US3323179A - Receptacle supporting apparatus for textile coilers - Google Patents

Description

June 6, 1967 3,323'9 EPTACLE SUPPORTING APPARATUS FOR TEXTLE COILERS a. w. Gossr-:TT et-rm.

REC

2 Sheets-Sheet Filed March 14, 1966 ....vhtw Y RT HT NE Ilful W T N AHA vf R B Muzcsc. HENSON comms June 6, 1967 E. w. GossE-r'r ETAL CEPTACLE SUPPORTING APPARATUS FR TEXTLJ 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed March 14, 1966 RANT W. @www w@ MAUHICEC, Hmmm 3,323,179 RECEITACLE SUPPORTING APPARATUS FOR TEXTILE COILERS Bryant W. Gossett and Maurice C. Henson, Gastonia,

N.C., assignors to Gossett Machine Works, Inc., Gasfonia, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina Filed Mar.. 14, 1966, Ser. No. 540,448 11 Claims. (Cl. 19 159) This invention is a continuation-impart of copending patent application Ser. No. 502,045, filed Oct. 22, 1965, and relates to textile coilers for use with carding engines, draw frames and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved mechanism lfor rotatably supporting a receptacle in sliver-receiving position with its bottom end substantially at, but in spaced relation to, the floor level of a building.

Conventional coilers are equipped with a base on which the 'bottom of a sliver-receiving receptacle or can is supported several inches above the fioor level. This type of base is equipped with a receptacle rotating mechanism positioned underneath the receptacle and preventing the bottom of the latter from resting at or about the floor level. When the receptacle becomes filled, it is manually lowered to the floor level to dofTed position. During recent years, however, optimum operating efficiency has required the use of progressively larger receptacles in order to decrease the frequency of doffing. This trend has now reached the point in many mills .that the increased size and weight of the receptacles, when filled, renders manual doffing from the elevated position a difficult and time consuming task.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a coiler having means for rotatably supporting a receptacle in sliver-receiving position and with the bottom thereof substantially at, but unsupported by, the floor or surface therebeneath.

It is another object of invention to provide a coiler mechanism having means for rollably supporting a sliverreceiving receptacle intermediate its upper and lower ends and `with the lower end thereof disposed substantially at but in spaced relation to the floor level of a building or surface therebeneath.

It is a further object of invention to provide a coiler mechanism of the type described in which the receptacle is rotatably suspended beneath the coiler head, thereby eliminating the necessity of providing the conventional platform support beneath the receptacle.

It is still another object of invention to provide a mechanism of the type described in which the receptacle is rotatably supported about its periphery by a plurality of rollers, in combination with a driving means -connected to at least one of said rollers.

It is yet another object of invention to provide a mechanism of the type described in which means are provided for rotatably confining the receptacle with its bottom substantially at the fioor level when in sliver-receiving position, in combination with means for laterally releasing the receptacle from said last-named position.

Some of the objects of invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a textile coiler with certain portions thereof shown in section, Iand embodying our improved coiler receptacle supporting and driving mechanism;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional plan view taken along line 2 2 in FIGURE l;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 3 3 in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an elevational view taken along line 4 4 in FIGURE 2;

United States 1Patent FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 1, but showing a modified form of receptacle supporting and driving mechanism wherein the receptacle is rotatably suspended from the coiler head;

FIGURE 6 is a top plan View of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional plan View taken along line 7 7 in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 8 is a vertical sectional View taken along lines 8 8 in FIGURES 5 and 6;

FIGURE 9 is a vertical 9 9 in FIGURE 6;

FIGURE l0 is a sectional plan view taken along line 1(3 10 in FIGURE I5, and

FIGURE ll is a sectional detail View showing a modified form of receptacle track for engagement by the supporting rollers.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 broadly designates a textile coiler, said coiler comprising a coiler head 11, a pedestal 12, and a base 14. A strand of sliver 15 passes in a well-known manner from a carding engine, draw frame, or similar fiber processing machinery (not shown), over guide 16,` then downwardly through trumpet 17, between feed rolls 18, through inclined tube 19, and nally into a receptacle 20 in successive overlapping coils. Guide tube 19 is mounted upon .a tube gear 23, which gear is rotatably suspended as at 24 within the coiler head 11.

