EP0460129B1 - Device for feeding warp threads - Google Patents

Abstract

PCT No. PCT/CH90/00283 Sec. 371 Date Oct. 11, 1991 Sec. 102(e) Date Oct. 11, 1991 PCT Filed Dec. 6, 1990 PCT Pub. No. WO91/10003 PCT Pub. Date Jul. 11, 1991.The drawing-in machine has a needle-shaped drawing-in member (7) which is driveable in an oscillating manner and comprises a flexible gripper band (16) which carries a clamping gripper (17) and a channel-like guide (18) for the drawing-in member (7).

Description

The invention relates to a device for drawing in warp threads in tableware elements of a weaving machine, with an oscillatingly drivable, needle-shaped pulling-in element for the warp threads.

In known devices of this type, the pull-in member is formed by a so-called pull-in needle, which has a hook-like end, with the aid of which the warp threads are caught and drawn in. Quite apart from the fact that when using such a hook-shaped pull-in needle there is always the risk that a thread slides out of the needle and is therefore not or only partially drawn in, these pull-in needles are also not advantageous in terms of textile technology. Because the warp threads are practically deflected by 180 ° in the naturally very thin hook-shaped end and slide over their deflecting edge when pulled in, which means a not inconsiderable strain and possibly also influencing the thread on its surface.

From FR-A-2 285 482 a pull-in device is known which has a clamping gripper which consists of two parts which are displaceable in the direction of movement of the clamping gripper and which clamp the warp thread in one position so that it is drawn in by the moving clamping gripper. The warp thread is bent and clamped in the clamping hook.

The individual parts of the clamp gripper each carry out an absolute movement and a relative movement to one another, which results in complex and unreliable control of the movements mentioned. The warp thread can be broken by the special type of clamping.

The invention is now intended to provide a drawing-in element with which the warp threads are drawn in as gently and safely as possible.

According to the invention, this object is achieved in that the pull-in member has a clamping gripper with two parts which are arranged such that they can move relative to one another transversely to the oscillating movement of the pull-in member.

Since the clamping gripper clamps the warp threads and not just hooks them into them, a safe insertion of all types of warp threads is guaranteed. These are also protected as much as possible, since the warp threads are only clamped at one point, but are not otherwise stressed by additional friction.

A preferred embodiment of the pull-in member is characterized in that the clamping gripper is carried by a flexible gripper band and that a channel-like guide is provided for the pull-in member.

The inventive design of the pull-in device and its guide channel enable an increase in the operating speed of the pull-in machine while at the same time improving its reliability, on the one hand by minimizing the mass of the pulling-in device and on the other hand by guiding it exactly. In this way, the pull-in element is precisely positioned even at a high pull-in frequency, so that incorrect feeds are practically impossible.

Fig. 1

eine perspektivische Gesamtdarstellung einer erfindungsgemässen Einziehmaschine,

Fig. 2

eine perspektivische Darstellung des Einzugsmoduls der Einziehmaschine von Fig. 1,

Fig. 3

eine Darstellung des Einziehorgans,

Fig. 4

eine Ansicht in Richtung des Pfeiles IV von Fig. 2,

Fig. 5

eine Ansicht in Richtung des Pfeiles V von Fig. 4,

Fig. 6

einen Schnitt nach der Linie VI-VI von Fig. 5,

Fig. 7

verschiedene Querschnitte durch den in den Fig. 4 bis 6 dargestellten Führungskanal für das Einziehorgan,

Fig. 8

einen Ausschnitt aus Fig. 7c in einem vergrösserten Massstab,

Fig. 9

eine Schnittdarstellung des Antriebs des Einziehorgans,

Fig. 10

eine Variante zu Fig. 5,

Fig. 11

einen Schnitt nach der Linie XI-XI von Fig. 10; und

Fig. 12

ein Detail zu Fig. 2.

