US3834148A

US3834148A - Ringless spinning apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3834148A
Application number: US00344035A
Authority: US
Inventors: O Yuasa; W Sakurai; T Igarashi
Original assignee: Daiwa Boseki KK; Toyoda Automatic Loom Works Ltd
Current assignee: Toyota Industries Corp; Daiwa Boseki KK
Priority date: 1972-03-27
Filing date: 1973-03-22
Publication date: 1974-09-10
Anticipated expiration: 1991-09-10
Also published as: GB1430474A; CH572105A5; FR2177948B1; IT981687B; DE2314666A1; DE2314666B2; FR2177948A1; DE2314666C3

Abstract

In a ringless spinning apparatus of the type comprising a feed roller rotatable about its vertical axis for feeding fibrous materials, an opening roller rotatable about its vertical axis and provided with a plurality of saw tooth wires wound circumferentially around the peripheral surface thereof for opening the fibrous materials fed by said feed roller, channel means arranged adjacent the peripheral surface for taking off the opened fibrous materials from the opening roller and transferring them by the action of a jet of air passing therein, and a rotary spinning chamber for collecting and spinning the opened fibrous materials transferred thereinto from the channel means, the latter converges toward the spinning chamber by tapering at least one of the upper and lower walls thereof, while the sectional area of the channel means is progressively reduced toward the spinning chamber at the downstream side of the opening roller.

Description

United States Patent [191 Sakurai et al.

RINGLESS SPINNING APPARATUS Inventors: Waichi Sakurai; Takeshi Igarashi; Osamu Yuasa, all of Fukui, Japan Assignees: Daiwa Boseki Kabushiki Kaisha,

Osaka; Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jodoshokki Seisakusho, Kariya City, Aichi-ken, both of, Japan Filed: Mar. 22, 1973 Appl. No.: 344,035

Foreign Application Priority Data Mar. 27, 1972 Japan 47-30433 Mar. 27, 1972 Japan 47-30434 us. Cl. 57/5895 Int. Cl D0lh 1/12 r m rs ch 57/58.89-58.95

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1969 Doublebsky et al. 57/5891 UX 11/1970 Ripka et a]. 57/5895 6/1971 Chrtek et a1 57/5895 7/1971 Ripka et al. 57/5895 3,785,138 1/1974 Rajnohaetal ..57/58.95

Primary Examiner-Donald E. Watkins Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Waters, Roditi, Schwartz & Nissen [5 7] ABSTRACT In a ringless spinning apparatus of the type comprising a feed roller rotatable about its vertical axis for feeding fibrous materials, an opening roller rotatable about its vertical axis and provided with a plurality-of saw tooth wires wound circumferentially around the peripheral surface thereof for opening the fibrous materials fed by said feed roller, channel means arranged adjacent the peripheral surface for taking off the opened fibrous materials from the opening roller and transferring them by the action of a jet of air passing therein, and a rotary spinning chamber for collecting and spinning the opened fibrous materials transferred thereinto from the channel means, the latter converges toward the spinning chamber by tapering at least one of the upper and lower walls thereof, while the sectional area of the channel means is progressively reduced toward the spinning chamber at the downstream side of the opening roller.

5 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PAIENTEDSEPI 0W V v 3. 34.14

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PAIENJE SEP 1 01am SHEET 30F 6 PAIENIEB E 3.834.148

sum 5 or 6 I Pie/OR ART RINGLESS SPINNING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a ringless spinning apparatus, and more particularly to an improvement of a ringless spinning apparatus comprising a feed roller for feeding a sliver, an opening roller having a number of saw tooth wires wound circumferentially around the peripheral surface thereof, a fiber transfer channel for passing an air flow therein, a spinning chamber having a rotating wall and operating under negative pressure, and a stationary separator disposed in said spinning chamber.

