound bobbin B from the centers 24 and 25 at the position aa, a small additional length of thread is drawn through the tension devices ")4, ied by the eye IIl'I of the thread detector wire 37. An inclined cam plate I20 mounted on the lower face of plate 32 is adapted to engage the detector wire H17 and plow it to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 9, thus drawing thread upwardly from the package P through the tension devices I04, me. The additional thread thus provided facilitates the free dropping of the bobbin B from the centers, whereupon the thread moves the detector wire outwardly to a position such as shown in full lines in Fig. 9

The run of thread which extends from the detector wire I97 to the thread guide wire 23 extends past the inner edge of the lower plow plate 32, between this inner edge and the head portion of the winding unit. The inclined leading edge of the plow plate 32, first encountered by the thread as the winding unit enters from the left of Fig. 1, insures that this run of thread will not be caught and detained by the bobbinchanging mechanism.

Near the right end of the bobbin-changing mechanism, at position dd as shown in Fig. 1, the winding unit reaches bobbin-feeding mechanism indicated at 49 which may be that of Fig. 21 of said Patent No. 2,377,367 at which an empty bobbin B is held by swingable fingers 55 and 56 (Fig. 9 whereupon the outer center 25 closes upon the empty bobbin, forcing the base of this empty bobbin into the hollow base center 24, and thus causing this bobbin to be withdrawn from the bobbin-feeding mechanism.

An upper plow plate 53, at a level above the discharged bobbin, carries the cooperating blades of a cutter, blade 6b of which is pivoted and closed automatically at each passage of a winding unit by any suitable mechanism, for instance by the mechanism for closing the corresponding blade as shown in application Serial No. 103,242, filed July 6, 1949. As hereinafter explained, this cutter severs the thread between the new bobbin B and the old discharged bobbin B. Following such cutting, the discharged bobbin B can drop off from the right end of the lower plow plate 32 into any suitable container or bobbin-arranging mechanism.

Position (1-11 of Fig. 9 and also Fig. 9 illustrate the thread as extending up to the thread guide wire 23 which is now behind or to the right of the plane of the face of the base center 24,

and thence to the discharge bobbin. Positions b-b, cc and dd of Fig. 9 and the corresponding Figs. 9 9 and 9 show the subsequent action in positioning the thread for engagement by the new bobbin.

The hollow center 24 of each unit, as shown in Fig. 7, is provided with a sleeve portion 2& which is keyed to a shaft 24 driven by the motor IQ of Fig. 1, and rotatable in a bearing 24) in the casing 24 of the head of the winding unit. A retaining ring I surrounds the sleeve portion 24 of the center with a loose fit and is secured to the casing 24 by screws I50.

Each unit is provided with a wheel or disk I5I, having a flange I5I the wheel or disk I5I being rotatable on the retaining ring I59 and yieldingly urged in the clockwise direction in Fig. 8 by a coiled spring I52 contained within the flange I5I Spring I52 may for example have one of its ends held in a slot in the flange at I52 in Fig. 8, and the other of its ends held by a pin E52 secured to the retaining ring 659. A stud I54 on wheel I5I normally abuts against a resilient stop member I55 mounted on a plate I56 which is secured between the retaining ring I50 and the casing 24 of the unit.

The outer face of wheel IiiI carries an arm I59 spaced from the periphery of the center 24 and terminating in a radially outwardly extending thread-engaging hook or finger IE6 which lies approximately flush with the plane of the face of the center 24.

The preferred form of mechanism for actuating the wheels I5I and hooks I69 of the several winding units includes a non-traveling rack IIIi extending alon the automatic bobbin-changing mechanism over the path of the wheels I5I. To cooperate with such rack each wheel I5! is provided with widely spaced teeth I 5 I extending only partially around its periphery.

A toothed wheel I5i of a unit, traveling to the right in Fig. 9 reaches the position aa without any of its teeth engaging the rack I79. Slightly beyond position aa the teeth of rack I79 begin and the teeth of wheel I5! are successively engaged by the teeth of the rack, rotating the wheel counterclockwise and bringing the hook Ifiil to a position approximately directly above the center 24. Following this rotation the last tooth of the wheel then slides along against a non-toothed holding portion I'Iii of the rack, maintaining the hook as shown at positions c-c and dd until the end of the holding portion of the rack is reached. Thereupon, with the Wheel disengaged from the rack, its spring I52 returns the wheel to its inactive position such as shown at position a-a.

In the rotation of the wheel I 5| its threadengaging hook I50 engages with that run of the thread which extends from the thread guide to the discharged bobbin as shown in Figs. 9 and 9 and rotates around the center to carry the thread upwardly and across the center.

