EP0377888B1 - Manipulating device for piecing a yarn - Google Patents

Abstract

In order to lay an auxiliary thread on a yarn carrier of a spinning machine located at the spinning point, a piece of auxiliary thread (6.1) clamped at both ends in guided holding devices (35, 15) is laid on the yarn carrier and looped together with one of the holding devices (35) around the yarn carrier (40), which is stationary but free to rotate, until the piece of auxiliary thread (6.1) entrains the yarn carrier (40) by friction, and the yarn carrier (40) which is entrained in rotation automatically winds a further piece of the auxiliary thread (6) against a restraining action of the second holding device (15). As a predetermined limit is imposed on the length of the auxiliary thread, the latter can be completely removed by a cleaning section in a downstream automatic cross bobbin winder. The yarn quality of the auxiliary thread need not be identical to that of the spun yarn.

Description

The invention relates to various aspects of a device for operating a yarn processing position of a textile machine, for creating a continuous yarn connection between a yarn winding unit and a roving delivery unit with a controllable handling device for moving a piece of thread, the handling device having a thread guide part and a joint system, which part of the Yarn winding unit can lead to the roving delivery unit. The invention also relates to a method for repairing thread breaks by means of a handling device according to the preamble of claim 15.

The yarn winding unit can be designed to impart a twist, e.g. a ring / rotor / spindle combination. The roving delivery unit can be provided as a drafting system.

A device or a method of this type is known from DE-A-23 61 969. In this known device or in this known method, the yarn end that has arisen after a yarn break is sought on the spinning head, a predetermined length of the yarn is unwound from the spinning head and sucked into a suction nozzle that merges into a flexible hose. The suction nozzle, which is designed for movement along an elliptical path lying in a horizontal plane, first moves to the spinning cop to pick up the end of the yarn sought, is then withdrawn and moved upwards, where it is again guided along the elliptical path, in order to do this To attach yarn end piece to the fiber stream generated with the drafting system. The search for the end of the yarn on the spinning head is relatively time-consuming and unsafe in practice and can lead to Damage to the yarn. Furthermore, the known method cannot be used with empty spinning tubes, ie for the first application at a spinning station, since there is no yarn end. In DE-A-23 61 969, a device separate from the suction nozzle is provided for threading the yarn into a guide element arranged between the winding unit and the roving delivery unit.

DE-A-25 01 338 shows an operating robot for a ring spinning machine with a guide tube for guiding a thread from an auxiliary thread supply to a movable operating head. However, this head together with its holder is only designed to carry out simple linear movements and can therefore neither create a secure connection between the auxiliary thread and a thread spool, nor can it create or follow a thread line specified by the machine geometry.

EP 192014 and EP 259622 show operating robots for textile machines with several degrees of freedom for the movements of the operating elements. In both cases, however, the robot is designed to perform cleaning work and is therefore unable to restore a yarn path.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved device or an improved method of the type mentioned at the outset.

This object is achieved in that the joint system is controllable and adjustable in such a way that the guide part can be guided to any location within a predetermined space which contains the parts to be operated both by the yarn winding unit and by the roving delivery unit.

The thread piece can be an auxiliary thread or an end piece of a thread wound on a cop.

If the thread piece is an auxiliary thread, it can be connected both to the winding unit and to a roving supplied by the roving delivery unit. The auxiliary thread can then be of a predetermined length.

In one aspect, the handling device is designed to receive an auxiliary thread piece of a predetermined length and is provided with a control which controls the device for winding the one end part of this auxiliary thread piece onto a sleeve carried by the winding device, for threading the thread piece into guide elements between the aforementioned units and for attaching the other end part moved to a fiber stream supplied by the roving delivery unit.

The length of this auxiliary thread piece can be so short that the thread piece is completely eliminated in a subsequent yarn cleaning operation.

When the handling device is designed with a storage tube for receiving a piece of thread of a predetermined length and with a vacuum source for generating a suction effect in the storage tube, one end of the storage tube is connected to the vacuum source and the free end of the storage tube is in a defined space for guiding the thread piece movably controlled.

The cutting of the auxiliary thread piece can be accomplished before the necessary movements for winding, threading and attaching are carried out, for example the thread piece can be separated from an auxiliary thread supply which then does not have to be moved with the handling device. The handling device can then contain a thread store, which is designed to accommodate the cut-off auxiliary thread piece. A means for monitoring the picking up of auxiliary thread can be provided in such a way that a signal is emitted when an auxiliary thread piece of a predetermined length has been picked up. The signal can be used to interrupt delivery or recording.