2. Description of the Prior Art Conventional spinning apparatus of this type operate in the following manner: a sliver fed by a feedroller is separated into fibers by an opening roller having a number of saw tooth wires on the peripheral surface thereof, and the fibers thus separated are taken off from the peripheral surface of said opening roller by the action of an air flow passing in a channel which is in communication with a spinning chamber operating under negative pressure, and are fed through said channel into said spinning chamber toward the back face of a stationary separator disposed therein. In the spinning chamber, the fibers are moved along a fiber sliding wall by the effects of the negative pressure and swirling air flow in the chamber, and collected. The collected fibers are withdrawn in the form of a spun yarn.

Such operation of the conventional apparatus is already known, and technical matters concerning the velocity distribution of the air flow and pressure distribution within the aforesaid channel are also disclosed, for example, in US. Pat. No. 3,368,340. In most of the ringless spinning apparatus of the construction described, the spinning chamber and the opening roller are arranged such that their axes of rotation intersect at right angles to each other, and are maintained in such positional relation that the free end face of the opening roller is not flush with the axis of rotation of the spinning chamber but offset to either side relative to the rotational axis.

However, the above-described prior art teaches merely a solution to the problem concerning the velocity-pressure relation of air in the widthwise direction of the channel, perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the opening roller, and does not teach the solution of problems presented by the conditions of the air in the widthwise direction of the channel, parallel to the axis of rotation of the opening roller and solutions thereto, at the portion of the channel from the point where the periphery of the opening roller projects into the channel to the outlet end thereof.

In addition, the channel of the prior art apparatus is so shaped that its width in the direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the opening roller is progressively reduced toward the outlet end of the channel but the other width, in the direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the opening roller, is constant or the walls that are substantially parallel to both side faces of the opening roller are parallel to each other and spaced apart by a distance slightly larger than the width of the opening roller.

Therefore, the outlet of the channel has a rectangular shape elongated in the radial direction of the spinning chamber, and the negative pressure distribution in the channel is not uniform in the direction of the aforesaid other width of the channel so that the fiber distribution in the channel becomes non-uniform.

Further, in the prior art apparatus a part of the peripheral surface of the opening roller projects into the channel so that the cross-sectional area of the channel SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 8 The present inventors conducted a lengthy study on the problems presented by ringless spinning apparatus of the construction described, especially for determining the cause of the problem that the strength of the spun yarn obtained from the apparatus is lower than that from a ring spinning apparatus, and a countermeasure to such problem. As a result, it was found that the above-mentioned problem is attributable to the fact that the velocity of air in the channel is not uniform in the widthwise direction of the channel, parallel to the axis of rotation of the opening roller and, therefore, the fibers being conveyed are distributed non-uniformly in the channel in the widthwise direction.

It was also found that the fibers are improperly distributed in the upper or lower portion of the channel, depending upon whether the saw tooth wires are wound on the opening rollers in a counterclockwise or clockwise direction. In the prior art channel more fibers are distributed in the upper portion of the channels when the wires are wound in a counterclockwise direction, and in the lower portion when the wires are wound in a clockwise direction, with air only being substantially present in the opposite portion of the channel. I

It was also found that the non-uniform negative pressure distribution at the outlet of the channel, which is caused by the relative position of the outlet and the spinning chamber, is also responsible for the aforesaid problem. In the prior art apparatus, there is the tendency that more fibers gather on the side of the outlet port of the channel closer to the axis of rotation of the spinning chamber than on the side remote from the axis, and the fibers are disordered and the orientation thereof is impaired to a higher degree at the portion where the fiber density relative to air is smaller than at the other portions.

The primary object of the present invention, there fore, is to provide a channel which obviates the abovedescribed disadvantages of the prior art channels and is capable of transferring therein in a more rational and orderly manner the fibres to the spinning chamber, which are taken off from the opening roller.

The second object of the invention is to provide a channel having an improved outlet opening, which enables the fibers discharged from the channel into the spinning chamber to be subjected substantially uniformly to the action of air swirling in the spinning chamber and thereby to be brought to the inner wall surface of the chamber with a minimum time lag.