It will be observed that the lower end of tube 19 is eccentrically disposed relative to the axis of rotation of sectional vie-w taken along line gear 23 but rotatable within a horizontal projection of the receptacle 20 therebelow, the diameter of the circle defined by the lower end of tube 19 being substantially onehalf (or slightly more) of the diameter `of the receptacle.

Gear 23 and its associated tube 19 are rotated by means of a series of interconnected elements comprising horizontal shaft 26, beveled gears 27 and 28, upright shaft 29 and gear 30. Likewise, feed rolls 18 are driven from the shraft 29 through beveled gears 31 and 32 and shaft 33.

Coiler base 14 comprises a substantially concavo-con- Vex casting 34 having a concave diameter slightly greater than the outside diameter of receptacle 20, said concave surface subtending an angle greater than degrees. The casting 34 is adapted to rest upon a flat surface such as a mill floor and support the receptacle for rotation in the manner specifically described below.

The bottom portion of receptacle 20 has a plurality of casters 36 which rollably support the receptacle on the mill floor. When the receptacle is in sliver-receiving position beneath the coiler head, the -bottom surface of the receptacle and the casters 36 are preferably supported slightly above the floor level and by means such as rollers 38, 39 and 40, said rollers engaging the lower surface of a laterally extending flange 35 integral with the periphery of receptacle 2li. Rollers 38 and 39 are each rotatably mounted upon one end of a plate 50, said plates 50, 50 being pivotally mounted as at 51 to the upper portion of casting 34 and its swingable end portion 34a. The portion 34a is pivotally secured as at 42 to casting 34 and may be moved from bold line to dotted line position as shown in FIGURE 2 when it is desired to remove a receptacle to or from sliver-receiving position,

It will be observed that the rollers 39 and 40 (FIGURE 2) are separated by an arc of the receptacle periphery of less than 1S() degrees while the driving roller is arranged about midway the ends of the remaining arc of the receptacle periphery thereby rollably supporting and laterally confining the receptacle in sliver-receiving position. During the sliver-receiving position of the receptacle, a spring 47a yieldably urges portion 34a and its associated roller 40 toward the receptacle periphery and underneath flange 35.

A latching mechanism is provided (FIGURES 2 and 4) for releasably holding portion 34a in the dotted line position, said mechanism consisting of a hook 43 secured to portion 34a as at 43a and releasably engageable with a lever 44 pivoted intermediate its ends as at 45 to a bracket 46. The bracket 46 is secured to portion 34 by means such as bolts 46a. A spring 47 yieldably urges one end of lever 44 into engagement with hook 43 when portion 34a is swung to the dotted line position.

Rollers 38, 39 and 40 are each laterally adjustable so as to adjust the vertical rotational axis of receptacle 20 relative to the rotational axis of the tube gear 23 there- Iabove. Thus each plate 50 and associated roller 39 or 40 fis held in adjusted position by means of stud bolt 52 -which penetrates slot 53 in the plate. Likewise, driving roller 38 is rotatably mounted -on a plate 56 which is lat- `erally and angularly adjustable with reference to upright shaft 29 (FIG. 2). It will be observed that plate 56 has arcuate slots 57 and 58 therein penetrated respectively by stud bolts 59 and 60, said bolts being threadably secured in casting 34 therebelow.

Roller 38 is rotated in timed relation to the rotation of eccentrically disposed tube gear 23 thereabove by a series of interconnected elements consisting of beveled gears 63 and 64, shaft 65, worm 66 and worm gear 67. A bracket 68 rotatably supports members 64, 65 and 66, said bracket 68 being mounted for lateral angular adjustment relative to shaft 29 by means of stud bolts 7d penetrating arcuate slots 71 in the bracket and threadably secured in the base casting 34. Thus the roller 38 and the elements driving the latter may be laterally adjusted to conform to the desired position of the rollably supported receptacle 20.

FIGURES through 1() show a modified form of the invention in which a sliver-receiving receptacle 28a is rotatably suspended from the housing of a coiler a with the receptacle bottom disposed in spaced relation to the o-or thereby eliminating the C-shaped casting 34 employed in the preceding form of invention which served both as a coiler base and as a support for the rollers 38, 39 and 4t). Specifically, the housing referred to above consists of a spectacle plate 77, a bonnet 79vand a pedestal upper section 12a.

The suspension means for receptacle a c-omprises a circular flange a extending horizontally and around the upper peripheral portion of the receptacle, rollers 72, 73, 74 and 75 engageable with the lower surface of said fiange, and brackets or plates 72a, 73a, 74a and 75a to which the rollers 72, 73, 74 and 75 respectively are attached.