The invention is explained in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment and the drawings; it shows:

Fig. 1

an overall perspective view of a drawing machine according to the invention,

Fig. 2

2 shows a perspective illustration of the drawing-in module of the drawing-in machine from FIG. 1,

Fig. 3

a representation of the pull-in device,

Fig. 4

2 shows a view in the direction of arrow IV of FIG. 2,

Fig. 5

4 shows a view in the direction of arrow V of FIG. 4,

Fig. 6

5 shows a section along the line VI-VI from FIG. 5,

Fig. 7

different cross sections through the guide channel shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 for the pull-in member,

Fig. 8

7c shows a detail from FIG. 7c on an enlarged scale,

Fig. 9

2 shows a sectional illustration of the drive of the pull-in member,

Fig. 10

5 shows a variant of FIG. 5,

Fig. 11

a section along the line XI-XI of Fig. 10; and

Fig. 12

a detail of Fig. 2nd

1, the drawing-in machine according to the invention consists of a base frame 1 and of various assemblies arranged in it, each of which represents a functional module. In front of the base frame 1, a warp beam carriage 2 with a warp beam 3 arranged on it can be seen. The warp beam carriage 2 has a so-called lifting device 4 for holding a frame 5, on which the warp threads KF are stretched, coupled. This clamping takes place before the actual pulling-in and at a location separate from the drawing-in machine, the frame 5 being positioned at the lower end of the lifting device 4 in the immediate vicinity of the warp beam 3.

For pulling in the warp beam carriage 2 with the warp beam 3 and the lifting device 4 are moved to the so-called upgrade side of the pulling-in machine and the frame 5 is lifted up by the lifting device 4 and then assumes the position shown. The frame 5 and the warp beam 3 are moved in the longitudinal direction of the base frame 1 from left to right. With this shifting, the warp threads KF are guided past a thread separation stage 6 and separated and divided. After the proportioning, the warp threads are cut off and presented to a pull-in needle 7, which forms part of the so-called pull-in module. The sectioning device used in the USTER TOPMATIC warp knitting machine (USTER - registered trademark of Zellweger Uster AG), for example, can be used for dividing the warp threads.

In addition to the pull-in needle 7, a monitor 8 can be seen, which belongs to an operating station and is used to display machine functions and machine malfunctions and for data input. The operator station, which forms part of a so-called programming module, also contains an input stage for the manual input of certain functions, such as creeper, start / stop, repetition of processes, and the like. The drawing-in machine is controlled by a control module containing a control computer, which is arranged in a control box 9. In addition to the control computer, this control box contains a module computer for each so-called main module, the individual module computers being controlled and monitored by the control computer. The main modules of the drawing machine are, in addition to the modules already mentioned, drawing module, yarn module, control module and programming module, the strand, the lamella and the sheet module.

The thread separation stage 6, which presents the warp threads KF to be drawn in to the pull-in needle 7, and the movement path of the pull-in needle 7, which runs vertically to the plane of the stretched-out warp threads KF, determine a plane which separates the already mentioned upgrade side from the so-called disassembly side of the pull-in machine. The warp threads and the individual elements into which the warp threads are to be fed are fed in on the upgrade side, and the so-called dishes with the warp threads drawn in can be removed on the dismantling side.

When all the warp threads KF have been drawn in and the frame 5 is empty, the latter is together with the warp beam carriage 2, the warp beam 3 and the lifting device 4 on the dismantling side of the drawing-in machine.

Immediately behind the level of the warp threads KF are the warp thread guard slats LA, behind them the healds LI and even further behind the reed WB. The lamellae LA are stacked in hand magazines, and the full hand magazines are hung in inclined feed rails 11, on which they are transported to the right, towards the pull-in needle 7. There they are separated and brought into the feed position. After pulling in, the lamellae LA arrive on lamella support rails 12 on the dismantling side.

The strands LI are lined up on rails 13 and manually or automatically shifted to a separation stage on them. Then the healds LI are individually brought into their retracted position and, after they have been drawn in, distributed to the corresponding heald frames 14 on the dismantling side. The reed is also gradually moved past the pull-in needle 7, the corresponding leaf tooth being opened for the pull-in. After it has been drawn in, the sheet is also on the dismantling side. To the right of the heald frames 14 is a part of the reed WB. This illustration is to be understood purely for illustrative purposes, since the reed is of course located on the upgrade page in the position of the frame 5 shown.

As can be seen from the figure, a so-called crockery trolley 15 is provided on the dismantling side. This is inserted into the base frame 1 together with the slat support rails 12, heald frames 14 and a holder for the reed attached to it and carries the dishes with the drawn-in warp threads KF after being drawn in. At this time, the warp beam carriage 2 with the warp beam 3 is located directly in front of the dishwashing carriage 15. Now, using the lifting device 4, the dishes are reloaded from the dishwashing carriage 15 onto the warp beam carriage 2, which then carries the warp beam 3 and the pulled-in dishes and to the weaving machine in question or can be moved to an interim storage facility.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, the main component of the pull-in needle 7 forming the pull-in module is formed by a gripper belt 16 and a clamping gripper 17 carried by the latter, which are guided in a channel-like guide 18 in the stroke direction (arrow P). This extends from the frame 5 in a straight direction to an arcuate end part 18 'and is interrupted in the area of the tableware elements (slats LA, strands LI and weaving reed WB) in order to feed the tableware elements to the feed position and to transport them further after they have been drawn in ( Arrow S) to enable. The gripper belt 16 is provided with evenly spaced transport holes 19 and is driven by a motor-driven belt wheel 20 which has cam-shaped projections which engage in the transport holes 19 on its circumference.