In order to achieve the objects set forth above, according to the present invention there is provided a ringless spinning apparatus comprising a feed roller rotatable about its vertical axis for feeding fibrous materials, an opening roller-rotatable about its vertical axis and provided with a plurality of saw tooth wires wound circumferentially around the peripheral surface thereof for opening the fibrous materials fed by said feed roller, channel means arranged adjacent the peripheral surface for taking ofithe opened fibrous materials from the opening roller and transferring them by the action of a jet of air passing therein, and a rotary spinning chamber for collecting and spinning the opened fibrous materials transferred thereinto from the channel means, characterized in that the latter converges toward the spinning chamber by tapering at least one of the upper and lower walls thereof wherein the sectional area of the channel means is progressively reduced toward the spinning chamber at the portion on the downstream side of the opening roller.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view showing, partially in section, the essential portion of a ringless spinning apparatus according to this invention;

FIGS. 2 4show an embodiment of the ringless spinning'apparatus according to the present invention, of which: F 1652 is a perspective view for explaining an essential portion of the apparatus; FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side view of the apparatus as viewed from the inlet side of the channel and; FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing schematically the shape of a channel; 7

FIG. 5 is a view showing the cross-sectional shapes at selected portions of the channel sequentially from the inlet to the outlet of the channel;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the air velocity change in the channel;

FIGS. 7a and 7b are plan views respectively showing schematically the positions and shapes of the channel outlets of a conventional apparatus and the apparatus of this invention;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary plan view of a roller housing block; and

FIGS. 9 and 10 are perspective views of different types of a detachable element by which the channel is formed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The examplary ringless spinning apparatus or open end spinning apparatus according to the present invention comprises a feed roller I for feeding a sliver S, an opening roller 3 rotatable about its axis and provided with saw tooth wires 9 wound spirally around the peripheral surface thereof, a fiber transfer channel 5 having a part of the peripheral surface of the opening roller 3 projecting thereinto, and a rotary spinning chamber 4 having a stationary separator 6 disposed therein, the channel 5 extending into the interior of the spinning chamber 4.

The opening roller 3 and the spinning chamber 4 are arranged such that the axis 0 of rotation of the former and the axis P of rotation of the latter intersect at right angles to each other. Further, the opening roller 3 is in such a position relative to the spinning chamber 4 that the free end face 10 thereof is not flush'with the axis P of the spinning chamber and is offset to one side from the axis P.

The feed roller 1, the opening roller 3 and the channel 5 are housed in a block. The transfer channel 5, in which the fibers of the opened sliver are taken off from the peripheral surface of the opening roller 3 and transferred to the spinning chamber 4 by the action of air passing therein, is of such construction that a bottom wall 1 1 thereof is inclined toward the axis P of the spinning chamber 4 (see FIG. 4) and the transverse crosssectional shape of the channel is axially asymmetrical. and the cross-sectional area thereof is progressively reduced toward an outlet 12 or toward the spinning chamber The outlet 12 of the channel 5 has a square or rounded triangular shape.

As stated previously, the outlet of the prior art channel is rectangular in shape, so that a negative pressure differential or suction differential occurs in the channel between the respective portions closer to and remote from the axis P of the spinning chamber 4 at the outlet. Consequently, the mixture ratio of air and fiber becomes higher at the portion of the outlet 12 closer to the axis P of the spinning chamber 4 than at the portion of the same remote from the axis (see FIG. 7a).

In the present invention, this undesirable phenomenon is eliminated by forming the outlet 12 of the channel 5 in an axially asymmetrical shape, as shown in FIG. 7b, by making the cross-sectional area of the channel smaller at the portion remote from the axis Pof the spinning chamber 4 than at the portion closer to said axis.