A preferred feature of the invention is that only one leg of the loop of thread that is formed by this upward motion of the hook is disposed across the center for engagement with a new bobbin, namely, that leg of the loop which extends from the hook I60 to the discharged bobbin. Because of the positions of the hook and thread guide relative to the plane of the face of the center, rotation of the hook disposes the other leg of the loop, that is, the leg extending from the thread guide to the hook 160, out of position to be engaged by a new bobbin by progressively winding or wrapping this other leg of thread around the periphery of the center 24 as shown in positions bb and cc of Fig. 9 and Figs. .9 and 9. The periphery of the center 24 is preferably dished, as best shown in Fig. '7, to retain the wrapped thread temporarily thereon.

The upper plow plate 53 assists in positioning the thread for-engagement between a new bobbin and the center 24 by plowing the thread which extends from the hook '66 to the discharged =bobbin over toward the center, the beginning of this plowing action being shown in Fig. 9.

As the unit approaches the position of Fig. 9 the thread extends across and in front of the face of the center, close thereto. At the position of Fig. 9 the new bobbin B is held by the swing-- able fingers 55 and '56 of the bobbin-feeding mechanism 45'. A crank arm 30 which controls the outer retractable center 25 leaves the abutment 3| and the outer center closes upon the new bobbin, forcing into the hollow center the base end of the bobbin and the thread which has been disposed in front of the face of the center. The thread shown in dotted lines in Fig. 9 as now within the center is gripped between the bobbin base and the center.

Shortly beyond the position of Fig. 9 the thread extending from the new bobbin B to the discharged bobbin B is guided by the edge of the upper plow plate 53 in between the fixed and movable blades of the cutter, and the movable blade 60 of the cutter is then closed to cut the thread,

for example by suitable actuating linkage operatedby the passing winding units similarly to tie linkage shown for the purpose in application Serial No. 103,242, filed July 6, 1949. The thread guide and the edge of lower plow plate 32 maintain the thread which extends from the supply package to the thread guide out of the zone of action of the cutter.

At approximately the time the thread is cut, the member 1.60 returns to its inactive position, disengaging the thread. As in U. S. Patent No. 2,362,455 the thread guide assembly can then be shifted into position for the start of windin by means of a suitable stationary overhead inclined uide or cam.

As explained above, the two legs of the loop formed by the hook I=G are preferably kept separate and only one of these disposed in front of the center in position to .be gripped between the bobbin and center. This has the advantage of avoiding leaving an unnecessary number of ends of thread extending out from between the base of the new bobbin and the center, and the possibility of fraying of these ends. This also has the further advantage of avoiding any entanglement or close proximity of the two legs of this loop, which would render it difficult then to separate the part to be cut by the cutter and the part extending from the thread guide to the center which is not to be cut.

It will be observed that while in the apparatus shown in U. S. Patent No. 2,426,168 a thread-positioning member, more especially a combined clamp and cutter, is arranged to act on the threads of .the successive winding units to position the thread for engagement by the new bobbin, the machine shown in the present application provides an individual thread-positioning member traveling with each winding unitand effective automatically upon encountering the rack 110. This improved construction avoids any need 'for a thread-positioning member to be swung into and out of the path of the traveling winding units, and this materially facilitates rapid passage of the winding units past the place where the thread-positioning operation takes place, by removing the limitations imposed by movement of a single thread-positioning member into and out of the path of the units.

Whereas the apparatus of U. S. Patent No. 2,426,168 employs a thread-positioning member swingable about an axis above the path of the traveling winding units, so as to be able to clear the passing units, the machine shown in the present application provides an individual thread-positioning member rotatable about the bobbinholding center, thus greatly reducing the length of are through which the thread and the threadpositioning member are swung, making the action easier, less abrupt, and more certain.

. While the apparatus of Patent No. 2,426,168 acts to dispose the thread across the center by first cutting and clamping the thread and then carrying the clamped portions across the center, the .machine shown in the present application places the thread without depending upon such previous cutting and clamping. This avoids all tendency of the thread to be permanently pulled out from a clamp and cutter. This also avoids dependence upon mere frictional holding of an end of the thread. In addition this improvement avoids any need for a rapid action of a cutter and clamp at an accurately timed point in the cycle of operation.

In the illustrated machine the thread is not out until after it has been securely gripped between the base end of the new bobbin and the center, and the end of thread thus cannot be lost during the positioning operation. The cutting operation of the cutter '60 can be relatively slow, and the cutter can be relatively large, and no great accuracy of timing is required.

In addition to all .of the foregoing, the present invention has the advantage of providing a very simple, compact construction of thread-positioning mechanism, cheap enough to be economical to apply to each of the many winding units of a traveling spindle winding machine. Since each of these individual thread-positioning mechanisms is called upon to operate only once in each trip around the machine, its usable life can be expected far to exceed that of a thread-positioning mechanism which is called upon to act upon the thread of each winding unit in succession. Also, if one such individual thread-positioning mechanism of the machine should fail, its winding unit can be readily removed for repair withut disabling the machine as a whole.

