US3063123A - Yarn feeding means for warping machines - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 13, 1962 H. c. NOE

YARN FEEDING MEANS FOR WARPING MACHINES Original Filed Oct. 1, 1956 l m 7 u. e t w a u m o m MN 0 A w w w M 9 m C m /A d s 1m 3 W M A l H 4 W W I 1 Nov. 13, 1962 H. c. NOE 3,063,123

YARN FEEDING MEANS FOR WARPING MACHINES Original Filed Oct. 1, 1956 s SheetsSheet 2 5'1 III/111111114 7 INVENT R. Harold C; 0e

ATTORNEY Nov. 13, 1962 H. c. NOE

YARN FEEDING MEANS FOR WARPING MACHINES Original Filed Oct. 1, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 COM PR ESSED AIR 5 U PPLY INVENTOR. Harold .Noe

Mn/LZ ATTORNEY ite States atent 3,53,l23 Patented Nov. 13., 1952 3,063,123 YARN FEEDING MEANS FOR WARPING MACHINES Harold C. Noe, Upper Montclair, N.J., assignor to Kidde Textile Machinery Corporation, Bloomfield, N.J., a corporation of Delaware Original application Oct. 1, 1956, Ser. No. 613,156, now Patent No. 2,955,897, dated Oct. 11, 1%0. Divided and this application Apr. 19, 1960, Ser. No. 24,646

2 Claims. (Cl. 28-38) The present invention relates to textile machines, and, more particularly, toimprovements in machines ordinarily known as beamers or warpers which are utilized to wind a warp of yarn onto a beam for thereafter supplying the warp threads to a knitting or weaving machine.

Such machines generally comprise a warp beam, means for rotating the warp beam, a pressure roll for engaging the warp beam, mechanism under the control of hydraulic fluid pressurized by a pump: for moving the pressure roll into and out of engagement with the warp beam, a guide or feed roller and, in some cases, mechanism for facilitating clotting of the warp beam.

An objection to such machines is that warp sheet is passed over a freely rotatable guide roller located near the nip defined by the warp beam and the pressure roller, whereby the nip determines the demand for yarn. Thus, where yarn demand and tension difficulties are encountered in the winding of the warp sheet, substantial lengths of the ends affected by these difiiculties are either wound too loosely or too tightly and cause defects in the fabric to be knitted or woven therefrom as well as malfunctioning of the knitting or weaving machine.

In some instances, attempts have been made to drive the guide roller, but not positively, at a rate to supply the yarn demand of the warp beam. This has led to difficulties because the peripheral speed of the Warp beam and the guide roller could not be maintained in synchronism as the machine became older without making frequent adjustments. Usually, after such adjustments were made, the warp was wound too tightly, and after the machine was in use for a while and got out of adjustment, the warp was wound too loosely.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved warping machine which overcomes the foregoing difiiculties and disadvantages.

Another object is to provide improved means for feeding a warp sheet to the warp beam.

A further object is to accomplish the foregoing in a simple, practical and economical manner.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description, and is shown in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view, partly in section, of a warping machine in accordance with the present invention with the warp beam in place.

FIG. 2 is a side view, taken substantially along the line 2-2. on FIG. 1, with the warp beam removed.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view taken on FIG. 1, illustrating details of the dofling mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of, the system for operating the pressure roll and dofling mechanisms.

Referring to the drawings in detail and more particularly to FIGS. 1 to 3 thereof, a warping machine is shown which includes a frame 10, a warp beam 11, a pressure roll assembly 12, mechanism 13 for moving the pressure roll into and out of engagement with the warp beam, a yarn measuring roll 14 driven by the pressure roll, mechanism 15 for dofiing the warp beam, and a main drive 16 for the warp beam.

The frame comprises a pair of spaced apart upright side members 17 and '18, a number of cross bars or tubes connecting the side members including a tube 19, and a platform or support 20 for the main drive. The side members 17 and 18 are provided with bearings, journals and the like for supporting shafts and the like which will be described hereinafter with reference to the particular mechanisms with which they are associated.