The thread store is preferably provided as an extended element and is, e.g. of approximately the same length as the auxiliary thread piece itself. The thread storage designed as a suction system then preferably has a flexible storage tube and the device is characterized in particular by the fact that the flexible storage tube is designed such that it arranges all movements of the handling device, even when threading the auxiliary thread piece into between the yarn winding unit and the roving delivery unit Guiding elements of the yarn processing position, can understand.

The storage tube can be movably mounted on a carrier part. The carrier part can be provided with means for carrying an auxiliary thread supply and for supplying thread from this supply at a predetermined location, the storage tube being controllable in such a way that its thread guide part can be moved to the said position in order to pick up auxiliary thread from the supply.

The handling device can advantageously be moved as a whole along the carrier part of a guide and also contains a controllable joint system for moving the storage tube relative to the said guide.

The carrier part can be formed as a carriage for moving past yarn processing positions.

The articulation system advantageously has at least one essentially vertical pivot axis and at least two essentially horizontal pivot axes.

In a further aspect, the device is characterized in that the handling device cooperates with such a control that the device guides a piece of thread in operation along a movement path predetermined by the geometry of the processing position from the winding unit to the roving delivery unit, that at least one thread guiding element between the thread winding unit and the roving delivery unit is present, and that the handling device is designed such that it can thread the piece of thread into the thread guide element through targeted movements.

Further preferred embodiments of the invention can be found in the further claims 12 to 14 and 16 and 17.

The various aspects of the invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings.

Fig. 1

eine schematische Darstellung eines Fadenansetzroboters für eine Ringspinnmaschine gemäß unserer schweizerischen Patentanmeldung Nr. 4852/88 vom 31. Dezember 1988 bzw. der entsprechenden EP-A-382 943,

Fig. 2

eine schematische Darstellung gewisser Teile des Roboters der Figur 1 in einem ersten Betriebszustand,

Fig. 3

eine schematische Darstellung der gleichen Teile in einem zweiten Betriebszustand,

Fig. 4

eine schematische Darstellung der gleichen Teile in einem dritten Betriebszustand,

Fig. 5

eine schematische Darstellung einer Spinnposition in einer Ringspinnmaschine,

Fig. 6 und Fig. 6A

eine vergrößerte Darstellung von einem Fadenführungselement aus der Spinnposition gemäß Fig. 5,

Fig. 7

eine einvereinfachte Darstellung von Teilen eines zweiten Fadenführungselementes aus der Spinnposition gemäß Fig. 5,

Fig. 8

einen Teil von einem Handhabungsgerät gemäß dieser Erfindung,

Fig. 9

eine Draufsicht auf das Handhabungsgerät zusammen mit Teilen von einem Träger für das Gerät, und

Fig. 10

eine Seitenansicht in Richtung des Pfeils A in Fig. 9.

It shows:

Fig. 1

1 shows a schematic representation of a thread-setting robot for a ring spinning machine according to our Swiss patent application No. 4852/88 dated December 31, 1988 or the corresponding EP-A-382 943,

Fig. 2

1 shows a schematic illustration of certain parts of the robot of FIG. 1 in a first operating state,

Fig. 3

1 shows a schematic illustration of the same parts in a second operating state,

Fig. 4

1 shows a schematic illustration of the same parts in a third operating state,

Fig. 5

1 shows a schematic illustration of a spinning position in a ring spinning machine,

6 and 6A

5 shows an enlarged illustration of a thread guide element from the spinning position according to FIG. 5,

Fig. 7

5 shows a simplified illustration of parts of a second thread guide element from the spinning position according to FIG. 5,

Fig. 8

a part of a handling device according to this invention,

Fig. 9

a plan view of the handling device together with parts of a carrier for the device, and

Fig. 10

a side view in the direction of arrow A in Fig. 9th

Figures 1 to 4 are purely schematic representations to explain the general principle without relation to a practical embodiment. The dimensions and shapes of the different parts do not match with each other in the figures.

In Fig. 1, the reference numeral 100 indicates the chassis of a thread application robot for operating the spinning position a ring spinning machine. Each such spinning position contains an assembly 101 for imparting twists and for unwinding the yarn; this assembly 101 here comprises a spindle 102, a ring 106 carried by the ring bench 104 and a rotor 108 mounted on the ring 106. Each spinning position also contains an assembly 110 for supplying roving (in the form of a fiber stream); in this example, this unit consists of a three-cylinder drafting system 110. In operation, the spindle 102 carries a sleeve 112 (FIG. 5) and is set in rotation about its own longitudinal axis by a belt 114 in order to produce the yarn twist and the finished spun yarn wind up. The ring bank 104 is moved up and down (in the axial direction of the spindle) to form a yarn package or bobbin 116 of the desired shape. FIG. 5 shows a yarn spool in the form of a so-called cop and this spool structure will be adopted in the description below.

