EP0726347A2 - Braiding machine - Google Patents

Abstract

A braiding machine esp. for the mfr. of wire and textile braids has, fixed on a frame (12), a pillar (13) which holds a slideway support (22) driven to rotate about an axis (33) with at least one lower reel (18). It also has an inner ring (36) which is driven to rotate in the opposite direction about the same axis with at least one upper reel (19). The slideway support and the inner ring are rigidly coupled together by a pair (39) of gear wheels. The gear wheel set is placed on a bracket (37) attached to the pillar. Pref. the rotating inner ring is placed directly on the pillar and the bracket rests axially on a pillar shoulder. The slideway support is arranged to rotate on upper and lower bearings, pref. ball races and the fixed bracket has a shoulder directed downwards which rests directly on the slideway support upper bearing and forms a pref. O-ring bearing arrangement with the lower bearing. The bracket has at least one rotation check (38), i.e. a screw clamp connection. The rigidly coupled gear pair has a wedge clamp connector activated by a releasable closure in at least one gear to shaft bearing connection where the closure has an encircling band which engages the ring wedge of the wedge clamp. The slideway support has, surrounding at least one of the gear wheels, at least one lubrication fluid region enclosed by a cover and a seal (56) and with a drain screw (57).

Description

The invention relates to a braiding machine, in particular for the production of wire and textile braids, with a column arranged on a frame, which receives a rotatingly driven slideway carrier, which is rotatable about an axis of rotation and has at least one lower spool, and with one around the Rotating axis of rotation arranged inner ring, which drives at least one upper coil in the opposite direction to the lower coil, the slideway carrier and the inner ring being drive-connected by means of at least one rigidly coupled pair of gearwheels.

Braiding machines or rapid braiding machines are used to produce braids from metal wires or textile wires or textile threads, e.g. for the production of cables or hoses. When braiding, the threads must be laid in opposite directions to achieve the braid. For this purpose, the braiding machine has bobbins that e.g. rotate clockwise, and further bobbins that rotate counterclockwise and a laying device with which at least some of the threads to be laid one of the two bobbin groups of the desired braid weave are raised above or below the threads of the other bobbin group.

From DE-U 88 06 229.5 a braiding machine is known which works according to the method described above for the production of braids from metal wires or textile threads. This braiding machine has a guide tube arranged on a frame for a core to be braided. At This guide tube has a slideway carrier rotatable about an axis of rotation of the guide tube and driven by a motor and a toothed belt. This slideway carrier is designed as a hollow shaft and has a spool, which receives four rigidly coupled pairs of gears. An inner ring is provided on the hollow shaft above this rotary disk, which is rotatably guided to the hollow shaft via a radial and axial ball bearing. The inner ring and the lower spool disc are forcibly connected to each other via the gear pair. A further gear is provided on the inner ring, which is assigned to a cage, which in turn receives at least one upper coil. The gearbox reverses the direction of rotation between the inner ring and the slideway carrier or the lower spool, so that a braid can be achieved.

With this arrangement, however, it is problematic that high forces act on the inner ring which have to be absorbed by the radial and axial ball bearings. In addition, the inner ring is mounted on the hollow shaft, so that the forces acting from the inner ring also act on the bearings between the hollow shaft and the guide column, these bearings additionally having to absorb the forces that occur in the lower spool of the coil. This arrangement is therefore subject to heavy wear and is also very expensive to construct. Furthermore, it is difficult to adjust the synchronization of the passage of the braiding threads of the lower bobbin to the upper bobbin.

In contrast, the invention has for its object to improve a braiding machine of the type mentioned in such a way that a simple structure is created which enables an arrangement that is inexpensive and in which only little wear occurs.

This object is achieved in that the at least one gear pair is mounted on at least one bracket fixed to the column.