The Warp beam 11, as shown in FIG. 1, is a spool-like structure which comprises a hollow cylindrical section 21, and a pair of side flanges 22 and 23 formed with annular openings 24 and 25, respectively. The opening 24 has a cylindrical zone of considerable width, whereas the opening 25 has a narrow cylindrical zone and a flared zone located axially outwardly thereof for the purpose about to be described. The warp beam is rotatably supported by a bearing assembly 26 on the frame member 17 and a bearing assembly 27 on the frame member 18.

The bearing assembly 26 includes an axle 28 which has an inner end element 29 adapted to fit into the opening 24 of the Warp beam and which is rotatably mounted in a sleeve 3% This sleeve is slidably mounted in the frame member. 17 and is adapted to be moved inwardly and outwardly to insert and withdraw the element 29.v

To accomplish this, the sleeve 30 has a gear rack 31 which is engaged by a gear, 32 adapted to be manually rotated by a lever or handle 33. Although not shown,

conventional means are provided for locking the sleeve sliding arrangement when the element 29 is inserted into the warp beam opening 24.

The bearing assembly 27 includes an axle 34 which has an inner end element 35 adapted to fit into the opening 25 of the warp beam in driving connection, an outer section rotatably mounted in a sleeve 36 fixed in the frame member 18, and an intermediate pulley 37 or the like adapted to be driven by a belt 38 or the like from the main drive 16. The support for the Warp beam just describedfacilitatesmounting and unmounting of the warp beam as will be made apparent hereinafter.

The pressure roll assembly 12, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, comprises a yoke including a pair of side members 39 pivotally suspended at their upper ends from a shaft or rod 40 supported by bearings in the frame members 17 and 18, a cross-bar 41 connecting the members 39 for swinging movement in unison, and a pressure roll 42 freely rotatable on a shaft 43 supported by the members 39 at the lower ends thereof.

The mechanism 13 for moving the pressure roll into and out of engagement with the warp beam includes a pair of hydraulic motors 44 and 45 each comprising a cylinder 46 (FIG. 2) having one end pivotally mounted on the frame at 47, a piston 48, and a piston rod 49 extending outwardly of the other end of the cylinder and having its free end linked to one of the side members 39 of the yoke.

In accordance with the present invention, yarn measuring roll 14 is freely rotatable on the shaft 49 and is positively driven by the pressure roll, for example, by a timing belt 50, driven by a timing wheel 51 rotated by the pressure roll and drivinga timing wheel 52 for rotating the measuring roll. Since the pressure roll is driven by the warp beam by being in frictional contact with the.

warp sheet wound thereon and the measuring roll is driven by pressure roll, the linear speed of the yarn at the measuring roll and the warp beam is the same, whereby the measuring roll will demand from the creel and supply to the warp beam the exact amount of yarn required by the warp beam to provide a uniformly wound warp of yarn thereon. Since the measuring roll 14 is mounted for rotation on the shaft about which the pressure roll swings, movement of the pressure roll from one position to another will not disturb the relation of the measuring roll to the Warp beam.

The dofling mechanism 15, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, includes a cradle provided by two spaced arcuate members '55 which are L-shaped in section and are constructed to receive and support the flanges 22 and 23 of the warp beam. These members are mounted by arms 56 on a shaft 57 supported by the frame members 17 and 18. The cradle is so arranged that, when the warp beam is mounted for rotation, the vertical sections 58 of the members are closely adjacent the outer sides of the flanges and the horizontal sections 59 of these members are closely adjacent the periphery of the flanges. The manner in which the warp beam is placed on the cradle and removed therefrom will be described shortly hereinafter.

The cradle is adapted to be moved from its normal position, that is, under the warp beam, to the position downwardly and outwardly of its normal position as shown in FIG. 2, whereby the free ends of the cradle members 55 are positioned to enable the warp beam to be rolled therefrom and another beam to be rolled thereon for insertion into the machine. Such movement of the doffing cradle is effected by a lever 60 having one end secured to the shaft 57 and having its other end linked to a piston rod 61 extending out of one end of a cylinder 62 of a hydraulic motor 63. A piston 64 in the cylinder 62 operates the piston rod, and the other end of the cylinder is pivotally mounted on the frame at 65.