The generation of the yarn twist and the winding of the yarn by means of spindle 102, ring 106 and rotor 108 will not be described here, since these functions are well known to the person skilled in the art and do not play a special role for this invention. It is a feature of this process that the yarn G extends from the pair of delivery rolls 111 (Figure 5) of the drafting system 110 through the runner 108 to the cop 116 along a predetermined path. Due to the movement of the runner 108, the yarn G forms a so-called balloon on this path, which is indicated in FIG. 5 with a solid line and a broken line. The tip of the balloon B is defined by a thread guide or a thread eyelet 118 and its maximum diameter may be limited by a so-called anti-balloon ring 120. The shape of this yarn path is determined by the so-called geometry of the spinning position, ie by the positions of the elements of the winding units and delivery mechanisms relative to one another in space and by the positions of the guide elements in between.

The drafting system 110 delivers a stream of fibers from the output of the pair of delivery rollers 111. In the so-called spinning triangle (not shown) immediately after the pair of delivery rollers 111, these loose fibers are grasped by the yarn twist and are continuously integrated into the yarn being formed.

In order to restart such a spinning position (be it after a machine standstill or after a thread break in the relevant spinning position), a piece of yarn must be guided from one unit (101 or 110) to the other and thereby into the thread guide elements ( Eyelet 118, runner 108 and anti-balloon ring 120) can be threaded. Depending on the attachment principle of the robot, it may also be necessary to either reconnect this piece of yarn to the roving supplied, or to reconnect it to the unit 101, or to implement both such connections. The following description is based on a system such that the robot has to make both of these connections. The requirements for such a system are initially described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, as an introduction to the explanation of a practical implementation with reference to FIGS. 8, 9 and 10.

• Die neue Verbindung (in Form eines Garnstückes) zwischen dem Aggregat 101 und dem Aggregat 110 wird mittels eines Hilfsfadens gebildet. Der Hilfsfaden wird von einem Fadenvorrat 122 abgezogen, welcher auf dem Fahrgestell 100 des Roboters getragen wird.
• Ein abgelängtes Fadenstück (vorgegebener Länge) wird von einem Handhabungsgerät 124 aufgenommen und durch dieses Gerät bewegt, um (a) ein Endteil des Fadenstückes mit dem Aggregat 101 zu verbinden, (b) ein Zwischenteil in dem Läufer 108, Antiballonring 120 und Oese 118 einzufädeln und (c) den anderen Endteil des Fadenstückes mit dem Vorgarn (Faserstrom) am Lieferwalzenpaar 111 des Streckwerkes 110 zu verbinden.

The function of the robot indicated in FIG. 1 is based on the following principles:

• The new connection (in the form of a piece of yarn) between the unit 101 and the unit 110 is formed by means of an auxiliary thread. The auxiliary thread is drawn off from a thread supply 122 which is carried on the chassis 100 of the robot.
• A cut piece of thread (predetermined length) is picked up by a handling device 124 and moved through this device in order to (a) connect an end part of the thread piece to the unit 101, (b) thread an intermediate part in the runner 108, antiballon ring 120 and eyelet 118 and (c) to connect the other end part of the thread piece with the roving (fiber stream) on the delivery roller pair 111 of the drafting device 110.

The connection of the thread to the unit 101 (by winding onto a sleeve 112 and / or a cop 116, FIG. 5) has already been described elsewhere, namely in our Swiss patent application No. 4852/88 or in the corresponding EP-A- 382 943. The corresponding description will not be repeated here. The subsequent threading of the thread with the runner 108 has also been described in the first sister application and will not be repeated here either. The attachment of the auxiliary thread with a fiber stream supplied by the drafting device 110 will be described in a further Swiss patent application and the details of such a method do not belong to this invention. In any case, various possibilities for attaching a thread to a drafting system are known and this invention is not restricted to a specific method. Rather, this invention relates to the handling device for performing the various operations mentioned. The corresponding requirements will now be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

FIG. 2 again shows the chassis 100 with the thread supply 122. The auxiliary thread is withdrawn from the supply 122 via a delivery mechanism 126 and delivered to a predetermined location 128 for reception by the handling device 124.

The device 124 comprises a suction system consisting of a thread storage 130 and a vacuum source 132 carried by the frame 100. The storage 130 consists of a flexible storage tube 134 with a free mouth part 136 which represents a thread guiding part and a connection 138 to the vacuum source 132. The handling device 124 further comprises an articulated or swivel system 140 which is controlled by a programmable controller 142 (FIG. 2) in order to move the thread guide part 136 from the suction pipe 134 relative to the chassis 100 in accordance with a control program.