With this arrangement it can be achieved that the design of the slideway carrier can be relatively simple. The fixed arrangement of the at least one pair of gears enables the upper rotating part, that is to say the inner ring, to be separate from the slideway carrier. This allows for a simpler design of the slideway carrier because, on the one hand, lower forces act on the bearings which are arranged between the column and the slideway carrier and, on the other hand, precise and additional machining of the slideway carrier for receiving the bearings for the inner ring can be omitted. This can reduce costs. The high-speed bearings of the slideway carrier are subjected to a reduced axially acting force, since the forces emanating from the upper coils do not act on the slideway carrier, so that the bearings are subject to less wear and can therefore have a longer service life. In addition, the slideway carrier can be freed from the load of the rigidly coupled gear pairs, which according to the invention are received by at least one non-rotatable bracket from the column. With the help of the non-rotatable bracket it is achieved that the braiding machine is radially less protruding and can thus be designed to be decidedly more stable in the area of the column with the same dimensions, namely the same coil circle diameter. In particular, a large center passage of the hollow column can also be achieved, so that correspondingly strong material to be braided can be processed, for example cables with correspondingly large diameters. The central stability also makes it possible to use the braiding machine in a horizontal arrangement, so that the material to be braided does not have to be bent for the purpose of feeding during this processing, which would lead to difficulties in the case of larger diameters because of the stiffness then given. In particular, the braiding machine with a horizontal axis can be used in a work line in which several processing operations are carried out in succession on a longitudinally running product, for example cables, for example wrapping or braiding.

The braiding machine is advantageously designed so that the inner ring is rotatably mounted directly on the column. This allows simple and therefore inexpensive storage to be provided in order to fix the inner ring rotatably to the column. This simple design also enables quick assembly and interchangeability of the inner ring on the column above the slideway beam. The storage of the inner ring directly on the column has the advantage when using a rolling bearing that a standing inner ring and a rotating outer ring cooperate. This means conditions that can be predetermined by storage technology. In the case of previously known braiding machines, the column is driven in rotation. The hollow shaft surrounding the column, which acts as a slideway carrier, rotates in the same direction, so that there are bearing conditions due to different differential speeds, which the rolling elements have to compensate for in a manner that is unusual for bearings. This is avoided in the training proposed above.

In order to make the braiding machine particularly suitable for receiving the fixed console, the column is designed so that this console has a shoulder over which the console can be supported. As a result, the fixed bracket can be arranged in a defined manner in the axial direction with respect to the column. In particular with a vertical arrangement of the column, secure storage can be provided for the fixed console.

An advantageous embodiment of the braiding machine is equipped so that the fixed bracket has a downward-pointing shoulder in its installed position, which rests against an upper bearing, preferably a radial bearing of the slideway carrier, and with a lower bearing, which can also be designed as a radial bearing of the slideway carrier and forms an O-bearing assembly. In this embodiment, it is provided that the outer diameter of the column in the area for receiving the radial bearing and the fixed bracket is designed to be constant. As a result, the shoulder of the fixed bracket can rest on the inner shell of the radial bearing facing the column, as a result of which A particularly suitable O-bearing can be achieved for this application. This mounting enables axially acting forces to be absorbed with relatively little wear at the same time as the radially acting forces.

A simple design of the braiding machine is provided by an anti-rotation device provided on the fixed bracket. This can preferably be designed as a clamping screw connection, so that two opposing wedges are displaced relative to one another by tightening a screw such that the bracket can be clamped in the radial direction to the column. This clamping screw connection can be used as a structural unit in a recess connected to the through hole for the column. Alternatively, it can also be provided that an anti-rotation device or the like by means of a tongue and groove arrangement. can be trained.

Of further importance for the braiding machine is that the rigidly coupled gear pair has a wedge connection on at least one gear / shaft connection. This makes it possible that an adjustment or synchronization with respect to the upper and lower bobbins can lead to an almost frictionless braiding of the threads. The slideway carrier, which receives a lower coil and the inner ring, which drives at least one coil carrier with an upper coil, is directly connected to the drive via the gear pair. The wedge connection allows the upper and lower coils to be positioned relative to each other. This is of particular importance since a lever pivoting the thread must guide the braided thread under or over the bobbins and insert it into incisions between slideway segments of a slideway ring fastened to the slideway carrier. The thread guide plate protecting the bobbin area must not be acted on, because otherwise there would be friction on the thread, which would influence the uniformity of the braid or tear the thread. The inner ring can be adjusted to the slideway girder with a loose wedge connection. After the one you want precise angular position is set, the wedge connection can be tightened.