3 shows, on an enlarged scale of approximately 3.5: 1, the front end of the gripper belt 16 and the clamp gripper 17 attached to it, which consists of two parts, a gripper hook 17 'and a clamp part 17' '. These two parts are designed to be resilient to one another, preferably in such a way that the clamping part 17 ″ at its tip is spread away from the gripper hook 17 ′ by approximately 2.5 mm without external force. The warp thread KF to be drawn in is offered to the clamping gripper 17 in such a way that when the clamping gripper is moved into the thread layer it reaches the gap between the hook 17 'and the clamping part 17' '.

As indicated in Fig. 2, the warp thread KF is also presented to the clamp gripper 17 in an oblique position, in such a way that the gripper hook 17 ', which is open at the bottom, presses on the thread from above when it is retracted, so that it automatically engages the hook mouth slides. If the gripper 17 now moves out of the thread layer, the warp thread is initially carried along by the gripper hook until the gripper 17 enters the guide 18. Then the hook and the clamping part are pressed together and the warp thread KF is clamped. To increase the clamping effect, both parts of the clamping gripper 17 have teeth 21. The clamping gripper 17 is thus formed on its front part which clamps the warp thread in the manner of a pair of tweezers which are pressed together by the guide 18.

The gripper hook 17 'and the clamping part 17' 'are made of metal, the gripper belt 16 is preferably a carbon fiber belt. The gripper hook 17 'is longer in the region of its right end in FIG. 3 than the clamping part 17' 'and has on its part projecting beyond the clamping part 17' 'cylindrical projections, the division of which corresponds to that of the transport holes 19, and their diameter relative to the transport holes 19 has slight excess. The gripper belt 16 is pressed with its transport holes 19 onto these projections, as a result of which the connection between the clamping gripper 17 and the gripper belt is established. This connection is releasable and has the advantage that if the gripper belt 16 breaks, the clamp gripper 17 can be reused. The two parts of the clamping gripper 17 are connected to one another by spot welding. This results in a sandwich design. The gripper belt 16 is thinner than the clamping gripper 17 and thus has lateral play in the guide channel 18, even if the gripper hook and the clamping part are pressed together by the guide channel (see also FIG. 8).

The design of the guide channel 18 can be seen from FIGS. 4 to 8. 4 and 5 show a top view and a front view of the guide channel, FIG. 6 shows a longitudinal section, FIGS. 7a to 7c cross sections along the lines AA (Fig. 5), BB (Fig. 6) and CC (Fig 4), all on a 1: 1 scale; and FIG. 8 shows an enlarged detail from FIG. 7c on a 10: 1 scale.

As shown, the guide channel 18 essentially consists of a profile rod 22 made of aluminum or of a suitable plastic, such as, for example, polymethylene oxide, which has a guide groove 23. This is covered on its open side at its edges by two elongated cover rails 24, between which there is a slot 25 for the lateral exit of a warp thread drawn into the guide channel 18. In the bottom of the guide groove 23, clamping jaws 26 are arranged, which are pressed by springs 27 against the cover rails 24. The clamping jaws 26 are penetrated by stop and guide bolts 28, which ensure that there is a gap between the cover rails 24 and the clamping jaws 26 of such a width that gripper hooks 17 'and clamping part 17' 'are just sufficiently compressed. The profile bar 22 is screwed onto a bearing block 30 indicated by dash-dotted lines in FIG. 7c via suitable supports 29. In the variant shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the stop and guide bolts 28 are omitted and clamping jaws 26 'are used which have stops 28' contacting the cover rails 24.

In order to ensure that the thread leaves the guide channel 18 after the slot 25, the guide channel 18 has a plurality of interruptions 31, in each of which a thread ejector lever 32 is arranged. These ejector levers 32 can, as can be seen from FIGS pneumatically driven pistons attached, downwardly projecting fingers are formed, which are in their rest position shown in Fig. 4 with full lines behind the plane of the looper belt 16 and are moved to the thread ejection in the direction of arrow S (Fig. 2) in the dashed position . Since the lamellae LA, the strands LI and the reed WB are also transported in the direction of the arrow S after the threading is carried out together with the thread to be removed from the guide channel 18, the ejection of the thread is supported by the tableware elements.