In a first step, the thread guide part 136 must be brought to position 128 (FIG. 2) in order to receive the auxiliary thread 144 supplied by the delivery mechanism 126. The point 128 remains stationary with respect to the chassis 100. Due to the negative pressure generated by the vacuum source 132, the thread 144 emitted by the delivery mechanism is drawn in its longitudinal direction into the suction tube 134 until the free end of the thread 144 has reached a predetermined point 146 in the suction tube, which is determined by a suitable monitoring device 148 (for example a light barrier). is reported to the controller 142. The delivery unit 126 is thus switched off by the controller 142.

The swivel system 140 now executes a specific sequence of movement steps controlled by the controller 142 in order to connect the thread 144 still connected to the supply 122 to a winding device 150 (FIG. 1). These Movements all take place in the immediate vicinity of delivery point 128 and have been described in detail in our Swiss patent application No. 4852/88 or in the corresponding EP-A-382 943, so that they do not have to be repeated here. At the end of this sequence of movements, the auxiliary thread is connected to a clamping device 152 on the winding device 150 and cut to length between this clamping device 152 and the delivery mechanism 126 by a suitable separating device, not shown, so that the piece of thread held by the storage device 130 is handled by the handling device 124 independently of the chassis 100 can be moved.

Figure 3 shows again the chassis 100 with the vacuum source 132 and the handling device 124. The mouth part of the storage tube 134, i.e. the thread guide part 136 is indicated here in relation to the winding unit 101, as is necessary for the winding process. However, since the winding process itself is not to be described, the representation of the winding device 150 (FIG. 1) has been omitted for the sake of clarity. The previously mentioned delivery point 128 is also indicated in FIG. 3, but the thread supply 122 and the delivery mechanism 126 (FIG. 1) are not shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, since they no longer play a role in the operations shown in these figures.

It should be noted that the thread guide portion 136 of the storage tube 134 for winding the auxiliary thread onto a sleeve 112 (FIG. 3) or cop 116 (FIG. 5) carried by the spindle 102 (FIG. 1) or a sequence of movement steps in the vicinity of the spindle 102 must execute. To correct a thread break, these movements must also be carried out during the continuous up and down movements of the Ring bench 104 can take place.

FIG. 4 again shows the parts shown in FIG. 3, but this time in a setting suitable for attachment. The thread guide part 136 of the storage tube 134 must now be brought up to the pair of delivery rollers 111 of the drafting system 110, which requires a corresponding adaptation of both the swivel system 140 and the suction tube 134.

In the sequence of movements between the state shown in FIG. 3 and the completely changed state shown in FIG. 4, the thread guide part 136 must execute a sequence of movements in order to pass the auxiliary thread both with the rotor 108 (FIG. 1 - see the first sister application) and with the antiballoon ring 120 and the eyelet 118.

The threading into the eyelet 118 can be seen from FIG. 6, which shows the eyelet 118 together with an end piece of its holder 154. The eyelet 118 consists only of a piece of wire with a link 156 carried by the bracket 154, a spiral portion 158 and a free end portion 160. The thread guide portion 136 must be moved past the eyelet 118 in the upward direction to pull the auxiliary thread past the link 156 lay.

• "nach vorn" (von der Halterung 154 weg) bewegt,
• nach unten verschoben, bis die Mündung unterhalb des freien Endteils 160 liegt,
• und dann wieder nach oben bewegt, um den Faden an dem Endteil 160 vorbeizubewegen.

The thread guide part 136 is then

• "moved forward" (away from bracket 154),
• shifted downwards until the mouth lies below the free end part 160,
• and then moved up again to move the thread past the end portion 160.

These complex movements are indicated by the curved arrow B in FIG. When the thread guide part 136 again is above the eyelet, the thread is within the annular portion 158 of the eyelet.

Figure 7 shows two "arms" 161, 162 of the anti-balloon ring 120, which is known to be formed as an "open ring", so that each arm 161/162 of the ring has a free, bent end. The presentation is unrealistic for the purpose of explanation, but such elements are well known to those skilled in the art. In order to thread the thread into this ring, the thread guide part 136 is moved past the ring in the upward direction so that the thread is brought into contact with the arm 161. The part 136 is then shifted to the left so that the thread is moved into the gap 163 between the arms as it follows the movement of the thread guide part 136. The portion 136 is then moved down to bring the thread into contact with the arm 162 and thus to avoid "hanging" on the bent end portion of the arm 161. The threading is completed by a further movement of the thread guide part 136 to the left.

It will thus be clear to the person skilled in the art that, in order to enable automatic thread handling, it is not necessary to provide specially designed thread guide elements (eyelet, anti-balloon rings).