A structurally simple design of the braiding machine is provided via a lock that can be released with a shaft journal of the gear pair. The preferably cap-shaped closure can be removed by means of a simple screw connection. In its outer edge region, the closure has a circumferential collar which, in the fastened state of the closure, acts on a, preferably ring-shaped, wedge which is connected to a further wedge ring and can effect the clamping.

The braiding machine is advantageously designed in such a way that the slideway carrier has an area which at least partially surrounds the rigidly coupled gear pair and which can be closed with a cover and at least one seal and is liquid-tight. As a result, lubricating liquid can be provided in this area, which is used to cool the at least one gear pair and the connected ring gears of the slideway carrier and the inner ring. At the same time, the lubricant provided in this area can cool the upper radial bearing of the slideway carrier as well as the lower radial bearing of the inner ring. The area surrounding the at least one gear pair is sealed at an upper section with respect to the rotating inner ring by means of a mechanical seal or the like. Furthermore, a seal or a sealing lip or the like is below the upper radial bearing of the slideway carrier. is provided between the slideway carrier and the column, so that the lubricating liquid area can be sealed in a liquid-tight manner with respect to the column. An upper cover can be removed to fill this area with lubricant. In the lower area, an outlet opening that can be closed with a drain screw can be provided, through which the lubricant located in this area can be drained.

Fig.1

eine schematische Seitenansicht einer Flechtmaschine,

Fig.2

einen teilweisen Längsschnitt durch das Flechtherz der Flechtmaschine der Fig. 1 und

Fig.3

eine vergrößerte Darstellung einer Klemmkeilverbindung einer starr gekuppelten Zahnradpaarung.

The invention is explained with reference to a preferred embodiment shown in the drawing. It shows:

Fig. 1

a schematic side view of a braiding machine,

Fig. 2

a partial longitudinal section through the braiding heart of the braiding machine of FIGS. 1 and

Fig. 3

an enlarged view of a wedge connection of a rigidly coupled gear pair.

The heart of the braiding machine 10, shown schematically in FIG. 1, is accommodated in a frame 12 of the housing of the braiding machine 10, which is otherwise not shown. There is a column 13 connected to the frame 12, which is shown in more detail in FIG. 2 and which carries a cap 14. In addition, a cam ring 17 is connected to the frame 12 via supports 16, which has on its inside a groove-shaped slide track, not shown, for guiding a rocking lever, not shown, with which threads of bobbins are moved in a known manner, and therefore also not shown.

The braiding machine 10 has lower bobbins 18 and upper bobbins 19 on bobbin carriers 21. The bobbin carrier 21 is fastened to a slideway carrier 22 or to a slideway ring 23 carried by the latter. The slide track carrier 22 is driven in rotation and arranged coaxially to the column 13. The drive around the axis of rotation 33 takes place with a toothed belt 24 via a gearwheel 26 which is arranged on the slideway carrier 22 and is connected to the slideway carrier 22 in a rotationally fixed manner.

The slideway ring 23 fastened to the slideway carrier 22 has slideway segments 27, wherein incisions 28 between the slideway segments 27 serve, if necessary, to guide the threads of the bobbins 18 under the threads of the bobbins 19 by means of the respective rocker arms (not shown). The threads of both bobbins 18, 19 run to thread guide holes 29 of the cap 14, to which a strand to be braided, such as a hose, for example, is fed to the column 13 through the guide cavity 31 (see FIG. 2).

The slideway carrier 22 and the slideway 32 are driven, for example, in a clockwise direction, that is to the left of a rotation axis 33 perpendicular to the display plane and to the right of the rotation axis 33 perpendicular to the viewer from the display plane.