Instead of this pneumatically driven, reciprocating thread ejection lever 32, rotating thread ejectors can also be used. In this case, the thread ejectors are designed like impellers and consist of fingers projecting radially from a hub. The hub is mounted on a bearing block fastened to the profiled bar 22 and can be driven by a motor, the fingers dipping into the interruption 31 from above, turning forward towards the slot 25 and moving the thread out of the guide channel 18. In order to ensure that after the thread ejection, the guide channel 18 is free for the next insertion and that, for example, a finger of a thread ejector does not protrude into the guide channel, the individual thread ejectors are monitored by light barriers crossing the plane of movement of the fingers.

FIG. 9 shows a section through the band wheel 20 and through the part of the guide channel which bears against it and which is not covered here by cover rails 24. This is not necessary because the belt wheel 20 presses against the front of the gripper belt 16 and is in engagement with the corresponding transport holes 19 with its cam-shaped projections 33. The cam-shaped projections 33 are hemispherical and have a diameter of 1.5 to 2 mm, preferably 1.8 mm and a pitch of 4 mm.

So that the warp thread can leave the guide channel 18 after it has been drawn in, the clamping gripper 17 must first release the thread. This release takes place by a controlled opening of the gripper hook 17 'and the clamping part 17''in the region of the rear stopping point of the clamping gripper 17, which is based on FIG. 2 in the interruption K between the part of the guide channel 18 at the belt wheel 20 and in the direction of Webblatt WB towards the next part. The clamping gripper 17 is opened in that the part of the guide channel 18 that guides the clamping gripper, i.e. the guide gap between cover rails 24 and clamping jaws 26, widens in a funnel shape by appropriate shaping of the clamping jaws, so that the clamping part 17 ″ can spring away from the gripper hook 17 ′. This extension is preferably located in the region of the end of the part of the guide channel 18 which is arranged between the belt wheel and the reed and faces the interruption K.

After the clamping has been released, the thread is now pulled through the interruption K by the hook 17 'until the clamping gripper 17 reaches its rear turning point when entering the part of the guide channel 18 at the belt wheel 20. Even before this reversal point is reached, the thread is placed through a lever in the suction opening of a suction nozzle, which draws the thread in and thereby fixes it.

The lever is designed like a pointer with a hook-shaped end. It is guided between two circular sector-shaped disks arranged transversely to the guide channel and projects with its hook-shaped end between the disks during its working stroke. The thread located in the guide channel 18 lies on the circumference of the disks in front of the pointer-like lever and is moved laterally out of its path by this lever and guided along the contour of the disks to the suction nozzle.

The pointer-like lever is driven by an eccentric such that its hook-shaped end during the idle stroke, i.e. from the suction nozzle back to the guide channel 18, runs below the contour of the disks mentioned and then pierces them before the next working stroke, and so on. The suction nozzle is preferably inclined at approximately 45 ° to the axis of the guide channel with its suction opening, which enables an optimal takeover of the thread offered. In practice, the USTER textile testing equipment has proven to be the most suitable suction nozzle TENSORAPID and USTER TESTER (USTER - registered trademark of Zellweger Uster AG) used suction nozzle.

FIG. 12 shows a detail of the takeover of a warp thread KF by the clamping hook 17 (FIG. 2). According to the illustration, a sensor is arranged in the plane of movement of the loop-shaped warp thread KF, which checks each time it is pulled in whether a warp thread has really been drawn in. This sensor consists of a resilient sensor bracket 34 with a fixed counterpart 35 which overlap one another. When pulling the thread loop through the clamping gripper 17 (arrow T), the sensor bracket 34 is pivoted away from the counterpart 35 into the position shown in dashed lines, which is detected by a suitable sensor, for example by an inductive sensor 36.

The warp thread to be drawn in is therefore always under control, which guarantees maximum reliability and operational safety. This inevitably leads to a further increase in the productivity of the pulling-in machine described, which is already increased by the proposed use of a clamping gripper and gripper belt. In addition there is the extremely gentle treatment of the warp threads.

