US3490709A - Apparatus for winding threads,yarns or tapes to crosswound packages - Google Patents

Description

1970 w. SIEGENTHALER 3,4

APPARATUS FOR WINDING THREADS, YARNS OR TAPES TO CROSSWOUND PACKAGES Filed Nov. 8, 196? 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig. F

64- CONTROL ELECTRO MA GNET 727 .3

INVENTOR.

M1. YER SiE GEM/mm 1970 w. SIEGENTHALER 3,490,709

APPARATUS FOR WINDING THREADS, YARNS OR TAPES I TO CROSSWOUND PACKAGELS Filed. Nov. 8, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 2

INVENTOR.

WALTER SIEGENTHHLER Jan. 20, 1970 w. SIEGENTHALER 3,490,709

APPARATUS FOR WINDING THREADS, YARNS OR TAPES 'TO CROSSWOUND PACKAGES Filed Nov. 8, 196? 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 m I 'IlllllI/IIAW/IJIIIIIIl/A t I INVENTOR. WRLTER smwwwk 3,490,709 APPARATUS FOR WINDING THREADS, YARNS R TAPES T0 CROSSWOUND PACKAGES Walter Siegenthaler, Erlenbach, Zurich, Switzerland, as-

signor t0 Maschinenfabrik Scharer, Erlenbach, Zurich, Switzerland Filed Nov. 8, 1967, Ser. No. 681,397 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Aug. 16, 1967, 37,656/ 67 Int. Cl. B65h 63/02 US. Cl. 242-37 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Driving means for thread winding apparatus comprising a bobbin spindle driven by a continuously variable gear the gear ratio of which is variable by means of a feeler member coacting with the package to be Wound, the feeler acting to increase the gear ratio with the increasing diameter of the package. The continuously variable gear is a reversing gear and a knock-off motion is provided which, in response to breakage of the thread, causes reversal of the gear and actuation of means to become effective for relatively moving said feeler member and said bobbin shaft away from each other.

This invention relates to apparatus for winding threads yarns or tapes, herein, for the sake of convenience termed threads, to crosswound packages on bobbins having a bobbin shaft driven by means of a continuously variable gear the gear ratio thereof increasing in response to the increasing diameter of the package, a feeler member arranged for cooperation with the growing package actuating a control member of the gear for varying the gear ratio.

It is an object of the invention to provide a winding apparatus of the above type with means permitting a rapid and simple tying of a broken thread by hand and a placing of the knot at one of the ends of the package being wound, so that the knot does not prevent a correct unwinding of the thread when the wound package later is used on a weaving loom or knitting machine. A placing of the knots at the ends of the package is particularly important and desirable for bobbins receiving a precision winding, from which the thread is unwound intermittently at high speed when they are used on shuttle-less looms.

According to the invention the continuously variable gear is formed as a reversing gear having a control member, and a knocking-off motion is provided which, in response to a breakage of the thread, causes said gear to be reversed and releases means to become eifective for producing relative movement of said feeler member and said bobbin shaft away from each other.

The invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which,

FIGURE 1 is a view in elevation of the apparatus according to the invention, shown during a winding operation.

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the apparatus partially shown in section along the line IIII of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a fragment of FIGURE 1, showing the relative position of the parts with the bobbin shaft at a standstill after a breaking of the thread.

FIGURE 4 is a secional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIGURE 2, showing a detail of the control device with the bobbin shaft at rest after a breakage of the thread.

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 4 during the winding operation.

3,498,789 Patented Jan. 20, 1970 FIGURE 6 is a view in elevation and partial' section along the line VIVI of FIGURE 5 during the winding operation.

FIGURE 7 illustrates the top portion of the apparatus seen from the back of FIGURE 1.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawings, the represented winding apparatus comprises a frame including a base plate and upright columns 51 and 52 which carry cross supports 53 and 54. Longitudinal beams 55 and 56 are mounted on the cross supports 53 and 54, respectively. Near the bottom end of one of the columns 51 a bracket 57 is fixed which carries a support 60 for a supply bobbin '61 to be unwound.

The unwinding thread 62 is led through a thread tensioning device 63 and past a knock-off motion 64 to a thread support 65 and then is engaged by the thread guides 66 (FIG. 2) which deposit the thread crosswise on the turning package 67 to be wound. The package is placed on a bobbin shaft 68 which is rotatably carried by a rocking arm 70 mounted on a pin 69. The drive of the shaft 68 and of the thread guides in positive driving connection therewith is effected by a motor 71, by the intermediary of a transmission belt 72, a reversible friction gear drive 73 and an endless tooth belt 74 which meshes with a gear wheel 75 driving the thread guide arms 66, and with a gear wheel 76 connected with the bobbin shaft 68 by a further tooth belt 58 and a set of pinions 59. A suction device 77 operated by the knock-off motion 64 is provided for gripping the thread end of the package on the breaking of a thread.