Bracket 74a has its upper end rigidly secured to spectacle plate 77 by means of bolts 78 (FIGURES 5 and 6). In a similar manner, bracket 75a is rigidly secured to bonnet 79 by bolts 80, said bonnet being pivotally secured as at 81. Bracket 73a has its upper end pivotally secured by means of pin 83 to a second bracket 84 which, in turn, is secured to bonnet 79 by bolts 85 (FIGURES 5, 6 and 8).

It will be noted that pin 83 is xedly secured to bracket 73a and has an arcuate segment 87 xedly secured on one end thereof. This segment has spaced edge notches 88 and 88a therein adapted to be selectively engaged by a pawl -89 pivoted as at 90 to bracket 84. In the bold line position of bracket 73a and roller 73 in FIGURE 8, the pawl 89 engages notch 88 to latch the parts in suspending position relative to the receptacle. When it is desired to doif or replace the receptacle 20a, the bracket 73a and roller 73 are latched in the dotted line position so that the receptacle 20a may move laterally to or from inserted position. As the receptacle moves laterally from inserted to dolfed position, the flange 35a slides laterally from rollers 72, 74 and 75 to thereby permit the receptacle 20u to be lowered slightly so that its supporting casters will rest upon the oor 99.

Notches 77a and 77b are provided in the opposite edges of spectacle plate 77 (FIGURES 8 and 9) which permit rollers 73 and 75 to pass ,upwardly therethrough when the bonnet 79 is rotated in a counterclockwise manner i about its pivot 81 for the purpose of inspecting the inside of the coiler head 11a.

R-oller 72 serves both as a support and as a driving element for rotating receptacle 20a, said roller being xedly secured on one end of a shaft 92 journalled in the bracket 72a. Bolts 86 are employed to secure `bracket 72a t-o upper pedestal section 12a. The other end of shaft 92 has beveled gear 93 fixedly secured thereon, the latter gear meshing with beveled gear 94 on upright shaft 29a. Shaft 29a is shorter than previously described shaft 29 of the first form of the invention but it operates substantially in the same manner. Thus the driving roller or wheel 72 is driven 4by interconnected elements 26, 27, 28, 29a, 94, 93 and 92 as shown in FIGURE 5.

The upper pedestal section 12a is secured as at 96 to coiler head 11a by means of bolts. Similarly, the lower end of section 12a is secured to the upper end of bottom pedestal section 12b by means of bolts 97 (FIGURES 5 and 10). The lower end of section 12b has integral therewith a laterally extending base plate 98 which is anchored to Hoor 99 by suitable means such as anchor bolts 100. Angular adjustment Vof coiler head 11a and the attached top pedestal section 12a relative to the bottom pedestal section 12b may be obtained by removing bolts 97, then turning the assembled members 11a and 12a to the desired position, and again bolting the sections 12a and 12b together. This adjustment feature makes it possible to easily convert the mechanism disclosed in FIGURES 5 through 10 into either a right-hand or a left-hand coiler.

FIGURE 11 shows a modified form of laterally extending receptacle ange 3511 for supporting a sliver-receiving receptacle Ztlb on the rollers 73, 74, 75 and 72, said flange 35a being secured around the periphery of the receptacle and having a downturned rim 35e integral with its outer edge thereby providing an inverted annular groove or track for confining the rollers in position during rotation of the can or receptacle.

In all forms of the invention, the driving means and the -means for rotatably supporting the receptacle in sliver-receiving position is disposed above the bottom end `of the receptacle in order that the bottom end may be disposed the minimum distance above the floor level to prevent substantial resistance to rotation. Obviously, the bottom of the receptacle, or its supporting rollers 36 could touch the floor level as long as the latter contact does not serve as a support. By having the bottom of the receptacle, or the supporting casters 36, located in close proximity to the floor level, it is possible t-o easily insert or remove a heavily laden container to and from sliverreceiving position. The term bottom of the receptacle designates the lower peripheral extremities of casters 36 where the latter are present, and the bottom edge of the receptacle in installations where casters are not employed.