The swivel system 140 will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 8, 9 and 10. For the time being, however, certain requirements for the suction system consisting of the thread store 130 and the vacuum source 132 carried by the frame 100 will be dealt with.

The thread guide part 136 (see also FIG. 8) of the suction system is advantageously formed by a rigid element, for example by a metal tube 166. This rigid part 166 can be carried in a holder 168 so that the Movements of the mouth 170 can be clearly determined by the corresponding movements of the holder 168. The thread storage 130, on the other hand, should be formed as a flexible storage tube 134, for example from an elastic plastic, so that this tube can be coupled both to the stationary connection 138 and to the movable metal tube 166 and can adapt to the movements of the latter part, without affecting the accuracy of the determination of these movements by the control program.

The suction effect exerted by the vacuum source 132 in the storage tube 134 should keep the predetermined length of the auxiliary thread in the storage tube 134 without wobbling and nevertheless enable the auxiliary thread to be pulled out of the storage tube in the course of the attachment process. It should be mentioned that during certain movements of the thread guide part 136, the suction system must first release the auxiliary thread for pulling out and then must resume part of the released length. This process occurs in particular after threading into the runner 108 when the stored piece of thread must follow the movements of the ring rail. The suction system must therefore have a flexible or "elastic" holding effect on the thread.

The thread guide part 136 is preferably dimensioned in relation to the thread in such a way that the mouth at the free end effectively serves as a thread guide element, which also limits the energy expenditure for generating negative pressure. The vacuum source 132 is preferably only switched on for the purpose of eliminating thread breaks or for starting a spinning position.

The piece of thread cut to length in the thread store 130 must be one of sufficient length to enable all of the operations mentioned. However, this length is limited by the fact that the auxiliary thread has to be removed during the subsequent rewinding (to form a package) in a yarn cleaning operation. Such an operation is preprogrammed in accordance with this attachment method in that the auxiliary thread is not connected to the yarn of a cop 116 that has already been formed, but is only wound on it. For the subsequent winder, this means a yarn break to be repaired, with a yarn cleaning operation in each case being carried out with the removal of a specific length of yarn. The yarn cleaning operation in a bobbin winder normally results in the excretion of approximately 2 meters of yarn, so that a piece of thread in the suction tube of approximately 1.5 meters in length is reliably excreted in the subsequent yarn cleaning.

The swivel system 140 preferably consists of rigid parts connected to one another via a swivel axis. The holder 168 (FIG. 8) is carried by a first arm 172 which is connected to a second arm 176 via a pivot axis 174. The pivot axis 174 is preferably arranged essentially horizontally, as can be seen in particular from the top view in FIG. 9 and the side view in FIG. The first pivot arm 172 is rotatable about the pivot axis 174 by a motor (not shown) carried by the second arm 176 to move the thread guide portion 136 (FIG. 8, not shown in FIGS. 9 and 10) according to the control program.

However, the aforementioned movements for threading the thread into the eyelet 118 and into the ring 120 cannot be achieved by the movement about a single pivot axis 174. To do this, it is necessary to rotate the holder 168 about a vertical axis. This vertical pivot axis 178 (FIG. 9) is located between the second arm 176 and two support plates, namely an upper plate 180 and a lower plate 182 (Figure 10). These two carrier plates are connected to a further plate 184 in order to form a carriage 186 which can be moved up and down. The carriage 186 also carries the schematically indicated winding device 150.

A second horizontal pivot axis 188 is provided between the second arm 176 and the vertical pivot axis 178. This pivot axis 188 is carried by a housing part 190 (FIG. 9) which is cast together with a sleeve 192 (FIG. 10) surrounding the pivot axis 178. A motor (not shown) rotates the arm 176 about the pivot axis 188 according to a stored control program and another motor (also not shown) moves the housing part 190 (with the axis 188) about the axis 178 according to a control program.

By suitable rotary movements of the arm 176 about the axis 188, the arm 172 with the holder 168 can be drawn back into the mobile robot or can be extended out of this robot into a spinning position.

In Figure 9 e.g. a spinning position is indicated by two separators 194 delimiting this position. The rotational movements of the arm 176 about the axis 188 also allow the orifice 136 to be delivered to the delivery point 128 (FIG. 2) for the auxiliary thread 144. The length of the arm 176 (its swivel radius "is chosen such that when the robot is moving along the spinning machine , The swivel system 140 lies within the cross section of the robot, so as to avoid collisions with machine parts.

The controlled movements of the lever system 172, 176 around the vertical pivot axis 178 enable the (horizontal) lateral displacements of the movement sequence described. The vertical components are created by pivoting arms 172, 176 about horizontal axes 174, 188. The use of the two horizontal pivot axes 174 and 178 enables the free end (ie the thread guide element) to be moved to any position within a three-dimensional space. A simple lever (without an intermediate axis) would only allow the free end to be fed to points on a surface delimiting a space.