The friction gear drive 73 comprises a gear box 78 through which extends a first shaft 79 (FIG. 2) both ends of which project out of the box. One end of the shaft 79 carries a pulley 80 engaging the driving belt 72 and the other end carries a drum 81. The shaft 79 is operatively connected by a set of gears 79' with a second shaft 82 mounted in the gear box 78 and extending parallel to the first shaft 79. The shaft 82 is driven in the same direction as the shaft 79. Within the gear box the shaft 82 carries a worm 83 meshing with a worm wheel 84. This latter is secured to a coupling sleeve 85 rotatably mounted on a control shaft 86 extending at right angles to the shaft 82 (FIGS. 4, 5 and 6). The sleeve 85 is provided with teeth or flutes and cooperates with a spring loaded ratchet segment 87 which is pivotally mounted on a flange 88 secured to the control shaft 86. During the winding operation, the ratchet segment 87 is maintained out of engagement with the coupling sleeve 85 by means of a spring loaded pin 89. The pin 89 is actuated by an electromagnet 127 controlled by the knock-oft" motion 64.

The end of the second shaft 82 projecting from the gear box 78 on the side of the drum 81 carries a conical head or collar 90. Between the drum 81 on the shaft 79 and the head 90 on the second shaft 82 is arranged a friction disc 91 the axis of which extends at right angles to the shafts 79 and 82 and carries a gear wheel 92 which engages the tooth belt 74 driving the thread guide arms and. the bobbin shaft 68.

The friction disc 91 is rotatably carried by an arm 94' which is mounted for pivoting movement on a shaft 94 extending parallel to the shafts 79 and 82. The pivoting movement of the friction disc 91 is effected by the control shaft 86 as will be described later.

The face of the friction disc 91 on the side of the drum 81 is plane and in one end position of the disc, corresponding to normal winding operation (FIG. 2), this face of the disc 91 is in frictional engagement with an endless belt 93 passing around the drum. In the other end position of the disc, its other face of truncated cone shape is in frictional engagement with the conical head 90 of the shaft 82 whereby the head 90 drives the disc 3 91 which in turn drives the bobbin shaft 68 through the intermediary of the tooth belt 74.

The belt 93 frictionally engaging the disc 91 during the winding operation passes around a pulley 95 and is laterally maintained in position thereby. The disc 91 is connected with a toothed rack 96 which is longitudinally movable and meshes with a toothed sector 97. This latter is pivotally mounted and connected by a linkage 98 with the pivot pin 69 of the rocking arm 70. The arrangement is such that the rocking arm 70 is substantially balanced by the linkage 98, and the package 67 during the winding operation bears only slightly or not at all on a supporting roller 99 acting as a feeler member operatively connected with the control member for the gear and determining the gear ratio. At the beginning of a winding operation the package even is slightly spaced from the roller 99.

The control shaft 86 is rotatably mounted in the gear box 78 forms a part of the control device of the winding apparatus. At its end projecting from the box, the shaft 86 carries a cam disc 100 (FIGS. 2 and 3) engaging a cam follower 101 which is applied against the cam disc by the action of a spring. The cam follower 101 is connected to the pivoting axis 94 of the friction disc 91 by means of a pivoting arm 102 (FIG. 6). The other end of the shaft 86 projecting out of the gear box carries a gear wheel 103 which is in driving connection with a second control shaft 106 by means of a chain 104 and a gear wheel 105 fixed to the shaft 106. The control shaft 106 further carries a cam disc 107 coacting with a cam follower 108. This latter is connected by means of a linkage 109 with the upper end of a suction tube 110 of the suction device 77. The lower portion of the tube 110 is flexible and extensible. The linkage 109 is operatively connected with a downwardly extending rod 111 pivotally mounted on the pivot pin 69.

It is particularly visible from FIGURE 7 that the rod 111 is associated with a toothed segment 112 also rotatable on the pin 69. When the rod 111 is moved in the direction of the arrow A in FIGURE 7 the segment 112 is engaged by means of a spring-loaded pawl 113 carried by the rod 111 and moves along with the rod. The action of the pawl 113 can be eliminated by means of a linkage 114 actuated by hand.

Further structural details will become apparent from the following description of the operation of the apparatus.