In the forms of invention shown in FIGURES 5 through 11, the rollers 72 through 75 are rotatably mounted on axes disposed substantially normal to the vertical axis of the receptacle. Moreover, the space between the b-ottom of the receptacle, or the supporting casters 36, is less than one-half the diameter of either of the rollers 72, 74 or 75. Thus, when an empty receptacle is moved laterally from the floor 99 to sliver-receiving position, the bottom of lateral annular ange 35a or 35b will first engage the upper half of each roller 72 and 75 and further lateral movement of the receptacle will cause the flange to ride on top of the rollers as the latter rotate. Likewise, when doffing a filled receptacle the rollers 72 and 75 will permit the receptacle to be gradually lowered from its slightly elevated position to the oor level without exertion of substantial lateral thrust.

What we claim as new and desire to obtain by Letters Patent of the United States is set forth in the following claims:

1. In combination, a textile coiler having means for feeding a sliver strand or the like downwardly therethrough, all Upright receptacle for receiving said strand, means including a plurality of rollers disposed intermediate the upper and lower ends of said receptacle for rotatably conlining the latter in strand-receiving position, and means including one of said rollers for rotating said receptacle, the axes of rotation of said rollers being disposed transversely of the axis of rotation of said receptacle.

2. In combination, a textile sliver coller having means for feeding a continuous sliver strand downwardly therethrough, a receptacle for receiving said strand, a floor having a level upper surface disposed `beneath and extending laterally from the bottom of the receptacle, and means disposed above the bottom of the receptacle for rotatably supporting the latter substantially at said upper surface.

3. The combination as deiined in claim 2 and further comprising driving means frictionally connected to the receptacle periphery for rotating the receptacle.

4. The combination as defined in claim 2 wherein the receptacle supporting means includes a plurality of rollers respectively mounted for rotation upon axes disposed transversely of the axis of rotation of the receptacle, and an annular flange surrounding the receptacle and extending transversely of said last-named axis, said flange being rollably contacted by said rollers.

5. The combination as defined in claim 4 wherein means are provided for laterally releasing at least one of said rollers to permit the receptacle to be moved to and from strand-receiving position on the remaining unreleased rollers.

6. The combination as defined in claim 5 wherein the lower surface of said ilange engages the upper peripheries of said rollers, and wherein the difference between the distance from said lower tlange surface to said floor level on one hand, and the distance from said flange surface to the bottom extremity of the receptacle on the other, is less than one-half the diameter of either of said unreleased rollers.

7. In combination a textile sliver coller, a vertically disposed sliver-receiving receptacle having an open upper end and a closed lower end, and means for rotatably suspending said receptacle in sliver-receiving position from said coller, said means including a horizontally disposed trackway secured to and encircling said receptacle, and a plurality of rollers engageable with said tracliway to support the receptacle and the received sliver for rotation about its vertical axis.

S. The combination as defined in claim 7 wherein said trackway comprises a channel member' having a pair of spaced parallel laterally extending lianges, and wherein the peripheral portions of said rollers lit in said space between the ilanges, said rollers being rotatable upon axes substantially normal to the ilanges.

9. The combination as defined in claim 7 wherein said traekway comprises a flange extending laterally from the receptacle and wherein said rollers are engageable with the lower surface of said ange.

itl. The combination as dened in claim 9 wherein the axes of rotation of said rollers are substantially parallel to said lower iiauge surface.

lli.. The combination as defined in claim 9 wherein the axes of rotation `of said rollers are substantially normal to said lower flame surface.

References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 3,221,374V l2/l965 Fornes 19-159 FGRElGN PATENTS 954,414 4/1964 Great Britain. 968,971 9/1964 Great Britain.

MERVIN STEN, Primary Examine/' I. C. WADDEY, Assistant Examiner'.

Claims (1)

1. IN COMBINATION, A TEXTILE COILER HAVING MEANS FOR FEEDING A SILVER STRAND OR THE LIKE DOWNWARDLY THERETHROUGH, AN UPRIGHT RECEPTACLE FOR RECEIVING SAID STRAND, MEANS INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF ROLLERS DISPOSED INTERMEDIATE THE UPPER AND LOWER ENDS OF SAID RECEPTACLE FOR ROTATABLY CONFINING THE LATTER IN STRAND-RECEIVING POSITION, AND MEANS INCLUDING ONE OF SAID ROLLERS FOR ROTATING SAID RECEPTACLE, THE AXES OF ROTATION OF SAID ROLLERS BEING DISPOSED TRANSVERSELY OF THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF SAID RECEPTACLE.

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