Provision is made for locking the cradle in its normal position during operation of the machine by securing a lateral pin or stud 66 to the outer side of the lever 60 which rides on an arcuate block 67 (FIGS. 1 and 2) formed with a hole 68 for receiving the pin when the cradle is in normal position, rotatably and slida'bly mounting the shaft 57 in bearings 69 in the frame members (FIG. 3), and placing a spring 70 on the shaft 57 between the frame member 17 and the clamp of the arm 56 adjacent thereto, whereby the spring is effective to move the shaft towards the right (as viewed in FIG. 3) as the pin enters its hole.

The pin is adapted to be withdrawn from its hole when the cradle is to be lowered by mechanism which includes a foot treadle 71 mounted on one end of a shaft 72 supported by a bracket 73 on the tube 19. The other end of the shaft 72 is adjacent the shaft 57 and carries a roller 74 for engaging a flange 75 secured to the shaft 57, whereby, when pressure is exerted on the treadle, the shaft 72 rotates counterclockwise, as viewed in FIG. 3, and the shaft 57 is moved towards the left to effect removal of the pin from its hole.

The elements of the doffing mechanism and the mounting elements for supporting the warp beam cooperate in the manner about to be described. Assuming, that a warp beam has been wound and removed, the cradle will be in its dofling position as shown in FIG. 2, and the element 29 will be in its outer position. An empty beam is rolled onto the cradle and the hydraulic motor 63 is operated to lift the cradle until the pin 66 enters its hole 68 whereupon the shaft 57 moves towards the right and causes the section 58 of the cradle member 55 at the left to engage the flange 22 of the beam and move the same a short distance towards the right so that the element 35 extends partially into the opening 25 of the beam. The mechanism under the control of the lever 33 is then operated to insert the element 29 into the beam opening 24 which shifts the beam further towards the right to fully insert the element 35 into the beam opening 25, whereby the flared zone of the opening 25 causes the beam to be raised off the horizontal cradle sections 59 and the beam 4 flanges are laterally spaced from the vertical cradle sections 58.

After the warp beam has been wound, the lever 33 is operated to withdraw the element 29 from the beam opening 24, and pressure is applied on the foot treadle 71 to withdraw the pin 66 from its hole 68 and to shift the cradle towards the left, whereby the cradle member 55 at the right moves the beam towards the left to slide the flared Zone defining the beam opening 25 over the element 35 and thereby enable the beam to drop onto the cradle. The hydraulic motor 63 is operated, while pressure is maintained on the treadle until the pin 66 clears the hole 68 and rides on the blocks 67, to swing the eradle outwardly and downwardly for removal of the beam.

In FIG. 4, a system is shown for operating the hydraulic motors 44, 45 and 63, the pistons of the motors being shown in an intermediate position as they are being operated respectively to move the pressure roll away from the warp beam and to swing the cradle downwardly and outwardly.

This system includes a pair of reservoirs and 81 for the motors 44 and 46 which reservoirs at all times are only partially filled with a hydraulic fluid to provide a space above the fluid and which respectively have upper openings 82 and 83 and lower openings 84 and 85. The upper openings 82 and 83 respectively are connected by conduits 86 and 87 to outlets 88 and 89 of a valve 90 which has an inlet 91 connected to a supply of compressed air 92 and has a vent 93.

The source of the compressed air supply 92 may be a compressed air line usually installed in factories and mills or may be a small motor-compressor unit having an accumulator and on and ofl control responsive to the pressure of the air within the accumulator.

The valve 90 has a movable member 94 for providing two open and venting positions with the inlet 91 connected to the outlet 88 and the outlet 89 connected to the vent 93, and vice versa, and a closed position, as shown.