During the winding operation the friction disc 91 is in the end position shown in FIGURE 1. The bobbin shaft 68 and the thread guide arms 66 are driven from the gear drive 73 by the motor 71, the thread being woundup crosswise on the bobbin support. With the package 67 growing, the rocking arm 70, as seen in FIGURE 1, is pivoted in the clockwise direction, whereby the linkage 98 causes the toothed sector 97 to swing in counterclockwise direction. The toothed sector then moves the rack 96 and accordingly the pulley 95 with the belt 93 towards the right. The point of engagement of the belt 93 with the friction disc 91 moves radially outwards and the gear ratio of the drive progressively varies in response to the increasing radius of the package to gradually decrease the speed of the bobbin shaft and of the thread guide arms.

During the winding operation the two shafts 79 and 82 rotate; the control shaft 86, however, is stopped, since the coupling 85, 87 between the shaft 82 and the control shaft 86 is disengaged. The position of the coupling members, sleeve 85 and ratchet segment 87 is best visible from FIGURES and 6. The ratchet member 87 is provided with an extension 115 bent over at right angles and bearing against the front end of the pin 89 which is in its forwardly projected position owing to spring action. The pin 89 prevents the ratchet member 87 under the action of the spring 116, from engaging the fluted sleeve 85.

Upon a breakage of thread. during the windin operation, the knock-off motion 64 closes the electric circuit of the electro-magnet 127 which is energized and retracts the pin 89 to release the notched segment 87. The spring 116 then causes the segment 87 to be pulled into engagement with the sleeve 85, whereby the control shaft 86 is coupled in driving engagement with the driving shaft 82 and starts to turn.

The control shaft 106 turns together with the shaft 86, and also the cam discs 100 and 107 associated with these shafts will turn.

The cam follower 101 engages with a cam portion 117 (FIG. 5) which first rises and then has a constant radius over a certain angular extent. Thereby the follower 101 is downwardly moved and by means of the pivoting arm 102 and shaft 94 disengages the friction disc 91 from the belt 93 and brings it into a neutral position. The drive connection between the motor 71 and the bobbin shaft 68 thus is interrupted and the package comes to a standstill.

At the same time, the cam follower 108 of the cam 107 engages a cam portion 118 which first rises and then remains at a constant radius over a certain angular extent (FIG. 1). Thereby the follower 108 and the linkage 109 is swung upwardly about the axis 119 and the suction nozzle tube 110 is moved upwardly to the position shown in dash-and-dot lines in FIGURE 3. During this pivoting movement the linkage 109 also moves the rod 111, the connecting point of the rod with the linkage having a much smaller movement than the opening of the nozzle tube 110. The rod 111, in turn, moves the toothed segment 112 by means of the pawl 113, whereby the rocking arm 70 is slightly turned to cause the package 67 to be lifted off the supporting roller 99. The free end of the thread is then swung radially outwards by centrifugal force before the package stops, and after stopping the thread end loosely adheres to the surface of the package.

While the upper cam follower 108 still passes over the cam portion 118, the lower cam follower 101 moves on a cam portion 120 (FIG. 5) of a greater constant radius than the preceding cam portion 117. This causes the follower 108 to be lowered still further to bring the friction disc 91 into frictional engagement with the conical head of the driving shaft 82 by means of the pivoting arm 102 and the shaft 94. The friction disc 91 is now driven in reverse direction by the conical head 90 and drives the bobbin shaft 68 by means of the tooth belt 74 also in reverse direction. The broken thread end is unwound from the package and drawn by suction into the nozzle tube 110 of the suction device. After a few reverse revolutions of the package 67, the cam follower 101 engages the notch or depression 121 of the cam (FIG. 4), while the upper cam follower 108 engages the notch 122 of the cam 107 (FIG. 1).

The apparatus now is in a neutral position as represented in FIGURES 3 and 4. As seen in FIGURE 4, immediately before arriving in this position, a pawl 123, by the action of a spring, engages by its hook-shaped end the extension 115 of the notched segment 87. When the control shaft 86 continues to rotate into neutral position, the notched segment 87 is released from engagement with the coupling sleeve 85 by the pawl 123 and the driving connection between the driving shaft 82 and the control shaft 86 is cut off. The control shaft 86 and the control shaft 106 thus are stopped in the neutral position.

The depression 121 of the cam 100 and the depression 122 of the cam 107 are so shaped that the friction disc 91 is released from engagement with the conical head 90 and is moved back into its intermediate position, and that the suction tube and the package 67 are returned from the upper position shown in dash-and-dot lines in FIGURE 3 to an intermediate position.