This space is of course limited by the length of arms 172, 176. In principle, it would be possible to implement all the necessary movements of the thread by means of suitable controlled arms 172, 176. However, this would require longer arms 172, 176 (which is undesirable). In addition, the arms alone are not sufficient to perform all thread breakage recovery operations - the arms must cooperate with the winder 150 for the take-up and runner threading phases. The latter device must be movable up and down for these operations, which were described in the first sister application, which requires a movable carriage and a corresponding guide. It is advantageous to also mount the arms 172, 176 on this carriage, so that the vertical distance between the unit 101 and the delivery mechanism 110 is at least partially traversed by movement of the carriage. However, the carriage movement is preferably not used to contribute to the components of the controlled threading movements. Such movements should be carried out by the program-controlled arms 172, 176 together with their carriers 190. Since the anti-balloon ring 120 and the eyelet 118 move up and down with the ring bench, it is advantageous to thread these guide elements in one work phase, while the carriage 186 moves up and down with the ring bench.

The linear movement of the carriage 186 is effected by rotation of a threaded spindle 196 (Figure 9) which spindle is carried by the chassis 100 (not shown). The movement of the carriage 186 is guided by a vertical guide rod 198 (FIG. 9). The control of this linear movement was dealt with in the first sister application.

• Die Programmierung der Bewegungen der Arme 172, 176 wird von der Programmierung der Bewegungen des Schlittens 186 getrennt, so daß bei der Einleitung einer "Bewegungsphase" der Arme 172, 176, das Steuerungsprogramm für die Arme von einer voreingestellten Position ("Arbeitshöhe") des Schlittens 186 ausgehen kann.
• Somit kann die Programmierung der Bewegungen der Arme 172, 176 in eine Reihenfolge von vorbestimmten (vorerwähnten) "Bewegungsphasen" aufgeteilt werden, wobei zwei aufeinanderfolgende Phasen durch Einstellung der Arbeitshöhe (Bewegung des Schlittens 186) getrennt werden können.
• D.h. die Bewegungen der Arme werden immer mit Bezug auf ihren Träger (den Schlitten 186) als Referenz programmiert.
• Mit Bezug auf den Schlitten 186 definieren die Freiheitsgrade der Achsen 178, 188, 174 und die Länge der Arme 172, 176 einen bestimmten Raum, der gemäß einem beliebigen Koordinationssystem beschrieben (definiert) werden kann.
• Jeder Antriebsmotor zum Einstellen der Position des Gehäuses 190 und der Arme 172, 176 ist ein positionsgeregelter Servomotor, d.h. der Motor ist mit einem Encoder versehen, welcher die momentane Position der Motorwelle gegenüber einem beliebigen Referenzpunkt darstellt und ein Signal an ein Ist/Soll-Vergleichsmittel liefert, so daß allfällige Abweichungen der Ist-Position von der Soll-Position durch eine Korrektur ausgemerzt werden können (die Achsen 178, 188, 174 sind dementsprechend "Servoachsen").
• Weil jede Servoachse 174, 178, 188 mit "Intelligenz" versehen ist, kann sie einen "Fahrauftrag" ausführen, d.h. sich von einem beliebigen Ausgangspunkt (einer beliebigen Winkelstellung) zu einem anderen beliebigen Ausgangspunkt nach einem vorbestimmten "Fahrprogramm" (Geschwindigkeit und/oder Beschleunigung bei jeder Zwischenstelle) bewegen (ein solches Bewegungsmittel ist in unserer früheren schweizerischen Patentanmeldung Nr. 1385/88 vom 14. April 1988 bzw. in der entsprechenden EP-A-337 339 beschrieben worden).
• Durch geeignete Abstimmung der Fahrprogramme aller drei Servoachsen ist es möglich, die fadenführende Mündung des Teils 136 an jede beliebige Stelle im vorerwähnten Raum anzusteuern.
• Die Steuerung des ganzen Gerätes als "System" wird daher durch die Erteilung einer von der Zentralsteuerung festgelegten Reihenfolge von "Fahraufträgen" an die einzelnen Servoachsen bewirkt, wobei die Fahraufträge derart aufeinander abgestimmt weren, daß die Mündung 170 sich programmgemäß im Raum bewegt.
• Jede Servoachse meldet die Ausführung ihres vorher geltenden Fahrauftrages an die Zentralsteuerung und erhält einen neuen Auftrag, welcher einen weiteren Fahrauftrag oder einen Wartebefehl umfassen kann.