I claim:

1. An automatic winding machine including a center for rotatably holding a winding bobbin and mechanism for supplying fresh bobbins to the center, a thread guide located beneath the winding bobbin so that thread can approach the winding bobbin by running upwardly from beneath the thread guide, through the thread guide and thence upwardly to the windin bobbin, means for discharging a wound bobbin downwardly from said center, a member engageable with the thread which extends from the thread guide to the discharged bobbin and movable to carry a lop of thread upwardly to dispose at least a portion of the loop in position to be engaged between said center and a fresh bobbin supplied to .said center, and mechanism for severing that 9 leg of said loop of thread which extends from the fresh bobbin to the discharged bobbin after said fresh bobbin has been supplied to the center.

2. An automatic winding machine including a center for rotatably holding a winding bobbin and mechanism for supplying fresh bobbins to the center, a thread guide located beneath the winding bobbin so that thread can approach the winding bobbin by running upwardly from beneath the thread guide, through the thread guide and thence upwardly to the winding bobbin, means for discharging a wound bobbin downwardly from said center, a member engageable with the thread which extends from the thread guide to the discharged bobbin and movable to carry a loop of thread upwardly in such position as to dispose one leg of said loop in position to be engaged between said center and a fresh bobbin supplied to said center and the other leg of said loop out of position to be engaged between such fresh bobbin and the center.

3. An automatic winding machine including a center for rotatably holding a winding bobbin and mechanism for supplying fresh bobbins to the center, a thread guide located beneath the winding bobbin so that thread can approach the winding bobbin by running upwardly from beneath the thread guide, through the thread guide and thence upwardly to the winding bobbin, means for discharging a wound bobbin downwardly from said center, a member engageable with the thread which extends from the thread guide to the discharged bobbin and movable to carry a loop of thread upwardly in such position as to dispose that leg of said loop which extends from said member to the discharged bobbin in position to be engaged between said center and a fresh bobbin supplied to said center and the leg of said loop that extends from said member to the thread guide out of position to be engaged between said fresh bobbin and the center.

4, An automatic winding machine including a center for rotatably holding a winding bobbin and mechanism for supplying fresh bobbins to the center, a thread guide located beneath the winding bobbin so that thread can approach the winding bobbin by running upwardly from beneath the thread guide, through the thread guide thence upwardly to the winding bobbin, means for discharging a wound bobbin downwardly from said center, and a member engagea'ole with the thread which extends from the thread guide to the discharged bobbin and rotatable around the center to carry a loop of thread upwardly and dispose one leg of such loop in front of the face of the center while winding the other leg of such loop around the periphery of the center, out of position for engagement with a fresh bobbin.

5. An automatic winding machine including a center for rotatably holding a winding bobbin and mechanism for supplying fresh bobbins to the center, a thread guide located beneath the winding bobbin so that thread can approach the winding bobbin by running upwardly from beneath the thread guide, through the thread guide and thence upwardly to the winding bobbin, means for discharging a wound bobbin downwardly from said center, a member engageable with the thread which extends from the thread guide to the discharged bobbin and rotatable around the center to carry a loop of thread upwardly and dispose in front of the face of the center that leg of the loop which extends from said rotatable member to the discharged bobbin, the machine including mechanism acting to position the thread which extends from the thread guide to said rotatable member so that a portion of such thread is wound around the periphery of the center, out of the way of a fresh bobbin.

6. An automatic winding machine including a center for rotatably holding a winding bobbin and mechanism for supplying fresh bobbins to the center, a thread guide located beneath the winding bobbin so that thread can approach the winding bobbin by running upwardly from beneath the thread guide, through the thread guide and thence upwardly to the winding bobbin, means for discharging a Wound bobbin downwardly from said center, a member engageable with the thread which extends from the thread guide to the discharged bobbin and rotatable around the center to carry a loop of thread upwardly and dispose in front of the face of the center that leg of the loop which extends from said rotatable member to the discharged bobbin, the machine including mechanism acting to posi tion the thread guide so that the leg of the loop which extends from the thread guide to said rotatable member is wound around the periphery of the center.

7. In an automatic winding machine having relative traveling motion between a plurality of winding units and a tending mechanism which is adapted to supply new winding bobbins to the winding units in succession: a rotatable threadpositioning member on each winding unit, said member being rotatable against a restoring force to position the thread of that unit for engagement with a new winding bobbin, and a member associated with the tending mechanism for rotating the several said thread-positioning members on the several winding units.

8. In an automatic winding machine having relative traveling motion between a plurality of winding units and a tending mechanism which is adapted to supply new winding bobbins to the winding units in succession: a rotatable threadpositioning member on each winding unit, a spring adapted to restore each said member to an idle position, a rack associated with the tending mechanism for rotating the several gears to a position to dispose the thread of the winding unit for engagement with a new winding bobbin, the rack having a holding portion effective to detain each gear in its last-named position as the winding unit encounters the bobbin-supplying mechanism, the thread-positioning member then being returned to an idle position by said restoring means.

WINTHROP L. PERRY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,035,721 Reiners Mar. 31, 1936 2,426,168 Abbott Aug. 26, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 453,678 Great Britain Sept. 16, 1936

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