In this position the bobbin shaft stops and the attendant can take care, when making the package ready for continuing the winding operation that the knot to be made in the thread will be situated at one end of the package, so that the later unwinding of the thread when the wound cop is used in a loom, will not give rise to any inconveniences.

As soon as the apparatus is ready to take up the winding operation again, the attendant pushes the pedal 124 with the foot (FIG. 1), whereby the pawl 123 is disengaged from the coupling member 87 by means of a cable 125 actuating a lever 126 which is connected with the pawl 123, and a driving connection is established between the control shaft 86 and the shaft 82 until the coupling member 87 again is engaged by the pin 89 wh ch is again in its forwardly extending position, thus holding the coupling member 87 out of engagement with the coupling sleeve 85, so that the normal operating condition is reestablished.

During normal operating condition the cam followers 101 and 108 are situated in a depression of the cams 100 and 107, respectively, having the smallest radial distance of the cam surface from the cam center. The friction wheel 91 is again in engagement with the friction belt 93, and the rocking arm 70, as well as the suction tube 110 are in their lower position of pivoting movement.

Instead of a linear displacement of the friction belt 93 proportional to the increase in diameter of the package 67, in order to obtain a constant winding speed, the belt could also be moved in response to the increasing package diameter in such manner that a certain increase of winding speed is obtained.

Since upon a breakage of thread the package is lifted out of contact with the package supporting shaft 99, the free thread end is not rolled into the package but is thrown outwardly by centrifugal force before the package comes to a stop. In the winding apparatus according to the present invention the ends of the thread, after a breakage, can be tied quickly and in simple manner, and the knot can be situated at one of the two ends of the package, which is important for the quality thereof.

Since the core of the package is driven at the axis thereof, it is not necessary that when starting the package that it should bear on the supporting shaft, but first a few thread layers can be wound on the core tube before supporting is required. In this manner it is absolutely avoided that the first layers slide together and accumulate, and a high-grade package formation is ensured. This is of great importance for the complete and correct unwinding of cops having tied threads, in order to obtain an uninterrupted travel of the thread. This is particularly true for the use of the cops on shuttle-less looms or knitting frames in which an intermittent jerking thread travel is produced.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for winding threads to crosswound packages, comprising a bobbin shaft to receive said package, a continuously variable reversing gear driving said bobbin shaft, the gear ratio of said variable reversing gear increasing in response to the increasing diameter of said package to be wound, a control 'memberfor said gear, a feeler member cooperating with the package being Wound and operatively connected with said control member, a knock-off motion operative to reverse said gear upon breakage of a thread winding on said package,

and means actuated by said knock-off motion upon breakage of a thread to relatively move said bobbin shaft and said feeler away from each other.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which said feeler member is a rotatably mounted roller, and the bobbin shaft is pivotally mounted and operatively connected to said control member, said means, upon breakage of the thread, being operative to produce a pivoting movement of said bobbin shaft.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, and comprising a suction device having a suction nozzle movable towards and away from the bobbin shaft and means operatively connected to said knock-off motion upon breakage of a thread to move said nozzle into proximity of the package being wound.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, in which said suction device comprises a drive member which, upon movement of the nozzle towards the bobbin shaft, is coupled with said means producing a pivoting movement of the bobbin shaft.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which said reversing gear comprises a friction disc adapted to be driven by its faces, the axis of the friction disc being drivingly connected with the bobbin shaft.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, in which said friction disc is mounted for pivoting movement between two terminal positions on an axis extending at right angles to its axis of rotation.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6, comprising two spaced interconnected parallel driving shafts rotatable in the same direction, and means for alternately coupling said friction disc with one or the other of said shafts.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, in which said friction disc in one of said terminal positions is adapted for frictional engagement with a driving belt which is radially displaceable relatively to the friction disc.

9. Apparatus according to claim 7, in which one of said driving shafts is operatively connected with a cam means by the intermediary of a clutch which is engageable by the knock-off motion, for controlling the pivoting movement of the friction disc, the pivoting motion of the bobbin shaft and the movement of the suction device.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9, in which said clutch cooperates with a locking member by means of which the clutch, after the friction disc has been pivoted from its terminal position corresponding to return movement into a neutral position, is disengageable.

11. Apparatus according to claim 10, in which said locking member can be brought into inoperative position, while said clutch, after the friction disc has been pivoted into its terminal position corresponding to forward movement, is disengageable by a second locking member controlled by the knock-off motion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,583,243 5/1926 Brink 242-37 2,295,535 9/1942 Abbott 24237 3,301,496 l/1967 Furst 24237 NATHAN L. MINTZ, Primary Examiner

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