Claims (25)

1. Apparatus for drawing in warp threads into harness elements of a weaving machine, having a needle-shaped drawing-in member, driveable in an oscillating manner, for the warp threads, characterized in that the drawing-in member (7) has a clamping gripper (17) having two parts (17', 17'') which are arranged movably relative to one another transversely with respect to the oscillating movement of the drawing-in member.
2. Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that the parts (17', 17'') perform a clamping movement relative to one another which is controlled solely by the position of the drawing-in member (7) along a predetermined path for the oscillating movement.
3. Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that the clamping gripper is of a sandwich type of construction and a clamping movement results in an elastic deformation of one of the parts (17', 17'').
4. Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that the clamping gripper (17) is carried by a flexible gripper band (16), and in that a channel-like guide (18) is provided for the drawing-in member (7).
5. Apparatus according to Claim 1 or 4, characterized in that the clamping gripper (17) has two parts - a gripper hook (17') and a clamping part (17'') - adjustable relative to one another.
6. Apparatus according to Claim 5, characterized in that the clamping part (17'') is flexibly connected to the gripper hook (17') and is spread out with its tip away from the gripper hook in the inoperative state.
7. Apparatus according to Claim 6, characterized by means (18) for pressing together the clamping part (17'') and the gripper hook (17') during the working stroke of the clamping gripper (17).
8. Apparatus according to Claim 7, characterized in that a clamping surface for securely clamping the warp thread (KF) to be drawn in is formed between clamping part (17'') and gripper hook (17').
9. Apparatus according to Claim 8, characterized in that clamping part (17'') and gripper hook (17') are provided with corrugation or toothing (21) in the area of the clamping surface.
10. Apparatus according to Claim 4, characterized in that the clamping gripper (17) is made of metal and the gripper band (16) is made of a carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic.
11. Apparatus according to Claim 10, characterized in that the gripper hook (17') and the clamping part (17'') are firmly connected to one another, preferably spot welded, and in that the clamping gripper (17) is detachably fixed to the gripper band (16).
12. Apparatus according to Claim 11, characterized in that one of the two parts of the clamping gripper (17), preferably the gripper hook (17'), is longer than the other part at the end of the clamping gripper facing the gripper band (16), and in that this portion of the one part, which portion overlaps the other part, is designed as a fixing part.
13. Apparatus according to Claim 12, characterized in that the fixing part is provided with cylindrical projections which are provided for an interference fit in corresponding bores (19) of the gripper band (16).
14. Apparatus according to Claim 4, characterized in that the gripper band (16) is provided over its length with feed holes (19) at a uniform distance from one another, and in that the gripper band is driven by a band wheel (20) which can be driven by a motor and has on its periphery knob-shaped projections (33) provided for engaging into corresponding feed holes.
15. Apparatus according to Claim 14, characterized in that the projections (33) are of hemispherical design.
16. Apparatus according to Claim 15, characterized in that the band wheel (20) is driven by a brushless direct-current motor.
17. Apparatus according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a sensor (34, 35, 36) for controlling the taking-over of the thread is provided in the area in which the warp thread (KF) to be drawn in is taken over by the clamping gripper (17).
18. Apparatus according to Claim 12, characterized in that the said sensor (34, 35, 36) has a pivoted lever (34), which can be adjusted when a warp thread (KF) is drawn through, and a sensor (36) detecting the adjustment of this pivoted lever.
19. Apparatus according to Claim 4, characterized in that the guide (18) is interrupted in the area of the harness elements (LA, LI, WB) and has means (24, 26) for supporting the taking-along of the thread by the clamping gripper (17), and a slot-like opening (25) for the exit of the drawn-in thread out of the guide.
20. Apparatus according to Claim 19, characterized in that the guide (18) is formed by a channel (23) which is adapted to the cross-section of the drawing-in member (7) and at one side of which are arranged elements (26) pressing flexibly against the clamping gripper (17).
21. Apparatus according to Claim 20, characterized in that the channel (23) has over its length interruptions (31) in which ejector levers (32) for the warp threads are provided, which ejector levers are movable transversely with respect to the channel.
22. Apparatus according to Claim 21, characterized in that the clamping of the warp thread is neutralized in the area of the rear reversal point of the clamping gripper (17), and in that the channel (23) has a funnel-like widening of its cross-section in the said area.
23. Apparatus according to Claim 22, characterized by an interruption (K) of the guide (18) adjacent to the said widening and by means for fixing the thread in the area of its end, the said means being arranged in the area of the said interruption.
24. Apparatus according to Claim 23, characterized in that the said means comprise a suction nozzle and an element for delivering the thread to the latter.
25. Apparatus according to Claim 24, characterized in that a guiding means for the thread is provided between the channel-like guide (18) and the suction nozzle.

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