So that the coils 19 are driven in the opposite direction to the coils 18, the following structure of the heart is provided, as shown in FIG. 2 in half cross-section:

At a lower section of the column 13, the slideway carrier 22 is supported in a rotatable manner via radial bearings 34. Opposite the lower radial bearing 34, a gearwheel 26 is arranged on the slide track carrier 22, which is connected to a toothed belt 24 and is driven by a motor, not shown. As a result, the slideway carrier 22 is rotated clockwise, for example, the lower coils 18 and the slideway ring 23 being moved in the same direction of rotation.

A bracket 37 fixed to the column 13 is arranged below an inner ring 36 arranged on an upper section of the column 13. This separates an upper area from a lower area of the column 13, both the inner ring 36 and the slideway support 22 engaging on the column 13 so that they can rotate. The console 37 is arranged in a rotationally fixed manner via a clamping screw connection 38 to the column 13. At a distance from the axis of rotation 33, the console 37 receives at least one, preferably four pairs of gearwheels 39. The pair of gearwheels 39 has a lower gearwheel 41 which is rigidly connected to a shaft journal 42. At the opposite end of the shaft journal 42, an upper gear 43 is provided, which can be released via a clamping wedge connection 61 and rotated relative to the lower gear 41. The shaft journal 42 is, for example, two or more roller ball bearings or the like. received in a through hole 44 of the bracket 37 and fixedly arranged in the through hole 44 via retaining rings. The lower gear 41 is in engagement with a toothed ring 46 which is arranged fixedly with respect to the slideway carrier 22. The upper gear 43 engages in an arranged on the inner ring 36 Sprocket 47 a. The inner ring 36 is mounted directly on the fixed column 13, for example via radial bearings 48.

Due to the separate arrangement according to the invention of slideway support 22 and inner ring 36 directly on the column 13, the loads acting on the bearings can be kept relatively low, so that only slight wear can occur. This separate arrangement is made possible by the bracket 37 fixed to the column 13. The at least one gear pair 39 contained therein forcibly connects the slideway carrier 22 to the inner ring 36, that is, as soon as the slideway carrier 22 is driven in one direction of rotation via the toothed belt 24, the gear pair 39 undergoes a reversal of the direction of rotation, which in turn transmits it to the inner ring 36 in the manner is that this has the same direction of rotation as the slide track carrier 22.

So that there is now an opposite rotation about the axis of rotation 33 between the lower and the upper spool 18, 19, a rotatably mounted intermediate wheel 49 is provided on the slideway ring 23 and is driven by the inner ring 36. Opposite this drive side, a slide 51 is arranged on the slide 32 and is connected to the intermediate wheel 49 via a toothed ring 52 provided on the slide 51. The upper coil 19 can be arranged on the slide 51 in a known manner via a coil carrier 21. Since the direction of rotation of the slide track carrier 22 is the same as the direction of rotation of the inner ring 36, the slide carriage 51 undergoes a reversal of the direction of rotation through the intermediate gear 49, so that the upper coil 19 rotates in the opposite direction to the lower coil 18 about the axis of rotation 33.

The slideway carrier 22 has a lubricant-absorbing region 53 which essentially surrounds the gear pair (s) 39. This lubricating fluid area 53 is sealed for receiving lubricating fluid. For this purpose, a seal 56 is provided below the upper radial bearing 34 of the slide track carrier 22, which seals the Lubricant area 53 seals down. A removable cover 54 is provided on its upper region 53, which abuts the inner ring 36 and is closed off by a further seal 56. These seals 56 or the like as mechanical seals or sealing lips. be provided, which can ensure an adequate seal even at high rotational speeds. Furthermore, a seal 56 can be provided on the upper or lower radial bearing 34 of the inner ring 36, so that this lubricating fluid region 53 is closed in a liquid-tight manner. In order to enable the lubricant to be exchanged, an outlet opening is provided in a lower section of the region 53, in which an outlet screw 57 is arranged.