'-The shape of the channel according to the invention is clearly illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. The crosssectional shape of the channel 5 is rectangular at the inlet end thereof and also at a section A successive to the inlet end as shown at A in FIG. 5. However, at successive sections B, C the channel 5 has respective elongate inverted trapezoidal shapes as shown at B, C in FIG. 5. In the improved channel of the invention, the cross-sectional area thereof is reduced quite remarkably at the portion of the channel 5 remote from the axis P of the spinning chamber over the length of the channel from the position where the fibers are doffed from the opening roller 3 to the outlet 12, and the cross-sectional shape of the channel is changed gradually to a rounded triangular shape toward the spinning chamber 4 over the length of the channel. The change in the cross-sectional shapes is clearly shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The shape of the channel at a section D adjacent the doffing position is indicated at D in FIG. 5. From this point, the cross-sectional area is reduced progressively and more rapidly, and the cross-sectional shape is changed, progressively and axially asymmetrically, toward the outlet 12 as indicated at E, F, G in FIG. 5. The channel 5 has a rounded triangular cross-sectional shape at the section G or outlet 12, as stated above. Air is sucked through the channel 5 by the rotation of the rotary spinning chamber 4 as in the conventional apparatus. The force of suction developed in the channel 5 is equalized in the widthwise direction of said channel, owing to the construction of the channel as described above, and therefore, the mixture ratio of fiber and air in the channel is made uniform.

The construction of the channel described above is also advantageous in improving the air velocity characteristic in the longitudinal direction of the channel. Namely, with the proposed construction of the channel, it is possible to avoid the disadvantage of the conventional apparatus that the velocity of air decreases temporarily at the portion immediately behind the projectin'g portion of the opening roller 3 where the cross sectional area becomes relatively larger than at the portion of the projecting opening roller, and thereby to obtain the desirable effect that the linearity of the fibers is not impaired (FIG. 6).

' Further, while in the conventional apparatus (see FIG. 7a) the outlet of the channel is rectangular in cross-sectional shape and there has been the disadvantage that the fibers emerging from the outlet are respectively carried by air flows of different velocities V V V V and arrive at the inner wall of the spinning chamber with substantial time lags, in the present invention the outlet 12 of the channel 5 (see FIG. 7b) is very small in width so that all fibers emerging from the outlet are subjected to the actions of air flows having little velocity difference and carried over substantially the same distances to reach the inner wall of the spinning chamber. This is highly advantageous for the formation of an even spun yarn.

It has been confirmed that with the apparatus of the invention a spun yarn can be obtained which has an improved strength and improved evenness as compared with that of the spun yarn hithereto obtainable by conventional apparatus.

The advantage of the apparatus of this invention will become more apparent by progressively reducing the width of the lower wall of the channel 5 toward the spinning chamber .when the saw tooth wires 9 are wound on the opening roller 3 in a counterclockwise direction, and reducing the width of the upper wall of the same when the saw tooth wires 9 are wound in a clockwise direction, so as thereby to reduce the crosssectional area of the channel progressively toward the spinning chamber 4. In FIG. 2 the opening roller 3 is shown as having the saw tooth wires 9 wound around the peripheral surface thereof in a counterclockwise direction.

In case of the opening roller 3 shown in FIG. 2, more fibrous material gathers in the upper portion than in the lower portion of the channel 5. However, since the bottom wall 11 of the channel 5 is inclined upwardly, the fibers doffed into the channel move therein uniformly, and the air passes in the channel also uniformly, so that the fibers are discharged from the outlet 12 toward the back face 7 of the separator 6 and the inner wall 8 of the spinning chamber 4,each being in the linear state.

stood that the channel may alternatively be formed by a detachable block element of varying shape, which constitutes a part of said housing block. In this cases, it is possible to change the degree of projection of the periphery of the opening roller 3 into the channel, the

shape of the channel, and the opening areas of the inlet and the outlet of said channel, by selectively using such detachable block elements of different shapes in accordance with the type of the desired spun yarn, and attaching the selected block element to the complementary portion of the housing block in a manner to form the channel 5 between the confronting faces 16 of the housing block and the detachable block element as shown in FIG. 8. Reference numeral 15 designates therein pins provided on the roller housing block for securing the block element in position.

Examples of such detachable block element are shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, in which reference numeral 14 designates a block element and 17 designates pin holes in which the pins 15 on the roller housing block are to be received when the block element is secured to the housing block. In using the block elements, the detachable part or element 14 of the roller housing block is removed and the selected block element is fixed on the housing block in place of the removed part 14, with the pins 15 inserted into the respective pin holes 17, whereby a fiber transfer channel of the desired shape can be formed between the confronting faces 16 of the housing block and the detachable block element fixed thereto.