The lower openings 84 and 85 respectively are connected by a conduit 95 to an opening 96 at one end of each of the cylinders 46 and by a conduit 97 to an opening 98 at the opposite end of each of the cylinders 46, so that the pistons 48 in these cylinders move back and forth together to operate the pressure roll assembly.

As shown herein, the cylinders and the connections thereto are arranged to move the pressure roll into engagement with the warp beam when the air inlet 91 is connected to the valve outlet 89 in communication with the reservoir opening 83 and to move the pressure roll out of engagement with the warp beam when the air inlet 91 is connected to the valve outlet 88 in communication with the reservoir opening 82.

Since the pressure roll, when in engagement with the warp beam is intended to exert pressure on the warp sheet being wound thereon, it is important and desirable to adjust such pressure to make it suificient, but without damage to the warp. Such pressure adjustment can be made by placing a pressure regulating valve 99 and a pressure gauge 100 in the compressed air conduit 87 leading to the opening 83 of the reservoir 81. Also, it is desirable to slowly move the pressure roll into engagement with the warp beam to prevent damage to the warp sheet. Such slow movement can be attained by placing a check valve 101 in the conduit 95 and by-passing the check valve by a flow restricting tube 102.

The system further includes a pair of reservoirs 78 and 79 for the motor 63 which at all times are only partially filled with a hydraulic fluid to provide a space above the fluid and which respectively have upper openings 103 and 104 and lower openings 105 and 106. The upper openings 103 and 104 respectively are connected by conduits 107 and 108 to outlets 109 and 1-10 of a valve 111 which has an inlet 1 12 and has a vent 113.

The valve 111 has a movable member 114 for providenemas ing two open and venting positions with the inlet 112 connected to the outlet 169 and the outlet 89 connected to the vent 1 13, and vice versa, and a closed position, as shown.

The lower openings 105 and 1% respectively are con nected by a conduit 115 to an opening 116 at one end of the cylinder 62 and by a conduit 117 to an opening 113 at the opposite end of the cylinder 62 so that the piston 64 can be moved back and forth.

As shown herein, the cylinder and its connections are arranged to move the cradle downwardly and outwardly when the air inlet 112 is connected to the valve outlet 1&9 in communication with the reservoir opening 1%. Thus, to prevent the cradle from moving down too rapidly and possibly jarring the warp beam to cause the same to roll oil the cradle and infiict personal injury or property damage, a check valve 119 is connected in the conduit 1% and a flow restricting tube 12% by-passes the check valve.

In order to prevent the cradle from being operated While the pressure roll bears against the warp beam, the air inlet 112 of the valve 111 is connected to the outlet 88 of the valve 9%, whereby air is admitted to the valve 111 only when the inlet 9*1 is connected to the outlet 88 of the valve and the pressure roll is fully retracted.

in operation, when air is admitted to one of the reservoirs of a pair, the other reservoir of that pair is vented, whereby the air pressurizes the hydraulic fluid and causes it to operate the piston in one direction while the fluid in back of the piston is returned to the vented reservoir.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the present invention provides an improved warping machine which is simple, practical and economical in construction, is safe and reliable in operation, and prevents damage to the Warp being wound.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificins any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense.

This application is a division of application Serial No. 613,156, filed October 1, 1956, now Patent No. 2,955,897.

i claim:

1. in a warping machine, the combination of a warp beam, means for rotating said Warp beam, a yoke pivotally mounted adjacent its upper end, a pressure roll rotably mounted on said yoke adjacent the lower end thereof and arranged to engage the warp beam and be rotated thereby and to be moved away therefrom, a measuring roll rotatably mounted on said yoke adjacent the upper end of said yoke for supplying a Warp of yarn to said warp beam, and a timing means including a chain providing a direct driving connection between the pressure roll and said measuring roll, whereby said measuring roll is rotated in exact relation to said Warp beam.

. in a warping machine according to claim 1, wherein said yoke is arranged to pivot about the axis of rotation of said measuring roll, whereby the warp of yarn between said measuring roll and said warp beam is not disturbed when said pressure roll is moved away from said warp beam.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,691,809 Bauer et al Oct. 19, 1954

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