EP0713936A1

EP0713936A1 - Apparatus for the automated handling of yarn packages in dyeing installations and the like

Info

Publication number: EP0713936A1
Application number: EP94830545A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Mauro Becheri
Original assignee: Lavorazioni Acciai Inossidabili Pratese Laip Di Becheri Cecchi & C SNC
Current assignee: Lavorazioni Acciai Inossidabili Pratese Laip Di Becheri Cecchi & C SNC
Priority date: 1994-11-24
Filing date: 1994-11-24
Publication date: 1996-05-29

Abstract

A handling device (5) forms a basically tubular housing (7) designed to take the stacked yarn packages (R); at the bottom or entrance end of said housing, controllable retractable means (9) are used to release or retain the periphery of the bottommost package (R0) of the stack and with it the packages above it. The machines served by said apparatus are equipped with fixed yarn-supporting spindles.

Description

The invention relates to an apparatus that allows almost complete automation of the handling of yarn packages in dyeing installations and the like, in which a plurality of packages are stacked axially with their "centres" aligned and possibly engaged with each other, in yarn-supporting devices - in the form of spindles, especially - which generally are different in the various machines of an automatic-cycle type package dyeing installation. These installations generally comprise one or more package dyeing machines, a centrifuge for the removal of water, a hot-air dryer for the final drying of the packages, optionally a final packing and wrapping device for despatch and other optional apparatuses. Passing the packages between the various yarn supports of the different machines is nowadays a considerable burden in terms of manpower and time.
The invention relates to a robotized handling apparatus for transferring the yarn (packages) to the various processing stages and therefore to the various machines which make up the installation. Particular objects and advantages will be made clear in the text that follows.
The present apparatus basically comprises, in a handling device, a housing - which may be tubular or of some equivalent design - designed to take the stacked yarn packages with no internal guide spindles, and, at the bottom or entrance end of said housing, controllable retractable means for peripherally retaining the bottommost package of the stack and with it the packages above it. The yarn supports in the various machines of the installation are located in stable positions on their respective machines.
The controllable retractable means may comprise shafts mounted rotatably on the exterior of the housing (which generally has an approximately cylindrical wall), with their axes parallel with the axis of the housing and provided with shaped radially extending retaining arms that can be retracted from the housing and moved so as to project into the housing in order to hold the edge of the bottommost package of the stack of packages held inside the housing. The handling device may be equipped with at least one actuator for actuating said retractable means.
Also, said handling device may advantageously comprise an axial pressing unit for acting on the packages - especially with partially interlocking centres - in at least some of the stations in which the packages are to be positioned and pressed axially against each other.
With the present apparatus, the handling of the stacked packages takes place throughout in the absence of specific yarn supports. The introduction and taking over of the packages by the various successive machines is done by removing them each time from their fixed yarn supports and handling them without said supports.
The advantages of the system as here described will be obvious and include economic advantages inasmuch as the system makes it unnecessary to have a large number of yarn supports, the unit cost of which is considerable, as well as technical advantages inasmuch as each machine - dyeing unit, centrifuge, waiting and conveying trolleys, driers - requires a yarn support of its own, which must therefore be optimized for the particular processing stage. With the present apparatus, the yarn supports of the individual machines remain in their respective machines because the automated handling - which may be for dyeing, removing water or drying the yarn packages - takes place without the aid of package-supporting devices.
The invention will be made clearer by the description and accompanying drawing, the latter showing a practical, illustrative and non-restrictive embodiment of the invention. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a highly schematic view of a handling device positioned above a yarn support ready to take the packages in a dyeing unit;
Fig. 2 shows said handling device with the packages inside it en route between two machines;
Figs. 3 and 4 show other kinds of yarn support, in centrifugation machines and in a dryer, with a handling device located above them; and
Figs. 5 and 6 show a local transverse section through the line V-VI indicated in Fig. 1, with the retaining arms in the retracted and active positions respectively.