The movements of arms 172, 176 are controlled by programmable controller 142 in the following manner:

• The programming of the movements of the arms 172, 176 is separated from the programming of the movements of the carriage 186, so that when a "movement phase" of the arms 172, 176 is initiated, the control program for the arms from a preset position ("working height") of the Sledge 186 can go out.
• Thus, the programming of the movements of the arms 172, 176 can be broken down into a sequence of predetermined (aforementioned) "movement phases", whereby two successive phases can be separated by adjusting the working height (movement of the carriage 186).
• That is, the movements of the arms are always programmed with reference to their carrier (the carriage 186) as a reference.
• With respect to the carriage 186 define the Degrees of freedom of axes 178, 188, 174 and the length of arms 172, 176 a certain space that can be described (defined) according to any coordination system.
• Each drive motor for adjusting the position of the housing 190 and the arms 172, 176 is a position-controlled servomotor, that is to say the motor is provided with an encoder which represents the current position of the motor shaft with respect to any reference point and a signal to an actual / target comparison means provides so that any deviations of the actual position from the target position can be eliminated by a correction (the axes 178, 188, 174 are accordingly "servo axes").
• Because each servo axis 174, 178, 188 is provided with "intelligence", it can carry out a "travel order", ie move from any starting point (any angular position) to any other starting point according to a predetermined "driving program" (speed and / or Acceleration at each intermediate point) (such a means of movement has been described in our earlier Swiss patent application No. 1385/88 of April 14, 1988 or in the corresponding EP-A-337 339).
• By suitably coordinating the driving programs of all three servo axes, it is possible to control the thread-guiding mouth of part 136 at any point in the aforementioned space.
• The control of the entire device as a "system" is therefore effected by issuing a sequence of "travel orders" to the individual servo axes, which sequence is determined by the central control system, the travel orders being coordinated with one another in such a way that the mouth 170 moves in space according to the program.
• Each servo axis reports the execution of its previously valid motion task to the central controller and receives a new job, which can include another motion task or a wait command.

Accordingly, the central controller is designed as a sequential controller which issues instructions and commands ("orders") to a distributed intelligence system after the central office is informed that the previously issued orders have been executed (ie a predetermined state prevails in the system). . The central controller must of course also take into account the state of the other elements involved in the overall process, e.g. the spindle brake, the winding device etc.

Claims (17)

1. A device for operating a yarn processing position of a textile machine, for producing a continuous yarn connection between a yarn winder unit (101) and a roving yarn delivery unit (110) with a controllable handling device (124) for moving a piece of yarn (144), with the handling device comprising a yarn guide part (136) and a link system (140) which can guide said part (136) from the yarn winder unit (101) to the roving yarn delivery unit (110), characterized in that the link system (140) is controllable and adjustable in such a way that the guide part (136) can be guided to any desired position within a predetermined space which comprises the elements to be operated, both by the yarn winder unit (101) as well as also by the roving yarn delivery unit (110).
2. A device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the piece of yarn is an auxiliary yarn (144) of predetermined length which can be joined both with the yarn winder unit (101) as well as with a roving yarn supplied by the roving yarn delivery unit (110).
3. A device as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the handling device (124) is provided with a control unit (142) in order to move the handling device for start winding the one end segment of the piece of auxiliary yarn (144) to a tube (112) carried by the winder unit (101), for threading the piece of auxiliary yarn (114) into guide elements (118, 120) between the said units (101, 110) and for piecing the other end segment of the auxiliary yarn (114) to the fibre stream supplied by the roving yarn delivery unit (110).
4. A device as claimed in claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the length of the piece of auxiliary yarn (144) is so short that the piece of auxiliary yarn is entirely discharged in a subsequent yarn cleaning operation.
5. A device as claimed in claim 2, 3 or 4, characterized in that the cutting of the auxiliary yarn piece (144) into sections is carried out prior to the performance of the required movements for start winding, threading and piecing.
6. A device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the handling device (124) is provided with a yarn storage means (130), characterized in that the yarn storage means (130) is designed for receiving the piece of auxiliary yarn (144) which was cut to length.
7. A device as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that a means (148) for monitoring the receiving of auxiliary yarns at the end of the yarn storage means (130) is provided in such a way that it emits a signal when a piece of auxiliary yarn (144) of predetermined length has been received.
8. A device as claimed in one of the claims 3 to 7, wherein the yarn storage means (130) which is arranged as a suction system is provided with a flexible storage tube (134), characterized in that it can follow all movements of the handling device (124), even during the threading of the piece of auxiliary yarn into guide elements (118, 120) of the yarn processing position which are arranged between the yarn winder unit (101) and the roving yarn delivery unit (110).
9. A device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the storage tube (134) is movably mounted on a carrier element (100), characterized in that the carrier element (100) is provided with means for carrying a store of auxiliary yarns (122) and for supplying (126) yarns from said storage (122) to a predetermined position (128) and that the storage tube (134) is controllable in such a way that its yarn guide part (136) can be moved to the said position (128) in order to receive an auxiliary yarn (144) from the storage (122).
10. A device as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the link system (140) comprises at least one substantially vertical swivelling axle (178) and at least two substantially horizontal swivelling axles (174, 188).
11. A device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the handling device (124) cooperates with such a control unit (142), that during the operation the device guides a piece of yarn (144) along a path of movement which is predetermined by the geometry of the processing position from the winder unit (101) to the roving yarn delivery unit (110), that at least one yarn guide element (118, 120) is present between the yarn winder unit (101) and the roving yarn delivery unit (110) and that the handling device (124) is arranged in such a way that it can thread the piece of yarn (144) into the yarn guide element (118 or 120) by means of purposeful movements.
12. A device as claimed in claim 2, characterized by a control device (142) which is programmed to move the yarn guide part (136) of the handling device (124) according to the control program, with