What is claimed is:

1. A ringless spinning apparatus comprising a feed roller rotatable about its axis for feeding fibrous materials, an opening roller rotatable about its axis and provided with a plurality of saw-tooth wires wound circumferentially around the peripheral surface thereof for opening the fibrous materials fed by said feed roller, channel means arranged adjacent said peripheral surface for taking off the opened fibrous materials from said opening roller and transferring them by the action of a jet of air passing therethrough, and a rotary spinning chamber for collecting and spinning the opened fibrous materials transferred thereinto from said channel means, wherein the latter converges toward said spinning chamber by a taper in at least one of the upper and lower walls thereof, and wherein the crosssectional area of said channel means is smaller at a portion remote from the axis of said spinning chamber than ata portion closer to said axis, to thereby form a rounded triangular cross-sectional shape at the outlet thereof.

2. A ringless spinning apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the free end of said opening roller is spaced apart from the axis of rotation of said spinning cham her, and one of the upper and lower walls of said channel means, remote from the axis of rotation of the latter, is inclined toward said axis of rotation of the spinning chamber.

3. A ringless spinning apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein a part of the walls of said channel means is formed by a selected one of detachable block elements of varying shapes which are selectively exchangeably fixed to said channel means to form a fiber transfer channel of predetermined shape.

4. A ringless spinning apparatus comprising a feed roller rotatable about its vertical axis for feeding fibrous materials, an opening roller rotatable about its vertical axis and provided with a plurality of saw-tooth wires wound circumferentially around the peripheral surface thereof for opening the fibrous materials fed by said feed roller, channel means arranged adjacent said peripheral surface for taking off the opened fibrous materials from said opening roller and transferring them by the action of a jet of air passing therein, and a rotary spinning chamber for collecting and spinning the open fibrous materials transferred thereinto from said channel means, wherein the latter converges toward said spinning chamber by a taper in at least one of the upper and lower walls thereof, and the sectional area of said channel means is progressively reduced toward said spinning chamber at a portion on the downstream side of said opening roller, and further wherein the lower wall of said channel means is tapered toward said spinning chamber while said saw-tooth wires are wound in a counterclockwise direction.

5. A ringless spinning apparatus comprising a feed roller rotatable about its vertical axis for feeding fibrous materials, an opening roller rotatable about its vertical axis and provided with a plurality of saw-tooth wires wound circumferentially around the peripheral surface thereof for opening the fibrous materials feb by said feed roller, channel means arranged adjacent said peripheral surface for taking off the opened fibrous materials from said opening roller and transferring them by the action of a jet of air passing therein, and a rotary spinning chamber for collecting and spinning the opened fibrous materials transferred thereinto from said channel means, wherein the latter converges toward said spinning chamber by a taper in at least one of the upper and lower walls thereof, and the sectional area of said channel means is progressively reduced toward said spinning chamber at a portion on the downstream side of said opening roller, and further wherein the upper wall of said channel means is tapered toward said spinning chamber while said saw-tooth wires are wound in a clockwise direction.

Claims

1. A ringless spinning apparatus comprising a feed roller rotatable about its axis for feeding fibrous materials, an opening roller rotatable about its axis and provided with a plurality of saw-tooth wires wound circumferentially around the peripheral surface thereof for opening the fibrous materials fed By said feed roller, channel means arranged adjacent said peripheral surface for taking off the opened fibrous materials from said opening roller and transferring them by the action of a jet of air passing therethrough, and a rotary spinning chamber for collecting and spinning the opened fibrous materials transferred thereinto from said channel means, wherein the latter converges toward said spinning chamber by a taper in at least one of the upper and lower walls thereof, and wherein the crosssectional area of said channel means is smaller at a portion remote from the axis of said spinning chamber than at a portion closer to said axis, to thereby form a rounded triangular crosssectional shape at the outlet thereof.

2. A ringless spinning apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the free end of said opening roller is spaced apart from the axis of rotation of said spinning chamber, and one of the upper and lower walls of said channel means, remote from the axis of rotation of the latter, is inclined toward said axis of rotation of the spinning chamber.