The slide track carrier 22 is arranged to the column 13 via an O-bearing arrangement. For this purpose, the fixed bracket 37 is preferably formed with a shoulder 58 pointing downward in the assembled state, so that it can rest directly on the inner bearing shell of the upper radial bearing 34 of the slideway carrier 22. As a result, a suitable bearing for the radial forces can be provided by the high rotational speeds, which are superimposed by axial loads due to the weight forces of the coils 18, 19. However, since the gear pairs 39 are received by the fixed bracket 37 and the inner ring 36 is mounted directly on the column 13, the high rotational support forces, as they occur in the prior art, can be avoided, so that a simple construction of each slide carrier 22, fixed bracket 37 and inner ring 36 leads to a simple and inexpensive overall structure of a braiding machine 10, which is also subject to low wear.

In Figure 3, an enlarged view of the gear pair 39 is shown. The upper gear 43 is connected to the shaft journal 42 via a clamping wedge connection 61. The angular position of the upper gear 43 to the lower gear 41 and thus to the slideway carrier 22 can be changed and adjusted by means of a releasable closure cap 62, which can be fastened by means of a screw connection to the shaft journal 42 be. This arrangement enables the inner ring 36 to be positioned such that the pivot lever deflecting the thread inserts it precisely into the incisions 28 in the slideway segments 27 and does not act on the thread guide plate protecting the bobbin area. This precise positioning or readjustment can enable the setting and synchronization of the movement sequence in a simple manner. After the desired precise position has been reached, the closure cap 62 can be fixed via the screw connection to the shaft journal 42, a circumferential collar 63 acting on an upper wedge ring 64 and displacing it relative to a lower wedge ring 64, so that a clamping effect between the shaft journal 42 and the upper gear 43 is effected and the upper gear 43 is fixed to the shaft journal 42.

Claims (12)

Braiding machine, in particular for the production of wire and textile braids, with a column (13) which is fixedly arranged on a frame (12) and which receives a rotatingly driven slideway carrier (22) which can be rotated about an axis of rotation (33) and at least one lower coil (18), and with an inner ring (36) which rotates around the axis of rotation (33) and which drives at least one upper spool (19) in opposite directions to the lower spool (18), the slideway carrier (22) and the inner ring (36) Drive-connected by means of at least one rigidly coupled pair of gearwheels (39), characterized in that the at least one pair of gearwheels (39) is mounted on at least one bracket (37) fixed to the column (13). Braiding machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the inner ring (36) is rotatably mounted directly on the column (13). Braiding machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a fixed bracket (37) is provided which is supported axially on a shoulder of the column (13). Braiding machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the slideway carrier (22) is rotatably arranged on an upper and a lower bearing (34), preferably on a deep groove ball bearing. Braiding machine according to claim 4, characterized in that the fixed bracket (37) in the installed position has a downwardly projecting shoulder which is directly on the upper bearing (34) of the slideway carrier (22) abuts and forms a preferably O-bearing arrangement with the lower bearing (34) of the slide track carrier (22). Braiding machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the fixed bracket (37) has at least one anti-rotation device (38). Braiding machine according to claim 6, characterized in that the anti-rotation device (38) is designed as a clamping screw connection. Braiding machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the rigidly coupled gear pair (39) has a clamping wedge connection (61) on at least one gear / shaft journal connection. Braiding machine according to claim 8, characterized in that the clamping wedge connection (61) can be actuated via a lock (62) which can be released from the shaft journal (42) of the gear pair (39). Braiding machine according to Claim 9, characterized in that the closure (62) has a collar (63) which at least partially surrounds the shaft journal (42) and which engages at least one wedge ring (64) of the clamping wedge connection (61). Braiding machine according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the slideway carrier (22) has a lubricating fluid region (53) which at least partially surrounds the at least one rigidly coupled gear pair (39) and which is liquid-resistant with a cover (54) and at least one seal (56) is completed. Braiding machine according to claim 11, characterized in that a lubricant drain screw (57) is provided on the slideway support (22), preferably at the lowest point of the lubricant area (53).

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