    - a first movement being used for receiving the yarn length (144);

    - a final movement being used for attaching the auxiliary yarn to a fibre stream supplied by a roving yarn delivery unit (110) and at least one movement being provided which is carried out between the first and the last movement and comprises the threading of guide elements (118, 120) arranged between the winder unit (101) and the roving yarn delivery unit (110).
13. A device as claimed in claim 2, characterized by

    - a delivery device (126) for supplying a lenghth of the auxiliary yarn (144) from a storage of auxiliary yarns (122);

    - a yarn storage means (130) for receiving auxiliary yarns (144) arriving from the delivery device (126), with the yarn storage means (130) comprising the yarn guide part (136) which is the orifice element of the yarn storage means (130);

    - a clamping apparatus (152) for the auxiliary yarn (144);

    - a severing apparatus for cutting the auxiliary yarn (144) into sections between the delivery device (126) and the clamping apparatus (152), with the piece of yarn held by the yarn storage (130) being movable by the handling device;

    - with the program-controlled handling device (124) being further embodied in order to manipulate the yarn guide part (136) in order

    (a) to connect an end section of the piece of yarn (144) with the yarn winder unit (101);

    (b) to thread an intermediate part of the piece of yarn in yarn guide elements (108, 120, 118) and

    (c) to connect the other end section of the piece of yarn (144) with the fibre stream on the pair of delivery rollers (111) of the roving yarn delivery unit (110)

    - and with the entire predetermined length of the auxiliary yarn (144) being shorter than the length of the yarn which is eliminated in a subsequent rewinding process (2 m).
14. A device as claimed in claim 1, characterized by a handling device with:

    - a vertical swivelling axle (178);

    - a first horizontal swivelling axle (174);

    - a second horizontal swivelling axle (188);

    - a respective, independently controllable servo drive for each of the said swivelling axles;

    - a yarn storage means (130) whose orifice element represents the yarn guide part (136), with the guide part (136) being attached to the handling device (124) in such a way that a controlled operation of the respective servo drives leads to a respective movement of the said guide part (136) and

    - a programmable control unit (142) for the said servo drives in order to cause a determined sequence of drive orders carried out by the operation of the said drives and to move the yarn guide part (136) along a predetermined path of movement from the yarn winder unit (101) to the roving yarn delivery unit (110).
15. A method for eliminating the yarn breakage in a ring spinning machine, wherein a piece of yarn (144) is brought into contact with a fibre stream produced in the drafting arrangement (110) by means of a handling device (124) provided with a yarn guide element from a spindle (102) of a spinning position, with the handling device (124) also being used for threading the piece of yarn (144) into a yarn guide element (118 or 120) arranged between a ring traveller (108 of the spinning position and the drafting arrangement, and the yarn guide part (136) guides the piece of yarn (144) past the yarn guide element (118 or 120), characterized in that the handling device (124) carries out the threading of the piece of yarn (144) into the yarn guide element (118 or 120) by purposeful movements of the yarn guide part (124) and the yarn guide part (136) brings the piece of yarn (144) into contact with a part (156 or 161) of the yarn guide element (118 or 120) during the guidance of the yarn (144) past the yarn guide element (118 or 120), whereupon the yarn guide part (136) carries out a further movementn in order to displace the yarn from said contact to a threaded position.
16. A method as claimed in claim 15, characterized in that the yarn guide element is an antiballoon ring (120) and the further movement is a lateral displacement.
17. A method as claimed in claim 15, characterized in that the yarn guide element is an eyelet (118), that the first contact occurs with a member (156) which connects the eyelet with a fixing device (154) and that the further movement is a circular movement about the free end (160) of the eyelet.

Images