As shown in the highly schematic drawing, 1 indicates a dyeing apparatus which may be equipped with yarn-supporting spindles, that is package supports 1A or 1B or the like; on one such yarn support 1A or 1B may be placed a stack of packages R, the bottommost package of the first being marked R0. Shown partially and schematically in Fig. 3 is a centrifuge 2 comprising yarn-supporting spindles 2A that are likewise designed to take stacks of packages R, R0. Indicated in Fig. 4 is a trolley 3 provided with a series of posts 3A forming the actual yarn supports and each able to take a stack of packages R, R0; these trolleys 3 with the spindles 3A are used to convey the stacks of packages to a drier and/or other apparatuses. Figs. 1, 3 and 4 show possible examples of apparatuses of various machines in, e.g. a dyeing or other installation, where the packages are to be handled, and where they are likewise usually stacked on top of each other.
In order to bring about the automated handling and hence conveying of the packages without the need for any special manual action, a handling device is used, denoted 5 as a whole and able to be moved by a suitable guiding and operating system of any known kind, indicated schematically by the numeral 6, and serving to move said handling device 5 into the various positions in which a stack of packages R is to be placed and from which it is to be taken. One particular part of this handling device 5 is a housing 7 which may be tubular but may also be of some other type, for example a cage or the like, and this is able to take from below a column or stack of packages R and hold them owing to the retention from below of the bottommost package R0 of the stack, with the result that the whole stack of packages R is held inside said housing. There are no guide rods inside the packages. In order to retain the bottommost package R0, arms 9 are provided which are able to be moved, for example about vertical axes, so that they can be retracted out of the space at the bottom forming the entrance to the housing 7 (Fig. 5), and be made to project into said space (Fig. 6) so as to interfere with the package R0 and thus support and retain it, and with it the stack of packages R above it inside the housing 7. The arms 9 can be controlled by vertical shafts 9A which are operated by a suitable simultaneous actuator, there being for example three arms 9 capable of projecting into and being retracted out of the internal space of the housing 7. The numeral 12 indicates an operating unit connected to the handling device 5 for both controlling the shafts 9A and arms 9 and executing other operations, such as vertical movements of the housing 7.
The handling device 5 may also include a device for axially pressing the stack of packages that are to be fitted into an apparatus such as the apparatus 1, for certain operations such as dyeing through the coils of yarn of which the packages R are made up.
One possibility is an arrangement in which the shafts 9A, by which the retaining arms 9 are operated, may themselves form or be part of a cage-type housing instead of the housing 7 and may be movable in seats of rotation provided in rings 7X defining the circumference of this cage-type housing.
In all cases it will be clear that with a handling device 5 of the kind described above it is easily possible with a robotized system to simultaneously convey a stack of packages R, R0, either to present them to a machine or apparatus such as 1, 1A, 1B, or such as 2, 2A, or such as 3, 3A, or to take the packages away from them, at all times in the form of a stacked unit. Thus a stack of packages R, R0 contained inside the housing 7 as shown in Fig. 2 can be presented over a yarn-supporting post or spindle and lowered so as to place the stack of packages on a post - such as the post 1A or 1B or such as the post 2A or such as the post 3A - the stack of packages being retained by the arms 9, and said stack of packages then being released as said arms 9 are retraced from the space inside the housing 7. Pressing can also be carried out as mentioned earlier. On the other hand, with an empty handling device 5 it is possible to take a stack of packages from a yarn support, such as the supports 1A or 1B or such as 2A or such as 3A, lowering said member 5 with its arms 9 retracted out of the internal space of the housing 7, in such a way as to accommodate, as it descends, the stack of packages to be taken and then engage them by moving the arms 9 in so as to secure the bottommost package R0 of the stack of packages, which is then retained by the handling device 5 around the exterior of the stack of packages R; in the subsequent lifting operation, it is then possible to move the stack of packages from one yarn support to another, irrespective of what kind of yarn support is being used to accommodate the stack of packages. The only constraint that must be observed by the handling device 5 is the overall dimensions of the housing 7 and of the arm 9 operating means, so that this unit can be inserted into the spaces - sometimes very small spaces - of the apparatuses equipped with yarn supports, which must be served by the handling apparatus in question, or where there are other needs to be observed relating to dimensions in the machines served by the apparatus.
It will be obvious that with this apparatus it is possible for handling to be carried out on all the machines of an installation, when there are packages whose dimensions fall within a certain range of dimensions, especially radial dimensions. The variation in the dimensions of the packages beyond the range for which a handling device 5 is usable can be handled by other handling devices 5 in which the dimensions of the housing 7, however constructed, are capable of taking packages of another range of dimensions.
It will be understood that the drawing shows only an illustrative embodiment given purely as a practical demonstration of the invention, it being possible for the invention to vary as regards shapes and arrangements without thereby departing from the scope of the concept underlying said invention. The presence of any reference numerals in the accompanying claims are for the purpose of facilitating the reading of the claims with reference to the description and to the drawing, and does not limit the scope of protection represented by the claims.

Claims

Apparatus for the automated handling of yarn packages in dyeing installations and the like, in which a plurality of packages are stacked axially with their "centres" aligned and possibly engaged, the apparatus being characterized in that it comprises, in a handling device (5), a housing (7) designed to take the stacked yarn packages (R, R0) with no central guide spindles, and, at the bottom entrance end of said housing (7), controllable retractable means (9) for peripherally retaining the bottommost package (R0) of the stack and with it the packages (R) above it; the yarn supports (1A; 2A; 3A) of the installation being in stable positions on their respective machines.
Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that said housing is tubular.
Apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said controllable retractable means (9) comprise shafts (9A) mounted rotatably on the end of the housing (7) with their axes parallel with the axis of the housing (7) and provided with radial arms (9) that can be moved into the housing in order to peripherally hold the bottommost package (R0) of the stack.
Apparatus according to Claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the said handling device (5) is equipped with at least one actuator for actuating said retractable means (9).
Apparatus according to at least Claim 1, characterized in that said handling device (5) comprises an axial pressing unit for acting on the packages, in at least some of the stations in which the packages are to be positioned.
Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises devices (5) with housings of different dimensions for packages belonging to ranges of different dimensions.
Apparatus for the automated handling of yarn packages in dyeing installations and the like; the whole being as described above and illustrated by way of example in the appended drawing.